Lady Rowena
Funnily, Harry was more nervous than when he summoned Slytherin for the first time. He couldn’t tell why, exactly. He had less of a connection to Ravenclaw than Slytherin, but his nerves were fluttering. It also made it pretty hard to concentrate. He had no problem summoning his parents or even Merlin by this point, but it was always harder the first time.
And Merlin’s staring wasn’t helping.
He closed his eyes to better ignore him and concentrated on Ravenclaw’s echo, anything to locate her, and when he felt like he got it, he pulled, coaxing her to the land of the living.
There wasn’t really a way to be sure it had worked, except for – “Merlin”, a woman’s voice sounded. “I would have expected you to last longer. Giving up so early?”
Harry opened his eyes to see a beautiful woman with raven black hair in an elegant bun looking at him. Her lips were pressed into a small line, her hands neatly folded behind her back. Somehow she reminded him of McGonagall. Merlin snorted. “Oh, I’ve given up weeks ago. He’s hopeless. Doesn’t know a thing about runes as well.” Ravenclaw tilts her head, taking Harry in, who threw a glare at Merlin. “Runes?”, she hummed. “Tell me how I can help.”
««»»
Harry’s head was throbbing. Not in the way he was used to with the scar on his forehead, but in the way it usually did when Hermione tried to explain magical theory to him. “So, one more time… When I enter, I activate this rune…”, he pointed to the one nearest to him, “And that will activate this one”, he pointed to one at the ceiling, opposite to the position on the circle than the one on the ground, “And with that the circle on the ceiling is activated and powers the Legilimancy ward as long as both of us are standing in this circle.”
“Thank god”, Merlin said tiredly, reaching with his hands towards the ceiling as if in prayer. “He’s finally got it, now can we go? I have places to beee –“, Lady Ravenclaw interrupted his whining by whacking him over the head like an unruly child. “Merlin! Get a grip on your manners!”
Merlin hummed and pressed his lips together. “Yes, Lady Rowena. Sorry”, he rolled his eyes at Harry without her noticing. Harry was immediately reminded of Fred and George making faces behind Mrs. Weasley’s back.
“Now, will you two be able to finish this on your own? I have some business to attend to. I can only leave Godric and Salazar alone for so long. Even in the afterlife, they’re a handful.” “Wouldn’t Helga be better suited for that?”, Merlin asked and Ravenclaw raised her eyebrows.
“Keep your smart mouth to your yourself, Merlin, and keep to the task assigned to you, while I keep to mine.”
Merlin rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue with that. Harry was more intrigued by one tiny detail Ravenclaw had mentioned. “Task?”
Her and Merlin shared a glance, then Harry felt a soft tug in his mind and let Ravenclaw dissipate into thin air. Who was he to deny her request after all? Merlin, on the other hand, owed him an explanation.
“Traitor!”, Merlin called after Ravenclaw, as she slowly vanished with a thin smile.
“So, what was it Lady Ravenclaw said about a task?”, Harry asked again and Merlin groaned. “Fine. Just let it be said, that the reason I didn’t tell you was, that I knew you would get the wrong impression.” Harry could already feel his frustration rising. He was starkly reminded of Dumbledore’s reasons to keep him in the dark for all these years.
“So, remember when you called to me for the first time? Down in the Chamber? Did you ever wonder how you called me there by… ‘accident’?”, he made quotes in the air, “Well, it is possible that Death told me beforehand to hold an ear out in case ‘Death’s Master’ was calling for me. I didn’t really think it would happen, but I guess I was wrong. You probably guessed it, but I didn’t like you at first.” “Really”, Harry said sarcastically. “Yes, unbelievable, I know. The thing is, Death told me to help you with what you’re doing, so here I am. You aren’t as obnoxious as I first thought you were though.”
“Great”, Harry said frustratedly. This was Dumbledore all over again, wasn’t it? Death was pulling the strings, controlling even who he was working together with, and watching from the sidelines, probably having a good laugh as well.
“Look, it’s not what you think. Maybe it was at first but –“ “I don’t want to hear it, actually”, Harry said curtly. “Let’s finish this and then you can go back to your buddies in the afterlife.”
“Harsh”, Merlin muttered, but got back to work anyway.
««»»
Harry was sitting on his bed, reading over a book with some advanced spells to revise. He was undeniably nervous and it made him angry. What made him even more angry was, that Death had told Merlin to help him. Of course he was aware, that Merlin hadn’t liked him at first. To be honest, he hadn’t liked him too much either. But by now, he thought they had come to an understanding.
It brought up resentment he hadn’t even been aware he had held. When Death had shown him, how the fight would have turned out, if he had decided to stay and not go back to this time, he had thought he would leave it all behind. But the truth was, being here and reliving his old life, it showed him how much he was still living in the past. He had never actually defeated Voldemort. He would have, sure. But he had never actually done it. He also thought he had forgiven Dumbledore for his behaviour and how he had instigated it all and controlled his life in search of a solution for defeating a seemingly undefeatable wizard, but with Merlin’s revelation, it had become clear to Harry, that he wasn’t over it. He wasn’t even sure he ever truly would be.
It was kind of eye opening and also humbling. Because he knew he couldn’t fix everything and everyone. He wouldn’t make it all right, but he would bloody well try it.
Another thing that came to mind was the stupid mandrake leaf. He would have to tell Fred and George they needed to wait until the holidays at least to try again, because he couldn’t risk Voldemort getting even a hint about what he was about to do. “I told you so”, his father had just said when he complained about that and Harry had to admit, that becoming an Animagus was more difficult than he had anticipated. Hell, he hadn’t even passed the first step after a quarter of a year or something!
««»»
As expected, Fred and George weren’t too thrilled, that he postponed again on the mandrake leaf, but were very understanding as well. They spent the day by the lake, together with Lee and Ron. – At least until the twins were whisked away by Oliver, who berated them for skipping training three days before the most important game of the year. They made faces at him behind his back, but submitted to their fate without much of a fuss and left Harry behind with Ron and Lee.
“Oliver is a bit obsessed, isn’t he?”, Harry asked innocently and Lee barked a laugh. “You have no idea! You’re good with Terence Higgs, aren’t you?”, Harry nodded, “He’s no match for Oliver Wood in terms of obsession. Wood’s almost manic.” Harry hummed and a thought came him to mind, that he had shoved aside during the last months, because it just hadn’t had the same priority as others: “I thought about trying out for seeker next year when he’s graduated. I’d have to play against Fred and George of course, but I think it could be fun.”
Lee grinned diabolically. “I’ll help you train. Just promise me they’ll know when you stand opposed to each other on the pitch and not before. I want to see their faces.” Harry laughed. “I could be dreadful though”, he pointed out, but this time Ron interjected: “No chance, mate. I saw you during flying lessons, didn’t I? You’re a natural. And you’re scrawny, perfect seeker material.”
“Thanks”, Harry said dryly. Ron’s ears coloured pink slightly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Harry grinned. “I know. Where’s Hermione anyway?” He hadn’t talked to her for a few weeks, actually. He had been sure she was busy with studying for the exams and judging from Ron’s grimace, he was probably right.
“She’s chasing Professor Flitwick to know how her exam went. She’s been insufferable, really – With studying, I mean”, Ron added quickly when he picked up and how he had sounded. “I’ll never understand how anyone can willingly study so much.” Harry chuckled. “No, you won’t.”
“He left!”
Harry almost jumped out of his skin, when Merlin suddenly appeared out of nothing, blaring in his face. “Sweet Merlin!”
Merlin grinned. “That’s me, yes. Sweet, hm? Not what people normally describe me as.” Harry groaned.
“Harry? What’s the matter?”, Lee asked confused and Harry managed an apologetic expression. “Sorry, I just remembered I needed to write to my relatives when they need to pick me up. I send it with Muggle post, so it’ll take longer. Sorry!”
Lee and Ron laughed, as he jumped up and ran towards the castle.
“You do know the Owlery is in the other direction, yes?”, Merlin supplied helpfully. “I’ll just say I went to get some parchment or ink.” “They’ll notice when you don’t come back though”, he pointed out and Harry groaned in frustration. “Honestly, I don’t care”, he said loudly. “I just care to get to the third floor fast enough.”
Merlin shrugged. “It’s your funeral. You know, there’s more to a plan than simply executing it. First you must… plan.”
Harry glared at him and Merlin grinned, but then made a motion as if locking his mouth. “Shutting up, no worries.”
««»»
Despite what Merlin was thinking Harry found his plan to be quite solid. He was waiting in a hidden corner of the third floor corridor under his invisibility cloak for Quirrell to come through. Merlin had been shadowing Dumbledore all day to tell Harry exactly, when he would leave and then he would just need to wait and follow Quirrell in a save distance.
It was quite unnerving though, to sit here and wait for Voldemort to walk past him. Especially since he didn’t know how long he had stared at the mirror the last time, trying to figure out how to work it.
With nothing to do to entertain himself and only Merlin as dead company, he found himself counting the seconds and practiced a bit of wandless magic under his cloak. He knew it wouldn’t show any of what he did there, but Merlin confirmed as well, that on the outside there was nothing visible.
It was infuriating, how little of a weakling flame he was producing as of now. It barely lived through the shallow breaths Harry inevitably blew at it and rang for air, material, anything to latch energy from. Harry guided a little more magic through his fingertips and it flickered again, then grew slightly and shrank again. If only he could –
“Watch out!”, Merlin jumped away from the door he had eavesdropped at and as soon as he did, Quirrell marched in without a care in the world, walking right through Merlin towards the other end of the corridor.
“Rude”, Merlin muttered and whisked a few specks of imaginative dust off his shoulder. Harry formed a fist and choked the small flame in his hand, then quietly followed after Quirrell, careful to not make any sound. He stopped several feet behind him and watched, as he conjured a simple harp. As if plucked by invisible hands, the strings vibrated and played a simple, yet beautiful melody. Deatheater currently possessed by Voldemort himself or not, Quirrell knew a thing or two about music.
Wordlessly Quirrell opened the door and Fluffy, immediately hearing the soft melody, didn’t even have time to become agitated, but quickly settled into a deep slumber.
Harry watched as Quirrell entered the room and threw the trapdoor open with a simple flick of his wand. “Penna ad casus.” He made another step and now stood right above the trapdoor, sailing downwards gently.
“You have to admit, he does it far more elegant than you”, Merlin snarked and Harry glared at him – Merlin couldn’t see it of course, but judging from his grin he knew exactly what Harry thought about his comment. “Could you keep the thought about Voldemort’s form to yourself?”, he hissed instead, but Merlin’s grin only widened. “I’d say it was a solid six out of ten. He could do with a little more muscle tension.”
There was a blindingly bright ray of sunshine radiating through the open trapdoor and Harry was worried for a moment, that it would wake Fluffy, but the harp was still doing its magic. “Go down there and tell me if he’s gone into the key room”, Harry whispered.
Merlin saluted mockingly. “On your command, my liege”, he jumped right down the hole. There was no sound of him hitting the ground or the plant of course, so Harry waited. “Your Professor Sprout has no sense for interior decoration!”, it sounded up to him and Harry sighed. He couldn’t shout if he didn’t know where Quirrell was and Merlin knew it.
“He’s gone”, Merlin said finally and Harry wasted no time in enlarging the school broom he had… borrowed and gliding down the hole. It was a snug fit, but it worked in the end and he landed safely on the ground. The Devil’s Snare was still hiding in the back of the room. Quirrell’s burst of light had been very powerful, apparently, and it hadn’t yet slithered back into its original spot.
Harry got off the broom and sat down on the floor in the corner nearest to the door. “Did you ever think about… you know, waiting until he was through all of the obstacles until following?”, Merlin asked. Harry fended off a Devil Snare tentacle with another flame he conjured in his hand, but didn’t answer. He couldn’t be sure how soundproof the doors were down here. They were magically sealed for sure, but that didn’t say anything about the sound. That also meant he couldn’t send Merlin ahead to look how far Quirrell had come and had to wait and guess. But it was better than the alternative: He had more control over what happened and when it happened. He would finally be – not ahead, but at least not ten steps behind and it was on his own terms. No one else was controlling his steps.
Not even Merlin.
Not even Death.
««»»
“He’s a spoilsport”, Merlin said when Harry entered the room. “Looked at the board once, then vanished all the pieces and destroyed the few that came at him.”
Harry had to admit, the idea of Voldemort obediently playing along with McGonagall’s giant chess game was a bit naïve, but somehow it actually impressed him that… “He really outdid McGonagall in transfigurations?”
Merlin shrugged. “I can’t deny his spellwork is solid. Although I’d imagine McGonagall had taken some precautions against –“, there was a low, rumbling sound and suddenly a giant chess piece in form of a knight appeared at the side of the board, accompanied by a pawn. Or two. It took Harry only a moment to realize what was happening and he sprinted across the rapidly filling board, evading chess pieces that appeared out of nowhere.
He barely made it to the other end, before the board was completed again with the opposing black and white chess pieces. “Holy shit”, Merlin muttered. “Look, McGonagall did put in safety precautions after all. Probably didn’t think such a powerful wizard would come through here. Hat’s up to her.”
Harry agreed silently. He couldn’t help but be proud of his former head of house, for besting Voldemort’s spells. – Slightly too late to actually hinder him, but a feat nonetheless.
They didn’t need to wait long for Quirrell to clear the troll in the next room and followed after him. With Snape’s riddle it took significantly longer until they heard any kind of noise that indicated he went into the next room and Harry couldn’t help the small, petty spark in his chest, that screamed: Hermione is smarter than you!
It was a strange kind of déjà vu though, when he stood there in the last riddle room and stared at the flasks and vials, killing time with Merlin as his continuous background noise to wait for Voldemort to examine the mirror and try for solutions. He wouldn’t get the stone anyway.