Chapter 15 Dumbledore Explains

Something gold was glinting just above Harry. The Snitch! He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy.

No, it wasn't the Snitch. It was a pair of glasses on the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore. Beside him was Hermione Granger.

"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore.

"Hi, Harry," said Hermione. "I'm glad you're better."

Harry stared at them. Then he remembered. "Sir, the Stone! You must stop Quirrell and Snape from getting it!"

"Calm yourself, my boy. You are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "The Stone has been destroyed. Please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have us thrown out. She was most displeased to be asked to admit two visitors at once, but since you both deserve an explanation, I'd much rather make one than two."

Harry swallowed and looked around, realizing that he was in the hospital wing. Next to him was a table piled high with candy.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore.

"You've been in a coma for three days," said Hermione. "We were terribly worried about you."

"What happened in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows about it. The involvement of Professor Snape, however, is known by none but myself, you, and Hermione," said Dumbledore.

"He swore me to secrecy, Harry," said Hermione. "But I still don't know why."

"Explanations will be forthcoming. I shall answer all your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg your forgiveness. I shall not, of course, lie."

"You said the Stone was destroyed. What will happen to your friend Nicolas Flamel?" asked Hermione.

"Ah, you know about him? Very thorough investigative work! Well, Nicolas and his wife have enough Elixir to set their affairs in order, and then they will die. I'm sure it seems incredible to you, but for Nicholas and Pernelle it will be like going to sleep after a very, very long day. To an organized mind, death is the next great adventure."

"What did you mean about Snape?" asked Harry.

"Professor Snape, Harry. He is a trusted agent of mine, once a follower of Voldemort..." said Dumbledore.

"You said the name!" interrupted Hermione.

"So I did, and I encourage you to do likewise. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself. As I was saying, Snape encourages the view that he is still loyal to the dark side. There are still followers of Voldemort about, believe it or not, and Snape spies on them for me."

"So, when he found out that Quirrell was working for Voldemort..." said Harry.

"Yes, he naturally pretended to join forces with him, in order to learn Voldemort's condition and what he was up to. He played along even when you burst in, though he would have intervened to save your life."

"Does he really hate me, or is that part of his spy act?" asked Harry.

"Unfortunately, he really does. Your father did something Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life. Snape couldn't bear to be in your father's debt. I think that's why he worked so hard to protect you this year."

"Professor Snape won't be able to be a spy any more, will he?" asked Hermione. "That is, if the spirit of Vo-Voldemort is still alive. You would have sent Professor Snape to Azkaban if what he did was for real. Since you aren't going to do that, V-Voldemort will know he's a spy."

"Voldemort was a half-alive parasite on Quirrell, using part of his brain to store memories. If and when Voldemort comes back to life he won't have any clear memory of this time. If he has a vague feeling that Snape helped him somehow, that's so much the better. More likely, he'll have no specific memories of this period at all."

"Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he?" asked Harry.

"Yes, he's still out there, not human enough to die. Nevertheless, Harry and Hermione, you have delayed his return to power, and it will merely take someone else willing to fight a losing battle to delay him again. If he keeps being delayed over and over again, he may never return to power."

"Why did Voldemort want to kill me in the first place?" asked Harry.

"Ah, that's one of the questions I cannot answer now. Later, when you are older and ready, I will tell you."

"Why did it burn Quirrell to touch me?"

"Your mother died saving you. One thing that Voldemort cannot comprehend is love. Love that powerful left its mark in you. The greedy, hate-filled Quirrell could not touch a person marked by something so good."

Hermione and Dumbledore looked at each other rather than Harry, giving him time to dry his eyes.

Hermione said, "Lisa had a chess question for you. Ron told us the board was set up for the opening of the game when he and Harry got there. No pieces were moved or lost. So how did Quirrell get across?"

"Snape told me it was a bit of a cheat. Neither of them is any good at chess, so Quirrell simply projected a force wall around the white pieces. White must move first within a time limit, or forfeit the game."

Dumbledore moved over to the table with the candy. "Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. This golden-brown one looks like a nice toffee.... Alas! Ear wax!"

"I'd better get out and let you rest, Harry," said Hermione. "One more thing. Next time something like this happens, do you think we could be allies instead of working against each other?"

Harry realized there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and facing a Dark Lord in a trap-filled dungeon is one of them.

"More than allies," he said with a grin. "Friends."

"Friends," agreed Hermione.

THE END

Postscript: The climax to the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone happened earlier in the school year than in the canonical history, since Snape and Quirrell "collaberated" to solve the traps. The points Harry, Ron, and Neville won for their adventures enabled Gryffindor to pull ahead of Slytherin and eventually win the House Cup. The Raven Mavens also won a large number of points for their house, so Ravenclaw came in second.

Ron's brother Charlie was able to help find a home for Hagrid's Norwegian Ridgeback. Their previous bad experience with getting caught caused them to remember the Invisibility Cloak, so they were not caught after sending off Norbert; only Draco Malfoy served a detention for his part in trying to get them in trouble.

The rest of the school year was relatively quiet and successful for the Gryffindor Guys (Harry, Ron, and Neville formed their own club) and the Raven Mavens.