Hey peeps! Thanks for all your great reviews. If you haven't had a chance, please go back to chapter nine, as I re-wrote the last half. Quirrell's journal is gone, as a few people really didn't like the idea. Anyway, I had to restructure a lot of the story based on the new method of delivery of information that Hermione finds.

CHAPTER TEN: THE POTIONS MASTER

Visiting Professor Snape was one of those things that students of Hogwarts rarely did. Being the most unapproachable Professor in Hogwarts history was something that Snape prided himself in being, and made no attempt to discard the title. So, being accosted by a trio of first years was something of an unusual event for the dour man.

Harrison, Hermione and Neville (who hung slightly behind his two friends, hoping to hide from his least favourite professor) knocked on Snape's door about a half hour before dinner. They were admitted into Snape's office, and they nervously told Snape what they had discovered.

He stared at them in silence.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger, for breaking into a Professor's study," Snape said silkily.

Hermione went to protest, but Harrison elbowed her side. They'd agreed to take whatever punishment came their way, so long as someone knew about what Quirrell was up to.

"While I do not admire the way you discovered this information, it is, nonetheless, knowledge which we is quite useful," Snape said. "Saying that, I will now be locking my rooms with better protection."

Hermione looked down quickly, though she couldn't help but think the Professor was almost teasing.

"You say that you had reason to believe that Professor Quirrell was working in concert with the Dark Lord?"

"Yes sir," Hermione replied. "He was researching Voldemort-"

"Do not say that name, Miss Granger," Snape interrupted sharply.

Hermione swallowed a gasp, but managed to conceal the squeak that threatened to emerge. "Yes sir. Professor Quirrell was researching the Dark Lord's rise and Fall of power. It had a lot of information about uh...Harry Potter. And then there was the rest of his research. About the Cerberus, and a dragon, and something about sharing a soul with a dying spouse. Did Professor Quirrell lose his wife?"

"I will look into it," Snape replied. Though, he was fairly certain he knew exactly who Quirrell was sharing a soul with, and it had nothing to do with a non-existent dead wife.

"He's found his way past a lot of the traps," Harrison said. "What happens when he gets past the rest?"

Snape eyed the boy, noting for the first time that there was very little about James Potter in his face. The eyes were all Lily's, and Snape couldn't recall enough about his childhood adversary to see any part of him in the boy before him. James Potter certainly wouldn't have confided in the most disliked teacher in school.

"The Headmaster is aware that Quirrell is attempting to reach the Stone, however, he is also quite confident in the enchantments surrounding the Stone. He assured us it would be nearly impossible to reach."

"'Nearly impossible'?" Neville repeated incredulously. He clapped a hand over his mouth, remembering he was supposed to be hiding his presence from the intimidating professor.

Snape raised an eyebrow at the boy, who promptly flushed and looked down at his feet.

"Yes, nearly impossible. I doubt anyone with less than pure intentions could get to the Stone."

"Sir, why does he want the Stone so badly?" Hermione asked.

Snape was quiet for many moments. He regarded the trio with a seriousness they hadn't expected.

"Seeing as how Quirrell tried to kill you, Mr Evans, I suppose it would behoove you to know what it is he is willing to kill for. The Stone is the Philosopher's Stone, which is currently owned by-"

"Nicholas Flamel," Hermione said. "That was in Professor Quirrell's research as well.

"Precisely," Snape replied. "An attempt was made on the Stone when it was in Flamel's possession. He put it into Gringotts for safe-keeping, but there were whispers that someone would try to steal it. Dumbledore had it removed from Gringotts and brought here. He then requested that the Professors place a series of traps to guard the item against theft."

Harrison still wasn't entirely sure of what was going on.

"So, what's so great about the Stone?" he asked. "Why would Vol...You-Know-Who be after it?"

"Because it produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal," Hermione explained.

"Immortal?" Neville repeated.

"It means you'll never die," Hermione explained.

"An immortal You-Know-Who...that sounds horrifying," Neville commented.

"You have no idea," Snape said quietly.

Neville looked at the man, seeing something of the grief in the man's eyes. He'd lived through the War, and possibly fought in it. He'd have lost friends and possibly family. There was no one in the generation above their own that hadn't lost someone in the war.

"What happens now?" Hermione asked.

"I take this information to the Headmaster," Snape replied. "From there, it will be out of my hands."

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Severus Snape stared incredulously at Albus Dumbledore.

"You're not serious," he accused.

Dumbledore regarded the Potions Master over the top rim of his glasses.

"Safer to know where your enemy is and what he is doing," Dumbledore replied.

"Safer in a school full of children?" Snape said disparagingly. "In the very school that Lily Evans' son is attending, who the Dark Lord wishes to see dead? Yes, that's very safe."

"You do not understand," Dumbledore said sadly, his voice soft and slightly despairing.

"You're bloody right I don't understand," Snape snapped. "Quirrell was researching ways to share his soul! Don't you understand what that means?"

Dumbledore stared steadily at the younger man. "I am well aware."

"You just don't care," Snape said.

"I care very deeply," Dumbledore replied. "Moving the Stone to the school was a calculated risk on my part. If someone were to try to steal it, I would at least know who and where."

"But do nothing to stop them?"

"Quirrell will not be able to get the Stone," Dumbledore said.

Snape wasn't a man for yelling, though he desperately wanted to scream at the Headmaster now. He'd known how arrogant the Headmaster could be, but he hadn't realised how reckless the man was also.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he is looking in the wrong place," Dumbledore said.

Snape felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach. "Pardon?"

"Where better to hide the Stone than in a place no one will look? I let it be known that the Third Floor corridor is out of bounds, and, behold, that is where people begin their search. I tell the senior staff to place enchantments to protect the Stone, and, you all do so in the belief that the Stone is beyond those traps. Why would I actually put it there when so many people would know exactly where it was?"

Snape hated to admit it, but that was actually very clever of the old man.

"So Quirrell won't find it," the Potions Master was relieved by the news, but still apprehensive in the knowledge of who and what Quirrell played host to. "Better, but still not enough. You must have had suspicions that he was playing host to the spirit of the Dark Lord?"

"Suspicions, yes," Dumbledore replied. "He was not himself after that trip to Albania, and of course, that is where it was rumoured that Lord Voldemort had last been heard of."

"You'd tried to exorcise the spirit?"

"I have tried, though I could not do so without killing Quirinius, and alerting Voldermort to my attempts. I fear that Quirrell is too willing and too far gone to ever come away from this alive."

"And the Dark Lord? What happens when he is strong enough to overtake Quirrell completely?"

"We will be watching," Dumbledore assured him. "Everything is under control Severus. Better to keep the enemy at hand than to have him planning things beyond our reach."

Snape thought that plan would have been better if there wasn't a school full of children at risk. Too much could go wrong. Too much had already gone wrong.

"You'll referee at the next Gryffindor Quidditch match," Dumbledore said. "To ensure that there are no more...accidents."

Snape snarled at the word 'accident', but nodded his agreement. He'd never admit it, but he was rather fond of the boy. He was certainly his mother's son.

"If anything goes wrong, it's on you, Albus," Snape warned. "The parents would have you out in an instant if they knew that you allowed him to stay, knowing what you know."

"But they will not know," Dumbledore said placidly. "Will they?"

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Snape wasn't looking forward to the follow-up conversation with Evans and his friends, and felt as though Dumbledore should have been the one to inform the trio of the decision. Thankfully the pre-teens weren't aware of how deeply invested Quirrell truly was in the Dark Lord, and they only believed the DADA Professor to be a servant, not a living host.

"Evans, a word," Snape said, following Friday's lessons. The rest of the class winced in fear at the idea of having to have a word with the Professor. "Granger and Longbottom too."

The rest of the class scampered away quickly so as not to be added to the trio's collective misfortune. When the door closed after the final student left, Snape aimed a spell at the door which would muffle the sounds from inside the room, so as not to have anyone eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I've spoken with the Headmaster," Snape began. "And it has been decided that Professor Quirrell will remain here where we can keep an eye on him."

"You're joking!" Harrison yelped. "He tried to kill me!"

"I'm aware," Snape replied, distaste dripping into his words. "Unfortunately, it was decided that it's better to know where our enemy is so as to be able to keep an eye on him."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. What happens when Quirrell tries to kill Harrison again?"

"You and Longbottom will be there beside him."

Neville gulped audibly, but straightened his shoulders and pulled himself up to his full height.

"Not on the Quidditch pitch we won't," Hermione argued.

"Which is why I shall be referring the Gryffindor games from now on," Snape replied.

Hermione sighed with relief. "Alright. That's a little better at least. But what about the Stone? If Quirrell gets through the next three traps, he'll be able to grant immortality to You-Know-Who."

"The final trap is more than it seems," Snape said. He'd decided against telling the trio that the Stone wasn't even hidden where Quirrell thought it was. It wasn't that he didn't trust the trio, it was more that the best way to keep a secret was to keep it a secret. "He will not get the Stone even if he makes it past the final stage."

The trio exchanged unhappy glances, but Harrison eventually looked back to Snape and nodded compliantly. "Well, at least you know what's happening, sir," he said softly. "I feel a lot less stressed."

"You're eleven, Mister Evans, you shouldn't be stressed at all. Let Professor Dumbledore and I handle this. Don't even give it another thought. Christmas is coming and the holidays should give you a chance to get away from all this."

"Yes sir," Harrison said. At the mention of Christmas, he had another thought cross his mind. "Professor, do you have any idea if we're doing alright in class? Only, I'm a little worried as to how well we're doing compared with the other houses."

Snape detected a tiny amount of dishonesty, but saw no reason not to give him the answer. "You and Miss Granger are currently ranked second and first respectively, over all in my class of First Years. Mr Longbottom, you however, have a fair bit of work to do. Of the thirty-four First Year students you are ranked twenty-first."

Harrison high-fived Hermione and grinned happily at their teacher. "Thanks sir."

Neville was thrilled that he wasn't coming last, or anywhere near it, and gave the Professor a shy smile. The trio made their way up from the dungeons towards the Great Hall for lunch.

"What was that about Harris?" Neville asked.

"Remember that wager Malfoy and I made on the first of September?"

Neville nodded. "How could anyone forget? You bet your wand that you'd have higher grades by Christmas. Ooooh. I get it. Well, you're certainly beating him in Potions. And I know Malfoy is terrible at Transfiguration, while you two are leading the way in every lesson."

"Heh, Malfoy's wand will be mine!" Harrison crowed.

Hermione looked at her best friend askance. "If you had a moustache, you'd be twirling it and cackling right now. That frightens me a little."

Harrison grinned and put his hands together, fingertips touching. "Muhahaha."

Neville shuddered playfully. "Now that's scary."

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A/N: This chapter was a little harder to write. JKR didn't give us much more in terms of what the professors were up to in book one. Canon tells us that Snape knew what was going on, and that he was trying to stop Quirrell from getting the Stone. Dumbledore must have known everything that was happening, but how the hell did he justify it to his staff? Did none of them wonder why they were playing host to such a coveted item? Snape knew Quirrell had tried to kill Harry, so why wasn't Quirrell fired? Seriously! So irresponsible of Dumbledore.