0:00

Chapter 104 The Truth, Part 1 Riddles

0:06

and Answers June

0:10

13th, 1992 It

0:15

was the last week of school in Hogwarts,

0:17

and Professor Quirrell was still alive.

0:21

Barely.

0:22

The defence professor himself would be

0:24

in a healer's bed this day,

0:26

as he had been for almost the last week.

0:30

Hogwarts tradition said that exams

0:32

were given in the first week of June, that

0:35

exam results were released the second

0:37

week, and that in the third week

0:39

there would be the leave-taking feast

0:42

on Sunday, and the Hogwarts Express

0:45

transporting you to London on Monday.

0:49

Harry had wondered, a long time ago

0:51

when he'd first read about that schedule,

0:54

just what exactly the students

0:56

did during the rest of the

0:58

second week of June, since waiting

1:01

for exam results didn't sound

1:03

like much,

1:04

and the answer had surprised him

1:06

when he'd found out. But

1:10

now the second week of June was

1:12

done as well, and it

1:14

was Saturday.

1:15

There was nothing left of the year but the

1:18

leave-taking feast on the 14th, and

1:20

the Hogwarts Express ride on the 15th.

1:24

And nothing

1:27

had been answered. Nothing

1:30

had been resolved.

1:32

Hermione's killer hadn't been

1:34

found. Somehow

1:37

Harry had been thinking that, surely,

1:40

all the truth would come out by the end of the

1:42

school year.

1:43

Like that was the end of a mystery

1:46

novel, and the mystery's answer

1:48

had been promised him. Certainly

1:50

it had to be known by the time the defence

1:53

professor… died. It

1:56

couldn't be allowed for Professor Quirrell

1:58

to die without… without knowing

2:00

the answer,

2:02

without everything being neatly

2:04

resolved.

2:06

Not exam grades, certainly

2:09

not death. It was only

2:11

truth that finished a story.

2:15

But unless you bought

2:17

Draco Malfoy's latest theory that

2:19

Professor Sprout had been assigning and grading

2:22

less homework around the time of Hermione

2:24

being framed for attempted murder, thereby

2:27

proving that Professor Sprout had been spending

2:29

her time setting it up, the

2:32

truth remained unfound.

2:36

And instead, like

2:38

the world had priorities that were more

2:40

like other people's way of thinking, the

2:43

year was going to end with a climactic

2:46

Quidditch match.

2:49

In the air above the stadium, distant

2:52

figures on broomsticks swooped and pirouetted

2:55

and spun around each other.

2:57

The red purplish, truncated

3:00

tetrahedron that was the Quaffle was

3:02

caught, tossed, blocked, and

3:05

occasionally thrown through floating hoops,

3:07

accompanied by stadium-rocking cries

3:10

of triumph or dismay.

3:12

Blue and green and yellow

3:14

and red-trimmed robes shouted with

3:17

enthusiasm that people felt so

3:19

easily when no action would be required

3:21

from them personally.

3:24

It was the first Quidditch match

3:26

Harry had attended at Hogwarts, and

3:29

had already decided that it would be

3:31

the last.

3:33

Davies has the Quaffle! shouted

3:35

the amplified voice of Lee Jordan. That's

3:38

another ten points for Ravenclaw in

3:40

seven, six, five,

3:43

holy smokes he's done it already!

3:46

Smack through the centre of the central

3:48

hoop! I've never seen such a

3:50

winning streak! I'm calling it right now

3:52

for Davies becoming captain next year

3:54

after Bolton steps down!

3:57

Lee's voice cut out abruptly and

3:59

Professor The Conical's own amplified

4:01

voice said, This

4:04

the Ravenclaw team's own business,

4:06

Mr. Jordan. Confine

4:08

yourself to the match, please.

4:11

And the Slytherins take position. Flint hands

4:14

off the Quavul to the lovely... Mr.

4:16

Jordan! To the merely

4:18

acceptable Sharon Viscato, whose hair

4:21

trails behind her like a comet as she blazes

4:23

toward the Ravenclaw defense. Now with two

4:25

blood is enclosed pursuit, Pucys on

4:27

Sharon's tail. What are you doing,

4:30

Ingleby? And she swerves in

4:32

mid-air to a wha... Is that the snitch?

4:35

Go, Cho-Cha, go! Higgs is already...

4:38

What are you two doing? Came

4:41

to you, Mr. Jordan. How

4:43

am I supposed to calm down? That

4:46

was the worst misplay I've ever

4:48

seen. And the snitch is gone.

4:51

Maybe gone for good after being missed that badly.

4:54

Pucys heading up towards the goal post. Ingleby's

4:56

nowhere near him!

4:59

In a distant era of history,

5:01

maybe in another world entirely,

5:04

Professor Quirrell had undertaken that

5:06

the House Cup would be awarded to

5:08

either Slytherin or Ravenclaw.

5:11

Or possibly somehow both.

5:14

For he had promised that three

5:17

wishes would be granted.

5:19

So far, it was looking good

5:21

on two out of three.

5:23

If you just went by the current score,

5:26

Hufflepuff was leading the race for the House

5:28

Cup by something like 500 points,

5:31

thanks to Hufflepuff's students doing

5:33

their homework and staying out

5:35

of trouble.

5:37

It appeared that Professor Snape had

5:39

been strategically taking quite

5:41

a lot of points from Hufflepuff for, uh,

5:44

the last seven years or so?

5:47

His Slytherin House, reigning champion

5:50

for the last seven years, still

5:52

had to its advantage a certain... generosity

5:56

of its head of House in handing out points. And

5:59

this was surprising. to put it neck and neck

6:01

with Ravenclaw House, home of

6:03

the academic achievers. Gryffindor

6:07

was far behind in the last place, as

6:09

befit the house of non-conformists.

6:13

Gryffindor had Slytherin's profile

6:15

when it came to academics and mischief only

6:18

without the advantage of Professor Snape.

6:21

Even Fred and George had barely

6:23

broken even on the year.

6:26

Ravenclaw House and Slytherin House both

6:28

needed a lot of points from somewhere

6:31

if either wanted to catch up with Hufflepuff

6:33

in the next two days.

6:36

And so far as anyone knew, Professor

6:39

Quirrell hadn't done a single thing

6:42

leading to the obvious result. It

6:44

was happening all by itself, now

6:47

that one lone professor in Hogwarts

6:49

had taught a class with creative

6:52

problem-solving.

6:54

The final Quidditch match of the year was

6:56

between Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

6:59

Earlier in the year, Gryffindor's initial

7:02

Quidditch lead had vanished after their

7:04

new seeker, Emmett Shear, fell

7:07

off a possibly malfunctioning broomstick

7:09

during his second game.

7:11

This had also required some hasty

7:13

rescheduling of the remaining games. This,

7:17

the final game of the year, wouldn't

7:19

end until the snitch was

7:22

caught.

7:23

Quidditch scores added directly

7:26

onto the house points total. And

7:29

what did you know?

7:31

Today it seemed that both the Slytherin

7:33

and Ravenclaw seekers just

7:36

could not catch

7:39

the snitch. The

7:41

snitch was practically on top of you,

7:43

you demise dimwit! Language,

7:46

Mr. Jordan, I'll remove you

7:48

from this game. No, it

7:51

was a terrible play, I

7:53

admit. Harry had

7:55

to admit that Lee Jordan and Professor

7:57

McGonagall had a wonderful conversation. mid-ick

8:00

routine, with Jordan as

8:02

the banana man and Professor McGonagall

8:04

as the straight woman. Harry

8:06

now felt a little sorry to have missed

8:09

it at the earlier Quidditch matches.

8:11

It was a side of Professor McGonagall

8:13

he hadn't seen before.

8:16

A few seats down from where Harry sat

8:18

in the Hufflepuff section of the Quidditch stands,

8:21

there lurked the hulking form of

8:23

Cedric Diggory.

8:25

The super Hufflepuff had observed

8:27

the most recent near-air collision

8:29

between Cho Chang and Terrence Higgs

8:32

with the keen eye of a wizard who was

8:34

a seeker and a Quidditch captain

8:36

in his own right.

8:38

The Ravenclaw seekers knew, Cedric

8:41

said, but Higgs is in his seventh

8:43

year. I've played against him. He's

8:46

better than that. You

8:48

think it's a strategy? asked

8:50

one of the Hufflepuff sitting next to Cedric. It

8:54

would make sense if Slytherin needed some extra

8:56

points to lead for the Quidditch Cup. Cedric

8:59

said, but Slytherin already

9:01

has us beat for the title. What are

9:03

they thinking? They could have won

9:05

right there. The

9:07

game had started at six o'clock in the

9:09

afternoon. A typical game

9:11

would have gone until seven or so, at

9:14

which point it would have been time for dinner.

9:17

June in Scotland meant plenty

9:19

of daylight. Sunset wasn't

9:22

until ten.

9:23

It was at eight p.m.

9:26

and six minutes, according to Harry's

9:29

Watch, when Slytherin had just scored

9:31

another ten points, bringing

9:33

the score to 170 to 140 when Cedric Diggory leapt

9:36

out of his seat and shouted,

9:37

Those

9:42

bastards!

9:44

Yeah! cried a young

9:46

boy beside him, leaping to his own feet.

9:49

Who do they think they are, scoring points?

9:52

Not that! cried Cedric

9:55

Diggory. They're... they're

9:57

trying to steal the cup from us! But

10:01

we're not in the running anymore for… not

10:04

the Quidditch Cup, the House

10:06

Cup!" The word

10:08

spread with cries of outrage.

10:12

That was Harry's cue.

10:15

Harry politely asked a Hufflepuff

10:17

Witch sitting next to him, and another

10:19

Hufflepuff sitting one row above him if

10:21

they could move aside. Then

10:24

Harry drew forth from his pouch a huge

10:27

scroll, and unfurled it into

10:29

a two-meter-tall banner which

10:31

stuck in place in mid-air.

10:35

The enchantment had been done courtesy

10:37

of a sixth-year Ravenclaw who had

10:40

a reputation for knowing less about Quidditch

10:42

than Harry did.

10:44

In huge, glowing purple

10:46

letters, the sign read, Just

10:50

by a clock to 0647.

10:55

Beneath it was a snitch with a blinking

10:58

red X over it. Second

11:03

after second after second,

11:06

the time counter incremented.

11:09

As the counter rose higher, there

11:12

seemed to be an awful lot of Hufflepuffs

11:14

who'd decided that they wanted to sit

11:16

next to Harry's banner.

11:19

As the game dragged on past nine,

11:22

there also seemed to be a lot of Gryffindors.

11:27

As the sun set, and

11:29

Harry started using Lumos to read

11:31

his books, it'd given up on the

11:33

actual game a long time ago. There

11:36

were a noticeable number of Ravenclaws

11:38

who'd betrayed patriotism for sanity,

11:41

and Professor Sinestra, and

11:44

Professor Vector, and

11:47

as the stars began to come out,

11:50

Professor Flitwick. The

11:52

climactic final Quidditch game

11:54

of the year dragged on.

12:00

Other things Harry hadn't planned on, when

12:02

he'd decided to do this, was that he

12:04

would still be out here.

12:07

Harry glanced at his watch, 11.04 at

12:09

night.

12:11

Harry was now reading a sixth-year

12:13

Transfiguration textbook, or

12:16

rather, he'd weeded the book open, illuminated

12:19

by a muggle glowstick, while he

12:21

did one of the exercises.

12:24

Last week, when the graduating

12:26

Ravenclaws were discussing their NEWT

12:29

scores, Harry had overheard

12:31

that upper-year Transfiguration practice

12:34

involved several shaping

12:36

exercises,

12:37

that relied more on control and

12:40

precise thinking than raw power. And

12:43

Harry had promptly set out to learn

12:46

those, whacking himself hard

12:48

on the forehead for not trying to read all

12:51

the later-year textbooks earlier.

12:54

Professor McGonagall had approved Harry doing

12:57

a shaping exercise that involved controlling

12:59

the way in which a transfiguring

13:01

object approached its final form.

13:04

For example, transfiguring

13:06

a quill so that the shaft grew

13:09

out first, then the barbs.

13:12

Harry was doing an analogous exercise

13:15

with pencils, growing out the lead

13:17

first, then surrounding it with

13:19

wood, and finally having the

13:21

eraser form on top. As

13:24

Harry had suspected, focusing

13:26

his attention and magic into a particular

13:29

part of the pencil's ongoing transformation

13:32

had proven similar to the mental

13:34

discipline used in partial Transfiguration,

13:37

which could indeed have been

13:40

used to fake the same effect, by

13:42

partially transfiguring only the outer

13:45

layers of the object.

13:47

This way was proving relatively

13:49

easier, though.

13:51

Harry finished his current pencil and

13:53

looked up at the Quidditch game, which was,

13:56

check, still fantastically

13:58

boring.

14:00

Lee Jordan was commentating in a

14:02

tone of dull disgust. Another

14:05

ten points! Yay! Whoopee!

14:08

And now someone takes possession of the Quaffle

14:10

again! Ask if I care

14:12

who!

14:14

Almost nobody remaining in the stands

14:16

was paying attention either, since

14:19

everyone who'd remained in the stadium

14:21

seemed to have discovered a new and more

14:23

interesting sport. The debate

14:26

about how to amend the House Cup

14:28

rules and or

14:30

Quidditch. The argument

14:33

had begun heated to the point where all

14:35

of the nearby professors were barely keeping

14:37

order at a level short of open combat.

14:40

This argument, unfortunately,

14:43

had considerably more than

14:45

two factions.

14:47

Some darned busybodies

14:49

were proposing sensible-sounding alternatives

14:52

to eliminating the snitch entirely, and

14:54

this was threatening to split the vote

14:57

and sap the momentum for reform.

14:59

In retrospect, Harry thought it

15:02

would have been nice to have Draco unfurl

15:04

his own banner from the Slytherin side,

15:06

saying,

15:07

Snitches are awesome!

15:10

To set the polarity of the debate. Harry

15:15

had squinted over at the Slytherin section

15:17

earlier, but he hadn't been able to

15:19

spot Draco anywhere in the stands.

15:22

Severus Snape, who could also

15:25

have been sympathetic enough to play the

15:27

villainous opposition, was likewise

15:30

nowhere to be seen.

15:32

Mr. Potter! said

15:34

a voice next to him.

15:36

Beside Harry's seat was standing a short

15:39

but older Hufflepuff boy, someone

15:41

who'd never before come to Harry's attention,

15:44

holding out a blank parchment

15:46

envelope with wax stripped on the front.

15:49

The wax was also blank,

15:52

without impression. What

15:55

is it? said Harry. It's

15:59

me. said the boy. With

16:01

the envelope you gave me, I

16:04

know you said not to talk to you, but then

16:06

don't talk to me, Harry

16:08

said. The boy tossed

16:11

the envelope at Harry and walked away, looking

16:13

offended. It made

16:16

Harry wince a little, but it probably

16:18

hadn't been the wrong decision considering

16:20

the temporal issues.

16:23

Then Harry broke the unsigned

16:26

wax seal and drew out the envelope's

16:28

contents. It was parchment

16:31

instead of the muggle paper that Harry would

16:33

have expected, but the writing

16:35

on it was his own handwriting, if

16:38

done with a quill instead of a pen.

16:41

The parchment said,

16:43

Beware the constellation

16:46

and help the watcher of stars.

16:49

Pass unseen by the life-eater's

16:52

confederates

16:53

and by the wise and the

16:55

well-meaning. Six and

16:58

seven in a square in the place

17:00

that is prohibited and bloody

17:02

stupid.

17:04

Harry took it in at a glance, then

17:07

folded the paper again and put it back

17:09

into his cloak with another exhaled

17:12

sigh.

17:13

Beware

17:15

the constellation, really?

17:18

Harry would have

17:20

expected a riddle left by himself, to

17:23

himself, to have been easier

17:25

to interpret, though

17:27

some parts were obvious enough.

17:30

Clearly, future Harry had been

17:33

worried about this paper being intercepted,

17:36

and while present Harry wouldn't ordinarily

17:38

have thought of the local auras as the

17:41

ones in league with the dementors of Azkaban,

17:44

maybe that had been the best way to say

17:46

aura without potentially

17:48

tipping off anyone else who read the parchment

17:51

and did their own best to decrypt it.

17:54

Translating the idiom back

17:56

out of the parseltongue he'd used during

17:58

the incident with Azkaban, ban. That

18:02

worked, Harry supposed.

18:05

The note had said that Professor Quirrell

18:07

needed help, and that whatever

18:09

was going on needed to pass unnoticed

18:12

from the Aurors, and from

18:14

Dumbledore and McGonagall and

18:16

Flitwick. Since time

18:18

turning was involved already, the obvious

18:20

solution was to leave for the Lou, travel

18:23

back in time, and return to the game

18:25

right after he had left.

18:28

Harry started to rise from his

18:30

seat, then hesitated.

18:32

His Hufflepuff

18:34

side was remarking something about leaving

18:36

the Auror escorts behind and not

18:39

telling Professor McGonagall anything, and

18:41

wondering if his future self

18:43

was being stupid.

18:47

Harry unfolded the parchment again,

18:49

and took another glance at the contents. On

18:53

closer examination, the Riddleverse

18:55

didn't say that Harry couldn't bring

18:58

anyone along.

19:00

Draco Malfoy, was

19:02

he missing from the Quidditch game

19:04

because future Harry, hours

19:07

in the past, had brought Draco

19:09

with him as backup.

19:12

But that didn't make sense.

19:15

There wasn't much marginal improvement

19:17

in safety from bringing along another

19:20

first year.

19:22

Draco Malfoy would certainly

19:24

have been present, regardless

19:26

of his personal feelings about Quidditch, to

19:29

watch Slytherin clinch the

19:31

House Cup.

19:33

Had something happened to

19:35

him? Suddenly,

19:38

Harry didn't feel as

19:40

tired anymore. A

19:42

trickle of adrenaline

19:45

was starting to rise in Harry. But

19:49

no, this wouldn't be like

19:51

the troll. The message

19:53

had told Harry when to arrive. Harry

19:55

wouldn't be too late. Not

20:00

this time.

20:02

He glanced over at where Cedric Diggory

20:04

was looking back and forth, visibly

20:06

torn between a clutch of Ravenclaws

20:09

arguing that the snitch had to be kept because

20:11

it was traditional and rules were rules,

20:14

and a pack of Hufflepuffs saying that it wasn't

20:16

fair for the seeker to be more important

20:18

than the other players.

20:21

Cedric Diggory had been

20:23

an excellent dueling tutor to Harry

20:25

and Neville, and Harry

20:27

had thought they'd established a good

20:29

relationship.

20:31

More importantly, a student

20:33

taking literally all of the electives

20:36

would have his own time turner.

20:39

Maybe Harry could try to get Cedric

20:41

to go back in time with him.

20:44

The super Hufflepuff seemed like

20:46

a good spare want to have by your side

20:48

in any sort of sticky situation.

20:53

Later, and earlier.

20:56

Harry's watch now said 11.45, which

20:59

translated to 6.45pm after looping back five hours.

21:08

It's time.

21:10

Harry murmured to the empty air

21:13

and began walking down the third

21:16

floor corridor above the grand staircase

21:19

on the right hand side.

21:22

The place that is prohibited

21:25

would ordinarily mean the Forbidden Forest. That

21:28

was probably what someone intercepting

21:30

the message was meant to think.

21:33

But the Forbidden Forest

21:35

was huge, and there

21:37

was more than one distinguished location

21:40

inside it.

21:42

No obvious shelling point

21:44

at which to rendezvous or find

21:46

some event that needed intervention. But

21:50

when you added the bloody stupid

21:53

modifier, there was only one

21:55

prohibited place in Hogwarts that fit.

21:58

And so... Harry

22:01

set forth on that outlawed

22:03

path where, if rumour spoke

22:05

true, all the first-year Gryffindors

22:08

had gone before. The

22:10

third-floor corridor,

22:12

on the right-hand side, a

22:15

mysterious door leading to

22:17

a series of rooms filled with dangerous

22:19

and potentially lethal traps that

22:22

nobody could possibly get through, especially

22:25

if they were only in their first year.

22:29

Harry didn't know himself what

22:31

sort of traps awaited, which,

22:34

on reflection, meant that the students

22:36

who had gone through had been surprisingly

22:38

scrupulous about not ruining the puzzle

22:40

for others. Maybe

22:43

there was a sign down there saying,

22:45

Don't give it away, just

22:48

as a favour to me, sincerely,

22:51

headmaster Dumbledore.

22:54

All Harry knew so far was that

22:57

the outer door would open to

22:59

Alohamora, and that the final

23:01

room contained a magic mirror that

23:03

would show your reflection in some situation

23:06

you found highly appealing, which

23:08

was apparently a big payoff.

23:12

The third-floor corridor was

23:14

illuminated by dim blue light

23:16

that seemed to come from nowhere, and

23:19

the arches were covered with cobwebs,

23:22

as though the corridor hadn't been used

23:24

in centuries rather than just

23:26

in the last year.

23:28

Harry's pouch was loaded with

23:31

useful muggle things, and

23:33

useful wizarding things, and

23:36

everything he'd found that could possibly

23:38

be a quest item.

23:40

Harry had asked Professor McGonagall

23:42

to recommend someone who could expand the

23:44

pouch's capacity, and she'd

23:46

just done it herself.

23:48

Harry had applied the charm he'd learned

23:51

from battles that made his glasses stick

23:53

to his face, regardless of how

23:55

his head moved.

23:57

Harry had refreshed the transfigurations

23:59

he wanted.

23:59

was maintaining,

24:01

both the tiny jewel in the ring on his hand,

24:04

and the other one, in case

24:06

he was knocked unconscious.

24:08

He wasn't literally ready

24:11

for anything, but Harry was

24:13

as ready as he thought he could be. The

24:16

five-sided floor tiles

24:18

creaked beneath Harry's shoes and

24:20

vanished behind him like the future

24:23

becoming the past.

24:25

It was almost 649. Six

24:29

and seven in a square. Obvious

24:32

if you thought in muggle math, otherwise not

24:34

so much. Just

24:37

as Harry was about to round another corner,

24:40

something tickled at the back of his

24:42

mind,

24:43

and he heard a soft voice

24:45

talking. Sensible

24:48

person. Wait

24:51

until later, after

24:53

a certain faculty had departed.

24:58

Harry stopped, then crept

25:00

forward as lightly as he could, not

25:03

going around the corner, trying

25:05

to hear Professor Quirrell's voice better.

25:09

There came a louder cough,

25:11

and then the soft voice spoke again

25:14

from around the corner. But

25:17

if they were also to

25:20

depart themselves at

25:23

the time, murmured the

25:25

voice, they might

25:27

think this final

25:30

game makes for

25:32

the best distraction

25:34

left in this year. A

25:38

predictable distraction. So

25:42

I looked to see what

25:45

people of significance

25:47

were not at

25:49

the game, and I

25:52

saw the headmaster missing,

25:55

for all my magic

25:58

tell me he could be

26:00

in another realm of existence.

26:04

I also saw your

26:06

own absence, so I

26:09

decided to go where

26:11

you were. This

26:15

is what I am doing

26:17

here. Now, what are you

26:19

doing here?" Harry

26:27

breathed shallowly and listened. Harry,

26:32

just how did you know

26:34

where I was? Drooled

26:37

the voice of Severus Snape, so much

26:39

louder that Harry nearly jumped. A

26:42

small coughing laugh. Check

26:48

your wand for

26:51

Trace.

26:54

Severus said something in magical

26:56

pseudo-Latin and then, you

27:00

dare tamper with my

27:03

wand? You dead! You

27:06

are a suspect,

27:10

just like myself,

27:13

so your false indignation

27:16

is wasted. However

27:19

finely crafted it may be. Now,

27:23

tell me, what are

27:26

you doing?"

27:29

I am watching

27:31

this door, said

27:34

the voice of Professor Snape, and

27:37

I will ask you to be

27:40

off from it. But on

27:43

whose authority

27:45

are you ordering

27:48

me, my

27:49

fellow Professor?

27:53

There was a pause then.

27:55

Why, the Headmasters. Came

28:00

the smooth voice of Severus Snape.

28:04

I was ordered by him to watch

28:07

this door during the Quidditch

28:09

match, and as a professor

28:13

I must obey his whims.

28:17

I shall have words about it with

28:19

the Board of Governors later,

28:22

but for now I am doing

28:25

as I must. Now

28:28

be off with your, as the

28:30

Headmaster desires. What?

28:34

You mean I am to

28:37

believe that you

28:40

abandoned your Slytherins

28:43

during their most important

28:47

game of the year, and

28:50

leapt up like a

28:53

dog

28:54

at Dumbledore's word?

28:58

Well, that, I must say, is

29:04

entirely plausible, even

29:08

so. I think it

29:10

would be wise if

29:13

I kept my own watch

29:15

over you while

29:17

you watch this fine

29:21

door.

29:23

There was a sound of rustling cloth

29:25

and a soft thud,

29:27

as if someone had sat down hard

29:29

upon the ground,

29:31

or maybe just fallen. Oh,

29:34

for the love of Merlin! Severus

29:37

Snape's voice now sounded angry. Get

29:41

up, you... Blah

29:43

blah blah blah blah blah blah... said

29:48

the Defence Professor's Zombie mode.

29:52

Get up! said

29:55

Severus Snape, and there was

29:57

a soft thud. Hell...

30:00

the Watcher of Stars."

30:04

Harry stepped around the corner,

30:06

though it was possible that he'd have done so

30:09

even without an intertemporal message.

30:12

And Professor Snape just

30:15

kicked Professor Quirrell. That

30:18

would have been foolhardy if Professor

30:20

Quirrell had been dead and buried. A round-topped

30:25

door of dark wood was framed

30:28

within a stone arch, set

30:30

within the dusty marble

30:32

bricks of Hogwarts.

30:34

Where a muggle would have set a doorknob,

30:37

there was only a handle of polished

30:40

metal.

30:41

There were no visible locks

30:44

or visible keyholes. Set

30:47

upon the wall to either side,

30:49

a pair of torches burned,

30:53

sending forth an ominous orange

30:56

glow.

30:57

Before the door stood the

31:00

potions master in his customary

31:02

stained robes.

31:04

Beside the door,

31:06

to the left side beneath the orange

31:08

torch, slumped the form of

31:10

the Defense Professor,

31:12

back against the wall, head

31:14

staring out at the surroundings. The

31:18

eyes seemed to flicker, as if

31:20

halfway between awareness and

31:23

emptiness. "'What?'

31:26

said the towering form of the potions

31:28

master. "'A-j-j-doing,

31:32

there, Potter.'

31:34

Going by facial expressions and

31:36

tone of voice, the potions master

31:39

was quite angry with Harry, and

31:42

certainly was not Harry's co-conspirator

31:45

in councils to which the Defense Professor

31:47

had never been invited.

31:50

"'I'm not sure,'

31:53

Harry

31:53

said. He

31:55

wasn't sure what role he

31:57

should be playing, and was...' in

32:00

desperation, falling back on

32:02

simple honesty. I

32:05

think perhaps I'm supposed to keep an

32:07

eye on the defence professor. The

32:10

potions master stared at him coldly.

32:14

Where is your escort,

32:17

Potter? Students are

32:19

not to wander these halls alone.

32:23

Harry's mind was genuinely

32:26

blank. The game was

32:28

afoot, and nobody had

32:30

told him the rules. I'm

32:33

not sure how to answer that. The

32:37

cold expression on Professor Snape's face

32:40

flickered. Perhaps

32:43

I should call the auras, he

32:45

said. Wait! Harry

32:48

blurted.

32:50

The potions master's hand hovered

32:52

about his robes.

32:54

Well, said

32:56

the potions master. I…

33:01

I just think you probably shouldn't

33:03

call them.

33:05

In a blur, the potions master wand

33:08

was in his hand.

33:10

Nollus confundia!

33:13

A black jet darted out and

33:15

hit Harry, striking in the direction

33:17

Harry had already started to evade. There

33:20

followed four other spells, containing

33:23

words like polyfluous and

33:26

metamorphous, and for those,

33:28

Harry politely stood still.

33:31

After all of those spells had failed

33:34

to produce any effect, Severus

33:36

Snape was staring at Harry with a dark

33:39

glitter that now seemed

33:41

genuine.

33:43

I suggest,

33:46

the potions master said softly, that

33:49

you explain yourself,

33:53

Potter. I

33:55

can't explain myself, Harry

33:58

said. We don't have

34:00

the time. Not yet."

34:05

Harry looked directly into the Potion

34:07

Master's gaze as he said

34:09

the words, myself, and

34:11

time, widening his own eyes

34:14

to try to convey the key information.

34:17

And the Potion's Master hesitated.

34:21

Harry was frantically trying to

34:23

work out who was pretending to

34:25

be what.

34:27

As Professor Quirrell wasn't in on

34:29

Dumbledore's conspiracy, Severus

34:31

was pretending to be the evil

34:33

Potion's Master of Hogwarts, who'd

34:36

been sent here by the Headmaster,

34:39

and might, or

34:41

might not have actually been

34:43

sent here by Dumbledore.

34:45

But Professor Quirrell either

34:47

thought, or was pretending

34:50

to think, that someone needed

34:52

to keep an eye on Professor Snape. And

34:56

Harry himself had been sent

34:58

here by future Harry and had

35:00

no idea why.

35:03

And why were they all standing

35:05

outside the Headmaster's forbidden door

35:07

in the first place? And

35:11

then,

35:12

from behind where Harry

35:14

stood,

35:15

came the growing sound of another

35:17

set of footsteps, rapid and

35:20

manifold.

35:23

Professor Snape stabbed his wand

35:25

once, creating a burst of darkness

35:27

that shrouded where the defence professor

35:30

was lying.

35:31

Muffly-utter, the

35:33

Potion's Master hissed. Mr

35:36

Potter, if you must be here, then

35:38

hide. Put on your

35:40

invisibility cloak. My

35:43

duty is to guard this door in case

35:45

he comes here, and

35:48

there has been a disturbance

35:52

meant to draw the Headmaster, he thinks.

35:57

Oh!

35:58

Severus took a long stride for the headmaster.

35:59

forward and snapped his wand against

36:02

the side of Harry's head.

36:04

There was a trickling sensation like

36:06

an egg had been cracked over him, the

36:08

feeling of a disillusionment charm, and

36:11

Harry's hands faded out, followed

36:14

by the rest of him. The

36:17

darkness shrouding one side

36:19

of the wall dissipated like slow

36:21

mist, and there was again

36:23

visible the huddled form of the defence

36:25

professor,

36:26

who said nothing.

36:29

Harry tiptoed away as quietly

36:32

as he could, then turned to

36:34

watch.

36:36

The approaching footsteps rounded

36:38

the corner.

36:39

What are you doing here? came many

36:42

simultaneous cries.

36:44

Trimmed in three sets of Slytherin

36:47

green and one Hufflepuff yellow

36:49

stood Theodore Knott, Daphne

36:52

Greengrass, Susan Bones, and

36:55

Tracy Davis.

36:57

Where? said

36:59

Professor Snape with mounting wrath. Are

37:03

your escorts children?

37:06

First years must be accompanied

37:08

by a sixth or seventh year

37:11

student at all times,

37:13

especially you.

37:17

Theodore Knott raised his hand.

37:20

We are, um, said

37:22

Theodore Knott. We are

37:24

doing what the Chaos Legion calls

37:26

a team building exercise. See,

37:30

we realised just now that none of us had

37:32

tried the headmaster's forbidden chamber yet,

37:35

and there wasn't much time left, and Harry

37:37

Potter has authorised it, Professor. He said

37:40

specifically that you mustn't

37:42

interfere.

37:43

Severus Snape turned to glance

37:46

over it where Harry Potter had tiptoed.

37:49

A storm seemed to be gathering

37:51

on his brow and a dark fury

37:54

in his eyes. I...

37:58

maybe... There

38:00

was still one hour left on Harry's

38:02

time turner, so it was

38:04

possible. Harry

38:07

Potter does not have

38:09

that authority.

38:12

The potions master said in a deceptively

38:15

mild tone.

38:17

Explain yourselves now.

38:22

Really? Said the form

38:24

of Susan Bones. Really?

38:27

You're telling Professor Snape that

38:30

Harry Potter authorised the

38:32

mission? That's your idea

38:34

of a bluff.

38:36

The young Hufflepuff turned to Professor

38:38

Snape and spoke, a voice strangely

38:40

firm. Professor, this

38:43

is the truth and it's urgent. Draco

38:46

Malfoy is missing and we think

38:48

he went down there.

38:51

If Mr. Malfoy

38:53

is missing, said

38:55

Professor Snape, why

38:58

have the auras not been notified? Because

39:04

of... because of

39:06

reasons, cried Daphne

39:08

Greengrass. There's no

39:11

time. You've got to let us through.

39:15

Professor Snape's voice was now as sardonic

39:18

as Harry had ever heard it. Are

39:21

you four morons

39:24

under the impression that you

39:26

are on some sort of adventure?

39:28

Well,

39:32

you are mistaken.

39:35

I assure you that Mr. Malfoy

39:37

has not passed through

39:39

this door.

39:41

We think Mr. Malfoy has an invisibility

39:44

cloak. Susan Bones

39:46

said rapidly. Do you remember

39:49

the door seeming to open for no reason? No,

39:54

the potions master said. Now

39:57

be gone from here. This

39:59

place is not here. This is off limits for

40:01

today. This

40:04

is Dumbledore's forbidden corridor.

40:08

Tracy said. The headmaster

40:10

himself said nobody was to come here.

40:13

Who do you think you are forbidding

40:15

it to?

40:17

Miss Davis said

40:20

the potions master. You

40:22

need to stop associating with

40:24

Gryffindors.

40:26

Especially those named

40:29

Lavender Brown. And

40:31

if you are still here in one minute,

40:35

I will file papers requesting

40:38

your transfer into that

40:41

house.

40:43

You wouldn't dare! Shreaked

40:46

Tracy. Susan

40:50

Bone said her face screwed

40:52

up in concentration. Professor

40:55

Snape! Do you occasionally

40:57

open the door yourself to check

40:59

on whatever's inside?

41:02

Professor Snape froze in place.

41:05

Then he spun and put

41:08

his right hand on the metal knocker.

41:11

Harry was watching the hand on

41:14

the knocker, so he didn't notice

41:16

what Professor Snape was doing with his

41:18

left hand until he heard

41:20

the sudden outcry.

41:23

No, in fact,

41:26

said Professor Snape, now holding

41:29

the choking head of Draco Malfoy

41:32

by his collar,

41:33

though the rest of Draco was still underneath

41:36

his invisibility cloak. A

41:39

fine try, though. What?

41:44

Cried Tracy and Daphne.

41:47

Susan Bones hit herself in

41:49

the forehead. I

41:51

can't believe I fell for that. So,

41:57

Mr. Malfoy. Professor

42:00

Snape said. His voice had lowered.

42:04

You sent your friend here

42:06

on a ruse, just

42:09

in the hopes that you could pass through

42:12

this door.

42:14

Now, why would you

42:17

do that? I

42:22

think we should trust him, said Theodore

42:24

Knott. Mr. Malfoy, we've

42:26

got to trust him. He's the one

42:29

professor who would take our side. No!

42:33

cried Draco's floating head from where

42:35

Professor Snape was still grasping his collar.

42:38

You mustn't say anything.

42:41

Stop! We've

42:43

got to take the chance,

42:46

yelled Theodore.

42:48

Professor Snape, Mr. Malfoy

42:50

finally worked out what's been going on this whole

42:52

year and why… Dumbledore

42:54

is trying to get the Philosopher's Stone away

42:57

from Nicholas Flamel, because Dumbledore

42:59

doesn't think anyone ought to have immortality.

43:02

So, Dumbledore tried to convince

43:04

Flamel that the Dark Lord was coming back

43:07

and needed the stone to revive, and

43:09

asked Flamel to give it to him. But

43:12

Flamel wouldn't, and instead Flamel

43:14

put the stone in the magic mirror that's down

43:16

there, and Dumbledore is finding

43:18

out right now how to get it and then

43:20

he'll come for it and we've got to

43:22

get to it first. Dumbledore

43:24

really will be all

43:26

powerful if he gets the Philosopher's Stone.

43:28

What?

43:31

said Tracey. That's not

43:33

what you said before. It,

43:37

Daphne said.

43:39

She looked frightened but determined.

43:42

It doesn't matter. Professor

43:45

Snape, please, you have

43:47

to believe me. I looked

43:49

at the book Hermione checked out of the library and

43:51

she was researching the Philosopher's Stone just

43:54

before someone killed her. Her

43:56

notes said that something dangerous might

43:58

happen if the stone's still there. stays inside the

44:01

mirror too long. We have to get

44:03

it out of the castle right away."

44:06

Susan Bones now had both

44:08

hands over her face.

44:11

I'm not with them. I

44:13

just came along to prevent anything even

44:15

stupider from happening. Severus

44:18

Snape was staring at Theodore

44:21

Knott and the others. Then

44:23

he turned his head to look at Draco

44:25

Malfoy. "'Mr.

44:28

Malfoy," the potions

44:30

master drawled, "'How

44:33

did you come to discover Dumbledore's

44:37

plot?'" "'I

44:39

deduced it from evidence,'

44:43

said Draco Malfoy's floating head.

44:46

Professor Snape's head swiveled back

44:48

to Theodore Knott.

44:51

"'How did you intend

44:53

to obtain this stone

44:56

from inside a magic mirror that

44:59

could supposedly baffle

45:01

Dumbledore himself?

45:04

Answer me at once.'"

45:07

"'We're going to take the whole mirror and

45:09

send it back to Flamel,' said

45:12

Theodore Knott. "'It's not like we

45:14

want the stone for ourselves. We just

45:16

need to stop Dumbledore from stealing it.'

45:19

Professor Snape nodded, as

45:22

though confirming something, and

45:24

turned his head to look at the other students.

45:26

"'Tell

45:28

me, have

45:31

any of you noticed one of the

45:33

others behaving in an unusual

45:36

fashion?

45:37

Especially if there is a peculiar

45:40

object that they have in their possession,

45:44

or they can use spells a first

45:46

year should not know.'

45:51

Professor Snape's right hand now

45:53

pointed his one at Susan Bones.

45:57

"'I see that Miss Greengrass

45:59

and Miss Davis are trying

46:01

not to look at you,

46:04

Miss Bones. If

46:07

there is a mundane explanation,

46:09

you would be wise to offer

46:11

it

46:12

immediately. Susan

46:16

Bones's hair turned bright red,

46:18

though her face didn't change. I

46:22

suppose there's not much point in keeping it

46:24

mum any longer, she said, since

46:26

I'm graduating in two days anyway.

46:30

Double witches get to graduate

46:33

six years early, said

46:35

Tracy Davis. That's not

46:37

fair. Bones

46:41

is a double witch, cried

46:43

Theodore. No,

46:46

she is Nymphadora

46:48

Tonks, a Metamulfmagus,

46:52

Professor Snape said. Mascadading

46:55

as another student is extremely

46:59

against regulation,

47:01

as you are well aware, Miss

47:03

Tonks. It is not too

47:06

late to expel you from

47:09

Hogwarts two

47:11

days before your graduation,

47:14

which would be a dreadful

47:17

tragedy

47:18

from your perspective, that

47:20

is. From my

47:23

perspective, it would

47:25

be hilarious.

47:29

Now tell me what exactly you are

47:32

doing here. That

47:35

explains it, said Daphne

47:37

Greengrass. Is

47:40

there actually Susan

47:42

Bones, or is the house

47:45

dying out so they had to secretly?

47:48

The red-haired form of Susan Bones

47:50

had a palm to her face.

47:53

Yes, Miss Greengrass, there

47:55

is a real Susan Bones. She

47:57

only sends me in when you lost.

47:59

are about to get into ridiculous amounts

48:02

of trouble.

48:03

Professor Snape, the reason I'm here

48:06

is because Draco Malfoy was missing,

48:08

and this lot insisted

48:10

on trying to find him instead of calling

48:13

the Aurors. Four reasons the

48:15

real Miss Bones said there was no time

48:17

to explain to me, which I now realize

48:20

were stupid. But young

48:23

students must never go alone

48:25

and must

48:25

be accompanied by a sixth or seventh

48:28

year at all times. And now

48:30

we found Draco Malfoy, and we

48:33

can all go back. Please, before

48:35

this gets any more ridiculous. What

48:39

in Marlene's name is going

48:42

on here? Ah,

48:45

said Professor Snape, who was still pointing

48:47

the wand at the red-haired form of Susan

48:50

Bones, is other hand still

48:52

grasping the collar below the disembodied head

48:54

of Draco Malfoy, standing

48:57

next to the crumpled form of

48:59

the defence professor.

49:01

Professor Sprout, I

49:04

perceive. It's

49:06

not what it looks like, volunteered

49:09

Tracey Davis. The

49:12

short, dumpy form of the

49:14

herbology professor stormed forwards.

49:17

She had, by this point, drawn

49:20

her wand, though she wasn't pointing

49:22

it at anyone.

49:24

I don't even know what this

49:27

looks like. Down wands,

49:29

all of you, right now, including

49:32

you, Professor? Distraction!

49:37

The thought came to Harry with sudden

49:40

clarity. Whatever

49:42

he was watching now, from where he

49:44

stood invisibly and well back of the action,

49:48

it wasn't what was really

49:51

going on. It wasn't

49:53

the true thread of the story.

49:56

It had been a rare, changed.

50:01

Professor Sprout's arrival had broken

50:04

Harry's suspension of disbelief. Things

50:07

like that didn't happen just for the sake

50:10

of comedic coincidence. Someone

50:13

was deliberately causing all

50:16

this chaos. But

50:18

what was the point? Harry

50:22

really hoped he hadn't gone back in time

50:24

and done this because it did seem

50:26

like the sort of thing he would do. Severus

50:30

Snape lowered his wand.

50:33

His other hand unfisted Draco

50:35

Malfoy.

50:37

Professor Sprout,

50:40

the potions master said, I

50:42

am here on the

50:45

headmaster's orders to watch

50:47

this door. Everyone

50:50

else present is not supposed

50:52

to

50:54

be here, and I ask

50:56

you see them cleared

50:58

away. A likely

51:01

story, snapped Professor

51:03

Sprout. Why would Dumbledore

51:06

set you of all people to

51:08

guard the door to his playground?

51:12

It's not as if he wants to keep

51:14

the students out. Oh no, they

51:17

need to go in and get stuck in my

51:20

devil's snare.

51:21

Susan dear, you've got

51:23

a communications mirror don't you? Use

51:26

it to call the orders. The

51:29

watching Harry nodded to

51:31

himself. That

51:34

was the point.

51:36

The auras would take away everyone

51:39

present at this terribly confusing

51:41

situation, no excuses

51:44

accepted, and then the

51:46

door would be unguarded.

51:49

But was Harry

51:51

meant to go into the forbidden corridor

51:54

himself or watch

51:56

to see who finally came out once

51:59

all the others were gone.

51:59

A loud

52:02

fit of hacking and coughing caused

52:04

everyone to look at where the defense professor

52:06

lay. Snape,

52:10

listen, said the defense

52:12

professor between coughs. Why

52:16

sprout here?

52:20

The potions master looked down.

52:24

Memory charm implies

52:27

professor. The

52:29

defense professor began coughing

52:31

again. What?

52:36

And the logic unfolded

52:39

in Harry's mind in crystalline

52:41

dismay.

52:43

All the steps already

52:46

suspected.

52:47

The dreadful realization

52:50

coming as a repetition

52:52

with greater confidence.

52:56

Everyone had memory

52:58

charmed Hermione to believe she

53:00

tried to kill Draco.

53:03

Only a Hogwarts professor

53:05

could have done it without alarm. So

53:09

all the true mastermind needed to

53:11

do was legitimize or imperious

53:14

a Hogwarts professor.

53:16

And the last person

53:18

anyone would suspect would be the

53:20

head of House Hufflepuff.

53:23

Snape's head snapped around as

53:26

Professor Sprout raised her wand and

53:28

the potions master managed to raise a wordless

53:31

translucent ward between them. But

53:33

the bolt that shot from Professor Sprout's wand

53:36

was a dark brown that produced a surge

53:38

of awful apprehension in Harry's

53:40

mind. And the brown bolt

53:43

made Severus' shield wink out

53:45

before they touched, clipping the potions

53:47

master's right arm even as he dodged.

53:50

Professor Snape gave a muffled shriek

53:53

and his hand spasmed, dropping

53:55

his wand.

53:56

The next bolt that came from Sprout's wand

53:59

was a bright red.

53:59

the color of a stunning hex, seeming

54:02

to grow brighter and move faster

54:05

even as it left her wand, accompanied

54:07

by another surge of anxiety. And

54:10

that blew the potions master into

54:12

the door, dropping him motionless

54:14

to the ground. By

54:17

that time, pink-haired Susan

54:19

Bones was surrounded by a multifaceted

54:21

blue haze and she was firing

54:24

hex after hex at Professor Sprout.

54:27

Professor Sprout was ignoring the hexes to summon

54:29

plant tendrils that entangled

54:31

the younger students as they tried to run,

54:34

except Draco Malfoy, who had

54:36

again vanished beneath his invisibility

54:39

cloak.

54:40

Not Susan Bones stopped

54:42

casting hexes. She leveled her

54:44

wand, took a deep breath and cried

54:46

aloud an incantation that sent golden

54:49

worms of light chewing into the shield

54:51

around Professor Sprout.

54:53

At that, the herbology professor

54:55

turned to face not Susan, her

54:57

expression vacant, a new set

54:59

of plant tentacles rising in the air behind

55:02

her. Those stalks were

55:04

a darker green and seemed to have

55:06

shields of their own.

55:08

Harry Potter murmured to the seemingly

55:11

empty air, Attack Sprout!

55:14

Help Bones! None lethal

55:16

only! Yes,

55:19

my lord! whispered

55:21

LaSalle LaStrange beneath Harry's

55:23

cloak of invisibility and

55:25

the fifth year Slytherin's presence

55:28

moved off toward the fight.

55:31

Harry looked down at his own hands

55:33

and saw with a jolt of unpleasant shock

55:36

that his disillusionment charm wasn't

55:38

as complete as it had been before.

55:41

There were hints of distortion in the

55:43

air each time Harry moved.

55:46

Slowly, Harry stepped backward

55:48

until he came to a corner and ducked

55:50

behind a wall.

55:52

Then he took out his communications mirror,

55:55

which was blank and

55:57

jammed. Of course! Harry

56:01

levitated the mirror to where he could use it

56:03

to see around the corner and watch the

56:05

end of the…

56:07

distraction? What

56:10

was happening? Why?

56:14

Professor Sprout and the form of Susan

56:17

Bones were duelling in flashes of light

56:19

and leaves, and the blazing

56:21

green of a greater drill hex erupted

56:24

from mid-air and chewed halfway through

56:26

the outer layer of Professor Sprout's shields.

56:29

The herbology professor turned and fired

56:32

a broad wash of yellow at where

56:34

the drill hex had come from, but the

56:36

spell didn't seem to hit anything.

56:39

Yellow blazes, blue facets,

56:41

dark green plant tendrils and

56:44

swirling purple flower petals.

56:47

It was when Professor Sprout started

56:50

firing arcs of crimson in all

56:52

directions that one of the crimson

56:54

blades caught something in mid-air.

56:57

The invisibility cloak not concealing

56:59

how the crimson arc was absorbed and

57:01

winked out. And Lassath's

57:04

presence beneath the invisibility cloak

57:07

fell to the ground.

57:09

And that gave not

57:11

Susan Bones enough time to stand still,

57:14

catch her breath, and scream

57:16

something that inspired in Harry

57:19

another surge of dread. And

57:21

the white spark that blazed out

57:23

went through Professor Sprout's chewed

57:26

shields and her plant armour

57:28

and dropped her.

57:31

Not Susan Bones went

57:33

to her knees panting, her

57:35

robes soaked in sweat.

57:38

Her head turned to look around

57:40

her, at

57:41

the bodies lying stunned

57:43

on the floor or wrapped in

57:45

vines. What?

57:49

said not Susan. What?

57:52

What? What?

57:56

There was no reply.

57:58

The victims entangled him to the ground.

57:59

Professor Sprout's vines weren't moving,

58:02

though they did seem to be breathing.

58:06

Malphoy,

58:07

said the pink-haired form of Susan,

58:10

still gasping for breath.

58:12

Draco, Malfoy, where

58:14

are you? Are you there? Call

58:16

the Aurors already! Merlin, dammit!

58:19

Hobbinum Revellio! And

58:22

Harry found himself visible again,

58:25

staring in his mirror at the form

58:27

of Draco Malphoy, half

58:29

visible beneath a shimmering cloak, standing

58:32

behind, not Susan, pointing

58:34

his wand at a gap in,

58:37

not Susan's blue haze. Harry's

58:41

mind moved in flashes

58:43

of insight, too slow

58:46

and yet too fast, even

58:49

as Harry's mouth opened and he inhaled

58:51

in preparation to shout. Beware

58:54

the constellation. There

58:57

was a constellation named Draco.

59:00

If you could control a professor, you could

59:03

control a student.

59:06

Dark! Harry shouted,

59:09

but it was too late. A

59:12

bolt of red light caught the back

59:14

of not Susan's head at point

59:17

blank, smashing her to the floor.

59:20

Harry stepped around the corner

59:22

and said,

59:23

Somnium, Somnium, Somnium, Somnium, Somnium,

59:28

Somnium! Draco Malfoy's shimmering

59:30

form collapsed in a heap. Harry

59:35

took a moment to catch his breath. Then,

59:38

Harry said, Stupefy!

59:42

And verified that, yes, the

59:44

stunning hex did hit Draco

59:46

Malfoy's form. You

59:48

could be mistaken about whether a Somnium

59:51

had really hit.

59:52

Harry had seen enough horror movies,

59:55

not to mention the business with the Sunshine

59:57

Regiment that he wasn't about to make

59:59

That's error again.

1:00:03

After a further reflection on this, Harry

1:00:05

cast another stunning hex into the

1:00:07

prostrate form of Professor Sprout.

1:00:11

Harry gripped his wand,

1:00:14

staring at the scene, breathing

1:00:17

heavily from the exhaustion.

1:00:19

He didn't have enough magic left to cast

1:00:22

a messenger patronus to Dumbledore, and

1:00:24

he really, really should have thought of that possibility

1:00:27

immediately this time around. Harry

1:00:31

started to reach back to where

1:00:34

his mirror had fallen,

1:00:35

to see if it was now unjammed.

1:00:40

And then, Harry hesitated. His

1:00:45

note to himself had said to avoid

1:00:48

notice from Aurors, and

1:00:51

Harry still did

1:00:53

not know what was

1:00:55

going on. The

1:00:58

crumbled form of Professor Quirrell

1:01:00

gave another series of racking cuffs,

1:01:03

reached out a hand to the wall beside him,

1:01:05

and slowly pulled himself

1:01:07

to his feet.

1:01:10

Harry, croaked

1:01:12

Professor Quirrell. Harry,

1:01:15

are you there? It

1:01:20

was the first time Professor Quirrell

1:01:22

had ever called him by his

1:01:25

first name. I'm

1:01:28

here, Harry said. Without

1:01:31

any conscious thought, his feet were

1:01:33

moving forward. Please,

1:01:38

said Professor Quirrell. Please,

1:01:41

I haven't much

1:01:44

time. Please

1:01:47

take me to the mirror.

1:01:51

Help me get

1:01:54

the stone. The

1:01:58

Philosopher's Stone? Harry

1:02:00

said. He glanced

1:02:02

around at the scattered bodies, but

1:02:05

couldn't see Draco anymore. The

1:02:07

revealment had worn off. You

1:02:10

think Mr. Knott was

1:02:13

right? I don't think

1:02:15

Dumbledore would. Knott!

1:02:18

Dumbledore!

1:02:20

gasped Professor Quirrell.

1:02:23

Because? Sprout?

1:02:26

I understand, Harry said. If

1:02:30

Dumbledore had been the one behind it all,

1:02:32

he wouldn't have needed to mind control

1:02:34

a professor in order to use memory

1:02:36

charms.

1:02:38

Mirror, ancient relic

1:02:42

could hide anything.

1:02:45

Stone could be there.

1:02:48

Many others want stone.

1:02:51

One sent Sprout.

1:02:53

Sprout. Harry repeated

1:02:56

rapidly. The mirror down

1:02:58

there is an ancient relic that can be

1:03:00

used to hide things, and it would

1:03:02

be one possible place to hide the Philosopher's

1:03:05

Stone. If the Philosopher's

1:03:07

Stone is inside the mirror, then any

1:03:09

number of people might want to get it. One

1:03:12

of them is controlling Sprout, and that

1:03:14

would explain what their goal really

1:03:16

is. Only, that

1:03:18

doesn't explain why Sprout's controller

1:03:21

would go after Hermione. Harry,

1:03:25

please.

1:03:28

Professor Quirrell said his breathing

1:03:30

was yet more labored now, his

1:03:33

voice came with excruciating

1:03:35

slowness.

1:03:37

It's the one thing

1:03:41

that can save my life,

1:03:45

and I find now

1:03:49

I don't want

1:03:51

to die. Please help

1:03:54

me. And

1:03:59

somehow... Somehow, that

1:04:02

tore it. Somehow

1:04:05

that was a little too

1:04:08

much. The

1:04:11

sense of detachment that had

1:04:13

come over Harry when Professor Sprout

1:04:15

had arrived,

1:04:16

the broken sense of disbelief

1:04:19

was returning.

1:04:21

His inner critic weighing

1:04:23

up everything as though it were a set-piece.

1:04:27

Timing, probability,

1:04:30

so many people showing up

1:04:32

at the same door, the

1:04:34

defence professor's desperation, this

1:04:37

whole situation didn't feel

1:04:40

real.

1:04:41

But,

1:04:44

he might be able to solve it if he

1:04:46

just took time to think things

1:04:49

through in advance instead of running

1:04:51

off at adventure's first call. All

1:04:55

the accumulated experience from the

1:04:57

last year had finally crystallised

1:05:00

into something like a touch of

1:05:02

battle-hardening. An

1:05:05

instinct born of past disaster

1:05:08

was telling Harry that if he

1:05:10

just rushed on ahead, he would

1:05:13

end up afterward in a sad conversation,

1:05:16

realising that he had been stupid.

1:05:20

Again. Let

1:05:23

me think, Harry said. Let

1:05:25

me think for a minute before we go.

1:05:28

He turned away from the defence professor,

1:05:30

looking at the unconscious bodies

1:05:33

draped in various shapes over the floor.

1:05:36

There'd been so many puzzle pieces

1:05:39

already this last year, maybe

1:05:42

everything would just fall

1:05:44

into place with one more piece.

1:05:47

Hurry, the

1:05:50

defence professor said in a faltering

1:05:52

voice.

1:05:53

Hurry, I'm dying.

1:05:59

One more minute. can't make the difference. He's

1:06:01

had the whole year to be

1:06:04

sick. It's improbable that

1:06:06

his life versus death would be precisely

1:06:09

timed to rest on this last minute no

1:06:11

matter what happened to Hermione.

1:06:13

I know, Harry said. I'll

1:06:16

think quickly. Harry

1:06:19

stared at the bodies and

1:06:21

tried to think. There

1:06:24

was no time for doubts, for caveats,

1:06:27

no breaks or second guessing.

1:06:30

Just take the first thoughts

1:06:33

and run with them.

1:06:35

In the back of Harry's mind, fragments

1:06:38

of abstract thought flitted past,

1:06:41

heuristics of problem solving that

1:06:43

there was no time to rehearse in words.

1:06:46

In wordless flashes they shot past

1:06:48

to set up the object level problem.

1:06:51

What do I notice

1:06:54

I'm confused by? The

1:06:56

first place to look for a problem is

1:06:59

whatever aspects of the situation

1:07:01

seems most improbable. Simple

1:07:04

explanations are more probable. Eliminate

1:07:08

separate improbabilities that must

1:07:10

be postulated.

1:07:12

Professor Snape had already

1:07:15

been here. Then, Professor

1:07:17

Quirrell had arrived. Then, Harry had

1:07:20

arrived, via time turner. Then,

1:07:22

the adventuring party had arrived and

1:07:24

Draco had been revealed. Part

1:07:27

of the party. Then, Professor Sprout

1:07:29

had shown up.

1:07:31

Too many people had shown up

1:07:33

synchronously and that was

1:07:35

too much coincidence.

1:07:37

It was improbable that so

1:07:40

many different parties would show up at

1:07:42

the same location within a five-minute

1:07:44

window. There had to

1:07:46

be hidden entanglements.

1:07:49

Label Sprout's controller as the

1:07:51

mastermind who had ordered Hermione memory-charmed.

1:07:54

The mastermind had sent

1:07:56

Sprout. Professor Snape had

1:07:59

said that the headmaster

1:07:59

Master had sent him to guard the door after

1:08:02

there'd been some sort of disturbance. If

1:08:05

the Mastermind had caused that as a distraction,

1:08:08

then that explained Severus' presence

1:08:10

as well.

1:08:11

Harry wasn't sure anymore that Draco

1:08:13

had been controlled by the Mastermind. That

1:08:16

hypothesis had come to him in the spur of

1:08:18

the moment. Draco might have

1:08:21

just been trying to drop not Susan

1:08:23

so he could get into the corridor unhindered.

1:08:26

No. That was the wrong

1:08:28

way to think. Turn it around. Try

1:08:30

to explain the timed presence of Draco

1:08:33

and his adventuring party. No

1:08:35

time for self-questioning. Run with

1:08:37

the hypothesis. Therefore, suppose

1:08:40

Sprout's Mastermind had sent Draco

1:08:42

or triggered his coming.

1:08:44

That was three arrivals explained.

1:08:47

Harry had shown up because his

1:08:49

note to himself had told him to do so. That

1:08:53

could be attributed to time travel.

1:08:55

That left the defence professor, who'd

1:08:57

said he was following Snape,

1:08:58

only that didn't really seem

1:09:01

like an adequate reason for Professor Quirrell to

1:09:03

show up. It didn't really make Harry

1:09:05

feel less confused and so maybe

1:09:07

the Mastermind had also controlled the timing

1:09:10

of Professor Quirrell's presence somehow and even

1:09:12

arranged for Harry himself to enter the time loop.

1:09:15

Harry's mind hit a stumbling

1:09:17

block. He couldn't see how

1:09:19

to extend that reasoning further.

1:09:22

There was no time to stare blankly at

1:09:24

stumbling blocks. Without any pause

1:09:27

or breaking, Harry's mind attacked the

1:09:29

problem from a new angle. Professor

1:09:32

Quirrell had deduced a controlled Hogwarts

1:09:34

professor from the need for some professor

1:09:37

to memory charm Hermione, which

1:09:39

meant that Professor Sprout's controller

1:09:41

had framed and then murdered Hermione,

1:09:44

which meant Professor Sprout's controller

1:09:46

had detailed information about Hogwarts

1:09:49

life and maybe a personal

1:09:52

interest

1:09:52

in the boy who lived and his friends.

1:09:55

Harry's mind finally threw up

1:09:57

the relevant memory, Dumbledore

1:09:59

saying that Lord Voldemort's strongest road

1:10:02

to life was hidden here inside

1:10:04

Hogwarts. Run with the hypothesis.

1:10:07

So the resurrection tool was

1:10:10

the Philosopher's Stone hidden inside

1:10:12

the mirror. Why had Dumbledore

1:10:15

put the mirror into a corridor first

1:10:17

years could get through? No, ignore

1:10:19

this question, it's not important right now. And

1:10:22

Professor Quirrell had said the Philosopher's

1:10:24

Stone possessed great healing power, so

1:10:27

that part also fit.

1:10:29

But if it was the Philosopher's Stone

1:10:31

that was hidden in the mirror to keep it away from the Dark

1:10:34

Lord, that meant the mirror also

1:10:36

contained the one thing in the world that could

1:10:38

save the Defence Professor's life.

1:10:41

Harry's mind tried to hesitate,

1:10:44

to flinch away, feeling

1:10:46

a sudden apprehension as to where

1:10:48

this was going. But

1:10:52

there was no time allowed for hesitation.

1:10:55

And that was also far too much

1:10:57

coincidence, just too much

1:10:59

improbability if your mind didn't

1:11:02

write it off as an amazing plot twist

1:11:04

like you were inside a story. Could

1:11:06

the putative Dark Lord also be

1:11:09

manipulating Professor Quirrell so that Professor

1:11:11

Quirrell would discover his supposed salvation

1:11:13

at the right time so that Harry and

1:11:16

Professor Quirrell would go get the resurrection

1:11:18

tool from the mirror that might not even

1:11:21

actually be the Philosopher's Stone, and

1:11:23

then the Dark Lord's Avadar

1:11:25

or some other servant

1:11:27

would show up and seize it from them? That

1:11:30

would explain all the synchronies

1:11:32

and negate every coincidence? Or,

1:11:36

Professor Quirrell had known from the beginning

1:11:38

that the one thing that could save his life was

1:11:40

hidden inside this mirror, and

1:11:42

that was why he had agreed to teach Defence

1:11:45

at Hogwarts, and now he

1:11:47

was finally trying to get it.

1:11:49

But then why wait until he was this

1:11:51

sick or to even try and… why

1:11:54

had Sprout shown up at the same time as Professor

1:11:57

Quirrell? Harry's mind

1:11:59

faltered. harder. His

1:12:02

inner eye was looking in a direction

1:12:04

it was afraid to

1:12:06

look.

1:12:08

The note I sent myself said to help

1:12:10

the Watcher of Stars. I

1:12:13

wouldn't send myself a note saying that

1:12:15

if I hadn't already worked

1:12:16

out in the future that it was

1:12:19

the right thing to do. Maybe

1:12:21

the note is just telling me to get on

1:12:23

with it. A small note

1:12:26

of confusion was promoted to

1:12:28

conscious attention. The

1:12:31

coded message on the parchment. One

1:12:34

or two lines hadn't quite sounded

1:12:36

right. Hadn't sounded

1:12:38

like the code Harry would expect himself

1:12:41

to use.

1:12:44

Harry!

1:12:47

whispered the dying voice of Professor

1:12:49

Quirrell from behind him.

1:12:52

Harry, please!

1:12:56

I'm almost done thinking! Harry's

1:12:58

voice said aloud, and Harry

1:13:00

realized as he spoke the words that

1:13:03

they were true.

1:13:06

Turn it around. Look at it

1:13:08

from the enemy's perspective. From where

1:13:10

the enemy does their own intelligent

1:13:12

planning. Somewhere out of your

1:13:14

sight. There are auras in Hogwarts,

1:13:17

and your target, Harry Potter, is now

1:13:19

fully on guard. Harry Potter

1:13:22

will call in auras at the first sign of

1:13:24

trouble, or send a betrotas to

1:13:26

Albus Dumbledore.

1:13:27

Considering that as a puzzle, one creative

1:13:30

solution is to... forge

1:13:33

a supposedly time-turned message

1:13:35

to Harry Potter from himself, telling

1:13:38

Harry Potter not to call for help,

1:13:40

telling him to be at the place

1:13:42

and time you want him to be. You

1:13:45

get the target himself to bypass

1:13:47

all the protections he set up. You

1:13:50

even bypass his protection of skepticism

1:13:52

with the overriding authority of his own future

1:13:55

self's judgement.

1:13:57

It isn't even difficult.

1:13:59

You can memory charm some random

1:14:02

student into remembering Harry Potter handing

1:14:04

over an envelope to be given back to

1:14:06

himself later. You can

1:14:08

memory charm that student because you

1:14:11

are a Hogwarts professor. You

1:14:14

don't go the extra effort to steal

1:14:16

a pencil and muggle paper from Harry

1:14:18

Potter's pouch. Instead, you

1:14:21

forge Harry Potter's handwriting on

1:14:23

wizard parchment. You can

1:14:25

forge Harry Potter's handwriting because

1:14:28

you have seen it on ministry-mandated

1:14:31

exams you have graded.

1:14:33

You call Draco Malfoy

1:14:35

the constellation because you

1:14:37

know Harry Potter is interested in astronomy.

1:14:40

And you are a wizard,

1:14:42

and you have taken astronomy and memorized

1:14:44

the names of all the constellations. But

1:14:47

it's not the natural code that Harry Potter would

1:14:50

use to describe Draco Malfoy to himself.

1:14:52

That would have been the apprentice.

1:14:55

You call Professor Quirrell the

1:14:57

Watcher of Stars and tell Harry Potter

1:14:59

to help him. You know

1:15:01

that Life Eater is how

1:15:04

you say Dementor in Parseltongue,

1:15:06

and you expect Harry Potter to

1:15:08

think of the auras as being in

1:15:11

league with them.

1:15:12

You encode 649

1:15:15

as 6 and 7 in a square

1:15:17

because you have been reading a muggle

1:15:19

physics book that Harry Potter gave

1:15:22

you.

1:15:23

Who are you then? Harry

1:15:28

noticed his breathing had sped up,

1:15:31

and with a burst of heart rate, Harry

1:15:34

slowed his breath down again.

1:15:36

Professor Quirrell was watching

1:15:39

him.

1:15:42

What if, hypothetically speaking,

1:15:45

Professor Quirrell was the mastermind

1:15:47

and had faked Harry's message?

1:15:49

Then that explained all five parties

1:15:51

showing up, the whole synchronous

1:15:53

coordination of the comedy, and then

1:15:56

Professor Sprout was just controlled to

1:15:58

give Professor Quirrell deniability.

1:15:59

Let him blame someone else

1:16:02

for the false memory charm after the dust

1:16:04

settled, but… But

1:16:07

why would Professor Quirrell risk the fragile

1:16:10

alliance Harry had with Draco via the

1:16:12

attempted murder frame? That

1:16:15

Professor Quirrell had detected and

1:16:18

stopped allegedly via a tracer

1:16:20

put on Draco.

1:16:22

Why would Professor Quirrell kill

1:16:24

Hermione if his first attempt

1:16:26

to remove her hadn't worked?

1:16:29

If Professor Quirrell was the bad guy,

1:16:31

then he might have lied about everything

1:16:33

to do with Horcruxes and maybe

1:16:36

it wasn't coincidence at all that the only

1:16:38

thing that could save his life was the

1:16:41

avenue that could resurrect the Dark

1:16:43

Lord. What if the

1:16:45

Dark Lord had arranged that too

1:16:47

somehow?

1:16:49

One day, David Monroe

1:16:52

had mysteriously disappeared, presumed

1:16:55

dead at the Dark Lord's hands.

1:16:58

An awful intuition

1:17:01

had come over Harry. Something

1:17:04

separate from all the reasoning

1:17:06

he'd done so far. An

1:17:08

intuition that Harry couldn't put

1:17:11

into words. Except that

1:17:13

he and the defence professor were

1:17:16

very much alike in certain ways,

1:17:19

and faking a time-turned message

1:17:21

was just the sort of creative

1:17:23

method that Harry himself might have

1:17:26

tried to bypass all of a target's

1:17:28

protections.

1:17:30

And that was when

1:17:32

Harry finally realised

1:17:35

what should have been obvious

1:17:38

from the very, very

1:17:40

beginning. Professor

1:17:46

Quirrell was smart.

1:17:51

Professor Quirrell was smart

1:17:54

in the same way as Harry.

1:17:57

Professor Quirrell was smart. in

1:18:00

exactly the same way

1:18:02

as Harry's mysterious dark

1:18:05

side.

1:18:07

If you had to guess when

1:18:09

the boy who lived had acquired his

1:18:12

mysterious dark side, the

1:18:14

obvious guess was the night

1:18:17

of October 31st, 1981.

1:18:23

And… and…

1:18:28

And Professor Quirrell

1:18:31

had known a password that Bellatrix

1:18:33

Black had thought identified the

1:18:35

Dark Lord and his presence

1:18:37

gave the boy who lived a sense of doom,

1:18:40

and his magic interacted destructively

1:18:43

with Harry's, and his favourite spell

1:18:45

was a father cadavera, and… and…

1:18:50

and…

1:18:52

The realisation blasted

1:18:54

through Harry like a vast dam

1:18:57

breaking, releasing out all

1:18:59

of its water, bursting through

1:19:01

his mind in an irresistible flood

1:19:03

that swept everything away.

1:19:06

There is only one reality

1:19:09

that generates all of the observations.

1:19:12

If different observations

1:19:15

seem to point in incompatible directions,

1:19:18

it means the true hypothesis is

1:19:20

one you haven't thought of yet. And

1:19:23

in those cases, when you finally

1:19:25

think of the correct hypothesis, everything

1:19:28

aligns behind it, beyond

1:19:30

denial or horror, tearing

1:19:33

away every doubt and

1:19:35

every emotion that might stand

1:19:37

in its path.

1:19:39

And then, David

1:19:41

Monroe and Lord

1:19:43

Voldemort had just been

1:19:46

one person, playing both

1:19:48

sides of the wizarding war, and

1:19:51

that was why the Monroe family

1:19:53

had been killed before they could meet

1:19:56

David Monroe,

1:19:58

just like Moody had suspected.

1:20:01

Realities settled down into

1:20:04

a single known state,

1:20:06

one coherent state

1:20:09

of affairs that compactly

1:20:12

generated the observation

1:20:14

set.

1:20:16

Harry didn't jump,

1:20:18

didn't change his breathing, tried

1:20:21

not to show a single sign

1:20:23

of the horror and agony

1:20:26

flooding his mind.

1:20:28

The enemy was behind

1:20:30

him, watching him.

1:20:33

All

1:20:35

right, Harry said out loud as

1:20:37

soon as he dared trust his voice to sound

1:20:40

normal. He kept

1:20:42

on staring at the bodies, looking

1:20:44

away from Professor Quirrell because

1:20:46

Harry didn't trust his

1:20:49

own face. Harry

1:20:51

lifted a sleeve to wipe away the sweat

1:20:54

on his forehead, trying to make

1:20:56

the gesture look casual. Harry

1:20:58

couldn't control the sweat

1:21:01

or the rapid hammering in his chest.

1:21:04

Let's go get the Philosopher's Stone. All

1:21:08

Harry needed was a single moment

1:21:10

of distraction, anywhere along

1:21:12

the way to use his time-turner.

1:21:16

There was no reply from behind

1:21:19

him. The silence

1:21:22

stretched. Slowly,

1:21:25

Harry turned around. Professor

1:21:29

Quirrell was standing upright

1:21:32

and smiling. In

1:21:35

the defence professor's hand was a shape

1:21:37

of black metal,

1:21:39

pointed at Harry's wandarm, held

1:21:42

with the shore grip of someone who knew

1:21:45

exactly how to use a semi-automatic

1:21:48

handgun.

1:21:50

Harry's mouth was dry. Even

1:21:53

his lips were trembling with adrenaline.

1:21:57

But he managed to speak. Hello,

1:22:01

Lord

1:22:01

Voldemort. Professor

1:22:04

Quirrell inclined his head in acknowledgement

1:22:07

and said, Hello,

1:22:09

Tom Riddle.