Harry Potter and the Spirits Within
Chapter 21: Forbidden Corridor
Summary: The night Lily and James Potter died is well known. What no one suspected, or even imagined, was that their spirits remained with their son.
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own (or live in, magic rocks) the 'Potterverse' … I do not.
A/N: ***PLEASE READ*** I have changed the ending of the last chapter; if you don't re-read chapter 20 this chapter will be confusing. Special kudos to 'shinigame3' for posting review number 400!
Harry groggily shook his head as the Enervate cast on him worked its magic. One glance around had him wishing he'd stayed out. He and a still unconscious Neville were floating three feet off the floor on the wrong side of Fluffy's door. Quirrell was lowering his wand, having just used it to awaken Harry.
"So, Potter," he said; voice hard as granite, faux stutter finally discarded. "You've finally pushed me too far."
Harry stared at him, bewildered, "What do you mean I pushed you too far? I haven't done anything to you."
Quirrell snorted in derision, pocketing his wand and advancing toward him and his cataleptically hovering classmate, "You think I didn't notice you and your little friends following me everywhere?" he asked giving Neville a backhanded smack to the face, setting him slowly spinning in place.
"You think I didn't realize you were on to my little con?" he poked Harry hard in the chest, "You Mr. Potter have been a thorn in my side from almost day one at this accursed school and it ends here."
He drew his wand again and took aim straight at Neville. Harry flinched and reached out to the boy, trying in vain to protect his friend.
Quirrell laughed cruelly, "I'm not going to kill him, stupid boy." He said, "not as long as you do as I say.
"I know you know how to get past this creature." He continued, jerking his head in the direction of a lowly growling Fluffy, "If you don't cooperate your little friend will become an afternoon snack, shortly followed by yourself."
"All right, all right." Harry conceded immediately, not at all willing to risk Neville's life to protect the stone (exactly as Voldemort predicted) "you have to play him music, it puts him to sleep." He admitted.
Quirrell scoffed, "And here I thought petting his middle head was absurd."
Still, he quickly conjured a small wooden harp and charmed it to play.
The three sets of eyes on the massive animal drooped and the three heads sagged. Fluffy turned once on the spot and dropped to the floor, quickly falling asleep.
"If you're lucky the beast has been fed recently, if I'm lucky; it hasn't."
Quirrell slowly stepped up to the beast and levitated the trap door open. As he peered into the darkness below Harry realized the man was going to just leave them there, likely cancelling the charm on the harp as soon as he'd gone through the door.
"Wait!" he hollered.
The noise caused Fluffy to snort in his sleep and that, in turn, caused Quirrell to give out a high-pitched shriek and leap away from the beast, causing a sleepy growl. For all his bravado Harry could tell that Quirrell had come very close to soiling himself. The man sent Harry a look of absolute fury and shot a slicing hex at Neville, catching him across the shoulder as he was still rotating and creating a gash that curved from his collar bone around to the base of his bicep. The shock of the pain caused the Stupefy on the boy to break and he woke with a scream of pain, causing Fluffy to bark, but not wake.
"No!" Harry cried, "Don't hurt him, please!"
"Silence you damnedable cretin!" Quirrell hissed harshly, obviously fearful of waking Fluffy further.
Harry lowered his voice and tried again, "You can't just leave us in here to die! Just … just let us go. You've gotten past the dog; you don't need us anymore, please just let us go."
"Oh, I don't think so." Quirrell said, a maniacal grin morbidly warping his features, "In fact, I have an even better idea."
He lifted his wand and floated Neville over to hover over the open trap door, "You see I still don't know what some of the other traps are, or how to best them. I think having you two along will be rather like having a canary in a coal mine."
While Harry himself may have not gotten the reference, and indeed, Neville was looking confused, the Potters new all to well what Quirrell meant and filled Harry in on the terrifying insinuation.
"Wh-what do you m-mean?" Neville asked pain evident in his voice from his unhealed wound, his blood creating a trail on the floor as it dripped from Neville's fingertips.
"Well, my dear boy," Quirrell sneered, "A caged canary was kept in a coal mine where the miners were digging, to detect trapped lethal gasses. If the bird died, they knew the gasses were around and they had to evacuate. Now you be a good canary and sing for me." Quirrell laughed as he cancelled the spell on Neville, dropping him through the trap door.
Harry barely had time to react before he too was levitated over the void and dropped. He landed beside a half buried Neville on some sort of soft plant.
"Are you alright, Neville? What is this?" Harry whispered, feeling tendrils sliding around his legs and torso.
"No, Harry it's Devil's Snare, a massive one." He hissed back, "We need light, quickly, to repel it. I haven't got my wand, you?"
Harry had frozen stiff as soon as Neville had mentioned the deadly vine and now tried to check for his wand with as little movement as possible. With subtle pressures from his arms and hands Harry confirmed the worst; his wand was missing too.
Quirrell came floating down to hover beside them, obviously using a levitation charm on himself.
"Well, well what have we here? Care to enlighten me on this trap?" He laughed cruelly.
"It's Devil's Snare," Neville responded immediately, "You need to create a light bright enough to make it wilt."
Quirrell nodded, his 'enlightening' pun had given away the fact that he knew this trap, he was ensuring the two boys 'played along' by having them discover what the traps were, and how to disable them.
He lifted his wand again and shot a flash of light out of the tip. Illuminating the oubliette they were in and causing the plant to wither away into a dark grate set into the floor. The boys dropped through the bottom where a small passage was visible off to the side. Quirrell came to land behind them and gave each boy a shove, deliberately pushing on Neville's injury.
"Let's get a move on little canaries, I haven't got all night." He laughed cruelly.
~*o o*~
The six from the grotto had just mounted the stairs for the third floor and had turned towards the forbidden corridor when an unearthly wailing met their ears; it was coming from the Hospital Wing. Though they knew time was of the essence, they could not, in good conscience, ignore the heart-wrenching howling from behind the doors. Sprinting through the doors they were met with a sight that would haunt their dreams for many months to come. Poppy Pomfrey was curled in a ball, a puddle of blood around her, sobbing her poor heart out.
Hermione nearly fainted when Poppy's head snapped up in reaction to their entry; her face had been sliced open! Poppy didn't even react to the presence of the dragon and focused all her attention on Hermione, who'd been the first through the door.
"H-Harry!" she cried, her voice hoarse from her weeping, "He's taken Harry! I couldn't stop him … I tried, I tried … he took Harry, you have to help Harry!"
"We know, Madame Pomfrey, we know. We're going to help him right now," Hermione soothed.
Poppy visibly relaxed and her remaining eye rolled up into her head as she blacked out. Hermione cried out and dashed to her side, kneeling by her head without a care for the blood soaking into her denims.
"'Mione, tha spells 'Episkey' while pointin' yer wand at tha damage." Hagrid told her, "You stay here wit' Poppy, we'll go on ta Fluffy."
Hermione nodded and gave a brief smile to one of the twins who'd summoned a handful of blood replenishing potions for the motherly matron. As the group of five left the hall Hermione pointed her wand shakily at the healer and levitated her onto a bed.
~*o o*~
Harry and Neville stumbled into a high-vaulted room filled with many glittering, winged … things. Though their first impression had been birds, there were too many of them and they didn't fly like birds. It took them a moment to realize they were keys. Sure enough there was a large wooden door across the room from them.
Quirrell prodded Neville's injured shoulder with his wand, forcing the two boys further into the room.
"Let's see what happens when someone goes across to the door, shall we." He said, grinning gleefully. He shoved Harry hard with his clinched fist, not willing to pocket his wand. Harry took a breath and darted across the room and … nothing happened. Harry pulled on the tarnished silver handle of the door to no avail.
Quirrell snorted, "Hmm, more's the pity." He grumped before turning and finding three broomsticks hovering off to the side.
"Alright boy, you get on that broom and catch the right key or your friend will no longer have more limbs than I." Quirrell snarled jabbing his wand tip into the soft flesh of Neville's underarm on his uninjured side.
Harry frantically examined the lock, trying to discover what kind of key would fit it.
"Looks like it's probably a large silver one, son." James said his voice gravely with worry. The two Potter parents ached to do something to aid their son, but without his wand they were fairly helpless. They couldn't risk attacking Quirrell for fear of any harm coming to Neville should an attack fail. All they could do, until an opportunity presented itself, was to help Harry try and best the traps.
Quirrell prodded Neville sharply, causing the boy to cry out, "I'm loosing my patience, boy!" he growled.
Harry sprinted back over to the others and hastily mounted a broom. Taking to the air Harry strained his eyes, frantically searching for the correct key. Precious second that felt like hours ticked by as his head whipped around desperately. Finally, after Neville had been made to stand on his toes trying to lessen the pain from the steadily rising wand, Harry spotted it; a large, ornate, silver key with bright blue wings. After a brief chase he snatched it out of the air and shot down to the door, where Quirrell and Neville met him.
"He'd better hope you're right, boy." Quirrell said digging his wand in more.
Harry jammed the key roughly into the lock and twisted it, breaking one of the wings in his haste. The lock clicked and both boys breathed audible sighs of relief as the key fluttered away, Harry pushed the door open and Quirrell's wand was removed.
There was nothing but pitch blackness beyond. Quirrell peered intently into the darkness before giving a seemingly uninterested shrug and driving his fist into the small of Neville's back, sending him sprawling into the void. Lights suddenly burst into being, revealed an enormous chessboard. Giant black chess pieces were standing at attention before them, opposite a set of hulking white pieces across the room.
"Hmm, obviously one is to participate in a match to proceed." He mused before turning his wand to the two boys, "Well then, I can't have any attempted sabotage." He said, shooting a pair of stunners at the two boys.
~*o o*~
The twins, Draco and Hagrid carrying Spectra finally reached the door to Fluffy's room. They entered swiftly but carefully and Hagrid immediately began singing Fluffy's favourite lullaby. The hound immediately dropped to sleep and Fred stepped over to the still open trapdoor. He knelt down and reached his arm into the recesses, lighting his wand in the process. He could just barely make out a writhing mass of dark green vines far below them.
"Looks like were to jump down onto that plant down there, but I think its Devil's Snare." He said grimly.
"A'right gents," Hagrid said, George having taken up the song, "Keep yer wands lit an' drop down one at a time. Once yer all down I'll send down Spectra, I can't fit through tha' hole as it is so you all need ta move out tha way sharpish a'fore I start makin' it big enough fer me." He ordered.
They all did as they were told, Hagrid took up the song again as George went through in his turn. Spectra slid smoothly into the opening next and Hagrid started pulling up the frame of the door. In short order he'd created a cavity large enough for his massive frame. Placing a kiss to his three middle fingers and touching them to Fluffy's nearest paw, he stepped into the abyss.
Scooping up his dragon, Hagrid led the way at a quick walk for him, a run for the others, down the only available corridor. They swiftly reached a room full of flying objects and a locked door. Draco and the twins had no trouble catching the feebly flying key, and the Slytherin rammed it into the lock with such force that the other wing broke. When the door was unlocked the key didn't even attempt to take flight, rather it fell heavily to the floor and stayed there.
~*o o*~
Harry woke slowly with a sense of Déjà vu. He was once again awoken with an Enervate and when he opened his eyes, once again, he wished he'd stayed asleep. Neville was also shaking his head groggily, before giving a frightened gasp and turned his face away from the horrid sight. There before them was a monstrous, reeking troll. Quirrell stepped before their levitating forms and grinned at them evilly; the two boys suddenly noticed they were showing injuries that hadn't been there before they'd been stunned, Harry had a nasty gash along his hairline that was bleeding into his right eye, blinding him in that eye and making it hard to focus his thoughts. His left arm was obviously broken, the bone jutting out in two places. One of Neville's feet was facing the wrong way, the leg also obviously broken. The wound to his shoulder was larger now too, Harry could see a shining bit of bone through the gash, though Quirrell must have used a spell to staunch the bleeding.
"No, doubt you are curious as to your new injuries," he started with a smirk, "Well, I've never been much of a chess player, and you two were a couple of pawns I was willing to sacrifice."
He cackled at his little joke and moved back to the side, "You boys are lucky, this one is my trap. I have a special gift for trolls, that's why I released one in the castle during Hallow'een. Unfortunately, you just had to insure that everyone stayed in the Great Hall, trapping me there as well. And not only did my troll fail to kill that disgusting oaf, but his thrice-damned beast failed to rip off Severus' leg properly."
The irony that the dog had managed just fine with divesting him of his arm was not lost on the Demented Defence Professor and it left a bitter taste in his mouth as he probed absently at the hole where his arm had been. He raised his arm high and slashed it through the air, a pale yellow spell shot from his wand and impacted with the head of the troll, knocking it flat onto its back.
Quirrell stepped over to examine the creature then lifted his wand again and floated the two boys over towards the door on the other side of the room. As they passed by the two couldn't help but stare in morbid fascination at the massive bloody lump on the trolls' head, the odour of the creature was already getting worse.
Quirrell opened the next door and levitated the two boys through it before stepping through the doorway himself, as he did purple and black fires flared to life in the doorways. Within the room was nothing more that a small table with seven potion bottles of varying sizes in a line, and a piece of parchment beside them.
Quirrell stepped over and read the parchment without touching it:
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,
To help you in your choice; we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward; neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
Quirrell chuckled nastily, "Oh, Severus, how plebeian of you to resort to a riddle."
He scanned the parchment again, ignoring the floating forms of his captives, his eyes flitting up to glance at the line of potions occasionally. Finally he nodded and picked up the smallest bottle, holding it up to the torchlight before setting it on the table and pointing his wand at it. With a jab and a twist there were suddenly three small bottles holding the same potion.
He picked up one bottle and turned to the boys, "each of you will drink this or I will kill the friend of the one who doesn't."
He handed the first bottle to Neville and swiftly grabbed the second, shoving it into Harry's hand. Picking up his own bottle, he glared at them as they drank, before downing his and sending them all through the black flames.
~*o o*~
The rescue party rushed heedlessly into the next room, but the five were brought up short by the huge chess board. Though their younger brother was the chess prodigy in the family the twins were no slouches on the board either, it appealed to their destructive natures. It took them longer than they wanted but they'd finally gotten there. In the end they'd had to sacrifice Hagrid and Spectra, who were sharing a square, but Hagrid had just ducked his head and taken the blow on the shoulder. It would bruise, but he'd be fine.
They raced on to the next room and were assaulted by the noxious stench of the defeated troll. Hagrid for one was very relieved he didn't have to fight another one and quickly sidestepped the massive corpse. They moved to the next room, but were prevented from entering it by brilliantly purple flames blocking the doorway. The students hadn't yet learned the flame-freezing charm and Hagrid hadn't learned before his expulsion. Spectra put her tail in and found she could withstand the flames, but that did nothing for the wizards in her company. Just as they were preparing to take a running jump through the flames (the twins idea) the fire vanished.
Blinking the five stepped through into the new room and discovered the bottles and riddle as the flame rose up again. Draco, who'd always enjoyed riddles, took up the task of deciphering this one as George voiced a realization.
"They must've been in the room! That's why the flames were there, the room was being used. We've caught them up."
The twins and Hagrid bounced anxiously on their toes as Draco puzzled out the answer. Finally he nodded and snatched up the smallest bottle.
"There's only enough in there for one person." Fred said desperately, they had to hurry!
"Wait, wait," Hagrid said, "I know this one, tha spells … eh, 'Duplicio' wit' a jab an' a twist o' yer wand. Yeh haf'ta keep tha number yeh wanna make in mind, else yeh'll on'y get one."
Draco immediately set the bottle on the table and George, who was the better of the twins at charms, performed the spell, creating four identical bottles.
They each grabbed a bottle and with a small toast downed the contents before heading through the flames into the last chamber. They'd found them.
A/N: Sweet Mother Hubbard, what a chapter. While that was loads of fun to write, the logistics of who would go after them, who would do what within each group, and keeping the two groups separate enough for the big climactic scene at the end was a headache inducing nightmare. As much as I didn't really want to, permanently injuring Poppy seemed to just write itself, she'll be ok, but the eye is a total loss … maybe she should get one of the contraptions Mad Eye's got? … o.O … maybe not. XD