Chapter 15: Where No First Year Has Gone BeforeChapter Text"It's kind of amazing this cloak fits all four of us," Susan said. She was blushing a little bit and looked away hoping no one noticed. The other girls were also blushing and Harry was mostly focused on the task, so Susan didn't need to worry about it. It was still embarrassing being that close to Harry and the others. It was also really warm from all of their bodies pressed together, since there was only so much room under the cloak.
They were debating if they should use the cloak or not at first. They ended up deciding it was for the best. They were worried Professor McGonagall might decide to check on the corridor for them. Once they were outside the door and knew the corridor was clear, they took it off. They were catching their breath as they steeled their nerves in front of the door.
"Alright… We know music soothes Fluffy. We don't know how attentive he is currently," Harry said as he handed the flute Hagrid made for him to Hannah. She had taken some lessons in a couple of different instruments and seemed a better choice for providing music than him.
Hannah nodded as she took the flute and held it to her lips ready for use.
Hermione approached the door first. "Here it goes," she said. She swallowed and then said, "Alohomora!" The door unlocked once again. "Either Hagrid forgot to tell someone, or the thief is already inside ahead of us," she said.
Harry opened the door carefully as she backed away. She wanted to help, but didn't trust herself not to panic if she was the first to meet Fluffy again. Harry entered the room and felt both relief and dread at what he saw inside. "There's a magical Harp playing," Harry told them quietly.
The four Hufflepuffs entered quietly. Hannah and Susan both gasped seeing Fluffy for themselves for the first time. Harry and Hermione quickly approached the trap door while their friends collected themselves. Harry opened it and peered down inside. It was completely dark.
"Lumos Oblese!" Harry said sending an orb of light down the hole. He saw a plant and noticed some vines retreat from the light. He frowned. Any Hufflepuff worth their salt was good at Herbology, so he knew what was awaiting them below. "Alright… There's a large Devil's Snare at the bottom," he said quietly to the others.
"Good thinking actually. It will serve as both a soft landing and a defense mechanism," Hermione said.
"Who wants to go first?" Harry asked.
"Shouldn't the guy go first?" Hannah asked not liking the idea of going down the hole first, even if it was lit up.
"If you don't mind possibly being caught by Fluffy suddenly waking up," Harry countered giving her a look.
"Okay… Point taken," Hannah said as she went down first. Once she landed, she quickly got free and cast a blue fire orb similar to what Hermione used from time to time for warmth during winter. This would keep the vines away, but the large leaves would remain to provide the others an equally soft landing. Hermione went next with Susan behind her. Harry joined them last just as Fluffy woke up and barked at all three.
"Glad I went first after all," Hannah said with a relieved sigh.
"It looks like we have more than just Devil's Snare to worry about here," Susan said with a frown. There was a corridor in front of them that was decently lit. What got her and the others' attention, was the number of magical plants lining it. There were even some hanging from the ceiling and attached to the walls.
"Well… It is a good thing we're Hufflepuffs," Hannah said.
"And Neville is very excited and knowledgeable about the subject while loving to talk about it," Susan added as Hannah nodded in agreement.
"I will admit I was upset not being able to take top of that class, but then I realized just how much work he puts into it," Hermione said. It was impressive even by her standards. The group looked over the plants in front of them and remembered what they knew about them.
Neville studied with them a few times in Herbology. Sometimes their study sessions would end up being bonus classes with him as the instructor. Neville loved having something he wasn't a complete failure at and eagerly shared what he knew about plants with them all. He even recommended some books to read on plants, if they wanted. Hufflepuffs weren't strangers to hard work and so the group did read some of the books.
"Free Dream. Sleepy Princess. Fire Bloom. And Sexius Vivakiss?" Hermione said with a sigh as she leaned on a nearby wall. This was a very overwhelming combination of plants.
"Can't just burn through them then… Anyone know any blizzard spells?" Hannah asked with a frown.
It was indeed a very potent combination of plants. Free Dream and Sleepy Princess were used to create a special dreamless sleep potion. On their own but together like this, was a very different matter. Sleepy Princess puffed out spores that put whoever inhaled them into a sleepy daze. It wouldn't be too bad usually and easily avoided, but in a corridor like this that wasn't an option. The puff of spores would easily surround you and the effect would be concentrated. Free Dream on its own was very different from the potion it was used in. The scent of the plant would put you into what muggles would call a Lucid dream if you were tired enough, which Sleepy Princess would assure here.
They also couldn't just burn it all away because of how well-placed the Fire Blooms were. Heat, even fire, would just cause it to do as the name says and bloom. It would absorb the heat energy and effectively protect the other plants. If it wasn't for their strategic placement, the Hufflepuff Four might have options when it came to using fire. Firebloom obviously enough did very poorly when it came to cold. The plant was rare, especially in Scotland with the harsh winters.
What really made this abosolutely terrible, was these plants combined with Sexius Vivakiss. It was also known as Succubus Kiss. The plant mixed with the right ingredients could be a lust potion, a fertility potion, or used as a healing paste for your privates. The plant on its own fed off sexual energy so long as you were trapped in its grasp, thus the nickname Succubus Kiss.
This might not be seen as too bad by some. However, prolonged exposure resulted in it converting a magical's magic and life force into sexual energy. The combination would effectively drain you of your energy sexually. Sexius Vivakiss had plant parts that would assist both males and females in doing its deed.
"In other words… We would experience a lot of naughty fun for a very long time and maybe even to our deaths. If we aren't careful," Hannah said as all four blushed deeply at the notion.
"Focus… So, any ideas?" Harry asked.
The girls got over the revelation of their possible doom through sexual bliss and started to think. Fire was out. No one knew a blizzard spell. They could try to activate the various spores from the plants earlier, but how would they get through safely?
Harry hummed in thought. He tried using a cutting curse. He thought the spell might cause enough of a disturbance the plants would activate. His curse triggered some, but not enough at the same time. Getting caught by one of these plants' traps could be the end for them, if they were held up long enough.
"Does anyone know a spell that would act like a muggle gas mask? Meaning it would keep us from inhaling any spores?" Hermione asked.
Hannah shook her head. Susan frowned as she said, "I know of the Bubble Head Charm, but that is really advanced stuff. Sixth year I believe. I don't know the incantation or wand movements either."
Hermione then got an idea. "Do you think if we hit them with a powered Aguamenti spell that could work? A couple of us could target the plants to set them off from a distance. The others could fill the corridor with enough of a downpour it washed the spores to the floor," she suggested. It was a plan that took Harry's original idea and made it workable with a spell they could all do easily. The plants didn't continuously puff out their spores, because they would have a short resting period. They could time this right and by working together make it through the corridor.
The group thought that over. "Sounds like our best shot. Let's see if a powerful Aguamenti can set them off in the first place though," Harry said.
Hermione volunteered to try it, since it was her idea. "Aguamenti!" she said as water spouted from her wand tip. She aimed it at the plants. It took some time finding the sweet spot, but it did work. A plant in front of them puffed out its spores. They were far enough away to not get hit by them.
"Alright. That part works. Come on Susan, let's see if we can get the spores to wash down to the floor," Hannah said.
"Aguamenti!" both girls said. Hannah aimed at the plants. Susan willed her spell to act more like a sprinkler than a hose. The plan sort of worked.
"Let's try it again with all of us," Harry suggested. The girls nodded.
With four shouts of "Aguamenti!" they went to work. One triggered the plants and the others made it a downpour. That worked! To try and test it a little further, since the spell wasn't too taxing on their magic, they tried it with two doing each job. That almost worked, but it was still too risky for their liking.
"Looks like one has to trigger and the others keep the downpour going," Hermione said.
"We can do this," Harry started. "The person triggering the plants just has to move their wand from plant to plant while the rest of us keep it going."
Their plan decided. The four got to work. Hermione aimed at the plants and the others kept the indoor rain going. The group slowly moved forward. Fortunately, they knew this plan could stand a chance, because Sexius Vivakiss preferred unaware targets that weren't moving. This was the one workable weakness in this setup they could find.
Once they finally got through, the group took a quick breather. "I'm really glad there was only that one Devil's Snare," Hermione said.
The others winced at her statement. It was true. If more of that plant was added into the mix, it would have been game over for them even with their plan. They weren't sure if they could have someone keep a fire or light spell going strong enough to combat that plant along with everything else.
"To be fair, that could have been seen as taking a step too far. If there was only one of us here, that trap would have been far worse. It seems the defenses are better than we thought they would be," Harry said.
"That makes me wonder how powerful of a witch or wizard this thief is," Susan said.
"Good thing our plan is to just distract and buy time then. Outright defeating them will probably be impossible. Distracting has a chance, even if it is small," Harry said.
"Then we better hope there are alarm spells or wards here that will notify someone," Hannah said as the group nodded in agreement.
[-] [-] [-]
"That's Professor Sprout's defense line down," Harry said as they moved forward. They soon found themselves in a dark sewer like corridor that really smelled foul.
"Don't like the aroma here," Hannah commented covering her mouth the best she could with her robes.
The group kept marching forward and came across a large lump of something on the floor. "Okay! Lucky that thing is dead…" Susan said as she swallowed what was probably vomit. When they got closer, they noticed the lump was a dead troll laying on the floor. It was far more massive in size than the rumors regarding the size of the Halloween troll.
The group skirted around it and kept going forward. "Do you think all of the professors had two traps?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe…" Harry said as they carefully continued.
Soon they heard what sounded like thousands of wings flapping in the air. It was easier to see in this room and there was a door at the other end. "Guess not," Harry said as he looked up. He saw what appeared to be several flying keys zooming around above them. This seemed more like something Professor Flitwick would come up with than that troll. He wasn't sure how a professor got it in here. If what he heard was true, the troll was probably Professor Quirrell. It was surprising the fearful man could pull that off, but then again it might be more proof he was faking it all to slack off in teaching.
"Do you think?" Susan hinted as she looked towards the door on the other end.
Hannah moved forward and tried the unlocking spell on the door. Hannah shook her head. "Nope. Just goes to show we could get through that first door because this thief already removed what was keeping it locked," she said. Clearly, the thief knew how to easily bypass this room and felt leaving it how it was would be good enough.
"Any ideas?" Hermione asked.
Harry looked around and almost smiled. He walked over to a part of the wall with four brooms hanging on it. "Not sure why the answer is provided, but here we go," he said pointing to the brooms.
"I think this one is all you, Harry. We'll figure out what key you need based off the door lock. We'll be ready to catch or defend you once you get it," Hermione said. There was no telling what would happen once he had the key. The others could try to attack. His broom could simply vanish. They only had ideas, not even educated guesses, on what could happen.
"Sounds like a good plan. I'm the best flyer in our bunch. I bet those keys will start chasing me once I get the right one. I can probably out run them, but you girls need to be ready to unlock the door once I toss you the key," Harry said.
Harry hopped on to a broom. He tested it a little just slightly off the ground. The broom was steady enough and in decent enough condition. It made him wonder why this room seemed to give you the key to pass onwards. He would almost swear this whole thing was some kind of test. Could that be it? Could it be Nickolas Flamel wanted Dumbledore to make this all a test of some kind to find a worthy successor for the stone? Harry kind of doubted that, but it was a remote possibility.
" Maybe it's to throw you off. Give you a false sense of security before you enter the next room, " Harry thought to himself. That seemed more likely and not as stupid of an idea as this all being some kind of test.
"look for a fancy old-fashioned silver key. Kind of large," Hannah shouted to him.
"Got it!" Harry replied. He zoomed up above and started to fly in a searching pattern. He soon found his target. He wasn't one of the Street Knights best lookouts for nothing. Harry rose up a bit to get a good angle on the key. It was flying in a rather predictable pattern.
Harry dashed forward on the broom. He grabbed the key! Suddenly all of the other keys paused for a moment before aiming for him and shooting after him.
Harry dived and weaved. He zigged and zagged. He even flew upside down for a moment to dodge a group of incoming glittering key missiles from his side. He managed to keep a hold of the key in his hand the whole time.
"This way!" Hermione shouted.
Harry shot towards them. He got ready to throw the key when he was close enough it couldn't escape. Susan caught it! She quickly shoved it into the keyhole and unlocked the door.
The girls quickly dived inside after firing off a couple of Immobulus charms at the keys chasing Harry. The flying boy managed to pitch himself forward off the broom and into the next room and Susan slammed the door shut from behind him. They heard several sharp keys hit the closed door as soon as she jumped away from it.
"Good thing you decided with exams coming up it was time to start working on next year's spells, Hermione," Harry said with a relieved grin. Hermione blushed happily at the praise. "Good job everyone," he said causing Hannah and Susan to blush in a matching happy manner as well.
[-] [-] [-]
"Now what?" Hannah asked as they stared into the room they entered. The group looked around and weren't sure what their next move should be.
"Move forward. With caution. I'm thinking that one seemed easyish to throw us off guard," Harry told them.
"I don't know about it being easy… But I get what you mean," Susan said. She really didn't want to see what Harry considered tough, if that was supposedly easy.
The group kept walking forward holding on to each other. "Whoa!" Hannah shouted as they all four stopped. They were suddenly upside down.
"This can't be good," Hermione said. Her eyes were wide as she looked at what should have been the floor but was now the ceiling. There were even upside-down braziers below them. She gulped and really hoped she didn't fall from the floor to the ceiling.
"Keep going," Harry ordered. The girls took in deep breaths and continued. "Focus on what is in front of us," Harry told them calmly. The girls nodded and felt comforted that Harry was here to keep them from freaking out too much.
Eventually the world righted itself. The group still collapsed to the ground in relief for a moment. It was really weird what they just went through. It felt like the blood had been rushing to their heads. "How did you know to keep going forward?" Hermione asked.
"I felt a little off when I looked up as well. I also noticed we weren't falling and were being held to the inverted floor. I'm guessing if we looked too long or took too long to move it would have caused us to pass out or something," Harry said.
"I guess that is Professor Flitwick's line of Defense down. That means we have McGonagall, Snape and possibly Dumbledore left. I still don't get how it was Professor Quirrell was able to get that troll in here, yet fainted at the Halloween Feast," Hannah said.
"More proof he's been faking it as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure why, but it feels like he is doing it to slack off," Harry said as Hermione nodded in agreement.
He briefly wondered if maybe it was Professor Quirrell trying to steal the stone. He didn't think so though, but it could possibly be true. Harry just felt that Professor Quirrell lacked the ambition to try that on his own. They doubted he was working with others. There was little reason for them to believe this was a group heist.
[-] [-] [-]
The group walked a little more. The room seemed to be really long here. As they kept going, the group seemed to relax a little and feel some pride in themselves. "I know we aren't finished yet," Hannah started. She gave them a big smile. "But I can't help feeling we've done pretty well so far."
"I know what you mean. We're just first years and we've made it this far already," Susan added.
"I just wish this corridor wasn't so long," Hermione said. She then smiled as well and said, "I'm glad to be here with my best friends though."
Harry nodded and smiled as well. "I wouldn't want to be here with any other girls. Most guys would probably be jealous I get to go on adventures with three cute witches," he said giving them an easy-going smile.
The three girls blushed to that, and felt really happy. They eventually took a bit of a rest since it seemed to be a really long corridor. If they weren't in as good of a mood, they might have started to wonder why it was taking so long and how far it actually stretched. It was like they had been walking in it long enough to have taken a lap or two around the lake.
However, the group was feeling too relaxed and happy to care about that. In fact, they were so relaxed, Hermione and the other girls decided to take off their outer robes and undo a couple of buttons. It was really warm in here, but not really unpleasantly warm. They just wanted a little less stuffiness with their clothes. "I can't wait until summer. I'm looking forward to going to the beach with my family and putting on a new bikini," Hermione said.
"What's a bikini?" Hannah asked.
"Magicals don't have bikinis? It's muggle swim wear for girls. It comes in two pieces that are similar to undergarments I guess you could say. Though they come in a variety of styles. There are one-piece swimsuits as well. They cover you up a bit more, but are more like having your panties and bra connected as one piece of fabric. I like to tan a little when vacationing, so bikinis are what I prefer," Hermione said.
"That sounds… scandalous," Susan said eagerly.
"Really? What do witches wear usually when it comes to swimming?" Hermione asked.
Harry was staying very quiet as he listened in. He was daydreaming about seeing Hermione, Hannah, and Susan in bikinis. He didn't want interrupt what they were discussing. He felt it might lead to something really interesting.
"Swimwear is different from robes. I guess some French styles may be similar to what your one piece sounded like, but most are a bit longer than that. Their form fitting, but end just above the knees," Susan said.
"That's sounds… Well… about right, I guess. For the wizarding world. Everything seems to be a bit behind the times compared to the muggle world. The law-making parts and some societal preferences are really way behind. I can't imagine wearing such a swimsuit personally. I like to tan, but if that much was covered up the tan lines would be really awkward," Hermione said.
"Wouldn't there still be tan lines even with what you were saying?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah. But sometimes, I undo my top to keep that from happening when I'm lying flat on my stomach. I've actually gone to a nude beach once with my parents…" Hermione said. She seemed very forth coming with what she was saying. It was girl talk though, or at least she thought it was. Harry was somewhere, but probably not listening she figured. " Maybe he'll get some ideas… " Hermione thought with a hint of lust to her inner voice that wasn't usually there.
Hannah and Susan were blushing furiously at that. They also were very intrigued. "Can… can you show us? We don't usually get tan lines, because witches and wizards use sun block spells," Hannah said.
Susan's eyes widened and she took in a deep breath.
"I-I-I suppose…" Hermione said. This was really weird, but didn't girl friends do things like this with each other? "But only if you two show me as well," she added. The other girls blushed and nodded. They prepared to undress more.
Harry blushed from where he was. This was amazing! He really wanted to see this. Why was this happening though? Weren't they doing something here? Something important? Hannah, Hermione, and Susan all three took off their shirts after tossing aside their neckties.
Harry stared in awe. They were all three so freaking sexy. Harry blinked at that. This wasn't right. "Crap!" he shouted. The girls looked to him all at once.
"Ohhh… You're here after all. Want to join us? I'd really like to see you without a shirt again. You've been teasing me enough throughout the year," Hermione said with a seductive giggle that Harry found extremely captivating.
"What?!" Hannah asked.
"He likes to lose his shirt in his sleep," Hermione said with a perverted look that was out place on her, but gave Harry wonderful ideas.
"This isn't right! Damn! We aren't through it yet!" Harry shouted to them after shaking his head clear again.
"So? I'm sure Dumbledore made sure it can't be taken. This would be so much more fun… You were saying how lucky you were. How jealous other guys would be," Hermione said far too seductive for herself.
The three girls were down to their bras and panties. They started crawling towards Harry. Each of them were giggling and giving him sexy looks. "You know. The Succubus Kiss probably would give me a vision of mounting you and riding you in a way all of those romance novel heroines would be jealous of," Hannah said.
Harry tried pinching himself.
"Harryyy… Join us… please? We'll make it worth your while," Susan whined with a really cute and sexy pout.
Harry slapped his face.
"He just needs a better preview of what's in store, girls," Hermione said. She gave him a wink and reached around behind her back. She undid her bra. She was about to remove it.
Harry shot a stinging hex at himself. A very powerful one. He hissed and winced as he shut his eyes by instinct.
When he opened them again, his surroundings looked very different. The four of them were sitting in the middle of a room that wasn't too large and they were all still fully clothed. The girls looked dazed and were making sounds with their hitching breaths. Each girl had rosy cheeks and were holding themselves in rather embarrassing and provocative manners. He could have sworn they were drooling even.
"Probably best I snap them out of it and don't go into detail… And don't ask what they saw," Harry told himself.
He started using the stinging hex on each of the girls. He chose to ignore the sounds they each made as they came out of it. He was blushing though. When it came to girls, Harry was more… aware of them than usual for someone his age. He figured it was because of how quickly he had to grow up before Hogwarts.
"What… What happened?!" Hermione asked as the blinked.
"Some kind of charmed something. I guess Professor Flitwick felt he had to pick on Quirrell's slack," Harry said.
"What was I doing?" Hannah asked blushing.
"Did I really d-," Susan started.
"Doesn't matter. We need to go. No telling how long that trap kept us," Harry said cutting her off. He really didn't want them dwelling on it either.
Hermione cast a time spell. "It wasn't too long it looks like. It felt a lot longer," she said. The group continued and didn't mention what happened to them. They would just keep their charmed visions to themselves.
[-] [-] [-]
"Any ideas?" Susan asked.
They were in an empty room that seemed to be made of dirt all around them. There was a locked door on the other end. It also wouldn't open with an unlocking charm. The group looked around the room.
"This is probably Professor McGonagall's doing," Hermione said.
"I'm guessing no one knows a transfigure door away spell," Hannah said.
"It also seems protected from magic in general," Hermione said.
Susan then got an idea. It was a bit of a long shot, but it could work. Maybe. "This could be transfiguration at a very basic level," she said.
"The walls?" Hermione asked. It could be possible, but they had no idea what was the right one.
Susan shook her head. "My aunt told me about a case she went on where they found a locked door to a dark wizard's hidden study. They wanted to get inside to hopefully secure even more evidence against him. She said the magic protecting the study was so basic that it took them a long time to figure it out. The dark wizard was laughing at them the whole time. He even mocked them saying if they got inside, they would find more than enough to give him three lifetimes in Azkaban at least," she explained to them.
"What did they do?" Hannah asked. This was a story Susan hadn't even shared with her yet.
"They basically used generalized transfiguration magic on a sturdy enough material that it formed the key as they guided it to the lock," Susan said.
"That could really work! It would make sense for McGonagall as well. She talks about how important the basics are and people rarely study them enough," Harry said.
"So, we transfigure part of the wall or floor into something stronger and force it in?" Hannah asked.
Susan nodded. "And someone can focus on levitating it while someone else pushes it in," she said.
"Let's get to it them. Do any of you feel a little fatigued? There is no shame. We have been at this trip a really long time now. Better you rest yourself a little longer than force yourself," Harry said.
"I could use a little break," Hannah said with a little shame despite what Harry said.
"Hermione and I will do it," Susan suggested.
Harry was about to say something, but Hermione cut him off. "Susan's right. You need to look out for yourself as well, Harry. You had to use really powerful stinging hexes earlier on the three us," she said.
"Okay," Harry said with little complaint. He wasn't feeling any sense of magic exhaustion but maybe he just didn't know the symptoms well enough. They also didn't know what else they might come across on this journey.
Susan and Hermione quickly got to work. Susan levitated while Hermione forcefully transfigured. It was a tough process for them both. This level of transfiguration required power and noticeably drained you a little. The channeled levitation also took a bit of a toll as well.
After some work, they all heard a click as the door unlocked. "Yes! We did it!" Hermione said as she and Susan high-fived each other while beaming.
"Yes. Very good job," Harry said smiling to them. They beamed at the praise and moved forward into the next room.
This room was well lit and large. There was a massive chessboard in the middle of it. On the other side of the room, they saw a door that was suddenly blocked by large chess pieces holding swords to cut off access.
"To proceed. White must win the match," a voice said that sounded like McGonagall.
"Great…" Hermione said. "Anyone really good at wizard's chess?" she asked with a sigh.
The others shook their heads. Harry had only played a couple of games and wasn't fond of it. He preferred not to limit his tactics to stringent rules, so it didn't even really serve a purpose in helping there. He also preferred to go through other mental exercises he felt were of better benefit anyways. Chess was a mental exercise in a way that supposedly helped you think tactically, but Harry felt it didn't really have much of a real life application. Your opponent in a real fight wouldn't be limited to L-shaped maneuvers only.
The four badgers walked around the room seeing if there was another way around it. They tried damaging the guarding stones at the end of the room. They didn't fight back, but they were instantly repaired and their stances didn't allow you to pass through. Hannah paused and looked at the board. The others figured she was preparing herself for playing though.
After a moment, she spoke. "If the king is beaten or knocked off the board, it is a win, right? I know people usually stop with checkmating it. However, the loser usually forfeits at that point since the next move would end the king," she said.
"I suppose so…" Hermione said feeling a little bemused by the question.
"What are you getting at?" Harry asked her.
Hannah smiled. "Transfiguration obviously," she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the square the black king was on top of. "Rockus Crumbless," she said with a wave of her wand in a pattern.
The square below the black king changed into sand, which in a way made it no longer part of the board. It felt as if the room froze and was heavy with magic. It was like the magic was trying to decide if that counted as a victory or not. Hannah held her breath. She hoped her plan worked. It was kind of a roundabout way to win. It sort took a different approach and look at magic to achieve it.
"White Wins," the room's voice said sounding a little puzzled. The stones guarding the exit quickly moved to the side and let them pass.
"That was incredible!" Susan said once they entered the next room, which seemed to be a break-room or at least with no traps. The door at the other end wasn't even locked. They tested it but paused for a moment to rest and steel themselves yet again. Maybe this room was meant to test their nerves after everything else and fill them with anxiety of what was behind the door.
"How did you think of that?" Hermione asked Hannah.
Hannah looked to Harry and blushed a little before she smiled to the others. "Harry and I had a discussion about the differences between Muggle Astronomy and Magical Astronomy. He told me about Supernovas and how the night sky shows us stars that might not even exist anymore," she said.
"Supernovas?" Susan asked.
"That's what we call it when stars explode. It takes a long time for light to travel through space, so it is theoretically possible everything we see in the night's sky isn't there anymore. Apart from the sun, the moon and planets in this solar system," Hermione quickly explained.
"Whoa…" Susan said in awe.
"Since that talk, I've been thinking a lot about how there might be more to magic and especially ancient lost magic. Mostly about there being other factors behind certain rituals or magics working that aren't currently known. I guess the talk kind of taught me too look at what isn't said or at least other approaches," Hannah said.
"I'm glad our talk had that much of an impact. I'm also glad you thought of such a solution. I would not have liked our chances of playing through," Harry said.
Hannah smiled to that.
"I wouldn't have thought of that. I think too much within the bounds of rules," Hermione admitted. "Good job, Hannah," she said to the other girl.
"That is impressive," Susan said giving her friend a hug in thanks for getting them through the room.
[-] [-] [-]
"Now we just have Snape left," Harry said bringing them back on track.
"Yeah. Do you think he did two as well?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. It could be possible. It could also be he didn't since he has been possibly taken a more preventive approach. He seems to have been the only professor who's been keeping an eye out," Harry said.
The room they next walked into suddenly lit up with flames as the door behind them closed. Black flames popped up in front of the door going forward and purple flames blocked the door going back. There was a table in the middle with several vials on it and a piece of parchment on the edge.
"What do we have here?" Hannah asked the others. They all looked around the room. The flames weren't heating up the place, but they could tell crossing them unaided would be very bad, if not fatal.
Hermione stepped forward and grabbed the parchment. Her eyes widened as she read it. "A logic puzzle!" she said in awe.
"Listen here," she started.
Danger lies ahead of you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will assist you, whichever you would find,
One of us seven will let you move forward,
Another will transport the drinker backward,
Two among the number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, or be forced to stay forevermore,
To help with this choice, here are these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you wish to progress, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Forth, the second left and the second right,
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
"I don't really like riddles…" Hannah mumbled while frowning.
"Then it is a good thing I'm claiming this one. I find it rather brilliant really. Very Professor Snape like too. I'm sure even you and Susan can admit the wizarding world is sometimes lacking in the ways of logic," Hermione said.
The two girls looked like they were almost offended. They sighed together and nodded. It was true. Most Wizards and Witches formed uniquely due to magic being all around them. They rarely thought beyond just casting the spell they needed to accomplish their task. Trying to figure out the inner workings of magic was for others who chose to specialize in such subjects.
"So, what is the answer then?" Harry asked calmly as he looked at the table. He had an idea, but wanted to hear Hermione's response. It would confirm his thoughts or prove him wrong. He trusted her opinion that much.
Hermione read over the clues a couple more times to make sure she had the right answer. "The small one will take you through. The tall one will take you back," she said.
Harry nodded and picked up the small one. "Thanks Hermione. Good job. However this plays out… You three have been great friends and a great amount of help. I couldn't have done this without you all. Though I would prefer if you didn't complain about not having enough adventure in the future, Hannah," he said with a smile.
The girls giggled including Hannah. They needed a quick break in the tension of their journey. "Puffs stick together," Hannah said with a smile. She then blushed and said, "I'll keep the bit about requesting adventure in mind."
"I hope this is almost over," Susan said.
"Maybe the thief will be stuck in whatever the last line of defense is," Hermione said.
"We can only hope," Harry said with a smile to them all. He really loved having them as friends and roommates.
He then took in a deep breath and looked to them seriously. The girls felt a little anxious suddenly.
"However… Now comes the hard part," Harry said.
"What do you exactly mean?" Hermione asked warily. Harry seemed to be holding the potion to go forward tightly. She didn't like the looks of this.
"I'm going forward alone. There is only enough for one person. It might refill. But we don't know if it will. The thief could have found a different way through. If it does refill, we don't know how long it will take," Harry said calmly.
The girls sniffed and tried to hold back tears. "Don't do this, Harry… Please… There has to be another way," Hermione pleaded as she came over and hugged Harry tightly. Harry returned it with one hand. He kept the other one firmly grasped on the potion.
Hermione sighed to herself. Her little plan didn't work. She was going to try and sneak it from him. She planned to hold on to it until they figured out what to do for them all to go forwards.
The other girls hugged him as well, but they weren't going to try anything. It was like they understood he wouldn't back down from this and trying to trick him wouldn't work.
"Don't worry, you three. I'm only going in there to buy time. That will be easier with just myself. No one to be taken hostage and used to force cooperation from the rest of us," Harry said.
The girls backed up.
"You three have an important task anyways. Go and find someone. Any professor. Send Dumbledore an owl post if needed. Tell Professor McGonagall I came here on my own. Then she will hopefully decide to come after me, even if it is just to give me detention or expel me in person. That way once she gets here, she'll have no choice but to believe us," Harry said.
"I still don't like this, Harry…" Hermione said with a pout and tears in her eyes.
"None of us do," Susan added wiping her own tears.
"We can't stop you, can we?" Hannah asked. Harry shook his head. "Make sure you live then. I don't want to lose a precious friend. We also have to train those trolls to fly dragons," she said with a weak smile to him.
Harry gave a soft chuckle. "I'll do my part. You three do your part," Harry said with a smile. With that, he took a gulp of the potion. "I feel really cold, but comfortable…" he told them.
"Go on ahead," Hermione said sniffing again.
Harry bid them farewell once more. None of them realized he crossed through an alert line while passing through the magic black flames. A certain professor paused in what they were doing for a moment and blinked a couple of times. Their eyes widened and they just realized something important.
"Best of Luck, Harry," Hannah said under her breath as Harry exited the room.
"Let's get going, girls. We don't want to let him down," Susan said. She was determined to do their part quickly. The sooner they got help the better. Hermione nodded and gave one last look at the opposite door as they passed around the other potion.
She really hoped she would see Harry again. There was so much more she wanted to do with her life and she wanted to experience it with all of her friends, especially Harry. The girls passed through the purple flames. They focused on the task in front of them. The mission wasn't over yet.
Chapter 16: Mirrors and Dark LordsChapter TextHarry hoped the girls would be able to move fast. He wasn't sure who he would find at the end of this hall, but he was sure he could buy time for them. To be honest though, he wasn't sure what condition he would be in by the time they brought help, especially if it takes them too long to find someone.
Harry turned around the last corner and came to a dead stop.
"Huh. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised," Harry said causally.
"That's all you have to say, Potter? Not going to accuse someone like Professor Snape of being the likely perpetrator? He does seem the part after all," Professor Quirrell said without turning around. He was looking at a mirror in the middle of the room for some reason that Harry didn't know.
Harry gave a chuckle. "He isn't the one using an obviously fake stutter for the whole year and acting overly afraid of his own shadow to the point of parody," he said.
He was buying time and a great way to do that was to get the other person talking. Seeming confident could make an enemy more wary of you, causing them to act slowly and carefully trying to figure out what you were planning. It could also amuse them into humoring you, especially if they thought they were the ones in control and you didn't pose a threat.
With Quirrell, it was the latter.
The turban wearing professor gave a dark chuckle. "I suppose it all was a tad much. It worked though. Wizards don't usually have much in the way of logic and common sense," he said. The man then gave a condescending laugh. "Professor Snape's little test is proof enough of that. Seriously… a logic puzzle of all things? He really should have known it wouldn't hold anyone with an ounce of sense up for long. The fact you, of all people, made it through is proof enough," he scoffed in dark amusement.
"Enough of that though," he then said. He quickly used a spell that shot ropes at Harry. That might have been enough for your normal first year, but Harry wasn't normal.
The Hufflepuff quickly side-stepped the ropes. Professor Quirrell actually looked surprised for a moment. He then did a motion with his hands at Harry. Wandless magic was really impressive, but Harry could sense the energy of the spell. He was a Street Knight. He actually had instincts magicals usually didn't have. Harry quickly dived behind a pillar to evade the spell.
Professor Quirrell was again surprised, but quickly reacted and shot his rope spell at the pillar. Harry had unwittingly trapped himself by diving behind something which blocked his line of sight. "Foolish, Potter. Breaking line of sight. You can't dodge what you can't see. I will admit it was an impressive display though," the man said as he rounded the corner thinking he would see a tied up first year with a scar on his forehead.
Harry dived behind the pillar and quickly dropped into a squat. The ropes wrapped around the pillar and would have captured him, if he wasn't a quick thinker. Harry had known how to fight for a few years now. He had been in fights before as well.
When Professor Quirrell rounded the pillar confidently, he was shocked to see Harry wasn't there. He quickly looked to his left and before he looked to his right, he felt a hard punch to his gut. The man stumbled back a few steps hissing in pain. Potter had used some kind of magic to cause the punch to hurt far more than it should. It even seemed to burn a little. It seemed it wasn't a perfect spell to use though.
Harry was shocked for two reasons. First, his punch seemed to have a lot more power to it against Quirrell than it should, even if he was a lazy wizard who relied too much on magic. Second, his knuckles seemed to have been burned a little. It wasn't anything too bad for him. You couldn't come out of every fight unscathed, even if you were the clear victor. It was a surprise though and his surprise cost him.
Quirrell quickly cast his rope spell again. This time Potter was caught in it and tied to the pillar. He then turned the boy around so he was facing the center of the room too. He could keep an eye on the child while he figured out what to do with the mirror this way.
"Spunk will only get you so far, Potter. I would deal with you now, but I have more important matters to attend to," Professor Quirrell said dismissively. He approached the mirror again. He once more looked at it. "What to do… Count on Dumbledore to come up with some trick like this," he mused to himself sounding almost impressed.
Harry tried to think of what to do. He wasn't sure what was with this mirror, but he didn't want Quirrell figuring it out. Harry decided to keep Quirrell talking and hopefully distracted. "So, you had everyone fooled? Well… Except me that is. A first year," Harry said.
Quirrell gave a chuckle as he pondered the mirror's trick. "You really are amusing when you want to be. Too bad you're such a nosey brat. Perhaps you can stay around as a court jester or something once this is all over. Yes, I did have everyone else fooled. Except for Professor Snape. The foolish man thought he was intimidating me though. So, I guess he was partially fooled. HA! To think a first year from the muggle world, was smarter than Hogwarts' man-sized dungeon bat," he said.
"Did you let the troll in? You did happen to faint forward. Not really the regular way to do so," Harry said.
"I did. Everyone really thought it just happened to wander in on its own. Really… I know Professor Dumbledore is a fool, but to think he was so incompetent even his own staff believed a troll to just wander past the wards so easily. I have a gift with trolls. Always have. I'm sure you saw what I did to the one on the way here," Professor Quirrell said.
Harry was about to keep him going, but took a break in their conversation. The last thing he wanted was to press his luck too much and get a gag put in his mouth, magical or otherwise.
"What to do… I see myself giving the stone to my master, but how do I get it," Professor Quirrell muttered to himself.
Harry looked at the mirror. It was actually rather fancy. The mirror was full length and held in a very ornate looking golden stand. There was a large inscription along the top of it. " Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi? What language is that? " Harry thought to himself.
He looked over it a couple more times and couldn't help but give a mental sigh. " Really? I show not your face, but your heart's desire. It's just backwards. That's a very basic and poor code to use. It's like using Pig Latin and thinking you're a scholar in foreign language, " Harry thought to himself. He felt so stupid for not figuring it out right away.
Harry then gave an almost silent gasp as he realized what the inscription meant. He knew how the mirror worked! That was even more stupid! He doubted he was that smart. He wasn't dumb, but he figured only someone like Hermione should figure out Dumbledore's trick that quickly. Professor Quirrell didn't seem as immune to wizard stupidity as he thought he was. Harry then quietly gasped again. " Oh… That is clever, Professor Dumbledore, " Harry thought in praise.
Harry was about to speak again to distract Quirrell, but he must have been louder than he believed with his gasping. Almost as soon as he figured it out, he seemed to feel some kind of really sharp pain in his forehead, right behind his scar of all things. Quirrell must have figured him out and was doing something to him with wandless magic.
This was something new to Harry. He had felt quick and sharp headaches before a few times throughout the year. Most of them were in DADA oddly enough, but it was never to this level. Harry thought the headaches he felt around the turban wearing man were from that awful stench that followed him everywhere. Harry's senses were a bit sharper than most.
This was different though. It felt like something was pounding against his head. Like it was trying to drill inside him. He grunted to himself in effort. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he would be damned if he didn't fight back against whatever this was. Harry tried to just shrug it off in general, but that wasn't working.
Suddenly though, it seemed like he was starting to get a more acute sense of what the pain was. He almost visualized it in his head. He then gave a mental growl at whatever the thing was and it seemed to fire back from him. Curiously enough at that same time, Quirrell let out a grunt of pain and jolted forward. It was like something slammed in the back of his head.
"He knows! He knows. The boy knows," a wheezy voice said that seemed to come from the back of Quirrell's head. It seemed dusty and very weak.
"Potter! What do you know?" Quirrell growled out suddenly.
Harry blinked for a moment and then smirked. "You're gonna ha-ha-have to be more sp-sp-specific, p-p-professor. I know a lot of things," Harry said.
"At first, I thought you were amusing… The mirror! Potter! What do you know about it?" the man demanded.
"It looks very pretty. I can see… My reflection in it," Harry quipped. He really hoped the cavalry would show up soon. That second voice caught him off guard and threw him. He couldn't help but press his luck at the moment in his surprise with his attitude.
"Let me speak to him…" the second voice said.
"But… Master… You're too weak," Professor Quirrell said. This time it was obvious he wasn't faking his fear.
"I've strength enough… for this," the voice said.
"As you wish, Master…" Quirrell said reluctantly.
He started to unravel his turban. Many students wanted to know what was under his turban. When it was off, Harry could only think, " What the fuck?! " Harry didn't easily swear. He usually avoided it. Overuse of swearing lessened its impact. That's why a lot of people who swore all the time thinking they were tough for doing so, are actually wrong.
However, it was a very appropriate use this time.
Under the turban wasn't a stack of garlic.
It wasn't hair permanently dyed a hideous neon purple.
Under the turban was another face stretched across the back of his head. It was hideous and ugly. "I'd prefer the neon purple…" Harry muttered.
"That humor again. I find it more entertaining than my vessel. Patience is something someone like myself knows the importance of, Harry…" it said.
"I'm guessing you're Quirrell's master. Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"Indeed, I am… This is what you did to me, Potter. Forced into a shell of my former glory. Reduced to living off of another. Sharing their body… Me. The Greatest Wizard there ever was!" Voldemort said.
Harry remained silent. He wouldn't want to test Voldemort too much. He was actually scared and grossed out by this turn of events. He wanted to say something along the lines of, "Not all that great really… I mean look at you… You said it yourself. A shell of a wizard." Instead Harry just listened.
"But Harry. You can fix this. You can save me…" Voldemort said.
"Why would I do that? What reason do I have for it?" Harry asked in a voice far calmer than he really was. He was thinking what to do. He couldn't get to his wand. It was in his pocket. He would need to remedy that in the future, if he lived through this. He could try to use his hands, but he was tied up at the moment.
"You have courage… I can appreciate that. Your parents had it as well. They were foolish though. It was too late for your father. But your mother, she didn't have to die. I can sense you are different from them both. You aren't foolish…" the Dark Lord said.
Harry remained quiet gain.
"I also know such implied threats aren't appreciated by you and would never work. You're in Hufflepuff. The house for the dunderheads most would say…" Voldemort said.
Harry couldn't help but glower at those words.
Voldemort continued, "I, however, am not so foolish as they. I can appreciate Hufflepuff traits. Hard work is something any great wizard realizes has immense value. And more importantly to me. Something I have never taken for granted… Something I have always held in high regard…"
He paused for a moment. Harry had to appreciate Voldemort had a good sense for the dramatics.
"Loyalty… Yes… Help me here as only you can, Harry. Show me such loyalty and I will return it in kind… Those you cherish will be left alone. They will be safe. They will be under my protection. Once I return to my rightful place in Britain… No one will bother them again," he said.
He still wasn't finished though. "Even your muggle-born friend. My followers will return to me once I regain my strength and body. I have my beliefs that align with their own, but I am as always, a wizard of my word. They will not dare to defy me. I could tell them she was to be worshiped and placed on their shoulders and they would comply. Help me here, Harry… With that which is in your head. And I give you my word. Loyalty for loyalty. Life for life," he finished.
Harry pretended to be in thought. The others had to be close now, right? Time seemed to be going by much slower than usual here though. "Loyalty is something I hold in high regard," Harry said.
"One of our many similarities. Just as I know you love magic and see Hogwarts as a home. Think on how we are similar, Harry," Voldemort said.
"However," Harry started. Voldemort gave a slight frown. "I do not give my loyalty so blindly. I do not give it to wizards who tried to kill me when I was baby. No deal, Voldemort," Harry spat out the last words. He would not let Voldemort make a mockery of something such as loyalty. He knew the man was lying. He would not honor his word to Harry, even if he did. Harry knew his own life would be taken by the man as soon as possible.
"Use him! I tried to get him to see reason. He is just as foolish as his parents. Force him to look into the mirror!" Voldemort wheezed out to Quirrell.
Professor Quirrell grinned as he used his wand to force Harry into looking at the mirror. Harry closed his eyes. "Open!" Quirrell growled as magic forced Harry's eyes open.
There was actually a curious part of Harry that wondered what he would see in the mirror. He wondered what his heart's desire was. However, he did have to make it look like he wasn't keen on looking into the mirror. They couldn't know that he fully appreciated the purpose of the mirror's trick and wasn't going to try to fight it. He wasn't so foolish as to think if he somehow got the stone it would be safer.
Harry stared. He then blinked. "Huh… That is something," Harry said.
"What do you see, Potter!" the two-faced man hissed in his ear.
"I-I-I s-s-seeee… I-I-I se-se-se-see," Harry said in a mocking imitation of Quirrell's fake stutter.
Quirrell poked Harry's face with the tip of his wand and said, "I'm tired of your cheek! Potter..."
Harry wanted to groan at that terrible pun.
He instead provided an answer. He needed to get the man off guard, so he could hopefully make a move. "I see Professor Dumbledore giving me the House Cup! It's repeating though. I'm winning it seven times. Once for every year I'm here! Hufflepuff is getting the House Cup seven times in a row! We beat everyone. Slytherin, Gryffindor. Even Ravenclaw!" Harry said in excitement and joy.
"He lies! He lies! He lies!" Voldemort kept shouting. Quirrell was seething in anger distracted by his master's shouts and Harry's audacity to claim he wanted something so stupid and trivial as the House Cup.
The self-proclaimed Dark Lord wasn't wrong in his claims. However, Harry achieved his goal. Whether intentional or not, Quirrell had released his bindings. Harry wasn't about to reach for his wand though. He wasn't a match for Quirrell in that regard. He instead elbowed the man causing him to let out an "Oof!" in pain before then knocking the man's wand out of his hand as Quirrell doubled over from the elbow to his gut.
Harry then turned around and sent a quick and powerful punch to his face. "Ahhhh!!" Quirrell cried in pain as his face seemed to be burning. Harry punched Quirrell again. He wasn't going to lose his advantage this time. Each punch hurt him as well, but he could survive the pain. He wasn't a stranger to pain. He had two fists and alternated between them. There was no letting Quirrell have a chance to counter the onslaught.
"Kill him! Kill him!!!" Voldemort screeched.
"Master… It burns! I can't!" Quirrell whimpered in pain.
"Get him! Get him! Don't be useless!" Voldemort growled in anger from the back of the DADA Professor's head.
Harry kneed Quirrell in the gut and punched him again. Harry then decided to slap the man across his face. If skin contact affected him this much, more skin had to be more effective Harry thought. He knew it would hurt him more as well, but this was a life or death fight. Harry needed every advantage he could use no matter the cost.
Harry grunted through the pain he felt as he slapped the older man's face. He grabbed the man's face with both of his hands. He yelled in pain.
However, the pain Harry felt was nothing compared to what Professor Quirrell was enduring. The older man was screaming in pain as his face and then body seemed to steam. It was as if he was melting.
Then Quirrell seemed to explode!
Smoke seemed to escape from him. A cloud with a snake like face howled in both frustration and pain. The cloud quickly shot for an open vent and escaped Hogwarts. Voldemort couldn't last long in this form. He needed a new host body and that had to take priority over the stone, even if the dark lord knew this meant the stone was out of the question completely. Voldemort knew Dumbledore would get rid of it after this.
Harry was panting as he fell to the floor in a sitting position leaning against a pillar. He took in labored breaths. He was still mostly awake and the pain wasn't overwhelming him yet. He heard the sound of several footsteps rushing down the hall towards him. He looked up to see a worried and startled group of girls.
"Hermione... Hannah… Susan," Harry said weakly to them. They all three looked beautiful even covered in dried sweat and dirt.
They were too shocked and worried to move after seeing Harry in his current state.
An ancient wizard came from behind them. Professor Dumbledore was shocked as well. Harry took in a deep breath as he swayed a little where he was sitting. "I beat him. I got him… He vapored away. Voldemort escaped," he said wanting to get the truth of what happened out before it was too late.
Harry then felt the last of his adrenaline leave as the pain started to overwhelming him and he swayed and slumped to the side. "Harry!" three voices shouted.
The last thing Harry saw was Hermione catch him just in the nick of time before hit the floor. He wanted to smile to her and let her know he was alright, but he was too weak and tired at the moment. The fight was taking its toll on him now. He instead relaxed completely in her arms and took in the scent of her hair one last time.
If he died, at least his last living memory was something so wonderful.
He really hoped he only felt like he was dying though. He wanted to make what he saw in the mirror a reality. It was a goal worth fighting for in every way.