Case of the Cintimani Stone: A Hammer Mystery

Chapter 22

The Hammer awoke with a start, his head spinning round to try and figure out where he was - his blurry vision taking in the silhouette of a bearded man smiling at him.

"Did I get him, Chief?" The Hammer asked, calming down as he grabbed for his glasses on the table next to his bed. He was back in the infirmary. If this kept being a habit he would have to buy Madam Pomfrey flowers at some point.

"Good afternoon, Harry." The old man greeted him.

"That no good rat Quirrell, tell me someone got him!"

"Harry, please relax or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." The old man reached for a small yellow candy from an enormous pile at the foot of his bed - it looked like they had dumped half the sweets shop on the table.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," Dumbledore said, beaming. "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 lavatory seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic and confiscated it." Those two actually did it. The Hammer smirked at the idea before asking, "How long have I been out, Chief?"

"Three days. I'm sure Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round. They have been most worried."

"Ah. And Chief, I have to tell you - about the stone - "

"I see you are of a singular mind, as usual. Yes, I retrieved it from amongst your things, rolled up in a pair of rather comfortable looking socks. I arrived back in time to prevent Professor Quirrell from trying anything in his final moments, although you were doing very well on your own."

"You knew I had the stone the whole time? Did you -"

"Of course, it was I who replaced it with the handy tool you used to dispatch the late Professor, though my return was only barely on time. You jumped in head first without looking again - the effort nearly killed you. For a moment, I was afraid it had. As for the stone, we've taken the liberty of destroying it."

"We? Is that what Nick Flamel wanted?'

"Indubitably. We had a chat and decided it would be for the best in these trying times."

"So he and his old lady are choosing to exit, stage left?"

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

The Hammer's expression darkened, looking away at the floor.

"For Nicolas and Perenelle death isn't a sad event, Harry. They've chosen it for the greater good and go gladly to their next great adventure. This is simply the closing of a very long running circle. As you know, they've been blessed with the two very things most people wish for: wealth and a long life. It is an odd quirk of human nature to lose interest in life after being given everything they would ever want."

Harry grumbled, "So what's the plan for Voldemort? Did this kill him?"

"He's still out there, Harry. I'm afraid the task is not yet done. He isn't truly alive so he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; evidence for how much mercy he shows his followers as well as his enemies. Even so, despite this being merely a delay on his return to power, it will only take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time - all one needs to do is delay him again and again and he may never return to power."

"The world's running out of heroes, Chief."

"Why, I would think there is one right here with me." The old man said with a twinkle in his eye.