Several weeks later…
Ember scribbled away with her quill, her mind eyes occasionally straying over to her free hand. Her new powers AND the appearance of her mother's twin sister had been weighing on her mind lately which wasn't a good thing considering that she needed to focus on passing her exams. Not that meeting her other aunt…an aunt who actually cared about her…wasn't a good thing. It really, really was but the exams, unfortunately, took precedence at this moment in time.
Eventually, after several hard working days between writing essays; creating potions and making pineapples dance…the exams were finally over. "I've always heard Hogwarts' end of the year exams were frightful, but I found that rather enjoyable", Hermione remarked.
"Speaking from someone who's done this twice before, I didn't like them one bit", Peter admits "You alright there, Em?" he asked the hybrid, noticing that she was rubbing the mark on her temple.
"No, not really", she managed to say. The ginger didn't know why her mark was suddenly hurting like that but it was really bothering her.
"It's happened before", Hermione reminded her.
"Not like this", Ember muttered.
"Maybe you should go see the nurse", Peter suggested.
Ember shook her head "Nothing they can do about it. Besides, I think it's a warning. It means danger's coming". Flute music drifted to where they were standing and her hand dropped away from her mark, her eyes going over to Hagrid's hut. "Oh! Of course!" she breathed in realisation. She started to hastily walk over to him, making her friends scramble to keep up.
"What is it?" Hermione questioned.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have one?" the hybrid queried "I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pocket? Why didn't I see it before?" the trio stopped in front of the Gamekeeper "Hagrid, who gave you the dragon egg? What did he look like?"
"I dunno. I never saw his face. He kept his hood up", Hagrid replied.
"This stranger though, you and he must have talked", Ember pressed.
"Well, he- he wanted to know what sort of creatures I looked after. I told him, I said, after Fluffy a dragon's gonna be no problem", the half giant told her.
"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" the ginger asked.
"Well, of course he was interested in Fluffy!" Hagrid answered "How often do you come across a three headed dog, even if you're in the trade? But I told him. I said, 'The trick with any beast is to know how to calm him. Take Fluffy, for example, just play him a bit of music and he falls straight to sleep'". The three first-years gape at him "I shouldn't have told you that", Hagrid said. Ember, Hermione and Peter run off "Where you going?! Wait!" he called after them but they didn't stop.
~McGonagall's classroom~
The trio race up the aisles between the isles between desks coming to a stop at McGonagall's desk. "We have to see Professor Dumbledore, immediately!" Ember demanded.
"I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is not here. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London", Professor McGonagall explained.
"He's gone?!" the hybrid exclaimed "Now? But this is important! It's about...the Philosopher's Stone".
McGonagall looked at her shocked "How do you know…?"
"Someone's going to try and steal it", the 11 year old cut in.
"I don't know how you three found out about the stone, but I can assure you it is perfectly well-protected. Now would you go back to your dormitories? Quietly", the transfiguration teacher said in a tone of voice that told them all that the conversation was over.
The group turned and left the classroom rather disheartened that the only person who'd believe them was not at the school. Out in the hallway, Ember stopped and turned to her friends "That was no stranger Hagrid met in the village. It was Snape, which means he knows how to get past Fluffy", he said.
"And with Dumbledore gone…" Hermione began when the wizard in question suddenly spoke.
"Good afternoon" the trio turned around, startled "Now, what would four 1st years such as yourselves be doing inside on a day like this?" Snape asked.
"Uh...we were just..." Hermione stuttered.
"You want to be careful. People will think you're…up to something" Snape said eyeing Ember in particular. Then he left.
"He seems on to us", Peter remarked "what do we do now?"
"Well, this probably will lose us a lot of points if found out but I think we should get the stone before Snape does", Ember answered "We go down the trapdoor. Tonight", Ember said. Snape's warning wasn't about to deter her from getting to the Philosopher's Stone before the potions master.
That night Ember and Hermione slipped quietly downstairs. They started across the room when they spotted a rat perched on the arm of an armchair. The ginger didn't have to guess to figure out it was none other than Scabbers, Ron's pet. "Couldn't sleep, Weasley?" she called "be happy to rectify that".
The flame haired boy stood up. "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?" he counter questioned.
"That's none of your business", the hybrid replied "now go back to bed".
"I will not!" Ron cried "I also wont let you get Gryffindor in trouble again! I'll fight you if I have to". He held up his wand, doing his best to look threatening. Instead of being scared, Ember laughed. Before she or Hermione could do anything to get him out of the way, there came a cry of
"Petrificus Totalus!" Ron's arms snapped down by his sides and he fell onto his face, as stiff as board. It was then revealed that Neville was the spellcaster.
"Neville?" the girls chorused.
"I-I read ahead", he confessed "I didn't want a repeat of the library".
"Good for you", Ember praised, proud of the boy.
"I know I can't stop you from sneaking out", Neville started "n-not that I would!" he hastily added "I just…"
"Its fine Neville", Ember gently cut in "thank you for that". She nodded to Ron.
"You're welcome", the Gryffindor mumbled "good luck with whatever it is you're going to do and please…don't get caught".
"Trust me, we don't plan to", the hybrid assured him before she and Hermione left the common room.
Using Ember's invisibility cloak, the trio snuck up to the 3rd floor, the two Gryffindors having made a slight detour to the Ravenclaw House to get Peter. The hybrid phased through the door, ensuring her companions where either holding her hand or her sleeves "Wait a minute…he's…" the cloak blew off of them with Fluffy's snores "snoring" a harp was softly playing next to the large canine "Snape's already been here. He's put a spell on the harp", the ginger added.
"Ugh! It's breath stinks", Peter griped.
"With the exception of Hagrid, I doubt anyone is brave enough to give it a breath mint to one head, let alone three", Ember comments as they approached the dog "and…we're going to have to move its paw", she added, noticing that its large paw was blocking the trapdoor.
"Couldn't you phase us through it?" Hermione enquired, not too sure about touching Fluffy.
"I've not tried phasing through a living thing yet", the hybrid admitted "and I don't think it's a good idea to try with a giant three-headed dog. So yeah…we're gonna have to move its paw". Hermione hesitated for a moment but bent down to help her and Peter pushed the Cerberus' paw away.
"I'll go first. Don't follow until I give you a sign", she instructed, pulling open the trapdoor. Little did they know that the music had stopped and Fluffy was starting to wake up. "If something bad happens, get yourselves out…" she trailed off, frowning when she finally picked up on the sudden silence "does it seem a bit…quiet to you?"
Hermione glanced behind them "the harp, its stopped playing", she stated.
"Ew! Yuck!" Peter exclaimed as drool landed on his shoulder. They looked up to see Fluffy standing above them, growling.
"Jump!" Ember shouted. One by one they leapt down the trapdoor where they landed on an enormous plant which consisted of thick vines.
"Lucky this plant-thing is here, really", Peter commented. It certainly cushioned their fall.
"Whoa!" the hybrid exclaimed as the plant started moving towards them. Within moments they were all tightly bound by vines. Ember and Peter struggled but it only served for the vines to tighten its grip on them. The one who was calm was Hermione.
"Stop moving, both of you. This is Devil's Snare", the curly haired girl told them. Immediately Ember relaxed, knowing that the more panicked you are, the quicker it'll kill you.
"Peter, you need to calm down", the ginger stated "If you don't, it will only kill you faster".
"Kill us faster?!" the brunet exclaimed "Oh, now I can relax!" Hermione manages a smile as she is sucked down below, Ember following a moment later. "Hermione! Em!" he cried.
"You need to relax!" Hermione shouted up to him but he didn't seem to hear her as, despite being older than them, the third year was pretty damn terrified at the moment.
Ember whipped out her wand "Lumos Solem!" she chanted loudly. A beam of light shoots out of her wand. The Snare shrieks and recoils. Peter falls below.
"Good thing you remembered the plant's weakness", Hermione states.
"That's only because you'd insisted I read those chapters", the hybrid countered "now, let's get going".