She waited a few minutes, and then checked the small bottle Harry had discarded on the table. Indeed, there was more of the potion in it, just as she'd thought. She gulped it down and shuddered. It indeed felt like ice creeping through her veins. She stared down the door, stepping through the black flames.
Into a large room, with Harry, a large mirror, and - and Quirrell.
Not Snape, not Voldemort, but stuttering Quirrell. She knew there was a reason she didn't like him.
They hadn't noticed her yet, so she slunk into the corner of the room, watching the scene unfold before her.
"I see myself holding the Stone. How do I get it?' Quirrell said, gazing into the mirror. The mirror! It was the mirror of Erised, Lizzie realized with a jolt. She thought it had been relocated.
She was brought out of her thoughts when a cold, cruel voice spoke up, almost as if answering Quirrell. But, there was no one else in the room.
"Use the boy."
Quirrell whirled around, crying, "Come here Potter! Now!"
Harry walked his way, and stared into the mirror. Quirrell commanded, "tell me, what do you see?"
Harry stared into it, and said, "I-I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. I've won the House Cup."
"He lies."
"Tell the truth! What do you see!"
"Let me speak to him."
"Master, you are not strong enough."
"I have strength enough for thisss."
Quirrell, with shaking hands, carefully unwound his turban, and lifted it off his head, and Lizzie recoiled in horror, for on the back of his head was another face, a misshapen hideous one.
"Harry Potter," it said. "We meet again."
"Voldemort," Harry said, and Lizzie had to clap a hand over her mouth to hold in a scream.
"Yes. You see what I've become? See what I must do to survive. Live off another, a mere parasite. Unicorn blood can sustain me, but it cannot give me a body of my own. But there is something that can. Something that, conveniently enough, lies in your pocket."
Harry glanced down at his pocket in shock, then turned to run, but Voldemort cried, "stop him!"
Quirrell snapped his fingers, and flames burst up around the room. Lizzie yelped and had to run forward out of her hiding spot to avoid getting burned.
"Everyone's gazes snapped to her, and Quirrell snapped his fingers again, and ropes sprang up, snaking themselves around her until she couldn't move.
"Don't be a fool. Why suffer a horrific death, when you can live and join me? I'll even let your friend here live."
Struggling in the bonds, Lizzie cried, "Harry don't listen to him!"
His gaze flickered between Quirrell and Lizzie, and he cried, "Never!"
The ropes around her tightened, and she let out a small squeak, one Harry heard nonetheless.
Voldemort chuckled cruelly. "Bravery. Your parents had it too. They were brave. I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight … but your mother needn't have died … she was trying to protect you … Now, give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain. Or perhaps, I'll kill your friend here first, make you watch her die unless you give me the Stone."
Harry looked torn, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the Stone. "No Harry! Don't!" Lizzie cried, and the ropes tightened around her neck, choking off what she would say next.
"Foolish girl, stop talking," Voldemort cried.
Harry held up the Stone, and Voldemort kept talking to him, trying to convince him into giving up the Stone. "That's it, boy. There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it."
The edges of her vision were getting fuzzy from lack of oxygen, and her head was starting to hurt. She discreetly started pulling out her wand from her pocket, inching it towards the vines.
"Together, we'll do extraordinary things. You and your little friend will live. Just give me the Stone!"
His gaze flickered to the mirror, and he cried, "you liar!"
"Kill him!"
In all the confusion, Lizzie whispered, "Ignis." A flame erupted from her wand, burning through the rope in seconds, and she rubbed her neck. Quirrell leaped towards Harry, and practically flew across the room, gripping Harry by the neck, and Lizzie ran to Harry's side.
Suddenly, Quirrell's hands started smoking. He cried out, horrified, but his hands seemed to almost dissolve. "What is this magic!"
"Fool! Get the Stone!"
He reached out, but Harry rushed forward, shoving his hands on Quirrell's face. He cried out in anguish, his face crumpling away as his hand did.
Harry shoved him away, and his whole body started dissolving. He made to rush at Harry again, but he fell to his knees, and his body was gone, leaving only dust and empty robes behind.
Harry picked up the Stone, the threat to it finally gone. "Harry behind you," Lizzie cried, as a cloud of dust rose behind him. The dust blew her backward, into a large pillar, and she fell to the ground limply. "Lizzie!" Harry shouted, and turned to run to her.
The cloud of dust formed a face, of Voldemort, and rushed at him, screaming. It flew through his chest, and he fell to the ground, unconscious as well.
Her limbs felt heavy, like she was under a million blankets, and she sluggishly crawled her way to consciousness. Her eyes opened to Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey conversing silently in the corner of the room. She must be in the infirmary.
"I fear, Madam Pomfrey, that our conversation is no longer private. Good morning Elizabeth. How, may I ask, are you feeling?"
Madam Pomfrey bustled around her, checking the dressing and bandages on her wounds, and Lizzie's head spun. She apparently had minor rope burns on her wrist and throat, and a concussion from when she was flung into that pillar.
"Sir, it was Quirrell! It was him all along! You must get the Stone. Voldemort will be back for it!"
Madam Pomfrey gave a squeak of fright at the name and walked into her office to give them some privacy.
"Calm down Miss Kelly. It is alright. Professor Quirrell does not have the Stone."
Lizzie looked around the room, to where Harry lay across from her on his own bed, with candy piles high on his table. She also had some candy, a small bit but still some.
"Ah, tokens from admirers. I'm afraid nothing stays secret in Hogwarts for long. I believe Misters Fred and George Weasley attempted to send a toilet seat. Madam Pomfrey was not amused."
"How long have we been here?"
"Two days. Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be very relieved that you have come round. I am afraid we are still waiting for dear Mr. Potter to do the same. Your friends have been extremely worried about the two of you."
"And the Stone?'
"It is not in the clutches of someone like Voldemort, I can assure you that. It has been destroyed."
"But what about Nicholas and his wife?"
"Oh, they have enough elixir to let them get their affairs in order, and then they will pass away, onto the next great adventure of life."
She nodded, and sat there for a bit, lost in thought. She spoke again, saying, "Sir? Voldemort, he's not going to stop, is he? He's going to try other ways to come back. He's not gone yet."
Dumbledore hummed in agreement, and said, "yes my dear, I'm afraid so. He is still out there, perhaps looking for another host body. But, while Harry only managed to delay his rise to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to stand up to him next time - who knows, he may never grow strong enough to return."
Lizzie shook her head. "No. No, he'll be back. Not now, but soon."
Dumbledore leaned forward, and said, "and how do you know this, my dear?"
She looked up, stammering, "I-I-"
"It's alright. You may tell me, ."
"My, my father was a centaur. I am half centaur."
"And how did you find this out?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes twinkling with curiosity.
"That night in the Forbidden Forest, when I didn't come out. A centaur, my uncle, took me to the village, to talk with Arax."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, but didn't interrupt her.
"He, he was going to be my mentor. He said my magic was beginning to come in, and he would train me. I was supposed to meet him the night we went to face Voldemort. Oh, he probably thinks I don't want to meet with him."
She took a breath, before continuing. "Voldemort will come back. I don't know when but soon. I don't know how I know this, but I do."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully walked out of the infirmary. Lizzie panicked, thinking she said something wrong, knowing Cyfrin told her not to tell anyone about her heritage. She sat there worrying for what felt like forever, until Dumbledore walked back in, Professor McGonagall on his tail.
"Elizabeth, would you be so kind as to tell Professor McGonagall what you shared with me?"
Lizzie nodded, her mouth dry, and began her explanation again, starting from the top.
When she was finished, the room was silent for a long moment. Professor McGonagall sat down on an empty bed, and said, "well, I suppose we can arrange visits to your uncle. It doesn't seem fair that you would have to break school rules to meet your family. And it is a good idea to train your magic and get it under control. I suppose, Mondays and Thursdays after classes, and Saturday would work. But it's up to you to stay on top of your classwork. And, I would advise you keep this quiet my dear. Even from your friends. People will not take kindly to this news."
Lizzie nodded, and beamed. She would be allowed to visit Cyfrin. She thought she was going to have to steal Harry's cloak everytime she wanted to visit him.
"Well, we shall leave you to rest. I suspect Madam Pomfrey wants you to sleep a bit more."
Lizzie nodded, and the Professor's walked out, leaving her alone with a sleeping Harry. She decided to follow his lead, burying under the blankets and closing her eyes. She fell asleep within moments.
Hello everyone, just decided to let you all know, while I am not abandoning this story I am taking a break for personal reasons. Full explanation on my profile page.