He sneaked through the dark passageway of the hidden tunnel. He was so close now, so tantalizingly close to his goal. It had all gone perfectly, the way in which all the pieces of his plans were falling into place, even better than anticipated, was truly a mark of his greatness. Some would call it luck, that the dragon egg which he used to distract the dim-witted half giant, would also cause the distraction that he needed to enact the final part of his push for the stone. But in his experience, luck was only for those with inferior intellect and power, Lord Voldemort's plans were so well attuned, that they combined together naturally.
A strong beam of light from the wand in his hand scared away the devil's snare blocking his passage, and he levitated up through the shaft to the entrance hatch of this hidden tunnel. His head did spin for a moment after this magical effort, the vessel which he took over was not yet used to his level of power. But Voldemort knew the proper rituals and potions to bend and shape this body, until it would finally be worthy of hosting his superior mind and magical might. But for tonight, with all the magic he had to perform, he had pushed this body to its limits, he had to be careful to avoid further bursts of magical energy.
The enchanted harp was still playing a soothing melody for the giant three headed dog in the corridor. Quietly he continued passed the beast and entered the third floor corridor of Hogwarts. The most important potion in improving this body, was of course the elixir of life. Which could be brewed by using the philosopher's stone that he had secured this evening and which he was clinging desperately in his left fist. He would not get this stone out of his sight, it had taken him a long, agonizing time to find a way to return to a physical form, but he had finally managed it.
He had taken the opportunity when Hogwarts had gone into lockdown because of the Norwegian ridgeback that had been discovered in the wooden hut that the stupid half human called its home. The students had been assembled in the great hall and a team of teachers was dispatched to secure the dragon until the ministry could assemble a crew of dragon handlers to transfer the dangerous creature to a reservation. Of course Quirrell, the vessel which Voldemort had recruited to sustain his mind in the back of his head and who had secured a position as defence against the dark arts teacher, had been part of the team that was sent to handle the situation.
From there it had been easy, a well-timed confundus charm on the half giant convinced it that the teachers were there to execute his 'baby'. Lord Voldemort had to admit that a fire-breathing reptile and an angry half giant were at least good for one thing, the chaos and distraction which they had caused were of a very high quality. He had of course ensured Quirrell did cast some discrete tripping hexes and smoke charms to increase the effect, but still, credit to the two beasts for their assistance.
He had managed to leave the battle unnoticed, especially since the person that had been watching him most closely, Severus Snape, had been distracted. It was surprising how quickly a cloak would catch fire, but Voldemort suspected that the vain Professor had cast a flowing charm on his clothes which had the effect of giving your cape a nice swoosh when you rounded the corner, but which apparently had the secondary effect of fanning the flames if your cape caught fire.
Meanwhile Voldemort had descended the final stairs and was making his way to the outside doors of the castle, carefully avoiding anyone. The excitement which he felt made it difficult to move silently. With the stone in his possession, he would once again rise to the zenith of his power. It would provide him health and wealth that would drive him forward.
Even though it had been an additional risk, he had compelled Quirrell to brew a small amount of elixir of life when they had finally made it passed the challenges protecting the stone. He could not spend another minute of watching his vessel struggle to complete basic magical feats that he, in his greatness, could complete with a wave of his hand. The recipe and the required ritual for the elixir he had secured months before. Surprisingly the most difficult part had not been the brewing process or the ritual, but actually consuming the liquid. After Quirrell had attempted to twist his arms around his back and literally bend over backwards, he still had not managed to take a sip. Finally he had made Quirrell conjure a muggle straw to drink the elixir. He had to be sure nobody ever found out this degrading act, it was simply not befitting a self-respecting dark Lord.
When the first sip of elixir had entered his mouth, he finally felt a glimpse of his old power flow through him. After completely swallowing the potion, he had of course immediately evicted the mind and soul of Quirrell from the body, which made the final moments of his servant incredibly painful. An experience which he had shared more than ten years prior. But for Voldemort, taking over this body had felt great, he had gathered his strength and started his final push towards the boundaries of the wards of Hogwarts.
He left the castle and started making his way over the road towards Hogsmead. This was it, he could not stop himself from laughing. First silently, but as he continued on the road his cackling became louder and louder. Just a short distance and he would apparate away, the first step in reconstructing his dark empire.
His laugh turned into a yelp when he felt a sharp sting in his backside. The pain made him momentarily lose control of his still sensitive, fresh body as he grabbed for his back. Oh no, in this moment of weakness the stone slipped from his fingers. Before it could hit the snow, before he could grab the means for his return to greatness, a dark shape swooped in and grabbed the stone from the air in front of his stunned eyes.
Harry had had a great day, for weeks his crow friends had warned him for danger in the area of the groundkeepers cabin. When the reports became confused over the exact nature of the danger, he had decided to check out what was going on for himself. When he had seen the dragon, he knew he had encountered a problem which he could not handle alone, so he got Daphne involved.
While all students were locked away in the great hall, him and his crow friends were watching the battle with the dragon from the castle towers. It had been quite the smoke and light show which ended when it was already dark outside, with a stunned half giant, a chained up dragon and several professors with burn wounds. By the time all the action had wrapped up, it had gotten late and Harry had decided to spend the night in his nest on the astronomy tower.
It was from this high position that he saw a dark figure leaving the castle. It was a bright winter night, but he would not have been able to spot the figure had it not been for the object in his hand. It was bright and red, but the most noticeable feature was the amount of magical force that it emanated.
Harry had decided to start following the figure high in the sky, did he recognize this person? This presence felt similar to the feeling the teacher in the defence classroom gave him, a general feeling of unease. He had once, during a lesson, tried to land on the turban which this professor was wearing, but he had felt a sharp pain in his head when he touched down. The professor had also been upset and after that he had not been welcome anymore in this particular class.
The strange feeling was even more intense, so it would be safe to stay clear from this presence. But the red object in this person's hand was so hypnotizing, and Harry was such a fool for sparkling magical stuff. He knew that he could get into trouble with Daphne if he would try to steal it. Most likely she would make him return it, like she did with the ball that he took in her first flying lesson. But maybe this time she would not find out he took something? It was dark outside, if he took the stone, who would know it was him? It could have been any other crow, or even an owl?
After some pondering, the temptation of the sparkling object just became too much. Harry decided to try his new trick to capture it. He took a dive and formed the most powerful stinger that he could produce between his claws. He released it and saw how to surprised figure tossed the object in the air when he hit his target. Adjusting his course at high speed he swooped in and grabbed the object, it was some kind of stone. He pulled up at the last moment before hitting the ground, maintaining his speed as he flew away.
He was lucky that he had increased the distance between him and the figure so quickly, because behind him curses started flying at him. He had to avoid some spells and even a fireball. The red light from the stone in his claws made him an easy target. He quickly flew towards the forest, staying low and twisting and turning along the way to avoid more curses. Until he finally got deep enough between the trees to become invisible for his attacker.
The whole situation reminded him of the time he had stolen a snitch, at the time he had not known what the ball he had taken was called. Again he had captured a fascinating thing, compared to the snitch however, the amount of energy this gave of was much higher. Harry got a warm and tingly feeling all over his body when carrying it. When he was deep enough in the forest, he landed on a tree branch to study his loot. He immediately knew this would be one of his most prized possessions, could he keep it in his nest on the tower? He would have to hide this stone well.
All in all it had been a very productive day, it was a very happy bird that was sitting in the dark forest.
The next morning Tracey and Daphne were having breakfast in the great hall, all around them conversations were still buzzing about the events of the previous day. Several teachers were not present after the fight with Hagrid and the Norwegian ridgeback and students were wondering if any professors were still in the hospital wing. Ron Weasley was loudly speculating that their potions lessons on Monday would be cancelled, since Snape was not present. But other notably absent teachers were Professors Quirrell, McGonagall and of course Headmaster Dumbledore.
The noise in the great hall became even louder when the owls came flying in. Dread also landed on Daphne's shoulder and Tracey gave him some bacon which he gobbled up eagerly. He cawed happily as Daphne stroked his feathers, while she absentmindedly reached for a letter that an owl dropped in front of her. "You seem Happy this Sunday morning Dread, excited to join us today? The weather is improving, we can go flying?", she said to her familiar.
That was strange, the letter which she received was marked urgent, she recognised her father's seal. Hopefully everything was all right at home. She opened the it and read the short message:
Daphne, It has come to my attention that you might be in danger. I am coming to Hogwarts this morning, I am currently collecting some additional information, but will arrive at 8 in the entrance hall. Collect your wand, familiar and most important personal belongings and meet me there. Stay clear of Draco Malfoy or any other person from a family associated with the conservative faction. Remain calm, careful and composed.
Daphne's expression grew darker and darker as she read this message, she felt her heart pounding heavily. Tracey off course noticed that something was wrong, Daphne slid over the letter towards her with trembling hands. Meanwhile Daphne cast a look at Draco, who was sitting a few chairs further on the other side of the table. She was shocked when she found him staring back, while holding a letter in his hands. Something was clearly off. When Tracey had read the letter, she cast a worried look to Daphne. "What does this mean?" She whispered.
"I don't know." Daphne replied, "let's go to our dorm to discuss and handle this." The two girls got up and started walking away.
But it was at this time that Headmaster Dumbledore also entered the great hall. He walked over to the Slytherin table and approached the two girls. "Good Morning girls, Miss Greengrass, I would very much like a word with you in my office this morning. Are you available?"
"I don't know Professor, I do have some commitments. When would you like to see me?" Daphne replied.
"Well, I would like a word right now. I am sure Miss Davis can let any other persons you were planning to meet know that you will be delayed?" Dumbledore answered.
Daphne looked over to Tracey and saw her worried face. If the Headmaster himself, still the Chief Warlock, was involved, it would be grave. She did not understand what could be wrong. Both Professor Snape and the Headmaster had been happy with the information she provided about the dragon. Anyway, she could not just refuse the Headmaster. Tracey would inform her father no doubt, she answered, "Off course, Headmaster, I will join you."
"Thank you, Miss Greengrass. Oh, before I forget, bring your familiar please." He then turned around and started walking to his office. Daphne started following him and looked briefly at Dread, who was still sitting on her right shoulder. This was the second time this morning someone showed interest in the presence of her familiar. What was going on?