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Epilouge

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Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake. As Hermione dragged (Y/n) from their dorm. In a matter of seconds, though, Ron was wide-eyed as Harry began to tell him, (Y/n), and Hermione what had happened in the forest.

Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking.

"Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich...."

"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.

Harry wasn't listening.

"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious.... he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen...They must show that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.

"Harry calm down a bit and let's think about what we're going to go about Vol- You-Know-Who" (Y/n) tried to reason with the boy to prevent Ron from screaming but her words fell on deaf ears.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone,"

Harry went on feverishly, "Then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."

Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.

"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.

When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his Invisibility Cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:

Just in case.

In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams when he half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door.

It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.

They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox - points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion. Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest. Neville thought Harry had a bad case of exam nerves because Harry couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his old nightmare, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.

Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but (Y/n), Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying that they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or anyone else might be up to.

Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry couldn't help cheering with the rest.

"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds.

"It was alright I guess" (Y/n) shrugged as Hermione continued

"I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."

Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterwards, but Ron said this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.

"No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass.

"You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

Harry was rubbing his forehead.

"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily.

This made his friends worried and (Y/n) caressed his shoulder gently

"Are you alright? Harry" the boy shook his head

"My scar keeps hurting - it's happened before, but never as often as this."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.

"I'm not ill," said Harry.

"I think it's a warning... it means danger's coming...."

Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.

"Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."

Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important.

When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."

Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy . . . never . . . but -

Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Where're you going?" said Ron sleepily.

"I've just thought of something," said Harry. He had turned white.

"We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."

"Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope,

"The only thing I think is a bit odd right now is your mood swings" (Y/n) said which made Harry glare at her and she made a zipping motion as if she zipped her mouth shut so he continued

"That what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer.

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.

"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."

He saw the three of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head - that's one o' the pubs down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas.

"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember.

"Yeah . . . he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here. . . . He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after . . .so I told him . . . an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon . . . an' then . . . I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks. . . . Let's see . . . yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted . . . but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home. . . . So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy. . . ."

"And did he - did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Well - yeah - how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep -"

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out.

"Forget I said it! Hey - where're yeh goin'?"

Harry, Ron, (Y/n), and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry.

"Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak - it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

They looked around as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.

"We'll just have to -" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.

"What are you three doing inside?"

It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry, Ron and (Y/n) thought.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do.

"Why?"

Harry swallowed - now what?

"It's sort of secret," he said, but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly.

"He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's gone?" said Harry frantically.

"Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time -"

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?"

"Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds,

"Professor - it's about the Sorcerer's Stone -"

Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.

"How do you know - ?" she spluttered.

"Professor, I think - I know - that Sn- that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."

She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally.

"I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor -"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books.

"I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

But they didn't.

"It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot.

"Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

"But what can we -"

Hermione gasped while (Y/n) swallowed nervously. Harry and Ron wheeled around.

Snape was standing there.

"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.

They stared at him.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.

"We were -" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say and (Y/n) picked on trying not to make them look suspicious.

"Trust me, Professor," she said, addressing Snape,

"Even on a day like this, some people prefer not going outside. Plus, I will miss the school's library over the summer, so I am trying to read more books while I can." The sudden interruption surprised the other three, as the girl was usually quite reserved and avoided attracting attention from teachers.

Severus Snape, the professor in question, regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "And I think you know how me and my friends always stick together," she continued, meeting his gaze.

"I do know that a group of four friends rooming around brings nothing but trouble," Snape said coolly, causing the four kids to feel a bit nervous.

"You want to be more careful," he continued.

"Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?" The girl gave him a forced smile, trying to hide her annoyance.

"Of course not," she said, glancing at her friends.

"We were just leaving."

Harry flushed and he could tell (Y/n) was as well so he tugged her with him. They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back.

"Be warned, Potter - any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."

He strode off in the direction of the staffroom. Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently.

"One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape - wait outside the staffroom and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."

"Why me?"

"It's obvious," said Ron.

"You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice,

" 'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong. . . .' "

"Oh, shut up," said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron and (Y/n).

"Come on."

But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" She stormed.

"Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, from my own House!"

Harry, (Y/n), and Ron went back to the common room. Harry had just said,

"At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in.

"I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed.

"Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.

The other three stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.

"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."

"You're going!?" Said (Y/n)

"You're mad!" said Ron.

"You can't!" said Hermione.

"After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" Harry shouted.

"Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you three say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?" He glared at them.

"You're right, Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.

"I'll use the Invisibility Cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all four of us?" said Ron.

"All - all four of us?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"He's right you would an idiot to think we would just stand there and watch you throw yourself to the Dark Lord just like that" (Y/n) said

"How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful. . . ." said Hermione

"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled, too."

"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly.

"Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

Harry looked at Ron

Ron cracked a joke and said,

"Do you really think I did let you get expelled and leave me with Hermione alone? I did die suffocated with the library books before I reach my fourth year." Hermione glared at him for his comment, and (Y/n), who was standing beside Hermione, raised an eyebrow and said,

"Am I that invisible to you?"

"Shh, don't ruin the moment." Hermione rolled her eyes with an amused smile while Harry couldn't help but laugh a little and looked at the (H/c) haired girl, who then looked back at him.

"What? You think I did care about being expelled?" (Y/n) said, raising her eyebrows and walking closer to him.

"Harry, we entered this magical world together, and no matter how beautiful it is, if you leave it, I will too," she said seriously, which made Harry's heart swell with happiness as he felt grateful that she wanted to stay by his side.

After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry any more, after all. This was the first night he hadn't been upset by it.

Hermione was skimming through all her notes and (Y/n) decided to help her, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break. Harry and Ron didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do. Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory.

He pulled out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy - he didn't feel much like singing. He ran back down to the common room.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us - if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own -"

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room.

Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back. Neville stared at their guilty faces.

"You're going out again," he said.

"No, no, no," said Hermione.

"No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.

"You can't go out," said Neville,

"you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."

"Neville we have to do this" (Y/n) said trying to convince the boy.

But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.

"I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll - I'll fight you!"

"Neville," Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot -"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville.

"I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation.

"Neville, you don't know what you're doing."

He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists.

"I'm ready!"

Harry turned to Hermione.

"Do something," he said desperately.

Hermione stepped forward.

"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this."

She raised her wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" she cried, pointing it at Neville. Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.

"Hermione!" (Y/n) said running over the boy.

Hermione followed her turning him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.

"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered.

"It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably.

"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.

(Y/n) sighed and stood up "Sorry Neville I promise we will tell you everything once all this is over"

"You'll understand later," said Ron as they stepped over him and pulled on the Invisibility Cloak.

But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, and every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them.

At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs Norris skulking near the top.

"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered,

"Ron not right now!" (Y/n) Whisper yelled at him. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs Norris turned her lamp-like eyes on them but didn't do anything.

They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.

"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"

He rose in the air and floated there, squinting at them.

"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

Harry had a sudden idea.

"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, sir," he said greasily.

"My mistake, my mistake - I didn't see you - of course I didn't, you're invisible - forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."

"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again.

"Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you."

And he scooted off.

"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron.

A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor - and the door was already a jar.

"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy."

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other three.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said.

"You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," said Ron.

"And leave you here? No thanks" said (Y/n)

"We're coming," said Hermione.

Harry pushed the door open.

As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.

"Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Snape must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry.

"Well, here goes . . ."

He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note, the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased - it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!"

"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.

"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself.

"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep."

Harry handed the flute over. In the few seconds of silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Hermione began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.

As he was walking to Ron, (Y/n) took hold of his hand "Wait I am coming with you" which made Harry nod.

Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom. He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and (Y/n) and said,

"If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right," said Ron

"See you in a minute, I hope. . . ."

And Harry let go. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and -

FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump, he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.

"It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor,

"It's a soft landing, you can jump!"

"I am going" (Y/n) said jumping inside and landing in front of the boy.

Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to Harry.

"What's this stuff?" were his first words.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, Hermione!"

"I don't think that's why it's here Ron," said (Y/n) feeling something warp around her leg

The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side.

"We must be miles under the school," she said.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.

"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you three!"

She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Harry, (Y/n), and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.

Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the others fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them.

"I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.

"Never thought we would give at the hands of a plant" (Y/n) said freaking out when the plant started going up her arm.

"You're not helping!" Ron shouted

"Shut up both of you, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare . . . what did Professor Sprout say? - it likes the dark and the damp -"

"So light a fire!" Harry choked.

"Yes - of course - but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

"Are you serious?" (Y/n) asked

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the other three felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unravelled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis- 'There's no wood,' honestly." That made (Y/n) chuckle

"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon - Norbert had been bad enough . . .

"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered.

Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?"

"I don't know . . . sounds like wings to me."

"There's light ahead - I can see something moving."

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around

the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.

"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once . . . well, there's no other choice . . . I'll run."

He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked. The other three followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried her Alohomora Charm.

"Now what?" said Ron.

"These birds . . . they can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione.

They watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering - glittering?

"They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly.

"They're keys! Winged keys - look carefully. So that must mean . . ." he looked around the chamber while the other three squinted up at the flock of keys.

". . . yes - look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!"

Ron examined the lock on the door.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one - probably silver, like the handle."

"Maybe the oldest one of the bunch"

They each seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.

Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

"That one!" he called to the others.

"That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom.

"Be careful!" (Y/n) warned him holding onto her own broomstick as hard as she could to prevent falling from her broom as much as possible

"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wing.

"Ron, you come at it from above - Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down - (Y/n), fly behind it in case it tries to turn around - and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"

Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upward, while (Y/n) got behind it, and the key dodged all of them, and Harry streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, and Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Ron, Hermione, and (Y/n)'s cheers echoed around the high chamber.

They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned - it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.

"Ready?" Harry asked the other three, his hand on the door handle.

They nodded. He pulled the door open. The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, the light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly - the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."

Behind the white pieces, they could see another door.

"How?" said Hermione nervously.

"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."

"Can't we just play instead of replacing the chess pieces?" Asked (Y/n)

"Wait let me ask"

He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.

"Do we - er - have to join you to get across?"

The black knight nodded.

Ron turned to the others.

"This needs thinking about. . . ." he said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces. . . ."

Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally

he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess -"

"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop and Hermione, you go there instead of that castle and (Y/n) you'll be the queen so you can help if needed."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop, a castle, and the queen turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving four empty squares that Harry, Ron, (Y/n), and Hermione took.

"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes... look"

A white pawn had moved forward two squares. Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost?

"Harry - move diagonally four squares to the right."

Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.

"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger and (Y/n) wasn't really in grave danger but if he moved one wrong piece one of his friends would most likely be taken. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think -let me think..."

During the game of chess, Y/n was intently observing the board when she noticed that her friend Ron was in a position to checkmate their opponent. However, she also realized that the only move she could make was to sacrifice her queen, which would divert the attention of the opponent's queen towards her. Despite the risk involved, Y/n saw that this move could give Ron a better chance to win the game. With this strategy in mind, Y/n quietly said to Ron not wanting Harry and Hermione to hear her,

"I can take the last Knight so you can checkmate."

As Ron pondered the situation at hand, he realized that there was another way out. However, he knew that his friends wouldn't agree with his plan. But he couldn't stand the thought of (Y/n) being crushed by the menacing white queen. So, he made the decision to safeguard their black queen, no matter what the cost.

"No" said Ron softly, "There's another way... I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Harry, Hermione and (Y/n) shouted.

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I make my move and she'll take me - that leaves one of you free to checkmate the king,"

"But -"

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"

"Ron -"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"

There was no alternative.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron was hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor - Hermione screamed but stayed on her square while (Y/n) looked the other way flinching when she heard the sound of him crashing - the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.

Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left. The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet.

They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Harry and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.

"What if he's - ?"

"He'll be all right," said Harry, trying to convince himself more than the two girls.

"What do you reckon's next?"

"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's . . ."

(Y/n) let out a deep breath, feeling exhausted.

"All right three down and two more to go"

They had reached another door.

"All right?" Harry whispered.

"Go on."

Harry pushed it open.

A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making the three of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs.

"Come on, I can't breathe."

He pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

"Great to know we will be cooked alive," (Y/n) said sarcastically, trying to make light of the situation. Harry gave her a deadpan look as if asking how she had the nerve to joke at a time like this. The temperature was soaring, and the air was thick with humidity, making it difficult to breathe. It seemed like there was no escape from the oppressive heat, and (Y/n)'s comment was a reflection of the hopeless feeling that everyone was experiencing.

"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles.

Harry looked over her shoulder to read it:

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind you,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however, slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.

"Brilliant," said Hermione. "This isn't magic - it's logic - a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."

"Well that's comforting"

"But so will we, won't we?"

"Of course not," said Hermione.

"Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."

"But how do we know which to drink?"

"Give me a minute."

Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them.

At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire - toward the Stone."

Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow."

They looked at each other.

"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

"Both of you drink that," said Harry as (Y/n) was about to protest.

"No, listen, get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy - go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."

"But Harry - what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."

(Y/n) stayed silent looking at the small bottle while Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.

"Hermione!"

"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know."

"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.

"Me!" said Hermione.

"Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful !"

"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end and shuddered.

"It's not poison?" said Harry anxiously.

"No - but it's like ice." She said giving the rest of the potion to the other girl.

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck - take care -"

"GO!"

Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire.

Harry drew in a deep breath and turned to the other girl in the room, who had been uncharacteristically silent.

"You've been quiet," he observed, prompting her to meet his gaze.

She looked visibly concerned, her forehead creased in a frown as she contemplated the potential dangers that lay beyond the fire door.

Harry sensed her unease, understanding the unspoken desire in her eyes that begged to accompany him, even though he knew that the two of them would stand no chance against You-Know-Who. So he held her close, his arms enveloping her small frame, hoping to offer some solace and reassurance.

"You always worry about me," he whispered, feeling her embrace tighten around his shoulders. She let out a soft chuckle, her laughter echoing soothingly in his ears.

Unbeknownst to him, she muttered something under her breath and discreetly pointed her wand at the small vial he was about to drink from.

"How could I not worry?" she replied, her tone tinged with worry and affection.

"All you do is get yourself into trouble, everywhere you go. Seriously, you're going to get yourself killed one day." Harry chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, before rummaging in his robes for something. Finally, he pulled out a bright orange azalea, the very same one she had gifted him at his last Quidditch game.

He handed it to her and said,

"Here, take this."

The girl was hesitant and started to say something, but he interrupted her,

"I will come back for it. For now, it will be safer with you." He took hold of her hand and placed a small flower in her palm before closing her hand around it. She nodded and smiled at the boy. He turned to walk towards the potions and picked up the smallest bottle.

As he looked back at (Y/n) one last time, he took a deep breath and turned to face the black flames.

"Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.

It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward; he braced himself, and saw the black flames licking his body, but couldn't feel them - for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire - then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.

There was already someone there - but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.

it was Quirrell.

"You!" gasped Harry.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

"But I thought - Snape -"

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp.

"Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.

"But Snape tried to kill me!"

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."

"Snape was trying to save me?"

"Of course," said Quirrell coolly. "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really . . . he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular . . . and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry.

"You're too nosy to live, Potter. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"You let the troll in?"

"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls - you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there. Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off - and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, but that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly"

"Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

It was only then that Harry realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this . . . but he's in London . . . I'll be far away by the time he gets back. . . ."

All Harry could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him from concentrating on the mirror.

"I saw you and Snape in the forest -" he blurted out.

"Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back.

"He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me - as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side. . . ."

Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it.

"I see the Stone ...I'm presenting it to my master... but where is it?"

Harry struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give. He had to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the mirror.

"But Snape always seemed to hate me so much."

"Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually,

"heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you dead."

"But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing - I thought Snape was threatening you"

For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.

"Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions - he is a great wizard and I am weak -"

"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly.

"I met him when I travelled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it. . . . Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly.

"He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the Stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me . . . decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me. . . ."

Quirrell's voice trailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley - how could he have been so stupid? He'd seen Quirrell there that very day, shaking hands with him in the Leaky Cauldron. Quirrell cursed under his breath.

"I don't understand . . . is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"

Harry's mind was racing.

'What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it - which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to?'

He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without

Quirrell noticed, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight:

he tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself.

"What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"

And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

"Use the boy . . . Use the boy . . ."

Quirrell rounded on Harry.

"Yes - Potter - come here."

He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.

"Come here," Quirrell repeated.

"Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

Harry walked toward him.

I must lie, he thought desperately.

I must look and lie about what I see, that's all.

Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again. He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket - and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow - incredibly - he'd gotten the Stone.

"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"

Harry screwed up his courage.

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented.

"I - I've won the House Cup for Gryffindor."

Quirrell cursed again.

"Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, he felt the Sorcerer's Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it? But he hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.

"He lies . . . He lies . . ."

"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

The high voice spoke again.

"Let me speak to him . . . face-to-face. . . ."

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough . . . for this. . . ."

Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot. Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Harry Potter . . ." it whispered.

Harry tried to take a step backward but his legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapour. . . I have form only when I can share another's body . . . but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds. . . . Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks . . . you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest. . . and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own. . . . Now . . . why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"

So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs. He stumbled backwards.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me . . . or you'll meet the same end as your parents. . . . They died begging me for mercy. . . ."

"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly.

Quirrell was walking backwards at him so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching . . ." it hissed. "I always value bravery. . . . Yes, boy, your parents were brave. . . . I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight . . . but your mother needn't have died . . . she was trying to protect you. . . . Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!"

Harry shouted when he heard a sudden voice from behind him.

"Filipindo!"

He turned around and saw a girl with (H/c) hair, holding a wand and pointing it at Quirrell, who appeared to be stunned.

"(Y/n)! But how-"

"No time to explain, let's get out of here!" She interrupted, taking Harry's hand and running towards the fire door.

But Voldemort's voice echoed in the chamber,

"FOOLISH GIRL! SEIZE THEM!" and in the next instant, Harry felt Quirrell's hand grasp his wrist, the one that (Y/n) wasn't holding. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his scar, as if his head was about to split in two. He screamed and struggled with all his might, but surprisingly, Quirrell let go of him. The pain in his head subsided, and he looked around to see where Quirrell had gone. He saw him hunched in pain, staring at his fingers, which were blistering before his eyes.

Voldemort's piercing command echoed through the chamber,

"Seize them! SEIZE THEM!"

In response, Quirrell launched himself towards Harry, causing him to quickly shove the girl aside. As Quirrell tackled Harry, he fell to the ground with a heavy thud, with (Y/n) anxiously holding onto her wand, trying not to accidentally hit Harry. Her hands shook, as she struggled to aim at Quirrell, who was gripping Harry's neck, leaving Harry writhing in pain. Despite the agony in his scar, Harry could see Quirrell screaming in pain as if something was causing him intense discomfort.

"Master, I cannot hold him - my hands - my hands!" And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms - Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.

"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face-

"ARGH!"

Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain - his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse.

(Y/n) watched in shock as Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off - the pain in Harry's head was building - he couldn't see - he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" and other voices, maybe in Harry's own head, crying,

"Harry! Harry!"

He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down . . . down . . . down . . . Something gold was glinting just above him. The Snitch! He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy.

He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses.

How strange.

He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him.

"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore.

Harry stared at him. Then he remembered: "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick -"

"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore.

"Quirrell does not have the Stone."

"Then who does? Sir, I -"

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."

Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming.

"What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have I been in here?"

"Three days. Your friends will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried especially Miss (L/n)."

"But sir, the Stone -"

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."

"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"

"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you -"

"It was you."

"I feared I might be too late I came just as Miss (L/n) was about to pull him and helped her get you here."

"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer -"

"Not the Stone, boy, you - the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend - Nicolas Flamel -"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted.

"You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.

"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking . . . Sir - even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who -"

"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"

"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share . . . not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time - and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

Harry nodded but stopped quickly because it made his head hurt. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know if you can tell me . . . things I want to know the truth about. . . ."

"The truth." Dumbledore sighed.

"It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Well . . . Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"

Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day . . . put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older . . . I know you hate to hear this . . . when you are ready, you will know."

And Harry knew it would be no good to argue.

"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign . . . to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet. When he had found his voice again, Harry said,

"And the Invisibility Cloak - do you know who sent it to me?"

"Ah - your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"Useful things . . . your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."

"And there's something else . . ."

"Fire away."

"Quirrell said Snape -"

"Professor Snape, Harry."

"Yes, him - Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"

"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life."

"What?"

"Yes . . ." said Dumbledore dreamily.

"Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt. . . . I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace. . . ."

Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.

"And sir, there's one more thing . . ."

"Just the one?"

"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes. . . . Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them - but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth.

Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict.

"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"You let Professor Dumbledore in. . . ."

"Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need rest."

"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey . . ."

"Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes only."

And she let (Y/n), Ron, and Hermione in.

"Harry!"

Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore.

As for (Y/n) she sat beside him looking for any injuries on the boy's body and when she found none she sighed in relief and held his hand.

"You all right?" She asked which made him nod.

"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to - Dumbledore was so worried -"

"The whole school's talking about it," said Ron.

"What really happened?"

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumours. Harry told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. As (Y/n) just stayed silent having heard and seen some of what happened Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud.

"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die?"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that - what was it? - 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'"

"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was.

"So what happened to you two?" said Harry.

"Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round - that took a while - and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall - he already knew - he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."

He then turned to the girl who was holding his hand.

"How did you get past the fire?" He asked which made Hermione berk she have been wanting to ask the same thing.

The girl just smiled and shrugged her shoulder

"Refilling Charm although it took a while to refill it worked in time and I am glad it did on time" She explained making Hermione gasp

"Genius! How didn't I think of that!"

"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"

"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did - I mean to say - that's terrible - you could have been killed."

"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully.

"He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could"

"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly.

"Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course - you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you - but the food'll be good."

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she said firmly.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

After a good night's sleep, Harry felt nearly back to normal.

"I want to go to the feast," he told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened his many candy boxes. "I can, can't I?"

"Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go," she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have two visitors."

"Oh, good," said Harry. "Who is it?"

Hagrid sidled through the door with (Y/n) behind him as he spoke. As usual, when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Harry, took one look at him, and burst into tears.

"It's - all - my - ruddy - fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"

(Y/n) leaned in and whispered into Harry's ear, her voice barely audible above the noise around them. "I tried to calm him down," she said, her tone laced with frustration and disappointment.

"I did my best, but it was no use. He was too angry and upset at himself."

"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard.

"Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."

"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"

"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked that he stopped crying when (Y/n) started murmuring quietly about having a headache in the morning.

"I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads. . . ."

Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said,

"That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."

"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.

"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead - anyway, got yeh this . . ."

It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos . . . knew yeh didn' have any . . . d'yeh like it?

Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.

(Y/n) smiled at her friend's face.

"Hagrid was collecting them for a while now and he told me before Christmas which gave me the camera idea thought you would want to add some of your own memories here"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Harry and (Y/n) made their way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night.

Harry had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving him one last checkup while (Y/n) waited outside for him when he finished, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colours of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the House Cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

When Harry and (Y/n) walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat beside Ron and (Y/n) sat beside Hermione at the Gryffindor table and he tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him.

Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully, your heads are all a little fuller than they were . . . you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. . . ."

"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, has four hundred and seventy-two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes"

"First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley"

Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

"for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

Gryffindor's cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

At last, there was silence again.

"Second - to Miss Hermione Granger for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves - they were a hundred points up.

"Third - to Miss (L/n) for the great use of Spells to protect and help her friends, I award Gryffindor House fifty points"

(Y/n) smiled as people from the table cheered again clapping loudly.

"Fourth - to Mr Harry Potter," said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet.

"for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had five hundred and twenty-two points - exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the House Cup - if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point.

Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, (Y/n), and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before. Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin,

"we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts. It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls . . . he would never, ever forget tonight.

Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but they did. To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Hermione, of course, had the best grades of the first years and (Y/n) came after her because of her average score in history. Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly); Hagrid was with Eleanor who was going to stay at the castle for sometime before going home. Both of them were there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross station. It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron,

"All of you - I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to."

"I will make sure to come after all I promised Ginny I would" (Y/n) said

People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them are called:

"Bye, Harry!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.

"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry.

He, Ron, (Y/n), and Hermione passed through the gateway together.

"There he is, Mom, there he is, look!"

It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.

"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mom! I can see -"

"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point." Ginny pouted but soon her pout turned upside down when she saw (Y/n) and the girl greeted her happily.

Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.

"Busy year?" she said.

"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, it was nothing, dear."

"Ready, are you?"

Harry was greeted by the sight of his Uncle Vernon, who was still sporting his signature purple face and bushy moustache. Harry could tell that his uncle was absolutely livid at the audacity of him carrying a caged owl through the crowded station. As he looked past Vernon, Harry noticed that Aunt Petunia and Dudley were also present. They appeared to be absolutely terrified by the sight of (Y/n), who was walking alongside Harry and had her own pet owl perched on her arm.

"You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day." He walked away.

After bidding farewell to his friends, Harry lingered behind to exchange some final words. Meanwhile, (Y/n) received some money to hire a cab and head back home. Apparently, her grandma had refused to pick her up, and she was convinced that the Druselys would not want her around anymore.

"See you over the summer, then."

"Hope you have - er - a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.

"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face.

The mischievous glint in his eye made it clear that he had some plans in mind for the summer, particularly involving his cousin Dudley.

"They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer"

Harry knew that they were not allowed to use magic at home, but that didn't stop him from planning to have some fun during the summer. (Y/n) smirked and added,

"Hey, don't have too much fun without me!" Harry nodded in agreement, bidding a small 'see you later' before leaving.

Mrs Weasley turned to the young girl standing next to her and asked,

"Isn't there anyone here to pick you up, dear?" The girl shook her head, causing a frown to appear on Mrs Weasley's face.

"It's alright," said the girl, trying to reassure the older woman. "I have money to go home by myself."

Ginny, who had been listening to their conversation, tugged on the girl's sleeve excitedly.

"Oh! Oh! Can you come back home with us right now?" she asked, turning to her mother.

"Can she, Mum?"

Mrs Weasley smiled at her daughter before turning to the girl.

"Of course, dear, but you have to agree first."

The girl hesitated for a moment before replying.

"I don't mind, but sadly, my grandmother is expecting me to come home soon. However, I can come back two weeks before the next school year starts. How about that?"

Ginny looked a bit disappointed but still nodded in agreement.

As (Y/n) watched Ron bid farewell to Hermione, she overheard him saying something that caught her attention.

"You know you can just ditch her right?" he whispered to her.

She turned her gaze towards him, surprised at his sudden remark.

"Oh trust me I would love to but that would just earn me an earful later on," she replied with a wry smile, knowing exactly what Ron meant. Just then, two boys approached them, and the two greeted them.

"(Y/n)! Ron!"

(Y/n) watched as Cedric and Regulus approached them, greeting Mrs Weasley before turning to the group. Ginny's hand gripped her arm tightly, and when she looked at her, she saw that Ginny was staring at Regulus, who hadn't noticed her yet.

"Pretty..." Ginny whispered, burying her face in (Y/n)'s arm.

Cedric gave them his usual smile and said,

"Hey, we wanted to say goodbye to you guys, but it seems like we were a bit late."

"It's alright," (Y/n) replied, smiling warmly.

"Just make sure to owl me. I would love to see you guys during the summer."

Ron joined the group, and they all chatted for a bit before Regulus noticed Ginny, who was still holding (Y/n)'s arm.

"Oh hello there" Ginny blushed furiously as he talked to her with his gorgeous eyes, which she thought looked as bright as the stars.

"Hi-i," she managed to stutter out.

(Y/n) decided to help the little girl not to embarrass herself.

"Oh, Regulus, this is Ginny. Ron's little sister," she said, introducing them.

After bidding everyone goodbye, Cedric and Regulus left to join their families, and (Y/n) decided to go home after saying her goodbyes to the Weasleys. She looked for a cab to take her home and leaned her head against the window, her eyes drifting to sleep. As she drifted off, she thought to herself,

"What a year..."

#oc #original character #x reader #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter x reader #harry potter x y/n #harry potter x you #fanfic #ron weasley #hermoine granger

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littlemochix17 · 2 months

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Chapter 12

Words: 15.2k

Dumbledore had convinced Harry not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again, and for the rest of the Christmas holidays, the Invisibility Cloak stayed folded at the bottom of his trunk. Harry wished he could forget what he'd seen in the mirror as easily, but he couldn't. He started having nightmares. Over and over again he dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter.

"You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Ron, when Harry told him about these dreams.

(Y/n) sat motionless in her room, her eyes fixated on the necklace lying on her bedside nightstand. Since returning from her journey with Harry and Ron, she had not stepped out of her bed except to satiate her hunger. She felt no inclination to search for her friends or engage in any other activity. Her mind was consumed with finding answers to the mysterious behaviour of the necklace. Was it under a spell? Was the woman she saw in the mirror the same one who had bewitched the necklace? maybe Leonora knows something Countless questions swirled in her mind, interrupting her thoughts at every turn. Suddenly, her trance was broken as she heard a loud knocking at her window. She knew it was Hedwig, her best friend's owl, and she hurriedly opened the window to find the white owl perched on the windowsill. She took the letter from Hedwig and stroked her feathers affectionately before watching her fly away. As she opened the letter, she couldn't help but smile at the simple words inscribed on it:

Meet me in the common room.

As (Y/n) reminisced about her friends, a sudden realization dawned upon her, and she hurriedly rushed down from her room. She didn't want to waste a moment more, and so she quickly descended the stairs to meet her two dear friends. Upon reaching the bottom, she was greeted with two pairs of anxious eyes, which immediately relaxed as they saw her emerge from her dorm. A warm smile spread across her face as she approached her friends, grateful for their concern and happy to be reunited with them.

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he caught sight of the girl he had been waiting for. He greeted her with a warm smile, his eyes softening as he took in her form.

"Hey," he said softly, his voice filled with admiration. The girl's face lit up with a radiant grin, her sparkling eyes meeting his.

"Hey," she replied, her voice filled with joy and excitement at the sight of her best friend.

Hermione, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Filch had caught you!"), and disappointment that he hadn't at least found out who Nicolas Flamel was. They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry was still sure he'd read the name somewhere. Once the term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry had even less time than the other three because Quidditch practice had started again.

Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Harry was on Wood's side. If they win their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the House Championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Harry found that he had fewer nightmares when he was tired out after training.

Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.

"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled.

"That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George Weasley really did fall off his broom at these words.

"Snape's refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud.

"When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."

The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.

"It's not my fault," said Wood.

"We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."

Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch.

The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess with (Y/n) reading a Muggle book. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.

"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him,

"I need to concen-" He caught sight of Harry's face.

"What's the matter with you? You look terrible." Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear but (Y/n) heard them and looked at the black-haired boy waiting for him to talk, Harry told the other three about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.

"Don't play," said Hermione at once.

"Say you're ill," said Ron.

"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.

"Really break your leg," said Ron.

"Ok don't do that" (Y/n) said giving Ron a pointed look

"I can't," said Harry.

"There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."

At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny-hop all the way up to Gryffindor Tower.

Everyone fell over laughing except Hermione and (Y/n), Hermione leapt up and performed the countercurse. Neville's legs sprang apart while (Y/n) helped him to his feet.

"What happened?" Hermione asked him, both girls leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron.

"Malfoy," said Neville shakily.

"I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville.

"Report him!"

Neville shook his head.

"I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron.

"He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.

Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate

Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said.

"The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."

Suddenly, a gentle hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up to see (Y/n)'s warm, comforting eyes. She had always been kind to Neville, going out of her way to help him in classes and make sure he was okay.

"He's right Neville, don't let him get to you," she said, her voice reassuring.

"And if you want, I read a few excellent curses from the library, and we can practice them on that idiot any time we want." A mischievous smirk spread across her face before she ruffled Neville's hair, making him feel at ease. Neville felt grateful for (Y/n)'s presence in his life. She had become a close friend and confidant, always there to offer a kind word or a helping hand. Her offer to defend him against his bully made him feel safe and protected, and he knew that he could always count on her.

Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog.

"Thanks, Harry and (Y/n) . . . I think I'll go to bed. . . . D'you want the card, Harry you collect them, don't you?"

As Neville walked away after saying good night to the quartet, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.

"Dumbledore again," he said,

"He was the first one I ever-"

He gasped. He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron, (Y/n) and Hermione.

"I've found him!" he whispered.

"I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel' !"

Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.

As soon as the words "Stay there!" escaped her lips, she raced up the stairs with lightning speed, leaving Harry and Ron looking at each other with confusion written all over their faces. They both turned towards (Y/n) seeking some explanation for Hermione's sudden departure, but she simply shrugged her shoulders, equally baffled. Moments later, Hermione reappeared, clutching an enormous ancient tome tightly in her arms, panting heavily from the exertion of her sprint.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly.

"I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Light?" said Ron, but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself. At last, she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I knew it!"

"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily. Hermione ignored him.

"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically,

"Wait the maker of the Sorcerer's Stone?" (Y/n) said, now she remembered the name when she saw the book she borrowed from Hermione a week ago, making Hermione nod her head

This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.

"The what?" said Harry and Ron.

"Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Look- read that, there."

She pushed the book toward them, and Harry and Ron read:

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).

"See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished.

"The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry.

"No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Ron.

"He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

"Clearly he likes life a little bit too much" (Y/n) said as Ron snorted at her little remake

The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Sorcerer's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.

"I'm going to play," he told the other three.

"If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them... it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."

"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Hermione.

"Don't worry I know you can win even with Snape being there" (Y/n) gave Harry a smile that eased him a little

But as the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told his friends. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the House Championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee? Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.

Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again. This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.

Regarding (Y/n), she was noticeably absent when Hermione and Ron wished Harry good luck, which left Harry feeling a bit disappointed. He was hoping for some comfort from his best friend, as he usually does when he needs it. Her smile always reassures him that everything will be alright. However, he didn't know, she was waiting for him outside the locker room until he finished changing.

Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match. Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practising the Leg-Locker Curse with (Y/n). They'd gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.

"Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.

"I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."

Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry aside.

"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favour Hufflepuff too much."

"The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door.

"Even - blimey - Dumbledore's come to watch!"

Harry's heart somersaulted.

"Dumbledore?" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard. Harry could have laughed out loud with relief. He was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of the girl he craved to see, and she gave him a smile that he had been yearning for. It was the kind of smile that lit up her whole face and made his heart skip a beat. He turned his attention to Wood, who seemed preoccupied with his own nervousness. Sensing an opportunity, he made his way towards the girl, his chest filled with anticipation. As he approached, he noticed that she was holding a bright orange flower in her hand, which added to her already radiant appearance.

"Hey" Harry said returning her smile feeling himself forgetting about Snape instantly.

(Y/n) felt her heart race a little. "Hey, sorry I didn't meet you with Ron and Mione here," she said, her hand outstretched, holding a delicate flower. The boy's eyes flickered to the flower, momentarily confused.

"Oh, er- thanks?" he said, taking the flower from her. He was a bit bewildered as to why she was giving him a flower before his match, but he accepted it graciously nonetheless.

As he looked at the flower in his hand, (Y/n) continued speaking, her voice soft and gentle.

"This is an Azalea," she said.

"I've taken an interest in reading about flowers over the past few days, and I found out that this one symbolizes good luck. So, I stayed behind for a bit, looking for one around the school grounds. I also charmed it so you can keep it alive in your pocket."

Seeing the smile on her friend's face, (Y/n) felt a sense of pride and contentment. She was glad she could do something to help ease his nerves before the big match.

As Harry was about to reply he heard Wood's voice

"Potter!? For Gryffindor's sake, this isn't the time to lose a child!"

(Y/n) chuckled giving Harry a quick hug before backing up "You should go before Wood come over and drag you to the match"

Harry nodded tucking the small flower in his quidditch ropes

"Oh and Harry" he looked back at the (H/c) headed girl

"I know you will win"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione.

"Look - they're off. Ouch!"

Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."

Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.

"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Does anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"

Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him. Hermione, who. had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.

"It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.

A Slytherin girl with black short hair and Hazel eyes spoke up, directing her words towards a younger boy who was known as Malfoy.

"You know Malfoy, if that's how they pick quidditch players, maybe you would be up for it next year. I mean, I am sure they did pity for having such a shitty father," she said, her eyes glaring with anger. Malfoy retorted with a sneer,

"Shut up Davies, at least I have a family." The group then turned their attention to Neville as he spoke up.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said,

"You tell him, Neville."

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."

Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.

"I'm warning you, Malfoy - one more word -"

"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry - !"

"What? Where?"

Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.

While (Y/n) was watching him anxiously as she stayed with Regulus in the Slytherin stands.

Regulus tried to convince the girl to stay with her friends by asking,

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with your friends?" He could see the stress in her eyes as she watched the match.

"Regulus, I've told you before that I don't want you to watch the match alone. Besides, Mione and Ron have each other. They should be fine without me," she replied, occasionally taking her eyes off the match to glance at the boy.

Regulus chuckled. "Well, I guess you're too stubborn to reason with. So, who do you think will win?"

"I don't know. It's hard to cheer on when your two friends are on opposite teams," she said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Well, I guess it would be. I mean, you do have a thing for befriending skeers," he teased.

"It's not li- OMG, REGULUS, LOOK! HE HAS THE SNITCH!" she exclaimed, pointing to the match.

Back to the other Gryffindors

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy. Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape - she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches - the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.

The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.

Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it - the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped - then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.

"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear.

"Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror . . .been keeping busy . . . excellent . . ."

Snape spat bitterly on the ground.

Harry left the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really done something to be proud of now - no one could say he was just a famous name any more. The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur:

Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione were in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed. Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor is in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape. . . .

And speaking of Snape . . .

A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner - what was going on?

Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed.

The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.

He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves. Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone.

Quirrell was there, too. Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.

"d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus"

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy.

"Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."

Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I -"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking

a step toward him.

"I-I don't know what you -"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say,

"- your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't -"

"Very well," Snape cut in.

"We'll have another little chat soon when you've had time to think things over and decide where your loyalties lie."

He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing.

It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione squeaked.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back.

"I told you. You'll win" (Y/n) which made Ron nod happily.

"And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right - talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly.

"Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this...."

He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, and then he told them what he'd seen and heard.

"So we were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy - and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocuspocus'- I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through -"

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.

"Guess we have to keep an eye on him until then" (Y/n) mumbled to the other three.

Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.

Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, (Y/n), and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe.

Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.

Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and colour-coding all her notes while (Y/n) studied with her for a bit before constantly switching to her books about flowers or novels. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but Hermione kept nagging them to do the same.

"Hermione, the exams are ages away."

"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped.

"That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."

"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her.

"Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."

"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? Do you realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me."

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her and (Y/n), trying to get through all their extra work.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window.

(Y/n) could see the frustration written all over Ron's face as he let out a deep sigh and put down his quill.

"Oh come on Ron don't give up just yet," she encouraged him, hoping to lift his spirits. Ron turned to look at her, his expression a mix of annoyance and exhaustion.

"Easy for you to say. You're as bad as Hermione - there's nothing you don't know," he grumbled.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help but smile at his comment.

"That's not true Ron. I'm as bad in history as Malfoy is bad at being nice," she retorted with a smirk, hoping to inject some humour into the situation.

To her relief, Ron let out a laugh and picked up his quill once more, his determination renewed.

(Y/n) watched him for a moment, feeling a sense of satisfaction at having helped him, before returning her attention to her own book.

It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming. Harry, who was looking up "Dittany" in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, didn't look up until he heard Ron say,

"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once.

"An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious.

"Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively.

"And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St -"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening.

"Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry,

"about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"

"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh -"

"See you later, then," said Harry.

Hagrid shuffled off.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"

"It might have" Said (Y/n)

"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.

"Dragons!" he whispered.

"Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," said Harry.

"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709 everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.

"Of course there are," said Ron.

"Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.

"Do you think he is going to buy one?" (Y/n) questioned as the other three shrugged

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed.

Hagrid called

"Who is it?"

Before he let them in he shut the door quickly behind them. It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.

"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush.

"We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at him.

"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling.

"We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on.

"We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry, (Y/n) and Ron beamed at Hermione.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that let's see he borrowed Fluffy from me then some o' the teachers did enchantments Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticked them off on his fingers,

"Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?"

"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

Harry knew the other three were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything - except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously.

"And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.

"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others.

"Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it, too.

"Hagrid - what's that?"

But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard,

"That's - er"

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg.

"It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid.

As (Y/n) gazed at the mysterious object before her, a sense of wonder and excitement filled her.

"It's a dragon egg, isn't it?" she asked eagerly, unable to contain her anticipation at the prospect of witnessing the hatching of a magical creature. Hagrid, noticing her enthusiasm, nodded in confirmation, his own excitement mirroring hers. Together, they stood in awe, eagerly anticipating the arrival of a new and wondrous being.

"Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow.

"Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff 'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.

"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she said.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire. So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Hermione had now started making study schedules for Harry and Ron, too. It was driving them nuts. Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words:

It's hatching.

Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing -"

"Shut up!" Harry whispered.

Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.

(Y/n) leaned in towards her friends and spoke in a hushed tone,

"I don't know about you guys, but I think it's best if we don't discuss this topic right now. There's a noisy Slytherin over there who seems to be trying to eavesdrop on our conversation."

As she glanced over, she noticed Malfoy intently listening in, confirming her suspicions. Harry nodded in agreement and quickly motioned for them to leave, pulling their two friends along with them as they made their way away from the curious blonde.

Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the four of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it. They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open.

The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't he beautiful ?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.

"Aww he's so cute Hagrid" (Y/n) said in awe as she looked at the baby dragon

"Hagrid," said Hermione,

"how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the colour suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school."

Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance, there was no mistaking him.

Malfoy had seen the dragon.

Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, (Y/n), and Hermione very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

"Just let him go," Harry urged.

"Set him free."

"I can't," said Hagrid.

"He's too little. He'd die."

"Hagrid if you don't they would take you both away" The (E/c) eyed girl tried to back her friend but Hagrid didn't seem to be cooperating

They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.

"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes.

"He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.

"Hagrid," said Harry loudly,

"Give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

Hagrid bit his lip.

"I - I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, can't."

Harry suddenly turned to Ron.

"Charlie," he said.

"You're losing it, too," said Ron.

"I'm Ron, remember?"

"No - Charlie - your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant!" said Ron.

"How about it, Hagrid?"

And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.

The following week he was dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's Invisibility Cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.

"It bit me!" he said,

showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief.

"I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."

There was a tap on the dark window.

"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in.

"She'll have Charlie's answer!"

The three of them put their heads together to read the note.

Dear Ron, How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon. Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark. Send me an answer as soon as possible. Love, Charlie

They looked at one another.

"We've got the Invisibility Cloak," said Harry.

"It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert - and Malfoy. There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous. Harry, Hermione and (Y/n) rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.

"It's not just my hand," he whispered,

"Although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me - I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

(Y/n) was fuming with anger and frustration. "That little git!" she exclaimed, her face flushed with rage. She couldn't believe how Malfoy was enjoying Ron's misery and taking pleasure in their predicament. She was also deeply troubled by the thought of the baby dragon being taken away to an unknown location if they found him. As she looked away from her friends, she couldn't contain her emotions any longer and let out an exasperated "ugh." In the midst of her distress, Harry attempted to console her while Hermione focused on calming Ron down.

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice.

"Oh no - oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."

Harry, (Y/n) and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione and (Y/n).

"We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the Invisibility Cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

Harry and Hermione decided to follow (Y/n)'s suggestion and leave for their mission, while she stayed behind to keep Ron's company. (Y/n) had a strong feeling that the cloak they were going to use to transport themselves along with Norbert, the dragon, would not be able to handle the weight of three people and a dragon. Hermione, who was quick to agree, knew that the fewer people, the better, as bringing more people could potentially cause problems and attract unwanted attention.

After they dropped (Y/n) at the hospital wing they went to Hagrid and they found Fang the boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.

"I won't let you in," he puffed.

"Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."

When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.

"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot - jus' playin' - he's only a baby, after all."

The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough. They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say goodbye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice.

"An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Hermione covered the crate with the Invisibility Cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"

How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors.

Up another staircase, then another - even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared. Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you -"

"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.

"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"

"Don't," Harry advised her.

Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness. Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last, Norbert was going . . . going . . . gone.

They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon - Malfoy in detention - what could spoil their happiness? The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered,

"We are in trouble."

"Do you think they made it?" Ron lay in bed, tiredness was evident in his voice, a result of the healing potions Madam Pomfrey had given him. Sitting beside him was (Y/n), her red heart necklace in her hand, caressing it gently. Her thoughts were running wild, wondering if their friends had made it, worrying about Ron's state, and of course, pondering over the secret of the necklace she held in her hands.

The girl appeared to be in deep thought as she spoke,

"With Malfoy sticking his nose in, it would be quite challenging to get past the professors. The cloak may make you invisible, but it doesn't make you untouchable." She let out a sigh and shifted her gaze towards her friend who was lying down on the hospital bed.

Ron tried to lighten the mood with a joke, "You know, I would have preferred getting bit by your snake over Norbert any time of the day."

The girl couldn't help but laugh at his comment, "Oh, please! You're just a scaredy cat, Weasley. Did you really think I didn't notice how you sat away from me when I sneaked Nitor into Charms class?" Her tone was teasing as she playfully nudged Ron's good arm.

Ron raised an eyebrow while looking at the girl in front of him.

"Well, what kind of an idiot brings a snake to class? I thought you wanted to keep him hidden?" he asked.

The girl shrugged and replied, "He was bored and wanted to tag along. Besides, he was doing nothing but coiling around my arm under my sleeve."

Suddenly, they heard a voice coming from the staff room in the hospital wing. Their hearts skipped a beat as they turned around to see who was coming out. To their relief, it was Leonora. They breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she wouldn't punish them for (Y/n) being out late in the hospital wing.

"(Y/n)? Madam Pomfrey told me what happened to Ron while I was working on healing potions but what are you doing here?" Said the older woman, Madam Pomfrey, who had apparently filled in Leonora about Ron's condition while she was busy working on healing potions.

However, when she noticed (Y/n) in the room, she couldn't help but ask her why she was there. "I came to see Ron actually I know I should be in bed but I wanted to make sure he's alright," The girl said, looking somewhat embarrassed, explaining why she had come to see Ron.

Ron remained silent, letting his friend do the talking on his behalf.

Leonora, however, wasn't convinced. She asked, "Hmm well then while you're here do you mind explaining why Ron has a poisonous dragon bite on his hand".

Both Ron and (Y/n) became visibly nervous. Leonora's tone became more serious as she revealed that it had taken a lot of convincing to keep Madam Pomfrey from reporting the incident. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, clearly annoyed by the situation.

"Salazar Rose I thought I was done picking up after you" she mumbles as she looks back at the two kids who were looking down ashamed they were found out

"Well?" Leonora raised an eyebrow signaling for one of them to talk

As for Harry and Hermione, they left the Invisibility Cloak on top of the tower. Things couldn't have been worse. Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Harry's brain, each more feeble than the last. He couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak? There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest Astronomy Tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norbert and the Invisibility Cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already. Had Harry thought that things couldn't have been worse? He was wrong. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other two.

"I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag -"

Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the Astronomy Tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall.

"It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

Harry caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true because Neville was looking stunned and hurt.

Poor, blundering Neville - Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall.

"Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detentions - yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous - and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"Fifty?" Harry gasped - they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Professor - please -"

"You can't -"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."

A hundred and fifty points were lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the House Cup. Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. How could they ever make up for this?

After explaining what had happened to them Leonora sighed

The woman with curly hair looked at the two first-year students with a sense of urgency and determination. "Well come on, I am taking you back to your dorm," she said, which made both Ron and (Y/n) look at her in confusion.

Ron's expression was one of disbelief, "Wait, that's it?" he asked in surprise.

(Y/n) too was astonished, "You're not going to report this to Professor Dumbledore?" she exclaimed. Leonora, the curly-haired woman, looked at them with a frown and shook her head.

"What do you think I am, a snitch?" she asked indignantly.

"You guys solved the problem anyways, why would I report it to Dumbledore? If I wanted to do that, I would have done it the moment Madam Pomfrey rushed to my office asking for an antidote for Ron."

Both kids let out a breath of relief. The thought of getting in trouble with the headmaster was too much to bear. But right now, (Y/n) had to focus on getting out of the hospital wing without being seen.

"But right now, we have to get you out of here before someone else sees you. Come on," Leonora continued, making them nod in agreement. (Y/n) bid Ron goodbye as she and Leonora left the hospital wing.

As they were strolling towards the Gryffindor common room, the head girl with (H/c) hair remembered something that had been bothering her for quite some time. She fidgeted with a necklace that lay in her pocket and then turned to the older woman walking beside her.

"Um, Leonora?" she asked hesitantly, seeking her attention.

Leonora, her companion, turned to her with a curious expression.

"Do you think you could tell me what this necklace does?" The girl inquired, her eyes hopeful. Leonora's gaze fell on the girl's hand and she noticed something familiar that she hadn't seen in eleven years. Her heart began pounding furiously in her chest as she remembered the necklace instantly, causing her to stop in her tracks. The eleven-year-old stopped too, looking up at her with a questioning expression.

"Where did you get this?" Leonora asked nervously, trying to keep her voice from breaking in front of the girl.

"I-it was sent to me last Christmas, and I was going to ask you about it, but you were always busy in the hospital wing working until late at night. I didn't want to interrupt you because I saw how hard you were working," the girl explained.

Leonora gently took the necklace from the little girl, holding it with care as she examined it closely. Her eyes softened as she looked at the piece of jewelry and a sad smile appeared on her lips.

"That was your mother's favourite necklace," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The first one your father gave to her when we were in our fifth year at Hogwarts."

The girl looked up at Leonora with curious eyes, intrigued by the story behind the necklace.

"When I wore it, it showed me something like a vision or a memory," she explained, her voice trailing off. "I think... I don't know. It happens only when I wear it."

Intrigued, Leonora decided to try the necklace on herself. But to her surprise, nothing happened. The necklace remained still and lifeless, unlike how it had reacted when the little girl had worn it in her room.

"Why doesn't it work?" the girl asked, looking up at Leonora with a puzzled expression.

"Maybe it's bewitched only for you to see the things inside of it," Leonora suggested, handing the necklace back to the little girl. They found themselves standing in front of Gryffindor's common room, and Leonora knew it was time for the girl to rest.

"Well, I think you should rest for a while. We will see that necklace another time, yeah?" she said, smiling kindly at the girl while ruffling her hair making it a bit missy.

The little girl nodded and entered the common room after saying the password, feeling a little tired. She didn't notice Hermione sitting on her bed, waiting for her to come back.

"Where have you been?!" Hermione whispered, yelling so as not to wake up the other girls in the dorm.

"Where have I been? I thought you guys should have picked me up after sending Norbert away. Where have you been?" the little girl whispered back, raising an eyebrow at Hermione as she threw herself onto her own bed.

"McGonagall caught us and took a hundred and fifty points out of our house points because she thought we tricked Neville and Malfoy into thinking there was a dragon," Hermione explained, her voice filled with frustration.

The girl sat up so fast that Hermione thought she would be suffering from a whiplash.

"What!?" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock.

Harry didn't sleep all night. He could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours.

Harry couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. He knew Neville, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done? At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the House points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, he and a couple of other stupid first years.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the House Cup. Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering,

"Thanks, Potter, we owe you one!"

Only Ron stood by him while (Y/n) ran off after some kids in their year for insulting the boy.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."

"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.

"Well - no," Ron admitted.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on.

He'd had it with sneaking around and spying. He felt so ashamed of himself that he went to Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team.

"Resign?" Wood thundered.

"What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"

But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Harry during practice, and if they had to speak about him, they called him "the Seeker."

Hermione and Neville were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Harry, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence. Harry was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying he had to do kept his mind off his misery. He, (Y/n), Ron, and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions. . . .

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.

"No - no - not again, please -"

It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer.

"All right - all right -" he heard Quirrell sob.

Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Harry was halfway toward it before he remembered what he'd promised himself about not meddling.

All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Sorcerer's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step - Quirrell seemed to have given in at last. Harry went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy and (Y/n) was trying to memorize spells from DADA. Harry told them what he'd heard.

"Snape's done it, then!" said Ron.

"If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell -"

"There's still Fluffy, though," said Hermione.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them.

"I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So what do we do, Harry?"

The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.

"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."

"Or we could just mind our own business" (Y/n) said as she knew how what would happen to them if they were caught yet again, especially Harry and Hermione.

Plus she has her own secret she wants to discover and she won't be able to if she gets expelled from Hogwarts especially not because Snape wants a lot of money and a long life.

"Oh come on (N/n) not you too!"

"Come on Mione do you think Dumbledore will believe us?"

"And we've got no proof!" said Harry backing up his best friend.

"Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor - who do you think they'll believe him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore thinks we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Hermione looked convinced, but Ron didn't.

"If we just do a bit of poking around -"

"No," said Harry flatly,

"we've done enough poking around."

He pulled a map of Jupiter toward him and started to learn the names of its moons.

The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:

Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furore over the points they'd lost. He half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word. Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they'd got.

At eleven o'clock that night, they said goodbye to Ron and (Y/n) in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there - and so was Malfoy. Harry had also forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention, too.

"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them.

"Oh yes . . . hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me. . . . It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out . . . hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed. . . . Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing.

Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted. The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

Harry's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. His relief must have shown on his face because Filch said,

"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy - it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

At this, Neville let out a little moan, and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.

"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual.

"We can't go in there at night - there are all sorts of things in there- werewolves, I heard."

Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee.

"Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.

"Abou' time," he said.

"I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly,

"they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch.

"Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch,

"for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.

"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely.

"Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd -"

"- tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled.

"Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"

Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously but then dropped his gaze.

"Right then," said Hagrid,

"Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.

"Look there," said Hagrid,

"see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid.

"An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff 'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid.

"So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now - that's it - an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh - so, be careful - let's go."

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth's path, and Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the right. They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves. Harry saw that Hagrid looked very worried.

"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.

"Not fast enough," said Hagrid.

"It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."

They walked past a mossy tree stump. Harry could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.

"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered.

"Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter - GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Back at the common room

Ron and (Y/n) were sitting in the common room, trying to study while waiting for Harry and Hermione to return from their detention. Ron looked up from his Charms book and asked,

"What do you think they would make them do at detention?"

(Y/n) groaned and closed her Transfiguration book. She felt bad for not going with Harry and Hermione when they were sending Norbert away and was worried about what Flinch might make them do.

"I don't know, but I bet it can't be good as long as Malfoy is there," she said, frowning as she thought about Flinch's sick love for torturing kids.

"Don't stress too much, they'll be just fine," Ron tried to comfort her, patting her back. (Y/n) chuckled.

"Weird how lately one of us always ends up comforting the other when we're stressed," she said, and Ron smiled at her words, feeling a sense of brotherly warmth.

"Well, you're like a second Ginny, only if she wasn't so annoying sometimes," Ron teased. (Y/n) gasped and looked at him with a fake hurt look in her eyes.

"Oh, Ronniekins and I thought we had something special! Way to break my heart, mate," she put her hand on her forehead dramatically, pretending to be heartbroken. Ron laughed and threw his head back, forgetting about their books.

"Come on now, why would you want me when you have three golden boys always at your tail?" Ron teased again, and (Y/n) raised an eyebrow, looking at him quizzically.

"Three who?" she asked, and Ron mimicked her expression.

"Three you. What do you mean by three who? You know who I am talking about: Cedric, Regulus, and Harry," he said, and (Y/n) gasped again.

"What? No way, that's not true. I mean, first, Cedric is too old for me-"

"Two years aren't that much," Ron interrupted.

"-Second, Regulus, I don't know, but I just have this 'ugh' feeling when you mentioned us-"

"You know that's just a phase, right?"

"-And lastly, Harry? Are you for real? That's my best friend, Ron. He isn't at 'my tail all the time.'"

"Oh, come on, seriously? Harry looks at you with little hearts in his eyes," Ron said, and at his words, (Y/n)'s heart skipped a beat, but she shook her head in disbelief.

The conversation between the two was getting heated as they argued back and forth.

"He does not," she insisted firmly, her voice betraying her frustration.

"He does, yes," the other person countered with equal force.

"Does not!"

"Does yes!"

At that moment, (Y/n) spoke up, addressing Ron,

"Didn't you just say that I'm like a second Ginny? I didn't know brothers could play matchmakers and set up their sisters with their best friends," she said with a hint of sarcasm. Ron couldn't help but laugh at her comment, causing (Y/n) to roll her eyes.

"Whatever, you're insufferable," (Y/n) finally said, giving up on the argument.

"And you're delusional, but you don't see me complaining," Ron smirked, looking at (Y/n) with a sense of victory as he saw her face and her inability to come up with a retort.

(Y/n) glared at Ron, feeling frustrated and embarrassed. She longed to wipe the smirk off his face but didn't know how.

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore. I'm going to wait for them in my dorm," she said, snatching her books and trying to hide her flustered expression.

Ron's laughter only made things worse, and she felt like she had become the target of his amusement for the last few minutes.

"Study by yourself!" (Y/n) shouted as she stormed off towards the girls' dorm, not wanting to study with Ron anymore.

Despite her irritation, she couldn't help but smile softly at the sound of his laugh echoing through the common room.

Back to detention

Hagrid seized Harry and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.

"I knew it," he murmured.

"There's summat in here that shouldn' be."

"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.

"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly.

"Right, follow me, but careful, now."

They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound.

Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.

"Who's there?" Hagrid called.

"Show yerself - I'm armed!"

And into the clearing came - was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, was a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.

"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief.

"How are yeh?"

He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice.

"Were you going to shoot me?"

"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow.

"There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."

"We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly.

"Good evening," said Ronan.

"Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"

"Erm -"

"A bit," said Hermione timidly.

"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky.

"Mars is bright tonight."

"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too.

"Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt - you seen anythin'?"

Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.

"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said.

"So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

"Yeah," said Hagrid,

"but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently.

"Unusually bright."

"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Hagrid.

"So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"

Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."

A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.

"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid.

"All right?"

"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"

"Well, enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured - would yeh know anythin' about it?"

Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward.

"Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.

"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily.

"Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."

Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.

"Never," said Hagrid irritably,

"try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."

"Are there many of them in here?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, a fair few. . . . Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but

they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs . . . they know things . . . jus' don' let on much."

"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry.

"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns - never heard anythin' like it before."

They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Harry kept looking nervously over his shoulder. He had the nasty feeling they were being watched. He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.

"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"

"You two wait here!" Hagrid shouted.

"Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"

They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.

"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.

"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville . . . it's our fault he's here in the first place."

The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Harry's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?

At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Neville, and Fang were with him. Hagrid was fuming. Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke. Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.

"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups - Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot. I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to Harry,

"but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done."

So Harry set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.

"Look -" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy. Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.

It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.

Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered. . . . Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animals side, and began to drink its blood.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted - so did Fang. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry - unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry - he couldn't move for fear.

Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire. Half blinded, he staggered backwards.

He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.

The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.

"Yes - thank you - what was that?"

The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead.

"You are the Potter boy," he said.

"You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time - especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.

"My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself onto his front legs so that Harry could clamber onto his back.

There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.

"Firenze!" Bane thundered.

"What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"

"Do you realize who this is?" said Firenze.

"This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better."

"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane.

"Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"

Ronan pawed the ground nervously.

"I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said in his gloomy voice.

Bane kicked his back legs in anger.

"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"

Firenze suddenly reared onto his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on.

"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane.

"Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."

And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.

Harry didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Why's Bane so angry?" he asked.

"What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"

Firenze slowed to a walk, and warned Harry to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry's question.

They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him anymore.

They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.

"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

"No," said Harry, startled by the odd question.

"We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."

"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze.

"Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price.

You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.

"But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud.

"If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"

"It is," Firenze agreed,

"unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else - something that will bring you back to full strength and power - something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course - the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who -"

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"

It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him on the night they had met:

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."

"Do you mean," Harry croaked,

"that was Vol -"

"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"

Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.

"I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying.

"The unicorns dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn.

"You are safe now."

Harry slid off his back.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Harry shivering behind him.