The class came to attention when the Professor began to speak. It was time to get started. Wait, class was going to be quick and easy today? Alex wasn't sure whether she liked that or not. Normally, she would be all for quick and easy, but this was the last History of Magic class of her Hogwarts career.

They were going to discuss the Philosopher's stone. Alex knew a little something about that topic. She raised her hand hoping to get her fact out before someone beat her to it. "The Philosopher's Stone could be used to make the Elixer of Life. That would make a person immortal."

The nod back made Alec smile. And internally fanboy just a bit.

... Nobody needed to know this.

A quick and easy lesson sounded like a great idea to the eighteen year old. And the idea of being let out early. Maybe he could go and have a picnic outside. ... Maybe. If that didn't require too much walking and if, you know, it didn't start raining by the time he gathered up the food and blankets.

Philosopher's Stone? What... did he know... about the Philosopher's Stone...? Apart from the bit about Nicolas Flamel and the Elixir of Life. There was something... else... right? "Professor?" he asked, raising his hand in the air, "It had the power to turn any metal into pure gold." Nodnod.

Jeez, they would be boring him about some ruddy rock today. Ascanius just should have stayed in bed then endure this torture, which...y'know...it was for the likes of him.

Though he was sort of surprised that no one else was talking about the fact that it was, most simplistically, a stone. But maybe that answer would be a little sarcastic. Just slightly.

Ascanius didn't bother to raise his hand or say a word. However, he did know about the thing. Who didn't? It was the same stone that Harry Potter played keep away with from Voldermort. Kind of important in wizard history.

Bart sat grumpy and feeling the worst he had felt all term. He was tired of being old, tired of his knee hurting, and tired of just all of it. Why hadn't they figured out what was going on yet and why did it seem most of the staff could care less. Ugh he sat just staring at the wall.

When Professor History man started he only was half listening. Stone? What stone? He couldn't even think what the man was talking about. So he kept on daydreaming. That's when he heard someone answer about immortal,
"Are we making one so that this old stuff won't kill us?" Hey someone had to say it right? It was on everyone's mind so why not ask.

He sighed thinking about the dumb stone, "Wasn't it hidden in this castle or something?" He didn't read the history book so it was just what he had heard from someone.

Bay smiled back at the Professor.. "I'm great, thanks…" he truly loved this class.. the Professor was so cool and the lessons were so much fun..

Oh… the Philosopher's Stone… this was a very interesting topic.. he wondered what everyone else was going to say about it but he raised his hand "Sir.. it was red in colour.. so it would make gold things.. but if the stone was white it would make silver things.." he added for there were two different types right.. he hoped he remembered that correctly. putting his hand back down on his desk he took notes on what the other students were saying.

What did he know about the Philosopher's Stone? Sander waited for the others to share what they knew...and once they were done, almost all he knew about the stone had been answered.

...almost...

Sander raised his hand, "Professor, from what I recall, the moment the Stone was destroyed, both Nicholas Flamel and his wife died soon after. They did however have enough time to get their affairs in order."

Go out and enjoy the day?! What did he hope she would do--make it across the courtyard without breaking a hip?

Anyway...

The Philosopher's Stone. Sophie remembered being told stories about the stone. True stories. There were things her classmates were sharing that she didn't know, though. Still, she thought she could come up with something. Raising her hand, she said, "I heard that Harry Potter used it in the Second Wizarding War. He opened it and got to see his long-dead loved ones again."

Adi had been day dreaming about food. Yep. He was hungry even though he had eaten a snack before coming to class. Meh. He should have eaten more. Oh well.

He perked up at the Professor's mention of the Philosopher's Stone. That was one fascinating Stone. And he did know some facts about it, in fact. Adi raised his hand. "The making of it is associated with the study of alchemy.''

Lux really liked this Professor because he was so nice. "I am doing great, thank you." Beam.

Moving on to the class topic, Lux was really interested. She did love this class, it was awesome. Raising her hand, she offered something she knew about the Philosopher's Stone. "It was at Hogwarts when Harry Potter was in his First Year. It was heavily guarded."

Ella couldn't say the same and instead of admitting as much, she gave the History of Mafic Professor a smile. He could probably tell how most of the students were feeling and looking these days anyway. Smart guy, he was.

Mention of an easy lesson sounded nice and Ella sat up a bit straighter, ready to get started. She really enjoyed the discussion aspect of lessons as she usually learned something new. She also learned things about her classmates through this kind of learning. Like who to ask to be partners in future lessons and stuff. Yup, had to listen and watch them to get that down.

The Philosopher's Stone was a subject Ella had learned about and given all her NEWTs studying lately, she'd come across the subject a couple of times. Now what to add to what had already been said. Hmm. "The Philosopher's stone caused a lot of trouble and in the end, it had to be destroyed so that no one else could benefit from its power and then do harm to others."

Tag listened as everyone gave their own input when it came to the Philosophers stone. What did he know about it that he hoped no one else knew about it. "Ummm... wasn't it protected by some obstacles? Like, it was here at the castle, right? I guess that's something." The blonde said unsure. Hopefully it was something McCormack could go off of. And if it wasn't then, no problem, Tag simply listened to his classmates own answers.

The Philosopher's Stone. Hm. Alice knew a thing or two about it, but those had been already said, and she wasn't one to repeat answers. Still, she decided to give it a go. Wasn't that hard to come up with a different fact, right?

"Sir, y'know Hogwarts' vault number is 713. That's the one that got robbed two terms ago, yeah? My Gran- she's the bank manager at Gringotts- mentioned once that the school stored the Stone there for a bit. Luckily, I think someone got it out in time, 'cause there was a robbery planned for it. Or so I've heard. Bet they upped security after that by a fat load."

Gringotts. Safest place in the worst. Psh.

Getting out of class sounded nice. She could take a nap or hang out with someone. Heh. Hehe. As for the activity bit, she wasn't as enthused as she should be. Old bones and all.

Beverly was sure she's read something on the Philosopher's Stone in one of the many potion books from home. She raised her hand. "It's believed the stone could somehow boost the user's knowledge of alchemy, in which it'd make anything obtainable." That would be wicked cool. Too bad alchemy didn't interest her.

Philosopher's Stone? What Mo wouldn't give for a few minutes with one of THOSE right about now. He leaned forward against his desk and raised his hand... or tried to, at least. He only got it up about half way before his shoulder began to ache.

"The inventor of the stone, someone already mentioned his name was Flamel, he was born in the fourteenth century, which means that he used that stone to live to be over 600 years old. That... would be a lot more fun if you didn't have to be old the whole time, I guess." And he wasn't sure if the man had just aged slowly or had stopped aging or what. Hmm.

Get out of class early.......? Those were the magic words right there!

But first, they were talking about the Philosopher's Stone. And how. But what could she say that hadn't already been said? "It's easy to confuse one with a large, uncut ruby." Okay, not the best answer, but it was an answer. An out-of-the-box one, definitely. And true.

Most of what Nigel was going to say was already said. Guess that is what happens when you daydream or don't really want to answer. Someone probably already said the most obvious answer.

That is was a stone.

Still even though it was a real thing. It sounded too good to be true. With all the amazing things it could do for some random person that got a hold of it.

Now that was a shame right there, he didn't have any painkillers on him. How on earth would she make it through this class? What if she couldn't concentrate? You know what? Lex was annoyed again. This whole term had her annoyed. She was tired of hurting. Just how many people did she have to say that to before they finally got the message?? If you asked her they should have cancelled all classes, not let them suffer through them.

She really had to think about his suggestion. He had some in his office, that would be easier than having to climb those stairs back to the Healer. "Thanks Professor." Definitely taking him up on that one.

The seat beneath her took a lot of fidgeting to make comfortable but somehow she managed, nearly missing the question asked in the process. Something about the philosopher's stone?

"A lot of people would kill for that stone and it'd do me some good right about now unless someone can pop into this lesson and offer us a cure." What? it was true. They all knew where this disease was going in the end whether they wanted to admit it or not. In the event they never got cured she would at least like to live longer than til the end of the year, you know?

Leah's good mood became better as the professor smiled at her. Yeah, they were going to play games later on! Whoo-hoo! Anyway, the Philosopher's Stone.

"The Philosopher's Stone is related to a Nicholas Flamel, the guy mentioned on Albus Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card. I just don't quite know why." It was a fact, right? Leah had memorized all information on Chocolate Frog cards before, but realized that they will not come in handy very often.

McCormack furrowed his brow a bit then shook his head. Maybe he should stay another term if these kids weren’t getting their facts completely accurate. “No, no,” he started, “While it’s true that Nicholas Flamel created it, Albus Dumbledore did not assist with that particular discovery. There are other parallels between the two men’s lives however.” Yes, Dumbledore was also a reported alchemist from what he knew and they were friends perhaps, but their age difference was far too great for the boy’s statement to have been a possibility. “The stone was actually created before Dumbledore was born.”

M’hmm, Braith nodded in the seventh year’s direction. “That was one purpose the stone was used for, yes. And immortality would be a possibility if one continued to take the Elixir.” Something that would have to be maintained for sure.

Braith nodded at the Head Boy to call on him as he spotted his raised hand. “It did.. yes, that was its other main purpose, good.” M’hmm, it was good to know that the students at least had the basics down.

Braith glanced at the shy, studious one, though... no note-taking at least? He was sure he was at least listening or absorbing something. And some students learned best by doing, which he’d have the chance to shortly.

The boy’s answer had caught him slightly off guard and it took him a few seconds to regain his train of thought so he could answer. “No, unfortunately not. We won’t be making a philosopher’s stone today.” Just talking about it. He wasn’t an alchemist, see. But he supposed he could figure how someone could get that reasoning from today’s subject especially with what was currently going on at the school. “You are right about it being once hidden in this castle though, almost 100 years ago.” So much amazing history this building held!

Hmm, interesting that Mr. Bay would pull that bit of information out. He wondered how many knew that. “There were two different types theorized,” he nodded at the boy. “We’re going to focus a little bit on the one that was once inside the building. And that was indeed red.” So it made gold.

Braith nodded slowly as Mr. Strand then offered his answer. “Yes, I suppose that it was a good thing that they allowed themselves a little time for that type of thing knowing that death would be soon inevitable.” He chewed the inside of his cheek a bit as he thought this over. Curious that he would speak on that particular bit actually.

Wait.. what? It took McCormack a minute to realize what Miss Newell had mistaken the philosopher’s stone for. “Actually that would be called the Resurrection Stone. Something different from what we are speaking about today.” One of the Deathly Hallows. But certainly no less interesting.

”That is true,” Braith nodded at the young boy. It was a basic answer but certainly not wrong.

McCormack gave a nod to Miss Carrington as she raised her hand to offer an answer. A faint smile fell over his lips as he heard her response. “It was heavily guarded while it was here.” And they’d get to that soon. “Interesting that it was a few first years that could get past those obstacles though.” At least he thought so.

Braith nodded again as he listened thoughtfully to the Head Girl’s answer. “It was ultimately destroyed because of certain circumstances.” And he’d figure she already knew what the situation had been. “But that particular stone was likely around a good 500 years. Why do you think it caused so much trouble at that point and no time before then?” Really, a question for the entire class.

Sometimes Braith wondered if Mr. Kildare was really some sort of unaware genius behind a façade of seeming guesses and stabs in the dark. Or maybe just really intuitive, because it seemed that in all of his classes he happened on the very path that he would end up leading the class on. “There were several obstacles placed before it, yes.” And he supposed he did mention that along with Miss Bishop’s answer. “We’ll be going more in depth with one of those obstacles shortly.”

”Hmm.. is that right?” Braith murmured thoughtfully as he mused over Miss Fischer’s answer. He did not actually know the specific number of the Hogwart’s vault at the UK bank (or that her Gran was the manager there), though he did know of the attempted robbery when the stone had been stored there. The second attempt that turned into an actual robbery was something he had been made aware of only recently. “Good foresight on someone’s part,” he nodded, noting the possibilities if the robbery had been successful. “And maybe, though perhaps slackened in recent times,” he added in response to the security bit. Or else an actual robbery wouldn’t have happened just recently? Though it was nearly 100 years later so the lessened security wouldn’t be too unlikely had there not been further attempts.

Braith thought over young Miss Wayne’s answer a moment before responding. Those two certainly did go hand in hand, however.. “Perhaps.. though one would need to be quite skilled in alchemy in order for it to exist in the first place.”

McCormack nodded as Mr. Branxton supplied his answer. “That is a long time to be alive… and I suppose you’d be right about that. That would certainly affect his quality of life it that were the case.” He really didn’t know much about whether or not the man aged incredibly or not, though he wasn’t so sure he wanted to be a 600 year old man ever.

Braith mused over Miss Channing-Sands’ answer for a moment. “I suppose that could be true, at least by outward appearances.” Of course he had never come into contact with one to be certain, but from what he knew it did look much like that particular gemstone.

The Ravenclaw prefect appeared to be deep in thought. Or maybe just conserving his energy. He might need some of that in a little bit here anyway.

Well... what was one to say to that? Braith gave the Gryffindor a tight smile. He really wished he could offer her his sympathies with this affliction or help out in some way, but a healer he was not. “I suppose that’s true,” he said with a nod. “It’d by my guess that quite a few people would find great value in such a stone.”

Braith furrowed his brow slightly as the first year gave her answer. Not sure why? “Nicholas Flamel created the Philosopher’s Stone.” That was why.. but he offered the young girl a small smile for her efforts.


“Good, good,” Braith nodded at the class as he addressed them all again. They all seemed to have at least a basic grasp of the Philosopher’s Stone which he had expected. And those that really didn’t would certainly learn something as one of their peers brought up any tidbit of information and he responded. ”Alright, so we know that Nicholas Flamel, noted for his advances in the study of alchemy, created the Philosopher’s Stone in the 15th century and lived well into his 600s due to the Elixir of Life made from the stone itself. Though he was a friend of Albus Dumbledore and in fact worked with him as an alchemist to some degree, Dumbledore did not actually help to create this particular stone.” Just to clear that up and give a basic background. “As most of you are aware, the Philosopher’s Stone is used to turn metal unto gold and to create the Elixir of Life, extending the life of its drinker, indefinitely in theory.” Or however long the person drinks it, which Flamel and his wife eventually stopped as noted by Mr. Strand.

“And also as noted by several of you, that particular stone was once kept in this castle guarded by several obstacles before it was eventually destroyed.” Or so one would claim. And hopefully they would have a little fun with a simulation of one of the obstacles shortly here, but first more discussion. As he often enjoyed doing for his approach to class, McCormack noted several questions that had arisen to ask his class to expand on. “So a couple questions have come up while we discussing the stone, let’s talk about them before we move into our activity.” Fun while learning, hopefully. Then they could be on their way to do whatever kids did. It was just too bad many of them didn’t look or act like kids anymore. It was too bad this early dismissal might be wasted on them then.

(1) “This Philosopher’s Stone was around for about 500 years before it was apparently destroyed. Why did it cause such issues in the 1990s for this decision to be made and not at any time before then that it might have earlier been destroyed?”

(2) “As a few of you mentioned, there were several obstacles placed in front of them to keep any potential thieves away. And ultimately these obstacles were overcome by a few first years. Were they really good enough for any adult who might be desperate enough for it, had they known it was located here? Or what would you suggest instead?”


OOC: Please answer either or both question(s) and we will proceed in 24 hours or so

Sander was relieved to hear that his answer was correct. Picking up his quill he noted down the rest of the answers before taking some time to ponder on the two questions Professor McCormack had asked next.

Hmmm....Sander rubbed his chin as he recalled the events back in the 1990s and then had to think even harder about the seven obstacles that had been put in place to deter thieves. When he figured out a couple of possible answers, he raised his hand.

"Professor I believe that it only became an issue in the 1990s because it was suspected that Lord Voldemort was rising again and would most likely be looking for it. Maybe it wasn't an issue before that because people didn't know the Philosopher's Stone actually existed and if they did, there was no way they would know where it was hidden." Sander provided his answer for the first question.

....and as for the second question...

"Those obstacles were placed by very powerful witches and wizards. However, as we can see it they weren't strong enough to keep both Professor Quirrell, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Although we have to admit that Hermione was a brilliant witch and Professor Quirrell did have Lord Voldemort's help too. So I think a desperate adult could probably get through....IF he or she was as brilliant and powerful."

An optional obstacle?

..."Maybe they should have added another obstacle. Something like Fiendfyre. Touch something you're not supposed to touch and you get burned," Sander shrugged. It was just a guess.

Notes were being made. Yeah. Especially the bit about it being created in the 15th century and... vault 713 being the Hogwarts one and that was where it was placed. Because he didn't know that.

It was the first question that made Alec furrow his brows. Placing his quill down, the boy sat back in his seat, grey-blue eyes now focused focused on the board but not really looking at it. Why was it made into such a big deal in the 1990s and not before?

Finally, the Head Boy looked over at McCormack and raised his hand in the air. "Well... who's to say that it wasn't made into a big deal before? Maybe it was and that was why it had to be placed in Gringotts in the first place. And in the Hogwarts vault too, as Alice said, which... well... it would have been hard to rob that one, right?" ... Pause. "Maybe... if something did happen before, it wasn't as bad as what happened in the 1990s and they thought that they could still protect it. That might have been when things got so bad that they just had to destroy it. Maybe that was the last straw and they... had to stop the most evil dark wizard from becoming immortal. So... it had to be done." Shrug.

And... he was just going to answer that one.

Beaming at the Professor, Lux listened as he continued on with his lecture. This was interesting stuff, and she had to admit she was not the most knowledgeable about this topic, but she had some knowledge of it.

Raising her hand, she said, "In regards to the first question, I believe it was destroyed because in the 1990s, Voldemort was said to have been trying to come back into power and he probably wanted the stone. Before then, I don't think people really knew about it, and after what happened during Harry Potter's first year at school made it a lot more known and they didn't want other people to try to get a hold on it and use it for bad reasons?" If that made any sense. There were lots of greedy and power hungry people out there, and not all of them were dark wizards like Voldemort, but that didn't mean they should have the Philosopher's Stone for themselves.

"And for the second question, really powerful wizards made the obstacles, but eleven year olds managed to get past them. And though Hermione was really smart and eleven year olds can do a lot of things, that probably wasn't a good thing when guarding something so valuable. I think a desperate witch or wizard could get past the obstacles, so maybe it would have been a better idea to add more powerful enchantments to it." Gosh, she should give examples, but she couldn't think of any.

Bay raised his hand.. "Errr Professor… for the second question, i think they could have added more dangerous obstacles to ensure no one would be able to get to it.. Maybe a Dragon and they could have made the Stone invisible so if anyone did make it to the last spot to pick up the stone they would think someone has already taken it."

what was more freighting then a dragon.. and to top it off the look on someones face when they arrived not being able to see it. they would have just have gone through terrible obstacles for nothing. then when they went home and told people about it they would think it was moved.

Ohh. Two questions. Adi chose to answer just the first one, so he raised his hand. "People were growing power hungry,'' the Puffer said. "Before, no one tried to steal it but then Voldemort and changed that. And since he was the most feared wizard during that time, no one could allow him to come into possession of the Stone.''

Thank Merlin for Harry Potter or else they'd have all been living in a very different world.

Okay, questions. She had thoughts on both but as her brain was not functioning at its best, she really didn't know if her answers were going to be articulate or not. Oh well, she'd give it a go anyway. That's why she was here, yeah?

"For the first question, I guess it has to do with there being an active threat? I think...that we take precautions to protect a lot of valuable things in the world but until there is an immediate threat, people don't tend to get too worried about where they are as long as they're in a safe place. I think people always knew the stone was powerful and could be dangerous in the wrong hands but until those hands reached out to take it, people maybe weren't aware of the gravity of its existence?" Did that make any sense at all? Ella knew what she'd meant to say but she just hoped that the Professor got the gist of it.

As for the second question, Ella bit her lip and then continued. "I'm not sure what I would use to protect the stone. Maybe runes. We've been learning about runic wards and the curses placed on objects and I think that if a powerful enough one were used, it could have maybe helped." Just something different to think about.