Though he was grateful for the presence of his familiar, for in times like this it was always wise to have something that could soothe ones fears and anxieties, Albus Dumbledore nevertheless had no desire to be in a relaxed state following Hagrid's report.

He had suspected that Tom had been behind the attacks on the Unicorns.

But to have it confirmed, by the Boy Who Lived no less, was an indicator that things were far worse than he had feared.

For in order to ingest the blood of a Unicorn one had to have a physical form.

Which meant that even if he was weak enough to require the use of such a blasphemous crime to maintain his wretched existence, it was nevertheless an indicator that he possessed the power to try and reclaim what he had lost ten years ago.

And since the Stone's defenses had been designed to discourage the average greedy witch or wizard, not to mention the increased protections he had placed over the school to keep out harmful disembodied spirits, it was becoming obvious that there was now only one effective barrier left between Tom and his return to power.

And even that wasn't as secure as it could be since his former student now possessed the means, weakened and feeble though they must be, to use his own extensive magical knowledge to overcome the enchantments he had added to the mirror.

His only hope was that the alarms he had set in place would alert him to Tom's attempt to claim the stone well before he managed to get it. Which made him ponder on whether or not he should increase the level of security surrounding Nicholas's creation.

Each layer of defense, whether it was Hagrid's Grecian canine or Minerva's game of skill, had been designed in such a manner that would confound the more arrogant members of magical kind. For in their minds, an artifact that possessed the ability to bestow wealth and immortality would be guarded by only the most powerful of spells.

Meaning that they would fail to realize that the simplest of solutions was in fact the best suited for accomplishing their goals.

And while he had no doubt that his former student had no desire to wait longer than he had to regain his former strength, he strongly suspected that spending the past decade as a disembodied spirit had given him the time to develop alternate ways to achieve his ends.

Thankfully however, while he disapproved of Harry's willingness to resort to violence at the slightest provocation, the boy's actions had undoubtedly done much to rob Tom of the vitality he had stolen from the Unicorns.

It wasn't enough to bring an end to his evil, but he was confident that Harry, like his parents before him, had managed to delay Tom's quest for power.

And until he discovered the true nature of the magic that had allowed him to survive that fateful Halloween night, he would gratefully accept anything that prolonged the tenuous peace that had been bought with the unfortunate deaths of the Potters.

…..

Having waited until their second favorite Puff was on his second plate of breakfast sausages, for they had learned that the first-year badger was in a more sociable after he had gotten some good Hogwarts cooking into him, the Weasley Twins wasted no time in making their presence known.

"So Potter ol chap."

"We're hearing some interesting things in the school's rumor mill."

"Indeed we are George. So we're just wondering."

"If perhaps."

"In this one instance."

"That the rumors are tr.."

"Silencio."

Unsurprised by Potter's use of that particular spell, though unlike their first year housemate they thought it was more amusing than irritating, the Twins couldn't help but grin as their favorite Puff came to their rescue.

"Finite Incantatem. Honestly Harry. Would it kill you to at least pretend to be interested in socializing?"

Of course, Tonks's now glaring housemate had a reply that didn't do much to dissuade some of the more vicious comments that filled the Hogwarts rumor mill.

"No. But it might kill them."

Though frowning a little at Potter's unusual display of humor, the Twins nevertheless used this opening to press their line of inquiry.

"It is actually that sort of talk that brings us before you oh mighty badger."

"Indeed George indeed. You see, we don't really normally pay attention to such things."

"Unless of course we can somehow use it to our advantage."

"But in this instance."

"Rather than make our own 'additions' to your exploits."

"We just want to know if what we heard was true."

Patiently waiting for the first year Puff to give them an answer, the Weasley Twins found themselves grinning as their favorite METAMORPH decided to contribute to the amusing situation.

"That depends boys. Are you part of the group that believes he faced down a Manticore or Chimera? Personally, I like the latter option better since a human faced lion is kinda creepy. But I can kind of see why a three-headed creature, especially when one of its heads is a goat, would freak people out. Those eyes are creepy."

Nodding their heads in agreement, and brushing aside the weird image that entered their heads of a heavily bearded barman having a coughing fit as they talked about goats, the Twins found themselves frowning in both disappointment and concern as Potter revealed the truth of his 'encounter'.

"I wish. All I faced in the forest was a hood-wearing hobo with a blood fetish, and a centaur who confused puppetry with prophecy."

While they were unfamiliar with the term hobo, the rest of Potter's explanation was nevertheless clear to them.

Which was why their frowns of concern had turned into ones of anger as a most unwelcome voice decided to join their conversation.

"I would have hoped that such an experience would have curbed your flippant attitude, Potter. But I suppose that would be too much to ask for from the likes of you."

Opening their mouth to defend the now glaring Hufflepuff, the Twins were quickly reminded that the first year Puff was not the only one on the Bat's shit list.

"I suggest you return back to your assigned table before you say anything that you might regret Mr. Weasleys. It would be a pity if Gryffindor lost the ability to at least try for second place this year. But considering the poor performances of your first-year housemates, I suspect that they have yet to understand the importance of the House Cup."

"You mean besides the fact that it reinforces the divisions between houses, and gives the inbreds a chance to gloat about their supposed superiority?"

Staring at the openly defiant Puff with a mixture of respect and nervousness, for even they drew the line at openly antagonizing the slimy git, the Weasley Twins, as well as the rest of Hufflepuff House, were largely unsurprised by Snape's reaction.

"40 points for your cheek Potter, and three weeks detention. I would make it four, but considering the Headmaster's policy regarding detentions during the examination period, I suppose I can be generous this one time."

Generous wasn't the word they would use since they knew all too well just how busy one could get it in the weeks before the yearly examinations. Though their knowledge of the fifth and seventh years came mostly from the nearly inescapable fussing of their ministry-favoring brother.

But since they didn't want their own study time to be cut short, the Twins beat a hasty retreat back to their table after shooting the young Puff an apologetic look.

For even though they had managed to gain some useful intel to help collaborate some of the story they had managed to coax out of their unusually subdued housemate, their desire for knowledge was nowhere near strong enough to make them want to spend weeks cleaning cauldrons.

Even if it did give them an opportunity to scope out the dungeons for future pranks.

A shame that their last attempt had been discovered by their DADA professor, whose stuttering seemed to be getting worse and worse as the year went by.

But that just meant that they would have to properly 'reward' him for his diligence.

The fact that he wasn't in the Great Hall at the moment just meant that they would have to wait until later to prank him.

For while they considered everyone a potential target, their code of never targeting the sick meant that they would have to get visual confirmation of their professor's health before they made their move.

And considering the former Muggle Studies teacher was becoming paler and more fidgety as the year wore on, they might just have to postpone their vengeance.

….

Failing to contain his tears as his body was wracked by yet another painful spasm, Quirrell was largely unsurprised by his master's reaction to his suffering.

"Silence fool! Or I will allow you to experience what true pain is."

While he tried to prevent himself from cringing at his master's rebuke, the former Muggle Studies teacher did nothing to smother the small spark of defiance that had begun to grow following their shared retreat the night before.

Something that was sadly picked up upon by the dark wizard that currently shared his body.

"I would guard my thoughts more carefully Quirinus. There is nothing in your feeble little mind that can be hidden from me. Or do you think that in my current state, I am incapable of showing my displeasure?"

Despite knowing that he would be punished for it, Quirrell nevertheless gave a reply that he knew would irritate the Dark Lord.

"Considering WE were held at bay by a mere child with a Muggle weapon, I don't think it would be wise to dis..GARKKK!"

Grateful that he had the foresight to both lock and soundproof his office, for it would ruin everything if a student or his colleagues discovered his secret, Quirrell could only watch in horror as his master revealed that he was more interested in doing him harm despite his weakened state.

Before his decision to fill the annually vacant post, he had taken it upon himself to learn what he could about the dark arts.

But there was a strong difference between reading about harmful magic, and watching it turn his arm black with rot and corruption.

"You DARE tell me what is wise Quirrell? After I revealed to you the true path to power? You forget yourself. Your assistance for return is important, but not important enough to tolerate disrespect."

Crying out in relief as his master ceased his assault upon his body, the still-shaking wizard kept silent as the Dark Lord commented on the nature of their current state.

"Last night's confrontation was unfortunate as it was unforeseen. I am loathe to admit it, but Potter is more capable than I originally suspected. Thanks to him, we will probably have to return to the forest before the week is out in order to replenish our blood reserves."

Shakingly nodding his head in obedience at this order, for thanks to the need to properly heal his body of its numerous wounds his ability to sustain the lives of both his master and himself had been compromised, Quirrell felt his eyes drift towards his hiding place for the precious liquid.

Only to pause as he noticed that the hidden cabinet had been opened.

Rushing over to hiding place for the thing that would keep him alive until they had managed to get his hands on the object that could create the Elixir of Life, he peered into the opening and beheld a sight that was both welcome and confusing.

For rather than a single bottle of Unicorn blood, his cabinet was filled with nearly a dozen.

And laying on top of them was a small piece of yellow paper.

Holding it close to his face, for whoever had written it had a penmanship that was far below the level of a first-year student, Quirrell was unsure if he should be concerned at the knowledge it possessed, or hopeful.

"To the so called Dark Lord.

Just thought that you could use a top-up before you make your final move.

Should be enough to last the month.

So do your best to pace yourself.

Love V.

Your secret admirer."

Grateful though he was at this unexpected boon, for feeling his body rot from the inside out was in no ways a pleasant experience, he couldn't help but wonder but be concerned for this development.

For if the Dark Lord had another servant aiding him in his return to power, it was possible that he would not receive his promised reward.

Which was the only reason why that he, and undoubtedly many Death Eaters, had chosen to follow a man, if he could even be called that anymore, whose magical skills were more than a match for his ego.

…..

ANNND ending here for now. Since I just wanted to wrap some things up following the forest chapter BEFORE the quest for the stone…this is all I'm writing at this point :P

Next chapter will be a while, presumably, since I gotta concentrate on some real life things.

Anyways, to sum up, this chapter is my take on how various characters would react following the events of Harry in the forest.

Dumbledore is worried of course. Not 100% sure if he knew about Quirrellmort in cannon, but he definitely knew that someone was after the stone. His thoughts about the defences, the ones that can be defeated by first year students, was influenced by a challenge that was present in the book but not in the movie. That being the Potions tests, that relies on logic rather than magical strength. A bit of a stretch, but since my story's Dumbles is not one that actively seeks to pit Harry against Voldemort, believe its possible.

The Twins pov, well don't believe I need to explain too much since its straightforward.

But the last segment…well that I have been working to for sometime. Quirrell, well I know he doesn't get too much focus in stories, basically being a starter villain, but I believe that he is regretting his choices due to the additional damage he has suffered while serving his master. As for the identity of V….well its part of the slowly building plotline that I envisioned coming to a head once Harry is older.

Anyways…hope you all enjoyed this chapter, short though it might have been.

Plz review..no flames

P.s...pleased to state that as of this chapter this story has achieved since its beginning in November 2020 over 1 million views. with nearly 3000 followers, and over 2600 people favoriting it.

Not too shabby lol