Apologies for the delay. This chapter needed a couple of rewrites just to get it right.

THE DAILY PROPHET

January 7th, 1992

MIRACLE AT ST. MUNGOS! LONGBOTTOMS CURED!

The entire Wizarding World knows what happened on that fateful Halloween when the Boy-Who-Lived defeated the Dark Lord You-Know-Who. However, even after his defeat, there were still remnants of his Death Eater followers. Among them were Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus and brother-in-law, Rabastan. These three criminals attacked the Longbottom family and tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom to insanity. Since then, the couple have been permanent residents in St. Mungo's, as Medi-Wizards desperately tried to cure them, but in vain.

All of that changed last night, when renowned and reclusive Greek Medi-wizard Lester Papadopoulos, walked through the doors of St. Mungo's with his stepson Michael Yew. This reporter was able to catch up with Mr. Papadopoulos after he performed his miracle. He said that he had heard about the Longbottom case long ago, and was intrigued. Mr. Papadopoulos declared that he is regarded as one of the best Healers in the Wizarding World, but was very picky about his cases. So when he heard about the Longbottom family, he could not resist a challenge. Of course, he only turned up now, because he needed time for research and to gather his supplies.

This reporter also noted how young Mr. Papadopoulos' stepson was. However, The Medi-wizard said that Mr. Yew is a prodigy, in his words, 'a real chip of the old block'. So, he took him on as his apprentice, and has not regretted it ever since. This reporter begged to know the procedures used to cure the Longbottoms. At that moment, the hospital staff insisted that Mr. Papadopoulos is bound by the Asclepiad Oath to not reveal his medical practices. Dame Augusta Longbottom has been informed of her son and daughter-in-law's recovery. Both Mr. and Mrs Longbottom will be released from hospital this afternoon to recuperate at home.

We at the Daily Prophet wish the Longbottoms a quick recovery. We also hope that they have a happy reunion with their family.

Harry had just finished reading the papers, when he heard a loud clatter across from him. He glanced up to see Hermione's jaw drop, along with a porridge spoon on the floor, which he assumed she dropped. Reading over his left shoulder, Ron blurted, "Bloody Hell! This is massive! Where's Neville?"

The three of them were the first ones down in the Great Hall, and thus got the newspapers first. This was also because Hedwig took her delivery job way too seriously. Hermione looked at the door, "Here he comes! I don't think he's aware of the situation yet."

Neville sat down to Harry's right, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He sleepily mumbled, "Hey guys, what's the matter?"

Harry slowly moved the Prophet under his nose. At first, Neville didn't react and his eyes closed. Then his eyes snapped back open and he snatched the paper from Harry. When he finished, he stared straight ahead and then keeled over backwards and fainted. Harry murmured, "Blimey! Fletch worked pretty fast and outdid himself."

Ron tilted his head curiously and spoke, "What do you mean, mate?"

Harry rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He said, "I may have written to Lee Fletcher from the Apollo Cabin. You remember him right? 15-year-old guy with blond hair? That's him. I remember back on Halloween, Sirius told me about Neville's parents. I kind of felt bad for him and wanted to do something nice for him. So I wrote to Fletcher and called in a favour that he owed me. Honestly, I was just expecting him or one of his older siblings. I definitely didn't expect him to get his dad involved."

Hermione's eyes widened, "Dad? You mean-"

He nodded, "Lester Papadopoulos is an alias Apollo takes when in his mortal form. I'm guessing that he's used it a lot to hang out in the Greek Wizarding World. So they didn't really question it."

Neville finally came to and snatched the newspaper once again. His face split into a broad grin and hugged all three of them. Harry pat his back, "I'm happy for you, mate! You deserve it! According to the paper, they'll be returning home in the afternoon. You can talk to Professor McGonagall to excuse you for some time."

The boy rushed over to the head table, where the equally stunned faculty were seated. In a daze, McGonagall allowed Neville time off to visit his parents. When he returned, an hour after lunch, the boy was deliriously happy. Even Snape, who often made his life unpleasant in Potions, decided to leave him alone.

Just then, Harry noticed something different about Neville. He said, "Hey Nev, is it just me or is that a new wand?"

The boy flushed slightly, "Yeah, I was actually using my dad's old wand all along. It was Gran's idea and she said that I should be honoured to use his wand. Dad wasn't too pleased when he found out and got involved in a massive row with Gran. In the end, Dad won and Mum took me to get my own wand, 13 inches, cherry with a unicorn hair core. I've been able to cast spells a lot better now."

A couple of weeks later, the trio were in the library researching about Nicholas Flamel, when they noticed Hagrid walking in. The large man came over to them and knelt next to Harry. The boy turned and smiled at Hagrid, "Hey Hagrid, how are you?"

His shaggy face broke into a large grin, "Just peachy, Harry. Listen, if you three are not too busy, I wanted to show you a new critter I found."

Hermione interrupted, "Is it the Mooncalf that you were expecting yesterday? I hope it's nothing dangerous like that Chupacabra you showed us last week. Ron's only just got out of the Hospital Wing, and we had a really awkward conversation with Madam Pomfrey."

He waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, its nothing like that… Well, you'll see. The Mooncalf's arrival has been delayed by a couple of weeks."

Later on, Hagrid ushered the trio into his hut as they tried to shield themselves from the pouring rain. It had been raining intermittently for the past few weeks, with occasional thunderstorms. When Hagrid closed the door, the first thing that hit them was the sweltering heat. Right by the fireplace was a large cauldron with a large black egg in it. Harry joked, "Hagrid, we just had lunch! Were you planning to make an omelette?"

He gave a short belly laugh, "Hahaha! Nonsense, Harry! This is a dragon's egg! I was actually in Hogsmeade the other day. Came across an odd chap at the Hog's Head Inn and beat him in a game of cards. Bloke had a lousy hand and I won easily. He told me that he was a lover of exotic creatures and his next expedition was to look for a three-headed dog. He said he heard some rumours of one in Albania and wanted some tips to deal with one. I told him that all he had to do was play some music and it will drop off to sleep."

Hermione squeaked, "Hagrid! You know that breeding dragons without a license is illegal right!? Wouldn't it be better off in a reserve somewhere? I read that there are many dragon reserves in the country. Also, did you see that man's face? He could have been a smuggler"

He blew off her warning, "Now, now, no need to fret. There's all sorts of folks at the Hog's Head Inn. The fellow heard through the grapevine that I was rather fond of dragons. So he used some of his influence to find one for me- Ah! Just in time! Look! It's hatching!"

Sure enough, the egg was wobbling a little and there was a cracking sound. Then, it burst open to reveal a reptilian head followed by a serpentine body, and Hagrid exclaimed happily, "Isn't he beautiful! The bloke who I won it from said that it was a sub-species of the Norwegian Ridgeback, or something like that."

Harry suddenly blurted, "Di Immortales! That's not a dragon!"

Everyone turned to see his pale face. Ron questioned, "It's not?"

The demigod nodded, "There's good news and bad news. The bad news is that this is a drakon, and they are much deadlier."

Hermione, ever eager for more knowledge, asked, "What's the difference between a dragon and a drakon?"

He dodged a spray of venom, "Like I said, drakons are deadlier, and they are several millennia older than dragons. They're also a lot more vicious than dragons."

Ron yelped, "And that's the bad news! What's the good news?"

"This is a Thebian drakon. It's a little less aggressive than other drakon species, but no less dangerous. Most drakon species including the Thebian drakon can spit acidic venom, and they can grow at alarming rates. I'm sorry Hagrid, it needs to go, now. Look, it's already trying to snap at me. It has already recognised me as a demigod, and all monsters, including drakons will go to kill any demigod."

Hagrid tried to argue, "Surely you don't mean that, Harry. It's just a wee little baby. It will not survive alone."

However, Harry was firm, "Sorry Hagrid, but I'm not budging on this. Look… I like you because you're a friend, but I don't want to risk this drakon growing up and putting the four of us and the entire school at risk. Imagine the fallout if someone discovered it in your hut. You could get into major trouble."

The large man agonised over it for a few minutes before his shoulders slumped. He mumbled, "I suppose you're right. You should go and take care of it in the Forbidden Forest, outside the Castle wards."

Ron's voice trembled, "When you said growing at alarming rates, what do you mean by that?"

The reply came just as he dodged another venom shot, "There are reports in the demigod world that drakons can be as long as a skyscraper. Haven't seen one myself, and I don't plan to. It'll take an entire army just to take down a full-grown drakon."

"What's a skyscraper?"

The baby drakon had begun to slither towards Harry, snapping at him, "Imagine a creature as large as Hogwarts castle and multiply it by 10. Some of the largest drakons are as tall as the Empire State Building."

At this, Hermione was also white as a sheet. She whimpered, "Good grief! Th-th-that's tall."

He motioned to Hermione and Ron, never taking his eyes off the drakon as it continued to advance towards him. Harry ordered, "Do me a favour and make sure the coast is clear. I'll try and lead it to the Forbidden Forest so that I can get rid of it."

The two of them nodded and exited the ramshackle hut, leaving Harry to continue backing up as the baby drakon chased him. After five minutes, there was a series of knocks on the door. Harry recognised it as Morse Code, something that Annabeth had taught him.

Avoiding another attack, he quickly opened the door and ducked out, with the drakon following him. He motioned to his two friends, "Get back to the library and try and look up anything else about Flamel. I'll join you once I've got rid of this monster, don't worry about me, I can handle the bugger."

They sprinted away, and Harry began backing towards the Forbidden Forest. In response, the drakon lunged and barely missed him. As it pounced at him again, Harry began to feel for his rings, only to touch bare skin. Turns out, he left it back in his dorm room, and he cursed his own stupidity. He instantly went for his daggers and dropped in a fighting stance, still backing up towards the Forest.

Suddenly, it leaped at him with its jaws agape and he quickly thrust one dagger and stabbed it. In an instant, the baby drakon screeched and dissolved into dust. Breathing heavily, he sheathed the daggers and shakily made his way back to the castle.

A few days later, the trio were no closer to finding out about Nicholas Flamel. The First-Year end of term exams were also steadily approaching so they had to study for those as well. One day, Harry trudged into the Common Room from his dorm after a short afternoon nap, and sat down at a desk. He fished out a few blocks of wood and one dagger before unconsciously carving it up.

He wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing, but cast his mind back on a weird dream. In it, he was at a beach where the sea was really rough. Additionally, there was a white horse and a golden eagle attacking each other, a little ahead of him. The eagle appeared to scream, "Where is it!? Where is it!?"

Harry could not make head or tail of it at all. Suddenly, he noticed someone sitting on the desk in front of him. He looked up and saw a smiling Lavender Brown sitting in front of him. She chirped, "Hi Harry! What are you up to?"

He shrugged, "I finished my revisions a while ago and took a nap. Now I'm just fiddling around. I have ADHD, known as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. So I have to keep my hands busy or I'll go crazy."

Lavender nodded sympathetically, then she looked at the block of wood that he was whittling. The only thing was, it no longer resembled a block of wood, but looked like a small wooden figurine of a roaring lion. She emitted a low whistle, "Wow! You're pretty good at this! Looks incredibly detailed!"

Harry shrugged again and used his wand to summon a few more blocks of wood, "Back at summer camp, we had Arts and Crafts. It was a pretty good way to get creative."

This time, he managed to carve out figurines of a snake, a badger and an eagle, the Hogwarts house mascots. Later on, Parvati also joined her friend to watch him carve. Eventually, he stopped after carving a stag, a tiger and even a hydra. He looked up and saw that Dean was also a spectator.

Then Harry's stomach rumbled and he blushed. Dean chuckled and tossed him a Chocolate Frog. Harry opened it gratefully and caught the frog before it could get away. Biting into it, he absently noted that the card he got was a Dumbledore card. He flipped it over and the information hit him like a ton of bricks. Fortunately, he made no outward reaction, other than to calmly get up and head out of the Common Room. Once past the portrait, he broke into a sprint, heading straight for the library. When he reached, he screeched to a halt and then calmly opened the door to enter. Sure enough, he found a bored Ron and an increasingly frustrated Hermione consulting stacks of books. He sat down between them and muttered, "I found him. I found Nicholas Flamel."

She looked at him with hope in her eyes, "You did?"

He handed the Chocolate Frog card and she studied the information. Something clicked in her and she grabbed a nearby book. She flipped through it and jabbed s finger at a random paragraph. The girl excitedly whispered, "I knew it! Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone! This stone is said to have the ability to turn any metal into pure gold. It is also one of the key ingredients in making the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal."

Ron muttered, "Bloody hell! I can think of many people who would want to get their hands on it. You want to bet that that's what the three-headed dog is guarding?"

Harry quipped, "He's a Cerberus, and that's a sucker's bet, mate. Listen, I'm trusting you two with this information. I've been speaking to Dumbledore, he seems to think that You-Know-Who is not dead. At the moment, he's my prime suspect, but I still don't know how he will try to get it. I was also thinking about that wraith, what if that was You-Know-Who?"

Hermione suddenly had a horrible thought, "It was drinking unicorn blood. The blood is supposed to keep a person alive, even when they are close to dying."

Harry mused, "It's a solid theory. Also, don't you think it was suspicious that the fellow who just so happened to have an egg of a dragon-like creature? There was also a big hole in his story because the Cerberus is native to Greece, not Albania."

Hermione said, "We've got to watch out. Though I suppose, as long as Dumbledore is still in the castle, You-Know-Know won't do a thing. Dumbledore is the only person that he ever feared. As long as the Headmaster is here, no one will make a move for the stone. So for now, let's just focus on our exams."