when the ranch was open he was gunna make an acromantula silk farm he could make a fortune selling it a kingdom is a virtual money pit all the time if your leading properly. you can't just stockpile money for yourself and do nothing to improve the money needs to be spread out for upgrades if all your top level managment has money but your people are poor and hungry and your town doesn't have structure and people to take care of it you've ended up being a king of a stick kingdom with a golden top and eventually it will crumble with unhappy people. so make a silver kingdom all the way from the foundation to the throne.

Everyone was relaxing in the common room when Harry came in all stressed out."What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry told everyone about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.

"Don't play," said Hermione at once.

"Say you're ill," said Daphne.

"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.

"Let me break your leg." said Ryan with too much enthusiasm to be a joke."I can't," said Harry backing away slowly. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all." feeling b.u.mmed out Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.

"Dumbledore again," he said, "He was the first one I ever--"

He gasped. He stared at the back of the card.

"I've found him!" he whispered. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here -- listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!" "About time" Muttered Ryan quietly.

Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.

"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Dashed back, an enormous old book in her arms.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself."Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the philosopher's Stone!"

This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.

At last she found what she was looking for.

She pushed the book toward them, and read:

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonis.h.i.+ng powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.There have been many reports of the philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight). "See?" said Hermione, "The dog must be guarding Flamel's philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!""A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it." Ryan squirms a little and his right hand feels like it's twitching (shhh my friend soon we will have our precious)

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry, He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?" well at least his mind was now off the problem of Snape refereeing the quidditch match. Ryan always thought he was pretty cursed when it came to that game sure he won a lot but he lost a lot and broke a lot of bones as well.