Sticks and Stones
During breakfast, I couldn’t help but pick over my eggs. After having seen a dragon hatch from one the night before, I just couldn’t stomach them. I looked over to the gryffindor table and noticed Harry and the youngest Weasley huddled close together. They appeared to be reading something and whispering to each other.
I caught Dracos attention and gestured to them with my fork. He looked over at them, then shrugged. When he turned back to me he asked, “did you still want to stop by the library before transfiguration?”
I nodded my head. I noticed his eggs were uneaten as well, as we quickly gathered our things before leaving the loud chatter of the great hall.
We had just sat down at our usual table when Harry walked up with Weasley.
“I think Ron can help us with Hagrid.” Harry announced brightly.
“And why exactly would he do that?” I asked sceptically.
Ron looked a bit nervous but answered, “Because, I love dragons. My older brother, Charlie, told me all about them. He works with all kinds of them, on a reserve in Romania.”
“How can you help us though?” Draco sneered.
“Well, actually, it was Harry’s idea,” Ron admitted glancing over to Harry. “When I told him about my brother Charlie last night, he suggested we ask him what to do. So I went to my other brother, Percy, he's a prefect and he let Harry use his owl to send a letter to Charlie. His reply came this morning, he has a plan.” Ron said then pulled a letter from his bag.
I reached for the letter and quickly read over it.
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 to the edge of the dark forest just before midnight Friday? They can meet you there and take him away while it’s still dark. Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love, Charlie
Draco, who’d read the letter over my shoulder, asked, “Do you really think Hagrid will agree to give the dragon to your brother?”
Ron shrugged, “it’s worth at least asking Hagrid, Charlie can take care of him and then possibly release him back into the wild.”
I was surprised to find I agreed with this plan. “It can’t hurt to ask him. We should talk to him about it this afternoon. Keeping a dragon in a wooden hut is just a recipe for disaster.” I said matter-of-factly.
We agreed to meet at Hagrid’s after lunch. Then we all went over our transfiguration homework until it was time for our first class of the day.
While we were packing up our things, Nott knocked into Ron’s shoulder as he passed. Causing both boys to drop all of their things. Nott righted himself and grabbed his things quickly before sneering at Ron who just looked confused by the whole interaction.
“Ignore him,” Harry said as he offered Ron a hand up. “Theo’s never been good at watching where he was going.” Nott turned his sneer on Harry then proceeded to leave the library.
We left shortly after him and headed to transfiguration while Harry and Ron headed off to their class.
We met up at the oak doors during our free time just after lunch and made the trek down to Hagrid’s.
When we arrived, we knocked and heard a bit of rustling around. He opened the door hesitantly at first, but was relieved to see us and flung it open wider to hurry us in.
After he shut the door he noticed Ron. “You! Whut were ya doing looking in me window las night”
Ron looked a bit ashamed but admitted “well, you see, I was there, in the dragon section yesterday. I heard you muttering to yourself about an egg and I just wanted to see if you really had one.”
Just then the Dragon in question, sneezed and Hagrid rushed to put out the small fire it had started. Thats when I noticed most of Hagrid’s furniture and been burned or singed since the night before.
I cleared my throat, “we were wondering, do you know Weasley’s older brother, Charlie?
He looked thoughtful for a moment then smiled, “yea, I member Charlie Weasley, good kid and a helluva flyer, what’s he up ta now?” Hagrid asked Ron.
“He works with Dragons in Romania,” Ron answered and Hagrid’s eyes cut to me.
“Ron wrote to him last night,” Harry said cheerfully. “ He can help with the Dragon.”
“E’s name is Norbert, and I on’t need any help with em.” Hagrid said as Norbert bit into his arm chair and started pulling out all the stuffing.
“He’ll have way more space on a reserve than he will in this hut Hagrid,” I said sternly, “He’ll be too big to hide in here before the train comes this summer.”
“You don’t want to be caught with an illegal Dragon.” Added Draco.
“Plus you can always go and visit him and the other Dragons.” Harry chimed in.
After a bit of back and forth Hagrid Finally agreed with the plan to send Norbert to Romania. To avoid losing more house points or getting any more detentions, I suggested that Hagrid should be the one to meet Charlie’s friends on Friday. With a plan in place we left so Hagrid could spend as much time as he could with Norbert before he had to go.
Saturday evening just before eleven, Draco and I left to meet Harry and Ron at the oak front door. We had all received owls earlier in the week from professor Snape giving us the details of our detentions.
Draco and I had spent the evening before hand scrubbing cauldrons for said professor. It took about three hours but we managed to clean them all.
We approached the Gryffindors and Filch who were already waiting by the door.
“Follow me!” said Filch, lighting a lamp and turning to lead us outside.
“Hold on. I’ve got one more, Argus,” drawled professor Snape who was ushering Theodore Nott forward. “Caught this one trying to sneak back into slytherin last night after midnight.”
Filch nodded and beckoned us out the door.
”I bet you all will think twice about breaking school rules again, won’t you?” He continued once we were out of the castle, leering at us. “Mmhmm, if you ask me, hard work and pain are the best teachers. It’s such a pity they let the old punishments die out. We would have hung you by your wrists from the ceiling. I’ve still got the chains in my office. I make sure to keep ’em well oiled in case they’re needed. Right, off we go, and don’t any of you think of running off, it’ll be worse for you if you do.”
He led us down the path towards Hagrid’s hut and everyone seemed to perk up. “I suppose you think you’ll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Think again, it’s into the Forest you’re going and I doubt you’ll all come out in one piece.” Filch sneered.
“The forest?” Ron asked timidly.
“We can’t go in there at night. There’s werewolves. Besides students aren’t allowed.” Said Nott.
“It’s not even a full moon,” I retorted gesturing at the sky.
“ ‘S that you, Filch? Urry up, I want ta get goin.” Hagrid called out.
Filch left us then Hagrid tossed his crossbow over his shoulder and gestured for us to follow him into the Forest.
“Alrigh then,” said Hagrid, “ listen close, it’s dangerous what we’re gonna do tonight, an’ I don’ wan’ no one takin’ any risks.” He led us through just past the edge when he turned and said “Look, just there, you lot see that shiny stuff on the ground? Bright silvery stuff? That’s unicorn blood, that is.” He grimaced then continued, “There’s a unicorn in here that been hurt bad by sum thin . We’re gonna split up ta try an’ find the poor beast. But we may have ta put it out of its misery.”
The five of us shared a look before Hagrid split us into two groups and we headed even deeper into the forest.
LILY’S POV
I couldn’t help but scowl at Severus when he entered our chambers.
He put his hands up, “I can’t show him any favouritism, Lil, you know that.” He said before he approached me and wrapped his arms around me, “Albus has assured me, they’ll be fine with Hagrid.”
I melted into his hug and closed my eyes, “ I know. I just wish he was scrubbing cauldrons or something instead of out in the Forest.”
Severus chuckled, “had he been in Slytherin, he would have had to do both.”
I stepped back, eyes wide at the realization, “You make your snakes serve double detentions? No wonder you keep winning the house cup.”
“They’re Slytherins, they’ll always be punished twice over, no matter what they do. Better they learn that now.” He shrugged then kissed my forehead, “I’m going to head to bed, are you going to join me? Or do you plan to wait up for them to return?” He asked.
I smiled sheepishly, he knew exactly what I was going to do. I held up Marauding with Monsters and said, “I think I’ll read a few more chapters before I turn in.”
I awoke to Harry crawling into my lap. The way he use to do as a toddler. I snuggled into him. That’s when I heard him draw in a ragged breath, then he began to tremble as he whispered, “He was there, Mum. He was there. In the forest. Tonight.”
My blood ran cold, I didn’t need him to specify who *he* was. Before I could even respond, Harry was covering us both with his invisibility cloak. He hadn’t done this in years. After James died, this cloak became his security blanket. I was honestly astonished to find that he had lent it to Hermione over the Christmas holidays. Anytime he awoke from nightmares we would always snuggle together underneath it, it always helped him feel safe.
Just like old times, I start running my fingers through his hair and rubbing his back while doing my best to reassure him that we are safe. Harry’s exhaustion must have finally caught up to him, as he fell asleep within minutes. I removed the cloak from covering our heads and wrapped it around my sweet boy.
I heard the bedroom door open but Severus didn’t approach us. Instead I felt a slight nudge at the barrier of my mind so I let him in. ‘You two should take the bed, I am going to talk to Albus.’ I nodded my agreement, and set to levitating Harry to bed.
Albus did his best to reassure Severus and then myself that Harry was, indeed, safe at Hogwarts. But I still had a niggling suspicion that Harry wasn’t the reason Voldemort was in the forest. If he had been watching Harry then he wouldn’t have accidentally stumbled upon him serving detention. No I suspect he was here for the stone. When I raised these concerns, the Headmaster just waved it off and proclaimed that Hogwarts was the safest place for the two to be before dismissing us.
I found that I watched over Harry a bit closer after that. He and his friends had taken to spending most of their free time these days in the library, studying for exams. No doubt the influence of Hermione.
A few days before term ended miss Granger approached me. She looked a bit anxious so I gave her a small smile, “Good morning miss Granger, exams going well?”
“Oh they’ve been fairly easy, to be honest.” She replied matter of factly then continued after looking around, “I was wondering if I could talk to you, in private.”
I nodded and led her to my office.
I motioned for us to sit by the window and started to serve us tea.
“What can I do for you today, miss Granger?” I asked.
She took a long slow breath before she met my gaze and answered in a rush, “ I know about the philosopher’s stone and I know professor Quirrell is trying to steal it.”
I tightened my grip on my cup, “maybe you should start from the beginning.” I suggested.
“Do you remember that article I saw last time we had tea?” She asked nervously. I nodded and she continued. “That day, when we were having ice cream at Fortescue’s, you pointed him out to me as he passed.”
She’s right, I do remember seeing him there. I shifted uneasily before saying “Okay, but him being there doesn’t automatically make him a suspect.”
“No, it doesn’t, but then there was the troll incident.” She said, “What was he doing down in the dungeons instead of at dinner? And where did he go while everyone was panicking and looking for the troll?”
I swallowed anxiously, “Those are very good questions, but still don’t prove anything.”
She met my eyes again before dropping the biggest bomb, “which leads us to the broom incident.” My blood ran cold. “When Harry’s broom started jerking him around I started searching the crowd to see if there was anyone interfering with it.”
Smart girl, I had done the same but came up empty, “and what did you find?” I asked curiously.
She grinned, “well you and professor Snape were holding hands and both looking at Harry. No blinking, just firm concentration.” She said before taking a sip of her tea.
I nodded remembering how Sev had channeled me for that protection spell, “yes, we were trying to protect him.” I said.
“I figured that, so I continued scanning when I saw Professor Quirrell sitting a few rows back doing the same thing.” My eyes widened. She sat her cup down then continued. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Harry was able to regain control of his broom when the professor’s robes caught fire.”
Well that explains the fire. “Is that all of your evidence?” I asked inquisitively. She nodded, “well, miss Granger that’s a good theory, but Professor Quirrell is one of the teachers helping to protect the stone.” I replied.
“How?” She asked curiously.
With a…troll. The realization hit me like the Hogwarts express. I met her curious gaze but didn’t answer her question, instead I asked one of my own, “Have you told anyone else about your suspicions?”
“Hagrid knows, as does Harry and Draco.” She answered. “I haven’t told anyone else though, I wasn’t sure who to go to or if anyone would believe me but after that detention in the forest I haven’t been able to shake the suspicion that he’s trying to steal the stone for Voldemort.”
When his name left her mouth it was all I could do to slam my Occlumency walls down. “Thank you for trusting me with this,” I said calm and evenly, “I’ll take care of it from here, okay?” She nodded at me a bit confused. I glanced over to the clock then I continued, “looks like lunch just started, how about I walk you down to the great hall.” She quickly nodded her agreement and we made our way down to the great hall. She must have noticed the change in my demeanour because she remained silent our whole walk down.
When we entered the great hall she joined her fellow snakes at the Slytherin table, while I stood by the door. I looked up to the staff table where I found Sev staring at me. I felt a gentle nudge and allowed him access to everything miss Granger had told me. He straightened his spine and glared at Quirrell before standing and walking away from the staff table. He was quickly by my side and we left the loud chatter of the great hall behind.
Sev led me to the family quarters weve shared for almost a decade, he gestured for me to sit and set to making a pot of tea. “You think she’s right.” He said, it wasn’t a question, he knew.
“Do you think she’s wrong?” I asked in response.
He pursed his lips and looked thoughtful for a moment, no doubt replaying all that I had shared with him. Then he shook his head and answered, “No, it’s the only theory I’ve heard that makes any sense, actually.”
“We have to take this to Dumbledore,” I declared.
He leveled me with a look as he handed me a cuppa he’d prepared for me, “ you need to rest, I’ll go to Dumbledore.” he said.
I nodded my agreement and hung my head, “I panicked, I wasn’t prepared to hear his name,” I admit, “but she didn’t say it with even an ounce of fear,” I meet Sev’s eyes, “she said it with such absolute distain and disgust, I envy that.”
Sev moved to my side on the love seat and wrapped his arms around me. His scent is familiar and calming. I can pick up traces of the special soap he uses to cleanse his hands of potion ingredients and an underlying sent that is simply Sev, Sandalwood and lavender.
When I awoke a hours later I had been moved to our bed. I can only assume my lack of nightmares is due to Sev adding some dreamless sleep to my tea. Under normal circumstances I’d be cross with him for not telling me, but he knows how much the nightmares take out of me physically and emotionally. However, I was surprised to find that I was alone.
A glance at the clock above our fireplace told me it was just past 2:30 in the morning. Groggily, I got up and dawned my house coat. I checked for Sev but he wasn’t in our suites. I decided to get dressed and find him, surely he had already told Albus, maybe he was still with him.
I pulled my wand out and tried to cast my patronus, on the second attempt my silver doe appeared. I asked her to lead me to Severus and she turned and started trotting through the empty Corridor. As we grew closer to the infirmary my heart rate began to quicken. I flung the doors open fearing what I might find behind them but needing to know anyway.
I saw my sweet boy lying unconscious on one of the cots, beside him my husband and Poppy had their wands over him, healing the bruises and cuts that were on his face and body. His clothes had been singed and torn in some places and his glasses on the nightstand had been completely shattered. My arrival did not go unnoticed. Albus, who had been attending to a child in another cot, approached me.
“Harry is going to be just fine. Some minor cuts and bruising and a slight concussion. I suspect he’ll be fully recovered by lunch,” he told me in a calm almost grandfatherly tone of voice.
My voice came out as a whisper, “what happened?”
Albus looked back over to the cot that he’d just left then back at me before saying, ”it would seem that Miss Granger was correct in her theory.”
I gasped and looked back at the cot, I couldn’t see the child’s face but I recognized her dark curls. I looked back to albus, unable to form words let alone a question. Severus walked over and pulled me into his embrace. I snuggled into his chest and inhaled deeply, the scents of sandalwood and lavender helped ground me enough to ask, “what exactly happened?”
“When the children learned that Professor Dumbledore had left the castle, they decided to take matters into their own hands,” Sev said with a grimace. “I found Miss Granger tending to Draco at Minnie’s chess board. She told me Harry had continued on so I followed after him. When I finally got to him, he was already confronting Quirrell.” He closed his eyes, as if it pained him to continue. “The dark Lord is what he was hiding under that turban. But for some reason when he tried to touch Harry, to take the stone from him, his hands began to crumble. I believed Harry realized this too, because he reached up and grabbed Quirrell’s face. The only thing left of him now is a pile of dust.”
After another end of term banquet, where Slytherin was awarded the house cup for an 8th year in a row, the students started making their way down toward the train station in the village. Harry had received a hundred points for retrieving and protecting the stone, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Slytherin. Draco and Hermione were also rewarded points for their part in helping Harry that night.
I watched as the three of them boarded the train from a corridor window. Harry asked to stay with Draco for a few nights while Sev and I pack our things for the summer and get our classrooms in order for the fall term. Narcissa will be meeting them at the station then taking them directly to their Manor. It’s meant to be one of the most secure places in the world. I know that he’ll be safe there, but after what he just faced, I can’t help but wonder how much longer his safety will last.
“How is their first year already over?” Asked a familiar voice pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned to see Sirius standing next to me watching the students load the train.
I chuckled and gave a slight shrug, “I have no idea, it seems like only yesterday we were buying their supplies.” I answered.
Sirius’ expression became a bit more, well, serious. He gestured towards the doorway, “can we move this conversation to your office?” I nodded and we set off towards my office.
When we arrived I set to making a pot of tea, “is there something wrong?” I asked.
Sirius pulled his attention away from the Muggle band posters I displayed, visibly more relaxed, “Wrong? Oh no! There’s just something I wanted to ask you, away from any other listening ears.”
“Oh, okay.” I motioned for him to join me for tea. Once he’d taken his seat I asked, “Well, what is it?”
He let out a big breath then turned to me, “what was the date you took miss Granger to Diagon Alley?”
I was surprised by his odd question, if it had been any other student I would have had to look it up in my calendar. “The fifteenth of August,” I said.
He pulled a piece of parchment from his cloak glanced at it briefly then said, “and when you took her to gringotts, was she given an allowance purse to make her purchases with?”
My face scrunched, she’d been given a coin purse but we weren’t told it was an allowance purse. It didn’t look anything like Harry’s either. “She was given a black leather coin purse.” I answered.
“Are these the purchases she made?” He asked, handing me the parchment.
It was a statement from the bank, I quickly read over the list. Most things first years buy are standard like robes, a wand, and their other supplies but Hermione had purchased more than a dozen extra books. I recognized many of the titles on the list from our trip and returned my gaze to Sirius. “Yes, but what is this?”
“Did you read the top.” He asked.
I glanced back down, the top of the parchment read:
Gringots
Statement date: August 15, 1991
Inheritance Vault
M. M. Black
I looked back to Sirius, “ M. M. Black?”
He nodded, “ I came across it while going over last years statements,” he met my gaze, “ I knew she was a Black, but this,” he said gesturing to the statement still in my hand, “This proves she’s a Black by name, too!”
“That’s why they asked for her blood,” I realized, “to confirm she was a Black.” I didn’t imagine the look of pure joy that washed over Sirius’ face when I confirmed what he’d known all along. “Have you spoken to the Goblins? Can’t they tell you her name or who her parents are?”
His joy faded to disappointment as he shook his head, “They’re still cross with me for letting Padfoot loose in my parents vault after they died. They only told me that the Vault belonged to the Black heir, they wouldn’t even confirm if it was miss Granger.”
“I told you, letting your inner dog trash your parents’ vault was going to come back to bite you.” I quipped playfully, “if it’s any consolation, I believe miss granger may already suspect that she was adopted.”
He leaned forward, “What do you mean?” He asked curiously.
“I believe she may have seen her birth parents in the mirror of erised,,” I told him. “Their faces were distorted but she said they both had dark curls like hers and they both had wands.”
Sirius got up and started pacing, “We need to talk to her adoptive parents, now!”
“Sirius, you can’t just take her from her parents.” I told him sternly.
He looked taken aback, “I’d never force her from her home. I just want to talk to them, surely you must also be interested in learning how she ended up in their care.”
He wasn’t wrong. “Do you swear to be on your best behaviour?” I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Let’s go,” he said with a grin that spread across his face.