THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Chapter 7: I most certainly do not plan on going to Azkaban
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners.
"Mr. Potter, how may I help you?"
"Professor McGonagall asked to come here." Harry replied, standing across the school healer.
"Did something happen in class again?" She frowned. "I hope you're not planning on following your father's footsteps on being a daily visitor here."
"No, I'm not." He said. "The Professor asked me to come here so you may have a look at my condition?"
"And what condition is that?"
"I sleep a lot." Harry stated. "And not because I'm always tired, I just find it hard to resist sleep and usually end up dozing throughout the day."
"Uh...and when did this condition start?"
It had started after he had freed himself from his relatives and had a lot of time on his hands. Not knowing what to do with it, he had indulged himself with sleep, something he hadn't had a chance to get much of before. "It has been there for as long as I remember."
"I see." She mused, before drawing her wand. "Why don't you lie down and I see if I can find anything."
Harry did as the healer instructed and laid down on one of the beds facing up. She walked over and cast some kind of spell, running her wand above his body from head to toe. "Uh, that can't be right."
"Is something wrong, ma'am?"
She cast again, and this time Harry felt a tingling sensation run through his whole body. "No, you just seem to have some minor magical resistance."
"You mean like a troll?"
"That's oddly specific but yes, though not to that extent." The matron shook her head. "Like I said, it's minor, almost not there but I've never encountered anyone with any resistance at all. Atleast not naturally."
"How are you just realizing this, I thought you checked me after the Potions incident?"
"I only checked for physical injuries, I didn't need magic then." She answered. "But since I needed to make a full body sweep, I used a basic spell that tell a healer if anything is wrong with a person. It didn't work the first time due to your resistance but worked just fine when I put in more magic than usual, one of the many ways to bypass magical resistance."
"I see." Harry said. "So, is there anything wrong with me?"
"Nothing as far as I can tell, whatever the cause of your condition is, it's more mental than physical." She replied. "I think it just might be a case of self actualization mixed with accidental magic."
Harry nodded, he wasn't sure he fully understood but he got the fist of it. "What about my scar?"
"What about it?"
"Is it normal for scars made by magic to occasionally pain?"
"For scars caused by Dark magic, yes." She nodded. "While healing magic can usually heal injuries without scarring, with dittany being one of the more effective, injuries caused by dark magic usually leave scars that cannot be healed."
"And why is that?"
"Because Dark magic, if used on a person leaves an imprint on them. For example if a wound is caused by Dark magic, some of it will still remain there even if the would is healed which leaves the scar." She explained. "And even that scar will occasionally open up because the Dark magic within resists the healing magic applied to the wound. It wouldn't really be healed completely, not unless all the lingering dark magic has been gotten rid of."
"Then why don't they just do that?"
"As far as I know, there is no knowledge of how to purge a body of Dark magic." She shook her head. "There used to be rituals but that knowledge has been lost to time, not to mention the fact that rituals are illegal in magical Britain and could earn someone a free ticket to Azkaban."
"So if I were to find a way of getting rid of any lingering magic in my scar, would it heal?"
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"I did, but please humor me."
"Well, theoretically it would work." She said before giving him a stern look. "Mr. Potter, whatever it is you're planning, don't do it."
"I'm not planning anything."
"I saw that look on your face so many times that I lost count, and every single time your father always ended up coming back here."
"Like you said, ma'am, the knowledge has been lost to time." Harry said as he stood up. "I most certainly do not plan on going to Azkaban. Oh, and one more thing..." He rummaged through his pockets and found the note that had come with the invisibility cloak. "Do you recognize this handwriting?"
She took the note and looked at it once. "This is Albus' handwriting."
"Thank you, ma'am."
April 24th 2002
Hogwarts
Life in Hogwarts returned back to normal as the students got over the holidays. Lessons were in full swing, quidditch and all activities were in full swing. Harry for his part disappeared back into the shadows, only talking with Neville and Hermione and occasionally the three Slytherins in their study group. Most of the time, he spent it in the library reading up on magical theory, he was beginning to have a solid understanding of wizard magic, and integrating it with his own.
He was progressing quite nicely if he did say so himself. He could now cast all the spells in the Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 with both normal magic and his own type of magic. And the best thing that he found out, quite accidentally actually, was that normal counter spells did not work on the spells he cast with his magic. He had been practicing transfiguration when he turned a book into a stuffed toy dragon. And when he tried to turn it back with the normal counter, there was absolutely no effect, not until he used his modified counter. The same had happened with every spell he cast.
He had even gone back to Madam Pomfrey and asked how they had countered Malfoy's floating but the matron told him that they hadn't, they had found him stuck in a tree as the magic making him float had already worn off by the time they arrived. All in all, Harry was satisfied with his progress, and he knew that at the rate he was going, there probably won't be much for him to learn at Hogwarts by the end of third year. He didn't plan on sticking around after that, whatever knowledge he was to get about his parents wasn't at Hogwarts anymore.
Once he was sure Hogwarts can't offer him anything any more, he was going to leave, way before the Dark Lord rose again. Even though he was sure that by then, he will be quite capable of himself in a fight. At this point, he was sure that if it came to a fight to the death with an average adult, he may take a thorough beating but he would be the one to walk away from it. It would take some surprise combined with his physical abilities and he most certainly be victorious.
And that was not mentioning his resistance, it wasn't much really, just like Pomfrey had said but what mattered was that it was there. And while it brought up more questions as to where it came from, as it hadn't been a conscious effort from Harry like his 'tough skin', it was a welcome surprise. He had even noticed that it was growing, nothing much really and none other than Harry would have noticed but it was there. He didn't know how to increase it but it was there nonetheless and it was growing, he looked forward to seeing what results it would have once it was finished.
In any case, Harry wasn't going to hide behind McGonagall again when someone drew their wand at him. Which from his observations wasn't far away given that the other person after the Stone was becoming more bold. That or his master was running out of patience. Now that he was after the Stone as well, Harry felt it prudent to watch the man more closely lest he takes the Stone before Harry has the chance to get it. On more than one instance, Quirrell had dropped his coward act when he believed no one was around.
Harry had even caught him muttering to himself from time to time which meant he was in direct communication with Voldemort. As March came around, and the more serious students started preparing for the end of year exams, Harry could see Quirrell around the forbidden corridor more than once a day.
He had solicited the help of the house elves at Hogwarts. Thanks to his status as boy-who-lived, the little creatures revered him, in fact they practically worshipped him and as he ate atleast one meal a day in the kitchens, he had gotten even closer to them. And so they had practically jumped at his request to watch the Defense professor. Harry had asked them to inform him immediately if the professor ever entered through the door with the Cerberus. Up to now, the man had only walked around the corridor, occasionally opening the door, casting some spells, no doubt at the Cerberus before fleeing.
It was obvious he wasn't making much progress. Harry's plan was simple, if the man managed to get past the Cerberus, the house elf watching would inform Harry who would then follow Quirrell from under the cloak. With Quirrell doing all the work of getting past the protections on the Stone, Harry would then ambush the man when he least expects it and take the Stone for himself. And with the Stone in his possession, he will finally be in a position to negotiate with Dumbledore.
"How are you guys not excited?" Tracey exclaimed as the group of first years picked their way across the grounds. "This is like the most exciting thing to ever happen!"
"I know, right?!" Hermione exclaimed, just as hyper as the small Slytherin. "I mean how many people get to witness the hatching of a dragon?"
"The four us will be among the few, and I can't wait!" Tracey said. "Come on guys, stop dragging your feet, we might miss it."
Without waiting for a response, the two excited girls increased their pace, almost leaving Harry and Daphne behind.
"So, aren't you excited?" Daphne asked. "Not that there's much that excites you."
"Oh, I'm excited alright, like Tracey said, this is a once in a lifetime experience." Harry replied. "I'm just trying to think of how Hagrid came into possession of a dragon egg of all things."
"I'm more surprised that he managed to hide it all this time, he isn't exactly the most subtle person I know." Daphne shook her head. "Besides, what does he plan on doing with it without ending up in Azkaban?"
Harry had a suspicion on how the friendly giant had gotten the egg. Some time back, one of the house elves had told him about Quirrell sneaking out of the castle which was surprising as the man rarely left the castle. The next day, Harry had seen Hagrid in the library researching something in the magical creatures section. He hadn't given it much thought then but now that he thought of it, it was possible that Quirrell had somehow gotten his hands on a dragon egg which he traded to Hagrid for information on how to get past the Cerberus.
"I'm sure Hagrid has planned for that."
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are we talking about the same person here?"
Harry just shook his head and entered the hut. Fang immediately bounded over to him. He knelt down and petted the bear hound before looking at the others.The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it. Hermione and Tracey who had arrived much earlier than them were seated around the table next to Hagrid watching the egg with identical looks of fascination. Harry got a chair and brought it at the table, Daphne doing the same.
All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. Harry thought it was beautiful, but he doubted the others would agree with him. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.
It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.
"Isn't he beautiful ?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.
"She." Harry corrected, getting the dragon's attention. "The dragon is female."
"How can you tell?" Tracey asked, watching the little dragon waddle across the table towards Harry.
"I just do." He replied simply, sticking his hand out to pet its tiny snout. Ever since he was a kid, he always had an understanding of animals. He never explored it back then as it wasn't something he could have used against the Dursleys or si he had thought.
"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow?"
"Under the right circumstances, she will be four times this size by the end of a week." Harry replied for Hagrid who was watching him and the dragon with wide eyes and a smile.
"Since when are you an expert on dragons, Harry?" The girl asked and Harry just shrugged.
"You can't keep her here forever, Hagrid." Daphne said. "At that rate, it will be bigger than your hut in less than a month."
"No!" Tracey refused immediately. "She is not going anywhere!"
"I can't just dump her." Hagrid added. "She's too little. She'd die."
"If what Harry says is true, then she won't be like that for very long." Hermione shook her head.
"And what happens if the ministry catches wind of this?" Daphne asked. "They'll kill her, and then ship you off to Azkaban."
Hagrid wasn't moved, and neither was Tracey. And so they left Hagrid with his newly acquired dragon while Daphne dragged Tracey back with her to the dorms as she wanted to stay and look after the dragon. A week passed, and then another but Hagrid wouldn't change his mind. It was obvious looking after the dragon was taking its toll on the big man. He was no longer taking care of his gamekeeping duties and his beard and hair was singed whenever Harry visited him. But the man was very stubborn, and quite honestly, Harry didn't care enough to put in much effort to convince him.
May 25th 2002
Hogwarts
Hospital wing
"Are you sure the dragon did this?" Harry asked, looking over the sleeping form of Tracey. Daphne had approached him that day after dinner and told him that Tracey was in the hospital wing. He had followed the blonde haired girl to visit Tracey as she told him what had happened to her friend.
Apparently, Tracey had gone to visit the dragon in the afternoon during their free period as she had been doing almost every day since it hatched. However, when she came back in the evening, her hair had been burned at the ends and her robes too had burn marks. But the worst was her hand, it had been bitten, and there were visible marks from the dragon's fangs. Daphne had immediately taken her to the hospital wing while she herself went down for dinner.
When Harry and Daphne arrived, Tracey was sleeping and her hand...her hand had turned thrice in size and was a nasty shade of green. Madam Pomfrey had smeared some kind of salve on it but it still didn't look good at all. Watching the usually energetic and cheery girl lying there almost lifelessly, Harry felt something shift with in him. She did not deserve this, this girl who was so full of life, a polar opposite of him deserved happiness, she was not supposed to suffer like this.
With a start, Harry realized that he cared for the girl. It was something alien to him, he had never cared for anyone other than himself, or his parents but those were dead. Nobody had ever given him reason to, but Tracey, she was such a likeable person that she had grown on him. Maybe it was the fact that she was everything he wasn't, she found happiness in the most trivial things, got along with practically everyone without even trying, and lived her life with barely any thought on what will happen tomorrow. In other words, she was a child.
Something Harry had been forced to shed in order to survive at the Dursleys. Harry cared for the child in the small girl, and hated that this dragon had threatened that. He hated that anyone would dare to threaten that.
"Excuse me." He told Daphne and left the hospital wing. "I'll be right back."
It took him a couple of minutes to arrive and when he did, he couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation. A heavily bandaged Fang was locked outside and looked mighty relieved to see him. Harry rubbed its head before going towards the door, he could hear a commotion coming from inside but when he tried the door, it wouldn't budge. He tried to run into, and while the lock clearly gave way, it still didn't open. Whatever Hagrid had used to barricade it was pretty heavy.
Harry stepped back and using his magic, he ripped the door straight out of the wall, frame and all. He then gathered magic in his hands and hurled it at the bookshelf that had been blocking the door, pushing it into the hut until it toppled over and fell with a loud bang. The two occupants of the hut stopped what they had been doing and stared at Harry. Hagrid, dripping with water was holding his pink umbrella towards the dragon while standing in a puddle of water that seemed to be everywhere.
Harry looked around the hut, it seemed everything was wet, except for those parts that had already been burned. Hagrid himself was sporting wounds and his clothes were burnt in numerous places. The whole place was a mess, and the one responsible didn't look apologetic at all. Harry turned to the dragon. It had grown alot since he had last seen it, he estimated that it was around ten feet in length and its large wings made it look even bigger.
Standing on top of the fallen bookshelf, Harry stared at the dragon, and it stared right back. It walked the distance between them and pushed its snout in his face. Harry didn't flinch or back down. "You're coming with me."
His voice was soft as usual, but firm with an undertone of authority. And with his piece said, he turned and started walking out of the hut, only to be stopped by Hagrid.
"Harry, where are you taking her?"
"To the forbidden forest." Harry answered simply.
"No, you can't!"
"Hagrid, Noberta is a dragon, she can take care of herself." He told him. "Besides, with Tracey in the hospital wing, I have no doubt Madam Pomfrey will know what bit her and she will tell the headmaster. Do you want her to be around when Dumbledore comes looking for her?"
"But...but you can't take her to the forest." Hagrid finally said after a moment of thought. "There's something dangerous there, something hunting the unicorns."
Harry looked at the fast-growing dragon, even at barely over a month old, he doubted it would be in any real danger.
"I'm sure Noberta will be right at home in the forest." He said. "Besides, you can always visit her."
Hagrid looked he wanted to argue but the dragon had already walked through the destroyed doorway and was waiting for Harry. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."
"No, you're going to stay here and repair your hut. That way, if they come to inspect, they won't suspect that she was ever here and they won't try to hunt for her." Harry explained.
The giant man frowned in thought before he handed Harry a lamp. "Don't go too deep into the forest, it's very dangerous."
Harry nodded and with lamp in hand, he set off towards the forest, Noberta trailing behind him as silently as possible. When they reached the edge of the forest, Harry set the lamp down and turned it off, the forbidden forest was dangerous and there was no need of announcing his presence to everything in there with the light from the lamp he closed his eyes and called upon his magic and directed it to his eyes. When he opened them, the world wasn't so dark anymore and he could see just fine without the lamp.
Dragon and boy strolled through the forest, Harry feeling strangely at home as they went deeper and deeper. The trees became taller and the trunks thicker but not a single moment did Harry feel afraid. Maybe it was because of the dragon besides him, even young as it was; perhaps it was an arrogance due to his supernatural strength and durability, but Harry felt like he belonged in this kind of environment. It seemed to embrace him, like it was welcoming him, as if his very presence gave the forest joy. But that was just stupid.
Noberta suddenly stopped and sniffed the ground. She turned back and looked at Harry before suddenly taking off, clearly expecting Harry to follow. And follow he did. The little dragon may not be old enough to fly yet but it was pretty fast, even just on its feet. An average person would have had a hard time following, Harry however easily kept up, his reflexes keeping from running into trees and trenches. The two sped through the forbidden forest until Norberta suddenly came to a stop just at the edge of a clearing.
In the middle of the clearing was a cloaked figure hovering over a unicorn, it lowered its head over a wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood. Harry watched, not daring to breathe and it seemed everything around them had decided to keep quiet. But then the silence was broken when Noberta stepped forward and a stick broke under her clawed feet. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry - unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry -only to be tackled by Norberta.
Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire, while he had gotten used to the sharp stabs of pain when he was around Quirrell, this seemed to have multiplied over five times. Half blinded, Harry staggered backwards but then the clearing was illuminated by a stream of fire from Noberta, heading straight at the cloaked figure. It summoned a shield which blocked the young dragon's flames, but Harry got a good look at the person's face.
It was Quirrell, but his face -his face was paler than usual, his skin was almost serpentine and his eyes were a glowing red. Those eyes were very familiar to Harry, he had seen them a number of times in his nightmares and would recognize them anywhere.
"Voldemort." He whispered but the figure heard him. He had never realized how much hatred he had for the man who murdered his parents.
He used to think that he didn't care, that whatever had happened was in the past and when the Dark Lord inevitably came back to life, Harry would be far away to worry about him. Now, he was sure he couldn't stand the fact that his parent's murder was still alive, the man who had robbed him of his childhood, denied him the chance of being like Tracey.
He was moving before he knew it. Quirrell who was still maintaining his shield against Norberta's fire had no time to react. The young dragon seemed to sense Harry's plan as she dropped her stream of fire, allowing Quirrell to turn towards Harry only to get a superpowered kick square in the chest. The man was sent flying across the clearing until he fell and rolled over upto the edge of the clearing. Before Harry or Norberta could follow up, he pulled himself towards the edge and melted into the darkness leaving no trace of him at all.
Harry turned back to the unicorn, the pain in his scar having disappeared along with Quirrell. He knelt down next to the unicorn but there was nothing he could do to help, all he could do was cradle the unicorn's head as it passed on. He heard numerous horse hooves from behind him but didn't even bother to turn back. Norberta stood next to him and faced the incoming centaurs, ready to defend him, how Harry knew that they were centaurs, he couldn't say.
"Harry Potter, son of James." One of them said, stepping forward. "You are a long way from the castle."
"That was the plan." Harry said. "Before I came upon this."
"Truly a tragedy, what has been happening." The centaur said. "After tonight, it will not be happening again."
Harry didn't give a reply, he did not think one was needed.
"You should go, Harry Potter." The centaur said after a moment of silence. "The forest is not a safe place for a child, even a special one like you."
"And just how special do you believe I am?" Harry asked as he stood up to face centaur.
"You're a child of prophecy for one."
"A prophecy that was fulfilled ten years ago."
"And yet you just fought your nemesis a few minutes ago." The centaur countered. "Destiny is not finished with you two yet. Besides, I didn't say it was only one prophecy_"
"Firenze!" One of the other centaurs thundered as he stepped forward. "I believe you have said enough."
"The boy deserves _"
"The boy deserves nothing from us!" The other dark-haired centaur said. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"
"And for how long shall we wait, Bane?" Firenze asked, his voice calm as he gazed at the dead unicorn. "Will you sit idly while darkness consumes everything we know? We all have a duty towards the stars, Bane, a duty that points to this boy. I hope you have not forgotten that."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry cut in.
"The stars are watching you, Harry Potter, calling for you." Firenze answered. "Your destiny draws ever near."
That was the most useless answer Harry had ever recieved in his life. And his frustration must have shown as Firenze smiled at him.
"Go to the castle, son of James, everything will be revealed at the right time so long as you keep on the trail you're following." He then looked at Norberta who had been watching the exchange in silence. "We shall take care of your companion."
After that, Harry easily found his way out of the forest despite his mind being filled with thoughts. Voldemort was indeed alive and had been living in the castle this entire time, while possessing Quirrell. It was probably the disembodied Dark Lord that was responsible for the pain in Harry's scar, maybe the dark Lord left more than just an imprint of Dark magic in the scar on that night. But after the summer, the scar won't be an issue anymore as thanks to Madam Pomfrey, Harry had a way of getting rid of it, atleast he hoped his method would work.
However, with confirmation of who wanted the Stone, Harry's priorities had changed, he didn't just want the Stone for himself now, he needed the Stone so he can keep it out of the Dark Lord's hands. He had half the mind to go after the Stone himself right this instant but he shook his head and dispelled it, his initial plan was best. There were likely spells in place that would alert Dumbledore if anyone went through that door and Harry did not want to be found there without a plausible explanation. He was going to wait, and the Dark lord would lead him straight to the Stone.
And then there was Firenze and what he had said. Apparently there were two prophecies about him, and yet he knew of only one, the one Snape had told to the Dark Lord. It seems he was going to need to make more research. There was the talk of the stars and the duty the centaurs had towards them, and Harry was somehow involved in that as well. His future was threatening to be very interesting from what Harry had learned since coming to Hogwarts.
But that was in the future, right now Harry needed to get some sleep. He passed by Hagrid's hut and told him Norberta was safe with centaurs before sneaking into the castle. With his invisibility cloak over his shoulders, Harry had no trouble getting into the castle. The fat lady was thankfully in her portrait and sleepily let him into Gryffindor tower. Harry wasted no time getting into the dormitory where he shed off his clothes and climbed into bed. He was asleep with in a minute.
Unfortunately, he didn't get as much sleep as he had hoped. His nightmare was back, and he watched his mother's death over and over throughout the night and for the first time since their arrival at Hogwarts, Harry didn't need Neville to wake him up.
"Good morning, Harry." Neville greeted his friend as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and then he froze. "Harry?"
"Morning, Neville?" Harry said, as he turned the page a page in the book he had been reading. He had been awake for thirty minutes now.
"You're awake_ how are you awake?" Harry just smiled. "And your eyes, did you sleep at all."
"Not as much as I would have liked but today is Saturday, I'll get time to catch up."
"I see." He said. "Are you going to tell me why you didn't sleep?"
"Norberta bit Tracey." Harry told him and the other boy gasped in horror. "I was helping Hagrid to take her to the forbidden forest."
"Is Tracey going to be okay?"
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Harry replied. "I was actually waiting for you to wake up so we can check on her before breakfast."
"Oh, right." Neville jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. He came out about five minutes later just as the others were beginning to wake up and the two boys left soon after.
They found Daphne seated in a chair next to Tracey's bed reading a book. The small girl was still asleep but Harry could see that her hand was back to normal.
"You said you were coming back." Daphne glared at him.
"And here I am." Harry shrugged and Neville chuckled only to receive a glare on his own.
"Good morning Daphne." By this point, they had all gotten used to Daphne's glares that they were no longer affected by them. "How is she?"
"Certainly better than she was last night." Daphne answered. "I'm of half a mind to go tell Dumbledore about that bloody dragon myself."
"I doubt Tracey would appreciate that very much."
"She probably would never forgive me if anything happened to her 'adorable pet'." She shook her head. "Where did you go off to, last night?"
"Well, I figured Dumbledore would catch wind of this one way or another." Harry said, gesturing at Tracey. "So I made sure that if it ended up leading to Noberta, she would be safe."
"What did you do?" Daphne asked.
"I took her to the forbidden forest to live with the centaurs."
"Really? And Hagrid was fine with that?"
"I didn't exactly give him a choice." Harry shrugged. "But neither the dragon nor the centaurs seemed to mind so it worked out just fine."
Any further conversation was halted by the appearance of Madam Pomfrey who kicked them out of the hospital wing. Tracey was released soon after and the four first years walked together to the great hall. Tracey was her usual self, chattering nonstop about how she had gotten a cool scar from a dragon. Harry watched her silently with a smile on his face, it was good to have her back.
June 4th 2002
Hogwarts
The exams week came and went way faster than any of the students had anticipated. For his part, Harry barely even noticed it. Throughout the entire week, he was plagued by his nightmare and barely got any sleep at all. And then there was Quirrell, he hadn't shown any sign of recognizing Harry when they had seen each other during the DADA exam. Harry had half-expected to suddenly pull out his wand and try to kill him the moment they met, but that didn't happen.
But that wasn't all. Harry was on high alert the entire week, expecting one of the house elves to tell him that Quirrell had gone after the Stone. If there was a good time to go after it, it would have been during exams while the teachers and the students were busy with the exams and wouldn't be paying much attention. As it happened, Quirrell hadn't thought so and never at any point did he come near the third floor corridor.
And time was running out as the end of term drew closer. Harry had his own plans on how to get the Stone and if Quirrell didn't attempt to go after it tonight or tomorrow, Harry would put his own plans in motion and go after it by himself. The final quidditch game was in two days time, and it would be the one to determine who would take the house cup between Gryffindor and Slytherin so nearly everyone was going to be there.
He also had a plan to keep Dumbledore occupied while he tried to bypass whatever protections had been put in place for the Stone. His plan involved a well timed letter, the centaurs even though they had no idea that they would be involved, and then the most important part, Norberta. As a matter of fact, he had just left the forest after talking to the dragon and giving her instructions. After only about a week in the forest, she had started flying and ready to help Harry in any way he wanted.
His plan was risky, but Harry had learned long ago that to get results, one needed to take risks and in this case, the results far outweighed the risks. He took a deep breath as he once again stepped on the Hogwarts grounds. It was dark already, the students were probably almost done with dinner or finished already. Harry wasn't feeling like eating for once and so he decided to go back to the Gryffindor tower to sleep.
He had barely stepped on the Hogwarts grounds when a soft pop herald the arrival of a house elf. "Great master Harry Potter!"
"Uhm..." Harry racked his brain trying to remember the name of this particular elf. He was the one who spent most time looking out on the third floor and Harry had seen him more times than the others. "Mippy?"
"Mippy is Mippy, great Harry Potter." The elf nodded vigorously. "The smelly man went through the door."
"Quirrell has gone after the Stone?" Harry asked for clarification and the elf nodded again, his large ears slapping on the sides of his head. "Can you take me there?"
The elf just took his hand and the two disappeared. Only to appear a second later outside the familiar door. Harry retrieved his invisibility cloak and put it over his shoulders. He looked at Mippy. "Thank you very much."
The elf nodded and disappeared again. Throwing the hood over his head, Harry disappeared from sight completely, took a deep breath and entered the room. There was no turning back now.