Chapter 4: The Stone
Harry was starting to get too close to being hit or crushed, and as he and ron were starting to really panic, Hermions grabbed ahold of her senses and readied her wand.
She focused her mind and her magic and with a simple spell, Wingardium Leviosa, she forced the club up into the air and straight back down on the trolls head, knocking it out cold.
The three were lifted from the floor by the large thump that resounded, sending shock waves through the castle. They didn't even have a moment to celebrate not dying before the professors finally showed up.
They had been on their way to check the third floor when they heard a boy scream for help, it sounded oddly like a Weasley. They ran towards the sounds, only to be jostled by a large roar and screams of spells coming from three young voices. Severus and the other professors were at the door shortly after, watching as in the aftermath the club fell to the ground. The troll was on it's way down and there stood three first years, wands raised and chests heaving.
The room itself was an absolute mess, debris littered the floors and the students were covered in small scratches. A toilet had been smashed, leaving water to rain down in the room, making the trolls blood move faster across the floors.
Ms. Granger was on the far end of the room in a corner. Her wand had been pointed at the club. Mr. Weasley was nearer to the door, his wand still trained on where the trolls eye level had been while standing. Mr. Potter was near the sinks, his wand outstretched to the trolls groin level, like he'd know if anything else, where to hurt a male the most.
Snape was of course the first to get the children's attention and the others left him to it. They could hardly speak let alone reprimand the three, who had not only located, but also defeated a troll.
They were first years!! And they had managed to do what their defense Professor had never done. They were all in shock, but they still held firm in the face of the dangers. It was appalling that the man was even on the staff, especially after his stunt tonight. Fainting in front of the students over a troll? After he has bragged that he'd faced and fought many and had still come out on top? No his lies were shoddy at best, but this was the icing on the cake for his cowardice.
While his colleagues went to fully check if the troll was unconscious and to remove it from the school grounds, Severus sneered at the three. They had done something nigh on impossible for first years, but that doesn't mean they were off the hook for not being in their proper places.
"Potter! I assume that this was all down to you, hmm? Was your stunt earlier this year too tame, or have you simply lost a few brain cells in your Quidditch practices?!" The man bellowed, trying hard not to strangle the young boy in from of him.
He turned to Weasley as sneered, "And of course a Weasley! You and your siblings simply do not know when to stop and think!" This was said in a dark tone before going back to Harry.
Or he would have if the Granger girl hadn't chimed in.
"Sir, it was my fault. I asked them to stay with me while I used the restroom before we went to the tower, and I didn't know the troll was going to come in."
Her lie wasn't all the way there, and Snape frowned but took it. He gave the three a set of detentions and took forty points in total from Gryffindor, but the look he have Harry had the boy confused all the way up towards the tower.
Once in the tower they had been cornered to see if they saw anything. And once their house mates had found out about the troll and how they'd defeated it, thanks to Ron blurting out the answers to get everyone off their backs, they were laughed at by most of the older years.
But McGonagall took that moment to walk in, finally reprimanding the children on the dangers they'd faced when fighting that troll, and all laughter died down.
"You are first years! You are not meant to be knocking out dangerous creatures or fighting them at all during a lock down." She was stern, not even listening to them when they said they hadn't known the creature would be on that floor, and they really needed to be there for their friend.
They let the teachers believe that it was Hermione needing the restroom that kept them there, instead of Ron's hurtful words and Harry's hardheaded determination to find and protect her that brought them all to that room.
And of course, the teachers let the trio believe that they had bought the lie. McGonagall simply told them to stay out of trouble and danger for the rest of the school year, then left.
The trio took the brief period of confusion and shock and retreated to their dorms, where they got cleaned up and tried to avoid extra questions or curious looks.
Once they'd settled in for the night Harry finally put a name to the emotions he'd seen in those dark eyes. It was worry, or concern, which he hadn't sent towards the others in the room. He'd seen it before in Hermione's eyes when she reminded him to eat, and in his own eyes in the mirror, so he knew what it was, but not why. It was so different to what the man and how he'd said it, so what was Harry to believe??
HPSSHPSSHPSS
The year continued to zoom by as they served their detentions, Ron grumbling all the while. The three Gryffindors had come to an agreement, Ron would be nicer to Hermione if she stopped speaking to him like he was as dumb as a rock. Harry was happy to see his friends bridging the gap between them, as he couldn't continue to hold onto both ropes if Ron kept waving a lit match near his, and Hermione kept letting hers disappear and reappear at will.
As the first detention went by however, Harry learned that he didn't mind cleaning cauldrons, or sorting ingredients. It was a fun pastime and break from his research and classes. It reminded him of the Dursley's house, in a good way if there ever was one. Here he could clean and let his worries go, there he could clean and not be at risk of a new even more painful beating than the last. Hed not been able to cook at the school, since the mysterious chefs did that. But it was ok. He had to much to focus on anyways, especially with his new health problems.
He'd yet to tell anyone about the scar, although he knew Snape was suspicious. The man had told him to speak up if he had any problems, but harry wasn't sure how to start talking about the subject and all the scary things he and Hermione had found.
Their monday messages had moved to Saturdays as it was easier to send and receive multiple when they weren't expected to be around the entire school the whole day.
Harry liked having the man back. Even though he still saw the potions master everyday, his mentor was never as easy to talk to when others could see or hear how much he was concerned.
The boy would tell his mentor tonight he decided, as he wouldn't have time tomorrow because of his first game on the Gryffindor team.
He had gotten a broom from Professor McGonagall before Harry had started his training to be a seeker, and was so happy for the opportunity to get outside and be active. It was rare back in Surrey, to be able to go outside and do more than just his chores, so this was fun. The boy had taken to the air like a fish in water it seemed, and soon the whole school knew he was the youngest seeker in a century.
It made Harry wonder what happened to the previous holder of that title, and he shivered. It can't have been good if they raised the age limits on the sport, so he'd have to be extra careful.
The whole day was filled with a buzz, and by the time dinner had passed Harry was sure he'd vibrate right out his skin from anticipation and nerves. He raced to his bed, pulling his curtains around himself as he fought his body to stay awake and write to Snape.
Had he not already told the man that he needed to confide in him, Harry would have just let himself fall straight into a deep sleep.
But he wanted to keep his word, so he told the Professor all that he could remember about how he feels when he's around Quirrell, and that it only happens around that man. He talked about the books he read, not hiding the fact that some were restricted, and asked for the mans opinion.
Snape got back to him by the next morning stating that he'd look into it. He also took points from Gryffindor and stated that just because it was written, it wasn't any less valid. Harry himself had a detention tacked on as well, because even though Snape knew Harry researched with Hermione, he could not let her know that he knew unless he caught them reading those books.
But even if he had taken away enough points for the both of them, he implored Harry to not be rash or impulsive about what he'd found. As he had little time as it was, Harry could only silently agree that he'd try, before getting dressed in his Quidditch uniform, and heading down to breakfast.
He shared an imperceptible nod with the older man, letting him know he'd gotten the note and would do as much as he could to stay safe. He didn't look straight at the man, rather at the head table in general and when Professor McGonagall nodded back to him, he realized she had likely thought it was because of the game. That worked out well, he thought, sending the woman a beaming smile.
He saw the mirth in Professor Snape's eyes as he had seen the entire interaction, and Harry knew if he didn't look away he would start laughing. Breakfast passed and soon the teams were heading down to the pitch, for their first game of the season.
It turns out, that the first game was horrible! They'd won, but Harry was in the hospital wing after having his broom jinxed. He hadn't remembered much before it started happening, but as soon as his broom started to go wonky, everything was loud and clear.
Hermione had said it was Snape, but Harry knew that it couldn't be true. He tried to say the man wouldn't, but he could only say that he saw it from the other side of the teachers stands, and he saw Snape's wand after he started feeling better in control.
The girl conceded his point, as she'd only seen the latter half of the wand pointing, but told him to be careful nonetheless. He said he would, and after that he was struck by a weird feeling in his arm. When he looked down he realized half his arm was like jelly, and it wobbled painfully when he tried to move it.
"Mr. Potter. Cease that movement immediately." Said the Medi-witch Madam Pomfrey as she shooed Hermione away. Ron had been there earlier, he was told by the woman, though he had left before Harry woke for lunch.
Harry wanted to laugh, of course Ron had gone to lunch, and Hermione had stayed despite it. That's how they were and Harry loved them for it.
It wasn't long before he was missing them though, as he was given a really awful tasting potion called Skelegrow, and told he'd be in the infirmary for the rest of the night while his bone, which had splintered due to a bludger hitting it, healed. It happened as he caught the golden snitch with his left hand, tumbled to the ground, and ended a fairly good first game with a harsh finality.
Some long boring hours later, he was just nodding off in bed when he saw a dark shadow creep out into the light. He was mostly asleep, as he had gotten a pain potion only an hour ago, but he knew he was not dreaming. His dreams were never this calm.
As the shadow came into the moonlight, harry realized it was Snape, and with a small barely there sigh he relaxed.
"Foolish Gryffindor..." Was all he heard the man say, his voice soft as a hand brushed away Harry's brown hair, taking his glasses off and placing them to the side.
"Sleep. We can talk about your foolish luck tomorrow." And with that almost command Harry was out.
He hadn't had many other incidents like the skelegrow one after his release from Madam Pomfrey's care, though as the mystery of the Defense teacher unfolded, he and his friends found out just why Harry felt what he did, but not what caused it.
After Hagrid had spilled the beans about the stone and some of what he knew of it, he had shut himself up, and ushered the trio out of his hut, leaving them so close to an answer and yet so far away.
They knew what they were looking for, and where to find it, but Hermione and Ron had suspicions that Snape was after the stone, but Harry still couldn't see it being him.
He knew what people were like, and he knew that Snape was angry and embittered, but not downright evil. Just like he knew Quirrell was a coward, but still held a deep dark secret. And Harry knew that that secret had more to do with him than he'd first thought.
He let his friends speculate, and if he hadn't known a different side of the man, he would have been right along with the others, but as it was, Harry simply could not fathom the man turning against him like that.
They faced the trials and puzzles left by the teachers, one by one, from the three headed dog, the room of keys, the chess room, and the potions room. He really could not figure out why it had been so easy for them to get through, despite his two friends being left behind. Ron was still knocked out in the chess room, and Hermione had stayed in the potions room to help him get back through. She speculated that the potion would only let one of them through and she had been right. The one to go back seemed to refill continuously, she noted after they accidentally spilled a bit.
But back to Harry's harrowing thoughts. It was good that he had faith in the man, Harry realized that night, as he stood opposite of Quirrell who was without his turban.
That was not quite the shock it should have been, for on the back of his head was the horrible sight of another face. It was scaly and snake like, ugly to look at and his voice was like having a slimy flobberworm in your ear. He didn't have much to compare it to, so it would have to work.
He had already gotten the stone from the mirror, his desire had been wanting to keep it safe from whichever teacher did want it, and that had been a big problem. As the second face spoke to him, Harry found that he'd played right into the mans hands. He had Hermione and Ron unconscious or worse, and he promised to really make them suffer if Harry didn't hand over the Sorcerer's Stone.
He held strong though, and as he managed to make the head talk, he found out more about dark wizards and his parents death than he'd have liked.
Quirrell was clumsy, and bad with his wand, but Harry still marveled at the fact that he'd disarmed the adult so easily. That was until the man lunged at him and grabbed his bare skin trying to pry his hands away from Voldemort's prize.
Screams rent the air as the man started to burn, and he instead tried to pull away, but Harry knew what he'd had to do. Taking a steadying breath, he latched onto the man, and blocked his ears and mind to the screams that echoed throughout the room. As Quirrell disintegrated in front of his very eyes, in bardged none other than his Headmaster and his mentor.
The two men watched as Quirrell and Voldemort screamed, neither of the dying beings seeing the two newcomers. Harry felt tears prickling his eyes, he knew somewhere deep down that he was killing not one, but two beings, but he rationalized it by thinking that he would have been the one dead if he hadn't. And then Voldemort would have the stone so he could come back in a real body instead of sharing one.
And then Harry's friends would really be in danger.
And he wouldn't be able to help because he was dead.
And then the whole world would hate him because Harry had been the reason why the dark wizard had come back.
And he'd never get to find out if Snape really was bad or if he was just really good at acting bad.
And-- and-- Harry ran out of steam with his thoughts, since the black mist rising from the ashen remains of the defense teacher had seen to that.
Harry backed away, with the stone still clutched to his chest. It seemed the misty Voldemort would have tried to attack him if it hadn't have noticed Dumbledore in its peripherals. Snape had blended into a corner opposite the whole ordeal, and when Harry found him, he simply rose a brow and smirked almost good naturedly.
Harry was then brought back to attention by the mist soul thing swearing it would be back, before narrowly dodging a spell and escaping.
Once it was long gone, Harry dropped the stone, hearing it almost crack as he tried to get back to his friends.
"My boy, your friends are quite alright." Dumbledore reassured, before asking Harry to hand him the stone.
The boy was still in shock however, and after picking it back up, shook his head no.
He had seen the mist leave, but what if the Headmaster wasn't the headmaster?? What if he had everyone fooled and Harry was about to give the stone to another of the bad adults?
He was starting to panic, and that was when Snape stepped in, hitting him upside the head and telling him in no uncertain terms that that really was the Headmaster. Harry believed that this was Snape, as the man had threatened to do what he'd just done several times over the year, but he had no idea about Dumbledore.
Finally the eldest of the three smiled and offered to let Harry touch his hand, and if he too burned, then Harry was correct. It seemed too simple to the boy, but with the real snape behind him, he could trust his gut a little more.
Shaking out of those spiralling thoughts, Harry nodded, his voice lost to the ether as he clutched the stone with one ashen hand, and reached out the other to the headmaster.
Severus noted that the boy looked like a scared animal, but was still quite impressed by Harry's mettle and forethought. Though his reflexes could use a lot of sharpening, the boy wasn't as dumb as Severus had at first wanted to believe.
After this trial by almost literal fire, Harry calmed somewhat. He reluctantly handed over the stone, then made his excuses, rushing out of the room so he could find a safe place to throw up. He'd killed a man tonight! How was he supposed to live with that??
He really didn't know, and even though it wasn't an innocent man he'd killed, he still took a life that day. He still watched a man die, by his own hands no less!! And Snape and Dumbledore had just watched it all happen, they didn't stop it, or get Harry away from the man, they simply let him spontaneously combust a man to death.
The boy lost control of his stomach all over again, and groaned. His first year had been awful, and he still had to go the rest of the year before he could escape to his cupboard. Maybe his aunt and uncle were right and he was a killer. Maybe he really was a freak that no one should be around, and maybe that was why his parents were dead. He was the reason they'd died-- he may as well have been the one holding the wand.
But like all lapses in his mind, he knew it was untrue, snorting instead at the mental image of himself as a chubby little baby holding up a wand and speaking clearly those two words that he somehow knew but never clearly heard.
Muggles say abracadabra when they do their fake magic, and he thought it sounded similar enough, so maybe that was one thing the two worlds had in common? If they had magic and had said it, would some innocent person die?? Would they even know?
He sighed. It all sounded too grown up for him, and since he was to go back to the Dursleys at the end of the school year, he'd try to put this out of his mind.
It worked, of course it had, but only for a little while, because soon he and his friends were seated in the headmaster's office, being told to retell the events of the night before.
Snape was there, but after Harry told his friends last night that it had been Quirrell, and that he was dead, they calmed their suspicious glares.
The man seemed unaffected either way, but after his friends had left the room and Harry was once again alone with the two Professors, he was given another shock.
