Discussions.
*Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry*January 6*Lakeside*
"So, what did you find?" the group was lounging by the lake, near a rock that hid them from view from elsewhere in the grounds, and it was Blaize who asked this from his place sitting with his back to it.
"A Cerberus, Devil's snare, flying keys, a flying dustpan, a void, giant chess, a troll, fire, potions and a mirror that showed what I wanted," Harry had taken the liberty of picking up an apple from the great hall, an example Neville had followed.
"What exactly did it show you?" Lisa asked, curious at what her best could want.
"My parents, you, your parents, it was like one of the portraits at your home" he replied absently, thinking he had missed something.
"That's the mirror of Erised!" Terry explained, making all of them turn to him, "It's ancient legend, it's supposed to show the deepest desire of the one who looks at it, but the last time it was seen was before Grindewald" he explained.
"It was in the last room, but I doubt that that was the thing the corridor is meant to hide" Harry narrowed his eyes.
"Was there anything else?" Blaize was apparently thinking along the same lines.
"No, poisons and potions to pass through the fire" Harry answered, "I suppose it could have been alchemical fire, but without entering that area I will never know"
"How do you know what alchemical fire looks like?" Terry asked, as he did know what it look like, his mother having dabbled some into the easiest field of alchemy, "did it have unusual colours?"
"One was purple and the other black" Harry answered
"Then it was alchemical fire, unless the headmaster put something on where the fire surged to change the colour," Terry said, "Wonder why?"
"Could it be something to do with what's meant to be in there?" Lisa asked
"Could be possible" Fred said.
"Never put anything past Dumbledore" George followed up
"He's barmy enough to do it"
"And he did study under Nicholas Flamel"
"You mean he's real?" Harry asked disbelievingly, "He is actually inmortal?"
"Well, last time he made the new was century ago, gramps was still kicking back then" once again the attention turned to Terry, "when he and Dumbledore discovered the uses of dragon blood"
"So he's alive and possibly involved" Flamel had been a point of interest to Harry, having heard all the legends of how he could bring down a building with just a clap and create solutions that could heal even the worst of ailments, "what could possibly be important enough for Flamel to get involved?"
"Well, it could be the Sorcerer's stone; I remember reading that it gave immortality and endless gold" Hermione said thoughtfully, "but Flamel has had it since he was fifty, back in the fourteen hundreds," she explained.
"Which means he can't defend it anymore" Harry finished, "so he gave it to his apprentice, one of the most brilliant minds, a man he trusted enough to make his apprentice, to keep it in a place where it would have a constant guard," that meant that Dumbledore had used a very basic yet effective ruse.
"And by telling everyone that the third floor corridor is a dead trap, he made the attention go there instead of wherever the stone actually is" Lisa said in awe.
"Say what you will of the old man" Blaize smirked, "he would have been a damn fine Slytherin"
"Yes, but he's too noble for that," Fred said
"A Slytherin cares only for himself" George nodded.
"And our family" Blaize looked at the sky, "Prestige for the family is prestige for one"
"So, yourself" Harry snorted, "Don't disguise it Blaize, you are narcissistic" everyone laughed when Blaize only struck a pose in answer, yet everyone had in mind that somewhere in the castle there was an artefact that was coveted by almost everyone in the planet, an artefact that would make anyone rich and immortal.
*Dumbledore's office*same time
"So you assume that Quirrell is after the stone?" Dumbledore was staring at Snape yet ignoring the man.
"I know he is after the stone, I've caught up to him more than once when he was entering the third floor, Halloween was only the first time he tried" Snape replied heatedly.
"And yet the only time anyone has reached the end of the maze was today, rather cleverly, he did, destroyed most chances of getting through at all" The dustpan had been the only thing he had not charmed to be a beacon to the keys, which would make them act as homing rockets.
"Then it was not Quirrell, the man is a fool, he doesn't even make an alibi for when he goes hunting unicorns," Being honest, Dumbledore had noticed that Quirrell went past the wards before the mornings when a unicorn was found dead, but he had yet to find proof other than that.
"I understand your concerns, and I assure you that the stone is perfectly save in its hiding place" that was true, the only thing that had happened to it was that one time he had dropped his cup.
"He is getting closer to it, I think he already know how to get past Hagrid's monstrosity," Snape was annoyed more than anything, he could care less if the fool got it, he would never discover how to use it anyway, not without even the tiniest knowledge of alchemy.
"And he will not get past Flitwicks's obstacle, I am sure of that" and he was.
"You are impossible, fine, let the fool get to the stone," and he stormed off.
Albus shook his head, not understanding how someone he trusted so much would not trust him just as much, a pity really, considering that if all went to plan he would live just long enough to see the class of '91 reach their late twenties, it all depended on how much lifetime he gained by having only his cup's worth of Elixir of Life.
Which brought him to think about said class, mostly young mister Potter, the boy that since day one had found a way out his plans, maybe for the better, since he was happy and confident, with many friends, some, like mister Zabini, of questionable alignment, and others of ideas that went against traditions, like miss Granger, but mostly good friends, and already he was a leader, more so than Albus himself had been at eleven, considering Harry was well regarded by everyone, unlike Albus who had been a bit of a bully.
It made him sure that even from the side-lines, Harry would be a shepherd for his generation, taking magical Britain to more advances in technology and magic than what he had managed to achieve, hopefully making them less dependent on magic and more in ability, maybe even destroying all concepts of blood purity.
Europe was the only continent, China was the same though, that preferred blood over ability, as if the first granted the other, none cared that the US, Japan and Mexico produced some of the best wizards, followed shortly by Canada and the Czech Republic, even though their purebred population had been lost almost totally over the course of time, ever since the witch hunts in the fifteen hundreds, meaning that the majority was either halfblooded or muggleborn.
He wondered if perhaps he would live long enough to see his plans for Britain come true, his plans of equality between magicals and muggles, of a world like the legendary Camelot, where everyone followed under Arthur and Merlin, fighting for the peace of the kingdom together.
It hadn't been like that since the fall of the Roman Empire, when those damn Christians had ruined all that Jesus had been trying to teach them, hating witches and wizards even though Jesus himself had been one himself, a really capable one, and even though the disciples had gone through all the Mediterranean in attempts to spread the word of peace.
How one thing could degenerate so fast, all by a simple mistake.
It was all simple back when the druids roamed the land, back when mages were up at, when muggles wanted the help of magicals, but now it was magicals that needed help, the muggles now were well into the billions, with weapons capable of self-defence and medicines that could cure things even the magicals couldn't.
At least peace reigned the lands, sure, there had been some revolutions lately, but nothing that could be considered war, and those were mostly in Africa, Africa was a continent of violent creatures, it was only appropriate that the population was just as violent as those that shared the continent, especially in the forest of Congo.
He could only wish that whoever took the position of shepherd after he passed on would have the proper intentions in mind, if so, then he would be happy when he passed on to the next great adventure.