The Three Brothers: The Cure

A Dragon and a Plan

The text in bold has been borrowed from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

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22nd February 1992

"You mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione asked, alarmed.

Harry nodded. He'd just returned after eavesdropping on a conversation between Snape and Quirrell after the Quidditch Match against Hufflepuff.

His fears about his safety during the match had been laid to rest when he'd seen that Dumbledore had joined the stands as a spectator. Snape had also seemed irritated—Harry figured it was due to his plans being spoilt. The threat now gone, Harry had found himself filled with renewed confidence as he took to the air. Worried that Snape might end up favouring Hufflepuff, Harry focused his attention on the search for the Golden Snitch, finding it floating near the ground. One steep dive later, Harry had the Snitch in his hands—the match ending in Gryffindor's favour, less than fifteen minutes since it began.

After a hearty cheer by his housemates and a personal congratulations by Professor Dumbledore himself, Harry headed to the locker rooms. He had been coming out of the locker rooms when he had spotted Snape—sulking more than his usual self—walking towards the forbidden forest. Taking a risky chance, he followed the Potions master from the air on his Nimbus.

Looking for Snape through the thick foliage had been difficult, so Harry had been forced to follow through the branches. When he had heard voices, he had settled on a thick branch to follow the conversation, which surprisingly was between Snape and Quirrell

"... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus ..."

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all."

Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something but Snape interrupted him.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I —"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.

"I—I don't know what you —"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

An owl hooted loudly, and Harry had nearly fallen out of the tree. He had managed to steady himself in time to hear Snape say, "— your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't —"

"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."

Harry had immediately returned, and had told his friends about how he reckoned that Quirrell was one of those protecting the stone and how Snape wanted to get past them.

"There's no way Quirrell will hold on for that long," Ron remarked dryly. "It'll be gone by Tuesday".

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Mark looked around in awe. He had decided to follow Corky's instructions and come to the Come and Go Room. And he was not disappointed at all.

In order to test if the room could turn into anything, he had thought about the restricted section of the Library. And lo behold, he was now standing in the room surrounded by bookshelves containing books from the Restricted Section.