OK, I've gotten a couple of good questions. Such as "Wait, Voldemort has only 1/64 of his soul? I thought it was only 1/7" Ah, you have the principle down, but you didn't quite think it through. Horcruxes are designed to tear your soul in half and store it in an object, right? So, here's a basic timeline.

Tom Riddle's Diary Tom 1/2, Diary 1/2

Slytherin's Locket Tom 1/4 Locket 1/4 Diary 1/2

Gaunt's Ring Tom 1/8, Ring 1/8, Locket 1/4, Diary 1/2

Hufflepuff's Cup Tom 1/16, Cup 1/16, Ring 1/8, Locket 1/4, Diary 1/2

Nagini Tom 1/32, Nagini 1/32, Cup 1/16, Ring 1/8, Locket 1/4, Diary 1/2

Something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaws

Tom 1/64, Item 1/64, Nagini 1/32, Cup 1/16, Ring 1/8, Locket 1/4, Diary 1/2

So, Voldemort has only 1/64 of his soul left. Hoped that helped Soelle!

And yes, Harry DOES finally cast Scan on Dumbledore. Wait and see what he finds out...

As for Tom's intelligence and knowing that Dumbledore knows he's there, well Tom's pretty arrogant, we all know this. Hell, he starts MONOLOGUING during the Goblet of Fire, so he's pretty self-absorbed, and believes that all his plans should work.

Anyway, here is my FINAL CHAPTER of "A World of Difference" I might post a Teaser Chapter next Tuesday. Hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter Eight: Confrontations

It was in February that Hermione came to Harry and his friends with astounding news. "You're not going to believe this, but Hagrid's hatched a dragon!"

Harry looked at Theo, who looked at Daphne, who looked at Blaise, who looked back at Harry. Then everyone turned to Hermione. "We believe it," they said in unison.

Hermione shuddered. "That was just creepy. But back to the subject, Hagrid's got a dragon, a Norwegian Ridgeback!"

"Who all knows?" Blaise asked calmly.

"Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, Hagrid and now us," Hermione summarized.

"Damn, Weasley knows!" Harry cursed.

"Perhaps we can take advantage of that," Daphne mused.

"How so?"

"Well, Weasley has a bunch of siblings, right?"

Harry's eyes widened. "That's right! I remember Weasley mentioning that one of his brothers was a dragon keeper in Romania!"

Theo put the pieces together quickly. "So we get Weasley to write his brother about the dragon, and said brother takes care of it for us?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I wouldn't care if Weasley got himself in trouble, but Hagrid's a good man, even if he does have a penchant for dangerous beasts."

"There is one problem," Blaise reminded them all. "Ronald Weasley will not cooperate if anyone from Slytherin orders him to. It must be Hermione."

All eyes turned to Hermione, who stiffened, but then nodded resignedly as she turned to leave. "For the record, I'm only talking to him because I have to."

Half an hour later, Hermione returned, her face flushed not with embarrassment, but with anger. "That arrogant little git!"

Blaise found himself on his feet, though he knew not why. "What happened? Did he reject the idea?"

Hermione, to everyone's surprise, growled. "Weasley took the idea all right. And then he had the absolute nerve to claim the idea as his own and then demand that I help him with his homework! He didn't even wait for my response, he just left to send off the letter!" She clenched her fists. "Ooh, I wish that dragon would just bite his hand off!"

A few days later, Hermione had more news. "I have good news and better news, which do you want to hear first?" she asked brightly.

"Good, then better," Harry decided.

"Well, Charlie – that's Ron Weasley's brother – has agreed to take Norbert – that's the dragon's name – off our hands."

Theo smiled, while Daphne's grin turned feral. "And the better news?"

"Ron Weasley is in the hospital wing with dragon poisoning. Norbert bit him in the hand," Hermione revealed in a grandiose fashion before laughing with the others.

Theo, in between chuckles, managed to say "Hey, why don't you wish me a million Galleons!"

Another roar of laughter. "And me, the Great Library of Alexandria! I'll share!" Blaise got out. The game went on with more and more ludicrous wishes for quite some time until Hermione managed to calm them down enough to do their homework. The odd snigger or chuckle, however, was left alone.

Unfortunately for Harry and Hermione, the next day Ron demanded Hermione to get the dragon to the meeting place for Charlie. Hermione knew there was no one else, and so she reluctantly agreed, convincing Harry to help. The two of them would carry Norbert underneath the Invisibility Cloak.

Harry met up with Hermione outside the Gryffindor Common Room underneath the Invisibility Cloak, and the two quickly made their way to Hagrid's hut.

"Goodbye, Norbert," Hagrid said tearfully. "I've packed yer teddy so yeh won't be lonely!" Harry would have raised an eyebrow if it would not have delayed them. That teddy's going to be shreds by the time Norbert gets to Romania. "Thanks again, Hermione, Harry. Yeh didn't have ter do this, but yeh are."

"Not a problem, Hagrid," Harry said soothingly. "But we should probably get going if we're going to meet Charlie in the Astronomy Tower."

Harry and Hermione got there just fine, and Harry stuffed his Invisibility Cloak in his pocket when he saw several figures on broomsticks flying in. They passed Norbert off, and then went downstairs. It was only when Filch saw them that they realized that Harry had forgotten to take out the Cloak and cover them with it.

"Well, well, well. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin out of bed!" Filch cackled.

"We don't have time for this," Harry growled, pulling out his wand and focusing his will on making Filch forget. "Obliviate!"

Filch was obviously not expecting that, and the spell hit him dead on. Harry quickly removed the memories of the last few minutes and pulled a shocked Hermione down the stairs with him, covering her and himself with his father's cloak.

A minute later, Filch shook his head. "Stupid stairs…"

"Harry!" Hermione hissed at her best friend. "You just Obliviated Filch!"

"Yeah," Harry acknowledged quietly. "Your point is? We just did Hagrid a favor and kept him from being fired as gamekeeper. Breeding dragons is illegal in Britain! I'm pretty sure we're entitled to make sure we don't get in trouble for it. We could be expelled!"

"I suppose so," Hermione reluctantly agreed. "Just, please, don't do it again."

"Alright, Hermione."

The rest of February and March passed quickly for Harry and his friends, as they relaxed and had fun. Pranking season was back on, and they even had a friendly prank war with the Weasley Twins. That ended in a truce with no clear victor, given that none of the pranks were meant maliciously – with the minor exceptions of Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley, who still spread rumors about Harry and called Hermione as a traitor. Ever so slowly, the school seemed to realize that Harry had yet to terrorize anyone. In fact, he was often seen in the library talking and laughing with both Slytherins and a solitary Gryffindor, and Harry offered to help anyone in his year who came to him. The first person to take him up on that offer was Neville Longbottom, who Hermione confirmed had always backed Harry up. As such, he was a bit of a loner in Gryffindor as well.

Neville had a strange problem with his memory, Harry discovered. He always seemed to forget things, no matter how hard he tried to remember. It was almost as if he had a recurring Memory Charm. Nevertheless, Harry helped him as best he could. Unfortunately, due to Neville's memory problem, Harry couldn't trust him with his secrets, but Harry had no problem letting Neville know that he considered the forgetful boy a good, loyal friend. "If you ever need some my help, let me know," Harry told Neville. "It's the least I can do for standing up for me to your housemates. And if I find a way to fix that memory problem of yours, I'll let you know."

After that, a few hesitant Hufflepuffs approached Harry. They spread the word when Harry treated them not with pity, nor disdain, but respect. "You're hard working, and loyal. That's not a bad thing in my book" were the exact words Harry used. Slowly, Harry's reputation rose from "Dark Lord in training" to "nice, for a Slytherin."

Dumbledore was fooled by Harry's Occlumency deception, as was Snape. Snape was slowly becoming disillusioned to Dumbledore's methods, but he could do nothing. In return for keeping him out of Azkaban, Dumbledore had demanded an Unbreakable Vow of loyalty. Ever since Potter saved Snape's life, Snape had watched Potter grow with his friends. He watched with no small amount of envy as Potter laughed and had fun with both Slytherins and Gryffindors. Snape found himself wishing that his own school days had been like that. Perhaps then I wouldn't have taken the Dark Mark and fucked up my entire life. Then I wouldn't be in this situation.

And then Snape thought about that Memory Charm Dumbledore had placed on Potter. Why? What purpose did Dumbledore have? So, one day in March, after Potions class, Snape held him back. "Mr. Potter, I have something I need to tell you."

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked.

Snape cast several silent spells at the door before he looked directly at Harry. "You have been Obliviated. It happened the morning you received your schedule during the first semester." Snape couldn't divulge just who had done it, but that didn't prevent him from going around the Unbreakable Vow and letting Harry find out.

Harry looked at Snape critically. "I see. Thank you for telling me this, but why now? Why are you telling me?"

Snape could lie, but decided that he would at least try to look out for Potter. After all, he was in Slytherin house, and Potter's parents were dead. He had no one else, or so Snape thought. "As you may have heard, I hated your father, and he hated me," Snape told Harry. "When you first arrived, I assumed you were just like him, and treated you accordingly. In fact, I helped set you up for the Memory Charm. But, over the last few months I've seen more of your mother's personality in you than your father's. I have come to the conclusion that you should have your true memories, and I apologize for helping take them from you in the first place." He raised his wand, but Harry stopped him with a held-up hand.

"I thank you, Professor, for finally telling me. I have known about the Memory Charm for months, and it's been taken care of," Harry said quietly, yet firmly. He extended his right hand. "I believe we got off to a rocky start. Let's start over. My name is Harry Potter of Slytherin House."

"Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin," the Professor replied, gripping Harry's hand. And thus started a relationship of mentor and student. Unlike McGonagall, Snape had no qualms giving Harry extra lessons if he was ready for it, but even so they had to disguise it. So, Harry let Draco sabotage his potion next class, and Snape pretended to blame Harry for it. "That'll be two weeks of detention, Potter," he said with a silky smile. "Come to my office at seven tonight."

Harry plastered a look of outrage on his face, barely managing to hide his glee at the successful deception. That night, he went to Snape's office, concealing his eagerness until he was safely there.

"I shall not be teaching you Transfiguration nor Charms," Snape said shortly. "I specialize in Potions, the Dark Arts, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I cannot teach you the Dark Arts or Defense, however, due to circumstances beyond either of our control. That leaves the noble art of Potions. I understand you have great knowledge of the herbs and their properties?"

Harry nodded. He had almost memorized 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi. But unfortunately, that listed their general properties. He did not know how the time factor affected potions or ingredients, nor did he know how strong the properties were in each of the herbs.

"Good," Snape said, pleased. "That makes my job easier. Now, as you know, the environment has a powerful influence on the properties of ingredients. For instance, Fluxweed, for maximum potency, should be picked during the full moon…"

At the end of the lesson, Harry looked at Snape curiously. "What circumstance prevents you from teaching the Dark Arts or Defense?"

Snape looked at Harry piercingly, wishing he could reveal the Unbreakable Vow. "I have been forbidden from speaking of it. That is all I can say about it." Harry nodded, deciding to pursue the matter at a later date; he had other things to worry about. Namely, the Sorcerer's Stone. Snape then assigned Harry to go collect a few choice herbs from the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid the following night as his next detention.

Hagrid looked rather wary as he strapped on his crossbow. "Come along, Harry."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Summat's been killing unicorns," Hagrid said gravely. "Dunno what, but whatever it is, it's a mighty powerful Dark creature. Unicorns are right hard to catch."

Hagrid led Harry to a place where the herbs Harry needed grew, and Harry carefully harvested them. A high-pitch whinny drew both their attentions to a fleeing glowing unicorn and a wraith-like being chasing it. "Avada Kedavra!" it cried, sending a green jet of light that struck the white unicorn, instantly killing it.

Harry suddenly suffered a flashback at the green light.

Flashback

Harry was tiny, and felt safe and warm in his mother's arms. Then the door burst open, and his Papa took out his magic stick and stood. "Run, Lily! Take Harry and run!"

A dark, cloaked figure stood in the doorway, stepping across easily. "How noble, James Potter. Sacrificing yourself to save your family. Too bad your sacrifice is for naught! Avada Kedavra!" he screamed in a high, cold voice.

Harry was confused, but instinctively knew that he needed to stay quiet as his mother rushed up the stairs. The dark man walked calmly after them, and Harry's wide green eyes watched.

"Silly girl, move aside. My target is not you, but the babe you carry."

"No, anything but Harry!" Mama begged.

The dark man seemed to sigh. "Avada Kedavra!" A green light hit Mama and Harry could feel her warmth go away as she fell. He glared up at the dark man, wanting him to fall down too. He felt warmth he knew as his mother's rising up, and her voice echoed in his mind. :Holy!: Harry could feel his mother's magic give up everything it had to do this one, last spell.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green light hit Harry on the forehead before it was blasted back at the dark man.

End Flashback

Harry snapped out of it as the wraith approached him, causing terrible pain in his scar. His eyes blazed as he drew his wand.

:You are at a severe disadvantage!: Quetzalcoatl protested. :Your scar pains you terribly, and that must mean that this wraith is Voldemort! Voldemort was known to be Dumbledore's equal! You must flee!:

Harry knew his tenant was right, even as he clapped his other hand to his scar, biting back the pain. "Hagrid, we have to go! That's Voldemort!"

Hagrid's eyes were wide as he whirled on Harry. "That's who?"

"Just run!" Harry ordered.

"I can't leave yeh behind!"

"How touching," a high, cold voice said. "Avada Kedavra!" The spell hurtled directly for Hagrid…

A moment later, Harry had pushed Hagrid to the side, and had bent himself backwards at the waist, allowing the Killing Curse to pass by harmlessly over him. "Hagrid, come on!"

Hagrid, showing a grace that belied his size, picked Harry up and threw him over his shoulder as he ran. A minute later, Hagrid set down a now bruised Harry. "How d'ya know that was You-Know-Who?" Hagrid wheezed.

"My scar." Harry pointed at it. "It's a link between me and him, and it hurts when I'm near him. Back there my scar pain was incredible, much more than ever before."

"We've gotta go tell Dumbledore!" Hagrid said, his eyes wide.

For once, I agree. "Let's go!"

A few minutes later, Harry and Hagrid were entering Dumbledore's office. A minute after that, and Dumbledore was wearing a very concerned look on his face. "This is very troubling," he told Hagrid and Harry. "He was previously hiding in the forests of Romania, nothing but mere spirit."

"But he had a body," Hagrid pointed out.

"He must be possessing someone else's body to drink the unicorn blood," Dumbledore concluded. "The question is simply who."

Harry suspected Quirrell, but had no proof. For all he knew, it could be someone from Hogsmeade. "What's so special about unicorn blood?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry gravely. "Unicorn blood has the power to keep someone alive, even if they are an inch from death itself. But to slay such a pure creature is a sinister act, one of the deepest imaginable. From the moment the blood touches the drinker's lips, he shall live a half-life, a cursed life. Voldemort would hardly curse himself to such a life unless he had a way to get out of it. Harry, I know that you and your friends have discovered what we are hiding here at Hogwarts."

Harry put on a mask of surprise. "You know that we know about the Sorcerer's Stone? How?"

"I have my ways," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling merrily. "In any case, Voldemort must want to acquire the Stone and use the Elixir of Life to achieve immortality and regain a body of his own." Harry was unsurprised, but allowed his face to adopt a look of horror. "But do not worry. The teachers have the Stone well protected."

I'll believe it when I see it, Harry thought to himself, while injecting an emotion of acceptance into his false persona. He nodded, and Dumbledore looked pleased. "Go on to bed, now. I'm sure Professor Snape will permit your experience to excuse you from this detention. Hagrid, please stay behind."

Harry left and indeed did go to bed. Voldemort… Harry mused. Just how strong are you as a spirit? You are neither dead nor alive, so how do we get rid of you? And just how did you survive your own Killing Curse all those years ago?

:And I have one more question to add to the list. How did your mother cast Terran magic?:

Harry told his friends just what had happened the next day. "Quirrell's not after the Stone for himself, but for Voldemort. If that happens… well, he'll return."

Everyone was pale at the prospect. "Do you reckon he'll try to, you know, finish the job he started ten years ago?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Probably," Harry admitted. "After all, I am the reason he lost his power. He'll kill me not only for revenge, but to lower the moral of the people. That'll make it easier to take over." He clenched his fist. "But he'll have a hell of a time taking me down."

"You won't be alone," Daphne said sternly. "We're helping too!"

Harry looked at his friends with a raised eyebrow. "I've got nothing against you, but do you honestly think that if I went all out, any of you could even match a third of my power?" No one met his eye. "You're my friends, some of the best I've ever had really, but you aren't fighters."

"Not yet," Blaise agreed. "But we are willing to learn. Are we not?" Hermione, Theo and Daphne nodded together.

Harry looked at his friends critically. "Are you sure? I shall help you with whatever special abilities you have, but the majority of training will be concern going beyond normal human limits in physical fitness and strength. I will take you to Terra and you will learn the weapon of your choice as a backup if your wand is taken. You will face monsters and take their magic and strength. I will be devoting time to you that I could be using for myself, and as such, you are not to waste my time. If you have a problem with any of this, tell me now." No one spoke. "Good. We start tomorrow. Meet me in the Great Hall at five o'clock sharp."

The next morning, four sleepy-looking eleven-year-olds met a wide-awake Harry Potter in the Great Hall. He nodded sharply. "Come on. We'll eat after the morning exercise."

"Wha' we doin'?" Daphne slurred sleepily as Harry took them outside to the lake.

"Running. Now give me five laps around the lake!"

"Aw, man!" Theo moaned as the four of them started running slowly.

"Faster, or I'll use Thunder!" Harry threatened as he followed. That woke them up, and they picked up the pace. Finally, the five laps were complete, and the four children unused to strenuous exercise collapsed on the ground. "Good, you're ready for the next exercise," Harry said in a pleased tone, though he knew full well that they were tired. "Give me twenty crunches!"

"What's a crunch?" Theo asked bluntly. Harry demonstrated, and it didn't seem too hard… until it came time for them to do it.

"Ow…" Hermione moaned as her belly ached after number thirteen.

"Umph," Theo grunted.

"Why the hell does this hurt so much? It's not even that much movement!" Daphne demanded of the air.

Harry decided to answer her. "The muscles in your stomach are being stretched and compressed repeatedly, and you're burning fat into energy."

Daphne paused and stared at Harry. "Are you calling me fat?" she asked dangerously.

Harry blinked, wondering why Daphne seemed so offended. "Not overly so, but everyone, even me, has some fat. If we didn't, then we wouldn't have enough stored energy to do what we do daily. Fat is merely stored energy."

Daphne seemed satisfied with the response and resumed her exercise. After they were done, Harry had them do jumping jacks and push-ups. When they were done, Harry led his exhausted friends back to eat some breakfast, which rejuvenated them to the point that they were no longer ready to return to bed.

The next few weeks showed a marked improvement in the physiques of Harry's friends. Theo, the tallest and lankiest of them all, had filled out a bit with muscle, while Blaise, who was shorter than Harry and more broad, converted some of his fat to muscle. The girls didn't look like bodybuilders, but each was slim and fit. Once, Harry had commented that Hermione and Daphne would have no lack of male attention in a few years, making both of them blush.

The time was right to teach them how to use their primary non-wand weapon, but as Hermione correctly pointed out, the exams were approaching, and they simply had no time to devote to learning a new weapon. Harry reluctantly agreed.

Harry's thoughts drifted frequently to the Sorcerer's Stone, however. A trip to Hagrid's had revealed that whoever Voldemort was possessing knew how to get past Fluffy, the three-headed dog. I wonder why a Killing Curse would not suffice? Harry wondered. Perhaps there are wards around Hogwarts that detect its use? After all, Voldemort would want to be in and out without alerting anyone, especially Dumbledore.

Knowing that Dumbledore was essentially the only reason Voldemort had not yet attempted to steal the Stone, Harry made sure he knew where Dumbledore was. His Legilimency was still rudimentary – meaning that he could view surface thoughts and emotions, but he could not delve into memories – so Harry had to make do with his own observations.

Then, on the day after the last final exams, Harry overheard McGonagall informing Snape that Dumbledore had to go the Ministry of Magic and wouldn't be back until the next day. He took a deep breath, centering his thoughts, and entered.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"The Sorcerer's Stone is in danger," Harry said bluntly.

McGonagall's jaw dropped in shock, while Snape looked calm as ever. "How do you know about the Stone?" McGonagall asked quietly.

"I have my ways," Harry said vaguely, and Snape smirked at that behind McGonagall's back. No Slytherin would willingly give up their source of information, Snape thought approvingly. Not when they have the chance to still be useful. "In any case," Harry continued, "has Dumbledore informed you of Voldemort's appearance in the Forbidden Forest?"

"What?" Snape and McGonagall blurted. The Dark Lord has returned? Snape thought. "He was there?"

"In the flesh," Harry answered, and then thought better of his words. "Well, not his flesh, per say. He apparently possessed someone else to drink unicorn blood."

McGonagall paled and sat down heavily. "Why would he not tell me?" she murmured to herself.

"I have no idea," Harry answered honestly. "But consider this: Dumbledore is the only one Voldemort was ever afraid of, right?" McGonagall nodded. "Then the perfect time for him to strike is when Dumbledore's gone. And that means that he'll strike, tonight and steal the Stone from under our noses."

"A logical conclusion," Snape agreed. He turned to McGonagall. "Minerva, we must increase the protections against intrusion."

"Perhaps it would be wise if we took shifts guarding the passage." McGonagall said slowly. "If You-Know-Who does not have a body of his own, then surely either of us can out-duel an intruder."

"Unfortunately, the Headmaster has me brewing several very delicate potions that will require my full attention tonight," Snape said smoothly with a hint of apology. This is true… I bet Dumbledore planned this, didn't he… "I'm afraid I cannot help you. In my place, I suggest Filius. He was a dueling champion himself, and he has lost little if any of his strength."

"Yes, Filius is a good choice," McGonagall agreed. She turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Please enjoy the rest of the day; we have the situation handled."

I'll believe it when I see it, Harry thought darkly, but gave a small smile and left to tell his friends. Naturally, they were all concerned. The rest of that day, Harry reviewed a few of the battle spells he knew with his friends. Among them were Expelliarmus, Petrificus Totalus, Locomotor Mortis and Silencio, but Harry made sure everyone understood that lots of other seemingly harmless spells could be used offensively.

At six o'clock, two hours from curfew, the students were slowly thinning out and returning to the common rooms. At curfew, no one was out, so Harry brought out his Invisibility Cloak. "Engorgio." The Cloak expanded to be large enough to cover Harry and all four of his friends, and they hid underneath it slowly making their way to the forbidden corridor.

The reason for the slowness was simply the inexperience of moving together underneath the Cloak without giving themselves away. There were several muffled yelps as toes were trod on, but slowly they got used to it and moved faster. All in all, it took approximately twenty minutes. Pathetic, Harry thought in disgust. We need to work on this moving together thing.

:Now's not the time,: Quetzalcoatl reminded his host.

When they reached the forbidden corridor, Flitwick was on the ground, apparently knocked out. "Shit," Harry said succinctly, "he's already in. Let's go."

They entered the room where the three-headed dog was fast asleep, listening to an enchanted harp. Harry tucked away the Invisibility Cloak and pulled out his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa," he snapped, and the paw covering the trap door lifted a little ways off the ground. "I'll hold the spell, you see what's below."

"Right." The four of them quickly went over and opened the trap door. Hermione squinted into the darkness. "I can't see anything."

"We'll have to jump!" Theo concluded, but Daphne smacked him.

"Why don't we levitate each other down?" she asked in a false sweet voice.

Theo gulped, recognizing her "you better do it or else" voice. "Right," he said in a higher voice than usual. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Daphne, Blaise and Theo were down when Harry realized that something was missing. "The music!" Hermione gasped, apparently thinking along the same lines. "The harp's not playing anymore!"

Indeed, the three-headed dog was waking up. Well, this is a Cerberus, maybe it'll communicate with a Terran. "Cerberus!" Harry greeted. "I mean you no harm."

The dog heads looked at each other. "Then why do you trespass on my domain?" the middle head demanded with a growl. Hermione looked agape, but before she could do anything, Blaise had started levitating her down.

"There is an evil magic-user who has come to steal what you were placed here to guard," Harry said carefully. "I have come to stop him."

"He is the one who put me to sleep not long ago?"

"Yes."

"I see," Cerberus growled in his deep, throaty voice. "How did you know how to address me?"

"I have lived the majority of my life on Terra," Harry acknowledged. "I returned less than a year ago to prevent my nemesis below from gaining power."

"And if I aim to stop you from going after him?"

"Then I will have no choice but to eliminate you, though I must assure you that I am in quite a hurry, so I'll have to beat you quick," Harry taunted, drawing his gunblade.

To his surprise, the dog started laughing in a barking manner. "A man after my own heart. I can tell you already have Quetzalcoatl with you, but I believe I will join you after I say my goodbye to the half-giant known as Hagrid." He stepped aside. "Go fight the battle you came here to do. I shall await you in the Forbidden Forest after term ends."

Harry nodded sharply and jumped down the trap door, where he quickly ascertained that his four companions were struggling with some sort of plant. "What is this thing?!" he demanded of Hermione.

"Devil's Snare!" she answered. "I remember reading about this in Herbology class! It prefers dark, damp places…"

"Then we need a fire!" Harry said in realization. Since he was the only one with his arms available to him – the Devil's Snare was starting to crush his friends, and they were unable to move – Harry raised his wand… or he tried to.

Harry's arms had suddenly been pinned by a very strong multilayered set of vines. He glanced around and saw Blaise in a safe area, apparently having managed to escape. Blaise sighed. "Why am I the only one with the common sense to get out of the way of an obvious trap? Incendio!"

From Blaise's wand emerged a small fireball, which struck near Theo. Theo was struggling the hardest against the Snare, which only made it tighten even more, so Blaise had aimed at him to save him. The Devil's Snare recoiled from the fire, and released its hold on the boy, who scrambled to safety near Blaise, who had just then used Incendio again to make the Devil's Snare near Hermione to back off. The three nodded at each other and raised their wands. "Incendio!"

Moments later, Harry and Daphne were free. Daphne stretched her shoulders. "Glad we got out of that one. Lucky Blaise got out the way."

"It is quite fortunate that Hermione pays attention in Herbology," Blaise added with an appreciative look at Hermione. "I would not have attacked otherwise, as I had no way of knowing if it would merely tighten its grip on you."

Knowing your enemy's weakness is a great asset, Harry thought to himself, but he needs to be able to act even without that information. Nevertheless, Blaise will definitely appreciate the Scan spell. "Let's move on."

"What happened with Fluffy up there?" Hermione asked.

"Fluffy is actually a Guardian Force generally known as Cerberus. He will only speak human when recognized as a sentient being. When it's summoned, it can cast Triple on the summoner and his allies. Triple will, as the name suggests, triple the person's casting speed."

Everyone whistled at the idea. "That's quite a powerful spell," Blaise said slowly.

"Where can I get me one of those?" Theo asked eagerly.

Harry grinned at his exuberance. "Tell you what, I already have a Guardian Force to work with, so you can use this one. Just be sure to treat him well."

"Really? Wicked!"

"Wait, aren't you giving away too much?" Daphne asked, worried. "What if Dumbledore's around, invisible?"

"I'd have sensed him by now," Harry said simply. "I can sense magic, and Dumbledore's got a huge store of it. He's nowhere near."

With that note, they entered the next room. It seemed empty, except for the sound of flapping. The door was nearby, so Daphne went to try that first. "It's locked. Alohomora!" Nothing happened. "Damn, now what?"

Harry squinted upwards and saw dozens of birds. "Wait, those aren't birds! Those are keys!" He whirled. "Daphne, what kind of key are we looking for?"

"Looks like it's fairly big, old-fashioned… probably silver like the handle."

Harry was not the youngest Seeker in a century for nothing, and his sharp eyes quickly spotted a key fitting Daphne's description. The clincher was the fact that the key in question had a bent, perhaps broken, wing. "Found it! Accio key!" Nothing happened.

"Apparently it's charmed so it can't be Summoned like that," Hermione mused. "A good idea, since that's the first thing You-Know-Who would have tried."

"Lookie here!" Theo cried. "Brooms!"

Everything was suddenly made clear. "We are expected to fly and catch the key," Blaise summed up.

"Looks like this was designed as a test for me," Harry said slowly. "After all, I am the youngest Seeker in a century." He pulled his Nimbus 2000 out of his Item Bag and got on. "Back in a minute."

Once Harry was up in the air, catching the elusive key was much like catching a spotted Snitch. After less than a minute of chasing the thing – the key was meant to be difficult to catch by a weak broomstick, not by a top-of-the-line Nimbus – Harry brought the key down and unlocked the door before placing his Nimbus back in the Item Bag.

"This thing comes in handy," Harry said with a smirk, patting his Item Bag.

"I'll bet!" Theo agreed.

"Each of the teachers must have contributed a protection," Hermione realized as they entered the next room. "Hagrid gave Fluffy, the Devil's Snare was obviously Sprout's and the keys were charmed by Flitwick. That leaves McGonagall's, Quirrell's, Snape's and Dumbledore's."

The room they entered was dark, and had large statues lined up in rows. "A graveyard?" Blaise murmured.

"Maybe, this place does feel a little ominous," Harry answered.

Then the lights came on, and Theo recognized it first. "It's a giant chessboard!"

"Now what?" Harry asked.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Daphne said with a smirk. "We have to play our way across the room."

"Who's the best strategist among us?" Hermione asked.

"Daphne's wicked good at chess," Theo volunteered. It was true. Daphne played often, and had never yet lost, even against older Slytherins and the occasional Ravenclaw.

"Okay then… let's see." She tapped one of the knights, which abruptly came to life. "Do we have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Daphne looked at the others. "Apparently we need to take the place of five of the black pieces." Another brief pause. "Hermione, you take that queen. Harry, you're the king. Blaise, you're the kingside rook. Theo, you're the knight on the other side, and I'll be a bishop."

The chess pieces were apparently listening, as the pieces specified turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board. Everyone took their place, and the game began. The white pieces moved first, and then Daphne, carefully calculating the situation, sent out the black pieces.

Daphne was visibly sweating lightly as she was very careful to keep her friends out of danger. Surprisingly, it was Theo who brought her out of an incoming breakdown. "Daphne, don't worry! Even if we're taken, I'm certain we won't be killed! After all, the teachers wouldn't kill anyone, just injure them enough that they could be interrogated later." That loosened Daphne up a bit, and she gave them all a soft smile.

The first of them to be taken was Theo, actually. "I'm sorry, Theo," Daphne whispered to him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"No worries," Theo said lightly. "I can see the next few moves anyway. We're close to winning."

And then Theo was smacked off the chessboard by the bishop who had taken him. Harry saw that Theo was bleeding a bit, so he extended a hand and sent a quiet Cure spell at him, which restored some of his color and mostly healed the gash. Daphne sent him a grateful look.

Unfortunately, the white pieces managed to get out of checkmate in that time, so Daphne had to sacrifice Blaise, who walked calmly to his own doom from an enemy castle. Harry cast a Cure spell in his direction as well. "Harry, Hermione, I'm about to be taken. Hermione, when I am, go forward four squares and that'll be checkmate," Daphne ordered.

Harry and Hermione nodded grimly. Three allies taken out in one go, Harry thought to himself. McGonagall certainly picked a good task to cut down the numbers. Daphne was knocked out by the queen with a single smack, and then Hermione checkmated the white king, who threw down his crown. The white pieces left.

"Well we have to go on," Harry murmured after quickly arranging his friends to be comfortable at the wall.

"Yeah," Hermione agreed quietly.

"I'm pretty sure that one was McGonagall's protection," Harry said as they walked into the next room. "She must have animated the chessmen."

Suddenly a horrible stench met Harry's nostrils and his eyes widened. It was a stench he recognized, and apparently Hermione did too if her sudden glance at him was anything to go by. "Troll," Harry identified. Hermione nodded. Thankfully, as they rounded the corner, they saw that the troll was knocked out with a nasty bump on its head. "Glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry commented as they went to the next room.

The instant Harry and Hermione passed through the entrance, purple fire erupted behind them, and black fire came out from the exit. There were bottles of all sorts of shapes and sizes on a table with a sheet of paper, so Hermione went to that, while Harry decided to try another Terran spell.

"Water!" A surge of water slammed into the purple fire, which had no effect. He tried again against the black fire, with the same result. "Damn," Harry cursed.

"Harry, look at this!" Hermione called. "This has clues to tell us which potion will get us through the fire!" Harry glanced at the paper, quickly reading it.

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wind,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,

To help you in your choice, we give 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 would move onward, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

"Interesting, logic puzzle," Harry mused.

"It's perfect!" Hermione breathed. "Loads of wizards don't have an ounce of logic in them! They'd be stuck here forever."

"This is definitely Snape's task," Harry said flatly. "He'd love to torture some poor wizard like this. 'Which potion will kill me? Which potion do I need to go on? Oh, but what if that's poison?' I swear, the man is sadistic sometimes."

Hermione was busy working on the riddle. After a few minutes, she figured out which were which, clapping her hands in delight. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire – towards the Stone."

Harry looked at the tiny bottle skeptically. "That's hardly one swallow. Only one person can go on." Hermione and Harry looked at each other. "Hermione, drink the one that takes you back through the purple and go take care of the others. Grab brooms from the flying key room and get out of here. See if Flitwick's awake yet. If he isn't, go send an owl to Dumbledore. Much as I hate to admit it, we need his power here. I'm no match for Voldemort."

Hermione's lip trembled, and then she threw her arms around Harry, pulling him close into a hug. Harry blinked before returning the hug. "I'll hold him off while I can," Harry said.

"You're a great wizard, you know."

Harry looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe, but I wonder if I'd have been as great if I hadn't lived in Terra for nine years…" He shook his head. "Hermione, you are the great witch here. I've just lived longer, that's all."

"Me? My strength is books! And cleverness! There are far more important things, like friendship, loyalty and bravery… Harry, be careful!"

Harry smirked at her. "Careful? Me? You obviously have me mixed up with someone else. But don't worry, I'll be fine. Remember that I have my good old Cure spells if I need a quick fix."

Hermione smiled a little. "Let's drink together."

Harry grinned. "I don't need it; I'm immune to magical fire thanks to my junctions. In fact, I get healed by it."

Hermione looked quite cross at Harry. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because I needed to make sure you were fine before I go face Voldemort."

Hermione's face softened before she drank the potion. She shuddered. "It's not poison, is it?" Harry asked anxiously. "I can cure it if it is!"

"No – but it's like ice."

"Then quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck." Hermione rushed through the purple fire, and Harry turned to the black fire, making sure his Firaga was junctioned to his elemental defense stat. He swiped one hand through the fire, and it felt nice. Pleased with the development, Harry stepped through the fire, instantly feeling rejuvenated and ready for anything.

Then, he was in the last chamber. There was already someone there. "Quirrell," Harry greeted coldly.

"Potter," Quirrell responded. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here."

"I suspected you were after the Stone for Voldemort, but I never could prove it," Harry returned. "I see you lost your stutter. Nice act."

"Thank you. You are very lucky it seems. I was trying to kill you that first Quidditch match, but an earthquake brought me to my knees, breaking my eye contact with you. I would have had it too, if it hadn't been for Snape muttering a countercurse."

"Interesting, so he was trying to pay off the life debt he owed me," Harry muttered.

Not hearing this, Quirrell went on. "You're too nosy to live, Potter. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"I should have realized that it was you who sent in the troll," Harry said, cursing himself for not seeing the connection sooner. "The troll back there was one of yours?"

"Of course. I have a special gift with trolls. Snape managed to intercept me last Halloween, and he never trusted me again." Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes sprang out of thin air, wrapping themselves tightly around Harry, who was quite impressed at the silent wandless magic. "Now wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

Harry's eyes glittered as he quickly ran through his options. Then he saw exactly what lay behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised. He ignored Quirrell's mumbling about it. I need to find a way to get into position. What I want most right now is to find the stone before Quirrell does, so I should see myself finding it. That should tell me exactly where it's hidden. But right now, I've got to distract Quirrell. "So, do you serve Voldemort, or are you out for your own gain?"

Quirrell turned partway to look at Harry. "I serve my Master, the Dark Lord." A flicker of fear passed his face. "Sometimes, though, I find it hard to follow his instructions – he is a great wizard and I am weak. Ever since I let him down in the Gringotts robbery, he saw fit to stay closer."

"So you had him with you the entire time, even while you were teaching?" Harry prodded.

"Exactly," Quirrell said with a nod.

"Why do you follow him, anyway?"

"I met him while I was traveling around the world," Quirrell said nostalgically. "A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it… Since then, I have served him faithfully."

There! Harry had managed to wriggle one of his hands so his palm was grasping the ropes. He took several deep breaths as Quirrell turned back to the mirror. He was about to try wandless magic. "Diffindo," Harry muttered. Harry was gratified to feel some of the rope holding him split. "Diffindo," he repeated. "Diffindo, diffindo, diffindo…" he chanted, like a mantra. The ropes gave a little at each repetition, and finally Harry was out, though now he was very tired. Wandless magic was draining him badly in both magic and concentration.

Unfortunately for Harry, he had no chance to make good on his plan, as Quirrell said, "What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"

To Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself. "Use the boy… use the boy…"

Quirrell rounded on the boy. "Yes, Potter, come here… how did you get out of my ropes? No matter, just come here and look in the mirror. Tell me what you see."

Could this get any more perfect? Harry asked himself as he stepped forward. He saw his reflection at first, a little pale, a little scared. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him, putting its hand into its pocket and taking out a blood-red stone before putting it back and winking at Harry. Harry felt something drop into his pocket, and he had to stop his jaw from dropping. I wasn't expecting that. That must've taken some pretty damn advanced magic.

"Well?" Quirrell asked impatiently. "What do you see?"

Harry quickly thought of a lie, and shoved the thought as truth into his false persona, just in case Quirrell could use Legilimency. "I see my family and friends around me," Harry said.

Quirrell cursed again. "Get out of the way," he snarled.

Harry was only too happy to do so. He could make a break for it, but should he? Quirrell's back was to him, and Harry had the perfect opportunity to just stab Quirrel through the heart or head and leave. But what would be the good in that? Where is Voldemort anyway? I heard his voice earlier…

Quirrell glanced back at Harry and then noticed the bulge in his pocket. "What's that, Potter?"

"A Remembrall," Harry quickly invented. "I'm not too good with remembering theory, so I thought it might help."

"Let me see," Quirrell demanded. When Harry hesitated, Quirrell pounced. "You lie! It is the Stone!"

"Let me speak to him… face-to-face…"

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough for this…"

Harry watched in horrifying realization as Quirrell unwrapped his turban and slowly turned around. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, a terrible face. Not the worst, Harry would admit, but definitely enough to strike terror into the hearts of men. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils. Harry's scar almost exploded in pain when Voldemort's eyes connected with his own.

"Harry Potter…" Voldemort whispered. "See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor… I have form only when I can share another's body… but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds… Unicorn blood has strengthened me these past weeks..."

Harry had heard enough. He drew his wand, ready for battle. I can't run yet… I don't know if the others have escaped yet. He jabbed his wand at Quirrell. "Accio wand!"

Quirrell's wand leapt out of his robes and Harry snatched it in midair, interrupting Voldemort's soliloquy. "You fool!" Voldemort hissed at Quirrell. "You let him take your wand!"

Quirrell snapped his fingers again, but Harry jumped out of the way of the ropes. "Petrificus Totalus!" he cried, sending two spells at Quirrell, both of which were dodged effortlessly. Harry decided to try another tactic. "Glacius!"

The Frost spell turned the floor to ice. Harry had some experience battling on ice, but he hoped that Quirrell did not. The plan was to cut off clean movement on Quirrell's part.Thankfully, Quirrell then fell on his ass, trying to get up.

"Expelliarmus!" The two Disarming Charms fired from Harry hit Quirrell with enough force to send him careening into a wall. Unfortunately for Harry, Quirrell got up with little more than a bruise, and now practically flew at Harry, jumping off the wall.

Apparently Quirrell had received some powers from having Voldemort in his head, because Harry didn't have the time to move. "KILL HIM!" Voldemort screamed, and Harry's scar felt like it was going to split his head open.

Quirrell started to choke Harry with his bare hands, but then he started screaming in pain, and sat back a little. Harry watched in horror-filled fascination as Quirrell's hands began to blister and burn. What's going on?

"JUST KILL HIM AND BE DONE WITH IT!" Voldemort screeched.

Quirrell almost managed to wrestle his wand from Harry's grasp before Harry's other hand lashed out and grabbed his head. All three present started screaming in pain – Harry from the mind-splitting pain from his scar, Quirrell from his skin starting to boil, and Voldemort from sharing Quirrell's pain.

Harry did his best to block out the pain using Occlumency, and managed to stay conscious throughout the ordeal. Finally, Voldemort abandoned Quirrell's body, which almost immediately crumbled and turned to dust as Voldemort's spirit flew through the roof.

Harry's scar finally stopped burning as Dumbledore rushed through the black flames. Harry groaned, and Dumbledore looked both pleased and relieved. "Harry!"

"Professor," Harry greeted from his position on the floor. "I'd try to sit up, but I have a splitting headache…" He arrives just AFTER Voldemort's gone… Gah, what's his ultimate plan? I need to Scan him sometime, but it requires a few seconds to process, and I couldn't afford to before… maybe I'll have an opportunity now.

"Harry, I must know, what happened?"

Harry quickly, despite the pain in his head, created a false memory of Quirrell outright attacking him after Voldemort called him a liar, and then of Harry killing Quirrell somehow through the pain of his scar. Then he explained just that.

Dumbledore was fooled. "I see…"

"That hasn't stopped him from ever coming back, has it?" Harry asked, slowly sitting up so as not to aggravate his headache.

"I'm afraid not. There are other ways for Voldemort to return, this was simply the best one available," Dumbledore confirmed.

"Just what happened with me and Quirrell? I mean, he couldn't touch me for some reason…" Harry was genuinely curious about this.

"I believe that the spell your mother placed on you has left a lingering protection in your blood. Her love kept something so evil as Voldemort from touching you."

That's nice and romantic, but utterly wrong. Yes, the lingering protection thing does make sense, but I bet it's from that Holy spell. Nothing so unholy as Voldemort could touch me. Interesting… that's why the undead avoided me on Terra.

"Why did Voldemort want to attack me as a baby anyways?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Alas, Harry, that is one of the questions I cannot answer yet. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Is there a way to finish Voldemort off for good?"

"I believe so, but I have yet to locate it." True, as I do not yet know the locations of all the Horcruxes…

"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Ah, I enchanted the mirror so only those who wanted the Stone, but not use it, could retrieve the Stone. It is one of my better ideas, and I mean no arrogance when I say that that is saying something."

"Ah… Can we get out of here now?" I wish Cure spells worked on headaches… Harry woozily got to his feet, leaning against the wall for support.

"Fawkes!" Dumbledore called, and Harry watched in amazement as a beautiful regal-looking red and gold colored bird appeared in a flash of flame. "Harry, this is Fawkes, my phoenix familiar. Fawkes, this is Harry Potter."

"Phoenix," Harry whispered. "I am honored to meet you, Fawkes."

Fawkes trilled back a short melody which, to Harry, meant a "Pleased to meet you too."

"Fawkes, would you please take us back up?" Dumbledore asked, and the magnificent phoenix chirped an affirmative, extending its tail feathers for the two passengers to take hold. A few moments later, Harry and Dumbledore were directly outside the forbidden corridor, where Harry's friends had apparently managed to return. Flitwick was still on the ground.

"Harry!" his four friends greeted. "You're ok!"

"Mostly," Harry corrected. "I've got a headache the size of a T-Rex…"

"What?" Dumbledore asked.

"A gigantic extinct creature that lived thousands of years ago. Muggles discovered remnants of them a while ago," Harry explained, hoping to cover up his mistake. "They called it Tyrannosaurus Rex, T-Rex for short." Thank God Hermione brought me up to date on major Muggle discoveries…

"Ah," Dumbledore said in understanding. "They named it 'Terrible Tyrant?' Interesting."

What's more interesting is that I've faced off with one and won, Harry mused. Does that make me the Terrible Tyrant, since I've dethroned him? They run away anytime I see one nowadays… Harry would have chuckled, except that then he would have had to explain. Not a good idea.

"Perhaps we should wake up Filius…" Dumbledore thought aloud, pointing his wand. "Enervate."

Vaguely, Harry wondered if Dumbledore had said the incantation aloud to teach him. Flitwick woke up groggily before seeing Dumbledore. Then he was on his feet. "Albus! It was Quirrell! He's after the Stone! He got me while my back was turned!"

"Not to worry, Filius. Young Harry here has taken care of it," Dumbledore said with an affectionate smile.

Flitwick's eyes widened. "Harry went down after him, and won?"

"So it would seem," Dumbledore replied. "I shall explain at the next staff meeting. Harry, if you would please give me the Stone?" Harry did so silently. "Thank you. In the meantime, children, why don't you return to your dormitories?"

Everyone understood the dismissal. "We'll just walk Hermione to Gryffindor before we return to Slytherin," Harry said after a moment, taking Hermione's hand and giving his other friends a piercing look.

"Right," Theo said.

"Of course," Blaise agreed.

"We should be back in about fifteen minutes," Daphne said.

Dumbledore smiled gently, but that didn't fool Harry for a minute. "Be sure not to mention where you've been."

"Sure," Harry said right before they turned a corner. Now that my headache's receded a bit, and I don't need to focus on fooling Dumbledore, now's the perfect opportunity! "Hold up a minute," he said softly, before peeking around the corner again and aiming subtly with his right hand. "Scan!" A couple of moments later, Harry got the information.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump

Age: 157

Weight: 170

Weapon of Choice: Wand

Albus Dumbledore was a Ravenclaw while in Hogwarts himself, and graduated at the top of his class. Studying all branches of magic, including the infamous field of the Dark Arts, Dumbledore headed the battle against the Dark Lord Grindelwald over half a century ago. Grindelwald was finally killed by Dumbledore's hand.

No one has seen Dumbledore use a single Dark Arts spell or Unforgiveable Curse since that time, even when given permission in the war against the Dark Lord Voldemort. As a result, most of the magical population who stand against Voldemort revere him as the epitome of the Light Side, someone who has knowledge of the Dark Arts but the conviction to never use them.

The power has, however, corrupted Dumbledore. Though he still refuses to use the Dark Arts, his ambitions have grown much further than most could fathom. Using his status and fame, Dumbledore subtly manipulates everyone around him for his final goal, which is still unknown.

Special Abilities:

Indeterminable

Threat Level: Indeterminable

Note: Special Abilities and Threat Level are unable to be determined due to aura of power interfering with Scan magic.

"Damn it," Harry muttered under his breath and he kept walking.

"What is it?"

"I can't get a proper Threat Level out of the Scan, and I really didn't learn anything new aside from that Dumbledore was a Ravenclaw as a student. You guys all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione insisted. "I didn't get injured or knocked out," she said with a pointed glare at her friends, who had the grace to look away. Except for Daphne, that is.

"We didn't have a choice," Daphne said calmly. "You had to go on and face Quirrell."

"We're okay now," Theo added, rubbing his jaw. "Those chess pieces pack a punch, but the damage was only enough to knock us out."

"My injuries are only superficial," Blaise said calmly. Does anything ever perturb him? Harry wondered idly. "I will be healed within the week. And you, Harry?"

"Aside from the monstrous headache, I'm okay. Thankfully, the headache is already starting to go away. I think I just need some sleep."

"When did Dumbledore join you?" Blaise asked quickly.

"Just as we suspected, right after I beat Quirrell," Harry said bitterly.

"What exactly happened after we were knocked out?" Daphne asked. Hermione began the tale, explaining about the potions riddle, before turning to Harry, who then described the confrontation with Quirrell.

"The reason he couldn't stand my touch was actually a spell my mother cast right as she died." Harry quickly tried to sense anyone around, and finding none, leaned in to whisper. "It was Holy."

"Holy?" Hermione whispered. "Isn't that…"

"Yeah," Harry confirmed. "One of the two most powerful spells I have."

There was silence for a moment. "So… does that mean that anyone evil will get burned if they touch you?" Theo asked.

Harry thought for a moment. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that this Holy was specialized to target Voldemort."

None of them flinched at the name. Harry had long since taught them not to fear his name. "You can specialize Terran spells?" Blaise asked, curious.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Most of the work's already been done in forming the spell. It's all in how you use it. For instance, Blizzard could be used in a variety of ways. I could create a large shaft of ice and throw it at him, or I could make it a simple freezing spray."

"Returning to the subject, what are we going to do about Voldemort?" Daphne asked bluntly. "You said he's not gone for good."

Harry nodded. "He's achieved immortality somehow, but right now he's just a spirit of sorts; he can't do anything, but we can't hurt him either."

Hermione immediately understood. "So, we need to research methods of immortality?"

"No," Harry said, and held up a hand to hold off any disagreements. "As much as I would like to, our only resource on such a subject is the Hogwarts library, and we cannot tip our hand yet. Dumbledore has been deceiving us for a reason, and as we surmised, set up this entire situation with the Sorcerer's Stone as a test for me. I believe he knows how Voldemort may be destroyed, so instead of doing the hard research ourselves, I propose we keep doing what we're doing right now. I'll keep getting better at Legilimency, and when I'm good enough, I'll take the information from his mind."

"A promising plan," Blaise said slowly, "but it is quite likely Dumbledore practices Occlumency."

Harry frowned, not having thought of that. "Still, we cannot research immortality just yet. We need what time we have to get stronger, faster. Terra and Earth draw ever closer together, and monsters no one on Earth has ever seen shall appear. Some are magic-resistant or even magic-immune. It will be up to us to control any situations that come up."

"You're not serious, are you?" Theo asked. "How can five kids, four of whom aren't even trained, kill monsters from a different dimension?"

"I used to kill them on an everyday basis," Harry said with a shrug. "I've been doing that since the time I was eight." He looked at his friends. "I understand if you don't want to do this, but I cannot trust anyone else. Can you honestly say that anyone would listen to me, no matter who I look like, if I tell them that two worlds are starting to mix and that monsters are going to start appearing?" No one could really answer that. "That's what I thought. I can't exactly go back to Terra and tell anyone either, since the existence of other dimensions would definitely attract exploitation by the more wicked marketers. So, it's up to the five of us, for the time being. After everything's settled down, and Voldemort's gone for good, I suppose I'll bring in some teachers from Terra to create a new Garden."

Blaise nodded. "It appears we have little choice."

"It's not like we're committing our lives to this," Theo pointed out in a rare moment of seriousness. "And learning more than one style of fighting may be the thing that saves our lives someday."

Daphne looked speechless; Theo had actually sounded mature, and was being logical about something. She turned to Harry. "You're the one more in tune to this kind of thing. Has hell frozen over? Has someone figured out how to make pigs fly of their own accord? Because Theo was just mature."

Theo grinned. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Daphne groaned. "Never mind, he's himself again."

Hermione giggled a little at their antics before her amusement died and she looked at Harry. "I'm not sure I'll be able to," she whispered.

"Why's that?" Harry asked kindly.

Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm Muggleborn. My parents hardly know anything about magic, and that means that they're not very attached to it. If they found out I'm participating in a violent merger of dimensions, and that I'm actually killing monsters… they'd do anything to keep me safe, and that means they'd keep me from returning to Hogwarts."

Harry frowned. He had no parents to discourage that, but some of the people he'd met in his travels had been very strongly against violence of all kinds, to the point where they had banned all weapons in their territory. He didn't understand them, but respected their ethics. Violence is a necessary evil, Harry thought sadly. We need to be able to defend ourselves against those who would wage war against us.

"Tell you what," Harry said after a moment. "Your parents wouldn't disagree with me teaching you self-defense, right?" Hermione nodded. "Then I'll teach you just as I would the others. You don't need to worry about the monsters yet anyway, since it should take another year or so for them to start appearing." I hope, Harry added mentally.

The following night, Harry took his friends to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, following his magic sense to where he knew Cerberus awaited. There, Cerberus raised three eyebrows – one per dog head – at Harry.

"I thought you were coming alone," it growled.

"If you join me, you join my companions as well," Harry said flatly.

Cerberus nodded his three heads. "Very well. You have proven yourselves worthy in the tests leading to the Stone. Who shall I join?"

Theodore stepped forward, for once with a solemn expression. "Me."

Cerberus's three heads roared as he began to dissolve. A few seconds later, all that was left was a round black stone, with an engraving of Cerberus. Theodore picked it up. "Um, what am I supposed to do with this now? Am I supposed to have a weird-looking black stone in my hand?"

"Concentrate on absorbing it," Harry answered.

Theo shrugged and did so, and the jewel entered his palm. His eyes widened. "Whoa, I can hear him!"

"Yeah, that's normal," Harry told him. "Just think at him to communicate."

"Gotcha! So, any cool powers I get from it?"

"You're stronger magically now," Harry confirmed, "and once you get some Terran spells, Cerberus will help you enhance your strength and make you immune to some elemental magic."

"Cool!"

The rest of Harry's time at Hogwarts seemed like a blur; the Slytherins won the Quidditch Cup yet again, though it was close this time – apparently Brian Jones, the Gryffindor Seeker, had been working overtime in his training and with the Chasers had almost made up for their point loss to Slytherin.

At the End of the Year Feast, Gryffindor had managed to win, much to Harry's displeasure. He had hoped that saving the Sorcerer's Stone would have been worth some points, as they were just behind Gryffindor, but alas, it was not to be.

Since there were no exams to study for anymore, Harry had taken to pushing his friends to their limits in their physical training. He wanted them to improve as much as they could during what time they had left, since their progress during summer would be limited at best without someone to guide and push them to their extremes. But that wasn't all Harry was worried about.

Harry was returning to the Dursleys at the end of term. The very thought of it almost made Harry want to scream, but instead left him shaking in cold rage. The problem was simply that Harry couldn't outright leave them, because that would be against the plan he and his friends had decided on – they would play along with Dumbledore's manipulations, but work in secret.

The result was that Harry was between a rock and a hard place. The Dursleys would quite likely be even nastier than before after they had seemingly gotten rid of Harry for good, which meant they'd have no mercy towards an eleven-year-old. To top it all off, Harry couldn't cast magic during the holidays. True, Harry could bluff and threaten them with magic, but a bluff could only last so long without being tested. Harry knew this from experience. Nevertheless, Harry was willing to make use of the bluff as long as he could.

On the train to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Harry and his friends shared a compartment. No one commented on the heavy atmosphere that seemed to emanate from the brooding lightning-scarred raven-haired boy, knowing that he had equally heavy things on his mind. He had explained his concerns to his friends, and extracted promises from each of them to write him and keep up their training.

At Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Harry said his goodbyes and reluctantly made his way to the large forms of Vernon and Dudley Dursley, who stood by the skin-and-bones version of Petunia. "Come on boy, get in the car," Vernon ordered with no small amount of loathing. "We don't have all day."

Harry narrowed his eyes hatefully, but did as he was told. It was only on the way back to Number Four Privet Drive that he spoke his mind. "Uncle Vernon, I have a deal for you."

Vernon looked at him in the rearview mirror and noticed as Dudley shoved him again, Potter's eyes kept narrowing. Those eyes made him nervous; they were cold and calculating, and Vernon was suddenly reminded of some of the more die-hard policemen, the ones who had killed. Still, it would be a cold day in hell when Vernon was intimidated by an eleven-year-old brat who'd been missing for the past six years. "I'm listening," he growled.

"Here is the situation as I see it. You hate me. I hate you. We both hate the fact that we have to live together for the summer, so, naturally, we want to make each other's lives hell. What I propose is that we leave each other alone. You don't force any chores on me, and I don't use any of my magic on you," Harry stated coldly.

Vernon scoffed. He's only finished his first year of schooling! What can he do? He voiced his thoughts aloud, planning on tripping up the boy.

Harry's eyes flashed. "I can do quite a bit, Uncle Vernon," Harry informed his uncle. "The question is: do you want to risk your wife and son to my magic?" Harry questioned, hating himself for even asking that. He disliked anyone who got their way by threatening loved ones, and he felt like a hypocrite. Nevertheless, it was necessary to make the bluff last as long as possible.

The pig in a wig – Dudley – scooted as far away from Harry as he could, which wasn't very far, considering that he was approaching the size of a baby killer whale. Petunia looked horrified, and turned to her husband, her eyes pleading. Vernon didn't have to look at her to realize his only course of action. "Fine," he bit out before thinking about just what he had just agreed to. All he asked for was for us to leave him alone, and he'll do the same. No chores in exchange for the safety of my family. I hate him! I hate his freakish ways, but he has no sense of equal exchange. I can use that.

Harry, on the other hand, was pleased. The bluff worked! And hopefully I was scary and menacing enough for them not to test it this summer. Maybe now I can continue my training…

It was with these thoughts that Harry returned to his hell on Earth, Number Four Privet Drive.

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Well, that was the last chapter of this book. Hope you all enjoyed it! I'm already working on the next installment, "Worldly Secrets" so please stay tuned for that! I'm taking 2 weeks to properly get everything straight, in addition to focusing on my college studies. Sorry, but it's just something that has to be done.

Read and Review, please! Hope I made it all convincing.