A/N: Thank you for the reviews; you know I love reading them. This is a long chapter (yay!), written in the hopes that it will tie together everything that has happened so far. Hopefully, a five-way friendship is in the making? Let's wait and see, shall we... Favourite, follow and review if you'd like, and have fun reading! xo
...
Lola's heart would skip a beat every time Harry would seem to struggle with his broom. She would constantly see Snape trying to distract Quirrell in every way possible, but it would seem as though he was running out of things to say.
"Harry!" Lola would scream at the sky, feeling like this was the last resort. "Be careful!"
But this would have the exact opposite effect. Not only would Quirrell hear Lola's warning, but a very confused and caught-off-guard looking Harry would all of a sudden collide with the end of the Slytherin Captain's broom, who would note this as the perfect opportunity to knock Harry off his broom.
Harry would fall out of the sky like an injured bird, slowed down only by Snape's magical intervention.
With the seeker unconscious, the game would end abruptly and arrangements would need to be made for a reschedule. Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Captain, would earn a two-weeks suspension and Harry would open his eyes at the infirmary, Madam Pomphrey kneeling over him with concern.
"He's okay!" she would announce to the rest of the Gryffindor Team, who would be waiting outside the door to the hospital wing, whispering worriedly.
Harry's bedside would be visited by the likes of Dumbledore, McGonagall, Ron and then finally Lola, who would apologise for distracting him during the game. Harry would reassure Lola that he understood why she had issued that warning and would express his disappointment in himself for not noticing Flint's malicious intentions sooner. Lola would keep it to herself that Flint was not who she had intended to warn him about.
Harry's injuries would soon heal, and he would start practising for the rescheduled game right away.
This would be the only positive outcome of that day's events.
...
"I don't mean this in a bad way, but I'm glad the game got rescheduled. At least I'll get to watch it this time," Fay was saying to Lola over breakfast.
Talking things over thoroughly had finally resolved the issues between them. Lola wasn't sure how much of what she had said Fay believed in, but frankly, for as long as they could be friends again, she didn't really care.
"Oh yeah, where were you during the game by the way?" asked Lola curiously. "I thought you would be the first in line."
Fay would rather crawl under her bed for the rest of her life than to admit she had been to see a Mental Healer. "I'd forgotten…"
"You?" Lola raised her eyebrows. "Forgot about Quidditch?"
"Well, it was right after our conversation, wasn't it? Forgive me if I was a bit preoccupied."
Lola apologised sympathetically. She had put a lot on the poor girl's plate and had to acknowledge that she had taken everything exceptionally well.
"Speaking of which…" Fay brought her voice down to a whisper and snuggled up close to her friend. "I still don't get it. Why wouldn't Quirrell wipe your memory clean? Why would he leave such a trace? Isn't he scared you might tell someone? I really don't understand how someone who went through all that trouble would make a mistake like this."
Lola looked around carefully, making sure they couldn't be overheard. "Professor Snape doesn't think it's a mistake. We tested this. He told me something silly, then tried to wipe my memory. It didn't work. I still remember it. He also said he can't read my mind, and it's possible Quirrell can't too. He probably doesn't even realise that I still remember. I never brought it up during the trial, and they all thought I was under the influence of Veritaserum. It's like there's a shield around my brain. We can't figure it out either…"
"Do you think it has something to do with your psychic abilities?" asked Fay.
"It's possible," Lola replied quickly, not wanting to delve too deep into that. "But Fay, don't forget what I told you about all of this. Do not spend too much time around Quirrell. Do not have direct eye-contact with him. Always distract yourself when you're around him, try not to think about any of this."
Fay nodded seriously. "Got it. Don't worry."
For the rest of the day, it was business as usual, and during the night they drifted off to sleep as they chatted about random things.
...
That evening, Lola was nervous. Very nervous.
She had contemplated for hours whether it was a good idea to give out the two letters that she had authored before breakfast that day. One had been addressed to Fay, asking her to bring herself and Hermione to the Library at exactly half-past eight that evening after dinner, and she had another letter asking the exact same thing but this time addressed to Harry, with instructions to bring along Ron. If everything went according to plan, the five of them would join her shortly, and they would hopefully be formulating a plan to take down Voldemort.
For now, she was sitting at the Library all alone as the clock neared eight thirty with each click, making her fidget more and more with worry.
Harry would be the first one there, who would limp his way into the tiny private study room.
"Ron's coming in a second. He said he had to run up to the Tower to… Well, I'm not sure what for actually."
The truth of the matter was, Ron had consumed a hefty amount of onion soup at dinner and wanted to brush his teeth and fix up his hair a little before heading down to the Library. He had been personally invited by his crush, after all.
Shortly after, Ron, Fay and Hermione joined them. Lola cleared her throat when they all sat down.
"First, thank you for coming," she said as she looked at the four people sitting around the table. "I really appreciate it."
"No bother," said Ron, a bit over-excited.
Lola continued. "I can tell you're wondering why I asked you all here tonight. Truth is, I think you all deserve to know what's going on here at Hogwarts, under our very nose. Especially you, Harry."
She looked at Harry, who seemed surprised. Hermione, who was getting a bit agitated due to her lack of knowledge, grunted.
"Could you hurry up, please? Some of us take their homework seriously."
Lola tried to keep herself calm and motivated. She still didn't understand exactly why Hermione couldn't stand her, but from what she understood with her conversations with Fay, it had something to do with envy. Lola was determined to fix all of her broken relationships, starting with Hermione.
"Sorry," she apologised to Hermione. "I'll try to keep it brief."
"Please do," Hermione insisted.
Lola took a deep breath. "I'm not sure if you guys have noticed, but there is something very wrong with our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. And I'm not talking about his stutter," she added, realising the shocked expression on their faces. "I'm going to start everything from the very beginning. Some of you already know parts of this story, but I would still urge you to listen very carefully."
"One night, I got lost. I had attempted to enter the Library to pick up a few books for night-time reading, but it was locked and I couldn't find my way back. Filch was onto me, so I ran. I hid behind a statue, from where I could see Professor Quirrell. He was speaking to himself, and mind you, he wasn't stuttering. He kept saying things like 'I know, My Lord' and 'As you wish, master', but there was nobody else with him there."
"Bloody weird," Ron remarked.
"Well, that's not even half of it. I think he saw me that night because from that moment on, I believe I became a target. Strange things started happening, the worst of which was what went on with Fay."
"Wait," said Harry. "What are you talking about?"
Lola had forgotten that nobody else but her roommates, a few Hogwarts Professors and the witches and wizards who had attended her trial, knew about the incident at the girl's dormitory. So she told them.
"But it wasn't me. Quirrell stole my real wand, you see, and gave me back a fake copy. For a few days, I was walking around with that fake wand thinking nothing of it, while he practised the Cruciatus curse with my real wand. He also placed the Imperius curse on Fay, making her steal a few strands of my hair, so that he could make Polyjuice Potion with it. Fay, of course, doesn't remember any of this, as he wiped her memory clean with Obliviate."
"Excuse me," Ron interrupted this time. "I don't know any of what you just said."
Hermione jumped in before Lola could open her mouth, and explained the three Unforgivable curses, the Obliviate charm and the purpose of a Polyjuice potion to the boys with great pleasure.
"That's right," Lola nodded, trying to sound impressed. "Couldn't have put it myself better. Thank you, Hermione."
She muttered with pink cheeks "No problem."
"So, are you guys with me so far?" she asked the group boys and girls. They all nodded in unison, transfixed by Lola's storytelling. "He wrote me a letter one evening impersonating Professor Flitwick, and stunned me when I went to where he asked me to go. I was trapped there until the next morning, unconscious and oblivious. Meanwhile, he drank the potion, took my appearance and went to the Tower after everyone fell asleep. He then used the Cruciatus curse on Fay."
Fay shuddered, and Lola squeezed her hand under the table.
"He then returned me my wand as I was still unconscious and got rid of the copy. I woke up, not knowing what was going on. I punched a window, cut my wrist open, used the tip of my wand and a little bit of blood to write a letter to Professor Snape."
"Wow," Ron whistled. "Smart move."
Embarrassed, "Thank you," nodded Lola. "There was nothing else I could have done. I asked him for help, and he came. He gave me a dose of Veritaserum, and asked me a bunch of questions. He quickly realised there was foul play involved. Apparently, this was a tactic commonly used by Death Eaters back in the day."
Ron and Hermione were the only people to gasp. Fay, because she already knew the story, and Harry, because he didn't know what that meant, were completely unfazed.
"Death Eaters were Voldemort's followers, Harry," Lola explained solemnly.
"Ah," Harry said simply, trying to hide the sudden pain he felt at his chest. "I see."
Ron, who had been irked by Lola's use of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named name, wanted to tell her off but feared he would look like a coward. "So you think Quirrell is… a secret Death Eater?" he whispered instead, his eyes wide and round with disbelief.
"Yes," confirmed Lola, and ignoring the sceptical look on their faces, continued. "I stood trial. A room full of people were shown what happened that day. I gave testimony under the influence of Veritaserum." She thought best to keep Professor Snape's antidote out of the equation to avoid trouble for both of them. It also made her story more believable. "I was cleared of all charges. Don't you guys think there's a reason for all this? Don't you think I would be expelled and in Azkaban by now if this was all truly my doing? I'm sure you all remember the Troll on Halloween. That was Quirrell's doing, too. He is a master of Trolls, and under normal circumstances, a troll is not supposed to be able to enter the Hogwarts grounds."
She gave them all a moment to consider her last words.
"But why?" asked Hermione, just as Lola had anticipated she would. "Why would Professor Quirrell want to bring in a Troll?"
"The third-floor corridor is out of bounds this year. Have you guys thought about why that might be? There were reports of an attempted robbery at Gringotts this summer. But whatever the robber was looking for had been long moved to a secure location. Think for a second where that might be?"
"Hogwarts," said Fay a moment later. "It's the most secure building in the Wizarding World."
"Precisely," continued Lola. "Is everything starting to come together now? Quirrell brought in the Troll, so it would distract everyone as he ran up to the third-floor corridor. I'm sorry to break it to you Harry, and it might come as a shock, but I believe that all those years ago, Voldemort never died. A part of his soul still lingered around. Somehow, Quirrell knows this and he's trying to bring him back. Whatever can help him do that, is hidden two floors above us, most probably protected by many charms and spells. He tried to steal it, but somebody must've suspected that this item wasn't safe where it was, because they moved it here, under Dumbledore's protection. Quirrell suspects I'm onto him, so he tried to get rid of me. But he doesn't know one thing about me; I'm psychic."
Hermione, who had been mostly on board with Lola's story up until that minute, burst out laughing. "You're what?"
"Psychic," said Lola with conviction. "I can sense important events a few days, hours or moments before they happen. I can see the possible consequences and can predict the future in some sense. Things like that."
"I'm sorry, but you are crazy," Hermione stated. "I'm leaving. This was a huge waste of time."
"Wait," said Lola quickly. "I know you don't believe in unobservable, unmeasurable things. But I urge you to look around you, Hermione. We live in a world of magic. Don't you think you should have a bit more faith?"
"I don't live by faith. I live by concrete facts."
"I know you do," Lola fired back quickly. "Your parents are dentists; you come from a long line of doctors and scientists. I understand and respect your world-view, Hermione, but I have no reason to lie to you."
Hermione tried to remain poker-faced, but it was difficult; how did Lola know about her family? She had not shared such information with anyone. There had to be a reasonable explanation – the alternative was too unbelievable.
Her surprise must've shown, because Fay chuckled. "It's amazing, right? It's almost like she can reach into your brain…"
"No," Hermione said stubbornly. No matter what her opinion was on the inside, she refused to back down and publicly admit that she believed in psychics. "But I appreciate your understanding, and so I will continue to listen to you."
"Sure," whispered Ron to Harry under his breath. "That ought to be the reason."
Lola continued. "Yesterday, I warned you, Harry, because Quirrell was trying to knock you off your broom. I felt it the day before. It was like I saw a vision, heard a whisper, I don't even recall. But I warned Professor Snape about what might happen, he did his best, and although Quirrell didn't succeed in his plans, stupid Flint came to his rescue."
"That git!" Ron exclaimed angrily, roused. Harry told him to calm down.
"Somehow, my brain is protected by a shield. Professor Snape tells me that he tried to read my mind many times, tried to erase my memories, but to no avail. It seems almost impenetrable. Honestly, I don't know why. Neither does he. Fay suspects it's because of my psychic abilities. But this has been my biggest advantage so far. Quirrell believes I don't remember anything about what happened that god-awful morning. He doesn't anticipate I can connect the dots. He doesn't know that I've been working with Professor Snape, and that I have confided in you –"
"Just as we're on the topic, why did you confide in us?" asked Hermione.
"Because I believe you four are the most bright, brave and trustworthy people I have ever met, and will probably ever meet, in my life. If Quirrell is to be stopped somehow, I know that you guys' input is necessary. I know everything I told you so far mostly concerns only Harry, and perhaps Fay to some degree, but my gut feeling tells me that all four of you are needed. And so far, being at Hogwarts has taught me above anything else that I should pay more attention to my gut feelings."
This time, it was Fay who lovingly squeezed Lola's hand, giving her all the encouragement she needed.
"Going back to the night you witnessed Quirrell speaking to himself, do you think he was communicating with Voldemort?" Harry asked Lola.
"He must've been. According to Snape, that's how his followers addressed him."
"He must have a secret communicating device!" cried Ron, his brain going a hundred miles an hour. "I bet it's under his turban."
"That's brilliant thinking, Ron," Lola chimed in immediately, trying to hide the fact that she knew all too well what was really under that turban. His idea wasn't been that far off from the actual truth, after all.
"So, now that we're all up to date," Fay said once everyone digested what Lola had to say. "What do we do now?"