The Greedy Frog
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HP: The Slytherin's Heir Chapter 39
🕑 Added 2024-02-23 15:56:15 +0000 UTCChapter 39: The Man With Two Faces (½)
Sebastian and the trio, after solving countless trials and going through a mage filled with traps finally found their exit.
However, the exit that the trio expected to be the way to the Philosopher’s Stone, turned out to be a closed chamber with a certain man standing guard.
A man that Sebastian knew.
“A man that teaches defense against the dark arts being this influenced by said dark arts,” Sebastian laughed, a laugh of contempt. “Quite the ironical situation.”
While walking through the maze, he knew that the presence he felt was one that he had experienced before. It belonged to a person that he had interacted with.
“Why?” Harry asked, his eyes wide in confusion. “Why is it you? Why is it not Snape?”
The man that stood perplexed previously finally regain his senses, standing straight and fixing his composure.
“Severus?” The man stared at them, “He does seem the type, doesn’t he? Mysterious, suspicious and always swooping around like an overgrown bat.”
His expression turned to that of mockery, “With him around, who would have suspected the p-p-poor s-stuttering p-professor Quirrell?”
“And so you let him take all the blame while you snooped around looking for the stone.” Sebastian frowned, “Seeing how even you are involved, I am forced to believe that this stone… whatever it is, is special.”
“That it is.” Quirrel said, “And if not for Dumbledore being busy with the ministry, I would have been faced with a much more difficult time. But I have you to thank for him being busy, Sebastian Slytherin.”
In all honesty, Sebastian was beyond confused. He had no idea what was going on in Hogwarts and what the trio had been involving themselves with. But if he realized one thing, that was the fact that he had been too engrossed in learning magic and walking behind the professors, that he had missed a lot of things.
Things that he should have been part of.
“Snape…” Harry felt defeated, “Snape tried to kill me.”
“No no no, Potter.” The man looked at Harry as if mocking him, “I tried to kill you. And if not for little miss Granger there knocking me over, I would have been successful.”
“When– Oh.” Hermione suddenly remembered what he meant.
“Yes, the time when you set fire on Snape’s robe.” Quirrel said, “If not for him chanting charms to protect Harry or you knocking me over, dear Mr. Potter wouldn’t be here with us today.”
“Snape,” Harry couldn’t believe what he heard, “He… He was trying to protect me?”
“Of course,” Quirrel said with a smirk. “Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn’t do it again.”
The man locked his fingers. “Quite hilarious to be honest. He did not have to bother. I couldn’t do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular… and what a waste of time, when after all that, I’m going to kill you tonight.”
The man stepped back a little, “You have been a pain Potter. Scurrying around even during Halloween. For all I know, you might have even seen me coming to look at what was guarding the stone.”
“You let the troll inside?”
Seeing Harry’s astonishment, the man laughed, “Who else would it have been? From the troll to the injured unicorns, everything was by me and for him.”
‘I have been stupid all this time, haven’t I?’ Sebastian thought to himself, ‘So many things happened and I knew nothing. I heard that there was something hunting unicorns from Hagrid but I paid no attention as I was too engrossed in learning magic, securing deals and other things.’
He understood that this was important. It was all happening inside Hogwarts and to him.
And Hogwarts was home.
‘No more.’
He made up his mind that no matter what, he was going to explore Hogwarts and unravel all the secrets it had to offer.
‘This cannot be the only hidden mystery. It is Hogwarts, there has to be countless other such things hidden in here.’ He clenched his fists, ‘After all of this, let’s make a visit to Dumbledore and even if he tells me nothing, I will find out about this place.’
He was adamant.
“Now, Harry.” Quirrel’s face morphed into a massive smile, “Help me recover this stone.”
He moved back and pointed at a certain mirror.
“The Mirror of Erised!” Harry gasped.
“Ah, as he said.” The man laughed, “You already know about the mirror, which just makes this job a little too easy.”
And this was when Sebastian caught on, “You have been referring to someone.” He squinted his eyes, “Who is this person?”
That’s when Quirrel’s expression changed to horror. “Oh? I haven’t yet introduced my master to you, have I? How foolish have I been?!”
To Sebastian and the trio, it looked like the man feared about a sin that he made.
“I am deeply ashamed of not having introduced you, master.” He said, “Let me make amends for that.”
Saying this, he slowly started to undo his turban –which made everyone inside the room feel a chill down their spines.
“FoOl PrIoriTiZe thE StoNe!”
And this time, it was everyone that heard that voice.
‘What a horrendous voice…’ Sebastian found it beyond unpleasant. However, it was just the start.
After all, what Quirrell showed was not just something anyone would find good looking at.
“PoTtEr!”
“Now, that is beyond disgusting.” Sebastian's face morphed into a scowl at the sheer sight.
“PoTtEr!”
It didn’t matter what or who it was to Sebastian. Even the potent dark magic being emitted did not bother him.
But the sight…
The sight disgusted him.
“That’s…” Ron froze, his body seemingly going cold. “How?”
“He is–” Even Hermione’s voice was broken, confusing Sebastian.
But it was when Harry decided to voice his thoughts that he finally understood.
“Voldemort…”
Inside the turban, hidden behind the back of Quirrell and attached to his head’s back, was another face.
A very vile, serpentine and repulsive face.
“Voldemort?” Sebastian looked at Harry and then at the scene, “The dark wizard who started a war and tried to kill you?”
“Quiet!” Quirrell roared, “You will not talk in his presence!”
‘Professor Dumbledore said that Voldemort’s death has been a mystery. So, that means he was never killed to begin with?’
“GeT tHe sToNe…”
“Forgive me, master.” Quirrell gulped in nervousness, “It shall be looked for right away!”
Saying this, he looked at Harry –the boy who had been mumbling under his breath.
“You mean…” Harry’s eyes were trembling, “He was in class with us? All this time?”
Even Sebastian was surprised. While the heir did not attend that many classes of Quirrell as he already knew nearly everything that the man taught of, the times that he did, he ignored the dark magical energy that the man emitted.
‘But why didn’t I sense two magical essences like I did now?’ That was baffling to Sebastian, it was impossible that he would miss something so obvious.
“How did professor Dumbledore never find out?” Ron asked, finally enticing a response from Quirrell that Sebastian was looking for.
“Master… is very weak during the day as he needs to exert an enormous amount of energy to keep himself awake and alive. So, it is only when I feed him unicorn blood at night that his energy returns and he wakes up.” Quirrell explained, including things that none of them asked for.
“He showed me the way, he told me the truth about life, and he made me much happier.” The man continued, “I was lost, misguided thinking the world was divided into good and evil but he brought me back to reality. Taught me that it is not good and evil that marks a division, but the powerful and the powerless. The powerless consider the powerful evil and believe themselves to be good, a true idiocy.”
“But now,” He smiled at Harry, “Find the stone in the mirror, boy. Master desires it.”
“If YoU fiNd ThE sToNe… I wIlL fOrGiVe YoUr MiStAkEs, bOy.”
Quirrell added, “Master wants you to join him in his cause. So, be a smart person and help find the stone, Potter.”
“Harry don’t!” His friends shouted, but Quirrell did not like that.
“Hush, you fools!” Saying that, he flickered his fingers, “You shall stay behind!”
And if that shout wasn’t enough, a certain spell was also thrown out.
“Mimos Dominum Effingo!”
And with that simple spell, the ground around Ron, Hermione and Sebastian began to shake and in the matter of a few seconds –multiple creatures, big and strong, made of rock and clay emerged from the ground.
Golems.
Golemancy, a rare form of magic that was not often used and even forbidden in some places by the ministry.
“Stay behind and let the boy do what he needs to do.” Quirrell ordered.
However, while the man thought everything was going to go perfectly from now on, a certain boy did not enjoy the idea of an ugly evil wizard winning.
“You truly think you can just force someone to do your bidding in that fashion?” Sebastian asked, amused at the sight.
“Quiet fool!” Quirrell yelled, “An heir or not, a Slytherin or not! You stand in the presence of the Lord! You shall show him respect!”
“And if I don’t?” Sebastian mocked, something that he enjoyed doing.
“Then you shall pay!” Quirrell roared, “Golems, shred the fool into pieces!”
“Quite a petty trick.”
“You are outnumbered, boy!” Quirrell laughed, but unknown to him.
Numbers meant nothing to the heir of Slytherin.
“And you…” Sebastian looked at Quirrell, “Are outmatched.”
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[[A/N:
https://www.hogwartsishere.com/library/book/2414/chapter/2/
Golemancy was something I took from this fan site.
P.S. Next update will be for Marvel.
]]
