Explanations
Chapter 25
Harry's POV
Harry watched with wide eyes as Draco got hit with the spell and slammed into the wall behind him. He waited for a second, expecting Draco to get right back up like he always did, but that never happened.
He turned his attention back on Quirrell, who was now looking into the mirror, muttering something to himself. "Use the boy," Voldemort said weakly, and Quirrell ran over to Harry and pulled him in front of the mirror.
Harry looked into the mirror of erised and was surprised when he didn't see his parents standing next to him once more. Instead, he watched as the mirror version of him held a stone that he could only assume was The Sorcerer's Stone and placed it into his pocket. He was amazed when he felt the Stone by his side.
"What do you see?" Quirrell pressed as he hovered over the raven haired boy.
"I-I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. I've just won the house cup."'
"Ugh, move." Quirrell shoved Harry to the side and stood before the mirror to examine it again.
Harry looked around the room trying to find an exit, but he couldn't find one. He wished Hermione or Draco were here and able to help him. They seemed to always know what to do in situations like this. He looked back over at Draco's unconscious body and found new motivation. He needed to get Draco out of here and to the infirmary.
As Quirrell continued to look into the mirror, Harry could feel Voldemort's eyes on him. His scar started to burn worse than ever, but he knew he couldn't let it affect him now. When he tried to step away though, his legs wouldn't move.
"He lies. He lies," Voldemort told Quirrell, who then ran back over to Harry. "Turn around, I want to speak to him," Voldemort said again.
"Now Harry, I can help you. All you have to do is give me the stone that's in your pocket. Then we can get Draco help, and I can even help you get your parents back," Voldemort said with a smile.
"Liar!" Harry exclaimed, "You're the one who killed them!"
"How touching. . . I have always valued bravery. Yes, boy, your parents were brave too. . . I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight, but your mother needn't have died. She was trying to protect you. Now give me the Stone unless you want her death to be in vain."
"Never!" Harry shouted. He was able to move now and ran over to Draco. Voldemort started to scream, "Seize him! Seize him!" and before Harry could make it over to his friend, Quirrell dragged him back.
Harry thought his scar hurt before, but when Quirrell pushed his hand directly onto it, it was one the worst pains he had ever felt. He screamed and struggled to get free from Quirrell's grip.
Suddenly Quirrell got off of him, and Harry watched as he hunched over in pain. He saw his professor's hands covered in blisters.
Voldemort continued to scream orders at Quirrell to stop Harry, but Quirrell could only reply with, "Master, I can't hold him. My hands. . . my hands."
"Keep trying, or kill him you buffoon!" Voldemort demanded.
Quirrell grabbed hold of Harry again and pinned him to the ground with his knees. As he raised his wand about to throw a curse at the boy, Harry raised his own hands to Quirrell's face.
Harry's ears were filled with screeches of pain, and Quirrell rolled off him. Blisters covered his face from Harry's touch, and it was then Harry realized Quirrell couldn't touch him. The only way he could survive was to keep hold of his professor as long as he could.
He ran over to Quirrell, who was still hunched over in pain, and grabbed onto his arm. He held on as tight as he could. His mind became jumbled with demands from Voldemort and Quirrell screaming and squirming.
As the pain in his head grew, Harry's vision started to become blurry and soon everything went black.
❀ ❀ ❀
Harry's vision was coming back and he saw a golden light in front of him. He reached towards it and soon realized it wasn't a light he was seeing. It was Professor Dumbledore.
"Where am I? Where's Draco?" Harry questioned as he looked around. He let out a sigh once he saw his blonde friend sitting only a few beds away already having a conversation with Snape.
"Good afternoon, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly and gave Harry a comforting smile, "You're in the infirmary right now and Mr. Malfoy is here too."
"Sir, The Stone. It was Quirrell. He's trying-" Harry tried to quickly explain.
"Calm down, Harry. I assure you, Quirrell does not have the stone."
Harry took the advice and looked at his bedside table. It was full of sweets and notes, but he didn't know who they were from.
"Loads of friends and admirers I see," Dumbledore pointed out nodding to the gifts, "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends, Mr. Fred and George Weasley tried to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."
Harry looked over to Draco's bed and saw Draco and Snape arguing. Though he could only assume they were arguing because he couldn't hear what they were saying.
"How long have we been here?" He asked Dumbledore.
"Three days. Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger will be happy to hear you're awake. They have been stopping by a lot and have become extremely worried." Dumbledore explained.
Draco and Snape's conversation was escalating when Harry looked over again. Draco was now sitting straight up and the annoyed look on his face only became more apparent.
"Sir, The Sorcerer's Stone-," Harry tried to explain again
"Professor Quirrell didn't manage to take the Stone from you. I got there in time to stop him," Dumbledore interrupted.
"It was you who pulled him off of me," Harry said, starting to make sense of the situation.
"Yes, I was almost too late too. Any longer, and you would likely be dead, but now the Stone has been destroyed."
"But what about Nicholas Flamel? I thought he was your friend?" Harry asked.
"Ah yes, Nicholas and I have talked and we decided it was the right thing to do."
"But won't he and his wife die then?" Harry pointed out.
"They have enough Elixir left to sort things out, and then they will eventually die."
Harry pondered on that for a moment before asking another question. "I've been thinking, sir, that even if the Stone is gone, Vol- I mean You-Know-Who-"
"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper names for things. Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself," Dumbledore corrected.
"Yes, Well Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he isn't gone is he?"
Dumbledore sighed. "No, Harry, he is not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share. . . not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time- and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."
Harry nodded along, but then stopped. "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me things. I want to know the truth about. . ."
"The truth, it is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a reason not to."
"Ok, Voldemort said he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me, but why would he want to kill me?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore sighed again, "I'm sorry Harry, but I can not disclose that information with you right now. You will soon understand why."
"Well then, why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"
"You see Harry, your mother died to save your life. If there is one thing Voldemort will never understand it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves it's own mark. That's how you survived the night your parents died, and why Quirrell can never touch you while sharing a soul with Voldemort. That love is still with you today."
Harry's eyes filled with tears and he took a moment to dry them off on the sheets. "One more thing, Quirrell said that Snape saved my life, but I don't understand why he would do that?"
"Ah, yes, one thing you should know, Harry, is Severus and your Father have never had the best relationship. Always fighting over things that truly never mattered, but one day your father did something Severus could never forgive him for. He saved his life and I know you might be wondering why Severus would hate him for that, but after that he was in your father's debt and he couldn't stand that. So in a way, saving your life was like repaying him for the debt he owed."
After comprehending what Dumbledore had just said, Harry was about to ask one more question that had just popped into his mind, when the infirmary doors slammed open and someone started shouting.
"Where is he? Where is he?"