A pale and sickly man walked through the corridors of Hogwarts. It was late at night and the castle was sleeping, as were all of its inhabitants. But not this man, no, he had a task he had to complete and he would do anything he could to make sure it would be completed. This man was Professor Quirrell, the DADA Professor and the current vessel of Voldemort; Quirrell breathed heavily as he walked down the corridor, his body was in a constant state of agony and he was tempted to reach up to the necklace he had around his neck, but he chose not to as he knew that his master would not be happy if he so causally used their reserves.
Containing Voldemort's soul in his body was taxing and as he was not suitable as a Vessel his body started to break down the moment Voldemort entered inside of him. Unfortunately for Voldemort, there weren't very many people so easily give their body and their lives for him as he had lost many of his followers since his supposed death. This was the reason he had to make a deal with Grindelwald; normally he would never stoop so low as to make a deal with a rival Dark Lord, but in this case, he had no choice. Grindelwald commanded the flames of rebirth; this ability allowed him to summon Phoenix-like flames that we capable of healing any injuries.
Grindalwald had given Voldemort a necklace which he charged with his ability. It would provide him with healing if Quirrell's body broke down too much and became unusable, but it needed to be used sparingly as it was not often that the two could meet. This left Quirrell to bear the brunt of the pain that Voldemort was inflicting on the man, and unfortunately, this wasn't something that magic reversal could fix as the body was being decayed by its magic.
"My Lord... I've searched this floor entirely... I don't believe the ward stone is down here," Quirrell said as he leaned against a stone wall.
'Check again you fool, you must find the appropriate runes before Halloween or the real is off and I won't get the stone!' Voldemort shouted back to his minion, he didn't want the plan to fail due to Quirrell's incompetence. Voldemort's first plan was to use the Room of Requirement to form a path to the Wardstone, but it seemed that the castle protected itself rather well and so it led him to the dungeons rather than the room itself.
Voldemort took this to mean that the ward stone was located somewhere in the dungeons. They just needed to find it, and if that failed them there was always Plan C, which involved getting a certain young boy who was able to see magic as easily as he saw people.
'Continue looking, I'd rather we didn't compromise our identity so soon,' Voldemort ordered.
"Yes... My Lord," Quirrell said tiredly before he continued walking through the corridors casting and detecting charms wherever he could.
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Harry yawned as he leaned back in his chair. It had been a long first week of classes, but he had been learning a lot which he found exciting. His favourite class was duelling but he had to admit working on his magical technique had been fun; Susan loved Aries and asked to pet him every time she saw him, much to the Rams' dismay. Right now Harry was in the library with Hermione, they were completing the homework they received from Mrs McGonagall for transfiguration as well as the utility spells they were told to research for charms.
Hannah and Susan weren't with them as they refused to do Homework on a Saturday. Well, Hannah refused to, but then quickly dragged Susan off before she could form an opinion. Harry looked towards Hermione who was looking even worse than she did the first day he saw her; the bags around her eyes had grown and she was constantly yawning. He had also noticed that she shrunk back whenever she saw certain Gryffindors, as someone who used to be bullied it was pretty easy to recognise the warning signs.
He knew that Hermione would try to play it off as not being a big deal, but he wouldn't be having that. He had given her time to sort the situation out herself as she hadn't asked for help, but with things only looking worse, he decided it was about time he stepped in. "Get much sleep last night," Harry asked as he stopped leaning in his chair and put his arms on the table.
Hermione looked up from writing on her parchment and smiled weakly "It wasn't too bad... I think I'm just not used to sleeping away from home," She replied.
Harry nodded slowly "You have blisters on your hands, did you hurt yourself?" Harry asked.
Feeling a little self-conscious Hermione hid her hands under the table "I've just been cleaning a lot, my dorm room is a little messy," she said with a nervous laugh.
Harry raised an eyebrow "You get your own room in Gryffindor?" Harry asked.
Hermione grateful at the change of subject nodded "Apparently most houses do apart from Hufflepuff, as they think sharing with your housemates is 'fun'" she replied.
"But once we get into the third year and get a partner that'll change, and we will share with them," Hermione said in her educational tone.
"Ooooh, even if they aren't in your house?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded "They can choose whether to stay in one house or the other, or even another part of the castle, the goal is to build up bonds between the two," she replied.
Harry nodded with a smile, but then the smile quickly melted away from his face "So why have you hurt your hands, it looks like you've been holding your door shut at night, that would also explain why you're tired," Harry said abruptly.
The shock on Hermione's face let him know that he'd hit the nail right on the head. "N-No I-I.."
"Let me guess, Ron Weasley, umm the kid with the weird face and the kid with the Afro?" Harry asked, once again Hermione's facial expression changed letting him know that he was right.
For a moment neither of them talked, Hermione sat there looking down at the table, her long thick brown her forming a barrier between her and Harry. "Honestly Harry, it's not as bad as you think it is," she said trying to give him a reassuring smile. Harry raised an eyebrow at her which made her smile falter a bit.
Harry sighed before standing up out of his chair and walking around the table to where Hermione was sitting. Pulling the chair next to her he sat down. "Hermione, I'm going to tell you something that you need to hear but it might be a bit tough," he said in a calm and serious voice. Hermione just looked at him, she felt sweat form at the base of her neck as she was nervous at what he might say. She wouldn't be surprised if he decided to end their friendship, deciding that she was too high-maintenance a friend; especially since she couldn't seem to get any offensive spells right.
"It's not your fault..." he said making her freeze.
"W-What did you say..." she whispered out as her entire facade came crashing down.
"It's not your fault Hermione, you're a good person and you don't deserve to punish yourself like this, your family loved you and wouldn't wanna see you this way," Harry said softly.
Hermione sat there fidgeting as she tried to stop what came next, but in the end, she couldn't and while she tried to maintain a straight face tears came pouring out of her eyes. Harry pulled her close into a hug and Hermione began to weep "I miss them so much... I killed them Harry... I shouldn't be here... it should've got me," she cried out as she wept into his shoulder.
"Shhh, it's okay Hermione, let it out," Harry said as he stroked her back. For a while Hermione wept and told Harry all the reasons why it would've been better that she had died instead of her parents, Harry just sat there and listened as he rubbed her back. Eventually, the tears stopped coming and Hermione withdrew from the hug wiping her eyes as she did. "I'm glad you didn't die, Hermione," Harry said with a genuine smile.
"I would've never had the opportunity to meet my friend if you did," he said, which caused more tears to fall from Hermione's face as she believed she didn't deserve this.
Harry rubbed her back again which Hermione was beginning to enjoy very much. "If you die then who's there to make sure this doesn't happen to others?" Harry said which managed to snap Hermione out of her sadness. She had never considered that before, she had read about all the ridiculous rules made by the ministry which led to a situation like hers occurring; if nothing was done then this could happen again, to another family, another Hermione.
"Thank you, Harry..." Hermione said as the first genuine smile since she came here made its way onto her face.
"You can pay me back by telling me what's happening to you at night," Harry replied.
Hermione stiffened up slightly but relaxed. Harry hopefully wasn't one to overreact and so she felt like it might be okay to tell him —she didn't know him too well. "Ron and some of the others have been trying to get into my room at night, I'm not sure why, but I'm a light sleeper and I can hear them unlocking my door with a spell," she explained to Harry.
Harry frowned, there wasn't any good reason for a couple of guys to be breaking into a girl's room late at night. "Have you told your head of house yet?" He asked.
Hermione shook her head "I can't prove it was them who did it, since I was able to keep the door closed, just saying I recognised Ron's voice wouldn't be enough," She replied.
Harry frowned again, she was right, Harry doubted that they would take that as anything serious, but there was bound to be something they could do. Harry stood up from his seat walked over to the bookcase and started going through the different books until he found the one he was looking for and took it. Placing it on the table he smiled "Runes? That's a third-year course," Hermione stated.
"I won't tell if you don't," Harry said with a wink before opening the book. He then turned to Hermione "I'm going to do something now, can you promise me that you'll keep it a secret?" He asked.
"Of course!" Hermione said without hesitation. Harry was her only true friend at Hogwarts right now, there was no way she would do anything to break his trust.
Harry then took his glasses off and his emerald eyes shifted into the most beautiful crystal blue eyes Hermione had ever seen in her life. She was positively entranced by what she saw and found it difficult to look away. Luckily Harry looked away and he began reading the book at an extremely fast pace; Hermione had to wonder whether Harry was actually reading the book or just flipping through it like a child.
"Alright! That should do it, let's go!" Harry said with a smile as he grabbed Hermione from her seat and pulled her out of the library. They rushed through multiple corridors and up some steps before Harry paused. "I don't know where Gryffindor House is," he said while scratching his head.
Hermione just sighed before grabbing his hand and leading him in the right direction.
...
"Are you honestly trying to tell me that you read that whole book in less than a minute," Hermione said as she stood behind Harry with her arms crossed.
"That's exactly what I'm telling you," Harry replied as he drew out his wand, the tip of his wand started to glow a deep orange colour that started to glow brighter.
"Since I don't have a rune carving kit I'll have to make do with this, though the rune won't be permanent, at least that's what the book said," Harry stated as he began drawing runes onto Hermione's door.
Hermione looked at Harry incredulously, he was able to read a book in under a minute and yet he wasn't constantly trying to learn. She would be spending every second in the library if she was able to consume books at such a fast pace. "Let me guess, you're wondering why I don't read every book in the library when I can read so fast," Harry said with an amused expression on his face.
"Reading at such a speed overloads my short-term memory, so I won't be able to commit everything I've learned to memory, just what I'm reinforcing to my long-term, such as these runes and the carving technique," Harry explained.
"What exactly are you casting on my door?" Hermione asked curiously. She was interested in runes and would be picking it as one of her optional subjects in her third year.
"Oh just a little bit of this, a little bit of that," Harry said with a massive grin on his face. After Harry was done he stood up and smiled "They shouldn't be bothering you after this," Harry said as he sheathed his wand.
Hermione couldn't help herself and found herself hugging Harry tightly. To have someone care about you enough to get involved when they don't have to felt good; she couldn't believe she managed to make a friend like Harry and for the first time in a while she was thankful that she was alive.
"I hate to leave you, but my detention with Professor Black is starting soon, if I miss it she'll probably start moaning," Harry said with exasperation.
Hermione detached from him and nodded "Thank you again, Harry," She replied.
"What are friends for," Harry said with a smile before patting her on the head and heading out to leave the common room. Hermione stood there for a moment before going back into her room and closing the door; she went to her bed before lying down on it and for the first time in a while she found herself peacefully drifting off with a smile on her face.
...
Harry walked out of the Gryffindor common room and headed towards Professor Black's classroom with a sigh. He'd much rather be exploring the forbidden forest with Tonks than doing these stupid detentions, he had plenty of time to get stronger, and it wouldn't hurt to let him enjoy his first year. Harry smirked as he saw Ron Weasley walking up the steps to the common room, drawing his wand out he sent a jelly legs hex at him and he ended up tumbling down the steps and smacking his head on the ground.
'Ooof that was pretty hard,' Harry thought, but then shrugged his shoulders as he continued walking down the corridor to his lessons. The last time he was there she had started drilling into him various stunners and their applications as well as making him fight with his eyes unbound —which she soon regretted as it made him a lot harder to duel.
While Harry was lost in his thoughts he ended up bumping into someone. "Sorry mate," Harry said thoughtlessly as he walked past him. A moment later he shifted his head to the right as his instincts flared; a pebble shot past him and embedded itself into the wall down the corridor. Harry turned around with a grin on his face "That was pretty dangerous Neville, if I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to injure me," Harry said.
Neville who didn't expect him to avoid such a move scowled at Harry and clenched his fists. "I wouldn't want to end up like those Slytherins that keep showing up in the medical ward," Harry continued as his smile grew wider.
Neville was only seconds away from throwing a punch at Harry but luckily for both of them the door opened and Professor Black came outside her classroom. "Harry! You're late, get yourself inside we have a lot of work to do," She instructed.
Harry didn't listen to her and for a moment he kept looking at Neville. In truth he didn't know what his issue was, he seemed to hate everyone in Hogwarts, students and teachers alike, but when it came to Harry it seemed like the better he did in class the more pissed off Neville got. Harry would have to keep an eye on him as he was almost certain Neville was the one responsible for brutally beating the people in his house.
"Of course Professor, I'm coming," Harry said as he took his eyes off Neville.
In truth, Neville hated Harry for a very simple reason. He was everything that Neville wasn't; He was a magical prodigy, he was friendly, and he was liked by his peers. Neville hated it, he especially hated how well he did at magic —being able to pick things up first try— and yet he never tried at all, he did the bare minimum that was required of him. Neville had put Harry on his list right under Dumbledore's name, he didn't appreciate what he had so Neville would take it away from him.
"Professor, what's Neville's deal, why does he not use a wand," Harry asked.
Bellatrix who had just closed the door and was standing by her desk turned "Neville is a rare case of someone who is under a heavenly restriction, in exchange for most of his magic he is granted a superhuman body, he can still use spells but I believe he is limited to first-year spells only, and he'd have to try hard to use them," she explained.
"Why did he bother coming to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.
"That is something you'll have to ask him, now get ready," she said as she withdrew her wand.
(AN: Nothing more than building stuff up in this chapter. Why would Voldemort want the wardstone? Why has Neville got a list. I also had to nerf the Six Eyes a bit, I think if he was able to memorise a book that fast then things would be boring. So I introduced the informational overload which is part of canon, though when he learns RCT he'll be able to work around it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.)
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