Amelia Bones sat at her desk, going through the reports from the previous night's attack on Thomas Grayson. She had personally gone to the scene to investigate, but she still needed to meet with the representative of the Youkai faction to discuss the matter further.

She sighed heavily, feeling the weight of her responsibility as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She knew that tensions between the wizarding world and the Youkai were already high, and this incident would only make things worse. Since not only did a high-class youkai sneak inside the country but he even attack a young wizard that barely started his new life. And if that wasn't already bad, the devils were also involved in this mess, meaning that she would have to meet with their representative as well.

As she was going through the reports, her secretary informed her that the representative from the Youkai faction had arrived. She took a deep breath and composed herself before allowing him to enter.

"Welcome, Mr. Sakamoto," she greeted him politely as a tanuki youkai entered the room.

"Director Bones," he bowed in return. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

Amelia gestured for him to take a seat. "Of course, let's get straight to the point. I take it that you have been informed of what happened last night right?"

Sakamoto nodded solemnly. "Yes, Director Bones. It is regrettable that one of our kind has caused harm to a human wizard. We offer our sincerest apologies and condolences to the victim's family and friends."

Amelia studied him closely. She could tell that the tanuki youkai was sincere in his words, but she knew that there was more to the story than what he was letting on.

"I appreciate your sympathy, Mr. Sakamoto. However, I have reason to believe that the attacker was not acting alone. Do you have any knowledge of this?"

Sakamoto's expression remained neutral. "I'm afraid not, Director Bones. The East Youkai faction has always maintained peaceful relations with the wizarding community. We do not condone such violence."

Amelia nodded, though she remained skeptical. She knew that the youkai world was not as simple as Sakamoto made it out to be. "Very well. Now, could you tell me more about the youkai that attacked the wizard last night?"

Sakamoto hesitated for a moment before speaking. "The attacker was a member of a ninja clan. He was known to be a skilled assassin, though we had no idea that he would resort to such a thing. I must stress that his allegiance was not with our faction, but we strangely suspect that he was brought by someone else from another faction to use his abilities."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "And you were not aware of this before the attack happened?"

Sakamoto sighed. "I must admit, Director Bones, that there are many factions within the youkai world and many strong people, and sometimes allegiances can be kept hidden. We do our best to keep track of our own members, but we cannot control their actions, nevertheless their partnerships."

Amelia nodded, understanding the difficulties of keeping track of a complex society like the Youkai world. "I see. Well, thank you for your honesty, Mr. Sakamoto. We will continue our investigation into this matter and keep you informed of any updates."

Sakamoto bowed. "Thank you, Director Bones. We will do everything in our power to assist you in this matter. After all, we, do not want another war on our heads. Too much bloodshed has been spilled over the last half a millennium already."

As he left the room, Amelia couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story than what Sakamoto had told her. She made a mental note to look further into the matter and find out the truth regarding the devils as well as why would they want Thomas Grayson.

Meanwhile, on the Hogwarts Express, Thomas had just finished telling James, Adam, and Michael the truth about what had happened the previous night. They sat in stunned silence for a moment before James spoke up. "So you're telling us that you killed the youkai assassin? Like, with your own hands?"

Thomas nodded, "Yeah. It was either him or me. Though as I said before I used my sacred gear to take him out."

Adam frowned. "But what about Latia? Is she okay?"

Thomas once again nodded, relieved to be able to give them some good news. "Yeah, she's fine. She helped me fight the youkai, and we were able to take him down together, not to mention that he wasn't targeting her at all."

"So what are you going to do now? Are you going to tell the professors what happened? In case the ones behind the assassin sent more of them to hunt you at Hogwarts?"

Thomas hesitated for a moment before answering. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I doubt the Astaroth main family would do something so stupid as to try to attack me at Hogwarts. They want me for their son's peerage one way or another, and if they started attacking me openly, it would only hurt their chances of recruiting me. But I can't just ignore what happened either. I'll have to be careful and keep my guard up, especially when I'm outside the castle."

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He looked at Michael with a serious expression. "As for telling the professors, I don't think there's much they can do. They don't have the authority to interfere with international affairs between the various supernatural factions. And even if they did, the Astaroth family is too powerful and influential to be punished easily by our community. I'll just have to rely on myself and you guys to stay safe."

Thomas leaned back in his seat, feeling exhausted both physically and emotionally. He couldn't believe that his peaceful life had been disrupted so violently by the politics and power struggles of wizarding families. But he knew he couldn't let his guard down now, not when his life was at stake. "I just hope I can make it through the year without any more incidents," he said, mostly to himself. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

James placed a comforting hand on Thomas's shoulder. "We're here for you, man," he said firmly. "You don't have to go through this alone. Whatever you need, we're here to help."

Adam nodded in agreement. "And don't forget, Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the wizarding world. We have some of the best security measures in place to protect us from outside threats."

Thomas gave his friends a grateful smile. He knew they were right. Hogwarts had always been a safe haven for him, a place where he could escape the dangers and politics of the supernatural world. And he trusted his friends more than anyone else to have his back.

"Thanks, guys," he said, feeling a bit better. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Michael chuckled. "You'd probably be hiding under your bed, waiting for the next attack."

Thomas rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but laugh.

As the train continued its journey toward Hogwarts, the four friends chatted about lighter topics, trying to distract themselves from the heavy weight of what had happened. They talked about their classes, their plans for the upcoming Quidditch season, and even about James' crush. It was a welcome reprieve from the tense atmosphere that had hung over them since Thomas's attack.

Suddenly, the door to their compartment opened and Hermione walked in, carrying a stack of books. "Hi, guys," she greeted them cheerfully before her gaze fell on Thomas. "Thomas, are you okay?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

Thomas forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, Hermione. Just a little tired," he said, hoping to avoid any further questions about his appearance.

Hermione looked at him skeptically but decided not to press the issue. Instead, she turned to the rest of the boys. "So, have any of you found anything new on Nicolas Flamel?" she asked, placing her books on the seat beside her.

James and Adam shook their heads, but Michael spoke up. "Actually, I was doing some research last night, and I found a few things that might prove us some things."

Hermione's eyes widened with excitement. "Really? What did you find?"

Michael hesitated for a moment before he let out a sigh. "Well, I found out that Flamel was a famous alchemist who lived in the 14th century, but the strange part is that he is still alive after all of those hundreds of years."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "What? That's impossible!" she exclaimed. Thomas couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement at Hermione's reaction. Despite being the brightest witch of her age, she could still be taken aback by certain magical phenomena. He decided to join in on the conversation. "Actually, Hermione, there's more to it than that. According to legend, the one we all read before our winter holidays, Flamel created the Philosopher's Stone, which is said to give its owner eternal life and unlimited wealth. That might explain how he is still alive after all of those years."

Hermione's eyes widened even further as she connected the dots. "We were right! Snape wants to use the stone himself, that's why he wants to steal it."

The rest of the train ride was spent discussing their plans to prevent Snape from getting his hands on the Philosopher's Stone. James suggested they go straight to Dumbledore and tell him everything they knew, but Michael pointed out that if Snape was in cahoots with someone, they couldn't risk the whole safety by involving the headmaster or any other teacher directly.

Hermione suggested they try to find out where the Stone was exactly being kept and guard it themselves. Adam nodded in agreement, adding that it was most likely in the room where they met Fluffy and that they could use all the tricks they had learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts class to keep any intruders at bay.

Thomas listened to their suggestions and offered a few of his own. He suggested they try to find out if Snape was working alone or if he had other people helping him. They could also try to find out what other teachers or students might be in on the scheme.

As the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, they gathered their things and stepped off the train. The cold winter air hit them immediately, but they barely noticed. They were too focused on the task at hand.

While they made their way to the castle, they ran into Ron and Harry in the Great Hall, who were both excited to see them. The five of them quickly filled their friends in on everything they had discovered about Flamel, the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's possible plan to steal it.

Ron's eyes widened as he listened to their story. "Blimey, that's mental! We've got to do something about this, and fast," he exclaimed, looking around the Great Hall nervously.

Harry nodded in agreement. "We can't let Snape get away with this. He's already tried to kill me once; who knows what he's capable of doing to get the Stone," he said, his voice filled with determination.

Hermione looked at them all and nodded. "We need to act quickly and be very careful. We don't know who we can trust, so we need to keep our plans to ourselves," she said, her tone serious.

"Well, worst came true, we will have to tell the headmaster what we found," said Harry, still unsure if his friends were completely right with their guesses.

"Not to mention that we will have our first game after the winter break. We will fight the Slytherin once more." Ron exclaimed excitedly.

The group chuckled at Ron's sudden change of topic, but Thomas spoke up, "Ron's right. We can't let our guard down, especially on the Quidditch field. We need to stay sharp and be prepared for anything."

Adam nodded in agreement, "And we can't forget about our studies. We still have exams coming up, and we can't afford to let our grades slip."

James smirked, "As much as it pains me to admit it, Adam's right. We need to focus on both our studies and our mission to stop Snape."

Michael added, "But for now, let's put the whole Snape stealing the Stone thing away. He won't dare to go past Fluffy anytime soon, so we have some time to prepare."

Hermione nodded in agreement, "Michael's right. We should focus on our studies and Harry should focus on his Quidditch match against Slytherin. We can continue our investigation after that."