And here's the nineteenth chapter, folks! Enjoy!

* Review Response:
DarkRavie, Jostanos, mwinter1, geekymom, mizzrazz72, Tychon, RebeliousOne, jamnaz79, Wyrtha, Tsukikageshi, Ariadne Venegas, naruto (guest), Charles Ceaser, Blackholelord, richard333, JPElles, Lord Mortensen, thank you for your reviews, folks!
The Sinful, well, this Dumbledore is a bit more aware of the fact that he can (and does) make mistakes, apparently.
magitech, ObsessedWithHPFanFic, city bookworm, yeah, it's a bit strange that in the books no one outside of Hogwarts does anything when something happens in the castle - unless it is to make the life for Harry and co even more difficult, like arresting Hagrid in the second year or attacking him and McGonagall in fifth. One might think, there is some Magic in the play that prevents the children from telling their parents about strange and dangerous things they come across.
setokayba2n, hehe.
Darth-Vulturnus, well, I try to keep bashing down, but I pretty sure there is quite a bit of it there regardless. Still, thank you for your vote of confidence.

* AN: Great thanks to my friend Skelekitty for his help in polishing this chapter. Also...

Happy New Year, folks!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.

"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
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A Year Too Soon
Chapter XIX: Small Victories

"Dumbledore!" Amelia growled as she stormed into the Headmaster's office like an embodiment of Fury. It has been only two, maybe three hours since her Aurors began their investigation of the 'Troll Incident', and something of great concern has already turned up.

"Something I can help you with, Amelia?" The old warlock asked, looking away from a large pile of documents lying on the table in front of him.

"Yes, you damn well can." The DMLE Director stated. "What in the Merlin's name were you thinking when you brought a fully-grown cerberus inside Hogwarts? And, even worse, put in a location that can easily be accessed by the students? A single door that can be opened with a simple unlocking charm is not enough to keep the curious children away from the beast!"

"I've explained it to the students during the Welcoming Feast that the corridor currently occupied by the cerberus is off-limits to everyone and..." He was about to say something else, but Madam Bones interrupted him:

"And you are bloody stupid to believe that they will do as you say." She said, pinning the elderly wizard with her glare. "If you tell a child not to do something, than you can be damn sure that they will try to do just that as soon as you look away." After a moment of silence Amelia continued: "Regardless, I want that beast removed from the castle. A school is not a place for keeping cerberi." There was another moment of silence, before she asked. "And what is it doing here anyway?"

"As you surely know, Amelia, cerberi are excellent guardians." Albus said. "Fluffy, as Hagrid named him, is the first line of defense for a very important Magical artifact I was asked to safeguard." Madam Bones wasn't impressed.

"Have you gone senile, Dumbledore?" She asked in a low, dangerous tone as she glared at the Headmaster. "What were you thinking when you decided that a school full of children is the best place to safekeep a valuable and dangerous Magical artifact?" Not giving the man a chance to say anything in his own defense, she continued: "I want this artifact removed from Hogwarts and all of its 'defenses' dismantled yesterday." Letting out a deep sigh, the old warlock replied:

"Very well, Amelia. I'll see to the artifact being moved to another place. But this is going to take some time, a few days at the very least." The DMLE Director eyed him critically for a few moments, before finally nodding.

"Make sure you do that as soon as possible." There was a long pause, before Dumbledore spoke again:

"Is there anything else I can help you with at this time, Amelia?" He asked.

"No." Madam Bones replied. "But I'll be sure to inform you if and when my Aurors find themselves in the need of your help." And with that she turned around and walked out of his office. As the door behind her closed, Dumbledore couldn't help but let out a sigh. This was getting quite troublesome… Thankfully, he had foresight to build the traps around the Philosopher's Stone in a way that allowed him to move the rooms around freely. Thus, all he needed to do was move the entrance someplace Amelia wouldn't find it. Still something that requires a lot of time and effort, but much easier than dismantling the whole thing.

It was no surprise that by the dinner time the entire school knew that Madam Bones had demanded the forbidden corridor on the third flood to be cleared. The exact details of that argument were unknown to the students, but there wasn't anyone who'd miss a giant three-headed dog that apparently lived in that corridor for the past three and a half months.

Harry was also excited by this news because it meant that the Headmaster's attention was temporarily shifted towards dealing with the DMLE's demands, thus giving him an opportunity to accept Lord MacMillan's invitation to the Yule party. His decision made, the green-eyed wizard picked a piece of parchment and his quill and began writing...

"Writing someone a letter, Harry?" Flora asked as she peeked from behind his armchair's backrest. Her sister just stood quietly by her side.

"Yeah." The young Potter replied. "I'm sending Lord MacMillan a letter to tell him that I've accepted his invitation to the Yule party." Guessing that the twins wanted to ask him why he had delayed doing this until now, he explained: "Since Dumbledore is busy dealing with the DMLE's investigation, it is likely that he won't notice me accepting this invitation until it is too and he can't stop me without suffering a massive public backlash for his actions."

"How very Slytherin of you, Potter." Flora said teasingly. Harry could only smile in response. After a brief moment of silence, she continued: "And since we will be seeing you at this year's party, I believe, you owe us a dance or two." Casting a quick glance at her sister, she added: "Each."

"Sure." The green-eyed youth agreed. "But I'm not sure I'm good at dancing, though." He added then. The twins shared a look.

"Then we need to practice." Hestia suggested. "I remember grandmother telling us that there used to be a music room somewhere in the castle. We could make use of it." Flora nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan." She said. And with that, Harry had no other option but to accept that the twins will be teaching him dancing. Not that he minded it: he liked spending time with them.

~/ *** \~

Over the past few days, the Aurors had searched the castle thoroughly in their investigation of the 'Troll Incident'. And the information provided by the Lord Parkinson turned out to be spot on: the ward meant to keep wild beasts away from Hogwarts was severely underpowered. It actually was a wonder that the beasts from the Forbidden Forest weren't wandering all over the school's grounds right now.

Furthermore, the Aurors have found no signs that any repairs, by Magical means or otherwise, had been conducted on any of the known entrances of the castle. This meant that the troll didn't force its way in and, instead, was lead into the cast by someone. Professor Quirinus Quirrell, being a known troll-speaker, was the primary suspect there.

In addition to that, several Magical artifacts that had no place inside a school had been discovered within the castle during the investigation. And Madam Bones intended to confront the Headmaster about the worst one before finally informing him about the detainment of his DADA Professor.

"Dumbledore." She called as she walked into his office. "Could you please explain, what a class XXX Magical artifact is doing within Hogwarts, without as much as a single ward to keep nosy students from discovering it." Noticing the man's look of confusion - hopefully, a faked one - she elaborated: "I'm talking about a certain enchanted mirror you have in one of the unused classrooms."

"Ah, the Mirror of Erised. It was brought here to serve as one of the defenses for an object I was asked to safekeep. But seeing as you've made me relocate it elsewhere, the Mirror will soon be returned to its original location." Albus replied. Of course, that was a lie. He would still use the Mirror as the final protection for the Philosopher's stone, but Amelia didn't need to know that. "I must confess, however, that I indeed should've been more thorough in ensuring that no student would come across it during the short time it stayed in the room you've found it."

"I hope, it is indeed so." Madam Bones said. Then, a moment later, the bell announcing the lunch break rang. Waiting patiently for it to finish ringing, Amelia continued: "I would also like to inform you that the Aurors investigating the 'Troll Incident' have managed to make a significant progress in resolving the case. According to their findings, someone from within had let the beast in. And we have a suspect. He is being detained as we speak."

"May I ask, who your suspect is?" Dumbledore said, doing his best to keep his worries out of his voice.

"Quirinus Quirrell, the current DADA professor of Hogwarts." Amelia replied, confirming his fears.

As the bell rang, the sixth year students hastily vacated the DADA classroom, relieved that the morning classes were now over. And once the auditorium was empty, a previously-unnoticed team of Aurors made their way inside, their arrival catching the turban-wearing wizard's attention.

"S-something I can help you with, g-gentlemen?" Professor Quirrell asked them.

"Yes." The leader of the team confirmed as his subordinates drew their wands and pointed them at the DADA Professor, who reacted to this by reaching for his own wand. "Mr. Quirinus Quirrell, you are suspected of willfully endangering Hogwarts' students with the act of bringing an adult mountain troll into the castle. Surrender yourself quietly. Any attempts to resist detainment will be met will force." Pausing for a moment to take a breath, the senior Auror continued: "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the Ministry."

"Surrender yourself to the Aurors, Quirinus." Voldemort commanded his host.

"M-Master?" The said host, however, was less than happy with this order.

"Do not worry, Quirinus, you've proven yourself useful to me. I will not let you suffer Azkaban." The Dark Lord reassured him. Letting out a resigned sigh, the DADA Professor moved his hand away from his wand and then raised his hands.

"I surrender." He told the Aurors, who then proceeded to take his wand and cuff him.

Even though no one was killed or suffered any permanent damage during the 'Troll Incident', it was still considered a very high-profile case as it was an attack against Hogwarts and the future generation of the Wizarding Britain. Thus, it wasn't long before Quirinus Quirrell found himself in one of the interrogation rooms. He was given an opportunity to get an attorney, but following his Master's order, he declined. His refusal raised a few eyebrows, but since it was his right, the Aurors merely shrugged and got to interrogating him.

Quirrell, whose hands were still cuffed, was put on a very uncomfortable chair on the far side of the room while his interrogator and his assistant took seats across the table from him. Then the rest of Aurors left, leaving the three of them as the sole occupants of the room.

This presented the disembodied Dark Lord with an opportunity to claim a much better-placed host. True, trying to take over one of the DMLE interrogators would be a very risky move as any mistake would result in his existence being exposed to the world while also leaving him in a weakened state and without a readily-available host to recuperate in. Still, the benefits from having an Auror as his new host outweighed these risks in Voldemort's mind, and so he struck.

Calling upon the Dark Magics known only to a handful of wizards, he rapidly absorbed the life-force of his host, turning him into a dried-up mummy in the face of the two Aurors in the room. Then, as soon as this process was completed and he was ejected from the now-dead body, Voldemort shot straight for the interrogator, using the vast amounts of collected power to swiftly overwhelm the man's feeble mind while leaving most of his memories intact as he completely took over his body…

"Imperio!" Voldemort intoned as he hit the other Auror in the room with the Unforgivable Curse. "You will continue working for the DMLE as normal." He instructed his new pawn. "And when you hear that the Dark Lord Voldemort has risen back to power, you will immediately seek him out and offer your services." The wizard nodded dumbly, indicating that he got his orders. Smiling to himself, Voldemort decided that it was the time to sweep his proverbial trail. "Oblivate!" Seeing the man's eyes slid out of focus, the Dark Lord gave him the redacted version of what has happened in the past minute: "Mr. Quirrell attempted an unknown self-sacrificial spell with an obvious intent of causing massive damage to the Ministry. And if it wasn't for our swift actions, he would have succeeded.." The Auror blinked a few times as Voldemort finished altering his memories.

"Merlin, that was terrifying." He said, actually sounding genuinely relieved. Apparently, he had a very good imagination, and it painted quite a picture of the recent events for him based on the implanted fake memories. "We're, like, heroes, captain! Do you think Madam Director will give us a commendation for this?" He asked excitedly.

"I certainly hope so." Voldemort replied carefully, busy planning his next move. First, he needed to create more sleeper agents within the Ministry. He will need them to prepare the world to his triumphant return. Then, he needed to convince that Bones woman to send him to Hogwarts as a replacement DADA Professor. While he certainly could use other means to get himself a proper new body, he wanted it to be perfect and immortal, and for that he needed the Philosopher's Stone. Plus, it would be much easier to keep his current body alive and human-looking if he was at Hogwarts, where he could easily hunt unicorns for their blood.

Smiling to himself as his plans for the near future were taking shape, Voldemort followed his 'colleague' out of the interrogation room without sparing the dried-up husk of Quirinus Quirrell even a single glance.

~/ *** \~

Quirrell's detainment and subsequent suicide had caused a number of headaches for Dumbledore: not only did he have to ensure that the DADA classes continued even with the Professor gone, but he also needed to hire someone to fill the suddenly-vacant position. And, with the job being rather infamous for its 'curse' it was easier said than done...

Thus, it wasn't until two weeks before the end of the semester when he discovered that Harry Potter had gone behind his back and accepted Lord MacMillan's invitation to the Yule party. Even worse, now that the boy was on the official list of attendees, he couldn't even force him to 'change his mind' without angering many a pureblood of the higher society. That, however, didn't mean that he couldn't make his dissatisfaction with Harry's actions known to the boy.

"Harry, my boy, I'm very disappointed in you." The Headmaster said as the younger wizard took a seat in one of the 'guest' chairs. "Haven't we established the previous year that it is dangerous for you to attend such events until you're older and more experienced in politics? I do not believe that you're mature enough to attend such an event yet, and your ill-considered decision to accept Lord MacMillan's invitation proves me right." The green-eyed youth said nothing in response, his eyes full of resolve not to back down. Dumbledore, meanwhile, continued: "And now that your future as a respectable member of Magical society depends on fulfilling your promise to attend the party, I'm left with only a few ways to shield from the dangers of the adult world."

Once again, Harry said nothing in response. He could see clearly that the Headmaster was too set in his opinion and any attempts to change his mind would only complicate things unnecessarily… Meanwhile, it looked like the old warlock wasn't done talking just yet:

"Thus, with great reluctance, I'll let you attend the party. But, to make sure that none of your spur of the moment decisions will destroy your future, I insist you make a vow that you will not accept any deals, sign any contracts or give any binding oaths during the party." Dumbledore said. "Like I've told you the previous year, Harry, social events like this are frequented by people who do not hesitate to hurt and exploit others if it means some profit for them. And since you're still not experienced enough to see through their lies, it'd be better if you're simply unable to do anything that might endanger your own future or that of the House Potter."

Harry narrowed his eyes as he considered this… proposition. He really didn't want to bind himself with a vow like that, but it looked like Dumbledore would not let him attend the Yule party, consequences be damned, if he didn't give this vow. Letting out a deep sigh, he nodded.

"Very well, I'll swear to this." He said. Pausing to draw his wand, he continued: "I, Harry James Potter, do swear that I will not enter any agreements, on behalf of myself or my House, that will in any way affect my personal, familial or financial responsibilities during the Yule party of 1991. So mote it be." These words were followed by a small flash of light, indicating that Magic has accepted his vow.

"Thank you, Harry, for laying this old man's worries to rest." The Headmaster said after a moment of silence. Another few moments of silence later, he added: "That would be all, my boy, unless you have something you want to talk to me about, of course." Nodding politely despite being angry with the man, the green-eyed Slytherin quickly left his office. As the door closed behind him, Dumbledore let out a small sigh: he had planned to return Harry his father's invisibility cloak for Christmas, but the boy's rash decision to accept the invitation to a social event he was ill-prepared to handle showed that he was still too immature to handle such a powerful artifact responsibly. And this was quite unfortunate as Albus didn't like keeping Harry's family heirloom from him like this.

"Welcome back, Harry." Flora said the moment she saw her friend enter the Slytherin common room. "What did the Headmaster want from you? Was it about the Yule party as said it would likely be?" She asked then. Harry gave her a nod.

"Yeah, he summoned me to tell me how much he was disappointed that I've accepted Lord MacMillan's invitation. But he also said that it's too late for him to stop me from attending the party anymore." The twins smiled, happy that they'll get a chance to spend some time with him over the holidays. For a few moments Harry wondered, whether he should tell the girls about the vow Dumbledore had him make, but ultimately decided against this.

"So, what are your plans for the holidays, Harry?" Flora asked. "Besides the Yule party, of course."

"Dunno, really." The green-eyed wizard replied with a shrug. "I guess I'll just stay at the 'Leaky Cauldron' and maybe do a bit of shopping." He was also planning to have a curse-breaker check him for any signs of possession or some other Magical phenomenon that might have made him into a parselmouth, but he'd rather keep silent about that.

"You aren't going to your family's place?" Flora asked, not knowing much about his relationship with the Dursleys - that was a topic Harry rarely if ever talked about.

"No, we don't like each other much. It'd be better for everyone if we spend as much time away from each other as possible." The green-eyed wizard replied.

"Sorry." Hestia said.

"Why don't you come stay with us then?" Her sister offered. "I'm sure, grandmother wouldn't mind."

"Perhaps." Harry agreed. From their meeting back in the summer, he got an impression that the regent of the House Carrow found him to be agreeable. "But I'm not sure the rest of your family will be as accommodating." Indeed, some of them were known Death Eaters. "It be quite awkward to share the table with them." He said.

"Yeah, you're right." Flora agreed. Now that she thought about it, her invitation was a bit poorly thought out, but… she just wanted to help her friend.

"It's alright." Harry reassured her, noticing her unease. "And don't worry, I'll be alright by myself, I promise.".

~/ *** \~

Two weeks before the end of the semester, the Headmaster made an announcement that Hogwarts was getting new DADA Professor, a senior Auror no less, who would start teaching in January. That was a great piece of news since, following Professor Quirrell's arrest, the class was taught by whichever other Professor had a free period at the time, resulting in a very haphazard presentation of the material.

A little problem like that, however, wasn't enough to stop Harry from doing well on his end-of-semester test for Defense Against the Dark Arts. He might have not gotten a perfect score, but it was still a definite 'Outstanding'. He did very good on his other tests as well, thus retaining his number two academic ranking among his peers in Slytherin.

The final days of the fall semester flew by without anything noteworthy happening and, after the breakfast on December 21st, Harry joined Flora and Hestia as well as many other students who were leaving Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. After a pleasant ride in horseless carriages across the snow-covered valley that connected the castle grounds to the village of Hogsmeade, they boarded the Hogwarts Express and departed for London.

Harry and the twins managed to claim a compartment for themselves and, with some crafty spellwork that worked around the train's wards, they made sure that they weren't disturbed impertinently. Thus, their ride to Kings Cross was rather peaceful and uneventful with them sharing some idle talk or just enjoying each others' company… Eventually, though, that had to come to an end as the Hogwarts Express arrived to the platform 9¾.

"Flora, Hestia, welcome back." The regent of the House Carrow greeted her granddaughters as they found her in the crowd. "And you as well, Mr. Potter."

"Good evening, Lady Carrow." Harry greeted the witch back with a polite nod.

"I heard of bad business that happened at Hogwarts this year." She said after a brief moment of silence. "The troll attack and then a Professor who turned out to be an evil man. I'm glad to see that you all are fine." The green-eyed wizard gave her another nod.

"Thank you."

"And, those events, they sound like they have interesting stories behind them. I'd like to hear more about them from you all. But, perhaps, when we aren't in the middle of a crowded platform. I'm sure, you wouldn't mind a bit of rest before that either." Then, after a short pause, she added: "Also, please take this, Mr. Potter." She said, while offering him a small and plain sack. Opening it and glancing inside, Harry saw that it contained a few pinches worth of floo powder.

"Thank you very much." He said sincerely. He didn't have any floo powder on his person and so, to use the public floo, he'd have to buy some from a small stand - which already had a sizable line in front of it.

"Now then, let us be off" Lady Carrow said as the four of them drew near the large fireplace located in the corner of the platform, not far away from the exit to the muggle side of the Kings Cross. Soon enough, it was their turn to use the floo, and Lady Carrow was the first one to disappear in the emerald flames.

"See you at the party, Harry." Flora said before she and Hestia gave him a quick peck on his cheek. Then, the twins followed their grandmother and too floo'ed away. Shaking his head, Harry drew a pinch of powder from the sack and threw it into the fire.

"Leaky Cauldron." He called as the flames turned emerald-green. Then, taking a deep breath as he readied himself for what was to come, he picked his trunk up and stepped into the fire, disappearing from the platform 9¾ a moment later.

That's all, folks!
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