“Fredrick, you will do well on my side . . . the Dark Side. You will be able to go places that I can’t, and do things I canno””
“Excuse me my Lord, if I may interrupt. But, my only main thing I would like to do here, is kill Harry Potter,” Fredrick gritted through his teeth while standing up.
“Don’t we all? Don’t worry, Fredrick. That will happen all in due time,” Voldemort said with a menacing smile. “Harry Potter will finally meet his downfall.”
***
Hermione, with a large book in hand, slumped down at Harry’s side in the Great Hall.
“Harry, I’ve been doing some research on the Stones. We have found four of them which is a good majority. I have discovered that Iron is found in Crasilium. Crasilium could be an alternative for the Iron Stone. Technically, we only need to find one more stone . . . the Ash Stone. I think that we need to talk to Dumbledore about this. We need some more information about its whereabouts . . . all we know is that it’s been moved.”
“Well, that was a whole load of information at once!” Harry exclaimed looking up from his Potions Assignment. “So back up! Say that again!”
“Starting with . . . ?” Hermione asked, while squinting her eyes.
“The stuff about Iron in Crasilium,” Harry responded while placing his quill back in the ink bottle.
“Oh! There are small particles of Iron found in Crasilium. If one of the stones, which we have not yet found, is an Iron Stone, then we may be able to substitute the Iron Stone with a chunk of the Crasilium. In other words, we may not need to find the Iron Stone. We may be able to go to the Cliff much faster,” Hermione answered simply.
“That’s bloody good news!” Harry expressed. “We need to go tell Ron about this. Then we can go speak to Dumbledore. Let’s go.”
Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand and led the way to the Gryffindor Common Room.
“Ron! Ron, come down here!” Harry yelled up the steps.
“What? Why?” Ron asked while slowly walking down the steps. He rubbed his eyes groggily with his hair going every which way.
Hermione held back a laugh since she usually only saw Ron after he bathed and groomed his hair. Harry was used to this every morning, so it was no surprise to him.
“Ron, we have some more news on the Stones,” Harry explained while Ron approached the two.
“Like what? Anything important?” Ron asked, somewhat out of it.
“It’s about the Stones . . . of course it’s important!” Harry exclaimed.
Ron sat down in a large armchair near the crackling fire. “Fill me in,” Ron said quietly.
Hermione and Harry looked at each other with questioning looks.
“Well, we may have found an alternative for one of the Stones,” Hermione explained.
“What Stone?” Ron questioned while resting his head on the palm of his hand.
“The Iron Stone,” Harry responded while Hermione looked at him with a look that said, ‘I was gonna say that!’
“The Iron Stone?” Ron questioned, listening more intently. “What other alternative is there for the Iron Stone?”
“Crasilium,” Hermione jumped in, replying before Harry. “Crasilium is fifteen percent Iron. That means that we could use a piece of Crasilium instead of having to find the actual Stone. We’ll just have to cut off a chunk of it and put it in its place on the arch.”
“But doesn’t that mean that someone else could find the Stone?” Ron asked.
“Yes, but there’s a solution to that. If we use all of these Stones to get into the other world, the Stones will disappear forever. Therefore, if someone does in fact find the Iron Stone, it will be of no use to them,” Hermione explained quickly.
“So, what are we waiting for, shouldn’t we leave?” Ron announced.
“Well, we need to talk to Dumbledore. We still need to find one more stone, the Ash Stone, and we have no idea, whatsoever, where it is!” Harry explained profoundly.
“Let’s go then. Let’s go talk to Dumbledore. We really need to leave as soon as possible, who knows how long we’ll be in the other world. Who knows if we’ll be able to come back!” Ron explained while beginning to head out the portrait.
“Er . . . Ron. I think you need to, spruce up . . .” Hermione said nervously.
“Nah! It’s fine! It’s not like the Minister for Magic is going to be here.”
“Oh, but I insist,” Hermione said while taking out her wand. “Sprudilorian!”
Ron’s hair straightened into his normal style; a wave of refreshment rushed over him.
“Why the bloody hell did you do that?! I like my morning look!” Ron shouted trying to re-make his morning look, but to no avail.
“Ron, you look much more handsome,” Hermione said, while rushing to his side.
“Well, if it makes you happy,” he shrugged. “Let’s get going!”
The trio rushed out of their Common Room and through the seemingly empty hallways. But one person in particular came out of nowhere . . . Draco Malfoy.
“Oh! Look who it is! Potter and the little love club over there,” Draco sneered with Crabbe and Goyle standing proudly behind him.
Hermione looked down and noticed that her and Ron had been holding hands, she let go and blushed, slightly embarrassed.
“Shut it, Malfoy,” Harry replied angrily. “Looks like you haven’t even had anything close to a girlfriend, anyways.”
“They just can’t live up to my standards! Crabbe, Goyle, let’s go.” Draco walked away from them with Crabbe and Goyle following.
“He’s so annoying!” Ron yelled, grabbing at Hermione’s hand with a grin.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to walk the distance to Dumbledore’s office until they finally arrived at their destination.
“Do either of you know the password?!” Harry questioned, looking at both of his friends curiously.
“No,” Ron replied while Hermione shuffled forward.
“Orange Rhubarb,” Hermione said to the stone statue standing silently in front of her.
Steps emerged from the stone ground and they all rushed inside. The steps carried them up the spiraling staircase which eventually stopped them at a large oak door. Harry knocked on it quietly, with no reply.
“Professor?” Harry said quietly while opening the door slightly.
“Oh! Harry, I didn’t see you!” Dumbledore said in hushed tones.
“Professor, can we talk? About the Stones?” Harry asked while the three sat down in overstuffed armchairs.
“Why sure! What would you like to know about them?” Dumbledore said happily while putting all other things aside.
“What you told us about the Ash Stone . . . it was really vague . . . about the location I mean. Do you know the location?” Harry asked while trying to get Dumbledore to tell them any information they might need to know.
“Not down to the pin point location, but I do know several things. The Ash Stone will be found on your way to Cliff of Crasilium. It will take you about a week to get there by walking, three days by broom””
“Well, we’ll go by broom then!” Ron interrupted.
“I’m terrified of heights . . . sorry,” Hermione said hesitantly.
“Well, then by ground,” Ron dully said.
Dumbledore smiled and finished what he was saying, “The Ash Stone lies in the depths of the Earth, like I said before, on your way up to the Cliff, something will happen, but I don’t know. Something will direct you to that Stone. It’ll almost pull you to it. Although what horrors lie on this trip to the Cliff are unknown, you must be prepared. Anything can happen on a walk to the Cliff. When I say anything, I mean anything. Make sure your wands are at your side at all times and that you’re are always on the lookout. When you arrive at the Cliff, you must make sure you are not seen. Creatures lie there that are deadly and inhumane. They will do anything in their power to get you from entering the other world. Their world.”
“Well, that’s reassuring,” Ron responded sarcastically.
“When should we go?” Harry asked.
“Well, if we will find the Ash Stone on our journey to the cliff, and we will use Crasilium for the Iron Stone, we can leave tonight!” Hermione said, jumping to conclusion.
“Tonight it is,” Dumbledore said discreetly.
A sudden whiz was heard in the back of the room. Harry spun around to see what it was, but saw nothing.
***
“My lord, I have information for you,” Fredrick said, having just returned from his spying mission ordered by Voldemort. “They have almost all of the Stones, and they are leaving soon.”
“When soon?” Voldemort responded, getting up from his chair.
“Tonight,” Fredrick replied.
“That gives us the perfect opportunity”” Voldemort said while examining a small blue flask in his right hand, “”to release this blasted toxin into Hogwarts. There will be no Harry Potter around to save the day,” Voldemort laughed maliciously.
“But what about Potter and his friends? If we’re at Hogwarts releasing the toxin, who will stop them from going into the other world?”
“Oh, you’ll be releasing the toxin into Hogwarts, I’ll take care of them. What will Harry be without his precious Dumbledore always lounging around to protect him.”
“Well, my lord, if you want an honest opinion””
“NOTHING!” Voldemort yelled while staring Fredrick down. “Nothing will stop me from killing Harry Potter.”