The Lord of the Stone

Sirius roused Hermione early the next morning with a glass of water.

‘Rise and shine,’ he said, in a tone that did not suggest they would soon be embarking on an extremely long and dangerous mission. Hermione took the glass gratefully as Sirius drew back her curtains.

‘It’s only a short way to the Liechtenstein border, twenty miles if that. I thought we could wing it via Appenzell.’

‘Appenzell?’ Hermione echoed unsurely.

‘The village behind us. There’s a peak we can head for. From there we’ll get a decent view of the road ahead.’

Hermione knew that with wings it did not even matter whether you were passing over water. She had calculated that a journey using just wings to India would take as little as twenty hours. However, she knew that in relative terms, wings would hardly be used in the trip. “Only as a desperate measure or when the area is safe,” Sirius had said the previous evening. Of course, in her Animagus form she was quite speedy too – but then again, the risk of being shot down or followed was tangible.

To this end Sirius had handed down to Hermione his most prized possession. It was an Invisibility Cloak that had belonged to his friend James Potter. Sirius had received it under mysterious circumstances shortly after Dumbledore’s death.

They ate a meagre breakfast and prepared themselves for leaving. It was a quick, five-minute trip to the border, but once there they would have to exercise a little care. They agreed to travel as Animagi for a few hours before resting for lunch. As a Phoenix, Hermione would be able to see danger from miles off. Unfortunately, she would not be able to fly at her potential full speed, as Sirius was much slower than her as a dog. All the same, they felt that they would be able to cover the first hundred miles by lunchtime.

They had a reasonably easy journey in the mountains ahead of them. However, if Draco had organised a broomstick search party they could face difficulties. Unfortunately, they had no idea what his next move might be. Draco Malfoy could be unpredictable at the best of times.

The sun was rising weakly over the mountaintops when they stepped outside. Both of them wore small packs on their backs, magically lightened and expanded inside to carry their things. Sirius had his Invisibility Cloak to hand but hadn’t yet put it on, as they were concealed sufficiently by the forest around them. Both wore wings around their necks but had not yet turned them on.

Sirius wrapped an extra cloak around Hermione, who had been shivering slightly. The frost on the ground from the night before had not yet disappeared – they were at quite a high altitude. The wind was slight but cold as it rippled through the snowcapped treetops.

They set out not long after nine o’ clock. Sirius locked the cabin doors and turned on his wings. Hermione did the same. With a slight grin at each other, they sped away up the mountainside.

Wings really were great fun once you could use them. Nobody but the designers knew exactly how they worked, but zooming along, always five or so feet off the ground, was the ultimate means of waking up in the morning. All you had to do was avoid collisions, and with practice that became easier. Hermione drew in a deep breath, the fresh alpine air catching in her lungs. She loved the Alps. They were like the home she had never had – except maybe Hogwarts, but then again she’d not been there long enough to appreciate it.

As they got higher Hermione saw more and more forest come into view. She could see beyond it, too. Miles behind them lay Zürich, which was starting to come to life in the early morning. Hermione turned for a minute and circled, noticing a Muggle aeroplane far up in the sky above them. She supposed that coming from a Muggle background, wanting to fly was a part of her. And yet she could not abide broomsticks at all. Smiling at the irony, she raced back up the mountainside to the summit where Sirius had stopped.

He was admiring the view. He had come to the top of this peak many a time to gaze at the amazing landscape. Hermione followed his gaze and noticed a large lake off to the north.

‘Lake Constance,’ Sirius said. ‘It lies on the Swiss-German border.’ He looked back to the eastward path. A thin river lay ahead of them, running down the mountainside towards the lake. ‘We have to cross the Rhine further down,’ Sirius continued. ‘Just mind your step.’

But evidently Sirius had not been entirely useless as a teacher, for Hermione had no problem getting across the river. On the way down, she spotted a herd of cows grazing in a faraway field. Must be nice to stand in a field all day and eat, she thought.

Sirius and Hermione came down the mountainside swiftly as the forest evaporated around them. They could hear the Rhine ahead of them, splashing off the rocks. They concentrated carefully. One advantage of wings was although they could not be adjusted to any height, it was possible to hover for a short time. In this way Hermione and Sirius would be able to cross the river without going down into the small valley.
The risk when hovering, though, was that you wouldn’t keep full concentration at all times. This usually resulted in plummeting back to five feet off the ground; unfortunately gravity helped cause nasty injuries in this eventuality.

They reached the border just over ten minutes after setting out. Though most wings could achieve a speed of about one hundred and fifty miles and hour, Sirius and Hermione’s had been custom built and could reach two hundred miles an hour if necessary. However, trying to navigate the Alps at two hundred miles an hour was essentially suicide.
As they approached the border, Sirius hissed at Hermione to slow down. He pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his pocket.
‘You know what the procedure is,’ he said, pulling the Cloak tightly around himself and disappearing. ‘The less noise the better.’

There were only two guards in sight at the border. It was a fairly small and unimportant one, so this made sense. However, just as Sirius was walking towards them something unexpected happened.

One of the guards looked up towards the sky and pointed to his companion. Sirius turned his head upward and squinted. Far above them, there was a huge black creature in the sky. Sirius inched backwards when he saw it. It did not seem like a good sign.
The men, meanwhile, were looking anxiously up at it. They did not seem to be able to tell what it was.

Far above them, sitting high atop the black creature, a voice spoke.
‘Kill them.’

Hermione had just emerged from her hiding place when she saw the dragon swoop. She jumped backwards in shock as it came down, fire issuing from its mouth. Moving back to her position and hoping Sirius was all right, she saw it head towards the two border guards. There were two identical shrieks and then a deep silence.

‘Hermione?’ Hermione heard Sirius’ whisper. Her heart lightened somewhat and she stepped out from behind the rock.

‘What was that?’ she said quietly, looking around for Sirius. His face came into view as he slipped the Cloak from around his shoulders.

‘A dragon,’ he said slowly. ‘One of the fiercest, too – a Hungarian Horntail. It went off that way.’ He pointed eastwards. Hermione nodded.

‘So I suppose it’s not too uncommon for them to venture west then?’ She sounded slightly concerned. Running into dragons in the mountains was not something she had counted on.

‘No,’ said Sirius. ‘It’s very strange. Dragons can’t be tamed by the dark forces, just like werewolves and vampires, so they’re usually kept in their own countries.’

‘This one broke free, you think?’ Sirius shook his head again.

‘That’s the strangest thing, Hermione – it had a rider.’ Hermione gasped. ‘Yes,’ Sirius went on. ‘Someone was on that thing. It was still wearing shackles. Someone helped it to escape a dragon reserve.’

‘How?’

‘No idea. I know I certainly wouldn’t try riding a Hungarian Horntail… no human could.’

‘So that thing …might not have been human?’ Hermione was inadvertently thinking again of the Dementors.

‘Who knows?’ Sirius said. ‘Whatever it was, it certainly has that dragon trained. And it’s done us a favour, too.’ He motioned to the place where the guards had been standing. The rock was charred black.
‘What a waste,’ he said disgustedly as he examined the dead bodies.

‘Shall we change now?’ Hermione asked. It was impossible for them to cross the borders as humans in case their presence was detected. Sirius nodded and pulled the Invisibility Cloak off entirely.

‘If we take into account the terrain and weather,’ he said, looking up at the sky. ‘We can probably get to Innsbruck by late lunchtime.’ Hermione gave him an amused look.

‘Where did you pick up such a good sense of direction?’ she asked.

‘I have always been interested in Geography, I suppose,’ Sirius replied, preparing to transform. ‘If we run into trouble or get separated, we’ll meet up in Innsbruck, all right? If one of us hasn’t shown up by tomorrow morning, the other should go on alone. Agreed?’

Hermione tried not to imagine losing Sirius so early on in the journey but steeled herself.

‘Agreed.’

Within a few minutes the great dog and the phoenix had passed across the borders into Liechtenstein, bound for Austria

**

Draco Malfoy seethed. He had been so close to capturing her. He turned from the spot where she had been just seconds before and replaced his wings. He motioned for his followers, most of whom were looking tired and hungry, to follow him. The Dementors followed like silent black ghosts.

He decided to head for Zürich, because from there he could Apparate back to England safely. There was no use in pursuing Hermione in her Animagus form, whatever it was…

On the relatively short journey back to the city Draco thought long and hard. If the rumours about Harry Potter were true and they reached Hermione’s ears, he knew she would go straight out and try to find Harry. Draco had long been sceptical about the existence of Harry Potter and still doubted that the story of the ‘Boy Who Lived’ was entirely true – how could a baby have defeated the greatest sorcerer of all time? All the same, even the Dark Lord himself seemed to fear this presence in the east. Maybe if Harry Potter were caught and killed he would return to being …

But wait, Draco thought suddenly. What if Harry Potter isn’t killed? What if he’s turned? For years Draco had been one of the Dark Lord’s closest allies … some of the senior Death Eaters seemed certain he would one day be Voldemort’s Heir… and yet, if this Harry were found …

He must be a powerful wizard, Draco thought involuntarily, and then wished he hadn’t. That would be even more reason for him to be replaced …

Draco snorted out loud and chided himself. Hermione had done something to his mind. Here he was, worrying about the security of his position, when the competition he was not entirely sure existed was four thousand miles away in India and probably had no idea he was even magical. He let the idea drop from his mind and vowed not to think of Harry Potter again.

That would soon prove more difficult than he thought.

*

Zürich was already busy when Draco arrived. Muggle shoppers moved to and fro, whilst tourists clutched at cameras and people shouted at each other from cars. Draco was not a great one for civilisation – however, due to the unseen Dementors he was able to walk undisturbed to where he needed to go. Even though Muggles were filth, they were not stupid.

He walked along a busy road. For Muggles it was quite a strange sight – this tall boy who looked no older than eighteen leading twenty strong men down the street, all with hoods. Of course, if they could have seen the Dementors it would have been an even stranger sight. Muggles could feel them though. From under his hood, Draco noticed with a smirk that several of them recoiled when the group passed by.

They did not linger in public view for long, though. Draco led them through several alleyways and back streets before he came finally to a large stone wall with an inscription above it.

Mjee szyeh txt azjhws yaxxw lat o njxzera sgzni htj

Draco muttered something and tapped his wand against the wall. At once it opened and two Death Eaters stepped out. They were flanked by a Dementor.

‘Master Malfoy,’ said one of the men with a curt nod. ‘Your presence is requested immediately by the Dark Lord.’

Draco entered and removed his dragon-hide gloves.

‘I see,’ he said slowly. ‘Is there an Apparition chamber free?’

The other man nodded now. ‘Chamber 32E. The password is firebrand.’ Draco gave a nod and walked through the wall. He was in a dank underground chamber. He sniffed as he passed down a stone stairway. Torches on the wall flickered in the low light.

Draco didn’t think much of this Operations Centre. Compared to Paris it was terrible. He felt rats scurry at his feet and sensed a malodorous smell down below him. Fortunately, he knew exactly where to go. He reached chamber 32E without any major difficulty and gave the password.

From these chambers it was possible to Apparate safely. Apparating outside of a chamber was both dangerous and stupid. The Dark Lord had a strike team that detected any unauthorised Apparition. Anyone breaking the rules faced anything from a serious fine to instant death.

Draco stood inside the chamber and pictured the inside of Simial Neryth. In a matter of seconds he was there. He had learned to Apparate two years ago, and had just about perfected it.

Simial Neryth was Lord Voldemort’s main stronghold. No one knew the exact location except the Dark Lord himself, for it was unplottable. All Draco knew from having looked through the windows was that it was near the coast.

He left the Apparition chamber silently. The walls in the corridor were marble but had been charmed black. They left an eerie impression on the mind.
Draco did not know his way around Simial Neryth particularly well, because it was always changing. On this occasion, however, someone was waiting for him.

‘Draco,’ said a cold voice from behind him. Draco jumped. Peter Pettigrew had a tendency to appear from nowhere.

‘Peter,’ said Draco with a small smile. He and Pettigrew got on fairly well most of the time. ‘Lots of rats around here … shocking, isn’t it?’

Pettigrew smirked. ‘Rats have their uses. Anyway, come on. The Dark Lord has requested your presence.’ Draco nodded. ‘Have you had any luck with … her?’ Draco’s smile disappeared.

‘We were very close. She escaped us in the Alps.’

‘All in good time, my friend, all in good time,’ said Peter consolingly as they passed out of the corridor and up a flight of stairs.

*

The main hall in Simial Neryth was an incredible sight. Unlike the rest of the place, the walls and ceiling were pure white. However, they were simply illusions. The place had neither walls nor ceiling in truth. It simply assumed the form of a large white room.

Peter and Draco entered it quietly. Draco knew that somewhere, deep inside the hidden room, was the Philosopher’s Stone. It was guarded by several vicious magic beasts and had two locks… no … one lock…

‘Draco Malfoy,’ came a high voice from out of nowhere. Draco blinked and the Dark Lord appeared at the end of the chamber on his high throne. With the help of the Stone he had almost regained a human countenance – but his terrible red eyes still shone brightly from behind dark eyelids.

‘My Lord,’ said Draco, dropping to one knee. The Dark Lord nodded and Draco came closer. ‘What would you have me do, Master?’
Voldemort laughed. The laugh was strange – a mix of human and banshee.
‘You are polite, my boy,’ he said. ‘Politeness leads to trust and trust to deceit. Be wary of its ways.’ Draco said nothing. He knew exactly to what Voldemort was alluding.

‘I did not capture her,’ he said bitterly. If Voldemort could have assumed a resigned expression, he would have then.

‘You expend a lot of time and energy on that girl,’ he said slowly. ‘It is little surprise to me that you are unsuccessful.’ Draco could not look him in the eye. He felt sure he would feel the Cruciatus curse at any moment. Surprisingly, it never came. ‘To that end, I have a new task for you.’

‘A new task?’ replied Draco unsurely. He had spent so much energy on finding Hermione that he hardly remembered doing anything else.

‘Yes.’ Voldemort looked at him. ‘You remember the time before my coming to power, I assume?’ Voldemort’s eyes flickered imperceptibly to Wormtail.

‘I do, my Lord,’ Draco replied honestly. Life had been easier then.

‘Then you may know I was once powerful as a mortal.’

‘I have heard it said, my Lord.’

Voldemort made a noise of impatience. ‘It was once so. However, I lost my power one night in an unfortunate incident …’ He shot Wormtail another look. This time Wormtail recoiled.

‘You refer to Harry Potter, Lord?’

Voldemort remained silent for a long while. His red eyes seemed to focus on Draco, Peter and nothing all at the same time.
‘Yes,’ he whispered after a few minutes. ‘Harry Potter… he has been found.’

‘You’re sure, my Lord?’ said Draco, and instantly regretted it. It did not do to second-guess Lord Voldemort. Once again though, no curse came. Perhaps Voldemort felt Draco’d had enough torture after the incident less than a year ago…

‘You are foolish to doubt that which exists,’ said Voldemort. ‘Harry Potter still lives, I know. He and I share an unbroken bond.’ Draco did not pretend to understand but Voldemort said no more.

‘Am I to find him, my Lord?’

Voldemort merely fixed him with a stare and nodded once. With a howl of wind he was gone.

Draco sank to the floor, realising his predicament. He had to go all the way to India just to find someone who might replace him. Cursing Harry Potter, he stumbled to his feet. Wormtail was still shaking slightly in the corner.

‘What’s wrong?’ Draco asked. Peter said nothing. ‘Well,’ Draco continued. ‘It looks like our hunting days are over. Will you accompany me to India?’ Draco knew that for years Peter had searched in vain for someone known as Sirius Black after his escape from Azkaban. However, an article had appeared in a Muggle newspaper a year ago describing the death of someone who matched Black’s identity.

‘I shall come with you,’ Peter said slowly. Draco sensed he was hiding something. ‘But we must avoid Romania at all costs.’
Draco nodded. Though they would be able to Apparate through most of Europe, once in Asia Apparition was no longer possible. They would have to wing it the rest of the way.

Draco and Peter remained in Simial Neryth for several weeks. They had to prepare themselves for the harder parts of the journey and the Dark Lord went through with them exactly where to find Harry Potter. Apparently the boy was hidden from dark eyes for the moment but would not be for long.

Secretly, Draco had hatched his own plan. He did not want to be replaced by Harry Potter, and would therefore see that he came to some harm. After all, the Dark Lord would never know.

But Draco’s thought always came back in some way to Hermione Granger. He was obsessed with her; he knew it. He could not stop it, however. Someday they would meet again. She would pay for her betrayal … she would pay…

**

In the small Austrian mountain village of Radstadt the inhabitants were beginning to return to their houses. It was late evening and already the wind was picking up. Snow was likely to fall during the night, and it was deadly to be caught in it. People talked quietly in front of small fires, wrapping up in extra blankets. The massive Hochwildstelle mountain rose up above the town, and nearby the River Enns trickled slowly down the valleys.

Far up in the sky, a curious bird started to descend slowly. Its red and gold plumage seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. It was making for a small wood. There it might be able to find shelter for the night. It’d had a long journey.

Down on the ground a large dog raced towards the same destination. Its day had been equally tiring, but now it sensed the time for rest was close.

After leaving the border, Hermione and Sirius had proceeded to Innsbruck as Animagi with hardly any difficulty. They had encountered another phoenix, which had been quite interesting, but managed to get away from it before Hermione “fell in love,” as Sirius had put it.

At Innsbruck they had run into a slight difficulty. Someone had cast an anti-transformation spell over the area, much like the one Hermione had faced when pursued by Draco. This meant that after lunch they’d had to proceed for a while on foot. They’d only had one minor confrontation with a party of Death Eaters searching for a deserter in the forest to the north east of Innsbruck. However, the Death Eaters had been no match for Hermione and Sirius. The only thing that had worried Sirius, what with the anti-transformation spell and the Death Eater party, was that someone might be on their trail.

“On the other hand,” Hermione had said, “Many European towns and cities have anti-transformation spells.”
She was convinced Draco had put them there after discovering her Animagus ability.

The two animals made it into a small wood. Under the cover of the trees they slept in their Animagus forms. It was much warmer that way, and they could curl up against each other.

*

The next morning Sirius woke early and transformed back into human form. Pulling on an extra coat from his bag he went to collect a little firewood. Using magic to summon wood, even in the mountains, was not sensible.

When he returned with an armful of fuel Hermione was awake, studying the map.
‘Morning,’ she said, as he put the wood down and used his wand to light a fire. ‘Sleep all right?’

Sirius nodded. Sleeping as a dog was often far more comfortable than as a human. He let the fire burn and sat down next to Hermione. She turned to him.
‘What’s our route today?’

‘We can make it out of Austria if we’re lucky,’ he replied. ‘The border will be even worse today though.’

‘The dragon might come back,’ Hermione pointed out. Sirius gave her a serious look.

‘Don’t get complacent, Hermione. We were lucky yesterday. Lucky not to be fried by that dragon.’ Hermione nodded with a touch of embarrassment. ‘It’ll be tough – especially getting out of the mountains. We might have to cut across Steiermark, which won’t be easy as humans. Even wings might be dangerous.’

‘We’d better get going soon then. What do we have for breakfast?’

‘Nothing particularly special,’ Sirius said, searching inside his pack. ‘But you can have a rasher or two of bacon if you’re willing to wait for it …’

*

Within fifteen minutes they were underway again. In their Animagus forms they headed due east across the mountains. Hermione, as a Phoenix (or Redwing, Sirius’ nickname for her) could see the Alps stretching ahead of them for miles yet.

The first leg of their journey was uneventful. They ran and flew through the perilous passages, occasionally coming upon remains of dead animals. They also found, much to their surprise, one large rock that was charred black.

The dragon came this way, then, Sirius thought to himself. As an Animagus he was capable of human thought.

The sun rose not long into their journey. It was a very bright but bitterly cold day. A north wind was blowing lightly, and far ahead Hermione could see the white treetops of a forest in the distance.

Other things were beginning to come to life. Down below them, Hermione could still see the Enns trickling away from them northwards down the valleys. In small villages people were beginning to wake. Muggles on the famous Swiss ski slopes were began to appear in number, dressed in thick multicoloured coats. Fortunately, to them Redwing only looked like any other normal bird. Padfoot passed swiftly and silently and was not noticed.

Hermione loved her Animagus form. She knew that it represented her inner abilities, almost. She had thought it quite amusing at first, being a creature of the air, but now it was like a second nature. There was nothing else quite like it.

The wind ruffled her feathers as she slowly rose. It was not wise to soar too low with Muggles around. On the other hand, that would still be safer than trying to wing or walk amongst them. She knew Sirius had mastered the art of staying unnoticed in his Animagus form. As she glanced downwards she could see no sign of the great black dog.

Far off in the east, she could see smoke rising above the Austrian capital Vienna. Phoenixes have incredible eyesight and this came in handy quite often. With a smile to herself (although Phoenixes don’t really smile), she swooped downwards and let the wind guide her.

*

The tall man gazed at the mirror, the blood red stone in his hand.

‘It is accomplished,’ he whispered, looking at his reflection. He saw only himself. Thrusting the stone deep in his pocket, he smiled cruelly and left the room.

Above the mirror in the room was an inscription:
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi

The screams issued from Hogwarts when the students realised what was happening. Hermione sat on her own in the common room as people ran to and fro feverishly. She was afraid. Terrified.

‘Don’t just sit there, Hermione, the school’s on fire!’ Percy Weasley looked scared for the first time since she had met him. There was a cut on his right arm.

‘Oh Percy – what’s happening?’

He made an impatient noise. ‘I’ve no idea, but it’s my duty to get the younger students out of school as quickly as possible. Go now. Head for the Entrance Hall. I believe Dumbledore and McGonagall are out there.’

Hermione needed no further instructions. She sprang from her chair.
‘Thank you, Percy!’ she called back as she left the common room. It was the last time she would ever see him.

The corridors were alive with the sounds of screaming and hurried footsteps. Not even Peeves could find something to laugh about. Nobody was quite sure what was happening.

Hermione had almost reached the Entrance Hall when she saw Albus Dumbledore enter it. She hung back in the shadows and saw Professor Snape run to meet him.

‘I have checked, Albus. Quirrell is dead. The stone is gone.’

Hermione had never seen Dumbledore look so grave.

‘I am too late. It is just as I feared. Well, Severus, we must prepare for the worst.’

Prepare for the worst, Hermione thought. What does he mean? What’s this stone he’s talking about? She did not have long to ponder, for a group of Hufflepuff Second Years came up behind her. She was forced out of the front doors with them and on to the Hogwarts Grounds.

The sky was darkening over the Forbidden Forest. Hermione had noticed it in the common room. Thunder was beginning to crash down and lightning streaked across the sky. From somewhere there came a low rumbling.

Most of the rest of the school was already outside. Hermione spotted her fellow Gryffindors Parvati Patil and Ron Weasley. Ron was speaking to his twin brothers, looking petrified.

And then Hermione saw something that made her blood boil, despite her desperate terror. Draco Malfoy was standing apart from the frenzied crowd, arms folded, with a smirk on his face. He looked utterly calm. He will pay, Hermione vowed.

Suddenly there was a silence. The far off rumbling stopped. The students stopped talking. Dumbledore, who had just come out of the Entrance Hall, turned his head towards the Forbidden Forest.

It was the calm before the storm. Something was coming, and everybody knew it. Nobody spoke. Nobody even dared to breathe.

And then there was a cry, and a flash of green. Two bodies hit the ground.

Nobody heard Ron Weasley’s anguished scream. Nobody saw Percy Weasley’s deadened look. Nobody even looked at the fallen bodies of the Weasley twins.

Far off in the Forest, a black shadow was coming nearer and nearer. In the sky above it hung a green shape. Hermione’s heart slipped into her throat as she recognised the glittering skull and serpent.

‘You-Know-Who…’ she whispered. Somebody heard her. Another person heard him. Soon the whole grounds were paralysed with fear.

And out of the approaching black shadow stepped an even darker figure. Red eyes peered out across them all and a blood red stone shone in the darkness…