Thankfully Nick knew where the meeting was taking place because Griff never been up this many floors before. Everything seemed to be fancier in the higher levels, even the door knobs! Nick led Griff into a room where the High Council was waiting. It appeared that the room was just for the Council to loom over whoever was presented before them. One older woman and four old men stared down their wrinkled noses, their eyes already picking over their person for any flaws.

Seated a little higher than his colleagues was the oldest looking man with the sourest expression of the lot. Nick took his place directly in front of the group like a prisoner at trial. Griff folded his hand trying to look like he was professional in the background.

“Ah, Nicholas Flamel,” The man in the middle spoke with more authority than his small frame leads Griff to believe. “Seven months ago we granted funding to your research on the application of Dragon stomachs in Alchemy. “

“Yes.” Nick agreed quickly. The old man gave a look before chiding him for interrupting.

“According to my associate you have created a transmutation stone instead. Now Mr. Flamel, explain to the Council why we shouldn’t terminate your research and dismiss you from the premises for violating the terms you had initially agreed upon.”

Griff saw Nick take a steadying breath before speaking.

“As we know Dragons use precious metals and stones to line their nests. For centuries soldiers have slain dragons to bring back these supposed stolen treasures for their kingdoms. I theorized that rather than stealing these items from human the Dragons naturally produce them. Using a combination of sigils, and dragon elements I was able to create this.” Nick pulled out the little blood red stone from his breast pocket. Even with five cold hard stares he continued as energetic as always.

“I call it the Philosopher’s Stone.” Griff grimaced, that awful name would stick forever now. The old man motioned Nick to bring the stone closer greed glinting in the eyes of Council under their outwardly cool exterior. The old man picked up one of the pens on the desk to instruct Nick to turn the tip of one gold. Nick touched the Stone to the ink-stained metal causing a flash of red light that faded to reveal a now bright gold pen tip.

In a lapse of dignity, several members of the Council gasped in delight at what they were seeing. The old man examined the changed pen tip looking rather unimpressed.

“Gold plating is a trick you could find behind any tavern here in the village. Unless we can verify the true purity of the metal please forgive my skepticism.” The man sure didn’t sound too sincere in his apology Griff viciously thought. Griff watched with increasing boredom as the man kept making requests so they could have more examples to test late. Judging by the look in the Council’s eyes he was sure some of those gold coins were going to ‘go missing’ before they could properly be tested. When the fourth diamonds was created the Council seemed content enough, for now, they made a much different request.

“What is it organic applications? It has shown to be able to at the very least superficially manipulate inorganic matter but can the same be said for organic matter?” The older man postulated rolling one of the diamonds around in his leathery hands. Nick sputtered for a moment trying to think.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t even attempted to do anything with the living yet.” Nick admitted. The old man looked away from Nick to meet eyes with Griff still standing in the background. Griff tried not to blink as the old man seemed to be looking through him rather than at him. Like he did to all the diamonds and gold he was looking over earlier.

“No time like the present. Come closer boy.” Too nervous to feel offended Griff stepped slowly closer to the Council. “I see you’ve injured your hand recently.”

Griff covered his injury with his good hand subconsciously.

“Uh, yes. I was so excited to be in the Council’s presence I nicked myself.” Griff explained not sure who exactly to address so he ended up looking at each member erratically.

“Mr. Flamel would you attempt to heal your assistant with your stone for the Council?” Even though it was worded as a question Nick knew he really did not have a choice in the matter. Griff saw Nick’s fingers turn white from gripping the stone too tight.

“I can take the notes if you want.” Nick offered to hold out his free hand. Wordless Griff took off the bag for Nick to shoulder for a minute. Biting the inside of his lip Griff held out his hand for Nick to take off the makeshift bandage. It was a rather tiny red cut that had stopped bleeding a while ago. Nick pressed the warm stone to the cut willing it to heal.

The light was a soft blue that tingled for a second leaving the area unblemished. Both men gave a relieved chuckle as Griff clenched and unclenched his hand to test the skin. Looking at the area closely Griff was pleased to see the area completely unblemished as if the wound never happened. As the man tried to find even a line from the previous injury he noticed there were crackling orange sparks starting to extend from where the wound was.

Shouting in panic Griff tried to sniff out the sparking that began to work its way up his arm leaving an unpleasant burning sensation in its wake. Nick shoved the Stone into his pocket to free up a hand to grasp his friend’s shoulder as the man fell to his knees. The burning was now turning to a numbing ice cold like when he fell into a pond during the winter when he was young. His breath was ragged as he shut his eyes against the continuing pain.

Nick could only watch as the smaller man’s appearance began to change. Soft skin began to crack and harden into scales. Hands lengthened into gnarled talons leaving scratches in the flooring. Throwing his arms around his friend to give him some sort of comfort he felt Griff’s back give a ripple as spines broke through the skin all the way down to his apprentices back. Mesmerized he didn’t notice the growing a pair of wings that caught him under his legs hoisting him fully onto Griff’s back. The very walls began to shake as humans wails of pain morphed into a dragon’s roar.

After what seemed like hours, everything went quiet. Still trying to make sense of what happened Nick realized he was lying right on top of a dragon’s neck. Spotting a pile of shredded clothes below them he realized the dragon’s neck he was draped across was in fact Griff’s neck.

Now that Griff wasn’t screaming in pain Nick could hear the other humans in the room were screaming in panic. Still holding onto Griff in hopes that maybe his presence would help calm the situation Nick realized how futile that was when the doors burst open to reveal several spear-wielding men. Griff must have noticed them too as he stood up in an effort to get away from the men in an attempt at self-preservation. Taking this as a malicious intent the boldest of the guards thrust towards the well-known soft underbelly of Griff.

At that point Griff did the only action that made sense at this point, he ran. Glass shards bounced as the panicked Mage turned dragon burst out the window. Nick ducked his own head in an attempt to not only avoid getting glass in his face but to also not be forced to look down. The cold winter air immediately assaulted his hands but Nick held fast to Griff’s neck.

Over the terrified screams of the people below Nick could hear the crunch of roofs not being able to bear the weight of a two-story dragon crawling over them. Having never even ridden a horse before all he could do was flatten himself down as much as possible. He could feel every time they switched to a new building as he was tilted in all directions. When Griff stopped moving for a moment Nick plucked up the courage to look around. Trying not to look directly down Nick realized that they were already at the edge of the city just inside the wall.

The wall was several feet taller than the building that Griff was precariously perched on. Several of the guards were reading bows to kill. Underneath his grip, Nick felt Griff flexed his whole body giving Griff just enough time to brace for the jump. For a brief moment there he thought that they would clear the wall. Nick’s teeth rattled as Griff collided with the wall. Panicking Griff flailed around in an effort to dislodge himself from the rampart. The front of the dragon was dangling over the edge of the wall while his back end was stuck.

In a panic, Griff gouged at the ground with his massive claws trying to gain some momentum to break free. The wall did start to break a little bit at the top but the masonry held true no matter how hard Griff pulled. Nick watched as some of the braver soldiers rushed to attack. Fortunate for the both of them Griff he remembered he had wings and started to use them. Caught in the sudden rush of wind the guards were thrown back as the dragon got just enough to lift to free him from the rampart.

Tail still dragging slightly Griff’s wings gave out after only a minute. Collapsing on the ground he panted hard to get his breath back. Shouts behind them reminded Griff they were still in danger urging him to get up again. People traveling the road abandoned their carts to avoid being trampled by the dragon fleeing the city.

Griff ran as far as he could, even past when his lungs started to burn. The villages seemed to be further and further apart right up until he almost collapsed outside a lone farm with only a few animals milling around outside. Realizing how out in the open he was he spotted a sheer cliff looming over the road. Craining his neck he saw it was surrounded by thick forest except for a patch right before the drop off.

It was a relatively small climb for a dragon, especially since the cold weather made the earth hard enough for Griff to sink his claw into. It was a nice snowy clearing just beyond the view of the farm. With a huff Griff finally let himself rest. Closing his eyes Griff was ready to doze off for a while when he heard a thud from right next to him. With a snort of annoyance, Griff opened one of his eyes to see what was going on. The black figure clumsily brushed off all the snow finally turning to reveal it was Nick.

‘When did you get on?’ Griff tried to ask but all that came out was guttural sound. Nick stopped clearing off the snow to stare at Griff in fear.

“Hey, buddy.” Nick shakily greeted. He had both his hands up palms out to show the towering beast he meant no harm.

“Do you remember me?”

Instead of a nice, ‘Yes I remember you.’ Griff gave an angry sounding deep-throated growl. Nick attempted to backpedal away from Griff clearly terrified. Not wanting any misunderstanding Griff wanted Nick to stay for a bit longer to clarify some things. Using his tail Griff curled the appendage around the back of Nick to block his exit.

“Oh God.” Nick shuttered dreaded slumping through his body. Hoping this idea would work Griff lowered his head so that it rested on the ground directly in front of Nick. It was an attempt to look docile that ended up causing Nick to go into a full-blown panic.

From Nick's perspective, a dragon was now breathing on him with its hot breath right within biting distance. Griff had one final idea hoping beyond hope that it would work. He released the most pathetic whine a two-story armored fire-breathing lizard could make.

At that point, Nick had closed his eyes ready to accept death. When after a few quiet minutes he felt brave enough to take a look again. Griff was still just staring at him. They were close enough Nick could see his reflection in the dragon’s unblinking eyes.

"Griff?" Nick tried to get through his friend feeling boldly enough to reach out to touch his friend's snout. Griff gave a much quieter whine.

"If you can understand me, blink twice."

Very slowly Griff blinked both eyes twice. Watching the dragon’s strange transparent eyelid swipe across his eye mesmerized Nick as he count two very clear blinks. Slumping to the cold ground as all the energy and adrenaline seemed to evaporate. "You had me going there for a minute." Nick held his hand over his heart feeling the pitter patter underneath his fingers. With his hand still over his heart, Nick was finally able to look at Griff's new form properly.

"I have no idea would have caused this extreme of a transformation." Knowing he wasn’t going to be eaten he got back on his feet to really look over Griff. Staring at its dinner plate sized eyes Nick could count the light brown flecks in the dragon's soft green eyes. He could not remember what Griff's human eye color was but the intelligence was still there. Running his hand over where he initially placed the stone there was no mark magic was used. Backing up he was finally able to get a proper look at Griff’s new form.

He was mostly tan with dark brown stripes running length wise down his body. Large scales gradually turned small and softer looking towards his stomach. The brown and tan pattern continued onto his wings. Questions about exactly why Griff turned into this specific began popping into his head. Realizing he was getting ahead of himself he gave a shack of his head to refocus on their situation.

"Alright, what do we know? Ok, first there is the sigil." Nick made the symbol in the palm of his hand. "No, that would only be the start of a conversion. I mean there is dragon blood and...Ahem my blood." Nick coughed looking sheepish. Griff gave a snort so forceful it knocked Nick over.

"Ok, so maybe I might have broken a flask of dragon blood over one of the sigils and maybe I got cut in the process." He admitted still lying on the cold ground. Griff gave another huff. "Look, we can figure this out using our notes. We just need a lab and some-" Nick stopped talking as he realized exactly what he was saying. The two of them were stranded out in the middle of the French countryside with nowhere else to go.

This project was Nick's last chance. He had no backup plan if this were to have failed. Even if he did have a backup plan there would be no way he could have placed a human turned dragon into the equation.

So here the two of them stood. Homeless, with only the clothes on their back with no money. A pang in his stomach added that their breakfasts were back in the lab they could never return to. Right now it was probably overturned as the guards brutishly overturned everything searching for the notes in Nick's pack.

A sharp breeze tickled Nick's neck causing the man to shiver. Happy for once that the labs were so cold you needed to dress in layers he pulled his cloak around himself tighter. If they did not want to freeze they needed shelter. Where was the last time the saw a village? What about Griff? Can't leave him out here. Can't take him into town either. Even if they could find a place how could they even pay to stay the night? Most places don't accept lumps of gold and gemstones as payment. While Nick was wearing a path in snow from his pacing Griff began to curl his long body around his friend.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked out of habit rather than expecting a real answer. The dragon kept on curling up to the point where Nick was forced to sit one of Grif's back feet. The massive scaly head was within arm's reach. Above him a ruffle from Griff's bat-like wing caused Nick to look up to the sky become blocked out completely. Without the wind, Nick was already starting to feel much warmer. Smiling at his friend's cleverness he made himself comfortable.

"Will ever cease to amaze me? Did you discover that trick in a book?" Griff made a noise that was impossible to decipher. Though the dragon scales took a minute to get comfortable on Nick thought that maybe the two of them might be able to survive the ordeal. Closing his eyes he tried to think of a plan to get them out of this mess.

Griff woke up with a start. He was covered in freshly fallen snow in the middle of the wilderness with his only companion sleeping on his leg. Nick went tumbling into the snow as Griff tried to figure out where he was and what happened the day previous. From his much higher view, Griff was able to see exact they had stumbled to.

The only sign of civilization was the wide worn road just beyond their cliff. For the first time, Griff noticed that his new dragon eyes were keener than his human ones. Even the little flags being carried by soldiers way down the road were perfectly clear. Realizing what he was looking at Griff ducked his head behind the treeline.

"You're not even listening are you?" Nick accused dusting off much snow as he could. "You need to be more careful next time." Griff made an unclear noise that Nick took that at least he was listening.

"Now that I have your attention. First of all, we need to figure out a few pressing matters. Our biggest priority right now is food. You're probably so hungry you could eat a cow." Nick laughed at his own joke but stopped when Griff just gave him a sideways stare. Figuring it was best not to annoy someone could literally bite your head off Nick cleared his throat.

Nick shuffled his way through the snow the direction Griff was looking hoping to get a better sense of where they were. He only got a few steps in before Griff made unhappy noise while placing his massive tail between Nick and the treeline.

"Whats wrong?" Nick asked trying not to sound scared. In one motion the dragon lifted him off the ground using his massive snout. It would much easier to show what exactly what was going on. Unfortunately, the poor man was facing towards Griff with his back to the view gripping on for dear life.

"Wait. Just let me get a better grip." Feeling more like he was climbing up a mountain rather than on the face of a living creature Nick felt around for a decent foothold. Sure there was fresh powdered snow but why risk it? It took a fair amount of energy that left Nick gasping for air but in the end, he found a spot on Griff's forehead where he could comfortably hold onto one of the horns there.

Steading himself Nick was able to see exactly what his friend wanted to show him. Sprinkled over every surface lay a fine layer of snow glittering in the morning light. As splendid as it was there was still a breeze that breathed from time to time. "I don't see what the problem is." Just as the words left his mouth he saw it. Just beyond his barely visible down the road, Nick was able to a group of coming towards their direction.

"They're ours," Nick announced not taking any comfort from that fact. "We need to figure out where are going." Another gust of wind buffed the two of them. There was nothing for them in this country now. Somewhere where they could lay low while the tried to figure out how to reverse this whole mess. Preferably somewhere warm. Then it hit him!

"Warm. That's it!" Nick spoke aloud before saying much louder, "bring us down we need to talk." He ended up smacking Griff harder than intended to grab the dragon's attention. When they were close enough to the ground Nick slid off to look Griff in the eye.

"So need a place to stay and perform research at correct?" Griff made a noise.

"How about the Library of Alexandria?" Nick threw up his hands trying to simultaneously show excitement as well as get some more blood flowing to his freezing limbs. In turn, Griff made an unhappy noise turning his head away so he wouldn't have to look at Griff.

"Look, unless you can think of a better solution this all we really have. There is a wonderful library, the biggest in the world, I might add. There is even a tamed dragon there for research." That statement caught Griff's attention. Already knowing the answer to his friend's unasked question Nick spoke again. "They keep her alive to study her habits. How do you think we discovered where dragons get their treasure from?" Griff rested his head on the ground much like he did when he was human. He would roll his head side to side using his chin. It was interesting to see dragon Griff perform the same unconscious trait. Griff stopped rolling his head to look directly at Griff again; he gave a single clear nod.

"I'll take that as a yes. Let's go," Nick decided approaching Griff's side to climb onto his back. Remembering how unstable he was sitting right on the wing joints. Worrying his lower lip he ended up choosing to place himself on Griff's head. Squinting from all the light shining off the snow Nick spoke aloud the two of them should follow the road for a while.

"Great looks like they're taking a break for a while." He commented as the soldiers laid down their flags on the road below them. "Too bad you can't fly over them or anything." Nick did not mean for that statement to sound as passive-aggressive as it came out. He just did not feel Griff had quite a handle on all the extreme changes he recently went through. “Bring us down, this is going to take a while.”

Griff gave a nod but when Nick almost went tumbling to the ground he stopped. Getting settled Griff half curled around Nick so that his warm breath would help his friend not freeze. Taking out his notes Nick wanted to see if he could get some work done. That idea fizzled out when the light was reflecting off the snow and pages making reading impossible. Snapping the journal shut he gave a yell of frustration.

“Well now what?” He asked. Looking up he watched the clouds slowly drift by. Neither one of them was tired so taking a nap was out. Looking back to the cover of his currently useless journal he remembered something he told Griff months ago. “Do you remember when we first started working together?”

The dragon made a noise.

“Now that we have some time,” Nick took a breath trying to remember all the details about the story he was about to tell.