As they entered the door, Brooklyn was completely stunned and in disbelief at who the person was behind it all. It wasn't Snape, nor was it Voldemort, but Quirrell!
Brooklyn growled in fury, glaring at the man, who had turned to see them, smirking. He definitely wasn't that terrified man he first met; his eyes cold and ruthless as he stood in front of the Mirror of Erised. The gargoyle wondered how it got there.
"You!" gasped Harry in disbelief. His gargoyle brother stood protectively near him; eyes glowing.
"You're the thief!?" he snarled.
"Yes, I am. Don't look so surprised and betrayed, Potter and Gargoyle!"
"But we thought that Snape-."
Quirrell's smirk grew wider. "Hah! Don't count on Snape to pull something like this off! But he does seem the type, doesn't it? Next to him, who would suspect p-poor st-stuttering innocent Professor Quirrell?"
Brooklyn still couldn't believe it was Quirrell, he really couldn't. But suddenly, he was hit with memories. The smell in Quirrell's turban, the way he looked at him in the pub. Now Brooklyn realized that he wasn't scared at all. The look in his eyes; he was evil to the core!
He had another question, though. "That day, at the Quidditch match, we thought Snape tried to kill Harry! I saved him!"
Quirrell gave a cold, ruthless laugh.
"No, you foolish gargoyle. I tried to kill him! If you hadn't lit Snape's cloak and broke my eye contact, I would have succeeded! Even with Snape muttering his ridiculous counter curse!"
Harry was shocked. "Snape was trying to save me?"
"And then, I knew he was onto me, especially after Halloween."
"This was all you, letting in that monster troll, almost killing my friends, for one lousy stone? You're insane!" Brooklyn snapped, his whole body itching to attack this lunatic human.
But Quirrell smiled coldly. "Oh, but you should know, creature of the devil, that I am never alone. Ever."
Brooklyn's blood boiled at the insult. For in the past, there were those kinds of humans that had seen him as the Devil's Spawn, or a demon right from hellfire, because of his appearance so much like one.
Quirrell had turned his attention back to the mirror, but then something else happened.
"One more thing!" Brooklyn's eyes widened as Quirrell suddenly shouted a curse, a huge net coming towards them. The gargoyle pushed Harry out of the way, and the net came down on top of Brooklyn, pinning him to the ground.
Brooklyn hissed, eyes flashing as he tried to pull the net off, but as soon as he touched it, waves of electricity surged up his body, making him cry out in pain.
"Don't even try, pathetic beast!" taunted Quirrell. "That has magical properties that not even your kind can break free from! I can't have you interfering while I use Potter to get the stone for my master!"
Harry looked over at Brooklyn in fear, who felt helpless under this horrible net. But all that they could do was distract Quirrell from getting the stone for himself.
"Now, what does this mirror do? I see myself holding the stone, but how do I get it?"
Then Brooklyn heard a terrible voice coming from nowhere speak.
"Use the boy!" It hissed, sounding more evil than Demona, sending shivers up Brooklyn's spine as he continued to watch from his prison, feeling so useless.
Quirrell then turned to Harry. "Come here, Potter! Now!" He roared. Harry shook as he walked toward him, fear for his brother rising up in Brooklyn.
Please, don't let him get the stone! Brooklyn pleaded desperately to himself as he tried to cut through the net, only to feel more electricity seizing up his body, making him crouch over in pain. But Brooklyn wouldn't give in, not yet.
He tried another question to distract Quirrell. "When I heard you crying in the classroom, I thought that somebody, perhaps Snape, was threatening you," he revealed, despite the pain throbbing his body.
Quirrell's face fell just a little. "Sometimes, my master wouldn't leave me be. He would make me do the impossible. For he is a great wizard, and I'm weak…"
Brooklyn glowered. If he's a great wizard, then I hate humans, he thought with dark humor.
Harry ended up lying about what he saw in the mirror. Brooklyn, through his pain, looked over at Harry's pocket, noticing a big lump there. Did he suddenly somehow get the stone without Quirrell noticing? How?
That's when that terrible voice spoke again. "Let me speak to them!" It hissed angrily. Quirrell suddenly looked scared, wringing his hands.
"No, Master, you're not strong enough!"
"I have strength enough for this!" Then Quirrell began to unwrap his turban.
Brooklyn watched, not liking what was going to be shown to them, as the last of the purple cloth fell, revealing the most horrible thing in the world.
A face was on the back of Quirrell's head, the most horrible face the young gargoyle had ever seen. It had gray wrinkled skin, with red eyes and slits for nostrils…
It gave a cold smile at the two of them, making Brooklyn lean back in terror. He knew now that this, whatever it was, was even more terrible than Demona. If he ended up resorting into using other people's bodies for life, he was a huge threat for both his clan and the rest of the world!
"Harry Potter! We meet again!" hissed the face, eyes shining with cold glee.
"Voldemort!" whispered Harry in a terrified voice.
Voldemort eyed Harry with a terrible gaze, before it suddenly looked towards Brooklyn, who couldn't hide his terrified expression. He was scared for Harry, afraid of losing his brother to this monster!
"How quaint, your little gargoyle pet," Voldemort leered. "I have had yet to meet one of the sons of Clan Wyvern. Yes, I knew of them, and how they had all gone extinct, leaving the last of their kind to rot away in his own misery, a spawn of the humans!"
Brooklyn growled, eyes flashing to a great intensity. He decided he hated Voldemort as much as Demona, since he dared insult his family!
"Shut up!" he snarled, growling in pain after another attempt to break the net. "Leave them out of this, you bastard!"
Voldemort simply laughed mirthlessly. "Strong and brave, I can admire that in your kind. After this is done, perhaps you will be willing to come with me."
Brooklyn didn't trust this man's words. Him? Going with a dark wizard? That was to laugh! Never in a million years!
"But you see what I've become? A mere parasite. Unicorn blood was able to sustain me, but it can't give me a body of my own! But... there is something that can, something that conveniently enough, lies in your pocket!"
No! Brooklyn thought, eyes widening in terror. He knew! "Run!" He screamed to Harry, who didn't want to leave him, but he had no choice. He began to run, but Voldemort had other plans.
"Stop him!" He hissed, having Quirrell snap his fingers, making flames appear all around them, almost hitting Brooklyn's skin. Brooklyn winced from the heat of the flames and the net's magic, trying to back away from them, even though the net kept him from going anywhere. Another thing he tried was to cover his form with his wings, trying to protect himself as well as he could, but it wasn't helping much.
Harry halted in front of the fire, eyes round. Voldemort laughed, eyes glittering evilly as he watched the scene unfold.
"Don't be a fool! Why suffer such a horrific death, and lose your sad little pet to pain and misery when you can join me and live?"
Harry narrowed his eyes, not backing down. "Never! And don't call Brooklyn a pet, he's a brother, my brother!"
"Hah! Bravery! Your parents had it too! But tell me, do you want to see them again?"
Brooklyn continued to do his best to keep the fire away from himself and not touch the net, as he thought he saw through the smoke and heat two human figures in the Mirror. Were they Harry's parents? It was hard to tell.
"Together, we can bring them back! But all I ask, is for two things in return!"
Harry, subconsciously, pulled out the stone. It was a blood red color.
"Yes, Harry! There is no good or evil, there is only power. And I can grant your little pet freedom if he comes with me, where he doesn't have to feel ridiculed from the humans anymore. He will be quite safe with me."
Harry looked back to Brooklyn still trapped under the net to the stone in his hands. It just seemed so promising, so tempting. Could he save Brooklyn by surrendering everything? Would Voldemort be true to his word?
Brooklyn looked over to Harry from his position, his eyes pleading at him not to. He killed your parents! It's not worth it sacrificing innocent lives just to save mine! Don't listen to him!
Harry suddenly felt defiance in his body. No. There's no way he would give up his brother or the stone away to a tyrant. It wasn't worth it!
"You liar!" he screamed. Brooklyn was staring in amazement at Harry's bravery. He never felt more proud!
"Kill him!" roared Voldemort. Quirrell suddenly jumped onto Harry, gripping his throat, choking him.
Just seeing this attempted murder, caused something inside Brooklyn to snap, a new flame of strength soared through his veins.
Brooklyn gave an inhuman roar of rage, his eyes flashing a blazing white brighter than normal. He was going to save his brother, Harry Potter! He grabbed the net, now almost impervious to the pain as he tore through it with his new strength.
Throwing the net off of him, he got into his battle stance, wings spread out fully, and growling loudly at Quirrell, his protectiveness at a full time high.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" He roared, charging forward on all fours towards his enemy, pouncing and tackling Quirrell to the ground, away from Harry.
He was locked in a fist fight with his enemy, giving hard punches at Quirrell as they rolled over and over on the floor, Harry watching in disbelief as his gargoyle brother fought the most dangerous wizard to ever exist with no magic!
"THIS IS FOR MY BROTHER!" Brooklyn bellowed in a brave voice, raising his talons. And with a terrifying move, he slashed at Quirrell's face, blinding the cursed man.
Quirrell howled in pain, clutching his face, blood dripping down from the wounds. Brooklyn stood there, eyes narrowed, knowing he deserved to feel the pain.
Voldemort was furious. "YOU IDIOT! STOP THE DEVIL SPAWN! STOP HIM! IGNORE THE PAIN!"
Brooklyn was about to make an attempt to get to Harry, until he heard Quirrell shout a spell, gasping as he felt something hit his body, making it go numb and wobbly, then being tossed against a pillar. He shook his head, looking up as Voldemort towered over him, looking down with mad glee.
"I will now finish you, Brooklyn, the last of your miserable gargoyle species, since you refused to join me."
All Brooklyn could do was growl right back; eyes glowing.
"You'll never win, for it will be you who loses in the end, while me and Harry stay strong together! And we will do whatever it takes to keep others from being hurt!" Brooklyn panted. "I'll die before I join you, and I'll never be the last of my kind!" Which was true in a way, because Brooklyn will never reveal how he and his brothers survived all those years!
Voldemort grinned ruthlessly. "So be it, then," he said, while Brooklyn got himself ready to die, closing his eyes.
"NO!" He heard Harry scream. Opening his eyes again, he saw his human brother grab hold of Quirrell's hand, pulling it away and causing it to burn and shrivel into dust. Brooklyn was stunned, when did Harry learn to do that?
The heat from the fires was starting to make Brooklyn feel lightheaded, as he did his best to try standing, even with the effects of the spell still on him, as Harry next grabbed Quirrell's face. The man screamed, along with Voldemort, as his entire body crumbled into ashes.
Brooklyn's legs gave way again, and Harry came over to him.
"Harry... how?" He muttered softly. Harry didn't know either, staring at his own hands, until Brooklyn noticed an ash cloud shaped like Voldemort, and his eyes rounded.
"Look out!" He shouted, gaining some feeling back in his body and pulling Harry out of the way, Voldemort's roars pounding in his head when the cloud went past them. He felt himself collapsing and passing out, along with hearing a gentle voice saying his and Harry's name, too.
