Chapter 31
Monday, November 25, 1991-Snape's Logic Puzzle Room, The forbidden third floor corridor, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Somewhere in Scotland
"How did you two get a cauldron down here?" Lee exclaimed.
Fred and George didn't look up from the bubbling potion. "Birthday present from Patty and Sirius," George said.
"Expandable cauldron," Fred added.
Hermione and Harry were standing by the table in the middle of the room that had a row of glass bottles on it. Both of them were blinking in surprise as Fred and George chopped and stirred and threw stuff that seemed to appear out of nowhere into their cauldron. Hermione was holding a piece of parchment in one hand and her other hand was held up in front of her like something had just been snatched out of it.
"Done!" Fred and George exclaimed.
Fred took a glass, which had been charmed unbreakable and was used the Muggle way for listening though doors, out of the pocket of his dressing gown and filled it with the potion in their cauldron. "Looks right."
Before any of the others could stop him, Fred took a sip of the potion. He shivered.
"Tastes right."
"How do we test it?" George asked.
"Did you just reverse engineer that potion?" Hermione shrieked.
"Of course not," George said sarcastically.
"We just threw random things into the cauldron," Fred agreed.
"They just reverse engineered whatever potion we need," Lee confirmed for everyone in the room who wasn't used to depicturing what the Weasley twins were saying.
It was then Professor Babbling's turn to mutter, "Ten points to Gryffindor."
Harry had thrown off his shock and gone to pick something up from the corner of the room. He came back to the table and showed them the spider he had caught. "We can test it on this."
"Great idea," Fred said.
"But do spiders even drink?" George asked.
The twins looked at Lee, who nodded. His tarantula drank water, so he assumed that spiders did too.
George poured a bit of the potion in the lid of the jar and started trying to coax the spider to drink from it. Professor McGonagall, having finally shaken off her surprise at seeing the Weasley twins working on something that could be mistaken for schoolwork, pointed her wand at the unfortunate arachnid and muttered a compulsion charm that caused the spider to dip its head into the potion, leaving it no choice but to drink.
McGonagall then directed the spider into the black cursed fire on the other side of the room using a levitation charm. A few seconds later the spider was taken out of the fire, completely unharmed.
"Excellent work, Messrs Weasley," McGonagall said. "Why you don't show this amount of talent in Potions class I'm sure we'll never know."
Simple, they didn't want to draw Snape's ire any more than they had to.
"We have to go!" Harry said. "We're running out of time to stop Snape."
He made a grab for the potion, but Fred held the jar up just out of his reach.
"Hold it, Potter. The adults are in charge now," Fred said.
"As much as it pains us to admit it," George added.
All of the students looked at the two professors.
"Professor Babbling and I will go on," McGonagall decided. "All of you will go back to the trap door and tell the Headmaster that we have gone to apprehend the thief."
"But-" Harry protested.
"You are first and third year students," Babbling said fiercely. "You are not trained for this."
Not to mention that Sirius and Remus would have their heads if they let Harry go into danger.
Before Harry could say anything else, Fred and George each grabbed one of his arms and marched him out of the room.
"We want the cauldron back," George said as they passed Lee and the professors on their way out.
"I'll take care of it," Lee promised.
McGonagall picked up the jar that Fred had left on the table and filled it to the top with the potion in the cauldron. She swallowed a mouthful and shivered as an icy feeling spread through her body. She gave the potion to Babbling, who also took a large sip.
"Do not follow us," McGonagall ordered just before they stepped through the cursed fire.
Hermione nodded. "We won't, Professor."
"Good luck," Lee said.
The two witches left the room though the cursed fire that was the only thing separating them from the thief.
Tuesday, November 26, 1991-Dumbledore's Mirror of Erised Room, The forbidden third floor corridor, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Somewhere in Scotland
Professor Babbling kept her eyes open while they walked through the fire. The light of the flames caused spots to dance across her vision, but it was better than being blindsided by a curse.
She and McGonagall exited the wall of fire at the same time. When she saw the familiar rear of a turban facing them from across the room she wasn't sure whether to gasp or groan.
Of course it was the Defense professor.
"I see the Stone," Quirrell murmured as he looked into the large mirror that was leaning against the wall. "I am presenting it to my Master! But where is it? Where?"
He stepped closer to the mirror until his nose nearly touched the glass. "Is it in the mirror? Should I break it?"
Without a word whispered between them, Babbling and McGonagall drew their wands and silently fired curses at Quirrell's back.
Babbling's blasting hex sent Quirrell crashing through the mirror. Unfortunately, that meant that McGonagall's stunner just skimmed the top of his turban.
Quirrell practically growled. He pushed himself to his feet, cutting his hands on the broken glass, and turned to face them. His face twisted into a snarl.
"I wasn't expecting to have company."
"We should have expected you," McGonagall said. "You're not getting the Stone."
Quirrell drew his wand. "Just try to stop me."
Spells flew through the air. There wasn't any cover in the room, aside from the destroyed mirror, so the fighters were running and ducking spells as much as they were firing their own. This wasn't a duel, this was a battle.
A green spell went flying over McGonagall's head. The Killing Curse. McGonagall pursed her lips and tried not to think about how close it had come.
For some reason, the words on the mirror's frame caught Babbling's eye as she dodged a bolder that Quirrell had conjured to throw at her head. Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. They ran through her head until they turned themselves around to say, I show not your face but your heart's desire.
Right now her heart's desire was to make it through this battle alive.
As if some god had heard her thoughts, a third wand joined her and McGonagall in fighting Quirrell. Dumbledore threw out spells so quickly that it was impossible to guess what they were until they hit their mark. In seconds Quirrell was unconscious on the stone floor, covered in cuts and bruises, and with his turban half undone.
McGonagall lowered her wand, panting. "It's good to see you, Albus."
Dumbledore acknowledged her with a nod before walking over to examine the remains of the mirror.
"Was the Philosopher's Stone in that mirror?" Babbling wanted to know.
Dumbledore shook his head. A faint smile crossed his lips and his eyes twinkled.
"That was my original plan, but luckily Nicholas had a better idea. No, this is simply an old man mourning the destruction of a unique magical artifact."
A faint blush crept over Babbling's face.
"So the Stone is safe?" McGonagall asked.
"Indeed," Dumbledore said. "Quite safe."
He couldn't tell them where it was, of course, and they wisely didn't ask.
The three of them looked at the unconscious Quirrell.
"What are we going to do with him?" Babbling asked.
McGonagall grimaced. "I have some idea."
That man was going to pay for putting their students in danger.