Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Strategy and Cheat Codes
Epilogue
"Jamie!! Look at this!!" Janie's excited voice burst into the boys' dorm. She followed just behind it at a dead run. "Look at... Oh! Hello, Neville!!"
I looked up to find her clutching a book. At first glance it looked like The Book - without its plain parchment cover.
"What are you doing!?" I hissed, with an anxious glance at Longbottom who was packing his trunk. There was no way to pretend that he hadn't seen The Book.
"Look!!" Janie grabbed me bodily and shoved me into the nearest corner, blocking Neville's view with her own body. She shoved The Book in my face.
"What?" I said, removing my glasses so I could read very close up.
"Read the title!" she whispered.
Longbottom spoke up. "I can leave - if you want your privacy..."
"Yeah - go!" Jamie waved him out of the room with her free hand.
"Read the title!" she repeated.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Strategy and Cheat Codes, I nearly crossed my eyes as I focused on the words. "Wait! What!?"
I read The Book's title once more.
"The Chamber of Secrets?" I looked up at Janie. "I don't understand."
"I'll just be going, then," Longbottom said - loudly enough for us to be sure to hear him.
"Goodbye, Neville!" Janie dismissed him quite rudely - from his own room - without turning around.
"Where did you get this?"
"It changed!" Janie went back to whispering again, but very excitedly. "It's the same book, Jamie! We hadn't opened it since - well, you know - and I was going to return it to you - as a keepsake, I suppose, because it was no longer useful - and when I removed my hand-made cover, this was what I found! Look!! It's all different inside!!"
"You realize what this means, don't you?" I sighed wearily, putting on my glasses once more.
"Yes! We're going to be spending the summer together - and you don't have to sound so glum about it - Potter!"
"Wait a minute! We are!?"
"Of course! We'll be reading this book together! We have only two months! What did you think I meant?" she asked with some hesitation.
"I was considering that the next school year is threatening to be just as crazy as this past one - if we'll need a book to get through it, that is," I gave her a worried look.
"Yes! Isn't it exciting!!"
"Well..."
"This past year has been brilliant, Jamie! I made top of my year, we each wiped our enemies list clean, and we..." Janie lowered her voice to not even a whisper, "... you know..."
Yes - we'd stolen the Philosopher's Stone - and gotten away clean. That was the important part.
"Sit down!" Janie plopped onto my bed and patted the space beside her. "I want to read it now! "
"Maybe we should take it to the library and give Neville his room back."
"Even better!" She bounced up again and raced out the door. "You can go back in, now!" I heard her call to Longbottom.
We met in the common room a minute later. Janie had replaced the "Class Notes" parchment cover on The Book and we ran full-tilt to the third floor.
Why not run in the corridors? The House Cup had already been awarded and there could be no detentions, as the Hogwarts Express was leaving in three hours.
"Shouldn't you two be packing?" Madam Pince looked up from her desk in surprise. Her library was otherwise deserted.
"In a little while," Janie whispered - out of habit, I suppose - before she dragged me to a far corner.
She opened the book and her finger traced down the Table of Contents page.
"The Ron Weasley Strategy?" her finger paused. "He's dead!"
"It reads 'Ginny Weasley Strategy' for me," I noted. "I guess she's not giving up."
Janie quickly turned to the indicated page. "This is wrong," she frowned. "It's written as if Ron were still alive!"
"Yeah - my 'Ginny Weasley' bit mentions him, too - a lot! Wait! What's this!? I'm to be locked in my room all summer? With bars on the window!?"
"Yes! My 'Ron Weasley' version mentions that," Janie nodded. "Keep reading!"
We were interrupted an hour later by Madam Pince clearing her throat.
"It's now nine o'clock," she informed us. "Breakfast is over at half-nine and there will be no lunch, as you'll be on the Hogwarts Express - hopefully," she eyed us both. "Have you finished packing your trunks, yet?"
"Er..." we replied guiltily.
"We can read this on the Express," Janie said, snapping The Book closed, lest Madam Pince catch a glimpse of it.
The Book fell open again as we gobbled our breakfast. We'd decided to finish our packing immediately after breakfast, then hurry to the Hogsmeade train station. If we arrived early we could secure a compartment all to ourselves.
We packed away some breakfast food for lunch - toast and sausages wrapped in napkins - so we would not have to open our compartment door even for the lunch trolley.
"Bars on your window, Jamie!?" Janie shook her head in disbelief. "That's so cruel! It should be illegal!"
I looked out the window of our compartment as the Scottish scenery sped past.
"We'll think of something," I turned to smile at her. "We've got four more hours before we reach London, after all."
Fin.
"Jamie!! Look at this!!" Janie's excited voice burst into the boys' dorm. She followed just behind it at a dead run. "Look at... Oh! Hello, Neville!!"
I looked up to find her clutching a book. At first glance it looked like The Book - without its plain parchment cover.
"What are you doing!?" I hissed, with an anxious glance at Longbottom who was packing his trunk. There was no way to pretend that he hadn't seen The Book.
"Look!!" Janie grabbed me bodily and shoved me into the nearest corner, blocking Neville's view with her own body. She shoved The Book in my face.
"What?" I said, removing my glasses so I could read very close up.
"Read the title!" she whispered.
Longbottom spoke up. "I can leave - if you want your privacy..."
"Yeah - go!" Jamie waved him out of the room with her free hand.
"Read the title!" she repeated.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Strategy and Cheat Codes, I nearly crossed my eyes as I focused on the words. "Wait! What!?"
I read The Book's title once more.
"The Chamber of Secrets?" I looked up at Janie. "I don't understand."
"I'll just be going, then," Longbottom said - loudly enough for us to be sure to hear him.
"Goodbye, Neville!" Janie dismissed him quite rudely - from his own room - without turning around.
"Where did you get this?"
"It changed!" Janie went back to whispering again, but very excitedly. "It's the same book, Jamie! We hadn't opened it since - well, you know - and I was going to return it to you - as a keepsake, I suppose, because it was no longer useful - and when I removed my hand-made cover, this was what I found! Look!! It's all different inside!!"
"You realize what this means, don't you?" I sighed wearily, putting on my glasses once more.
"Yes! We're going to be spending the summer together - and you don't have to sound so glum about it - Potter!"
"Wait a minute! We are!?"
"Of course! We'll be reading this book together! We have only two months! What did you think I meant?" she asked with some hesitation.
"I was considering that the next school year is threatening to be just as crazy as this past one - if we'll need a book to get through it, that is," I gave her a worried look.
"Yes! Isn't it exciting!!"
"Well..."
"This past year has been brilliant, Jamie! I made top of my year, we each wiped our enemies list clean, and we..." Janie lowered her voice to not even a whisper, "... you know..."
Yes - we'd stolen the Philosopher's Stone - and gotten away clean. That was the important part.
"Sit down!" Janie plopped onto my bed and patted the space beside her. "I want to read it now! "
"Maybe we should take it to the library and give Neville his room back."
"Even better!" She bounced up again and raced out the door. "You can go back in, now!" I heard her call to Longbottom.
We met in the common room a minute later. Janie had replaced the "Class Notes" parchment cover on The Book and we ran full-tilt to the third floor.
Why not run in the corridors? The House Cup had already been awarded and there could be no detentions, as the Hogwarts Express was leaving in three hours.
"Shouldn't you two be packing?" Madam Pince looked up from her desk in surprise. Her library was otherwise deserted.
"In a little while," Janie whispered - out of habit, I suppose - before she dragged me to a far corner.
She opened the book and her finger traced down the Table of Contents page.
"The Ron Weasley Strategy?" her finger paused. "He's dead!"
"It reads 'Ginny Weasley Strategy' for me," I noted. "I guess she's not giving up."
Janie quickly turned to the indicated page. "This is wrong," she frowned. "It's written as if Ron were still alive!"
"Yeah - my 'Ginny Weasley' bit mentions him, too - a lot! Wait! What's this!? I'm to be locked in my room all summer? With bars on the window!?"
"Yes! My 'Ron Weasley' version mentions that," Janie nodded. "Keep reading!"
We were interrupted an hour later by Madam Pince clearing her throat.
"It's now nine o'clock," she informed us. "Breakfast is over at half-nine and there will be no lunch, as you'll be on the Hogwarts Express - hopefully," she eyed us both. "Have you finished packing your trunks, yet?"
"Er..." we replied guiltily.
"We can read this on the Express," Janie said, snapping The Book closed, lest Madam Pince catch a glimpse of it.
The Book fell open again as we gobbled our breakfast. We'd decided to finish our packing immediately after breakfast, then hurry to the Hogsmeade train station. If we arrived early we could secure a compartment all to ourselves.
We packed away some breakfast food for lunch - toast and sausages wrapped in napkins - so we would not have to open our compartment door even for the lunch trolley.
"Bars on your window, Jamie!?" Janie shook her head in disbelief. "That's so cruel! It should be illegal!"
I looked out the window of our compartment as the Scottish scenery sped past.
"We'll think of something," I turned to smile at her. "We've got four more hours before we reach London, after all."
Fin.
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