Autumn gasped as she shot out of bed. Autumn looked around and realized that she was in the hospital wing. She felt dazed as she noticed Professor Dumbledore sitting in the giant room. He was actually sitting right next to her.
"Good afternoon, Harry. Autumn," Dumbledore said.
Autumn felt a giant headache come on as she sat up more. The memories of the previous night weren't on her mind at all -- until Harry had mentioned it.
"Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick—" Harry said in a rush.
"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."
"Then who does? Sir, I—"
"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."
Autumn watched as Harry took a deep breath. Then, Autumn noticed her surroundings. Candy in all sorts of bags were all around her and Harry.
"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, noticing Autumn looking around her. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows."
Autumn smirked. Of course the school would know -- no one could keep secrets anymore, could they?
"I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."
"How long have we been in here?" Autumn said, smiling at the twins attempted to make them feel better.
"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you both have come round, they have been extremely worried."
"They're here? Are they okay?" Autumn began to say, but feared her voice had been to small for anyone to hear.
"But sir, the Stone—" Harry said.
"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. It has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly.
"But Nicolas Flamel—" Autumn started.
"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."
"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?" Autumn said.
"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die." Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.
The three sat in silence, as no one had much to say. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.
"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking. . . sir -- even if the Stone's gone, Vol—, I mean, You-Know-Who—"
"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself," Dumbledore interrupted.
"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?" Harry finished asking, a look of worry evident on his face.
"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share. . . not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time -- and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power." Dumbledore looked between the the two as he explained.
Harry nodded, but stopped quickly. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me. . . things I want to know the truth about. . ."
"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."
"Well. . . Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"
Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time. "Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day. . . put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older. . . I know you hate to hear this. . . when you are ready, you will know." Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet.
When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "And the invisibility cloak -- do you know who sent it to me?"
"Ah -- your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things. . . your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."
"So, does that mean you were the one who sent me the Jar of Mysteries?" Autumn asked.
"I suppose it does. Very smart; the connection between the cloak and jar."
"Well, the handwriting was the same," Autumn said softly as the reached to touch the jar. An absence of warmth on her chest sent a panic through her; the jar wasn't there. "Professor, I don't know where the jar went."
"I believe you will be just fine without it, my dear," Dumbledore said.
"There's something else. . ." Harry began.
"Fire away," Dumbledore spoke clearly.
"Quirrell said Snape—"
"Professor Snape, Harry."
"Yes, him -- Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"
"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."
"What?" Harry asked, curious.
"He saved his life," Dumbledore stated, telling them what had happened between the two.
"What?"
"Yes. . ." said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt. . . I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace. . ."
There was a small pause in the room before Harry spoke again. "And sir, there's one more thing. . ."
"Just the one?" Dumbledore asked -- but it sounded like a statement.
"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"
"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone -- find it, but not use it -- would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes. . ."
"Professor, I have a few questions myself," Autumn said, raising her hand, but a ping of pain hit her arm, so she moved it back down.
"Go on," Dumbledore urged, adjusting his position.
"My great grandfather," Autumn said hesitantly. "Did you know him? What was he like? Did he invent anything other than the jar? Is he still alive? Was he from my mom's side of my dad's?" Autumn asked quickly.
"To answer a few of your questions," Dumbledore said calmly, "I have met your great-grandfather; he was very. . . easy-going." Dumbledore stood and wiped his robes. "Oh -- yes. Norace is from your mother's side."
Autumn smiled at the new information -- it was like she was actually learning about herself and her history.
"Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets." Dumbledore motioned towards the treats before laying his eyes on some. "Ah! Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them -- but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?" He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Earwax!"
>>>
Autumn and Harry walked out of the hospital wing, to which Madam Pomfrey didn't like one bit. She claimed that they needed to spend more time resting, but the two felt fine. They stepped through the portrait and into the common room, where saw Ron and Hermione.
"Alright there, Ron?" Autumn asked, referencing to his heroic chess move. Autumn would never admit it, but that was the moment that she began to respect Ron.
"Autumn! Harry!" The two exclaimed, running over to hug the two.
"How are you both?" Harry asked.
"I'm alright? You lot?"
"Alright." Harry said.
"I'm okay. Hermione? How are you feeling?" Autumn asked.
"Never better." Hermione smiled at the two.
"So what happened?" Ron asked. "The whole school's talking about it."
Autumn and Harry took turns telling the story, each from their point of views. They told them about Quirrell, Voldemort, and the stone. Hermione screamed when Autumn told them that Voldemort was under Quirrell's turban.
"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die?"
"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that -- what was it?" Harry asked Autumn.
"'To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure," Autumn answered.
"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron.
"So what happened to you two?" said Harry.
"Well, I got back alright," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round -- that took a while. When Autumn didn't come out, I knew I couldn't get back in there, so we dashed up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall. He already knew -- he just said, 'They've gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."
"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"
"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did -- I mean to say that's terrible -- you could have been killed."
"No, it isn't," said Harry. "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. . ."
Autumn smiled. She went to fiddle with the chain around her neck, but was met with a sort of sadness that it was gone. Her family made that necklace, one that was like her -- a wizard.
"And I think Dumbledore wanted to give Autumn a chance too," Harry stated, breaking Autumn from her thoughts. She looked up at Harry in confusion. Harry met Autumn's gaze and continued, "Your necklace."
Autumn nodded in realization.
"What necklace?" Hermione and Ron asked.
"I got a necklace for Christmas that had a bottle attached to the end of the chain. It's called the Jar of Mysteries. I found out what it did was the day after Harry and I got caught by Filch. It duplicates potions -- but it's quite odd. I didn't do anything, the jar just felt heavier than I remembered, and it duplicated the potion and joined Harry."
"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said 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."
The four shared a smile as they thought about the food.