Chapter 5: The Alchemist's Stone
The next day Hagrid had brought twelve giant Christmas trees, and Professor McGonagall and Flitwick were busy decorating the Great Hall with holly and mistletoes. Christmas at Hogwarts might just prove out to be a lively affair.
Harry found himself flying around in the cold weather on his Nimbus 2000, completing his essays which were due for homework (before Christmas day came in), or looking up a few spells here and there. Among everything, he had given himself a project during the Christmas holidays, one which he intended to complete. He wanted to transfigure items with just a wave of his wand, without thinking or saying any incantation. Like a lazy flick he had seen most of his professors do.
He visited Hagrid a few times for tea, and sometimes accompanied him into the Forbidden Forest to feed the thestrals. Sometimes he would strike up a conversation with Jennifer Green, and talk about the muggle world. She told him about how she was heartbroken upon the death of Freddie Mercury. Harry hadn't known much about music, because his relatives didn't like music, but he had of course heard about the Beatles. She would play a few songs on her Walkman from time to time. She also told him about the mirrors she had enchanted herself.
Then, he would explore the interior passageways within the school, a few of which he had noted down after using Legilimency on the twins. With that said, Harry had also started drafting a map of his own.
When the Christmas morning arrived, Harry had been welcomed to a huge stack of presents. Harry, who hadn't ever received any present from someone (other than Hedwig, which McGonagall had given him on his birthday), was shocked that so many people had actually sent him gifts. He got some homemade fudge from Ron (which was probably made by his mother), loads of chocolates from Neville and Tracey, a history book on France in the medieval ages (which was also written in French) from Hermione, and a bottle of Sleekeazy Potion (which was also supposed to be made by his grandfather Fleamont Potter) and a few chocolates from Daphne. He snorted at Daphne's sense of humour. Apart from his friends, he had also gotten a wooden flute from Hagrid and a pocket knife which opened any lock from Professor Fawley.
Then his eyes fell upon the last package. After tearing open the wrapping paper he found a folded piece of a light, silver coloured cloth, which almost seemed to be liquid. It appeared to be a rather queer looking bedsheet, yet much smoother than one. It was when he was holding it with his left hand, did he notice that his hand had turned invisible. Harry had been flabbergasted. It was a cloak which turned people invisible—the invisibility cloaks, to which he had found a reference when he had come across disillusionment charm. They were supposed to be very rare and really expensive!
Harry wore the cloak around himself and then went up to the mirror to find that he could not see his reflection there. He was invisible!
It was perfect. Except he figured that he might have a little difficulty in moving around with that.
As soon as the thought entered his mind however, he found the invisibility cloak weave around his body and turn into the shape of one of his Hogwarts robes. With the hood pulled, which didn't need to even cover the entire face, he turned totally invisible to his surroundings.
This was the most brilliant stuff he had ever seen!
This was not just any random invisibility cloak, but an invisibility cloak which had really cool enchantments.
There was also a note (in a rather loopy and stylish cursive handwriting) with the Invisibility Cloak:
Your father left this in my possession before he died.
It is time it was returned to you.
Use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you.
There was no signature with the note.
Could it have been one of his father's friends?
The Invisibility cloak, when not wore looked as big as a bedsheet, yet it somehow turned into the exact size of a robe, but what was the most interesting part was that, it fit inside his pocket, like he was squeezing some liquid into it, and didn't even show any bulge formed there. It was really an interesting item, and he wanted to keep it as a secret for now.
However, when he had stuffed the invisibility cloak inside his pocket he noticed something peculiar. On his left arm there appeared a tattoo.
A triangle.
Harry tried to rub it off, but it stayed there, unblemished. How in the world had a tattoo ended up on his arm?
Could it be something caused by the mysterious invisibility cloak? Maybe it was like a homing device.
Harry shrugged it off as perhaps one of the enchantments of the invisibility cloak (this was the magical world after all).
The snow crunched under his boots, as he started walking around the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Many of trees there had shed their leaves in the autumn, and were now bare, while some (mostly the ones deep inside the forest) still had fresh green leaves, which darkened the Forbidden Forest as one went inside. He thought he might one day venture inside the forest, when he had time, with his Invisibility Cloak. He believed the night was the best time for some venturing. Maybe tomorrow night?
Never in his life had Harry ever have such a Christmas dinner. There were fat, roast turkeys, roast and boiled potatoes, fat chipolatas, buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy. Dumbledore had replaced his wizard's hat for a flowery bonnet and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had told him. Harry was talking with Professor Burbage and Professor Babbling, the Muggle studies and Ancient Runes professors respectively, about the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
"But, why would dragons want gold?" asked Babbling confused. "This dragon…Smaug, is it? Well, he sounds more like how goblins had been before the rebellions and all."
Harry then told them about the other magical creatures, and how different they were from the actual Wizarding World. What had shocked them the most were how different the elves were! Then he told them about how Gandalf the Grey (he had for a moment looked at Dumbledore, and then turned his head quickly, but the motion didn't go unnoticed by Fawley who smirked at him, and understood why he had looked at Dumbledore) used a staff for performing magic.
Hagrid was going redder and redder with each helping of wine, and had then kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who to his surprise, had just blushed and giggled.
Back at the common room after dinner, Jennifer and Harry talked about their family (Harry keeping information about his family life to a bare minimum), about McDonalds (a burger franchise, and he knew that Dudley was pretty hyped up over it) and pizza. Their conversation were mostly revolving around muggle music, and how she thought Wizarding music sucked. It appeared that Jennifer didn't really stop to one genre. The Beatles and Queen aside, she was a huge fan of Led Zeppelin too.
It had been at one in the morning when Jennifer had gotten to her dormitory, and Harry put his Invisibility Cloak on and was out of the common room. He was exploring the sixth floor tonight and marking corridors, when he found a secret passageway through a narrow round staircase to the third floor. Harry drew this with a proper representation of a circle with steps drawn, on a stack of parchments he was carrying. Six parchments together made up an entire floor. He knew that when all of it was complete, he would have to charm it to not appear like a thick book inside his pockets. Harry realised he was just next to the door which led to the chamber where Fluffy was kept. Harry was about to return to the sixth floor, when he heard voices.
"And I still can't understand why you insist on keeping the real stone in here, Nicolas", said the voice which undoubtedly belonged to Dumbledore. He was so used to seeing Dumbledore speaking in a calm manner and in a jovial mood, that he was surprised on finding irritation and distress in the man's voice. "And I believe you can achieve ways of protecting the stone without keeping it here, if it is only safekeeping that you seek for it. Do you know how unsafe it is? I have reasons to believe that Voldemort would try to acquire this and return to a body—" there was almost desperation in his voice.
"I find myself most curious, Albus", said the man named Nicolas. And Harry could sneak a second guess at the man's surname too. "Wasn't Emily Riddle, your most prized pupil? And today, you resent her."
"You know very well why I do so", said Dumbledore in a stern voice, and even an underlying of warning in his tone. "I don't want another war to fall upon Great Britain."
"Yes, many people did indeed die in this war, didn't they?" said Nicolas Flamel lightly. "I have my reasons for keeping my most prized possession here, Albus, however bashful they may appear to be. I merely want it to be kept protected, and you can on the other hand, see if you can catch your favourite pupil. On a totally different note however, I have heard Harry Potter has joined Hogwarts this year."
"Yes, you've heard right", said Dumbledore. "All the more reason why I feel like keeping the stone here would also harm Harry, as Emily would not let go of this opportunity to face him again."
"Ah yes, the prophecy…" said Flamel.
"The very same", said Dumbledore shortly.
"You believe Harry Potter will turn into a cliché saviour of Light when Voldemort rises?" asked Flamel. "You were not quite fond of Divination, much to my wife's displeasure—so why believe in 'a woolly subject' now?"
"Because Emily clearly does", said Dumbledore.
Flamel chuckled. "Your knowledge in Divination is very poor Albus. There are a number of futures ahead of us—each second creating infinite possibilities of what might happen. The art of seeing allows the seer to assess among the multitude of possibilities. But then, there might be times when the possibilities each converge to a single point, thus cancelling out the other…"
This sounded suspiciously like some comic book science fiction. Like the multiverse theory. Was it really how things worked here? But then again, magic was something people thought to be in the pages of fantasy novels. And yet, here he was standing in a magical school, doing magic. So, was a multiverse theory really that far fetched? Flamel went on for some time about convergence of various possibilities in which an event moves or might lead to.
When the alchemist finsihed his lecture on multiverse, time and divination, he sighed. "I do not care for what you people call the forces of Light facing the forces of the Dark, nor the internal politics, and might I say it makes no sense, for I know that your knowledge of the Dark Arts is certainly not something Voldemort would scoff at."
"You don't believe the prophecy will hold true then?" asked Dumbledore.
"I am just saying it is too early to make assumptions", said Flamel. "Your former protégé, Emily Riddle, doesn't even have a proper body at this moment. When she does, who knows whether she would go after young Harry or not. Only time will tell, Albus. Don't hold too much stock in prophecies. Least of all, a prophecy as vague and cryptic as the one you have heard."
"I thought prophecies were meant to be vague and cryptic?" offered Dumbledore in a rather dry tone.
Flamel chuckled. "True."
Both of them kept quiet for some time.
Flamel again spoke in a quiet voice, "I myself do not know why I am indeed going with this bashful idea of keeping the real stone within a place with a lousy security. Perrenell believed it is the correct course of action, and I personally do not question her seer abilities anymore."
Harry heard Dumbledore giving a tired chuckle. "And people say I am enigmatic."
Harry then heard Mozart being played in a violin, and the opening of a door. The door then got shut, but the muffled sound of Mozart still came to him. Harry went through what he thought would be a narrow round staircase to the sixth floor, Dumbledore and Flamel's conversation still fresh on his mind, but when he emerged, it didn't look like the sixth floor at all. Harry didn't recognise this place.
Maybe he would just have to take the Main Stairs then.
But then he felt the presence of another mind near him.
Filch.
He quickly got into one of the classrooms, and shut the door softly. He waited with bated breath, waiting for the caretaker to go. In the meantime, his attention was drawn to a mirror, which seemed to be the sole object in the room.
What was this single mirror doing in this classroom? Harry thought to himself. Maybe it was an enchanted mirror.
He felt Filch's presence get away from near the classroom.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he walked over to mirror to examine it. It showed nothing, so Harry shed off his invisibility cloak, and then what he saw caused him to double back a bit, and snapping his head to see behind him, but there was no one. He turned towards the mirror again and saw the same thing.
His reflection, instead of showing a flabbergasted Harry, showed a Harry who was grinning from ear to ear. To the right of his reflection stood a woman with flaming red hair tired in a messy bun, smiling brilliantly at him. She was really pretty. And then he noticed her eyes. They were emerald green eyes, exactly like him, and she hugged his reflection from behind. To his left stood a tall, lean man, with messy hair, and he was wearing square-spectacles. The man had a resemblance to Harry. The man kept his hand on Harry's shoulder. There was a mischievous glint in the man's hazel eyes.
Harry drank in the appearance of his parents. They looked so happy. He was among people who loved him.
He didn't notice when his legs almost carried themselves near the mirror, his forehead almost touching the glass. Harry felt a tear roll down his cheek, and he wished nothing more than to really feel his mother hugging him, or his father's hand on his shoulder.
Harry looked at the inscription carved around the top:
'Erised stra ehru oy tube cafru oyt on wohsi'
At first, it looked like some obscure language, but then it wasn't too hard to decipher it being written in the opposite order.
'I show you not your face but your heart's desire.'
Harry didn't know for how long he stood there, but when he had returned to the common room it was four o' clock.
"Back again, Harry?"
Harry's head snapped towards where the elderly headmaster stood, smiling at him. For a moment he thought he was in trouble, but seeing Dumbledore's calm smile, he didn't really think he was. He hadn't even noticed the old man being there when he had entered. Or...maybe he had been invisible. A wizard as powerful as Dumbledore could probably cast disillusionment charms which gave invisibility cloaks a run for their money.
"I see you have found the wonders of the Mirror of Erised", said Dumbledore, sitting on the floor beside Harry, the pale moonlight reflecting on his half moon spectacles.
"It shows us our heart's desire", said Harry.
"Ah, so you figured out it was written from right to left", said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "It has its own beauty to it, but if I were to say, it is a highly dangerous object." Dumbledore's voice suddenly turned sombre. "People have wasted away sitting in front of the mirror, thinking of reliving what they desire the most. And you can, I hope, understand why it is indeed a dangerous artefact now, hmm? Remember this Harry, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Harry nodded slowly. This was the third time he had spent nearly all of the night in front of the mirror. He knew holding onto his past or what could have happened, wasn't something worth wasting time over.
"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you see in the mirror?" asked Dumbledore curiously.
"I-I see my parents", said Harry, his voice shaking a little. "A life where I grew up with them." Harry sniffed a little, trying to control his tears that were making his vision blurry, and threatening to spill.
"It is quite natural for you", said Dumbledore. The old man looked at the mirror and sorrowfully looked back. "We all wish for a life where certain things happened differently. But the past cannot be changed and what is in our hands is the present."
"The mirror would be shifted to a new place tomorrow, and I must ask you not going looking for it", said Dumbledore.
"I-I won't", said Harry with conviction.
They sat in silence for some time. Dumbledore seemed to be pondering on something, when he finally said, "You know, Harry, there is a children's story book in our Wizarding World. There is a tale among many, which says that the dead are content where they move onto. I believe they look upon their loved ones. Your parents would be proud of you from where they look upon."
"Like there actually exists heaven and hell?" asked Harry surprised.
"I don't think the dead are differentiated once they move on their next great adventure", said Dumbledore chuckling lightly. "What you may consider to be immoral or a wrong, someone might not think it the same way. So, the question comes…who is right? No one really knows what happens after your death, but wizards and witches have a choice to stay behind as ghosts, as I have clearly seen."
The mirror had indeed been moved to a different home the next day, and Harry didn't fret much over it, instead concentrating on duelling and enjoying the holidays he had still left.
The Forbidden Forest had an ethereal quietness around it. While there were normal creatures around the place too, he had also come across two creatures, centaurs, he had later realised, who were conversing about something about some planets glowing brighter, and what it meant in the future.
Future.
His mind drifted off to how Flamel had said that his parents were killed by Voldemort because of a prophecy. A prophecy which said he would perhaps face the Dark Lady one day? Flamel even used the term 'cliché saviour'.
Harry was a bit surprised that Nicolas Flamel, the legendary immortal alchemist, knew about him. But then again, McGonagall had said he was the sole survivor of the Killing Curse. So maybe it wasn't that surprising.
It was stupid for people to hail him to be someone like the next forthcoming of Merlin, because he was sure his mum or dad had done something that night which had made sure he survived, but the people had gone bonkers over the stuff nonetheless.
Harry's duelling lessons with Fawley continued, and she told him about creating spell chains, and their effectiveness. She worked on how fast his spells hit the target, or how fluidly he moved his wand, which she admitted was better than what she had expected of him before, but she still made him work hard.
Before Harry knew it, the holidays were over and after New Year's celebration, on 2nd January, everyone returned to school. The House Tables had been set up again, and everyone kept talking about the time they had spent with their families over Christmas. Ron was telling them about how his brother Charlie, who had brought a few photographs of the dragons who stayed in the dragon reserves where he worked, Hermione told them about France, and Daphne spoke of Christmas and New Year balls they had attended. They had exchanged a lot of letters, but that didn't stop them from conversing like they had not even heard from one another this whole time. Harry spoke of the brilliant decorations in Hogwarts during Christmas.
The classes continued and everything fell into a pattern once more. However, the next time the topic of the cerebus came up, Harry told them about the conversation between Dumbledore and Flamel that he had eavesdropped on. He, had of course, omitted the part about his Invisibility Cloak, or the mention of a prophecy.
"I hadn't known Pernelle Flamel is a seer", mused Daphne.
The Gryffindors and the two Slytherins had taken to do their homework together in the library. To the other students (and even teachers), it was odd seeing Slytherins and Gryffindors together without trying to hex each other, much less see them working together in a civil manner. But by Christmas, everyone had kind of gotten used to it, and left the first years alone. At least that's what the others thought (Slytherin was a really complicated house).
"But I was proven right", said Ron smugly. "It is the real Philosopher's Stone!"
"Yes, we get it! You're a genius, Weasley!" said Daphne sarcastically, mocking him in a voice filled with fake awe. "Are you happy now?"
"Now, look here—"
"All right, enough you two!" snapped Harry. "So, the problem's a lot more serious than I expected. But, what's more shocking is that Dumbledore and Flamel both think that it is Voldemort who is after the stone!"
"But isn't she supposed to be dead?" asked Hermione.
"No one exactly knows what happened to her, that night", pointed out Daphne. "It could very well be, that the rebounding curse from Potter, didn't kill her, but weakened her instead. There wasn't any body found—or her wand for that matter, and all that remained were her clothes."
"Don't you remember anything, Harry?" asked Ron bluntly and tactlessly, causing everyone to frown in a disapproving manner at Ron. The redhead remained unaware of the disapproving stares though.
"Ron, I was fifteen months old", said Harry calmly, although the hint of steel in his voice didn't go unnoticed by, causing Ron to flinch and murmur a soft "sorry" out.
"But that was not all", said Harry slowly. "Flamel mentioned that Voldemort, I guess her real name is Emily…er…I forgot her surname, anyways Emily was Dumbledore's 'most prized pupil'. And that she had been the first whom Dumbledore had taken under his tutelage to teach Alchemy."
"Wait, Dumbledore taught Voldemort!" said Ron gobsmacked. "But Dumbledore is the leader of Light! And she was dark!"
"Obi-wan Kenobi was the master and a good friend of Anakin Skywalker too", said Harry. "But he did become Darth Vader and joined the Dark side. He even killed Obi-wan in Star Wars: A New Hope."
No one, except Hermione, had any clue about what he was talking about. Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "This is the real life, Harry! Not Star Wars!"
"You do realise how that sounds coming from a witch sitting in a magical school in Scotland—your reference about real life I mean—but, anyways—that's what I heard from them", pointed out Harry. "Personally, I believe Light and Dark is bullshit—"
"Language!" chastised Hermione.
"Even McGonagall told me that Voldemort didn't just use Dark Arts. She could never become as powerful as she was, with just that. And Flamel himself said that Dumbledore's knowledge in the Dark Arts was extensive and probably only to be beaten by Voldemort herself."
Everyone stared at him like he had grown a second head.
Harry rolled his eyes. "You do realise he fought against Gellert Grindelwald, right? And Grindelwald was leading a war in Europe and America. So, you think Dumbledore went against Grindelwald with a couple of stunning spells? At least he must have read about the counters against the Dark Arts which Grindelwald used. Aurors were allowed to use Unforgivables in our British war!"
"Well, I guess what Harry said makes sense", said Daphne. "I mean everyone in Slytherin thinks Dumbledore's a softy who loves—er—well—"
"They are a bunch of bloody morons", said Harry simply.
Days wore on, and soon the snow started melting. The second Gryffindor Quidditch match came in February, against Hufflepuffs, and although the Gryffindors had an incredible lead, Hufflepuff seeker Cedric Diggory caught the snitch, causing Hufflepuffs to win for only ten points. Lee Jordan had started swearing profanities at Cedric Diggory, and McGonagall had to snatch the mic away from him.
After the particular match, Harry had gone down to visit Hagrid, but he had been met by a surprise.
"You have a dragon egg!" exclaimed Harry excited.
"Aye, a Norwegian Ridgeback", said Hagrid proudly. "A fella down in yer Hog's Head gave urn ter me."
"Cool!" said Harry. "Let me see it when it hatches!"
"Don' yeh worry, Harry", Hagrid reassured him. "I'll call yeh, I will."
Teachers had increased their workload because of their end-of-year exams approaching. While Harry knew he could ace the practicals in wand based subjects, he still had to remember the star positions for Astronomy, One thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi for Herbology, remember the dates for the History of Magic, and go through all the potions stuff because that was a subject he also wanted to bring an Outstanding to. And the number of essays they had to do for their homework kept on increasing. Then he also had the duelling lessons with Fawley, where Harry himself was surprised with how much he had progressed in a few months, and he was just a first year!
All in all, Harry did feel a bit tired at times.
One day before their Herbology class, Hedwig had come with a letter.
On the parchment, written in a rather untidy scrawl, were only two words:
It's hatching.
Harry didn't need to guess what Hagrid was referring to. He watched as Hedwig kept helping herself to his bacon.
"You know, not that I mind…but greasy food isn't exactly good for your health", said Harry.
Hedwig's head slowly turned towards him. She gave a bark.
"Yeah, but you have the same amount of bacon that I do…every day", explained Harry. "I am much larger than you, and your digestive system is different."
Hedwig flapped her wings and barked angrily.
"I didn't say you were fat", said Harry defensively. "I'm just pointing a few stuff."
"Both of them have gone barmy", he heard Ron mumble to Hermione.
Hedwig, unfortunately for Ron, had heard him. Her eyes flashed dangerously, and she flew over to where Ron was sitting and kept pecking at his skull.
"Ah, Geroff!" said Ron trying to protect his scalp from Hedwig. "The bloody bird's a menace!" Everyone in the Great Hall watched the scene with amusement and some outright guffawed.
Hedwig landed in front of Harry and gave Ron a huff.
"Yes Ron, that's no way to talk to a lady", spoke Harry in Hedwig's defence.
"Can you actually understand what Hedwig says?" asked Hermione frowning.
"I can", said Harry at the same time Hedwig gave a bark.
"But-but she is an owl, and you are…"
Hedwig looked at Harry, then back at Hermione and shrugged. With that she snatched another bacon and flew away from the Great Hall.
Harry could barely pay attention in the Herbology class, and as soon as the class ended, Harry sprinted towards Hagrid's hut. If Harry was to be true to himself, it was practically boiling inside Hagrid's hut, so he performed a cooling charm on himself, and offered to do one on the Gamekeeper. The black egg seemed to be shaking for some time in the fireplace. Hagrid said it does that for a few hours, before the shell actually cracks.
Hagrid made Harry some tea, as both of them started talking excitedly about raising the dragon. It was well after an hour and a half, before they heard a light 'crack' and Harry observed a slight crack on the shell. Hagrid was about to go and pick it up, but Harry instead levitated the egg on the table. It was then that Harry realised that he had performed wandless magic in front of Hagrid, but thankfully the Gamekeeper was far too excited to have noticed. There was another crack and a small piece of shell shot out, followed by a small black umbrella like limb springing out. The limb started breaking the shell more and more, and out came a baby dragon. The dragon, which had black scales, couldn't be larger than a niffler, but its wings, which highly resembled an umbrella, were bigger compared to its body. The dragon turned towards Harry and gave a small cry.
"He's wonderful, ain' he?" said Hagrid, who seemed to be crying out of joy. "Oh, look Harry! I reckon he likes yeh!"
Harry's hands slowly approached the dragon, and then softly petted its head, causing it to give another cry.
"This dragon is really gonna brighten up the Care of Magical Creatures classes, won't it?" asked Harry, softly moving his fingers around the dragon's head. The dragon suddenly gave a cough, sneezing some flames out. The flames however didn't touch Harry, and instead the small flames danced around his forefinger. The dragon seemed to have noticed it, and then moved closer to Harry's finger and bobbed its head, as if asking Harry to pet it.
"Well, abou' that", said Hagrid, suddenly appearing a bit at unease, not having noticed Harry's display of magic. "Raisin' dragons were bann'd by the Ministry. People consider them dangerous, yeh see…a bit hard ter control. So, yeh need a license an' all, can' leh people see this. That Malfoy boy won' hesitate in gettin' us in trouble."
"Wait, there are…" Why did no one mention that keeping dragons were illegal? So, first year into the school, and he's already started breaking the law. He would have to hide this piece of information then.
As days started passing, the dragon, whom Hagrid had named Norberta (after Harry had pointed out that it was a female), started growing in size exponentially. In a week, it was as big as a Labrador dog, and it was really proving out to be a handful for Hagrid. Norberta, however, seemed to like Harry a lot more than Hagrid, which probably had to do with how he controlled flames. Harry had been able to control the elements like fire, ice and water, ever since the bus incident. He liked how sometimes the flames or ice danced around his fingertips. Harry used to manipulate the flames, which were around the size of his palm, to dance around, which provided entertainment to the dragon. When Hagrid had asked Harry about the dancing flames, Harry had smoothly lied (Harry did feel a bit bad for lying to the man though) about it being a spell he had looked up a book in the library.
Thinking that perhaps keeping Norberta in Hagrid's wooden hut was risky, Harry and Hagrid decided to take Norberta to the Forbidden Forest in the night. Hagrid had fetched Harry some wooden poles and a metal wire. Harry had levitated the poles to a height, and then plunged it a feet deep inside the ground, with just a sharp wand-motion. The next with a circular motion he had caused the metal wire to form a large circle, looped around each wooden pole, and formed three layers of wire.
"Tha's some neat stuff, Harry", commended Hagrid.
"It's just the levitation and locomotor charm", said Harry. "We did this ages ago!" Although Harry could probably do it wandlessly too.
"Oh, I've known 'Wingardium Leviosa', Harry", said Hagrid. "I know mos' can der it. But it's the way yer doin' it, how yeh control yer magic. I tell yeh, many fifth years can' der it the way yeh can."
Harry blushed at Hagrid's praise.
Another week had passed and Norberta had grown about the size of Fang. She had started to flap her wings five days ago or so, and Harry understood she wanted to fly. So, from the next day Harry carried his broom, and the dragon and Harry (who was on his Nimbus 2000) flew around the forest, dodging trees. They had come across four centaurs once, who seemed quite mad at him, and so Harry had apologised to the centaurs. A centaur called Bane wasn't too eager in doing so, but another centaur named Firenze had asked them to let him go. That day too, Harry flew around the forest with Norberta, and after Harry was sure they were well outsight the sight of the student body who might spot them, they had risen above the canopy, and had flew around, the wind rustling Harry's already messy hair, and beating against his face.
They had flown for some time like that, but after they noticed that sun was slowly setting, they had descended, and came to Norberta's place. Much to Harry's surprise, when they neared the spot where Norberta stayed, he spotted Hagrid with Porfessor Dumbledore and McGonagall. Dumbledore seemed to be smiling, but McGonagall had an incredulous expression on her face.
"My word, never in moi life… HARRY POTTER!" screamed McGonagall, and Harry flinched at her tone. "Are yea flyin' areaund the forest with a DRAGON?!" McGonagall's tongue was rolling thick with her Scottish accent.
Harry looked like a deer caught in headlights. Hagrid seemed downtrodden however, instead of nervous as he had expected.
"It seems Professor McGonagall hadn't been exaggerating when she told us about your flying talents", said Dumbledore merrily.
McGonagall however was seething. "Whad'yea have to say fer yearself, laddie?"
"Uh…well…someone needs to teach her to fly", said Harry nervously, looking at the dragon, which now had moved back inside the wired hatch, and was dozing.
"That'd be fifty points for Gryffindor for coming to the Forbidden Forest and flying with a dragon of all things!" said McGonagall. "And you would be serving detention, and I will make sure it's not with Hagrid too. You must feel like you detention is actually a punishment."
"As for the dragon, I have contacted the dragon reserves", said Dumbledore. "They will arrive here tomorrow to take it."
"Wait, Norberta is going?" asked Harry. "But she grew up here!"
"Harry, she must grow among her kind", said Dumbledore kindly. "Even the legal complications aside, she cannot live here. And speaking of legal complications—let me tell you this, normally the punishment for what you are caught doing, is far more severe. And Hagrid can get in severe trouble with the law for this, maybe even a short stay in Azkaban. Please try to understand."
Harry didn't say anything because he knew Dumbledore was right.
But it was hard to let go of Norberta.
"What is it Harry?" asked Daphne. "You don't look yourself."
Harry sighed, not knowing how to answer, and so continued writing the Herbology essay, mumbling, "Nothing."
It had been a tearful goodbye with Norberta the previous day, when the dragon handlers had come to take her away, one of them being Charlie Weasley. Ron had, of course, come to meet with his brother along with Fred, George and Percy. They had been shocked, to say the least, on finding that Harry and Hagrid had been raising a dragon. The Weasley brothers had looked in awe as Harry petted the Norwegian Ridgeback, who herself looked downtrodden at the scope of being separated from her favourite human.
Ron was playing his part of 'being-clueless-about-what's-wrong' very poorly, and everyone had noticed that. Once they asked him enough questions, he finally gave in.
"YOU WERE RAISING A DRAGON!" shrieked Hermione, and Harry was thankful that he had remembered to cast the 'Muffliato'.
"Well, technically it was Hagrid", mumbled Harry.
"You were flying with the dragon", said Ron, finally giving in to his awe.
"It must've been really fun, huh?" asked Tracey. "I don't think many experienced fliers can do that."
"Well, it was just a baby dragon after all", pointed out Harry.
Daphne shook her head. "How do you get yourself into these situations?"
"You lost Gryffindor fifty points!" said Hermione.
Harry ignored her and said, "I miss Norberta, yes, but I agree with Dumbledore. She needs to grow with her kind. But I'm just glad my detentions aren't with Snape or Filch. It's just writing lines in Fawley's class."
"What did you have to write?" questioned Neville.
"That I won't fly with a dragon again", said Harry, causing the others to chuckle, except Hermione.
Fawley herself had been amused by the incident. She had said, Filch had almost got his detention, but Fawley had offered to take his detentions instead, for which he was thankful. She had laughed uncontrollably when she had finally informed him of what lines he was supposed to write.
Their exams came closer and closer and Hermione bullied anyone whom she didn't think was studying enough.
"Oh pAh-lease, Granger!" said Daphne. "I can sit in the exams right now, and outscore you by a long shot."
What followed next, had been a verbal sparring between the two, and Harry was surprised that they hadn't hexed each other to next week by the end of it.
When the exams had started, Harry personally thought Hermione was more stressed than the fifth years, who were giving their O.W.L.s. Harry knew he really did well in his exams. McGonagall had been thrilled with his snuffbox, to which he had placed coloured glass and designed his metal too. Harry knew she had given him full marks, so had Flitwick in charms—and Defence against the Dark Arts was a given. Harry had managed to get a perfect Forgetful Potion, and Harry knew Snape would give him an Outstanding, albeit grudgingly.
Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief once their last exam, Herbology was over. They had moved out in the warm weather of June, and chatted amiably under the cool shade of a tree beside the Black Lake. Hagrid could be seen feeding the Giant Squid. Ron and Tracey took turns on Harry's Nimbus 2000. While Tracey had been flying around the Great Lake, Ron was telling them about how Norwegian Ridgeback were one of the most exotic of dragon species, just after the Ukranian Ironbelly.
That had peaked Harry's attention.
"Then a Norwegian Ridgeback must've come in very costly", said Harry.
"Yeah, of course", said Ron. "Charlie said that he was surprised how Hagrid had managed to acquire that breed."
That didn't bode well with Harry. Something was under play here and his mood turned grim as a few scenarios started playing in his mind.
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Daphne.
Her question had attracted the attention of Hermione, Ron, Neville and Fay.
"If the Norwegian Ridgeback is such an exotic species…then why would someone bet against it in a game of cards?" said Harry more to himself than the others. "When he could've sold it and gotten much more money out of it."
"Maybe the guy had too much to drink", said Ron shrugging.
"No", said Harry shaking his head. "Hagrid is the person who had too many drinks. Nearly everyone knows Hagrid's love for dragons. And a person just happens to be there who has a dragon egg and he finds Hagrid to play a game of cards with. There are no accidents."
"So, what exactly are you trying to say?" asked Hermione.
"Cerebus are extremely magically resistant creature", explained Harry. "Imperius has no effect on it and nor can you put it to sleep by enchanting it. That is of course because of the existence of three heads which makes it harder to control them, unless you kill it. The person is trying to be inconspicuous, so he or she won't attempt that option at least. Only two people had the knowledge of how to get past Fluffy—Dumbledore and Hagrid. And it seems to be the only obstacle which is giving the perpetrator trouble." Harry stood from his place. "I've got to talk with Dumbledore."
Harry stared gravely at the fireplace, his fingers folded. It just had to be the day when Dumbledore was not in the castle. He knew with Dumbledore in the castle, the perpetrator wouldn't try stealing the stone. But now? He had a bad feeling in his gut about this day. He knew McGonagall herself looked worried. If there was only something he could use to keep track of the place.
Something to keep track of the place.
His head snapped towards two identical gingers, sitting in the corner of the Common Room, grinning at a queer looking lever like thing and attempting spells on it, while the others near the twins looked warily at them.
Harry got up from the couch in front of the fireplace and walked up to them.
"Oh, look Forge", said George who had seen Harry approaching them. "It's Harry."
"The boy-who-flew-with-a-dragon", whispered Fred conspiringly.
"Wizards and their love for hyphens", said Harry, shaking his head exasperatedly. "I need to talk to you, and it is important."
"Important, you say?" Fred looked at his twin with a raised eyebrow.
"What can a firstie like you say something which we might deem important?" asked George smirking. He was obviously considering this as a joke.
Harry flicked his wand muttering, "Muffliato." He looked seriously at the twins. "I want the Marauders' Map."
The question about what spell he had used remained unspoken as the twins' eyebrows shot up on hearing about the map. Whatever they had been expecting, this wasn't it.
"I want the Marauders' Map just for today, please!" Harry spoke with desperation in his voice.
"How do you know about it?" asked Fred warily.
"I have my sources", said Harry. "I know I'm being really enigmatic right now, but it's just for a fortnight. And I won't do anything with it. It's urgent."
Both the twins looked at each other weighing their options.
"Please?" urged Harry.
"What would we get in return?" asked George.
"What do you want?"
Another silent conversation passed between the two. Finally Fred said, "We haven't decided yet, but we will require a favour from you, when we do think of something."
"If it is something reasonable…then, sure", replied Harry.
"You aren't exactly being reasonable here too", pointed out Fred.
"Yeah, you just came here asking for something that you're not supposed to know about", said George.
"And which belongs to us", said Fred.
"But we won't ask anything unreasonable, don't ya worry."
"I mean, you do get into trouble now and then."
"Yeah, it's not like you'd mind a detention or two—"
"—That's the most that'll happen—"
"—if things go south that is—"
"—if you agree to it—we'll make a deal."
"So, yes you can have it."
Fred fished inside his robes and gave Harry a stack of parchments.
Harry grinned at them. "Thanks."
Harry had immediately gone to his dormitory, and tucked his invisibility cloak, the wooden flute, and the pocket knife (which could open any lock) inside his robes.
"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
For the first time, he saw the map activate itself with his own eyes. Writings appeared on the map:
Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Are proud to present to you
The Marauders' Map
Harry saw as ink spread throughout the parchment, forming a design of the castle. Every class, every passage, the four common rooms, teacher's quarters, started appearing and then appeared labels for each person in the castle. He found Professor McGonagall in what Harry recognised as Flitwick's office with Flitwick. Snape was patrolling in the dungeons, and Filch was roaming in the sixth floor. He found that most of the students were inside their respective common rooms, and some of the teachers were patrolling, and there were also three pair of students, who he assumed were prefects, going through their routine patrols. He also found Alice Knottjen and Edward James in what seemed to be a broom closet. The third floor corridor was empty. Harry stayed inside his dormitory, keeping his eyes trained for something out of the ordinary for the next few hours.
Harry thought the best way to utilize this time was to continue drawing his own map copying the Marauders' Map. When Ron and Neville had returned to the dormitory at eleven, he had feigned being asleep with his curtains drawn. They hadn't asked many questions and by half an hour or so, he could hear their soft snores. He continued drawing his map, with an eye trained on the third floor. The time was well past midnight, and most of the professors had retired to their quarters, with only Filch roaming the corridors.
And then he saw it. A label which had just moved into the third floor.
Emily Riddle
Harry wore the Invisibility Cloak over himself. On pulling the hood, Harry Potter turned invisible to his surroundings. He crept out of his dormitory, and slowly went down the stairs to find himself in the empty Common Room. When Harry opened the portrait door, the Fat Lady woke up from her sleep. "Who's there?" she called out in a guarded voice.
Harry couldn't resist himself and said in a deep, throaty voice, "I'm Batman!"
The Hogwarts halls were deserted, something which wasn't out of the ordinary at this hour. As he continued walking down to the third floor, Harry's thoughts drifted to the person he was facing today. Voldemort.
Was he any match for the Dark Lady? But then again, he reassured himself, technically she shouldn't have a body. So, maybe it was just a weakened state of her. But she could still be equally dangerous. A sense of foreboding settled in his stomach. Would he even come out of this alive? He didn't know, but only time would tell. His heart started beating faster and faster, as he now stood just before the door which led to Fluffy.
Stepping inside, Harry found Fluffy growling under his breath. Beside Fluffy lay a conjured harp. Harry started playing the flute—just playing the notes in a random pattern he didn't know. He vowed to himself to learn to play the flute properly later. Thankfully, it seemed to be working as one of Fluffy's heads yawned, while the other started dozing. In two minutes or so, Fluffy was deep asleep. Moving its paw to the side, Harry opened the trapdoor and jumped inside. At first, Harry thought his bones were gonna break and he would end up on a hard surface. But he found himself impact a soft surface instead. Suddenly it seemed many hands had grasped his hands and legs, and started tightening its hold around him.
Devil's Snare.
Harry conjured flames from his hands and in five seconds, the Devil's Snare had let go of him. Harry snapped his fingers and three balls of light appeared before him, lighting up the place. Harry stuffed his invisibility cloak inside his pocket. The room had a door in front of him. Opening the door he entered into a chamber, and above him flew around to what appeared to be numerous small birds. But they were actually keys which could fly.
Harry took out his pen knife, and as he was about to start tinkering with its lock, he found a few scratch marks on the metal surface. This meant Voldemort had used a similar object, probably a pen knife like him. Harry started tinkering with its lock until he heard a 'click'. Sighing in relief that he hadn't had to go around searching for the right key, Harry stepped into the next room.
In front of him, there stood a giant chessboard with thirty two chess pieces arranged for a game left to be played.
Harry couldn't help but wonder that these were less of a protection and more of a treasure-hunt. Something to delay whoever was getting past these obstacles.
Harry concurred that he was probably supposed to play this game of chess. The chess set reminded him of Wizard's Chess. To end the game what he required was the destruction of the opposite king. At first, Harry had thought about the use of a Bombarda, but the spell might very well be deflected towards him. So, Harry levitated the sword held by his queen and charged it straight into the opponent king's figure. Harry simply walked through the chess set, with no one bothering him.
As he entered the next room, he found himself facing ten duelling dummies, the same Professor Fawley used. As soon as Harry stepped into the room, the door shut behind him and one of the dummies fired a red jet of light towards him. Months of ingrained practice caused him to deflect it away. It was a stunning spell. But then all the ten dummies started firing at him, and Harry batted away the onslaught of spells for nine or ten seconds, but he knew he couldn't go on doing it and so conjured a Protego shield instead, pushing as much power and intent he could into the shield, to hold it against the onslaught of stunning spells which kept getting stronger and faster. His shield was vibrating because of the spells which were continuously crashing onto it.
There was only one way.
A stream of fire erupted from him and engulfed the duelling dummies. The dummies fell apart, breaking down, some immediately turning to ash. They were not programmed for defending. The fire died down in less than a second, once Harry willed it to.
Stepping over the broken dummies, he went to the next door. Inside the door, kept on a table were seven differently shaped bottles with potions in it and a rolled up parchment. As soon as he stepped inside, fire sprung from behind him and the gap of the door in front of him. The flames were black and purple in colour respectively.
Cursed flames.
Harry went to the table and took the rolled up parchment. It read:
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
Did Snape really give a riddle? A logical puzzle that looks like it came out of a muggle puzzle book of a five year old kid. He read it carefully. 'Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides', but the largest one was second from the left side, so that just leaves the small one. Harry took the bottle and saw that it was already half-empty.
'So that just confirms it', thought Harry to himself.
Harry took a swig and felt him pass through the flames. Perhaps it was because of his ability to understand the elements, but this obstacle, despite the puzzle being solvable easily, was arranged by a pure sadistic bastard. And who could it be other than Snape? These flames would've burnt him rather painfully. The bastard had used the Dark Arts.
When Harry came out, he found himself in a large circular chamber. In the centre of the chamber, stood the Mirror of Erised, and in front of the mirror, stood a very familiar brunette.
"Professor Fawley?" he asked seeing Fawley turn around to face him.
"Harry?" Fawley appeared to be a bit surprised to see him. "What're you doing—"
Harry immediately took his wand out and pointed it at her. "I know you're not Professor Fawley. You're Emily Riddle." He saw as the person who was disguised as Fawley look even more surprised. "Or should I say Voldemort?" Harry's voice had turned cold. He knew that the witch standing before him was much powerful than he was. He wasn't powerful enough to do something to her…but maybe he could live long enough to pose a distraction. And survive this debacle too. And the element of surprise…maybe Voldemort underestimated him as any first year, and he could pull something up, which could act as a distraction. "What've you done to her? Is this Polyjuice potion?"
A lazy smile graced her features. "You are aware that I'm Lady Voldemort, yet you are here pointing your wand at me. You are brave I must give you that, Harry. And yes, you are clever, but you've just missed one part." Her blue eyes looked intently at him. "I hope you are smart enough to figure out that I don't have a permanent body, and so I possess creatures or humans, as I find. I met Elizabeth Fawley by accident, when I had been possessing a muggle woman in Albania. I possessed her then, which is just about a year ago from now. I became the dominant spirit in her body and had been staying here ever since. It wasn't a permanent solution but it would work for the time being." Harry saw her idly twirling her wand in her fingers.
Harry seemed at lost for words. This whole time—the person he'd grown so close to over the months—it wasn't Fawley. It was Voldemort. "You-you were—you were—all along—" The person who had killed his parents. All of this was a manipulation.
But to achieve what?
Harry's grip on his wand tightened. He had spent nearly the whole year, thinking she was the only person who understood him and cared for him. Harry's self-loathing for himself, grew within him. How could he be so gullible? So stupid?
"Well—" she shrugged. "Yes."
It was like the whole world around him shattered. He half expected Fawley to suddenly start laughing and say that she was messing around with him. But it never came.
"You are the one trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone", said Harry. It was more of a statement than a question. "But—then—"
"When I had thought of using the Philosopher's Stone, I tried to steal it from the Flamels. They sadly grew aware of it, and I knew, that by then they would already have kept it under some Fidelius. So, I decided upon my next destination—Hogwarts. I pulled up a few strings, and the previous Defence professor had been given a nice offer for a curse-breaking expedition. Elizabeth Fawley soon applied for the Defence post, and well, I obviously got it." Voldemort shrugged. "Imagine my surprise when I heard that the Philosopher's stone would be kept here. I didn't believe it, of course. Professor Dumbledore second guesses everything, and so I knew it was just a waste of time. A ruse to perhaps show myself up. However, there appeared to be a slight flaw in my plan." She smiled at Harry. "It was you, Harry."
"None of my words were lies, Harry", said Voldemort softly. "You did remind me of myself, a lot. I was curious in learning about you, but as I learnt more and more about you…" she trailed off. "Harry, I saw myself within you. But despite all of that, I realised that I had put you under the same suffering that I had gone through years ago.
"Harry, do you know why I attacked you that night on Halloween?" asked Voldemort.
Harry stayed quiet.
"It was because of a prophecy", she continued in a soft voice. "A prophecy which somehow related both of us, and that made you attack me."
"It said I was some kind of cliché saviour of the Light?" asked Harry remembering the conversation he had heard between Flamel and Dumbledore.
Voldemort seemed surprised for a bit, but then she figured out something.
"You were there that day, weren't you?" asked Voldemort. "The night Flamel came to school—honestly, Harry—" she shook her head "—how many nights do you spend wandering around the castle?"
Voldemort sighed. "Well, the prophecy said that 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lady approaches…born to those who have thrice defied her, born as the seventh month dies…'"
Seventh month? July? And thrice defied her? So, his parents fell into that category.
"As you might have guessed, I figured out it was you", said Voldemort. "I just didn't figure out what 'vanquish' would actually have meant—but now I do…the prophecy has been fulfilled—and it's just some stupid thing which—it would had been better if I'd just ignored that bloody thing…I always hated Divination. Moreover, you heard what Flamel said—and I don't want to hurt you, Harry—I really don't. You are special—like I was, not like the normal witches and wizards—Harry, help me get the Philosopher's stone tonight—"
"And why would I?" asked Harry with a hint of steel in is voice. "You manipulated me, and you expect me to go forward with your manipulations still?"
"The only thing I lied about was my name", said Voldemort. "I didn't lie for a single time otherwise. Harry, people can't fake that much. I really repent for the life you've been through because of me." Her voice was soft. "And I can pay you back for it. Harry, if we get the stone, you can be with me. You can be my apprentice and you won't ever have to go to your relatives…those monsters again. I won't harm you."
"I would never join you!" snapped Harry angrily.
"And what if I had made this offer yesterday?" asked Voldemort. "Had I been Professor Fawley? I know you would've accepted it without a second thought." She looked at him expectantly. "If I wanted to harm you, I could've done that the numerous times we were alone. The only difference between today and yesterday are just the differences in my name. Harry throughout this time, it has been Emily Riddle with you and not Elizabeth Fawley."
Harry shook his head. But he still asked himself. Was all of that really a lie? Or was it more of a truth than a lie? What would've happened if she had not been his parent's killer? There were moments where it truly felt like she cared about him a lot. All the time they had tea after duelling. The day he had cried on her shoulders, and she had comforted him. Or when she had seen his scars.
All that time it had been Voldemort?
"Harry…I really am sorry."
"I'm pleased Emily, that you at least show remorse for one of your actions."
This time a voice spoke from behind Harry, and he found the tall elderly Headmaster come to stand beside him.
"Professor Dumbledore", greeted Emily coolly. "So, let me guess…there was an alarm ward."
"Yes", said Dumbledore. His tone conversational; like he was merely asking about the weather. "You were always a clever witch. And I will agree on how similar indeed you and Harry are. How did you survive, by the way? The rebounding Killing Curse should've killed you."
"I found a way", said Voldemort simply. "Will you stop me now, professor? Like all those times."
"Yes, I will", said Dumbledore. "I will have to fight you, Emily."
It was at the same time that a blue jet of light sprung from Voldemort's wand, while a white jet from Dumbledore's. Both the spells collided with so much force, that Harry found himself sprung backwards and hit hard on one of the walls of the chamber. He saw dark spots on his vision and almost on instinct whispered, "Protego."
The whole room was shaking because of the intensity with which the spells kept on striking each other. A deep fissure appeared on the floor, and the shaking grew more and more violent. And the next moment he saw Dumbledore throwing a huge burst of flames at her, which she dissipated with a swipe of her wand. She launched a chain of spells, which Dumbledore batted aside and threw his own chain of spells. Voldemort suddenly threw lightning bolts at Dumbledore, which made a resounding 'clap', but Dumbledore was able to block it with some kind of a golden shield. The next he knew, all the broken debris had been made into a huge golem, which charged at Voldemort. With a wave of her wand, a powerful burst of white energy, blasted it into smithereens, and nearly blew the wall behind the golem off. Dumbledore had protected himself with another shield.
Voldemort was suddenly trapped inside a huge sphere of water, but then there was a 'BANG!' and the next second, he saw was the sphere of water was nowhere to be seen, and a drenched Voldemort stood there panting. Perhaps a twenty or so swords rained down on Dumbledore. The swords then turned to dust and the dust charged at Voldemort, who merely flicked her wand again and a python appeared in place of the dust, which then charged towards Dumbledore. The python found its head to be sliced within a second. There was a loud explosion which seemed to rock the place again, and then Harry felt darkness envelope him.
Harry woke up to soft whisperings around him.
He was lying on a soft bed. The soft mattress caressed his body. He tried to roll a bit, causing his back to ache and he let out a soft groan.
"Ah Harry, I see you are awake", came an all too familiar voice.
Harry got up a bit groggily to find himself in the dark Hospital Wing, but with a wave of Dumbleodre's hand a few lights around them glowed.
"Professor Dumbledore," said Harry softly, looking at the aged headmaster, but his gaze carried over to the other occupant of the room. It was a frail looking old man. "Mr. Flamel."
"Oh, and how did you recognize me, son?" asked the older man with a curious smile on his visage.
"A guess", said Harry. Suddenly remembering the events prior to him getting knocked out. "Professor, what happened to Voldemort?" he spoke, now with a bit of an urgency in his voice.
Dumbledore smiled at him. "I'm sorry Harry, but whenever I had gotten to duel Emily, it always caused a lot of destruction at wake, and it happens to have affected you, despite quite the powerful shield charm you had managed to conjure."
"A shield charm powerful enough to protect him from a crossfire between the two most powerful witch and wizard in Britain?" asked Flame, impressed. "It is most impressive that an eleven year old even managed to produce a shield charm. A whole lot of people died just because of being in the vicinity when Albus' and Grindelwald's duel took place. I believe young Azevedo, when she was twenty-five, was the sole person who managed to hold on and survived in the cross-fire."
Harry felt himself blush a little on getting praised by the immortal alchemist Nicolas Flamel.
"Madam Azevedo always had this gift with self-transfiguration which makes her almost immune to any magic cast on her", Dumbledore told Flamel. "However, as far as Voldemort is concerned", continued Dumbledore, "she did give me a good fight, but I managed to win because of…as the saying goes, an element of surprise. She left the body of Elizabeth Fawley almost immediately. Elizabeth Fawley is in St. Mungo's and we expect her to make a recovery in a few months or so, but it is unlikely she would take up her post as the Defence against the Dark Arts professor. On the other hand, Voldemort is likely out of Britain by now."
"And is the stone safe, sir?" asked Harry.
"Yes, it is", said Flamel. "We've finally decided to protect it by other means." He suddenly gave a mischievous smile, as if he was about share a personal joke. "Although, an official story would be released about the stone being destroyed, and that my wife and I having enough elixir to settle our affairs until our death."
"If I may ask you so, Harry", asked Dumbledore. "When exactly did you figure out about the stone?"
Harry didn't think pulling out a lie would be advisable in this situation, so he told them the truth. "I found about it on the first week of school, when I had visited Hagrid", said Harry slowly. "I was pretty sure that the stone was a fake though, and so I didn't worry much about it. Until—"
"Why did you think that the stone was fake?" asked Flamel curiously, interrupting Harry.
"Er…well, I thought it was highly unlikely that the stone would be kept in a place, however many traps a person might have to go through, when you had revealed its approximate location to a school full of teenagers, who take a totally different meaning of the word 'forbidden'", said Harry, causing Dumbledore and Flamel to chuckle. "Why wouldn't you protect it under a Fidelius charm, with Mr. Flamel as the secret keeper? Odds were against you keeping the real stone here. However, during Christmas, you revealed that you were indeed keeping the real Philosopher's stone in the castle."
"So, you were there when we had our conversation?" asked Flamel, eyeing him appraisingly.
Harry blushed. "I-I'm sorry…I was just wandering the castle trying to find out secret passageways, when you two happened to be there." Harry hung his head down.
"Sweet Circe!" whispered Flamel suddenly. "You're a legilimens, aren't you?"
Harry nodded slowly, wondering how had the man known?
"You are a strong occlumens, but it would make more sense, if you were a Legilimens instead", said Flamel. So, the man had attempted legilimency on him. Great.
"I wasn't aware of this piece of information", said Dumbledore eyeing Harry appraisingly too.
"You are an interesting one, aren't you?" whispered Flamel to himself, and Harry felt himself blush again.
"But how did you figure out, that Voldemort would be attempting to steal it today?" asked Dumbledore curiously.
"Well, I didn't", said Harry. "But it struck me odd, that a person, who happened to have a dragon egg met Hagrid at the pub. Most of all, why would he or she bet, perhaps one of the most exotic among the dragon species' egg, in a game of cards? I wanted to take my concerns to you then and there, but you were not here. I was a bit wary and…well, I found an artefact which would help me keep track of the third floor corridor. It was at one when I saw 'Emily Riddle' moving there. I, of course, didn't know she was possessing Professor Fawley at the time."
Dumbledore nodded accepting the answer.
"Harry, you've shown bravery beyond your years", said Dumbledore looking at Harry with twinkling eyes. "You knew you were facing Voldemort, but you still didn't back off."
"Uh...thank you, sir", said Harry.
"On a totally different note Albus, I don't believe we can keep this business with my stone under wraps very much", said Flamel wincing a bit. "The duel was felt by nearly every resident in the castle, I expect?"
Dumbledore nodded. "And, since we would be declaring about the stone, you need to be there too", he told the alchemist. "Harry, I believe we have some work that needs to be done. Keeping it under the rug, will only agitate people more."
"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Potter", said the frail looking wizard. "But, I believe it is my time to take my leave."
"And it's for the best that we inform Poppy that Harry has woken up", said Dumbledore.
With that the two wizards exited the Hospital Wing, and Madam Pomfrey, the mediwitch, almost immediately bustled over to Harry, checking his diagnostics and giving him another dose of a few horrible tasting potions. The slight ache on his chest had been a side effect of repairing his ribs, which had cracked because of colliding with the wall because of the magical backlash. It would go in a few hours, according to Madam Pomfrey.
Author's notes:
Is Voldemort truly sorry for the life she brought upon Harry and was being genuine? Or is she manipulating Harry?
I believe this chapter alone, paves the path of 'Beautiful yet Dangerous' in a new direction. You'll find more about Emily Riddle's life throughout Harry's second year, which I have already written. As I said the relation between Dumbledore and Riddle would be unique, something which I had tried finding in many fanfictions by surfing through reddit, but found none. So, I wrote it myself.
Please excuse me for the "I'm Batman!" line, but I just love the caped crusader too much.
I really have it planned out on why Nicolas Flamel kept the real stone in Hogwarts, and it's not lazy writing. I am going to introduce a new character in Harry's third year (I currently am in the summer between Harry's second and third year, but I have decided to change chapter 6 and chapter 10, so it'll be a while till I go there, but I have it planned out), and it'd make a lot more sense when the mystery is indeed revealed to you. But if you want spoilers, I won't deny it to you. PM me and I'll explain on what I've thought.
As I had said in my last "A/N", updates would be sporadic from now on. My workload is increasing as my college has started. So, I am sorry, but my updates would turn monthly now.
Also, it seems I forgot to add it in the author's notes of the previous chapter, but the second paragraph (and only the second paragraph) is influenced from another fic called 'Defiance', as one of you has kindly put it in the comment section. I am really sorry for not mentioning it so earlier. Moreover, it adds nothing to my story and just a random filler which I liked, and thought you would like. Defiance and my story go on totally different directions, anyways.
Thank you so much for all your support! Please Follow and give reviews if you do enjoy the story.
Criticisms are welcome, as I am still learning.
Stay tuned! Until next time, then!