Arnavon and Tilly began haunting Hagrid, not that the large man minded that particular form of haunting. Having a large furry pair of helpers about certainly wasn't that bothersome. They were magical beasts, but always so pleasant to be around. The odds of being bit by either of them felt quite low. They had only grown closer in their time at Hogwarts.

Snape had been cold, dismissive, and at times, rude, but that had never been anything new for Hagrid. Having the two eager souls to chat about problems with felt like only a boon, so he did. "Shouldn't you two be with yer 'owners'?" He made quotes with the words, knowing neither of their owners actually had possession of either free-willed creature before him. "Ya can't do much owling for either if yer always hangin' 'round me everyday!"

"Is there anything to owl for?" Arnavon tapped at his snout as he considered it. "They haven't sent me any letters since I've gotten here. Everything is okay."

"Okay," echoed Tilly as she moved behind Hagrid and got to massaging his shoulders. "You say?"

"Hm? Oh, right. So—" And he continued with his stories of the day, watching as both furred creatures listened intently. The stress in his shoulders lessened by the moment, soothing him greatly.

Arnavon held up his hands as if cradling something large enough to take both. "Dragon. Where did you get it? It's safe now, but how did you find it?"

Tilly perked at the question. "Yes. Where?"

Hagrid couldn't help but smile at the question. "There are dragons out there. Ones who go where they want. Dangerous, maybe, but they don't like people." He shook his head at the idea. "Now, if I went trying to pluck a dragon egg out of their nest, they'd set me on fire, or rip me apart, either way. Wouldn't be fun."

Arnavon bobbed his head, massive ears flopping in the motion. "You didn't get it from a nest. Where did you get it?"

"I'm getting to it." Hagrid laughed at the eagerness on display. "Some bloke, had a hood up, so didn't see his face, but he had Norbert, still in his egg. He showed up and offered it up to me."

Tilly blinked with wonder. Though of few words, even she knew something was odd there. "Why give?" She leaned in from over Hagrid. "Precious."

"You'd think." Hagrid shrugged lightly. "He took me out for some drinks, we chatted. Seemed like a nice enough kind of gent."

Arnavon put his hand on Hagrid's knee. "We're here."

"Yeah, yeah." Hagrid coughed a bit and leaned back. "Anyway, we talked. He said he wanted to take care of the dragon, but didn't know how to do it. So, he figured I could do a better job, that's all."

Tilly stared at Hagrid. "Talk. Dark voice?"

Hagrid tilted his head, shrugging again. "Oh, I dunno, now that you mention it." He sounded unsure at best.

Arnavon hopped away and returned swiftly with a tall drink to offer Hagrid. "What did you talk about? Fun things?"

"Sure did!" Hagrid drank down the proffered drink with gusto. "Got to talking about Hogwarts a lot, and a little bit about Fluffy."

Tilly inclined her head left and right. "Fluffy, dog?"

"Dog." Hagrid nodded firmly at that. "Three heads. Pretty sure I mentioned him before."

Arnavon huffed softly. "Why talk about Fluffy? What did they want to know?"

Hagrid shifted in his seat a little, holding his empty glass. "Just about what it eats, and that he can be, you know, pretty sleepy sometimes." He sighed lightly. "Play a soft song, puts him right out. Not a good habit for a guard dog to have, but it hasn't gotten in the way yet."

Tilly gave him a look, glancing to Arnavon and back. "Sing?"

"That's an option. Most any soft melody." He leaned back, eyes half-lidded. "I'm getting a bit sleepy, my false-owl friends."

Tilly grabbed a blanket and draped it over Hagrid, patting him gently. "Sleep then. Good sleep."

Arnavon tilted his head up, ears flapping a moment. "We should go." He waved for Tilly to follow along as they left the sleepy Hagrid to his rest.

Once outside, he bumped the door shut with a hip. "Drinking is a bad habit."

"Yes," agreed Tilly. She held out her hands, wiggling them. "Sleepy drink?"

Arnavon bobbed his head as they walked side by side. "Something like that." He ran a hand through his headfur. "We should get back. We have important news." He touched noses with Tilly. "Good job."

Tilly fluffed up her chest fur a bit in pride at the compliment. "Yes. Good job. Back soon." They both took to the air and jumped off towards Hogwarts, specifically Harry's room.

All three of the friends, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, were amazed at the news Tilly and Arnavon brought. There was a way past Fluffy. "If we know." Hermione pointed to herself. "Someone else could know too. We have to act. I say we go straight to Dumbledore right this instant!"

"First thing in the morning," Ron agreed, yawning a little. "Who knows what might happen in the night?"

Harry inclined his head, "A night might be too long, Ronnie. I'm with Hermione on this. This isn't something we can wait on."

Ron groaned, dragging a hand over his face. "Sure, okay. I'll go along." He stepped up and nudged Flurry. "Want to come along?"

"Yes." She hopped to her hooves and joined the crew as they descended the stairs to the base of the tower they lived in and spread out into the wider halls with a purpose.

On the way to Dumbledore's office, they ran into another faculty member. McGonagall waved them away. "You won't find Dumbledore, not today. He's run off to London for something or another."

Harry stepped nervously in place. "We have to see him. Someone may snatch the philosopher's stone!"

McGonagall shook her head at that. "He's not here, and it'll have to wait. Besides, that thing is being kept safe by you-know-what." She peered at them suspiciously. "Which you shouldn't know, but I have a feeling you do."

Hermione huffed gently. "We want it to be safe."

"And it is!" McGonagall put a hand at her hip. "It's locked up quite safe and sound. Nobody will be bothering it. As if they could. They couldn't even get past the first step, I imagine." She gave one last wave, leaving them as she walked down another hallway.

Flurry tapped Ron on the shoulder. "Should we leave a note?"

"She said he's not there." Ron spread his hands helplessly.

Harry pointed with his snout. "We should get moving. If we find nothing, nothing lost. But we have to get moving. This isn't a coincedence!"

Hermione nodded firmly. "I imagine not! Snape drew Dumbledore away just in time to snatch the stone! We've not a moment to lose."

They continued their way through the hallways of Hogwarts, making their way towards where they knew the entrance to be. They could not stand by and allow a great evil to prevail. "Arnavon said a song could calm Fluffy. Any of you good singers?" They peered at him like he was mad.

Well, except Flurry. "We'll handle it." She went up to his side and touched against him. "A sibling duet will have him snoozing in no time. Ponies are great at singing. It's built in!"

"Ponies can sing?" Ron asked the question on all of their minds.

Flurry inclined her head left and right in annoyance. "Later. Just watch and see." She strode ahead, lashing her tail for them to follow after her.

Together, they dared to press past the door, knowing that great three headed dog wasn't too far past it. They followed her with care, every footstep deliberate. Hermione shuddered as she looked back. "Shouldn't we be quieter?"

"The more sound the better," Harry responded, stepping up to Flurry's side.

With a chorus of barks and howls, great clacking paw steps approached rapidly. Flurry smiled as she stood at full height. "Slumbering pup with three furry heads, It's time to rest upon your beds." She nudged Harry gently.

He trembled, unsure. He was not used to heartsongs. "Let melodies soft and sweet as can be drift through the night to find thee."

"The ponies' voices raise in song," sang out Flurry in a sweet note. "A soothing tune to calm you along."

Harry swallowed thickly and raised his voice to sing with her. "As moon and stars shine bright above," The song was coming to him more easily. "Be lulled to sleep by notes of love."

Flurry flapped her wings with a little giggle. "Gentle breezes carry each refrain," She ran a hoof over Fluffy's jaw, the dog already wobbling and relaxed. "To ease your minds and banish pain."

Harry skirted along as Fluffy descended to the ground. "Now close your eyes, let peace abound," He waved for the others to follow him. "And slumber well with lullaby's sound."

With Fluffy sent to peaceful dreams, they all hurried past and vanished into the trapdoor he normally guarded. Ron laughed at the whole thing. "Did you see that? I guess ponies really can sing when they want to."

"We have a song for every occasion," boasted Flurry with a little bow. "Now, which way to the next challenge?"

"Flurry," scolded Harry, unable to keep a smile off his face. "That was amazing, but incredibly reckless. What if I messed up?! I'm not a singer. I'm not even a pony, er, all a pony." He shuffled in place awkardly.

Flurry sat down and raised her hooves to either of his round cheeks. "You're my brother. A brother of a pony is a pony." She rolled her eyes, as if that should be obvious. "I knew you'd be able to sing as soon as you tried."

Hermione stepped past them. "We have work to do." She pressed ahead with a sense of purpose, moving down the spiral staircase with care. At the bottom, she came to a stop. "How is this going to go?"

Ron looked around curiously just a moment before plants reached for him and all the others, aiming to smother them in their tracks.

Hermione got out a quick spell before they could all be ensnared, her wand bursting into brilliant fire and light, scaring away the plants from around her. Seeing that, Harry and Flurry lit up their horns brightly. With three lights, they were able to step carefully forward around the weeds. They were quiet, as if any sounds could draw the plants back towards them.

Ron shivered a little. "That was really close." He pointed at Hermione. "You did amazing." He took another careful step down.

She blushed a little at the compliment. "I remembered the lesson on Devil's Snare. Light and Heat. Fire has both, fortunately for us." She reached to tap her unicorn friends on the horn. "And you two have at least one." She shut the door on the room the held the snares. "C'mon. We made it past two barriers. If we can do it, so can Snape."

They followed after her in silence, and eventually found themselves in a room with a dizzying variety of flying keys and broomsticks of all shapes and sizes.

Ron rubbed behind his head. "Core, how do we get past this mess?"

Author's Note

We draw closer to the end. What lurks ahead? Well, if you read the book, you have some clues.

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