stonecrandall Chapter 19 2 vs 1
Chapter 19 2 vs 1
"Oh no, Harry... the potion that allows people to pass through black flames has been drunk up."
Hermione's voice was trembling with tears. She looked at the empty little bottle in her hand and squatted down on the ground in utter frustration.
Harry read the contents of the parchment again, confirming that Hermione's logical reasoning was correct. Then, he helped the little witch up and said:
“Hermione, listen to me. Drink this potion that lets you fly through purple flames, then go back to the room before that and get a flying broom. Use the Invisibility Cloak to cover you and Ron so they won't see you flying past Fulwe. Take this empty potion bottle to the professors; they'll realize someone's tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone. I'll hold Quirrell back for now…”
“But Harry, what if Voldemort is there too? How could you possibly handle two of them by yourself? Oh wait… what am I talking about? You can’t get through the black flames! Come back with me first, we’ve already found the evidence, haven’t we? Besides, I don’t know how to ride a flying broom.”
Harry paused for a moment, then reached out and hugged her.
“Hermione, you are an exceptional, remarkable witch. Without you and Ron, I would never have gotten this far. So, believe me, and believe in yourself.”
"Do you remember what the books called me? They said I was the boy who survived, the nemesis of Voldemort, I'll be fine."
Hermione's body trembled slightly, and tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes. She hugged Harry tightly, then tried her best to control her sobs as she said:
"Good luck, and promise me you'll be careful!"
Harry smiled, patted Hermione's head, and said:
"I still need to go back and help Gransington win the Quidditch match. I can't let you bear the pressure of the College Cup alone. Okay, let's go!"
Hermione nodded, drank the potion from the round bottle on the right, turned around, and passed through the purple flames.
Harry took a deep breath and raised his wand to chest height. For some reason, he suddenly felt that Dumbledore's previously incoherent and cryptic teachings were slowly becoming clearer and more organized.
Time and space seemed to have vanished; Harry couldn't even sense where he was. He pondered the phrase, "You must first find your own eternity," while simultaneously recalling Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, and his parents, who only existed in the Mirror of Erised, and then…
"Gubraithian." (Gubraithian fire)
A gentle, azure flame flowed from the tip of Harry's wand, like a quietly meandering stream. The instant the fairy fire appeared, the parchment containing Professor Snape's logic puzzle spontaneously combusted, and then the various bottles on the table began to melt as if they were blocks of ice.
Harry slowly opened his eyes. Under his gaze, the fairy fire began to gently dance around him, dispelling the chill from his body and heart. The two flames, purple and black, that had been blocking the doorway respectively, merged directly into the blue fairy fire without Harry's prompting, like obedient children called home for dinner by their parents.
The road ahead was full of unknowns and challenges, but Harry's tone was resolute and firm.
"I am coming!"
……
There was already someone standing in the last room. Suppressing the burning pain in his forehead, Harry spoke to the person's back.
"Professor Quirrell, it really is you."
"Potter, haha, I didn't expect you to be able to get through that fire door... But then again, you went to Snape's almost every week last semester."
"So you were the one who cursed my broom during the Quidditch match?"
"Hahahaha!"
Quirrell burst into laughter, but it wasn't the kind of manic, shrill laughter that could be heard; rather, it sounded more like the triumph of a conspiracy.
"You think I could really kill you in the match? What a joke! With Dumbledore there, he could catch you easily even if you fell. The reason I'm doing this is to make them believe that I'm a wizard with no real abilities."
Harry noticed Quirrell's pale face, which seemed to give him more opportunities to defeat his opponent. But just as Quirrell himself had said, he wanted to be seen as a useless wizard, so even though Harry had already prepared more than a dozen preemptive spells in his mind, he still held his wand tightly and remained still.
"You really aren't that capable, otherwise you would have already taken the Philosopher's Stone and flown far away by now."
Ha tried to provoke Quirrell with words, hoping to create an emotional turmoil and gain a greater advantage in the upcoming battle. However, to his surprise, Quirrell readily agreed to his explanation.
“You’re right, especially compared to my great master, my power is so weak. If I hadn’t met my master, I would still be a foolish boy who believes in ‘right and wrong.’ So Potter, do you understand? In this world, only power is unshakeable. Don’t let those incompetent people and those useless people who don’t even have the courage to pursue power hold you back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Mirror of Erised flew toward Harry.
Harry, thinking Quirrell's attack had begun, instinctively did a side roll, then raised his wand and pointed at a head hidden under a large turban in the distance, reading:
"Reducto!" (shattered to pieces)
"Protego." (armor)
Quirrell blocked Harry's attack with a serious expression, and it was clear that it wasn't an easy task for him either.
"Calm down, Potter. Think about it carefully. Master doesn't intend to be your enemy, otherwise I would have attacked you the moment you walked in. Take the Philosopher's Stone from this mirror, and Master can let you and him accomplish something earth-shattering."
Harry slowly stood up. He realized Quirrell truly meant him no harm, and cautiously looked into the Mirror of Erised. Unlike the previous scenes where his parents appeared, Harry saw his reflection smiling as he pulled a bright red stone from his pocket, then put it back. At the same time, something heavy actually fell into his pocket.
"Accio Philosopher's Stone!" (The Philosopher's Stone flies in!)
A sharp voice suddenly came from Quirrell's direction, and Harry felt a tremendous force about to pull him and the Philosopher's Stone in his pocket towards it.
"Aresto Momentum!" (Shock absorption to stop speed)
"Finite Incantatem!" (All curses end)
After finally managing to land safely, Harry was about to continue casting spells when he suddenly stopped. He discovered that Quirrell had removed his turban at some point, and the creature that had just cast the Summoning Charm on him was actually a terrifying, grotesque face growing on the back of his head.
"Harry Potter, you're very talented and incredibly brave, just like your parents..."
The voice coming from that face was like a snake flicking its tongue.
"Thanks to you, I've become something that's neither human nor ghost. But I won't hold a grudge against a child. As long as you give me the magic stone in your pocket, I can grant you any wish, including resurrecting your parents."
Voldemort responded with a spell that roared with fire.
"Foolish fellow."
Voldemort easily deflected the oncoming flames and continued:
“Are you underestimating me? The unicorn blood and the two-headed giant bred with dark magic have restored a lot of my strength. I can now completely control Quirrell’s mind and heart. Of course, he is not strong enough. I need the Philosopher’s Stone and the elixir of immortality to recreate a new body.”
Harry said coldly:
Do you think saying this to me a few more times will change anything?
Voldemort laughed, his hideous mouth looking like someone had slashed a dried carrot.
“Hahaha, I’m not talking to you, Harry… there’s another guy inside you, I know… he may not have his own face, but I can feel his soul.”
“You are not Harry Potter, you don’t need to be my enemy. Take over his body, crush Harry Potter’s soul. With the power you’ve accumulated, you’re already strong enough to suppress his consciousness. I will teach you how to completely control his body. As long as the two of us work together…”
Mo Ran didn't want to listen to Voldemort's rambling anymore. Even if he hadn't seen the old devil's classic statement before killing Snape—that only he could gain immortality—he would never betray Harry and become a traitor that even he himself despised.
The raging Obscurus was almost instantly upon Voldemort. Even with his mastery of dark magic, the Dark Lord couldn't be immune to the black mist's damage when Obscurus unleashed its full power. He manipulated Quirrell's hands, gripping his wand in a bizarre posture, awkwardly defending against Obscurus's attack. Seconds later, all the floor tiles, pillars, and even the rock-built roof in the room in front of Harry were reduced to rubble.
"Kill him together! Harry! Don't be fooled!"
Mo Ran decisively dispelled Harry's doubts. Then, before Voldemort could stand up, the Obscurus and Harry's spell attacked him together.
"Expulso!" (Sand and stones flying)
"Oppugno!" (A barrage of bullets)
"Confringo!" (Thunderous explosion)
Having witnessed Voldemort's power, Harry abandoned the use of spells with concentrated destructive power. Instead, he used the rubble crushed by the Obscurus to launch a wide-ranging disruptive attack on Voldemort.
Mo Ran naturally understood Harry's intentions. It circled around Voldemort, occasionally darting out from his blind spot, and sometimes turning its body into a complete black mist to help Harry avoid Voldemort's counterattacks.
And so, the Dark Lord, whose name many wizards dared not utter, was actually forced to a draw by a first-year junior wizard.
"Reverte!" (Restore everything)
"Reparo!" (Restored to its original state)
Suddenly, Voldemort waved his wand, recalling all the rubble that Mo Ran had destroyed back to their original positions. Except for the black mist that was still attacking him, everything seemed to be playing in reverse.
The dust coalesced into stones, which in turn formed bricks and pillars. They floated up or rolled and bounced around, reassembling the room back to its original state.
Mo Ran instinctively reached out to tear everything in the room to shreds again, but when he touched the stone walls once more, he discovered that Voldemort had actually attached a rather sturdy armor spell to them.
"It's a silence spell! He secretly used magic to protect the room. If the space shrinks, I won't be able to fly as fast. Be careful of his attacks, Harry!"
As soon as Moran's voice echoed in Harry's mind, a curse shot towards him from Voldemort's side. Thanks to his talent as the Seeker in Quidditch, Harry skillfully dodged the red light.
"Watch out for that green curse, that's the Killing Curse—Avada Kedavra! You have to get away from it, get away from it, understand? That curse can't be blocked by any magic. Also, don't just listen to his voice. Voldemort can cast the Silent Curse with ease, like drinking water. We were already fooled by him once with that trick, we can't fall for it again!"
Harry didn't ponder why Moran knew so much; he even hoped Moran knew as many combat techniques as possible. Unfortunately, even against a weakened Voldemort possessing Quirrell, he couldn't maintain a prolonged stalemate with Moran.