A/N: As I sat down to update this morning, I took a moment to note the
fact that I still didn't have any reviews. So I decided to take drastic
measures: I'M UPDATING AGAIN!!! Ha! Apparently no one is reading this
anyway, so no one will care that I update. But, if you happen to care,
please review and tell me. Even if you think it's the worst story in the
world, please let me know!!!!!!
To those of you who don't exist that are reading this story, this is
the last chapter!!! If I do continue the story, like I said I might in the
first chapter, I'll add another chapter and let you know. Thanx a bunch!!!
~Sammy Solo
I strode out of the black flames and into the room beyond. It was a circular chamber with a high ceiling and a mirror standing in the middle. In front of the mirror was a rather small man with a turban wrapped around his head. I knew it immediately to be Professor Quirrell, Hogwarts's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I crept quietly up behind him, pulling my wand from its pouch at my side. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to cast my spell, but before I had the chance, he whirled around to face me. He was smirking, but as he looked at me surprise clouded his face.
"I must say, I was rather expecting Potter to find me here," he said in a cold voice. "No matter. I guess I'll have to kill you instead." He pointed a wand at me and mumbled something that I couldn't quite hear. A bright green light shot out of his wand and streaked towards my chest. I dove aside as it came closer and when I hit the ground and looked up the wall behind me was scorched black.
"Incendio!" I yelled, pointing my wand in his direction. Blue flames shot out the end of my wand and, though he moved quickly, the end of Quirrell's cloak caught fire. He cursed and pointed his wand at his cloak, extinguishing the flames. "Cole!" I yelled, climbing to my feet. "Cole, what's the spell to."
"Expelliarmus!" Cole said, reading my mind like only a best friend could. "Cast Expelliarmus!"
I pointed my wand at my opponent and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" He went flying backwards and his wand shot straight into the air. He hit the wall with a sickening thud and slumped down. I caught his wand as it tumbled and shoved it into one of the pouches on my belt. Glancing over, I saw that he was starting to get up. I dove in front of the Mirror of Erised, silently urging it to give me the Stone. I watched as behind my reflection a crowd formed, clapping and cheering. Another figure arrived beside me, fuzzy in the fog that was clouding the mirror but distinctly male.
"I don't care about my desires!" I screamed at the mirror. "Give me the damn Stone!" An icy laugh suddenly echoed throughout the chamber. I whirled around and saw Quirrell standing up again. His turban had been knocked off by the impact, and it suddenly occurred to me that I was looking at his back.
"Do you think that the great Lord Voldemort needs a wand to defeat the likes of you?" he asked in a mocking voice that seemed to turn my ice to blood. The back of Quirrell's head had become a face, chalk white with red, glowing eyes that seemed to look through me rather than at me. The new voice was much colder, much less human than Quirrell's had been. He turned around so that I was once again face-to-face with Quirrell. "Kill her quickly," said the voice of Voldemort. "We must retrieve the Stone before Dumbledore returns." Quirrell started towards me and I stumbled backwards, raising my wand.
"Incendio!" I cried, and the familiar blue flames shot out the tip of my wand. Quirrell held up his hands and caught the fire. With a flip of his wrist, the flames were suddenly zooming back towards me. I cried out as the arm of my cloak caught fire. My arm burning, I struggled out of the cloak and threw it on the ground, still smoking. I looked back at Quirrell, who was only a few steps away. I raised my wand, but his hand flew up and caught my wrist. The wand went careening across the room and hit the mirror. Before I could even think of what to do next, he grasped me around the neck with one hand and pinched. I gasped as my airway was cut off and my feet left the floor. I clawed at his hands and kicked my feet, hoping to hit something.
"Jess! Break out!" Cole yelled in my ear. But Quirrell's grip was too strong, and I could feel my health slipping away. I couldn't breathe. Voldemort's laughter echoed all around as panic began to churn into my stomach. Was this what it was like to die in real life? What if something went wrong with the game and I really did die? Quirrell's face and the surrounding room began to fade. After all my struggles, I had lost the game.
"Flipendo!" The word echoed through the chamber and I suddenly felt myself falling. Hitting the cold floor, I gratefully gulped air, letting it extinguish the fire in my lungs. I felt a hand fall on my shoulder and looked up into the green eyes of Harry Potter.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah," I croaked, my voice raw in my throat. "Where'd Quirrell go?" Harry stood up and looked around as Quirrell came charging at him. Harry jumped aside and Quirrell shot past him. I pushed myself to my feet as Quirrell continued to chase after Harry. Using the wall to support me, I glanced down at my bars. The green and blue were barely visible.
"Cole, how did Harry win in the book?" I asked as Quirrell made another mad dash at the young wizard. Harry cast his "Flipendo!"spell again and sent Quirrell soaring into the wall.
"Kill him! Kill him!" Voldemort's voice was screaming over and over. I glanced down at my bars again; my energy was slowly building as I stood still against the wall, but I knew I couldn't stay there long. C'mon, Cole, I thought.
"Tell Harry to touch him," Cole said after what seemed like an eternity. "With Voldemort attached, Quirrell can't touch Harry."
"Harry!" I yelled, and Quirrell turned towards me, as if just remembering I was there. "You learned to trust me, Harry. Touch him!" Harry looked skeptical- how could just touching him do anything? But my advice had kept him alive thus far. He tucked his wand into his belt and dove headlong at Quirrell.
Quirrell seemed stunned-perhaps he thought that Harry wasn't stupid enough to attack him without a wand. Whatever the reason, he didn't react quickly enough and Harry plowed him down. Harry placed both his hands on Quirrell's face. Steam began to rise from Quirrell's skin. Screaming, he threw Harry off and clambered to his feet.
"What is this magic?" he cried as the skin on his face blistered and continued to smoke. "Master, what is happening?"
"Never mind!" shouted Voldemort. "Kill them now!" So Quirrell charged forward again, but this time.at me.
I tried to react quickly, but I was moving slowly with the loss of energy. I reached down towards my belt. Taking my eyes off Quirrell, I fumbled his wand out of the pouch on my belt and whirled around to face him again. Held at arm's length, the wand was pointed right between Quirrell's eyes. A look of horror spread over his face as I felt a smile attach itself to my lips. I winked at him and muttered, "Flipendo."
Quirrell went flying into the far wall, slid down, and stayed there. I dropped my arm back to my side and looked over at Harry. Despite many scrapes and cuts, he was smiling from ear to ear. "We did it," he commented.
I nodded slowly. "Only one more thing left to do. Get the Stone out of the mirror." At the puzzled look on his face, I explained, "Just go stand in front of it. As long as you're not planning on using the Stone, you should be able to get it."
Harry walked over to the mirror and stood in front. "Great work, Jess," Cole commented as Harry bent down to pick something up. "I guess you beat this part of the game." Harry stood back up and turned toward me, a blood- red stone clutched in one hand and my wand clutched in the other. I smiled and stumbled forward, hand outstretched to grasp my wand.
A shrill cry rose around the chamber. I whirled back toward where Quirrell lie. A black shadow was forming over his head, shrieking as it grew larger. It floated there for a second, then shot towards me.
"Jess, look out!" I wasn't sure if it was Cole or Harry who screamed. Either way, I wasn't fast enough. My breath caught in my chest as the black cloud went straight through me. The last thing I remembered was seeing Harry running towards me, then there was just darkness.
* * * *
I opened my eyes and looked around. This didn't look like Cole's basement. What was going on? Where the hell was I?
I sat up and continued to examine my surroundings. I was on a soft bed with a small table by its side. On the table lay my wand. All around the room, more beds lined the walls. Sunlight streamed through the windows, reflecting off of pictures that seemed to be. moving? I looked down at my health and energy bars, both of which were completely full. But I had been almost dead.
"Cole?" I called. There was no answer. "Cole, where are you?" Pause.still nothing. In the silence of what I assumed was an infirmary, I heard footsteps approaching. I reached out and grasped my wand, pointing it at the open door. A tall man appeared at the doorway. He had a beard so long he could have tucked it into his belt. He was wearing long, midnight blue robes with golden moons and stars embroidered all over it. His eyes, partly hidden by half-moon glasses, held a fire rarely found in people his age. He smiled as he approached my bed, and something in that smile made me lower my wand.
"A friend of mine, are you?" he asked. His voice seemed light and carefree, with a hint of curiosity. "Tell me, old friend, who are you really?"
"I. uh." What was I supposed to tell him? If I lied, he would surely know, but I didn't think even Professor Dumbledore would believe that was from a different world entirely. "Well, you see, Professor, I. well I."
Dumbledore chuckled and settled down on the bed next to mine. "Perhaps we should start with your name."
"Jess," I said, and desperate to change the subject, I asked, "Where's Harry? What happened to the Stone? Where's Volde."
"Calm down," Dumbledore interrupted. "You're nearly as excited as young Mr. Potter was when he awoke."
"So.so Harry's okay? And Ron and Hermione too?"
"Yes, everyone's alright," Dumbledore replied. "The Sorcerer's Stone has been destroyed so that it cannot fall into the wrong hands again."
"What about Voldemort?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Lord Voldemort escaped before I arrived. When I got to the chamber containing the mirror, Harry was trying to wake you up. Shortly after, on the way back up to the school, he too lost consciousness, mostly from exhaustion. It seems, however, that you are both healthy now. And, thanks to your efforts, Voldemort has once again been thwarted in his quest to regain power." He paused and smiled down at me, then continued. "Now, back to your story." He raised a bushy eyebrow in inquiry.
"Well, Professor, I.whoa!" I was suddenly falling again, the infirmary disappearing above me. The same light tingling came over me again as I was plunged into darkness. "Cole! What's happening?"
There was still no answer as I tumbled through the darkness, not knowing where I was going or what I was getting in to.
I strode out of the black flames and into the room beyond. It was a circular chamber with a high ceiling and a mirror standing in the middle. In front of the mirror was a rather small man with a turban wrapped around his head. I knew it immediately to be Professor Quirrell, Hogwarts's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I crept quietly up behind him, pulling my wand from its pouch at my side. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to cast my spell, but before I had the chance, he whirled around to face me. He was smirking, but as he looked at me surprise clouded his face.
"I must say, I was rather expecting Potter to find me here," he said in a cold voice. "No matter. I guess I'll have to kill you instead." He pointed a wand at me and mumbled something that I couldn't quite hear. A bright green light shot out of his wand and streaked towards my chest. I dove aside as it came closer and when I hit the ground and looked up the wall behind me was scorched black.
"Incendio!" I yelled, pointing my wand in his direction. Blue flames shot out the end of my wand and, though he moved quickly, the end of Quirrell's cloak caught fire. He cursed and pointed his wand at his cloak, extinguishing the flames. "Cole!" I yelled, climbing to my feet. "Cole, what's the spell to."
"Expelliarmus!" Cole said, reading my mind like only a best friend could. "Cast Expelliarmus!"
I pointed my wand at my opponent and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" He went flying backwards and his wand shot straight into the air. He hit the wall with a sickening thud and slumped down. I caught his wand as it tumbled and shoved it into one of the pouches on my belt. Glancing over, I saw that he was starting to get up. I dove in front of the Mirror of Erised, silently urging it to give me the Stone. I watched as behind my reflection a crowd formed, clapping and cheering. Another figure arrived beside me, fuzzy in the fog that was clouding the mirror but distinctly male.
"I don't care about my desires!" I screamed at the mirror. "Give me the damn Stone!" An icy laugh suddenly echoed throughout the chamber. I whirled around and saw Quirrell standing up again. His turban had been knocked off by the impact, and it suddenly occurred to me that I was looking at his back.
"Do you think that the great Lord Voldemort needs a wand to defeat the likes of you?" he asked in a mocking voice that seemed to turn my ice to blood. The back of Quirrell's head had become a face, chalk white with red, glowing eyes that seemed to look through me rather than at me. The new voice was much colder, much less human than Quirrell's had been. He turned around so that I was once again face-to-face with Quirrell. "Kill her quickly," said the voice of Voldemort. "We must retrieve the Stone before Dumbledore returns." Quirrell started towards me and I stumbled backwards, raising my wand.
"Incendio!" I cried, and the familiar blue flames shot out the tip of my wand. Quirrell held up his hands and caught the fire. With a flip of his wrist, the flames were suddenly zooming back towards me. I cried out as the arm of my cloak caught fire. My arm burning, I struggled out of the cloak and threw it on the ground, still smoking. I looked back at Quirrell, who was only a few steps away. I raised my wand, but his hand flew up and caught my wrist. The wand went careening across the room and hit the mirror. Before I could even think of what to do next, he grasped me around the neck with one hand and pinched. I gasped as my airway was cut off and my feet left the floor. I clawed at his hands and kicked my feet, hoping to hit something.
"Jess! Break out!" Cole yelled in my ear. But Quirrell's grip was too strong, and I could feel my health slipping away. I couldn't breathe. Voldemort's laughter echoed all around as panic began to churn into my stomach. Was this what it was like to die in real life? What if something went wrong with the game and I really did die? Quirrell's face and the surrounding room began to fade. After all my struggles, I had lost the game.
"Flipendo!" The word echoed through the chamber and I suddenly felt myself falling. Hitting the cold floor, I gratefully gulped air, letting it extinguish the fire in my lungs. I felt a hand fall on my shoulder and looked up into the green eyes of Harry Potter.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah," I croaked, my voice raw in my throat. "Where'd Quirrell go?" Harry stood up and looked around as Quirrell came charging at him. Harry jumped aside and Quirrell shot past him. I pushed myself to my feet as Quirrell continued to chase after Harry. Using the wall to support me, I glanced down at my bars. The green and blue were barely visible.
"Cole, how did Harry win in the book?" I asked as Quirrell made another mad dash at the young wizard. Harry cast his "Flipendo!"spell again and sent Quirrell soaring into the wall.
"Kill him! Kill him!" Voldemort's voice was screaming over and over. I glanced down at my bars again; my energy was slowly building as I stood still against the wall, but I knew I couldn't stay there long. C'mon, Cole, I thought.
"Tell Harry to touch him," Cole said after what seemed like an eternity. "With Voldemort attached, Quirrell can't touch Harry."
"Harry!" I yelled, and Quirrell turned towards me, as if just remembering I was there. "You learned to trust me, Harry. Touch him!" Harry looked skeptical- how could just touching him do anything? But my advice had kept him alive thus far. He tucked his wand into his belt and dove headlong at Quirrell.
Quirrell seemed stunned-perhaps he thought that Harry wasn't stupid enough to attack him without a wand. Whatever the reason, he didn't react quickly enough and Harry plowed him down. Harry placed both his hands on Quirrell's face. Steam began to rise from Quirrell's skin. Screaming, he threw Harry off and clambered to his feet.
"What is this magic?" he cried as the skin on his face blistered and continued to smoke. "Master, what is happening?"
"Never mind!" shouted Voldemort. "Kill them now!" So Quirrell charged forward again, but this time.at me.
I tried to react quickly, but I was moving slowly with the loss of energy. I reached down towards my belt. Taking my eyes off Quirrell, I fumbled his wand out of the pouch on my belt and whirled around to face him again. Held at arm's length, the wand was pointed right between Quirrell's eyes. A look of horror spread over his face as I felt a smile attach itself to my lips. I winked at him and muttered, "Flipendo."
Quirrell went flying into the far wall, slid down, and stayed there. I dropped my arm back to my side and looked over at Harry. Despite many scrapes and cuts, he was smiling from ear to ear. "We did it," he commented.
I nodded slowly. "Only one more thing left to do. Get the Stone out of the mirror." At the puzzled look on his face, I explained, "Just go stand in front of it. As long as you're not planning on using the Stone, you should be able to get it."
Harry walked over to the mirror and stood in front. "Great work, Jess," Cole commented as Harry bent down to pick something up. "I guess you beat this part of the game." Harry stood back up and turned toward me, a blood- red stone clutched in one hand and my wand clutched in the other. I smiled and stumbled forward, hand outstretched to grasp my wand.
A shrill cry rose around the chamber. I whirled back toward where Quirrell lie. A black shadow was forming over his head, shrieking as it grew larger. It floated there for a second, then shot towards me.
"Jess, look out!" I wasn't sure if it was Cole or Harry who screamed. Either way, I wasn't fast enough. My breath caught in my chest as the black cloud went straight through me. The last thing I remembered was seeing Harry running towards me, then there was just darkness.
* * * *
I opened my eyes and looked around. This didn't look like Cole's basement. What was going on? Where the hell was I?
I sat up and continued to examine my surroundings. I was on a soft bed with a small table by its side. On the table lay my wand. All around the room, more beds lined the walls. Sunlight streamed through the windows, reflecting off of pictures that seemed to be. moving? I looked down at my health and energy bars, both of which were completely full. But I had been almost dead.
"Cole?" I called. There was no answer. "Cole, where are you?" Pause.still nothing. In the silence of what I assumed was an infirmary, I heard footsteps approaching. I reached out and grasped my wand, pointing it at the open door. A tall man appeared at the doorway. He had a beard so long he could have tucked it into his belt. He was wearing long, midnight blue robes with golden moons and stars embroidered all over it. His eyes, partly hidden by half-moon glasses, held a fire rarely found in people his age. He smiled as he approached my bed, and something in that smile made me lower my wand.
"A friend of mine, are you?" he asked. His voice seemed light and carefree, with a hint of curiosity. "Tell me, old friend, who are you really?"
"I. uh." What was I supposed to tell him? If I lied, he would surely know, but I didn't think even Professor Dumbledore would believe that was from a different world entirely. "Well, you see, Professor, I. well I."
Dumbledore chuckled and settled down on the bed next to mine. "Perhaps we should start with your name."
"Jess," I said, and desperate to change the subject, I asked, "Where's Harry? What happened to the Stone? Where's Volde."
"Calm down," Dumbledore interrupted. "You're nearly as excited as young Mr. Potter was when he awoke."
"So.so Harry's okay? And Ron and Hermione too?"
"Yes, everyone's alright," Dumbledore replied. "The Sorcerer's Stone has been destroyed so that it cannot fall into the wrong hands again."
"What about Voldemort?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Lord Voldemort escaped before I arrived. When I got to the chamber containing the mirror, Harry was trying to wake you up. Shortly after, on the way back up to the school, he too lost consciousness, mostly from exhaustion. It seems, however, that you are both healthy now. And, thanks to your efforts, Voldemort has once again been thwarted in his quest to regain power." He paused and smiled down at me, then continued. "Now, back to your story." He raised a bushy eyebrow in inquiry.
"Well, Professor, I.whoa!" I was suddenly falling again, the infirmary disappearing above me. The same light tingling came over me again as I was plunged into darkness. "Cole! What's happening?"
There was still no answer as I tumbled through the darkness, not knowing where I was going or what I was getting in to.