Disclaimer: I don't own HP, I only own Evan and Iris Potter.
Entry 8:
April 15th, 1992
Dear Aimee,
I can't believe what Ron just told me! He was eavesdropping on Aludra, Neville and Susan again, but what he heard is MAJOR! It turns out that the three-headed dog in the third-floor corridor that we saw back in September that time Malfoy tricked us into being out after curfew for a 'midnight duel', Fluffy (of all the things for Hagrid to name a beast like that!) is guarding something called the Philosopher's Stone. Ron asked Percy about it, and it turns out that the Philosopher's Stone turns stuff into pure gold and, even bigger than that, it creates something called the Elixir of Life, which lets you live forever! It's creator and his wife are over 600 years old!
Even more importantly, Ron heard that somebody's trying to steal it. We talked it over and we think it's probably Snape. After all, he might (emphasis on 'might') have turned traitor, but he was still a Death Eater, and they do terrible things. Dad once said that all the Death Eaters want is power. That means that Snape wanted power too, and probably still does. And you'd have a lot of power if you could live forever and turn whatever you want into gold.
Ron and I are going to keep an eye on Snape. As long as Dumbledore is here, the Stone is probably safe, but the moment Dumbledore's gone he'll act. And since I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, destined to fight Voldemort and his servants, I feel that it'll be my responsibility to stop him.
I gotta admit, though, I'm frightened. I haven't exactly put a lot of effort into classwork and studying this year, because Ron is always complaining about how boring it is when I try and work, or gets annoyed with me if I complete stuff quicker than him. And he takes ages to complete his tasks, which I must admit I suspect is more to do with not having been chosen by a wand. He uses his brother's old wand, and it's pretty battered. I know I should have tried harder regardless, but it's not like I particularly enjoy studying either, except Transfiguration. Anyway, the point is that I don't know if I CAN stop Snape.
But I have to try. The Wixen world believes on me. If I can't stop Snape, then I have no hope of stopping Voldemort when he returns, the way Dumbledore says he will.
I wish you were here. You'd know what to do.
All my love,
Evan
Entry 9:
7th May, 1992
Dear Aimee,
Well, we've finally done it. We've finally pushed Aludra past her breaking point.
Earlier today, we saw Aludra, Susan and Neville rushing off really hastily to Hagrid's hut, just after Herbology ended, and Ron dragged off to spy on them again. I didn't want to. But he insisted, so we went to peek in the window at them. And well, it turns out that Hagrid somehow got his hands on a dragon egg, and it hatched today.
They caught us spying. We ran off but we're pretty identifiable even from behind, especially Ron. Aludra confronted me and shoved her wand in my face later this evening. She was pretty terrifying, especially because I know that she's top of our year for a reason. She threatened me and we argued, sort of. Mainly she was giving me a kick up the ass and reminding me that I should do better. Be better. What sort of Saviour can't even stand up to his friend when he knows they're wrong? What if Ron wanted to attack the others, not just spy, would I go along with him then? Then Ron came bursting in and I finally put my foot down. And I have to admit, it felt good to do it. I'm sick of putting up with his bullshit.
Ron and I argued for a while, but he finally gave in and accepted that if he wants to be my friend, he has to accept that he's not going to be my only friend. He seemed pretty bitter, but given the choice between accepted me AND my other friends, or being alone, he chose to be civil with the others at least.
Unfortunately, we bumped into Malfoy right afterwards and, he as per usual, picked a fight. This time it got physical though, because we were both still wound up from earlier. Professor McGonagall caught us and we all got detention.
Stupid Malfoy.
I wish you were here.
All my love,
Evan.
Entry 10:
10th June 1992
Dear Aimee,
I can't believe it! Voldemort is IN THE FOREST!
It all makes sense now. Snape isn't after the Stone for himself, he's after it to bring back Voldemort! That slimy snake!
Okay, okay, I need to calm down and explain what happened.
So, we had our detention for that fight with Malfoy this evening. Filch met the three of us in the Entrance Hall after dinner, and walked us down to Hagrid's hut, telling us about how, in his day, they used to punish students by hanging them upside down by the toes, and other unpleasant things that twisted psychopath wishes are still allowed. Hagrid met us at his hut with a crossbow as big as I am and Fang, his dog. He sent Filch off and told us we were going to be going into the Forbidden Forest to look for this thing that's been killing unicorns.
I mean, what? I couldn't believe that he was serious. I hate to acknowledge it, but I actually agreed with Malfoy when he protested. Unicorns are fast and sacred. Even natural predators like Acromantulas and Horned Serpents avoid killing them, if they could catch them. And Merlin knows what's in the Forest. It wasn't the full moon so Malfoy's fear of there being werewolves there was stupid, but there's a lot of other dangerous stuff in there that could easily kill us. We're not trained to deal with Dark Creatures until Third Year. We'd be helpless to fight them.
Hagrid's a good man and I like him, but this was just plain stupid of him. Still, Hagrid overrode our objections and brought us into the Forest. Once we were there, it got even worse. He had us split up. He took Malfoy and the crossbow, and sent Ron and I off with Fang, who he called a 'useless coward'. He told us to send up some red sparks if there was a problem or if we found a hurt or dead unicorn and left us to try and find something fast and evil enough to kill the purest creature in this world.
Well, we found it.
I hope for Hagrid's sake that Mum never learns about any of us, because she would use his guts for garters if she ever found out how careless he was with our safety.
We struggled around for a while, and both of us fell over tree roots or stones at least twice each, because even with our wands lit it was hard to see more than a foot directly in front of us, due to how dark it was. As we walked, the left-side corner of my head started to hurt, and I grew more and more nervous. I knew something was wrong.
That's when we saw the silver blood traces. Following them seemed like a terrible idea, but what other choice did we have? That's right, none. If we sent for Hagrid, he'd send us after it anyway. So we kept going, and with every step my head hurt more and more. It felt like my head was going to split open when we saw it.
This black-cloaked thing was leaning over a dead unicorn, drinking the poor thing's blood and making the most terrible noises. It was the most horrific thing I had ever seen. I hope I never see anything like that again.
Long story short, if a centaur named Firenze hadn't interfered, we would have been killed. He chased it off, then offered to carry us to Hagrid on his back. We met some of his other kin, and they seemed really angry at him for letting us ride him. I guess it's considered degrading in centaur culture or something. Anyway, after they left Firenze told us it was Voldemort who was drinking the unicorn blood, to keep himself alive while he waited for his servant in the castle to bring him the Stone.
We ran all the way back to Gryffindor Tower, and found Aludra still up. She said she had a headache and it had been keeping her awake. I told her what happened, and she said we needed to tell Dumbledore, but I don't think he'll believe us. Especially not if I tell him that Snape, a man he vouched for and gave a job to, is the thief. Ron agrees with me. He says we should keep it to ourselves.
Then again, Aludra knows Dumbledore better than us and she's a hell of a lot smarter. Maybe we SHOULD tell him. I just don't know.
I wish you were here. You would know what I should do.
All my love,
Evan
Entry 11:
20th June 1992
Dear Mum, Dad and Iris,
This is it. Dumbledore's not in the castle. It's Snape's only chance to get the Stone for Voldemort. I don't know if I can stop him, but I know it's my duty to die trying. 'Death Smiles at Us All, But All a Man Can Do is Smile Back', just like the Potter family motto says, right Dad?
I'm sorry Mum, Dad. I hate to put you through the pain of losing another child. There's so much I haven't told you, so much I haven't explained. Just know that I have to do this. Voldemort destroyed our family with what he did to Aimee. I can't let him come back without a fight. I can't let him kill anyone else like he did her.
Iris, I'm sorry to leave you alone. You're an amazing sister and I love you. Look after Mum and Dad for me.
Aimee and I will be watching over you all.
We love you.
Entry 12:
21st June 1992
Dear Aimee,
I really screwed up yesterday. I don't think I'll ever get the sight of Aludra lying like that in her dad's arms, the way she was so pale and still, or the agony on Lord Black's expression as he held her hand and she didn't even twitch. It's all my fault. I was so stupid. I should have listened when she and Susan objected to us going on, but I wanted to play the hero, to stop Voldemort from coming back when you couldn't, and now Aludra is in a coma.
We wouldn't even have made it through the second obstacle if not for her and Susan. They saw us sneak out under the Invisibility Cloak and came after us to keep us from being killed. Turns out they figured out that the thief was going to move on the Stone last night as well, and they alerted the professors and Aludra's dad so he could come with a squad of Aurors to stop the theft.
There was a harp playing itself and keeping Fluffy asleep when we made it to the third-floor corridor, so we jumped down the trap door before he could wake up. We landed on some plant, and it started strangling us. Thankfully Aludra and Susan were only a few minutes behind us and they were able to recognize the thing as Devil's Snare and conjure some light to let us escape. We landed in a stone hallway and argued about what to do next (after Aludra and Susan scolded us for spying and being stupid enough to try and confront a fully-trained Dark Wix by ourselves). Aludra and Susan wanted to wait for the Aurors, but Ron and I insisted on going onward.
I just-I was so stupid. I wanted to live up to the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' thing. Dumbledore has always said that Voldemort will be back one day, and I'm the one who's going to have to stop him when he is. I wanted to prove to the world, to myself, that I was worthy of that duty. And I didn't want to let him come back when you're gone forever. I'm so stupid.
I first realized they were right a few minutes later. The third obstacle was easy. Aludra caught a flying key to let us get through the door, where we arrived at a giant chessboard and had to take the place of four of the black pieces. Ron ended up sacrificing himself to let us go on. Thankfully he's okay, already out of the infirmary, but it was terrifying to see him lying there in a pool of blood. That's when I realized how in over our heads we were. I honestly thought he was dead until Susan said she'd seen him breathing.
The next obstacle was a troll, but it was already knocked out (or possibly dead, we didn't stop to check). Then we were trapped by two magical fires in a room with a bunch of potion vials and a riddle. Thankfully Aludra's uncle has been giving her logic riddles for years, and she figured out which ones let you through the fires. There wasn't enough for us all, so Susan went back to help Ron and warn the Aurors what traps were coming up. Then Aludra and I went to confront the thief. She hid under the Cloak to let her surprise him.
Oh, and you'll never guess who the thief really was. Quirrell! I mean, Aludra and the others had given a good argument as to why he could be the one who tried to kill me at the match, but I still thought Snape must have been the real culprit behind everything that happened this year. He's just so cruel and sadistic, and he's got a Dark Mark for crying out loud! I guess Aludra was right. It's always the one you least suspect.
He taunted me. He said that the only reason I was chosen as Boy-Who-Lived was because I was healthy and you weren't, and he asked why you were suddenly so sick if you hadn't been touched. I asked Dumbledore, Mum and Dad about it later, but they insisted that they had run tests on us both. You were hurt in the backlash of the curse, but they're sure I'm the real Chosen One.
I wish I was as certain as they are.
I also asked why Voldemort came after us in the first place, but they wouldn't answer. They said I'm too young.
Anyway, Quirrell made me look in this mirror that Dumbledore told me later was called the Mirror of Erised. It shows your heart's desire. I guess that's why I saw you, the same age as me and healthy, a female version of Dad with Mum's eyes, grinning at me and winking before slipping the Stone into my pocket. Of course, I didn't tell Quirrell that. Oddly, it was like I could hear Aludra in my head, urging me not to believe Quirrell and to lie about what I'd seen, not that I needed encouragement to do that.
Anyway, Aludra must have figured out that I got the Stone, because she attacked Quirrell and yelled at me to run. And I'll never forgive myself for this, but I did.
I ran like a coward and left her alone with a psychopath possessed by Voldemort. I don't know the details, but her father and his team arrived in the chamber soon after and chased Voldemort off before her dad rushed her to the Hospital Wing.
She was so pale and still, with blood all over her mouth and chin. I thought for sure she was dead. I was wrong. She's just in a coma, and I don't know if she'll wake up. I hope she doesn't hate me, but I'll understand if she does. She was tortured by VOLDEMORT with the Cruciatus Curse!
Her father definitely despises our entire family. Dad said something about him doing something unforgiveable to Lord Black, and Lord Black got PISSED. He said that I didn't care about who my actions hurt, just like Dad. He ended up stalking out after yelling at Dad and Dumbledore and saying he's going to remove Aludra from Hogwarts.
I asked Dad and Mum about what happened to make Lord Black hate our family so much, and they both looked really sad. Dad left the infirmary and Mum told me it was complicated, but they'd done something really awful that they regretted the moment they did. But Lord Black refused to accept their apologies, and they understood why.
I'm almost relieved she didn't tell me what they did. I feel like I'll never be able to look at them the same if I ever find out, and as frustrating as they can be, they're still my parents. I don't want to ruin my image of them.
I've got to go. We visited Aludra again after dinner. We also saw her after lunch and there was no change from last night either time. She's still pale and still. Susan keeps starting cry randomly and Neville looks like he wants to kill someone. Preferably Voldemort. They're not the only ones to have either reaction. Everyone's worried about her. Nobody knows the full story, but the headmaster announced this morning at breakfast that Professor Quirrell had tried to steal an important artifact and Aludra had been badly hurt stopping him. Even some of the Slytherins have dropped off cards or sweets for her. I knew she was popular, but I never realized how popular until today. Even the Weasley twins haven't smiled or anything.
Between us, even with the points Ron and I lost for going in the first place, we still got enough points to make us tied with Slytherin for the House Cup, but I'd trade that a thousand times for Aludra waking up. I can't pinpoint when, but at some point during the year she became the person I rely on most.
I lost you already, I don't think I can handle losing Aludra too.
I wish you were here.
All my love,
Evan