OK, some of the questions many of you have will be answered here, in this chapter. I don't know when I'll update again as the tenth chapter is halfway done but I haven't done anything to it for at least a month or two. I'll post it as soon as I'm done with it though, so hold on. Read and review.
The Truth and a Stone
As Harry slept, visions passed through his head. He watched them, as if they were happening to him. He was a young boy in an orphanage. His name was Tom Riddle. Tom was a wizard; Harry knew that, probably a muggle-born whose parents abandoned him. He could do strange things; his control over accidental magic was extraordinary, even at a young age. Though, Tom was cruel; he never showed any remorse for his actions and used his magic to hurt others. Then one day, Dumbledore appeared and gave him his Hogwarts acceptance letter. Tom was excited to be able to learn about magic, though he was also greedy.
The visions skipped to Tom's years at Hogwarts. Harry watched as Tom was sorted into Slytherin. The other Slytherins teased and bullied Tom because of his muggle upbringing. Tom in turn bullied others, but never in the view of the teachers. He was very skilled in magic, always being at the top of his class. But Tom wanted to learn more. He studied and studied at the library, hungry for more knowledge and power. He got it in the form of Parseltongue, he could speak it too. Tom also found the Heir's Dorms and claimed them as his own like Harry did.
Harry learned that Tom's mother had died giving birth to him; both boys had lost their mothers at a young age. Tom wanted to find his father, the man he was named after. No record of another Tom Riddle, or even another Riddle, existed at Hogwarts; nobody on his father's side went to Hogwarts. He then hunted his mother's side of the family, finding his grandfather with his middle name, Marvolo. During the summer before his sixth year, Tom traced his mother's family to a small village. There, he discovered his uncle and dead grandfather. He learned the truth about his parents and went to his father's house. There, Tom Riddle performed his first real murders.
After framing his uncle for the deaths of his father and grandparents, Tom went back to Hogwarts. He discovered a dark branch of magic called Horcruxes. Wanting to live forever, Tom made his first with the death of a muggle-born girl he had killed last year when he opened the Chamber of Secrets. Wanting to know more, Tom sought answers from the only one he could, Professor Slughorn. From him Tom learned that it was theoretically possible to make more than one Horcrux, so he did.
The visions began to jump around, going from the creation of one Horcrux to another, ending with number five. Tom, now calling himself Lord Voldemort, wanted six to create a seven part soul. Harry then watched Lord Voldemort's memories, as he now knew what they were, as he waged war against Magical Britain, killing dozens. He watched Voldemort's Death Eaters in action, some of their 'fun' making Harry sick. Then, another Death Eater, Harry couldn't see who, informed Voldemort of a prophecy that predicted his downfall. A second unknown Death Eater provided Voldemort of the location of the Potters and two of the babies that might defeat him.
There was one last memory. Harry watched as Voldemort walked through the little village of Godric's Hallow. He watched as he found the house where he, his brother and parents were hiding. He watched as his father dueled Voldemort but was cast aside. He watched as Voldemort went up to the nursery where his mother was protecting him and his brother. Voldemort cast her aside as well and then considered which baby to kill. Finally he chose Richard and cast the Killing Curse. There was a lot of green light and the memory ended.
But that was not the end. Harry watched from his own point of view as Voldemort met his end through his rebounded curse. The body vanished and all that was left was a clock, a wand, ash, and a piece of what Harry knew to be a soul fragment. He watched a shadowed man enter the room and take the wand, then as the soul fragment tried to enter Richard and failed. Then the fragment tried to enter Harry, right where his scar was, and succeeded.
Harry sat up in bed. Now a lot of things made sense; his Parseltongue abilities, those strange visions, it was a part of Tom Riddle's/Voldemort's memories. Harry touched his scar; he had part of the most dangerous dark wizards' soul there. He knew where his ability to use magic came from. Because the soul fragment was a part of him now, its powers were now his; Parseltongue, magic, memories. However, as a soul fragment, its powers were limited. He was only able to do some magic, and only with great struggle. The memories he also viewed were incomplete because of the fragment as well.
Harry knew that Voldemort had knowledge of powerful and ancient magics, if he was able to get ahold of all five of Voldemort's Horcruxes; he may be able to use his knowledge and maybe even magic. If Harry couldn't access Voldemort's magic, then his knowledge could point Harry in the direction of somehow getting his own magic back from Richard. It was worth a try but Harry only had limited knowledge of Voldemort's memories. The only Horcrux that he knew the location of was the Diadem here at Hogwarts. Although he knew how to get it, he didn't know how to use its powers for himself. He would have to figure that out first before he took the Horcrux from its resting place.
Harry's discovery was a major one. Although Voldemort's memories were incomplete, half of them were about his time at Hogwarts. The information granted Harry was very helpful in his class work. The memories also helped Harry practice his spell work, but that was something else entirely. He estimated that he had gotten lest than 1/32 of Voldemort's power. Despite how powerful Voldemort was, his power split into thirty-two wasn't much. So, Harry was forced to practice simple spells but even they required a tremendous amount of energy on his part. Even getting his wand to light for a couple of seconds left him extremely tired. He didn't want to know what would happen if he tried something beyond his ability.
However, Harry wasn't allowed much time or energy to test his limits. When the Easter Holidays came around, the teacher assigned them mountains of homework. Even Harry, who was taking less than the rest of his year, was overloaded.
"At least you have it easy," Tracey told him one day in the library. "Without Defense, Charms, and Transfiguration you only really have to worry about Astronomy and your Muggle Studies class. History and Potions, you could take those exams with your eyes closed, and Herbology, well, you may have to study for that. But for me, I've still got six chapters to read for Charms and I'll never get these Transfiguration spells memorized."
She was pulling her hair out so much that she looked wild. Harry laughed softly. "At least you have it easier than Greengrass."
Tracey frowned at Harry and then turned towards her first friend. Harry had started calling her Greengrass a couple of weeks ago as she had started calling him Potter to show that their friendship was well and truly over. As such, Harry had refused to lend her his History notes and forbidden Tracey from doing the same. As such, the brunette witch was buried in books, falling asleep every couple of minutes as she tried to read. She currently was snoring on a particularly large book and had been doing so for ten minutes.
"Harry, can't you take pity on her?"
No" he answered bluntly.
Tracey frowned again and turned back to her Charms book. The rift between her two friends had grown larger than it had been before the start of Hogwarts. Daphne had even threatened to stop being her friend if she didn't stop hanging around, in her words, 'that useless Squib'. So far, it had been empty threats but she feared that one day, she may have to choose between the two.
Studying wasn't the only thing keeping Harry busy. During the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor game, Gryffindor had scored a healthy amount of points. Enough points that they had overtaken them by more than a hundred. In order for Slytherin to win the Quidditch Cup for the fourth year running, they had to beat Hufflepuff by two hundred and twenty points or Gryffindor had to lose by sixty to Ravenclaw. Neither option was very good but everyone did their best to make sure that Professor Snape kept the Cup in his office. So Flint started having the Quidditch Team working harder than ever.
Then one morning, everyone awoke to find Gryffindor a hundred and fifty points less. No one could figure it out until Draco Malfoy started bragging about it. Richard, along with his two friends, had been caught trying to smuggle a baby dragon through the halls. Everyone in Slytherin was celebrating, even though Malfoy had cost them about fifty points himself. Gryffindor was now in last place for both the House and Quidditch Cup and now Slytherin was in the lead for the Quidditch Cup while in second for the House. The rest of the school didn't share the Slytherin's enthusiasm. With Gryffindor out, support went to Ravenclaw, who lead the House Cup by forty points.
The weekend before finals started, Slytherin played Hufflepuff. While they knew that they couldn't win the match or the Cup, the Puffs still fought hard. The more points that they scored, the higher their House standing would be and the more points they prevented Slytherin from getting, the harder it would be for them to get either Cup. In the end however, Harry caught the Snitch, winning two hundred and sixty to one hundred and twenty. With this victory, they had all but claimed the Quidditch Cup, they only had to wait until the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw match to get it.
Two days later, final exams started. Tracey had gone so crazy with studying, Harry had to knock her out just to get her to rest for them. She glared at Harry when she woke up but he knew that she was grateful. Professor Quimble's Muggle Studies Exam was Harry's first. It involved telling and explaining some of the differences between the muggle and magical way of doing things. Over the next week, Harry had to take four more exams, all of which he knew he did better on than Muggle Studies. History of Magic was the last one for everyone and when they left the classroom, Tracey was singing. Harry didn't blame her, what he blamed were her parents for not teaching her how to sing.
As everyone was enjoying the warm weather that went along with the end of exams, Harry decided to go down to the dungeons. While he too wanted to enjoy the weather, he didn't think that students should be the only ones. Apollo and Artemis were overjoyed to finally be outside, something that they hadn't done since before Hogwarts. Apollo was even more overjoyed because Harry had never allowed them out of his dorm since Daphne had stopped being his friend and Apollo had lost his favorite pillow. The sun felt perfect for the two snakes and they happily shed their skin, growing a couple more inches in the process. He was carrying them back to his dorm; a girl had seen them and screamed, when he heard his brother and his friends.
"I'll bet anything that letter was sent by Snape. Now, with Dumbledore gone, he can go after that Stone. He has all the information he needs and nothing will stop him, nothing but us."
Hiding, Harry carefully listened to what the three were saying. It didn't take long to discover that they were talking about the Philosopher's Stone. For some reason they believed that Professor Snape had been plotting to steal the Stone. There were more protections guarding the Stone other than the three-headed dog, which was owned by Hagrid and called Fluffy. Snape had figured out how to finally get past the other protections and had removed Dumbledore, making his way clear. They were planning on going after Snape and the Stone themselves, hoping to save it and be looked at like heroes. Harry had heard enough, there was no way he was going to let them go after the Stone, he would try and stop them. He knew that none of the professors would believe him so he was on his own that night.
That night, while everyone was asleep or still celebrating the end of finals in their dorms, Harry snuck out. Keeping to the shadows, Harry did his best to avoid people. The only ones he saw were a couple of ghosts and Mr. Filch on the main floor. When he got to the third floor corridor, he heard music. He opened the door in time to see one of Richard's friends jump down through the open trapdoor. Fluffy was barking up a storm, trying to follow but its head was too big. Noticing a small harp on the floor, Harry ran to grab it. The dog heard his footsteps and turned his way, but before it could do anything, Harry was plucking the harp's strings. Although it wasn't much, the dog's eyes drooped enough that Harry was able to sneak over to the door and jump through.
The fall was long and Harry was beginning to wonder what would happened when he reached the bottom when he landed on a soft plant. Despite the landing, it took Harry a couple seconds to regain his breathing and stop his head from spinning. That was all the time the plant needed. In seconds, long creepers had wrapped themselves around Harry's legs and were making their way up his torso. He struggled to rip the plant off him but it only made the plant fight harder. Panic began to fill Harry. Moments began to pass through his mind; times spent with his mother (he was going to join her), fun times with Rose, Apollo, and Artemis (they would miss him, and he would never get to see his sister again), joking with Tracey, and even Daphne. Harry had lied to himself, claiming that he never missed her.
The truth was that Daphne being gone had left a large hole in him that no one, not even Rose, could fill. If his last thoughts were to be about anything, he wanted them to be about Daphne. He allowed every memory he had of her to fill him, reminding him of everything good and bad. From the moment he first met her on the Hogwarts Express to the last time he saw her in Herbology. It was the final and he had snuck a glance over at her. She was working on identifying the Devil's Snare plant. Then, everything hit Harry; this plant that was strangling him was Devil's Snare.
Figuring out how to beat it, Harry took a great gulp of air and held his breath, playing dead. The Devil's Snare stopped moving and waited. Harry knew that the plant thought him either dead or dying so it was waiting to make sure he was really dead. Finally, when Harry felt he could hold his breath no longer, the plant released him, dropping him beneath it. Standing, Harry took a handful of big breaths to get the air back in his lungs. He had to admit that Professor Sprout was smart it setting up Devil's Snare, it was a rare plant that few would recognize at first glance. If that and Fluffy were the first protections, Harry began to worry about Richard. Although he didn't like him, he had to stop him before he did something stupid.
The next chamber was simpler in design, but probably just as hard. Flying keys were up in the air but only one would open the locked door in front of him. The only way to open the door was catch the right key, out of hundreds, with an old broom. Harry knew that only a small handful of people could do this, it wasn't easy to catch an enchanted object that could fly. Lucky for Harry, he knew that he was one of those people. Of course it was easier said than done, most of the keys attacked him and finding the right one without knowing what it looked like was next to impossible. Finally, sporting many cuts, Harry managed to catch the right key after a couple minute chase; it was good but no match for the youngest Seeker in a century.
Harry was now worried about catching up with Richard. From what he had said, there were seven professors guarding the Stone. He had passed three traps but it had taken him time, who knew how far Richard had gotten in that time. That answer was in the next chamber. A giant chess set took up most of it while at the other end was a door that Richard and Hermione had just gone through. Looking around, Harry could see his other friend Ron out cold, fallen in battle. Harry considered him lucky; with a giant chess set, anyone who wanted the Stone would have to place themselves in danger to try and cross. He also believed that the two kings were charmed so that a player couldn't become them, forcing a player to take a different piece. Ron could have been killed during the game.
Pleased that he had almost caught up, Harry ran to the other door before the chess pieces reset themselves; Harry was an average player but he doubted that he would be good enough to beat this chess set. As it was magical, there most likely would be strategy implanted so as to make it harder for someone to attempt to cross. The next room's smell almost knocked Harry out. Inside was a twenty foot tall mountain troll that was, thankfully, knocked out. This had to be Quirrell's defense but it didn't make sense as Quirrell had been the one to find the troll on Halloween. Understanding filled Harry and he rushed towards the second door. Before he reached it, Hermione came out and ran back towards the Chess Room, not even noticing Harry.
Knowing that Hermione would take care of Ron, Harry continued on to get his brother. The sixth chamber was a riddle with poisons and fire. Harry was thankful that his mother had taught him some logic as he drank the potion that allowed him to go forward. On the other side of the black fire, Richard and Professor Quirrell were talking.
"Yes, Severus does seem the type doesn't he? I'm actually surprised that he was the only one to figure out that it was I trying to steal the Stone. For too long I've hat to teach you brats about muggles, never getting much respect or payment for all my hard work. That's why I decided to take up the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, Dumbledore would never let me resign my post but he's always needing new Defense teachers, so much that it's the highest paying job after Headmaster at this school. I finally saw an end, I could get more money, respect, and I could finally leave as no one stayed past a year, the job's jinxed.
But imagine my surprise when I returned to find out that the Philosopher's Stone was going to be hidden at Hogwarts. All my dreams were about to come true, I could get as much money as I wanted as well as a longer life to enjoy everything, what more could anyone ask for? Why do you think I volunteered myself to help protect the Stone, it gave me the opportunity to see what else was guarding it. Don't stand in my way boy; you are no match for me."
"I beat You-Know-You and I can beat you!"
Quirrell laughed. "You can't even say his name. Voldemort." Richard flinched and Quirrell laughed again. "That's right, flinch, be scared boy. You are nothing more than a cowardly little child who thinks he can play with the big boys, play the hero."
Quirrell laughed harder and it rang throughout the chamber. Richard obviously couldn't take being called a coward and rushed Quirrell, who was caught off guard. Richard slammed into the older wizard and tried to fight with his fists. Quirrell defended himself the best he could while also backing away to try and use a spell. Harry chose this moment to come forward, if he could get the Stone while Quirrell was distracted, he could take it and run. He and Richard could force him to follow them to one of the teachers or maybe even Dumbledore if he arrived in time. Harry stopped in front of what he realized was the Mirror of Erised.
Once again, his mother and Rose were standing around him as he performed magic. This time, mirror-Harry started waving his wand and something blood red was conjured. Mirror-Harry caught the object, which was a large stone, and put it in his pocket at the same time something heavy fell in his own pocket. He had the Stone! Harry turned around to tell Richard to run and discovered to his horror that Quirrell had been pushed his way. Harry jumped and rolled while Quirrell was sent crashing into the mirror. Glass fell and Quirrell screamed in pain as it cut him. Taking his chance, Harry told Richard to run while also making his way to the door.
When he reached it, he looked back to see if Richard was following him. He wasn't. Instead, he just stood there as Quirrell struggled to stand only to fall and make his cuts and bleeding worse. The door behind Harry slammed open and Professor Dumbledore entered, ignoring Harry. Again Harry ran, this time not stopping until he was safely back in his dorm. When he did, he plopped on his bed and took out the Stone. It was beautiful and small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. The light reflected off of the red surface and he could almost see himself in it. The proper thing would be to return the Stone to Dumbledore, but something in Harry's mind told him not to, that the Stone was now his. He couldn't help it, Harry smirked.
