The Last Heir of Merlin

Jake thought the exams were rather easy. He figured that even if he hadn't done all of that studying, he'd have passed with flying colors. Once the exams did end, however, the other students began their reign of terror towards him, but it was much more lax after the stress that was the exams. People were still coming off the high that followed the final day.

It was a good thing he had been great with Practical Magic because they had Practical Examinations, which he felt most confident in. In Charms, Professor Flitwick called them in one at a time to see if they could make a Pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuff-box. She gave points for how pretty the box looked, but took points away if whiskers or a tail was present. Snape made them all the most nervous, but Jake still aced the Forgetfulness Potion he had them make for their exam.

Even for History of Magic, Jake felt confident in the written exam, as there was no Practical for HoM. Jake found it rather amusing when Hermione made the comment, "That was far easier than I thought it would be. I needn't have learnt about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the Uprising of Elfric the Eager."

The four of them wandered down towards the edge of the lake and flopped down under a tree. Jake and Hermione were going over their exam papers, just to see what all they answered similarly. Much to Hermione's satisfaction, they answered exactly the same, meaning they had a great chance of completely acing all of the written aspects. She did, however, not feel nearly as confident in Potions or some of the Practicals. She expected Snape to not be so kind for her slight hesitation during the brewing, and she could almost have sworn her snuff-box had a little bit of fur on it.

Harry kept rubbing his forehead, specifically, his scar, "I wish I knew what this means !" He growled angrily, "My scar keeps hurting - it's happened before, but never as often or as bad as this."

"You could go to Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione suggested.

"I'm not ill," Harry said, "I think it's a warning... it means danger is coming..."

Ron could be bothered to argue with him much, "Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore is around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."

Harry nodded at this, but couldn't shake the lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Hermione had said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd already done that one."

Jake was busy resting his eyes when Harry suddenly jumped up, startling him to full alert, "What? Where are you going, Harry?" He asked the scar-headed boy.

"I've just thought of something!" He yelled and the three of them followed him. "We've got to see Hagrid, now!"

"Why?" Hermione was panting as she tried to keep up.

"Wait, I get it," Jake said, "Harry's right! It is a bit odd when you think about it. The one thing Harry said that Hagrid always wanted was a Dragon, then a stranger in a bar shows up out of the blue with a Dragon egg, even though it's against Wizarding Law to have one. It all makes sense!"

Hermione and Ron still didn't completely understand, but kept pace with Jake and Harry anyway. They all arrived at Hagrid's hut to see him outside with his trousers and sleeves rolled up, shelling peas into a large basket, "Hullo," he said, smiling at them, "Finished yer exams have yeh? Got time for a cuppa tea?"

"Yes, please," Ron said, but Harry cut him off.

"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask, you know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," he said casually, "kept his cloak on the whole time." All four of them had stunned looks across their faces, "It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny looking folk in the Hog's Head - that's one of the pubs down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Jake stood firm, looking at Hagrid the entire time, "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," Hagrid said, frowning as he tried to remember, "Yeah... he asked what I did here at Hogwarts, an' I told him I was game-keeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after... so I told him," Hagrid didn't seem to realize his mistake just yet, but Jake already figured it out, "an' I said what I had always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... yeah, then he said he had a dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy," he seemed real proud of himself.

"And did he..." Harry stopped for a second, "did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Well - yeah - how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how ter calm him down," Jake's fear came true, "jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll fall right ter sleep-" Hagrid suddenly realized his mistake, but not for the right instant, "I shouldn'ta told yeh that! Forget I said it! Hey - where're yeh goin'?" He hollered after them, but they all sprinted up towards the Castle.

They came to a stop in the Entrance Hall, "We've got to talk to Dumbledore," Harry said at once.

"Alright, anyone know where his office is?" Jake asked them, but they all briefly looked around for any indication. After not seeing anything that said where to go, they sighed.

Harry continued his thought, "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak - it must've been easy, once he'd gotten Hagrid drunk... I hope that when we do find his office that he believes us."

"Firenze can back us up if Bane doesn't stop him," Jake said.

"We'll just have to-" Harry started to say, but a voice rang out, cutting him off.

"What are you four doing inside?" It was Professor McGonagall, and she was carrying a large stack of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione bravely said to their Head of House.

"See Professor Dumbledore? Why?" She asked the bushy haired know-it-all.

"It's sort of a secret," Harry said, and Jake smacked him on the shoulder.

He had immediately wished he hadn't as McGonagall's nostrils flared, "Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said matter-of-factly, "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry and flew off at once."

"He's gone ?" Harry asked frantically, " Now ?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time-"

"But this is important!" Harry tried to suade her.

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?" She demanded of him.

Jake was the one to answer, no longer caring about whether she knew if they knew or not, "Professor, it's about the Philosopher's Stone-" he stopped talking when McGonagall dropped all of her books. Whatever she had expected to hear them say, it definitely wasn't that.

"How... How do you know about..." This was the first time Jake had ever seen his Head of House at a loss for words.

"Professor, we think- no we know that someone is going to steal the stone. That's why we have to talk to Professor Dumbledore," he said to her.

She regained her composure and eyed him suspiciously, "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. I don't know how you four found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor-" Harry tried.

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said, getting short with them. She magicked her books back into her arms and had only one more thing to say to them, "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine while it's out."

The four of them, obviously, didn't do as she suggested. She had walked away, and when Harry was sure she was gone, he spoke up to them, "It's tonight, it has to be with Dumbledore gone. Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I guarantee it, and I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore shows up."

"But what can we-" Hermione gasped, causing the three boys to turn around. Snape was standing right there, leering at all four of them.

"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.

"Afternoon... Professor," Jake said, trying to hide the malice in his voice.

"You four shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.

"We were-" Harry had started to say. Jake was sure that Harry didn't know where he was going to go with that.

Snape didn't give Harry the chance to think up anything, though, "You want to be more careful," Snape said, the smile still on his face, "Hanging around like this, people will think you're... up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose anymore points, can they?" If there was any time for villainous laughter, right then was the time for it, Jake figured.

Snape did not laugh, however. They all turned to go back outside, but Snape wasn't done talking just yet.

"Be warned, Potter, any more night-time wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you," he said, striding off towards the Staff Room.

Jake sneered at his back before he went out of sight, "Right-" Jake said suddenly, startling the three of them, "-let's go back to the Common Room, we need to talk about something, and it's not up for debate," he said after seeing Harry motion to talk.

They followed him back to Gryffindor Tower, where they were confused as to why they were going back there. When they arrived inside, Jake quickly checked to make sure no one was in there with them, "Jake, what are we doing in here? I was going to suggest we-"

"Your plan was going to fail. I know you wanted someone to keep an eye on Snape and the others near the Third Floor Corridor. You aren't that hard to read, Harry, trust me," Jake said, surprising them.

Harry sighed, then suggested, "Well, that's it then, isn't it?"

This caused Jake to become confused, "Maybe harder than I thought."

"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first," Harry said, but only Ron and Hermione had anything to say to it.

"You're mad!" Ron yelled.

"You can't!" Hermione yelled just as loudly, "After what McGonagall and Snape told us, you'll be expelled."

"SO WHAT!?" Harry shouted, getting the both of them to shut up a moment, "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's going to come back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over the first time? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a School for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see that? D'you think he'll leave you or your families alone if Gryffindor wins the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursley's and wait for Voldemort there. It's only dying a bit later than I would have done, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"

He glared at the other two, but Jake began clapping, "Brilliant motivational speech, Potter.

"You're right, Harry," Hermione said in a small but conviction-filled voice.

"I guess it's a good thing you tossed the cloak over Hermione and I, isn't it? Had you not, who knows where it would be right now," Harry said, smiling at Jake.

"Will it cover all four of us?" Ron asked.

"Well, it covered the three of us and Norbert," Jake said, "so I don't see why not."

"All - All four of us?" Harry asked, not expecting that.

"Of course all four of us, you didn't think we'd let you go alone, did you?" Jake asked him.

"Of course not," Hermione said briskly, "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? Jake, we should go look through our books, there could be something useful in them."

"Right," he replied, about to walk off with her.

"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled as well!" Harry said in an urgent voice.

"Not if we can help that," Hermione said, "Professor Flitwick told me in secret that I got One-Hundred and Twelve percent on his exam. They won't throw me out after that." Jake looked away from Hermione, not having the heart to tell her that he got One-Hundred and Fifteen percent on Flitwick's exam.

*******

After dinner that evening, the four of them were in the Common Room, spread nervously apart from each other. Jake sat near the window, and no one bothered him anyway as he had lost One-Hundred points for Gryffindor. He didn't exactly care, though. He was skimming through his notes and looked over to see Hermione doing the same with hers.

He looked over towards Harry and saw him go up the stairs to their dorm room to get the Cloak. When Harry came back down, Jake and Hermione walked over to them, "We'd better put the Cloak on here, and make sure it does indeed cover all four of us. If Filch spots one of our feet walking around on its own-" Harry was cut off by someone else talking.

"What are you doing?" The voice said from a corner of the room. Jake noticed it immediately to be Neville's voice. The pudgy faced boy came from around an armchair, clutching Trevor the Toad. Trevor looked like he was making another bid to escape towards freedom.

"We're not doing anything, Neville," Harry quickly said, moving the Cloak behind him and out of Neville's view.

"You're going out again," he said, hitting the nail on the head.

Jake glanced at the Grandfather clock by the door and saw they were wasting time. "No, no, no," Hermione said, "We're not going out Neville, why don't you go back to bed?"

"You can't go out," Neville was unmoving, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble!"

"You don't understand, Neville, this is important," Harry said, trying one final time to get him to see to his way of thinking.

It looked as though, to Jake at least, Neville had steeled himself to do something desperate, "I won't let you do it!" He ran to stand in front of the portrait hole, "I'll... I-I'll fight you!"

Ron was clearly frustrated with him, "Neville! Move out of the way, don't be stupid!"

"I'm not stupid! Jake himself told me that I had to stand up to people!" Neville raised his fists bravely.

"He didn't mean-" Ron started to respond, but stopped when Jake walked up to Neville, who flinched upon being approached.

He raised a hand and put it on Neville's shoulder, "I'm proud of you, Neville. Truly proud of you," Jake smiled at him, "but we do need through," he raised his wand and spoke the words, " Petrificus Totalus ."

Neville locked into place, arms going to his sides and he stood up straight, falling forward a moment later, "Let's go," Harry said, taking the opportunity to keep moving.

They put the Cloak over themselves just before leaving the Portrait hole and were glad that it fit over them all no problem. They walked towards the Third Floor where Fluffy resided, coming across Mrs. Norris, "Oh, let's kick her, just this once?" Ron begged.

"I don't care whose cat it is, or how mean she could be, I will not let you kick that cat, Ronald," Jake said, glaring angrily at him. Ron shut up immediately and they ventured forth, feeling her eyes on them the whole time, but she remained unmoved.

They didn't meet a single other person, but they did run into Peeves, who was busy loosening the carpets so that people would trip over them, "Who's there?" He asked suddenly, looking in there direction. Obviously he couldn't see them, but if he flew over to them, he'd feel them in a heartbeat, "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?" He rose into the air and squinted, trying to see where they were. "Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

Jake wasn't quite sure how they were going to get out of this, but Harry suddenly spoke up, "Peeves," he said, his voice a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairwell, "So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, sir," he said greasily, "My mistake, my mistake, I didn't see you - of course I-I didn't, you're invisible..."

"I have business here tonight, Peeves," croaked out Harry's voice, "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, sir, I most certainly will," Peeves rose into the air a bit, "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you!" He scurried off in a haste.

"Absolutely brilliant, mate," Ron whispered.

They hurried to the door just outside of Fluffy's room. The door was already ajar, "Well, there you have it... Snape's already been here..."

Just before they opened the door, Harry turned to them, but Jake stopped him, "We're not going back, Harry, alright? We're through this to the end."

"Exactly," Hermione said in agreement.

"What kind of mate would I be if I just left you to face off against Snape without me? Of course I'm going down that trapdoor with you!" Ron said fiercely.

Harry smiled at all three of them and they pushed into the room, which got the attention of Fluffy, all three of his heads, as they began to sniff like mad in their direction. Harry pulled out a flute that Jake didn't know he had and began to play. It wasn't any sort of tune that sounded good, but Fluffy's eyes began to droop all the same, that was what mattered. When Fluffy collided with the ground in a grand impact, the three not playing an instrument moved one of Fluffy's paws that had unfortunately landed on the trapdoor. Jake opened it and saw no way to climb down, "We're gonna have to jump in... I'll go first. Ron or Hermione, go second and third, decide very quickly. Harry, jump in after the second of them do, okay?" They all nodded and he looked back down into the pitchblack hole, "geronimo," he jumped down and fell for a little while, landing on something soft, "It's okay to jump!" He hollered back up to them.

One by one, Ron came down, then Hermione, then lastly Harry with the Flute still in his hands. They all soon began to get tangled in something that wrapped around their appendages. Jake and Hermione recognized this immediately, "Harry, Ron, stop moving," she said to them.

"Why? Don't you see this thing trying to wrap around us and kill us!?" Ron said with panic in his voice.

"It's Devil's Snare, and it won't hurt you if you stop moving," Jake hissed at him.

"Oh, I'm so glad to know the name of the thing about to kill us!" Ron yelled as the plant wrapped around his midsection tightly, completely ignoring what Jake just said.

Jake and Hermione both stopped struggling and were pulled underneath the Devil's Snare, much to Ron's and Harry's horror, "Just stop moving you idiots!" Hermione yelled up at them.

Harry decided it was worth a shot, if he could still hear them down below. He stopped moving and appeared down below the plant as well, "Why the hell did we bring him with us?" Jake asked as Ron only yelled and squirmed more voraciously.

Hermione whipped her wand out and aimed it at the Devil's Snare, firing off the same blue fire she had used on Snape back in November. The plant receded and dropped Ron down to the floor, "Oh, blimey, it's a good thing we didn't panic."

"You did not just say that... I oughtta slap you for not paying attention in class," Jake growled at the red-head.

"Let's go, Snape could already be at the Stone!" Harry said urgently, getting them all to move through to the next room. The only door led to a long, winding hallway that led farther down. The gentle dripping of water onto stone could be heard aside from their footsteps.

"Can you hear something?" Ron asked all of a sudden, and then another sound came into range.

A soft rustling and clinking was coming from somewhere ahead of them, "Do you think it's a ghost?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think so... it sounds like wings to me..." Harry said, seeming to recognize the sound.

"Well, I see light ahead of us, and I think I see something moving in the next room," Jake said.

When they got to the room at the end of the passageway, they saw a brilliantly lit chamber. The other thing they readily saw were hundreds of small, jewel-bright birds flapping and fluttering in the air above them. On the opposite side of the room was a heavy looking wooden door, "Do you think they'll attack us if we try to cross the room?" Ron asked.

Jake didn't wait for an answer from the other two and casually walked across to the door. He made it no problem and the other three hurried behind him, "Are you insane?" Hermione asked him.

"A little," he smirked at her, causing her to frown at him, but it quickly turned to a small smirk of her own.

Harry tried to open the door, and when it didn't budge, Hermione tried the Unlocking Spell, but still nothing, "These birds... they can't just be here for show," Harry said, looking at them. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they weren't birds, "They're keys!"

"What?" Hermione asked, looking up at them.

"Of course, we have to try and catch one for the door I bet. Look over there, broomsticks!" Harry ran over to them and grabbed one.

"But how do we know which one to get, there must be hundreds of them," Hermione said, not really wanting to fly.

"We are probably looking for a big old-fashioned one that's probably silver like the door handle," Ron said in his observation.

"Harry, you're the only one of us experienced on a broomstick at being a Seeker, this is all you," Jake told him as Harry mounted the broom. He looked around and saw one of the keys that looked like it had a broken wing. He flew right for it, but the moment he grabbed the key, all of the others, all of them, started to suddenly chase Harry around.

He dropped the key towards them and Hermione grabbed it, running over and unlocking the door. She opened it with Jake's and Ron's help. Harry flew through the door and they quickly closed it, the sound of several dozen keys colliding with the door could be heard. The next room was rather dark and they couldn't see very far. When they got closer to the center, the lights suddenly came on, revealing, much to Ron's not-so-hidden delight, a giant chessboard.

Jake ignored the board and walked towards the other side, not wanting to really waste time. All the White Pawns suddenly drew their swords and blocked the way through. Jake back-stepped a little and they sheathed their swords back. He walked back towards his friends, "Well... this one's you, Ron. I could figure it out myself, but it would take longer than necessary, so it's all you. I know you're the best Chess Player out of the four of us."

"Right, alright," Ron said, having a quick glance at the board, "So, I think that Harry, you should take the place of a Bishop. Hermione will take the Queen's spot, and Jake, take the place of a Castle."

"What about you?" Harry asked him.

"I'll be a Knight," The pieces seemed to have been listening, as suddenly a Rook, Knight, Bishop and the Black Queen all walked off the board. They took over the place of each piece Ron told them to, "White plays first... then the game begins for real."

"So... is it just like Wizard's Chess, Ron?" Harry asked him.

Ron saw a White Pawn move forward, "You there to E5," he said and a Black Pawn moved forward. It was then decimated by the White Pawn, "Yes, Harry, I believe this is going to be exactly like Wizard's Chess..."

Jake suddenly became rather nervous. What if they ended up losing this game of chess? He didn't doubt Ron's skill with it, but what if McGonagall's enchantments were just better than his ability? He'd just have to trust Ron.

"Harry, move Diagonally four squares to the right," he directed Harry.

Their first real shock came when the White Queen completely annihilated the other Black Knight. The pieces crumbled everywhere from the upper half being demolished. However, due to Ron's skill, the White side was losing just as many pieces. Hermione taking the role of the Queen, it gave her an advantage to take a few pieces that none of the other three could take. She didn't have to attack the White pieces, but they did move off the board when they acknowledged being taken.

"We're nearly there... let me think - let me think..." When it seemed to be quite obvious to Ron what move he had to make, he voiced this to the other three, "Yes..." he said quietly compared to the past five minutes or so, "it's the only way..."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked him.

Jake, having been studying the game the entire time, saw what he was talking about, "He's going to sacrifice himself!"

"NO!" Harry and Hermione both shouted.

"That's chess! You've got to make sacrifices! I'll make my move, and the Queen will take me... that leaves you free to Checkmate the King, Harry," Ron said, his voice slightly cracking at the end.

"But-"

"Do you want Snape to get the Stone, or not!?" Ron was adamant about letting himself be removed from the board.

"Ron-" Harry still tried.

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!" There was nothing else for it. Harry acknowledged, with great reluctance, that this was the only way, "Here I go... now don't hang around once you've won." Ron moved the Knight Piece he was on to where he could be taken. The White Queen smashed the Horse, causing Ron to fall off.

"Ron!" Hermione screamed, about to move off her square.

"Hermione, no!" Jake yelled, causing her to stay put, "Don't forget, we're still playing. Let Harry make his move."

Harry did just that and looked right up at the White King, "Checkmate." The King's Sword fell from his hands, his Crown sliding off his head. They had won. They all bolted to where Ron had fallen. He would be alright, they'd have to leave him for now, "What do you reckon is left?"

"Devil's Snare was Professor Sprout's protection," Jake said.

"Professor Flitwick must've charmed those Keys," Hermione said.

"These Chess Pieces must've been Transfigured by Professor McGonagall... that only leaves Quirrell and Snape," Jake said with a snarl.

They pushed open the door into the next room, which was massive, and there was a repugnant smell wafting from somewhere to their right. They looked over and saw a Troll on the floor. "Glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry said pointedly. They ignored it, wanting to get away from the smell when a sound came from behind them. They figured it to be the Troll, but when they looked, something had come from the darkness and began feasting on the Troll, which they now knew to have been dead.

Jake recognized the creature, "That's a Manticore!"

He ushered them to hide behind something, "Why's a Manticore here?"

"That's a damn good question..." he peered around the corner of their hiding spot and saw it still feasting. "I don't know how to deal with that... it's skin is resistant to most spells, and it's Scorpion tail will kill a person instantly if it strikes you." He came to sit back around the hiding spot.

They suddenly heard the most horrific sound. It was like a person was screaming, but it was muffled and fragmented.

He peeked around the corner again and saw it looking right over at them. His blood ran cold, he'd never been more afraid than that moment. It suddenly trotted towards them and Jake had them run towards the door. He knew what would save them, but he didn't know if he could just make it happen like that. He looked over and the Manticore didn't move immediately, but when it did, it was fast. It wasn't running towards him, though, he was going for Harry and Hermione as they were ahead of him.

"NO!" He yelled and the Manticore, just moments from pouncing on them, was flung back and hit the wall.

Hermione looked back to Jake and saw something that made her feel safe. His eyes were glowing red. She knew that he was his most powerful, with unimaginable power for a First Year.

"Go... I'll take care of this," his voice sounded confident.

"Harry, let's go," Hermione ushered.

"But, Jake, he-"

"Will be fine, trust me. He killed that Troll back on Halloween when his eyes glowed red, he'll be fine," Hermione said and the Manticore was getting back up. Harry nodded and they ran into the next room, leaving Jake alone to deal with the Manticore.

When it recovered it roared at him, but then it started to talk to him, in Hermione's voice. "Don't hurt me, please," it said, slowly approaching him.

Jake's red eyes vanished at that moment. He didn't recognize the voice to be coming from the Manticore, so he looked around, but saw Hermione nowhere. When he faced back to the Manticore, it pounced on him, roaring into his face. He saw the Scorpion Tail flying towards him. His eyes flashed red once again, sending it flying off of him and into the wall again. He stood up at the same time the Manticore did and raised his hand. The Manticore suddenly felt a stinging, piercing feeling through its back and out it's chest. Jake had forced the Scorpion tail of the Manticore down through itself, causing it to collapse. It died seconds later.

He felt himself change back to normal. He also felt extremely exhausted, collapsing to his knees. He heard the door open to his left and was unable to feel Hermione embracing him as she sobbed for his well-being. She was talking, but his head was pounding and he wasn't able to make out any of her words.

She tried to help stand him up, but he was just dead weight at that moment, "Hermione... go... get Ron and get out of here..."

"Jake, no!"

"Yes... find Dumbledore... or Owl him... let him know what happened..." he said, finding it hard to breathe.

"But... f-fine..." she stood up reluctantly, leaving him where he knelt. He didn't see anything happen for a while, but it didn't feel like it was that long of a wait when Dumbledore arrived.

"My word..." he saw the dead Manticore on the far end of the room, "Jake, can you stand?"

He lightly shook his head.

"Alright, once I retrieve Harry, I'll collect you as well, okay?" Dumbledore asked, making sure he heard him.

He lightly nodded and Dumbledore was off. Jake didn't see Dumbledore come back, as he had lost consciousness.

*******

He awoke some time later to see the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. The light was bright, his eyes strained to see anything after the initial opening of his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and was rendered partially blind for a second until his vision cleared. He was able to see the ceiling again and he sat up. Scanning the Hospital Wing told him that Harry was also in a bed off beside him, "About time you woke up," Harry said, smirking at him.

"What happened?" He asked as his head throbbed with pain. He rubbed his temple, supporting himself with his other hand.

"I stopped Voldemort from getting the Stone," Harry said.

"You did? What about Snape?"

"It turns out that Snape wasn't behind it. Professor Quirrell was. And he had Voldemort on the back of his head, that's why he wore that turban," Harry explained.

"Wait what?" He asked, trying to register what was just said, "That's disturbing..." He then noticed all the stuff around Harry's bed. He gave a cynical chuckle, "Figures..."

"You can have whatever you want from that. I'm not sure what to do with over half of it," Harry said to him.

"Nah, I'm good," he said, laying back down.

"Jake, Quirrell mentioned you," Harry suddenly said.

"What?" He asked, sitting back up. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed to look at Harry.

"He called you something that I'm not sure if I believe, but Dumbledore explained a little bit about it. He also said that you exhausted yourself because your body isn't used to that kind of strain, that's why you were passed out. He asked me not to say anything to you, but I'm not going to let that secret be kept from you. I've had too many kept from me since Voldemort killed my parents, I'm not going to let the same thing happen to you..." Harry trailed off a moment, "It was when he realized that I had gotten past that Manticore. Quirrell said, 'It shouldn't be surprising that you got past it, you did have Merlin's Descendant with you, after all.' And then it explained something to me, how you killed the Troll. Your eyes were red then, according to Hermione, and I saw them for myself when you flung that Manticore into the wall. Hermione was calm about it," Harry explained and thus revealed something to Jake, the one thing he had been asking about since he was found by Dumbledore, and he finally had his answer; he was Merlin's Descendant. The moment he got back to Diagon Alley he was going straight to Flourish and Blotts to get as many books as he could on Merlin.

"Thank you for telling me, Harry," Jake was quiet after that.

Harry did say one more thing, "When Hermione was here with Ron an hour ago, I've never seen her cry so hard about you before, or about anything before. She said she regretted leaving you in that Chamber when she went to go and find Dumbledore."

Jake looked at Harry, "She said that?" He couldn't really fathom why.

"She did. You're her best friend, more so than Ron or myself, so she took it the hardest when she saw you laying there, not awake," that was all Harry said before settling back into the bed.

Jake laid back down as well, when Madam Pomfrey came to check on him. She fussed about him doing dangerous and life-threatening actions, but he just took it in stride. Knowing now that he was a Descendant of Merlin, he figured it wouldn't get any easier.

*******

The both of them were walking towards the Great Hall as Dumbledore allowed them to go to the End-of-Year feast. Madam Pomfrey would've kept them there, but because Dumbledore allowed it, they slowly walked there, Jake wasn't so enthusiastic about it.

"I didn't tell Hermione or Ron, in case you were wondering," Harry said to him.

"You didn't?"

"No, I'll let you tell them on your terms, it only seems fair," Harry smiled at him and Jake smiled back gratefully.

"Thank you, Harry, truly. I'll tell them eventually, maybe even the train ride home, we'll see."

They walked into the Great Hall and everyone stared at them. Jake saw the looks he was receiving compared to Harry. His were all glares of hatred. They walked on opposite sides of Gryffindor's Table, with Jake having to sit between Hermione and Katie Bell. She looked like she'd rather be anywhere else, having to sit next to the sole reason Gryffindor lost the House Cup.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked him.

"Never better, Hermione," he smiled at her.

Dumbledore stood up and spoke a moment later, "Another year, gone!" He said cheerfully, "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast," he sure had a way with words, "What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were... you have the whole Summer to get them nice and empty before next year starts...

"Now as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand as thus: In Fourth Place, Gryffindor with Two-Hundred and Twelve points; In Third, Hufflepuff with Three-Hundred and Fifty-Two points; Ravenclaw in Second with Four-Hundred and Twenty-Six points; leaving Slytherin in First Place with Four-Hundred and Seventy-Two points."

Cheers erupted from the Slytherin table, and Jake could feel eyes burning into him as he looked down at his empty plate.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore said, "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The whole room went dead silent; the Slytherin's smiles faded at that.

"I have a few last minute points to hand out... Ahem - let me see," he said, stopping for a second, "First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley..." Ron went purple in the face. He looked like a radish with a bad sunburn, "... for the best played game of Chess that Hogwarts has seen in many, many years, I award Gryffindor House, Fifty Points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other Prefects, "My brother! You know, my youngest brother! He got past McGonagall's giant Chess Set!"

Soon there was silence again, and Dumbledore continued, "Second - to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House, Fifty Points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms as Jake threw an arm around her shoulders in a side hug. He felt her shaking, which meant she was probably crying. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves, they were a hundred points up, but still behind Hufflepuff.

"Third - to Mr. Harry Potter..." Dumbledore said, and the whole room went so silent, you could almost hear your blood running, "for Pure Nerve and Outstanding Courage, I award Gryffindor House, Sixty Points."

Gryffindor cheer was almost deafening. They were only in Third place, but Dumbledore didn't seem like he was done handing out points, and Harry knew that Jake was also there.

"Fourth - to Mr. Jake Fernandes," Jake felt himself go white. What on Earth could Dumbledore be handing out points to him for? "For his selfless actions by putting his friends before himself at every turn and displaying magical abilities never before seen in a First Year student since Hogwarts founding, I award Gryffindor House..." he paused for dramatic effect, "... One-Hundred points."

Jake didn't know what had just happened. One second he was hated amongst all Gryffindor, the next he heard an enormous uproar from Gryffindors in cheer that was so deafening, anyone within a half mile of Hogwarts could probably hear it. He also saw Katie Bell turning and embracing him tightly. He was too light-headed to tell her to let him go. He realized that Gryffindor was now tied with Slytherin. What did Dumbledore still have up his sleeve?

He waited for the cheer to die out before continuing, "There are all kinds of Courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much, if not more so to stand up to our friends. That's why I award Ten Points, to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Jake was sure at that point that anyone from the Ministry Office could hear the sound coming from Gryffindors table. He tried to look for Neville, but he got buried under people congratulating him.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joined in on the cheering for the downfall of Slytherin, "I believe a change in decoration is called for."

He clapped his hands and in an instant, the banners displaying Silver, Green, and a Snake on them now showed Gold, Red, and a Lion. He looked up to the staff table again and saw that Snape had been shaking McGonagall's hand with a horrible, forced smile.

Jake felt great after the feast, knowing that he was no longer hated amongst his fellow Gryffindors. He was appreciated for getting those One-Hundred points back for Gryffindor. He smiled at Hermione in the Common Room, talking for an hour before they separated to go up their own dorms, and he initiated the hug that was inevitable between them that evening. Since he started it, he didn't feel bad about it and waited for her to let go first, "Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Jake," she smiled and went up the stairs.

He slept great that night, better than he had in over a year.

*******

When the exam results were posted the following morning, Jake wasn't surprised that he Topped most of the Classes. Hermione gave him murderous glares, but she did beat him in Transfiguration and Herbology, but Neville got the top score in Herbology, he did say it was his favorite subject and completely acing it proved that. Harry and Ron both passed. They definitely wouldn't have had it not been for Hermione or Jake.

Their wardrobes and the like were emptied, and they were all down getting on the platform to board the train. The Heads of Houses were there as well, handing out notes to remind students to not use magic over the holidays. Jake did ask McGonagall if it applied to him since he was staying at the Leaky Cauldron, and he was ever so thankful to hear her say that it did not apply to him, so long as it was for educational purposes, and not haphazard use.

On the train ride home, with Chloe flying out beside the train with Hedwig, Jake, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all four were in a Compartment together, where he was debating on telling his two other friends about his ancestry. Hermione noticed that he was nervous about something, "Hey, what's on your mind?"

He looked at her for a moment, "Well... I-I..." he found it incredibly hard to actually say.

He looked at all of them, Harry didn't give an encouraging or discouraging look, but Hermione and Ron both looked intrigued.

"It's a question that I... I've been asking since March of last year... who my family was... my biological family..." he gauged their looks, and the both of them looked greatly intrigued, "it turns out... my ancestor... the ancestor that people keep referring to, is Merlin."

"Merlin?" Hermione asked, going wide-eyed.

"You're joking!" Ron yelled, getting excited.

"Sshhh, keep it down!" Jake yelled in a whisper.

"It explains how you dealt with the Troll and Manticore... Merlin is regarded as the most powerful Wizard to ever live," Hermione explained.

"Wait till I tell Mum, Dad, all of my brothers, and Ginny" Ron said excitedly.

"No, please, don't tell anyone," Jake told him, "I don't want people to know I have the blood of Merlin in my veins."

"Why not?"

"For the same reason Harry doesn't like his fame," Jake told him.

"Alright..." Ron looked disheartened. Somehow, Jake knew Ron wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. He started to regret telling them, but the look on Hermione's face told him he made the right move.

"It explains why you did so well on most of the exam scores. I wonder why you didn't do better than me in Transfiguration though?" Hermione asked him.

"My concentration broke during the transfiguration of the Mouse into a Snuff Box... and it ended up having some fur on half of the Box..." Jake admitted with slightly reddened cheeks.

"Still, that means that next year, you'll probably do the best on all Exams," Hermione gave him a gentle smile.

"Maybe," he said and the rest of the train ride was spent in mostly silence. They did have idle conversations about the Summer and Next Year while eating food from the Trolley. Before they got back to King's Cross Station, they all switched out of their robes and into appropriate clothing, "So... um... Hermione... i-is it alright if I get a ride back to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, of course you can have a ride back to the Inn," she said with a shake of her head.

After they all safely exited Platform 9¾ (and Chloe safely and reluctantly back in her cage) and back into the Muggle King's Cross, Ron's parents came over to collect him first. On the way to them, a girl who Jake believed to be his younger sister was pointing at Harry and acting a little too obsessed with him.

"Be quiet, Ginny, it's rude to point," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling down at Harry.

"Mum, this is Jake and Hermione, my other two friends at Hogwarts," Ron said and Mrs. Weasley looked them over.

"Delighted to meet you, I'm Molly Weasley."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley," Jake said and she went wide-eyed. He shouldn't have been surprised.

"Oh, I didn't expect to hear an American Accent, please pardon my ignorance," she said in an apologetic tone.

"It's alright, don't worry about it, you're not the first one surprised, and probably won't be the last either," he said and Ginny was staring at him, but not in the way she did Harry. Her current stare was one of inquisitive nature.

Then an incredibly large man came over, "Ready to go boy?" He asked towards Harry. His face was a shade of purple that Jake had never seen before.

"You must be Harry's family," Molly said kindly.

"Unfortunately," were his words, making Jake instantly hate him. He reminded Jake of his adoptive father, but still nowhere nearly as bad as that man. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day!" And with that he walked away.

Jake didn't say anything, but it got him wondering, if that was who Harry lived with, as famous as he was, why? It just didn't make any sense, but he would get nowhere trying to figure it out himself.

"I would say I hope you have a good summer, but if that's your family... Owl me if there is trouble, okay?" Jake offered to him.

"Hopefully there shouldn't be," Harry said, with an evil grin spreading across his face, " They don't know I can't use Magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun over the summer," his grin stayed the entire time his face was in view.

Harry eventually disappeared and the Weasley's disappeared soon after once the Twins and Percy arrived. Hermione didn't see her parents anywhere, "They must have got held up at the office," she sighed and went to sit on a bench.

Jake sat beside her, "What is it they do?"

"They're dentists. They have their own Practice and a staff of employees, but sometimes, something like this still happens. Happened back in Primary School more than once..." Hermione looked a little saddened.

Jake threw an arm around her shoulders, "It's alright, at least you have me to pass the time," he smirked at her.

"Yes, there is that," she smiled away from him. She didn't want him to see her reddened cheeks.

It was almost an hour after they arrived back in King's Cross when her parents showed up, "Sorry we are late, we got held up with two emergency Root Canals, twin brothers who were unfortunate enough to get one at the same time." Jane explained as they showed up.

"So, did you two have fun this past year at School?" John asked them.

"Yes, it was far better than either of us could've believed it to be," Hermione said with a toothy grin. She looked at Jake, "Can I tell them?"

"Tell us what?" John asked in a slightly irked tone.

"Yeah, go ahead," Jake nodded.

Hermione looked back to her parents, "Well, Jake found out something incredibly interesting and life altering over the past couple of days," she said and her father's face softened when he realized it only involved Jake and not his daughter.

"Well don't keep us in suspense, what is it?" Jane asked, getting impatient.

"Jake is related to the greatest Wizard to ever live, Merlin!" Hermione said quietly but excitedly.

"Merlin? He really existed?" John asked in disbelief.

"He did indeed, sir," Jake finally said after a few minutes of not talking.

"Well how about that? Our daughter befriended a famous Wizard," Jane said with a smug look on her face.

"Well, not that famous, actually... Hermione and I are friends with a famous Wizard, but it's not me, Mrs. Granger, it's a boy named Harry Potter," Jake said.

Her smug look vanished, "Oh, is it not public?"

"No, only a select few know that I'm a Descendant of Merlin's. All the Professors I assume know; Harry, Ron, and Hermione all know; and now the both of you know. I kinda regret telling Ron, though... I doubt he'll be able to keep it from his family," Jake said, expressing slight dismay about his actions.

"I'm sure it will all work out, now did you need a ride back to the Inn?" John asked him.

"If it's no trouble? I don't want you going out of your way for me," Jake tried to be humble about it.

"Nonsense. It's no trouble at all, is it Jane?"

"No trouble," she smiled at him, "Let's get going." They all went to the Granger's car and they dropped him off at the Leaky Cauldron after a pleasant drive. Jake and Hermione were talking excitedly about next year.

Before he got out of the car, Hermione stopped him, "You will write to me over the summer, won't you?"

"Of course I will, you're my best friend, Hermione," he smiled and opened the door, getting his luggage and taking it into the Leaky Cauldron.

Just after stepping inside he felt arms wrap around him from behind, "I'll see you sometime in August when we get our school list," he heard Hermione say.

He was tense in her embrace, just like he was the other times it happened. He didn't want to be tense, he just didn't like this kind of contact he himself didn't initiate. "O-Okay, Hermione." He turned around after she let him go and he smiled at her. She returned it, showing her enlarged front teeth again. He still thought they were cute. She left a moment later.

He turned around and Tom welcomed him back, telling him that his room was left untouched. He thanked Tom and went to drop off his luggage. He had more important things to do. He went to Flourish and Blotts to find any books he could on Merlin. He wanted to know everything he could about his ancestor.