Hogwarts is my Home

Chapter 15: The Girl Who Died (SS CH17)

Someone was singing the song I sang to put Fluffy to sleep. A man's voice. It woke me up. 

Dumbledore was sitting in a chair next to my bed. I was in a room I'd never been in before.

"Dumbledore? Where am I?"

"You're at St Mungo's Hospital."

"Am I alive?"

"Of course you're alive."

"But I was dead."

"Yes, you were, Antonia. And now you are not. Would you like to venture a guess why?" He was speaking a lot faster than he normally did.

"The Elixir of Life?" I tried.

"Yes. The real Philosopher's Stone with the elixir inside was destroyed so it could be given to me to bring you back to life. And here you are," he said delightedly. 

"Is Harry-?" I started, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer.

"He's fine. He's at the school."

"When can I see him?"

"The end of term feast is tomorrow, and I shall see you get to go, as you are a valued member of Hogwarts." He stood up to walk away. "Goodbye."

"Wait! You can't just go. I have so many questions!" 

He relaxed in the chair. "Ask away, then, Antonia."

"Okay, where to begin?" My head was spinning. "So I died, I get that. I saved Harry, right?"

"Yes. You sacrificed yourself to give Harry a chance."

"And he killed Quirrell?"

"Yes, to save you, but it didn't work."

"So we each wanted the respective stones to save each other. Just like Professor Binns had said."

Dumbledore wasn't fazed by me saying this. "Correct."

"But why would he want to save me?" 

"You're his friend. Who wouldn't want to save their friend's life?"

"But I was-" 

"Have you ever mentioned his scar, or his name, or his legend?" Dumbledore cut me off. I shook my head. "Exactly. You're the only one who doesn't- even Ronald does. You see him just as you see everybody else." I actually valued him more than anybody else, but I wouldn't admit this to Dumbledore yet.

"I was annoyed when he took my spot on the Quidditch team. That doesn't make me a good friend," I argued.

"You had every right to be upset- that spot was promised to you. You got to know Harry better, and now you don't even think about it, do you?"

I shook my head. "No, Sir, I don't. I actually like that he's the youngest Seeker in a century- that's a great accomplishment."

Dumbledore just simply smiled at me.

"Wait- you said the real  Philosopher's Stone. That means the one I had was  a fake?"

"Yes," he said, unsure. "Perhaps? I don't really know, but it can't be found. It's gone. All I know is it was silver- made out of Unicorn's blood. If it is in fact another iteration of a Philosopher's Stone and you did conjure it, hopefully one day it will find its way back to you. If you somehow made the stone yourself, then it seems like you are going to be one of the most powerful witches of this millennia."

"But I'm a muggle-born," I laughed.

"So what? What would you do if Miss Mariah Carter or Hermione Granger talked badly about themselves because they're both a muggle-born." I always forgot Rian's real name was Mariah.