The Last Heir of Merlin

By the time Harry had shown up with Ron, Jake had already stepped away from the mirror and was sitting against the far wall. He didn't pay attention to them and missed their little argument about the mirror. Eventually all three of them went back to Gryffindor Tower and Jake broke off immediately, going straight to bed.

When morning had come, he refused to get out of bed early, being exceptionally moody about the previous night. Neither Ron nor Harry could understand the pain he was in. Ron had his family and Harry doesn't remember his parents, having been orphaned at an incredibly young age, so he didn't confide in them at all about it. He didn't even tell them what he'd seen in the Mirror. He was also wary about telling Hermione.

When he finally got out of bed, he noticed a letter on his nightstand. He grabbed the envelope and carefully opened it. His mood brightened some when he saw that it was from Hermione:

Dear Jake,

Thank you so much for the present! I've never heard of this book and got eager to start reading it. I may have to ask you what some things mean in it, but I'm enjoying it. Thank you again!

I hope you like the present I sent you. I figured you would like to read up on the Greatest Wizards in history, and who knows? Maybe one day you'll have a spot in this book with how good you are at Magic? I believe you will, at any rate.

I take it you haven't found anything on Nicholas Flamel, otherwise you would've Owled me. You don't have to respond, I'll see you after the holidays and we can pick up from there.

Yours,

Hermione

He smiled at the letter and folded it back exactly how it was, placing it back inside the envelope and in the top drawer of his nightstand. Her letter reminding him of Nicholas Flamel, had him think more about him. He wasn't in any books they looked at, but with the way Hagrid talked, he should be an important and prominent figure in the Wizarding Community.

An idea struck him and he immediately got dressed and rushed to the Library, foregoing breakfast, if it was still being served, as he had to check something. He went looking through about a dozen books and found exactly what he was looking for after five hours of searching.

"YES!" He yelled excitedly.

"Sssshhhhhhh," came Madam Pince's voice.

"Sorry," he said in a quieter voice, taking the book and leaving. He didn't waste time in telling Harry and Ron as, while they would be excited, their reaction wouldn't be near what he was looking for. He just had to wait for Hermione to return.

She did return on the day before term started and was surprised to see him standing there waiting on her at the Castle Entrance, "Jake? What are you doing waiting for me?"

"Is it wrong to want to see my best friend?" He asked her.

"No, nothing wrong with that," she smiled widely.

"I do have a good reason for waiting on you, though, follow me!" He said and hurried her back to the Common Room.

Once back, he said he could wait until she unpacked. He sat in a chair near the fireplace until she came back down, "So what did you need to show me?"

"You know why we couldn't find Nicholas Flamel? Because he's much older than any of us thought. It took me hours looking through books that went back before the Twentieth Century, but I found him!" He showed her the book and the page he was talking about.

She gave it a quick read, "The Philosopher's Stone! He created it! That's why Hagrid said his name!"

"That must've been what was almost stolen from Gringotts, that's what Fluffy is guarding! It creates an Elixir that can grant Eternal Life!" He was both excited and relieved that they had finally figured all of this out.

*******

Harry had trudged back in one day after practice with some grim news, "Snape is going to be refereeing the next Quidditch Match!?" Ron asked in a yell.

"Don't play," Hermione said at once.

"Say you're ill," Jake told him.

"Pretend to break your leg," Ron suggested.

"Really break your leg," Jake smirked, earning him a smack on the shoulder from Hermione.

"I can't, Gryffindor doesn't have a reserve Seeker... if I back out, Gryffindor won't be able to play at all, and we'll be completely out of the running for the House Cup," Harry lamented.

Before anyone said anything else, Neville was jumping into the Common Room through the portrait hole, his legs locked together. Jake recognized it as the Leg-Lock Curse, which was more of a Jinx or Hex than Curse. He fell forward onto his face and everyone in the Common Room fell over laughing. Everyone but Jake and Hermione, "Neville? What happened?" Jake asked him, standing up and walking over to him.

"Malfoy happened..." he said miserably as Hermione performed the Counter-Spell, "I met him outside the Library and he said he'd been looking for someone to practice the spell on."

"Go to Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, urging him to do something, "Report him!"

Neville was reluctant, "I don't want more trouble..."

"If you won't do something, Longbottom, then I will," Jake said, standing up to make his way out of the Common Room. He was able to put up with Neville's 'oh woe is me' attitude only for so long.

"Jake you can't!" Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Why not?" He asked, turning to look at her, "Neville clearly won't do anything about it, and I'm not going to let him get away with it! You have to stand up to people like Malfoy!"

Neville whimpered and ran to the dorms. Jake watched him run, but he didn't feel remorseful for his actions, "Look what you did..." Hermione was upset with him.

"I don't feel sorry for him," he said and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" She asked him.

"Outside to freeze," he said shortly and left the Common Room.

Hermione didn't see him for the rest of the afternoon until Dinner time. He didn't look worse for wear, but when she placed a hand on him, he was cold to the touch, "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"I know... but I do feel better... I got heated and frustrated and needed to cool off... which helped," he smiled at her. "I'll apologize to Neville later..."

She sat closer to him, bumping her shoulder with his, "You're still an idiot, and you better."

"So you've said," he smiled and began to eat Dinner.

*******

The Quidditch Match drew nearer and Harry had informed his three friends that he was going to play and not look like a coward to the Slytherins for not wanting to play in a game their Head of House was refereeing.

Jake noticed that Snape was becoming more and more unbearable in Potions class towards Harry. It didn't seem like he let it bother him, but Jake knew that it was torture to Harry's psyche.

Just before the match, the three of them wished Harry good luck. Jake knew Harry would be fine, but he still brought his wand, like Hermione and Ron did. He helped them learn the Leg-Lock Curse, Locomotor Mortis , after they got the idea from when Mafloy used it on Neville.

They were in the stands, Jake with his wand up his sleeve, and he saw the look on Neville's face. It showed confusion. It made sense, since he didn't know why they had their wands.

"Remember, Ron, it's Locomotor Mortis ," she reminded him.

"I know," Ron said, but Jake could hear him muttering under his breath the incantation.

They watched the teams March onto the field. Jake looked at the Teachers Stand, "Look, Dumbledore's here. Snape won't try anything with him here."

"I've never seen Snape look so mean..." Ron said, causing Jake to look as well, "They're off- ow!" Ron yelped.

Jake turned to see Malfoy standing there with his two goons, "Oh, sorry Weasley, I didn't see you there."

"How about you buzz off back to your side of the stadium?" Jake demanded more than asked.

"How about you make me?" Draco taunted the wrong student.

Jake stood up and aimed his wand at Malfoy, "I think I will," he wasn't wanting to, but if he was pushed, he would hit Malfoy with the Knockback Jinx. He turned back around and tried to ignore him.

Draco wasn't done with them yet, however, "You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor Team? I think they feel sorry for them." He said and Crabbe and Goyle started laughing, "Take Potter, for example, he's got no parents. The Weasley's have no money. You should be their Mascot, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Jake turned back around and socked Draco right in the face. It wasn't a hard punch, but his nose was beginning to bleed. His two goons advanced on Jake and Ron intercepted one of them, receiving a shove for his trouble. Ron fell and Crabbe began laughing. Jake knew the stands were no place to fight, despite throwing the first punch, so he grabbed Malfoy and told him to call off his henchmen. He was more inclined to do so with a wand pressing into his throat.

They soon left after another threat from Jake, sauntering back to wherever they came from. He suddenly heard Hermione yelling, "Come on, Harry!" He turned and saw Harry go into a dive right towards Snape. He whizzed right past the biased Professor and pulled up from the dive, the Snitch clutched in his hand. The Gryffindor stand erupted in applause. They'd never seen a match end so quickly before.

The Gryffindor's rushed the field and hoisted Harry into the air, Hermione, Jake and Ron all three cheering from a distance. They returned to the Common Room without Harry as he had to put away his Nimbus, and Gryffindor decided to party about the record-breaking Match victory.

They were waiting for a while for Harry to come back to the Common Room, "Maybe we should go look for him?" Hermione suggested and they left the Common Room, only to run into Harry just outside of the Portrait, "Harry, where have you been?"

"Mate, we won! You won! We won!" Ron was shouting, "You should've seen the way Jake handled Malfoy, gave him a bloody nose after he insulted me and Neville. It was great! Come on, everyone's waiting for you in the Common Room to congratulate you!"

"Never mind that now," Harry said breathlessly, having clearly run all the way here, "Let's find an empty room, I have something important to tell you three!" They followed him to an empty room, Harry checked for Peeves just before shutting the door, "So we were right, it is the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy - and he something about Quirrell's 'hocus-pocus' - I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell which Snape would need to break through-"

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione asked, the color draining from her face.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron said, sighing.

"You're asking for a lot from Quirrell, Ron," Jake said, trying to lighten the mood. Judging by their faces, it didn't work.

*******

Jake found out one day in Charms class that he had an affinity for casting spells correctly and efficiently on his first or second try. The practical application of spells was the most fun of any of the classes, he thought, and he was good at it, he wouldn't lie. He wouldn't showboat either, because he didn't want to be hated just for being better than anyone else. The Practical Application of spells could only get you so far, though, so when Hermione suggested they start revising their notes, and making up time-tables for doing so, he was in agreement. It was the smart way to go about it since their exams were now roughly ten weeks away. Harry and Ron didn't understand why they had started revising, but oh, when they had asked, Hermione set them straight, "What am I revising for? Are you mad?" They just blinked as they looked at her.

"I'll take that as a yes," Jake whispered to her.

She ignored him, "You realize we need to pass these exams to get into Second Year, right? They're very important, I should've started studying a month ago, honestly."

"Ron's not wrong, though, you do already know all of it, like I do," he smiled at her and she smiled back.

Much to Harry's and Ron's dismay, the teachers thought along the same lines as Hermione and began piling on the homework, which, of course, meant the Easter Holiday wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the Christmas one, but Jake and Hermione were able to enjoy it some because they got their homework done asap, leaving the last two days of break free to do whatever their heart desired, which to Hermione, that meant more revisions for their exams a couple months from then.

The four of them were in the Library one afternoon, Harry and Ron were seemingly bored out of their damn minds, not that Jake could exactly blame them, but he didn't find the studying to be a chore. That didn't mean he thought they should spend all of their free time studying, but he figured he should at least get First Year out of the way before suggesting to Hermione that they tone it back a little bit on the studying.

Jake was looking through his Transfiguration Book when Ron spoke up, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the Library?"

The tall man himself shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked rather out of place, being in his moleskin overcoat, and just the fact he was incredibly tall, "Jus' lookin'," he said in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what are you lot up ter?" He asked, suddenly looking suspicious, "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicholas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, no we found out who he is ages ago," Ron said, sounding impressed with himself. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's the Phil-" he didn't get to finish as Jake smacked his shoulder.

Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was paying attention to them, "Don' go shoutin' about that, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," Harry said, gaining Hagrid's attention, "about what's guarding the stone, well, apart from Fluffy-"

"SSHHHH!" Hagrid said, slightly irked, "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh-"

"Alright, see you later then, Hagrid," Harry said to him as he shuffled away.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione asked in a thoughtful tone.

"You think it had something to do with the Stone?" Harry asked them.

"I'll go check," Jake said, standing up and disappearing for a moment. He returned a moment later with a pile of books, "Dragons!" He whispered loudly, "Hagrid was looking up stuff about Dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide !"

"Hagrid said he's always wanted a dragon... he told me so the first time I ever met him," Harry revealed to them.

"But it's against our laws," Ron informed them, "Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles noticing if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You three should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain , are there?" Harry asked him.

"Of course there are," Ron said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Common Welsh Greens and the Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our lot have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"So that leaves only one question," Jake started.

Hermione finished for him, "What on Earth is Hagrid up to?"

*******

The four of them arrived at Hagrid's hut an hour later, surprised to see the curtains drawn on the windows. Jake figured whatever Hagrid was doing, it was shady. Harry knocked on the door, "Who is it?" Hagrid called, but none of them got to answer as the door opened and he quickly ushered them in, shutting the door rather quickly behind them.

It was blazing hot inside, even with their Summer Clothing on. Jake looked and saw a fire going, and something sitting in the flame of the fireplace, and Hagrid made them some tea, offering stoat sandwiches, which they kindly refused. Jake decided to not mention what he saw for now.

"So, yeh wanted tae ask me somethin'?"

"Yes..." Harry said, trailing off for a moment. There was no reason to beat around the bush with it, "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy?"

"O' course I can't," he said gruffly, "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts. I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid," Hermione started, her voice warm and flattery. Jake was once again a little afraid with how easy she was able to do that, "You might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," Hagrid's beard twitched and they could all tell he was smiling, "We only wondered who had done the guarding really," Hermione continued, "We wondered who Dumbledore trusted enough to help him, apart from you, of course."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron were beaming at Hermione, while Jake was, again, a little afraid of her. Hermione could be incredibly devious without any effort at all.

"Well, I don' s'ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall..." he was ticking them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on... I've forgotten someone..." he sat there for a moment trying to think, "Oh yeah, Professor Snape did somethin' as well."

" Snape ?" Harry asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it," Hagrid tried to defend the Potions Master.

Jake thought it suspicious, to be quite honest. Snape was helping to protect it, supposedly, but why would any of the teachers give away their method of defending the Stone to anyone other than Dumbledore himself? The only other alternative to that would be every teacher knowing the protection methods. It just didn't make sense to Jake, but it would make less sense if he asked it aloud, so he remained quiet for now.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" Harry asked him anxiously, "And you wouldn't tell anyone would you? Not even one of the other teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," Hagrid said proudly.

Jake immediately knew that eliminated one of his theories. So then, why would any of the other teachers reveal their own Protection method? Again, it just made no sense to him.

"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to them. He looked back to the giant man, "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm roasting here."

"Can't, Harry, sorry," Hagrid said, glancing over at the fireplace. The other three finally noticed what Jake had seen earlier, a huge, black egg sitting in the heart of the fireplace.

"Hagrid..." Hermione started, "What's that ?"

Jake suspected she already knew, but needed confirmation.

"Ah..." Hagrid was nervous and fidgety, "Th-That's - er..."

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron asked him, a look of awe on his face. He got up and crouched over near the fire to get a closer look, "It must've cost you a fortune!"

"Won it," Hagrid said happily, "Las' night actually. I was down in the village, havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"I don't know if I blame the guy..." Jake said quietly.

"Hagrid... what are you going to do with it once it's hatched?" Hermione asked him.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library - Dragon-Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize different eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

Hagrid was looking pleased with himself, but Hermione pointed out a fatal flaw in Hagrid's plan, "Hagrid... you live in a wooden house ."

*******

The four of them now had something else to worry about, on top of the Stone, Snape, Quirrell not caving, and their exams: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his wooden hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed. Evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Or Harry and Ron were at least; Jake and Hermione were doing just fine in the Homework department. Hermione had noticed that neither Ron nor Harry bothered to make revision timetables, so she made up some for them as well, Jake noticed it was starting to drive them mad.

One morning at breakfast, early breakfast, Harry got a letter from Hagrid, and told them they all had to be down at his hut asap. As much as Ron didn't want to, they all skipped the rest of breakfast and ran down to Hagrid's hut.

"We better not miss Herbology because of this!" Hermione yelled as they ran to the hut.

Hagrid opened the door and ushered them in quickly, "It's nearly out!"

The egg was laying on the table. There were deep cracks in the egg; something was moving on the inside, indicating that there was indeed a dragon inside it. A funny clicking noise could be heard from inside it.

They all drew up chairs and watched with bated breath. All at once, there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It was tiny, as to be expected, and a little slimy looking, but it still managed to look majestic all the same, Jake thought. It had spiny wings that were huge compared to its tiny jet black body, a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns and bulging orange eyes.

After Hagrid had told them the egg was a Norwegian Ridgeback, Jake went reading about them and found that their bite was extremely venomous.

It suddenly sneezed and a couple of sparks came flying out of its snout, hitting Hagrid's beard who began patting it vivaciously to put it out, "Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He started to reach out a hand, but Jake stopped him. Before he could explain why he did, Hagrid went wide-eyed and the color drained from his face. Jake turned and saw that he was looking at the window. He ran up to it and saw an identifiable head of platinum blonde hair.

Malfoy had seen the baby dragon.

*******

Jake hated the smug look on Draco Malfoy's face every time he caught the Slytherin looking over at them. He wanted to punch it right off of his face every time he got close.

The four of them spent a lot of their free time for a little while trying to reason with Hagrid that keeping the Ridgeback was a bad idea, "Just let him go, set him free," Harry urged him.

"I can't," was always Hagrid's response, "He's too little... he'd die."

Jake looked at the dragon, who wasn't as little as he once was just a week ago. Smoke kept rising from its nostrils. Hagrid's game-keeping duties had fallen behind due to the Dragon keeping him occupied. There were empty bottles of brandy and chicken feathers strewn about the floor.

"I've decided to call him Norbert," Hagrid said with misty eyes as he looked at the dragon. He really did care for the dragon, but that didn't mean this was a good thing for him. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mummy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered to them.

"Hagrid, give it a fortnight and Norbert will be as long as your house," Harry said, trying to get him to see reason, "Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

Hagrid bit his lip, Jake thought, as it wasn't easy to see his mouth with all the hair from his beard, "I - I know I can't keep him forever... but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."

Harry suddenly turned to Ron, "Charlie!" He said loudly.

"You're losing it too, mate," Ron said, not catching on right away, "I'm Ron, remember?"

"No - Charlie - your brother, Charlie!" Harry turned to the other two, "In Romania, Ron told us he was studying Dragons!" He turned back to Ron, "We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant!" Ron said eagerly, "How about that, Hagrid?" He asked and the four of them looked up at him. In the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an Owl to Charlie to ask him. Jake was going to ask Ron to do it anyway. As much as he liked the Dragon as well, it wasn't beneficial to anyone being so near to a bunch of students, even if the teachers were all powerful Witches and Wizards.

*******

The following week dragged on horribly. Wednesday night found Jake, Harry, and Hermione sitting without Ron in the Common Room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the Portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of thin air as he pulled off Harry's Invisibility Cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's, helping him feed Norbert dead rats, "It bit me!" Were the first words out of Ron's mouth.

The color drained from Jake's face. He had forgotten to mention to them that Norwegian Ridgebacks were venomous, "Ron!" He said immediately, startling them. Before he could say more, there was a tapping on the window.

"Hedwig!" Harry said, dismissing Jake's sudden outburst, "She'll have Charlie's answer" He went and let her in, reading the letter out loud:

" Dear Ron,

How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.

Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at Midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark out.

Send me an answer as soon as possible.

Love,

Charlie "

He looked up at them, "We've got the Invisibility Cloak," Harry said to them, "It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the Cloak's big enough to cover three of us and Norbert."

Jake was in agreement. After how the last week had gone, he'd agree to anything to get rid of Norbert, and by extension, Malfoy. He turned to Ron, "Oh, Ron, you should really go to Madam Pomfrey."

"Why?" Ron asked, sounding reluctant.

"Norwegian Ridgebacks are Venomous," was all he said. The color then drained from Ron's face, who passed out upon hearing that. The Venom must not be helping, either. "I'll take him to Pomfrey, you two get to bed," he said and picked up Ron, displaying incredible strength for a twelve year old. He was unable to get the Cloak on him, though, so Harry helped out by throwing it over him.

He hurried all the way down to the Hospital Wing, losing the Cloak just outside the door so Madam Pomfrey didn't see it. He called for her and she came out, not even bothering to ask what happened. The only question she did ask was what the cause of injury was. Jake told her that Ron had been bitten by something Venomous, she sighed and went to go get something. He figured she'd seen it all by now and was desensitized to even bothering to ask questions. She told him to hurry back to Gryffindor Tower, which he did after grabbing the cloak. He made it back in and found that Hermione had waited up for him, "Did she ask any questions?" She asked him.

"Just what the reason for being there this late at night was," he said, and Hermione let out a breath she probably didn't even realize she had been holding. She bid him goodnight and then finally went to bed. Jake was a little touched that she stayed up for him. He went to bed not long after.

*******

The following morning they went to check on Ron who, despite getting him to Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible, still had an enlarged hand, but she had said that she was unable to stop that, "I would've had to come straight here the moment Norbert bit me," Ron said miserably.

"Don't worry, Jake and I will write up a summary of all the important aspects of classes and bring you that and the homework once the afternoon hits," Hermione had said to him. He didn't much like that, but he didn't exactly have a choice.

The following morning again, when they went to see him, he told them that Malfoy had stopped by, asking Madam Pomfrey if he could borrow one of Ron's books. Ron said he threatened to tell Madam Pomfrey what really bit him and that he was having a good laugh at him. "Don't worry, it'll be over at midnight this Saturday, and we can put Norbert and Malfoy far out of our minds come then," Jake said, which improved Ron's mood a bit.

It sank immediately, "Oh no! The book Malfoy took... it had the letter to Charlie in it! He's going to know that we are getting rid of Norbert!"

Before the three of them could react, Madam Pomfrey came over and made them leave, saying they were causing Ron distress. They didn't argue and decided to just leave. While they were walking, Harry spoke up, "It's too late to change the plan now. We haven't got any time to send another Owl to Charlie and this could be our only chance to rid ourselves of Norbert. We'll have to risk it, and we do have the Cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

Before classes had a chance to start, they went to see Hagrid to tell him about the Letter from Charlie. They found Fang the Boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail. Jake knelt down and scratched and patted the dog, who was wagging his tail, despite the pain it was causing him, "That Dragon has to go..." he said, feeling sympathetic for the boarhound.

Hagrid opened the window to speak to them, "I won't let you in," he puffed, "Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle!"

Harry and Hermione told him about Charlie's letter, which caused his eyes to be filled with tears, but that also could've been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.

"Argh! It's all right, he just got me in the boot - jus' playin' - he's only a baby after all."

That baby then banged its tail on the wall, causing the windows to rattle, and Fang began to shake in fear, "Only a baby... only a dangerous, vicious, fanged baby..." Jake stood up and walked back to the Castle with Harry and Hermione. Saturday couldn't arrive soon enough.

*******

When Saturday finally arrived, Jake found it hard to feel sorry for Hagrid after all the things they had to worry about with the Dragon, Norbert. It was a dangerous creature, and he could see why it was illegal to own one.

It was a very dark and cloudy night. They were a little late in arriving at Hagrid's as they had to wait for Peeves to be finished playing tennis against the wall. When they arrived, Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate, "He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," he spoke in a muffled voice, "an' I packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

Jake knew that to not be the case when he heard a very distinct sound of fabric being torn, and only imagined the head getting ripped off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed as Harry and Hermione covered the crate with the Cloak. The three of them then stepped underneath it themselves. They had a rather easy time carrying it, in large part to Jake. When they saw him lift Ron with ease, they knew this would be a slightly easier task. "Mummy will never forget you!" They heard Hagrid say just before they got out of earshot.

They carried Norbert all the way up to the Astronomy Tower and awaited Charlie's friends. On their way up there, they encountered Malfoy getting reprimanded by Professor McGonagall, who had a tartan dressing-gown and a hairnet, had Malfoy by the ear, "Detention! And Fifty Points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you-"

"You don't understand, Professor! Harry Potter is coming - he's got a dragon with him!" Draco Malfoy tried his best to let the Professor know what was going to happen. It may have been the truth, but there was little reason for McGonagall to believe him.

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!" She dragged him out of their sight.

They had made their way up to Tower and Hermione was in high spirits, "Malfoy's got detention! I could sing right now!"

"Don't, we don't wanna give away our position," Jake advised her.

Norbert had begun thrashing about in the crate, obviously hating the cramped space. Ten minutes wait time and Four Broomsticks appeared in the sky. Charlie's friends were a wild bunch, but that must've made them easy to get along with. They showed them the harness designed for Norbert, so they could suspend him between them, at least Norbert wouldn't be cramped in a small box the entire journey.

Norbert was finally going... going... gone.

Harry and Hermione walked ahead of Jake, who had remembered to grab the cloak, talking about how much of a weight just lifted off their shoulders. There was nothing that could spoil their happiness. They suddenly felt the Cloak thrown over them as Filch rounded the corner, "Well, well, well," he whispered evilly, "you're in a lot of trouble, boy."

They turned around and saw Jake carefully walk around them, and Hermione caught a glimpse of his face. It was a face she couldn't read, but if she had to guess, he was blaming himself. She tried to remove the cloak, but Harry had a firm grip on her and the Cloak. Hermione felt tears form in her eyes as she watched her best friend be taken away to receive a detention she felt he didn't deserve.

*******

Jake was marched straight down to Professor McGonagall's office, and she was not happy to see him at all. Her nostrils were flaring and she looked ready to send him packing that instant out of Hogwarts. Jake steeled his nerves as best he could to prevent himself from lashing out or breaking down, "I will only ask you once," she said, looking right at him, "what reason on Earth could you possibly have to be out of bed? Mr. Filch told me he found you in the staircase to the Astronomy Tower. That's coincidentally, where I found Malfoy here. He was talking about Mr. Potter having a Dragon and that he was taking it to the Astronomy Tower to have it sent off. Is that true?"

Jake, quick on his feet, saw the perfect opportunity, "It is true, Professor."

His words floored all three of the others, "There was a Dragon?" McGonagall asked slowly.

"No, it was something I said, knowing that Malfoy was listening, to get him in trouble. I came to the Astronomy Tower to have a laugh at him getting Detention... it was foolish on my part, I won't deny it," he said, spinning a very convincing story.

Draco tried to correct the story, but McGonagall was more believing in Jake's tale, "You can stop trying, Malfoy, I know the friction that exists between you and Fernandes here. As you can see, Potter is nowhere to be found, so why should I believe your tale over his?" Malfoy was at a loss for words and merely glared at Jake. "However, Fernandes, your tale has also gotten Longbottom in trouble. I already sent him back to his bed, with Fifty Points from Gryffindor and a Detention. For your actions, Fernandes, I will be taking One-Hundred Points off of Gryffindor and giving you Detention as well." Jake felt his head pound for a moment. He single-handedly lost the most points for Gryffindor throughout the whole year. "Both of you return to your beds," she said, before looking at Jake, "I've never been more ashamed of a Gryffindor in my entire time teaching here."

He didn't look her in the eye as he walked by. He was honestly ashamed of himself for letting this happen. Losing One-Hundred and Fifty Points put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, the chances of Gryffindor winning the House Cup were ruined. When he returned to the Common Room, Hermione was, once again, awake and waiting on him, but so was Harry, this time, "Jake! That was stupid!" Hermione said, trying to reprimand him.

"I don't think it was. I saved Gryffindor at least Two-Hundred Points," he said, which made them go white.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked him.

"Gryffindor just lost One-Hundred and Fifty Points. Because of what I told McGonagall... she took One-Hundred Points from me, and Fifty from Neville," he explained.

"Neville? We didn't see him pass us," Hermione said to him.

"She had already sent him back to bed before she found Malfoy..." Jake said, and Hermione noticed how weak his voice was beginning to sound, "I'm gonna turn in... try and sleep before the chaos that tomorrow brings..." he didn't look at either of them, or say anything else.

When the morning came, any Gryffindor that passed the hour-glasses with the recorded House Points in them thought they were broken, as they noticed they were down One-Hundred and Fifty Points from just overnight. Then the story of how that happened spread like wildfire. Jake may not have been as famous as Harry, but being the only American to ever attend Hogwarts had a certain infamy that came with it. People knew who he was, and knew exactly who to direct their blame towards. Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were angry with him, because Gryffindor being bumped out of First Place meant that Slytherin was now in First Place.

Everywhere he went, people didn't even bother quieting their voices when he was close. He could swear they actually talked louder, just to make sure he heard them clearly. He took it all without ever breaking the look on his face, but Hermione could tell it was seriously bothering him.

She, of course, stood by him, being her best friend, "Don't worry, Jake, you don't have to go through this alone," she had smiled at him. Seeing the broken look on his face in private forced her to keep the smile up while she was breaking down inside.

Neville, of course, was also picked on, but because the points were half of what Jake cost them, the prodding was lessened, but not by a whole lot.

Jake kept mainly to himself, but Hermione was never far away during their studying. He would almost swear that if she could accompany him in the bathroom and his dorm room, she would.

Harry came rushing in one evening and told them all some bad news, "Quirrell's given in to Snape... I overheard him in an empty classroom. It was fragmented from what I could hear, but I have no doubt he gave in."

"Great... we should go to Dumbledore, like we should have in the first place!" Hermione said to Harry.

"We don't have any proof that we can actually share, though," Harry reminded her. Hermione couldn't dispute that. They had knowledge of things they shouldn't have, and there was no way they could explain that away easily.

The next morning, McGonagall came over and delivered Neville and Jake their detention notes:

Your Detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the Entrance Hall

Prof. M. McGonagall

Jake sighed, wondering just what their detention could be to be so late at night.

*******

At Eleven o'clock that night, Jake said goodbye to Harry, Hermione, and Ron as he and Neville went to the Entrance Hall. Filch was there waiting on them, as was Malfoy, "Follow me," was all Jake heard from Filch, because he tuned him out after that. He kept his eyes forward and saw they were marching out to Hagrid's Hut. He could only imagine what their detention would be. He saw Hagrid outside, waiting on them, and his face softened at seeing the Giant Man, "Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

"I hope you like the Forbidden Forest," Filch cackled maniacally.

"The Forest?" Malfoy parroted, "We can't go in there!" He started to seem distraught, much to Jake's satisfaction. "There are dangerous creatures in there! Werewolves, I heard!"

"Stop being a baby," was all Jake said before Hagrid walked next to them.

"Abou' time," I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Jake?" Hagrid said to him.

"I wouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," Filch said coldly, "They're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" Hagrid did not sound amused, "Bin lecturin' them, have yeh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here," Hagrid said, causing a smile to appear on Jake's face. He was glad to see him stand up to Filch.

The Caretaker did not seem happy, "I'll be back at dawn, for what's left of them," he chuckled as he walked away.

Malfoy turned to Hagrid, "I'm not going into that forest." Jake smirked at the panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid said fiercely, "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be writing lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd-" before Jake could say anything, Hagrid was the one to do it first.

"- tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts!" Hagrid growled at the now frightened Slytherin, "Writin' lines! Pah! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out! If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"

Malfoy almost crumbled under Hagrid's gaze.

"Right then, listen carefully," Hagrid got their attention, "what we are goin' ter be doin' tonight is dangerous. No risk takin' at all, understood?" They all nodded and followed him into the forest. He stopped them just a little ways in and aimed his lantern down, "See that? That shiny stuff right there? That's Unicorn Blood that is. One of 'em's been hurt and we are goin' ter try and find it. This is the second time in a week that a Unicorn has bin attacked. I found one dead last Wednesday. We might have ter put it out of its misery with how badly injured it probably is."

"And what if whatever hurt the Unicorn finds us first?" Malfoy asked a valid question, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the Forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," Hagrid replied, "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"Alright, but I want Fang," Malfoy said quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a bloody coward," Hagrid said and Fang gave a small whimper.

"Right, Neville an' I will go this way, the both of yeh will go the other path. If either party finds the Unicorn, yeh'll send up Green Sparks with yer wands, alright?" They nodded and split apart.

Jake and Draco walked in silence, with Fang hanging closely to Jake. It was a while with them following the trail they had found, seeming to make no headway, until they came across something that was quite unusual. It was the dead Unicorn, but there was something hunched over it. Fang began barking, and the figure looked over at them. Fang turned tail immediately and ran. Draco screamed like a girl and ran as well. Jake stood his ground, but his fear was rising as the thing fast approached him. He felt a powerful Dark presence exuding from the creature as it approached.

When it was about Ten Feet away, it suddenly backed off for a bit. Jake felt himself change slightly, in what way, he didn't know, but he reverted back to normal, so to speak, when a Centaur came charging forth and drove the creature away. The Centaur turned to him, noticing that his red eyes had gone, "You, boy, you're the one we heard about."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked him, regaining his composure. He had to strain his neck as he looked up at the Centaur.

"The one with the Red Eyes, you are HIS descendant," it said to him.

Jake was confused, "Who's descendant?"

"If you have not been told, then I cannot say," it said, which frustrated Jake, "I can, however, tell you my name. I am Firenze. That creature, do you know what it was?"

Jake didn't answer for a moment, "I have an idea..." he looked Firenze dead in the eye, the only thing he felt that could give off that feeling was someone who was supposed to be dead, "that was Voldemort, wasn't it? He didn't die like so many believe?"

Firenze did not answer that question, "Do you know what Unicorn Blood does?" Firenze asked him, but Jake hadn't studied Unicorn's yet, so he had no idea, shaking his head, "Unicorn Blood can save anyone from the brink of death, no matter how far into the door they are. But it comes at a great price. For slaying such a pure and innocent creature, the one who kills it will live a half-life. Only a man with nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would slay such a creature."

"That's why he did it," Jake understood, at least a little bit, "Voldemort is after the Philosopher's Stone... not Snape... well he is, but not for himself..."

Firenze interrupted Jake's muttering, "Can you ride? It will be much faster. You should get back to Hagrid immediately." Jake nodded and Firenze got down to allow him on his back.

As they rode, Jake heard the galloping of more footsteps and they were flanked by two other Centaur, "Firenze!" One of them thundered angrily, "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Have you turned into a common mule?"

"Do you know who this is, Bane?" Firenze asked him, but Bane did not answer, "This is HIS descendant, and the faster he leaves the forest, the better."

"What have you been telling him?" Bane growled, "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"

The other Centaur pawed the ground nervously, "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said in a gloomy voice.

Bane kicked his legs back in anger, "For the best!? What is that to do with us, Ronan!? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our Forest! Besides, HIS descendant has been foretold as the Harbinger, have you already forgotten?"

Firenze suddenly reared on his hind legs in anger, "Do you NOT see that Unicorn back there?" Firenze bellowed at Bane, disregarding his last question, "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I have set myself against what is lurking in this Forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must!"

Before Firenze walked him away, Bane began shouting, "He is the Harbinger of Destruction, Firenze! You should've let him die!" His words faded into nothing as Firenze galloped.

"Firenze... What did he mean? I'll be the Harbinger of Destruction?" Jake asked Firenze after he slowed down to a trot.

"Never mind Bane. He was shouting nonsense from his rising temper and was shouting anything to get me to let you walk alone, hoping you would die," Firenze explained.

Jake felt like he was just lied to.

After a while longer of riding, they finally came across Hagrid, Malfoy, Neville, and Fang, "Ah, Firenze, good ter see yeh," Hagrid greeted the Centaur.

"Hello, Hagrid, I come bearing a wayward soul," he got down so Jake could get off his back.

"Thank you," Jake said before looking at Hagrid, "The Unicorn is dead, Hagrid, I'm sorry... it's back in that clearing..."

"S'alright," he said, sighing.

"HIS descendant, this is where I leave you. The planets and stars have been read wrong before now, even by Centaurs. I hope that this is one of those times," Firenze said and cantered off.

Jake felt a chill run down his spine as they all sauntered back up to the Castle.

He returned to the Gryffindor Common Room with Neville where Hermione was asleep on one of the couches. Neville went immediately to bed, but Jake had to tell Hermione what he figured out related to Voldemort, "Hermione, wake up!" He gently shook her sleeping figure.

She stirred awake and went wide-eyed the moment she saw him, "Jake! What happened during your detention?"

"You'll never believe this, but I found out something critically important," he said with importance in his voice.

"What is it?" She urged him to tell her, but she knew he would anyway.

"Snape doesn't want the Stone for himself, he wants it for Voldemort," this revelation shook Hermione to her core.

She did have some comfort to offer, "Dumbledore was the only Wizard that he was ever afraid of. As long as Dumbledore is here, Harry can't be harmed, he's safe."

"Exactly. But even then, if Voldemort-" the use of the name that time caused Hermione to involuntarily shiver, "-comes back to full power, which there is a chance at that happening since I did encounter him in the Forest-"

"You what!?" Hermione interjected.

Jake continued as though she didn't, "-but regardless, even if he did come back, who's to say it won't be ten times stronger than what was believed to be his prime?" He asked Hermione, but she had no answer for that. He wisely decided to leave out the information that Bane revealed to him, because since he didn't know about that, it would be pointless to loop Hermione in as well.

He turned to walk to his dorm when he felt arms wrap around him, "I'm glad you're safe," he stiffened in her embrace. It was the first time since before coming to Hogwarts that Hermione had embraced him, and he felt the same as he did back then, uncomfortable. He didn't like sudden contact like this, but he didn't have the heart to tell Hermione that. He tapped her arms, letting her know to let go, and she thankfully did. She bid him good night and he went to bed, forgetting for the night that he was hated in three of the four Houses as he drifted off to sleep.

Before he did, Harry spoke to him, "Jake? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a run in with the big bad... Voldemort..."

"That might explain... when was that?" He asked.

"About twenty to thirty minutes ago, why?"

"That's when my scar started to ache with pain. Like there was a surge of power being released and I was feeling the pain from it..." Harry informed him.

"Well, I did feel a powerful Dark Magic coming from the thing that attacked me before a Centaur named Firenze saved my life, so there is nothing else it could be," Jake agreed with Harry that the two had to be connected, since Harry has the scar as a result of Voldemort.

"Alright, well, I'll talk to you in the morning," Harry said, going back to bed.

"Good night, Harry," Jake said and rolled to his left side, falling asleep not long after.