"Wait!"
Tonks called out, grabbing Richard by the shoulder.
" why didn't you tell me that before? Do the professor's even know about this? why are you telling me this NOW? And when are we going to get Dumbledor? "
Richard didn't answer. "You.. are annoying. Just shut up and follow me." he brushed her off before once more creeping down . He was irritated. Tonks was proving to be more of a dead weight than he had expected, making him question his prior choice.
'Should I just obliviate her and be done with it? ' He questioned himself as he walked further, but ultimately dismissed it. One can't shoulder the entire world alone, at least not until he's strong enough. So it's better to have some people in ones side. Richard made a mental note to provide a better training and conditioning so the Metamorpomagus would be ready in the future.
Richard walked towards the old aged door at the end of the path and burst through. He was on a deadline, and important things were at stake.
As he burst in, hundreds of keys with wings shot towards him at near invisible speeds. But Richard didn't bat an eye. He raised his hand and wand, one to give birth to the flame and the other to amplify it.
"Incendo!"
A stream of yellow flames spewed from the edge of his wand before shrinking into a tiny condensed ball of white hot flames. Then, Richard threw back his hands, and the fire exploded.
'Whoosh!'
The fire wave swept through the room, burning the fragile wings of the keys before vanishing with a wave of Richard's hand. And the keys, glowing red hot fell onto the floor.
Richard hurried, with Tonks at his heels, conjuring water to cool the heated pieces of metal around her. The next door opened with a bang, and Richard strode inside. The chess board was in ruins, and in the process of mending itself.
He stepped through the ranks of the black and walked towards the white side without a break.
"Bombarda on three"
He instructed Tonks they neared the white troops.
One
Two
Three
""Bombarda!!""
The spells left the wands together, and met at their target making a massive explosion. Pieces of rubble flew as both the king and the queen were blown into bits along with a few other pawns. They were durable than normal stone, but not enough to survive two explosion spells at once. They began to mend once more, and Richard quickened his pace. Next was a troll. It was already dead, which left the fire trial.
Richard walked to the circle and waved his hand making the enchanted fire wall part to reveal an opening for him and Tonks. He felt his circuit channel power, and his mind grow fatigue as it bended the enchanted fire, but it was abysmal in comparison to his power.
The final door was closed. Locked with magic, by whom didn't matter.
'Boost'
Bang! The door flew open with a kick and Richard was greeted with a welcoming sight. Quirrelmort crumbling into pieces. Harry fell down exhausted, completely unaware of the new arrivals, completely spent and unconscious while the body of Quirrelmort fell on the ground shattering into a thousand pieces.
A black mist rose from the dust, it's malevolence tangible in its presence, and rushed away through the open door, and silence ensued for a moment.
"Was that...." Tonks spoke hesitantly, "...Voldemort? "
"Yes"
Richard replied, his attention focused on the blood red stone in Harry's hand.
'Whaaaaaaahhahhhhh!'
In his boosted state, Richard heard a wail, making him snap into attention. And a moment later, the black mist that had fled through the door returned, it's target being Tonks.
"Screw off"
Power flared, and Richard's entire body glowed orange as he grabbed the clump of miasma with his left hand and slammed it into the wall with such force it dissipated into nothing.
He then looked at Tonks. "Don't speak his name. At least not for few hours. His name is jinxed. If you speak his name out loud, he will be drawn to you. After it finds another host, you should be able to speak his name without worrying about him appearing out of nowhere."
He raised his arm, and slowly lowered it, making the fires that surrounded them die down and reduce the heat to a manageable level. Then Richard leaned forward and touched the stone.
"Structural identification"
"Damn it!"
Richard quickly backed away from the stone and ran away, his hand tightly grabbing Tonks's cloak as he went full speed, almost flying. Dumbledor was back. He didn't have time to decipher the stone, nor understand the ingredients or the process. And he couldn't take it with him in fear of being found. A healthy Dumbledor with the power of the death stick was a scary foe. Possibly deadly. And so, Richard pumped more power, shooting out of the trapdoor and scaring the fur out of an injured Fluffy. He did not stop until he had reached the abandoned classroom on the fourth floor.
He took out the small thread that continued to burn until nothing was left. A link, to an unfortunate cockroach who got crushed as Dumbledor opened his office door. Devils had an affinity to soul. So it was not hard for him to use his own magic to forcefully create a link between the insect and the string and stick the creature between the door frame. The moment the door opened, the bug was squashed to death, and the string burned, marking the end of it's contract.
As Tonks gasped for breath, Richard began to put his findings into order. The story was on it's original path even with the changes he had made, and Harry still possessed the ability to defeat Voldemort. If.... Lucius releases the diary horcrux next year, it meant that, unless he directly intervined, the story would continue as it was foretold.
'Interesting... this makes stuff, so much more convenient'
A small smile creapt up his face, even as he tried to deal with the loss of the philosopher's stone . He needed to get ready because next year is going to become a complete circus.