Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That privilege solely belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 9 Discoveries

It seemed that none of them had any luck finding out just who Nicolas Flamel was. The evening before term started, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Vesper all met up in a quiet corner of the Gryffindor common room to discuss if they had found any leads during the holiday. Harry explained that he had tried looking in the Restricted Section of the library using a cloak of invisibility that he had mysteriously received as a present. And while he did not find any information about Flamel, Vesper was just as excited by his tale of the Mirror of Erised. A part of her was sorry that Dumbledore moved it before she got a chance to look at it. The opportunity to see her subconscious desires stirred Vesper's curiosity. What did she truly desire most?

But the thought was put out of her head soon enough. Classes picked up again and every spare moment was dedicated to combing through more library books. In a rare moment of relaxation, Ron and Hermione started up a game of chess one evening as Vesper watched. It was an interesting sight, seeing Hermione not excel in something, and although she was getting better with practice, Ron still won soundly every game. Vesper still had yet to win a single game against Ron herself.

"Knight to E5."

"Queen to E5. Check."

Hermione sighed. "I don't think I'll ever get this right."

"You can't always get every potion right the first time," Vesper said. "Besides, you're much better than when you first started playing. That game was over in, what, twenty minutes?"

"More like ten," Ron snickered. "Checkmate."

"One more game," said Vesper. "Hermione and I'll work together. Maybe with the two of us we can finally beat him."

Their combined efforts weren't yielding much better results than their individual attempts, but at least this time they were making Ron actually work for his victory. It was in this position that Harry found them when he returned from Quidditch practice.

"Don't talk to me for a moment," Ron said as Harry took a seat beside him. Vesper glanced up from the board, a greeting on her tongue, when she caught sight of Harry's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You look like someone totaled your broom."

"It's the upcoming match," Harry whispered, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. "Snape's going to be the new referee."

"Don't play," said Hermione at once.

"Say you're ill," said Ron.

"Or pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.

"I could actually break your leg," Vesper threw in.

"Thanks, but no thanks," said Harry quickly. "I can't miss the match because there isn't a reserve Seeker. If I don't play then we have to forfeit the match."

At that moment, Neville came toppling through the portrait hole, landing roughly on his side. His legs looked to be stuck together with a Leg-Locker Curse. Vesper winced; she hoped he hadn't had far to hop.

Hermione got up from her seat as soon as she realized what happened to perform the countercurse. She then helped a shaking Neville to his feet.

"What happened?" Hermione asked as she led Neville to where they were sitting.

"It was Malfoy," Neville said softly. "I ran into him outside the library. Said he was looking for a target to practice that on."

"You should go to Professor McGonagall," Hermione urged. "You need to report him!"

Neville just shook his head. "It'll just make things worse."

"You've got to stand up for yourself, Neville!" Said Ron. "Malfoy's used to just walking over whoever he likes, but that doesn't mean that you should lay down and make it easier for him!"

"I don't need you to tell me that I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out. Vesper wanted to curse the blond-haired prat all the way back to the day he was born.

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said earnestly. He reached into his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog which he then gave to Neville. "The Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor for a reason. And look where Malfoy's at; in stinking Slytherin."

Neville managed a small smile at that. "Thanks, Harry. Here," he said holding out the Famous Wizard Card. "You collect them, don't you?"

Vesper's eyes followed Neville as he made his way to the boys' dormitory. "I hope he's alright."

"He'll be fine after he gets some sleep," said Ron. "Harry's right, though; I would rather have one Neville than twelve Malfoys...even if Neville is scared of his own shadow." Ron sunk back in his seat with a sigh. "Anyway," he continued, "who'd you get on your card, Harry?"

"Dumbledore again. He was the first one I ever...No way."

"What?" Vesper asked. Harry shoved the card in her direction and she read:

"Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner -"

"Nicholas Flamel! I knew I had seen his name somewhere!"

"Oh - oh of course!" Hermione jumped out of her chair, dashing towards the girls' dormitory with a quick "Stay right there!" Thrown over her shoulder. In no time she was back and Vesper hastily moved the forgotten chess set out of the way of the very thick book Hermione was slapping on the table. "Something you said reminded me - I never thought to look in here. I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "This is light?" Hermione glared at him as she continued to flip through the pages.

"Here it is," she said pointing to a paragraph on a page. "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone."

"The what?" Harry and Ron asked together.

"Honestly," said Vesper, shaking her head, "don't you two read? Umm," she said, leaning in towards Hermione, "what is the Philosopher's Stone?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The Philosopher's Stone is a legendary substance with astonishing power. It will turn any metal into pure gold and it produces the Elixir of Life which will make the drinker immortal."

"Immortal?" Ron asked.

"It means you'll never die."

"I know what it means!"

"Keep it down," Harry hissed.

Vesper continued reading where Hermione left off. "The only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, the noted alchemist, who last year celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday!"

"That must be what's underneath the trap door," said Harry, a grin forming on his face. "That must be what Fluffy's guarding: the Philosopher's Stone."

Walking away from the entrance to the Gryffindor changing rooms, Vesper didn't think that she, Ron, and Hermione had done a very good job at reassuring Harry that Snape would not in fact kill him during the match. Personally, Vesper thought that if Snape was trying to kill Harry, he wouldn't attempt to do so at a Quidditch match a second time, especially since all eyes would be on him this time as referee. She tried to point this out to Ron and Hermione, but both of them insisted that they be prepared for all possibilities. It was with this attitude that the three of them entered the stands, wands in tow, and the incantation for the Leg-Locker Curse fresh in their minds.

"Now remember," Hermione muttered as they wove through the crowded stands, "at the first sign of trouble –"

"We know, Hermione," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."

"Not that there will be any trouble," Vesper added. They had located some seats next to Neville and Vesper found herself with an unobstructed view of the faculty section. She pointed. "Look. Dumbledore's here. Snape wouldn't dare try anything with him watching."

"He looks pretty put out by it," Ron said as the potions professor stalked out onto the pitch. "I've never seen him look so mean. Ouch!"

Ron's sharp hiss of pain was nearly drowned out by the crowd's cheering as the players launched themselves into the air and the match began. Vesper turned towards him and noticed the source of Ron's problem. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had seen fit to sit right behind them. Turning back to the match, she sighed. She had a horrible suspicion that this match wasn't going to be very much fun for anyone.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there," Malfoy sniggered. "Say, I wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time. Anyone want to bet? How about you, Weasley?"

Ron didn't answer, and Vesper couldn't tell if the tension in his shoulders was from Malfoy's comment, or the fact that Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty shot because George had shot a Bludger at him. Hermione didn't appear to be paying attention to anything other than Harry. Her fingers sat crossed in her lap and her head was tracking every small movement that Harry made.

"You know how I think they choose players for the Gryffindor team?" Malfoy asked loudly a few minutes later. "It's all people they feel sorry for. You see, Potter's got no family, then there's the Weasleys who've got no money – you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

In the seat next to Vesper, Neville turned bright red, but he surprised her when he turned around and said, with only a slight shake to his voice, "I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter behind them but Ron, not taking his eyes off the game, said, "Good on you, Neville."

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something!"

"Lay off, Malfoy," said Vesper, turning to glare at him.

"Or what, Black? Hoping for a family cell in Azkaban?"

"Vesper!" Hermione said suddenly. "Harry –"

Ignoring Malfoy, Vesper turned back to the match. "What? Where?"

Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, leaving the crowd gasping and cheering. Vesper sat on the edge of her seat, her heart in her throat as Harry streaked towards the ground.

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously found some money on the ground!"

A flicker of movement in the corner of her eye caught Vesper's attention. "What –"

Ron had disappeared from his seat next to her, apparently more interested in giving Malfoy a black eye than watching the match. A second later, Neville also disappeared from beside her to help. Tempted as she was to land a good one on Malfoy, Vesper once again turned back to the match and joined Hermione in screaming Harry's name. Harry streaked by Snape, missing him by just a few inches. Then, a second later, his broom was pulling up out of the dive, his arm raised high, the Snitch clasped firmly in him hand. The match was over in less than ten minutes.

"Oh, yes, yes! Ron! Ron! Where are you? The match is over! Harry caught the Snitch! Gryffindor won! We won!" Hermione shrieked, looking around for their missing friend. She turned to Vesper. "Where'd he go?"

A loud thunk answered Hermione's question. Neville had collapsed onto the bench where they'd been sitting, seemingly unconscious. Ron sat down next to Neville, ignoring both his own bleeding nose and Hermione's scandalized expression. He patted Neville on the back fondly. "He tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle by himself, bless him."

Vesper just sighed. "I'll go get Madam Pomfrey."

After the match had ended, after Madam Pomfrey took a still unconscious Neville to the Hospital Wing, and after the crowd of students started on their way back to the school, Vesper, Ron, and Hermione headed off in the direction of the Gryffindor changing rooms. They'd been waiting anxiously for over half an hour when Harry finally came around the corner.

"Harry, where have you been?" asked Hermione. "We've been waiting for ages."

"We won! We won! We won!" Ron shouted, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye! Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle by himself. That didn't go so well; he was still unconscious when Madam Pomfrey took him up to the Hospital Wing but she said he would be alright – talk about showing Slytherin!"

"I heard Fred and George are throwing you a party in the common room," said Vesper. "No doubt they've snuck food from the kitchens again."

Harry waved them off. "Nevermind any of that. You'll never believe what I just heard." He glanced around to make sure no one else was around before continuing. "I heard Snape talking with Quirrell. We were right; it definitely is the Philosopher's Stone that Fluffy is guarding. Snape was asking Quirrell if he knew how to get past Fluffy. He's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it."

"Snape'll have the Stone within the week then," said Ron with an eye roll. "Quirrell couldn't stand up to a potted plant, let alone Snape."

"Maybe not," said Vesper quietly. When she noticed her friends' incredulous faces she explained. "Think about it. The Stone was nearly stolen from Gringotts. Dumbledore's not an idiot. There has to be more protecting it than just Fluffy."

"I bet I know someone who could tell us," said Harry. "Anyone up for a visit to Hagrid's?"

It was late when they were finally able to slip away from the common room. The celebration party had been shut down by Percy and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of the fifth year's ire by starting it back up. Vesper and Hermione waited until all their roommates were asleep before sneaking back down to the common room to meet up with Harry and Ron.

Vesper had been sneaking around the castle after hours since her first week at Hogwarts. Fred and George had made good on their promise to involve her in their pranking. She occasionally helped them with research, but more often than not she ended up being an extra hand in setting up their pranks, acting as the twins' pack mule and lookout. Right before her first time sneaking out with them, George had explained that the key to successfully sneaking about the castle involved several things, namely a combination of skill, knowledge, and guts all fueled by an adrenaline rush. Fred compared it to playing a game of Quidditch.

So although she had been doing this on a regular basis for the greater part of the school year, Vesper couldn't keep the grin off her face as she guided Harry, Ron, and Hermione through different corridors and passageways to avoid the prefects' rounds and Filch.

They exited the castle and crossed the grounds quickly. It wasn't long before they reached Hagrid's hut and were crowding themselves on the front steps.

"Hagrid!" Harry called, knocking on the large wooden door.

Hagrid peeked through the door. Vesper could see an oven mitt on his one hand and he was also wearing an apron. "Oh, hello," said Hagrid. His black eyes scanned the grounds behind them before coming to rest upon them. "Sorry, don't wish teh be rude, but I'm in no fit state to entertain today." He started to close the door –

"We know about the Philosopher's Stone!"

The door swung back open. "Oh." With another glance behind them, Hagrid ushered them into his home. Vesper took a seat next to Hermione on Hagrid's oversized arm chair removing her cloak and pushing her shirt sleeves up. The hut was stifling inside, a fire roaring in the grate despite it being a rather warm night.

Harry didn't waste any time. "We think Snape's trying to steal the Stone."

"Snape?" Hagrid scoffed. "Blimey, Harry, you're not still on about him, are you?"

But Harry was insistent. "We know he's after the Stone. We just don't know why."

"Snape is one of the teachers protecting the Stone!" said Hagrid. "He's not about teh steal it!"

"What?" Harry looked sharply at Vesper. The corner of her lips twitched; her hunch from earlier had all but been confirmed.

Hagrid didn't notice their exchange; he was too distracted with the fire behind him. "You heard me right. Now, come on, I'm a bit preoccupied right now."

"Wait a minute," said Harry, not about to leave before making sure Vesper's hunch was correct. "One of the teachers?"

Hermione grinned. "So there are other things defending the Stone; spells, enchantments…"

Hagrid nodded. "That's right. Waste of bloody time, if you ask me. Ain't no one gonna get past Fluffy. Not a soul knows how 'cept for me and Dumbledore." He stopped short. "I shouldn't have told you that. I shouldn't have told you that."

Suddenly, the cauldron hanging over the fire began to rattle. "Oh!" Hagrid said, hurrying over to grab something from the cauldron. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" He placed a strange circular item on the table. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Vesper got up to investigate.

Uh, Hagrid," Harry said, looking at the strange object with obvious trepidation. "What exactly is that?"

"That? It's a...it's um..."

"I know what that is!" Ron interrupted. "But Hagrid, how did you get one?"

"I won it," said Hagrid, "off a stranger I met down at a pub. Seemed quite glad teh be rid of it, as a matter o' fact."

A loud cracking noise filled the hut as breaks began to form on what Vesper now suspected was some kind of egg. It wasn't long before pieces began to break off and reveal the creature inside. A feeling of dread formed in the pit of Vesper's stomach as scales and leathery wings became visible.

"Is that...a dragon?" Hermione asked nervously.

Ron grinned. "That's not just a dragon; that's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're really rare. My brother Charlie works with these in Romania."

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid said with a watery smile. The dragon looked at him and gave a small cry. "Oh. Bless him, look: he knows his mummy. 'ello, Norbert."

Vesper raised her eyebrows. "Norbert?" she asked.

"Yeah, well, he's got teh have a name, don't he?" Hagrid looked at her like she had given the baby dragon the greatest of insults.

Ron snorted.

Hagrid didn't seem to hear him. "Don't you, Norbert?" Hagrid tickled Norbert's chin. "Dededede."

Norbert hiccupped and blew a fireball into Hagrid's beard.

"Ohh! Oooh, ooh, ooh!" Hagrid quickly put the small fire in his beard out. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Vesper all shared an incredulous look. "Well," he said sheepishly, "he'll have teh be trained up a bit, o' course." Norbert hiccupped again, but thankfully no more fire came out.

Hagrid looked like he was about to say something else in defense of Norbert, but something caught his eye past Vesper.

"Who's tha'?"

The four of them whipped around just in time to see pale skin and blond hair moving away from the window.

"Malfoy," Harry answered.

Hagrid went still. "Oh, dear."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Vesper took their leave soon afterwards. They ran back up to the castle, still reeling from the idea of Hagrid trying to raise a dragon in his wooden hut.

"It's strange," Harry remarked as they turned into the corridor that would lead them back to Gryffindor tower. "Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I met him."

"It's crazy," Ron corrected. "And worse, Malfoy knows."

Hermione narrowed her eyes in confusion. "I don't understand. Is that bad?"

"It's bad," said Ron.

Vesper blanched. "Not as bad as this."

They had just turned a corner to find Professor McGonagall, dressed in her nightgown and slippers, waiting for them, with Malfoy by her side.

McGonagall eyed the four of them, before giving a terse, "Good evening."

AN: Hey everyone! Super long chapter this time. I hope you liked it.

Chapter 10 is complete and Chapter 11 is nearly done. I'm hoping that this story will be complete by the end of October. Fingers crossed.

I would super duper appreciate some reviews to let me know what you guys are thinking. The only reviews I got when I posted the last chapter were...not so nice.

Anyway, I'd appreciate the feedback.

See you guys for Chapter 10: The Monster in the Forest

Love, Lora