Chapter 14 is here! Enjoy...

There was silence between the 3. Normally they'd have been talking about why Harry's scar hurt, or who the hooded figure was, but the only thing that was going in Hermione and Harry's mind was, how John was able to defeat a wizard by duelling. Harry was reminded of the dreams he used to have, where there was a scream and then there would be a flash of green light.

"Tell me something, what was that spell you used on that man? The green coloured one" asked Harry. Just as he finished asking, they heard a galloping noise and then they saw another centaur. This one looked different from the 2 previous ones. This one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

"Here we go again!" sighed John.

"Are you alright?" asked the centaur looking at Harry.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine!" replied Harry.

'You are the Potter boy," said the centaur. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The Forest is not safe at this time, especially for you."

"We just found that out, the hard way," replied John wondering how long it'd take for Hagrid to come.

Ignoring what John said, the centaur continued, "Can you ride? It'll be quicker this way!"

"Hmm… No, I don't know!" replied Harry and looked at John.

"Hagrid will be here any moment, till then Harry is safe here," added John. Just then, they heard footsteps and Harry and Hermione were happy to see that it was Hagrid.

"What happened? Harry, are you alright? Who's in trouble, we came as quickly as we could," asked Hagrid. He then looked at the centaur, but the centaur was about to leave.

"Good luck, Harry Potter, the planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times." He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest.

"Hagrid!" exclaimed Harry and gave him a tight hug.

"Hagrid, we found the unicorn, it's dead!" said Hermione in a low voice.

"Poor creature, stayed alive for a while before dying," replied Hagrid. With that, the group returned back to Hogwarts. John had a few words with Hagrid towards the end, but even he returned to the castle after the long night.

It was early morning in a few hours and the sun was out pretty early. John had woken up early and immediately went to Dumbledore's office. On his request, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape came to Dumbledore's office soon thereafter.

"What is it, Mr Smith? I imagine this has something to do with the stone?" asked Dumbledore calmly.

"Professor, it does. Tom Riddle is after it, but I assume you already knew that" replied John and looked at all 3 of them. His assumption was true. "Yesterday, in the forest, why did you send Harry and Hermione in there?" asked John.

"Mr Smith, only if we had to explain our decisions to you," replied Snape.

"Severus! The boy deserves to know," replied Dumbledore. "John, we don't know what Tom is planning. Quirinus is involved, but we don't know to what extent. Harry and the others were sent into the forest with Hagrid to help him and us. A group of kids would raise less suspicion than a bunch of Aurors, wouldn't you agree?"

"No, I don't agree! Harry was almost attacked yesterday, thanks to you!" replied John angrily. "We met Voldemort yesterday along with a death eater." McGonagall shook her head in disbelief as Snape looked taken aback and unphased at the same time.

"Mr Smith, what happened yesterday?" asked Snape. John, who was expecting this question, removed his wand and placed it near his temple. A silvery-white substance came out, then John placed them inside a small bottle and handed it to Dumbledore.

"You can watch them in your pensieve," replied John. "I told you, Professor Snape, that Harry's life was in danger. You shrugged it off and here we are," added John.

All the 3 professors took multiple turns watching the memory.

"That's Goyle Sr," said Snape.

"You know him?" asked John.

"Not that well, his son is in my house, same year as Harry," replied Snape.

"Where's his body?" asked Dumbledore.

"It's there where I left him, I put an invisibility charm on his body!" replied John. "I have already told Hagrid about this." Once they had settled on what to do with the body, they left Dumbledore's office. But, just when John was about to leave, Dumbledore asked him to wait.

"John!"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore," said John.

"You saved Harry's life yesterday, but at a cost."

"That's why I am here, Professor! As to the cost, I'm not sure how to pay it."

"They'll be curious to know! What are you planning to tell them?"

"I don't know, the burden of knowledge is a heavy one, and I don't wish for them to carry it," replied John.

"I trust you to decide what's best! By the way, nice work on that watch!"

"Thanks, Professor, I actually got the idea from my dad," replied John with a smile. Dumbledore smiled back and with that, John left Dumbledore's office.

Harry and Hermione had just finished telling Ron about their night. They had skipped over the part where they had seen the cloaked guy and the other man who was killed by John but had told Ron about the centaurs and the unicorn blood. Just as they had finished, John came into the great hall and sat beside Hermione.

"John, where were you?" asked Ron.

"I… I was in Dumbledore's office. You know, discussing the extra classes that I had missed. I don't think I'm going to be having them anymore."

"Oh! Why?"

"I was gone for a month, and now exams are nearing. I just thought, if at all, maybe next year I can have some," replied John. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, immediately recognising the lie. Hermione was starting to wonder what all John had lied to them about.

On their way to the class, John pulled Harry back from the group.

"Today, evening, come to the lake at 6, and don't tell Ron," said John in a whisper. Harry nodded and started walking again. John had a much more difficult task telling Hermione. She seemed to be ignoring him and only responded with a nonchalant nod when he did manage to get her to listen. The evening came and Harry went to the lake along with Hermione.

"What did you tell Ron?" asked John the moment Harry and Hermione reached.

"He's playing quidditch with Seamus, Dean and a few others. I told him that I had potions to study," replied Harry.

"Good, he can't know about this," said John.

"Why?" asked Hermione.

"You can't know this, none of you are supposed to, I wouldn't be telling you if not for yesterday," replied John.

"John! Who are you?" asked Hermione.

"I'm John Smith," replied John.

"No, but who are you really?" asked Hermione.

"I am John Smith, I'm not lying. I have told many lies, but that's not a lie."

"Who was that man you killed yesterday?" asked Harry.

"And, how did you even do that?" asked Hermione.

"What all have you lied about?" asked Harry.

"Why did you lie in the first place?" asked Hermione.

"Okay! Okay! Calm down, stop this barrage! I'll answer your questions," replied John. There was silence for a minute and then John sat down and gestured at Harry and Hermione to do the same. Once they sat down, he began.

"My name is John Smith, and I'm here to protect you," he said, looking at Harry.

"Protect me?"

"Protect you, yes. Your life, Harry, your life is bound to be in danger. It's just who you are, there's nothing any of us could do about it."

"My life is in danger? From whom?"

"No prizes for guessing," replied John.

"You-Know-Who?" asked Hermione.

"Voldemort, yes! You didn't think that he was actually dead, did you?"

"Hagrid said that he might be alive," replied Harry.

"Hermione, what is the power of unicorn blood?" asked John.

"The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips," replied Hermione.

"Now, Harry, tell me, who did we see yesterday?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and Harry replied after a few seconds, "You are not telling me that, that was Vol… You-Know-Who?"

"I am telling you that, that's why your scar hurt," replied John.

"So, he has been living off unicorn blood all this time?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, maybe, maybe not! But tell me this, Philosopher's Stone, what is it?"

"Elixir of Life! Wait... Does You-Know-Who want the stone? Snape's stealing the stone for You-Know-Who?"

"It's not Snape," said John.

"I saw him, John. You cannot be defending Snape still," replied Harry.

"It's not Snape, it's Quirrell," replied John.

"Professor Quirrell?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Not sure what he's planning, but it's Quirrell who's after the stone, not Snape."

"We should tell Professor McGonagall about this," said Hermione.

"They know, Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, all of them know it's Quirrell."

"What?" gasped Harry and Hermione at the same time.

"They know it's Quirrell, why haven't they done anything?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, I presume it's because they know he's involved with Voldemort. We don't know what his plan is, but if we wait long enough, maybe we can end Voldemort too," replied John. There was silence between the 3 again, this time for a good 2-3 minutes.

"So, who was it yesterday? Who did you kill?" asked Harry.

"He was a death eater! Death Eaters were those that were the followers of Voldemort. After he was presumed dead, a lot of them went into hiding, some were put in Azkaban, some pleaded for mercy and some lied that they were under the imperius curse," replied John.

"How did you kill a death eater? You're just 11 years old, a first-year student at Hogwarts. How did you do it? Who are you really?" asked Hermione.

"What I am about to tell you, only 3 people in Hogwarts know this, and only 1 outside of it. I am going to tell you this, because I believe you deserve to know, after what happened yesterday. And I need you to promise to me that you won't tell this to anyone. When I say anyone, I mean anyone, not even Ron. I am John Smith, that part is true, but what isn't is that… Is that, I'm not 11 years old. Well, I'm 11 years old, but I'm actually not," replied John. Harry and Hermione were looking at John dumbstruck. "I'm a lot older than that, I'm 27 years old. Why do I look like 11? I sort of de-aged myself, it's a long story why I did this. But in short, I did it to come to Hogwarts, so that I can be here to protect you," he said looking at Harry.

"Wait, so you're not 11? You're 27, but look 11 because you de-aged yourself? How does that work? And, why does Harry need your protection?" asked Hermione.

"I know it's a difficult thing to process. In time, you'll get to know more about me. For now, just know that I'm not your enemy. I lied to protect you. You're too young, both of you, to carry the burden of truth. Harry, your life will always be in danger, till the time Voldemort is killed. There's so much you don't know. But there will come a day when you'll find out everything there's to know," replied John.

So, what are your thoughts on this chapter?
PS - I have only received 1 correct answer yet for what '21815' is... You could be the 2nd 😃