Talktalk = thoughts between Harry, Hermione and Ron
Talktalk letters of spells
~talktalk~ = harry is speaking with a animal
"Talk talk"= conversations
{ talk talk } = parseltongue
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters in it.
Hello everyone, I am back with another chapter with almost 11.000 words. In the Original version this chapter had only 4000 words, so I hope you all are happy with the new amount of words. I have changed a few details in this chapter and I have made the exams more detailed than before, I wanted to explain it a little better and I had to change quite a few details because of the changes I have made in the previous chapters. One thing I will say is about the Transfiguration exam, the snuffboxes, especially in the case of one of the boys I have changed the box quite a lot and I explained the design better, I hope.
I also changed the ending a little bit, this is also the first chapter that will be Betad, so I want to thank my Beta for checking my grammar and other stuff.
Enough of my rambling, here is another chapter.
Chapter 21: The exams and the first attack
The time was here, the exams were beginning and after those the second meeting with Voldemort would take place. The exams were going a lot better for the two boys of their trio, Hermione hadn't any problems the first time and this time she knew even more. For the boys a reason was because they had done the exams once in the past but for Harry there was also the reason that he didn't have to worry about Voldemort storming the exam hall, like he had done in the past. It was a fear he had developed the first time after he saw Quirrell drinking the unicorn's blood and he had been told that Voldemort was involved in all this. He found that he had done a pretty good job the first time. He had passed all his exams with nice grades even if he had been worried sick about Voldemort and when he would try to steal the Stone. Unlike last time he was also able to sleep peacefully, his nights weren't haunted with nightmares anymore because of the Occulemency he was doing before he went to sleep every night.
The trio decided to hold back their knowledge to a level that they were considered good, but not too good. They would write and perform their exams like they had knowledge of a third/fourth year and not much smarter. It would give the professors a bad feeling if they were too smart and they would be more closely watched and that was something they couldn't allow to happen.
Their written exams were quite easy, compared to the ones they had in their first year and they wrote as accurate as possible without raising suspicion, except in a few subjects. Harry performed his very best in Defense against the Dark arts and in Potions. DADA was because most people thought because he had defeated Voldemort when he was a baby, he must be a prodigy in that part and that was the reason Harry had so much fun in that exam. He could shine in there and the same with Potions. His mother had been very good in the art of potions and he wanted to make her proud of him, even if she would never know. It was his way to connect to her and he wanted to break the image of James Potter for Severus Snape. He knew that his father couldn't brew to save his life and so he would show that he was more than his father's son, even if he was being treated much nicer this time because he was the prince of Slytherin.
Ron tried his best in Transfiguration. One of the reasons he chose that subject was because he liked it very much. You could do a lot with Transfiguration and not many people could understand that with Transfiguration you could have a strategically advantage over others in a duel. Most people wouldn't use it, because they weren't fast enough or couldn't imagine how that particular part of magic could be useful. Ron had trained his mind to be even more strategically, not any in chess but also in battle situations and he had began to use it a lot in previous battles. It had become a habit for him to use Transfiguration to trick his opponents and with his mind he had been able to outplay almost everyone. Another reason, maybe an even more emotional reason was because who was teaching Transfiguration, professor McGonagall the Head of Gryffindor. He had still a connection to his old House and he felt more connected to his past life when he was doing this kind of magic, thinking about their lessons and the good old times in Gryffindor.
Hermione was very good in all the subjects, but she shone in Charms and in Herbology. She could always be found with her nose in some rare Charms book, she chose it because it was a very divers subject and you could also do a lot with them. She also did it because of the Ravenclaw House and because of Rowena Ravenclaw. She had also been smart and when she had been sorted the first time, the Sorting Hat had been deciding between the house of the brave and of the intelligent. She had also felt a connection to the house, a house where she could have lived for seven years if her fate had been different. She had also been called the Gryffinclaw by the other Gryffindors and she had a bright mind. She had also spoken a lot with the founder of the house and she couldn't help to feel to try to make her proud. She could always speak with her about different subjects and that was the reason that she wanted to do her very best. She had also gotten a passion for Herbology. She had also known a lot and when Harry needed a certain ingredient she had almost been the one who got it. It relaxed her in a time of war and she wanted to do her best in that relaxing art, because it reminded her of the good times the three of them, the peaceful times where it looked like the war around them wasn't happening, where it seemed like they were free and it was peace for just a second.
Their study group, which included students from every house, was busy almost every night to practice the last few things before an exam with the students who were best in that subject. For Defence and Potions were that the Slytherins and Harry, for Herbology were that Neville and the Hufflepuffs, for Charms was that Hermione with the Ravenclaws and for Transfiguration was that Ron with the Gryffindors.
Their practical exams were also very fun and they could show a little more of their talent. For Charms they were asked by Professor Flitwick to make a pineapple tap dance of the desk but of course the silver trio found that too boring and they continued the spell with another one to make their exam a little more exciting. Harry performed the first spell and made his pineapple tap dance a very difficult pattern which made professor Flitwick very happy, but he wasn't done yet. After the tap dance, he continued to make his pineapple do a break dance and hip hop dance. He even provided the music for the dance and after 10 minutes he had professor Flitwick completely blown away. Hermione and Ron did also the same, they began with the same tap dance routine as Harry had begun his exam with but after that, they spilt. Hermione began her second part with a waltz and after she was finished showed a few other classical music performances. Ron continued with a freestyle dance, combining different kinds of dance in a big performance, continuing the dance also for 10 minutes. After the trio was done, they received the highest praise of professor Flitwick, who had been amazed by the talent the trio had showed him with such a simple spell and he couldn't wait to see more of them.
The trio asked everyone in their study group after their exam how it could gone and everyone in their group had been able to make the pineapple tap dance, some in a somewhat more difficult pattern, but they had gotten the spell right on the first try and that was better for some from what they had remembered of their first time.
For Transfiguration they had to transform a mouse into a snuffbox and they received points on how pretty the snuffbox was and how less parts of the mouse were present in the design. Most people were just able to change the snuffbox in a very simple snuffbox without much design, just able to make the mouse completely gone, but of course the silver trio wanted to do something different. They made their snuffbox completely mouse free, but they had all a design in their mind which they wanted on them and when it was time for their exam, each had made a piece of art.
Harry's snuffbox was made out of silver and he had a beautiful black basilisk on the whole box with emerald green eyes, the tongue, decorated with rubies, tasting the air on a green background. He made the design of his own animagus form. In the corner of the left side there was a white lily, blooming full and healthy with behind that beautiful white lily a stag, standing proud and tall with his antlers in the air like he was protecting the lily from any harm. On the other side of the box there was a grim with red rubies as his eyes and he was playing with a grey werewolf with amber eyes playing under the Whomping Willow.
Professor McGonagall was so impressed with the piece she asked if she could keep it. Harry found out that Minerva was a collector of beautiful exam projects. Each year she collected the most beautiful pieces and she would show that to other Transfiguration Masters and Mistresses to see if there were potential in the new generation. She also wanted to know what the story was after the design so that she could also tell that if it wasn't too personal, so Harry told her a story. He told her the Basilisk was to represent himself, the king of Serpents, he was after all the prince of Slytherin. The lily represented his mother and behind that his father in his animagus form. And the werewolf and grim were Remus and Sirius in their forms, respectively.
McGonagall had tears in her eyes when she heard that he had made a snuffbox which represented his parents, she could understand it if he didn't want to give it up. Harry said if she could made three copies of the box then it was okay, even if he was perfectly able to do it himself, but it was a little strange if he knew that charm, it was a pretty difficult to find charm. He wanted to give one to Remus and one to Sirius and he also wanted to keep him for himself. Minerva agreed and she quickly made the three copies Harry wanted. Harry left the classroom with his three snuffboxes in his schoolbag and Minerva couldn't help the tears falling on her cheek. 'Oh James, Lily, your boy has grown up so much, he went through so much and he is still such a good person. You would be so proud of him, he is the perfect of you two, you would be so proud.'
Hermione's snuffbox had also a very beautiful design. She had made, just as Harry, a snuffbox from silver, but instead of the basilisk she had placed a black raven on it. In his beck the raven had a scroll full with knowledge, his eyes full with intelligence. She had made her box with silver tints together with dark blue and some light blue for some highlights. In the left corner of the box she had made a silver lioness, laying in the grass, watching over her playing two cubs, as a representation of the Gryffindor House and in the right corner there sat a silver cobra sitting up, reading to attack with the teeth exposed to show her loyalty to the Slytherin House.
Professor McGonagall was also very impressed with her design and she asked the same questions she had asked Harry, if she was allowed to keep it and if she could her the story about the box. Hermione wanted to keep a copy for her parents to see them what she had done this year if that was possible, one copy for herself and then Minerva could keep the original Minerva could understand that, she had many muggleborns who wanted to show their parents some proof that they were really learning something in this strange new world and Minerva told her "I can understand that you want to show your parents some kind of magic, but there are certain rules in place." Minerva saw Hermione's face fall, so she quickly continued, "but I will place some strengthening charms on the box, so that the Transfiguration will not break and then I cannot see a reason why you couldn't show it to your parents." Hermione nodded happily, even if she knew that the Transfiguration would never break even without the charms, she had pushed enough magic in her design that it wouldn't happen, but Minerva couldn't know it.
She also explained her design to Minerva. She said "I have chosen the raven because my mind. Harry and Ron always tell me that I have one of the brightest minds they have ever seen and because the Raven is the symbol of Ravenclaw, the house of the smart, I have chosen that animal to represent my mind. The lioness is also because of the boys. Sometimes they fight, brothers do that and I am also trying to make them fix it quickly and without any fighting and they also tell me that I kind of look like an angry lioness. I also have liked lionesses for like forever, the huntresses of the savannah and protectors of their cubs, so I wanted that part of me also represented in this design. That snake is because I am a Slytherin. I had some problems at first because I am a girl and a muggleborn, but they found out quickly that I am a true snake, ready to strike if angered and that is why I made a striking cobra for that part of my personality."
Minerva made the necessary copies and placed her spells on it for Hermione's parents and Hermione left with a smile on her face, she had missed her parents and they could never quite understand what she had learned in a year on Hogwarts and now she could show them a piece of magic she had created herself, maybe it would show them part of the wonders of her new world, the world they never thought could exist.
Ron's box was also very special in its own way. Ron didn't made a snuffbox made out of silver like Harry and Hermione had made, no he had made his snuffbox out of gold and in the middle of the box he had made a golden lion with red rubies as eyes and a silver snake as a tail with emerald eyes to represent both Gryffindor and Slytherin. The lion, opening his mouth completely to let loose a mighty roar and the snake blazing fire with its eyes with the teeth completely exposed, reading to strike down every enemy in its vision. On the left side of the box he had made two red foxes, playing with each other and on the other side of the box he had a Hungarian Horntail with his wings and tail flowing over to the other sides and between his body, there was a pyramid. On the bottom of each side he had also placed some small badgers, nine in total who were supporting each other until their death.
It was the third time that Professor McGonagall was very impressed and like she had done with the other two of the silver trio, she had asked him if she could keep the box and if he could explain to her why he had chosen for this design.
Ron was thinking about it and ultimately decided that Minerva was allowed to keep the snuffbox if she could make four copies for him.
"Of course, Mister Weasley, might I ask why you want four copies of the box?"
"I might to give one to Fred and George and sent one to Charlie and Bill, to my family."
Ron looked so sad that Minerva couldn't get it over her heart to ask more about his situation, but it seemed like Ron was having some kind of issue with the rest of his family and she knew it was connected to what had happened with Christmas. She really hoped that Molly wouldn't be stubborn and reconnect with her son, Minerva could see what it was doing to him even if he tried to hide his sadness and pain. If she hadn't known that Harry had something planned in the worst case situation otherwise she would be doing something herself and the Weasley Matriarch wouldn't be happy after she was done with her talk.
Ron also explained his design after Minerva had made the four copies for his brothers. "I made the lion, because of my family. Most of them have been in Gryffindor and I wanted something to represent that, so I chose the mascot of the Gryffindor House. The snake is representing me, I am Slytherin and I am always ready to protect the ones I care about." But that wasn't completely true, he also chose the design because he thought it represented his true character, the bravery of the lion and the cunning of the snake, his former House and his current House. "The foxes are for the twins, I think it represent their personality perfect. Foxes are very playful, but also very protective of their family, so I picked that one to represent my brothers. I did the same for Charlie and Bill. The Hungarian Horntail is the most dangerous dragon, but also the most protective of them all and I thought that represented Charlie perfect and the pyramid is for Bill, because he works in Egypt as curse breaker. The nine badgers are to represent my family, my parents and my six siblings and I."
Ron left a little more happy then after he had made the box and Minerva placed his box next to Harry's and Hermione's snuffbox, the best ones by far. She knew those three would do great things if they were capable of this kind of magic, already in their first year. They would rock the world.
After the exam the trio went their own way for a while to sent their snuffbox to their new owners. Hermione asked if she could borrow Hedwig to sent the box to her parents and before Harry could answer, was Hedwig already there sitting on her shoulder ready to take the package to their destination.
Harry just laughed and said "I think even if I was mad enough to say no to that question, Hedwig would do what she pleased and deliver it anyway."
And like Hedwig could perfect understand him even if he had spoken in English, she hooted loudly.
"Well, thank you Hedwig. First I have to write a note to go with the package and put it in a small box so that you can carry it better and then you can sent it, is that okay?"
Hedwig hooted and Hermione left to write the note, telling her parents about the magic she had performed and that she had made this snuffbox also as a present for them out of a mouse.
Harry went to Sirius and Remus to show them his own piece of art. The last two Marauders had tears in their eyes when they heard what Harry had made representing his parents and them in his Transfiguration project. The two men were very happy to have their own copy and they thanked the small Marauder multiple times. Harry quickly left to try to get rid of his red face which could have turned redder and redder after he had heard all those compliments. Sirius and Remus couldn't help with smile when they saw Harry almost ran out of them and they looked another look to their gift.
"Those were good days, right Moony," said Sirius, watching his own animagus form under the Whomping Willow together with Moony.
"The best," answered Remus, watching the lily with Prongs protecting her. 'Harry really showed the truth. James died to protect his family, his Lily-flower and here he was standing forever behind her, preventing anyone from ruining her beauty, always protecting her.'
Harry was walking back to the dungeons when he walked past the professors lounge and he couldn't help but hear what Minerva was telling her colleagues about the trio's performance. He took a quick look inside and he saw the three snuffboxes standing in the middle of the room on the table and they were being admired by all of the professors. He could hear the compliments for their work and he quickly left before he was discovered, but this time he was still red when he reached his common room, he never had received so many compliments and he couldn't help but blush.
Ron was also busy to deliver his packages. First he had written letters to Bill and Charlie, also thanking them for the letters they had sent him and saying he had made this by the Transfiguration exam and he thought that maybe they wanted to see what he had done. He explained the design to them and placed each in a different box. He left for the Owlery to search for two big owls which looked like they were able to travel a big distance and after he had arrived, it took him some minutes before he had chosen two big black owls which he thought would be big enough to carry his precious packages. He tied the packages to their feet and watched them flew away, before he quickly left in search for his other brothers.
He found them with the help of Hogwarts, which was also connecting to him and Hermione because of the connection they were given by Lady Time. They didn't have all the advantages Harry had, but Hogwarts was able to help them find certain people if they were searching for them and so he had found the twins getting fast.
They were in an unused classroom, close by and so he left to their location. After 10 minutes walking he was there and he knocked several times on the door before it was opened and he saw George standing in the opening to see who it was on their door. The door opened further when he saw it was Ron and he was allowed to get in. After he was in, the door was quickly closed again. Ron looked around and saw a potions lab in the classroom and he knew that his brothers were experimenting again.
"Hey little brother, what can we do for you?" asked Fred, whom was standing behind a cauldron.
Ron was suddenly a little nervous, he didn't even know if they would like it, but he was now here already, he couldn't back up now.
"Well, I just had my Transfiguration exam and I made something. I had to transform a mouse in a snuffbox and I asked Professor McGonagall if she could make me a few copies for my family and I wanted you to have one."
Ron reached inside of his schoolbag and took the two boxes out of there, presenting them to Fred and George and silence fell. Ron thought for a second that it was a very bad idea and he was ready to put them back, when the boxes were taken out of his hands and he was hugged by his two brothers.
"That is very nice of you, little brothers. We are very thankful you thought about us."
Ron just blushed, which made his brothers smile at him and then they looked a little better at the box. Ron explained the design to them, the same things he had said to Professor McGonagall and the twins couldn't help but feel touched when they saw the two red foxes which represented them.
Ron was once again engulfed in a hug, this time even more tight than the previous one and he could feel wetness forming on his back, the twins were crying. He pretended he didn't see anything and he just hugged them back as hard as he could.
After a few minutes, the twins broke off the hug and thanked their little brother for the gift. They would always keep it near them, Ron blushed again and he quickly left to leave his brothers to their experiments. When he was about to open the door, he just said
"Thank you, for accepting me."
And he left before the twins could say anything. They looked at each other and they knew that if their mother would keep this up, she would really lose him as her son, but no matter what he would also be their little brother, no matter what.
Harry also showed his snuffbox together with Hermione and Ron to the four founders after they had all returned from their trips and all three went red to bed from all the attention they had received, all the compliments they had gotten from the four founders and from the fact Godric Gryffindor himself had said that in the time he had been the Transfiguration Professor he would given them all an O for this work and they all knew it was the biggest compliment they could ever receive.
The next morning they had another exam, followed by the rest of the exams in the next two weeks. For Herbology they had to take care of several plants which they had seen in their lessons of that year, combined with a written exam with difficult question about all the plants of the year. Both the written and the practical exam were with the knowledge they had gathered over the years and with the help of Neville who had helped them the previous night with the last study session a piece of cake. The trio left the classroom smiling, thinking it had been a good exam and when they saw that Neville had also already finished, they walked over to him.
Neville saw them come to him and he asked somewhat nervously how their exam went. They all answered that it was because of his help that they thought they would pass with flying colours. Neville blushed a little because of the compliments, which only deepened when others of their study group also thanked him profusely for his and the Hufflepuffs help for their knowledge about the plants. Neville was still very shy, but some of the layers were going off and the man he would become would shine through the small holes in that tight armour Neville had placed around him. Harry had also a talk with him about his wand and he hoped that Neville would listen to him and tell his grandmother that he needed a new wand because his father's wand wasn't the wand for him. She would see in the end what for kind of man he was, she had done it in the end in the war, but this time she would see it much sooner. Harry would take care of him, his old friend.
For Astronomy they had to make a whole new star cart with all the stars and planets which could be seen that night. This was the only exam where the answers couldn't be completely known before that night. The only exam where the Astronomy Professor was also taking the exam to check her answers with the students and to get the answers chart completely. Of course they were also three others advisors who were each charting their own side of the sky to make sure that even the Professors hadn't made a mistake and as last there was also a person who performed a spell which copied all the stars and plants on a parchment for extra control. The trio didn't have much problems with the exams and they were only of the first ones who put their quills away and left the tower after they had delivered their exams to the professor.
For Potions they had to make a Forgetness potion with Professor Snape watching them like a hawk watching his meal. This was a complex potion and there were a lot of things that could go wrong. Severus was walking around all the tables to see if everything was going well, but the silver trio wasn't bothered at all with the looks. Severus was a lot nicer to his Slytherins then to the other Houses, but at the exam he was less glaring to the students to make sure they wouldn't blow up their cauldrons. If Neville was able to concentrate enough to finish his potion without too much problems. The silver trio were so concentrated on making their own potions they didn't see the surprise and proud in their potions master's eyes when he looked at them. They were the only students who looked they were pros, having elegant movements and not a moment of hesitation or doubt, they knew their stuff and they knew they were good and they showed it. Severus couldn't help to think about a certain red haired girl whom moved like that and he could really see that Harry was his mother's son instead of just a carbon copy of his father.
For DADA they had to show some of the spells Quirrelmort had show them in the lessons and had talked about. They needed to attack a dummy which was on the lowest level and they could only attack it with the spells they had learned in that year. The moment Harry stepped into the room, the room was cooling down a bit, not noticeable to anyone but Harry and his siblings. It hadn't happened last time, so the trio were watching their possessed teacher for any signs of attack, but it looked like Voldemort didn't want to risk an attack in the classroom at this moment in time. Still Harry could feel the hungry eyes of Lord Voldemort watching his every move, Quirrell stood almost all the time of the exam sideward's so that he could be watched by the parasite Voldemort. Because he was an Empath, he could feel the hate and rage coming off the man and for a second he was almost overcome because of the strength of those negative feelings. He had some trouble concentrating on his exam, but he overcome the feelings and performed his very best against the dummy. He was sure that he had even done better than the last time and then he was only a few points removed from an O, because of the written exam. When his exam ended, the feelings of hate and rage kept increasing and Harry walked as quickly as he could out of the room without raising much suspicion, not wanting to show to Voldemort that he had been affected, he didn't want to show any weakness to his enemy.
He put as much distance he could in the shortest time, before he allowed his body to relax again and he couldn't feel those twisted feelings of his nemesis anymore. Ron and Hermione had felt his pain through their connection and they had rushed to him, making sure that he was okay, helping him occelude his mind before they would allow him to walk any further. They didn't want to take any chance with him, they knew that when Lord Voldemort was driven in a corner, that he could be very unpredictable and they knew that could end very badly for them or anyone else in Hogwarts.
Their last exam was the History of Magic exam and it was actually the most boring exam of all the things they had to do all year. The exam had been bad the first time, but now it was even worse. Professor Binns had been as boring as they remembered from their schooldays and reliving those lessons weren't very fun. It was only because they used that time to work on their extra projects and they didn't actually listen to the monotone of their professor that they were able to survive those lessons.
Harry had developed an unsuspected interest in History, but he had a very good reason when Ron had looked at him like he was completely crazy when he had mentioned that. History was important and Harry knew that as no other. His life had been directed because of something that had happened when he only was a baby. It had been his past, his own history, but it had formed his present and his future and he had learned the hard way that history is one of the most important things of a person's life.
So he had made a vow to himself and Ron and Hermione that he would learn history and learn from its mistakes, like he had learned from his mistakes. Now he had received a second chance for a better life, for a better life, for a peaceful world and this time he would make sure he would get his happily after ever. He lived through all the bad mistakes he had made and he had seen what the consequences were from those actions, he knew what could happen and now he would make sure that at least he wouldn't make those same mistakes. Most likely he would make new mistakes, but he hoped this time he had become smart enough to make small mistakes, mistakes that were normal for a young boy growing up and not the mistakes like he had made, losing his family and friends. He never wanted to make those kinds of mistakes ever, he needed to evade those, but he also knew that he probably would have made such a mistake already if it hadn't been for Hermione and Ron. Those two would keep him from doing any stupid and in return he would stop the war before it could even begin, no matter what, he would stop it before the world would be destroyed.
When the exam was finished, the trio cheered with the others, feeling free from another thing from the past. They could see the worry from their classmates going away, they were just happy that they were finished and they would almost been done with their first year, going back to their homes and families. The trio was actually a little bit jealous that some people could be that relaxed, not having to worry about the things the trio was worrying about all the time. The exams were done, they had stop their acting about having nerves for them, they were free and now they could completely focus on the threat of Voldemort lurking around in the castle.
They knew that the moment was coming, so they kept to the timeline and went outside like last time, taking in the sunlight and watching the skies for that special owl that would be the signal of the beginning of the end. The owl which would bring the fake message to Albus Dumbledore, to lure him away from Hogwarts to allow Voldemort the chance to go for the Stone.
Harry with his Seeker sight was the one who spotted the brown owl flying towards the castle and he quickly performed a charm developed by Rowena to confuse the owl and make it believe that he was the recipient of the letter, that he was Albus Dumbledore. They watched as the spell took hold of the creature's mind and the owl changed its course, sweeping down to them. The owl landed on Harry's stretched out arm and he relieved him from its message, giving it some owl treats and letting the owl go back to its home.
Harry quickly unrolled the message and saw what kind of message could lure away Albus Dumbledore away from his beloved castle. It was a letter which was supposedly from Cornelius Fudge who wrote that he had to speak as soon as possible with Albus because of the most important matter he discovered recently. It said it was a matter of life and death of a child.
The trio knew that Albus could never ignore such message and they knew know why he left so quickly the last time. Their headmaster cared too much about others, especially children to not be affected emotionally with this kind of letter, to be concerned about what could be the cause of a matter of life and death. The next thing the silver trio did was create a powerful illusion with the help of the ancient magic of Hogwarts herself. They made it look like Albus had left Hogwarts in a complete hurry to fool Voldemort, making him think that he had now all the time he need to steal the Sorcerer's Stone which was actually completely safe. The trap had been set and they would stop him again.
The silver trio discussed their last one last time to make sure that there weren't any holes in them and that everyone understand their parts. Harry didn't want Hermione and Ron in any danger, so that was the reason that he was going to confront Voldemort by himself like last time, even if the trio had argued about this part for weeks. Hermione and Ron hadn't been able to convince Harry from this plan, so they just went with it, but they knew if something was going wrong, they were only a second away from helping him.
Hermione and Ron would lead all of the professors to the Great Hall together with Remus and Sirius where Harry would bring Voldemort to if everything was going to the plan. Harry would tackle the forbidden corridor on the third floor and he would bring him to the Great Hall where he would be exposed to everyone.
The trio quickly walked towards the entrance door and when they were about to walk through, Ron stopped them. He had seen something. Hermione looked around the corridor and she also saw something that they hadn't expected.
It was Quirrell and it seemed like he was already moving towards the third corridor, even if he was several hours earlier than before. It seemed like Voldemort was getting too impatient and he wanted to risk exposure to get the Stone even more quickly than before. Their spell was working, maybe a little too well, but the trio was actually smiling at this development. They could use this for their plan and it would fit even better than when they needed to do this in the evening and it was more difficult to get the professors out of their beds.
The trio each went their own path to stop him. Ron and Hermione left quickly to the Room of Requirement where they could write the letters which they needed to lure all the professors and the two Marauders to the Great Hall. They would be able to end this all before dinner would be served and in there they could also place the second part of the spell to make sure that any wandering student wouldn't be in their way and get hurt or worse, get killed.
Harry went to the third floor, following Quirrell silently, wishing that he had taken his invisibility cloak with him. He had some close moments when he was almost seen when Quirrell suddenly turned his head to check if there was no one following him, but every time Harry had enough time to duck behind a piece of wall or behind suit, making it so that he was never seen.
The two arrived at the door where Harry could actually hear Fluffy growling at something, maybe he was able to smell the person before the door. He saw Quirrell easily open the door and almost immediately he could hear a harp playing a slow piece making the groans disappear. He knew that he couldn't follow him immediately, he needed to put some distance between them and it was also to give Hermione and Ron some extra time to gather the needed persons in the Great Hall. It wouldn't do if he would get Quirrell there and there wasn't anyone to witness it.
He decided to wait for 15 minutes before he went for the room. That should give Quirrell enough time to deal with the troll. He had no desire to wrestle with a troll enough and to let him enter the final room before he was there.
Harry walked silently into the room, his ears focused on hearing the harp playing. He moved Fluffy's big paw which had fallen on the trapdoor with a simple levitating spell and he opened the trapdoor. He looked downstairs and his eyes met the darkness of the tunnel under him. He took some deep breaths, mentally preparing himself to meet Voldemort again and he held his wand ready in his hand.
He remembered the first challenge would be the devil's snare and he knew it was quick. He just had to be faster than it. He jumped down with the blue bell spell on his lips and when he landed in the vines, he shouted the spell, setting fire to the plant and making a big nice hole where he could leave through. He was a little bit vicious with the plant, placing another "Incendio" to the fire he had already set to make sure that the plant was completely gone; he didn't want to take any chances of it getting him when he was distracted with the next challenge. He landed on his feet on the hard cold floor and he quickly left through the door to the next room, the next challenge and his specialization, the flying keys.
Just like last time was this easy, at least, it was the easiest one of all the challenges for him. He took a broom and flew through the cloud of keys, looking for the right one, the old battered key who looked like it had recently received a pretty harsh beating, Voldemort was never the type of person who wouldn't be cruel if he could be. After a few minutes of flying around and looking for the right key, his eyes spotted the key and he turned his broom to follow his object. After a race of a few minutes, through several loops and close encounters with the wall, he caught the necessary key. He landed and quickly opened the door, letting the key free and he stood for a moment still, just watching the key get back to the key cloud.
He walked through the door and he saw the most difficult challenge, the giant chessboard and this time he wouldn't have the mastermind of his best friend, his brother with him, but he had received extra lessons in chess from him and now he was able to play a fair game, even able to get to a point where he could win if Ron wasn't as good as he was. He walked to the chessmen and he decided to go with the black knight, thinking about how Ron had sacrificed himself with that piece the first time. He would play this game for him.
He began playing thinking he had a better chance to win now then he had once in the past, but he learned through the game that he wasn't nearly as good as Ron and he needed to be to win this game. He was getting in serious trouble and he really needed to hurry up before Quirrell and Voldemort discovered the fake Stone, luckily for him his good luck came back. In other words Ron was helping him through their connection, he was playing with him and with his help he was finally able to defeat the chessboard, allowing him to continue with the rooms and facing Voldemort.
He thanked Ron, because he had really saved him back there and then he quickly ran to the now open door to make up for lost time. He saw the room with Quirrell's protection, the troll but he also saw that Quirrell had used the same method as last time to get rid of the troll. He could see the troll lying in the room, with a bloody bump on his head and he knew that it was dead. He didn't stop and he just ran past the troll without giving it another look and he ran into Snape's challenge.
He felt the fire behind appear and he saw the black fire appear in front of the door which would give him Voldemort. He walked over to the table and he saw the different bottles in different sizes and shapes standing in a neat row with in front of it a written note. He read it, but he hadn't any time to solve it like that, so when he heard Hermione had also joined the connection and after checking if nothing was changed, was able to point out the correct potion from memory, he couldn't believe his luck and he was happy that his friends were with him no matter what.
He took the small potion and drank the small amount in one swallow. For a moment chills were going through his body when he could feel the intents of the bottle filling up his entire body, but then as he walked through the fire, his body returned back to normal, warming up again. He walked through the fire towards Quirrell and his number one enemy.
When he was through the fire, his eyes needed a second to get into focus. His eyes immediately sought out their enemy and there he was, standing before the Mirror of Erised. He looked so memorized by the mirror, for a second Harry thought he hadn't even been noticed by the man, but he knew his cover was blown when he heard Quirrell talking to him, even if he still hadn't turned around, so looking for the Stone the whole time.
"So it seems like a child followed me here?" Quirrell said, finally looking around to see who it was.
"A Slytherin? Are you sure you don't really belong in Gryffindor, Potter, like your parents? It was a bit foolish to follow me here alone, don't you know the first rule of Slytherin. It is self-perseveration and it seems like you don't have any. What were you thinking, did you actually think you would be able to defeat me and get that glory? Dream on, boy you are nothing. Just stay there for a while when I find the stone for my master and then I will decide what to do with you."
Quirrell snapped with his fingers and the familiar sight of ropes coming towards him, weakened his composure for a second, but he quickly regained it when he felt the ropes trying to bind him. He never was one to be very dramatic, but this time he wanted to. He snapped his fingers, pretty much the same as Quirrell had done and the ropes fell harmless on the group. A flicker of surprise appeared on Quirrell's face and Harry knew that the possessed bastard hadn't expected that from him.
Now it was time for this plan. He knew exactly what would piss him and Voldemort off and it would give him the time to make the preparations in his mind. He placed a mask of indifference on his face and he said very cocky;
"I know I can beat you and your pathetic master, Quirrell. Where is he anyway? Is he hiding in the shadows, afraid to show his face?" looking around like he really didn't know the truth, that he knew that Voldemort was possessing Quirrell and he was already right in front of him.
When he had said those words he could heard the angry hisses coming out of Quirrell's purple turban and he knew he had hit the right nerve from Lord Voldemort. The hissing stopped and now he could his angry voice saying.
"Show him; show that insolent boy the power of Lord Voldemort."
"Yes, master." Quirrell answered quickly, not wanting to further anger his master.
Quirrell slowly undid his turban and turned around. At the end he completely removed the turban and Harry looked straight into the red eyes of Voldemort, his eyes full of hate to him. For a second he couldn't feel his legs, this was the moment where he had been waiting for the whole year. He regained his composure as quick as he could to make sure that Voldemort were not able to sense the short moment of weakness. He knew that it would be exploited by his enemy immediately. Harry forced himself to keep looking in his enemy's red eyes and even if he had prepared himself and he exactly knew how Lord Voldemort looked his first year, he was still disgusted when he saw the face which had haunted many of his nightmares again. He really was just a filthy parasite, not even human anymore and he was unworthy of the name of Slytherin.
Harry could feel the warmth of ancient magic around him, but it looked around Voldemort didn't notice a thing. He knew that the castle was very emotional, but she and the four founders all agreed with him on one matter. Voldemort needed to be gone from this castle, Hogwarts, his home and sooner was better than later.
"You are nothing but a parasite and you are worthless, not even able to live without a host sustaining you. You killed my parents and for that I will make you pay, Tom Riddle."
Harry saw the outrage on his enemy's face when he said his common so hated name and he knew that he had to be quick now. A mad Voldemort was unpredictable and he couldn't take the chance that he would attack and injure him. He needed all his strength for this.
He spoke in Parseltongue the password for the Great Hall and he forced his magic out, making a connection to Quirrelmort so that he would be transported with him to the Great Hall. The more powerful the person was, the more magic needed to get them to the right destination if that person was unwilling and Voldemort was very unwilling. He fought with all of Quirrell's power, but in the end Harry was just stronger. He needed to get him to the Great Hall where Ron and Hermione would have gathered all the professors, his godfather and his uncle. He was going to take this fight upstairs so that everyone could see Lord Voldemort and the weak parasite he had become.
Harry saw the surprise on Voldemort's face when he heard the parseltongue rolling from his tongue; Voldemort hadn't known that until he had been told by Lucius Malfoy the last time after the Chamber of Secrets incident. It would seem that he would now know sooner and that would speed up the process of getting to the stone of resurrection before Voldemort could find someone else who would go there and hide his Horcrux somewhere else, then they would be very screwed. Harry could feel his own magic winning and he could feel the comforting feeling he always received when he was using this system before they were both transported to the Great Hall, right into the middle where all the professors were standing in a circle waiting for the important matter they had received the note about.
You could say they were surprised when suddenly out of nowhere one of their students appeared together with Quirrell which had a second white head attached to the back of his own head before their own eyes. Some of the females even screamed when they saw that awful face.
Quirrell looked around and he saw that he was surrounded by all his colleagues in the Great Hall and he could also see that they were quickly overcoming their surprise; especially Albus was quick to recognize the face of once a beloved student.
Quirrell was looking for a way out, to try to figure out another way for him to get the Stone, but he wasn't able to look around long and attack on his own before he was hit with several spells from Albus, Severus, Minerva and Flitwick. Harry was just able to get out of harm's way because of Hermione shouting in his head to get out of the way; otherwise he also would have been hit by several very damaging spells.
Quirrell's body fell down like a puppet which strings had been cut and Harry couldn't help with think about his father which Voldemort had described as the very same when he murdered him. For a moment nothing happened, but then suddenly familiar black smoke rose out of the Quirrell's body with the red eyes of Voldemort looking full hatred to him, again.
The wraith opened his mouth and with a low hissing whispering voice, he said full rage
"I will get you for this, Harry Potter. Evil will win, I will kill you for once and for all, just like I had with your pathetic parents." Before he could continue, Harry screamed at him
"MY PARENTS WEREN'T PATHETIC, YOUR ARE THE PATHETIC ONE. THEY STOOD UP TO YOU BECAUSE THEY WERE BRAVE PEOPLE AND THAT IS WHAT I WILL DO TOO. THIS TIME I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU STAY DEAD LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE TEN YEARS AGO, VOLDEMORT, BUT THIS TIME THERE WILL BE NO WAY FOR YOU TO COME BACK. NO MATTER HOW YOU DID IT THIS TIME, I WILL MAKE SURE THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF YOU."
Remus had walked over to Harry and he stood protectively in front of him, when he saw Voldemort coming towards him, fully intending to harm him, but he couldn't because he was still being attacked by Severus and Albus. The black smoke gave one last scream of anger before he fled away through a broken window, not able to take any more danger today. After Voldemort had disappeared, everyone expect for his trusted partners in crime turned his/her face to him and just stared at him.
The first one who was able to form normal sentences again was Minerva McGonagall and she wasn't very amused by this all. Her lips were thinner than Harry had ever seen them, even after he had been caught in his first year with the dragon.
"Care to explain this, Mister Potter?" said Minerva sternly, which was a little bit ruined when Harry saw the worry in her eyes.
He took a deep breath and he used another of his famous masks, one Severus wasn't very fond off, his James Potter mask.
"Not particularly" said Harry cocky, not knowing that he had sounded just like his father when he was in trouble and he was trying to get out of punishment, but unlike his father he wouldn't use lies to get free, he would only use the truth, well the truth the trio had made up, combining elements from both of their first years into making a wonderful bedtime story.
Minerva's eyes lost a little bit of their worry and it was replaced by annoyance and it was almost impossible but her lips grew even thinner than they already were, making Harry a little scared for a second before his mask was back in place.
"But I guess I have no choice," making it sound like he really didn't wanted to talk about it, some of that was the truth, he really didn't want to talk about it now. He was too affected by it all and he couldn't wait until he was alone with Ron and Hermione, just to talk it all out. Some was because that was expected from him and so he stood up straight and he told them his story.
"We, Ron, Hermione and I, found out about Fluffy one day when we got lost and we arrived at the forbidden corridor. We heard Filch coming and we didn't get into trouble and so we opened the door, not knowing this was the door we were warned about. We hide in there until we couldn't hear him anymore and we thought we were safe, until I felt Hermione pulling at my sleeves. I turned around to ask what was wrong and I saw Fluffy standing there. We ran out of the room and just kept running until we thought we were far enough. We spoke what the dog could be doing there and then Hermione mentioned that he had been standing on a trapdoor, so it must be guarding something. We wanted to know what it could be, so we went looking for something that you could be hiding and something that was valuable enough to try to rob Gringotts to get it. We spoke with Hagrid one day and we let it slip that we saw Fluffy and he told us its name. He was mentioned that the something Fluffy was guarding was very important to you, Headmaster and to Nicolas Flamel."
Harry looked at Albus and he saw some of his twinkle coming back. He knew that he had scared his mentor, but he knew it had to be done, just like he would fight this war and he would win, before anyone he cared about would get hurt.
"We had now a solid lead and so we went to the library to search for information about Nicolas Flamel. After a very long search we finally found out who Nicolas Flamel and we also figured out that the object most likely would be, the Sorcerer's Stone. We only didn't know who the thief would be."
Now he looked at Severus, who raised his eyebrow in question.
"At first we thought it was you, Professor Snape, but you are a Slytherin. If it was you, nobody would ever have found you suspicious, you knew how to lay lie and nobody would have been known the Stone had been stolen, because you are too smart for that. My next guess was Quirrell, because of some things I always felt when I was with him in the room. My scar always hurt when I was close to him and sometimes I could feel very negative feelings coming from him. We figured out that he wanted to steal the Stone tonight and we figured a way to stop him. Ron and Hermione would bring you guys here so that you could fight him and I would bring Quirrell to you here in the Great Hall."
"And how did you get Quirrell here? It looked like you just appeared out of thin air and you can't apparated inside of Hogwarts." Said Albus a little bit surprised. Maybe it was because Harry was Hogwarts Heir, nobody except for Harry knew what kind of power he had in the castle, but Harry's answer made him even more confused.
"Very simply, I just used the SS transportation system."
"What for system?" asked Severus surprised. He had never heard from that system, even if the letters remembered himself about his own name, but he didn't think he had anything to do with this system. He thought about what it could mean, but he never even thought about the founder of his own house.
"The SS system, aka, the Salazar Slytherin System. Salazar Slytherin made a system which can transport anybody everywhere in the castle. You can only use it when you can speak Parseltongue and because I am his heir, he explained the procedure to me. I have been using it all year together with Ron and Hermione to keep appointments if we were too late for something and we could never be on time if we just ran the way." He didn't mention he also used the system when he needed a quick escape or when he was using it for pranks and other things, but from the eye twinkles in Albus' eyes, Harry knew that the older wizard at least suspected that he was doing much more with it.
"Interesting" said Albus, "Salazar Slytherin was an amazing wizard." He knew that Harry might been the one who had been doing the pranks this year, but he actually had liked those very much and they didn't harm anyone. In fact, there was more unity in the school than ever before since Voldemort's era. He would keep those thoughts to himself and maybe award a few extra points for amazing talent.
"I will tell him that you have said that, Headmaster, but now my friends and I have to go. It is almost time for bed. See you later." Harry said, waving cheekily to them all. Ron and Hermione run to him and when Harry spoke the password for their own room in Parseltongue, they all were transported back to their room, where they spent some time laughing because of the faces the professors had made.
"Did you see their faces? That was funny," said Hermione, wiping away the happy tears falling on her cheeks.
"Yes, that was amazing," said Ron who still had glee in his eyes.
After they were done laughing after a few minutes, there fall an almost awkward silence, before suddenly two halves of the trio tackled Harry and hugged him very tightly. For a second Harry was surprised by the hug, but it quickly disappeared. He returned the hug of his two best friends, his brother and sister, maybe even tighter than they did. They were probably just worried and he couldn't help but try to offer some comfort to them.
"I am okay, guys. I don't have a scratch on me. I am fine."
"We know your definition of fine, Harry. We saw the whole encounter with you through the connection, but still when we saw Voldemort at the back of Quirrell's head, those red eyes full of hatred, we couldn't help but to feel scared. The last time we saw that face was when we had been captured and he killed us, making you watch. So, are you really okay, Harry?" asked the two of them seriously.
Harry looked up and he could feel the beginning of the tears he had tried to subdue so hard, coming out of his eyes. He looked at his friends and he didn't need to say a thing. Both of them knew he was not okay. They could see it in his eyes, they were so sad, so full with pain and suffering. He had remembered the moment they had been killed and they could tell that he still felt guilty about it. It had been his plan to try to stop Voldemort and it didn't work. He felt like he had failed and it had cost the lives of his friends, his family. He had to watch them get tortured and hurt and now he had for the first time since then faced the monster again. How could he be okay after that?
The trio just hugged each other, needing the comfort of each other and they promised each other right there on the spot that they would never leave each other again when they would face off against Voldemort ever again. Their nerves wouldn't be able to take it again, only the thought that they could lose of them, was breaking their hearts. They knew that they could probably beat him, they had the element of surprise and he wasn't as powerful yet as he had been once. The thought that something could go horribly wrong was chilling them to the bones and they knew that they never could and would take that chance, they wouldn't be able to handle it if one of them would get hurt because of that.
That night the trio fell asleep in a giant bed that was placed in the living room by Hogwarts herself, because they could not bear to be apart for the night and she knew it. The trio knew that they would probably have some very bad nightmares, nightmares about their past lives and the terrors and suffering they went through, they knew that they would need each other that night, badly. Harry especially, he had the worst memories of them all, starting early in his life, not knowing how it felt like to be comforted by someone after one, not until it had been too late. At least Hermione and Ron had their memories about their parent's love, a love that would tell you that monsters did not exist and that they would be safe, because they would be guarded by them forever. Harry didn't have that, not even Sirius and Remus had known about his nightmares after he had met them. He didn't want to bother them with it, so he had never told them. Ron and Hermione figured it out, but it was too late to fix his nightmare problems. They still tried once in a while, but most of the time Harry wouldn't let them.
The trio all changed into their nightwear and they all stepped into the bed. Harry was laying in the middle with Hermione on his left side and Ron on his right side, being hugged on both side, because he would have the most problems. The trio just hugged each other and they secretly hoped their nights would be filled with the happy memories they had acquitted over all the years they had been together, instead of the horror of the war they had lived through.
A.N
Hello everyone, welcome to the end of this chapter. I hope you have all enjoyed it and I want to thank all the people who have sent reviews, for your kind words about my story, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
The day I finished writing this, was Halloween, something that isn't very celebrated here in the Netherlands, but still I think it is a fun night. Me, I celebrated Halloween with the Exorcist and what did you do? Did you celebrate Halloween properly and went trick-and-treating or did you do it like me and watched a scary movie?
Please review and tell me what you did, it would be nice to see how it is celebrated in other countries and other places.
I hope you have all had a wonderful Halloween and I hope to see you by the next release, coming soon.
Byebye, Tot ziens
MonkeyDLuffy1512