Case of the Cintimani Stone: A Hammer Mystery

Chapter 15

She didn't. She had been in the middle of more research on trying to find Nicholas Flamel, starting from the modern era and going back. Everything thus far had been more or less a dead end and the list of magical objects that were about the size of the one they were concerned with kept on going. It might've been anything from the holy grail, to the seal to the crypt of Atlantis, a Philosopher's stone, rings of power and wisdom, or one that amused Harry to no end: a matryoshka doll that was connected to a series of different dimensions depending on how you opened the figures.

With no new leads, they arranged to meet and discuss the case with Neville, who also needed help with his homework. It proved to be the perfect time to catch him up on everything. Neville's input crossed a few of the prospective items from the list - the rings and the seal were either lost to time or actually in someone's private collection. Between the three of them they didn't have anything but pure speculation for what the traps laying beyond the guard dog might have been. For all Harry knew, the door it was sitting on top of might be magically trapped some other way. Without any additional good ideas, they were stuck, so they moved on to helping Neville with his school work. At least that turned out to be a productive venture.

***

A few weeks later, George slipped a flask into the crook of Harry's arm during breakfast and Harry pushed a book to the floor with the remaining payment in it, sealed up in an envelope. George returned the book to the table for him, but slipped the envelope into his pocket before giving him a wink and telling him to enjoy breakfast. By that point, Harry had served his last day of detention and was a free man just in time to be told that classes would be cancelled that upcoming Friday for the first quidditch match of the year. Attendance was voluntary, but highly encouraged. The Hammer didn't have any interest in it and planned to spend it in the library. He had work to do.

Sadly, everyone else wouldn't shut up about it. Neville was a lifelong fan and had done his best to try and convince the Hammer to join him in cheering for Gryffindor in the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match. Even Hermione had told him to open his mind a little and that she planned on going to the match. Harry told her he was going to keep his nose to the grindstone on figuring out who Nicholas Flamel was - though neither of them wanted to resort to asking their ghostly history of magic teacher, Professor Binns. For how old he was, he surely might've met someone who knew him before he died, but it would be a waste of an entire day trying to extract the information from him.

After breakfast the Hammer bid adieu to his friends and headed for the library, tipping his hat to Madam Pince on the way in only for her to tell him to be careful. The library was emptier than usual, letting him find the prime study desk that he wanted. He set his hat down on the spot to claim it before wandering through the various shelves and plucking himself a collection of books that would get the day's research started. He set the stack down next to his hat, taking a seat heavily into the chair. Harry ran a finger up and down the stack of book spines while reciting a rhyme to help him choose. Fingers stopping on one of the books, the Hammer cut his stack and picked up the one it had landed on. It was a tome on the genealogy of wizarding families that dated back to well before the middle ages. Apparently wizardom had been better about preserving the records of their advancements in the face of whatever was happening during the time.

The contents of the tome were as dry as the cracked leather binding - page after page of wizard family trees laid out like it was trying to trace the blood of kings. The Hammer hadn't made it very far in the book even skimming when a familiar bushy haired form slumped down into the seat next to him. By his watch they were probably only about 30 minutes into the game. She had an expression that told him to shut up. He tried to keep his eyes on the page, but found himself glancing up to look at her frustrated face.