Hogwarts a History – First year book of spells, supplementary
Chapter 10 – Yur killin me here
…
Harry stopped a moment to rest before proceeding into the chamber.
The last room in this seemingly endless series of challenges had given his adrenaline a break and he was starting to feel the inevitable exhaustion. After all, solving a logic puzzle and jumping through fire was hardly comparable to being devoured by fire, or a chimera, or a giant spider, or the creepy turtle thing that wanted his butt.
And Merlin only knew, none of those compared with… the horror. Harry shuddered at the memory.
"To soon, to soon."
The troll that had followed was a welcome distraction and an oddly pleasant bit of nostalgia.
But he was past all that now, and it was just him. He could feel the end drawing near, or that may have just been his blood sugar dropping, either way someone was gonna get dropped and soon.
He stepped cautiously into the already lit chamber. He could hear something. It echoed at the very edge of his audible range but there was no mistaking it was someone talking.
He crept closer, keeping behind the massive pillars that circled the room. The talking grew louder, it wasn't yet clear but the tone seemed to suggest suffering.
He peeked out to get a look and was surprised to see a familiar purple turban.
"Professor Quirrell?"
Said professor turned to him looking surprisingly desperate, "Potter, oh thank goodness" he exclaimed waving Harry over.
Having given himself away and utterly confused at the presence of his most timid teacher he did as bade.
"I can't take it anymore, he won't stop" Quirrell wept as he struggled to undo his turban, "you've got to do something."
It took a moment for Harry to realize he was hearing another voice, albeit muffled, and as the turban fell away understanding dawned as he saw what lay beneath.
"Voldemort!" he'd never seen the face but there was no doubt in his mind.
Then he heard what the face was singing and it was only then he felt the true horror… oh 'the horror'.
"Oh sweet Merlin make him stop!" Harry cried.
"I can't" Quirrell bawled, "I think that 'abomination' must have broken him. He won't stop."
The dark lord seemed oblivious to their conversation as he continued 'singing', a vapid grin on his twisted face, "I love you, you love me."
Harry however was all too aware, and he knew if he didn't do something quick his brain would turn to mush.
"Cranio Frigilius!"
To Harry's immense relief the spell seemed to work. The face stopped singing at least. Then Quirrell started squealing like he had the world's worst ice cream headache.
"Oh, oh the pain, ahhhh…"
"Yes! The pain, oh glorious pain!" the dark lord exclaimed, "Oh, it hurts so good."
"Yes!" Harry shouted, "that's what it's supposed to do" as opposed to freezing a head in a block of ice.
Quirrell was not quite so pleased as his master and almost poked his eye out trying to hit himself with a finishing charm.
"Oh, oh… oh goodness that was horrible" said Voldemort, "that thing, I just…"
"No, no, trying to forget about that" Harry insisted covering his ears.
"Yes! Yes, I quite agree" the twisted face said, "Let us never speak of it again."
Harry nodded and with that settled… no one was sure what to say. The silence stretched out to uncomfortable levels as neither side knew how to proceed.
"So, this is awkward" Harry finally said.
"Yes, not quite how I envisioned our first meeting" the dark lord agreed.
"Yeah… tell ya the truth I was expecting Snape, not sir stutters a lot… no offence."
"None taken."
"Yes, Snape does seem the sort doesn't he" the dark lord said, "the things I could tell you."
"Yeah, so, how bout that Sorcerer Stone?" said Harry hoping to get this adventure over with so he could go to bed.
"Right, right" said Voldemort "Quirinus, where is it?"
"I don't know my lord" he replied, "I've been looking into this mirror for some time. I see myself holding the stone. But I don't know how to get it."
"What about you Harry?" the dark lord face queried.
Harry stepped up to the mirror. His reflection grinned back, showed him the contents of his hand, then stuffed it into his pocket.
"What do you see?" Quirrell demanded impatiently.
"Uh, I see me, and you, standing here. I think it's broken."
The dark lord sighed, "Really Harry, that's the best you've got? You really need to work on your lying."
The young boy hung his head, "I know."
"Honestly now, you can't just say anything and expect people to believe you" the dark lord went on, "you have to sell it, speak with confidence, say it like you 'know' it."
"I'll remember that" said Harry, "speaking of knowing, I have a question?"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, say you did get the sorcerer's stone, how would you use it to make the elixir of life?"
The dark lord face stared at the boy, and stared, and stared….
"My lord?"
"I'd figure it out!"
"Okay, uh well, you have fun with that" said Harry slowly backing away.
"I will, just as soon as you give me the stone."
"What! What stone? I don't have any stone."
"Okay, seriously, we just went over this" the dark lord said with a McGonagall scowl.
Knowing he'd been made Harry turned and ran.
"Get him!"
Harry was only slightly surprised when Quirrelmort came flying toward him, but only slightly.
"Expulso Migra!" he shouted the last new spell he'd found in the book, the spell he'd been saving for Snape.
Quirrell halted mere inches from his outstretched wand, his face twisting and contorting like he was trying to make all the expressions at once.
"What… what have you done?!" the dark lord cried in a strangled voice.
Before Harry could tell him, the dark lord exploded along with the entire back of Quirrell's head. The now deceased professor dropped like a puppet without its strings and Harry saw firsthand the damage he had wrought.
"Explosive Migraine" Harry said staring at the chunky gore that had been a man's head, "might have overpowered that one just a bit, I think."
...
To see all the fun Harry had getting this far, be back next week for the next installment of Hogwarts a History. Mazes and Monsters.