Nura chapter 1
Danger lies before you while safety lies behind
Two of us will help you whichever you may find
One among us seven will let you move ahead
Another will take the drinker back instead
Two among our number hold only nettle wine
Three of us are killers waiting hidden in the line
Choose unless you wish to stay here forever more
To help you with your choice I will give you 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 that stand at either end, but if you would move forward neither would your friend
Third, as you see clearly, all are different sizes. Neither dwarf nor giant holds death on their inside.
Four, the second to the left, and the second right are twins when you taste them, though different at first sight.
"Brilliant." Hermione grins, "This isn't magic. It's logic. The most powerful wizards of all wouldn't have an ounce of logic, so they'd be stuck here."
"Won't we though?" Harry asks as she glances over the table of potions.
"Of course not. Just give me a minute to work this all out." Hermione looks back at the poem, muttering something under her breath as she points to the different potions. Five minutes later, she reaches in and takes the smallest vial off of the table, "This will move you through the black flames."
"You're sure?" Harry asks as he takes the vial, "There's only enough here for one of us, though. Which one would take us back?"
"I'm sure, and it's this one." She says as she grabs another vial, this time medium sized.
"
You take that and go back. Get Ron and run. With the broom from the key room, you shouldn't have any problem getting past the devil's snare and Fluffy. After that, go and get Professor McGonagall. Tell her what happened." Harry instructs as he gulps the potion. IT feels almost like ice running through his veins.
Hermione nods and engulfs him in a hug, "Look after yourself. Snape is going to be tough."
"I'll be fine." Harry says as he turns and runs through the black fire. Looking back, he sees Hermione disappear through the purple flames. 'No turning back now.' He thinks as he walks through the hallway. After what seemed like ten minutes of walking, he arrived at the very end of the corridor. Opening the door, just a crack, he watches and listens.
"I see myself holding the stone… But how do I get it? DO I break the mirror? What is the trick?" a cloak figure mutters as it paces in front of the mirror of erased.
"Fool! You're being watched!" a cold new voice yells, and Harry searches for the source, but the room was empty. The cloaked figure turned d waved his wand as the door slammed itself open.
"Potter…" the figure growls, lowering its hood, "I should have known…"
"Professor Quirrell? No… I was Snap-"
"Yes, he does seem the type, doesn't he?" Quirrell grins, "Next to him, who would expect p-p-poor stuttering Professor Quirrell?"
"Use him." The cold voice says, echoing in the empty chamber, "The boy can get the stone."
Quirrell binds him with rope and pushes him toward the mirror, 'Get me the stone, Potter, and I may let you live."
Harry looks into the mirror. Inside, he saw himself in front of a huge mass of people, some of who were obscured by a strange mist. All of them completely different and some not even looking human. Even Harry himself wasn't the same as he was. His hair was slightly longer in the back, with streaks of crimson running through it. His eyes were completely black, except his pupils, which were blood red. A black mist surrounded his limbs, making it nearly impossible to see anything. A hand appeared out of the mist, clutching a red stone. The red eyes met green and the Mirror Harry winked and placed the stone into his pocket. Harry instantly felt something in his pocket.
"What do you see?" Quirrell growls, pushing the tip of his wand into Harry's spine.
"I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore." Harry says quickly, "Gryffindor's won the house cup…"
"LIES!" The cold voice yells, and a searing pain rips through Harry's entire body.
"Do not lie to me, Potter!" Quirrell yells as Harry screams, "Now. What. Did. You. See?"
"Let me speak to him. Face to Face." The voice says calmly.
"Master… are you sure?" Quirrell asks.
"I have strength enough for this." it answers, and Harry looks over his shoulder as Quirrell reaches back and begins undoing his turban. With the turban on the floor, he turns and Harry nearly screams again.
Sticking out of the back of his head was a face. Scarlet eyes not unlike what he'd just seen in the mirror looked at him calmly, "It's been a long time. Harry Potter."
"It's you…" He gulps, "Voldemort…"
"See what I have become, thanks to you?" Voldemort chuckles, "I, who was once the most powerful wizard in history reduced to living off a mediocre wizard, like some parasite? It's laughable. But you have something to change that, don't you? And it's in your pocket!"
Harry grabs the stone through his pocket and backs away, struggling against the ropes.
"There is no reason for you to die, Harry." Voldemort smiles, "I'm going to have Quirrell release you in a moment. Give him the stone. Do this, and in honor of your abilities, you may take your place at my side. Together, we will uncover the depth of magic never thought to be possible." Quirrell's wand moves and two ghostly images appear beside him, one of a man with short untidy black hair like his own, and a woman with long red hair and bright green eyes. "Would you like to see them? To speak with them? Such a thing would be simple if you merely kneel before me."
With another flick of his wand, he ropes vanished leaving Harry free to move. Instinctively, he removes the stone and looks at it.
"That's it, Harry." Voldemort smiles, "There is no good or evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it. Together, let us usher in an age of darkness, and rule together. You shall be my heir, and all that you could ever wish shall be yours…"
For a brief second, Harry thought he was being tortured again. His entire body started to heat up, but there was no pain.
His blood was boiling.
Hogwarts Castle Dungeons
Slytherin Girl's Dormitory
Same Time
Daphne Greengrass jolted awake in a cold sweat. 'What is this?' she asks herself as she struggled to breath. An overwhelming Yokai aura was blanketing everything. Never had she felt anything like it. Even after years of live with yokai that were far from weaklings, this kind of power was unbelievable. Looking around, she saw that it was so strong, even those with no ability to sense it still knew. Every other girl in the room was fidgeting around in their sleep.
A part of her wanted nothing more than to run, before this power decided to kill them all. Even Dumbledore couldn't stop something like this. But still she couldn't do that. She must know what this was. It might be a quality better suited to a Ravenclaw than a Slytherin, but the hat did consider Ravenclaw, so….
Quietly, she jumped out of bed and crept across the room. 'I've got to hurry.' She thought as she left the Dormitories.
Hogwarts Castle Fourth Floor
Hufflepuff Girls dormitories
Same Time
Susan Bones nearly fell out of her bed in shock as a massive wave of yokai energy covered everything. "What in the world…" she gasps, "How could I have missed this?! None of the other yokai at this school had power like this!"
Luckily, her dorm mates were all asleep, though uneasily since the power made itself known, so none of them heard what she said. 'I've got to go.' She thought as she quickly gets dressed and grabs her invisibility cloak, 'I can't let this opportunity go by. The Bones Family has no future like this. We need backing, and support. This yokai, whoever they are, can provide all that and more. The hat wanted to place her in Slytherin after all, and she planned to life up to that belief.
"Just give me the stone, Harry." Voldemort says as Harry grips it tightly, and takes a step forward. Voldemort walks to meet him, hand extended, "All you have to do is give it to me."
"No." Harry answers, his voice far more confident as he places the stone back in his pocket, "While that was a very tempting offer, I'll have to refuse. This world is mine. I won't be your subordinate. But if you swear loyalty to me, I wouldn't mind giving up a few stones."
Voldemort laughs as Harry looks at him, "You believe that I, Lord Voldemort, should swear loyalty to a little boy?"
"Call me what you will, but I will become the Lord of the Night." Harry says in a firm voice, his hair growing ever so slightly longer as a black fog starts pouring out of his skin, "I would have been willing into allow a human such as you into my night parade, but I've changed my mind. Get lost."
"You dare to give me orders?!" Voldemort growls, wand pointed at him, "AVADA KEDARVA!"
A jet of green light ripped through the air, flying at him. Unmoved, Harry concentrates slightly as the mist swirls around his hand, condensing it into a sword, which easily deflects the curse. "Is that it? Maybe I misjudged you. You were never worthy of joining me." Harry smirks, leaping forward and slicing Quirrell's arm off easily.
Quirrell screams in pain as Voldemort growls, "So be it. You can die here." Quirrell grabs his wand of the floor while still whimpering in pain. With the wand raised, Voldemort begins casting strings of green curses. Still unimpressed, Harry easily deflects a few more and dodges the rest before jumping in to deliver the killing blow.
Quirrell instinctively jumps forward, moving him away from the sword and sparing him from the cold steel.
'What is he?' Voldemort thinks as Quirrell whimpers again, wand arm clutching his stump of an arm. 'He can't fight like this.' Wrenching control of his body away from him, he uses a long lost spell and forms a new silver arm and attaches it to the stump.
"Thank you my master." Quirrell says thankfully.
"I will not tolerate failure." He growls sending another string of curses.
"Damn. I thought I got rid of that." Harry smirks, as he creates another sword and continues deflecting them, "Well, let's try this again." Jumping forward, he slices at the silver arm. To his surprise the sword bounces off the limb without even scratching it. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees someone run in and hide behind a pillar, though Quirrell was too busy to notice.
"You will not defeat me so easily, Potter." Quirrell laughs, "This limb was a gift from my master. One such as you will never destroy it."
"I wonder about that." Harry answers, and both swords disappear.
"Giving up?" Voldemort laughs, "Perhaps I might be able to forgive your arrogance. Just give me the stone!"
"I don't see a reason to." Harry smiles, "After all, that arm of yours is already gone. You just don't know it."
"What are you- AH!" Quirrell screams as his limb starts smoking, and disintegrating.
"What have you done!?" Voldemort roars as the destruction spreads to the wand.
"The swords I create are cursed." Harry smirks, "A wound such as that won't heal unless I want it to. Forcing it to will just make it worse. The curse wouldn't have done much if you hadn't tried to replace it. Your magic was strong, but my curse won out. And now you are left entirely at my mercy. You'll probably die in just a few minutes."
"POTTER!" Voldemort roars, jumping out of the screaming Quirrell's head and flying towards him, only to be repelled by a shield of black mist.
"Beat it. You can't kill me. Least of all in your current state." Harry growls, and the spirit flies through the wall and disappears, leaving the smoking body of Professor Quirrell behind.
With that taken care of, Harry looked closely at the stone. It radiated power, and just by holding it in his hand, Harry could tell it would be useful to keep. Putting it back in his pocket, he glances back towards one of the pillars at the front of the room, "You can come out now."
It wasn't very difficult find the source of the yokai aura. The third floor was so engulfed, even the ghosts fled in fear. It seemed to be coming from the forbidden corridor. Opening it, she glances at the three headed dog, who was cowering in the corner and whimpering from the sheer power, its trapdoor completely unguarded, so she jumps down. After relaxes in the presence of the Devil's snare, she runs into the next room, which was filled with keys, though the next door was left open, so it was a moot point.
Next was a giant chess set, but with all the pieces destroyed, none of them made any attempt to stop her. A mountain troll was unconscious in the next room, and she didn't want to worry about waking it and she ran quickly past it and into a room. The logic puzzle was easy, and she could only assume that there was an automatic refilling charm on them since the source of the Aura was still further in, yet all seven potions were completely filled. Luckily, her logical mind solved the riddle and drank that smallest vial before passing through the black flames.
As she walked through the hall, the feeling grew. There was no question that he was close. That whoever this aura was coming form is waiting in the next room. At the very end, behind the wide open door, were two people. One was Professor Quirrell, who was looking angry with his back to another man. He looked vaguely familiar. He had untidy black hair, which was long in the back. His eyes were pitch black, except his blood red pupils, and his hands were completely covered in black mist. Both hands had a sword, and both had a strange dark aura. He jumped forward and tried to slash at Quirrell's arm, which she now saw was silver. Taking advantage of the distraction, she rushes into the room, hiding behind the pillar and watching as the two talk. Suddenly, Quirrell starts screaming as his arm starts smoking.
Glancing at it, she gasps as his arm starts breaking apart, eventually spreading to both his wand and his shoulder. As he continues screaming, she heard a yell over it, "POTTER!"
The screaming stops after this, and the man, who she now realizes is Harry Potter, answers, "Beat it. You can't kill me. Least of all in your current state."
After a moment, a whips of grey smoke flies through a wall, and there was no sound in the room, except the sizzling of Quirrell's body. As she risks a peek, she sees Harry looking down at a red stone in his hand.
He stands and turns towards her, causing her to hide behind the pillar, afraid to even breathe.
"You can come out now." He yells, and she gulps.
'This is it.' She thinks as she weakly steps out, 'this is where I die.'
"Greengrass." He glares, "What are you doing here?" before she could answer, he holds up a hand, "Before you answer, someone else is in here. Come out now!"
A red haired girl walks out from behind another pillar, clutching a silvery cloak, "How did you know?" Susan asks weakly.
"There were two sharp intakes of breath when I called out to Daphne." Harry answers, "Now, both of you, explain what you're doing here. Now."
"I woke up earlier, and felt your power. My natural curiosity got the better of me." Daphne admits, terrified.
"Curiosity killed the cat." Harry glares, turning to Susan as Daphne pales, "What about you?"
"I want to join you." She answers, "I want to join your night parade."
"Oh? So you're a yokai?" Harry smirks, "Well, I'll admit that I do need some followers. Why do you want to join me instead of some other?"
"Because you're the strongest." She answers, "Because Both Daphne and I can tell that you wouldn't have any problem killing everyone at this school if you really felt the need."
"True. But I don't see the need." Harry says, glancing at Daphne, who looked terrified, "And you can relax. I have no intention of killing either of you, or I wouldn't have waited to hear your answers."
Breathing a sigh of relief, she nods, "Thank you."
"I shouldn't have to say this, but if anyone at Hogwarts find out about this, I will change my mind." He glares and both gulp nervously, "In the meantime, you two should leave. Dumbledore or McGonagall will be here before long." Throwing the stone up in the air, he creates another sword and slices a piece off, than hands the rest to Susan, "keep this safe. I want it back on the train ride home. Do that and I will accept you in my night parade."
"Yes sir." She bows, placing the stone in her pocket, "Daphne, get under here. We don't want anyone to see us."
Nodding, Daphne looks back at Harry before jumping under the invisibility cloak.
"Now than…" Harry says after a moment, and picks up the shard of the stone and grinds it into dust, scattering it around. In the distance, he hears someone coming. Relaxing Harry thinks, 'Now, you can take it from here.' As his yokai powers disappear, Harry gasps, and his vision darkens just as Dumbledore strides into the room.