Disclaimer: Though I hope to have characters of my own to write about someday, this is NOT that day. So if you don't want to read of my writing about other people's characters, there's a back button somewhere on the screen. Use it.
This is AU in that Harry meets the twins in London, rather than his first Weasley meeting being Ron on the train. Since I've only plotted out through the second year's worth of story line, I'm not sure HOW AU it will get yet, but a few things have already changed.
Warning! The last few paragraphs are on the gory side. As long as this is an isolated incident, the story will remain at T. If I find myself typing more than one gore-filled event, I will change it to M. So, if you don't want to read the gore, skip to my notes at the end, they'll tell you a summary of what happened after it got messy.
What if?
The aftermath of the 'Dragon Dunder,' as the Junior Marauders dubbed it was not pretty, to say the least. The three Gryffindor boys were ostracized by the rest of their House, and even the Houses of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seemed eager to mock them. Notable exceptions to this were Granger and Longbottom, though the youngest Weasley, Thomas, and Finnegan didn't seem to pay any heed to this.
Harry tried not to feel too much glee. It wouldn't be noticed amidst the proudly displayed joy found in the rest of his House, but for a different reason. While the other Slytherins rejoiced in their nearly guaranteed victory in House Cup standings, Malfoy's point loss notwithstanding, but Harry was more interested in the other Houses showing how like Slytherin they really were. After all, it was common knowledge in the other houses that Slytherins would turn on you as soon as it was to their advantage, yet, what had the other three Houses done?
This led Harry to agree with the twins about staying their pranking ideas for a time. At least any directed towards the youngest Weasley at school. To ensure teachers suspected nothing, they also left Malfoy alone. Why should they give away that one of them knew more details than the rest of the school?
Even through the ruckus over the dragon that the majority of the school would never know about, Harry noticed the stress levels of some of the older students. Specifically, Flint, Bletchley, Higgs, Derrick and Bole all got rather snappy when the other Quidditch players commented on homework being rough. This led Harry to decide that the safer path with OWL and NEWT-bound students was to leave them alone until and unless they decided to seek him out.
Ironically, the older Quidditch players seemed content to form a miniature study group, and let Harry in on it sometimes. Not that he provided much more than a more impartial question reader. If he hadn't figured that stealing their books would literally get him cursed senseless, the fifth and seventh year boys would have lost their books for a week or so, while the first year copied information down. Instead, he committed as much to memory as possible, hoping that it would stick around long enough for him to get it noted in Headquarters.
As the exams presented themselves to the school, more and more students ran around, as Harry called it, 'like chickens with their heads cut off,' and his description earned him more than a few odd looks among the Slytherins. Strangely, it seemed to have provided a brief moment of humor even to the Head of the House.
Having been part of study groups for OWLs and NEWTs on the sly, and helping his own year mates more directly, Harry found his first year tests to be almost universally easier than he'd expected. Admittedly, Herbology was a bit of a challenge, as it was the first test Sprout had administered that actually required her students to sit and write on paper to prove their knowledge, but the only other classes of any difficulty were Defense and Potions. The first was difficult because Harry was still used as the testing dummy, and rarely got a chance to actually cast any of the spells.
Right after said exam, Harry sat at lunch and discussed with his fellow first years how they could make future tests and classes much easier. He hoped they would catch on to the idea, even though it would require cooperation with other houses, because it would be useful in more ways than just grade-boosting.
"Potter," Malfoy was shaking his head, "You're still going on too much about blending us with the rest of the school."
"That's not what it's about in this case," Harry sighed. He was beginning to see that he'd been too blunt about his ultimate goal to start with. He wondered how to cut it back so they didn't see what he was up to quite so easily, but wasn't sure he wanted to hide it, "I'm doing this for our grades as well. Maybe even more so for this reason."
Zabini drawled, offering his input, "Oh, really? What reason could you have for us to work with other Houses other than for your gray campaign to have another step taken?"
"Well, for one thing," Harry rolled his eyes, and finished another bite of corn, "Surely your parents have taught you the values of networking? I heard about the problems that some of the older Slytherins are having in their classes because none of them were particularly skilled in Runes. So they didn't have anyone to further explain what they couldn't glean from notes."
"You're trying to say that if we started working with those-" Malfoy bit off the comment he'd been about to make at Harry's expression, "We'd have a network set up?"
"Not immediately, I'd guess, but over time, they'd get used to working with us, and that might translate well over to what we do after graduating here." Harry supposed, in between his last bites of corn.
"Where do you dream these things up?" Parkinson raised an eyebrow, "There's no way you're coming up with these ideas yourself!"
Harry agreed, "No, I'm not, but even though I don't like them, and they don't like me, I learned a lot about the world from the Dursleys. If you know the right people, you can get almost anything accomplished. If you know how to treat them, you can get them to do almost anything. If you know how to combine the two, your life is a lot easier. It's how my uncle is as far in the company as he is. He knows just how to butter people up to get what he wants from them. I may not like the way they treat me, but that's because I don't have anything they want, except- Never mind. But the point is that, well, back there, I had a lot of time to think. And people didn't really bother much with watching what they said around me, so I heard a lot of interesting things."
"Apparently, so you think if we, say, approached Longbottom for Herbology homework, it would benefit us in more than just grades?" Nott asked.
"In the long run, sure. I mean, you help him, he helps you, both have a class grade stay the same or improve. He would still likely be hopeless in a class like Potions, but with any luck, after fifth year, he won't be taking it. Then, after graduation, he'd remember that you were helpful, and might be willing to send plant samples your way for a lower price, for your work in say, Potions." Harry explained to make it completely clear.
"And Granger?" Bulstrode peered up from her pickle spears, "How is she supposed to be useful?"
"I'm not going to be fool enough to turn down the chance to search the information in a walking encyclopedia, are you?" Harry asked her straight out.
"Why are you so worried, Potter?" Greengrass poked a fork at him, "It's not like you're having any troubles in class, aside from Defense. Not now that we've told you how to tell shades of green, and the like."
Rolling his eyes, Harry countered, "Well, sure, my grades are just fine, but that doesn't mean I want to be the only one doing well. After all, what kind of network could I build that way?"
"So is everything you're doing here just networking?" Zabini's eyes held a strange gleam to them. One that Harry wasn't sure he wanted to puzzle out just yet.
"Not really, I've got lots of reasons for doing what I am, but the ones you all have heard are the easiest to explain to others." Harry muttered into his glass of pumpkin juice.
"Surely it wouldn't be that difficult to explain that you believe in giving people a first chance," Harry and the rest of the first years looked up abruptly at the voice from the end of their table.
Standing there, looking as though she was not sure whether she wanted to hide or stand on her own two feet, was a bespectacled girl whose hair seemed the same color as wheat. She fussed with her red and gold tie as she stood there, and continued, "It doesn't seem to me like much of that's going on around here."
"What do you want, Gryffindor?" Malfoy hissed, and surprisingly the girl flinched. Blinking, she then met the blonde boy's eyes.
"I'd like to offer my help with this study group," she nodded her head at Harry, "He's got an idea. Traditionally, Gryffindors are pathetic in potions, even without the help of students throwing extraneous ingredients into their cauldrons. At the same time, Ravenclaws are considered too bookish to do well with classes like Care of Magical Creatures, and Pufflehuffs are rarely skilled at classes other than Herbology. At least, if you go by what everyone seems to believe of one another."
"Seelie," a redhead walked up to her left, "You do realize you just called the Hufflepuffs, Pufflehuffs, don't you?"
"Oh dear," she mumbled, "I did it again."
"That is the biggest reason why she wants to help develop a cross-house study group," the redhead on her right grinned at the Slytherin table, "Her essays do her justice in classes, it's actually casting the spells that gets her into trouble."
"You really don't want to know what happens when you cast Lingardium Weviosa," the girl shuddered, "Believe me, it's worse than the feather fire Finnegan flirted with."
"Did you ever want your pop quiz back?" Harry asked the girl, "The one where he quizzed everyone on his beginning of the year speech."
"Er," she tapped her nose and pondered a moment, "It's not like I can turn it in again, revised for a better grade. Besides, I think he's started using it as kindling by now."
"Well, I hate to break up the start of a beautiful alliance," Fred's grin called him a liar.
"But Seelie has an Herbology exam in five minutes," George smirked as the girl scrambled to the door, whacked into the jamb on her way out, and managed to mutter a spell that had her class supplies traveling in the air behind her as she rubbed her face.
"While we're at it, we have a Defense exam to take," Fred chuckled, "And don't you lot have Potions right now?"
The first years looked at their timepieces, and scrambled to pack and head for class. Taking the opportunity as it was offered, the twins muttered about a rumor of the Headmaster's absence. The importance of this escaped Harry for much of the class period. He was more focused on the potion he was working on.
Professor Snape had informed each student as they walked in that they were to work as individuals, unless otherwise directed. Knowing that the Longbottom and Ron pairing would only result in an explosion, Harry sat as far away from them as possible, a sentiment echoed by all of the other singled out students. The remaining pairs, Crabbe and Finnegan, Goyle and Thomas, Greengrass and Brown, were resigned to being in the range of any possible explosions as Malfoy, Zabini, Nott, Granger, Patil, Parkinson, and Bulstrode were more able to scramble for perimeter desks as individuals.
Still, being in range of Patil's possible explosions made Harry nervous. He'd had the misfortune of the girl sitting in the row ahead of him, but resigned himself to anything that happened. As he worked on the potion, Harry got the feeling that no two groups, or individuals were working on the same one. As his own potion progressed, the boy kept an eye out on the ones surrounding him, and felt fairly confident in identifying the others' as he went. He even jotted them down when he felt sure enough. Little did he know someone was watching him do this.
Upon finishing his potion, amazed that there hadn't been an explosion yet, Harry turned in his vial. "Mister Potter, finish identifying the rest of the potions assigned, and turn that in as well," the Potions Master smirked at the boy as he muttered this quietly enough that they were the only ones to hear.
As he walked back to his desk, Harry's mind finally reminded him of the twins' comment before class even began. He peered around the classroom, and finished his list, leaving only Crabbe's, Goyle's and Longbottom's potions unnamed, as the three groups didn't seem to be making anything other than a mess. Sighing, he walked to the front of the classroom again, with the remainder of his supplies, and returned them to their places in the cabinets. Some of the ingredients on Crabbe's and Finnegan's desks suggested what the two were supposed to have been completing, and on his way back to his desk, Harry thought he recognized Goyle's and Thomas' assignment.
With his last trip to the front, returning ingredient surpluses, Harry thought he recognized Ron's and Longbottom's potion enough to know that the Ginger Root they were about to add would not react well. Not even stopping to think about the trouble that he'd get into, Harry yanked the root from the redhead's hand, "Why don't you wait for the potion to change colors first?"
"Potter," Ron sniped, "I think we know what we're doing. The instructions say to add the whole Ginger Root when the potion is goldenrod. It's goldenrod now."
"No," Harry blinked, "It's canary yellow." With that, he shrugged, whimpered and walked back to his desk. He could hear Nott, Zabini, and Malfoy snickering, and he knew at least part of it was for his explosion prevention efforts. Just as he jotted down what potion the two Gryffindors had been ruining, the explosion occurred, and Harry sighed again.
"While you were reading the instructions that told you to add the Ginger Root when it became goldenrod in color," Snape hissed, "You obviously overlooked the preceding sentence, which told you to add the ground salamander tail at the same time. Not to mention you completely overlooked the murtlap leaves."
The class packed up and readied to leave, the class period ended, and Harry brought his paper to the front. Quietly as he could, Harry handed it over and asked the professor if he knew where the Headmaster was.
"No I don't," the man grumbled, "If he's not in the school, then-" a pause, "Mister Potter, catch up with your yearmates and inform them they need to be on their way to the Slytherin Common Room. Do the same for the Gryffindors, and any other students you happen upon. Do so quickly, quietly, and above all, don't get involved."
"Sir?" Harry was puzzled.
"I mean it, Potter," the grumbling became growling and the man waved a hand in the air, furthering his dismissal of the child in front of him, "Move! Quickly!"
Resorting to what he'd been told actually had been labeled as the 'Harry Potter Scuttle' in Slytherin house, the boy gathered his things and caught up to the students that had just left the classroom. He relayed the message, and told all of them to continue relaying it as they went to their Common Rooms.
He followed the cluster up to the point where they came even with the Junior Marauders' hidden door, and there he quickly but quietly spoke the password, which had been changed to 'freedom' in honor of the coming break. The twins were already there, and as Harry snuck in, they looked up.
"So?" Fred asked.
Harry grabbed supplies, "Snape ordered me to send everyone to their Common Rooms, but we need to sneak up to the hallway to clear out the traps, make it easier for the professors to get through."
"Righty then," George also grabbed some supplies, "We at least know Quirrell has something to do with it, he never showed for the exam."
"So he and whoever else has had roughly the entire class time to work on the deterrents the professors created. After getting through our traps." Fred continued.
Harry finished the chain of thought,"So there might not be much left intact. Maybe we can talk the professors into letting us leave some of our untested stuff to catch him up when he leaves."
Three grins accompanied that statement. Though the boys knew that they'd more likely put Gryffindor further out of the running for the House cup, and leave Slytherin actually possibly losing it to Ravenclaw, they were going to do what they could to help. Harry because he knew the twins would go anyway. The twins, because they figured, Gryffindor was out of the running, why worry about points at this time? Besides, it sounded interesting.
As the trio reached the off-limits corridor, they noticed the blasted open door, and the rather disturbing lack of sound. No growling, snarling or barking, just a faint melody wafting from the room. Looking at each other, they inspected the passage for any remnants of their traps.
Footsteps alerted the boys to the approaching professors, and they all flinched mightily. It was one thing to know that if they got caught they'd be in it deep, it was another entirely to actually get caught. Particularly by these two professors. At least it cleared their names from the list of suspects, Hermione would be glad. McGonagall had nothing to with the problem.
"What do you three think you're doing here?" she snapped.
Fred for once, seemed hesitant, "We were checking on the traps set on the door."
"There aren't any left intact, so we were thinking of asking permission to leave some for whoever comes back out." George added.
"Absolutely not!" she hissed, sounding remarkably like a cat. Wait, that was her animagus form, Harry reminded himself, so no wonder, "By rights you three could be expelled for even being here!"
Fred collected enough nerve to further scare the other two boys, "We were under the impression that the only consequence of being here was death. The Headmaster said so himself at the Welcoming Feast. 'On pain of death.' Nothing about detentions, point loss, expulsion, lines to write, or anything other than death."
Heaving a deep sigh, the woman stalked forward, "Fine, if you're going to be difficult about it, we'll make use of your assistance in keeping the Cerberus in line. I presume at least one of you knows a charm to play music?"
Grinning, George cast the spell as the small group walked in the room. Harry privately thought something strange was going on, as McGonagall didn't seem the sort to let children get involved in anything to do with adults, and this was definitely an adult situation. It made him wonder if there were other things going on.
Snape smirked at the small boy as he passed. Both professors quickly surveyed the room, and saw the enchanted harp that had just stopped playing. They looked at each other and nodded.
"Weasley," Harry never understood how the man could use just their surname and manage to speak to just one twin at a time, but Snape did so even at this time, "Keep that song going until we either return, or yell up to you to run. If we yell for you to run, do so. Do not cast traps, do not look back, and most certainly, do not come back. You will be killed, and if you're lucky, it will just be the dog that does so. Is this understood?"
The three boys nodded, and resolved to keep that charm going for as long as possible. The two adults walked to the trap door, and suddenly, Professor McGonagall stiffened. Harry just barely heard her mutter about points in the negatives by the end of this fiasco, and then both adults were waving at him and Fred.
"We've got a slight hitch in our plans," McGonagall muttered, rubbing her temples a bit, "There are students down there. If you listen, you can just hear one of them yelling."
Standing that close to the trap door, they actually could, and both boys looked back up into their professors' faces. The worry even in the Potions Master's eyes didn't speak well of the situation.
Harry offered, "Ma'am, if you can get to them and levitate them to us, we can get them from the door way. We might even be able to get them to the Infirmary."
Nodding, McGonagall added, "Poppy is already on her way. So if either of you know any first aid, that would be better than trying to rush them to her. The other professors are also on their way, so if they arrive in time, one of them can take over the music charm."
"Should we be that fortunate," Snape didn't seem to believe they would, "the three of you, and any students back up here from below that are capable, will return to your Common Rooms, will remain silent concerning this, and any theories you have, and will prepare for the punishments you will face for interfering in this."
"Yes sir," Fred nodded at both adults as he said this, and Harry nodded as well, though he was looking down the hole. He thought he recognized one of the voices.
"Sir," Harry hesitated, "I think I might know at least one of the people down there."
"I can almost guarantee it is more foolish members of my House, Mister Potter," McGonagall sighed, "Most likely to be some combination of Ronald, Mister Thomas, Mister Finnegan, and perhaps even Mister Longbottom."
"Mercy upon us if Longbottom's involved," Snape muttered, "But we still need to get down there. Weasley, you will take over any levitation charms if we have an unconscious or injured student to send up. Mister Potter, if the student is able to move under their own power, merely pull them from the hole, and cast a quick lumos to inform us when said student is clear."
"Yes sir," Harry and Fred chimed and nodded, in unison. Even through the worry, Harry grinned a bit at the muttered 'triplets' from both professors.
With that, the two adults levitated themselves down the passage, and the boys stood guard. After a bit, Fred asked to be relieved of the charm, his arms were getting tired, and he was filled in on the instructions left by the adults. Shortly after the twins switched, the boys noticed a shape at the bottom of the trapdoor. With no spells flying their way, the boys felt it was safe enough to poke their faces over the top, and they saw McGonagall. She nodded, and then spoke to the smaller shape standing near her. The shape was shivering, but nodded back to her, as she cast the levitation charm. The Weasley twin and Harry readied themselves for the person on their way up to them, and saw Thomas as he cleared the doorway. When it was safe, Harry pulled him from over the hole, and Fred let the Transfiguration professor know it was clear.
As soon as the charm was removed, Thomas stuttered about a plant they'd only gotten through when their fear froze them solid, and a door with hundreds of keys. At being asked, he said he'd not been more than scratched by the keys as they dashed through the door on the other side of them, and was told to bandage that up and head to Gryffindor Tower and to stay put. Harry was amazed that he did so without argument.
A minute or two after Thomas left, the two boys spotted Professor Snape at the bottom of the tunnel. He nodded as he saw he had their attention, and began levitating someone up. Both boys were relieved to see that the individual was awake, though Finnegan seemed to have been silenced. Harry didn't see how he could appear to be screaming without noise otherwise.
Once he was clear, the boys gave the man standing at the bottom the signal, and he waved at them to move from the trapdoor. They pulled the rather panicky Irish boy away from the door, and Fred continued to tug him away from the three-headed dog to help him calm down, as Professor Snape levitated himself up. He nodded to the four boys, and indicated that they should remain just a bit longer.
Peering down the trapdoor, he waved, and Harry could see another student being lifted up. This one was not awake, and seemed to have a head injury. The squeaky noise the twins made told Harry a second before he recognized the red hair who it was, and he moved forward to help Snape stabilize the first year. Pulling his robe off, leaving him in shirt and jeans, Harry folded it up to use as a pillow for the boy when he was set on the ground.
Looking over at them, Harry took over the music charm so the twins could help fuss over their brother. Shortly after the youngest redhead was settled on the ground, both professors were back up in the room with the sleeping Cerberus, and Harry looked nervously at the trapdoor.
"We never saw anyone other than these three," Snape muttered under his breath, "Which means that the culprit must have made it past all of the traps."
"That's not as bad as it sounds," McGonagall tried to diffuse the dark mood, "Albus' defense is meant to trap whomever would be after the object. We shouldn't have a problem if we can get the children out of the room, and the other professors here to meet him when he gives up."
With a snort, Snape snapped his gaze to the muted boy, "Finnegan, you and Thomas will scrub cauldrons until the train leaves with you on it. I see no point in subtracting points from Gryffindor, as your House is already close enough to the negatives from your actions less than a month ago. Thus, when you return to school, consider your first month back to be mine for detentions. This will not happen again, do you hear me?"
Rather than contradict the man, McGonagall nodded, "I shall deal with Misters Weasley, all three. I suppose you'll take on Mister Potter's detentions as well?"
"Gladly," the drawl sent a shiver down Finnegan's back, and Harry knew that by the time that month of detentions next year was over, he'd be able to identify a lot more potions by their color an residues. Silently, he resigned himself to being good friends with the scrubbing brush and the cauldron soap.
"Mister Finnegan, Mister Potter, if you would-" Professor McGonagall's instructions were interrupted by the arrival of the nurse, and Madam Pomfrey bustled straight to the injured student.
"Oh my," she mumbled to herself, "Well, we've got a mild concussion at the least here, but fortunately, his spine is intact, so we can put him safely on a stretcher and levitate him to the Infirmary. I crossed Thomas on my way here, and sent him there. Mister Finnegan, if you would please come with me, we'll have you fixed up in no time at all."
Though the nurse was quite capable of levitating the magically conjured stretcher, the twins were having none of that. The solemnity of their faces reassured her that her comatose patient would be safe, even with his brothers providing the locomotive power for the device. Harry waited for the five of them to leave the room, and was just about to leave himself, when the rest of the professors finally arrived.
"Ah," Flitwick seemed tense, and for once, Harry was nervous around the tiny man. Rather than the jovial nature he usually displayed, this version of Flitwick was frighteningly similar to the usual attitude of McGonagall and Snape.
Sprout was more serious as well, but she wasn't nearly as intimidating as the other three Heads of House. Hooch was always on the intimidating side, like Professor Snape, but at this time, she was downright frightening. Briefly, he wondered why she was involved, but was content to do so as he left the room. When Hooch took over the music charm, he made to do just that.
A hand on his shoulder kept Harry in the room for a bit longer. Professor Snape was looking down at him with a strange expression on his face. As Harry looked up, he explained, "It would be best if you headed for the Headmaster's office at this point, Mister Potter. You might be able to catch him as he returns from his errand. If you see him, inform him of our whereabouts. If you see any students along the way, instruct them as to where they should be, or just remember their name, and report it to me when I return to fetch you."
"Yes sir," Harry turned again to leave, but doubled over in pain as it felt like something lanced through his skull.
Though the boy wasn't aware of it, the professors spent a split second of worry over him, then whirled to the figure levitating themselves into the room. Harry's head was bursting with such pain that he didn't understand the arguing of the adults, but he was vaguely aware of someone standing near him. Hooch had remained at his side, continuing the music charm to keep Fluffy asleep. When the others began shooting spells at each other, she erected a wall of silence in front of the Cerberus, and a strong shield in front of herself and the child. He was incapacitated, but she didn't dare leave to take him to Pomfrey, not until the Headmaster showed.
If he'd been able to look up, Harry would have been amazed at how well Quirrell was holding up against Fliwitck, Snape, McGonagall, and Sprout. He was finally able to look up when the pain lessened a bit. The sight that met his eyes at that point made him wish the pain hadn't let up. Sprout had just been flung against a wall, barely missing the sleeping three-headed dog, and McGonagall and Snape were both struggling to stand back up from the same hex. Flitwick was flinging curses, jinxes and hexes quick as he could, but even still, Quirrell- and Harry was happy to be right- was dodging and countering them as though it were child's play. After a second, Harry was even more amazed as it turned out that Quirrell was facing the wrong way the entire time.
Not sure why the pain had lessened, Harry got Madam Hooch's attention and motioned towards the door. She nodded and as the small boy turned for the door one last time, he was quite shocked, even flabbergasted, to find himself flying in the wrong direction. Harry was going to look up the Summoning spell when he got the chance, he swore to himself. He wanted to know how in the world it could summon people.
This thought was interrupted by a return of the screaming pain, but worse even than it had been before. A hissing sound issued from the boy's arms where Quirrell, now facing the right way, was holding him still.
Speaking through the pain, Quirrell threatened the others, "This boy and I will be returning to the Mirror, where he will retrieve the Stone for me. You all will cower here as you wait for my return. If you survive, have a nice time collecting his corpse." Taking a step back at this point, the man dragged the boy back towards the trap door.
Though the pain was nearly shutting his brain down, Harry knew he really didn't want to go down the hole. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he wondered how the professor could stand it. The hissing began to smell of burnt flesh, and Harry realized that there was actually something burning. Managing to squirm enough to get an arm free, he realized he wasn't the one burning, not quite. A hand on his neck made the boy yelp and nearly shrill like a girl when faced with a rat on the ground. His fear was not lessened any by the sudden growl that issued from behind them.
When the hand dropped from his neck, Harry quickly turned and looked over Quirrell's shoulder. Catching a glimpse of the rotting mass on the back of the man's skull, Harry felt his lunch wishing imminent greetings to the floor at his feet. Even that thought was silenced when he realized that the growling came from the now awakened Fluffy. Said three-headed dog drooled at the food standing before it.
Harry took a step back, and hoped that the dog would go for the morsel closer, rather than the younger one. Quirrell reached for the boy again, as said child fell another step back. At the same time, the creature snapped forward with one of its heads. Flinching, falling and not quite sure why he didn't close his eyes, Harry saw the head, sharp teeth included, close the distance between the adult and itself.
Feeling the rushing movement of a Summoning Charm cast on himself again, Harry was amazed that the second and third heads hadn't made a snatch for him as he flew out of their range. Instead, all three heads seemed preoccupied with the figure in front of them. The bloody mess had collapsed, and it seemed as if the teeth in all three mouths had blood and other bits dripping from them. Harry's lunch started its preliminaries of greeting the floor again, as the adults crowded around him.
"Mister Potter!" Professor Snape's voice suddenly pierced the fog his mind had collapsed into, and Harry's gaze snapped to meet the man's black eyes.
With the images of Quirrell's death replaying briefly through his mind, Harry wondered at the burning sensation caused by the man's touch. When Snape suddenly looked away, Harry turned his head to see what the adult was looking at.
Headmaster Dumbledore had returned, and with a sad look on his face, was looking at the mess Fluffy had left. As if feeling the weight of the gazes upon him, he turned to the cluster to his left.
"Are you well, Harry, my boy?" the worry seemed genuine in the Headmaster's voice and eyes, but Harry couldn't concentrate on it. He saw the hands on his arms again, felt the hissing and slight burning that had accompanied it, and reviewed yet again, the biting of the Cerberus upon the form of Quirrell. Strangely, with this third viewing, Harry actually saw the strange gas released upon the teeth closing in upon the body. One more time, his stomach rebelled, and this time, its rebellion was successful. The boy doubled over, and retched out the contents of his stomach, as the professors all scattered back a step or three.
When his stomach had emptied itself to its content, the boy peered up at the adults. For a few seconds, he saw the sadness in their eyes, but that didn't last long. As he heard the Headmaster repeat his question, the boy felt the muscles of his body relax, and saw black tunnels surround him until he saw no more.
I feel like I should be singing the theme to 'The Neverending Story.' I keep having to break chapters up, and what was originally going to be ten chapters long is now fifteen. Uh, forgive me for bringing Seelie back in, but I figure, you ought to get used to her now, she is the Gryffie Seeker after all. You will be seeing more of her. She really is interested in helping with the study group. But she really is a jinx too.
Furthermore, I'm sorry about the weird way the chapter ends. I had always planned for Quirrell to die at the end, but the fact was, I wasn't sure, until I typed it up, that Harry would have the misfortune of actually seeing Q-man's death. And, sorry, it's on the gory side. It's actually worse than when I first typed this chapter. Like I said at the beginning, if I don't get gorier than this, the story will stay 'T' rated. However, if I find too many more gore-ified messes popping up, I'll change the rating to 'M,' unless I actually research other 'T' stories and find them gorier than me.
I made a mental note to add a new chapter when I got 250 reviews. I posted the last chapter and couldn't get online the next day. So, sorry it's a day late, but here's your reward for letting me know you liked the last chapter better than I did. Hope this one doesn't scare you all off. And please, if you feel this bumps the rating, tell me first, I'll change it right off.