Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts,24th November 1991, 08:30 a.m.
Albus Dumbledore was confused, Hogwarts was the safest place in the wizarding world. His friend Nicholas Flamel had trusted him with the stone and he agreed. He was sure the stone was safe. He had hesitated at first, he already knew Harry Potter was entering the wizarding world first time and he never wanted that orphan boy to get a bad image of the wizarding world nor he wanted Harry to be in danger as soon as he entered their world, already he had lost his parents to a dark lord. Albus did what he thought was right – he declined Nicholas.
Everything was well until Nicholas and Perenelle were attacked again. It cemented a doubt in his mind, how could someone easily find the couple who are living for more than 600 years disguising themselves. Albus had to accept their offer then and there – and he did. Aligning everything he could and after Harry's surprise sorting and warning the teachers not to assume anything from before, he made sure that the stone was secured. The mirror in which Nicholas had sent him the stone was kept in the room of requirement, a room, thankfully, neither the marauders nor the Prewett or Weasley twins ever discovered.
The portraits, ghosts, teachers and Hagrid's 'pet' everything was ready for protection of the stone. He had double checked it on Halloween after the Troll entered the dungeons, his doubts confirmed when the troll entered Hogwarts that someone tried to attempt a theft. His doubt went to Quirrell when he remembered that troll was Quirrell's specialization, he and the others made sure to keep an eye on him. Yesterday when Quirrell was nowhere to be found, he along with Severus went to check the stone and found it to be missing.
"Severus, enter" the potion master entered the room not looking a bit happy.
"Quirrell is no where to be found, Albus. No doubt he was the one to steal the stone." Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes, I doubted him at the same time when the troll was found in dungeons, afterall wasn't it Quirrell himself who informed us that he will defend the stone by using trolls. Alas! I have to admit that my retirement age is coming soon." Albus looked at his potion master who frowned.
"Surely not Albus. Quirrell was a good teacher as much as I had to admit, he has been teaching here since three years and suddenly him turning like this is confusing. Are you sure the dark lord wasn't involved?" Albus shook his head.
"I have upgraded the wards this year, any dark object or a person with the dark mark won't be able to enter the school. You are only able to as you are keyed to the wards. If Tom was here then I would have surely known." Albus frowned when he saw Nicholas worriedly entered his room.
"Albus, oh Albus, Grey Lady and Bloody Baron both have been exorcised, no idea how but they are gone." Nicholas worriedly informed the headmaster making his frown deepen.
"I believe it's time for a meeting, Sir Nicholas if you would be so kind to inform the teachers." Albus requested and the Gryffindor ghost nodded.
"Something is going on." Albus thought
Slytherin Common Room
"Something funny Potter?" Marcus Flint glared at the eleven year old.
"Of course, who told him to try to hurt me. He paid for what he tried." Harrison shrugged.
"How dare you, Potter? He was an exemplary Slytherin who respected our traditions unlike you and your family who are nothing but mud-blood lovers. It's people like you who give us respected witches and wizards a bad name. Take your father for example, wizards and witches never stopped praising his talents and the Potter's history and then he went and knocked up your whore of a mother with you and now you are doing nothing but spoiling the reputation of our noble house also. But not anymore, Confringo!"
He ducked as the spell flew through him before countering with a nonverbal spell which hit Flint and he cried in agony. The first and second years consciously moved away from the fight while a few fifth and sixth year drew their wands at him.
"Well if you want to fight, then let's do it." His lips formed in a small sinister smile.
As the Slytherins tried to curse Harrison, he simply dodged them and then suddenly everyone panicked as they started shivering and backed away from Harrison. The boys started shivering in fear as Harrison began to torture each of them.
"Now, it's time for you all to learn to respect your betters." The boys started screaming in agony, while everyone were shocked at the supposed 'golden boy's' brutality.
"Someone will need to take them to the hospital wing, these poor boys appear to have been dueling each with powerful bone shattering curses and one seemed to explode and hit all of them!" Harry said with mock concern. Other Slytherins hurriedly did as he instructed, levitating them up and out of the common room.
"What shall we do now, Homam?" Blaise Zabini asked the Black heir.
"We bow to him." Homam confirmed looking at his second cousin Draco who nodded affirmative back to him.
"We don't have any option also. He had always proved himself to be better than us and no matter how much rich or influential we come from. Potter is powerful than us and not only the first years but also the upper years." Draco bit his lip worriedly.
"Calm down cousin. Calm down. Don't fret, next year your betrothed is coming." Homam smirked at the blond who glared back at him.
"Whose your betrothed Draco?" Pansy asked her face narrowing at the Malfoy heir.
"My sister Lyra and my baby sister Isabelle is betrothed with Casper Woodcase, just in case you need to remember." Homam looked bored at the Parkinson heiress, couldn't she just focus on her own.
"Why are you so interested in Draco's betrothed? You're mine and soon we are to marry Pansy, isn't it?" Blaise glared at the girl who sniffed at him like he was nothing, he had a letter to write.
"I understand you boys are thinking about joining Potter, Lestrange already had but do you think it will be wise? Your parents won't be happy with you joining a man who supposedly killed your parents previous master." Daphne Greengrass sighed at the regular occurrence of….. discussion.
"So? You decided to side with Potter, who's nothing but a half-blood?" Theo asked.
"After watching not once but twice, him playing with the upper years and not to forget his magic. I suppose I had to reevaluate my priorities. We are Slytherins, we are supposed to be cunning, sneaky and also our respective father's will expect is to enter politics after we graduate. We cannot behave like obnoxious Gryffindors. The best way of survival is keep your head down and stay but if we do nothing or go against him, my friend it is sad but we will be finished before we can say 'mudblood'. So, the only way to keep our influence and survival is to bow to him." Homam glared at the dark skinned boy.
"I agree with cousin Homam in this. No doubt, he's powerful, the light and neutral families will do anything to get favour from him and the dark side will be finished, the only way to preserve our traditions and families is to make sure we get favour from him and what's the best way to follow him?" Draco looked proud though none were much impressed with his speech.
"What Cousin Draco means is that Potter can become a brand under which we can rally all the dark families just like the previous dark lord." Leo Lestrange looked at the first years in disgust. "You all are pathetic, that boy has clearly power and as your peer it should be you all to know things. But I clearly misunderstood you all. You all are nothing who are just a mere eleven year olds bunch."
Headmaster Office
"It is unbelievable, how could he surpass everything especially the ghosts or the paintings. Moreover, the castle is full of children, if Quirrell or whatever possessed him had hurt any of the children." Minerva glared at the headmaster.
"I believe I know who exorcised the Grey Lady and Bloody Baron, they both were assigned with protection of the stone. Quirrell must have first exorcised them and then he would have entered the trap door." Pomona said after thinking ober it and most of the staff agreed with her, well there wasn't any other ideas of how the oldest of ghosts suddenly exorcised overnight.
"And a disillusionment charm was simple to hide any person from paintings." Flitwick added.
"Whatever happened has to be occurred yesterday night only because at 7 pm. I myself checked everything and altered few protections. And there was no entry until then." Minerva added thoughtfully.
"Even it was difficult for a seventh year child to pass all the tests that easily and in so little time. It has to be a wizard of experience and those here are only the professors." Albus wasn't liking where all this was going. He was grateful today was Saturday and the students were in their dorms.
"Most of the students here are dunderheads who doesn't possess the required amount of knowledge when it comes to potions and –" "Severus, what happened?" "Headmaster, none other potions were touched but the correct was drunk twice. There wasn't one but two people who went in search of the stone."
Everyone was gobsmacked listening to the Potion's professor.
"Are you sure, Severus?" Dumbledore paled. "Ofcourse, Albus. I am sure. The potion could take atleast three people to the stone. If Quirrell drank one and when I drank the potion, the vial was emptied, which clearly meant that there were two people who went after the stone."
"Perhaps, it isn't Quirrell then? Maybe the Dark Lord had taken another form?" Pomona squeaked.
"We cannot monitor every student. I believe we should consider Quirrell had only stolen it and left from here." Aurora sighed since an hour they were arguing about what might happen but no one could understand anything.
"We cannot everyone but we can monitor the houses." McGonagall looked at her peers. "All the students are divided into four houses, we cannot monitor every student like that but we can monitor every house. First we can check the fifth and sixth year prefects, then we can tell them to monitor the students in the common room and we can monitor them in the classroom."
"Ah, professor McGonagall is absolutely correct We can check the students." Albus eyes twinkled merrily earning a sigh from Minerva and Severus.
Slytherin Common Room
"Potter…. I — We want to talk with you." Emerald eyes looked up to the group of four first year Slytherins.
"What is it?" Harry busied himself with his charms book.
"We want to be your……. allies." Homam replied clearing his throat. Harry again looked up at him, judging him and then he frowned.
"Pardon?"
Sorry for the delayed update but I was hospitalized nearing a month. I will post the next part of 'changing the future' day after tomorrow.