Madam Promfrey lets Ron, Hermione and me in.
"Harry!" Hermione says.
Hermione and me are ready to fling our arms around Harry again, but I hold back because Ron has my hand firmly in his. Hermione follows my lead and Harry looks glad. His head must still be very sore.
"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to - Dumbledore was so worried-" I say.
"The whole school's talking about it," says Ron. "What really happened?"
It is one of those rare occassions where the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumours. Harry tells us everything: Quirrel; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Me, Ron and Hermione are a very good audience I must say: we gasp in all the right places, and when Harry tells us what is under Quirrel's turban, me and Hermione scream out loud.
"So the Stone's gone?" says Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die?"
"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that - what was it? - 'to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.'"
"I always said he was off his rocker," says Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero is.
"So what happened to you two?" says Harry.
"Well, I got back all right," says Hermione. "I brought Ron round - that took a while - and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall - he already knew - he just said 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor.
"D'you think he meant you to do it?" says Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"
"Well," I explode, "if he did - I mean to say that's horrible - you could have been killed."
"No, it isn't," says Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..."
"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker all right," says Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course - you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you - but the food'll be good."
At this moment, Madam Promfrey bustles over.
"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she says firmly.
*****************************
By the time Harry arrives, the Great Hall is already full. It is decked out in the Slytherin colours of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covers the wall behind the High Table.
When Harry walks in there is a sudden hush, and then everybody starts talking loudly at once. He slips into a seat between Ron, Hermione and me at the Gryffindor table and tries to ignore the fact that people are standing up to look at him.
Fortunately, Dumbledore arrives moments later. The babble dies away.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore says cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing whaffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were...you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...
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Dawn Rivera
Fanfiction"One is the lock, one is the key, one is the sacrifice the world shall shall grieve." Dawn has wanted to go to Hogwarts ever since she was a little girl, and nothing her older sister Gertrude says will discourage her. Little does she know that the m...
