||Rain's Storm||The Sorcerer's Stone||Year 1||

Chapter Eleven: Secret

"You?" gasped Harry.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter." He ignored Rain who was slipping into the shadows.

"No, Snape-"

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed. "Yes, he does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an over-grown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

"But Snape tried to kill me!"

"No, dear boy. I tried to kill you. And trust me, if Snape's cloak hadn't caught fire and broken my eye contact, I would have, even with Snape muttering his countercurses."

"Snape was trying to save me?"

"I knew you were a danger to me right from the off-agh!" Quirrell cried, stumbling forward. Harry looked from him to Rain who stood behind him, wand drawn. Quirrell sneered as he turned around, and cast a spell before either Harry or Rain could stop him. Rain fell to the ground with a cry of pain, unable to get up.

Harry tore his gaze from Rain-she seemed fine for the moment- back to Quirrell who was glaring at him with murder in his eyes. "You let the troll in?" he questioned.

"Yes, but Snape wasn't fooled. He went to the 3rd corridor to head me off. He of course never trusted me again. He barely left me alone. But he doesn't understand, I'm never alone." Quirrell turned to the mirror behind him, one Harry recognized. "But how do I use this thing?"

"Use the boy," a cold, raspy voice echoed. Rain's eyes widen in horror; it was the voice from her nightmares. 

"Come here Potter!" Quirrell yelled. Harry slowly walked forward, and stood beside him. "Tell me, what do you see?"

Harry stared at it for several minutes. "I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. I've won the House cup."

"He lies," the same mysterious voice echoed.

"Tell the truth!" Quirrell yelled. "What do you see?"

"Let me speak to him," the voice ordered.

"Master, you are not strong enough yet," Quirrell muttered.

"I am strong enough for this."

Quirrell unwrapped the turban around his head. A face appeared in the back of his head. Rain stared at it as its eyes found hers. Black dots coated her vision, a soft echoing filling her ears. As she faded from counsiniss, the words became clear; "My daughter."

*

Soft voices entered the silent darkness. Blinking slowly, her vision began to fill with color and light. Fuzzy images became clear, and Rain realized suddenly she was in the hospital wing. Gasping in alarm, she bolted upright.

"Ah, Rain, you are awake," a kind voice said from the bed beside her. Rain turned, and smiled. 

"Dumbledore, Harry," she said softly. "What happened?"

"You passed out, but, well, Quirrell tried to kill me, but when he touched me, he turned to ash, and-"Harry began

"And the Sorcerer's Stone has been destroyed, and both of you will be fine," Dumbledore interrupted. 

"What about Ron and Hermione?" Rain asked.

"They're both fine, as I was just telling Harry here," Dumbledore assured her. 

Dumbledore then stood up, picking up a toffee. "Alas, ear wax!" he cried as he plopped it into his mouth. Rain and Harry both chuckled as he walked away.