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"We need to go and save the stone," Hermione insisted.
"What can we do, we're first years, Hermione and whoever's trying to steal the stone isn't going to be throwing impedimenta jinxes," Harry replied.
"You're a coward!" Ron exclaimed.
"Says the boy who can't even say Voldemort's name, what do you think you're going to do when you meet him? Piss yourself in fear and drown him in your urine," Harry retorted.
"We have to do something," Hermione said.
"Okay, if you don't believe McGonagall's going to do anything you should try to talk to Flitwick or Sprout, they have a better reputation for listening to their students anyway," Harry said reasonably. He thought Flitwick was the best option, he suspected that the tiny man wasn't entirely human and hopefully that might mean the spells wouldn't have such a strong influence over him.
"He's in his private quarters, we can't talk to him," Ron said impatiently.
"There must be a way to summon him if his house needs him, we need to ask one of the Ravenclaws," Harry replied.
Unfortunately, when they found Flitwick Harry could see that the results were no better than with their own head of house. He listened to them more willingly and Harry could see him planning to help before his eyes went foggy and he dismissed them. And even more problematically, this time Hermione noticed.
"What was that? Something's wrong with Professor Flitwick," she said anxiously as Harry hurriedly ushered her out of the charm's professor's office.
"They've been spelled not to interfere with the protections on the stone, Harry reported sighing.
"You mean that they can't stop Snape from stealing it? How did Dumbledore fail to notice they've been attacked like that?" Ron asked.
"It must have been done since Professor Dumbledore left this afternoon. Is there anyone who can help that he wouldn't have spelled?" Hermione said.
"They can't help us?" Neville said.
"Is there a form of magical law enforcement we could contact?" Harry asked.
"There is but an owl isn't going to get help here in time," Neville replied shakily.
"Isn't there a quicker way? Surely, witches and wizards have some way of calling for help in an emergency?" Harry asked.
"At home I'd use the floo but I don't know which fireplaces are connected, or where to find floo powder, or Gran would use a messenger spell but it's beyond seventh year, she told me Dad taught her when he learned it in Auror training," Neville said.
"Well that doesn't help," Hermione huffed. Neville looked down at his feet and his whole demeanor seemed to fall.
"Thanks for the information though Nev, it's good to know a bit more about this world. I would expect the professors all have floos and floo powder," Harry said determinedly cheerful.
"How's that help? They won't let us use it," Hermione scoffed.
"Dumbledore's not here, his office will be empty, we just need to convince his door guardian to let us in or guess the password. He uses sweet names so it shouldn't be too hard," Harry said.
"We can't break into the headmaster's office," Hermione exclaimed aghast.
"Why not. It will be a damn sight safer than trying to battle Voldemort," Harry retorted leading the way to the Gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office and living quarters.
Luckily Neville and Ron were both sweet-tooths because Harry and Hermione didn't know much about wizarding sweets but the two boys were able to list every sweet on the market in the last couple of years no matter how rare.
Fawkes looked at them searchingly as they entered the office and Harry went over and explained to him what they were doing. In response he landed on the mantle shelf and pecked at a jar, indicating where the floo powder was stored obviously approving. There was no fire but the kindling had been laid to start one and Hermione looked anxiously for the matches before Harry chuckled and cast incendio. Unfortunately, what they couldn't guess and Fawkes couldn't tell them was the password for the floo.
"What do we do now. We've got to stop wasting time and go and protect the stone before it's too late," Hermione said hurrying out of the headmaster's office and to the forbidden corridor. Ron followed eagerly but Harry grabbed Neville and tried to hold him back. Neville knew that Harry was probably right about the amount of danger they'd face, none of them were ready to take on an adult wizard, not even four to one, but he still loyally insisted on accompanying Ron and Hermione. Harry hesitated but decided as impossible as it would be for the four of them to succeed, they stood a much better chance of all surviving if Harry went with them. He quickly resized his trunk in an alcove and grabbed his real wand out, replacing it with the fake one and reshrinking the trunk and putting it into his pocket before running after Neville.
Harry snorts in derision at the simple alohomora charm Hermione used to open the door. "Shouldn't this at least have a password to keep curious students out?"
There was music playing, barely audible over the sound of the three heads snoring. "Someone's beaten us here. We have to hurry," Hermione said.
"We're too late, we should get out of here before we all get killed," Harry retorted. Unfortunately it didn't do any good. They made it through the first couple of traps unscathed, Harry complaining the whole time how easy they were, and how ridiculous it was to hide something like this. Ron was knocked out in the giant chess game and Harry made another attempt to convince them to go back. He did manage to convince Neville to go for help as long as he promised to stay with Hermione and do everything in his power to help her prevent the stone from being stolen. Breathing a sigh of relief that at least Neville was safe so long as Voldemort didn't try to destroy the school on his way out he pushed ahead, leaving Hermione in behind in the potions room though he was sure if she put the bottle back on the shelf it would refill for her.
Quirrell managed to disarm him as soon as he got through the door and stopped shocked at the sight of the purple turbaned wizard looking into the mirror of Erised and talking to himself in two different voices without any sign of a stutter.
Quirrell forced Harry to look into the mirror and Harry thinking desperately that he really wished Spencer was here to outsmart the professor saw him in the mirror dropping a stone into Harry's pocket as he felt the extra weight. 'No get it out. I don't want it. Don't let Voldemort have it,' he begged the image desperately before beginning to lie about what he saw.
Voldemort in the back of Quirrell's head seemed to realise something had happened and Quirrell grabbed Harry's hands. It seemed to hurt him to touch Harry and Harry concentrated on making that hurt as strong as possible until Quirrell's hand began to blister and fall to dust. Quirrell went for his wand and recognising that this was a life or death situation Harry knew he couldn't let the man cast a spell at him. He launched himself at the older wizard aiming to cover his mouth forcing his magic into his hands to destroy the possessed professor.
Professor Quirrell died screaming in agony and a black mist rose from him and coalesced into the face that had been on the back of his head. Harry reached for it and tried to destroy it as well but it didn't have any effect. The black cloud threw itself into Harry's chest but couldn't possess him and fled through the wall. Harry slumped on the floor exhausted and realised Dumbledore was there as he lost consciousness. His last thought was to wonder how long the headmaster had been there and why he hadn't stepped in to help him, or to stop the black cloud thing from escaping.
Saturday 20/6/19
Dear Spencer
Something terrible happened and it's partly my fault. I know you told me to stay out of whatever Quirrell and Snape were up to but once I found out exactly what was going on I decided that it was worth the risk. We did try to go to a professor and get help but Professor McGonagall refused to listen to us, and then we tried to keep watch to try to prevent it before it started but Snape kicked us out and he wouldn't listen either. I did what you wanted and tried to trust them Spencer, but they're just like the teachers at primary school, they refused to hear me. They left me to be responsible for saving the school and keeping the other students safe Spence. How can I trust them after this?
Voldemort, the Dark Lord (extremely evil wizard and terrorist group leader who killed my parents) didn't completely die when he tried to kill me. He's been trying to come back and he was attempting to use the Philosopher's Stone to do it. The Stone was hidden in Hogwarts and Ron, Hermione worked it out and went after the thief. I told them I wasn't going to help, in fact I threw quite a tantrum in McGonagall's office and told McGonagall off about not doing anything about the dragon in front of Ron and Hermione. Anyway, they decided to go without me and I would probably have let them if they didn't drag Neville along with them. Something stopped me from letting Neville be hurt like that. Perhaps it's the echo of our family oaths to each other. The Potters and the Longbottoms have been allied for many generations and stood together in every battle they've been in for hundreds of years. Anyway I felt that I had to go and try to protect him.
It turned out to be Professor Quirrell and he had Voldemort's face in the back of his skull, he'd willingly allowed himself to be possessed by him, which is what that whole silly smelly purple turban full of garlic was hiding . Anyway, I stopped him from stealing the stone but in the fight I killed him, Professor Quirrell I mean, Voldemort came out and escaped. When he tried to strangle me his non-wand-hand turned to ash, Dumbledore said it was because of the protection in my body from my Mum sacrificing her life for me but I didn't know why at the time. He was going to curse me to death so I put my hands on his face and he turned completely to ash and died. Or that's how Dumbledore described it anyway. Dumbledore is acting like he he believes I killed Quirrell like that by accident, that I was so desperate to get away from him that I didn't realise what was doing, but I did. I knew in that moment that putting my hands on his face or neck would kill him and I knew that if I didn't kill him first then he'd kill me. It was self defence but I had time to think this and I deliberately chose to kill him to save myself. I just didn't see any other way that I could live. Don't hate me Spencer, I didn't want to die.
I'm fine, physically. Healer Pomfrey fixed me right up but I'm not sure how to handle knowing that I killed a man. Dumbledore said he was dying anyway from the possession, and that he couldn't be saved, but it's still my fault that he's dead. And perhaps the worst of it is that Voldemort's spirit, got away. He's not a ghost, well not a magical ghost anyway, more like books and movies depict an evil spirit, I don't know how you'd describe it, all black and smoky and with a face but no body. So he will try to come back again. He will come after me again too but Dumbledore won't tell me why. He says I'm not old enough to know and I should enjoy my childhood. Enjoy my childhood he said and then he turned around and told me I had to spend the summer locked up with the Dursleys being starved, overworked and abused again! I don't know how much of what he tells me I can believe. Surely as the Headmaster of a school for years and years of being a teacher before that along with the other titles he has he can't be that stupidly naïve to think that all families love each other and he'd lose his positions if he were going senile so he must be trying to manipulate me for some reason. Problem is, I can't work out why. I wish you were here to see the whole thing. I bet you could tell me what's really going on. Ron's family all love the headmaster, he's grown up believing the man practically walks on water and Hermione virtually worships all the professors, it almost physically hurt her to have to admit one of them was evil and really did attempt to murder me. They won't even listen to any doubts I have about Dumbledore. Seamus and Dean aren't so blinded but neither of them have ever even spoken to him so they're just taking their opinions from mine and his general reputation. Neville hasn't said what he thinks but says that his gran trusts him but he hasn't spoken to him all year either. Which makes the amount of interest he takes in me and the fact that both Ron and Hermione seem to have spoken to him before all this happened even more suspicious.
I think I've confirmed the reason why I had such a strong aversion to leaving the Dursleys once I returned to England and probably why they never kicked me out here as they did when we were in Vegas. Headmaster Dumbledore says there are wards on their house to protect me from the magical terrorist group that killed my parents. I did what you suggested. I asked him if I had to go back to the Dursleys, asked him if I could stay at Hogwarts or to find me somewhere else to stay because they don't want me back and I'm mistreated there. He didn't believe me and refused to even listen. Said I must be exaggerating and that I still need to be there to recharge the wards to keep me safe. He insisted that all children railed against the rules their families put in place to ensure their safety and he was sure if I'd argued with my family before coming to school it will all have been forgotten by the time I went home. He promised me that if the wards strengthened enough over the summer I might be able to spend the last week or two with the Weasleys. I'd never mentioned wanting to go to the Weasleys specifically, just anywhere I wouldn't be mistreated, almost any of my other friends would be preferable.
I think that this is confirmation that Dumbledore was involved in healing me, wiping everyone's memories and sending me back to the Dursleys last year. He knows what the wards do, so he had something to do with putting them there and he's trying to force me to go back to Privet Drive just like the witch or wizard last year.
I'm wondering if the wards are using my magic to recharge them then that might be why my magic feels weaker and I have less outbursts when I'm at Privet Drive? I hoped when I spoke to the goblins about them that they would fall with me being away at school all summer but Dumbledore doesn't think they have. Maybe that's why they were reworked to take more of my magic from them the year before I came here so they could be strong enough to store it over the school year. It looks like I might have to pay the goblins to have them changed so they don't feed on me. A home is supposed to be somewhere people care for you and feed you, not a place where you are fed upon. I wonder whether Dumbledore would notice if I had the wards changed, or whether he will notice that I'm not there most of the summer.
I didn't tell him that Dean, whose mother forwards our letters, has invited me to stay the first couple of weeks and I've already accepted and then we're going to stay with his best mate Seamus in Ireland for a month. Ron has also promised to invite me for the last two weeks of the holidays so I'll only be at the Dursleys for two weeks, hopefully the wards won't influence me into deciding to stay longer than that. Hermione also offered to ask her parents if I could visit, but once she heard that Ron's mum had to wait for Dumbledore's permission for me to leave the Dursleys she said it might be better if I didn't. She must have lived a very sheltered life because she has an overexaggerated respect for all authority figures. Hermione's parents only live about an hour away from Little Whinging so maybe I'll try to get there for the day while I'm at the Dursleys. I wish that I could come and visit you in the hideout this summer but even if I could afford it my passport is at the Dursleys and I don't think the airlines would let an eleven year old just walk up and buy a ticket. I'll try to collect the passport when I'm there and maybe ask Mrs Thomas to help me make arrangements for next summer since I can't depend on my friends' parents here to let me stay every year.
One other thing I find odd though, Dean was really embarrassed and apologetic when he invited me because he had to explain that his parents were delighted he had friends to invite home but couldn't afford to have me or Seamus unless we helped out a bit with the extra food costs. Seamus and I understood and were happy to pay. The Thomas's aren't wealthy and having Dean at boarding school puts a huge strain on them which he mentioned briefly and gratefully when we were first talking about our families saying goodbye on the train the first night but not since. I'd never noticed it before but Dean's clothes are all quite worn, I think they might be second hand but he's never complained about them or about not having enough money. It's Ron who complains constantly how poor his family is and about hand me down robes and books, but they sent seven children to boarding school and his mother invited me to stay with them without asking for money to help out. Ron's always complaining about his brothers and sisters too but I never even would've known Dean had so many except for the photo of his family beside his bed and the letters he gets from them that make him laugh. He doesn't speak of his family often and I've never heard him complain about them.
Your friend always
Harry
A/N: Spencer did of course write back between the last letter Harry sent and this one, in fact Harry would also have sent another letter and Spencer wrote back to that one as well, I just haven't written them.
A/N2: Thank you to all those who reviewed followed or favourited this story for your support.