It was a quiet night in the Halls of Hogwarts, well after curfew, and the castle was quiet. No sounds to be heard other than the clinking of magical armour and near-silent swishes of ghosts going about their nocturnal business.
But in the depths of the dungeons, in the slytherin dorm room we are quite familiar with, a girl quietly got up.
She crept out of her bed and quietly opened her trunk, stealthily rifling through its contents, until the fireplace flared into life, and illuminated her activities.
Despite who you might think, this was not Hailey, sneaking out for some clandestine activities, but Lily who now stared back at her roommates giving her raised eyebrows, and crossed arms.
"Ok, I expected this sorta thing from Hailey, but what on earth are you up too?" Sophie said dryly.
Lily waved nervously, "Hey girls… I'm just going for a walk?"
"Yeah, not buying it." Hailey said, hopping out of bed, and closing the distance, and to Lilys discomfort, gave her a sniff. "Yup, you've been smelling of nerves and anxiety for the past few days, my nose don't lie, so what's gotten into you."
Lily seemed to shift nervously trying to look anywhere but Sophie's stern expression, or Hailey right up in her personal space.
Hailey pouted, and reached up to turn Lily into looking at her. "Come on Lily, Don't be like this, you can trust us, we are friends, we are just worried about you."
Lily made an involuntary whining noise, before she sighed heavily and said "alright."
Hailey let go and backed off to give her a little space, while Sophie came up as well.
LIly bit her lip, drummed her fingers on her arms, before blurting out. "I think someone is trying to steal the philosopher's stone."
Sophie and Hailey share a quick glance seeing if the other has any idea what she is talking about, before Hailey said. "Come again?"
"That came out wrong, let me start again." Lily said, she took a deep breath, before continuing. "I have Reason to believe that someone is planning to break into the third floor corridor tonight, and steal what Dumbledore has Hidden in the mirror."
"Which you think is the Philosopher's stone?" Hailey completed.
Lily nodded.
"Wait, we skipped ahead again." Sophie said, "Why do you think someone is trying to steal it, and why tonight, and why is this your problem?"
"I've had a feeling for a while now." Lily admitted. "At least since Halloween."
"It just didn't sit right to me that a troll could have broken into the school. Hogwarts defensive magic is legendary, and This isn't even an area with a prominent troll colony." Lily seemed to be getting less nervy as the explanation continued. "So some must have let the troll in, but not just anyone, somebody on staff would have been able to bring a dangerous beast onto the property without tripping off the wards."
She had started pacing. "But why bring a troll into school, it wouldn't have been to endanger the students, the entire student body was at the halloween feast, along with the staff, and trolls themselves are simply too stupid to pull off any clandestine objective on their own. Hence, it must have been a distraction, a diversion for some other goal, and by Dumbeldores own admission, the mirror is safeguarding some treasure for the year."
"And thanks to the Troll incident, we already had two of the most likely suspects. Quirrel, who not only found the troll, but had no real reason not to be present for the feast, or in the dungeons where the troll was supposedly discovered. And Snape, who is largely in charge of the Dungeon, and was one of the only teachers to head away from the dungeons after the feast. Sophie also saw him limping back to the Dungeon after hours, complaining about something being the 'first defence'. Multiple students also have often run into Snape prowling the Third floor, which could either be guarding or casing behaviour."
Most of Lilys normal nerves seem to have vanished as she frowned in thought. "On top of that, there is a strong possibility that whoever it might be, either is, or is backed by a powerful dark Wizard. After all, The Stone, evidently was not here the year prior, the third floor was not off limits last year, and the defensive measures are all new. To remind you, before the school year, there was a dark Wizard break in at Gringotts, one of the high security vaults, which had been emptied prior to the break in. Co-incidentally, According to you Hailey, Hagrid, just before the break in, was at Gringotts on Hogwarts Business, so important he was reluctant to attend Haileys birthday, citing an important package. Not only that, but Hagrid has been worried about something in the Forest attacking Unicorns, an act only the evil or desperate would commit."
"It is no leap of the imagination to assume that the object in the mirror, is the same object that was removed from Gringotts, and the very same Dark wizard, who would be so powerful, yet so foolish and desperate enough to break into Gringotts, would also be both willing and Able to Hunt Unicorns, which makes me think that whoever broke into Gringotts, is here at Hogwarts ready to try and steal it again."
"But I suppose you are wondering…" Lily seemed to be in her element. "Why I so confidently asserted it to be the Philosopher's stone earlier. Indeed, the amount of powerful, dangerous and valuable items, both confirmed and rumoured, to be in Dumbledore's possession are numerous, and that is not including the items that could belong to his friends and acquaintances, the list could go on forever. But let us go back to an earlier point, the Unicorns. Killing a unicorn, a creature so pure and good, is an act so reprehensible that even spilling one's blood is enough to inflict a powerful curse. Yet at the same time, the blood is the only reason one would willingly kill one, for unicorn blood can be used to stave off death, if only for a short time. However even Dark Wizards shy away from the act due to fear of the curse. Only those on death's door would be desperate enough to try."
"In addition, Dumbledore himself gave a clue to the treasures nature. In his discussion with Chen, he stated that it would be of no value to Chen whatsoever. From what I know of Chen, that eliminates many possibilities. But what I feel are most relevant here, is that Youkai do not age naturally, some even live indefinitely, and Chen herself has no interest in the accumulation of wealth."
"So with this knowledge, what prize would lure someone barely clinging onto life, enough to break into the most secure Wizarding bank in Europe, and infiltrate Hogwarts, reputed to be the safest place in England, and home of one of the most powerful Wizards alive? While at the same time, be completely useless to a selfish Cat Youkai with no scruples? Furthermore, Dumbledore's friendship with the Famous Alchemist Nicholas Flammel is well known, the only Alchemist in recorded history to create the Fabled Philosopher's stone."
"The Stone is an artefact of unparalleled value, both from its Miraculous properties of permanently transmuting base metals to gold, and more importantly, its ability to create the Elixir of Life, which can extend the drinkers life with every sip. Many Wizards, dark or otherwise could only dream of owning it, and to someone on their last legs… you could only imagine the lengths they would go to acquire it. Yet at the same time, to a Youkai, with no interest in gold, and no fear of age or death, it would indeed be completely useless."
"Hence my conclusion, in Summary, that Dumbledore is safeguarding the Philosopher's stone, from a dying Dark Wizard, who is either is, or is league with, Professor Snape or Professor Quirrell… most likely Quirrel as his health has been declining all year, but we cannot rule out the idea that they are working together…"
Lily finally seems to notice the absolutely stunned expression of Hailey in Sophie, and she lapses into bashful silence.
Sophie was the first to pick her jaw off the Floor. "Alright Sherlock, I won't lie and say I'm not impressed… You have put… a lot of thought into this evidently… About half a year's worth by the sound of it."
"So this is why a Holmes needs a Watson." Hailey Mumbled, still processing.
"But That still doesn't answer why you are sneaking out tonight." Sophie said.
W-well, this weekend is the last big Wizengamot meeting of the school year, and Dumbledores out of the castle, so this might be the last time the thief can steal it without Dumbledore being here to stop him…"
"Not That!" Sophie cut her off, looking stern. "That explains why it might happen tonight, It doesn't explain why you were sneaking out."
Lily starts looking at her feet, and Mumbles something.
Sophie cupped her ear, and said. "Didn't quite catch that."
Lily mumbles louder. "I thought… Well, if I wait around the door… I might be able to catch him in the act."
Sophie stared at her in both horror and disbelief. "And what exactly do you think you are going to accomplish doing that?! You are Eleven for Christ's sake."
Lily proffered a camera she had taken from her Trunk, and showed it defensively. "No, you see, if I catch him going in or leaving, I could get a picture as evidence! I'm also pretty good at charms, I could set a trap for him if he's already in there, maybe delay him long enough for someone to notice, see?"
"Why!?" Sophie said, raising her voice. "Why do you even feel the need to try? Why are you putting yourself in harm's way for the sake of some magic rock?! You're a kid, a student! This isn't your responsibility!"
"Because it doesn't matter who is responsible!" Lily almost screamed, stunning Sophie into silence. "Because sometimes they aren't there! Sometimes the people who are supposed to protect you either cannot or will not arrive in time! And Sometimes the Bad Guys win because you waste too much time waiting for someone to save you!" Tears were starting to fall, and her voice dropped to a croak. "...Sometimes… you lose everything because you are too scared to even try."
Sophie looked like she had been slapped. Too stunned to even say a word. And Lily had returned to looking at the ground, tears falling at her feet
Hailey stepped forward, and spoke softly, patting her on her shoulder. "This isn't about the stone, is it?"
Lily said nothing.
Hailey, still speaking gently, "This isn't something you can't let go, right? It's something you have to do?"
Lily stood motionless before giving a tiny nod.
Hailey grinned, "Good enough for me then."
Hailey grabbed both of Lilys shoulders, making her look up. "If you feel that strongly about it, Me and Sophie can handle it. SO you just sit tight and relax."
"I don't remember agreeing to anything," Sophie said, giving hailey a sceptical look, but was ignored.
Lily, despite still teary, looked baffled. "Y-you will? Why?
Hailey Pouted. "What? Do I need a reason? Anything for a friend."
She then shifted her grip and instead lifted the startled girl from under her arms. "However you, are staying here."
"Wha-?" Lily said, alarmed. "But-"
"No Buts." Hailey said, carrying the taller girl as easy as one would a housecat, over to her trunk, and giving it a kick.
The Trunk opened up to reveal her secret room, with a conspicuous pile of throw pillows at the bottom of the ladder.
"No offence, but you are probably a little too delicate to be fighting Dark Wizards." Hailey said, before Dropping her.
She fell into the thoughtfully provided cushions with an indignant squark.
She looked up in somewhere between shock and terror up at Hailey who gave a cheery wave. "Just sit tight, play a few video games to keep your mind off things, and we'll be back before you know it. Trust me."
"Wait, don-!" Lily's protest was cut off when Hailey shut the lid, and turned the knob to lock the interior.
Hailey then turned to face an extremely unimpressed Sophie.
"First off." Sophie said, cutting off Hailey before she can say anything. "Dick move. And second Thanks for volunteering me to fight a Dark Wizard."
"Don't sweat it." Hailey said, but continued at Sophie's scathing expression, "No seriously don't. I'm more than enough to deal with some bank robbing Wizard, you will just be there for backup."
"And what exactly do you expect me to do?" Sophie said, raising her eyebrows. "Sure I've taken some self defence classes back home, but I doubt I'd be any more help then Lily if you can't manage."
"Oh You'll be more help than you think." Hailey had walked over to Sophies Trunk and after popping the lid, started rummaging around.
"What are you doing now?" Sophie said, now even more annoyed.
"After all…" Hailey said, ignoring the comment, and pulling something out. "You have something nobody else at Hogwarts has."
"What are you-" Sophie stopped when Hailey took her hand and slapped the 'something' into her open palm.
She stared at it stunned, before looking back up into Hailey's smug grin. "...How did you know I had this?"
"An educated guess." Hailey admitted. "Now, here's the plan…
Authors notes:
Well… I'm back.
…Let's just get into the specific chapter notes before I explain what's been happening, and what's gonna happen in the future.
Its a shame that my first chapter back had to be this, it's kinda short, not a lot happens, and it's sort of an abrupt change of pace since the last chapter. But it didn't feel right mashing this and the next chapter together, I feel like it would be paced weirdly if I did.
I basically decided to stop beating around the bush and start wrapping up the first year, and so we can move on to greener, more interesting pastures of second year.
I understand the whole 'Lily Knows about the stone' thing, is pretty abrupt, and were I to ever rewrite this story, I'd probably put a lot more foreshadowing and Lily centric moments of her putting all this together, But Hailey put it best, she was a Holmes without a Watson, nobody to ask the questions for the audience that Holmes could condescendingly answer so as to explain his train of thought. Other than that, I think I did a decent job of making her thought process believable.
Now for the more general things, like where have I been? Well, short answer is life stuff, but longer answer is this:
I struggle with organisation, planning and motivation in general, and often when big events like travelling, or helping my parents with building the new house, and random events can completely throw me off my groove for often weeks or months at a time. Not only that but I have a certain condition that makes it harder for me to focus and organise, and occasionally it's hard to get my medication thanks to supply line issues and the remoteness of where we live.
And honestly, it was really hurting my self esteem. I felt really bad not only leaving these stories unfinished, but letting down all you readers waiting for updates. But I didn't really know how to fix my unreliable muse. Then I remembered back in Uni, where I used to release chapters for another website, not only regularly, but weekly. Before my life got super chaotic. Obviously I fell off that wagon hard, but I think one of the things missing from back then was regularity, I often had several chapters written in advance as a backlog/buffer, that I could reliably edit and release once a week, and I think that structure helped me keep motivated to keep writing on the regular.
So that's when I decided that I was going to write 5 chapters of every story I currently have on this website in one big lump before releasing them one at a time, once per week, that would leave me with 40 chapters, and roughly ten weeks of releases. So not only guaranteeing you guys get something from me regularly, but it might give me the structure and motivation to write on the regular with both a loose deadline, but without the paralysing guilt of not having written anything to post.
So I knuckled down and within a span of 2-3 months, I managed to get like 80% of all the chapters done, and well on track for getting it done by the end of last year for a christmas release…
…And then I ran out of my meds… And then there were supply line issues… And then my permit to get new prescriptions expired (which I didn't even realise was a thing)… and then my Psychiatrist had moved practices… and that practice no longer handles patients with my condition.
It took me half the goddam year to see a new psych and get my meds back.
I am now back on my meds and writing again obviously, but right now we are at a critical point in the new house finally nearly actually being built (only took 4 years, but who's counting-_-) and my dad needs my help getting things ready, I don't have a lot of free time right now consequently, and it might be a while for things to settle down, But I thought you guys deserve something, even if it will set me back a bit on my five chapter plan, so I struggled through what little free time I had to make sure each story had one chapter ready to post, and dropped them altogether to let you all know that things will be happening soon.
They will probably be a little rough as I didn't have time or energy to properly proofread it, but I will probably come back to fix it when I actually start my writing again for real.
I am going to be getting serious about writing btw, as I have come to the semi-depressing realisation that writing is one of the few skills I have that I can claim to be good at without qualification. Once I prove to myself that I can actually maintain a weekly update schedule or maybe even a twice-weekly one, I will probably try and open a patron or similar service, and see if I can make writing a career.
Sorry for how long this took and how long this Author's note is, but I hope you enjoy the chapters.
I will be posting this general message on every story, just so everybody can see it. If you read more than one of my stories, after the chapter specific notes you can probably skip this bit after reading it once.
