Unfogging the Future

The Man With Two Faces

ActualWeeb: Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter. I can't believe I've updated four times in one month now. I'm so happy that we're finally at the end of the first book! Anyways, let's get on to the chapter.
I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Seventeen, The Man With Two Faces.
"Sounds pretty two-faced to me," Fred said, trying to lighten the tense at atmosphere.
...Quirrell.
"What?!" Ginny gasped. "Wasn't he the good guy?"
"Maybe he was there to stop whoever got there first?" Astoria suggested. "Maybe he is nice."
Bella shook her head.
"I'm not surprised," Daphne frowned. "Pretending to be defenseless... Pretending to be a victim; that's the best lie that one can pull off if you want to look innocent."
...p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"
"I never did suspect him," Minerva sighed.
...Snape tried to kill me!"
"Yeah, what exactly happened with that?" Sirius asked.
...broke my eye contact with you.
"That would explain it," said George bitterly. He couldn't believe he was taught by someone like that.
...trying to save me?"
"Thank you for saving my daughter," James said to Snape. Snape looked at him in shock. Did James Potter just...thank him?
...going to kill you tonight."
"Ding dong, you are wrong!" Bella sang. Everyone stared at her strangely. Perhaps tense moments like these were not the best time for jokes.
...I had Lord Voldemort on my side...."
"Strange. Quirrell is the only Death Eater I've heard of to call the Dark Lord by his name," Snape said thoughtfully.
...and I am weak --""
"You-Know-Who was in the classroom ?!" Astoria gasped.
...the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.
"V-Voldemort was with you?" Sirius exclaimed. He looked extremely worried- more worried than everyone else, aside from Lily and James. Bella climbed on to the couch, sitting in between James and Sirius. She squeezed Sirius's hand in an attempt to comfort him. Tom, who was sitting almost on Bella's lap, moved to sit next to Fred and George. They seemed very funny, but why were they looking at him so uncomfortably...?
"I was fine."
...Use the girl..."
"Oh, Merlin..." James whispered.
...she'd gotten the Stone.
"Uh...what?" Cedric blinked.
"It'll probably be explained later," Hermione told him
...What do you see?"
"I see us," Bella announced in the bravest voice possible. "But you're minding your own business."
Hermione slowly set down the book and turned to face Bella.
"Oh...my...God," she said slowly. "I thought I told you to be careful, you moron."
"Well, I was planning to," Bella shrugged. "But when you have a high chance of dying, you think, 'Why not use my last moments to be sassy?'"
"That just increases your risk of dying!" Hermione snapped. Bella shrugged. "Don't you dare shrug at me, Isabella Potter!" she hissed.
"Uh, sorry for not being more careful?" Bella said. "Though, this was four years ago, and I thought we weren't apologizing for-"
"You haven't learned your lesson and you know it."
"Tell me what you see, girl!" Quirrell demanded. "Or I will kill you!"
"Fine. I see my parents, happy?!
"Good lie, though," Daphne complimented.
I don't like to talk about it," Bella glared at him.
Quirrell cursed again...
...face-to-face..."
"Oh, no," Molly whispered.
...unwrap his turban.
"Is this where the snowball thing you mentioned earlier comes into play?" Fred asked. Bella nodded.
...slits for nostrils, like a snake.
"Is that...?" Amelia gasped. Bella nodded.
"It's Lord Voldemort."
"We were being taught by a man with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on the back of his head?!" Percy gasped in horror.
"I...I can't believe I've been in the same room as him..." Cho whispered. The room was filled with everyone's exclamations and mutters of horror, until Tom spoke up.
"Why was he on the back of his head?"
"It's better than going on the back of his butt," Bella answered.
"Eeeeewwww!" Tom giggled. "That's gross."
"I...need some water or something," Neville muttered, pacing out of the room. When he walked in the kitchen, Hedwig flew out, and perched herself on the armrest of the chair Daphne was sitting in. A few seconds later, Neville returned and sat back down again.
"We should continue," he said. Hermione picked up the book and began reading again.
...her legs wouldn't move. All she could manage was to blurt out, "Holy crap, you're ugly."
Ron facepalmed. "So your legs don't work but you're able to speak?"
"It seems like the only thing she's good at running is her mouth," Hermione sighed.
"A thing we have in common," the face replied without a flinch. "See what I have become? Mere shadow...
...Stone in your pocket?"
"Shit, shit, shit," Sirius whispered, wrapping his arm around Bella, as if trying to protect her from what was happening in the book.
...They died begging me for mercy..."
Bella felt anger bubble up inside her. How dare he disrespect her parents so? "You're a filthy liar," she growled. "And I'll never die begging for mercy from you."
...want her to have died in vain."
"Screw you!" Bella exclaimed. "I'd rather give it to Hitler himself." Bella sprang toward...
..."SEIZE HER!"
James grabbed Bella's hand, needing the reassurance that she was alive and okay. He felt a bandge on her hand, but ignored it for the time being.
...blistering before her eyes.
"Um, what?" Cedric blinked.
...fell into blackness, down ... down... down...
"I'm glad that's over," Bella sighed.
"It's over?" asked Remus. Bella nodded.
"That's the last thing I remember from that fight."
...pair of glasses.
"You mistook a pair of glasses for a Snitch?" Ron blinked.
"In my defense, I was barely conscious."
...in the hospital wing.
"That child visits about every other day," Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes.
...trying to send you a toilet seat.
"You didn't actually get it?" George pouted.
...arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you."
"Thank goodness," Arthur sighed.
...couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer --"
"That's not what he meant, Bella," Molly whispered, blinking away tears. How could this girl be so selfless?
...he hasn't gone, has he?"
"Merlin, I wish," Sirius sighed.
...he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies.
Draco frowned. That couldn't be true...right? Maybe after the way the Dark Lord treated Quirrell, being a Death Eater wasn't the right option... No, that's stupid. If he wanted glory, suffering was necessary.
...he may never return to power."
Bella frowned. She shouldn't have let the ritual happen. If she'd fought back, or been more prepared, maybe Voldemort wouldn't be back.
Sirius sensed her discomfort and squeezed her hand. "It's not your fault," he whispered to her, so only she heard.
...when you are ready, you will know."
"Am I ready to know yet, sir?" Bella asked the Headmaster. Dumbledore sighed.
"If these books do not tell you, then I will tell you myself, afterwards." Bella nodded, satisfied with that answer.
...why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"
"Yeah, that was kinda confusing," Susan said.
...could not touch you for this reason.
"Our deaths protected you from that?" Lily asked.
"Yeah," said Bella. "I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you..."
...I thought you might like it."
"You gave her the blasted cloak?" Snape sighed. "How utterly typical."
...He saved his life."
"What?" many people asked.
...he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace...."
Snape scowled. "That's not how it works."
...Alas! Ear wax!"
Laughter sounded across the room.
...she let Ron and Hermione in.
Bella, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other and blushed. This reunion was a bit sappy. It was a personal thing that they didn't really want shown to everyone.
...Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around her again, but Bella was glad she held herself in as her head was still very sore.
"I'm sorry," Bella said the moment they stepped in. She looked down at the blankefs.
"For what?" Ron asked.
"For being so awful to you," Bella answered. "I didn't mean what I said...I just didn't want you to get hurt."
Bella looked down. She really didn't deserve their friendship...
"Don't you dare throw yourself in a spiral of self-deprecating thoughts," Hermione snapped at Bella, noticing her solemn look.
"Wh-what?" Bella blinked.
"You heard her," Ron said. Sirius gave Bella a light nudge, urging her to sit next to her friends. Bella awkwardly sat next to Ron on his beanbag.
"We know, Bella," Hermione smiled. "You're our best friend, you can't fool us."
"What?" Bella asked. She jerked her head up to look at Hermione in shock.
"You're... You're our best friend, you can't fool us."
"You still want to be my friend?" Bella asked hopefully.
"For the 'Hero Of The Wizarding World', you can really be a dumbass sometimes," Ron told her. Bella rolled her eyes.
"Ron!" Hermione hissed.
"Of course we want to be your friend!" Ron exclaimed. "Why wouldn't we?"
"Because...I was so mean and manipulative..." Bella choked, trying to hold back tears.
"You didn't know what else to do at the time," Hermione hugged Bella, who was looking like she wanted to kick herself(she did).
She looked down. "I can't believe I said all of those things to you. I'm sorry, I don't deserve you two." Bella could feel hot tears rolling down her face.
"Oh, Bella," Molly sighed sadly. Bella looked down. Everyone was looking at her with pitiful eyes- she didn't need their pity.
Suddenly, she felt two sets of arms wrap themselves around her. She looked up to see Ron and Hermione, on either side of her, leaning over to hug her.
Several people awww'd. The trio blushed.
"We'll always be best friends, Bella," Ron told her. "Until we die, remember?" Hermione nodded.
"We forgive you, don't worry. We're all safe now."
Bella let out a short sob and leaned into their touch.
"Why are you being... so nice to me?"
Bella looked up. Everyone in the room was looking at her with some form of pity, aside from about two people
"I'm leaving," Bella announced, storming out of the room and into the 'venting room'. This was years ago. She didn't need their pity, especially not if they understood nothing about how she felt.
Lily stood, ready to follow her, when Mad-Eye said, "Let the girl be. We'll get her when the chapter is over, just continue reading."
When Bella stopped crying, Ron and Hermione asked what had happened with the Philosopher's Stone. It was one of those rare occasions...
...the wild rumors.
"What were the wild rumors?" asked Sirius.
"Well, there were a lot of stories flying around-" George started.
"-like that Bella fought off five dragons at once-" Fred continued.
"-But the general story that we got was that Bella, Ron, and Hermione all went to the forbidden corridor to fight a dark wizard from stealing the Philosopher's Stone, and we also found out what the obstacles were because Hermione and Ron told everyone."
"They didn't say, however, that Ron got injured," Percy frowned.
...he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could...."
"I did not set it up so that Bella would fight Voldemort," Dumbledore frowned. "I knew that she was investigating the Stone, and I let her, but I never planned to let her near the Stone or Voldemort."
"Or you're just saying that cuz the parents are glaring at you," Fred joked.
...nearly twenty minutes, now OUT!" she said firmly.
"Aw, Poppy, you're going soft," Sirius grinned. "You let them have fifteen extra minutes."
Madame Pomfrey glared at him.
...he sobbed, his face in his hands.
"Poor Hagrid," Lily sighed.
...he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."
"That's true," Amelia muttered.
...Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying.
"Well, that's one way to go about it..." Neville chuckled.
...every page were his mother and father.
"That was so sweet," Lily smiled.
"She still looks at that photo album a lot," Hermione commented.
...Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row.
"DAMMIT!" Sirius yelled.
"No, you'll like what happens next," George grinned.
...Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two."
Daphne frowned. The house cup was stupid anyways, there was literally no benefit to gaining points aside from winning the house cup, and there was no gain from winning the house cup.
...few last-minute points to dish out.
"Oh, thank Merlin," Sirius sighed. "I knew you wouldn't let those slimy Slytherins win, Professor Dumbledore."
"Hey!" Astoria huffed.
...fifty points."
"WHOO!" James and Sirius cheered. Lily and Remus rolled their eyes.
"Yaaay!" Tom cheered.
...fifty points."
"Good job, Hermione!" James grinned, parting her on the back. Hermione blushed at the praise.
...sixty points."
"Whoo!" James yelled. He grabbed Lily's hand and raised it in the air. She smiled and rolled her eyes.
...ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."
"YAAAAYYY!" Tom clapped.
Ginny cheered and tackled Neville with a hug.
"Agh!" Neville yelled, falling on the floor as Ginny yelled "THANK YOU, NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!"
"Good job, Neville," Luna smiled.
"I think you crushed most of my bones," Neville wheezed.
"Sorry, Nev," Ginny grinned, getting off of him. The two friends got up and found their seats again.
...Gryffindor lion took its place.
"You were right. I do like what happened," Sirius grinned at the twins.
...life would be back to normal next year,
Ginny snorted.
...attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.
"What if everyone did that one year?" Fred grinned.
"No," Molly deadpanned.
...Mom, there she is, look!"
"Oh, no," Ginny blushed and his her face in her hands.
...Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister,
"Aw, how adorable," Daphne smirked. "Your first celebrity crush."
"Shut the hell up, Meangrass," Ginny snapped.
"You were cute as a child, though," Luna commented.
...still looking furious at the nerve of Bella,
"Prick," Bill scowled.
...have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer...."
THE END
"That's it," Hermione announced, setting down the book. Just as she set down the book, her stomach growled. She blushed.
"Oh, it has been awhile since we last ate, hasn't it?" Molly exclaimed. "We must've gotten so caught up in the story. Let's all have supper, shall we?"
The crowd all bustled into the kitchen- except for George. He entered the venting room to inform Bella that the book was done. The moment he entered, however, he froze in shock.
The entire room was torn apart. The dummies were knocked over and torn apart. The shelves were ripped off their hinges, and every piece of glass was shattered. A few of the floorboards had even been ripped off.
And there, in the middle of the room, stood Bella, breathing heavily, her forearms bloody and bruised. Finally, George seemed to be able to speak again.
"Bella...what have you done?"

ActualWeeb: Aaaand scene! On to the reviews!
Fanfiction reviews:
Bookdragonslayer: Thanks! It's a serious chapter, but I'm glad I was able to lighten the tension with some humor, I suppose.
training to be a fangirl: I know, right? The pros of reading this fic is that I will give you cute scenes like when Bella befriended Hermione. The cons are that I will make you suffer with scenes like when Bella tried to stop Ron and Hermione from coming. Also, I'll sneak in some Gella here and there, don't worry.
EMAPotter: Thank you so much! As for advice, I don't have much- I'm a novice myself. However, I'll try: Use as much diversity as you can when writing words- don't use the same words over and over again. Try to make the lengths of your sentences vary, and try to have a good idea of where the story is headed.
gleefan2009: Thanks! I'll try to update soon.
CJPotter4life: Thank you so much!
Rose099: I'll try to update ASAP!
lilly-flower15:Thanks, I'll try!
god of all: Thank you!
ILoveGeorgeEads: Thank you c:
SilveryWind: Aaahh, thank you so much! I hope your test went well. But hey, reading fanfic in the middle of the night? I've been there. Anyways, thank you! I try to make Bella similar to Harry, but she's slightly different in personality. She's obviously going to be stupid and make mistakes, too, though, but it'll just be because of different choices she makes. Anyways, thanks for your review!
Wattpad comments:
YasminTandon: I'll try to update soon! Thanks!
PrincessAlexandria: YOU BETCHA THAT WAS FORESHADOWING
Thanks for reading! I'll see you when we read Bella Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.