Chapter Thirteen: Internal Issues
BananaCarrot-Five
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Harry Potter is owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment and J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Hi! I'm still here! Been busy, sadly. Enjoy though! Before you read this chapter, I would like to thank The Wondering Wizard for taking the time to beta this chapter! Your help is always appreciated! Onwards!
May 10, 1992
Kings Lynn, UK
Mariella and Toby were relaxing in their cottage. Toby was dozing while Mariella was reading. Suddenly, she got a sudden spike of pain in her head, and when she closed her eyes, an image flashed through her mind six times. And, just as quickly as it had come, it had gone.
Mariella sat up straight and rubbed her head. She was trying to comprehend what she had seen and why it had happened. She thought it over for a minute and she knew she had seen some type of water; however, she couldn't remember anything else about the image.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Sun peered into the boy's dorm as Harry and Neville were rudely awakened by Ron Weasley.
"What gives? You go on an adventure without me? You promised you would include me!" Ron whined.
Neville remained quiet as Harry gave Ron a hard stare.
"I suppose your late-night actions were accompanied by Professor McGonagall, who also took away fifty points for your rumors?"
Ron's mouth opened and shut with no audio coming out. Harry took this as a sign. He turned to Neville.
"Let's go, before Hermione yells at us about breakfast."
Having heard the word breakfast, Ron momentarily forgot his anger towards Harry and Neville and followed behind them to the Great Hall, where Harry and Neville met up with Hermione.
Most of Gryffindor noticed the sudden drop in points, and once Dean and Seamus had explained to some of their friends the conversation between Harry and Ron earlier that morning, the Hogwarts Rumor Mill took off.
By dinner, the rumors had changed to where "'Firstie Ron Weasley' had a crush on Professor McGonagall, and the stern Transfiguration Professor flatly turned him down before removing points from him for having those feelings."
Nothing was asked about how Harry knew of it to begin with, though.
The Twins had taken a liking to teasing Ron about his crush, and they would go back and forth saying how they liked the Professor too but would never reveal it to her.
That evening, Ron stormed into the Common Room and went straight to his bed. His cheeks were as red as his hair and his face looked like it was about to explode from anger and humiliation.
May 11, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
It appeared that Fate had other plans for Ron Weasley. With Transfiguration being their first class, Fred and George took the honour of buttering up their brother during breakfast. Fuming, Ron stormed into Transfiguration, and by that time most of the class were situated. There was an open table right at the front of the room, and Ron cursed to himself and took his seat.
"Looks like Ron wants to be close to his crush!" Lavender squealed.
"Oh, don't you know, he is already head over heels for her!" Becca chimed in.
"He even is willing to lose points to show her his affection!" Kelly wrapped up.
The class erupted into a fit of giggles. Ron was about to retort when Professor McGonagall entered the classroom. As she scanned the class, every student fell silent.
"Good morning, class. I see everyone is present. Excellent. Let us begin."
\-0-0-/
The jokes continued. Soon, most of the first year girls were teasing Ron about his apparent affections towards their Transfiguration Professor. Ron's ears were bright red as he progressively got angrier and angrier as the day passed. It had reached the end of the evening feast when none other than Draco Malfoy strutted up to him.
"So, Weasel, couldn't date anyone your age? Old women your style? Pathetic. Wait until my father hears about how much a dis-"
Draco stopped mid-sentence as his arm was tapped by a rather annoyed McGonagall.
"Twenty points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy, for your blatant disrespect to your teacher."
The only thing that stopped Ron from tackling Malfoy was Dean's insistence that he not draw any more attention to himself, especially when it involved Professor McGonagall. Ron, not cooling off at all, miraculously managed to restrain himself once again.
Nearby, Neville leaned over to Harry. "You think Professor McGonagall knows?"
Harry nodded. "Has to. Rumor Mill can't be this foolproof."
Hermione rolled her eyes and mumbled "boys" under her breath. Neither intended recipient noticed.
That evening after Astronomy, Hermione was tucked up in her bed. She was grinning from ear to ear. Her 101-page review was finally complete. Enclosed was all the material learned this year compiled from her, Harry, and Neville's notes. She had structured it after her teachers in Primary, however most of those had been filled to the brim with questions with little supporting information. Hers had questions and a lot of actual information for them. As their teachers were mostly reviewing spells, charms, theory, and wand movements during class, she felt it was the best time to wrap up the review.
At least she knew what she would be doing this weekend.
May 16, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hermione smiled widely. Before her were three copies of the study guide she created for her, Harry and Neville. She planned to give it to them after lunch. She had a whole plan worked out on when they would work through it, and it was going to be awesome! Her dream of being in a study group for finals was finally coming true!
\-0-0-/
It was now Saturday. Ron had endured almost an entire week of being teased about his supposed affections towards Professor McGonagall. He had concluded that it was Harry's fault for starting the rumor. Following breakfast, he stormed into the Common Room where Harry and many other students were peacefully doing various things and ran right up to him.
"Oi! Harry!" Ron yelled, three feet away.
Harry's head jerked up, before he frowned. "What?"
"This is all your fault!" Ron yelled.
Harry had a puzzled look on his face for a moment, before placing the book he was reading on his lap. "Can you tell me exactly what it is I did wrong, and can you not yell? A bunch of us are trying to relax." Several giggles were heard around the Common Room at that.
Ron snarled. "It was you! You started the bloody rumor about me liking McGonagall!"
A loud "eep" could be heard before it was revealed that Hermione was trying her best not to collapse in laughter. It didn't help that Lavender, Parvati, Kelly and Becca were all grinning like loons. It also didn't help that a handful of other students agreed with the laughter.
Ron's expression turned dark. "And what about you, I'm sure you think this is all fun and games!"
Hermione struggled to speak as she giggled. "It's - giggle not that, giggle it's just that giggle you and Professor giggle Professor McGonagall of all people! giggle"
Ron was losing his patience. He turned back to Harry. "This is all your fault, Potter. You manipulated Bucktooth and Longbottom! All of you hate me! This is all your doing; I swear it is! This is what happens when you reject my friendship! You just go off with your idiot friends because that's all you are! The idiot trio!"
The Common Room was silent, except a slammed door in which a furious Neville had entered from, and the loud thud of Harry's fist connecting with Ron's jaw with Ron seemingly simultaneously falling onto the floor.
Hermione lunged to tackle the redhead and was grabbed by the four girls while Neville was being held back by Dean and Seamus. Harry stood still, eyes glaring at Ron, who was on the floor, clutching his jaw in pain. This was the scene that Professor McGonagall walked into.
"What happened here? Explain yourselves, now!"
When she had finally gotten the whole story though the students, she was very angry. "All four of you, Mr. Potter, Miss. Granger, Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Weasley, will be receiving detention and fifty points, each, will be taken from you. Mr. Weasley, go to the Hospital Wing immediately. Mr. Finnigan, please escort him."
Harry's mind closed inside himself, and without a word, retreated to his bed in his dorm, ignoring everyone and everything. As always, those he trusted the most turned on him when he least expected it. Even when logic was meant to be a friend, it was a foe. Peter, please kill me now.
Back in the Common Room, Hermione's friends still had an iron grip on her arms, so she was unable to wiggle herself free and hug Harry for all of his worth. She called out to him, but he ignored her and made a beeline for his dorm.
Bucktooth
Freak
'Ohh, stay away from the Freaky Bookworm! She'll curse you if you get too close!'
'The Freaky Bookworm always has to show off, the loser.'
"Hermione?" Becca nudged her. When she didn't respond, she started shaking her. That pulled her out of her mind.
"Sorry, Thank you. I need space. Thanks." Hermione became skittish and hopped up to her own dorm to her bed, closing the curtains around her and screaming into a pillow.
Neville had remained quite still, breathing heavily. He watched his two best friends isolate themselves, and he wasn't too far behind if he was being honest with himself. He knew that he didn't know how to get them back, let alone back to being their usual selves. He moved to sit in the seat that Harry had occupied not ten minutes prior. He would have to figure out how to get his friends back again.
\-0-0-/
Several hours had passed before Neville ventured back into the Dorm. Harry was the only occupant, and his curtains were fully covering his bed. Neville was about to open the curtains when he stopped and thought.
Neville decided that Harry could use some space and that he would seek him out when he was ready. He eventually ventured out of the Common Room and started walking towards the Library. Maybe some spontaneous Herbology facts could calm him down.
In the Girl's Dorm, Hermione was being comforted by Kelly and Parvati. The trio of girls were huddled up on Hermione's bed, while Kelly and Parvati whispered affirmations to Hermione, mostly about how much of an idiot Ron Weasley was. Sprinkles of Harry and Neville's friendship were also present. By the time the evening feast came around, Hermione was wearing the smallest of smiles, however defected and stated she wasn't hungry. Reluctantly, Kelly and Parvati left Hermione alone in the dorm.
May 18, 1992
"Harry, you have to get up and out! We have classes today!" Neville pleaded with him after breakfast. "I know you haven't been about this weekend but you have to get to classes. What will happen when Hermione doesn't see you in class?"
Without moving the curtains, Harry mumbled "Go away, Nev. I don't care."
Neville sighed. He went to class alone and walked into Transfiguration with a minute to spare. He looked around and saw a miserable looking Hermione sandwiched between Lavender and Becca. If Professor McGonagall noticed Harry's absence, she didn't say a word.
Potions class was a different story, however. Snape took delight in ribbing Neville and Hermione about Harry's lack of attendance and took away 100 points from Gryffindor for Harry's negligence to show up for class. Most of the students seemed to notice that Hermione was looking more tired and miserable while Neville got angrier and smaller in the process.
In the Dorm, Harry was trying to pull himself together. His brain had been wracked with the potential that his entire time at Hogwarts had been a waste and that everything that had happened was all a set up. Hermione and Neville hadn't wanted to be his friends, he was the lone idiot in the school, and he was constantly being bullied.
Neville, urging him to go to class today seemed to pull him out of his mood. He decided to pull out his flute, his present from Hagrid. If he was to keep himself from losing his mind at Hogwarts, and he didn't have his friends currently, his flute was the way to go.
This is what Neville had heard upon entering the Dorm after Potions; Harry playing a scale of notes behind closed curtains. He had brought him yet another plate of food that would most likely remain untouched.
Neville knew that the only reason Hermione was eating was the sheer willpower of her Dorm mates. But Harry? In the small snippets that he has revealed about himself, he knew how to cope with little to no food over time.
Harry then played Nearer my God to Thee on his flute before going silent.
May 21, 1992
Hermione hadn't wanted to go to her classes today. Harry hadn't shown up for anything at all. Neville had brought food up for him, but Harry never ate it. He refused to leave his bed, and Hermione, having not seen him for five days now, was weeping silently for her isolated friend.
She rubbed her eyes as sleep threatened to overtake her. As it was past dinner, it was pitch black in the Dorm as she had opted for no lights. Opening her eyes again, she made out a figure at the foot of her bed.
Harry
"Harry?"
Harry simply stared at her. He sat cross legged and didn't talk or move.
Hermione slowly sat up on her bed and started crawling over to give him a hug. She really had to hug him-
He vanished. She swiped her arm in front of her, but Harry wasn't there. She swore she had seen him not a minute ago! She had a hallucination that he was right there.
She turned around and flopped back on her pillow and cried. She had hallucinated him being there. She really, really wanted her friends back. Neville was getting distant, and she hadn't seen Harry in days. She hated that he had just closed up and isolated himself again.
She sat up and hopped out of bed, not bothering to clean herself up. She walked out of her dorm and down to the Common Room and sat next to Neville, who was reading 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi for the umpteenth time. She leaned on his shoulder.
"Why does Harry have to do this to me?" Hermione whined. Neville snapped out of his daze of reading and noticed that she was lying on his shoulder.
"It's how he is sometimes, Hermione. He doesn't tell us much."
Hermione sighed. "We should help him. We should help him get out of doing this whenever something like this happens."
"How?" Neville asked.
"We can ask Professor Dumbledore. He had a bad time growing up. Maybe you can ask him if he can stay with you guys in your house?"
Neville shifted his body and Hermione lost her resting spot. "Why me, Hermione? What about your parents?"
Hermione shook her head quickly. "No. Don't ask."
Neville nodded. Hermione sighed and stood up. "If he does come out, find me? Please?"
Neville nodded and smiled. "Always."
Nodding in appreciation, Hermione turned and went back to the current pitch black and isolation that was the First-Year's Girl's dorm.
\-0-0-/
Neville watched Hermione until she disappeared into her dorm. He then stood up and checked the time. He was still allowed to be in the corridors, as it wasn't curfew yet and made the journey to the Headmaster's Office, Professor Dumbledore. He did get a little disoriented, and asked one of the Ravenclaw Prefects for directions.
When Neville reached the bronze gargoyle in front of the office, he scratched his head. He'd never needed to see Dumbledore up to this point, and did not know how to access the Heads' Office.
"Uh, I would like to speak to Professor Dumbledore?"
The gargoyle remained inanimate for about twenty seconds before jumping aside and letting Neville climb the staircase upwards. He reached a large wooden door before opening it. Sitting calmly at the desk was none other than Professor Dumbledore.
"How may I be of assistance to you, Mr. Longbottom? Would you care for a lemon drop? I must say, they are delicious."
Neville was shaking in his feet as he graciously accepted a lemon drop. He popped the sweet into his mouth, and let it start to melt on his tongue. He felt calmer after a few moments and sat down.
"Professor, I was wondering if you would maybe consider letting Harry live with me and my Gran this summer? Hermione thinks that it will help him to not revert to a shell of himself like he is doing now."
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and thought. Finally, he spoke. "Have you owled your grandmother for her opinion on this?"
Neville blushed slightly in embarrassment. "No, Sir. I haven't."
Dumbledore nodded, as if he already knew his answer. "I will have to think on this, Mr. Longbottom. Do be sure to owl your grandmother. It would not do good to have surprises come her way."
Neville nodded quickly. "Thank you, Sir!"
Dumbledore chuckled. "You are quite welcome. Now, you must go back to your Common Room. It will be curfew soon, and it won't do to have you out of Gryffindor Tower this late at night."
Neville stood up and quickly started running out towards his Common Room, a smile on his face. Dumbledore rolled his eyes. "Kids," he muttered joyfully.
May 22, 1992
As Professor McGonagall dismissed her class, she held back Neville, Ron. and Hermione.
"Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Weasley, Miss. Granger, stay behind please," McGonagall had called out to them.
The three stayed behind and each received a slip of paper. "You are to report at 10:00 PM at Hagrid's Hut for your detention tomorrow night. Mr. Longbottom, I am sure you can pass the word to Mr. Potter. That is all, enjoy your dinner."
May 23, 1992
The Forbidden Forest
Harry, Neville, Hermione and Ron were standing outside Hagrid's Hut at 10:00 PM. He was checking his crossbow before turning to the students.
"Alright, you lot. Follow me. We have a job to do tonight." Hagrid grabbed his lantern and started walking into the forest. When the group was about 100 meters in, Hagrid stopped them in a small clearing. He put his lantern down next to some silvery substance.
"That is unicorn blood. Poor fella 'ere is wounded. Our job is to find the poor thing and to help heal it. Ron, Neville, you two will stick with me. Harry and Hermione, you two will stick together. Remember, any sign of something wrong, red sparks in the air. Off you go."
They split off as Hagrid had instructed; Ron, Neville, and Hagrid were in their group while Harry and Hermione went on their own. Immediately, things felt uncomfortable between the duo. They had neither spoken to nor seen each other all week. Harry meekly looked over at Hermione, whose sad gaze was painfully noticeable. Harry stopped suddenly. Hermione stopped a few steps in front of him and turned around.
"You okay, Harry?"
Harry nodded and sighed. "We have to talk about us. Later, though. Please?"
Hermione smiled weakly and nodded. "Of course, Harry."
After that, the atmosphere was relatively calm between them, and the next forty minutes went by without any drama. Hermione refused to let go of Harry's arm, which she had grabbed after hearing a wolf howl somewhere in the Forest. The duo eventually made it to a small clearing.
Hermione was frozen in shock at the sight she saw. Harry, still connected to her arm, stopped mid-step and followed her gaze. Immediately setting eyes upon the thing who killed this unicorn and was now drinking its blood made Harry's scar pulse in pain like crazy.
When the figure stood up and started to hover towards them, Harry pushed himself in front of Hermione and accidentally made them fall backwards. He had fully covered her and was praying to Peter to save him when suddenly, a half horse and half man figure jumped into the scene and scared the thing off. Satisfied, he turned and knelt down to the two kids.
"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. I am Firenze. The forest is not safe now. Come with me, I will take you to safety and return you to Hagrid in the morning." The two stunned kids nodded.
"I'm sorry, but what was that… that thing that drank the unicorn's blood?" Harry asked.
Firenze kneeled and looked at Harry at face level. "Do you not know anyone who would take such low measures to survive?" At Harry's thinking face, he added, "Do you know what is currently hidden in the school at this moment?"
Harry nodded. "The Philosopher's Stone!"
Firenze nodded. "And? The figure?"
Harry's eyes widened. "You're telling me that that- that thing, that was Voldemort?"
Firenze nodded solemnly. "It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. To kill such an innocent creature is by itself cruel. Unicorn blood has the power to keep a person alive even if they are an inch from death, but at a terrible cost. Drinking the blood of a unicorn will curse you. You will live a half-life."
Both kids' eyes widened at that. Firenze allowed the kids to climb onto his back before running through the forest until they reached a cozy clearing in which there were a handful of other centaurs circling about.
Suddenly, there was a loud voice from behind them.
"Firenze! Who have you brought into our sacred haven?"
"Bane, I present Harry Potter and his friend, Hermione Granger. I have saved them from a monstrous creature in the forest."
Bane's expression turned dark. "How dare you mess with the Fates! Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived was supposed to die in the forest! The stars predicted it!"
Harry became shell-shocked. He was supposed to die? He was only eleven, he hadn't even been free for a year, and now he was supposed to die? He couldn't keep thinking about it because Firenze had brought them to a small lean-to.
"Sleep well here, and I will return you to Hagrid in the morning. You have my word."
Harry nodded. "Thank you, Firenze. From both of us-" Hermione vigorously nodded in agreement, "We don't know what we would have done without you."
Firenze nodded before taking off to join the others.
Harry tried to sleep but couldn't. Hermione laid her head on Harry's shoulder and the duo sat in silence, comprehending what they had just been through. Not more than an hour passed before they heard the familiar voice of Hagrid and Firenze chatting.
Hagrid beamed brightly when he saw the two kids safe and sound.
"Al'righ' you two, let's get yer' back to tha' Castle." Harry and Hermione thanked Firenze for the hospitality before following Hagrid out of the Forest and to the Castle once again.
It neared 2:00 am when the Trio were finally alone in the Common Room. Ron had angrily stomped off to bed, after blaming Harry for the detention once again. Meanwhile, Hermione was telling Neville about what had happened while Harry was desperately trying to figure out how he could have avoided his death in the Forest if the "Fates" had predicted it.
Maybe Bane was wrong! Maybe if I never go back to the Forest, I won't die. Right, that's it exactly.
"Harry?"
Harry was jolted out of his mind when Hermione called out to him.
"Are you alright?" She hesitantly reached out her hand.
Harry shook his head and looked down.
"I was going to die tonight, guys. Firenze saved us. It was Voldemort we saw tonight. He's in the Forest!"
Both Neville and Hermione shuddered in fright at His name being mentioned.
"And now he is out to get me," Harry stated in a quiet voice.
The Common Room was silent except for the cackling fire.
"Well, I think I'm headed up. Goodnight, guys," Harry stated suddenly, standing up and walking upstairs.
Neville and Hermione remained in the Common Room for a while longer, Neville writing a letter to his grandmother while Hermione sat in silence and chewed her fingernails as anxiety started to slip in. Neither had any idea what was going through Harry's head as he isolated himself, yet again, in his four-poster bed.
May 24, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry Potter was a sleep-deprived Gryffindor who decided that it would be a brilliant idea to go to Quidditch practice today. Because what better conditions to do intensive practice than on an empty stomach and without sleep for over a day?
Harry walked into the locker room at the Pitch and greeted the team. The girls all hugged him ("Glad to see you here again, Harry!" and "I knew you would be back, Harry!") while the Twins clapped his shoulders and Oliver smiled from afar. When Harry was finally released, he turned to Oliver.
"Sorry I ignored you these past few weeks. Me and Ron-"
Oliver cut him off with a wave of his hand. "No worry, Harry. Katie told me what happened."
Harry nodded in acceptance.
Practice went on like normal, however there was now a constant, but not noticeable pain in his forehead. Whether it had to do with last night or with the fact that he was engaging in a physically demanding activity on a drained body, he didn't really care. He caught the snitch twice before Oliver called it a day and the team split.
\-0-0-/
The ghost was flying over to them. This was it. Her life was going to end via a ghost. Then she was pushed and sort of compressed. She realized it was Harry who was doing it to her. By the way he was grabbing her, though, it must have been to block her. After she heard what appeared to be a horse, Harry's grip finally loosened.
"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. You should not be in the forest. Dumbledore warned you…"
The centaur grinned madly before raising a hoof and slamming it onto-
Hermione bolted upright, breathing heavily. That never happened, Firenze saved us. Then Hagrid found us, then we came back here.
Checking the time, she saw it was just past seven.
"Oh bugger," Hermione moaned, "Harry!"
She quickly got up and changed before making her way to the Great Hall, where Harry was calmly chatting with Angelina and Alicia about their practice.
"I'm just saying that you would have better reaction time if you pivoted your broom instead of turning it," Harry stated.
"We aren't looking for a Snitch, Harry," Angelina responded calmly.
"But being able to pivot instead of turning would be a better strategy to lose the chasing Chasers, don't you think?"
"While I agree, you have a Nimbus. Cleansweep Five's don't have that much agility control like your model does," Alicia pointed out.
Harry took a deep breath to counter it when Hermione interrupted them.
"Hi! Good morning, Harry, Hi Angelina and Alicia! Wonderful weather this morning? Good! I'm hungry!" She smiled brightly as she grabbed a handful of biscuits.
Harry looked between the three girls around him and sighed before smiling at the Chasers. "You win, congrats."
The Chasers rolled their eyes in faux annoyance before digging into their own food. Harry used this opportunity to turn towards Hermione, who was awkwardly stuffing two biscuits in her mouth simultaneously.
Neville made himself known with a small cough before sitting down next to Hermione. Both boys watched, fascinated that Hermione could consume food at a rate that rivaled Ron Weasley without turning the area around her into a dumpster. When she had finished eating her second set of biscuits, she turned her head and greeted the boys.
"You alright, Hermione?" Harry asked calmly.
Hermione nodded silently, before stopping. She reached out and grabbed one of their hands each. "I am now, thanks, guys."
Neville smiled and nodded, and Harry reciprocated. When breakfast concluded (Harry still hadn't eaten), the Trio made their way back to the Common Room where Hermione presented the boys with the review she had created. Clocking in at about a half-inch in thickness, both boys looked visibly distressed. Both were shocked that they almost missed when Hermione started talking.
"Exams start in 2 weeks. Um, I meant to give these to you last week, but…"
The air around the Trio felt stuffed for a few seconds.
"Anyways here they are! We can work on them and make sure we are extra prepared for the exams!" Hermione grinned as Harry started chuckling. Soon, Neville joined. Hermione burst out too. Harry smiled.
"It is totally your style, with this we'll fly through our exams! Thanks, Hermione!" Neville exclaimed, picking up his copy and leafing through it. Harry grinned and followed suit.
"I think we should start now," Neville started, "Since Hermione meant to give this to us last week and exams are only a few weeks away."
"Excellent suggestion, Neville! What do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked, giving Harry a stare.
Harry smiled. "Sure. To the library we go!"
\-0-0-/
Minerva McGonagall was in her personal dormitory, thinking. Harry hadn't been in any of his classes, she'd checked with every Professor he had. Peeking at the point tally, she reasonably deduced that he wasn't in Severus' class either, as Gryffindor was down almost 600 points. In fact, her House had a grand total of negative 186 points.
She knew he ate; she frequently saw Miss. Granger and Mr. Longbottom pile food on extra plates and take it with them concluding the dinner feast.
The last time Harry had got into this kind of state was back in October when he had beaten himself up over his then struggling friendship with Miss. Granger. Now, it involved Mr. Weasley discrediting Miss. Granger in front of him.
She sighed to herself. She hoped that Harry would come back around again. Lily's son deserved so much more than what the world has given him. She opened her cabinet and looked at the box of memory vials in front of her. Mr. Thomas, Miss. Morris, and Miss. Patil's memories from their Potions classes this week give her another reason to want to pursue, again, to get Severus removed from the teaching staff for his incompetence.
"300 points each to Miss. Granger and Mr. Longbottom for helping a friend in need." Minerva chuckled when the tally now read Gryffindor with 486 points.
\-0-0-/
As lunch approached, the Trio made huge strides in their packets. Harry had filled out most of the practical information on spells in Transfiguration before passing out from exhaustion. Neville spent his time on Herbology, filling in almost all of the information that had been taught that year, ending with the Devil's Snare from last month. Hermione had started at the beginning of her copy, filling in most of the information for their History of Magic course before noticing Harry was fast asleep.
"Harry?" She whispered. Her arm was grabbed by Neville.
"Don't. He was awake all night. I don't know what he was thinking, but he spent at least five hours sitting up, staring and not moving before he went to Quidditch." Hermione frowned but nodded.
"Oh Harry, why must you do this to yourself?"
Hermione and Neville spent the last bit of time before lunch in the Library, Hermione occasionally stealing a glance at Harry's sleeping figure.
When Harry woke again, he learned that he had just missed dinner. He stood up and started walking back to the Common Room when he ran into Neville and Hermione, plates of food in their hands. Smiling in thanks, the Trio made the journey to the Common Room and Harry finally ate again, now in the company of his friends and their exam reviews.
\-0-0-/
May 25, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Not being in class for a week hadn't really affected Harry, since most of what they were learning was simply a review of the year by itself. However, it was the last week of classes for everyone before exams would be arriving. Thankfully, with Hermione's help and review, Harry kept himself afloat when he sometimes spaced out on concepts that were taught in November of last year.
Potions was aggravating, Snape still yelled at him. Because Harry showed up in class, Snape couldn't pull another 100 points for Harry's lack of respect for his class.
Lunch came and went, Harry and Neville got help with their History portions of the review, and throughout their next class Hermione helped the boys fill out a majority of the different dates and groups of wars that had been covered during the year.
\-0-0-/
Harry had finally been able to convince Neville and Hermione especially about Professor Snape's grudge against Professor Quirrell. Reluctantly, Hermione agreed to help him and Neville defend Professor Quirrell from Professor Snape's petty attacks.
Harry may or may not have used the fact that Professor Snape was already a suspect to finally sway Hermione, but his entire argument about the Philosopher's Stone finally started to make sense to her based on his perspective.
June 1, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
It had been a long and somewhat exhausting week for the Trio. On Harry's insistence, they defended Professor Quirrell whenever Snape tried to make an advance or state an insult against him.
The thirty points lost that week were worth it, in their opinion.
Classes were mostly study halls now; the students had reviews given to them by their Professors, and then you had Harry, Neville, and Hermione who also had their reviews as well as the Professor's.
However, as the week went on, Harry started to phase out more and more during class. He cited it on a constant headache that was slowly growing. It had been growing since that night in which he was almost killed by Voldemort in the Forest.
June 2, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The day started out normal. During breakfast, Professor Dumbledore had received a letter before promptly standing up and walking out of the Great Hall. By the time classes started, rumors had spread regarding his departure and some of the wild ones that had made its way around was the fact that Dumbledore was summoned to fight and save the world. It would certainly explain his not-so-subtle exit.
\-0-0-/
Harry had just finished his Defense portion on his review when his head suddenly got flooded with a single question. Without explaining it, he dragged Neville and Hermione out of the Library and halfway around the Castle until he dragged them outside to Hagrid's Hut. Hagrid was relaxing and tending to his garden when Harry had started quickly asking question after question to him. Hagrid tried to follow but couldn't. He put his hand up and Harry quieted.
"Alrigh' 'Arry, start ov'r and go a bi' more slowly, 'lease?"
Harry blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry Hagrid. Where did you get your egg from? Who gave it to you?"
Hagrid thought. "When I was in the pub, I had met a man. I didn't see 'is face, 'e was cloaked. 'E was in the trade, o'course, and wanted to know if I could 'andle a dragon. Well, I tol' 'im I can 'andle it, easy."
"And?" Harry pressed, "what did he say?"
"Well, 'e wanted tah know what kinda experience I've 'ad, yer know? To make sure I could 'andle 'im. So I told 'im about Fluffy."
"Was he interested in Fluffy?"
"Well o'course 'e was int'rested with Fluffy. I mean, how often do yer' come across a three-headed dog, even in the trade? So I told 'im. The easiest way the deal with a creature is the know how to calm em. Take Fluffy fer' example, if yer' play 'im some music, he'll fall right asleep."
Harry was about to interrupt but Hagrid continued.
"So 'e said 'e was satisfied and gave me the egg. Told me when 'e would 'atch an all. It was a beauty."
"Wait, Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed, "You told the man how to calm Fluffy, right?"
Hagrid chuckled. "Well I 'ad to tell 'im somthin' to convince 'im, now didn't I?"
"Oh, Merlin," Neville moaned under his breath. He was rewarded by an elbow from Hermione, "You must've told Snape-"
"Professor Snape!" Hermione whispered.
"-how to calm Fluffy! Now the Stone is exposed!" Neville finished, before slumping in annoyance.
"How?" Hagrid asked.
"Cloaked and masked, who's the only person here that always wears their cloak around?" Neville asked. "Professor Snape!" Neville responded when no one answered.
"Oh Dear," Hagrid mumbled as he realized his mistake.
The Trio quickly gathered their belongings and ran out, running to find Professor McGonagall.
Thankfully, Professor McGonagall wasn't busy. She was surprised that the Trio wasn't at lunch.
"Mr. Potter, Miss. Granger, Mr. Longbottom, what can I do for you now?"
"Professor, we need to talk to Professor Dumbledore! Is he back yet?" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'm afraid that Professor Dumbledore will not be returning until this evening, Miss. Granger. What is it that is so important?"
"Snape is going to steal the Philosopher's Stone!" Harry exclaimed.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Potter. How in the world did you hear of this?"
"It doesn't matter, Professor! You need to keep it safe!"
"I can assure you that Professor Snape is not attempting to steal the Stone. Should I hear word of you three spreading this around school, I will have no choice but to give you detention. Now, go to class and keep your mouths shut."
Deflating in defeat, the Trio exited the classroom and started to walk down to Potions.
"Look, we need to keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't do anything suspicious." Harry stated.
"But with Professor Dumbledore gone," Hermione began, "He'll be free to do what he wants! We have-"
"Good afternoon," Professor Snape sneered from behind them. The Trio turned around, surprised.
"Now, why are three young Gryffindors down here when you could be relaxing in the warm weather before class?" When the kids stuttered to answer, Snape scowled. "You should be careful. Somebody might get the impression that you are up to something…" He enunciated the last several words slowly while looking at each of them. He scoffed and walked past them.
"That's that decided," Harry started.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"It means we're going to sneak down the trapdoor, tonight" Neville finished.
Nearby, Draco Malfoy overheard the words "sneak" and "tonight" from Neville's mouth. He had to talk to one person before he could let it go. Malfoy grinned evilly as he sought out someone "important."
\-0-0-/
June 3, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
It was well past midnight when the Trio snuck downstairs to head to the Third-Floor Corridor once again. Their exit, however, was blocked by the one person none of them wanted to deal with: a grinning Ron Weasley.
"What do you want, Weasley?" Harry snapped.
"Oh, I'm here to tell you to not go wherever you are going tonight."
"And why do you figure we are going anywhere?"
Ron grinned madly. "Malfoy told me that you three would be up to something. If you guys don't tell me what it is, I'll tell McGonagall that you guys are sneaking out."
"Try me, Weasley," Neville growled.
Ron smirked, having successfully cornered the Trio-
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Ron suddenly froze up, arms snapping to his sides and legs locking together. He teetered for a moment, and then fell backwards. A smirking Hermione pocketed her wand before turning to the boys. "Shall we?"
Harry and Neville grinned. "Brilliant!" They exclaimed together to a blushing Hermione.
Upon exiting the Common Room Harry tossed the Cloak over them and the Trio started making their way to the corridor where they would have to stop Snape from getting the Stone.
Harry had his flute, he would play some lullabies until the dog fell asleep, then the Trio would go down the trapdoor. After that, they were blind.
They got to the Third Floor without spotting Filch or any of the Professors. Sighing in relief, Hermione unlocked the door and the Trio entered. To their surprise, the dog was asleep and soft music was being played on a harp in the corner of the room.
"Dammit, Snape must have already been here!" Harry exclaimed.
"Language!" Hermione scolded him. Harry sighed before apologizing.
Neville walked over to the trapdoor and opened it, looking down.
"I can't see the bottom, guys."
It was at this moment two things happened: The music on the harp stopped and the three-headed dog started to stir. As soon as Harry saw the dog start to stir, he whipped out his flute and started to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." The dog, thankfully, nodded off back to sleep. Harry gestured with his foot for Hermione and Neville to go down the trapdoor. Both hopped down and Harry quickly followed as he saw the dog stir again as there was no music to keep him asleep.
They fell into something slimy. And it felt alive.
"It's a snake!" Harry yelled, frantically trying to pull its grip off of his legs.
Neville had the same fear for a moment until he saw what was grabbing them.
"Wait! No! It's not a snake, it's Devil's Snare!" Neville yelled out.
"How do you stop it then?!" Harry asked, panicking.
"Light!" Neville and Hermione yelled out together, grinning at each other in the process.
"Pull out your wand guys, then put up the brightest Lumos charm you can manage!" Hermione instructed.
The trio lit their wands up and the Devil's Snare immediately recoiled, releasing both them and their floor. The kids dropped to a clearing below. There was a hallway that led to two doors. One of them had some sort of tapping on the other side of it.
"It sounds like wings," Harry noted. Neville gulped as they made their way over.
Upon entering the room, Harry's assumption was correct. In a huge chamber that was almost 100 feet tall, contained hundreds, if not thousands, of flying keys.
"Oh," came Hermione's soft response to seeing the chamber. "Oh!" came her response when she spotted what was on the other side of the chamber.
"What is it… oh," Harry stated, now seeing the large door at the other side of the chamber.
In the middle of the room had a single floating broom. Harry walked up to it and Neville's eyes went wide.
"I-I can't fly that well, Harry. You'll have to do it!" Neville got out.
Harry looked puzzled. "What am I supposed to do, fly up there until I find the key that we are looking for?"
"Yeah, looks like our only option, sorry," Hermione said, her gaze downcast.
Harry sighed and grabbed the broom. Suddenly all of the keys started freaking out and flying in every other direction at breakneck speed. Except for one, about halfway up. Harry took off and as he approached the key it seemed to struggle to get away from him. This key in particular had a bent wing.
Harry reached out and grabbed the key. Suddenly, around 3,000 flying keys began to fall to the ground, Harry and the broomstick included. He was hurtling towards the ground. He desperately tried to pull up on the broom, but it was unresponsive. He was about to give up when he heard Hermione yell.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The broom suddenly pitched up and Harry was able to land on the ground, key in hand.
"Thanks," Harry looked at Hermione, who was also taking deep breaths. He inserted the key into the lock and the door clicked open. The Trio walked slowly down a hallway that was only dimly lit by torches. Soon, they reached the next door, the next challenge.
\-0-0-/
He was losing patience. He had been down here for over an hour, trying to solve the last puzzle so that he could get the Stone and help his Master return to life. Unfortunately, the man was not yet successful in his endeavor. He must keep trying, his Master will not be happy if he fails him again.
\-0-0-/
"Oh, bloody hell," Harry mumbled.
"Language!" Hermione hissed.
"It's a chessboard! But we can't cross it," Neville stated, "we have to win to cross, I figure."
"You know chess, Neville!" Hermione pointed out, "you can beat this! If you can beat Ron Weasley at his own self-proclaimed king game, you can beat this!"
Neville sighed before speaking. "Hermione, most of the times I won was because he was annoyed that I had beaten him the previous game!"
"I mean, we have your experience and Hermione's logic, we could use that to our advantage," Harry reasoned.
Agreeing with his logic, Harry, Neville, and Hermione spent a while playing through the chessboard. Eventually, the white side King surrendered his crown, and the Trio was allowed to pass.
\-0-0-/
Minerva had taken a moment to get some fresh air after going through more of her OWL student's papers when she almost tripped over something. Lighting up her wand, she aimed it down and saw a shocked and still petrified Ronald Weasley. She quickly revived him and he stood up.
"Professor! Granger's mad! She froze me when I was trying to stop them from leaving!"
"With who?" Please don't say who I think it is-
"Harry and Neville!"
McGonagall nodded, internally angry. She maintained her composure, though. "I understand. Thank you, Mr. Weasley. Return to your dormitory now."
And possibly, for the first time all year, Ron listened to a Professor when it came to involving the Trio. He went to bed without protest.
Quickly returning to her office, she activated her fireplace. "Ministry of Magic – Minister's Office!"
After several seconds a man answered. "Professor McGonagall, what business do you have calling me at this hour?!"
"I'm sorry, Cornelius, but I need Albus to return to Hogwarts immediately."
"I do not see what I can do, Professor. I haven't seen him in almost a week."
Minerva froze. If Albus wasn't with the Minister, where was he? "Thank you, Cornelius, and I apologize for waking you."
The Minister waved it off. "Don't worry, Professor. Have a good night."
The connection was closed, and Minerva was stumped. If Albus had gotten an immediate Summons from Cornelius, why did he tell her that he hadn't seen him all week? Was Albus lying to all of them? She had to talk to some of the other Professors. Students were potentially in danger.
\-0-0-/
Passing through the next room almost emptied their stomachs. Troll intestines were splattered all over, and a dead, bled-out troll lay nearby, obviously looking shocked in the final moments of his life. There was also a stench that permeated the room, and because of Hermione's warnings that she was going to vomit due to the smell, they quickly moved on. The kids followed a hallway until they were in a circular room with a table in the center.
Suddenly, without warning, both exits of the room were engulfed in flames. The trio were trapped. After the initial shock faded, Hermione walked over to the table and saw a piece of parchment. After skimming it, her eyes widened and her mouth formed a smile.
"It's a riddle!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes darting from the paper to the bottles on the table. Harry and Neville stood back, not wanting to get in her way at all. After several minutes, Hermione turned around and grinned. In her left hand held a purple bottle while in her right hand contained a blue bottle.
She stuck out her left hand. "This will get you through the flames and move on. This one," she held out her right hand, "will get you back."
"Who's going through?" Neville asked. Hermione's smile faltered as she glanced at Harry. Harry had that calculating look in his eyes, Hermione started to wander off in his gaze when he looked up.
"I'll go through. There's no point in either of you risking yourselves anymore. I don't know how we'll get out of here, but I do know that we'll find a way regardless."
"What?" Neville squeaked. Hermione's eyes widened.
"No, Harry! I'll go through!" Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and gave her a look.
"No. I am going. If it is Snape down there, I'll be the only one hurt. If you guys go, then you get hurt. That isn't happening." Harry stated with authority.
Hermione was rendered speechless as Harry pulled the vials out of her hands.
"Purple to go through, brown to get back. I will be back, I promise."
Hermione launched herself at Harry, hugging him tightly. He couldn't understand what she was saying as she mumbled it into his shoulder. When she shakily released him, he looked at Neville. Neville stuck his hand out, Harry shook it.
"Good luck, mate," Neville said. Harry nodded, turned around, sighed, and drank the contents of the purple potion. Immediately, he felt cold on the inside. He pushed forward and as he walked through the flames, his clothes remained untouched and it almost felt as if the fire was tickling him. Soon enough, he reached the end of the long hallway and the end of the flames. His body warmed up as the potion conveniently expired. He could see a faint glow at the bottom of the staircase he was now in front of.
Walking down the staircase, she saw a shadow.
Snape must already be here.
Suddenly, without warning, his scar began to hurt again. He paused to let the pain subside, but it only slightly waned. He pushed forward until he reached the bottom of the staircase. Who he saw shocked him. It wasn't Snape. It was Professor Quirrell!
Quirrell seemed to know he was there, because without turning around, he greeted him, with no stutter. That was when Harry noticed the Mirror of Erised in front of him. The last time he had seen it was right after Christmas. Maybe if he could look at it again, he could see his parents?
"Potter." Quirrell stated. Harry jumped back into himself. Quirrell's voice was deeper and colder. His headache started to get worse.
"It's you! It's been you this whole time!" Harry exclaimed. Quirrell turned around and smirked. "And Snape, he-
"Severus kept a close eye on me all year. Never did trust me, the old fool. Now it will be him who regrets it." Quirrell cut him off. He then turned around and started speaking again. Harry's headache flared in intensity.
"This is quite a peculiar mirror. Do you know what it does? It shows us our deepest desire. I see myself giving the Stone to my Master. But how do I get it? That is the test of this last puzzle, Potter.
"Use the Boy," an eerie voice sounded.
"Potter! Come here!" Quirrell snapped.
Harry, slightly disoriented due to his piercing headache, stumbled forward until he was standing next to him in front of the mirror. After a few seconds, his parents came back into view. His mum smiled at him and his dad patted his shoulder. With his other hand, however, he picked up a red object from outside the mirror and held it up, warmly smiling at Harry before placing it in his hand in the mirror. Mirror Harry then put the object in his pocket and winked.
It took Harry all but two seconds to realize that the object which somehow just ended up in his pocket was the Philosopher's Stone.
"Well, what do you see?!" Quirrell asked.
"I see my parents. They are comforting me."
"He lies. Let me speak to him."
"Master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell objected.
"I have enough strength for this."
Harry began to back up as Quirrell began to undo his turban. And suddenly, it was as if his nightmares came true. For a brief moment, the second Harry saw Voldemort's morphed face, his mind flashed to the moment when He had a smirk on His face aiming his wand at his Mum.
"You!" Harry yelled, slightly worried.
"Ah, yes. Now you have seen what I have been reduced to. Now you have seen what I have had to do to survive. The blood of a Unicorn can only sustain me for a short amount of time. But, there is one thing that will help me. And that it is convenient that the object which I crave resides in the pocket of your trousers.
"Never!" Harry yelled, this time pulling out his wand.
"What are you going to do, Potter? Quirrell sneered, "you know no defensive Magic at all. In fact-"
Quirrell waved his hand and Harry's wand flew out of his and onto the floor. Harry turned and bolted. However, Quirrell was faster. He snapped his fingers and suddenly the entire room's perimeter was covered in flames. Voldemort began to cackle.
"The great Harry Potter! Now at my will! Now, Harry, do not be foolish. We both know you miss your dear parents. With this Stone, I will not only show you your parents, but I will bring them back for you. All I ask is the Stone!"
It was tempting. Then, Harry remembered something Dumbledore had told him.
"It does not do well to dwell on dreams. They cloud our grasp of reality."
"No! You liar! You killed my parents" Harry bolted towards Quirrell/Voldemort while Voldemort simultaneously ordered Quirrell to kill Harry. They met in the middle, with Harry slamming into Quirrell's torso. Quirrell stumbled back in shock.
"The Stone, you fool!" Voldemort yelled. But Quirrell could not move. He felt his body withering away. It traveled down to his legs, making them obsolete. As it crept upwards, Quirrell felt exponential amounts of pain. When the withering reached his heart, Quirrell lost his life, and the body crumbled in a pile of stones and ash.
Harry was rendered speechless and was frozen in place. Where Quirrell/Voldemort had stood not twenty seconds ago now was a pile of stone, ash, and old robes. Harry started breathing in and out quickly while trying to maintain his composure. However, he was failing, and was about to start hyperventilating. Suddenly, a cloud of dust circled above Quirrell's ashes. It was the spirit of Voldemort. In its anger, it flew straight through Harry, knocking him over and out on the Chamber floor.
Had he been awake for a minute longer, he would have met with Madam Pomfrey, Professors Sprout, Flitwick, and McGonagall, trailed by Neville and Hermione, all running down the staircase to help him.
Author's Note 2: Chapter Fourteen will wrap up First Year (finally). A lot is in store for Second Year, don't worry!
BC5