Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry I delayed a bit in this chapter, but I suppose, it's going to be like this from now on.

I hope you've read Chapter 10, I replaced the author's note chapter with it.

Chapter 11

Terrible Happenings

...The Professor hadn't dragged his lecture beyond a few sentences, Dee! And here, I was afraid of a detention! And Professor Snape even promised to keep a better eye on Quirrel. When the discussion was over, he invited us and Dad's portrait for lunch at his quarters where we met Venn.

Blaire's fallen in love with her. In fact, she was the one who chose her in the first place! And I glad Professor Snape doesn't mind having her around.

Lunch was amazing. So were the crackers (I got a hat that changed colours and form according to the clothes I wear. It even protects me from all kinds of weather). After lunch, we headed back home and the professor and Venn came with us. Grandpa was no longer ill in the evening and he said it was all thanks to the Pepper-up. We had a fine dinner, played a few games, sang some popular Carol's and talked for a while.

Then Grandma went to speak with Aunt Petunia, but Uncle Vernon practically yelled the roof down. Aunt Petunia looked very sad. It was as though she wanted to make up with Grandma and Grandpa, but Uncle Vernon wasn't letting her. He had always made the decisions in the house, that is, for as long as I can remember, he's always been the one laying down the rules.

Maybe, there is a chance, a little hope, for Aunt Petunia. Maybe she isn't as bad as it seems? Maybe... She just needs to not be under the influence of Uncle Vernon. We don't know about Dudley though. He's a pig and, if not helped in time, will always be one. It's sad, but Blaire, Harry, Neville and I are definitely not interfering with that family...

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In the New Year, students flocked back to Hogwarts and everything was back to normal, except for the wide berth Harry still received from some of his fellow Slytherins. It hardly bothered him, now that he he had his Occlumency and wood carving to focus on. Every Sunday the four of them would learn a few more tricks on Occlumency, and in no time, Harry's head stopped hurting during Quirrel's class.

Venn had now reached a particular stage and was constantly at play, and to the Professor, this came as a welcoming distraction. Unfortunately, along with this phase, came along the stage of teething, and tired of having his boots gnawed at all day, the Professor bought her a couple of coconuts that she'd almost finished shelling.

The Quidditch matches were still going strong and it was a couple of days before the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, in February, that the triplets found Neville going through books on countercurses.

"What are you doing?" Blaire said.

"Researching." Neville said darkly.

"Countercurses?" Ethan said mildly amused. "Whoever's supposed to attack you, Nev?"

"Draco Malfoy." he said. "The idiot hit me with a leg locker curse, leaving me to hop back to Gryffindor Tower, where I became the laugh of the day! Hermione used the countercurse in the end."

"They're all idiots." Ethan agreed solemnly.

"Anyway, Tilly and gang were behaving real funny yesterday." Neville said chuckling slightly.

"How so?"

"She, that is, Tilly gave me a chocolate frog to cheer me up after Hermione took off the curse and since I don't collect those cards, I handed the card back to them. She practically squeaked and turned the card around to read it and shouted, 'I found Dumbledore! I've got it'" that started the other two off and they read the card as though they've never seen Dumbledore's card before!

"Then Ron Weasley did a jig in the common room saying, 'We found it! We found it!' And Fred and George joined them and It was quite funny!" Neville grinned for a bit and then became serious and turned back to his book.

Blaire sighed and said, "Neville, there is a simple countercurse that works for many spells. It's simply called 'Finite Incantatem.'"

"Oh." Neville said and put it down in the diary Harry gave him.

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After classes one day in February, Severus was grading, with Venn happily chasing after a conjured ball, when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in!" he snapped and to his surprise Neville and a very pale Harry entered his office. Venn gave out a yap of delight and ran to them while Severus placed silencing charms around his office.

"What's happened?" he said to them.

While Neville bent down to pat Venn's head, Harry said hesitantly, "Professor, d-do you remember me telling you that my head no longer hurt in class."

Severus nodded.

"It started again today and it hurt badly. My shields are very strong, thanks to you Professor, but every time Quirrel turned to the board, someone was trying to bang their way into my head and it still hurts horribly."

Severus shot up from his seat and moved to Harry to check him for any injuries. The boy didn't seem happy about the fuss, but Severus ignored him. And then, satisfied that he was unharmed, except for the headache, he gave him a pain reliever and vowed to speak to Quirrel the next day.

He was going to have to plan it appropriately so as to not raise suspicions regarding whose side he really was on... Unfortunately, it was because of the position he was in that his meeting didn't go as well as he had wanted.

Severus met up with Quirrel in the Forbidden Forest after the Quidditch match in which Gryffindor won. He didn't dare to devulge anything...He couldn't tell Quirrel that Harry Potter was one of the children he'd taken under his wing... He couldn't tell him that he and the boy got along pretty well... And hence, the meeting really wasn't upto his standards.

However, it looked like, his message got through for Harry said his head no longer hurt...there was just a twinge in his scar now and then, but the classes ran as smoothly as possible given Quirrel's incessant stammering.

It was some days later that an agitated Lily came up with another problem.

"Severus!" she said rushing into her portrait in his quarters while he was pacing the floor with Venn playful trotting at his heels.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Hagrid, won a dragon's egg at Hogshead and he's already made preparations for its hatching in his, I quote, wooden, unquote cabin. I believe Tilly Ollivander and her friends know about this, as do Ethan, Blaire, Harry and Neville. They spoke to me off it. They're worried about Hagrid getting into trouble-"

"He'd deserve it." Severus pointed out.

"Now, really!... Don't be like that, Sev! Rearing a dragon was his dream!"

"Then he should have gone to Romania... That's it! We could send the dragon to Romania. I believe one of the Weasley boy's study there, but I shall simply inform the headmaster about it to be on the safer side... A letter to Charlie Weasley is in order too, I believe."

In a week, without the knowledge of any of the students or other teachers, Severus, Dumbledore and Charlie Weasley brought together a plan that wouldn't make anyone suspicious about Hogwarts not only harboring a philosopher's stone and a three-headed dog, but a dragon too!"

In April, Severus got wind that 'Nobert' the dragon had been hatched and Ollivander, Weasley and Granger, were trying to talk Hagrid into parting with it. Now Weasley had written a note to his brother in Romania and Charlie Weasley told him not to bother about it, that he would take care about it. He added a little unnecessary information too, such as the date and place at which the operation would occur. He also added a warning that on no circumstances would they interfere in the plan.

Unfortunately, Ron Weasley was bitten by the critter a couple of days prior to the day he received the letter and was now in the hospital wing. That effectively had him out of the way. And a mild compulsion charm on the girls had them in their dormitories, fast asleep on the chosen day.

That evening, he walked into Hagrid's cabin only to find him putting our the fire that had been set to his beard. It took a little cajoling, quite against Severus's dignity, but he managed to get the half-giant to pack up the dragon in a box. Hagrid even added some cushions and a teddy bear in there for what purpose, Severus didn't want to waste his energy wondering about.

As planned, he kept the box in the Astronomy Tower and as he was climbing down he heard Draco Malfoy's voice say, "It's the granddaughter of Ollivander's! She's trafficking a dragon, Professor!"

"Stop talking nonsense, Malfoy." came McGonagall's irate voice and Severus cast a disillusionment charm on himself and rushed back to his quarters and wondered how Malfoy heard about the dragon. The next day, he heard that Malfoy had been given detention with Filch, who happened to be around when McGonagall was assigning it.

Lily told him a few days later, that Malfoy had come into possession of the letter that Charlie Weasley had sent his brother. Then everything was calm for a while until Harry approached Severus and said his unnatural headaches had begun all over again.

This time, Severus made up his mind to personally be in that class the next time it was held. With no persuasion at all, he borrowed the Potter's invisibility cloak so there wasn't a chance of him being seen just in case his disillusionment charm failed him.

Little did he know that that DADA class where Harry had his headaches all over again was the last one he would have for the rest of the year.

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The exams were approaching and every student was tucked away under the load of all their unfinished revision, keeping them safely out of trouble. The only person having trouble concentrating was Harry. All thanks to the pain in the scar that occurred quite frequently these days. Added to this was the fact that he wasn't able to do any prep and Blaire had firmly stated that they weren't going to use their connection to cheat.

It was a few minutes to curfew and Harry, who still had more than half of his work to go through left the library and his siblings and made a move to go back to the Slytherin dormitory, in the hope that a few hours of sleep would reduce some of the pain in his scar. Then he'd wake up early next morning and do as much of studying as possible before the pain returned again.

But, as Harry passed by a classroom next to the library, he heard whimpering.

Was a student hurt or injured? Did they need help? Harry never was one to meddle in affairs that didn't concern him for the simple reason that he didn't want others to meddle in his affairs. This didn't mean that he would just leave someone who needed help and walk away.

He entered the classroom. And in the corner, beside the last bench, on his knees was Quirrel, sobbing to no one in particular.

Big mistake.

Hoping his frantic heart couldn't be heard beating, Harry began backing out of the class, but a terrible pain, something that he'd never felt before, developed behind his scar. His scar was searing as though trying to put aside any awareness he had about his surroundings. The pain was so bad that he fell to his knees before he could even move back half the distance.

"Close the door!" a high voice screeched from near Quirrel.

Immediately Harry heard doors snap shut behind him and he wished he had never entered the room. He didn't know what was going to happen, but, with the pain trying to obstruct his thinking, he couldn't get himself to feel afraid.

If he got out of here alive, Harry thought as he put up his weak Occlumency shields, he vowed that he would never park his nose where it didn't belong ever again.

"Call Professor Snape!" Harry mentally screamed.

"What!" Blaire, Ethan and Neville said in unison, sounding quite startled.

"Let me speak to him." the cold voice said.

"Get him to the classroom next to the library quick! I'm locked inside with Quirrel and I don't know what's happening I can't get out! I'm hearing voices! HELP!" Harry explained as quickly as he could.

"You aren't strong enough, Master!" Quirrel said in a surprising steady voice, getting to his feet. Harry soon realised that it wasn't Terrance Higgs who'd said those words to him before subjecting him to that horrible potion. It had been Quirrel!

"Blaire's gone to fetch him, Harry." Ethan said with a trembling voice. "Neville and I are coming to you. Hang on!"

"It was Quirrel who gave me those fumes!" Harry told them as he heard the cold high voice say, "Do as your told!"

"Oh! Oh!" Blaire cried in despair. "I can't get there any faster. But I'll get him. Try to keep them occupied, I'm nearly there!"

Harry watched with fascinated horror as Quirrel began unraveling his turban.

"He's taking off his turban! Please Blaire! Move faster!"

The pain in his scar, plus the revulsion at what he saw next made him want to vomit. For the place on Quirrel's head, where any other person would have had hair or skin if they were bald, there was a face! A face with red eyes!

"Ahhhh!" Harry screamed mentally, but couldn't get any sound out of his mouth. So terrified was he.

"Harry!" Blaire, Ethan and Neville cried.

"What's happening?" Neville said.

But Harry couldn't think! All he could hear was his mind screaming and all he could feel was the pain in his scar.

"Harry Potter." the face whispered. "Recognize me?"

Unconsciously, Harry who was still on his knees, took a better look at the face. He noticed beneath those eyes were slit like nostrils, fitting for a snake.

"No?" the face sneered. "I was sure that you would remember me. We met on Halloween after all way back in eighty one."

"Voldemort?" Harry said with disgust vaguely aware that Blaire, Ethan and Neville were trying to get his attention.

"It's Voldemort!" he told them frantically. "He's with Quirrel!"

"How dare you!" Quirrel growled.

"Hang on!" Blaire cried.

"Quiet, Quirrel." Voldemort - face said. He tried to bore his red eyes into Harry's, but Harry focused his on Quirrel's wand hand.

Quirrel began walking backwards so Voldemort could approach Harry. Adrenaline rushed into his system and he leapt to his feet.

"See what I've become! See what you have done! Nothing but shadow and mist! Did you think you could get away with it?"

Voldemort snarled as Harry backed away to the front of the class.

"No, you don't. I always get my revenge. And after my faithful servant kills you, Potter, I am going to honour him by making him drink unicorn blood for me."

Harry didn't know why drinking unicorn blood was an honour or where they were found, but he did know that he was going to be killed if he didn't act fast. Blaire's, Ethan's and Neville's voices, that kept their inquiries on how he was doing constant, weren't helping him think properly either, though he couldn't blame them.

"Afraid, Harry?" Voldemort sneered. "Mummy isn't here to save you now is she? Too bad... Not to worry, Potter, you will meet your Mudblood mother soon."

"Your disgusting!" Harry shouted at him.

Both Voldemort and Quirrel hissed.

Then Voldemort said in a dangerous whisper, "Do it!"

Quirrel turned around and pointed his wand at Harry and shouted something. Harry was too focused on getting out of the curse's way to pay attention to what the incantation was.

He jumped out of the way and behind the teacher's table, just as a bright familiar, green light, shoot out of Quirrel's wand and hit the other door of the room, blasting it and the wall around it to pieces, leaving behind a huge hole

Harry's heart began hammering faster in his chest. That green light! He had had dreamt of it many times but had never got the chance to speak to his siblings about it.

Harry pushed the thought out of his mind and ran towards the opening, but strong hands grabbed hold of the ankle of his good leg, twisting it and making him topple over. And Harry's scar had never hurt so terribly before. The pain was now practically blinding him.

But as soon as that happen, Quirrel let go and started howling in pain.

Through his own haze of pain, Harry turned and saw Quirrel's hands blistering painfully.

"Kill him!" Voldemort shouted.

"Master, I can't touch him!" Quirrel cried.

"I didn't tell you to touch him you fool!" Voldemort screamed. "Kill him!"

Quirrel held his wand gingerly and pointed it to Harry. Harry now had no where to run. He had no weapon save for his wand that was of little use to him. There was no hope. He was going to... Wait! There was something else! Quirrel couldn't touch his bare skin without pain!

He stood up with monumental effort, ignoring the pain in both, his ankle and his scar.

Quirrel used the curse again, but running away from Dudley and his gang with a weak leg did pay off in the end. Harry leapt out of the way barely missing the curse.

Then, without hesitating he leapt at Quirrel and pressed his hands on the man's face. The pain and pressure in Harry's head threatened to blast it apart, it was so bad he had to shut his eyes. He heard Quirrel screeching and Voldemort screaming and then a loud blast from behind him and then he knew no more.

...

When Blaire mentally told Harry that she was nearly there, she was, to be honest, far away from her destination, but Blaire had read that in times like this, the person needed to be reassured. The little girl ran as fast as her legs could take her.

When Blaire heard Harry scream in her mind like that, she felt the blood leave her face. And that wasn't by far the worst! A minute later, Harry let them know that Voldemort was with Quirrel!

How could he have even entered the castle?

She put that thought aside, told Harry to hang on, and focused on running faster, though it didn't seem to make a difference.

Oh, why did castles have to be so big?

She knew that there were a few minutes till curfew. That meant that Professor Snape would begin his rounds in the hope of catching some disobedient students. For that, he would have to come out of the dungeons.

She made her way towards the entrance hall. But as she reached the marble staircase, she lost her footing in her haste and the poor girl rolled down the stairs. She rolled off the fifth step from the bottom and fell to the floor hitting her elbow. Hard.

She heard a few shouts, and hazily noticed a few people coming out of the Hall, rushing to her aid. But Blaire's mind was on Harry and Harry only. She jumped up and ran. She felt dizzy and her elbow was now sending out stabbing pains, but she ran straight to the door that led to the dungeons...only to collide into something black. She began to topple over, but strong hands grabbed her by her shoulders and held her straight.

"Miss Potter! What is going on?"

It was Professor Snape!

Blaire could have cried with relief. But that could wait.

"You know very well that running..." but the Professor had probably just caught sight of her face and trailed off.

"Professor!" she screamed before he could ask her what was actually happening. Not caring that there were a few others in the Hall, the few who had seen her fall down the stairs.

Struggling to catch her breath, she screeched, "Harry is locked in the classroom next to the library with Quirrel and Voldemort!"

Blaire was sure her voice had made the Professor's ears hurt, but she would apologize later. Right now her brother needed help.

Blaire was so sure that the Professor would ask for an explanation, that she was caught surprised when he simply said, "Stay here!"

Blaire saw him run towards the marble stairs. He was closely followed by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick. Each Professor had pulled out a wand from their pockets and were running up the stairs.

She was now alone in the Hall and without waiting to think or catch her breath fully, Blaire ran after them. She climbed the stairs to see Professor Snape turning around the corner, followed closely by the others. She ran after them in silence.

It seemed that the journey back to the library was shorter than that the one from it, for very soon, Blaire reached the library...and just in time to hear the Professor bellow at Ethan and Neville who were banging the door with their fists.

"Stand aside!"

The moment they obeyed, he pointed his wand at the door and it blasted open.

Blaire entered the room along with Ethan and Neville just to see Professor Dumbledore lifting Harry off a bleeding mess that was Quirrel.

McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout were pointing their wands at Quirrel. He was breathing with short weak gasps, his face was full of blisters. It was a sickening sight. Blaire turned to look at Harry who Professor Dumbledore placed in Professor Snape's arms.

She felt her breath get caught in her throat when she realized Harry was not moving. The Professor put Harry on the floor and knelt next to him. He put his fingers to Harry's neck and checked for his pulse. He turned to look and Dumbledore and said, "Alive. Weak pulse."

Then suddenly Quirrel made a strange sound and it looked like he died, but something dark and translucent oozed out from his head and hovered in the air making an unearthly sound sending chills down Blaire's sweat drenched back.

McGonagall, Dumbledore and Flitwick pointed their wands at it, while Snape tried to keep Harry protected. Sprout on the other hand collected, Ethan, Neville and Blaire behind her back, shielding them from whatever that dark, translucent thing was.

The shadow made a move towards Snape and Harry, but Dumbledore sent a white light at it. It screamed in anger and turned to the door that Professor Snape blasted open, the wands following it's every move. Professor Sprout steadily moved the children so that she was constantly facing the shadow and shielding the children at the same time.

The translucent shadow reached the door slowly and at the last moment changed direction.

It swiftly moved past Sprout and straight to Ethan.

"Ethan!" Blaire shrieked as the shadow oozed into Ethan's back. Ethan screamed with pain and fell writhing to the floor . Blaire made a move to go to him, but Sprout grabbed both her and Neville and moved them back, next to Snape and Harry.

The next moment, that shadow howled in pain too and seeped out of Ethan's body and hovered over him just like it did for Quirrel. Now Blaire wasn't sure if Ethan was alive.

Dumbledore, who along with McGonagall and Flitwick who all had, at some point, rushed towards Ethan and the shadow, sent that white light at it again. The shadow gave that unearthly wail again and floated out of the room. Dumbledore and McGonagall followed it out.

Now Blaire cried Ethan's name out again and made a second attempt to move to his side, but Sprout stopped her again. She seemed to be doing well considering that both, Blaire and Neville were struggling against her hold.

Flitwick hurried forward and put his fingers around Ethan's wrist and let out a sigh of relief.

"He's alive!" he squeaked.

With that Neville calmed down, but Blaire didn't. She kept struggling, hoping to get near to at least one of her brothers.

"Blaire dear," Professor Sprout panted. "Calm down."

Blaire let out a strangled sob. It was now that she realised that there were tears streaming down her face.

"I want to go near him!" she said brokenly.

Professor Snape conjured strechers under both boys and turned to Blaire and gave her a stern look.

"Miss Potter, you have already disobeyed my direct orders. If you do not cease this nonsense right now, I am going to keep you in detention with me until you come of age."

It wasn't the threat that made Blaire stop struggling against Professor Sprout's hold...It was the tone with which the Professor spoke. She just stood there and let the tears flow down her face. This was all her fault! Had she reached for help earlier, neither Harry nor Ethan would have been like this.

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Severus sighed. He looked down at his silently crying goddaughter and felt guilt rise in his chest.

"Severus!" Pomona and Flitwick were both quick to reprimand him.

"Her only brothers..."

"Now was that necessary?"

"They are all she has!"

Severus let out an exasperated sound. He hovered the stretchers with the unconscious boys in the air and bent down and scooped up the crying child in his arms and placed her on his hip. Then he took all four of his charges to the hospital wing.

Poppy Pomfrey, immediately had Blaire and Neville consume a calming draught mixed with a mild sleeping potion. The effects the potion had on the two distraught children could be compared to the effects of a dreamless sleep potion... They were out like the light. It was only then that Madam Pomfrey fixed Blaire's broken elbow.

Then she turned to the Potter boys and after a lot of examination, she said, "It's so difficult to make out who's who when they have their eyes closed. Severus, Ethan will be fine in a few hours, but Harry will take some more time to recover. His little encounter seems to have taken a lot out of him."

"This should have never happened!"

"I'm well aware of that, Severus." she said gently. "But it already has and there's nothing you can do about it now. All we can do now is learn from our mistakes and be careful. They are lucky, this incident didn't result in something worse."

tbc...