Barbara left that Sunday evening with Sirius. As she left, Harry, Ron and Hermione all hugged her goodbye. Hermione wanted to hug the baby goodbye, too (she had been extremely excited when Harry told her about the movement, which Barbara said was called "quickening").

"I've really enjoyed my time here at Hogwarts," Barbara told them, beaming. "And I can't wait to live in Hogsmeade. It seems so much nicer than Muggle London, somehow."

"We'll move this summer," Sirius promised. "Before the baby comes, though."

"Right," said Barbara. "That way we have time to set up a nursery for it in the new house."

Harry just couldn't even say how happy he was to hear that. He liked living in a flat with Sirius very much, but there was just something about them living in a house…They would be a mother, a father, and two kids. Just like a real family. There would even be a new baby to play with when Harry wasn't at school. His heart flew then and he hugged both Sirius and Barbara extra tight.

"I'll be the best big brother ever," he promised.

"I don't doubt it for a minute," Barbara said, laughing.

"Want something to eat on the ride home?" Ron asked, handing a Chocolate Frog to Barbara. "I hear pregnant ladies get hungry easily."

"For chocolate, especially," said Barbara gleefully, and she opened it. "Ooh, there's a card inside…"

"Could I have it, please?" Harry asked her. "I collect them."

"Certainly." Barbara handed the card over. Harry pocketed it without looking at what it was, because he wanted to watch Sirius and Barbara until they were gone from his sight.

"You probably shouldn't hug Barbara so tightly," Ron said after they had left. "You'll probably squish the baby."

"That's impossible, Ron," Hermione told him. "It's cushioned by her uterus and the placenta, not to mention her body. There's no way a hug is going to squish a baby that's fourteen weeks along."

"If you say so," said Ron. "Harry, look at the Chocolate Frog card and see who it is."

"Dumbledore again," Harry observed, taking the card out of his pocket. "He was the first one I ever—"

But then, Harry read over the description, and a certain name rang a bell.

"I've found him!" Harry told Ron and Hermione. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here—listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famou 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'!"

Ron and Hermione listened in shock. When Harry was done reading, Hermione stood up, told them to stay where they were, and ran up to the girls' dorms. When she came back, she was holding the book Harry had gotten for her as a Christmas gift.

"Famous Witches and Wizards Throughout History," Harry read. "What are you doing with that book?"

"I think he'll be in here," she said happily, and began turning through the pages quickly until she found the information she wanted. Then she cried, "I knew it! I knew it!"

"You knew what?" asked Harry.

"Nicholas Flamel," Hermione began, "is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!"

"The what?" Harry and Ron said together.

"Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Look—read that, there."

Harry and Ron looked at the passage Hermione was pointing to, and they read it.

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who cele rated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).

"That's what the dog's guarding," Hermione told them. "Nicolas Flamel had it in Gringotts, but he knew it wasn't safe in there anymore, so he asked Dumbledore to keep it at Hogwarts for him."

"And no wonder Snape wants the Sorcerer's Stone," said Harry in wonder. "Anyone would."

…

Sirius, to everyone's delight, was getting into the Offensive Magic unit of Defense Against the Dark Arts class now. None of the Gryffindors were really taking Quirrell's classes seriously anymore, because he was too afraid to teach. Harry didn't understand how he had even gotten the job in the first place, but then, Dumbledore seemed to be fine with strange hires.

It was a good thing Sirius had rudimentary Healing Magic skills, because, well, he also had good teaching skills. Sure, they had learned Defensive Magic first, but some "bumps and bruises" along the way were unavoidable.

Harry was always Hermione's partner, so more often than not he would be on the receiving end of whatever hex or jinx she was practicing on him. They were being encouraged to practice nonverbal magic, which was another specialty of Sirius's, so Harry didn't know what spell Hermione was going to fire at him. He used "Protego" a lot, but he did use offensive magic against her, too.

Ron was usually partnered with Neville. Neither of them were that great at magic. Sirius seemed to think that for this, at least, it wasn't a good idea to pair the talented kids with the not-so-talented ones. Hermione was good at almost everything, and Harry had a special knack for Defense Against the Dark Arts, so they weren't partnering up just because they were "going together". Sirius would usually practice with one of the sixth or seventh years, although there weren't that many of those. Harry noticed that Holly Greengrass was extremely talented.

One spell Harry was working on was the Knee-Reversing Hex. It was a little difficult to work, but after some time he managed to accomplish it. Hermione's kneecaps did indeed reverse, and she fell right down.

"Now try it while I'm walking backwards," Hermione said, after the hex was reversed.

"You want me to hex you in the back?" said Harry in disbelief.

"Well, like Sirius said, your enemy wouldn't hesitate to do it to you," she said, shrugging. "And you can always fix me again later."

Hermione turned around and walked backwards towards Harry. The curse worked again. As soon as her kneecaps switched, her legs buckled and she fell to the floor.

"I really think you've got it now!" she told him excitedly.

And they spent the rest of the evening hexing each other, until Sirius, who had been practice-dueling Holly, laughingly told them it was time to pack up.