Harry Potter The Prince Of Underworld

Chapter 10

We went to the third floor to inspect it the next day after all classes had ended. There was a Cerberus inside, a Cerberus that took up the entire space between the ceiling and the floor. It was completely still, with all six of its eyes fixed on us. It had not attacked us solely because of our unexpected appearance. One of the heads suddenly lunged. I took Lou's hand in mine, and Shadow traveled her to the corner near the fat lady's portrait.

“What in Hades is a Cerberus doing in a school?” I gave a snarl. “It’s an outrage. Cerberus isn’t supposed to be in this world. How in Olympus did they even find one? These wizards shouldn’t even be able to see them."

"But, Cerebus isn't... Anyway, it's not a concern right now. It's an insult honestly. Putting a cerebus in such a small space and turning it into a watchdog of all things. But what was it protecting there? It had to be there for security, right? Otherwise, why would they bring a Cerberus into a school?"

“It must be something valuable, that wraith wants for himself.”

“What will be so valuable for the wraith to come here. The wraiths are very weak in power, that nothing more than a permanent body would be worth the effort.“What will be so valuable for the wraith to come here.” My eyes widened “ It’s not good Lou whatever is here it’s probably a very powerful substance that could probably... well only thing I can think of... Well, it’s supposed to be with some French wizard. Well, it’s supposed to be with some French wizard.”

"So, what exactly is it?"

"The philosopher's stone. It is the goal of all alchemists around the world. So far, only one person has been successful, and He has refused to reveal how. It converts all base metals to gold and creates the elixir of life."

"Elixir of life? like the one that grants immortality?"

“Well, it’s not exactly immortality. It halts aging for a while depending on the dose taken and increases your healing prowess. So you won’t die except in some extreme cases. You won’t get old as long as you keep drinking the elixir, you won’t catch disease easily and that too is healed easily.”

“And it may be able to provide body to the wraith. How come gods have allowed it to exist?”

"Yes, because it's about death or lack thereof and wealth, it falls under my father's domain, but he can't interfere with the mortal world, and he hadn't done anything wrong with it. If he had been abusing it, father would have assigned a quest or dispatched the kindly ones to find it. It's like allowing potions to exist; aren't there potions that can bring the recipient back from the brink of death? Looking at it from a different angle, it's also like cheating death. Father does not intervene in the mortal world as long as mortals achieve it without divine intervention and keep it to themselves. Nicholas... Flamel... I believe he made it all by himself, so he gets to keep it."

“So what is it doing here? Shouldn’t it be with him?”

“Of course, it should. I am not even sure if it’s really here. Well, I will ask father next time I visit the underworld.”

“Okay. You do that.” She said.“ It's weird you know how you talk about the underworld like this, like a home.”

"Because it's my home," I snapped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. Everyone is terrified of the underworld. So it's strange to hear it mentioned with such fondness."

I shrugged. "Well, it's home for me. And it's most likely due to my heritage. It's also the first place I've felt accepted. Even if it creeped me out at first, I would have liked it there."