The Seeker In Red

Chapter 14 (Book 1)

The Lauda's Stone

Pierre crept to the door, placing an ear against it. There were no sounds in the common room, no other than the wood softly cracking in the fireplace. “Let’s go,” Pierre straightened up and waved to his friends. Charles took the cloak, and Yuki patted his pocket to make sure he had his wand. They nodded. The door opened without a sound, and they stepped out. The common room was dark, the fireplace long extinguished, and the moonlight blocked by the curtains. “Lumos,” Charles whispered.

They almost screamed when they saw someone sitting in a chair turned away from them. They shared a look and quietly approached the door. “Where do you think you’re going?” the person stood up and glared at them. “Esteban,” Pierre smiled. “We need to make sure—” Charles tried to explain, his heart beating fast and sweat forming on the back of his neck. When Esteban spoke, he gulped. “I do not care where you are going, putain,” he cursed. “I’m not letting you go anywhere,” he sneered. The dark wasn’t helping; Esteban loomed over them.

“But the stone!” Yuki tried reasoning. “If it gets stolen, we’re fucked!” “I don’t care. You are not losing us any more points.” He glared at them. “Now go back to the room,” he added. Pierre glared at him. “You know, I would say that I am sorry,” Pierre said, taking a step closer to Esteban, who raised an eyebrow. “But really, I am not,” he said, aiming his wand at the other French boy. “Petrificus Totalus!”

Esteban’s eyes widened with realization, but he was unable to move. His body froze completely, thanks to the spell, and he fell to the ground. “Uh…” Charles gulped. “Yeah, let’s go, we’ve lost too much time here,” Yuki said, grabbing Pierre’s hand. “Do we just… leave him here?” Charles asked but followed them to the exit nonetheless. “Of course. When they find him, he’ll be able to tell them what happened, and they will save us if we don’t come back,” Yuki shrugged. Charles nodded, a little unsure, but then he spread the cloak and hid them underneath it.

“Nothing’s sticking out?” he asked before they opened the door. “Nope,” Pierre replied. “Good,” he breathed and opened the door before they stepped out into the dark corridor. There was no one, the quiet interrupted only by the sound of someone snoring in the portraits. Their walk through the corridors was boring—the same walls, the same dark, the same quiet—only interrupted by their breaths and steps. A ghost flew across the walls, far enough to not hear their gasps. And then they stood there, in front of the door of doom.

“Ready?” Yuki whispered. They all glanced around the empty corridor one last time before they replied. “Yeah. Let’s go.” “Let’s get it over with.” They took the cloak off themselves, and Charles neatly folded it into a small duffel bag he had with him. His hands were shaking, and he had to wipe them on his pants as they were sweaty. When he was done, Yuki carefully opened the door.

They felt something was off. Charles tried to think—what was different from the last time they were here? There was quiet music playing, accompanied by the dog’s soft snoring. He was lying in the far corner of the room. “Wha?” Pierre gasped, looking at the dog and the harp next to it. “The dog is sleeping. And the music wasn’t there before,” Yuki thought, then realized, his eyes lighting up. “The music is making him sleep! That means Brown is already here! Hurry!” he said and ran towards the trapdoor. The music was still playing, although it seemed like it was near its end, getting quieter and quieter with each note. Yuki quickly opened the door and said, “Get in!” The two boys moved without hesitation and jumped down into the void below them. The music stopped, and Yuki jumped down just as the dog slowly woke up. The last thing they heard was its confused bark and the door falling shut.

The fall was short, and they landed on something soft. There was, unsurprisingly, Yuki thought, very little light. “Thank God this thing caught us!” Pierre chuckled. “Yeah,” Charles nodded and tried standing up. There was a heavy, almost slimy weight around his ankle. Only now did he realize there was an unusual earthy smell, and that the chamber was unusually damp. When he tried reaching down to brush the weight off, he almost slipped on the dampness of the thing around them.

Then another vine wrapped around his other leg. Panic spread through him as he stumbled back. “What the FUCK?!” he shrieked. He frantically tried shaking the vines off, but they only tightened their hold. He fell right on his ass. His frantic movements hadn’t gone unnoticed, of course. The moment Pierre and Yuki realized that the something they were sitting on wasn’t there for their safety, they joined Charles in his frantic movements.

“What the fuck is this shit?” Pierre huffed, trying to rip the dark vines off himself. More dark, wet vines emerged from God knows where and tied themselves around him. Pierre’s eyes widened, and his breath quickened. “What the fuck is this thing?” he asked again, his voice more urgent. Yuki tried to calm himself. He took a deep breath and stopped thrashing. The vines loosened almost immediately, and then slowly started to pull away.


“What the fuck is this?” Yuki thought, going through all his knowledge of plants. “It’s Devil’s Snare,” Charles beat him to it. He also stopped moving, and he was slowly disappearing into the plant. “Yeah,” Yuki breathed out. “Pierre!” Yuki shouted at the panicking boy, who stammered when he heard him. “You need to calm down.” Pierre looked at him. “Calm. Down.” The boy breathed out. The vines were still trapping him, and he was still doing his best “not calming down.” “How the fuck am I supposed to stay calm?” he shouted at Yuki.


“Look at Charles! He is calm, and the vine left him alone!” Yuki urged Pierre. “He’s—he’s disappearing!” Pierre cried out. “I’m okay!” Charles shouted. “I promise.” Pierre managed to shake his head. “Yuki’s disappearing too!” “I am okay too,” Yuki said. Then there was a soft thud from underneath them. “I’m okay! Just stop moving!” Charles shouted. Yuki nodded to Pierre, whose breathing started to go faster and shallower. “How the fuck—” Pierre breathed, “Am I supposed to stay calm?”


Yuki rummaged through his mind for any other ways to get rid of the plant. “It—it hated light. And fire,” he said. “Lumos Solem!” Charles shouted from below them. A warm light flared from his wand. The Devil’s Snare recoiled quickly, releasing Pierre and Yuki with a shriek, and tried to hide in a dark corner of the room. The boys fell to the ground safely.


“Thank fucking God,” Pierre’s voice was still a little shaky, and he grabbed onto Yuki. “That was close,” Yuki said—well, it was muffled into Pierre’s arm. He snorted and said, “That was shitty. Never again,” and squeezed Yuki before he released him. Charles grinned at them and aimed his wand at the door. “Never fucking again.”


The next door opened with a hiss. The sound of fluttering wings hit them in the face like a bus. “Oh my God,” Yuki said when they opened the door. There were keys. Hundreds, if not thousands, flying in circles. They were different shapes and colors. Some keys were brown or yellow and were probably made of wood. Some keys were various shades of gray, the soft light provided by the chamber’s torches making them sparkle. Some were made of gold, some of copper or bronze, and there were too many of them. Charles scanned the stone walls of the chamber and saw a door on the other side.


Next to the old, heavy-looking door were brooms. The brooms themselves didn’t look much better than the door. Charles took a few steps across the narrow chamber and brushed his hand against the rough handle of the broom. He seemed utterly entranced, but when Yuki tried opening the door, it wouldn’t budge. “Alohomora,” he tried, but to no avail.


Yuki groaned in frustration. “Fuck! What now?” he threw up his hands. “We have to try the right one,” Pierre answered, stating the obvious. “No fucking shit,” Yuki rolled his eyes. He felt himself growing impatient, and the fluttering of a thousand wings wasn’t helping at all. “How the fuck are we supposed to get the correct one?” he complained. Charles, still saying nothing, took a look at the door again. The keyhole was an odd silver, worn-out by time. Then when he switched his gaze to the brooms, he realized that they had silver handles too. He smiled and turned to a very angry-looking Yuki and an annoyed Pierre.

"It will be an old, silver one," he said, grabbing one of the brooms. "Good luck finding it," Yuki huffed and glared at Pierre. "A big one," Pierre said when he saw the hole for it. Charles nodded and flew into the air. He circled the room, but there was no sign of it. The seconds were slipping away, and all of them felt their patience wearing thin.

"I'm going to burn this door down," Yuki muttered under his breath. He glared at the keys near him.
"There!" Yuki suddenly shouted and pointed towards one of the torches. "That one! It's silver, big, and it's..." He stopped, looking confused. "Limping?" he tried.
"Limping?" Pierre raised his eyebrow.
"I don’t know how to say it," Yuki huffed, "but it has a broken wing and flies weirdly."
"Oh," Pierre nodded. Charles flew closer and saw it. Its wing was indeed broken, as if someone had grabbed it, and it was flying slower than the others. Charles sneaked closer to it and grabbed for it, but the thing managed to dodge.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" he cursed and surged forward. With a determined look, Charles zoomed forward, dodging the flurry of other keys.

The enchanted key darted and weaved, evading Charles' grasp at the last second. Frustration and adrenaline pumped through him as he made another dive. "Almost got it!" Pierre yelled and almost fell when a cloud of keys crashed into him, trying to get away from Charles.

Charles stretched out his hand, focusing intently. "Get yourself together, for fuck's sake," he muttered to himself. "You're a Seeker." With a final burst of speed, he closed his fingers around the key, feeling its cool metal against his skin. The other keys scattered away, their energy dissipating as Charles held up the prize triumphantly.

"Amen," Yuki sighed.
"That was brilliant!" Pierre smirked at Charles.
"Please get that fucking door open," Yuki groaned when Charles landed next to him.
"Of course," Charles patted his shoulder and took a step closer to the door. He inserted the key, his heart pounding with anticipation. With a satisfying click, the door swung open, revealing the path to the next challenge in their quest to protect the Philosopher’s Stone.

The next room had much more space than the last two. It had a high ceiling supported by large pillars on each side of the room. Numerous torches provided enough light to reveal the chessboard painted on the floor. There were black pieces, turned away from the trio. The white queen, on the opposing side, lifted her gaze to them. Charles gulped. "This is scary," he muttered.

"Agreed," Pierre said. They made their way to the side of the board and tried walking around the white pieces, but the pawn closest to them drew its sword and blocked their path.
"We have to play," Yuki stated, his voice shaking, and the pawn nodded. Pierre's eyes lit up with excitement.
"I'll handle this," he flashed Yuki a smug grin and smiled when the younger boy blushed. "I've been playing chess for ages now."

Pierre took a deep breath and stepped onto the board. As soon as he did, the black pieces behind him rumbled to life, turning to face the white army. He glanced back at Charles and Yuki, who watched anxiously from the edge of the board.
"We'll need to play our parts," Pierre said, his voice carrying a serious note. "Charles, you'll be the bishop. Yuki, you're the queen. I'll take the knight."

The two nodded, stepping into their respective positions. The chessboard beneath them felt cold and solid, the reality of the situation sinking in. This wasn't just a game—it was a battle, and losing meant far more than just conceding a match. Yuki felt his heart speed up, his chest tightening with uncertainty. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He turned to Pierre, who was already sitting on the horse. Pierre was already looking at him, which made Yuki blush. Pierre gave him a reassuring smile, and Yuki felt his heart skip a beat. He reluctantly climbed onto the queen.

Pierre surveyed the board, quickly analyzing the positions of the pieces. The white queen was particularly menacing, her cold, stone eyes locked onto them. He needed to play carefully, but he also knew they had to act decisively. He gulped; suddenly, he wasn’t so brave anymore. "I must keep a strong face," he thought. "For my friends."
"Pawn to E4," Pierre commanded, his voice firm.

The black pawn in front of him moved forward two squares, the sound of stone grinding against stone echoing through the chamber. The white pieces responded, their pawn advancing to meet Pierre’s.

The game progressed with calculated moves. Yuki couldn’t help but be entranced by Pierre's skills, standing there helplessly watching as Pierre directed their pieces with the precision of a seasoned player, anticipating the white pieces' attacks and countering them effectively. But as the game wore on, it became clear that the white pieces were not just playing a standard game—they were out for blood. Pierre was slowly losing his composure; the game was getting to him.
"Watch out!" Yuki called as a white knight charged towards Charles. If he stayed there, he would surely die. Charles moved away from the knight’s blade.

Pierre’s mind raced as he assessed the situation. The white queen was closing in, and their position was starting to crumble. He realized with a sinking feeling that in order to win, a sacrifice would have to be made.

"I need to sacrifice the knight," Pierre said, his voice heavy with the weight of the decision.
"What?" Yuki looked at him in shock. "That means—"
"I know," Pierre interrupted, his voice resolute. "But it’s the only way to get to the queen. Trust me." He gave him that reassuring smile, the one that made Yuki’s insides turn.
"But—" Charles, who looked pale, interrupted.
"Charles. When I move, you have to command them. The queen has to go to F6. Then, move the bishop to C4." Charles stared at the French boy, his mouth wide open and pale, but he nodded.

"Knight to D4," Pierre commanded, his voice trembling.
Pierre’s piece moved forward, placing itself in the line of attack. The white queen wasted no time, sweeping across the board with deadly intent. Yuki watched, feeling as if it were in slow motion, as the queen drew her sword. She destroyed the knight without any mercy, and Pierre—oh god—Yuki felt tears stream down his face. His breath hitched as he watched the boy fall from the now-destroyed horse and get dragged away by the queen. She then returned to her original position. A horrendous feeling of dread settled in Yuki. He also felt angry, enraged even, that a mere cold, stone statue did that, without any mercy, to his frie—
Friend?
No, Pierre was much more than that. He had already saved his life once, sacrificed himself when the troll came and—
Oh.
Oh.
Oh fucking shit, fuck fuck fuck FUCK.
Pierre was more than a friend.
And that was... that wasn’t good. This wasn’t the time to even think that, much less to have a crisis about liking boys. Or, well, apparently, he had also managed to miss the whole fucking part where he had fallen in love with his friend. Fuck. He tried to control his breathing, but he could barely make out what was happening around him.

He knew he was still sitting on his queen, which was now suddenly moving toward the cold queen that had hurt his best friend—wait, when did that happen?
Charles didn’t hesitate when he saw the queen making her move. “Queen to F6—check.”
Yuki’s queen leaped across the board, killing the queen and landing in a position that directly threatened the white king. “Hah, that serves them right,” he thought absentmindedly, the words somehow bitter even in his mind. The king shifted uneasily, and the other white pieces momentarily froze. Yuki turned to check on Pierre, who was lying on the side. Pierre, as if sensing that Yuki was looking at him, returned the stare and smiled at him, mouthing, “I’m okay.” Yuki blushed because, of course, he was in love with that idiot.

“Bishop to C4,” Charles continued, his voice gaining momentum. The bishop moved into position, cutting off the king’s escape. The white pieces seemed to falter, their movements growing sluggish and uncertain.
The white king, now cornered and without his most powerful piece, conceded defeat with a slow bow of his head.
“We did it,” Yuki said, his voice a mix of relief and exhaustion, the tears now dried up.

Yuki and Charles stepped off the board, their bodies tense from the intensity of the game. They ran toward Pierre, who was still slumped on the side of the board. “Are you okay?” Yuki asked softly. Pierre nodded, although the movement made him wince. “As okay as I can be.” Yuki huffed. “You cannot continue.” “I will wait here. You can come back for me later.” He shrugged. Yuki looked ready to argue, but Charles stood up. “Yeah. Let’s go, Yuki.”

Yuki looked torn. He glanced between the two boys a few times, opening his mouth to argue, but closing it. “Go,” Pierre urged him, so Yuki reluctantly stood up. “Don’t you fucking dare die,” he cursed at Pierre, who only gave him a sheepish smile, making Yuki’s heart do somersaults.

“That was brilliant,” Charles said, hand on the handle of the door. Pierre managed a tired smile. “Just glad we made it through.” And Yuki rolled his eyes fondly. Oh fuck, he’s in love with Pierre Gasly.

The next room was just a narrow part of a hall. It had a table with four goblets, most of them full, except one. “There’s a paper,” Charles gestured to the table. “Two cause death, one goes forward, one back.” Yuki grabbed the paper. “Oh, super,” he rolled his eyes. “This one,” Charles grabbed the half-empty one, “is the forward one.” Yuki hummed and looked at the other potions. He had no idea. He was about to say so to Charles, but Charles only widened his eyes. The boy just plucked two hairs from his head. “What is that for?” Yuki asked. “I’m pretty sure these two are the poisons. So I’m going to test that theory.”

The hairs fell into the goblets, disappearing with a hiss. “I was correct,” Charles smiled smugly. “Impressive,” Yuki nodded and then looked at the potion that was half-empty. “I don’t think there’s enough for both of us,” he said quietly. The smug smile disappeared from Charles’s face. “I will go,” he replied softly. “Charles—” “No. Go back, get to Pierre, and go get help,” Charles said as he stared into Yuki’s eyes. They stared at each other for a while before Yuki slowly nodded.

“Be safe,” the younger boy hugged him. Charles patted the younger boy’s hair. “I will try to,” he smiled. Yuki pulled away, there were tears in his eyes as he stepped away. He drank from the other goblet and gave Charles one small wave before he left for Pierre. Right, Charles had somewhere to be. He drank from the goblet in his hand, his face scrunching at the sour taste.
“Here goes nothing,” he murmured and crossed the door that led to the stone.

___________________________________________________________________________
Charles pushed open the heavy wooden door, the creaking echoing ominously in the vast, dimly lit chamber. The room was dominated by an eerie silence, broken only by the soft, flickering light of torches lining the walls. At the far end of the chamber stood the Mirror of Desiderium, its ornate frame glowing faintly, reflecting more than just the physical reality before it.

As he stepped closer, creeping slowly, Charles felt a chill run down his spine. There, in front of the mirror, was Professor Massa, standing with an unnerving stillness, his back to Charles. The sight of him in this dark, foreboding place was disconcerting; the usually gentle and kind figure now seemed menacing, as if the very air around him was charged with malevolence.

Massa slowly turned to face him, a twisted smile playing on his lips. "I see you’ve made it this far, Charles," he said, his voice unnaturally calm but laced with an undercurrent of something darker. "I wondered if you would."

Charles hesitated, gripping his wand tightly. His heart pounded in his chest, but he kept his voice steady. "What are you doing here, professor?" This isn’t Brown, what the fuck? Charles thought, panic seizing his mind. ,,You weren’t expecting me, were you?” the man tilted his head to the side, a playful smile on his lips. ,,You were expecting Brown, weren’t you” he answered his own question before Charles could. Charles nodded slightly, staring at the man before him.

Massa’s smile widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Oh, but it is me, Charles. Poor ol’ Zak, he was just keeping this safe." He gestured towards the mirror. "Do you know what this is? This is the key to everything." He turned towards it, looking deeply into it. "Do you know what I see, Charles?" the man asked, still looking at his own reflection. Charles shook his head, unsure what to do.

"I see myself with Voldemort," the man stated, and Charles felt as if someone had dumped a cold bucket of water over him. "Vol-oldemort?" he asked slowly. "Lord Voldemort, who is holding the precious stone." The man nodded. "Do you know what this mirror does?"

Charles glanced at the mirror, the reflection showing him standing alone in the room, no sign of Massa anywhere in the glass. A pang of confusion mixed with fear gripped him. "The Mirror of Desiderium… It shows your deepest desires," he said, more to himself than to Massa.

"Yes," Massa replied, his tone now almost mocking. "And my deepest desire will soon be fulfilled. But first, I need something from you." His eyes gleamed with a dangerous intent. "The stone, Charles. Give it to me."

Charles took a step back, his mind racing. The stone… Of course. This was about more than just some ancient magic; Massa wanted the Lauda's Stone, the one hidden within the mirror’s depths. But why? What had driven him to this? "I don’t have it," he said, confused.
Massa rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Never mind then," he said in a sweet voice. "Come stand here." The man grabbed him and pulled him in front of the mirror. Charles was greeted by his reflection. There wasn’t his family this time; instead, there was a boy around his age, looking familiar. He gestured to Charles’s pocket, grinning widely.

And then, Charles felt a sudden weight in his pocket.

"What do you see?" Massa purred, before Charles even had time to break down. "I see my family," Charles said, half-lie. "They are smiling and waving." He added for good measure, although his voice was shaking a little.

"You are lying," the man stated, his voice cold and stern. "You have the stone; give it to me." Charles unconsciously reached into his pocket and felt the stone in his hand. "No," the boy glared at the professor. "I won’t give you shit." Massa’s expression darkened, the smile fading as he took a step closer, his tone growing more sinister. "You don’t understand, Charles. This isn’t a request. It’s a demand."

Charles shook his head. "Think about it, Charles. Join me and Voldemort, and live a happy, powerful life." The man took a step closer to the shaking boy. "Why would I join the man who killed my parents?" the boy asked, voice steady, even as tears streamed down his face. "Poor little Charlie Leclerc," the man mocked. "He was predestined to do great things, but he will soon join his parents," the man continued, until he was almost a step in front of the boy. "If he doesn’t give me that DAMN STONE!" the man shouted and grabbed at Charles’s hand.

Charles managed to dodge, and he tried to reach the door, but Massa jumped on him, both hands on his neck, choking him. "What!" the man stumbled back as if he had been burned. His hands were shaking, and when Charles regained his senses, he saw Massa looking between him and his burned hands, terrified. "Not so strong now, are you?" the boy mocked the man.

Massa’s shock was quickly replaced by fury, and he charged at the boy again. This time, the boy stood firm, reaching for the man’s face. He closed his eyes, the anxiety boiling in his mind.

The man screeched, his face disappearing into smoke and ashes. He tried to grab Charles again, but the boy held a firm grip, and the man’s body collapsed into ashes. Charles was shaking, staring at the corpse? "Would that be a corpse?" he wondered, as he stared at it. Then he fainted, without any other thought.
___________________________________________________________________________
“AAAARGH!”

He felt Massa’s arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down…down…down…

Something gold was glinting just above him. The Snitch! He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy.

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

He blinked again. The smiling face of Mattia Binotto swam into view above him.

“Good afternoon, Charles,” said Binotto.

Charles stared at him, dumfounded. ,,How did I get here…?” he asked himself and looke around. The hospital wing seemed to blink at him. Then he remembered: “Sir! The Stone! It was Massa! He’s got the Stone! Sir, quick –”

“Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times,” said Binotto. “Massa does not have the Stone.”

“Then who does? Sir, I –”

“Charles, please relax, or I will be thrown out.”

Charles  swallowed and looked around him. His head was throbbing and the bright light did not help much. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop. He stared at it, confused.

“Tokens from your friends and admirers,” said Binotto calmly.. “What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Massa is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows.”

“How long have I been in here?” Charles asked. He felt guilty, for having missed on the last of the quidditch match.

“Three days. Mr. Pierre Gasly. Mr. Yuki Tsunoda and Mr. Carlos Sainz 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.” The man grumbled. ,,Professor Massa did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say.”

“You got there? You got Yuki’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 to see you fainting to the floor.”

“It was you.”

“I feared I might be too late.”

“You nearly were, I couldn’t have kept him off the Stone much longer –”

“Not the Stone, boy, you – the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” repeated Charles blankly. “Isn´t the stone an important artefact? Lauda and Hunt both put effort into it–”

“Oh, you know about them?” said Binotto, sounding quite dumfounded. “You did do the thing properly, didn’t you? Well, me and the professors have had a little chat, and agreed it’s all for the best.”


Binotto smiled at the look of bewilderment on Charles’s face.
Charles lay there, lost for words, staring at the headmaster. Binotto hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.

“Sir?” asked Charles. “I’ve been thinking…Sir – even if the Stone’s gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who –”

“Call him Voldemort, Charles. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

“Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort’s going to try to come back, isn’t he? I mean, he hasn’t gone, has he?”

“No, Charles, he has not. He is still out there somewhere… perhaps looking for a memory to live off…not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. Nevertheless, Charles, while you may have only delayed his return to power, it  will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time – and if he is delayed again, why, he may never return to power.” He said coldly.

Charles nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, “Sir, there are some other things I’d like to know, if you can tell me…things I want to know the truth about….”

“The truth.” Binotto sighed. “It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to.”
“Well…Massa said that Professor Brown was keeping me safe?”
Binotto sighed very deeply this time.

“When your broom started shaking at that quidditch match, he was mumbling a spell to protect you. Although it may had seemed like he was doing the opposite. I would appreciate if you thanked him for that” The man gave Charles a stern look. And Charles knew it would be no good to argue.

“But why couldn’t Massa touch me?” he asked instead of arguing. Binotto raised his eyebrows. ,,That´s a question I have no answer to. I could had been the stone, perhaps.” The man furrowed his eyebrows.

Binotto then became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Charles time to think. When he had found his voice again, Charles said, “And the invisibility cloak – do you know who sent it to me?”

“Ah – your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it.” Binotto shrugged. “Useful things…your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here.”
“And sir, there’s one more thing…”
“Just the one?”
“How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?”

“Ah, now, I’m glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that’s saying something.” The man smiled proudly.  ,,You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone – find it, but not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they’d just see themselves drinking Hunt´s Elixir. My brain surprises even me sometimes…. Now, enough questions.” The man stood up from a chair and disappeared into thin air, leaving Charles staring at the space where he was just mere seconds ago.

___________________________________________________________________________
The nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict. She gave him some painkillers and Charles could help but to ask for his friends. “Just ten minutes,” Charles pleaded. “Absolutely not.” “You let Professor Binotto in….” he tried. “Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need rest.” “I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Pleaseeeeeeee…” Charles tried to argue. “Oh, very well,” she sighed. “But five minutes only.” And she let them in.

“Charles!” Yuki shouted. Pierre looked ready to fling his arms around him again, but Charles was glad he held himself in as his head was still very sore.

“Charles we were sure you were going to – Binotto was so worried –” Yuki babbled on. “The whole school’s talking about it,” said Pierre. “What actually happened?” asked Carlos.

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors. Charles told them everything: Massa, earning a shocked gasp from Yuki. ,,Brown was actually trying to save you?”  the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. They were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, making Charles smile out of pure joy.


“Dios mío.” Carlos cursed finally.  “So the Stone’s gone?” asked Pierre.
“Apparently.” Charles rolled his eyes.

“So what happened to you?” asked Charles. ,,Last thing I know is that I sent Yuki to go help you Pierre.”

“Well, I got back all right,” Yuki started. “Got to Pierre in time and we managed to get to the brooms. Somehow we flew all the way back and well then we met Binotto. He asked if you were there.”

“D’you think he meant you to do it?” asked Carlos. “Sending you your father’s cloak and everything?” “Well,” Yuki exploded, “if he did – I mean to say – that’s terrible – you could have been killed.”

“Listen, you’ve got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, no surprise – you missed the last Quidditch match, Slytherin destroyed Hufflepuff, no question– but the food’ll be good.” Carlos tried changing the subject.

At that moment, nurse bustled over.

“You’ve had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT,” she said firmly.

___________________________________________________________________________

After a good night’s sleep, Charles felt nearly back to normal.

“I want to go to the feast,” he told the nurse as she straightened his many candy boxes. “I can, can’t I?”

“Professor Binotto says you are to be allowed to go,” she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Binotto  didn’t realize how risky feasts could be.

“Oh, good,” said Charles. “Thank you.” The nurse huffed and nodded.
___________________________________________________________________________

Charles made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. He had been held up by the nurse fussing about, insisting on giving him one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin’s winning of the House Cup. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

When Charles walked in, there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat beside Yuki across from Pierre at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him. He picked up his gaze and saw Max staring at him, but the boy quickly turned to talk to Daniel. "’s idiot, could’ve been—" he heard him say. Charles rolled his eyes.

Fortunately, Binotto arrived moments later. The babble died away. "Thank fucking god," Charles whispered.

“Another year gone!” Binotto said, looking between his students. “What a year it has been! I certainly hope that you’ve gained some knowledge this year….” He looked around before he continued. “Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Hufflepuff with two hundred and sixty-two points; in third, Gryffindor, with three hundred and thirty-one points; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six, and Slytherin, four hundred and eighty-two.”

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Charles could see Max banging his goblet on the table, laughing with his friends.

“Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin,” Binotto rolled his eyes. “However, recent events must be taken into account.” Charles saw Max stop; he looked confused. As if the boy felt the gaze on him, he looked at Charles and raised his eyebrow. Charles shrugged.

The room went very still. The Slytherins’ smiles faded a little.

“Ahem,” coughed Binotto. “I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes…

“First – to Mr. Pierre Gasly…” The whole school stared at the French boy.

Pierre went purple in the face, like he had been badly sunburnt.

The headmaster continued, “…for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.”

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Kevin could be heard telling Nico, “My brother, you know! My younger brother! Got past Vasseur’s giant chess set!”

At last, there was silence again.

“Second – to Yuki Tsunoda…for bravery and willingness to step into harm’s way for justice for her friends, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.”

Yuki went red and started laughing. Every Gryffindor was roaring with excitement – they were a hundred points up.

There was soon silence again.

“Fourth – to Charles Leclerc…” Binotto continued. The room went deadly quiet. “…for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.”

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points – one point short of Slytherin – if only Binotto had given Charles just one more point.

Binotto raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.

“There are all kinds of courage,” said Binotto. “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Esteban Ocon.”

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. The trio stood up to yell and cheer as Esteban, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. Some Hufflepuffs even joined, pulling the disheveled boy out of the pile of people before hugging him. Pierre, still cheering, nudged Charles in the ribs and pointed at Max, who couldn’t have looked more stunned and confused even if Yuki had petrified him instead of Esteban. Then the boy stood up and clapped, looking right into their eyes.

“Which means,” Binotto called over the storm of applause, with some groans from Slytherin, “we need a little change of decoration.”

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished, and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place.

It was the best evening of Charles’s life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls…he would never, ever forget tonight.

“Leclerc?” he heard the Dutch boy’s voice.

“What?” he turned around, and he was met with Max.

“Congrats,” the other boy said and then left, leaving Charles staring at him dumbfounded.

---

Charles had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, all of them passed with good marks. They, of course, had a little celebration in their dorm.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays (“I always hope they’ll forget to give us these,” said Nico Hulkenberg sadly, earning a soft punch from Kevin); Webber was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; laughing as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets, making stops in their respective countries.

“Goodbye, Pear!” Charles said when the boy left in France.

“I will text you!” the other boy promised, shaking the phone in his hand.

“Don’t forget!” Yuki threatened.

And then they arrived in Monaco.

It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in small doses so they didn’t attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

“We should meet up during the summer,” Yuki suggested.

“We should,” Charles agreed.

He saw his parents and Lorenzo waiting for him at the gate, and he couldn’t wait to tell them everything.