Harry Potter: I’ve always been here.

He immediately switched to an extremely aloof manner, and spoke airily to the question posed to him, "Well, I can't actually say for certain why they chose this particular school. I'm not sure that they had all that high of an opinion of Hogwarts given what happened to what they last entrusted to your care."

Dumbledore flinched slightly at that, but then he nodded his head. "I admit that I am entirely at fault for the destruction of Nicholas' stone."

Harry shrugged a little bit, his tone was apathetic, "Well, wise people are known to say that admitting one's mistakes are certainly a good place to start." Harry certainly wasn't going to provide excuses or forgiveness for the headmaster. Dumbledore frowned at Harry's response as much for the apathy as he was for the unforgiving tone. "Forgive me, if you don't mind me commenting… I'm surprised that you seem rather unconcerned with the loss of the stone."

Harry frowned for a moment. Perenelle and Nicholas had argued over this point with Harry as a spectator. He had found it rather curious to watch their interactions. For all of Nicholas enjoyment of pranks, he was friends with Dumbledore and was of the opinion they should provide a reason for their continued existence. Perenelle on the other hand was all for heaping guilt on Dumbledore and poking his foibles.

After much back and forth Nicholas had won the argument and they had come up with an agreement on what to tell Dumbledore. Perenelle had pouted for nearly the entire evening after the discussion. An action Harry found amusing. Someone of her age pouting like a child. However when he had been prepared to make a comment about it, a warning look from Nicholas had kept him from saying anything.

Pernelle had been somewhat mollified in the end though. Their goal was to keep Dumbledore from trying to examine Harry himself too closely. Instead they wanted him chasing dead ends by chasing Harry's history. The route they decided to take with their story would still be utterly truthful, and at the same time probably knock Dumbledore for another loop. Something she took an almost vicious delight in doing.

Harry allowed a placid smile to replace the frown on his face. "I'm not sure why I should get overly worked up about it, Headmaster. A Philosopher's Stone takes over a decade to successful transmute. While the work is time consuming and slow, it's not overly taxing."

Dumbledore was frowning, and regarding Harry with concern in his eyes. "Yes, I'm well aware of how long the process takes. Nicholas explained to me the time requirements at one point. However, even if he's passed the secret on to you, the passing of the Flamels will be a great loss." There was a combination of anger at Harry's seeming dismissal of the death's of the Flamels, as well as some curiosity laced into the tone.

Harry knew that the Headmaster was fishing for information to see if Harry had been told how to make the Philosopher's stone, and he could also hear the unspoken rebuke in the Headmaster's tone, but Harry's response was very calm and calculated. "Their passing? I assure you, they are in fine health."

"Yes, Nicholas said he had enough Elixir to get his affairs in order. However that is not an infinite supply." Dumbledore responded with a frown on his face.

Harry figured he knew the reason behind the frown. He had completely dodged around Dumbledore's unspoken question on the creation of a Philosopher's Stone. That was likely not the behavior he expected of a teenager. Dumbledore had probably expected some level of pride or boasting of the knowledge. Or perhaps he expected denial, instead Harry had completely avoided the topic. Something her was relatively sure had thrown Dumbledore off.

"Of course it isn't infinite. Why would it be? When they run out, they'll just make some more as they always have done." Harry kept his voice and words polite, and added a slight bit of puzzlement to his tone. Harry was well aware that he was intentionally baiting the headmaster. Whether or not the Dumbledore of this world was the same as the one on his world was irrelevant. However, Harry was equally as aware that he was probably enjoying the twisting of Dumbledore's beard a little bit too much.

Dumbledore frowned, this time when he spoke, it was as if he were speaking to an absurdly slow student who was failing to grasp an incredibly basic concept in class. "But the Philosopher's stone was destroyed… ergo he can't make any more."

There was an amused smile on Harry's face as he tilted his head to regard the headmaster. "Do you honestly think they only had the one? Especially if it was so important to their survival?" Harry was careful to phrase his comment as a question.

Dumbledore sat forward a bit, his eyes wide as he stared at Harry. His voice came out a combination of hoarse and shocked. "He told me he only ever had the one. That he never felt the need to make more than one."

Harry smirked a little bit, "One of the best ways to hide something is if no one knows it exists in the first place."

Dumbledore frowned, all geniality gone from his expression, "Nicholas and I have been friends for almost a century. Why wouldn't he share this information with me?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore, managing to keep his own anger in check. He recognized that at the moment, he was angry at the question from someone who was so like his own Dumbledore. "He was friends enough with you to lend you a stone of incredible power. I would say that, in and of itself, should be a fair testament that your friendship is significant. We will completely ignore what you did with that trust for the time being. However, let's explore how well you value your friendship with the Nicholas. Do you share all of your secrets with Nicholas?"

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