(replaces chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's / Sorcerer's Stone)

It was Quirrell.

"You!" gasped Harry.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

"But I thought - Snape -"

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't. "But Snape tried to kill me!"

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."

"Snape was trying to save me?"

"Of course," said Quirrell coolly. "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really … he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular … and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry.

"You're too nosy to live, Potter. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"You let the troll in?"

"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls - you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off - and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly.

"Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

It was only then that Harry realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this… but he's in London… I'll be far away by the time he gets back… "

All Harry could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him from concentrating on the mirror.

"I saw you and Snape in the forest -" he blurted out. He vaguely remembered running into Ben and telling him what was happening tonight. He mentioned something about alerting people.

"Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me - as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side… "

Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it.

"I see the Stone… I'm presenting it to my master… but where is it?"

Harry struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give. He had to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the mirror.

"But Snape always seemed to hate me so much."

"Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually, "heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you dead."

"But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing - I thought Snape was threatening you… "

For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.

"Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions - he is a great wizard and I am weak -"

"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it… . Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me… decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me… "

Quirrell's voice trailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley - how could he have been so stupid? He'd seen Quirrell there that very day, shaken hands with him in the Leaky Cauldron.

Quirrell cursed under his breath.

"I don't understand… is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"

Harry's mind was racing.

What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it - which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to?

He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself. "What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"

And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

"Use the boy… Use the boy… "

Quirrell rounded on Harry.

"Yes - Potter - come here."

He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.

"Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

Harry walked toward him.

I must lie, he thought desperately. I must look and lie about what I see, that's all.

Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.

He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. Ben walked into the surface and walked over to the reflection and patted him on the back before putting its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. Ben's reflection winked and put the stone back in its pocket before walking off. Somehow - incredibly - he'd gotten the Stone.

"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?" Harry screwed up his courage.

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented. "I - I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

Quirrell cursed again.

"Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, his mind was racing. The Philosopher's Stone was safe! Dare he make a break for it?

But he hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.

"He lies… He lies… "

Before Quirrell could turn around a familiar voice yelled, "Harry, get down!"

Harry did as the voice instructed and jumped to the ground. A pair of spells wizzed overhead before a thud was heard from the direction that Quirrell was in. Harry lifted his head to see Ben, Professor Flitwick, and Professor McGonagall standing in front of him.

"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked as she helped him to his feet.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I thought you didn't believe me."

McGonagall's lips thinned. "If you had been more clear in your statements, I would have thought to take you more seriously. As it was, Mr. Black said he found the Mirror of Erised during the Christmas holidays and he found the Stone in his pocket."

"What!" Harry exclaimed, turning to Ben. "Why didn't you -"

"I didn't think you'd go after it," Ben stated. "I thought it'd confuse the thief and besides, nobody would think that a student had the Stone. Now then," he turned to the Professors, "we should be going to the Hospital Wing."

"I'll escort you," Professor Flitwick said, "if you don't need me here, Minerva?"

"I should be fine, Filius. Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger should have alerted Albus by now. He'll be on his way."

As they walked through the rooms Harry thought of something. "Hang on … how're you here, Ben?"

Ben smiled. "I was talking to Professors Flitwick and McGonagall about possible times that you might have gone out when the alarm that Professor McGonagall put on the trapdoor went off."

Harry stared at Ben in shock. "There was an alarm on the trapdoor?"

"Only once Mr. Black told us of his fears," Flitwick said. "It was a rather obvious oversight that he pointed out. I wonder why Albus never recommended it."

Ben shrugged. They walked through the rooms in silence as they made their way to the Hospital Wing. They passed Dumbledore as he ran towards the room that contained the Mirror of Erised, but he didn't appear to see them. As they were getting closer to the Hospital Wing, Harry noticed that Ben was breathing heavier than normal.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, just … panicking now … I don't know why it's hitting me now, but I feel panic setting in."

"Can we do anything to help?" Flitwick asked.

"I - I don't think so … provided we get something to calm me down once we get to the Hospital Wing … I should be fine."

Flitwick nodded and set a faster pace towards the Hospital Wing, Harry and Ben needing to scramble a little bit to keep pace. By the time they reached the Hospital Wing, all three were slightly winded from their pace.

As they walked in, they saw Ron and Hermione unconscious being attended to by Madame Pomfrey. She turned to the trio as they walked through the doors. She stood and walked to them, turning to Flitwick. "Right, what is it now?"

"Mr. Potter was being held in the third floor corridor by Quirinus," Flitwick said. "Mr. Black is panicking and in need of a calming draught."

Pomfrey nodded, flicking her wand at her cabinet. A filled vial flew out into her hand as she turned towards Ben. His breathing was becoming increasingly erratic. She handed the vial to him and told him, "Drink this."

He nodded, then downed the potion in one gulp.

Pomfrey scanned Harry with a wave of her wand, tutting lightly. She turned to Flitwick. "Mr. Potter has minor injuries, but is mostly exhausted. He'll need to spend the night here." Her eyes flick over to Ben, who seemed to be sagging in exhaustion. "Mr. Black should as well."

"I'll leave them in your hands," Flitwick said. "Good night, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black."

"G'Night," Harry said as he laid done on a bed, drinking the potion that Pomfrey had given him.

Ben nodded sleepily, nearly falling onto his chosen bed.

As he felt the potion start to take effect, Harry fell asleep.

-Break-

Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. Even though Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup by narrowly defeating Ravenclaw, they had lost many points over the year, so the Great Hall was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

When Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him.

Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were … you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts … .

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-two and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes …

"First - to Mr. Benjamin Black … " said Dumbledore, causing minor muttering among the tables. " … for steadfast loyalty and a very quick wit, I award Ravenclaw house fifty points."

The Ravenclaws applauded as Ben buried his face in his hands, clearly bright red. As those who could count loudly proclaimed, Ravenclaw had just tied with Slytherin.

"Second - to Mr. Ronald Weasley … "

Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

" … for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

At last there was silence again.

"Third - to Miss Hermione Granger … for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves - they were a hundred points up.

"Fourth - to Mr. Harry Potter … " said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. " … for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points - exactly the same as Slytherin and Ravenclaw. They had all three tied for the house cup - if only Dumbledore had given Harry or Ben just one more point.

Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before. Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him. When he looked around, Harry also noticed Ben giving a standing ovation.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.

It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls … he would never, ever forget tonight.

-Break-

Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with very good marks; Harry managed to get in the top ten; Hermione, of course, had the best grades of the first years, with Ben coming in a close second. Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly); Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station.

It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "all of you - I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to."

Ben smirked. "My mum and I are planning to have you spend the first part of the summer with us. If she managed to convince the Dursleys, you may not need to return to them."

Harry's eyes were wide with shock. People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:

"Bye, Harry!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.

"Not where I'm going, if Ben's mom didn't convince my family, I promise you," said Harry.

He, Ron, Ben, and Hermione passed through the gateway together.

"There he is, Mom, there he is, look!"

It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.

"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mom! I can see - "

"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point."

Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.

"Busy year?" she said.

"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, it was nothing, dear."

"MUM!" Ben shouted, startling Harry.

He was waving an arm above his head. A blonde woman came over through the throng of people, smiling at them in a manner reminiscent of Ben. Harry noticed she had a warm, kind face with slightly wavy hair. She embraced Ben with a tight hug.

"Did you have a good term?" she asked Ben.

"Yes," Ben replied. He then noticed everyone was staring. "Oh! Apologies. This is my mother, Anna Williams. Mum, these are my friends and Mrs. Weasley."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Mrs. Williams said.

"Why do you have a different last name than your son?" Ron asked.

"I remarried after my husband died," she replied.

"Oh, you poor dear," said Mrs. Weasley, extending her hand. "I'm Molly, by the way."

Mrs. Williams took her hand and shook it, smiling. "Anna, as my son stated."

"So mum, did you manage to get a hold of Harry's relatives?" Ben asked.

"Yes I did. We've got full permission to take him with us for the first month of the summer if he wants," Mrs. Williams replied, a frown forming as she discussed the Dursleys.

Harry smiled widely. "Great! I'd love to."

Ben beamed. "Excellent! Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley. Ron, Hermione, we'll see you later."

Harry spoke next. "See you over the summer, then."

"Hope you have - er - a good holiday," Hermione said, looking a little overwhelmed at everything that went on.

"Oh, we will," Harry said. "This summer's going to be great."

With their goodbyes said, Harry, Ben, and Mrs. Williams found a quiet spot, where she brought out a hairbrush and cast a spell on it.

"Now, Harry, I need you to keep a hold of this brush at all times while we're in transit, can you do that?"

"Yes … "

Mrs. Williams nodded. "Good, it should be activating soon."

Not long after she said that, Harry felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward. The world swirled around him.

AN: That's the end of the first book, onto the next! In all honesty, I haven't been as successful with my writing as i have wanted to be. I'm still able to post for the next updates, but I've become a bit stuck as I don't know when I want to pick back up in the story on what I'm ahead on. I hope you've had a wonderful holiday period and see you next year.

Uploaded Dec. 27th, 2019, Edited Jan 10th, 2025