#7: The Theoretical Physicists' Stone

“Wait,” I said slowly. “I thought you were dead.”

Hannah, Mitch, and I were following Dumbledore through the castle. It was just as I imagined while reading the books – great stone walls, statues of armor everywhere, and plenty of moving pictures. I could barely take it all in. I was rather confused after popping out of a sack of children and finding myself at a magical castle.

“What?” Dumbledore said, his eyebrows rising over the half-moon spectacles. “Who do you think I am?”

“… Dumbledore?”

“No, no! My dear confused children,” replied apparently not Dumbledore. “That was my predecessor. I’m Professor Fumblegate.”

Hannah and I looked at each other skeptically while Mitch was sensing a disturbance in the force. Before I could comment on it, I spotted a giant mural and gasped. I grabbed Hannah’s arm and pointed excitedly.

“Hannah it’s the fruit mural! Quick! Let’s tickle the pear! I’m starving!” I hurried over to the mural and began searching for the pear. Unfortunately, I soon discovered I was too short to reach the pear and sulked dejectedly back to the group.

“Curse that JK Rowling,” grumbled Fumblegate, “revealing all of our secrets. I ought to turn her into a Chihuahua!”

“That’d be the richest Chihuahua in the world,” Mitch commented. “Anyway, you need us to guard the Philosopher’s Stone?”

“Did I say Philosopher?” Fumblegate asked. “I meant TPS.”

“What’s that?”

“Physicists created it to unleash all the secrets of the universe but now the Praying Mantis Baby wishes to use it to aid in its regeneration.”

“Regeneration?” Hannah asked, nearly knocking over a statue of armor while gawking at the flying buttresses.

“That is how it created the army. It had Mrs. Stone repeatedly cut it in half so more praying mantis babies could form, but now it’s reached its limit. If it were to be cut again it would not regenerate for some time,” Fumblegate explained. “It seeks the TPS to discover how to infinitely regenerate.”

“We must destroy it!” I said. “It’s too dangerous to have in existence.”

Sighing, Fumblegate said, “It cannot be created nor destroyed – as is the law. It was merely discovered.”

“Then we shall guard it with our lives,” Hannah declared.