The Man with Two Faces

"What does that mean?" Remus asked.

"He seemed really innocent and then really didn't?" Harry offered, really not wanting to get into the details if he didn't have to. Just thinking about it again was bad enough; those nightmares had disappeared years ago, to be replaced with things in the years following, like Acromantula and Basilisks, but he was pretty sure they would be back again tonight.

It was Quirrell.

"What?"

"Quirrell?"

"The stuttering mess?"

"But he was useless."

"I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

"He's not stuttering?"

"He faked it?"

"He doesn't have a stutter?"

I tried to kill you.

"Then what was Snape doing?" Ginny asked.

I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a counter curse, trying to save you."

"He was trying to save you?" Neville asked. Harry nodded.

Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry.

Harry shifted slightly at the feeling of ropes wrapping around him, desperately trying to not let them take him back to being tied up at the graveyard.

"Youlet the troll in?"

"What?"

"He did what?"

"He let it in?"

"But he warned us about it?"

"He seemed terrified of the troll?"

"Why?"

It was the Mirror of Erised.

"Professor, what was guarding the stone before Christmas if the mirror wasn't?" Harry asked.

"The stone was surrounded in numerous wards, spells, enchantments, and traps. After seeing you with the mirror at Christmas, I came up with the idea to use the mirror to guard the stone," Dumbledore replied.

Tried to frighten me—as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side..."

Severus shivered at that. He had paid for the things he had done that year when he went back to Voldemort. He had suspected that Quirrell wanted the stone, and only found out that he had wanted it for the Dark Lord after he disappeared, and that was all that Dumbledore would tell him; and that was more than any of the other teachers were told.

"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.

"What?"

"You-Know-Who was in the school?"

"He was there?"

"In the school?"

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly.

"What?"

"Excuse me?"

"What in Merlin's name does that mean?"

"How?"

"But it's Hogwarts."

He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly.

Harry shivered too, thinking about the type of punishment that Quirrell would have gotten.

He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me..."

"Yeah, that's when," Harry, Hermione, and Ron all said together, talking about what when Voldemort had first possessed Quirrell.

He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over.

Harry felt the ache in his legs and ankles from the ropes and the slight pain along his legs and arms from where he fell, but ignored it, focussing all of his attention on the book.

Help me, Master!"

"How can his master help him?"

"But there's no one else in the room?"

"Is someone else there?"

"How can You-Know-Who help him?"

"You-Know-Who wasn't in the room, was he?"

"Use the boy... Use the boy..."

All around the hall, people screamed or yelled in shock at the high-pitched, rasping voice that came out of the book, and what that voice implied, with many calming draughts being used at the thought of Voldemort being in the same room as Harry, at the thought of him having been in Hogwarts.

He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off.

"He should really learn that it's better for him to not let me go after he has me tied up," Harry said, much to Remus' concern.

I must look and lie about what I see that's all.

"Good plan," Tonks said faintly.

Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban.

Harry shuddered at the reminder of the smell; it hadn't smelt like garlic, that was for sure. It was a smell that he didn't want to ever smell again.

Somehow—incredibly— he'd gotten the Stone.

"What?"

"How?"

"I—I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

"That's believable."

"After the points, that's fair."

"I should have just said I see my family, like I did at Christmas," Harry muttered.

"Get out of the way," he said.

"He believed you," Neville said in relief.

Dare he make a break for it?

"Yes, please get out of there Harry," Remus begged, his hands clenched tightly in Snuffle's fur as Snuffles leaned heavily against Remus' legs, shaking in worry for his godson.

"He lies... He lies..."

"The Dark Lord always knows," Severus muttered.

"Let me speak to him... face-to-face..."

"Face-to-face?"

"He's there?"

"Where is he?"

"He was in Hogwarts?"

Then he turned slowly on the spot.

"The Man with Two Faces," Luna said, her horrified expression and dreamy tone not matching up at all.

Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face,

Severus blinked in shock; he had known that Quirrell was working for the Dark Lord, and that the Dark Lord had been the one killing the unicorns in the forest, but he had not expected him to be possessing Quirrell, or to have been that close-by the whole year. He suddenly felt very grateful that he had left his first meeting with the Dark Lord alive.

It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Oh Merlin."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Merlin."

"He was in the school all year."

"You-Know-Who was on the back of Quirrell's head."

"He was in class with us."

"Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds...

"Not always willingly," Harry said, glancing over at Ginny, who sent him a quick smile in return.

Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"

"How did he know it was there?"

"Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..."

"No, they didn't," Harry said forcefully.

"Lily and James would never beg for mercy," Remus agreed.

"I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you...

Harry didn't even notice that he was nodding along as the book read what Voldemort had said about his parents' death; he knew now that Voldemort had been telling the truth, about the order that they had been killed, how his mum had tried to protect him, and how his mum didn't have to have died – he knew Voldemort had been willing to spare her for some reason.

At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two;

Harry gasped and slowly shifted himself so that his head was leaning against the back of the couch, his head turned away from the hall and closed his eyes against the pain.

The pain in his head lessened—he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers—they were blistering before his eyes.

"What?"

"How?"

"Is it accidental magic?"

"What happened?"

SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet, landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck—Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain,

Harry grimaced and squeezed his eyes even tighter shut, preventing the tears of pain that wanted to roll down his face. he tried to focus on the words coming from the book and not the blinding pain in his head and scar or the ache all along his body from being slammed to the ground with a grown man on top of him or the feeling of fingers wrapped tightly around his throat.

And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms—Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.

"How?"

"Is he being burned?"

"What?"

"How is he being burned?"

"What in Merlin's name?"

Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off—the pain in Harry's head was building—he couldn't see—

Harry could feel the pain building in his head, he knew if he opened his eyes he would still only see blackness, and the exhaustion that was thrumming through his body alongside all the pain. He couldn't believe that he had been able to continue fighting when he was in that much pain, or that he had been able to come to the conclusion about how to keep Quirrell from killing him.

He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down ... down... down...

The pain grew even more, and the blackness began to take him away from the pain. He didn't want to pass out, especially in the middle of the hall, but he knew he couldn't fight this, and he trusted Ron and Hermione to prevent anyone from noticing. So, he let the darkness fully take him and wash away the pain.

Ron and Hermione both had half of their attention on Harry, while the other half was on the book. They both noticed his small tells that he was in pain, and that was only because he had let them see him when he was in pain before and knew what to look for; his eyes squeezed tightly shut, the small amount of moisture just under his eyes, his fingers digging into his palms where they were hidden under his robes. So they both noticed when he hands unclenched slightly and when the tightness around his eyes relaxed slightly and exchanged glances.

He's out, isn't he?

Yeah, probably. Can't check without drawing attention.

He'll be ok though.

He should be. He'll wake up soon enough.

They both shifted slightly against him, to make him more uncomfortable while he was unconscious, making sure to keep their movements discrete; they were both very glad that everyone was too focussed on the book to be paying the three of them too much attention aside from the occasional glances.

He tried to catch it,

"Seeker's instinct," Charlie agreed with a nod; if he was just waking up and saw a glint of gold, he would try to catch it too, automatically just assuming it was the Snitch.

He blinked again.

Harry slowly blinked away the darkness, glad to know that the pain had disappeared. He didn't move as he opened his eyes again.

Sir, quick—"

"One track mind," Fred and George muttered.

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."

"She would do it too," Remus agreed.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers,"

"Now that I'm not a pariah for losing so many points anymore," Harry said, causing Hermione and Ron to turn to glance at him; they had both noticed him wake up, but wanted to check he was ok. He gave them a small nod, telling them he was ok and they smiled slightly before turning away again.

I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat.

"I told you not to blow up any toilets," Mrs Weasley said.

"We didn't blow up any toilets," Fred said.

"We just removed the lid from one of them," George said.

Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"Aw, come on Madame Pomphrey," George said.

"We made sure we cleaned it," Fred said.

Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."

"Those three days were terrifying," Hermione said quietly.

"We thought you were going to die," Ron agreed.

"Not the Stone, boy, you—the effort involved nearly killed you."

Snuffles whined at the thought of Harry being killed.

Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"I don't think I've ever actually asked. But why is everyone so afraid of the name Voldemort? Is it just because of all the terror and destruction that he caused?" Harry asked.

"In the first war, Voldemort put a taboo on his name. Anytime someone said it, any wards or enchantments around them, unless it was an extremely old family manor, a fidelius, or the wards around Hogwarts, would disappear. Saying the name also acted like a beacon, if you said it, Death Eaters would appear at your location. It's what got hundreds of people killed before the fear spread and everyone started calling Voldemort You-Know-Who," Remus explained.

"The only reason people can say it now is because when he first fell, the taboo disappeared. And a new taboo can't be put in place very easily," Mr Weasley added.

Harry frowned, having not known that. He wondered if he should start referring to Voldemort in a different way, in case he managed to get a taboo on his name again. He could use his real name, since they wouldn't be able to taboo Riddle or Tom, since riddle was a common word and Tom was a common name. What else could he use though to make it mocking or something that would reduce the fear of him.

Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time—and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

"Unfortunately, he wasn't delayed last time," Harry muttered.

When you are older... I know you hate to hear this... when you are ready, you will know."

"I'm older now. I'm pretty sure I'm ready now," Harry said.

"If the books don't say, then I will tell you," Dumbledore agreed, knowing that what Harry said was true; he had well and truly proved that he was ready to be told.

"Useful things... your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."

"Amongst other things," Remus agreed, "mainly pranks."

Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.

"Fair enough," Neville agreed, not wanting to even try and understand that.

"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded.

"She won't give. She never does," Remus said with a sigh; how many times had he tried to get her to let James, Sirius, and Peter in to visit or to let them stay longer after a moon.

Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey..."

"It's not going to work," Charlie said; he had been in there enough from Quidditch injuries to know that.

"But five minutes only."

"What?"

"She let them in?"

"I told you I have a good relationship with Madame Pomphrey," Harry said with a grin.

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumours.

Everyone around the hall nodded; hearing the true thing was so different from the rumours that had been flying around.

It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..."

"If that was what you actually thought, Dumbledore, then we will be having words," Mrs Weasley promised, Remus glaring at the Headmaster as well. Dumbledore nodded his agreement but didn't say anything.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she said firmly.

"She even broke her five-minute rule for you," Remus said, looking over at Harry who was grinning.

"She loves me," he said with a shrug.

"I can, can't I?"

"Because, unfortunately, I didn't work out how to get around the wards and spells she set up until second year. So I had to ask to be let out," Harry said.

"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying.

"That is one way to get someone to stop crying," Tonks said, blinking.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... knew yeh didn' have any... d'yeh like it?"

"So that's what those were for. I basically got bombarded with owls," Remus said.

"However, recent events must be taken into account."

"Professor, why did you do that now? I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the fact that Gryffindor won, but why didn't you award the points while I was still unconscious?" Harry asked and Dumbledore frowned slightly, not having an answer to that; he had simply thought it better to award them in front of the whole school, but now that he thought about it, it wasn't a very fair thing to do.

Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

"Mate, come on," Ron moaned, and Harry shrugged. He then shoved his fingers in his ears, remembering how loud the hall, especially the Gryffindors, had gotten as the points were awarded.

At last there was silence again.

Those in their group looked over at the trio, who all still had their ears plugged and groaned slightly, wishing they had been warned; although, those who had been at school that year should have known. They then took the initiative and copied them.

Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears.

Hermione kicked Harry playfully for that comment.

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table.

Everyone in the hall had their ears covered now. Those who had been there, so the teachers and the fifth years and up, had warned those around them that it was going to get loud, and the warning had spread, so that everyone was prepared for the blast of loud noise that came from the book.

To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Hermione, of course, had the best grades of the first years.

"Of course, she did," Ron and Harry said, smiling at Hermione.

A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

"Don't even think about it," Mrs Weasley said sternly, facing Fred and George, who had both broken out into large grins. He words caused them to pout playfully at her for ruining their fun.

"Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to."

"That went well," the trio all muttered together, remembering what Dobby had done.

"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry.

Many people scowled at the reminder about his home life.

It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.

"I am so sorry. I'm so glad I grew out of that," Ginny said, blushing. Harry just shrugged.

"Very," said Harry.

"Understatement."

"Theydon't know we're not allowed to use magic at home.

"Nice Harry," Fred and George said, grinning. Snuffles barked his approval, causing Harry to laugh.

I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."

"I really didn't. It got boring if I used it too much," Harry said with an exaggerated sigh.

"That's the end of the book," Filius announced.

"Please be back here for breakfast at the usual time. We will begin the second book after breakfast," Dumbledore added. Everyone around the hall stood up and started leaving the hall in groups. Mrs Weasley and Remus started to head towards Dumbledore, but he stopped them.

"I need to have a word with Severus right now. Shall we speak about this tomorrow?" They both nodded and left the hall with the rest of Harry's group, Luna saying goodbye in the entrance hall and heading her own way, heading up to Gryffindor tower while Dumbledore and the Heads of House turned to face Severus.