Harry Potter: Divergent Paths
Chapter 49 – (Un)Expected Outcomes
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! Let it be noted that a couple of sentences within this chapter are derived from the first novel, however~
The exams were relatively straightforward. Each of the twelve students received a written exam for each of their courses; Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Astrology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. They received the papers one subject at a time and were prompted to raise their hands when ready to proceed. Quills bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell were provided and the testing began.
Unsurprisingly, Adrian finished first. His hands were a blur and his eyes flickered through the papers calmly, the sound of pages flipping in the air as he quickly progressed through them. He was done with the written exam for all subjects before any of the others were even halfway through the second written exam. The Professors simply shook their heads, while Madame Marchbanks collected the purple-eyed boy's papers with incredulity. Her incredulity shifted into awe when she realize that he had made no errors, which was simple enough to tell for this level of material with even just a cursory glance through the documents. A perfect score for each exam within seconds of being handed them. Even if the course material covered was only for the first and second year levels, it was an absurd notion that a student would be capable of such a feat.
Harry, Iris, and Daphne were next in completion, while the rest of the group finished at varying times. In actuality, nearly everyone spent similar amounts of time on each exam. The major difference was how assured each individual in their answer and whether or not they returned to check their answers. Neville felt no need to do so for the Herbology exam, but felt inclined to check over his Potions once or twice, while Hermione impulsively double-checked every exam in her fervor. The others all had their own discrepancies, but finished relatively close to one another.
Hannah and Susan were last to complete their exams, with more nerves evident than any of the others. Their behavior wasn't unexpected and Adrian admired their ability to catch up to the degree that they managed considering the head start that the rest of the group had under his tutelage. In that regard however, Adrian was even more impressed with Su Li. From his prior encounters with the mysterious Ravenclaw girl, he'd gauged that her proficiency in the various fields of magic wasn't much lower than the members of the group, which was quite advanced for any individual their age, even those with the mindset and drive of a Hermione in alternate world that hadn't joined their group and received his tutelage and training.
Su Li's training and progress was a mystery to unravel for another time, however. Madame Marchbanks was overall greatly impressed with the capabilities of the current group of children, just from her cursory inspections of their written exams. Theory was only half of the puzzle, however. It was time for the practical exams.
Their results were no less impressive. To simplify matters for the Professors, each of the students combined their displays of Transfiguration and Charms. A medley of dancing furniture pieces skirted across the floor, before being transfigured into a menagerie of animals being levitated across the sky. Some of them chose to then enlarge their animals while others immobilized them with the respective Engorgement and Freezing Charms. Two more quick transfigurations, from animate beings into inanimate objects, then inanimate objects into different inanimate objects, and they were done. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick nodded in approval, smiles of pride of varying degrees on both Heads of House towards the flawless performances.
Professor Sprout provided an assortment of first year and second year fresh flora to prepare and harvest while Professor Snape assigned them the Forgetfulness Potion and Sleeping Draught for brewing. They all displayed relative fluidity in handling the Herbology material and preparing the brews for Potions. After each defeating a Bowtruckle with the Severing Charm and a swarm of Cornish Pixies with the Freezing Charm, their DADA practical was completed and so were their exams as a whole.
Madame Marchbanks couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head. "With such an excellent performance from each of you, I am quite certain that your application to advance to the third year will be successful. Great work, children."
The majority of the group beamed happily, while even Daphne and Draco allowed small smirks of satisfaction to arise on their faces. Su Li accepted the praise with a respectful bow. Adrian smiled, but his eyes wandered elsewhere, specifically to a certain turban-wearing professor who looked rather contemplative.
Exams were over now, and with, no doubt, resounding success. Only one real task remained for them to take care of as they awaited the official end of the school year.
It was time to deal with Quirrellmort.
…..
It was finally time. It had been months of probing the other instructors for details on the traps they contributed to the defenses. His proficiency in feigning weakness and weening information out of people was perhaps one of his better compensations for his inadequacy in terms of magical strength to his Master. Discovering the weakness of that damned Cerberus guarding the trapdoor was easy enough, considering that lumbering oaf Hagrid's loose mouth and penchant for dangerous creatures. It was simply a shame that the baby dragon didn't set his hut aflame and ruin his career…
Unfortunately, there were too few an opportunity to detriment the Potter brat during the year, with the amount of time he spent in the company of those other little brats. Master was very much displeased with the fact…
The finest opportunity I came upon, the Potter brat and his sister alone in the corridors of the seventh floor…yet there Severus was, swooping out of the shadows, opposing me as he did throughout the majority of the year.
Ah, how annoying indeed. If only the Potter brat had gotten himself onto the Quidditch team, like his idiot father did in his first year. An accident or two during the match would have been perfect… Nonetheless, this loathsome year is finally over and I can accomplish what I set out to do. Retrieve the Philosopher's Stone for my master, Lord Voldemort. The first obstacle…
…..
"Oh, a Cerberus! The fierce, three-headed magical creature usually used to guard valuable treasures or locations of great import. In Greek mythology, the Cerberus was the guardian of the gates to the underworld… Do you guys think that was based on anything to do with the magical world?" Hermione exclaimed, eyes sparkling.
"That growling doesn't sound very nice, so why don't we figure that out when we're not facing one down? Adrian said music would make it fall asleep, right? Does anybody know how to sing? I can if I have to!" Blaise volunteered, her tail waving. "It was one of the skills that my mom taught me! Well, before I quit after she told me the specific reason she thought it was useful…"
"I don't think that will be necessary," Daphne deadpanned. "We could just conjure a harp and charm it to play automatically."
"Last person down needs to banish it!"
…..
Gringy mutt… Where in the world did that oaf even manage to get his hands on a Cerberus? Even Master never personally encountered one in his vast experiences, never mind an unsophisticated lumbering fool like Hagrid. Next is Sprout's trial, followed by Flitwick, then McGonagall.
…..
"Devil's Snare isn't really that bad… It is a great cushion and it's pretty easy to get rid of with fire!" Neville stated, trying to defend the fiendish flora.
"Neville, I don't think a non-magical would find stumbling upon a cave or pit full of Devil's Snare particularly…pleasant," Iris sighed.
"Right. Anyway, ideas for getting past this?" Harry asked, gesturing at the room full of small, shimmering, jewel-bright bird-like keys.
They were standing next to a locked wooden door, having tried it already. It was only afterwards that they realized the birds were actually keys. Adrian didn't give him information on all of the trials, after all. Not even the charged Unlocking Charms they used didn't open the door, so they would need to retrieve the key.
"We could ride the brooms and find the key? It should be large and silver, distinctly different from the other ones, by the looks of the lock," Draco offered, gesturing at the broomsticks placed nearby.
"Hm, that might be a bit hard… I doubt they'll just stay still and let us grab them either," Harry responded. "Actually, let me try something. Help me find the right key, if you can."
It took a little bit of time, but with their numbers, the correct key was eventually spotted. Harry stared at the large, silver key through the plethora of rainbow feathers in the way and readied his wand. His eyes glowed emerald green for a second and the flying key quivered in spot. He felt as if he wouldn't be able to pull the key down, but suddenly, the shadow hidden with his shadow helped him out. The key shivered and lost its energy for a moment, giving Harry the opportunity he needed. He tugged his wand and the key was unable to resist any further, jetting down from the sky and into his hands. He grasped the key-bird gently, careful not to ruffle its wings.
"Oh, you got the Summoning Charm to work?" Iris said in amazement. "Good work! I still haven't managed it yet…"
"Well, to be fair, I needed a little bit of extra help," he said with a sheepish laugh. "Anyways, just keep at it! It shouldn't take you much longer if I got it already," Harry said with a supportive smile. He unlocked the door and released the key back into sky, looking as if it was giving him the evil eye.
The next chamber was pitch black, but the group moved onwards with no hesitation. Light filled the room as they set foot in it, revealing Professor McGonagall's trial.
"A giant chessboard?" Hermione asked. She peered across the room. The black pieces were the closest, while the white pieces blocked off the way to the next room. "So, we'll need to play our way to the next room?"
"Well, we could always try blasting the chessboard to pieces," Harry laughed, "but let's be more discrete than that. Let's take our places!"
Daphne and Iris chose to replace the bishops, Draco and Neville knights, Hermione and Tracey rooks, Blaise playfully swapped with the queen, and Harry...
"Why'd you pick the pawn?" Blaise asked with a pout. "Do you hate me that much?"
Harry laughed sheepishly and rubbed his head, as his selected piece moved off the board just as the others did. "Well, the king's kind of boring in a game of chess, right?"
Blaise sighed, but conceded the point. In the end, Harry took control over their extra pieces and they all moved around with coordination. When the first piece was eliminated, they winced at the level of intensity with which it was taken down.
Neville was the first to be eliminated as one of the players. A white knight approached to smash him to the ground, but the boy whipped his wand out and raised a pillar of stone and a Shield Charm to block the attack before stepping off the board on his own. They didn't lose any more people, taking the rest of the game slowly. It wasn't worth the risk of somebody hurt, so they took the match seriously and crushed the opposition.
In the end, they all had their share of fun taking out pieces despite the tension and Blaise ended the game, tapping the enemy king with her tail as she moved into position for checkmate. The white king took off his crown and threw it to the ground in concession, while the rest of the pieces moved out of the way and bowed. The door ahead was cleared. They were almost at the end.
…..
Despite how simplistic the trials looked at first glance, they were relatively difficult to bypass. It was only by virtue of the fact that he managed to fish out enough information that the trials were taken out with such little time elapsed for himself. The fact that McGonagall's trial required logic would be enough to deter most of the general populace of wizards lacking common-sense. Thankfully, despite his own inferior talents to the many other lieutenants and wizards that had once been underneath his Master's control, he at least had a better grasp on the attribute known as logic.
But he digressed. Up next was the last remaining troll, which he would be able to take out with relative ease, considering his particular gift with the creatures. Then it would be Snape's puzzle, which would most likely be the most difficult to figure out. The man didn't yield any information to him throughout the year, no matter how he tried.
…..
"Knocking out a single troll is a lot easier when you have nine people casting supercharged Stunners at it simultaneously," Harry said with a wry grin.
Blaise walked up to the unconscious brute and kicked its head with a huff. She still occasionally dreamt of that night. While she was honestly pleased with how much further her relationship with her friends had opened up because of it, the stinky creatures were relatively high on her shit-list. The group quickly moved out of the room, as the smell was still rather unbearable. As they did, purple flames rose up behind them in the doorway, blocking off their escape. Black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward, trapping them inside. The group moved calmly forward, inspecting the roll of paper that had the riddle inscribed on it.
Hermione let out a great sigh of admiration. "Professor Snape really is a genius. It would take forever for most wizards to get through this puzzle."
They all took the time to work through the riddle themselves, before looking at the same, small bottle.
"Not much potion, is there?" Neville asked, picking up and inspecting the solution.
Harry shrugged, pulling out a comparatively larger bottle with a laugh. "Good thing we have extra, huh? Let's go."
The potion bottle was passed around the members of the group as they each conjured small glasses to drink from. While they were all close enough to not care too much about such a small deal, it was still somewhat embarrassing to drink from the same bottle. They all shivered slightly as the sensation of ice flooding their bodies became evident, walking through the curtain of black flames with no hesitance.
It was time to get down to business.
…..
It seemed that Snape would never cease to be a source of major irritation, even if his gloomy, ever suspicious self wasn't present. He had taken around an hour trying to work his mind around the logic puzzle that the Potions Master left before his Master stepped in.
All the while that Master was scolding him for being a bumbling buffoon, he was praising Snape for his ingenuity and brilliance in preparing such a trap. It only to be expected, however, for he himself was a comparably weaker individual. He could not question his Master's decisions and judgments.
Nonetheless, he took the potion and proceeded through the curtain of flames and into the last chamber. One final trial stood between him and the artifact that his Master desired, the Philosopher's Stone. He didn't quite expect what he found in the next room.
A child standing in front of what appeared to be in a mirror in a daze. It was increasingly evident who the child was as he approached. The child seemed to notice the sound of his footsteps and turn around, an expression of shock upon his face.
"Potter. This…is somewhat unexpected. So it seems the time that you spent in the company of the half-giant wasn't completely without purpose," Quirrel said coolly.
"Professor Quirrell?" Harry said in shock. "What are you…But I thought..."
"What did you think, Potter?" Quirrel laughed, walking calmly towards the mirror, inspecting it with little attention paid to the child. He snapped his fingers, summoning ropes to bind tightly around the child. "Who were you expecting to come here? I'm surprised that you even had the notion to come here…"
The statement was a fully genuine one as well. As far as he could tell, the Potter child and the rest of his friends had nearly no involvement with himself and relatively low involvement with Snape, so there should have been little to no reason for the child to come in search of the Stone. Perhaps Hagrid leaked something to the child and his impetuous nature brought him in hopes of adventure? Regardless, the boy might serve some purpose in breaking this last trap that Dumbledore prepared.
"Nonetheless, you are too nosy to let live. Did you perhaps see me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone on Halloween?"
Harry's face paled. "You let the trolls in?"
"Of course. I have a special gift with the creatures. Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around, Snape headed me off. But that matters not. Now then, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."
Quirrell was free to inspect the mirror for a few moments, but noticed the child working up the nerve to speak. Was he hoping to distract him?
"So you…you're working for Voldemort?" Harry asked nervously.
The man glanced at him with disdain. "Do not speak my Lord's name with your mouth… Yes, he is with me wherever I go," Quirrell answered quietly and impulsively, as he gazed into the mirror, seeing the Stone he desired, yet unable to reach it. "I met him when I traveled around the world. Lord Voldemort showed me the truth, ripped away the foolish notions I held over the concept of good and evil. There is only power…and those too weak to seek it. Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times…"
A thought seemed to across the man's mind, as he smirked and glanced at the child. "However, as of late, my master has had his eye on that friend of yours. He sees great potential in Adrian Vulpis, drawing characters of import around himself with a charisma similar to that which my Lord possesses… Even having the cunning to make something out of the sniveling coward Longbottom. My Lord entertains notions of drawing the child over to his side, after some time passes and he consolidates his strength once I am done here. You should be honored to be acquainted with such an individual, Potter…"
Quirrel turned back to the Mirror of Erised, continuing to mumble to himself. "What does this mirror do? How does it work…?"
The man was so absorbed that he didn't notice the look that came onto Harry's face. The emerald-eyed boy was about done with this farce. With a small gesture, two rays of red light shot out from the corners of the room and he cut his bindings with a wandless Severing Charm before launching his own.
Quirrell responded with surprising agility, spinning around and casting a Shield Charm to dispel the incoming Stunners with a look of surprise upon his face. In his focus on the Mirror, the Potter brat, and neglecting to inspect the rest of the room, he had been ambushed. He now spotted the other Potter child and the Longbottom brat coming out from behind some pillars in the room, wands brandished.
"Adrian would never join Voldemort!" Iris shouted, truly irritated with the man's statement. "He doesn't need to resort to senseless violence or force others down to make something out of himself."
Harry nodded in agreement and drew his wand. "Now get away from the Mirror!"
Quirrell started to speak, but a different, higher-pitched voice resounded throughout the room with a laugh. "How amusing…three children attempting to meddle in affairs best left to the adults… Let me speak to them…face-to-face…"
"Master, you are not strong enough!"
"I have strength enough…for this…"
The three children stopped their movements, watching tentatively as Quirrell began to unwrap his turban. They knew what was coming. The man turned slowly on the spot and revealed the presence hidden on the back of his head. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, horribly deformed and ghastly in appearance. It was chalk white in color with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a Snake. Voldemort.
"See what I have become? The killer of your parents…" the face spoke. "Mere shadow and vapor, with form only when I can share another's body… Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past few weeks…and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own… You appear to have knowledge of the Stone…why don't you tell me what it is you know…? Perhaps your parents will awaken yet, Longbottom…? Potters…perhaps together, we can bring your parents back? I only require one, simple thing…" Voldemort said sinisterly, voice filled with temptation.
Neville's face paled at the implication, but not with fright. He felt anger instead. "Never! Even if you could…my parents would never want me to exchange their lives for your rise!" the boy shouted back.
Harry frowned and clenched his fist, but held back his anger. "That's enough out of you, Voldemort. You took our parents away and you cost Neville his… Your time is up!"
The Gryffindor trio brandished their wands, throwing an assortment of Severing Charms and Blasting Curses, Iris especially fierce. Quirrell spun around, sneer on his face, as he threw up another Shield Charm and prepared to fire back. His Master was displeased with the disrespect they showed towards him. The children needed punishment.
Before he had the chance to move, two more beams of light approached him at quick speeds from the edges of his vision and he retreated defensively, warding off the spells. It was two girls from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
"More reinforcements, Potter?" Quirrell sneered. "Even five of you brats isn't enough to fight me off –"
Without speaking, the quintet of children slung another barrage of spells at the man, who warded them all off with a bit more effort than previously. He was utterly unprepared for the next attack, however.
"Behind you, fool!" Voldemort screeched, watching as three more silhouettes leapt out of the shadows, wands-a-blazing.
"ENOUGH OF THIS. KILL THEM!"
Quirrell barely dodged the additional spells launched by the Slytherin trio of Daphne, Blaise, and Draco. Suddenly, the heat was on. The other five stopped standing together and began to run around the room and fire spells from different angles, forcing the man into pure defense as he narrowly dodged and blocked spells. The last surprise was what took him out.
The dark-skinned boy from Slytherin's appearance flickered rapidly before suddenly transforming into a strangely-colored girl with wings wide open on her back. Blaise grinned and launched into the air momentarily, casting a Stunner from the unexpected angle and forcing Quirrell to react. Simultaneously, Daphne and Hermione formed a small layer of ice on the ground, forcing the man to lose his balance. The rest of them cast powerful Disarming Charms, which hit the man cleanly on the body and forced his wand out of his hands. The combined spells launched him in various directions simultaneously, jolting him harshly and knocking the wind out of him.
Harry snapped his fingers and conjured ropes to bind themselves around the debilitated Professor, mimicking what was done to him earlier. The face on Quirrell's head screeched in anger. His words were of no consequence anymore, however. The children shuddered as they felt the malevolent presence attached to their shell of a professor slowly detach itself. Harry's shadow extended and a white fox jumped out before it could go any further, eyes gleaming silver and blue.
Kyoka howled eerily, sending chills down even the backs of Harry and the others. She immediately grew to the size of an adult wolf and her phantom eight tails appeared, white-blue flames forming on the tips of her nine appendages. With no hesitation, she flicked her tails and the flames raged forward, chilling the air within the room as they combined together and slammed into Quirrell's body.
The man screamed in pain, but his body was left undamaged. Instead, another overlapping voice, also screaming in agony was made apparent when a wraith erupted from Quirrell's body. Voldemort's soul shade shrieked as Kyoka's soul and spirit rending flames seared it, burning it away slowly from the outside. One threat was soon to be neutralized.
Things were never quite that simple, however.
"My…how tiresome indeed…"
Harry and the others trembled, choked, and were forced down onto the ground as an intense and dread-inducing pressure filled the room. A dark blue sigil appeared in the air in front of Voldemort's squirming soul wraith. It looked like a half-closed horizontal eye, surrounded by deadly spikes and giving off the feeling that one would never want it to fully open.
Purple flame poured out of the sigil and forcefully dispersed Kyoka's flames surrounding Voldemort's soul fragment. Kyoka growled and launched more flame at the sigil. It patiently combated Kyoka's torrent with its own before a heavy sigh sounded out. A beam of light shot out of the eye and pierced through Kyoka's torrent of flame, forcing her to jump away.
"Now, now…that's enough of that…You…don't want me to get serious right now, dear Kyoka…"
Kyoka growled, but shrunk back and leapt over to Harry and the others, using her magic as a filter to lessen the pressure on them. Suddenly, it became unnecessary as the pressure lifted. The sigil remained and the eye turned to face them.
"Ah…my apologies…Children should be treated with…care. Unfortunately, I will need to…bring away this pitiful soul with me… We can't have things becoming…too easy for Adrian dearest, can we? Goodbye…"
A purple vortex opened up and swallowed Voldemort's groaning soul wraith into it. The eye sigil blinked out of existence with not a single word more. The children pulled themselves off of the ground, staring at the air with looks of concern.
"Kyoka…what was that?" Iris asked first. "It…it sounded like it knew you and Adrian…"
A gentle sigh sounded itself in the minds of each of the children. "Nothing to concern yourselves with, young ones. Good work in taking down Quirrell and the soul fragment of Voldemort attached to him. Let's…return."
They didn't really want to end the inquiry there, but knew that Kyoka stopped their questioning for a good reason. An unspoken answer was already hanging in the air, one that simply raised the group's level of determination.
The members of the group other than Harry and Iris already experienced this once, having been notified about the existence of Quirrellmort and Harry and Iris's goal in challenging the man and the parasite attached to him, once they hit the necessary threshold of strength. It was through this revelation that the whole squad of eight appeared to take down Quirrell, having made their decisions to support their friends no matter the danger. At the same time, Adrian had left a clear message to them through his methodology.
Only when you become strong enough will you be qualified to know more. Knowledge could be as much a danger as it was a boon.
For the time being however, their task was completed. They had done their best to proceed through the trials without giving away their presence, all in order to lull Quirrell into a false sense of security and take him down with low risk to themselves. They were able to capitalize on Quirrel and Voldemort's wraith's arrogance and succeeded with perfection, minus the deus ex machina that stopped Kyoka from finishing the job.
Nonetheless, Professor Dumbledore would be arriving soon to retrieve them. Hopefully Adrian would be back from his own side-trip by then.
…..
A/N: And that's a wrap. I liked it when I re-read it and I hope you guys did too~ One more chapter and we should be officially done with the first school year. If not, the following chapter will likely be half finishing the year and half branching into the summer/other stuff.
Thought it might be interesting to mirror Quirrell's comments and trek through the trials with our favorite rambunctious bunch's own journey to ambush the man. Were you expecting a deus ex machina for Voldemort? Were you expecting me to even go so far as to have Kyoka attempt to kill the soul piece, instead of letting it fly away for some other plot reason? Ah, fun, fun.
Nobody else noticed Adrian coughing up blood in the Forest during the ritual, to answer Dissenter's little question~ It was just a small reminder of the toll that magic is taking out on him from time to time, case by case.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to criticize, complain, and condemn the faults, flaws, and failings of my story, should any come to mind! Going too long without any particular criticisms makes me both complacent and conceited! Hehe. Remember, I always welcome observations and suggestions on types of scenes that I might want to implement to mix up the flow, more time spent on certain characters, plot holes that I should fill up, and etc.~ Though I'm perfectly happy if you guys feel as if the story is doing well enough so far~ Anyway, chapter tomorrow as promised~ Cheers!
