A/N: Nearly done on AOA Vol 2. Two more updates should do it. Thanks for reading. Muchos gracias.

***

Lyra's confession was stark and shocking. It left Harry scratching his head for the next few weeks. Whatever he had expected to learn about Lyra's childhood lover, it certainly wasn't this. And as the revelations came thick and fast, they hit far too close to home not only for Harry's liking ... but Sirius', too.

For it turned out that Will Parry was not only a high-ranking officer in the British Secret Service ... he was also a Squib. As heartbroken as Lyra over the way they were wrenched apart, he would later lurch from one failed relationship to another, never able to form a bond as deep with any other woman again. This led to bitterness, and an anger towards Lyra that would drive him into the hands of the Magisterium, so that he may find her again and bring closure to his suffering.

And in this world, one of the Magisterium's incarnations was GCHQ, and Will's handler in this organisation - an accountant named Gerald Prewett - was closely related to Molly Prewett. It was through this connection that the plot to get a dragon egg to Hagrid was initially hatched.

"I should have realised sooner," Sirius told Harry, as they took a walk around the Hogwarts grounds the morning following Harry's detention in the Forest. "As soon as Lyra told me that Will had a sort of special power, I should have put two-and-two together."

"Ah!" Harry nodded as he understood. "You mean the way he was able to use that Subtle Knife thing that Lyra described?"

Sirius nodded back. "Exactly. He was able to feel his way through worlds, the same as Lyra was. He could interact with Dust, which has a close link to magic that I've spent years exploring more deeply. I'm not totally irresponsible in my life, you see. I do actually do something productive with my days!"

"You'll have to let me know when you do, because I've never seen that!" Harry teased, causing Sirius to ruffle his hair fondly. "So, is Lyra a Squib, too?"

"I've wondered about that," Sirius pondered. "It's entirely possible, but she has always had a deep relationship to Dust. It chose her for not just one great destiny, but several. An entire life of destinies, I imagine. There was her own as a child, then another in her early twenties, then she got involved with our story when Riddle and I entered her world, now she's brought Hermione here for whatever destiny you two share. She's special and important, is Lyra Belacqua."

Harry stopped and looked up at Sirius in sudden, earth-shattering astonishment.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Sirius faltered in his step for the first time. "Don't be silly. Of course I'm not."

"Yes you are!" Harry exclaimed. "I can see it in your eyes, the way your face lights up when you say her name."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Sirius retorted, looking at a spot over Harry's shoulder. "I'm a free spirit, just like Lyra. Falling in love isn't for people like us."

"With an attitude like that it's no wonder you haven't noticed it!" Harry cried. "And I bet she's just the same."

"And what makes you so sure those things you just said mean I'm in love?" Sirius quipped. "What makes you such an expert all of a sudden?"

"Because ... it's the way Dad looks when he talks about Mum," Harry informed him casually. "And Mum's eyes go all glossy when she looks at Dad when he's doing something totally normal and everyday, and he doesn't know she's watching him, and adoring him. And it's the way ... the way that -"

"The way what?"

Harry swallowed hard. "Nothing."

"No, say it," Sirius pushed.

But Harry couldn't say it, he couldn't even comprehend it. But the comparison was right there ... he'd just made it. So he couldn't deny it. But it was impossible, really. Why would she? There was no need for her to, and it didn't make any sort of sense. And he'd certainly not done anything to deserve it, and was surely not worthy of such a look ... a look like that.

But he wasn't about to blurt this all out to Sirius, not when he had him on the run about his own love for Lyra.

"Forget about that, this is about you being in love with Miss Lyra," Harry returned firmly. "Just admit it."

"I'm not going to admit something that isn't true," Sirius replied.

"But it is," Harry countered. "You missed her when you were apart, and you couldn't wait to see her again. And now you cant stop being near her. She makes your heart race and your palms sweaty. And she leaves you breathless with her talents and stunned by her prettiness. And all you want to do is protect her and look after her and make sure she's warm and happy."

"Are you sure we are still talking about Lyra?" Sirius quipped with a sparkling grin at Harry, who flushed in his embarrassment but held his ground.

"Yes. Am I wrong?"

Sirius sighed and allowed himself to consider it. "Well ... no. I don't suppose you are. But I cant be. I don't fall in love. I've never met the right woman."

"Or maybe you have, and you are just an eternal child too scared to give into it," Harry volleyed back.

"How old are you again?" Sirius chuckled. "You're not supposed to be giving me relationship advice."

"I'm just trying to coax your dæmon back out. I think that's the bit that's in love with Lyra, and you're trapping it inside."

Sirius looked down with a deep look of respect. "You know, you're growing to be a fine young man, do you know?"

"Okay, let's not get all mushy and start braiding each other's hair!" Harry guffawed, pushing Sirius away as he tried to wrap an arm around him. "Tell me about how Will Parry is a Squib. I thought they had no magic, but he obviously has a bit."

"There are gradients of Squib, just as there are gradients of wizard," Sirius explained. "Just as you and your Hermione are super talented, there will be others who are less so."

"Like Ron Weasley," Harry suggested, trying to ignore the way his heart rocketed around his chest as Sirius used the term your Hermione. It needed to stop doing that.

"Exactly," Sirius went on. "So there are some Squibs who have no magic at all, and some who have a little bit. This often takes the more cerebral forms of supernatural powers - telepathy, psychic talents, clairvoyance and mediumship, for example. Will clearly has a great command of one or more of these."

"Mediumship? Like seeing ghosts?"

"Dont scoff like ghosts are unreal," Sirius frowned. "There are ghosts here, after all. But much supernatural activity can be explained by other worlds coming close to our own and such events being misinterpreted. Then there are people who temporarily cross through portals between worlds."

"Like you."

"Like me, but that was through a purposely made portal, likely cut by Will's Subtle Knife," Sirius corrected. "But natural portals occur, too, though they tend to be crazily unstable. They might even just be bubbles that will float from one reality to another, and deposit the poor soul stuck inside to a completely different location in their own world to the one they left."

"This is all very confusing," Harry moaned, rubbing his spinning head.

"I know, but all we need to focus on is this world," said Sirius. "And, more importantly, how Gerald Prewett fits into all this."

"Molly's second cousin, you said," Harry nodded. "You don't think she's involved, do you?"

"I'd certainly hope not, but I'd never rule it out," Sirius replied. "I don't want to think that she purposefully sent Ron into the path of a dragon egg, knowing that he might pick it up to give to Hagrid, but stranger things have happened. Though Molly may be a little unhinged when it comes to me, I seriously doubt she'd go that far."

"Then what do you think happened?"

"The simple explanation is that Riddle and his group had to get to Hagrid, to tempt him into giving away the secret of subduing Fluffy," Sirius began. "All creatures of that breed are subdued in a different way, and this is only discovered by the one who rears them."

"In this case, Hagrid," Harry nodded.

"Precisely. So he had to be tempted with something very special. It had to be an inducement powerful enough for him to betray Dumbledore. And what has he always wanted?"

"A dragon!"

"A dragon," Sirius parroted. "And anyone who gets Hagrid talking about himself can find this out."

"Yeah, even Ron did it," Harry commented eagerly. Then his face dropped. "Oh no. Is that how you think the other side found out, too? They followed Ron, and just eavesdropped until Hagrid gave the information away?"

Sirius nodded. "It's what I'd do. Secrets don't last long at Hogwarts. It wouldn't have taken more than a few weeks for someone to find out that there was a giant, three-headed dog on the Third Floor. Kids are the most curious species on the planet. And who's the Gamekeeper here? The only one huge enough to control a beast like Fluffy?"

"Hagrid! Of course! So they just had to wait for a student to ask him about it, and he'd be so proud and flattered that he'd give the information away!"

"Or, in this case, a friendless boy casually asked what Hagrid would like the most in the world, so that he could try to give him a token of thanks for befriending him. The detail about how to subdue Fluffy slips out and the rest is history."

"But why try and get the dragon egg into Hogwarts?" Harry considered. "If they had the knowledge about Fluffy, why go to all the trouble of bringing a dragon into the school?"

"Have a guess," Sirius quipped. "If you knew how to get past the first guard to an object you wanted, what would be the next step?"

"You'd want to see what else was there protecting it?" Harry offered. "Only ... you wouldn't want anyone else to know that you could get past the first obstacle ... so you'd need a diversion."

"And one such diversion has failed already this year, if you remember."

Harry screwed up his face. Then his eyes shot open.

"The troll at Halloween! It was a diversion, so the thief could see what was guarding the trapdoor!"

"Good boy!" Sirius boomed. "And if a lumbering troll caused such uproar, just imagine how much worse an uncontrolled dragon would be!"

"It would be chaos!" Harry agreed. "So, as long as there are eyes on the Third Floor the Stone is safe?"

"We can only hope so," Sirius replied. "The dragon would have occupied everyone, leaving the way clear for the robbery to happen."

"And Gerald Prewett?" Harry queried.

"Knew that Ron was friendly with Hagrid, knew that Ron has a brother who is a dragon expert, and saw the chain to deliver the dragon into the school - or took the steps to make it happen," Sirius explained. It was all very neat.

"But we dealt with the dragon. It's out of the way."

"And very skilfully you did it, too," Sirius grinned. "Lyra tells me you and Hermione were surrogate parents for a few hours!"

"Yeah - to a dangerous magical creature!" Harry laughed, before adding without thinking. "I hope our next baby is a little less vicious."

Sirius chuckled down at him. "Just give it a few years, though, yeah? You'd give your poor Mum a heart attack if you brought one of those home!"

Harry gulped hard and let Sirius lead him back up to the school.

***

It was a good thing that Harry had Quidditch and school to occupy him over the next few weeks. If he was tired from hours of flying in the rain, or weighed down carrying books - mostly for Hermione - from the library, he couldn't think too much about the events of the Forest. He was constantly on the alert for more signs of diversions, but as the days passed without incident Harry became more relaxed and his worries retreated to white noise.

As Easter approached, the coldness towards Harry and Hermione thawed a little. This was helped by Harry helping Gryffindor to a stunning Quidditch victory over Hufflepuff and Hermione earning extra credits in all her classes - except Potions - which put Gryffindor right back into the race for the House Cup. Their misdemeanors were soon largely forgotten and the school was back to being perfectly pleasant to them.

But Harry started having disturbing dreams. He kept having flashing visions of worlds crashing together with sparks of violent green lightening, which seemed to make his old scar prickle. He put this down to sowilo being associated with lightening and that it was recognising it's kin in Harry's dreams, but he wished it would leave him alone. He needed all his energy to get through the mountain of extra homework that was piled on them over the Easter holidays, and that was enough of a nightmare to be going on with.

When Hermione wasn't reciting the twelve uses of dragons blood, or practising wand movements, or recording the passing of Jupiter through the Twelfth House, she joined Harry in some mild speculation about how the Philosopher's Stone might be protected downstairs. It didn't follow that it would all be random, so there must have been a pattern to the defences.

And if there was one thing Hermione did for fun, it was beat riddles.

"I think we have to assume it's an alchemical design," she mused one evening. She was drying her hair in front of the Common Room fire - which was always a lengthy process - so Harry was back to labelling her work for her, adding descriptions to her wonky drawing of the Dragon's Tongue flower.

"Why's that?" Harry asked.

"There's esoteric power in symmetry," Hermione told him. "The Philosopher's Stone is the goal of alchemy, and the process to create it is devilishly tricky. It makes sense that to increase the power of the protections, a sort of proxy alchemical opus might be incorporated into the protections."

"That makes sense," Harry nodded, impressed. "So, what are the stages of this opus?"

"There are seven, broken up into three broader stages," Hermione began. "According to Professor Lyndy Abraham, the stages are the Nigredo, Albedo and Rubedo. Black, white and red. The first five steps of the opus are the Nigredo, then one each for the other two."

"So the first five protections will take place in the dark, we can assume," Harry pondered. "Well, Fluffy and the trapdoor would be dark for stage one."

"Yes, but it's more complicated than that," Hermione continued. "Each of the seven stages has a name, is associated with a natural element, and tests a particular aspect of the alchemist."

"That sounds complex."

"It is, which is why few people ever attempt it."

"Mmmm. My mum once said it was the most complete and powerful of all magic," Harry commented. "It is the Noblest Art, manipulating nature and all that. I don't know about that. I think combat magic is far more powerful."

Hermione tutted pityingly at him. "Why does that not surprise me! You're such a boy."

"I never claimed to be anything else!" Harry quipped. "So, to get to the Stone, you reckon the thief will have to get past tasks of earth, air, fire and water?"

"I'm surmising so," Hermione sniffed. "An alchemist is a natural master of fire - as he uses it as a transmuting substance - but to ascend to the Higher Work he must master all four elements, to gain access to the fifth."

"There's a fifth element?"

"Yes," Hermione replied, then she looked away shyly.

"What is it?" Harry pressed, sitting up.

"I'm not sure I should say. Lyra wasn't sure if I should or not."

"I thought we weren't going to have any secrets anymore," Harry frowned. "What can't you tell me? Or why?"

"I cant, because the fifth element is all about why I'm here ... and why I'm here is all about you."

Harry swallowed hard at that, he always did whenever Hermione mentioned it. The fact that his best friend had crossed worlds to meet him still left him astounded and speechless, but they still didn't know why she'd been compelled to do it. Or, at least, Harry didn't.

But now, it seemed, Hermione knew more about it. And Harry wasn't about to let it go.

"What is it? Tell me ... please."

Hermione's resistance to Harry's pleading was only about as strong as his to hers, which was as brittle as sugar paper.

"Okay, this is the thing," Hermione began, hitching her knees to her chest. "After that snake attacked us in Oxford, I wanted to know why it kept going for me. Even after you were goading it, I was still the one it wanted. That didn't make sense. So I got Lyra to ask the alethiometer about it."

"Her truth reader thingy?" Harry asked. "And what did it say?"

Hermione blushed again. "It said ... it said ... that I had a special power ... over you. It said that, somehow, I could awaken a special magic in you, one that controlled all the elements. It was called quintessence, and when I looked that up, it led me to all this alchemy stuff, which led me back to the Stone."

Harry blinked hard. "So, what, I have this quintessence stuff ... in me?"

Hermione nodded. "Only nobody knows what it looks like, or even what form it takes. Only that it is ridiculously potent power. I think we saw a bit of it, when you cast those runes at the snake."

Harry remembered the day, the way his fingers trembled as a force from way deep down rose to the surface. It felt comforting that it had a name, but confusing too, as Harry had no idea how he was supposed to summon it again.

"So how do I harness it?" he asked.

"That's the thing," Hermione began quietly. "You don't ... but we do."

"I'm not sure I know what that means," Harry mumbled, his face heating rapidly.

"Neither do I," Hermione echoed. "But we can find out ... together. It's like we are two halves of the same thing ... a sort of symmetry, like I said just now. That's how the alethiometer described it, anyway. You bring parts and I bring parts. Symmetry. And together we can tap into this great power to do ... something. Only it didn't say what. But that was why Riddle attacked me more than you ... he wants me out of the way, so that I can't help bring this power out in you."

"But we don't know what it is or how to use it."

"Not right now, no."

"Typically cryptic," Harry moaned. "Just like when I saw that image of you in the Mirror of Erised when I first came across it. Maybe you were looking into the Mirror in your world at the same time, and it somehow ignited this connection we have. You sparked something in me, and I made the Mirror work."

Hermione gasped and suddenly jumped up, frantic.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Harry pressed.

"Harry! What if you are right?" Hermione cried. "What if, somehow, we activated the mirror by looking into it at the same time? What if it doesn't show an image of your heart's desire, but your heart's desire played out in another world? You looked into it and saw me, the person you need to ignite this power in you, when I was using the sister mirror in Lyra's flat. What if that turned the mirror into a window, one that allowed you to see your heart's desire in the flesh ... or to see how to get to it?"

"So what if I did?" Harry quizzed, ignoring the violent