𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄 ★ HJP [1]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Something gold was glinting just above her. The Snitch!

She blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.

She blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Black," said Dumbledore.

She saw Harry staring at her. Then she remembered:

"Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! And Lola!"

"Calm yourself, dear girl, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore.

"Sir, I —"

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." Harry swallowed and looked around him. Angie realized she must be in the hospital wing. She was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to her was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming."What happened down in the dungeons between you and the Quirrells is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friendsMisters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have we been in here?"

"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley, Miss Greengrass and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."

"But sir, the Stone —"

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Miss Black, I believe, had hidden it in her dorm."

"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"

"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to stop Miss Quirrell from killing you, Miss Black."

"It was you, the silver beard."

"I feared I might be too late."

"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept her off."

"The effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed. Miss Granger handed it over"

"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend — Nicolas Flamel —"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?" Angelique asked.

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all — the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Angie and Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.

"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking...sir — even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who —"