CHAPTER 52
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CHAPTER 52
Elmi, the architect of this covert operation, knew that their success hinged on a delicate balance of timing and distraction. As the students filed into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, anticipation hung thick in the air. Elmi, however, had one more crucial move to make.
With a seemingly innocuous excuse, Elmi persuaded Snape to summon Dumbledore and McGonagall to the classroom.
Snape, despite his stern exterior, harbored a protective instinct for those under his watchful eye. Convincing him required finesse, and Elmi, gradually earning the Potions Master's trust, became someone Snape cared for – a bond that added weight to his request. He could have explained their plan to Snape, but Snape would need more convincing since he was more protective than he let out to be to the people he cared for.
The pieces of the puzzle were set in place. Zabini and Ron had skeptical looks on their faces. They were becoming less convinced when they looked into the face of the bumbling professor in front of them.
The classroom after the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was the chosen battleground. Right after the lesson ended, Elmi approached Harry, pulling him aside for a crucial talk.
"Harry, listen closely. When we confront Quirrell, I need you to touch his face."
He grabbed Harry's arm and reiterated while pointing to his own face,
"Aim for the head."
Harry, bearing the weight of uncertainty, nodded hesitantly, his emerald eyes reflecting his hesitancy. Elmi, Hermione, Ron, Zabini, Daphne, Tracey, and Harry engaged in a conversation about defensive spells. Elmi, with a clever ruse, sought Quirrell's advice on casting a defensive spell, providing the perfect distraction to draw their wands without arousing suspicion.
"Professor Quirrell, could you share a tip on casting a proper defensive spell for the curse of the Bogies? Peeves is constantly casting this curse onto us. I know the spell but not the wand movement."
Quirrell, sensing an opportunity to showcase his expertise, showed the wand movement with his finger, unwittingly falling into their orchestrated distraction. As the group practiced the wand movements for the defensive spell, Harry moved cautiously towards Quirrell, poised to carry out the critical touch.
Harry reached out to touch his face. Yet, in the crucial moment, he hesitated, choosing to touch Quirrell's right hand instead. A sudden eruption of chaos ensued as Quirrell let out a piercing scream, his hand disintegrating into dust. Shock paralyzed everyone save for Elmi, who shouted at Harry,
"Touch his face!"
But Harry, too, froze out of shock and couldn't act right away. Even though Elmi had told them what would happen, even if they wanted to believe him, they all had their doubts, and seeing someone's hand turn into dust was a shocking event.
Elmi, recognizing the gravity of the situation, attempted to cast a stunning spell, but the dark force within Quirrell retaliated. Voldemort seized control, launching a wandless disarming spell that pushed Elmi and his wand in different directions.
The other members of the group snapped back to reality, witnessing the unfolding nightmare. Voldemort, now fully in control, unleashed a blasting spell, sending them hurtling backward. The impact echoed through the corridor, leaving a lingering silence as the dust settled.
Amidst the chaos, Elmi struggled to his feet, urgency etched across his features. Voldemort, through Quirrell, taunted them with a cold, hissing laughter.
"Foolish children, meddling in affairs beyond your comprehension."
Elmi cursed under his breath; why didn't Harry do what he told him, and where are Snape and Dumbledore? If they don't hurry, he has to show what he is capable of, or someone could seriously get hurt.
Voldemort looked around the room and saw everyone was starting to cast spells at him. He swung the stump left out of Quirrell's right hand, and a defensive shield appeared around him, blocking all the shots. He flung his wand, and a wave of fire burst forth toward them. Everyone cast their best shield, but the force of the spell was too powerful, and they were all pushed to the walls.
Voldemort turned his attention to Harry, "Ahh, Potter! You thought you could defeat me. Did you really think it was you who defeated me that night? How impertinent! For this, you will be punished."
He flung his wand again, and Harry was stunned and stiff in the air. He pulled Harry towards himself. At that moment, Elmi knew Voldemort couldn't hurt Harry, but he could still hurt others more, so he decided to ambush him. Elmi slowly got up without making any voice and cast Glaesum Lancia, his strongest spell.
But this time, he was casting it to kill, so Elmi cast two of them, and when they were materializing, he pushed his hand, combining them together to strengthen his spell; this created a bigger amber spear, and with great force, it flew towards Quirreell.
While Voldemort was going to cast a spell, he realized the amber-colored spear was coming toward him. He created a shield to deflect it, but the spear penetrated the shield and almost hit him. At the last second, he managed to deflect the spear with his wand, but it still hit his right arm and destroyed what was left of it.
Quirrell's face was full of terror; it was obvious he was feeling the pain of losing his arm, but the body didn't move in pain since Voldemort was controlling him. He was not feeling the pain, and Elmi saw a green light burst from the wand. A great fear filled him, but he moved without thinking and cast Invisibilis Fumus. He disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
The last two spells Elmi cast caused Voldemort to be shocked; he had never seen spells like those. An eleven-year-old boy was casting a penetration spell and invisibility; he smiled sinisterly and waved his wand, casting a modified Depulso that pushed everything around him in a circle with constant force. Elmi shouted, "Protegus Repellus."
A shimmering globe of magical shields burst fort from Elmi, protecting him, but this caused him to be exposed. The Depulso magic was too powerful. If he stopped supplying winds of magic to the spell, his shield would fail.
Voldemort didn't have his right arm, and he was bleeding profusely. Realizing this, he cast a fire spell and cauterized the arm. Quirrell's face was changing from one shape to another. He was in agony, but he could do nothing. Elmi couldn't move, and he could see Voldemort was getting ready to cast another killing curse.
Elmi's heart sank. He was defenseless and decided that rather than getting hit by the killing curse, he let go of his shield, and it felt like he was hit by a truck.
The force of the Depulso flung him to the wall. As he flew back, the green light hit where he was standing. When he crushed onto the wall, the wind got knocked out of him.
Elmi couldn't breathe or move. With great hardship, he was sure some of his ribs were broken. He was able to lift his head, and he saw a green light come towards him again. He thought this was it; I was going to die because Harry was incapable of following simple instructions.
All he could do was close his eyes, but at that moment, the floor of the classroom rose in front of him and created a wall. The green light hit the wall and exploded like a green firework. Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall were standing near the door. While Dumbledore and Snape were bombarding Voldemort with spells, Magonagall had created a wall in front of all the students.
One of the spells caused Quirrell to fly off. Even though one of his legs looked broken, Quarrell had no problem standing. At that moment, the force of the blasts had caused the turban on his head to fly, revealing the sinister face behind Quirrell's head.
Quarrell's face was full of agony, but Voldemort had a menacing look and said, "Welcome, Professor. It had been a long time since we last saw each other."
From the moment Quirrell's hand turned into dust, Voldemort knew there was no way for him to leave here in Quirrell's body.
Dumbledore and the other professors were shocked when they saw that face.
The shock was only momentarily, but that was all Voldemort needed. Dumbledore raised his wand to send a new spell, but before the spell could reach him, Voldemort released his hold on Quirrell and left his body. Voldemort's form looked like a dementor made out of the darkest smoke. Snape and Dumbledore kept sending spells toward him, but his ethereal-looking form was too fast. He flew into the fireplace and left the room.