"It is time. Send the letter, for tonight we act!"
.
.
"Harry, Neville, have you seen Hermione recently?"
Both boys lifted their gaze from the essays they were working from and glanced at each other.
"No…" Harry finally said slowly. "Why?"
"She said something about seeing someone near Fluffy and checking it out." Padma said, her irritation at not knowing what Hermione had been talking about evident in her voice. "That was several hours ago, though…"
Harry packed away his quills. "Neville, Padma, go to Dumbledore. Tell him what's going on. I'm going to check to see if anyone's got by Fluffy. It'll be okay, he likes me."
Neville followed Harry's example as he packed away his own work. "Okay. Padma?"
"Let's go." Padma stated firmly as she led the way out of the common room. "I'm not letting anything happen to Hermione."
"Who'd help you with Transfiguration if something did happen?" Neville joked, only to receive a glare. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a bit."
"Don't!"
.
Draco growled as he lurked in the corridor, wand in one hand and Battlestick in the other. His father had sent him a letter which disintegrated as soon as he had read it, giving him a set of instructions that made no sense to him, as well as a Battlestick that held no less than four spells in it and a warning that should he fail in his mission, he would be officially disowned.
Footsteps sounded and Draco took a deep breath, then he stepped out from behind the suit of armor, his wand already in motion.
"Stupefy!"
.
Harry pushed against the door, splintering the lock and stepped into the room spotting the now-silent harp in the corner of the room. His suspicions confirmed, he looked up at the other occupant of the room.
"Hello, Fluffy." He smiled as the Cerberus greeted him. "Hey, I need to go stop that thief who snuck past you when you were asleep."
Fluffy blinked, then started sniffing before growling at the trapdoor. Moving back, the three-headed dog allowed Harry to drop through the hole and onto the plant.
"So it was Devil's Snare." Harry whispered, glad that he had described the plant to Neville and got a description. "Lumos!"
His wand shone and Harry dropped through, glad that he had sent Neville and Padma off to explain things to Dumbledore. All he had to do was buy some time for the greatest Wizard alive to reach him.
Landing on his feet, Harry made his way into the next room which was filled with winged keys fluttering around under the domed ceiling. Harry ignored them and the broomsticks by the entrance as he strode across the room to the only other way out of the room. Forming a fist, he punched the door with all of his strength.
"Bloody hell! Ow! That bloody hurt!"
Shaking his hand to try and get the feeling back, Harry glared at the unmarred door for a long moment.
"Right." He growled. "Forget punching, let's try kicking!"
Bracing himself, Harry took half a step forwards to build momentum, then stopped as the door slowly toppled over and landed on the floor with a loud bang. Harry stared at it, then his gaze rose to the cracked archway it had been blocking.
"Wizards." He snorted after a long moment. "Reinforce the door and ignore the door-frame."
Passing through, he paused at the sight of the four rows of stone figures waiting for him, then made a decision. Grabbing one of the broomsticks from the room behind him, he mounted it and flew straight through the cracked arch and over the giant chess set that stretched across the chamber. Landing, he opened the next door and gazed for a moment at the unconscious troll.
"Huh, wonder how that happened." He mused as he walked round the slumbering behemoth and towards the next room. "Stupid question. If it was Quirrell, he put it here, so he'd know how to take it down. Well, means I don't have to punch this one through a wall."
The instant he entered the next room, purple flames rose up behind him while the door in front of him was engulfed in black flames. Snorting, Harry walked around the table on which seven bottles stood and paused just in front of the far wall, only a few paces from the flame-shrouded archway. Pausing to check that his fist had recovered, Harry punched straight through it, sending rocks tumbling into the next room. Hearing an exclamation of shock from the other side, Harry dived through, rolling back to his feet and finding himself face to face with a surprised Professor Quirrell who was standing in front of the Mirror of Erised while Hermione lay sprawled next to him, the slow rising and falling of her chest the only sign that she was still alive.
"M… m… Mr Po… Potter…"
"That stutter doesn't fool me at all." Harry stated, glaring at the teacher, then he blinked as Quirrell's head seemed to go semi-transparent for a moment, revealing a dark mass nestled into the back of his skull. "What the hell is that under your turban? And what have you done to Hermione?"
Quirrel blinked, then pulled out his wand. "Incarcerous!"
A net of ropes shot out from the end of Quirrel's wand and Harry seemed to blink out of existence, reappearing behind Quirrel and yanking the turban off his head.
"Eewww."
The red-eyed, noseless face glared at Harry, then snarled as Quirrel spun round.
"Turn back, fool! Let me face him! You see what you have reduced me to, boy?" It hissed and Harry laughed.
"That I reduced you to? Who are you, anyway?"
"I am Lord Voldemort!"
"You're Voldemort? A diseased lump on the back of someone's head?"
"Crucio!"
The spell passed through where Harry had been standing, then Quirrel slammed into the wall. Harry lowered his hand as Quirrel slid down, knocked out by the impact.
"Too easy." He smirked, then he sighed as Quirrel rose.
"You cannot defeat me that easily, boy!" Voldemort snarled, flexing Quirrel's arms in ways that they shouldn't have been able to move in. "Now, both you and your useless friend will die so that I, the Great Lord Volde…"
Voldemort slammed into the ceiling, propelled by Harry's blurred punch, then slammed back down onto the ground in a rain of debris. Harry stared at the figure, then leapt back as a misty form rose from it.
"I will have my revenge!" It hissed, lunging at Harry…
…only for Harry to blur away, reappearing on the other side of the room, Hermione by his feet. The spirit glared at him, then vanished through one of the walls.
"Huh." Harry said after a moment. "Well, now that it's all over, perhaps I should get Hermione to the Infirmary."
Walking out through the hole he'd made, he glared at the purple flames, then punched a hole through the wall beside the door, pulling as much of the debris into the room as possible. Checking his work, he nodded and returned to the mirror room where he picked up Hermione and used the ropes that Quirrell had fired at him to secure her to his back. Carefully ducking through the hole to avoid causing Hermione any more injuries, Harry made his way towards the troll room and the broomstick that he would use for his return journey.
.
"Cornelius, although I am happy to aid you whenever you ask, wouldn't it be better if you asked your department heads about these things?" Albus sighed, resisting the urge to rub at his forehead. Just how had a simple mission to reset the Floo connection turned into a multi-hour meeting with Fudge?
If he were a suspicious man, he would have assumed that it was an attempt to keep him away from Hogwarts…
…wait.
.
"Another one?" Madam Pomphrey sighed as Harry entered the Infirmary with Hermione in his arms. "Put her in this bed and let me check her over."
Harry carefully laid Hermione down, then his eyes widened at the sight of Neville and Padma lying in the next two beds. "What happened?"
"Someone obliviated them." Pomphrey growled, waving her wand over Hermione. "Miss Granger is suffering from a concussion, meaning that although she isn't in any danger now, she won't remember much of this day either.."
Harry blinked. "Wait, you mean that Nev and Padma won't remember anything that happened today?"
"That's what an obliviation does." Pomphrey confirmed.
"I've got the potions you requested." Flitwick said as he trotted into the infirmary, then he sighed. "Another one? When I find out who's been attacking my Ravens, I'll ensure they pay for their actions in the Dueling Ring!"
Harry carefully stepped aside and let his Head of House past.
.
Draco dropped the half-used Battlestick into the envelope and sealed it, then he stepped into the Owlery.
"I have a letter for my father." He said and a moment later, one of the owls had landed in front of him , one foot held out imperiously. Draco carefully tied the letter to the proffered leg, then stepped aside to let the owl fly into the evening sky.
Leaving the Owlery, he crept back down to the Dungeons, the warm glow of satisfaction in his heart. He had successfully stunned two of Potter's friends as they tried to reach the Headmaster's office and used the Battlestick on them, just as instructed.
Now all he had to do was keep a low profile until the end of term, whereupon he would probably be able to learn from his father's gloating why he had done those things.
Footsteps alerted him and he ducked into the nearest doorway. A moment later, he heard McGonogall's voice.
"Come on, Severus! Who knows how long that alarm's been sounding? We need to check on the mirror now!"
Draco smiled at the proof that luck was finally going his way. With his Head of House nowhere near the Slytherin Common Room, he could sneak in and claim to have simply been in his room all along.
.
.
"…and Quirrel was dead, but the only spells were an Incarcerous and a Crucio, both cast from his wand." Minerva finished, shaking her head.
"This is truly a mystery." Dumbledore agreed. "Are you certain that Harry didn't do it?"
Minerva laughed in disbelief. "Albus, whatever went through those chambers smashed through two walls without magic! Do you really think an eleven year old boy could do that?"
"No, you're right, Minerva." Albus sighed. "Whoever the one who fought against the spirit possessing Quirrell was, I doubt it was young Harry. Of course, that leads to the question… who has the Stone now? It wasn't in the mirror, so where is it?"
.
"Harry," Hermione said nervously. "I was wondering… what's this?"
Harry stared at the fist-sized glowing red stone in Hermione's hands.
"How did you…?" He started, then he stopped with a head-shake. "Hermione, yesterday you got caught up in something that cost you a day's memory."
"I know that!" Hermione snapped, then she sighed. "Sorry. I know, but how does it explain… this?"
"Well, that's the Philosopher's Stone." Harry said, causing Hermione to pale in shock. "You saved it from Professor Quirrell who was trying to steal it so that he could revive his master, Voldemort. Now you have a choice. Keep it or…"
"It's not mine." Hermione stated firmly. "Philosopher's Stone… Nicholas Flamel! If I can find a way to contact him, I can give the Stone back to him!"
"And with Voldie out of the way for now, he should be able to keep it safe." Harry agreed. "Unless it's a fake, of course."
Hermione stared at him. "Why would it be a fake?"
"Why not?" Harry shrugged. "Bait to get Voldie to break cover and see if he's still around."
Hermione gave the stone in her hands a long, considering look.
"Any idea how to find out?"
As if on cue, Grace flew into the room and landed on Harry's shoulder.
"I think Grace may be able to help." Harry smiled. "She's a Post Owl and I haven't been using her much. You up for the challenge?"
Grace gave a barking noise and nodded.
"There you go. Write a letter and Grace'll take it for you."
"Thanks Harry. And thank you, Grace."