Theseus storms the castle after hearing about the debacle with the stone, Emma and company get told about the trio's midnight adventure, and the end of the year feast happens.

***

Theseus had been having an eventful day. He'd been working with Lucuis on a project that needed Auror experience, and he'd been placed with Barlowe and Wright (again) and now that Lucius had finally met them, he understood why Theseus really hated working with them. In the two years he'd been working with them, he had mitigated over 100 fights between the two, and had had to stop them from killing each other.

No sooner than ten minutes after Theseus had said goodbye to Lucuis and had made his way to his office, Albus Dumbledore had knocked on his door. After Thesus had let him in, he'd immediately started talking. "Theseus, my dear boy. I'm afraid I have some news on Harry Potter-Swan. I'm afraid he's been hurt."

Theseus stopped cold from where he'd been writing a report. "What?!" He looked up through a narrowed gaze at Dumbledore, his normally bright blue eyes dark with anger. "What the bloody hell happened, Albus?"

Dumbledore perched onto the chair next to him and looked calmly at Theseus, who glared when he didn't immediately respond. "He found the stone with his two friends, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Mr. Malfoy sacrificed himself to the chess board to get his friends through and Harry ended up confronting Professor Quirrell, who confided in Harry that he was carrying Voldemort on him at all times. Mr. Malfoy is fine now, but Harry, I'm afraid, has been in the hospital wing for three days in a coma. He is to be released tonight as he's just woken up."

Theseus didn't immediately respond to him. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, his hand on his forehead. In his mind, he was going over at least five different ways to kill the man in front of him. The most prominent one going through his head was to feed him to the Cerberus that belonged to Hagrid or to give him to Narcissa and let her deal with him. That last one was one he so desperately wished to do. He opened his eyes and narrowed them on Dumbledore, who fidgeted where he sat. "You mean to tell me, three first year students passed the challenges your teachers set to make sure they couldn't get through?"

From where she was laying at his feet under his desk, Khione growled low in her throat threateningly as she slowly stood to her full height, the wolf reaction to the anger in his voice. With a single shake of his head, she calmed, laying back down at his feet, her icy blue eyes trained on Dumbledore. She watched as Theseus made his way to sit on the edge of his desk.

"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore bowed his head, the perfect image of regret.

Theseus shook his head angrily, not believing Dumbledore's act for a second. "I'm coming back with you to check on him. This will be handled immediately, Albus. Speaking of which, why the bloody hell wasn't I told as soon as possible?"

"Unfortunately, I was a bit busy handling everything at Hogwarts, dear boy. We had to get Quirrell out of there, and we had to destroy the Stone which took a few hours. After we were done, it was nearly curfew the next day, and the three of them needed rest. Not to mention, Harry was still out of it. He's only just woken up."

"I need to get his side of the story tonight, Albus. So let's go." Theseus stood and gathered his things as Khione stretched and nipped at Dumbledore's robe as he went to pet her. He jerked his hand back as she growled at him, the ice crystals from her breath threatening to freeze his fingers. When they were ready, Dumbledore and Theseus made their way to his private Floo network and called out "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts!" Dumbledore went through first, and Theseus held out his hand to stop his familiar from immediately following. "We need to be extremely careful, Khione. We know Dumbledore made it so Harry and his friends could get in in the first place, and we need to tell Newt and Emma as soon as we can." Theseus told her, and Khione nodded her agreement.

"Yes. I don't imagine Emma would be very happy to know her cubs were in danger. Do you?" she muttered.

Theseus shook his head as they went through the Floo and stepped into Dumbledore's office. "Take me to Harry," he ordered, "and get Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy to meet me there. Now."

Dumbledore nodded, and Theseus sighed as they made their way to the Hospital Wing. Albus sent a Patronus to Professor McGonagall to retrieve Draco and Hermione, and they were sent back a message saying that they were already with Harry.

"Head Auror Scamander?" Hermione asked when she saw them, and Theseus nodded her way. Harry's eyes widened when he saw his uncle.

Theseus smiled tightly and faced Dumbledore. "If you'll excuse us, Albus." Dumbledore reluctantly left, and Theseus's stoic mask vanished as he made his way over to Harry, Khione trotting next to him. "Buddy, what have you gotten yourself into?" he sighed as he sat on the edge of Harry's bed beside him, and Harry shrugged his good shoulder and leaned into his uncle. "Alright, Hermione, what happened? Be completely honest with me, because I'll need to tell your parents and Emma, along with my brother and Queenie."

With Harry leaning against him with Theseus' arm around his shoulders and Draco and Hermione holding Harry's hands, Hermione started from the beginning, from the moment they found out about the Stone and Nicholas Flamel to Harry defeating Quirrell in the Chamber. Theseus sat there, taking in Hermione's words as she explained. When Hermione got to Draco being flown off and knocked out, seeing their gutted expressions and feeling Harry's flinch, he kissed Harry's forehead and pulled in Hermione and Draco for a hug. After taking a minute to breathe, Hermione continued, ending at when Dumbledore found Harry and got him to the hospital wing. When she had finished, she hunched in on herself as if expecting an abrasive lecture from the Head Auror.

What she didn't expect was for Khione to pad to her, claws clicking on the floor, and shove her nose into Hermione's hand to ask for pats. Hermione blinked in surprise, then let out a teary giggle as she gave Khione the attention she wanted. Theseus, meanwhile, let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Anger was far from his mind as he mulled over everything the three had gone through. "I don't even know where to begin," he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Theseus," Harry whispered.

"I'm not angry, Harry," Theseus held up his hand to stop any further apologies. "How can I be when these challenges were meant to stop adult wizards from reaching the Stone? Three first-years were able to conquer them all . . . and easily. Alright, my first question is for all of you." He rested his forearms on his knees and swept his gaze over everyone. "How are you feeling?"

Draco faintly smiled. "Better, sir," he answered. "I recovered quickly. I feel good as new."

Theseus nodded and turned expectantly to Hermione. "I'm fine, sir," she told him with a shaky smile. "I wasn't hurt down there. I was more worried for them than anything else."

Theseus nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Harry with a bemused look. "And you, nephew?"

"Sore," Harry admitted, knowing there was no way he could lie to his uncle. "But I've also been here for a few days."

"You have been," Theseus nodded. "You got very, very lucky, Harry."

"I know," he hung his head. "But I had to do something, Uncle Theseus! The headmaster wasn't here, and Professor McGonagall didn't believe us when we told her we thought there was a threat to the Stone."

Theseus sighed. "Why didn't you fire message me or tell Professor Snape, Harry? You know that you should've. Anger makes you stupid, and stupid gets you killed. What do you think would have happened if you were killed?"

"I probably wouldn't have had time, Uncle. Quirrell was already there when we got there, and we had no idea it was even him until I met him down there. At that point, he would've already figured out what needed to be done," Harry whispered.

Theseus sighed, unable to deny Harry's logic. "Alright," he nodded reluctantly as he turned to Harry and took his chin between his thumb and pointer finger. "But swear to me, Harry James, that you will never do something that dangerous without informing me or your mother again. Swear it."

At his middle name being spoken, Harry was already nodding in agreement. "Yes, Uncle. I swear I'll get you the next time something happens, because Merlin forbid I'm safe with Dumbledore here."

Theseus let out a laugh as Draco nudged Harry and Khione let out a half-snort and half-bark, making all of them laugh. "Now, Harry, are you clear to head to dinner?" Harry nodded. "Okay, good. I'll be there soon. I need to send a Patronus to your mother informing her of what happened. I have good news that she, my brother, and your aunt are all having dinner with the Malfoys, so Draco's parents can be informed at the same time without having to worry about telling them more than once. Hermione, if you want to inform your parents, go ahead . . . but just know that they may try to stop you from coming back to Hogwarts."

Hermione's frightened face jerked from where Khione had started licking it. "They could pull me from Hogwarts?" she asked meekly, and when Theseus nodded, she vehemently shook her head in denial. "That's not happening. Absolutely not. When there's no way they can pull me from Hogwarts, I'll tell them, but until then, they don't need to know. I'm supposed to go to you for anything like that, anyway, right?"

Theseus nodded with a smile at her wit. "Yes, you should come to me with all things magically related. Now, off you three go. It's dinner time. I'll join you there soon." Harry nodded and jumped from his bed, grabbing his clothes to change for the feast. When he disappeared behind the curtain, Theseus looked at the other two. "Keep an eye on him for me. Draco, I know you'll probably be with him a lot this summer, so just make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble, yeah?"

Draco nodded. "I'll do my absolute best!"

Harry came back out dressed, and with a hug from Theseus to all three Gryffindors, they left the Hospital Wing and made their way to the End-Of-Year feast.

Theseus sighed and made his way to Madam Pomfrey's office, which was empty, to sit down and breathe for a minute. This was going to be a long Patronus to both families. He was just thankful that they were together, and not separate. He wasn't not sure how put together he'd be able to remain if he had to do this twice.

***

"Queenie! Narcissa!"

The shout from the dining room made Queenie almost drop her wand from where she had been focusing on putting together Emma's hot cocoa of choice and one of her famous apple strudels. Narcissa, who had been preparing the mansion for Draco's return, looked up in surprise, her silver eyes wide in worry. "That was Emma!"

Queenie was already running from the room, dessert and drinks forgotten as she ran for the dining room. All three occupants of the room were standing, Lucius and Newt with hands on their wands. Emma, on the other hand, was pale and shaking as she stared at the shimmering silver Patronus sitting on the table, its beady black eyes observing the room with patience usually not seen in other versions of the creature. Queenie stopped in her tracks, staring in horror at the niffler that looked back at her. "That's . . . it's from - ?"

"Theseus," Newt whispered, swallowing hard as he released his trembling grip on his wand. "I think he sent it to all of us."

Narcissa appeared at Queenie's shoulder, and the Patronus proved Newt correct when the niffler stood and looked around the room with intelligent eyes. "Lady Regent Peverell, Lord Malfoy," Theseus's unmistakable voice came from the niffler's beak. "If you're hearing this, then that means Newt, Queenie, and Narcissa are also in the room. I don't know how I could give this message twice, so I'm grateful I knew you were gathered together in preparation for Harry and Draco returning from Hogwarts."

Emma's fingers wrapped in a white-knuckled grip around the closest object, and Lucius eyed her warily when he realized it was the knife that had rested next to her plate. "What happened?" she demanded. "Something happened if you're sending this to all of us!"

The niffler bowed its head as if acknowledging Emma's words. "Lucius, Dumbledore visited the Ministry shortly after we finished our conversation. He informed me that there was an attempt to take the Philosopher's Stone, and I am beyond grateful now that the one Flamel offered was not the one that created the Elixir used by myself, my brother, and the Goldsteins. Professor Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort, who was hidden under the turban he never removed, and he attempted to steal the Stone three nights ago when Dumbledore was called to the Ministry. He was thwarted, however . . . by Harry, who pursued Quirrell down the trapdoor with Draco and Hermione. They were able to pass all of the teachers' challenges with relative ease."

"What?!" Emma shrieked, face whiter than snow.

Newt lurched forward and grabbed her arm when she started to sway, and Narcissa hastily crossed to join Lucius, the pureblood aristocrat instantly joining hands with his wife. It was Queenie, her hand on Emma's shoulder, who spoke next. "Continue, please, Theseus."

The niffler nodded. "I will start by saying this: I have seen the children, and Hermione and Draco are well. Hermione was uninjured during the night. You should be proud of your son, Lucius . . . his strategy skills won them the chess game Minerva created for her challenge. He had to sacrifice himself in the attempt, but from what I have seen, he has made a full recovery." Narcissa stifled a sob of relief, and Lucius visibly relaxed as he nodded. "Emma," the niffler turned its eyes to the blonde woman, who held Newt's elbow in a vice-like grip to keep herself upright; if the magizoologist was uncomfortable with the hold, he didn't react. "It was at Severus's challenge that Harry and Hermione were separated. I see why Hermione is the heir to the Emrys title; where many witches and wizards would fail at logic, Hermione succeeded. She took the potion to return to Draco, and Harry took the one that took him to where the Stone was hidden. Voldemort had Quirrell use Harry to get the Stone, but when they attempted to kill Harry, every attempt failed. Whatever magic was in Lily's sacrifice for Harry made it impossible for Voldemort to touch Harry. To put it simply, Quirrell crumbled to dust. I wish I could say that was also the end of Voldemort . . . but if he could attach himself to Quirrell like he did, I know he could escape death again."

"Flight of death," Newt murmured. "Bloody hell, Harry . . . "

"Harry has been unconscious since that night," Theseus continued. "Dumbledore came to me after Harry woke in the hospital wing. He's just been released to attend the end of the year feast. Other than a few healing scrapes, he's completely fine."

"Oh, thank God," Emma sank into her chair, burying her face in her hands.

"I promise all of you, I will spend the rest of the school year discerning how Voldemort was able to be inside the school without anyone knowing, and how three first-years were able to pass through the corridor as if it were an easy obstacle course," Theseus's voice continued as his Patronus looked around the occupants of the room. "But if you're thinking along the same lines as me, there's a rather simple answer that infuriates me more than anything."

"Dumbledore," Lucius seethed, eyes flashing with rage.

The niffler nodded. "Unless World War Three, Merlin forbid, calls me to return to the Ministry, I'll stay here at Hogwarts to ensure nothing happens to the children. I'll keep them safe until they're back in your care. I apologize if I ruined an enjoyable evening, but Dumbledore took his time informing me of what occurred. I was not about to delay any knowledge reaching you. Lucius, Narcissa, I will see you soon. Emma, Queenie . . . Newt." Newt flinched at his name, and Theseus's voice softened. "I hope for the same, sooner rather than later. Stay safe, all of you."

"Thank you, Theseus," Lucius sighed. "We appreciate this coming from you instead of minced words from Dumbledore."

The Patronus bowed its head and dissolved into the air, and Emma let out a vicious growl that reminded Narcissa of a mother bear. "That manipulative, string-pulling, child-endangering monster!"

"Emma, calm down," Queenie placed both hands on Emma's shoulders, watching diamond white magic curl off of Emma's skin like wisps of smoke. "Emma, you heard Theseus. Harry's OK."

"OK?" Emma repeated, her voice shrill. "Why did it take my eleven-year-old son and his two eleven-year-old friends to stop a teacher possessed by his parents' murderer from getting that damn Stone?!"

"And that's what Theseus is at Hogwarts to figure out, Emma," Lucius turned to her, the glacial glint in his eyes all that showed his own rage at the situation. "And Dumbledore won't try anything else with the Head Auror in his school."

"Once Theseus sets a target for himself, Emma, he never strays on the path to it," Newt nodded. "Nothing is going to happen to Harry while he's at the school."

Emma nodded, holding her clasped hands to her lips as she stared blankly at where Theseus's Patronus had vanished. "I know," she whispered. "I know, I just . . . "

"We know," Narcissa smiled sadly.

Emma sighed and looked up at Queenie. "I don't suppose it's too late for you to spike my hot chocolate when you bring it in?"

Queenie giggled. "Coming right up."

Emma nodded and closed her eyes, focusing on keeping her magic contained. Queenie was right: despite her son having been in danger, he had survived and was well on the way to recovery. At least he hadn't gone alone, and if there was anyone at Hogwarts she trusted other than the Potions Master, it was his two best friends. Still, the words she had written at the end of Harry's acceptance letter echoed through her head.

I will not be pleased if I hear my son is seen as nothing more than the Boy Who Lived.

Emma was willing to bet all the coins in Harry's trust vault that, with Harry facing Voldemort in the chamber, her son would be seen as exactly that. At least it was the end of the school year, and her son would not have to live with that title for long. Chances were she would have to send a reminder to the headmaster that her son was at school to be a student, not a hero for others to worship. "My son is not going to be made into a pariah, you old fool," she vowed under her breath, eyes flashing as green as the Avada Kedavra curse.

"What was that, hon?" Queenie blinked as she returned with her hot cocoa.

"Oh, nothing," Emma's smile was all teeth as she took her cocoa. "Just making a promise. That's all."

***

Neville met them before going into the Great Hall. "Alright there, Harry? Draco?"

"All right? You?" The two said in unison.

Neville shrugged and turned to Hermione. "All right. Hermione?"

Hermione grinned. "Never better."

When the quartet entered the Great Hall, the entire room seemed to stop and stare. After they had made their way to the Gryffindor table, they got seated in between Ron and his brothers and the girls on the quidditch team. Around the ceilings and as general decoration, the Slytherin Banner was hung. The silver and jade serpent of Draco's (and technically Harry's house) waved proudly, and Harry nudged Draco. "Congrats Dray!"

"Thank yo-" He was interrupted by McGonagall clinging a spoon against her glass.

The whole Hall went silent as Dumbledore stood and started talking with his voice magically amplified. "Another year, gone! And now, as I understand it, the house cup needs to be awarded and the points stand thus. In fourth place: Gryffindor, with 312 points!" A small cheer for Gryffindor rose. "In third place: Hufflepuff, with 352 points!" A slightly bigger applause from Hufflepuff sounded. "Second: Ravenclaw, with 426 points!" Ravenclaw exploded, and Slytherin started cheering before Dumbledore had even called them. "And in first place, with 472 points: Slytherin house!" Slytherins stood from their benches and seats and whooped and cheered as the whole school applauded them, the whole of Gryffindor less than pleased. "Yes, well done Slytherin, well done Slytherin. However, recent events must be taken into account, and I have a few last-minute points to award."

Gryffindors started raising their heads hopefully as Harry, Draco, Hermione and Neville looked at each other in confusion. "To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect while others were in grave peril: 50 points!" Draco and Harry whooped happily, proud of their best friend as she blushed as scarlet as her Gryffindor robes. "Second, to Mr. Draco Malfoy, for the best played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years: 25 points!" Draco looked even more surprised than Hermione had, and the Gryffindor table is applauding even louder, despite him being in Slytherin. "And third, to Mr. Harry Potter-Swan, for pure love and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house: 100 points!"

The Gryffindors cheered again, this time even louder than before. Across the hall, Theodore Nott had a menacing look on his face while Harry locked eyes with a proud and smiling Professor McGonagall at the teachers; table. He also makes eye contact with his uncle, who'd come in right before the ceremony, and smiled widely at him as Theseus nodded proudly. Hermione, who had done some quick math, whispered to the people around her. "We're in front of Slytherin!"

Now, the Gryffindors took deep breaths and dared to let themselves hope as Dumbledore hadn't finished talking yet. "And finally: I award ten points to Neville Longbottom for the great deal of friendship he has shown this year! Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order!" He clapped and motioned his hands towards the Slytherin banners, causing them to flap heavily like a heavy wind was raging; when the banners stilled, gone were the green and silver with the Slytherin serpent. Now the Great Hall was ablaze with banners of scarlet and gold, the Gryffindor lion roaring proudly in the center of each decoration. "Gryffindor wins the House Cup!" Dumbledore declared, his blue eyes twinkling.

The Great Hall exploded with applause, not only from the Gryffindors, but also from the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs; they were glad that, for the first time in seven years, someone other than Slytherin had won the House Cup. Hagrid couldn't help himself and also cheered, and all students except the Slytherins threw their hats in the air as Nott angrily threw his own on the table in defeat.

The Gryffindors around Harry congratulated him and his friends, and despite having lost the House Cup, Draco all but tackled his friends in delight. As Neville stammered and blushed at the attention, Hermione squealed in delight as she swept Draco into a bone-crushing hug.

And as Harry was engulfed by his Quidditch teammates, his green eyes managed to find his uncle. As Khione threw back her head and howled, Theseus raised his goblet with a proud smile. Harry couldn't care less about what the rest of the Hall's occupants thought: Theseus's approval was enough.

***

Well, The' didn't exactly "storm the castle" like so many of you wanted him to, but he did get there and was really pissed. Hopefully that makes up for it. There's two chapters after this one! So they should be coming really soon! I've already started working on the next chapter, which holds a surprise in it.

As always, stay safe, stay cool, and stay reading xx

 ~ Miss Singer <3 <3

***
Oh, Dumbledore, you poor bastard. You've gone and pissed off the Head Auror and his familiar who could turn you into an award-winning ice sculpture. Tsk, tsk, whatever shall we do! Guess he's gonna have to sic a few of his fellow Sacred Twenty-Eight members on you!

Well, Emma and Lucius are understandably far from happy, and I can promise Emma is going to do her absolute best to make sure Dumbledore stays far away from her son over the summer.

. . . of course, how that happens may not be exactly how she expects it to go -

*coughs* Anyway! Not much left to go before we wrap this up . . . and I have to say, I think we've saved the best for last! ;)

~ Miss Moffat