Harry Potter and the Heir of Slytherin

Interlude: Nicolas Flamel

Harry nearly cried in sweet relief as the movie Lisa had somehow convinced him to watch finally ended. How his friend managed to cajole him into watching it with her was beyond him. Never again would he allow her to dictate the terms of the movie they were watching. Harry wasn't even sure how Lisa had convinced her mother to let her watch the movie.

Scratch that. He was pretty sure Lisa had not even informed her mother of what they would be watching before Mrs. Crawft left to run some errands.

Harry was beginning to regret letting Lisa get her way.

He could only imagine what Mr. Crawft would have done had he seen what they watched.

“Nggyah!” Lisa let out a strange combination between a grunt and a yawn as she stretched her arms over her head from her position on the couch. She was laying down, her head plopped unceremoniously on his lap after she had decided he made the perfect pillow. His best friend smiled up at him through half lidded eyes. “That was a good movie.”

“That was a horrible movie,” Harry countered in a dry tone of voice.

“Wha一” Lisa's expression took on one of shock. “How could you think that? One from the Heart is one of the most impressive romance films of all time! It really shows how two people who are so different can find love with each other!”

“It's also rated 15 for a reason,” Harry intoned with a slightly deadpanned expression, before his look turned curious. “And just where did you find that movie anyways? As far as I know, all the movies rated above 12 are locked up.”

Lisa giggled, causing Harry to narrow his eyes.

“You know what, I don't want to know,” Harry decided then and there that, however his friend managed to get her hands on a movie neither of her parents would have let them watch, was none of his business. “I really don't.”

“Aw, don't be like that,” Lisa grinned at him from her place on his lap, her eyes dancing with mirth. She looked like an imp, especially with the way her head was perpendicular to his, causing that smile of hers to look decidedly off. “Adult movies are above and beyond better than those kiddy movies anyways. My tastes have become too refined for those childish movies.”

Harry gave the girl an indulgent smile as she tried to use a word that was more likely to come out of his mouth than hers.

“I'm sure. Now, why don't you put that movie away before your mother or, heaven forbid, your father comes home and discovers it.”

“Fine,” Lisa huffed as she reluctantly got up from the couch and made her way over to the VCR.

Harry watched as she made her way out of the room and toward the closet, where Lisa's mother stored all of the higher rated movies.

As the thump-thump noises from Lisa's feet hitting the wood tiles began getting louder, Harry went over to the VCR and put in a movie he wanted to watch.

“What's this?” asked Lisa as she walked back into the living room just as Harry sat back down. Her eyes were glued to the tele as the scene opened to show a high tech city filled with pollution and what looked like strange chimneys belching fire.

“Blade Runner,” Harry answered as Lisa sat herself down. The girl quickly scooted into his side so she could use his shoulder as a pillow. Harry allowed her to, and even slid an arm around her shoulder as an instinctual reaction. He did wonder, however, if there was something wrong with him. Surely, he and Lisa were much too young, or perhaps too old, to be doing stuff like this now?

It’s just because she and I are like family, he reasoned. I wouldn’t do this with anyone else.

“Now who's having us watch movies we're too young for?” Lisa teased her friend as they got comfortable. Harry grunted, but didn't answer as Lisa's expression turned quizzical. “And just where did you get this movie anyways?”

He had actually gotten the movie by using his magic to confund a salesmen into thinking he was fifteen. Not that he was going to tell her that.

“Magic,” Harry answered with a sardonic chuckle. Lisa huffed.

“You know, if you didn't want to tell me you could have just said so,” she mumbled, before growing silent to watch the movie. They would remain like this until Misses Crawft came home with a trunk full of groceries.

XoX

Harry arrived home a little later than he usually did. Since it was Saturday, he had decided it would be fine if he stayed over for dinner at Lisa's. He had no chores that day, and he doubted any of his relatives would complain about him not being in their presence.

And he was right. Petunia and Vernon hardly even paid attention to him when he came in through the door, aside from a quick glance out of the corner of their eyes. In fact, Harry would say they were deliberately ignoring him in an attempt to pretend he didn't exist.

They had been like this since the start of the summer. Harry assumed they were nervous around him because he was learning how to do more magic. They were probably afraid he would be more inclined to start using his magic on them, or perhaps just the idea of being near his “unnaturalness” was enough to make them keep their distance.

He honestly didn't know, and truthfully, he didn't care. If they wanted to ignore him, that was just fine with Harry. He had better things to do than indulge his relatives in any way, shape, or form.

As Harry made his way up to his room, the sound of his feet lighting thudding against the carpeted staircase was nearly overpowered by the sounds coming from the tele downstairs. Without pause, he swept down the hall and toward the door that marked his room.

Upon entering his room, Harry received what would soon be the first of many surprises that summer.

Sitting on the chair at his desk was a man. He was a very young looking man, probably somewhere in his mid-twenties. His light blond hair was cut in an intermediate style that framed his face. He had a french nose set between two smiling blue eyes that spoke of amusement and mischief, and a strong jawline. The man was definitely of French descent, or at least came from the mainland, as Harry noted the distinct differences in facial features from normal British citizens.

His clothing consisted of an extravagant silver robe that was more resplendent than anything Harry had ever seen to date. It looked more expensive than all of the clothing he had combine. It also told him something about the man sitting on his chair.

This man was a wizard.

A wizard Harry had never met before in his life.

A wizard Harry had never met before in his life who just so happened to be sitting in his room like he owned the place.

He was also holding the Philosopher's Stone in his left hand, which was held up to his face as he examined the very powerful magical artifact, turning this way and that as he studied it, his eyes containing a curious, yet somehow amused, gleam.

Harry's mind jumbled together as panic raced through him. Who was this man? How did he find him? How did he find the Philosopher's Stone? How did he even know about the Stone? Was he a friend or foe? And the biggest question, could Harry take this man if he proved to be dangerous?

The man seemed to sense his emotions, or maybe saw something in his eyes, for his smile grew that much wider.

“Harry Potter.” The man's eyes twinkled in a way that Dumbledore's never could. “My name is Nicolas Flamel, and I would like to thank you for keeping my stone safe.”

Harry blinked.

What?

I hope you'll all forgive the shortness of the chapter. This is mostly just an interlude between one chapter and the next, so it wasn't very long. That being said, I do hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, please let me know what you think I can do to make it better. I'm always interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for reading. It really does mean a lot to me.