A/N I'm so sorry about the slowness of this update. Life got a little hectic. I should be able to update weekly now I think.

Thankyou to everyone who takes the time to review. I read every single one of them. I just wanted to point out a few of my favourites here:

Ann Jinn chapter 19 "He may not be a student, but gosh, typical man." I'm glad you agree! This made me chuckle.

magitech chapter 19 "I see Snape needs to learn "Never get you Healer mad at you" " One of life's lessons we should all learn I think!

Ann Jinn chapter 17 "I just love this story. This is how it should have been in the canon" Just wow. That's an honour of the highest order. Thankyou, I hope the end of the story doesn't disappoint.

There aren't that many chapters left in this story, maybe 4 or so. Now without further ado I give you... Chapter 20! Enjoy :)

Chapter 20

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. There were a few hours before dinner yet and it being a Saturday they had no lessons. Of course that did not stop Hermione from working. Their end of year exams were still 4 weeks away and yet she was working feverishly, complaining that she hadn't started revising early enough. She had tried to rope Ron and Harry in as well but they were having none of it and were currently involved in a rather brutal game of wizards chess.

"Hey Ron, I think Hermione working so hard is a good thing." Harry said as he attacked one of Ron's pawns.

"Yeah, we can ask her for all the answers to everything," he replied, thinking about his own move. He still hadn't completely got over his jealousy of her.

"I was more thinking that no-one wants to come near her when she's like this. Keeps people out of my hair." He grinned at her as Hermione threw her pen at him. She used quills for work, but she still much preferred the muggle stationery.

"Hey don't you like everyone running around you?" Ron was trying to lightly tease his friend but he had the tact of a bull in a china shop. "Would you rather be some nameless, faceless stranger? No money, no fame, at the bottom of the pile?" Seeing Harry's face he added "I was joking mate. Check."

Harry was embarrassed that his reaction had shown, but Ron had hit it exactly. All he wanted was to make his Auntie Poppy proud. He didn't want to be the Boy-Who-Lived. He didn't want the fame. The money was nice but he'd never had any before he was adopted; he didn't need it. He knew his Auntie Poppy loved him unconditionally and would never send him away and that was all that mattered to him. She wasn't his mum but she was the next best thing.

Harry looked back at the chessboard but before he could focus on his next move his head shot up to a gasp from Hermione.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry queried. She was looking at him strangely.

"Something Ron just said. Oh my god. He knows... He knows."

"Hermione you're making no sense. Explain what Ron said and who knows what."

"You remember earlier at Hagrid's we were discussing Fluffy?"

"Mmm..."

"Which moved onto discussions of other beasts and how to calm them?"

"Yes... Hagrid said he'd won a dragon egg playing cards but Dumbledore hadn't allowed him to keep it so he had given it to Charlie Weasley."

"Yes but who just happens to have dragons' eggs on them? They're not common." Hermione's eyes were lighting up as she spoke.

"No they're not." Ron agreed. "Charlie was talking about it to Mum and Dad. Norwegian Ridgebacks are especially rare. He was really excited about raising one."

"So?" Harry was lost.

"A stranger turns up in a pub in Hogsmeade with a rare dragon egg on the same day that Hagrid, a half giant with an unhealthy love of dangerous creatures, is also there. This stranger happens to buy Hagrid drinks and then tell him he could win the dragon egg in a game of cards. It's well known that the thing Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon. He is talkative when he's had something to drink and will talk about creatures all day - the more dangerous the better. A three headed dog would be of interest to someone who has a rare dragon egg, surely? If Hagrid slipped with that bit of information about calming Fluffy to us, it's almost certain that he told whoever he met in that pub as well."

"You made that conclusion from the comment about my fame? How on earth did your brain make that connection? You scare me sometimes Hermione!" Harry smiled slightly, trying to make light of a conversation he didn't understand.

"Harry don't you see? The nameless, faceless part. Who, other than you, would want to completely cover up who they were? Or perhaps who they were working for?"

Surprisingly it was Ron who caught on first.

"You mean Hagrid might have told one of You-Know-Who's followers how to get past Fluffy? What good would that do? You-Know-Who is dead."

"Hagrid himself said that Voldemort being gone is codswallop." Harry countered. "Fluffy guards the Philosopher's Stone and if Voldemort knows how to get past Fluffy he could become immortal. We need to get the stone first."

"Tonight?" Ron asked

"No we'll need a plan first. There will probably be other things protecting the stone, enchantments, puzzles that sort of thing," Hermione said.

The three sat down to plan their adventure, both chess game and work forgotten and the remaining hour before dinner, plus the time afterwards until curfew passed quickly.

However later that night, Harry couldn't sleep. He felt like this was supposed to happen, like it was set up some way and he just couldn't shake the feeling. He remembered his nightmare and the overheard meeting. He didn't want to play the hero, he realised. When he told the other two about his feelings the following morning they didn't believe him. He could see that both were excited at the prospect of adventure. When the feeling persisted all day he went to the one person he knew would listen and help. One person he now knew would keep him safe if he let her - Auntie Poppy.

xxxxxxx

Poppy had had a rather delightful evening. Her last patient had been discharged at dinnertime so she had decided to accept Minerva's offering of a late supper. Naturally the Healer had set entry alert wards on the Hospital Wing doors before she left but she had not been bothered at all. The two friends had shared stories of their youth, of Hogwarts' latest pranks and consequences and of the Potters. They sat round the fire in Minerva's quarters, opened some butterbeer and generally had a good old natter, something neither of them had managed in a while.

Poppy had returned late to her quarters, certainly after curfew, and she was just sorting herself out for the following day when the wards alerted her to someone entering her domain. She retied her apron and went out to deal with whatever dormitory mischief had happened.

What she did not expect was Harry, stood in just his pyjamas with bare feet, looking scared. When she saw him start to shiver she summoned him a dressing gown and slippers and commanded that he wear them.

She led her nephew into her living room and sat down on the sofa beside him.

"Did you have a bad dream Harry?" she asked gently.

Harry shook his head.

"What is it then sweetie?"

No answer.

Poppy held her arms out. "Come here," she said.

Harry snuggled into his Auntie's embrace. He was right to come here. She would sort everything. He relaxed more as Poppy pushed a mug of hot chocolate into his hand.

After he had taken a few swallows Poppy tried again.

"Why are you up so late Harry? It's the middle of the night."

"Couldn't sleep. It's not right. It's too obvious." Harry mumbled.

"What's not right?" Poppy kept in the low soothing tone that she knew calmed him.

"The Stone, the dragon, Hagrid. I can't save it; I'm only eleven! Why does it have to be me? What if Ron or Hermione get hurt?"

"Harry the Stone is safe. Severus removed it from where Albus had put it. Nobody but him can touch it. Not even Voldemort. It's safe. You don't have to do anything. I can heal your friends if they are hurt. You only have to tell me."

Poppy kept repeating that he was safe, that his friends were safe and that the Stone was safe until he fell asleep. She sat with his head on her lap for sometime just watching his deep steady breathing. She must have fallen asleep herself as well at some point as when she next looked it was getting light outside.

Carefully laying her nephew down on the sofa, she got up and smoothed the creases from her robe and apron with a flick of her wand. A second flick had the sofa transfigured into a bed and a third had Harry underneath the quilt. She did not want to leave him, but she needed some advice and did not want to wake him by using the floo or inviting anyone over.

Hence she found herself, for the second time in twelve hours, heading towards Minerva's quarters.