The Potter Timeline
Chapter 17 - Aftermath
Harry found himself inside an old cottage. Wooden beams supported the corners and ceilings of the small room he stood in, and the slightly uneven walls were painted a bright turquoise. The hardwood floor seemed very old.
The room was dark save for sunlight pouring in through a single window at the center of one wall. Toys and books were neatly stacked across several shelves, and next to Harry sat a baby crib. But the crib was empty. The window was open, and a soft, warm breeze blew in, ruffling a blue curtain hung to one side. The sound of birds chirping was accompanied by the smell of fresh, Spring flowers.
Then, Harry heard the voice of a woman singing somewhere outside.
It was the same voice he heard during his Confundus dream.
Curious, he walked to the window and peered out.
Sunlight illuminated a small, backyard garden with rows of flowers on either side of a grassy plot. Behind this, a blossoming willow tree added to the garden's serene quality. And there, standing on the grassy plot, Harry saw the woman.
She was slender and young with silky red hair flowing down her back. Her pretty face exuded both wonderment and smartness. And there was something noble in her manner.
She held an infant in her arms - a little boy with dark hair. The boy held onto her while resting his head on her shoulder with eyes closed. The young woman sang to him, and the tune seemed familiar to Harry, just like the room he stood in seemed familiar. As the woman sang to the little boy, she swayed back and forth, gazing at him lovingly. Harry stared at her in wonder.
"Mum?" he asked in a whisper.
She looked up at him. A warm smile crested on her face as she gazed upon the eleven-year-old with her beautiful, green eyes - eyes just like his. She then looked back at the infant in her arms and nudged his shoulder.
"Harry...Harry..." she spoke softly to the child, "...say 'hello'!"
The infant turned and gazed at his older self, raising his hand and waving with tiny fingers. A rush of emotion came over Harry. He waved back, tears in his eyes.
The pretty woman then looked at older Harry and gave him another loving smile.
"Harry...Harry..."
The eleven-year-old was so mesmerized he didn't realize she was addressing him.
"Harry...wake up! Wake up, my dear boy!"
"Wake up!...Wake up!..."
"HARRY! WAKE UP!" another voice shouted, startling the kid into consciousness.
"HARRY!...PLEASE!...WAKE UP!..." the voice pleaded brokenly.
His eyes shot open, and he found himself staring up at the ceiling of the Hall of Reflection. At that moment, a silhouette appeared over him.
After a few confusing moments, the silhouette came into focus.
"...Hermione?" he asked.
The girl hovering over him let out a burst of emotion.
"Harry!" she cried out to him, tears streaming down her face, "you're alive! I thought he killed you!"
Harry slowly sat up and stared at his friend who leapt at him, embracing him with a strong hug and sniffling in his ear.
"What happened?" he asked, shellshocked. The girl sat back and took his hands in hers.
"I don't exactly know," she muttered, "but I think it was the spirit of Voldemort. He went right through you!"
As they pondered this, the outer door to the Hall suddenly burst open. The two glanced up to see Professors Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick, and even Hagrid rush in. The five moved to the first-years' position on the floor.
"Thank Merlin! Are the two of you alright?" the witch asked with a worried look.
"Yes...I think so," Harry said while gazing at Hermione who was wiping a few tears from her eyes.
He stood from the floor and helped the girl up.
"I dare say you both have had quite an experience today," Dumbledore spoke, "and Professor Quirrell?"
The first-years exchanged nervous glances, then Harry pointed at Fluffy's door.
"In there. What's left of him, at least."
At this, everyone looked to Hagrid who went pale and wide-eyed.
"I better check on Fluffy, professors," he muttered, then hurried toward the inner door, opening it, leaning down, and stepping through.
Professor Snape without uttering a word walked toward Fluffy's door as well but stopped partway. He reached down and picked up the Philosopher's Stone from off the floor. Turning and staring at it in his hand, everyone watched the man in silence. Harry and Hermione still weren't certain what part Snape had played in this affair - whether he had attempted to go after the Stone like Quirrell or was truly helping Dumbledore protect it. He seemed mesmerized by the object until he became aware of everyone's gaze upon him. He threw a stern look at the kids before walking to Dumbledore.
"Thankfully, the Stone is safe, professor," he said while handing it to the headmaster, "I suppose you have these two to thank for that."
Harry and Hermione were astonished. And the expression he now gave them certainly wasn't pleasant, but there was something almost...respectful in it.
"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore replied while unceremoniously dropping the Stone into his pocket as though it was a set of keys or mere pocket change. Harry was stunned. The headmaster continued.
"Indeed, were it not for Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, we most likely would be dealing with a very living dark wizard right about now. Not a pleasant thought. And, professors, our suspicions about Quirrell were confirmed, I'm afraid to say. The man deceived all of us. Except, that is, our two, very bright first-years here."
The professors, with the exception of Snape, beamed at Harry and Hermione, both of whom blushed fiercely. Suddenly, Hagrid reappeared from Fluffy's chamber and stopped at the doorway. By the look on his face and the tears falling down his cheeks, it didn't bode well for the three-headed dog.
"Professors," the giant spoke brokenly, "I'm afraid, Fluffy is...dead."
McGonagall stepped over to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder to console him.
"Ah. We're most sorry to hear that, Hagrid," the headmaster told him, "but what of Quirinus?"
"This is all I found of 'em."
Hagrid held up a single shoe. Silence came over everyone. Harry and Hermione exchanged a sorrowful glance.
"I see," Dumbledore continued, "well, I'll have Argus help you remove Fluffy from the corridor. We'll hold a proper funeral for him in the Forbidden Forest at your convenience."
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid then spoke, a few more tears falling down his face, "a good dog, he was. Did his duty, guardin' the Stone."
"That he did, Hagrid, that he did," the headmaster replied, "now, professors, Hagrid, if you will, I'd like to speak to our pupils privately."
"Yes, professor," Snape said, throwing one more glance at Harry and Hermione before departing the Hall. Flitwick walked to the first-years and patted them both on the shoulder.
"Well done, you two! We're impressed with you both!" the little man uttered with a proud grin.
"Thank you, sir," they replied at the same time. The man headed out of the Hall now as Hagrid and McGonagall followed. Dumbledore turned to the kids.
"Well, Harry, Hermione, you both have gone through quite an ordeal. By the looks on your faces, I see you are experiencing some shock," the headmaster said with concern.
"Yes, sir. We're a bit shaken up, right now," Harry answered, looking at Hermione who took his hand and squeezed it gently, "and we'll probably have nightmares for a while."
"It was...terrifying, professor, " Hermione acknowledged, "it didn't seem like either of us would survive."
Dumbledore nodded at the pair solemnly.
"Indeed. As young as you are, the two of you have already witnessed some horrific things. The emotional trauma you're experiencing is understandable. And while it's not pleasant, it is normal. However, such experiences can help you or they can harm you, depending on how you look at them."
"How so?" Harry asked.
"Many who are faced with grave dangers and exposed to great wickedness become traumatized and try to bury those experiences out of fear. They never truly recover. But if you are able to face terrible things with courage and the right mindset, such experiences can help you grow strong and wise. They can make you a better person."
"How is that, professor?" Hermione wondered.
"By holding fast to that which is good and noble in our world. By not letting the darkness overshadow those things in life which are the most important: our friendships and alliances with those whom we love. The pair of you demonstrated that this very evening. As a result, you just defeated one of the greatest dark wizards our world has known, albeit in a weakened form."
"But if you hadn't appeared in the mirrors and left the Stone, we probably would both be dead by now," Harry noted.
"Perhaps," Dumbledore responded, "but ultimately it was your wits, your skills, as well as your bravery, motivated by your love, that truly effected the outcome, Harry. For students at such a young age, you both showed great fortitude and cunning where many older than you might show panic. This, because you recognized the value and importance of your friendship, something Voldemort has no concept of. And that's precisely why he lost."
The two kids looked at each other.
"How did you know about Quirrell, sir? Professor McGonagall said you were at the Ministry," Harry wondered.
Dumbledore smiled at him.
"I was. Briefly. When I arrived in London, I happened to double check the note Minister Fudge owled me and realized it was a fake. Our dear minister never signs his name with his middle initial, 'O' for 'Oswald', as he once told me he's rather embarrassed by it. When I saw this, I knew I'd better trot back forthwith."
"But how did you know about Voldemort?" the boy inquired.
The headmaster walked closer to them.
"I became aware that Voldemort took possession of poor Professor Quirrell not long after Hagrid brought me the Stone."
Harry and Hermione gawked at the man in astonishment.
"You knew Voldemort was here, at Hogwarts, this whole time?" Harry asked incredulously.
Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes, Harry. As I mentioned to you during our conversation at Christmas, a headmaster must always know what's happening inside his school."
"So, why did you let him, Quirrell, remain, if you knew?" the boy now wondered.
The headmaster paused in thought, then responded.
"Quirinus was a very bright young man with whom I was acquainted when he was a student. He also proved to be a very adept teacher when I hired him as professor of Muggle Studies a few years later. When he returned from his overseas adventures and requested the post of professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, I had my suspicions due to his odd behavior. But I figured it was simply a consequence of his experiences dealing with the dark side of magic - experiences which I thought might be useful for teaching purposes. However, out of instinct, I decided to keep a close watch on the man, especially as our dark arts class is one of the more important subjects we teach.
I watched Professor Quirrell like a hawk. He knew about the Philosopher's Stone when I asked both him and my staff to help protect it. He set up one of the traps himself. After Hagrid retrieved the Stone from Gringott's, however, Quirrell began exhibiting behavior I have only ever seen in one particular Hogwarts pupil. This told me that someone had more than a passing influence on our late teacher. Thus, in addition to keeping my own eye on the man, I tasked Professor Snape to feign alliance with him to find out what he could."
"Professor Snape?" Harry asked, "so, he wasn't after the Stone himself?"
Dumbledore smiled.
"No, my boy. Professor Snape is one of my most trusted staff members, despite the fearsome reputation students have bestowed upon him. Anyway, we both had our suspicions about Quirrell being controlled by a dark wizard. As a result, I shadowed Quirinus very closely. I would be a bad headmaster, Harry, Hermione, to let a potentially murderous villain loose among my students. So, I feigned ignorance of Quirrell's activities while attempting to discover what his master was up to.
Rest assured, as long as I was present here, neither Quirrell nor Voldemort would try anything foul. It was only when he deceived me into flying off to the Ministry that he took the opportunity to not only go after the Stone, but also to target the two of you. And on this note, I wish to emphasize a very important point."
The headmaster walked toward one of the mirrored surfaces and gazed into it.
"You both have improved your magical abilities greatly, I'm glad to say. And you, Harry, took Professor McGonagall's advice about being rash and flying off into physical conflicts without thinking. However, you still have much to learn in that regard magically-speaking. I refer, of course, to your rather rash decision to hurl a cauldron at our former professor of the Dark Arts."
Harry's eyes went wide as saucers and he gulped. Looking at Hermione, she gave him a stare which had "I told you so!" written all over it. Dumbledore turned and looked at the boy.
"While I'm sure you both had your suspicions about Quirrell the same as myself, in the process of testing the man, you, Harry, inadvertently fired the first shot against his master, Voldemort, whom you did not know at the time was in possession of Quirinus."
Harry's face turned beet red at this realization and he suddenly felt regret. Dumbledore continued.
"Afterwards, I realized I'd better intervene and so we held our first practical skills lessons in Quirrell's class. When you were under Neville's Confundus curse, Harry, besides the woman singing, what else did you see?"
Dumbledore's gaze at him was stern. Harry felt nervous.
"I...saw Professor Quirrell floating above the ground and...threatening me in Voldemort's voice."
Hermione looked at the boy in shock as he never told her of this. Harry frowned back. The headmaster went on.
"I figured as much. While you were experiencing that unpleasant encounter, I observed our late professor in the corner of the room mouthing an incantation while looking right at you."
The first-years exchanged astonished looks, remembering Professor Quirrell also trying to yank Harry from his broom.
"You may have observed me chatting with the professor, afterwards."
Harry nodded.
"I wasn't reminding him of an upcoming faculty meeting, Harry. Rather, I indirectly warned him and his master that if any dark wizard laid a single hand on one of my pupils, there would be devastating consequences. You can see then why he had to get me out of the castle. And as for you both, while I appreciate the zeal you exhibited in uncovering our would-be thief, you forgot one very important thing while spending time here in the Hall of Reflection."
"What's that, professor?" Hermione asked nervously.
"That the mirrors go both ways. While you are observing reflections of people in the past, they may very well be observing reflections of you in the future."
Both were red-faced and embarrassed. Harry felt shame at the idea he'd placed both of them in danger. Dumbledore gave them a warm smile.
"Do not fret. I placed the Stone in the gargoyle's mouth and reminded you, Harry, of the wand in your pocket as a failsafe measure in the event something went wrong. And as it turned it, I was right."
The headmaster walked to the two of them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Harry, Hermione, while you both are very bright and hold much promise, there are facets of our world you are not yet acquainted with. I am being as forthright with you as I can but remember that you still have much to learn about our world and about yourselves. The present moment is perhaps not the time to discuss these matters but allow me to say that what you both have gone through at Hogwarts thus far, the experiences you've had, are your first steps toward a greater horizon. Especially your horizon, Harry. And despite a few missteps and rashness on your part, I am very proud of you both."
Harry and Hermione gave the wizard a slight smile, both humbled at his admonition. The man continued.
"Be forewarned, however, there will be greater conflicts in the future, more dangerous than what you've gone through this evening. And perhaps even some into which I may not be able to intervene."
Harry threw a sorrowful look at the man.
"Voldemort will be back, won't he?"
"I'm afraid so. The spirit of evil never rests in our world. But by holding that light of love between you, you can dispel the darkness and overcome it. And as I told you, Harry, I and my staff are here to support you in whatever way we can. But I hope the two of you will learn from this episode that some of the best weapons against dark wizards are not wands and magic, but rather...discretion and patience."
"Yes, sir," they both replied with solemn expressions.
Silence came between the three as the first-years pondered these words. But Harry's curiosity kicked back in.
"What are you going to do with the Stone now?"
Dumbledore reached into his pocket to retrieve the crystal, turning it over and over in his hand.
"I've already spoken with my good friend Nicolas and we agreed it's best the Stone be destroyed. It serves as no more than a temptation to evil it would seem. And we certainly don't need any more dark wizards attempting to break into Hogwarts to steal it and endanger the lives of our valuable pupils, now do we?"
The two shook their heads. The old wizard pocketed the Stone once more and gazed at the now cracked mirrors in the Hall.
"As for the Hall of Reflection, I will have it sealed up permanently. It now contains reflections and memories best not divulged to prying eyes as well as some rather terrible incidents involving the two of you. I wish to ensure your privacy, Harry, Hermione, and would request you do the same for me. Please do not discuss anything that's happened here with any of your fellow students, especially with regard to our late Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," they both replied, recognizing the seriousness of the man's statement. Dumbledore gave them a kind smile.
"Excellent. Shall we?" he asked, motioning toward the outer door.
The pair nodded at him, Harry grabbed his textbooks and invisibility cloak, and they departed the Hall of Reflection for the very last time.
~HP~
Harry and Hermione ascended the last steps toward Gryffindor Tower in silence. After retrieving their class materials from the library and heading for their dorms, their hearts were heavy, and their heads swam in a myriad of thoughts over their ordeal and the headmaster's words. They were both still in shock.
Harry couldn't get the grotesque picture of Voldemort's face on the back of Quirrell's head out of his mind. The villain's wicked taunts, the professor's awful cries of pain, the terror of almost losing his best friend to that dumb, ferocious pet of Hagrid's, swirled in the boy's head and made him feel like all joy and happiness had been sucked out of the world, leaving nothing but despair. Harry shuddered at the thought of having to go through something like that again, as Dumbledore forewarned. He also felt tremendous guilt at the headmaster's scolding words and the fact he'd placed both himself and Hermione in danger. He honestly felt like crying.
The fat lady was silent for once as Hermione quietly uttered the password. The woman gazed at the two first-years with a look of sadness as the portrait swung open. They walked into the common room which was empty and silent. A pair of candles on tall poles illuminated the space like a nightlight had been left on just for them. As they approached the stairs to their respective dorms, they both stopped and stared at one another, exchanging their own sad expressions. Hermione gave Harry a weak smile before turning to walk up the stairs. But before she could take the first step, Harry let out a burst of emotion.
"Hermione!" he uttered desperately, tears forming in his eyes.
The girl immediately stepped back and turned to him, her own eyes glistening.
"I...really don't want to be alone right now," he eked out. The girl let out her own burst of emotion.
"Neither do I," she said brokenly.
Harry gave her a half-smile.
"Want to sit on the sofa...for a little while?" he asked.
The girl nodded and smiled back.
"I'll go change and be right back," she told him.
"Okay. Me too. I'll bring a blanket," he stated, feeling tremendous relief.
"Okay," the girl whispered, turning to head upstairs.
"Hermione!" Harry caught her before she disappeared, "...don't forget your bunny rabbit slippers."
Hermione laughed through her tears and Harry followed suit. This cheered them both. The twelve-year-old headed to her dorm and Harry headed for his.
After returning to the common room and lighting a fire in the fireplace, the pair sat on the sofa together like before. Harry threw the blanket over their legs and they both gazed into the flames in silence, their hearts still heavy.
Harry looked at the girl next to him and she gazed back at him with soft eyes. The boy smiled, then placed his arm around her shoulder. Hermione wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned on his shoulder, like before. Harry leaned his head on hers and they continued staring into the fire. The heaviness seemed too great for words and emotions ran high. But finally, the eleven-year-old drew up strength.
"I didn't know what to do with myself when I saw Quirrell hit you with the curse in the mirrors. Even though it was just a reflection, it seemed so real. It felt like I had died too. But I'm glad I got to you in time. I'm glad I saved my friend."
At this, Hermione tightened her grasp around him. Then she spoke.
"I'm glad too. When Quirrell showed up in the library, he asked where you were and threatened to kill me if I didn't tell him. He grabbed my sleeve and forced me out of the library and into an empty classroom, telling me his master had recognized me from the mirrors all those years ago."
Harry's eyes went wide.
"His master? You mean the young man in the mirrors was...Voldemort?"
"Yes, apparently."
Silence came over them as Harry tried to process this astonishing information.
"So, Professor Dumbledore was right!" he uttered with a frown.
"Yes," Hermione answered. She continued.
"Quirrell dragged me to the third-floor corridor and told me I would help him retrieve the Stone. When we reached the landing, I ran inside the Hall hoping to find you and warn you. But you weren't there! And I was terrified when Quirrell came in and..."
Hermione buried her face in Harry's chest and sobbed. She couldn't finish. The boy frowned and wrapped both arms around the girl. Something of anger now flashed over him and he was determined to do whatever it took to make sure something like that never happened again. Harry, remembering Dumbledore's words, gently released the brunette and looked at her.
"Hermione," he said softly.
She looked up at him, tears streaking down her face with its pained expression.
"I'm sorry for being such an idiot and putting you in danger. I'll never do something like that again. I'm just thankful you're still here, alive. And I promise to work hard and be better prepared next time. Okay?"
The girl beamed at him and nodded, a burst of emotion coming out.
"Okay," she uttered brokenly, "I will too, Harry. We'll be prepared and face it...together."
Harry smiled at the girl.
"Agreed."
He wrapped his arm around her once more. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they stared into the fire in silence.