Me: SURPRISE!
A second update as I just want to finish first year so here you go. Enjoy!
P.S. Just find out that I was in a coma for a month or so, not two months…I was in around the end of May and woke up around mid-June as I know cause my older sister's birthday passed when I woke up.
But anyway, enough of sadness, enjoy your Merry Christmas gift!
The Potter siblings and their friends were in the library so that they could prepare for their exams that were going to be coming up soon. They worked late into the night, trying to memorize the ingredients to complicated potions, learn charms and spells so that they know them by heart, remember the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions… so on and so forth.
"No more. Please no more," Iris whined with a groan.
"If you quit now what are you going to tell mum when she gets your poor excuse of a report card," stated Azalea, a little snidely. "If you and Ron would just pay attention in class, you wouldn't be having these problems!"
Madam Pince hushed them with a glare before going back to putting away books.
"But exams won't even start until June. We have plenty of time to study!" Ron argued, a whine could be heard in his voice.
Hermione raised her eyebrow, "But with your poor excuse of an attention span, you and Iris need all the studying you can get, if not, no one is going to save you when the exams do come around."
"Then I'll just copy off of you," stated Ron with a grin, thinking he had the perfect plan.
"No, you won't," Hermione snapped before smirking, "In case you didn't know, Professor McGonagall informed us that we will be using Anti-Cheating quills during the exams."
"What? No way! It's like they don't trust us!" groaned Ron.
"Oh come on, Ron, it's not all that bad," said Draco. The pale boy and redhead had been on civil terms with each other before, but now, a month after coming back to school, the two had begun to get along without realizing it.
Harry stood up, "Come on, Ron, I forgot to get something in the Charms section, and you can come help me find it." Turning to the rest of the group, he asked, "Do you guys need any other books?"
"Would you mind getting another book about Potions ingredients and their uses?" inquired Hermione.
Harry nodded and dragged Ron away from the table. Harry walked over to the Potion section after informing Ron of which Charms book, he needed. Finding the books quickly, they started heading back to their friends, however they stopped short when they heard a whimpering noise. Upon getting closer, they realized it was their DADA professor, Quirrell.
"No – no – not again, please!"
Harry and Ron looked at each other, both coming to the consensus that it sounded as though someone was threatening him.
"All right – all right…I'll go tonight! The others will be too busy to notice with exams coming up soon," whimpered Quirrell before leaving.
They waited quietly for Quirrell to leave before heading back to their friends as quickly as possible. Harry looked around – wanting to make sure there was no one around to hear them – before leaning over to his sister.
"Uncle Raven was right about him. Ron and I overheard him, talking to someone and he responded like he was scared," whispered Harry, knowing that she would understand who 'him' was.
"You don't think this is about the stone, do you?" Iris queried.
"But there's still the three-headed dog protecting the entrance, right?" Hermione asked, her voice sounding worried.
"Yes, but there are many ways to find out how to incapacitate a Cerberus," Harry cautioned, pointing at the books. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here, explaining how to get past a Cerberus."
Hermione blushed, "Oh… right. So, what do we do?"
"Nothing," replied Azalea. "Uncle Raven assured us that the stone is safe. But it would be best to tell him that 'he' is going to the forbidden corridor. Tonight."
"I can go and warn him," Harry offered, agreeing with Azalea.
"Can't we just get it ourselves? Before he gets it," Iris questioned.
"And risking getting killed!?" Harry admonished, eyeing his sister suspiciously. "Lils, you know that we're just learning magic, right? We barely know how to defend ourselves. If we go, it will be reckless and suicidal at worst. Besides, we shouldn't meddle in something that isn't our problem."
Iris sighed, "I guess you're right…"
"Good. Now, let's continue studying before heading to dinner," Azalea stated, getting the others to agree.
Harry left about an hour later to tell his godfather about Quirrell, while his twin and the others went to dinner.
Half an hour after they arrived in the Great Hall, Draco walked over to Iris at Gryffindor table. The pale boy looked worried, "Hey, what's taking your brother so long? He should have been back by now."
Iris frowned, looking over at the head table to see Professor Snape eating his dinner. He entered the Great hall not five minutes after they did, but not her brother. She figured that he must have gone to drop off his bag and books in his dorm. However, when she took a second look at the head table, she noticed that Quirrell wasn't at the table with the rest of the Professors.
"Dray, something isn't right," Iris stated, getting up. "I'm going to find him. Who's coming with me? Somebody needs to tell Professor Snape what's going on?"
Azalea and Draco offered to go with Iris, while Daphne and Hermione opted to go speak with Professor Snape. Wanting to make sure that they were covered, Ron and Neville informed that they would stay at the table in case Harry showed up.
Nodding, Iris, Azalea and Draco ran out of the Great hall as the two girls ran towards the head table. Severus noticed the two girls coming towards him, "What can I do for you Miss Granger, Miss Greengrass?"
"Professor, I think I accidently left my potion book in your classroom. Is it possible that I can get it?" Hermione asked, having come up with a quick excuse to get them out of the hall.
"Very well, if you would excuse me Minerva," said Severus before getting up and headed out the Great hall with Hermione and Daphne following him. Once they were a safe distance from the hall Severus stopped and addressed the two girls, "Now, what's going on?"
Meanwhile, Iris, Azalea and Draco were running towards the third-floor corridor as quickly as possible.
"Are you sure about this Iris?" Draco asked.
"YES!" snapped Iris. "That stuttering idiot wasn't at the table! And you heard my brother! He and Ron overheard him saying that he was going after the stone – tonight!"
"And what's your brilliant idea to bypass the bloody Cerberus and the other protections?!" Azalea snapped.
Iris was about to answer however upon arriving at the corridor, they noticed the door was slightly opened which didn't surprise the three first years. Without thinking, Iris shoved the door opened and came face to face with a giant black, three-headed dog who was in a deep sleep. Next to his feet, there was a harp playing soft music.
"Well…looks like you were right about Quirrell," Draco confirmed. "But how do we know that he has your brother?"
Iris placed a hand over her heart, "I can feel his magic, it's connected to mine. I can sense it better now than when I was in the Great hall."
"That explains a lot of things," Azalea murmured. She looked around and noticed that its paw was moved slightly. Slowly walking over, she saw the edge of a trapdoor underneath said paw. She smirked before addressing to the other two, "Iris, start humming while Draco helps me move Fluffy's paw."
Iris and Draco nodded, not wanting to argue with the stubborn Ravenclaw.
Within three minutes, the paw was removed, and the trapdoor was opened. Azalea looked down at the trapdoor and saw nothing but darkness and no sign of the bottom.
Azalea frowned, "There's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop down."
Iris, who was still humming, waved at Azalea to get her attention and pointed at herself.
"You want to go first?" asked Azalea, before sighing with a nod, "Alright, I'll continue the humming while you go first. If it's clear, Draco you'll go after her then I'll go after you."
They both agreed with a nod.
The moment Iris stopped humming the harp did as well, eliciting a twitch and growl from the three-headed dog. Azalea quickly started singing softly causing the dog to relax and the growling to stop.
Iris looked down the trapdoor before jumping in. She didn't fall for too long before she landed on something soft. She couldn't see clearly due to the darkness of the room, but she could feel that she was sitting on some sort of plant.
"Coast's clear! It's a soft landing!" shouted Iris. Soon Draco and Azalea jumped through the trapdoor and landed next to Iris.
"What is this stuff?" Draco inquired, looking slightly disgusted.
Azalea took out her wand and cast a quick, "Lumos!"
The tip of her wand brightened, and the room was filled with light. The three looked down to see that they were standing on a black plant. Suddenly, the plant started to twist snakelike tendrils around their legs.
"This – This is Devil's Snare!" shrieked Azalea. "Don't move! Let's…it likes the dark and the damp – oh right!" She waved her wand and sent a jet of bluebell flames at the plant. In a matter of seconds, they felt the plant loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth.
Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.
"Have I ever told you how grateful I am that you pay attention in Herbology," Iris inquired with a grin.
Azalea frowned, "Don't start. Let's get going."
They walked down a stone passageway for a few minutes before they were able to hear something in the distance. It sounded like soft rustling and clinking. At the end of the passageway, before them was a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was a full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.
"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" wondered Draco.
"They don't look very vicious – wait! They're not birds! They're keys!" exclaimed Iris. That's when she spotted some broomsticks on the left. She picked one and looked up, "Winged keys… so that means that one of them is the key that opens the door."
"But there are hundreds of them! How do we know which one we need?" Draco worried.
Azalea walked over to the wooden door and inspected it, "We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one, probably silver, like the handle."
"I see it!" proclaimed Draco, pointing at a large silver key. "The big one with bright blue wings! The feathers are all crumpled on one side."
Iris grinned viciously before tossing a broomstick to Draco, "Ready?"
The pale boy nodded and the two kicked off into the air, soaring into the cloud of keys. With Iris guidance, Draco was able to catch the big key and toss it to Azalea who unlocked the door. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered but none the less okay.
Iris and Draco landed next to Azalea before entering the next chamber. It was dark in the room making it so they couldn't see anything at all, but as they stepped into the chamber, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.
They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone; facing them, way across the chamber were the white pieces.
"What do we do now?" Iris whispered, her voice sounding frantic. "I was never good at chess, let alone wizards chess."
"Well, it's obvious that someone wants us to play," Azalea rolled her eyes before walking in front of the white pieces.
Pointing her wand, she did a quick, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and a few white pieces were levitated up and the three children had an easy access to the next door on the other side of the chamber. The moment Draco open the door, a disgusting smell filled their nostrils, forcing them to pull their robes over their noses in an act to block out the smell. There on the floor was a troll even larger than the one that Azalea fought with, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.
"Glad I don't have to fight this one as well," murmured Azalea as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs and made their way over to the next room.
There was nothing but a table with seven different sized bottles that were in a line. They walked over to the table, and immediately purple flames sprang up behind them in the doorway. At the same time, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward.
"Bloody hell, now what?" exclaimed Iris with a whine.
Draco walked over to the table and spotted a roll of paper next to the bottles. "Hey guys, look at this!" he shouted. The girls walked over to him and looked over his shoulder.
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
Draco smirked, "This is Uncle Sev's work alright. Give me a moment. I can solve this in a heartbeat." Within a minute, the pale boy held up two bottles. "The smallest one will get us through the black flames and the round one will get us through the purple flames."
Azalea looked at the smaller bottle with a frown, "There's only enough for two of us."
Iris frowned before grabbing the smaller bottle. "Draco, go back and find Uncle Raven. Grab one of the brooms from the flying-key room that will get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy. Azalea and I are going to save my brother from that idiot."
"But, Iris – what if You-Know-Who's with him?" worried Draco.
"I don't care!" snapped Iris. "They have my brother!"
Draco sighed, "Alright, but be careful – both of you!" He started making his way towards the purple flames but stopped and turned towards the two girls. "And good luck."
The girls nodded and Draco drank from the round bottle. He turned back and dashed straight through the purple flames. The two girls took a deep breath and drank from the small bottle. They could feel coldness flooding though their bodies as it made its way down their throats. Grabbing each other's hands, they walked forward into the black flames, however they couldn't feel it as the flames licked at their skin.
Once they were inside the chamber, they saw two people inside – Quirrell and Harry; who was trapped in a body-bind spell.
"Quirrell, no surprise seeing you here," stated Azalea. Iris ran to her brother and quickly released him from the body-bind spell. "So, what business do you have concerning the stone? Is it for Riddle?"
"Silence yourself girl, do not speak what you know nothing about!" snapped Quirrell. "All of you will die tonight once I get the stone from this blasted mirror! I can see myself holding the stone and presenting it to my master, but how come it is not appearing!?"
Harry sat up while rubbing his head after hitting his head when he was stunned, to see Quirrell standing next to a large, mysterious mirror.
Quirrell cursed as he continued to stare into the mirror, "I don't understand…should I break it? What does this mirror do? How does it work? Master, help me!"
Three pairs of eyes widened in horror at hearing this. Riddle was with him? But how? Suddenly, a raspy voice answered near Quirrell.
"Use one of the twins…. use one of the twins…"
Quirrell whipped around quickly, "Come here! NOW!"
Harry gritted his teeth and was about to get up when his sister stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Looking up at her, she shook her head and made her way towards him. Azalea was by Harry's side as Iris bit her lip.
'I must lie about what I see.'
Iris walked in front of the mirror as Quirrell moved behind her, a little too close for her comfort, however she kept quiet.
Looking into the mirror, Iris saw her reflection and it smiled at her. This surprised her as she hadn't smiled into the mirror. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the stone back where it came from – as it did this, Iris felt something heavy drop into her real pocket.
She had gotten the stone!
"What is it?! What do you see?" snapped Quirrell, impatiently.
Iris swallowed, "I-I see my parents… my whole family, standing around me and my brother, holding us."
Quirrell cursed again, "Get out of the way!"
He pushed Iris aside and she landed next to her brother. She felt the stone jab into her leg. Sending a quick mental message to her brother about the stone they shared a look. Do they risk making a break for it?
Before they could move, the raspy voice spoke once again, however they noticed Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.
"She lies…She lies…"
"Get over here, girl! Tell me the truth! What did you see?!" barked Quirrell.
Iris was helping Harry stand up as Azalea stepped forward.
The voice spoke once again, "Let me speak to them… face-to-face…"
"But master, you are not strong enough," whimpered Quirrell.
"I have enough strength… for this…"
The three watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap the turban he always wore. The moment the turban fell from his hands, he turned slowly in his spot. There on the back of Quirrell's head was a face that was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, almost like a snake.
"The Potter twins… little Harry and Iris," it whispered.
Harry clutched his twin's hand tightly.
"See what I have become?" the face growled. "A mere shadow and vapor… but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds… Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks… but once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own…" The eye's narrowed at Iris, "Now, give me the stone in your pocket, girl!"
Iris gritted her teeth, "And let you return to your so-called former glory?! To hurt innocent muggles and muggleborns! Over my dead body!"
"How touching…" it hissed, "I always value bravery… yes, child, your parents were brave… I killed your father first as he put up a courageous fight… but your mother needn't have died… she was trying to protect you both… now give me the stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."
"I don't think so! Move now!" Azalea called out, "STUPEFY!".
The twins started to move as Quirrell dived out of the way of the stunning spell.
"SEIZE THEM!"
Everyone moved in different directions. The three Potters had managed to surround Quirrell in the middle of the chamber.
"SEIZE THEM! SEIZE THEM, YOU FOOL!" It shrieked again.
Quickly, the three aimed their wands and cast the stunning spell at Quirrell. The man dodged the first one, but the other two hit him square in the chest. He was launched backwards into the mirror, smashing it into pieces.
"It's good we have been doing that defense training," announced Azalea before looking over at her cousins, "Are you alright, Harry? How did Quirrell get you?"
Harry crossed his arms, "That stuttering old bastard caught me off guard when I was heading towards Uncle Raven's office. He must have stunned me from behind. I woke up here in the chamber, in a full body-bind when Iris awoke me and Quirrell was trying to find a way to get the stone out of the mirror."
Iris enveloped her twin in a tight hug, "I'm just glad you are alright, Har-Har."
Harry smiled, clutching her sister tightly, "I'm fine Lils. Now let's get out of here and deliver the stone back to Flamel."
The girls nodded and they turned to leave the room. However, behind them, a black mist was rising from Quirrell's body, turning him into dust. The black mist formed into a shadow version of Voldemort and headed straight for the Potter siblings.
Harry caught the movement just in time to push his cousin and twin aside as the black mist passed through Harry's body.
Iris eyes widened as she screamed, "HARRY!"
That was the last thing Harry heard before everything fell to darkness. He felt as if he was trapped in the darkness, and it just kept getting deeper and deeper, however a new light shown through and he made his way towards it as quickly as possible.
Slowly his eyes opened. Blinking a few times to adjust to the brightness of the room, he came face to face with the smiling face of Dumbledore.
"Good afternoon, Harry," greeted Albus. "It's good to see you awake."
"Sir?" Harry whispered roughly. He rubbed his head before his eyes widened in worry, "Quirrell! Where is he? And my sister and cousin, are they alright?"
"Calm yourself, dear boy. Quirrell wasn`t able to get the stone," replied Albus. "Now, please relax or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out like she did with your family and friends."
Harry looked around to see that he was in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.
"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Albus, happily. "What happened down in the dungeons between your family and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows." This gained a chuckle from the older man.
"How long have I been in here?" asked Harry.
"Three days. Your family and your friends will be most relieved to know you are awake, they have been extremely worried. Your sister has refused to leave your side until curfew," replied Albus.
"And… the stone? What happened to it?" asked Harry.
"Gone. Quirrell didn't have it. His body was rendered to ashes when we found him," Albus responded. "I speak to Nicolas about the stone missing, however we're hoping that the stone was destroyed along with the mirror."
Harry smirked inwardly. His sister must have exchanged it with Azalea to have it sent to Nicolas Flamel without Dumbledore's knowledge. However, he simply nodded at what the Headmaster informed him of.
"Well, best be off. You need your rest," Albus stated, before getting up and left the hospital.
-Great Hall, June 8-
"Another year gone," Albus illuminated cheerfully, "And what a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were at the beginning… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. Now, time for the house cup and the points stand thus: In third place, Hufflepuff with three hundred and twelve points; in second, Ravenclaw with three hundred and fifty-two… and surprisingly, there's a tie; with four hundred and seventy-two points are Gryffindor and Slytherin."
There was silence in the hall before a storm of cheering and stomping broke out from the Slytherin and the Gryffindor tables.
"Yes, quite a shock, but this means we need a change of decoration," said Albus, clapping his hands. In an instant, half of the green and silver hangings became scarlet and gold; the huge Slytherin serpent was joined with a Gryffindor lion.
"Well, this is a first," Marcus stated. "Never in Hogwarts history has there been a tie between two houses."
"But the change is good," said Harry. "It shows that rivals can work together."
Theodore smirked, "I wonder what Dumbledore thinks of this. I bet he wanted the Gryffindors to come out on top, but he couldn't do anything about it."
"So which house is going to keep the house cup?" speculated Pansy.
"Who knows," Draco grinned, "At least we won another year!"
"Oh, celebrate all you want, but don't forget about our exam results," Tracy reminded them. Draco and some of the boys made an annoyed face while Harry and the girls chuckled.
-Break Line-
What you think?
Well, first year ended and the twins were able to survive their first year in Hogwarts. But what's going to happen in their second year? Find out in the next update, everyone, ciao all! And have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year…and hope the new year will bring a better one, then 2020, well – ciao for now all!
Next chapter: New friends and old friends