"It's the Philosopher's stone," Hermione said triumphantly.
School had resumed without a chance to go back and explore the darkness under the Cerberus, but Hermione had worked hard at discovering just what it might be guarding.
Harry had to admit that she was brilliant as a researcher. He watched, bemused as she laid out her argument. It involved chocolate frog cards, books, articles from the Wizarding paper and a certain amount of conjecture, but in his gut he knew she was right.
"So it creates gold AND you can live forever?" Ron exclaimed. "Everybody would want that!"
"You only live until you die," Steven said. "Even if you don't get old."
He had an odd expression on his face, and it took Harry a moment to recall that his mothers or aunts or whatever they were had lived thousands of years. He wondered for a moment if Steven himself would have that kind of lifespan.
In a way, he and his aunts were their own philosopher's stones.
"Still..." Ron said. He gave a low whistle.
"It's Snape for sure," Harry said. He was still excited from winning the Quidditch match. "I overheard him trying to get Quirrel to tell him to get past the Cerberus."
"Are you sure?" Steven asked.
Harry quickly recounted what he's seen.
"I never liked Professor Quirrel," Steven said quietly.
The others, ready to express their feelings about Snape stopped in astonishment. Steven never disliked anyone. He'd even tried to make up with Draco before he'd realized just how much he'd been bullying Neville.
"Why?" Ron asked, astonished.
"He liked people to think he's harmless," Steven said. "But have you ever noticed that his stutter disappears sometimes?"
They looked at him blankly.
"It's almost like he's two different people...the teacher everybody sees and somebody else." Steven said. More quietly, he said, "He watches me a lot when he thinks nobody is looking."
Harry stared at him for a moment, then admitted, "I have headaches a lot in his class. I always just thought it was from the incense."
"You lot are crazy," Ron said. "Quirrell couldn't hurt a flobberworm."
"Maybe they are working together," Hermione said. She leaned forward. "I read that sometimes the followers of the Dark Lord worked against each other, trying to win his favor."
Harry shook his head. "It just sounded like Snape was trying to bully Quirrell."
Ron shook his head. "Well, Steven's right about one thing. Snape's Snape no matter who he's talking to."
"Still, maybe we'd better keep an eye on both of them," Hermione said.
At this, they all agreed, although Ron still insisted that Quirrell was innocent. Steven didn't say anything about Snape, although he was quiet.
Of course it was Snape; Harry had heard him with his own ears. They were just humoring Steven.
It wasn't like Quirrell was anything other than a harmless incompetent.
Weeks had passed with no changes, other than more and more homework and preparing for tests. Snape continued to be in the same foul mood, and the stone stayed firmly where it was at.
Quirrell, though...Harry never would have noticed it if he'd remained focused solely on Snape, but there was something unnerving about the man. He watched Harry when he thought Harry wasn't looking.
They hadn't had time to go looking at the trapdoor under the Cerberus, but Hermione had suggested that they try to find out more information from Hagrid.
Steven had objected, at first, not wanting to take advantage of the man, but he'd eventually come around.
Apparently the challenges had been created by all the professors, including Snape. Hagrid claimed that each only knew about their own challenge.
Harry wasn't sure he believed him, although Hagrid was even more honest than Steven.
Steven never seemed to lie, but he also was very good at keeping secrets. Harry had had to work to keep Ron from talking about the Cerberus, his invisibility cloak, even their Quidditch plans where others could hear them.
However, Steven never mentioned anyone's secrets. They still didn't know how to get into the Hufflepuff common room, even though the Gryffindors had slowly become accustomed to seeing Steven in their own room.
Harry had even heard rumors that he'd been seen in the Ravenclaw commons, although he'd never mentioned it to the rest of them at all. Steven kept his secrets close.
The only common room he hadn't managed to get into was that of the Slytherins, and it wasn't for a lack of trying.
Normally the Slytherins would have bullied a first year Hufflepuff, but everyone knew what he had done with the troll. They were careful not to say anything bad about him to his face. Even when he wasn't around they were careful in what they said.
They knew that Ron Weasely at least would be happy to pass along anything they said to Steven, and the rest of the Gryffindors were the same. The Hufflepuffs were all loyal to Steven, especially after he had saved their younger brothers and sisters.
The Slytherins were therefore carefully neutral around him.
Still, given a chance to get him in trouble, Harry had little doubt that any of the Slytherins would be more than happy to inform a teacher.
If they managed to catch him with a highly illegal dragon on school grounds...they'd be happy enough to catch Steven, but catching Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasely all in one fell swoop would be a coup.
For the hundredth time, Harry wondered what they were doing. There had to be a better way to get the dragon out of Hagrid's hut than to sneak it out.
Harry stared at the crate dubiously. The invisibility cloak was large enough to cover the entire crate and the rest of them underneath, although it hadn't seemed nearly that large before.
Beneath the cloak, Steven picked up the crate and set it on his shoulder. The ripping sounds from inside the crate reminded Harry of just how dangerous the dragon had been. Hagrid had been crazy trying to keep the thing in his hut.
Ron had almost gotten his hand bitten the day before, having been saved only by Steven's quick reflexes.
According to Hermione, this kind of dragon was poisonous, although Hagrid seemed to do well enough.
Steven had been quick enough not to be bitten, and the dragon had seemed to like Steven better than it had Hagrid, who it had mostly ignored when it wasn't lashing out at him.
That might be because Steven had been feeding it potato crisps he'd somehow talked the house elves into providing.
He had a talent with animals, that was certain.
They went up the flights of stairs. Steven was sweating by the time they were halfway up, and Harry suspected it was less the weight of the dragon's crate than it was the stairs he was having to climb.
"Just a little further," he heard Steven murmur to the dragon. "And then you'll be going on a nice trip to a place where you can be free."
There was a sound of movement from up ahead and they shrank back against the wall.
"They're going to be here with a dragon!" Draco protested.
Professor McGonagall had him by the ear. "Detention! Trying to excuse your own misbehavior by telling absurd lies about others! Twenty points from Slytherin Mr. Malfoy!"
They grinned to each other as the voices retreated, with only Steven abstaining. He only seemed tired.
The rest seemed to do him good, however, and he trudged up the remainder of the stairs without complaint.
Throwing off the invisibility cloak, they lay out at the top of the astronomy tower and stared at the stars.
""I've been there, you know," Steven said quietly, staring up into the sky.
"Where," Ron asked. "Romania?"
The dragon was headed for the Romanian nature reserve.
"No, space," Steven said. "I went there twice."
"What was it like?" Hermione asked.
"Scary," Steven admitted. "The first time we were on a homemade rocket that was breaking apart. The second time we'd been captured by my mother's enemies."
"What's a rocket?" Ron asked Harry quietly.
"It's like those things your brothers make that fly around," Harry explained quietly. "And explode."
"I didn't have a lot of time to think about it when I saw it," Steven said, "But it's beautiful."
He was quiet for almost a minute. "I just don't understand how people can see something like that and want to destroy it."
Hermione said, "I think if you see it all the time, it stops being special."
"It shouldn't," Steven said. He scowled, deep in thought.
Thankfully, Harry could see four figures on broomsticks in the distance. He jumped to his feet, eager to distract Steven from his mood, and even more eager to unload the dragon.
The transfer went professionally. Ron's brother and his friends were clearly professionals who knew what they were about as they strapped the crate to a harness that would be supported by their four brooms.
The four of them were in high spirits as they headed back down the stairs.
It was only as they turned the last corner that Harry remembered that he'd left the cloak at the top of the tower.
Filch grinned at them nastily.
They were in trouble.