I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 22
Well, that night proved to be both enlightening and boring.
Shimmer and Hagrid, plus Fang, who kept whimpering the whole time and tried to turn back at every sound, spent the night patrolling the forest in search of the creature killing unicorns.
The night was boring because pretty much nothing happened. They walked around, Hagrid kept telling Shimmer a few things about the forest and the creatures within. Some of these, like the centaurs, confused Shimmer quite a lot, but others simply made him raise a non-existent eyebrow, like some sort of nasty human butterfly called fairy. They walked around for hours, stopped whenever they heard a sound, investigated, and continued when it proved to either be nothing or not what they were looking for.
But at the same time, and for the same reasons, that night proved to be very interesting. Shimmer spent a long time avoiding this forest, and the many, many scents he got only confirmed his will to keep avoiding it. Some scents were evil and dark, others had the distinct smell of a predator and some others of preys. It almost overloaded his nose at first, and it took him a little while to get used to it, but now he could somewhat tell what scent to ignore and which ones should be pursued.
A few of the creatures they encountered were large wolves, extremely malnourished horses called thestrals that strangely registered as predators instead of preys. A very, very large amount of variation of the same scent, that being of spiders. He wasn't scared of spiders, but the number of scents told him that there were far more spiders than he would be willing to go against.
And in the end, when Hagrid called off their patrol, they returned to Hogwarts with no new information of the creature killing unicorns. And Hagrid also explained what unicorns were, so at least he would be able to recognise them later.
It was past midnight when they returned to Hagrid's hut, and Shimmer got his pay.
Seven sickles for basically nothing? One of the best deal he ever had, and he only wished for this to go on. Seven sickles per night? He could already picture what his hoard would look like at this rate.
The next morning, Shimmer arrived in the Great Hall and, as soon as he landed next to Hermione, realised his mistake.
"Shimmer!" Almost shouted Hermione, grabbing him in a very tight hug, much to the surprise of those around them.
"No hug! Shimmer not like! Not want no hug!" He struggled, his wings caught by Hermione and incapable of freeing himself without attacking. And he didn't want to attack Hermione.
"I was so worried, I almost didn't sleep." She continued.
"Shimmer okay! Hermione Shimmer go!"
"Alright, calm down." Hermione relented, freeing him from her grasp.
Shimmer kept his distances with her arms, glaring at them warily.
"So? How was the Forbidden Forest? Did you see monsters in there?" Asked Ron.
"Montser?" Repeated Shimmer.
"Monsters. It's very, very bad creatures." Supplied Hermione.
"Oh! Shimmer see horse. Meat hungry horse. Hagrid say horse is the-stral." Replied Shimmer, trying his best to repeat the new word correctly.
"Thestrals? I read that they could eat humans." Shivered Hermione.
"Bloody hell." Whispered Ron, both amazed and a bit scared. "And they didn't attack you?"
"No. Thestral know Hagrid. Shimmer and Hagrid look unicorn bad creature. No see." Continued Shimmer.
"Are you going back there tonight?" Asked Hermione, turning a little pale.
"Yes!" Exclaimed Shimmer happily. "Hagrid give seven sickles Shimmer. Shimmer want more. Go again."
"I- well, if everything went well last night, I suppose it would be alright to continue." Replied Hermione a bit unsure, not wanting Shimmer to put himself at risk.
"It's great! They'll see more creatures. Did you see something else last night?" Kept asking Ron.
"Shimmer not see, scent. Bad creature. Many, many, many, many-" Started Shimmer.
"We get it Shimmer, there was a lot of bad creatures. Do you know which ones?" Stopped him Hermione, knowing he might go on forever otherwise.
"Not know name. Many legs. Dangerous."
"Many legs? Like the centaurs?" Tried Neville, who gathered enough courage to ask his question.
"No. More legs."
"What can have more legs than a centaur?" Wondered Ron aloud.
"I think I know what it is. Acromantulas." Said Hermione, disgusted and terrified just at the thought.
"A what?" Asked Ron.
"Acromantulas are giant spiders, and I read that there's a whole colony in the Forbidden Forest."
That left Ron completely terrified, his mouth a bit agape, and looking at his plate deep in thoughts.
"Giant spiders." Whispered Neville.
"What spider? Many legs?" Asked Shimmer, not at all bothered by the reactions of the children before him.
"Yes, Shimmer. Spiders are creatures that have eight legs, and there are many of them in the forest." Replied Hermione, now not really wanting to let Shimmer go back.
"Shimmer not like many legs. Taste bad."
"These spiders are very big Shimmer. Bigger than Hagrid."
"Big big spider? Shimmer not like." He replied, determined to avoid following the scent of spiders.
"Good. Do you plan to do anything today?" Asked Hermione.
"Shimmer sleep. Want go forest, sickles."
"I swear, you can make him do anything as long as you have coins." Nonchalantly said Ron.
"Ron." Said Hermione, mustering some authority in her voice.
"Hey, I wasn't going to do anything." Complained Ron.
"But we can!" Interrupted them a duo of voices behind them.
"They turned around and looked at the two Weasley twins, who stood right there with a massive grin on their face.
"Can you see it, George?"
"Of course, Fred."
"A dragon that you can recruit?"
"Perhaps to send a package or light a few candles?"
"Or rather create a masterpiece of a prank?"
"To scare a teacher? Or a student?"
"I don't want you to do that with Shimmer, you'll give him bad ideas." Interrupted them Hermione, frowning at them.
"Ow! It seems our reputation is doing us harm, wouldn't you say, George?" The one apparently called Fred said.
"Certainly. And we would never do something to harm our dear Shimmer, simply teach him that there's more to life than words." Replied George.
Shimmer was a bit unsure about these two humans. He wasn't disturbed by the idea of a creature existing in many variations, but he never saw two humans looking exactly the same, and that seemed strange to him. They also behaved a bit differently, so he was not sure what to expect from them, but he was a bit wary seeing how Hermione was frowning at them.
"Cor, can you picture it? My brothers with a dragon." A very pale Ron said, looking at his brothers.
"Now, now, dear brother. We take a great care to preserve futur partners in crime, isn't that right George?" Said Fred, not seeing how the three children before them, as well as many other Gryffindors, suddenly looked in their direction in silence.
"Absolutely, Fred. A dragon firing above the toilets or perhaps having him drop stinky bombs in the stairs. The possibilities are endless!"
"I hope for you, Weasleys, that you are not discussing how to weaponise Shimmer, correct?" Asked a cold voice right behind them.
The two twins exchanged a worried look, before turning around to face the towering frame of Snape, glaring down at them coldly.
"Professor Snape, you mistake our intentions." Instantly said Fred in a completely sincere voice.
"Indeed! We were only thinking of teaching Shimmer new things, different ways to enjoy life." Added George in the exact same voice.
"Would you two appreciate staying with me one hour Saturday morning? I'm certain that I can find a new way for you to enjoy life." Continued Snape, glaring down ever more.
"Not at all, professor!" Assured Fred happily.
"We would be delighted." Nodded George.
"My office, Saturday morning. Go back to your seats."
"Yes sir." The two instantly agreed, walking back to their plates.
"And you." Started Snape, turning toward the three children and Shimmer.
"Hello, Dunderhead." Replied Shimmer.
The whole table, and all those who heard him speak, stood either completely silent or mouth wide open. None could believe what came out of Shimmer's mouth. The only ones smiling were the two Weasley twins, as well as some teachers, including Dumbledore and Minerva, who had a feeling that Snape should have seen this coming.
"What, did you just say?" Glared Snape, lowering himself just a bit toward Shimmer.
"Dunderhead? Is name?" Wondered Shimmer, confused.
"Shimmer! You can't say that!" Hermione hurriedly said, having finally recovered from her shock, embarrassed beyond belief that Shimmer just called a teacher like that.
"A moment, miss Granger. I'll let you the care of correcting Shimmer later. My name, Shimmer, is not dunderhead. My name is Severus Snape, and you would do well to remember it." Strongly said Snape.
"What name is? Severus? Snape?" Continued Shimmer, still confused.
"If you need to use one, call me Professor Snape."
"Shimmer understand. Human name is Snape. Hello Snape." Said Shimmer, happy to have it right this time.
"Much better." Nodded the stiff professor, right before turning toward Hermione again. "That will be five points from Gryffindor, miss Granger. I'd advise you to correct his vocabulary soon, unless you wish to lose more points."
He didn't let Hermione have the time to reply, turning around and walking back to the teacher's table, where he was welcomed with many smirks that he completely ignored. Shimmer looked at him take his seat, and gave a quick glance at Quirrell, who looked a little weak and sick. Perhaps his state would finally match his scent?
The poor Hermione, though, stood perfectly still, shocked that she lost points for this, when it was clearly Professor Snape's fault. And she also couldn't believe that Shimmer insulted him so casually.
"Shimmer..." She started, looking angrily at the little dragon.
"Shimmer go sleep. Goodbye!" He promptly took off, recognising the look on her face.
"Shimmer! Come back here, right now!" She almost shouted.
"Bye-bye!" He replied, quickly flying up toward the windows and making his way to his hoard. He had to rest, after all, he couldn't stay here with Hermione all day long. It definitely wasn't at all because he didn't want to hear the many words she would tell him as a lesson.
And, as he flew away, he didn't hear Professor Snape's words.
"Two points for shouting in the hall, miss Granger."
Shimmer was once again flying alongside Hagrid, having just entered the Forbidden Forest.
Fang, as scared as he was and ready to run away as soon as possible, was at least helpful in pointing out the direction of the school, doing his best to turn around. Yet, the large dog could do nothing as Hagrid's grip on his leash stopped him from leaving.
"Ah swear that a Blast-Ended Skrewt would be enough to scare you." Grumbled Hagrid a little as he forced Fang to keep going deeper in the forest.
Shimmer didn't even try to understand what he said, and to be fair the giant humans often said a lot of weirds words. Which apparently was a bit of a normal for him.
Tonight the moon was quite bright, and it made their way in the forest far easier, along with the small lantern that Hagrid carried. Even more for Shimmer who didn't even had to touch the ground and the many roots that only waited to trip someone. Hagrid, with his large feet, wasn't too bothered either.
Their progression was steady, and just like the first night, there was not that much to do. There were a few dangerous creatures, but they apparently knew to stay far away from Hagrid. Shimmer mainly watched them, learned what they were and how dangerous they could be from Hagrid, and kept looking for their target. And even if they didn't find anything tonight, he would still get seven sickles. That was the best deal he ever got.
Their little trek in the forest lasted for a couple of hours, with nothing fascinating. They had reached a quite deep part of the woods, where the fog was deeper and the trees closer to each other, reducing their visibility. With still no sign of the creatures they were tracking, Hagrid said they would turn back soon, when the sound of cracking branches and quick, heavy footsteps reached them.
Instantly turning to the right, where he heard the sounds coming from, Shimmer's eyes quickly scanned the whole area, looking for the source of the noise. Hagrid stood ready too, crossbow in hands and aiming it toward the danger. Only Fang reacted badly, scraping at the ground fiercely, trying to get away as fast as possible. The fog hid whatever it was, but by the footsteps getting louder, they knew it was coming in their direction.
In a few seconds, a unicorn appeared through the fog. It would have been tall and majestic, if not for the fact that it was breathing heavily and running at full speed, with a bit of shiny silver liquid running down it's left hind leg. Shimmer, already in the air, had no issue evading it, while Hagrid was forced to take a few steps back to avoid being hit by the charging animal. He only got a few seconds to look at it, but Shimmer knew a terrified and wounded prey when he sees one.
The fleeing unicorn quickly disappeared in the other way, and what was chasing it followed. A shadow, swirling darkness hiding whatever it was, pierced through the fog, and promptly stopped upon seeing them. Shimmer wasted no time, already recognising the shape of the shadow as being nearly human, meaning it was an easy target. At that moment, he wasn't thinking like a human, but like wild predator, pouncing first to take the advantage and looking for the best way to put an end to the fight as soon as possible.
Rushing toward it, pushing himself with his wings, Shimmer got close enough to unleash his flames upon their foe.
What was his surprise, when the creature before him raised a hand, hidden beneath shadow too with a wand in it, and a shield appeared around it, protecting it from the fire. That brief moment of shock was just what the shadow needed, and a sudden, invisible push of magic, sent Shimmer fumbling in the air, before he felt something grab him. He looked and tried to bite it by reflex, only there was nothing to bite.
Shimmer was dangling in the air, held by his tail by an invisible grasp. Trapped in the air, there was nothing he could do beside screeching and trying to get free by shacking himself as much as he could, snarling and growling at the shadow. It raised its wand again, ready to unleash another spell, when a massive bolt almost hit the shadow's head, forcing it to focus on Hagrid, who glared at it with another bolt already in hand.
"Get away from Shimmer!" He shouted, readying his crossbow again.
Free from the magical clutch, Shimmer fell a little in the air before stabilising himself. Furious at being played like that, he used the opportunity given by Hagrid, shooting another bolt at the shadow that was forced to quickly dodge, to rush at it. Taking it by surprise, Shimmer got in reach of his target and bit as strongly as he could the creature around where it's arm appeared to be.
It screamed in pain, in a very human way, but also with another voice, acute and a near screech of pain that didn't felt human. And as he bit it, Shimmer also got its taste. And what a foul, horrible taste it was. It was a taste of rotten blood, that belonged in a dead creature, mixed with the taste of death. There was only one person that he knew with that smell, and he didn't like him much.
Yet, even though it smelled and tasted like it was dead, the human was clearly in great pain as he shook his arm, trying to free himself.
"Blast him away! Fool!" Came another voice, angry and raspy.
The wand was aimed at him again, and Shimmer had to let go, flying away just as a first spell almost hit him.
Another followed, a dark purple one, that Shimmer couldn't dodge. Opening his mouth, he used his only option available, and ate it. Unlike the other spells he ate before, this one tasted very, very bad, and the strength behind it sent Shimmer flying in the air and tumbling on the ground. He heaved, retched and vomited violently, trying to purge himself of the horrible spell, letting out a stinky dark goop. Down on the ground, there wasn't much he could do as he was still trying to remove all the dark spell, and Hagrid rescued him again from the shadow that started to advance threateningly toward him.
Not having the time to reload, he threw one of the bolts at the shadow, hitting it with the shaft of the bolt. And since the bolt was rather large, it was enough to send the man stumbling a little backward. Shacking his head a little bit more, and taking a deep breath to both get rid of the smell in his lungs and to prepare himself, Shimmer jumped in the air and flew very close to the shadow once more.
That close, the man probably expected him to bite, and he moved his arms back in precaution. Yet, Shimmer had another idea in mind, and he blasted the man with his fire at a very close range. The screams and screech of suffering were terrible. The man waved his arms around in an attempt to remove the fire from himself, even as his cloak of shadow started to burn away, revealing a singed red turban and a burned wizard robes beneath. What looked worse, though, was that the flesh beneath it looked like ashes, around his stomach, with parts of it already flying away in the air.
"Quirrell? What are you doing here?" Asked Hagrid, confused, as he recognised the clothes.
"The stone! We don't have the time! Get... the stone!" Roared the weak and raspy voice in rage.
With a flick of his wand, water surged from its tip, extinguishing the flames. Another flick, and both Harry and Shimmer were sent backward. With another spell fired at them, this one raising a small wall of fire between them, the man quickly left, stumbling a little and clutching at his burned chest, toward the castle. He took a few steps before turning into shadows, moving at great speeds.
Shimmer stared at the shadow for a second, before bolting right after it, using his wings to push himself as fast as possible after it.
"Shimmer! Come back! Don't go alone!" Shouted Hagrid in vain.
After all that human did to him, and the fact that he was the one paid to kill, Shimmer wouldn't let him get away. Not when his prey was weakened and wounded. He went after Quirrell as fast as possible, but the shadow was still far ahead and even going faster than him, flying between the trees with an agility that equalled his own. He lost track of him as he reached the castle grounds, but the scent of death was heavy, and he knew he would have no trouble finding it. Shimmer wondered for a few seconds if he should wait for Hagrid, but decided against it, preferring not to let Quirrell get more time to get away.
But there were others that could help. Without loosing a second, he flew to Hermione's window, and bashed against it far harder than he ever did.
"Ah!" Came three shouts of fear from the room.
Hermione, Parvati and Lavender all shrieked in fear at the sound, clutching their bedsheets tightly. They looked at each other for a second, before another loud bash of Shimmer against the window got their attention.
"What's he doing here? It's way too late." Growled Lavender as she realised who just woke them up.
"I don't know." Replied Hermione, tired but forced awake by Shimmer, as she walked to the window and opened it. "What is it Shimmer? It's late."
"Shimmer bad bad man! Smell dead! Attack Hagrid! Quick!" He loudly said, stepping inside the dormitory.
"What are you talking about?" She mumbled.
"What bad man?" Asked Parvati, rubbing her eyes.
"Shimmer forest. Bad creature is dead smell man. Quirrell. Danger! Kill!" He desperately tried to warn them, once more regretting that he didn't know how to speak well enough with humans. His speech even started to degrade a little as excitement and worry ran through him.
"Quirrell? He's the one who attacked unicorns?" Managed to understand Hermione.
"Yes! Quirrell here! Kill! Quick!" He continued, nodding at the same time.
"I- it's-" Fumbled a little Hermione, her brain finally completely waking up, as she thought about what was the best thing to do. Obviously the first thing was to warn the teachers. "Go wake up Ron and Neville, I'll join you in a minute." She told him, picking up some clothes and starting to dress up.
"What's this all about?" Asked Lavender just as Shimmer left the room.
He flew down the stairs, crossed the common room, and went straight to Ron and Neville's bedroom. As soon as he came in, he jumped on the first of the two that he found, that being Neville.
The poor boy screamed in terror, woke up by a weight on his stomach and a dragon's face only a few centimetres away, even if he knew that dragon.
"Hermione say you wake! Go! Up!" Shimmer shouted, much to Neville's terror and confusion.
"Ah! Dragon!" He screamed, completely terrified, waking up all his roommates.
"Bloody hell!" Shouted Ron, fumbling with his cover for a second.
"What was that?!" Also said Dean Thomas.
"Hermione say wake up. Quirrell. Kill!" Tried to explain Shimmer.
"What?" Mumbled Ron.
"I- I think he's talking about p-professor Quirrell." Said Neville, not daring to move with Shimmer on top of him.
"Get down, Shimmer." Assisted Ron. "And why do we need to wake up in the middle of the night?"
"Quirrell bad! Kill!" Repeated Shimmer, jumping from the bed to the floor.
"I think we should go see Hermione." Said Neville.
"Right, right. Just, let me wake up." Reluctantly agreed Ron, slowly getting out of bed.
"No! Quick!" Pressed Shimmer.
"At least give us the time to wake up."
"No! Ron not move, Shimmer attack Ron!" Threatened Shimmer.
"What? Why?" Questioned Ron, taking a step back.
"Ron quick!" Said Shimmer, getting closer and opening his mouth, showing his teeth.
"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Quickly squeaked Ron, rushing to grab his clothes.
"Do I need to do anything?" Asked Dean, still in his bed and warrily watching Shimmer.
"I don't think so." Replied Neville, not sure of himself.
Happy to see that the two boys were moving, Shimmer jumped in the air and returned to the common room, where Hermione was already waiting, simply wearing her robes on top of her pyjamas.
"Are they awake?" She asked.
"Yes." He simply replied. "Quick! Go kill Quirrell!" He pressed her, grabbing her robes by the sleeve and pulling her toward the door.
"Wait Shimmer! We need to wait for Ron and Neville!" She pulled backward, barely managing to slow him down.
A rumble in the stairs preceded the two boys, who entered to see Shimmer still pulling Hermione.
"What's he doing now?" Asked Ron.
"I think Professor Quirrell is the one who attacked unicorns in the Forbbiden Forest, and now he's back in the school. We need to tell the teachers." She said, stopping to resist and letting Shimmer take her toward the door.
"No time. Go now!" Ordered Shimmer, promptly taking Hermione toward the scent. It was so strong now, that he had no problem following it. Maybe Quirrell hid his smell before, but now that he was wounded, there was no need.
"What?! No! Shimmer we can't do that! It's too dangerous!" Cried Hermione, once more stopping in her tracks.
"Shimmer want go kill Quirrell now!" He said.
"And we need to wait. And stop pulling me! Help me!" She called to her two friends.
Exchanging a glance, the boys caught up with her and grabbed her by the shoulders and robes, pulling too and completely stopping Shimmer.
"Human don't understand! Shimmer need go now!" Shimmer tried to make them see reason.
"And Quirrell is an adult wizard that is far too dangerous for us. We need to go see a professor!" Countered Hermione.
He growled at them, mad that they couldn't see why it was so important to not lose time. And if they didn't want to wait, then he would go alone. He lost enough time here already, he wouldn't allow himself to let Quirrell get away alive.
"Shimmer go kill Quirrell!" He shouted, letting go of Hermione.
"Wait!" Called Hermione as she fell on the two boys, caught in their momentum. "Shimmer! Come back!" Screamed Hermione.
He couldn't wait any more. Pushing himself as fast as possible, he rushed toward the stairs and went up, following the scent. He could still hear Hermione, Ron and Neville, not very far behind him as they appeared to be following him. He caught a glance of them at the bottom of the stairs, but kept going.
Soon, he smelled and noticed blood on the ground, leaving a perfect trail to track. Only having to follow the trace, he quickly reached the door where the big dog was staying, only that it was open. And, inside, the big three-headed dog was lying against the wall, covered in blood and unconscious, as it was still breathing. The trap that it had been guarding was wide open, and Shimmer jumped in without waiting a second.
His eyes provided him the necessary vision, and he had no issue avoiding the ground, covered by the burned crisps of a large plant. Diving further in the tunnel that continued, he reached a large room, where a large flock of flying keys were erratically moving around, with a door on the other side, with a small pool of blood at its foot. Shimmer's first reaction was to go for the door, and he did so without problem, but once there, he realised that it was closed.
Even by pulling down on the handle with all his weight, it did nothing to open the door. But by now, he knew that humans used keys to open and close doors. Looking at the keys, he couldn't know which one was the right one, so he attacked the first one in range. He caught it in his teeth, removed the wings, and tried to insert it in the lock, but even when he did, he didn't know how to manipulate the key.
Growling in anger and frustration, he jumped at the nearest key and removed its wings as well. He repeated it, attacking all keys until they were all on the ground, twitching and trying to fly but simply stuck there. Yet, it did nothing to help Shimmer to get past the door.
A few sounds from the tunnel got his attention, and he watched as Ron, Hermione and then Neville, came out of the tunnel, out of breath and exhausted by this late run.
"Shimmer! You're... alright." Panted Hermione, relieved beyond belief that her friend was fine.
"Why did we have to jump." Complained Neville, massaging his bum.
"Shimmer... door! Dumb!" He complained in answer.
"Bloody... hell. Look at all these wings." Said Ron, picking one of the wingless keys.
"Let's get to it." Interrupted Hermione, reaching the door and trying to twist the key, before pulling it out and observing the door. "That key is too recent for a door like that. Look for an old one."
They all tried to find a matching key, and Neville pulled one of them, that didn't exactly appear to be that old, but it was the only one that had blue feathers.
"Maybe this one?" He suggested.
The rest of the keys started to angry twitch on the ground, and Hermione wasted no time, grabbing the key and inserting it in the lock, that thankfully twisted and opened the door.
"Let's go!" Hermione encouraged them.
"Hermione? No teacher?" Asked Shimmer as they left the room behind.
"No, and that's your fault!" She glared at him, fear and concern clearly displayed on her face.
"Hermione not know! Shimmer know kill!" He countered.
"I- of course, I don't know how to kill." She replied, horrified.
"Hermione listen Shimmer. Shimmer go, kill Quirrell! Shimmer coin, Shimmer good dragon!" He summed up.
"This is so, so wrong." Commented Neville meekly.
"We'll work on that later, look!" Shouted Ron as they reached the next room.
This room was filled with chess pieces, larger than the humans, and facing each other. The room looked fairly normal, if one ignored the blood trail and the destroyed pieces. Professor Quirrell really wasn't loosing time with this.
"Cor, he completely wrecked it." Whispered Ron, a bit pale.
"Shimmer go!" Said Shimmer, flying above the board and landing near the door.
As soon as he was on the other side, the pieces suddenly moved and started to rebuild themselves. In a few seconds, the board and the pieces were back to a pristine state, with the three children stuck on the other side.
"I guess, that we have to play, to reach the other side." Hermione said, looking warily at the chess pieces.
"I'll do it!" Jumped forward Ron. "Pawn E4."
"Shimmer go!" Repeated Shimmer, still not wanting to wait. His prey was close, he could smell it, but there was still a chance that Quirrell might run away.
"What? No! You're going to wait for us!" Ordered Hermione, shouting from the other side.
"Shimmer not want. Need kill Quirrell." He countered.
"Why would you even need to kill him? We can capture him, and let the teachers deal with him." She tried, sparing but a glance at Ron, who kept playing against the magic chess board.
"No. Quirrell is bad, bad man. Shimmer want kill bad man." Shimmer replied, grabbing the handle of the door with his talons and pushing down, opening the door.
"Shimmer please! Professor Quirrell could kill you, it's too dangerous!" She kept going, wanting to cross the board and catch Shimmer, barely refraining herself from going after him.
"It won't be long, this board isn't that good." Commented Ron.
"Why did I have to come?" Whispered Neville to himself, looking between the other three.
Shimmer was just about to cross the door, having managed to open it, that Hermione resorted to her last option.
"Shimmer! If you wait, I'll give you a Galleon!" She offered, showing a golden coin in her right hand.
That stopped Shimmer dead in his tracks. He turned around, looking at the Galleon with envy and greed, his brain was working overtime, trying to decide what was best. On one hand, he really, really wanted the Galleon, already capable to see it being added to his hoard. On the other hand, he really, really didn't want Quirrell to get away, as he never before gave up such a hunt. Shimmer remained there for a few seconds, his eyes darting between the doorway and the Galleon, not quite sure of what was best, much to Hermione's dismay.
She had hoped that the Galleon would have been enough to stop him, but it looked like even one wasn't enough to deter him from going after their teacher. Not wanting to risk seeing him leave again, as she didn't think she could take seeing him disappear like that one more time, she reached into her pocket.
"I'll give you a Galleon and three Sickles if you stay." She said, showing him the coins.
Shimmer whined, almost painfully, at the hard choice before him. The Sickles were less interesting than the Galleon, but it was still more coins to add to his hoard, and that was a very good reason to stay with them. And he hoped he would still get his other seven Sickles for finding Quirrell, back in the forest. That would make a lot of coins...
"Shimmer stay." He finally relented, flying up above the board and landing right before Hermione. Apparently, the chess board didn't care for him going in the other direction, as it didn't attack him.
She instantly came down on him, grabbing him in a tight hug, just as he tried to grab the coins with his mouth.
"Please stop making me worry like that, Shimmer. You're my best friend." Hermione sighed, relieving a little the pressure that she had been under.
"Hey! What about us?" Complained Ron. "Queen H5."
"You're great friends, too." She replied, petting Shimmer's head. "I'll keep your coins for now, alright? I don't think you'd like to keep them while fighting."
He was just about to say that he still wanted them, that he started to process her words, and he found himself agreeing with her, albeit a little reluctantly.
"Hermione promize." He remembered the word.
"It's 'promise'. And I promise to give you the coins, don't worry." She reassured him.
"Checkmate!" Cheered Ron.
They turned around, looking at the red haired boy, who was grinning, himself looking at a destroyed black king.
"We can continue."
"Thank you, Ron." Said Hermione.
"You're really good at chess." Praised Neville.
"I am." Ron preened under the compliments.
"Go! Go!" Shimmer pressed them.
"Right." Agreed Hermione.
They walked over the chess board, reaching the other side and entering the doorway. They kept walking for a moment before a strong smell assaulted their noses. One that both Hermione and Shimmer recognised instantly.
"Troll." Warned Shimmer.
"There's a troll?!" Neville whispered, eyes bulging in fear as he almost stopped on the spot.
"Bloody hell." Groaned Ron.
"Can we turn around?" Begged the other boy.
"It might be better." Agreed Hermione, really not wanting to get even close to a troll again.
"Smell blood." Added Shimmer, smelling more scents as they came closer.
A small door met them at the end of the corridor. Very carefully, and as silently as possible, Ron, with a small look at his friends, gulped, and pushed down on the handle. The door opened, thankfully in complete silence, and he dared to look in the gap. He could only gasp loudly at the sight.
There was indeed a troll, though it wouldn't harm them. Lying on the floor on the left side of the room, the troll was immobile, eyes wide open with a frozen expression of pain on his face. Dead.
"Oh. He's dead." Simply said Ron, opening the door fully.
"You're sure?" Tentatively asked Neville, daring to look at the troll.
Shimmer flew at the troll, hovered around its head for a few seconds, and viciously bit down on its nose.
"That's gross." Complained Ron.
"Troll dead." Confirmed Shimmer, as the creature didn't even react.
"That's one less problem for us. We should continue, Professor Quirrell can't be far." Advised Hermione, though she was getting very, very worried about this. Seeing the dead troll, it meant that their stuttering professor was strong enough to kill without issue.
All three children took a wide berth from the troll, staying as far away as possible, even if it was dead. Shimmer went after them as they reached the door, and entered the next room. This one looked relatively simple, in comparison to the last ones. There was only bottles, seven of them, of different sizes, shapes and colours, with a little note placed in front of them. And at the other side of the room, another corridor.
As soon as all four entered the room, flames appeared at both entrances, taking them by surprise. Purple ones at the doorway they came in, and black ones at the one they needed to cross.
"Bloody hell!" Jumped Ron.
"We're trapped." Whispered Neville, looking at the two walls of flames.
"Children. They're sending children after me." Came a voice from their left.
One more time, they jumped in fear, and Shimmer was instantly growling at the direction, before noticing the man who hid himself in a corner.
Quirrell came out of his hiding spot, wand in right hand and the other hand holding his stomach, even as blood flowed down his hand.
"Accio wands!" He shouted. In a single second, the three children's wands flew out of their pockets, and flew behind Quirrell, far out of their reach.
"Bloody..." Ron couldn't even finish, eyes stuck on the teacher's stomach. It was clear that his life was near his end. Sweat was running down his face, his eyes lacked the sparkle of life that all living beings have, and the wound on his stomach was more than strange. Blood was flowing out, but there was also a mix of ashes with it.
"And how could I forget Shimmer. That stupid, useless creature." Spat Quirrell.
"Bad man, smell dead. Shimmer kill." Warned Shimmer, flying higher to have the advantage.
"Hmph. At least, you don't hesitate to kill." Acknowledged Quirrell, before scrunching his face in pain.
"We don't... have time... to waste. Release me." Suddenly returned the raspy voice, sounding far weaker than before. Shimmer looked around but still couldn't see who was talking.
"Who?" Dared to say Neville, looking around as well, just like Ron and Hermione.
"Master, you're too weak." Pleaded Quirrell.
"We won't have time... to get the stone. I want to see... that dragon... before killing him."
"Be glad, dragon, for you will witness the dark lord himself." Preened Quirrell, turning around and removing the turban that had partially burned away.
Shimmer was more than surprised, when the last bit of the turban was removed, revealing a face, cold, inhuman and glaring at Shimmer with angry red eyes. It was something that Shimmer could have never imagined, and he couldn't understand what he saw.
For the three children, though, this was a face straight out of a nightmare. The lack of nose, the skin colour looking just like ashes, the eyes were something evil, and they tried to look everywhere but at them. Yet, the worse was seeing a face at the back of somebody else's head. The sight was just horrible, and they either took a step back or tried to, rooted by fear.
"See... what you did to me... puny lizard. To think that I... was so close to complete... a year's work." Sneered the face, focusing on Shimmer, even though it was clearly obvious that pain was restraining him.
"What is you? Not know. Quirrell?" Asked Shimmer, still having no idea what he was looking at.
"I am Lord Voldemort!" Tried to scream the creature, offended that this thing didn't know of him.
Three loud gasps came from the children, recognising the name and the monster that was before them. None could utter a word, too shocked and terrified to act.
"Not know. Shimmer kill Voldemort and kill Quirrell." Shimmer replied, not impressed at all by a name.
"Such confidence. I'll enjoy watching you die. All of you." Said Voldemort, raising Quirrell's wand. "Kill them!"
Shimmer didn't even wait for the two-man creature to speak, and rushed at it, letting a stream of flame toward them, forcing them to create a shield to protect themselves. That took the three students out of their shocked state, and they ran away, hiding behind the table where the potions were resting, shouting and crying in terror. They might have been brave enough to face the challenges before coming here, but the monster that was before them wasn't something they wanted to face. Even more when they didn't have their wands, not that it could have helped them much against a wizard like Quirrell. They knew only a spell or two, after all.
Still breathing fire, Shimmer was forced to stop when a stream of water pierced through the shield, sending him backward and spitting water. Angrily, he tried to reach for Quirrell, but was once again thrown away by a wave of his wand.
"Incarcerous!" Shouted Quirrell, wand aimed straight at Shimmer.
There was no magic light, nothing that he could see, but the golden dragon was taken by surprise, when ropes suddenly appeared around him. He tried, for the two seconds where he was free, to get away, but it was in vain. The ropes tightened around his wings, and he fell to the ground harshly. Trapped, he moved around and tried to free himself, only for the rope to reach his muzzle and stop him from opening his mouth.
"There you go. Down and at our mercy." Said Quirrell, keeping his wand aimed at Shimmer.
"Kill him." Ordered Voldemort, snarling in delight.
Snarling and glaring, Shimmer kept trashing around, but there was nothing he could do.
Quirrell raised his wand, and was just about to cast another spell, ready to end Shimmer's life.
"Leave him alone!" Shouted Hermione.
Quirrell turned to look at her, but didn't get the time to react, as two bottles were already in the air and aimed at him, courtesy of Ron and Hermione. One bounced against him, hurting him a little, but the second exploded on his robes. A second later, he screamed in pain, clutching himself as nettle wine ran down on his open wounds, with also a few pieces of glass stuck in his skin.
Surprised at their own attack and its efficacy, the two threw more bottles at him, taking advantage of the fact that he was too subjugated by pain to react.
"Neville! Go free Shimmer!" Said Ron, throwing a third bottle.
"How?!" Asked the chubby boy, clutching his head between his hands and not daring to look up.
"Take a piece of glass! Cut his ropes!" Completed Hermione.
Neville dared a look, and seeing that all the glass was near Quirrell, quickly backed down again.
"I can't do this!" He said, crying.
"Merlin's-! I'll do it!" Resolved himself Ron, taking a big breath, before rushing out to the left, taking a wide turn around Quirrell. The man was still in extreme pain, resting on his knees, and Ron used the opportunity to grab Shimmer by the tail, pulling him away. As soon as he got him, he reached for a piece of broken glass that was of adequate size, and got to work on cutting the ropes, starting by the muzzle.
"Get up you fool! Kill them!" Screeched Voldemort, looking at Ron from the back of Quirrell's head, much to the red-haired boy horror, who tried to cut the ropes faster.
"Master! We need to leave!" Begged Quirrell, even as his arms twisted against his will. Voldemort took over his body, with his arms raised in the opposite direction in a way that was extremely disturbing to the children.
"Silence! I'll do it... myself!" Growled Voldemort, aiming his wand at Ron.
Another flying bottle, narrowly missing him, got his attention for a few seconds.
"Too bad that a witch... as smart as you... can't see the power of that dragon. Harnessed, it would be an incredible asset." Said Voldemort, glaring at Hermione, his breath short and heavy. "I have a new spell for you: Expulso!"
Right as he finished his incantation, Hermione was blasted away by the spell, as well as Neville who had been hiding right next to her. The two screamed as they flew in the air, right before hitting the walls. They fell to the ground harshly, groaning in pain and slowly twisting on the ground, reaching for their head and back.
"Hermione!" Snarled Shimmer, just as Ron was removing the last layer of rope that was bounding his wings to his body.
Free, and completely enraged, Shimmer jumped in the air and in a second, was right in Voldemort's face. A second later, fire bathed the two-human creature, who let out a duo of screams, one human and one that only belonged to a monster. Trashing around, waving them in an attempt to dissipate the flames or reach for him, he didn't know. But, at the moment, his hand holding the wand was left exposed, and Shimmer reached forward, biting on hit and taking his wand away.
Ron, the only one capable of watching beside Shimmer, witnessed with horror as fire burned Quirrell's body. Yet, it didn't burn like it should have. Shimmer's flames attacked his body far faster than it should have, and grey ashes flew right after it burned him. Another inhuman scream echoed in the room, right as the man's body starting to completely turn to ashes, falling on the ground as his legs couldn't hold him any more.
Through the fire, Shimmer saw the red eyes of Voldemort glaring at him despite the pain, even as the body he was occupying crumbled to ashes. Quirrell fell to the ground, and only a pile of ashes, ruined clothes and blood remaining behind.
Yet, they didn't have the time to do anything, that a dark cloud rose from the ashes. It took the form of Voldemort's face, right before it unleashed an unholy scream, a roar of anger and suffering, and dashed right out of the room, passing through the purple flames and disappearing.
Shimmer didn't know if he won, because on one side Quirrell was definitely dead, but on the other, Voldemort appeared to have fly away. But, right now, he had more pressing problems. Dropping from the air, he landed right next to Hermione, and nuzzled her, trying to push her on her back even as she kept her eyes closed.
"Hermione okay? Hermione? Hermione?" He asked, concerned for her well-being.
She groaned in response, clutching her head a bit more for a few seconds, before letting out a sob as she opened her eyes.
"My head hurts a lot." She said through clenched teeth, even as tears rolled on her cheeks. "I hope I don't have a concussion."
"Me too." Replied Neville, still down, too. "What's a concussion?"
"I'll tell you, later." Hermione replied, not feeling like talking much, her head being far too heavy for that.
"Shimmer kill Quirrell and Voldemort." Shimmer told them.
"What?" She asked, looking up a little at the room.
The pile of ashes was still there, with Quirrell's clothes resting in it. She looked at it, horrified for a second, before falling unconscious.
"Hermione?! Hermione! Hermione wake! Shimmer bite Hermione!" Repeated Shimmer, nuzzling her even more frenetically, even going as far as threatening her.
A sudden swoosh coming from behind him got all his attention, expecting Voldemort to come back through the fire. To his surprise, the purple flames extinguished themselves, right before many humans came in, wands out. He recognised Dumb Door, Snape, old human female and very small old human. Their eyes quickly brushed out the whole room, right before focusing on the snarling dragon resting next to Hermione's unconscious body, Neville still moaning in pain, and Ron still shell shocked.
"Shimmer, what happened?" Asked Dumb Door.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
Sorry for the delay, but I was more focused on my other story for a while.
This chapter took a lot of time, because I had to rewrite it a few times before coming up with something satisfactory.
But, finally, Voldemort is revealed and put down, by Shimmer and his friends. What will follow though? What will be the aftermath of all this?
Give me your thoughts, if it's good or terrible.
Thanks for all the support and see you soon!