Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 29: Final Exam pt 1

"Good evening, Mr. Potter. This is Professor Quirinus Quirrell, writing to you by way of Miss Granger's ingenious little parchment. I think it's time for us to have a little chat."

Harry read Quirrell's message three times before he thought to run through a quick Occlumency exercise to calm his thoughts from utter panic down to cool rationality. Then, he snatched up his wand and instantly sent three whispered silencing charms to the beds of Draco, Crabbe and Goyle so that they wouldn't hear anything before yelling for Blaise and Theo to wake up and come over to his bed. The parchment dinged again.

"I'm a busy man, Mr. Potter, so I'd appreciate a quick response, before I assume that Miss Granger misled me as to how this parchment functions and I'm forced to interrogate her more forcefully."

Harry gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and replied: "I'm here. What do you want of me? And what have you done with Hermione?"

"Nothing yet, I assure you. Well, nothing beyond a few minor psychic manipulations, anyway. You're a clever little serpent, Potter, but you're still only eleven, and not quite so clever as you may think you are. Your efforts to avoid all eye contact with me made it patently obvious that you know of my ... information-gathering skills, but your Gryffindor friends were not so well-prepared, and I pieced together most of what I needed from their memories. I know you have deduced that I was behind the troll incident and your brother's subsequent Quidditch difficulties last semester. I know you have deduced that I am here at Hogwarts in order to acquire a certain object hidden on the Third Floor. And thanks to a particularly vivid memory from your brother, I know that you have interacted with a certain enchanted mirror and successfully escaped its clutches under your own power. Or perhaps you merely took advantage of special characteristics imbued within the Mirror by the Headmaster that make it less dangerous for children than for adults. Regardless, I would like to engage your assistance in retrieving the object of my heart's desire from its current resting place which is, I believe, within said mirror."

Harry responded: "Why on Earth would I help you with that?" As he waited for the reply, he told his two friends to get dressed quickly, as he started pulling on his own trousers over his pajamas to save time.

"Because I am presently in the same room with that mirror along with four little Gryffindors who thought they could sneak in and steal the Stone in order to 'save it' from the nasty old DADA instructor. Well, two of them. The other two apparently expected to find Severus Snape down here. Silly boys. I am, of course, speaking of Miss Granger and Messrs. Longbottom, Weasley and Potter Minor. While your disdain for the latter two is well-known, Potter Major, so is your affinity for the first two."

Blaise shook his head. "Hermione and Neville would have never gone along with something as stupid as helping the Git and the Weasel steal the Stone." Harry agreed and sent that statement as a message. Quirrell quickly responded.

"Unlike your Headmaster, boy, I am not in the habit of leaving things to chance. I penetrated to the last room of Dumbledore's gauntlet three weeks ago. But when I recognized the Mirror from Potter Minor's memories, I came to suspect the nature of the old man's trap. It took me months to learn the secret of dealing with the Cerberus without raising alarm, but everything else was challenging but hardly insurmountable ... until the room with the Mirror. I imagine the Headmaster expected me to easily pass through the first six rooms and then, pluming myself on my own ego, plunge headfirst into the Mirror and become trapped by my 'heart's desire.' I think not. Instead, I choose to invite you to join me here, Potter Major, to see if you can recover the Stone for me. You've already proven your ability to gaze into the Mirror without being trapped, so it seems logical to assume you can penetrate the Stone's protections. To ensure your compliance, I placed a Confundus Curse on the DADA exams of your pet Gryffindors, one designed to lure them here tonight in spite of your warnings to avoid the Third Floor. I would have put one directly on you, but you are clearly strong-willed and have obviously received some training in psychic defense, so I thought it more prudent to target your more pliable associates, all four of whom currently lie at my feet, bound by the Incarcerous Charm."