Harry managed to enter the room and was surprised by what was there: Quirrell instead of Snape. Harry shouted in surprise, and Quirrell mocked him, revealing the truth of the situation without much concern.
On the other hand, I was very nervous. Finally, we had made it here, and everything would depend on my performance and luck. I hardly moved, barely breathing to avoid being detected, at least with my main body. The rest of my clones were doing their job. You might think it's stupid to bring my main body, but it's part of this whole plan, even if it's risky.
My clones dispersed to the sides, moving along the edges of the room, getting closer and closer to the mirror, approaching Quirrell, surrounding him. Each one invisible, with magical objects to mitigate sound and smell, in addition to all the bonuses from food.
I was extremely focused on ensuring that the actions of the clones were perfect, even the clones I had left outside this place waiting for their moment to act moved strangely due to my excessive concentration on not being detected.
I suppose it was such a feat to get my squad of clones to act so stealthily that I received a skill notification, which I hadn't received a new one since the Marauder's campaign.
[Skill:
[Update: Thief Essence → Thief Essence (Stealth)]
[Thief Essence (Stealth) Lv1 → Thief Essence (Stealth) Lv2]
[Thief Essence (Stealth):
Stealth (Unfavorable): +10% → +20%
Stealth: +20% → +40%
Stealth (Favorable): +30% → +60%]
I won't say I'm not delighted with this; it's great. I've used this skill a lot, weak as it was, when hunting criminals with Tonks or when hiding with Elise, especially from Death Eaters in the Marauder's campaign. It's also good that I can now see the improvement percentage of the skill. Now, what benefit will I have here? It's not quite well lit, but it's not dim either, and there aren't many places to hide like in a jungle. Does it count as normal stealth, or is there a possibility of it being favorable stealth? It doesn't matter; what matters is to continue.
Harry didn't stop talking to Quirrell while the latter kept searching for the Stone in the mirror, having a hard time not finding it and continuing to waste time when Dumbledore could appear. Harry had been trapped by Quirrell's incarcerus spell shortly after arriving, but I completely ignored it, even when I saw the boy looking around as if searching for me to help him. I couldn't do anything; this had to continue...
Although I knew things can never go so smoothly, I still hoped it would happen, but it wasn't so. At one point, Quirrell seemed to move quickly but unnaturally, casting a spell towards me.
Ropes similar to the ones that tied up Harry tied me up too, although that didn't undo my invisibility, but it was clear that I was there because the ropes floating in the air were visible. Luckily, I didn't have any of my clones nearby, and they weren't revealed, well, I hoped.
"Very clever, Mr. Weasley." A sharp voice sounded, it was Voldemort speaking from Quirrell's turban. "Impressive both your skill and your cunning, achieving things that no child your age could. A worthy Slytherin, you remind me a bit of myself in my student days." He pronounced arrogantly.
I deactivated my invisibility; there was no point in keeping it, and it would only be a waste of blood magic at this point. I had been discovered, but I still kept trying to execute my plan, so from the moment I removed the invisibility, I had already fully utilized my [Aura of Mystery], both for myself and for my clones, although not as strongly for them. As I had discovered before, this aura made me appear more unpredictable, so I hoped it would hinder Voldemort's ability to discern my intentions through my expressions or body language.
Quirrell seemed to speak with Voldemort for a few seconds before removing his turban and revealing the parasite on the back of his head. Harry seemed to freeze in fear at the sight before him. Voldemort introduced himself and laid out his situation, then he looked at me. I can't be sure, but it seemed like he was looking at me as a future subordinate.
He addressed me and acknowledged my ability, also saying that he could see my thirst for magic and glory. He offered me a much larger path than I could have here at Hogwarts, one where I would have no limits beyond my own imagination, where no one would hold me back from learning the secrets of magic and the dark arts. I didn't know if he was promising me dark magic because he felt that was my desire or if he had some way of recognizing the dark magic I had performed in the past.
"Don't listen to him!" Harry shouted at me.
The boy nearly deafened me. There was no need for him to say anything; I wasn't going to accept. Voldemort's reign was the last thing I needed. Nothing he offered was something I couldn't achieve on my own. In fact, on my own, I could go much further. If I wanted, I could create my own reign of terror with sex slaves and all that.
I remained silent, as if considering it. I didn't want to respond. I was afraid to reject him directly for fear he would feel he only needed one of us to get the stone and decide to kill one. Nor could I accept because what he might ask could be unpredictable. Harry worried about my silence, until Voldemort also spoke to him, offering him to join him, but Harry rejected him outright, even in the face of his threats.
"Master, we need the stone," Quirrell nervously reminded him, feeling increasingly weakened by Voldemort's consumption of his vitality.
Voldemort seemed angry at Quirrell's audacity to interrupt him and remind him of the stone as if he didn't know. Despite consuming him faster, with a wand movement, Potter was pushed forward to fall before Voldemort, who gave Quirrell orders. Quirrell grabbed Harry and lifted him up, then pushed him in front of the mirror as ordered by his master.
While Quirrell held Harry in front of the mirror, I faced Voldemort's gaze, who seemed displeased by my doubts.
"If you get the stone, will you truly resurrect and have the power to defeat Dumbledore?" I asked doubtfully, acting to draw Voldemort's attention toward me. I could feel Harry's tension, so I assumed he had discovered the stone in his pocket and it was time to act.
"Absolutely, that old man will be nothing to me when I return," he responded, believing that I hadn't joined him due to fear of Dumbledore. "Just ti—" but he stopped abruptly. With all the pieces in place, the game began. Before Voldemort could continue speaking, my clones, already in their positions, acted.
I activated my [Wrath] as powerfully as I could, causing my size to increase rapidly and giving me the strength to break my bonds in a few moments. Voldemort's surprise was followed by pain in the back of his head, that is, Quirrell's head.
Quirrell didn't expect there to be anyone behind that large mirror, let alone a group of clones that pushed it hard and swiftly, causing it to fall brutally onto his head.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I shouted to add more confusion as one of my clones cast an Expelliarmus at his wand while the rest lunged at him.
Harry was as surprised as Quirrellmort. Harry wasn't hit by the mirror, because it had been pushed from the top and hit Quirrell's head before his, and in that time something invisible had grabbed him and dragged him away from the danger area. Of course, what Harry didn't know is that while one hand was being pulled, the other hand had slipped into his pocket and after obtaining something very precious from within, that invisible individual dissolved into a puddle of blood.
The army of clones descended upon a defenseless Voldemort, all armed with different weapons, from daggers, swords, and bats, to a chair that sounded loudly as it was broken against Quirrellmort's back. Not that he couldn't defend himself, but there were too many, and more would appear when one fell.
Voldemort ended up with stabs and blows all over. With a broken body and already almost harmless, my real self also approached running with its increased size to beat Voldemort up. Harry was surprised, so much so that he didn't even notice how the Mirror of Erised had mysteriously disappeared, but one of the clones urged him to join in, and with a contained rage against the murderer of his parents, he advanced fearlessly, making the scene even more chaotic.
Meanwhile, the rest of the plan continued to unfold outside Hogwarts.
...
A clone, with the merchant, quickly sold the stone they had received in inventory and bought it back before dissolving.
...
In the Archmage's tower, another clone spoke with him, wanting to ensure that everything would work out.
"Are you sure I'll be okay, that there won't be any permanent sequelae and that the issues will only be temporary? I need 100% certainty!"
[You won't be entirely okay, but your power is sufficient to get what you want] appeared in the subtitles.
With that affirmation, the clone could only believe and approached the enchantment table, placing the stone on it. It had been noticed that there was something wrong with the stone, maybe it had some kind of Dumbledore-blocking magic so that even if Tom got it, it wouldn't work or something, but none of that mattered in front of the enchanting table.
The stone broke down into lights in front of the clone, revealing upgrades such as:
[Greater Transmutation Buff]
[Creation of the Elixir of Life]
[Auric Transmutation]
[...]
...
Meanwhile, Hermione was sitting in a corner, crying and trembling with fear. She had read the note Red had left for Dumbledore because she had no other way to overcome the anxiety of the situation, but that only made her unable to stop crying.
In the letter, Red asked him not to be credited for this, whatever happens, so as not to worry her parents if she succeeded or give her brother any glory if she failed. Additionally, he asked him to help Hermione if he failed and reminded her that he loved her.
Hermione cried louder and louder, blaming herself for getting into this and for her friend... boyfriend... whatever they were. She wished none of this had happened, promising herself that if they got out of here, she would do whatever it takes to keep them safe and happy, at least until she heard the fight on the other side of the flames and decided to approach, nervous and fearful, listening to the voices of several Reds with their combat cries.
...
Voldemort didn't last long, especially when Harry joined in and Quirrell tried to defend himself against him and was counterattacked by Lily's protective magic, in addition to receiving stabs from all sides. Although he fought, he couldn't bear it anymore and was torn apart by the fury of the Reds.
Even when he died, his body continued to be torn apart by that tide of Reds. Voldemort's soul had to leave the Quirrell's body, passing through the Reds along the way and a Harry who was "accidentally" pushed in front of Voldemort's soul by someone. Voldemort's spirit became weaker because of that.
The clones that were pierced by that spiritual attack were destroyed, but it no longer mattered. Now there was only one last step, but before that, I sent a wave of invisible blood towards the entrance to extinguish the fire and then turned back.
I watched as Harry began to collapse on the ground while I prepared myself because in a tower in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, a clone conjured a bloody mass from our reserves on the enchantment table before rearranging the enchantments of the Philosopher's Stone...
...
...
...
It only took a moment, but the impact was overwhelming, as unlike the invisibility cloak, I remained conscious after the successful enchantment, in addition to giving a completely different sensation.
The clone in the tower disintegrated unnaturally, almost exploding, just like the other clones everywhere. It was no surprise, as even in my main body, I felt the consequences.
I could feel my blood turning to mud and the slightest movement made me feel like my entire being was like glass breaking and shattering. I would have screamed if it weren't for the fact that every action was so rigid that I couldn't move my body enough even to exhale the air from my lungs.
Harry fell to the ground unconscious from Voldemort's spiritual attack, and I followed suit almost immediately, also falling unconscious but in much pain in the process. Perhaps a little relieved, that was what I wanted, to feign discomfort without dying and get the stone...
...
Hermione was surprised to see how the flame seemed to be extinguished by something, but she cared little about that. She was going to see how things were going inside, regardless of whether Snape was still there. She ran towards the room, but she wasn't the first to arrive, as just a step ahead of her was Dumbledore.
The old man had been watching all this, and he wouldn't deny that things had gone beyond what he expected, but he had managed to make things almost as he wanted.
"Headm..." Hermione was startled, but almost instantly she put that aside and ran forward in front of the headmaster, almost pushing him aside to make way.
Hermione had seen Red lying on the ground and she almost jumped on him, falling to her knees in front of him crying.
"No, no, no, no..!" She cried as she moved Red's body with her hands. "Wake up, Red! We won, Dumbledore is here, PLEASE WAKE UP!" She screamed in desperation, resting her head on Red's chest and crying louder shortly after, trying to wake him up with more force as she felt the world in front of her breaking apart. "H-he-he-headmaster... D-dumb-Dumbledore," she cried stuttering with the most pitiful look she had ever put on in her life, with tears and snot running down her face.
"Calm down, Miss Granger, everything is fine," Dumbledore tried to reassure the desperate girl, feeling a little bad to see her like this, but trying to put on his calmest attitude as he bent down to put his hands on her shoulder and calm her down.
"B-b-but he's not breathing," she said with a voice completely different from her own, a voice full of pain.
Dumbledore frowned at this. He had been keeping an eye on both children from start to finish, and there was no reason or way for something like this to happen. It made no sense. He turned to Harry and Red's bodies and examined them, a little worried that he might have missed something and messed up.
After checking that Harry was okay, he moved on to Red. Just as he thought, the boy wasn't dead, but there was something odd. His breathing was very low, which in her state of desperation Hermione easily confused with "not breathing," but there was also his pulse, it was almost nonexistent. Not only was his heart beating quite weakly and slowly, but the intervals between them were too long for any human to survive with them.
With a furrowed brow, he decided to first console the girl and take care of other things like the Philosopher's Stone and Harry before investigating Red's situation more thoroughly.
"Don't worry, Miss Granger, they're both alive, just... unconscious. We need to take them to the infirmary to recover," the old man smiled.
"Thank, thank, thank...!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly as she hugged Red's chest, still crying, but she was no longer on the brink of despair. Maybe she should even go to the infirmary for dehydration after this.