Chapter 6
Thank you all for your patience and understanding. I have been doing so much research on my other stories, but I will work on this story more! I love all of your support and I am here for any questions or comments you may Read and Review and Please enjoy Chapter Six! Also, I do not own any characters that are canon.
Harry was feeling happy about his Quidditch win. He decided that to celebrate, he would sneak down to the kitchens for some treacle tart and pumpkin juice. Since Ron was sleeping, he decided that he would go alone.
As midnight rolled around, Harry slipped out of bed and put his Invisibility Cloak on. He made his way toward the portrait of the Fat Lady and ignoring her protests, made his way from Gryffindor Tower and made his way slowly to the dungeons.
When he made his way to the first floor of the castle, he heard footsteps approaching and he quickly moved to the side of the corridor. He held his breath, as he saw the figure of Snape, looking around as if to see if anyone was following him. Letting curiosity get the best of him, Harry carefully followed the Potions Master.
Professor Snape entered an empty classroom. Harry managed to slip in, just before the door closed. He was surprised to see a very nervous looking Professor Quirrell.
"S...S...S...Severus I do not know why you wanted t...to meet tonight." Quirrell said.
"I think we would want some privacy. After all, the students do not know that the Philosopher's Stone is hidden here at the school." he said.
"W...w...why are we discussing it?" Quirrell asked
"I would like to know if you have found a way to get by that blasted beast of Hagrid's yet." Snape said.
"B...b..but, Severus, I wouldn't..."
"I assure you, that you do not want me as an enemy, Quirinius." Snape said, getting closer into Professor Quirrell's face.
"I-I don't w-what you mean.."
"I think you do." Snape said.
Harry had to get closer to hear the rest and was only able to catch Snape saying:
"Your little bit of hocus pocus. I'll be waiting."
"Y-y-you know I c-can't.."
"Very well, Quirinius. We will have another talk soon, when you have had time to decide where your loyalties lie." Snape said.
Snape opened the door of the classroom, peered out and looked around and left the classroom. Harry followed him, before the door closed. He turned around and looked at Professor Quirrell, as he stood there, looking petrified. Harry noticed that Snape was heading towards the dungeons, he decided to head back to Gryffindor Tower, forgetting his midnight snack.
The next morning, Harry pulled Ron, Hermione and Selena into a corner of the Common Room. He told them what he had witnessed the night before.
"We were right. The Philosopher's Stone is here, being guarded by Fluffy. Snape's trying to get Quirrell to help him to steal it. From that bit of Quirrell's hocus pocus, I think that there are other things guarding the Stone. It does make make sense that Dumbledore would have the other professors. Snape wanted Quirrell's help to get past his." Harry said.
Selena looked at her cousin.
"That is a huge problem. Quirrell is a good teacher, but he has no backbone." she said.
Hermione nodded her head.
"The Stone is safe, only as long as Quirrell can stand up and defend himself against Snape." she said.
Ron groaned.
"Bloody hell! it'll be gone the day after tomorrow." he said.
"Ronald! Language!" Hermione chastised.
Over the next several weeks, the quartet saw Quirrell getting paler and thinner and Snape looking more furious. They assumed the DADA professor had not cracked yet. They did not have much time to worry about it, as the other professors began to give them more homework, as the term progressed.
Hermione pushed all three of her friends to study more, much to Ron's annoyance. All of their free time was spent in the library, stressing out, as much as Hermione was. Then, one afternoon, while doing research for a Potions exam, Ron noticed Hagrid in the library, looking at books. When he was asked about his presence, he seemed to evade the question and asked if they were still looking for references on Nicolas Flamel.
Ron set him straight, but accidently blurted out that they knew what Fluffy was guarding. Hagrid told them to keep quiet about that and invited them down to his hut later that night, as he had something that he wanted to show them. Once he left, Ron discovered he was looking at a book on dragons.
Selena looked at Harry, in disbelief.
"Harry, you don't think he..."
Harry shook his head.
"I hope not." he said.
Hermione looked at the two cousins.
"What is it?" she asked.
Selena sighed.
"Ever since Harry and I were little, Hagrid has always talked about owning a dragon." she said.
Hermione looked shocked.
"No...surely not." she said.
Ron shook his head.
"I hope not. I've heard stories about them from Charlie. He's my older brother, who works with them in Romania." he said.
Harry nodded.
"I remember your Mum nearly lost her mind. He has only been gone several months and he already got burned a bit." he said.
Later that evening, the quartet went to Hagrid's hut. Harry immediately noticed that it was warmer than usual. They politely accepted a cup of tea, but not Hagrid's rock cakes.
"Hagrid, we were wondering what other defenses the Stone has to protect itself from being stolen." Harry said.
Hagrid frowned.
"You four know I can't tell yeh that. Number one, I don' know meself what they are. Number two, yeh know too much already. I don' even know how yeh foun' out about Fluffy. Jus' know that it's safe here, more than it was at Gringott's." he said.
"Come on, Hagrid. We just wanted to be sure that the Stone is safe. We asked you because you are the only one who truly knows what is going on here, besides Dumbledore." Selena said, with a tone of flattery.
Hagrid smiled.
"Well, all righ'. Guess no harm in yeh knowing that. Well let's see. There are things from Professor Dumbledore of course. Then there is Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell, oh and Professor Snape." he said.
"What?! Not Snape!" he said.
Hagrid nodded.
"Yeah, yeh still aren't on that, are you? He's not trying to steal the Stone, he's one of the people trying to protect it." he said.
"Hagrid, you are the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, right?" Harry asked.
Hagrid nodded.
"Oh, yeah. Jus me and Dumbledore. No one else." he said.
Just then, Selena spotted something large in the fireplace and thoughts about the Stone left her.
"Hagrid, please tell me that's not what I think it is in the fire." she said.
Hagrid smiled.
"Yup, it is."
In the fire was a large black egg, a dragon's egg.
"Blimey. Where did you get a dragon's egg? They're protected. Breeding them here is illegal." Ron said.
"Won it fair an square last night in the pub from a Greek chap in a game of cards. I even got this book from the library and been followin' it closely." he said, showing a large book.
Hermione took it and read the cover.
"Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit." Hagrid, this is really dangerous. Do you even know what dragon it is?" she said.
Hagrid nodded.
"Yup. It's a Norwegian Ridgeback. A rare one. It'll hatch really soon. I'll let you know when it does." he said.
The four friends exchanged looks of concern, but they knew they could not convince Hagrid otherwise right now. They would have to wait until the egg hatched.
Several days later, Hagrid wrote them that the egg was about to hatch, much to their chagrin. The four of them hurried to his hut during dinnertime, arriving just in time for the egg to hatch.
The dragon was black and was already very feisty. Despite being a baby, it already breathed fire.
Hagrid smiled.
"Ain't he a cutie? I'll call him Norbert." he said.
Selena sniggered.
"Norbert? Why?" she asked.
"Well, he looks like a Norbert, don' he?" Hagrid said.
Suddenly, Hagrid saw white blonde hair at the window.
Harry groaned.
"Malfoy."
Selena shook her head and looked at her friends and cousin.
"We're dead. We need to get back to the castle." she said.
The four put on the Invisibility Cloak and made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Strangely, nothing happened the next day with Malfoy. It seemed he hadn't informed Snape or McGonagall about Norbert or them being out of bed after hours. The quartet realized they had to convince Hagrid to get rid of the dragon. Ron sent his older brother, Charlie, an owl, asking for help.
Thankfully, Charlie replied quickly. He agreed to take the dragon and was going to send a couple of his friends to transport Norbert to him in Romania. The plan was to meet them at the top of the Astronomy Tower.
Two weeks after Norbert was born, Hagrid tearfully packed him into a crate. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Selena used Harry's Invisibility Cloak to hide them and the crate. They managed to sneak past Filch, who was holding Malfoy. The Slytherin was insisted that the four Gryffindors were out of bed.
When they got to the Astronomy Tower, they only had to wait a short while for Charlie's friends. After they left, the four friends descended the stairs to return to Gryffindor Tower. Unfortunately, they ran right into Professor McGonagall. Harry had forgotten to put his Cloak back on them.
Predictably, McGonagall was beyond furious to have four students from her own house out after curfew. She took fifty points from each of them and gave them a detention, along with Malfoy. The quartet were horrified.
When the rest of Gryffindor House found out what they did, they were pretty much ostracized, except for the Weasley twins, Jamie and Saphira. The Slytherins were making fun of them, since the incident placed Gryffindor in last place for the House Cup, while Slytherin
Saphira actually cornered them one day.
"A dragon. What were you four thinking? You could have come to me." she said.
Harry nodded.
"Sorry Saph. It was for Hagrid. We didn't want him to get in trouble. Malfoy told on him as soon as he could." he said.
Saphira sighed.
"My precious cousin." she said, sarcastically.
Hermione looked at Saphira, in surprise.
"Cousin? You're related to Malfoy?" she asked.
Saphira nodded.
"Yes, his mum and my mum are sisters. Listen, just because we won't win the House Cup, stay out of trouble, Especially you two, Harry and Ron. Your mums c an be two scary redheads." she said.
Later, at dinner, Harry saw his mother's eagle owl and she dropped a red letter from his mother. He recognized it as a Howler and he instantly picked up and ran from the Great Hall, until he was outside and he opened it, as it started to smoke. His mother's angry voice echoed through the grounds, warning him not to cause any more mischief or she would personally come up to Hogwarts and have a talk with him.
Harry was conflicted on his mother's Howler. He didn't want to disappoint his parents, especially his father. He knew his mother was right and he made sure to not get into anymore trouble and to do his best at his studies.
Potter Manor
At the same time that Harry was promising himself to do better, his parents, Sirius, Remus and Jennifer were enjoying a nice dinner together. The five friends always got together frequently. This time it was more centered on adults, as Melanie was spending the night with the Weasley's.
Lily, holding a glass of wine, was visibly fuming.
James smiled.
"Sit down, love." he said gently.
Lily sighed.
"I just can't believe what they have done. Two hundred points gone in a single evening! What were they thinking?! A dragon! They could have been hurt or worse." she said.
James nodded.
"Yes, but they weren't. He is getting a detention." he said.
Jennifer nodded.
'Yes, plus you know the kids love Hagrid. We all know about Hagrid's love of unusual pets." she said.
Sirius nodded.
"Jenny is right. Hagrid is like an uncle to the kids. You know he would never put their lives at risk." he said.
"Padfoot is right, darling. Besides, Harry inherited your heart. He didn't want Hagrid in serious trouble over this. Also, he saved many students from getting hurt. Now, he got in trouble yes, but he also did the right thing." he said.
Lily sighed.
"I suppose you're right." she said.
Jennifer looked at Remus and noticed he was falling asleep. She gently touched his hand.
'Remus, are you alright?" she asked.
Remus opened his eyes and nodded.
'I am sorry. I am still so tired from last night. I should probably head home." he said.
James shook his head.
"Stay the night, mate. You can barely stand." he said.
Remus shook his head.
"No it's ok. I can use the Floo or Apparate." he said.
Lily shook her head.
'Absolutely not. You could hurt yourself. You know we have plenty of room for you to feel better. You are like family. I will have Minty make up one of the guest rooms and then you'll have a hot breakfast first thing in the morning. I know you love my sausages and eggs." she said, with a smile.
Remus smiled.
"Thank you so much." he said.
Jennifer stood up and finished her wine.
"Thank you for mentioning Minty. We should get home. Cyrus was left alone with Kreacher and Merlin knows the damage that caused. See you both at work tomorrow and don't forget we have dinner with the Weasleys and Ted and Andromeda tomorrow." she said.
James and Lily nodded. James kissed his sister and patted his best friend on the back, as they climbed into the fireplace and both disappeared in green flames.
Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
A few weeks later after the dragon incident, on a Friday evening, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Selena received their notices that their detentions would be that night. As he looked over at the Slytherin table, he saw a serious frown on Malfoy's face and he concluded that he got a similar note. Harry hoped that the detention would not be difficult, as he didn't want to spend too much time with Malfoy.
Later that night, the four friends and Malfoy met Filch, who took them to Hagrid. Hagrid explained that they would be searching for a wounded unicorn.
Harry looked shocked.
"Who would harm a pure creature like that?" he asked Selena, as they were walking.
Selena shrugged her shoulders.
"Beats the hell out of me." she said.
Hermione groaned.
"Selena, language." she chided.
Hagrid took them deeper into the Forbidden Forest and they discovered a pool of silvery unicorn blood. They also ran into two creatures, who were called centaurs. They were half human and half horse. Hagrid asked them questions about any strange occurrences in the Forest, but they did say that Mars was unusually bright tonight.
Hagrid decided to split them into two groups. He took Ron and Hermione and Harry, Selena and Malfoy would complete the second group. At Malfoy's insistence, their group also got Fang, Hagrid's boarhound.
The three kids and dog walked, searching the Forest. Malfoy began to complain.
"Wait until my father hears about this. I shouldn't be doing this kind of work. I'm no servant." he said.
Selena glared at him.
"Aww, poor little Draco having to do manual labor." she mocked.
Harry chuckled, while Malfoy scowled.
Suddenly, Harry saw the silver white body of a unicorn lying on the ground.
Selena sighed.
"Poor thing." she said.
As they were approaching it, a shadowy cloaked figure glided towards it and started to drink its blood.
Malfoy screamed and ran off, with Fang following. Harry could not move from the spot and was suddenly hit with intense pain in his scar and he fell to his knees.
Selena. overwhelmed with concern for her cousin, grabbed him.
"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked.
The cloaked figure began to move toward the two.
All of a sudden. a clatter of hooves was heard and another centaur appeared and drove the figure away. The centaur, knowing who Harry was, introduced himself as Firenze. Surprisingly, Firenze instructed Harry to get on his back, so he could get them to the edge of the Forest. He offered Selena a ride, but she declined, more concerned with her cousin.
After several moments, Firenze addressed the two.
"Do you both know what unicorn blood is used for?' he asked.
Selena shook her head.
"No. We only use the horn and tail hair in potions." she said.
Harry nodded.
"And the tail hair for wand cores." he said.
"To obtain the blood, one would need to kill the unicorn and that is a monstrous thing. It is a hideous crime, committed only by someone who has nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Unicorn blood will you keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. If you slay such an innocent and pure creature and drinks its blood, causes you to have a cursed life, a half life from the moment the blood touches your lips." he said.
Harry shook his head.
"Who would be that desperate? I would think death is more preferable than that." he said.
"Yes. However, one can be desperate if it would keep you alive long enough to get something that will return you to full strength and power, especially if it made one incapable of dying. Harry Potter, do you know what is hidden at your school at this very moment?" Firenze asked.
Harry nodded his head.
"Yes, the Philosopher's Stone. It creates the Elixir of Life. Who would...?
"Can you not think of anyone who would do anything to return and to live again?' Firenze asked.
Selena gasped.
"No..." she said quietly.
Harry felt a rush of cold and fear. His parents didn't speak much about the night he got his scar. Harry mainly heard things from books, but he didn't want to read much about it and tried his best not to think about what happened to Voldemort. He always wanted a normal life with his family and friends and hated the fame that he had. Hagrid had once said he believed Voldemort had simply disappeared and was not dead, as many believed.
"You don't think that Voldemort..."
Just then, Hagrid, Ron and Hermione walked up. Firenze bid them farewell and Hagrid concluded that the detention was over and that they could retire for the night. Once they were back in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry and Selena informed their friends on what had happened to them. Harry was still visibly shaken by the evening.
"All this time, we thought Snape wanted it for himself or sell it to someone else. We never thought he would steal it for Voldemort." he said, ignoring the shudder from Ron.
Selena sighed.
'We never did consider that Snape would just give it away. Did you see how happy he looked and that Quirrell was quiet as a mouse? He must have gave in to Snape. Once Snape figures out how to get past Fluffy, He'll get the Stone and give it to Voldemort." she said.
Ron groaned.
"Guys, please stop saying the name." he whined.
Selena, also ignoring Ron, looked at her cousin.
"If Voldemort gets his hands on the Stone, he'll try to finish you off, like he tried to ten years ago." she said.
Hermione looed at her friends, frightened.
"Wait a moment. Everyone has said that the one wizard You-Know-Who fears is Dumbledore and he's here at Hogwarts. As long as Dumbledore is here, You-Know-Who wouldn't dare come here, looking for you." she said.
Harry was comforted by Hermione's words. He considered writing to his parents to tell them what he found out. However, he didn't want to be taken out of Hogwarts. He loved the school and did not want to leave his friends. He decided that since Dumbledore was at Hogwarts, he was safe for now.
Not long after. everyone was consumed by the end-of-year exams and the quartet weren't even thinking about the Stone or Voldemort. The exams were easier and harder than they had imagined. It was so bad, that even Hermione was happy when Exams were finally over. The four friends made their way to the Entrance Hall, listening to Ron's rant about what he would do about his new free time.
Harry, however, was still troubled. His scar had been aching and burning since the start of exams. He thought it was due to stress, especially since he had to do much more reading than usual. However, even now that he was calm, it still burned. He mentioned it to the other three and Hermione suggested that he see the school head nurse, Madam Pomfrey, but he insisted that it was a warning that danger was coming.
"Danger? Relax, Harry. What danger could there be, with Dumbledore around?" Ron asked.
Selena nodded.
"Exactly. Remember, we have no other proof that Snape was trying to get the Stone or found his way around Fluffy. He nearly lost his leg the first time. Malfoy will marry a Muggleborn, before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down." she said.
Suddenly, Harry remembered something and headed off, in a hurry. Ron, Hermione and Selena were trying their best to catch up. Harry only slowed down, ehne they all reached Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was sitting on his front steps, playing his flute.
"Hey, yeh four. Exams all done?" he asked.
Harry sat next to him.
"Not now, Hagrid. We need to ask you something. The night you won the dragon egg, did you recognize the man you won it from?" he asked.
Hagrid shook his head.
'No, he never took his cloak off. Yeh get all kinds of weird folks at the Hog's Head. Never saw his face, as he had his hood up." he said.
"Did he seem interested in your work? Did he ask about Hogwarts?" Harry asked.
Hagrid furrowed his brows.
"Well, i think it came up. I'm not sure, cause he kept buyin' me drinks. Yeah, he asked me what i did and I tol' him i was gamekeeper here, than we talked about the sorta creatures I took care off. I happened to mention I always wanted a dragon. He than said he had a dragon egg on him an' we could play fer it in a game of cards, but he had to know I could take care of it, as he didn' want to just give it off to just anyone. So, I told him after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy. He asked me how much trouble Fluffy was. I said Fluffy was a piece of cake once you know how to calm him down, just' play o' bit of music and he falls right to sleep..."
Hagrid, then had a panicked look on his face.
"Forget I said that. Hey, where yeh goin'? he asked.`
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Selena began to run back to the castle.
'We've got to find Dumbledore. Come on, my Dad told me where to find his office." he said.
Soon, all four were in front of the gargoyle that protected the Headmaster's office. As they were all trying to figure out how to get past it, they heard a voice call out:
"What are you four doing there?"
They turned and saw Professor McGonagall walking towards them, carrying several books in her hands.
'Professor, we need to see the Headmaster right away." Hermione said.
"Whatever for, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked, looking at the first years, with suspicion.
'We just do Professor. It's very important.' Selena said.
McGonagall took a deep breath.
"Whatever the reason is, it will have to wait. The Headmaster is not here right now. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry in London just a half-hour ago. He left immediately by broomstick." she said.
"What?! He can't have left! Professor, please tell him to come back. It's about the Philosopher's Stone. We think it'll be stolen tonight." Harry said frantically.
McGonagall, shocked at what she heard, dropped the books she was carrying.
'How did you find out about that? What do you mean stolen?" she asked.
"Please, Professor. We have to call professor Dumbledore back." Selena pleaded.
McGonagall looked at the four first years, with suspicion in her eyes. She had no idea how they knew about this top secret. She thought they had been very careful so that no student was aware.
"Professor Dumbledore will return tomorrow. I do not know how you four found out about the Stone, but i can assure you that it is very well protected." she said.
"But, Professor..."
"That is my final word, Potter, Weasley, Miss Granger and Miss Black. Leave the matter to the adults in charge. Now, go outside and enjoy the weather. Quietly." she said.
The four did not go outside. They headed back to the Entrance Hall. They ran into Snape, who looked at them with disdain and suspicion, commenting that they should be outside on a nice day like this and that they should be mindful of not getting into mischief.
When they returned to their empty Common Room, Harry turned to the other three.
"It's definitely happening tonight. With Dumbledore gone, Snape will have the best chance to give the Stone to Voldemort." he said.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked.
Harry sighed.
"That's it then. I'm going there tonight. I will get the Stone before Snape does." he said.
"Harry, you can't do that. They could expel you." Hermione said.
"It doesn't matter, Hermione. Don't you get it? If Voldemort gets the Stone from Snape, he will be whole again. Maybe even immortal. You don't understand how bad it was when he was in power. Uncle Sirius, Aunt Jenny and Remus have talked about the fear that they had at that time. I even heard mum and dad talk about it a little. It was terrible. If he comes back, there won't be a Hogwarts, Sorting Ceremonies, House Cups, Quidditch, nothing. He has tried to kill me once. I know he will try to kill me again. He may try to kill my whole family. The Potters have fought against the Dark Arts for centuries. He won't allow us to live. I won't allow him to murder us, like he did so may people before. I am sure my parents will understand." Harry said.
Ron nodded his head, despite being pale.
"You're right, Harry. My family is the same. They will never give in to You-Know-Who. He'll kill them, too. I'm going with you." he said.
Selena nodded her head.
'You already know I'm coming with you. I'm half Potter and you are my blood and I will always be by your side. I won't let Voldemort kill our family." she said.
Hermione stared at her three friends.
"You three are crazy. Crazy, but brave. Very well, I am going with you. We need to stick together." she said.
Selena nodded her head.
"We are all together til the end." she said.
Harry looked at them.
"All right, we go down the trapdoor tonight." he said.
A/N Hey all! I am so sorry it has been so long since i have updated , but I am back! Between the pandemic, personal issues and working on my historical stories, I hit a major roadblock and even doubted myself. However, I am going to finish this story, as I have NEVER left a story unfinished. I am so dedicated to this space. I am writing the next chapter now and it will be up soon. Please Review or PM me and Chapter Seven is coming to you very soon, most likely this weekend!