In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter XX: More Than When I Left

Passing through darkness into my own world
Will I be more than when I left?
Never letting go of the lessons I learned
This will make a change
A change within me

"More Than It Seems"
Kutless

HARRY:

The first person I saw when I opened my eyes wasn't Quirrell, nor was it Voldemort. It wasn't Ron or Hermione or Lucy, either. It was none other than Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon, Harry," he said, smiling.

Everything rushed back at once. "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick-"

"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times. Quirrell does not have the Stone."

"Then who does? Sir, I-"

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."

I looked around for the first time. Was this the Hospital Wing? I noticed the table next to me was overflowing with... things.

Dumbledore followed my gaze. "Tokens from your friends and admirers. What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters 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."

I managed a smile. "Of course they did." I relaxed slightly, trying to compose myself. "How long have I been in here?"

"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger and Miss Diggory 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. Professor Quirrell 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 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 pull Quirrell off you."

I recalled the Snitch. Or, well, what I thought was the Snitch. "It was you."

"I feared I might be too late."

I sighed in relief. "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."

Sadness settled in my stomach. "Destroyed? But your friend, Nicolas Flamel, he-"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas? 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?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die. 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."