Harry kept his word to Dumbledore throughout the rest of Christmas break and did not go looking for the mirror again, though his mood became increasingly morose as each night was filled with dreams of his parents disappearing with a blinding flash of green. Harry would wake from these dreams sweating and terrified, and it would often take a few hours for him to fall back asleep. Dora and the rest of the Weasleys began to notice his demeanor and eventually wormed the truth out of him. Fred and George were offended that Harry had received an invisibility cloak and had decided to use it to explore the school without them. But Ron, Percy, and Dora were more pragmatic and sympathetic towards Harry.
Gradually, Harry's nightmares began to fade as his family helped him cope with the loss of the mirror. Finally, Harry agreed with Percy that it was an incredibly dangerous magical object. Harry was lucky that Professor Dumbledore arrived before Harry became too far gone from what the mirror was showing him.
Harry was almost grateful when the Christmas holidays ended and the rest of the students returned to Hogwarts as it meant that he would see the rest of his friends again, which would no doubt take his mind off the damned mirror its hold over him.
XXXX
"Hello, Draco! Hello Vincent! Hello Greg!" Harry called happily when he saw his friends entering the great hall for dinner, "How was your holiday?"
Crabbe and Goyle looked longingly at Harry for a moment before both visibly swallowed hard and strode away from Harry without answering; Harry looked after them in bemusement for a moment before turning to Draco again.
"It was quite enjoyable, thank you," Draco replied coolly, making Harry's eyebrows rise with surprise.
"Is everything all right?" Harry asked nervously, "You seem…. different."
Draco's face fell for a moment before he was able to regain his composure,
"I am quite well, Mr. Weasley," Draco said stiffly, "My father and I just had a discussion about certain areas of my life, and he showed me that perhaps I should avoid CERTAIN families that might besmirch the Malfoy name if I were to be seen associating with them."
Harry stared stony-faced at Draco for a moment as he digested the boy's words toward him,
"And is that what YOU want?" Harry asked softly, "Do you want to stop being my friend simply because your father told you to?"
For only a second, Draco's mask fell away, and Harry saw the lonely boy underneath it before Draco regained control of himself and sneered at Harry,
"You saved my sister from dishonor; for that, I am eternally grateful. However, I am the future head of a noble family and as such cannot be seen associating with those of lesser values."
Draco sneered the last words, and Harry grew angry at the boy, even though he knew that Draco was repeating his father's words.
"You forget, Draco," Harry replied coldly, "That I am also the heir to a noble family…."
"Yes, and look how you have sullied it," Draco retorted, "Associating with blood-traitors and…and mud…."
"Don't say it!" Harry said quickly, cutting off Draco's words, "You're better than that!"
"You know nothing about me!" Draco growled, "You know nothing about what it is to be a Malfoy!"
"I know that you're a good person," Harry replied softly, making Draco pale slightly, "And I know that these aren't your words; you are not your father, and you don't have to become him either."
Harry saw Draco's eyes water with unshed tears and knew that the boy didn't want to stop being Harry's friend; he was just scared about whatever his father had threatened him with,
"I know these aren't your words, Draco," Harry continued softly, "And when you're ready to be my friend again, I'll be waiting, Okay?"
Without another word, Harry turned on his heel and strode to Gryffindor's table to take his seat as the feast began. A moment later, Draco did the same and slowly sat down next to Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom looked just as depressed as Draco as they had also been warned by their fathers to stay away from Harry.
Soon enough, the great hall was filled, and Professor Dumbledore rose from his please at the head table to speak, making the hall go silent almost instantly,
"Welcome back, everyone!" Dumbledore chirped, "I hope you have all enjoyed your holiday and haven't let your brains become too empty after your time away!"
The hall echoed with laughter at that, and Dumbledore smiled warmly at the watching students for a moment before he continued,
"As you all are aware, at the start of the last term, I informed you that the third-floor corridor was out of bounds," Dumbledore said solemnly, "That was due to the fact that Hogwarts had been asked to hide an incredibly dangerous magical object by its owner. However, certain concerned parties have been made aware of this and, over the course of the holiday, have reminded me that Hogwarts is a school and NOT somewhere such an object should be kept. As such, I have ordered the object in question be removed as soon as possible and hope to have this matter resolved within the next few days."
"WHAT?!" Professor Quirrell snarled as he shot to his feet, making the whole hall turn to him in surprise,
"Is there a problem, professor?" Dumbledore asked with a raised eyebrow as Quirrell turned pink with embarrassment.
"N-no, P-p-professor. M-my ap-apologies for the dis-disrupt-disruption, sir," Quirrell stuttered quickly before retaking his seat so that Dumbledore could continue. Dumbledore stared at him for a moment longer as though thinking about something before turning back to the students who were whispering to each other over what had just happened.
"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued, "The object should be gone from Hogwarts by the end of the week at most, but until such time, I must warn all students from approaching the corridor in question for their own safety. Now that that is finished, let the feast begin!"
As the tables instantly filled themselves with food, talk began about Professor Quirrell's reaction and what could possibly be hidden on the third floor.
"Guess that's it, then," Ron said as he piled his plate with food, "The stone will be gone by the end of the week, and Snape won't be able to get to it anymore."
"Yeah," Harry replied with a nod, "I wonder what was up with Professor Quirrell, though?"
"Who knows?" Fred said, "The man's always been high strung, could be anything!"
"Yeah, I suppose," Harry replied suspiciously, "Still seems odd, though."
"Have you met the man?" George said with a laugh, "Odd is his entire personality!"
The table all laughed at that before returning to their food, yet Harry felt that he was missing something and that it was something important.
Turning slowly away from his food, Harry looked at Professor Quirrell, who looked murderous as he stared down at his food. For a moment, the two locked eyes, and Harry felt a rush of pain across his scar that made him wince; however, the pain disappeared as quickly as it had come as Quirrell looked back at his food, leaving Harry confused and worried in equal measure.
XXXX
"Master, what are we going to do?" Quirrell asked; once dinner was over, he had rushed to his quarters and placed a silencing charm on the room to not be disturbed as he conferred with the Dark Lord, who now shared his body.
"That old bastard has not left us much choice!" Voldemort hissed back, anger evident in every word, "We must retrieve the stone before weeks end!"
"But we're not ready!" Quirrell cried, "We still have no idea how to get past Hagrid's beast! Nor what other dangers protect the stone!"
Pain instantly raced through Quirrell's body, and the Professor fell to the floor as he tried not to scream at the agony his master was putting him through. However, his resolve lasted only a few seconds, and he was soon begging his master for mercy before the pain finally ended, and Quirrell was left gasping on the floor.
"Whatever so call 'protection' these incompetent fools have put in place is no match for the power, my Lord Voldemort!" The Dark Lord hissed as Quirrell fought for breath, "I will have that stone before it leaves Hogwarts, or you will see just how creative I can be in punishing those who displease me! Do you understand me?!"
"Yes, master!" Quirrell cried as tears ran down his cheeks, "I will get you the stone! I swear it!"
XXXX
The next three days were perhaps the most depressing that Harry could remember in a long time; due to her N.E.W.T. tests coming up, Dora wasn't given as much time to spend with Harry as she usually did as she was constantly studying or sleeping.
Added to that, the ungodly amount of homework that the Professors decided to drop onto the returning students and the even crazier amount of Quidditch practice that Wood decided to implement (six days a week now!) and Harry felt he was being run dry. However, what hurt the most was how Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle seemed to go out of their way to avoid him.
The only time that Harry saw his three former friends now was during class, and they didn't so much as look at Harry during that time; they no longer attended the study sessions like they did before, and the few times that Harry managed to spot Draco staring at him, it was with a look filled with regret which depressed Harry even more.
"Don't worry about him," Daphne told Harry during one study session when he told the group how he felt, "He'll come around eventually,"
"Yeah," Theo added, "He's just scared of his old man, is all, and understandably so. Lucius Malfoy is a mighty man, not someone you want as an enemy. But eventually, he'll wake up and realize that he can't let others live his life for him."
"So why haven't all of you decided to keep away?" Harry asked in a small voice, "Aren't you afraid that Lucius Malfoy will target your families with threats like he did to Draco?"
"My father is not afraid of Lucius Malfoy," Daphne said with a sneer, "And Lucius knows better than to try and intimidate my family. He tried once, and it wasn't pretty."
"And I personally don't care what my family thinks," Theo said with a shrug, "It's my life, and I'll associate with whom I see fit."
"But aren't you afraid of being cast out of your family for disobedience?" Harry asked Theo, remembering what Narcissa had told him during his lessons about how some families behaved to members of their family who went against the head of the family's orders.
"I'm the only male heir," Theo sneered, "There's no way they'll do that, and even if they did, I'm intelligent enough not to have to worry about such things."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked,
"I've been using my monthly allowance to buy stock in both magical and muggle companies for years now," Theo clarified with a smile, "Even if I were disinherited, I have made sure that I will not have to work a day in my life."
"How?" Hermione asked in shock, "You're eleven! How is that possible?"
"Age is simply a number," Theo sniffed, "I simply had no patience to wait until I was older to assure my future, nor leave it to those who might end up ruining mine."
The group stared in awe at Theo for a moment before regaining their composure, though Harry saw that Theo had turned slightly pink at being the center of everyone's attention,
"Thanks, guys…" Harry said softly as he looked down at his hands, "For being my friends, I mean."
"You act as though being friends with you is terrible," Tracy replied, smiling, "I'm happy to call you my friend, Harry."
"As am I," Daphne added with a slight grin,
"Same here," Theo said,
"I never really had friends before," Hermione mumbled, making the group turn to her, "It's nice to have some for a change."
Harry grinned happily as everyone began to say how they enjoyed spending time with Hermione, making the poor girl tear up before they all returned to the Transfiguration essay that Professor McGonagall had assigned them.
XXXX
Professor Quirrell seethed with rage as he limped back to his quarters; he had attempted to get to the stone a few hours ago, the last chance he had as Dumbledore was preparing to move it the next day. Terrified of failing his master again, Quirrell had stormed into Hagrid's hut after dinner and used the Crucio curse on the groundskeeper, demanding that Hagrid tell him how to get past his beast.
To Quirrell's astonishment, Hagrid had refused to say anything and, realizing that any further torture would cause the giant's mind to break, had asked his master for help. It was simple for Lord Voldemort to peer into Hagrid's head and discover the secret; Hagrid had been too weak from torture to stop him.
After petrifying the groundskeeper to ensure he would not be able to tell anyone what had occurred, Quirrell had stormed the third floor and conjured a harp to put the dog to sleep and allow Quirrell entrance to the trap door.
After the dog, the other traps had been child's play to get past; until Quirrell had reached that damned mirror.
Quirrell had stared at the mirror for over an hour trying to figure out how to get the stone out of it and had been so preoccupied that he failed to notice Albus Dumbledore enter the room where the mirror was being kept. Realizing that the game was over, Quirrell immediately began attacking Dumbledore with every spell and curse he could think of, to no avail.
All it had taken was one stray curse to shatter the mirror and ensure that Quirrell would never be able to retrieve the stone for his master; Dumbledore had used the broken glass to slash Quirrell over a dozen times until it was obvious that if Quirrell didn't escape, he would be killed!
Using a spell that his master had taught him, Quirrell had managed to blast the old headmaster off of his feet, temporarily giving Quirrell the time he needed to escape the chamber and, hopefully, Dumbledore as well.
Now, he was racing to his quarters as fast as he could; he needed to collect a few things before making his escape from this damned school and, above all, from Dumbledore, who would no doubt activate the wards and try and prevent his escape now that he knew Quirrell served the Dark Lord.
As he rounded the corner, Quirrell ran straight into a group of students, causing one of them to fall to the ground hard as Quirrell stumbled to regain his balance.
"Professor? Are you all right?" Daphne Greengrass asked as Theo helped Hermione and Harry to their feet, "You're bleeding. Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?"
"I'm perfectly fine!" Quirrell snapped, "Get out of my way!"
"Hey!" Theo retorted, "She was only trying to help!"
"Kill the children if you have to!" Voldemort hissed, making the children freeze as they heard the voice, "We have no time to spare! We must escape from here!"
"W-who said that?" Tracy asked in a scared voice as she looked around for the speaker; as Quirrell's hand went for his wand, Harry's eyes went wide as though he finally realized something, and he suddenly pushed Tracy to the floor as a beam of green light sailed past where she had just been standing.
Quirrell snarled in rage as he raised his wand again to try and curse Tracy, who was cowering beneath Harry; before Quirrell could attack again, he suddenly doubled over in pain because Daphne had just kicked him hard between the legs.
"BRAT!" Quirrell snarled, "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME!"
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Harry yelled as he hauled Tracy to her feet, "GO GET A TEACHER! RUN!"
Tracy, Daphne, and Hermione immediately ran as fast as they could while Theo and Harry tried desperately to evade beams of light from where Quirrell was trying to either stun or kill the two boys.
"KILL THEM, YOU IDIOT!" Voldemort repeatedly screamed, "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"
Theo's luck finally ran out, and he was hit by a stunner which sent him crashing to the floor a moment later, making Harry turn pale in an instant,
"THEO!" Harry yelled as he ran to his fallen friend while Quirrell watched with a cruel smile on his face.
"Don't worry, Mr. Potter; he's not dead." Quirrell sneered, "Only stunned. You, however, I will truly enjoy killing! I may have failed to retrieve the stone, but I'm sure my master will reward me for your death!"
"It was you!" Harry breathed in shock, "You were the one trying to steal the stone, not Snape! Why?!"
"Because my master wished it!" Quirrell said simply, "He told me to retrieve the stone, and I obeyed as a good servant should!"
"Master? Who's your master?" Harry asked, still in shock from finding out Quirrell was the culprit, not Snape as he had suspected all year.
"Show him to me!" Voldemort hissed, "Let him see my face one last time and know that I am the one who reigns victorious in the end!"
With a final sneer, Quirrell stowed his wand in his robes before reaching up and undoing his turban as Harry watched with wide eyes. A moment later, the color ran from Harry's face, and his red hair turned white as Quirrell dropped the purple cloth to the floor and turned so that his back was to Harry; rather than the back of his head, Harry stared in horror at a second face that protruded from Quirrell's head.
"Hello, Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed with a cruel smile, "We meet again…."
Harry tried to say something, anything, but his voice seemed to have been stolen from him, and he could only stare in horror at what he saw in front of him.
"Voldemort….?" Harry whispered when his voice finally returned to him, "B-but you died…."
"You don't truly think that some pathetic brat like you could possibly defeat the most powerful wizard who ever lived!" Voldemort sneered as Quirrell took a step backward toward Harry, who seemed to have lost feeling in his legs.
"I'm glad I was able to face you one last time, to be here when you finally met your end," Voldemort said with a cruel laugh, "Now, Kill him!"
Quirrell turned to face Harry, who was trying desperately to make his legs work so that he could escape; as the Professor drew his wand and slowly pointed it at Harry, a voice rang out behind the pair.
"Harry? What's going on?"
If there was any color left on Harry's face, it vanished as Quirrell turned to look at Ron, who had just come around the corner and was staring wide-eyed at his brother, who seemed to be kneeling next to the unconscious form of Theo Nott as Professor Quirrell stood over them with a raised wand.
Quirrell spun around and raised his wand to curse Ron, who seemed just as frozen as Harry,
"NOOOOOO!" Harry screamed as he burst into action and ran at Quirrell before grabbing the Professor's arm, desperate to save his brother; to the surprise of all, Quirrell's arm began to smoke as the Professor screamed in agony. A second later, the arm turned to dust and vanished, causing Quirrell's wand to drop to the floor with a clatter.
For a moment, the only sound in the hallway was the groans of pain emanating from Quirrell; then, the Professor lunged forward and grabbed Harry by the throat, lifting him into the air before pinning him against the nearby wall as he attempted to strangle Harry.
"LET HIM GO!" Ron screamed as he latched onto Quirrell's arm and tried to break his grip on Harry's throat; Harry thrashed violently as he also tried to break Quirrell's grip, his vision beginning to dim from lack of oxygen.
Running out of options, Harry grabbed at Quirrell's face with both hands; his scar exploded in pain, yet Harry still held onto Quirrell's face, hoping that whatever he had done to the Professor's arm would happen again and make Quirrell let go. As Harry began to pass out, the last thing he felt was the sensation of crashing to the floor as Quirrell let go of him and began shrieking in agony; someone was calling Harry's name, but before he could answer, Harry passed out and knew no more.