Chapter 12

The Most Valuable Rock

A few days after the boys had been summoned to Dumbledore's office McGonagall sat them down in her office to explain what happened after they left.

"It appears that the stone was always meant to attract someone just not the students." She started to explain.

"Minnie we can tell you've spent too long with Dumbledore; you're withholding information to make yourself sound more knowledgeable." Harry interrupted

"Pardon me but could you explain?"

"You said someone, he must have told you who it was or you wouldn't have mentioned it. Once upon a time you would have just told us." Archer answered for Harry.

McGonagall sat and considered for a few moments deciding how best to precede. "Well it appears that Albus is under the impression that Voldemort is not as dead as the rest of the world believes. He seems to believe that the lack of a body that night indicates that Voldemort fled injured in some way. It was his intention to use the stone as a bait to see if Voldemort would try and gain it to use the elixir of life to return to full strength thus confirming he lives."

"That's ridiculous." Harry started,

"That's Dumbledore." Archer commented.

"Well Albus believes that when Voldemort regains strength he will target Harry here, in his opinion Harry is too young to have to worry, I genuinely believe he just wants Harry to grow up happily. Few know this but Albus' family was torn apart when he was young so in my opinion he has always viewed a family with a sense of idealism, thus why he was so determined to override your parents' will and place you with Lilly's sister, regardless of all evidence he felt family must love each other. In some ways he feels the Weasley family are the richest of us all."

"How can Voldemort still be alive? If he was, surely his most fanatical supporters would have long since sought him out and aided him?" Harry asked.

"Hang on Harry what about Riddle's diary at the end of last year?" Archer interjected.

"What about it?"

"Maybe there are more of them? Maybe one of those is sapping away at the life of someone like the diary did to the Weasley girl."

"Yes, well regardless the remains of the diary are in Albus' hands and he has not seen it fit to share any information with the rest of us. He has always felt his own opinion was most important and telling others could only hurt his plans." McGonagall said hoping to end any speculation.

"So what do we do now?" asked Neville quietly reminding everyone he was still in the room.

"For now, nothing." McGonagall answered.

"What?" Archer asked, "You've told us a homicidal maniac thought dead for over a decade may in fact be alive and after our little Harry and you expect us to do nothing."

Harry nodded in agreement with this statement.

"Albus has yet to give any evidence about his claim, where once I would have believed him without question but after he tried to go against your parent's will I reflected on a lot of his past decisions and realised Albus is not very good at sharing and that often gets people hurt. You will do nothing for now since you are already far ahead of any other students, even Mr Longbottom here is rapidly rising towards the top of the year, and the notes left by my predecessor and the comments dropped by Professor Snape suggest that is somewhat of a miracle. If you attempt to study much harder, you will give up any sense of normality in your life."

"But Minnie I can't just wait for him to come back can I?" Harry asked.

"There is little else you can do, until it is confirmed in some way that Voldemort is alive then you should not let him dictate your life. Imagine the pressure the public would put you under if he returned, they would expect you to defeat him once again even if you are a child, an exceptionally gifted child with talented friends but you must see it is not your duty to stop this monster."

"Harry what can you even do now?" Neville asked, "I mean we know nothing about this, we can't just go hunting for a weak Voldemort, we wouldn't know where to start."

"Nev is right Harry," Archer added, "I don't like it but until we see some evidence this could just be more of Dumbledore's mad theories and you can't let him or Riddle dictate your life."

Harry nodded. He and Archer had grown more serious while at Hogwarts and further dedication to anything might take the fun out of life.

"Now off with the three of you, I'm sure you have better things to be doing. I would not recommend returning the stone to Albus, give it to Flamel if you can. While I agree it would be important to know if Voldemort is alive, to invite him to raid the school is outrageous." With that the boys all got up and left.

"Well that was strangely depressing." Archer said.

"Indeed, we need something to liven us up" Harry replied.

"Oh what do you have in mind?" Neville asked.

"Well Archer spent the first term undoing any Weasley twin prank or reversing it to screw with them. I think we've been here long enough to announce our arrival in a big way. Something we can plan and focus on to the point where we can ignore all this crap."

"I like it Alpha, son of Prongs."

A week later Harry received a reply to his letter to Flamel. The method of delivery was a surprise, a Phoenix flamed into the great hall at breakfast one morning, dropped a letter for Harry and disappeared. Harry looked up towards the staff table, it was clear in Dumbledore's frown he recognised the phoenix. Harry quickly stuffed the letter into his bag thinking he would open it with Neville and Archer when they were alone.

Unfortunately, they were in separate classes that morning so couldn't open the letter until lunch, they snuck into the kitchens to have some privacy while Harry read the missive.

"Okay," Harry started resting the letter down on the table which was already weighed down by the signs of the house-elves' hospitality. "He thanks us for securing the stone and assures us he had no idea about Dumbledore's weak protections. He says Dumbledore asked to borrow the stone for research purposes, technically if what Minnie said is true then it's not a lie, just the research wasn't on the stone but Riddle." Harry paused and looked at the other two who showed no surprise that Flamel was in the dark with regards to Dumbledore's master plan. "He would like to retrieve the stone in person at the next Hogsmeade visit so if we could forward him the date it would be much appreciated. He also tells us that we shouldn't tell Dumbledore nor should we look him in the eye at any time."

"Why the eye thing. I mean everything else is straight-forward?" Neville asked.

"Do you remember my book on the mind arts, the one from the train at the start of the year?" When Neville nodded Harry continued "It said when some people trained in the mind arts look you in the eye they can connect with you and read your surface thoughts, that is, what you're thinking about at that exact time."
"Sneaky old git." Archer muttered, "So that's how he always seems to know what people are thinking, no thoughts are private."

"Well, thoughts can be private, there is defence against this, also he can only read surface thoughts without using his wand so memories and the like can't be seen." Harry replied.

"That's why his questioning is always so long winded" Neville added, "the more things he makes you think about, the more he learns. That's such a great breach of privacy."

"Yeah that's why its illegal, unfortunately there is no way to prove the wandless variation."

"Why haven't we all heard of this before?" Neville asked.

"Well its in the mind arts texts but really I think its because they don't want many people to know about it." Harry said,

"But whose is they?"

Archer frowned slightly before answering for Harry, "Nev, its going to be the upper levels of the ministry."

"But why wouldn't they want everyone to know so they can learn to defend against it?"

"Several reasons, some more cynical than others. Firstly, can you imagine the lack of trust from muggle-borns and the likes when they learn that their minds can be read and their thoughts revealed. Imagine if someone like Malfoy knew about this, imagine how much more hurtful his bullying could be. Imagine how little you could trust anyone if they knew some of these skills and you didn't. Also, imagine how useful it would be if some ministry agents were trained in the mind-arts, they could go and find people with hate filled thoughts and stop some incidents, not saying they do or even should but imagine that would all be useless if everyone could defend against it."

"Its really rare to find any details about it. Even my book doesn't contain instructions, just references. Although I might start to look into it now." Harry added. "Whatever, Dumbledore is a sneaky old man, we knew that already. I'll write to Flamel about Hogsmeade later, we have half an hour of lunch left I say we work on the plan."

The next Hogsmeade trip was in a month so it was a long wait before they could offload the stone. In the meantime, some strange things started to happen around Hogwarts. At first when suits of armour started to shout 'Boo' when people walked past students thought it just another quirk of the castle but when avalanches started to appear behind doors dropping large amounts of snow onto whoever opened the door, students started to suspect there was something amiss. This was seemingly confirmed when at lunch one day Malfoy and Ron Weasley ran towards each other and declared their love for each other. The fact that the normally smug Weasley twins looked as shocked and horrified as everyone else made the rest of the school a tad nervous. The fact that the Weasley twins hadn't successfully pulled of any major pranks on the school had not gone unnoticed either.

Breakfast the next day was interrupted too, this time by a snowstorm inside the great hall, it appeared the roof which reflected the outside was now simulating the weather too. It was one of those time that it was terrible to be a teacher, it was known by several of the staff who the culprits were but they had been meticulous in not leaving a trace and therefore could not be punished unless they confessed. They didn't.

The Hogsmeade weekend where they would meet Flamel seemed to come round quickly but in the last few days Dumbledore seemed to be watching Harry more than ever before, that amount of attention must have been unhealthy. Finally, they were ready to head out into the village. It was the weekend before Valentines and though they were meeting Flamel Harry felt he really ought to get a token gift for Daphne. He hadn't spoken to her in the last few weeks but still felt there ought to be some acknowledgement of her existence on his part, he didn't really expect her to reciprocate but he still felt obligated.

It was only when they reached Hogsmeade that they realised Flamel hadn't told them where top meet him. They stood around for a while until Flamel's phoenix flew down and got their attention. They followed the bird as it led towards the end of Hogsmeade near the train station. There they were met by a man who they assumed was Flamel. He didn't look ancient but rather around his forties, his hair had signs of grey but it was still mostly a muddy shade of brown, a finely pointed bread covered his sharp face. His eyes were a deep blue and they alone hinted at the age of this man.

"Greetings, I am Nicolas Flamel." He said. "I believe you three have something to return to me."

"Yes sir" Harry replied pulling a pouch from round his neck. Harry had taken to wearing the stone to stop Dumbledore finding it by going through his things. He handed the pouch over to Flamel who removed the stone and held it up to the light to inspect it.

"Ah yes my greatest creation. You have kept it safe for me, you could not possibly understand how valuable this is to me. You have also restrained yourselves from trying to use it which in itself must also be commended, as such I feel you three deserve rewards."

"you really don't have to sir." Harry started, Neville nodded along with him, Archer stayed quiet wondering why anyone would argue against gifts.

"Of course I don't have to, but I want to. I do not mean to boast but with my great age I have collected a huge number of texts and written several more. Having little else to do over the past six hundred or so years I have become an expert in many subjects, while I may not have the power Albus has I have a great many years of experience. While I struggle to remember it all I have written down much of what I have learnt." Flamel pulled out a wand and conjured a table and chairs, with a few more flicks and loops the cold air was warmed till cosy. He indicated they should sit.

Once they were all seated Flamel spoke again, "I am very old now, I and Perenelle are getting tired. More and more we feel our time on this earth is coming to a close. I had planned to leave my library to Albus but it appears he is relapsing into the mistakes of his youth. Let me tell you a bit more about Albus so you can understand him better. Albus has always been extremely intelligent and powerful. He topped every class he took at Hogwarts and throughout it became accustomed to people looking to him for answers. Shortly after he graduated he moved back to Godric's Hollow to look after his family, he felt it was his responsibility after his parent's deaths. While he was there he met a young man as powerful and as intelligent as himself, for the first time Albus had a real friend and equal. Some say they were more than friends but I find myself not caring. This man was Gellert Gindelwald. Together they were intelligent but were not wise, they were so used to their superiority that they felt that they should lead the world since, at least in their minds, they knew best. They justified the overriding of democracy as for the 'Greater Good'. Some vague concept they used to justify their increasingly radical views. In their quest for the greatest amount of good they believed they should not just rule over wizards but muggles too. They believed the statue of secrecy was created to protect muggles from rogue wizards, for of course wizards are better. They plotted away so much that Albus began to neglect the family that he had come back to care for. You must understand that they honestly believed that what they were planning was righteous, that any moral objections were inconsequential for the 'Greater Good'."

"So Dumbledore and Grindelwald were best friends and agreed, is that why Dumbledore took so long to confront him?" Harry asked.

"Yes they were and it is likely that Albus wanted to avoid fighting his friend, deep down he may even have believed in what Grindelwald was attempting. Now back to the story, Albus' brother Aberforth confronted Albus about the neglect he was showing to his sister. The argument escalated and a three-way duel started. At some point Albus' sister came into the room, I don't know why but she did. She was struck in the cross fire and killed. None of them knew who was responsible thus the estrangement of Albus and Aberforth. Grindelwald fled the country and disappeared. We now know he was off manipulating muggles ready to attempt his take over. Now A year or two after this I encountered Albus and took him on as my apprentice. I tried to explain how there was no such thing as the 'Greater Good'. I honestly thought I had succeeded. Either way he was a brilliant student. We only clashed on my distance from the wizarding world, I have no interest in intervening in the world. If I did it even once then I would be expected to do it again and again. If I ever failed then I would quickly become hated, if I got involved for the wrong side then again I would be hated. It is far more simple for me to avoid all your problems. If he was not in fact using my stone for research, then I assume he was using it for his own purposes."

"Sir, we have reason to suspect he was using it as bait." Harry said hoping he was doing the right thing by revealing this.

"As I suspected. Now let me tell you three a secret. The stone is extremely valuable to me and Perenelle and us alone. To you it is almost worthless, the metal to gold thing is a legend not truth and the elixir is only a de-aging potion that the stone enhances, there is a special magic involved in making the stone and it's a secret I am not willing to share that allows Perenelle and I to survive but its unique to us. Now Perenelle and I will likely destroy the stone and move on to the great beyond within the next year or two but until then we need it in one piece." Flamel said. "Now those rewards, I plan on leaving my library to you three when we pass on since we have no heirs and you seem as good as any and a lot better than most. You will be allowed access from your majority provided you are clever enough to follow whatever vague, possibly misleading directions I give you to find my home. For now, however I will give you one gift. Please state your favourite subject and I'll summon an appropriate text, it is likely the only other copy of the text will be in my library."

Harry looked at the other two who seemed to be in deep contemplation. "I am planning on studying for a transfiguration mastery in the next few years, if possible could I have something that could lead me to a project."

Flamel nodded and turned his attention to Archer.

"Sir, if you wouldn't mind I would like something on magical materials and their interactions, I plan on investigating enchanting and crafting." Flamel once again nodded.

Neville once would have just stammered having met someone so famous but in a show of how much he had grown he simply and quietly said: "Herbology sir."

Flamel sighed, "The first two should not be a problem, if you'll just wait a moment he conjured some parchment and a quill, wrote a quick note and held it above him. A flash of flames and the phoenix appeared, swooped in and grabbed the note before flashing off into the flames. Flamel just sat quietly twiddling his thumbs, the boys were a little too surprised and nervous to say anything. A minute or so later a flash and the phoenix was back but this time it had a satchel. Flamel took the satchel and pulled out two texts. Handing the first to Harry, "This is a text on transfiguration and the nature of change. I was born long before the statue of secrecy so I hope its not too much of a surprise that I keep myself appraised of the muggle-world. In the past century especially muggles have been developing their understanding of the world around them, far beyond ours, they are trying to understand matter itself. Since transfiguration is transforming matter from once form to another it may be interesting. As I expect you to know magical power is used to make up for any gaps in knowledge provided the intent is strong enough, this text aims to provide more detailed knowledge on the nature of transfiguration itself, applying the concepts from this text you should become far more efficient with your spells."

"Thank you very much sir." Harry said staring at the book in his hands as if it were made of gold.

Flamel then handed another text to Archer. "This is a summary on magical interactions and my theories on the causes. It details my theories on why some metals are completely immune to spells and the like, it also has detail on the most effective medium for rune carving. I expect you to use it well."
"Thank you sir." Archer said placing the book carefully into his own bag.

"Neither I nor my wife have ever taken much interest in Herbology I'm afraid." Flamel said to Neville. "I have another suggestion however. At the turn of this century my wife's dear friend Fawkes left our care to live with an apprentice of ours. I believe that soon Helios here will need a new friend. Now obviously Helios will make the final choice but I can recommend to him that he look after you when Perenelle and I depart this mortal plane."

Neville didn't say anything, his jaw just dropped open in a mix of awe and surprise. Helios trilled and flew over and rested on Neville's shoulder. The phoenix clearly approving.

"Now being a phoenix he is not a pet and you do not own him, he is a companion and dear friend. He is also immortal born from the flames that started our universe and as such is far more experienced and wise that we can ever hope to be, heed his warnings and you'll have and far easier life. Now he may choose to come and visit me a few times before I depart but I'm sure he will hang around with you for the foreseeable future. I dare say he will be looking forwards to catching up with Fawkes, they were our friends for over five hundred years so they know each other quite well. I don't even want to think about how long they have known each other before we came along."

Neville was still incapable of speech so just nodded slowly.

"Now before I depart I have one final piece of advice. With the exception of my dear wife, myself and Grindelwald Albus has never met another who he thinks of his equal, even Voldemort he thought of as a youthful hooligan, dangerous and intelligent but not equal of mind to him. He will always have plans for the future which he believes will benefit the most people, he's so set on the wider picture he tends to miss details and has little trouble sacrificing people. He will not give details or information for fear people will act independently of his plans. He genuinely means well but he has not been called out for his mistakes in such a long time he likely thinks he is infallible. I think I have given you enough to think about and wish you luck and long lives and with that I depart." A loud crack signalled he had apperated away leaving the three young boys alone. The charms started to fall around them and they stood up sharpish, a wise choice since not a minute later the table and chairs returned to whenever it is conjured objects come from. With their task fulfilled the three boys and one phoenix headed in the direction of the castle.

"Merlin Hermione is going to be so jealous of me for Helios." Neville said, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Crap, I was going to get Daphne something." Harry muttered as they walked into the entrance hall causing the other two to burst out laughing and Helios trilled out happily.