Sydney Dadzie-Granger and the Philosopher's Stone

Chapter 17 - Through the Trapdoor

Sydney's POV:

As Minerva had predicted, I had no issues with the final exams as they drew closer. Sure, I spent a decent amount of time reviewing the theory for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Charms, and Transfiguration, but breezed through the practical portions of the exam. Flitwick was ever so pleased when I had made the pineapple not only tap dance, but also tangle and waltz with another nearby pineapple. Likewise, I had turned a mouse into a snuffbox for McGonagall, complete with rainbow colouring and an animated design of a cat chasing a mouse on top of the snuffbox. 

Rather than subjecting myself to long lectures by a boring Binns, I elected to use the time to actually study History of Magic on my own using the textbook, leaving me very confident as I went into the exam. Astronomy was a similar situation - the exam that was a challenge was Potions. Snape, as disapproving as ever, insisted on breathing down our necks as we made a Forgetfulness Potion.

As I finished my final exam, I let out a loud cheer with my classmates. The Hufflepuffs all headed back to the common room together, eager to relax now that exams had officially concluded. There were loud, cheerful games of Exploding Snap, Gobstones, and Chess happening already, so Meg, Susan, Hannah and I joined in on a game of Cards Against Humanity alongside a couple of second, fourth, and fifth years.

As we headed down to dinner, I saw Hermione waiting in the Entrance Hall, looking anxious. The moment that she saw me, she made a beeline towards me.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch you up," I said, smiling at Meg and the others, who nodded before heading into the Great Hall.

"Can we talk? Outside?" Hermione said immediately. 

"Of course, 'Mione," I said, following her out into the Courtyard, which was deserted. It was a hot night, and I could see the sun setting over the lake, casting rays of purple and pink into the sky. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry that I haven't been doing much talking to you," Hermione said apologetically. "I've been busy with Harry and Ron and with exams, but there's a situation that we need help with."

"Of course, what's going on?" I replied immediately.

"Harry and Ron snuck out of the Gryffindor common room one night after curfew, and I followed them, along with Neville. When we were running away from Filch, we came across a three-headed dog that was standing on a trapdoor. Hagrid gave us a hint that the dog was guarding something - something to do with Nicholas Flamel. We searched the entire library, and eventually found that he was an alchemist who created something called the Philosopher's Stone - it produces the Elixir of Life that makes a person immortal."

"We are also really good friends with Hagrid, and he had a baby dragon named Norbert that hatched in his hut. We wrote to Ron's brother, Charlie, who works with dragons, and Charlie's friends came to bring the dragon back to their reserve in Romania. Harry and I went to see him off, because Ron got injured by the dragon. But we were caught by Neville, Malfoy, and Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall took fifty points from each of us, and gave us all detention in the Forbidden Forest."

I remembered this - I had woken up one morning only to find that Gryffindor had suddenly lost 150 points. From the rumours, it sounded as though it was because of Harry, Hermione, and Neville. They were being shunned by the majority of Gryffindor House as a result. Even though I had tried to comfort Hermione, she had always pushed me away.

"When we went to the Forbidden Forest, Harry had an encounter," she explained. "There was something killing unicorns, and Hagrid wanted to know what it was. As we were searching, Harry saw something drinking unicorn blood."