Chapter 8: To the trapdoor
"Move … Fast." Hermione yelled.
Harry, Dudley, Ron and Hermione sprinted to a nearby room to avoid facing Ayesha. They needed time to process the information they had just heard. It was too much for them. They all went inside the room and closed the door. No one uttered a single word.
"We can't stay here all night," said Hermione after a very long silence.
"Yeah you're right," agreed Ron, "we should head to our common rooms."
Everyone nodded but none made a move to go.
"I don't know how to react," said Dudley, after some time, "I … what … oh God! She is my friend … Voldie's grand-daughter – my friend? Voldie - the maniac who killed Harry's parents!"
Harry and Ron looked up at Dudley.
"I didn't think that way," started Ron, "I wa--"
"What difference does that make?" snapped Hermione, angrily, "We know her. She is our friend. Okay?"
"Yeah, right," mocked Dudley, "Friend did you say? Yeah, we're her friends and still she didn't share any of this with us. We always get to know of her family by eavesdropping. Who knows she's even trustworthy or not? She might be here to harm Harry for her dear old grand father."
Hermione turned red at this. Her eyes were fuming with anger. "This. Is. Exactly. The. Reason. She. Did. Not. Share. Any. Of. This. With. Anyone." A pause. "How can you expect her to share all this with you in just three months?"
"Hermione, I think," said Ron, "Dudley's not wrong. She should have told us all this. She has always avoided this topic. How does she expect any support from us when she hides stuff from us?"
"Because you are her friends. Because certain truths need to be told at a right time. Because some truths are too bitter."
All four of them looked up and saw Dumbledore standing in the doorway and smiling kindly at them. He came inside and stood at a hand's distance from them.
"She has suffered too much of bitterness in her life. She has been at the receiving end of hatred since she can remember. All, because she is related to Voldemort." Ron and Hermione winced, but Dumbledore ignored them and continued, "She does not share any of his ideas, his pure-blood madness, and his hatred for muggles. All she shares with him is her blood. That does not classify her as evil." Seeing the defied look on Dudley's face, Dumbledore added, "She had enough chances to harm Harry, if she had wanted to. She did no such thing."
This seemed to calm Dudley. He did not say anything. Harry was all quiet.
After a moment's silence, Dumbledore said, "I think you all should go to bed. It will be curfew time in short time. I request you all to give her time and trust her. She needs your support and love."
With that he turned around and went out of the room. All four of them looked at each other. Not wanting to say anything, they all turned towards the door and started for their common rooms. Dudley moved quickly than others and soon was way ahead of them. He did not notice others wishing him good night. He was just moving mechanically towards his common room. When he reached his common room, he realised Ayesha was not there. He was not expecting her; it would have been too difficult to face her. Part of him wanted to support his best friend and other part wanted to yell at her and vent out his anger on her for not trusting him. He pondered on it for a moment and decided against both and went to his dormitory. He wanted nothing else than to sleep, to empty his mind from all thoughts, to wake up in the morning realising that it was all a dream … okay a nightmare. It took ages for him to fall asleep.
When he woke up in the morning, it took a moment for him to realise why his head was aching so much; he had slept for only three hours. He got out of the bed, got ready and went to the common room. His eyes swept the room. Not finding Ayesha in the room he headed for the Great Hall. He still wasn't sure how would he face Ayesha and what his reaction would be. He spotted Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table engaged in serious discussion. By the looks on their faces, the topic was last night. He went to them, his eyes sweeping across the hall to find Ayesha. She was nowhere to be seen.
"Good morning," Dudley said nonchalantly, taking a seat beside Hermione.
"Good morning," Hermione answered. "Did you meet Ayesha?"
"No," answered Dudley, "Neither last night nor in the morning."
"Where could she be?" asked Ron. "I asked her dorm mates. They said she'd gotten up early in the morning and still she's nowhere to be seen."
"Uhmm… -" answered Dudley, his mouth full with toast.
"We're talking about how to make her tell us everything or whether we should ask her at all," said Ron, looking at Dudley and Harry.
"Uhmm… -" repeated Dudley. Harry did not answer
"What's wrong with you guys?" yelled Hermione, glaring at Harry and Dudley and making few of the fellow Gryffindors jump in their seats. "Why're you both behaving so indifferently? One poses as if it is none of his business and the other doesn't say anything at all."
"What am I supposed to say?" said Harry, meekly.
"Anything. Oh I don't know," sighed Hermione, "it's not easy for me and Ron as well, but we're not behaving the way you two are."
"Maybe because," started Ron, "it is not related to us. It makes a big difference to them 'Mione."
Hermione glared at Ron, before turning to Harry. "I asked this last night, I will ask again. Does all this make any difference to our friendship with Ayesha?"
Hermione looked at each of the boys in turn, prompting them to answer. When none came she repeated her question, this time taking their name in turn. Harry was the first to answer.
"I – I was not having doubts about my friendship with Ayesha. No. I was thinking only one thing. She is as much in danger as I am, in fact more. If someone knows that she is Voldemort's (Hermione and Ron flinched at the name) grand-daughter, what would people's reaction be? And what about Death Eaters? Voldemort (Again, Hermione and Ron winced) is gone not death eaters."
Hermione now looked expectantly at Dudley, who was avoiding her gaze and looking at his food. After pretending for a while that he did not notice her, he gave up. "I am not sure what I am angry about or whether I am angry at her at all. I just feel she should have told me … us. This is what family is --" he broke in between, staring at the entrance of Great Hall.
Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Dudley's gaze and saw Ayesha coming towards them. All boys immediately turned towards Hermione giving her looks that plainly stated – Handle this.
"Hey guys," said Ayesha, sitting beside Harry. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"
"Yes," answered Hermione, while the boys buried themselves in the food. "Where had you been, Ayesha?"
"Just felt like having a go on broom. The weather out was too good to miss. Seems like we might have early spring," answered Ayesha cheerfully and starting with her breakfast.
"It's just January, Ayesha. Spring is still far," commented Ron. It was easy talking to Ayesha than it seemed. He nodded encouragingly at Harry and Dudley.
"I know. Just being a bit optimistic," said Ayesha. "I need it since we have Potions and double History today."
"I seriously think that they should employ a living soul to teach us History. It might be interesting, who knows," said Ron.
"It is, if you just care to read it," said Hermione, glaring at the redhead.
"Oh come on, Hermione, you don't expect us to let go of the opportunity to sleep, do you?" chuckled Harry. "Professor Binns' voice acts like such a strong lullaby, I am sure even the Sleeping Draught will be no match to it."
"I agree," nodded Ayesha, grinning. "I don't know how you manage to stay awake in that class, Hermione. Ron told me you are the only one taking notes in his class."
"She has a title to maintain – the know-it-all," said Ron, grinning widely, ignoring the glares he was receiving from Hermione.
"I'll remember that when you'll ask me for the notes," said Hermione, getting up from the seat. "Unless you all want to get late for your classes, it's time for us to move."
"Yeah, right," said Harry, as he too got up.
"See you in Potions," said Ron, as he got up and followed Harry and Hermione. That left Dudley and Ayesha.
"We should also make a move, Dudley," said Ayesha, getting up with a toast in her hand.
"Oh – yeah," mumbled Dudley, suddenly realising that he was alone with Ayesha.
"Everything okay?" asked Ayesha.
"Yeah," Dudley answered, looking anywhere but at Ayesha.
"I said we should make a move unless, of course, you want a repetition of last Potions' class," said Ayesha.
Dudley looked up at her and found her grinning. Suddenly he realised what was making her smile. He had been late last week to Potions class because of Peeves and had a heated argument with Professor Snape. Not only did he get a detention, but he also caused a cauldron to burst when he added some wrong ingredients in his anger. The cauldron's ingredients spilled onto Dudley, causing his nose and ears to enlarge. Professor Snape did not cure that, but cancelled Dudley's detention, saying it was more than enough of a detention. It was; wherever Dudley went, riots of laughter erupted.
"No," smiled Dudley, remembering how Ayesha had brought him food from the kitchens as he could not go out from his room, how she had gone to library to look for a counter curse or potion, only to find that the swelling would be gone by morning, and how had they spent night chatting on Dudley's bed. It seemed to break the ice. "I don't want a repetition. Professor McGonagall can be worse." With this he got up.
Ayesha patted his back playfully and together they went for their Transfiguration class.
"Guys, you got to hear this. I can't believe Hagrid could do this. Oh God!" Hermione was practically shouting.
"Why don't you calm down and share whatever it is with us instead of shouting and telling everyone in this common room," said Ayesha, forcing Hermione to sit down. The Famous Five were in the Ravenclaw's common room, trying to finish their Transfiguration essay. While they were working through their essays, Hermione, who had obviously finished hers long time back, had gone to visit Hagrid and to try getting more information from him related to Philosopher's stone.
"He has a Norwegian dragon egg. Can you believe it? A dragon egg!" whispered Hermione. "I tried explaining him that keeping dragons as pet is illegal. But no, he won't listen. He was talking about it as if it's his own baby."
"God! We've enough on our plate without having to worry about Hagrid and his dragon egg," exclaimed Harry.
"Let's all of us try convincing him," said Dudley.
"Why I have a feeling that we are heading into a big trouble?" asked Ron.
Ayesha went up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Because we'll be, unless Hagrid gets rid off that egg, of course."
It wasn't easy to convince Hagrid to let go off the dragon's egg. It had grown five feet within ten days after hatching. Hermione had told them that it would soon be furling out fire from its nostrils. This was nothing compared to the fact that Malfoy had seen the dragon. He could always be spotted with a smug look since then.
It had been Dudley's idea of contacting Charlie that could convince Hagrid to let go off the dragon. They had contacted Charlie, who was all happy to take the dragon. Saturday night was decided as the departure day for Norbert, the dragon.
"How eagerly am I waiting for Saturday!" exclaimed Hermione.
She and Harry had just come from the Hagrid's hut. They took their seats in the Great Hall at the Ravenclaw table, where Ron, Dudley and Ayesha were waiting for them. It was early for dinner and hence, there were very few students in the hall.
"Hagrid hasn't changed his mind, has he?" asked Ron.
"No, he hasn't," answered Harry, "But the way he talks about it leaving him, you'll feel guilty of separating a son from his mother."
Saturday arrived and all of them could feel fear, anticipation, nervousness and what not. They could not concentrate in their classes. Even Hermione did not answer questions in any of the classes which said a lot about the seriousness of the mission ahead. As soon as the classes finished, they met in the Great Hall.
"Okay," said Dudley, "Ayesha, Harry and Hermione will go and fetch Norbert. Ron and I'll be waiting by the gate. You three," he pointed at Ayesha, Harry and Hermione, "will be under invisibility cloak. Ayesha'll whistle softly so that we know that you're near the gate. Ron'll whistle in answer to indicate that everything's alright."
"Dudley, don't you think getting Norbert inside the castle before curfew means hell lot of trouble?" asked Hermione.
"We can't help it. Ron and I've gone through all other options. This is the best one. We'll wait upstairs for Charlie and his friends. That way we'll have to worry only about getting back to common rooms safely. If we bring Norbert inside castle after curfew, we won't be able to guide you through the castle. And I don't want to think what would happen if you meet Mrs. Norris or Filch on the way."
"We'll be under invisibility cloak," reasoned Ayesha. "We'll be quiet. How will he spot us?"
"You'll be quiet, not Norbert," replied Ron.
"Okay, fine. We'll take Norbert upstairs and wait there till Charlie comes and takes Norbert away. Then?" asked Harry.
"Then," answered Ron, "Ayesha, Harry and Hermione will go under invisibility cloak to Gryffindor common room. Ayesha will, then, come back and we, Dudley, Ayesha and me, will go to Gryffindor common room. From there they will go to their common room under the cloak."
"Best of luck everyone. Hope everything goes fine," sighed Hermione.
However, it wasn't supposed to go fine. Fist phase went as planned; Ayesha, Harry and Hermione brought Norbert in a wooden crater; they took it through castle without anyone's notice, guided by Dudley and Ron; they waited patiently upstairs on Astronomy Tower; Charlie and his friends came and took the dragon away; they cheered happily for five minutes, happy to get rid of Norbert and Malfoy. That was where luck ended.
Just when Ayesha, Harry and Hermione were near the Gryffindor common room on their way back, they saw an angry Professor McGonagall, led by Malfoy, heading towards them; no, towards Astronomy Tower. That meant trouble for Dudley and handed it to Ayesha, who sprinted upstairs to Astronomy Tower. Hermione then faked a Ron since they did not have invisibility cloak. Dudley and Ron would not be able to explain their presence in the Astronomy Tower which was out-of-bounds except for classes. It was time for a decision. All three nodded to each other and backed few steps, upstairs. Harry took off the cloak and fall from stairs, tumbling down, Harry yelling and sprinting down to help her. His shout was a signal for the other three. They both landed right in front of Professor McGonagall.
"This is outrageous! What are you two doing here at this hour?" asked Professor McGonagall, her nostrils flaring, resembling Norbert.
"Professor," started Hermione; chances were better with Hermione in company, "Harry and I had missed dinner as we were working on our Potions essay. We were hungry and came out for some food."
This is part truth, thought Harry. They really had missed dinner and come to think of it, now he was really feeling hungry.
"No, Professor. They're lying. I heard them talking about some dragon and getting it out," yelled Malfoy.
"Enough, Malfoy," roared Professor McGonagall. "I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on. It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. You two thought of having fun watching him get detention, right?"
"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Three students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detentions -– yes, you too, Mr. Malfoy, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous -– and fifty points will be taken from each of you."
"Fifty?" Harry gasped -– they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.
"Professor – please --" started Hermione.
"You can't --" cut in Harry.
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."
A hundred points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. The only consolation was that the other three were safe and Malfoy had got the detention too. But, what about the points? How could they ever make up for this?
The next few days were horrible for Harry and Hermione and if it had not been for their friends, they would have thought of running away. Gryffindors were angry at them, understood, but Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were also not treating them properly as Harry and Hermione had ruined the chance of Slytherin losing the house cup. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as they walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, thanks Granger, we owe you one!"
The Famous Five decided not to meddle in things that weren't their business from now on. Glad, that exams were not far away, they kept to themselves; working late at night, remembering complex potion ingredients, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions…
A week before exams, walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, Dudley heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.
"No – no – not again, please --"
It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Dudley moved closer.
"All right -– all right --" he heard Quirrell sob.
Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight; Dudley didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Dudley was halfway toward it before he remembered what he'd promised his group about not meddling.
All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Sorcerer's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Dudley had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step -– Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.
Dudley went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy and Harry was testing Ayesha on Charms. Dudley told them what he'd heard.
"Snape's done it, then!" said Ron. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell --"
"There's still Fluffy, though," said Ayesha.
"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So what do we do?"
The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before anyone else could say anything.
"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."
"But we've got no proof!" said Harry. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor -– who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him; Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."
"If we just do a bit of poking around --" Ron started.
"No," said Dudley flatly, "we've done enough poking around and two of us have suffered as well."
The next morning Harry and Hermione got notes from Professor McGonagall about their detention. At 10 o'clock that night, Harry and Hermione said goodbye to others and went to entrance hall. They found Flich waiting for them along with Malfoy. Malfoy! They had forgotten that Malfoy had also got detention. Flich took them to Hagrid's hut, where Hagrid took over. They were to go to the forest. Harry and Hermione were relieved. They were with Hagrid, after all! Malfoy, on the other hand, was scared and even refused going to the forest, which obviously no one listened to.
Hagrid took them to the edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.
"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."
Hagrid sent Harry and Hermione with Fang in one direction and went with Malfoy to the other. Harry and Hermione walked in silence, clutching their wands, ready to strike as and when required. They walked some distance when they spotted blood; it got thicker as they moved on. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.
"Look --" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Hermione.
Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.
It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. They had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.
They had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made them freeze where they stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered... Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Hermione, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.
Hermione let out a scream. Harry and Hermione clutched each other's hands. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry -– unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry -– he couldn't move for fear, neither could Hermione.
Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced Harry's head; it was as though his scar were on fire. Half blinded, he staggered backward. He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.
The pain in Harry's head was so bad that he would have fallen to his knees, had it not been for Hermione's support. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him; he looked young; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body."Are you both all right?" said the centaur.
"Yes – thank you – what was that?" Hermione answered.
The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead.
"You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time -– especially for you. My name is Firenze."
Firenze escorted them through the jungle. They walked in silence for so long that Harry and Hermione thought he did not want to talk to them. After some time, Hermione asked a question.
"Whoever he was, he was drinking unicorn's blood, isn't it?"
Firenze stopped walking and did not answer at first. A moment later, he asked, "Do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"
Harry looked expectantly at Hermione; she was supposed to know the answer. However, Hermione shook her head, saying, "We haven't studied Unicorns. We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
"But who'd be that desperate?" Harry wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"
"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else -– something that will bring you back to full strength and power -– something that will mean you can never die. Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"
"The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course -– the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who --" Hermione answered.
"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"
"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"
"Harry! Hermione, are you all right?"
Hagrid was running towards them down the path, Malfoy and fang puffing along behind him. Harry and Hermione had not noticed when Fang had run away.
"That is where I leave you, both. Be careful. All of you." Firenze turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest.
Harry and Hermione filled the others with the last night's happenings, first thing in the morning. Dudley's rage could be seen on his face. He started pacing up and down, followed by Harry.
"So," started Dudley, "Snape wants the stone for Voldemort and we thought he wants to get rich."
"Sooner, Snape'll get the stone and hand it over to Voldemort and then he'll come and finish me. All I have got to do is, wait for him to finish me," muttered Harry.
Simultaneously, a realisation hit Ron, Hermione, Dudley and Harry and they looked at each other. Voldemort's return meant danger not only for Harry but also for Ayesha, maybe more to her. Ayesha would have noticed this, had she been not busy in her musings.
Finding the room suddenly silent, Ayesha looked up and found four pairs of eyes staring at her.
"What?" she asked. "I spaced out. I mean I was thinking the dangers Harry will be in if Voldemort comes to power." She had mistaken the looks on her friends' faces.
Recovering, all four settled down, thinking of the dangers ahead, each immersed in his/her own thoughts.
How they got through the exam, the Famous Five will never know, as they had a bigger worry looming over their heads – Voldemort. Harry and Ayesha looked tired throughout and many of their dorm mates thought they were having bad case of exam nerves; Ron, Hermione and Dudley knew better. Harry was having his old nightmare of blinding green light and his scar hurt more than it ever had since the visit to forest. Ayesha, on the other hand, had not shared her concern or what was she feeling with her friends and they also have not questioned her knowing her feelings too well.
Their last exam of Charms was over and they were sitting under a tree, savouring the feeling of freedom from exams.
"Finally over," Dudley sighed happily.
"You could look more cheerful, Harry," said Ron, "We have another week before we know how badly we performed."
"I wish I knew what this means!" Harry burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting -– it's happened before, but never as often as this." He paused for a moment before adding, "I think it's a warning... it means danger's coming..."
"There is no danger, Harry. As long as Dumbledore is here, there is no danger," Hermione said.
"Plus, Snape still doesn't know how to get past Fluffy; Hagrid would never let Dumbledore down." Dudley added.
Ayesha was quiet and thinking something. "Somehow, I also have the same feeling as Harry. Something is wrong, but what?"
"It's just exams," said Hermione, trying to calm Harry and Ayesha.
"No, it's not about exams," said Harry, thoughtfully.
"Okay then, explain what it is?" asked Ron.
"I wish I could…" answered Harry.
"I feel we have forgotten or overlooked something…" said Ayesha.
"Look," started Dudley, "being cautious is one thing, and I must say good thing, and being overtly worried is another. You two are overtly worried. Even if we assume that Quirrell has broken down and let Snape know how to get past his spell, there must be others set by other teachers. But even before that it is Hagrid's, Snape has to go through."
Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement; Harry looked puzzled whereas Ayesha's face was pale.
"Harry … Hagrid … dragon. Oh God! Oh God!" cried Ayesha, as she suddenly jumped to her feet
Harry immediately got up. Apparently he had made the connection which others had failed to. He and Ayesha sprinted towards Hagrid's hut.
"Where're you two going?" said Ron sleepily.
"I've just thought of something," said Ayesha. She had turned white. "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."
"Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.
"Remember how Hagrid got the dragon egg?" asked Harry, running ahead.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Ayesha, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't we see it before?"
Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.
"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"
"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno. He wouldn' take his cloak off," seeing the stunned looks on the faces of the kids, Hagrid added, "It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head -– that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."
"What did you talk about?" asked Ayesha.
"H.m..m.m ... Hogwarts ... I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after … I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."
"And did he – did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Dudley asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Well – yeah – how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep --"
Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.
"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey -– where're yeh goin'?"
Harry, Ron, Ayesha, Dudley and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.
"We got to see Dumbledore. Now," said Hermione, panting.
"But where does he live?" asked Dudley, looking around for a sign to help them.
Just then they saw Professor McGonagall carrying a large pile of books.
"Why not ask her?" suggested Ron.
However, that proved to be a mistake. She was sceptic about five first years asking for Dumbledore, so they had to hint at the Sorcerer's stone. Not only was she was horrified that five first years knew about Sorcerer's stone but also ordered them to keep their noses out of it or she will cut points from their houses. The only valuable information they got out of her was that Dumbledore had left for London, summoned by Ministry of Magic.
"It's tonight," said Dudley.
"Snape found everything he needs," said Harry.
"He knows how to get past Fluffy and Dumbledore is also not here. Yes, tonight," nodded Ayesha.
"Okay, let's keep a watch on Snape and … third corridor as well," offered Hermione.
"I don't think keeping an eye on Snape is a good idea," said Ron, "We won't be able to stop him. What's the use? Let's keep an eye on third corridor, though."
With this they all sprinted to third corridor. They couldn't keep the vigilance for long as Professor McGonagall saw them and warned them. They all went in Gryffindor common room.
Ayesha and Harry started pacing. After some time they both announced, simultaneously
"I am going out to get the stone."
"What?" Ron, Dudley and Hermione said in unison.
Ayesha and Harry looked at each other and Ayesha said, "We're going out tonight to get the stone first."
There was silence. After a moment Dudley added, "Okay. That's the only way out."
"Ayesha and I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry.
"It won't cover all five of us. I thi--" started Hermione, but she was cut off by Harry.
"Us?"
"Obviously, you two are not going alone," snapped Ron, "I think we'll have to go in two groups, the way we had decided while taking Norbert."
Everyone nodded. Dudley started pacing, thinking of a plan to tackle the problem.
"Okay," Dudley started, "We'll go immediately after dinner. Hermione, Ayesha and I'll go to the third corridor first and wait there for Hermione to come back with Ron and Harry. Then we'll see what is required of us to do."
"Why immediately after dinner?" asked Harry, "There will be so many kids out at that time."
"Because," answered Dudley, "we've only one invisibility cloak, and we can't afford to get caught."
"Right," said Hermione, "I'll go through my notes; I might find some useful spells."
With that she sprinted to her room to get her notes.
"I have got a flute," said Harry, "Hagrid gifted me on Christmas. I'll bring that and the invisibility cloak."
He also went to his room. Ayesha, Dudley and Ron flopped onto a sofa in the corner of the room. A moment later Hermione and Harry were in the common room. Hermione was going through her notes whereas other four were sitting quietly thinking about what they were about to do.
Here's the revised chapter.