Saxyguy – I realized that the timeline for the first few chapters may have been a bit confusing so I went back and fixed it. For those of you too lazy to go back and reread them, Harry and Sonja's altercation with Draco was on Friday, Halloween was on Friday two months later (Nothing interesting happened), the quidditch match, Saturday. So Tonks, Harry and Sonja have detention in a week. By the way, for some of you wondering where Ron is, he will take a bit of a back seat in this story, with his role as first friend being filled by Tonks. He will still be there, just not in a big way, and won't take much part in the adventures.

Chapter 5

Harry, Tonks, and Hermione were walking back to the Gryffindor common room after the game, the two girls having waited for him outside the locker room. On their way up to the third floor, the staircase they were on suddenly shifted position.

"What's happening?" Harry asked as he clutched at the hand rails as the stairway moved.

"The stairs change." Tonks replied. "I'm surprised it hasn't happened to you yet." She said as the staircase came in contact with a new landing on the third floor.

"Well lets go before it moves again." Hermione said as she hurried to the top of the stairs. She opened the door at the top of the stairs and hurried in, followed by the other two.

"I don't think we're supposed to be here…" Tonks said. "Didn't they said something about the third floor being off limits?" She asked as they moved farther down the hall.

"I think they did." Harry replied. "We should go back." He said, turning to do just that, when they heard a cat meow from the door they had entered. For some reason, Harry had a strong urge to hiss at the animal.

"It's Filch's cat!" Hermione whispered. "Come on!" She said as she stepped up and tried one of the doors that led off the hall. Finding it locked, she pulled her wand and tapped the lock. "Alohamora." She whispered, causing the door to unlock and open. The three piled into the room and closed the door behind them.

"That was too close." Harry said as Tonks turned to face the room they had entered. "What's wrong?" He asked as her hair faded to pure white and she lost all the color on her face.

"Now that's just over kill." Tonks said as she pointed behind him, causing Harry and Hermione to turn around and see the huge three headed dog standing behind them. Harry reached behind him and grabbed the doorknob, no longer caring if they would get caught by Filch. He kicked the door open and grabbed Tonks' sleeve and threw her out into the hall before grabbing Hermione and pulling her out with him, leaving the dog barking furiously but unable to fit through the door after them.

Tonks stumbled and fetched up against the far wall as Harry pushed Hermione away and slammed the door.

"What was that doing there?" Harry asked as he stared at the door.

"You don't use your eyes do you?" Hermione asked. "Did you see what it was standing on?"

"I wasn't much concerned with its feet." Harry replied. "I was a bit more occupied with the three heads."

Tonks straightened and brushed off her robes. "You talking about the trap door?" The now purple haired metamorph asked, drawing a nod from Hermione. "Yeah, I think it's guarding something. Wonder what it is."

"Well I know someone who would own something like that." Harry said, drawing a nod from Tonks as she caught his drift. "And someone who happened to empty a vault that got broken into the same day."

"Hagrid." Tonks and Harry said as one.

That night

Harry had the dream again. This time, he crept along the edge of the common room and slipped out into the halls. He wandered for nearly an hour, exploring the castle from his new point of view. He found himself in the great hall when it happened. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and pounced on instinct. The small silver and black fox glared back at him as he landed on its tail. Harry slunk back, belly low to the ground as the fox turned to face him haughtily. The animal snorted and turned and dashed away, disappearing down the stairs to the dungeons. Harry stared after it for a moment.

'This is a really weird one.' Harry thought as he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and found himself looking up at his transfiguration professor. Without thinking, Harry began to cower under her gaze.

"Oh you are a cute one aren't you?" McGonagall cooed gently as she picked him up and touched her nose to his.

'Okay. Definitely dreaming now.' Harry thought as McGonagall set him down.

"Now where did you come from?" She asked. "You have to be a pet. Too young to be weaned yet and too well groomed." She commented. Harry stared at her for a moment before starting off toward the Gryffindor tower. Within minutes, the two stood in front of the portrait of the fat lady. "Here let me show you something that will help next time." McGonagall said as she shifted to her cat form and led him several feet to the right of the portrait. She placed her paw on a slightly indented stone and a small section of the wall slid aside, opening to a pet sized corridor that led into the common room. Once in the common room, McGonagall shifted back. She eyed Harry critically for a moment before speaking once more. "I would tell you that you need to be registered with the school to use that entrance, but that's only for normal pets, you appear to be a familiar." She said. "Well I must be going." The professor said before pushing open the portrait hole and leaving.

"Oh you again!" A voice behind him spoke up before he was suddenly off the ground once more. He was turned around and came face to face with Tonks. "Somehow I just knew you'd be here." She said as she plopped into one of the armchairs and set him in her lap before stroking him softly. "Where did you come from anyway? I haven't seen you with any of the other students." She wondered. "Maybe you can be my pet."

For some reason, her words then filled Harry with a strange warmth and he pressed against her stroking hand softly.

"You like that idea? Then what should I call you?" She mused. "Blackie?" She asked, causing Harry to sneeze and shake his head in displeasure. "Okay that's a no. How about Fluffy?" She asked. Harry hissed and sank his claws into her thigh. "Okay that's a no too." Tonks muttered as she shifted him to check her leg. "How about Kaz?"

Harry, seeing as how the names were likely to get worse, purred and curled up in her lap.

"Kaz it is then." She said as Harry slowly drifted off to sleep, lulled by the gentile stroking of her hands on his fur.

Next Morning

Harry woke in his own bed and sat up rubbing his head. He blinked blearily for a few seconds before grabbing his glasses off his bedside table. "What a strange dream." He mused to himself as he grabbed his cloths and headed for the shower. After completing his morning ritual, he headed down to the common room to meet Tonks and Hermione.

Tonks seemed upset about something when Harry entered the room. "Have you seen him?" She asked.

"Seen who?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"My kitten." Tonks replied.

"Since when do you have a kitten?" Harry asked, his dream suddenly brought to the front of his mind.

"Since last night. I adopted one I found in the common room." She said. "I wanted to show him to Hermione this morning but I can't find him." She said as they walked toward the great hall for breakfast.

"Now that is really strange…" Harry commented off hand.

"What is?" Hermione asked.

"Last night I dreamed about being a small black cat." Harry replied. "The one you adopted if I'm right." He continued. "I wonder if I can control animals in my sleep."

Tonks looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "That is a very uncommon ability." She replied. "So the odds you have it are slim, more likely that you're an accidental animagus."

"I've read about that." Hermione said.

"Hermione, is there anything you haven't read about?" Harry ribbed good naturedly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyway, being an accidental animagus is dangerous. They have a tendency to get stuck in their animal forms. Most think that their transformations are just dreams, until they wake up and the dream didn't end." Hermione finished.

"Hermione, I think I'd know if I could turn into a cat." Harry said. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and swatted at it, gently batting the end of the quill Tonks was waving at him.

"Well you certainly act like one sometimes." Tonks said as they reached the great hall.

After class that day, the three agreed to go visit Hagrid to try to find out what was hidden beneath the school. When they arrived at Hagrid's, he was sitting on the front porch of his hut, shelling peas into a large bowl.

The large man looked up when they called out. "Oh! How ya like the school there you three?" He asked as they approached.

"It's fun." Harry replied as they stepped up onto the porch with Hagrid. "I think my favorite class is Defense against the dark arts. I won't really be sure until we do some of the practical, but it seems like it would be interesting."

"An' dead useful." Hagrid replied. "Never know when you're gonna need that kinda stuff."

"Really though, school isn't why we came." Harry said. "We have a question. Do you know about the three headed dog in Hogwarts?"

"Who told you about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked.

"Fluffy?" Hermione asked. "That thing is named Fluffy?"

"Yeah. He's mine." Hagrid replied. "I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the…" He began before trailing off. "I can't tell ya that."

"Yeah but someone's trying to steal it!" Harry shot back.

"Look even if someone was trying to steal it, they'd never get past Fluffy. Not to mention the rest of the defenses." Hagrid said. "So don't worry about it one bit. What that dog is guarding is the strict business of Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Nicholas Flamel?" Tonks asked.

Hagrid looked uneasy. "I shouldna said tha. I should not have said tha." Hagrid muttered to himself as he stood and walked into his house, closing the door behind him.

"Who's Nicholas Flamel?" Hermione asked.

"No clue." Tonks replied. "But I know how we can find out."

"How?" Harry asked, dreading her answer of research.

"I can ask Bellatrix." Tonks replied.

"How would she know?" Hermione asked.

'Right. Forgot they don't know about the accident yet…' Tonks thought. "Well it's not really her that I'll be asking. It's that I'll be asking her to pose the question to Jet, Sonja's cousin in Ravenclaw."

"How is that any better?" Harry asked.

"Well if he doesn't know right off from how much the kid reads, he hangs out with the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw. Who, as you should know, is rumored to be Rowana Raveclaw, one of the four founders of Hogwarts." Tonks explained. "At the very least, I expect that she'd be able to point him in the right direction in the library."

The next afternoon, Tonks caught Bellatrix after potions.

"Bella, I need to talk to you." Tonks said without preamble.

Bellatrix glanced over at Sonja. "Guess I'll see you at dinner then." She said, drawing a nod from Sonja as she turned and left with Daphne and Tracy.

"How did you two become so close?" Tonks asked curiously.

"When she freed me, it created some sort of bond between us." Bellatrix replied as they stepped into a nearby empty classroom. "It appears to be one way…" She began before drifting off. "Oh! My ickle fox friend is here!" She practically squealed as she threw open to door and scooped up the small black fox sitting in the hall. She set the fox on her shoulder and scratched behind its ears . "Now what did you need?" Bellatrix asked, her rapid swings in conversation topic throwing Tonks off for a moment.

"I need you to introduce me to Sonja's cousin Jet." Tonks replied as she recovered rapidly.

"Why not ask Sonja?" Bellatrix asked.

Because I'm related to you, and know you a bit better, though not much." Tonks admitted. "I figured I'd have a better chance of getting a positive answer from you."

"Don't worry, I'll introduce you." Bellatrix said. "Why do you need to meet him?"

"Harry, Hermione, and I need some help with some obscure research, and we figured since he's the only one that spends more time in the library then Hermione, he'd be able to point us in the right direction." Tonks said. "Plus the ghost he talks to is rumored to be Rowana Ravenclaw, one of the founders. She should know the library better then anyone."

"That she should." Bellatrix replied. "I wish I knew how Sonja and Jet can hear her." Bellatrix mused. "I bet she knows all kinds of cool stuff. Is that all?"

"Yeah." Tonks said as she opened the door. The fox on Bellatrix's shoulder hopped down and scampered away. "Tell Sonja I said good luck against Ravenclaw this weekend."

"I will." Bellatrix replied. "After dinner tomorrow, meet me and Sonja outside the library. Bring Harry and Hermione."

"Okay. See you then." Tonks acknowledged as she left to join her friends for dinner.

At dinner the next day, the three Gryffindors entertained a discussion on who they thought was after whatever Fluffy was guarding. So far Harry had the best theory.

"I bet its Snape." Harry said.

"What makes you say that?" Tonks asked. "Aside from his general unpleasantness." She mused.

"Remember Halloween?" Harry asked.

"I don't think any of us will forget Harry." Hermione replied with a shudder. "Ever."

"Well when Snape came into the bathroom after McGonagall, he was limping and his pants leg was torn up." Harry explained. "I bet he let the troll in as a diversion to try to get past Fluffy, but he got bit."

"It makes sense, but are you sure you aren't just irked that he tried to kill you in the quidditch match last weekend?" Tonks asked.

"Well there is that, but I assure you that this theory is based solidly in evidence." Harry replied.

"It does make sense, but I think we should keep an open mind." Hermione said thoughtfully. "Not that I'm defending Snape, even if he is a teacher, he plays favorites too much." She added quickly when Harry opened his mouth to protest.

"Well anyway, we have to meet Bellatrix soon." Tonks said as she stood and motioned for the others to follow her.

Library

"Hey Bella, where's Sonja?" Harry asked as the three Gryffs approached the dark haired witch.

"Last minute quidditch practice for the game this weekend." Bellatrix replied. "But it's okay. I've got her to keep me company." She continued as she indicated the small fox tucked into the hood of her robe with its head rested on her shoulder. "I call her Trixie. And she's much more cuddly then Sonja is." Bellatrix said, causing Tonks to snicker.

"Bella dear, I really can't see Sonja as the cuddly type." Tonks said as she regained her composure. "Now on to why we're here."

"Right this way then." Bellatrix said as she opened the door behind her and led the way into the library. She walked toward the back, leading them through the veritable sea of shelves to a table nestled in the back.

At the table sat a boy, pouring over several large tomes at once as he cross-referenced each one rapidly, all the while scribbling furiously with a quill.

"What is he doing?" Harry asked.

"Independent potions research." Bellatrix replied. "Remember Snape's speech about having the 'predisposition' for potions? Well whatever that means, Jet's got it." She continued. "He's the only first year that Snape actually likes."

"Wow. You mean that greasy haired git has a good side?" Harry asked, shocked.

"What are you researching?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to Jet, only to be ignored. Hermione looked indignant for a moment before a ghost floated over and leaned over Jet's shoulder. She said something to him, but all the others heard was a garbled whisper.

Jet's eyes snapped up away from the books in front of him. "What?" He asked the silver figure next to him. The ghost patiently repeated herself in the same garbled whisper. "Guests?" He asked before his eyes swept the area, finally catching the rest of them. "Oh, Bella. How long have you been here?"

"About five minutes." Bellatrix replied. "This is Harry, Tonks, and Hermione." She said, introducing the three. "They wanted to talk to you about something." She said before she left.

"So what do you three want?" Jet asked somewhat rudely. "If you want me to do your homework, you'll get the same answer I've given everyone else. No."

"That's not it at all." Harry said quickly as Hermione looked about to blow a gasket from the mere suggestion that she wouldn't do her own work. "We wanted to know who Nicholas Flamel, and we have no clue where to start."

Jet immediately calmed down. "The name sounds familiar, what makes him so important?"

"He worked with Dumbledore and made something." Tonks began. "We don't know what it was, but it was valuable, and it's stored here." She continued. "And someone's trying to steal it."

"So you want to know what it was, so you know who to suspect."Jet rationalized.

"Exactly." Hermione replied.

"Well I haven't seen the name in anything I've read recently…" Jet began as he consulted his notes. "And he doesn't appear in any of the books written in the last fifty years." He continued. "I haven't looked in the restricted section though, so he could be in one of those books…" He mused. "It may take some time, but I'll get to work on it."

"Thank you Jet." Tonks said.

"By the way, I never got the answer to my question." Hermione said. Jet raised an eyebrow, causing Hermione to continue. "What are you currently working on?" She asked.

"I believe that there is at least one more use for dragons blood and I want to be the one to find it." He replied as if it were obvious. "But don't worry about that." He replied. "That is independent study, most of my effort will now be going toward your problem." He said as he began stacking the books in front of him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I may still have enough time to check for some of the books he may be in before the library closes for the night." He said, politely dismissing the trio.

"Good night Jet." Harry said as the three Gyffindors left for their common room.