Chapter Twenty-One: Secret's Out

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

"You're Ron's brothers, aren't you?" Harry said as he approached the Weasley twins who had been doing something suspicious-looking in a corner of the castle. He then mentally kicked himself. He may have been an only child himself but he had learned from speaking with others (Ron, in particular) that people did not always appreciate being referred to as so-and-so's sibling.

"We might be," one of the twins said.

"But we've always secretly suspected that Mum found him on our doorstep one evening," the other said.

The first twin shook his head wistfully. "She never could resist a stray."

"I'm Harry, in case you didn't remember," Harry introduced.

The twins exchanged an amused glance. "We know," they chorused.

"I'm sorry but I'm not really sure which of you is which. If you could let me know which names you're currently answering to then that would be great," Harry told them.

"I'm George," George him. "And what do you mean by which names we're currently answering to. Why not ask us what our names are?"

"Well, I have no way of knowing if you'd be honest about that or just use the other's name to mess with me," Harry explained.

"Would we do that?" Fred asked innocently.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know you two nearly well enough to judge."

"Great idea, though," George remarked.

"So what can we do for you?" Fred asked him. "Assuming you had some other reason to stop by besides making sure that we knew who you were."

"Though we are certainly good people to know so we wouldn't blame you if that were it," George added.

"I need some advice," Harry admitted.

Twins sets of eyebrows shot up simultaneously.

"Oh?" George asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. You see, my father went to school around the same time as my biological parents and I recently found out from him that Professor Snape was my mother's best friend," Harry explained. "I was wondering if that information might cause anyone to think that Professor Snape was giving me preferential treatment. I mean, I'm already a Slytherin and he's always been my favorite teacher."

The Weasley twins looked like Christmas had come early.

"Perhaps you'd better give us all of the details," Fred suggested.

"Just so, you know, we can make sure to give you the best advice possible," George added slyly.

Gilderoy was in a meeting with the headmaster when Snape burst in, his black robe whipping around him. It was quite dramatic and Gilderoy made a mental note to look into seeing if he could recreate that effect with his own robes. It would take a bit of a time commitment practicing but it would be well worth it.

Snape didn't even seem to notice him as his full attention was directed at Dumbledore. "You said that you wouldn't tell anyone. We had a deal!"

"Tell anyone of what, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, frowning.

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Snape snapped. "Somehow the whole school's found out about Lily. About me."

Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Severus, I can assure you that I meant what I said all those years ago. I didn't agree with your decision but I did respect it. I didn't do this."

"Oh really?" Snape demanded, his voice dripping with disdain. "Then who did? How does it 'just happen' to come out when Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts? You're the one obsessed with us getting along."

"I had rather thought that you were getting along," Dumbledore said softly.

"Enough with the games!" Snape growled.

Gilderoy coughed, reluctantly drawing attention to himself. He knew what must have happened. Harry, for whatever reason (possibly just to annoy Snape which seemed to him like a very fine reason indeed), had spread the word. Since Harry had only found out through him, that meant that in some way he might be considered partially responsible for this.

Personally he didn't think that he was in any way to blame or that there was really anything wrong with mentioning a bit of historical fact. That said, he really didn't want to make an enemy of Severus Snape. Having enemies was never a good idea to begin with and having an enemy who was both a Potions Master and who could easily gain access to one's food and drink was a disaster. And then there was the fact that Snape had never been very pleasant in the first place so just having to deal with his hostility would be a headache.

Snape turned his glare on him.

"I've really got to be going," Gilderoy said hastily before all but fleeing the office.

Harry had been right to turn to the Weasley twins, it would appear. By the next morning, it seemed like there wasn't anybody in the castle who hadn't heard all about his mother's friendship with Snape. At breakfast, easily half the girl's in the castle were looking at Snape with new, sentimental eyes. If Snape noticed this then it was clear that he didn't approve because he spent the entire meal glaring at a seemingly oblivious Dumbledore. Well, it would appear that Dumbledore was the suspected source of the leak. Snape clearly wasn't happy with people knowing whether because of the reactions or for some other reason.

"Harry, how could you not tell us that Professor Snape has been showing you such blatant favoritism?" Draco demanded. "I mean, really, if you can't tell us then who can you tell?"

"Well Draco, if it's so blatant than why would I need to tell you at all?" Harry asked reasonably.

Draco sighed theatrically and rolled his eyes. "You didn't have to tell me but I would have appreciated hearing it from you just the same!"

"I don't know," Theodore said thoughtfully. "I just don't buy it."

"Oh, that you won't believe," Pansy said, shaking her head. "Just admit that you're a contrarian and move on."

"Never!" Theodore vowed.

"Shocking," Pansy muttered.

"I'm just saying that if that's what blatant favoritism looks like then I want nothing to do with it," Theodore insisted.

"You're killing it," Draco complained.

"Harry, you're aware that we have Potions today, right?" Daphne asked him. "Maybe you should find some excuse for not being there."

"Because then people will know to look for all the favoritism that's apparently going on?" Blaise drawled.

"I was going to say so he can get through today without being buried in detentions but whatever reason gets him to not go to class today works for me," Daphne replied with a shrug.

"You realize that if you're saying that you don't think Snape favors Harry then that means that you are agreeing with Theodore, right?" Pansy pointed out.

Draco smirked and shook his head. "I always knew you were a strange one…"

Daphne looked mildly disturbed at that before composing herself. "I'll live."

"Hey Harry," Neville said, appearing behind him. He still remained the only Gryffindor to go anywhere near the Slytherin table. The others couldn't decide if he was just more Gryffindor-ish than the average Gryffindor or if he were trying to spy for them. Either way, they didn't like it. "We really need to talk to you so if you can meet me and Hermione in the library during our free time then that would be great."

"Really, Neville?" Draco asked. "Really?"

"Really do I want to meet with Harry in the library?" Neville asked, a little confused. "Um…yes. Why do you ask?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "That wasn't what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean?" Daphne inquired. "You really weren't clear, you know."

"I mean that Neville here is clearly trying to cash in on the newly-revealed favoritism that Snape has towards Harry in order to make Snape hate him less for being a Gryffindor!" Draco declared grandly.

"I don't think Snape really hates me," Neville offered. "In fact, I don't think he's looked my way once outside of roll call."

"Make whatever excuses you like," Draco sniffed.

"So, you'll be there, right?" Neville asked, ignoring Draco.

"I'll be there," Harry promised.

Draco must have made him promise that he wouldn't do anything stupid (well, the word he used was 'Gryffindor') a dozen times before he'd stop following Harry and let him get to his meeting in the library. He normally wouldn't have cared if Draco went but he didn't want to listen to him accusing Neville and Hermione of trying to get in good with Snape through him again. He seemed to be enjoying the joke just a little too much.

Hermione and Neville were already there when he arrived. Hermione appeared to be revising an essay and Neville was building an igloo out of crumpled up pieces of parchment.

"You're late," Hermione noted, not looking up.

"Sorry about that," Harry said apologetically. "Draco wanted to talk to me and I couldn't come here until I was done with him."

"No problem," Hermione said, putting her essay away. "You gave me some time to touch up on our Charms assignment."

Neville drew back. "We have a Charms assignment? When is it due?"

"In about three hours," Hermione informed him.

"I…don't remember anything about this," Neville admitted.

"We got it two weeks ago," Hermione told him. "I keep telling you to get a planner but will you listen?"

"And I keep telling you that I don't need a planner because you'll always remind me about these things anyway," Neville countered.

"Then why are you only finding out about the assignment now?" Hermione challenged.

Neville paused. "…It's not due for three hours!"

"So while you work on that, how about Hermione tells me what you guys wanted to talk to me about?" Harry suggested.

Neville waved him off. "Please, I can do it later. It'll take twenty minutes, thirty tops."

"It took me a week," Hermione informed him frostily.

Neville shrugged. "Hey, I'm just looking to pass the assignment."

"Guys? Focus," Harry instructed.

"Sorry," Hermione apologized. "Neville was…well, I'm not exactly sure what he was doing but he came across a Cerberus in the forbidden third floor corridor. We brought it up with Hagrid because we figured that if anyone would know about something like that it would be him because he's interested in any number of strange and magical creatures." She stopped and looked to Harry for his reaction.

Harry groaned. "Your lives are way more interesting than mine is! A Cerberus in the school? Lucky!"

"It almost ate me," Neville said proudly.

"I find that hard to believe," Hermione said dryly.

"It was at least considering it," Neville insisted.

"I suppose I wasn't there," Hermione conceded. "But what do you mean our lives are more 'interesting' than yours? If by 'interesting' you mean 'dangerous' than what do you call facing down a troll? You made the paper for that!"

"That I did," Harry agreed, satisfied. "But that was just a one-time thing. You guys are figuring out a mystery!"

"You can help us," Neville offered. "That's actually why we asked to talk to you anyway."

"You want me to figure out why there's a Cerberus in the school?" Harry asked doubtfully. "I mean, I'll do my best but I really wouldn't know where to start."

"No, no, we already know that part," Hermione said a bit impatiently. "Like I said, we spoke with Hagrid. He mostly just told us to mind our own business but he did let slip that the dog was his and he lent it to Dumbledore to guard something and that whatever it was was between himself and someone called Nicolas Flamel. We hit a dead end with him, though."

Harry blinked. Nicolas Flamel, really? He let a slow smile spread across his face. "As it happens, I think I can help you out here."

Hermione's eyes bulged out. "No. There is no way that we've spent weeks looking into this and you already know!"

"Why did you wait weeks before asking me?" Harry asked, puzzled and a little hurt.

"It's nothing personal," Neville was quick to explain. "This just sounds really top-secret and so we're only telling people we have to. We were just hoping that you'd know of somewhere new we could research or maybe get us access to the restricted section since your father's a professor."

"Do you know who Nicolas Flamel is?" Hermione asked eagerly.

Harry nodded. "He's a personal hero of my father's, actually."

"So he's some big hero?" Neville asked.

"In a way," Harry said slowly. "He created a philosopher's stone, you know, and is the only man alive today to have one. He's several hundred years old, he and his wife."

"And he's your father's hero?" Hermione prompted.

Harry nodded. "Oh, yes. He finds the idea of everlasting life and money to be quite inspiring. I mean, once you've got that then you can pretty much do whatever you want, right? Imagine all the good you could do with unlimited resources." Or all the fame it would bring you.

Hermione nodded. "I can see that. Do you think…could this possibly mean…No, it couldn't…"

"You think that Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel are hiding the Philosopher's Stone in a school full of children?" Neville asked bluntly.

Hermione winced. "I have heard that there's no safer place than Gringott's except perhaps Hogwarts and wasn't there news of a break-in awhile back?"

"I don't know that I'd say that a school full of children is a safe place to store anything that you think might not be safe at Gringott's," Harry disagreed. "I mean, yeah Dumbledore is here and all and the castle has a lot of secrets or whatever but think of the risk! If anyone would try and take it then all of the students would be at risk. I don't believe that Dumbledore would do that."

"Don't believe or don't want to believe?" Neville asked shrewdly.

"I'm going to be here for the next six months and then for nine months the six years after that," Harry said flatly. "I really can't afford to believe that he would do something like that."

"I don't want to believe it either, Harry," Hermione said grimly. "But whether we believe it or not won't change whether or not the Philosopher's Stone is hidden in Hogwarts."

"I'd have more peace of mind, though," Harry pointed out. "And it's not like me knowing or not will make any difference."

"The Philosopher's Stone's presence – if, indeed, that's what it is – is a big secret here, right?" Hermione reasoned. "We only deduced that it's here because Neville found the Cerberus and we talked to Hagrid who let slip about Nicolas Flamel. Anyone who knows who Flamel is should be able to figure out what's probably here but they wouldn't know that anything is being hidden here, much less something as important as the Philosopher's Stone."

"That's a good point but the fact remains that three first years were able to work it out," Neville countered. "And I don't know who they think is after it but if they know that it's been moved and that Flamel has a link to Dumbledore then it might occur to them that it's here. Or maybe they just heard about the third floor corridor being forbidden and are curious. Hagrid isn't here all the time; sometimes he goes to Hogsmeade and anyone magical can go there. If we can get him to talk then maybe someone else could, too."

"This is all so unlikely," Harry protested.

"You're probably right," Neville agreed readily enough. "And if nothing happens then we've got nothing to worry about. But if something does happen then we need to be ready."

"Three first year students?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Why not? You and the other first year Slytherins killed a troll," Hermione pointed out.

"That was an emergency situation!" Harry exclaimed. "There wasn't time to get an adult."

"I would have thought, with your father, that you'd be more on board with this," Neville said a bit reprovingly.

"My father has always advocated making sure that you knew what you were doing before getting yourself into dangerous situations," Harry defended. "Having someone unprepared, like, say…us isn't going to end well."

"It's not like we're planning on doing anything stupid," Hermione insisted. "We just want to know what we're up against. You know, just in case."

'Just in case' indeed. He knew there was a reason he was happy to be in Slytherin.

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