Chapter 60: Midnight Mischief
On Friday morning, Harry and Draco each received a large basket of assorted baked goods, which made them simultaneously the most popular and the most hated boys at the Gryffindor table, as half the students whispered about how spoilt they were and the other half asked them if they could spare an eclair.
Later that morning, they had Double Potions with the Slytherins, which meant they got to see the infamous Professor Snape for the first time. When Harry caught sight of his greasy hair, he smirked.
'Your mum was right,' he whispered to Draco. His cousin chuckled.
Snape began class with calling the roll. When he reached the name 'Aries Black', he muttered, 'Oh, yes. The convict's son.' Harry heard sniggering from all over the room. Most of the Slytherins laughed because Snape was mocking a Gryffindor, whilst Ron and Seamus did so because they didn't like Harry. Harry closed his eyes and mentally counted slowly to one thousand in Latin. He was interrupted just after 'quingenti sexaginta duo' when Snape asked him a sudden question.
'Black! What do you get if you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'
The Granger girl's hand shot automatically into the air. Draco rolled his eyes.
'The first stage of the Draught of Living Death, Professor,' Harry answered automatically.
Snape looked startled, but pressed on. 'Where would you look to find a bezoar?' Granger's hand shot up again.
'The stomach of a goat, sir,' Harry replied.
'What's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?' Granger's hand was still up.
Harry yawned. 'Nothing, sir. They're just two different names for aconite.'
Draco sniggered, but Snape's eyes narrowed dangerously.
'Very well, Mr Black,' he said silkily, 'since you seem to consider yourself such a Potions expert, perhaps you could tell me the principal ingredients for the Regeneration Potion.'
Granger slowly lowered her hand. Harry paused. Aunt Cassie had never taught them that potion. Harry suspected it was a very advanced potion, which Snape was using in an attempt to humiliate him in front of the entire class. Harry refused to let that happen. He thought very hard, consciously reaching for the part of his mind he used to speak Parseltongue.
How do I make Regeneration Potion? he thought with a mental hiss. There was a sudden stabbing pain in his forehead, but the answer came to him.
'Bone of the father,' he whispered in an oddly high voice, 'unknowingly given. Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed. Blood of the enemy...'
'That's quite enough, Mr Black,' Snape interrupted. His skin was deathly white. 'Ten points from Gryffindor for knowing such Dark magic.'
'That's not fair!' Draco protested. 'You shouldn't have asked the question if you didn't want it answered!'
'That's another ten points, Mr Malfoy,' Snape said silkily. 'If I hear another word out of either of you, it will be detention for you both.'
The cousins kept quiet for the remainder of the lesson, but they glared unblinkingly at Snape with such hatred that even the normally unflappable Potions master felt somewhat uneasy. When he found scorpions in his bed that night, he had no doubt who was to blame.
......
The next morning, Draco woke Harry up early as usual, even though it was Saturday. Harry did not feel at all like getting up yet. He had dreamt very strange dreams all night long, and felt as though he had hardly slept a wink. To top it all off, this morning he had a splitting headache.
'Go away, Draco,' he moaned.
'We're supposed to explore the third-floor corridor today,' Draco reminded him. Harry put his pillow over his head. 'Don't you remember?' Draco pressed. 'At the opening feast, Dumbledore said it was out of limits to everyone who did not wish to die a most painful death. Come on!'
Harry sighed. That had sounded too interesting to ignore. He reluctantly got out of bed, and a few minutes later he and Draco were heading out the door of Gryffindor Tower. They hid under the Cloak and made their way towards the third floor. Draco kept watch over the Map. They passed by a few other early risers on the way, but mostly the coast was clear. Once they reached the third floor, however, they found two teachers blocking their path: Snape and McGonagall. The boys froze.
'The last of the protections is in place,' Snape said quietly. 'The Stone should be secure, though I do question the wisdom of hiding such a powerful magical object in a school. I fully expect the Weasley twins to find their way in here before the year is out.'
McGonagall nodded. 'James Potter and Sirius Black would have broken into the corridor within a week.' She sighed. 'Nonetheless, I am sure Albus and Flamel have their reasons.'
The two teachers walked off in the opposite direction from Harry and Draco. The cousins shared a significant look.
'Do you think she meant Nicolas Flamel, the famous alchemist?' Draco asked.
Harry nodded. 'Who else could it be? And they mentioned a Stone.' He could barely contain his excitement. 'Draco, do you really think there's a Philosopher's Stone hidden here at Hogwarts?'
'It seems a likely explanation,' Draco agreed.
'Do you realise what this means?' Harry's expression was ecstatic. 'If we had the Philosopher's Stone, we could brew the Elixir of Life. No one we care about would ever have to die again!'
Draco furrowed his brow. 'Do you really think that's a good idea, Aries? Granny said that your great-grandfather was ready to go.'
'Maybe, but Great-Granddad wasn't,' Harry shot back. 'Besides, at least this way we have a choice. Come on, Draco. This would be the caper of a century.'
Draco let out a deep breath, then smiled. 'I have to admit, it would be pretty cool for us to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Not to use it, mind you. Just to say we'd done it.'
'It's settled then?' Harry asked.
Draco nodded. 'Before the end of the year we'll steal the Philosopher's Stone.'
Harry gave his trademark smirk, and mischief shone in his blue eyes.
'In that case,' he said, 'we had best see what we're up against.'
The boys crept over to the door that led to the third-floor corridor. It was locked, of course, but a simple Alohomora let them in. On the other side they encountered an enormous dog with three monstrous heads. They crept a bit further in, counting on the Cloak to hide them from the beast, but the Cloak could not hide their scent, and the giant dog went mad, all three heads gnashing their very large teeth in the boys' direction. The boys dashed out the door as quickly as they could, but not before Draco noticed that the dog was standing on a trapdoor.
'All right, so we have some research to do first,' Harry panted once they were safely in the corridor.
.....
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