Ch 85: Weathered Stone

*Anos's POV*

'Well, that was fast.' I thought as Alucard explained what he thought was in the vault.

"7 can mean anything ranging from a product of Blacksmiths to Alchemy and while 1 and 3 alone don't hold any significance that I'm aware of, 13 does. Especially for European wizards. In this context, it means something similar to Corruption or Rot." Alucard explained in a hurried voice.

'Rot or Corruption huh?' I mused in my own corner.

It was surprising how close they had gotten on their own without any hints from my side.

" We've 20 minutes till dinner. Let's start with Alchemy or Creation. If it's related to the school..... have any of you heard any of the teachers mention something about Alchemy or anything of the sort at all?" Alucard continued.

" All of us have one subject or another we're proficient at, if it's related to the school then the teachers must know about it. And if they know then they might have mentioned something." I said adding in.

It was a small enough hint and at this point I had my fun for long enough, a bit of help won't matter much.

" Well, Madam Hooch certainly didn't," Harriet replied immediately. Trying hard to think.

" Dad never mentioned anything, he also never became a Journeyman so him having acquaintances outside of the Potions community is rare." I chirped in as well.

" I would be surprised if Quirell knew what's in his own cupboard, he certainly never mentioned anything of the sort," Alucard said smoothly, adjusting his position on the couch.

" I wouldn't say Binns really cares for anything much in the school. He doesn't even leave the classroom from what I've seen." Simon added in.

" I doubt Hagrid knows much but Harriet did he ever say something else? Like if someone specifically in the school asked him to get the stone or something?" I questioned from my corner of the room.

" Hmm, not anyone except Headmaster Dumbledore," Harriet replied.

" That does make sense, if anyone knows what's happening in this school it's Dumbledore. So the object is related to him." Alucard said, scratching his ring.

" Considering the amount of friends Dumbledore has throughout the world we're back to square one," Simon said, sighing.

" We've 13 as well. Rot or Corruption." Alucard retorted.

" Rotting can occur only after something's dead. Or is somehow supposed to be dead but isn't," Lan added and I looked at him quizzically.

" What's the matter? I did say I enjoy puzzles." Lan replied nonchalantly.

'What kind of puzzles are those?.' I thought inside my mind, not voicing my question.

"So something opposite to death in a way, prolonging something unnaturally," Alucard spoke to himself more than us.

" Inferi," Simon replied suddenly serious.

"What're those?" Harriet asked.

"Believe me you don't wanna know but in short they're corpses that can be resurrected using Necromancy. They're supposed to be dead but are still alive." Simon answered.

" The worst part is that they're usually human corpses. The term Inferi usually refers to the humanoid ones." Alucard replied with a hint of disgust.

" We call them Jianghsi. They're found throughout the world. I've seen one, I'll certainly say that whatever was inside that was rotten to its very core." Lan replied plainly.

'How did we get to Necromancy?' I questioned at the sudden change of topic.

" It's prolonging or unnatural prolonging of life. Anyone of us know an object that can do something like that?" I asked steering the conversation back to its natural course.

"My own kind is immortal, you as a Progenitor certainly are but I'll not call any of us Rotten or Corrupted by our very nature. Must be something that's forcefully giving Immortality to others." Alucard hummed in thought.

" Forest Trolls only live for 10 years. That's quite less from other types of trolls." Simon added.

"Well, they certainly don't have the biggest urge to voice that or seek any other method of prolonging life. A creature that can understand the concept of immortality and actively tries to covet it." Alucard replied deep in thought.

"Humans. Humans are the ones with the understanding of eternal life, the will to covet it, and the means to achieve it." Lan said conclusively.

'Oh, they're quite close.' I thought, hiding my grin.

" Well, you don't really see any of us Humans as Immortals. One of my ancestors lived for 160 years but I'll hardly call that Immortality. There aren't any Immortal Humans that aren't far removed from what you can even call human." Simon replied strongly.

" Except there are. We do have someone that is human but still relatively Immortal." Alucard replied as the Fireplace started burning.

" Who is it? I never heard of one." Simon asked.

Instead of replying, Alucard simply rushed to his room and brought back a Tome that he opened to a certain page and showed all of us.

" Nicolas Flamel. Made the Philosophers stone that grants its user eternal life but not eternal youth. Made in the 14th Century after visiting the Ethereal Chateau. In the image of the Bloodstone. And he's human as well." Alucard said smiling.

"And most importantly a great friend of our Headmaster Dumbledore," Alucard said triumphantly.

*Bang*

The gate to our common room shook and all of us jumped in surprise.

" Shit, we're late for dinner," I said looking at the time.

"Run," Alucard said, still smiling.

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Author's Notes: This chapter was brought to you by; The Ultrakill theme [I found the game via the Max0r video] so even though I cant play the game I can listen to the soundtrack, which is mighty fine.

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