His plan went off without a hitch. He was in the common room a few days later, when the altercation between Neville and the trio occurred and they had to petrify him and leave. He was sitting in the corner in one of the high-backed chairs and none of them noticed him. He waited a while more before getting up and approached Neville.

'Finite incantatem!'

'Darius! Good, you should be able to stop them. Harry, Ron and Hermione are going somewhere dangerous. Please stop them before it's too late. Not to mention how many points we may lose.'

'Calm down, Neville. I know about Harry and the others. I also know exactly where they are going.'

'You do?'

'Yeah. They are headed to the forbidden third floor corridor, aren't they? The one with the giant three-headed dog? They are going there to protect something very precious from someone dangerous.'

'Then let's go and help them. You are one of the best duellists in the school. You should be able to protect them. Or let's tell the teachers at least.'

'That's a noble sentiment, Neville. And I appreciate it but this is one enemy that Harry needs to face. Trust in your friends, they can deal with this. Now, let's head to bed.'

'If you say so, Darius.'

'Good night, Neville. Also, Neville, next year I am going to train you.'

'Train me? For what?'

'You'll know next year. I was very impressed with your bravery today, in standing up to your own friends and I also believe you have a lot of potential.'

We went to bed after that but I am sure he was confused regarding what I was talking about. Tonight, I remembered Neville's skill in the DA and his act of killing Nagini. Though he may be clumsy, he has a lot of untapped potential and giving him some training early would do him a world of good.

The next morning, all was as usual. I headed to the breakfast table and saw Lee Jordan already sitting there. I slid in next to him and started piling up my own plate. I wondered if news about Harry's exploits had already gone around the castle.

'Hey Darius, you heard about what happened last night?'

'Nope. What happened?'

'Well, the rumours I heard say that Harry Potter and a couple of his friends sneaked into the forbidden third floor corridor and prevented Quirrell from stealing something precious stored there. There's lots of theories flying around but this much is common in all of them. It is also confirmed that all of them are in the hospital wing right now.'

'Wow Lee, that's a lot of detail. How did you know all this?'

'I initially overheard some seniors gossiping about it and then spoke to the Gryffindor ghost, nearly headless Nick and a few of the portraits I know.'

So that's how news travels around Hogwarts so fast. The ghosts or the portraits must have seen Dumbledore and the trio coming out from there and the news spread to the entire castle. Thank goodness I took so many precautions before heading there myself. I continued talking to Lee after I thought through all this.

'That's an incredible tale. I suppose, nothing less from the Boy who Lived. I am more worried about our house scores though. We are at the bottom of the table and as if that's not enough, Slytherin is leading.'

'We haven't got much time to make a change either. It's a pity.'

'Anyways Lee, the twins are coming over to my pace over the holidays for nearly a month. Do you want to join us too?'

'Thanks for the offer Darius, but my dad and I are going for a trip to the land down under of Australia.'

'No problem Lee. It was just a thought.'

We headed our separate ways after breakfast and I headed to the lake to sit by the shore and relax. I watched as some students played with the giant squid and others sat at the edge of the lake with their feet in the water. Such an idyllic scene, I just sat there leaning against a tree trunk. After a good while, after I was mentally refreshed, I started pondering about the Philosopher's stone again.

I already had the Stone for nearly a week and there had been no action taken, so I was a bit relieved. Of course, I had not put down my guard completely and only took it out of the spatial pouch in the room of requirement. I didn't know if there were some spells on the stone that I couldn't detect which may expose me, and I wasn't willing to risk it. I was able to give precise instructions during the creation of the room which completely isolated it from the outside world and made it impossible for the Stone to be tracked in any manner. I had examined it carefully but that gave absolutely no insight into the creation of the artefact. It was blood-red, to such an extent that I wondered if blood was one of the components involved in its creation. It is an amorphous stone and would be indistinguishable from any other stone if not for its colour.

It was relatively easy to figure out how to use the Stone. Like any other magical artefact, pouring magical power into it was the key to activating it. It transformed metals into gold when it was activated with a mere touch. Making the elixir was pretty simple though. I just had to hold the activated Stone in magically conjured water and the water attained an incarnadine colour after transforming into the Elixir of Life. What was never mentioned in the books, was the prodigious amount of magical power required to activate the Stone. Despite already having the magical reserves of a standard adult wizard, Darius was unable to make more than a vial of the elixir in an entire day. As for metal transformation, he could manage to transform about 10 sickles into gold galleons in a day. He had tried the elixir himself to accurately determine the effects and was surprised to find that aside from the burst of vitality he felt, it also resulted in an increase in his magical strength.

After a few experiments, he figured it was because he still had a growing body and the excess vitality was used to exercise his body cells in a similar manner to his magic channelling. So, it was basically a boosted form of channelling. But he suspected there was a huge advantage to his method. While channelling could be used even after the end of the growing phase, the elixir would revert to its original function thereafter and just maintain the youth of the body. He also found that it would not be possible to take the elixir frequently. The residual vitality would begin to tear the body apart if taken in large quantities. He estimated a vial in every 2 weeks should be perfectly safe. He devoted a couple of hours every day just making the elixir. He hadn't been too enthused regarding the idea of depending on the Stone for immortality but he was willing to use it to further increase his magical powers. He also had to find a way to slip some to his mother.

But considering what he knew about her, she would likely immediately know that there was something fishy afoot, so maybe it was better to come clean?

Another couple of days later, Harry finally woke up and the news spread across the school. He had even sent some butterbeer to his hospital bed as a gift. That evening was the end-of-year feast and it went exactly as canon. Slytherin were in the lead but Gryffindor surged ahead with the points won by the trio and Neville and the House cup was won by Gryffindor. Even he was lost in happiness and it was a very merry moment for the house. And it wasn't some squeaky close victory of 10 points either, they were ahead by nearly fifty points. He liked to think his academic excellence had something to do with it.

The exam results also came out soon, and no surprise, he had the best grades in the year. He also happened to notice the person at second position and it turned out to be Cedric Diggory. The Hogwarts champion of the Triwizard Cup lived up to his reputation. He would have to get to know him better next term. From what he got to know from the books, he was a decent guy and skilled to boot but who was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. He had still to decide exactly what role he would play in the Triwizard cup and keeping Cedric from dying may be a worthy aim. Anyway, he himself will not be able to participate due to the age restriction.

And suddenly it was time to leave. The wardrobes were emptied, notes warning students not to use magic over the holidays handed out to the students, trunks stowed away in the train and they boarded the Hogwarts express. They talked and laughed as the scenery sped past, enjoying various sweets and candies as they drew nearer to London. They finally pulled into the King's Cross station and got down from the station. The twins headed toward their mother and he also went over to give his regards and once again invite the twins over for a month. Mrs Weasley was very willing and also asked him to come the next month.

He saw his own mother in the distance and headed over to give her a warm hug. It had been a long time since they met in Hogsmeade and he was looking forward to spending some quality time together.

Wonder how he would break the news that he stole the only Philosopher's Stone in the world from under the noses of the some of the best witches and wizards in the country?