Alexandra had to sing again to put the Cerberus to sleep and get out of the forbidden corridor, but the reverse crossing of the forbidden corridor was cleared in less than half an hour.
No, the real reason she had wanted the Philosopher Stone was for the thrill of it and the opportunity it represented to annoy her magical guardian, a certain Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
Locking again the door leading to the huge Cerberus, Alexandra managed to go back to the tower of the Eagles without drawing undue attention, though she was almost discovered by Peeves and the riddle to access the common room was bloody difficult at this hour.
Entering her bedroom, she put the Philosopher stone in a package and gave it to Atalanta, who had widened her owl eyes with the arrival of her mistress.
"I need you to carry the Stone to the secret stash I showed you in August." She said to her owl.
Atalanta hooted twice, pointing her beak to the window as to signify 'Have you seen the weather outside?'
"I know, I know. Three treats?"
Atalanta hooted five times.
"Fine, you win." Alexandra affirmed, inwardly sighing at the bribery that was required to deliver courier in the wizarding world.
After a short meal, the snowy white owl departed from Hogwarts, with her precious package in her claws.
Watching her leaving the castle, Alexandra smiled.
"Operation Grand Chelem is successful. I wonder how you will react to that Headmaster?"
2 January 1991, Hogwarts, Scotland
"This is an interesting development, wouldn't you say, Fawkes?"
The voice of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was showing signs of what could only be described as curiosity. On top of the infamous mirror of Erised, the red and gold phoenix serving as his companion thrilled in a delighted tone.
"I only regret not being here to watch it."
A new thrill came from the fire bird. The Headmaster emitted a series of rapid twirls with his wand, making the magical artefact in front of him glow of a pale golden.
"Truly intriguing." Told in a contemplating voice the Chief Warlock. "The thief reset all the magical protections and enchantments to their initial forms. Save Gellert and Tom, I did not believe someone on this world had the capacity to do it."
A mournful son came out the beak of the Phoenix.
"No, it was not them, Fawkes. The magical signature is different and...not human. I wonder..." The voice of Albus Dumbledore trailed away, the old wizard constantly caressing his silver beard while whispering the incantations bringing the enchantments of the Mirror to their desired state.
"I suppose I will have to demand a new appointment with the Department of Mysteries." Dumbledore thought out loud after his examinations and casting were done.
"I almost feel bad for the thief, you know." Said conversationally to his phoenix the Supreme Mugwump. "Triumphing over all these trials...and obtaining a fake Philosopher Stone. The disappointment..." The right hand of the Headmaster searched in one of the numerous pockets of his bright green-golden robe for a moment, before emerging with a blood-coloured stone of minor size and placing it in the depths of the Mirror.
"I will put the listening wards at their maximum setting tomorrow, however. It would not do to alert the band of traitors in my staff of the traps I have installed for them here. The Weasley Twins had only managed to reach Minerva's challenge, but this new attempt was successful." The Chief Warlock nodded positively to himself. "Yes. Legilimency then Obliviation."
The man who had defeated Grindelwald's reflection in the Mirror of Erised was downright malicious.
"It is for the Greater Good, naturally."
7 March 1992, Hogwarts, Scotland
Honestly, when Alexandra stole the Philosopher Stone from the clutches and obstacles of the venerable Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, she had expected the man who tried to be a grandfather version of Merlin to be at Hogwarts within a matter of minutes. Given the difficulty of the trials Alexandra had passed through (which she had done with four months of magical education), she had been forced to conclude some alarms and warnings had been sent to the Headmaster as soon as she set a foot in this forbidden corridor. It was the only thing which made sense. If her theory that the obstacles had been created to test Neville Longbottom, the Golden Trio and the rest of the first-year Gryffindors were accurate, then the Headmaster had surely put some kind of magical cameras or device to spy every student temerarious or stupid enough to enter the corridor. Perhaps, in her haste to steal the legendary Stone and pay back the old wizard, she had been too hasty. Methods to hide her presence would surely have come in handy.
Surprisingly, she had been dead wrong. When she woke up late on January 1 and went to the Great Hall wishing a "Happy New Year!" to everyone she met including the Weasley Twins. The Headmaster had not come back from the ICW event he had travelled to yet. Alexandra had been outright suspicious of this.
Surely, with a Philosopher Stone being kept at Hogwarts, Dumbledore would have a way to be warned if anybody tried to go down the Forbidden Corridor, or if something important happened at Hogwarts required his supervision.
Apparently, her idea of logic and Dumbledore's were not sharing a lot of common views, as the man throughout the year that had just ended had been more often absent than present at Hogwarts. Alexandra forced herself to remember that the alerts could be tied down in methods her magical education hadn't covered yet, and the Chief Warlock could simply bide his time before decisively moving against her. In that case, Dumbledore would arrest her as soon as he returned to the thousand-year-old fortress.
The reality was far more disappointing. As a matter of fact, the Headmaster did not come back until the afternoon of January 5, less than three hours before all the other students and professors arrived via their own methods of transportation and the Hogwarts Express. To Alexandra's relief, Dumbledore was still the same when he wished them a good year that evening.
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