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Balance Factor Chapter 5

Year One

Immortality

A/N: Almost done with Year One! Wow! Read and Review, as always!

"Nicolas Flamel?"

"Yes. He was an alchemist," Draco said, looking at Harry and Ron. Hermione stood up and ran out the doors of the Great Hall, her eyes shining. Draco raised an eyebrow at her but continued. "He created the Philosopher's Stone. Supposedly, having this stone grants immortality via Elixir of Life and has the ability to create gold."

"Immortality…" Harry said softly. He looked at Draco and said, "Has this been proven?"

"Nicolas is apparently around for over six hundred years. So it must have some truth to it," Draco answered. "Immortality must be nice though."

"Forget the immortality, I like the gold part." Ron grinned, thinking about what he could do with the money.

"I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading," Hermione said, slamming a huge book onto the table. Draco gave a start.

"Honestly? Light? I'd hate to see your heavy reading material," Draco said, frowning. Hermione glared at him, but flipped to the page where she had seen Flamel's name.

"So that's what Fluffy's guarding!" Ron said. "The stone!"

"But… what would Professor Snape do with that stone?" Harry asked. "I didn't peg him the type to want immortality or the Elixir. And he doesn't need the gold." He placed his head on the table, yawning.

"You didn't sleep well?" Draco asked. Harry smiled a little.

"I was restoring the balance. I slept very little during this break," Harry said softly, lifting his head a little. He shook his head and placed it on his folded arms.

"Maybe the evil git wants to give it to someone," Ron said.

"Ron, in short of it being Lucius Malfoy, I will not be surprised if he did." Harry said calmly. Draco turned very, very pale.

"Harry, now why did you have to say that?" Draco muttered. "Bad, bad mental images."

Hermione laughed.

-0-

"…Hagrid… Your house is made of wood," Draco said, staring at the dragon egg.

"He'll be beautiful! Maybe I'll play music for him like I used to for Fluffy. It always made Fluffy sleeph'," Hagrid gushed. He didn't appear to have heard Draco. Draco stood up and stood in front of Hagrid.

"Hagrid. Your. House. Is. Made. Of. Wood." He said very slowly and carefully. "I trust you haven't forgotten that wood is highly flammable."

"Oh! Righ'!"

-0-

Draco sighed as he looked at his partner. Pulling off some crazy plan about sending the dragon to Ron's brother in Romania wasn't the smartest idea he's ever had, he would have to admit. At least it was done and he would only have to serve detention with Hagrid. And he was paired up with Potter.

"A wounded unicorn, huh?" Harry said softly. "How sad. Unicorn blood is said to give life. But killing the creature will curse you for eternity."

"Hey… I heard there are werewolves in these woods," Draco said. "Uh, you do know how to kill werewolves, don't you?"

"I imagine it would be about the same as any other creature. Just cut off its head, gorge out their heart and done!" Harry said completely nonplussed. Draco stared at him.

"Thanks. Now I really won't be able to sleep tonight," Draco said, looking nervous. "Look!"

There was the unicorn. Harry looked down at it and then turned to Draco. "Take Fang and-"

He never got to finish. A huge black cloak swooped down on the two. Draco let out a very high pitched scream and ran, Fang following close behind. Harry delivered a solid kick to the figure's abdomen in reflex, his emerald eyes blazing. The figure retreated, vanishing into the darkness of the night.

Harry sighed, looking down at the dead creature. He stroked the mane slowly, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry…"

"Apologizing to a creature you never knew, Harry Potter?"

Harry looked up and spotted the centaur. He stood up and patted off his robes. "Even if I never knew it, it was unjustly killed. For that, I am sorry."

"The stars showed your appearance to us. You are always welcome in our realm, Balancer." The centaur padded over to him, his hoofs making no noise on the soft forest ground. "The forest is dangerous this time of night. But you protect us all from the ones we cannot fight against. For that, we centaurs will be eternally thankful."

"It is my duty to," Harry said, eyes following the centaur.

"My name is Firenze," the centaur said. "I will ride you to safety and lead Hagrid here later."

Harry paused, nodding. The centaur smiled at him as he let Harry sit on his back. Firenze walked carefully, but quickly.

"Firenze! What in the world do you think you're doing, carrying a human child on your…" another centaur started, but then stopped when he saw the face of the person Firenze was carrying. "Balancer…"

"Hello Bane," Firenze said calmly. "He should leave here quickly."

"Good evening," Harry said politely. Bane sniffed.

"Balancer," another centaur approached them. Harry looked at the new arrival and tipped his head politely.

"Yes?" Harry responded, looking at the centaur.

"I'm sorry for your loss." The centaur seemed sincere enough so Harry smiled sadly at him. "He will be terribly missed by the Dark one."

"I'm sure he will be," Harry said softly. Firenze smiled and slowly made his way out of the forest. "Firenze, who would be desperate enough to kill a creature as pure as a unicorn for their blood?"

"Can you think of no one?" Firenze asked, making his way through the trees. Harry shook his head.

"Unless Voldemort had possessed a body somehow, I see it highly unlikely," Harry said. Firenze's smile made Harry uneasy. "Has he?"

"Yes, Balancer, he has."

Harry almost wished Firenze had been teasing him.

-0-

"You're telling me the Dark Lord is in our school or close to the school?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay… Well… I don't really know what to say. You can beat him up, right?"

"I wish you'd stop doubting me," Harry responded. "For the hundredth time, yes. I can."

"And Snape probably wants to steal the stone for You-Know-Who," Ron said. "And… then… He'll come back…"

"Oh, Harry… He won't try to kill you, will he?" Hermione asked, looking upset.

"Probably will." Harry spoke completely calm. "Doubt he'll try anything while Dumbledore is here though. He's afraid of Dumbledore, isn't he?"

"Dumbledore's leaving tonight." Draco said. "Father told me that he had a meeting with him in the Ministry."

"Never mind then."

-0-

"This is one of your craziest plans ever, Potter."

"Hey, no problem. I go in, steal it before Snape gets it, and then Snape won't have anything to say."

Draco shook his head. "I'll owl Dumbledore then. I'd rather not show my face to Professor Snape and the Dark Lord right now."

"We're going tonight," Ron said. Hermione agreed. Draco groaned.

"No." Harry spoke up, looking at the three. "I'll be going alone."

"Are you crazy?!" "The Dark Lord, Potter!" "Professor Snape'll murder you!"

Harry shook his head in wonder. "All this ruckus… Have all of you forgot that I am not human?"

There was a silence. Apparently they had. Harry smiled in wonder, a little flattered that they were so worried about him. Was this the most flattering form of kindness they could show?

"Mm, yeah, about that. I'll be going in my rei form. I think I'm faintly visible to people and animals here. Only people with strong magical powers can filter me in, or if the area is primarily dark. Dark as in the element, not the lighting," Harry said, humming.

"I don't like it, but I guess I can agree with that," Ron said, frowning. "I want to go help you."

"If he's planning on killing me, I don't think you can help me," Harry said. "What would you do? Sacrifice yourself for someone who can't die from the killing curse? Touching, but no."

"But what we can do is to make sure you're ready for this," Hermione said. Harry twitched, a small bead of sweat sliding down his face.

"What do you have in mind…?"

-0-

"What's the matter, haven't you done this kind of training?"

"No Hermione," Harry said nervously, facing the three first years. "I've never done this kind of training. Shirogane'd flip out if he saw this. And Ryuuko would no doubt be the first one to murder all of you for even thinking about this as a technique." He smiled a little. "So how do you want me to do this? I don't think any of you know curses as complex or as powerful as Professor Snape. And I would rather not freely use my power here."

"Well, if you're going to go, we have to make sure you're in good physical shape," Hermione said. "We fire and you dodge."

"Do I hit back? I might kill you if I do," Harry said, looking at Draco and Ron. They seemed just as uneasy about this as he did. "Or have you forgotten that little fact?"

"Defend, but no attack," Hermione said. "How long can you go?"

"Longer than you, no doubt. I have sparred with Shirogane. That man can last hours and hours, even with blood loss," Harry said, shaking his head. "Even in my human form, I can last much longer than you think."

"Then let us start." Hermione declared, brandishing her wand.

-0-

"…Oi…" Harry said slowly. "Did you forget that you have your own limits too? You can't just endlessly fire of charms and spells like that."

The three first years lay on the floor, panting hard. Ron was the first to speak.

"Shut up…" he panted, exhausted. Harry ran his hand through his hair, shaking off the loose strands.

"Also, the students think you three have gone nutzo and are attacking me," Harry said, glancing up at the crowd of students hiding behind banisters.

"Potter! Granger! Weasley! Malfoy! What is this I hear about fighting on the school grounds?!" McGonagall screeched.

"Hm, I suppose it would seem that way…" Harry said, thoughtfully.

"Why did I agree to this again? Ouch…" Draco asked, sprawled on the floor.

"We're not fighting Professor," Hermione said. "We're helping Harry with his dodging skills."

Harry shook his head. "My cousin likes to chase me around. I'm just making sure I'm ready so I asked Hermione, Ron, and Draco to help." He looked at the elderly woman, his green eyes wide. "I can't go back home lacking the ability to dodge him."

McGonagall stared at him. Then she bristled and nodded a little. "Very well. I will excuse you four today. Run along now."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, grateful. He looked at the three on the ground and sat down. "Hey, Draco? How do you think your father will react when he hears you spent your entire school year with Potter?"

"I think he'll understand when he sees my grades," Draco said, looking up. "Or he'll hate me. One or the other."

"Wait til I go home and tell everyone I was friends with Malfoy. Mum'll freak out," Ron said. Draco shot him a nasty glare. Ron laughed. "They definitely won't believe me."

"Hey Harry!"

Harry turned, only to be clapped on the shoulder on either side by the twins.

"Our speedy little Seeker…"

"Do you-"

"Think-"

"You could-"

"Drop by the-"

"Quidditch pitch-"

"Tomorrow?"

"Wood's been-"

"Freaking out-"

"Hysterical-"

"Panicked-"

"You never show-"

"For practice."

"Fred, George, I do have other things I need to do," Harry sighed. "I'll go tomorrow if it appeases Wood that much. But I don't really need to train."

"Wonderful!" One of the twins said, grinning. "Keep cool, Malfoy!"

Draco waved a hand at them as they left. Then he sat up, glancing at the crowd before spotting Blaise walking towards them.

"Hello Draco," Blaise said quietly. Draco smiled a little at him, though it came off more as a sneer. "Want to study for Charms together? Your…" He made a face that looked like he got the whiff of a rotten egg, "friends are welcome to come. It's just me, Crabbe, and Goyle right now."

"Sure. Where are we going?" Draco asked, getting to his feet. He glanced at the three Gryffindors behind himself and shrugged at them. "Coming?"

"Let me… catch my breath," Ron wheezed, sliding to his feet. Hermione grinned, getting up as well. Harry nodded.

"Great, let's go," Blaise said, leading them to an empty classroom. Goyle was wrestling with Crabbe when they entered, but instantly shaped up when Draco raised an eyebrow at the pair.

"Blaise," Draco said. "I don't think you've been introduced, have you? This is Harry, Hermione, and Ron." He looked to the dark skinned boy to make sure he was clear that they were his friends. Blaise nodded slowly.

"Nice to meet you, I guess," Blaise said. "Potter, where did you learn to dodge like that?"

Harry looked up. "Oh. When I was younger, my muggle cousin liked to chase me around. Harry-hunting, he called it." A rather sadistic grin crossed his face. "But he got what came to him."

Blaise laughed. "I'm surprised you weren't sorted into Slytherin with that attitude."

"I believe it was one of the four choices," Harry said mildly. "But I think I'm too passive to be a good Slytherin. Anyway, Charms. We should go over them. Anyone know any Charms that aren't in the curriculum? It'll be good to practice."

-0-

"Are you really going to do this?" Draco asked, unsure. Harry smiled.

"I'll remain in this form for a bit longer. If I need to, I'll change, but yes, I'm really doing this." Harry tucked the invisibility cloak under his arm and nodded to Ron and Hermione.

"Oh, Harry, do come back safe," Hermione said, worriedly. "We'll owl Dumbledore if you're in trouble, but while he's coming back, you need to stay alive." She ignored Harry's smart remark about it being "Ten years too late" and turned to the school's barn owl.

"Yeah, mate. If you need any help, don't forget the two way mirror we have," Ron said, holding up the glass. "I'm glad you got this for Harry, Malfoy."

"It was in case he decided to do anything recklessly stupid, like he is now," Draco said, crossing his arms. "Keep in touch. We'll be able to hear everything, as long as you wear it properly. In case you don't know, this one is a necklace." He held up an identical mirror around his neck. Harry smiled.

"Alright, I'm leaving then." Harry said, slipping out of the Owlry and sliding to the third floor, the cloak over his head.

-0-

A/N: Next chapter will be the last in Year One!