Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction based on the Harry Potter universe. All recognizable characters, plots and settings are the exclusive property of J.K Rowling. I make no claim to ownership nor do I make any profit.
Acknowledgments: Thank you to my betas James Marx and Umar for their work on this story.
Self Promotion: I have a discord server where you can chat and read all of my chapters early. If you would like to join, simply copy the link on my profile and for . I had to write it in that format for the site to allow it on my profile.
Authors Note:
The number of reviews on the last two chapters have blown me away! If you guys could match that on this chapter, it would make my day!
Recommendations:
Harry Potter and The Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man.
Harry Potter and The Boy-Who-Lived by The Santi.
Growing Up Black by ElvindorkNigellus.
The Hero and The Veela by JackPotter.
Stepping Back, and Honour Thy Blood by TheBlack'sResurgence.
The Mind Arts by Wu Gang.
A Cadmean Victory by DarknessEnthroned.
"Speech."
'Internal Dialogue.'
Parseltongue.
Memories/In Story Text.
Harry Potter and The Dark Lord's Equal
By ACI100.
Year 1: The Saviour's Return.
Chapter 14: Detentions, Deceptions, and Desperation.
May 26th 1992.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
10:43 PM.
All in all, Harry had suffered a pretty rotten number of days since his duel with Malfoy and his cronies up on the Astronomy Tower. He, as well as Ron had been ridiculed by much of their house, for not even the Weasley twins in their most mischievous hour had lost one hundred points for Gryffindor in one go. Harry had personally thought fifty for both him and Ron was a bit harsh, though to be fair, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had each lost fifty points for Slytherin as well, so he supposed that McGonagall had at least been equally harsh on all of them.
On top of that, and more importantly to Harry, he had been passed a note written by Professor Flitwick saying that his lessons had concluded for the year and that they would start up next year. Flitwick said that he hoped Harry saw the problem with using these lessons as a way to overpower other students, though even in a note Harry could tell the professor's heart just wasn't in the admonishment. He secretly thought that Flitwick just wanted time to prep for exams, and that the professor was likely impressed with Harry's ability to take down three opponents at once.
Tonight though would serve as the culmination of his unfortunate few days as he and Ron strode towards the entrance hall, where they were to meet up with Filch for their 11:00 PM detention.
'Seriously, who the hell puts a detention at 11:00 when there are lessons tomorrow?'
When they reached the bottom of the steps and entered into the entrance hall proper, Harry and Ron both scowled at the sight of Malfoy and his two goons, though Filch, as always, was keeping a rather close eye on the lot of them.
"What are they doing here?" Asked Ron, gesturing to the three Slytherins who glared contemptuously back at the pair of them.
"Well they're here for the same reason you are, aren't they?" Asked Filch petulantly. "Makes sense they'd have the same punishment, doesn't it?" Ron looked like he would quite like to argue the point, but he could not find a good enough counter argument, so he fell silent.
To Harry's surprise, the six of them did not creep towards the trophy room, nor the dungeons, nor a teachers class that needed to be tidied. Instead, they continued straight, walking completely out of the castle itself as they began to make their way down the sloping lawns towards Hagrid's hut and the dark, vast forest that was supposed to contain all sorts of terrible things. Harry knew their destination before Malfoy asked it, Filch's eyes were practically devouring the forest ahead of them, and the glee emanating off of the crusty old man was palpable.
"What are we doing out here?" Sneered Malfoy, sounding very much to Harry like what he thought Dudley would sound like if Dudley had ever been scolded in his life.
Filch's stretched, cruel smile told Harry all he needed to know to be certain he was correct, and he did not need to hear the next words out of the caretaker's mouth. "The forest is where you lot are headed." His smile only grew as Malfoy's eyes widen with obvious horror.
'Daphne is a much better Slytherin than Malfoy,' he decided, 'she doesn't wear her emotions on her sleeve. He's lucky he's got a prominent name.'
"I'm not going in there!" Insisted Malfoy vehemently.
Filch scowled as the six of them made their way ever closer to the forest. Malfoy's pale, scared looking face was only accentuated by the moonlight they were all bathed in at present.
"No discipline these days," snarked Filch, "in my day, a comment like that would earn you a good beating at the least. A shame they did away with the old punishments; chain a couple mouthy brats to the ceiling by their wrists and ankles and all of a sudden, they aren't so mouthy anymore." He sneered. "No wonder why you little brats have turned out the way you have. No! You're going into that forest boy! Should've thought about it before you broke the rules, shouldn't you?"
"There's supposed to be all sorts of things in there, and I don't think a squib is capable of protecting us from anything, let alone what's in that forest!" Malfoy sneered at Filch venomously and the other man, the squib apparently, something Harry hadn't actually pieced together but made a lot of sense went red with anger. Before he could explode though, they heard a loud, familiar voice as they neared the hut that Harry had become quite closely acquainted with over the past number of weeks. His heart leapt when he recognized its booming tones.
"There ya are!" Thundered Hagrid, stepping out of the hut with what looked to be a crossbow slung over his shoulder, a large lamp in hand, and his enormous boarhound, Fang, at his heels. "'Bout time," he told Filch, "been waitin' half an hour already." Filch scowled as Hagrid looked at the five of them. "Alright Harry, Ron?" They smiled and Filch sneered.
"You shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," he admonished silkily, "they're here to be punished after all."
"That's why yer late, is it?" Asked Hagrid, scowling at the cantankerous caretaker. "Been lecturin' 'em have you? Well, it's not yer place to be doin' that. You've done yer part, I'll take 'em from here."
The man still looked ready to explode but he huffed, sending one last smug look at Malfoy before turning on his heel and shuffling back up towards the castle, reminding Harry of the stereotypical image of a child who had not gotten his way and had to settle for the less pleasurable of two toys.
"I'm not going in that forest!" Malfoy repeated. "There are supposed to be werewolves in there!"
Hagrid just snorted. "Ya're if you want to stay at Hogwarts." He said gruffly. "Ya've done wrong and ya got to pay for it." He shook his head. "And there are no werewolves in that forest, that's stupid rumour started by some idiot who wanted to scare his friends, they couldn't get into the grounds."
'The wards,' Harry realized, 'they must stop dark creatures from entering without permission.'
"But-but I thought I would be doing something normal like writing lines, not this servants work. If my father knew I was doing this-"
"He'd tell ya that's how it is at Hogwarts." Countered Hagrid. "Writing lines? Now what good'll that do anyone? No, ya'll do some'in useful or ya'll get on back up to the castle and start packin' yer bags. If you think yer father would rather ya were expelled, than get goin'!"
Malfoy didn't move nor did he protest, though he very much looked as if he wanted to do both.
"Right then," said Hagrid with some satisfaction, "lemme explain what we're doin', cause what we're here to do tonight is dangerous, and I don't want nobody takin' risks. Follow me over here." And he led them to the very edge of the forest, holding his lamp up high and indicating the thin path ahead.
"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground there? That's Unicorn blood. There's a Unicorn in there hurt badly; second time in a week. I found one dead in there a few days ago. We're gonna try and find the poor thing, we might have to put it out o' its misery. There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt ya as long as ya stay with me or Fang. Right then, we're gonna split into two teams and follow the trail in different directions. There's blood all over the place. Thing must've been staggerin' around since last night at least. One team'll come with me, the other'll go with Fang."
"I want Fang." Said Malfoy at once, eyeing up the dog with an almost relieved look on his face.
Hagrid's lips twitched underneath his mound of a beard. "Alright then', I warn ya though, he's a right coward." He looked around at them. "Harry, Ron, with me. Malfoy, you and yer friends'll go with Fang. Now if any of us find the Unicorn we'll shoot green sparks up. Get out yer wands and practice now."
They did, practicing red as well, as that would serve as their sign of danger.
After their impromptu lecture, the six of them, plus Fang, made their way into the eerily quiet forest, with Harry, Ron and Hagrid taking the left path and Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle taking the right.
"C-could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Asked Ron, clearly lingering on Malfoy's earlier concerns.
"Even if there were any in here, they're not fast enough. It's not easy to catch a unicorn, they're powerful magical creatures. I never knew one to be hurt before." Every now and then, a ray of moonlight would cascade through the canopy of branches and place a shimmering spotlight on a patch of bluish silver blood.
"Can't of gone too far if it's hurt that badly." Hagrid reassured them. "We'll find it and be outta here in — GET BEHIND THAT TREE!" Hagrid grabbed hold of Harry and Ron and hoisted them into the air, forcing them off of the path and behind a towering oak, turning on his heel and pulling a massive arrow with which he loaded his crossbow. The three of them listened, something was slithering over leaves nearby. It sounded to Harry much like a cloak trailing on the forest floor, or some mysterious serpent looming and ready to strike. Hagrid was squinting up the path but after a moment, the sound vanished. "I knew it," muttered Hagrid, scratching his beard thoughtfully as Harry and Ron stepped out from behind the tree, "there's some'in in here that shouldn't be."
"A werewolf?" Suggested Ron weakly.
Hagrid shook his head. "That wasn't no werewolf and it wasn't no Unicorn neither. I reckon it was what's killin' 'em. Right, follow me, but careful now."
They walked for a few moments before they stumbled upon possibly the most breathtaking, yet simultaneously odd creature that Harry had come across thus far in the magical world. It had the head and body of a man, one with red hair and beard but it's lower half was completely that of a horse, one of a brilliant chestnut colour and a long, red tinged tail.
"A centaur.' He thought, remembering the sketches of them in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan." Said Hagrid, the relief evident in his voice. "How are ya?" Hagrid stepped forward and shook the centaur's hand.
"Good evening Hagrid," boomed Ronan in a deep, majestic voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful Ronan," said Hagrid padding his crossbow, "there's some'in in here that shouldn't be. Ronan, this is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, students up at the school. You two, this is Ronan."
"Potter, did you say?" Asked Ronan, his voice tinged with sudden curiosity as the creature's dark eyes rested upon Harry, who nodded, looking mildly surprised. The centaur chuckled. "Oh yes child, even amongst magical creatures you are quite famous; though I admit, us centaurs follow your journey for reasons far different than those of your own kin."
'Rather cryptic, and a bit melodramatic.' Noted Harry, vaguely realizing how much the centaur's manner of speaking reminded him of the headmaster.
Ronan looked at Harry for a long moment, dark brown eyes locking with green before he said, not looking up at the sky or breaking eye contact. "Mars is bright tonight."
'What?' Harry knew it was a message of some sort, one meant only for him but the meaning of it was lost. 'Guess I really do need to put more effort into Astronomy after all.'
"Yeah," said Hagrid, "look here Ronan, I'm real glad we ran into ya. We're lookin' for a Unicorn that's been hurt. You seen anythin'?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately and his eyes did not break contact with Harry's before he spoke again, still seeming to direct his words at him and him alone. "Always the innocent are the first victims." He said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have you seen anythin?"
"Mars is bright tonight," said Ronan, staring still unblinkingly at Harry as Hagrid, who was growing a bit irritated now looked on. "Unusually bright."
"Anythin' closer to home?" Asked Hagrid a bit suggestively.
Ronan took a few seconds to answer, doing so in the same manner he had done with all the others. "The forest hides many secrets."
Behind him there was movement and Hagrid raised his crossbow again, but it was only another centaur, this one black bodied and looking more wild than the first.
"Hello Bane," said Hagrid, "alright?"
"Good evening Hagrid, I hope you are well?"
"Well enough," answered Hagrid, "look, I've just been askin' Ronan whether he's seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a Unicorn hurt, would ya know anythin' about it?"
Bane walked closer, watching Ronan, who was still appraising Harry before glancing to Hagrid, up at the sky, and back to Hagrid again before answering. "Mars is bright tonight."
"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily, "well, if ya do hear anythin' let me know. We'll be off then."
Hagrid gestured to them to follow and they did, though Harry did not make it far before he felt a large hand rest on his shoulder and he turned to see the centaur, Ronan, looking down at him.
"Remember." He instructed simply before removing his hand and allowing Harry to follow Ron and Hagrid.
They made little progress for the next few minutes, a fact made only worse when Goyle shot up red sparks because Malfoy and Crabbe had played a practical joke on him. Harry found himself rather grumpy when Hagrid assigned him to accompany Malfoy with Fang while he took the other three students with him.
As Harry and Malfoy set off into the heart of the forest with Fang, his hearing suddenly seemed far sharper than usual. He was picking up every whistle of the wind, every snapping of a twig, every rustling of a leaf. The blood seemed to be thickening on the ground in front of them as their path became increasingly more difficult to follow; the branches became thicker and thicker as they progressed closer and closer to the heart of the forest. Harry could see a clearing ahead through the branches of an ancient oak and he knew, just knew that this was it as he slipped his wand swiftly from his holster, quickly making Malfoy tense beside him.
"I'm not going to curse you, you idiot." Hissed Harry, gesturing to the clearing ahead. "Look."
Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. It was the Unicorn alright; It was dead, and as its pearly coat glowed almost otherworldly in the moonlight, Harry thought he had never seen anything so beautiful nor so sad in all of his life. Harry made to edge closer, raising his wand to send up the green sparks when he froze. A bush was rustling on the edge of the clearing, and out of the bush crawled a hooded figure, slithering across the forest floor like some stalking beast. Harry, Malfoy and the boarhound stood transfixed as the hooded figure crawled towards the Unicorn, lowering its head over the gaping wound in the creature's side and began to thirstily drink its blood.
"Ahhh!" Screamed Malfoy, turning and bolting at top speed, Hagrid's faithful boarhound not far behind him.
'You idiot!' Thought Harry as the figure promptly straightened up, turning ever so slowly towards him. Harry did not hesitate, stabbing his wand towards the figure as fast as he could, firing a full-body-bind curse towards it before firing a stunner to its left, exactly in the place where he hoped it would step.
He was right, but it didn't matter, the figure merely sidestepped Harry's first spell and lazily batted aside the second with as much ease as Flitwick ever had. Harry raised his wand, ready to go down with a fight at the very least when the figure looked at him and suddenly, Harry's head exploded with pain that he had never known in all of his life. He forgot about the hooded figure, forgot about the forest, and forgot of Hogwarts, of magic, of life itself. The only things that existed were him and the blinding pain that made him want to split his own head open if for no other reason than to end it. Faintly, from a long way off, Harry thought he heard what sounded oddly like clattering hooves before, thankfully and miraculously, the pain subsided.
Gasping for air, Harry slowly pushed himself to his feet, glimpsing for the third time that night one of the odd creatures that they had spotted what seemed like hours ago now, though this one was neither Ronan nor Bane.
"Are you alright?" Asked the centaur. He looked younger than either Ronan or Bane and had the body of a well kept palimeno.
"Yeah," said Harry, shaking his head as if to rid it of the pain that had already left, "yeah, thank you. What the hell was that?"
The centaur did not answer at once, choosing instead, much like Ronan, to appraise him with brilliant blue eyes, eyes that lingered a second too long on the scar that stood out vividly on Harry's forehead. "You are the Potter boy." Said the centaur. It was not a question. "You had best return to Hagrid. The forest is not safe, least of all for you, least of all now." He shook his head, his eyes flitting ever so briefly up towards the stars before he looked back at Harry. "Can you ride? It will be much faster this way. My name is Firenze," he added as he lowered himself onto his front legs for Harry to clamber onto his back.
There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing as Ronan and Bane burst into it, cast into perfect, luminescent view by the still shining moon now hovering directly above them in the night sky.
"Firenze!" Thundered Bane. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"
"Do you realize who this is?" Said Firenze. "This is the Potter boy, the sooner he leaves the forest the better. And the better condition in which he leaves," he added, "all the better as well."
"What have you told him?" Growled Bane. "We can not go spouting our secrets to humans! Have we not read what is to come from the movement of the planets?"
"All the reason why Firenze's act, though barbaric and crude at best, may one day prove to be for the best." Said Ronan softly, causing Bane to gape at him openly.
"Ronan, surely you know bet-"
"I know the same as you, Bane," he said calmly, "but we both know what will become of us if the heavens' more grim depictions become our reality."
Bane looked very much like he wanted to argue but he didn't, choosing instead to settle for glaring at Firenze. "Go!" Instructed Ronan, and Firenze took off like a shot without warning, causing Harry to take a much firmer grasp on the creature to prevent himself from being thrown.
"What was that thing?" Asked Harry once they were well out of earshot of the other two centaurs. "And why was Bane so furious with you? And what did Ronan mean about grim depictions?"
Firenze slowed until they were moving at no more than a fast trot before he answered with a question of his own. "Harry Potter, do you know what Unicorns blood is used for?"
They had yet to use such an ingredient in Potions, though Daphne had gone over the properties of Unicorn horn with him, so he figured he would hazard a guess. "The horn is used in healing and regenerative potions," he answered slowly, "I'm guessing the blood does the same?"
"Both correct and so far from the truth," mused Firenze, "I assume that you have not used such an ingredient before, and I am quite certain you never will while at this school." The centaur shook its head, sounding disgusted now. "It is a monstrous thing to kill a Unicorn. Only one who had nothing to lose and everything to gain would commit such a crime. The blood of a Unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death, though it will do so at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to spare your own life and you will have but a half life, a cursed life from the moment the blood touches your lips."
'Voldemort,' he thought. He did not know why The Dark Lord needed such healing properties. 'Maybe he still feels the effects of Halloween all these years later?' At any rate, Harry was sure it was him, for Voldemort was one who would not fear nor care for the consequences of such an act. The question was not if, but why?
June 4th 1992.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
3:48 PM.
Harry's face split into the most natural smile he had worn since the night that he and Ron had been caught duelling atop the Astronomy tower as he set down his quill, finishing with his History of Magic, and final examination for his first year; only Hermione had finished faster, though he estimated that she had put more effort into the subject than he had.
All in all, Harry had actually been happy for the arrival of exams, for if nothing else, they served to take his mind off of the looming threat of Voldemort, if only for a couple of hours each day. The exams themselves had gone quite well, though he had known that they would.
He felt as if his Potions exam had gone well enough; definitely better than it would have done if not for Daphne's intervention, though they had stopped their impromptu meetings weeks earlier to allow them both, though mainly Daphne time to prepare for the final exams. Herbology had gone fairly well. He felt as if the written could have maybe gone a little bit better, though the practical went very well, despite the fact that Neville, who was working off to his right, was clearly leagues ahead of the other first year Gryffindors. The most mundane exam in his eyes, Astronomy, hadn't gone as smoothly as the others, but he was sure he had pulled off at least a straight E on the exam, and he had been averaging an E+ or an O- going in, so he was sure the mark would be fine.
The final three subjects were the ones he had spent so much time on this year, and at this point, anything that was not an O+ would be a failure. The last person to receive an O+ in a subject, well, the last three, were from the graduating class of his parents. His mother had been given the grade in Charms, as had Snape in Potions, and his father in Transfiguration. Before they had been at school, the mark had not been seen since Bellatrix Black, now Lestrange, in Defense Against The Dark Arts, though Alastor Moody had done the same a few years prior to her achievement. Before him though, the last man to manage it was one that puzzled Harry, for the boy had managed O+'s in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Defense Against The Dark Arts and Potions, a feat that was remarkable once you considered that nobody in the fifty years since the mysterious Tom Riddle had left Hogwarts had managed more than one. Surely such a prodigy should be somebody he knew? He would have to ask Dumbledore about him, for he knew Dumbledore had been at the castle for many years.
To achieve an O+ in a given subject, one had to not only perform both the written and practical examination flawlessly, but then, they had to perform magic beyond the scope of the examination, something that they would not even be given the opportunity to do unless they aced the exam itself.
Harry's first crack at this had been Charms, and it was the one he was the least sure of. He had managed to make his tea cup dance perfectly without issue, but it was the extra marks that troubled him. Raising his wand and closing his eyes, Harry made the tea cup perform a rather elaborate ballet routine before, to Flitwick's astonishment and amusement, it performed a rather nerve racking break dancing routine, managing, to Harry's relief, to remain unscathed the entire time.
Bolstered by his success in Charms, Harry walked into his next exam much more confidently. For Transfiguration, he perfectly transfigured his mouse into a snuff box before, asking permission to go for the extra credit, he raised his wand, smiling confidently as he tapped the snuff box with its tip. "Avifors." He incanted, causing the box to shift and separate into several crows, a feat that Harry thought would likely have earned him an outstanding on his second year exam, and one that clearly had Professor McGonagall more than a little bit impressed.
Finally there was defense, and though he was more sure of himself in the subject than he was in Charms, his idea in this one was rather more ambitious. He had debated accepting the O if for no other reason than to not alert Voldemort to his ability, but he was sure The Dark Lord would find out in one manner or another, so he just decided to go for the best mark he could. The stuttering man, or facade as Harry preferred to think of him as looked rather surprised when Harry asked him to throw some minor jinxes at him and increase their severity as they progressed. That was nothing to the look on his face when Harry managed to deflect all of the minor jinxes, and even a few lesser hexes back at him. Mind you, he was a LONG WAY from being able to deflect something even like the full-body-bind curse, but it was a start he was very proud of, and he had actually surprised himself with how well he had done, Harry was rather certain he had pulled off the O+ in at least Defense and Transfiguration.
Despite all of the success of the exams though, it was nice to have them concluded, though Harry knew that bliss would be punctured quite violently when Harry was left on his own to think about Voldemort. That afternoon though, lounging out at the edge of the lake with Ron, Dean and Neville, joking loudly as they talked about their plans for the summer holidays, how they thought the exams had gone, and what they thought would happen during the Quidditch season this summer, Harry, for the first time in weeks, actually managed to let his guard down, though later that same day, he would very much wish he had not.
June 4th 1992.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Third Floor Corridor.
9:06 PM.
It had taken a great amount of courage for Hermione to drag herself up and out of the Gryffindor portrait hole all the way to the third floor corridor but she was a Gryffindor after all, and was supposed to do what was right, not what was easy.
She had known something was amiss within the school the moment Professor Dumbledore had mentioned the third floor corridor, and the fiasco at Halloween followed up by Professor Snape's obviously injured leg and his stunt at Gryffindor's first Quidditch match had all but confirmed her worst fears. A few long, sincere conversations with Hagrid and she had extracted all the information she had needed, and she hadn't even tried to extract most of it, with the exceptions of Nicholas Flamel and how to get past Fluffy, as Hagrid had christened the Cerberus.
Hermione sighed, pulling a flute from her pocket that she had always enjoyed playing as a child as she stepped towards the doorway, wand outstretched, before she could unlock it however, she froze, when a smooth, cool voice spoke from behind her.
"Good evening Ms. Granger, to what do I owe the pleasure on this innocuous night?" Hermione turned, wand snapping upwards as she expected Snape. To her shock though, the man that faced her was shorter, less thin, and wore, instead of a cloak, an odd, but all too familiar looking turban.
"P-professor Quirrell?" She stuttered, uncertain and terrified at being reprimanded, so much so that she barely even noticed the suspicious lack of a stutter.
"Rhetorical questions get you nowhere, Ms. Granger." He chided lightly, and now she noticed the lack of a stutter; it caused her to frown.
"W-what are you doing here?" She asked quietly, casting a quiet look around, not wanting their conversation to cause any commotion.
Quirrell laughed softly. The laugh was smooth, no sign of the nervous, breathy laugh he had displayed in classes. "No one is coming, Ms. Granger." He said with a small smile. "I assure you, we are most alone."
"Are-are you here to stop Professor Snape, sir?"
"Stop Severus?" Asked Quirrell, sounding confused. "Why would I be here to stop Severus, Ms. Granger?"
"Well — he-he's after the Philosopher's Stone sir. That's why he let the troll in at Halloween, to try and go after it. His leg was hurt and everything, I think the dog must have gotten him." She bit her lip. "I heard Professor McGonagall saying that Professor Dumbledore was at the ministry tonight, so if Professor Snape wanted to go after the stone, now would be the time, wouldn't it?"
For a second, she thought Quirrell would explode. His face was blank, though the shock at her ingenuity was evident in his eyes. Instead though, he did the two last things she expected him to do. The first was to laugh, a completely open and equally mad laugh, one that contorted his face and wracked his body. The second, once his laughter had subsided, was to snap his wand upwards and point it directly at her chest, incanting a spell that she had never heard before. "Imperio."
June 4th 1992.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Gryffindor Common Room.
10:35 PM.
Harry frowned as he made his way down the steps and back into the Gryffindor common room. Neville had said over an hour ago that he was going down to the common room to write a note to Augusta. Harry had just shrugged, choosing to go through his Occlumency exercises in the comfort of the dorm. When an hour had passed though, an odd, ominous feeling crept into his veins. He knew, just knew that something was horribly wrong.
His wand was already in his hand when he entered the common room, though to his mild surprise, he found himself blissfully alone. The room was empty, all rubbish and personal belongings gone except for one piece of parchment which lay face up on the table, and seemed to glow with an odd, golden light and had a quill and ink well sitting beside it.
Harry approached it carefully, casting the only basic diagnostic spells he could before concluding that, if it was dangerous, the wizard was just of a higher skill than he was. Not overly comforted but trusting his gut, Harry reached out, picking up the piece of parchment and reading the message in vivid, red ink.
Hello Harry,
I think it is time at long last that we have a little chat; face to face.
I will be able to see your reply when it is written, as you will mine.
Don't keep me waiting.
Harry's blood froze in his veins. He knew, just knew who was writing him, knew that finally, the game of cat and mouse that he had known he had been playing for months in the back of his head was over. He already knew, but he needed confirmation, so resignedly, he took the quill that was all too conveniently left beside the piece of parchment, dipped it in its ink well and wrote back.
Who is this?
As soon as he wrote, his message, along with the original faded, and letters began to replace them as his pen pal wrote back in the same, vivid red font. His reply frightening, and infuriating Harry in equal measures.
Come now Harry, you-know-who.
Harry's hand shook, though whether it was fear or rage that caused it he did not know as he shakily wrote his reply, employing every Occlumency technique he knew of to keep a moniker of calm.
And why on earth would I do such a thing?
The answer was faster this time, and Harry felt his stomach drop out of his body as something vice like closed around his heart.
Because, I imagine you would like it very much if your friend lived to see tomorrow's sunrise.
What have you done with Neville?
Very little as of yet, though that will change very quickly if you keep putting off the inevitable. I have waited for many years, I will wait no longer.
Harry did not reply, debating between rushing to wherever Voldemort had Neville, and running straight to the headmaster's office. As if The Dark Lord could read his mind from wherever he waited, the font vanished as his new message made itself clear.
You have one hour before I start removing limbs. After that, every fifteen minutes will cost your friend one of them.
What you would likely classify as "dark magic" is rather difficult, and in some cases even impossible to reverse or heal; just food for thought.
Don't be late.
That message too vanished before one more replaced it.
And before you waste time rushing off to the gargoyle, you will find that the headmaster is currently quite far from the castle.
You are on your own Harry, time is ticking.
PS: There is a harp in the corridor, play it, the dog will sleep quickly enough.
Harry's breathing came in sharp, panicked breaths. He wanted to contact Dumbledore, or to run to a teacher, but he knew neither was an option. The first would take too much time, and the second would likely prove useless. No teacher, save Dumbledore, would likely last more than a few minutes against Voldemort, not even Flitwick, and Harry was not going to lead anybody else to their demise tonight.
'I might have already lost one.' He thought, standing to his feet as he pulled his father's cloak from his pocket, taking a deep, calming breath as he threw it over himself and made his way towards the third floor corridor. He felt nothing as he unlocked the door, picked up the harp and began to play, not even flinching when the dog's head lifted for the merest of seconds before slumping back to the floor upon hearing the music. He did pause while looking down the trapdoor into what seemed like impenetrable darkness, but he didn't hesitate long.
'This is probably only ending one way anyways, and he seems to want to do it himself, so this probably won't kill me.'
The plant at the bottom may have, had Harry not been best friends with a Herbology expert, rather quick witted and conveniently capable of conjuring fire. The Incendio spell was more than enough, and the Devil's Snare let out a horrible cry as it retreated into the far corner. Harry debated shooting more flames to finish it off, but he knew his time was short as it was. He ran into the next chamber, taken aback when he saw what was there. A hundred keys floating in the air and opposite him, what looked to be…
'Broomsticks? You've got to be kidding me? Was this tailor made for me?'
He snatched up a broomstick and took flight, weaving in and out of the keys before snatching the correct one out of the sky. The broom felt quite sluggish compared to his Nimbus, but the keys were not overly fast, and they were not at all a physical threat.
'This seems way too easy so far unless Voldemort made it easier for me.'
The next room may as well have not been there. He imagined the life sized chess board, at least that's what he thought it must have been, once looked quite grand but now, with scorch marks all across it and ashes in place of where the pieces must have been, it looked too sinister to be anything but ominous.
He was almost thankful for Voldemort in the next room. The troll lay, unmoving on the floor, and though he may very well die at any rate, death by troll did not sound overly pleasant, and he was quite certain he would not have bested it without help.
When he entered the final room, flames erupted immediately, barricading him in from both sides as he eyed the table in the center of the room, bearing parchment and vials.
'The rooms are all organized by subject.' He realized. 'The keys are Charms, the chess set was Transfiguration, the troll was Defense, the plant was Herbology, and this is Potions.' He was immediately on guard. Whatever he felt for Snape, the man was cunning and intelligent, and Harry doubted very much that this would be easy, as Voldemort didn't seem to have been able to make this any less dangerous for him.
He was wrong though. Though he thought he would have solved the riddle eventually, Voldemort had done so for him, with clear instructions written on the sheet of parchment. Harry sighed, stealing himself as he downed the small vial in one, determined gulp, flicking his wand into his hand as he made his way straight through the purple flames.
'If I'm going out, I'm going out fighting.'
Authors Endnote:
A bit of a cliffhanger, I know.
I had several ideas on how I would get Harry through the trapdoor and down to confront Voldemort, but this one actually plays into a long term plot point, so I thought it quite clever. It will be a long time until you guys fully understand, but let me know what you thought of the setup anyways.
One more chapter for year 1, I hope you are all ready!
Please read and review.
PS: The final chapter of year 1 will be posted on Sunday January 26th 2020. I wish I could post it earlier, but a lack of wifi will assure that I can not.