Janus

Part X: Janus

Harry rocketed through the air on the broom, keeping his eyes locked firmly on the key with the crumpled wing. Quite a lot of the keys seemed to almost be… guarding it. That wasn't good. The Devil's Snare and the Cerberus both had the possibility to be lethal, and Harry failed to see why this obstacle would be any different.

For now, it seemed simple enough. Grab the key. But surely it wouldn't be that simple. Harry braced himself as he looped up and around, extending one arm as he was briefly upside down.

His fingers grasped the old-fashioned silver key, and the other keys instantly turned hostile.

Harry let out a shout as dozens of metal objects zoomed at his face like bullets, but then he heard Hermione shout.

"Arresto Momentum!" Hermione shouted, and the keys all froze in mid-air.

Harry let out a whoop of relief and he hurtled back down towards the ground, more shaken than he wanted to be.

"You had me worried for a second, Potter." Daphne tried to smirk, but he could see the actual fear for him in her eyes.

"Well, I'd be a goner for sure if it wasn't for you, 'Mione." Harry smiled at Hermione, who's cheeks reddened.

"'Mione?" she repeated, smiling shyly.

"Sure. I call Daphne 'Daph'. You may as well have a nickname, too." Harry said.

"Don't I get a nickname?" Susan asked. Harry looked at the buxom redhead who wasn't trying to hide just how shaken she was after almost seeing Harry get impaled by a flock of keys.

"Course you do. Your nickname can be Sue." Harry said. And with that, he walked towards the door. He used the hard-won key in his hand, and it opened instantly.

Harry let go of the key, and it fluttered back up to its' motionless companions.

Harry, Daph, Mione, and Sue all went through the door, and emerged in a large square room, the floor of which was decorated like a chessboard.

Elaborate, life-sized chess pieces were on the board.

"It's a full scale game of chess." Susan said, confused.

"How is this meant to be difficult?" Daphne wondered.

"Well, I imagine you have to win to get through." Hermione said.

"In wizard chess, when your piece gets taken, it gets beat to hell by the piece that took it. Getting taken in this game would probably have the same result." Harry said quietly. The three girls sobered.

"How do we do this, then?" Daphne prompted.

"I guess we just take the place of four pieces." Harry said.

"Uh huh." Daphne said.

"Is anyone here a chess prodigy?" Susan asked. Harry, Daphne, and Susan all looked expectantly at Hermione.

"Me? No, I've never played much chess at all. I know the rules, and how the pieces move, but I'm not too good." Hermione said.

"Me too." Harry admitted.

It didn't take long for the four to realize they were all painfully average at chess, despite their combined intellect and magical prowess.

"Look, with our four brains, we should be able to work our way through his. Look, Harry, you should be the King. I'll be Queen, Hermione can be a Bishop, and Susan can be a Rook. That way we all have different capabilities." Daphne reasoned.

"Yeah. And don't take any crazy risks, guys. Our goal is to get us four through the game. No sacrifice plays." Harry ordered.

"Aye aye." Daphne mock saluted.

The four students approached the pieces they were replacing, and those pieces slid off the chessboard. Harry stepped onto the white square reserved for the King, and was flanked by Daphne and Hermione. Susan was on the end as the Rook.

A black pawn slid forwards, and the game began.

The white team began suffering heavy losses early on. They lost four pawns in almost as many turns, and to their horror but not precisely surprise, those four pawns were taken in brutal ways.

Daphne was really the equalizer, though. Despite her claimed inability, she zipped around the chessboard and captured numerous black pieces, then darted back to safety. The diagonally traveling Hermione and straight traveling Susan helped whenever they could, but Daphne was cold-blooded and calculating. A true Slytherin, which Harry had never been more grateful for.

It was hard watching the three girls do all the work and not being able to particularly help them, due to his limited move spaces. Harry couldn't help but wonder if, after the key room, Daphne had purposefully orchestrated things in this room so that she would be in danger while he was relatively safe.

Harry helped with the strategy of it all, but he was a spectator from afar.

Thanks to Daphne's brilliant mind, it soon came down to a very close game.

The white team had the four students remaining, along with a Knight.

The black team had a King, their Queen, and both Bishops left untaken.

It took a long time, but the quartet deliberated quite a lot about potential outcomes, and then Susan pressed the attack.

One of the black Bishops put itself in a position to assault Susan, and Daphne zoomed in to take the Bishop.

Too late, Harry realized the trap. Even halfway across the chessboard, Hermione's gasp could be heard.

The remaining Bishop came from across the entire chessboard and whacked Daphne.

Rage like Harry had never known filled him, and Harry's wand seemed to fly to his hand.

"Bombarda!" Harry shouted, expecting the Bishop to blast apart. Instead, it absorbed the magic and looked directly at Harry with cold, stone eyes.

Harry wanted to run to Daphne, but some part of him sensed that that would count as a forfeit, and he couldn't let her sacrifice be in vein. Harry tore his eyes off her motionless form, trying to ignore the growing pool of crimson on the black tile she laid on.

The remaining three played shakily, but Daphne had once again managed to orchestrate things for her desired outcome. In four turns, the black King was dethroned.

The second the King submitted, Harry was sprinting across the chessboard to Daphne, who was bleeding from her forehead.

That was good, right? Head injuries always looked worse than they were, right?

Hermione and Susan joined him instants later, and he looked up at them with lost eyes.

"I don't… whatever these rooms are guarding, it must be important." Harry said.

"It must be." Hermione agreed, her eyes flicking down to the motionless blond on the floor.

"I can't let Quirrel have it. I just can't. I have no idea what it is, but if I don't keep going, then Daphne took that hit for no reason." Harry said firmly.

"We can't just leave her here!" Hermione gasped.

"No, definitely not. Susan, will you please stay with her? You know more healing stuff than either of us do." Harry said.

"Of course." Susan said, grasping her wand.

Harry and Hermione set off into the next room alone together. The door had swung open when the black King had fallen.

"Are you OK?" Hermione asked as they walked together through a hallway.

"No. Seeing Daphne hurt… I never thought anything could really hurt her." Harry confessed. Hermione looked sympathetic.

"I hope this next room's some kind of fight. I need to fight something." Harry growled.

Hermione opened the door, and the thick scent of blood carried into the corridor.

Harry stared at the fresh corpse of a troll, having been slain by some sort of airborne blade, from the looks of it. The creature was nearly sliced in half at the ribcage.

Hermione looked vaguely nauseous, and Harry didn't feel too great himself.

They passed through the troll room unobstructed, and then they entered a small room with seven vials all along a table.

Harry and Hermione moved to read the parchment that sat on the table as well. As they approached the table, great walls of fire leapt up behind and before them, trapping them. The one before them was black fire, and the one behind them was purple fire.

"It's a riddle!" Hermione gasped. Harry scanned it once.

"Nope." he said, lifting his wand.

"Accio Nettle Wine!" Harry cried, and two bottles leapt forwards. Harry sidestepped, and they flew into the wall of fire.

"Accio Poison!" Harry incanted, and three bottles flew towards him. Once again, he dodged, and the bottles burnt.

Hermione was looking at him like he was a genius.

"Alright, so one's for the black fire, one's for the purple. That's a little vague for the Summoning Charm, but I can give it a go." Harry said.

"I can't believe you know the Summoning Charm! That's fourth year spellwork." Hermione enthused.

"Mum's got her old Hogwarts spellbooks at Potter Manor, and absolutely no issue with me doing magic outside of school, so I've got in a lot of practice." Harry explained.

"You're so lucky! My house is watched by the Ministry because it's Muggle." Hermione said disappointedly.

"Well, if we survive this, you're welcome by over the summer." Harry said.

"Don't joke about dying!" Hermione said sharply.

"Accio Go Forward Potion!" Harry tried, and to his amazement, one of the two remaining vials leapt forward, the black one, to be exact.

"Wait!" Hermione cried.

"What?" Harry asked.

"The vial that lets you through the black fire is black? Really? No way. This is a trap, some way to fool the Summoning Charm." Hermione said firmly.

"Then how do we know it's not poison?" Harry asked, "If we can't trust the Summoning Charm…"

He trailed off.

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried to cheat the riddle." Hermione fretted. Harry made an impulsive decision. He walked forwards, placed down the black vial, lifted the other remaining vial and took the only swallow of it.

An icy sort of feeling spread through him, and he grinned at Hermione.

"I reckon you were right, you know." Harry said.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione shouted, clearly knowing him too well.

"Go help Susan get Daphne to safety." Harry said, and then he stepped through the black flames.

———

On the other side, he found Professor Quirrel examining the Mirror of Erised, which was apparently no longer where Harry and Dumbledore had spoke of it.

"What are you here to get?" Harry asked, wand held ready.

Quirrel turned with a slightly surprised look on his face.

"I'm surprised at you, Potter. I figured you'd have come for me long before now." Quirrel scowled, all traces of a stutter entirely gone.

"Why is that?" Harry asked warily, moving slowly into the room. He was nearly in view of the glass of the Mirror of Erised.

A look of astonishment filled Quirrel's face.

"You don't know? You don't know who I am, what I'm here for? Then why are you here at all?" Quirrel asked incredulously.

"I saw you enter this gauntlet, and figured you must be up to no good." Harry admitted, feeling a little uncertain now.

This Quirrel seemed confident and competent, not at all who he'd expected to face.

Quirrel roared with laughter.

"I most certainly am, or rather… we are." Quirrel said, reaching up to undo his large purple turban.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked in confusion.

"You will see, Potter…" a high, raspy voice drawled. Harry took a step back. Quirrel's lips had not moved.

Quirrel's turban fell to the floor, and he turned around to face away from Harry.

But Quirrel had a face on the back of his head. A face with slitted nostrils, red eyes, and a ghostly complexion.

"Voldemort." Harry breathed in fear and shock.

"Hello, Boy-Who-Lived." Voldemort said mockingly.

"How is this possible?" Harry demanded.

"I am a loyal servant! That is how this is possible!" Quirrel shouted.

"Ignore the rambling idiot." Voldemort spoke in a cold voice, "I encountered him in Transylvania and I bent him to my will. He carried me into Hogwarts, and here, to the Elixir of Life."

"The what?" Harry asked.

"The Philosopher's Stone. The Fount of Youth. The Elixir of Life. The Stone of Gold. It goes by many names, but it promises not just immense wealth, but everlasting life." Voldemort hissed.

"That's what you're here for? Immortality and gold?" Harry asked.

"The Elixir is merely a stepping stone, a return to my former might. I have great plans, but I need a body for them to work. The Elixir will secure me that. Then, I will return to take what is mine! My empire!" Voldemort shouted.

"I won't let you." Harry said firmly, raising his wand.

"Turn!" Voldemort shouted, and Quirrel did.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, and Quirrel's wand flew from his hand.

"Imbecile!" Harry heard Voldemort hiss.

Quirrel looked fearful as Harry drew nearer. Not fearful of Harry, but fearful of Voldemort's wrath.

When Harry drew near, without warning, Quirrel sprang at Harry. His hands clawed at Harry's face, but then Quirrel started screaming, his hands blistering and cracking.

"What the-" Harry managed before Quirrel grabbed him in a chokehold. Quirrel's anguished screams filled the chamber, but his grip never faltered, despite the blisters, burns, and cracking skin spreading all up his arms and through his body.

It was as if Quirrel was not the one choosing to choke Harry.

The edges of Harry's vision starting going dark, and then the pressure on his airway abruptly ceased. Harry opened his eyes, and saw ash floating in the room where Quirrel had stood. A heavy sort of black mist hung in the air, and then, to Harry's surprise, it seemed to cluster together into a whirling black cloud, and then it flew at Harry.

Harry smashed through the Mirror of Erised and slammed into the wall. He fell into unconsciousness, with no knowledge of where the black cloud, undoubtedly Voldemort's spirit, had gone.

———

Harry woke up to a bright light shining in his eyes. He held his hand up to his face and groaned. His forehead was rather painfully throbbing, and his limbs felt heavy and hard to move.

Harry's eyes fluttered open, and he saw a very familiar young woman sitting in the chair beside his bed.

Nymphadora Tonks was a woman Harry knew very well. Growing up, she and Harry had spent quite a bit of time together. Lily was a few years younger than Nym's mother, Andromeda, but the two witches were friends. Despite Nym being seven years older than Harry, the two became fast friends, and then they developed a closer bond of something like siblings.

Despite how much he viewed Nym as a big sister, he couldn't ignore how beautiful she was. Nym was a Metamorphmagus, meaning she could change any facet of her appearance at will. She usually kept herself in the same general appearance, though she used her powers liberally on her hair color.

Her hair was long today, which was unusual, as she usually went for shoulder-length. It was a vivid purple color, which was not unusual. Nym had a healthy tan to her skin, and a rather shapely figure. Her breasts were naturally quite large and full, just like her mother. Harry had seen her change their size before, though, particularly whenever she did athletics, but sometimes she just did it so dresses would fit properly.

"Nym." Harry croaked. Her eyes flew open, and the eighteen year old witch flung herself at Harry in an instant. Harry let out a small sound of surprise as Nym's heavy breasts mashed against his chest while she hugged him tightly.

"I thought you weren't going to wake up! It's been five days, Harry." Nym said despairingly.

"I mean, I'm a bit sore, and I've got a headache, but I'm fine!" Harry insisted. Nym tucked her purple hair back behind her ear and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll see." she said simply, before calling for Madam Pomfrey, the school healer.

While Madam Pomfrey was fussing over Harry, Nym went and collected several people Harry was close to, all of whom looked rather stressed and drained.

Lily, Daphne, Hermione, Susan, Cassandra, Blaise, and Pansy all walked in with Nym. Madam Pomfrey gave Lily a severe look.

"Five minutes." she said.

"Mum." Harry said with a smile. She looked most drained out of all of them, and he loved seeing her relief.

"Sirius and Bella are both in a rage. Dumbledore wouldn't let them in to see you." Lily smiled.

"What? Why not?" Harry asked.

"Some rubbish about not wanting to disturb learning." Nym said.

"How're you here, then?" Harry asked her.

"Mum got me in while she's inspecting Hogwarts at a very convenient time." Nym said proudly.

"Aunt Andi's here?" Harry asked happily.

"Oh, yes. She's thrilled that you're awake, but she does have that inspection to finish." Lily said dryly.

"I'm so glad you're alright! I never should have let you go through alone!" Hermione despaired.

"Mione, you're fine. I told you that I had to go alone. And I beat Voldemort!" Harry said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Lily demanded.

"You didn't know?" Harry asked in surprise.

"No, Dumbledore told us that one of his professors was trying to steal the Stone. There was no mention of Voldemort!" Lily exclaimed, looking angry.

"Well… Dumbledore didn't lie, per se. Voldemort was possessing Quirrel. He wanted the Stone so he could have a body again." Harry explained. Susan let out a gasp.

"I'm so proud of you. Thwarting Dark Lords." Nym grinned.

"Thanks, Nym." Harry grinned back.

"I need to go have a word with Dumbledore." Lily excused herself, "I'm so happy you're alright, Harry."

"Thanks, Mum. Don't get too angry!" Harry called as she left.

"Fighting You-Know-Who? That's serious. Good job." Blaise said.

"Thanks." Harry nodded. Everybody heaped congratulations on Harry, and Cassandra even gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"The Ministry's going to be in an uproar after this." Susan mentioned, "My aunt'll be having a rough summer."

"Mine, too." Harry said, thinking of Andromeda and Bella, both of whom were Ministry employees.

"We should meet up over the summer." Daphne said suddenly, looking at Harry, Hermione, Susan, Pansy, and Blaise.

"Well, I hope to see you all July 31st." Harry smiled.

"We'll be there." Daphne promised.

"That's his birthday." Nym told Pansy, who looked a little confused.

Her confusion cleared instantly.

Madam Pomfrey hustled back in, and shooed everyone out. Nym and Daphne were the most stubborn ones, but Madam Pomfrey got them out all the same.

Madam Pomfrey had rather large bosoms, and as a witch, she of course aged slowly, so she looked to be scarcely forty. Her loose medic robes obscured much of her frame, but Harry had a suspicion that she had some serious curves.

She blew out a slightly frustrated breath, and then looked at Harry.

"Now, let's get you properly healed up, without all these interruptions." Madam Pomfrey said, pulling out her wand.

———

That night, several hours later, Harry was permitted to go to the end of year feast. He changed quickly into his usual Slytherin robes, and then dashed down to the Great Hall, hoping he wasn't late.

He saw when he arrived that he definitely wasn't late, and people were still flowing in. Harry joined the crowd and made his way over to the Slytherin table.

He passed the Carrow twins, who were second years, then he passed Gemma Farley and Cassandra. Cassandra gave him a smile as he walked past, one which he returned.

Then, Harry finally spotted Daphne, Blaise, and Pansy. He sat down beside Daphne, and the blond gave him a smile.

"Nice to see you." Daphne said.

"Back at you." Harry replied.

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat, and everyone looked at him.

"It is now time to announce the winner of the House Cup!" Dumbledore proclaimed, "And the winner, with 375 points, is… Gryffindor!"

The Lions exploded with cheers and whoops, while Harry personally thought that thwarting a Dark Lord might earn at least a few points for Slytherin.

The banners hung in the hall turned from default black to scarlet and gold, Gryffindor colors.

But not even Gryffindor's victory could deter Harry from enjoying his feast. Laughing with his friends, enjoying loads of good food… could life get any better than this?

———

The following day in the mid-afternoon, the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross Station. The doors opened, and hundreds of teenaged wizards spilled out.

Harry, Daphne, Susan, and Hermione all forced their way through the crowd, until they reached the less chaotic edge of Platform 9 3/4.

Daphne's mother, Emma Greengrass, was waiting for them.

Emma was a total MILF. She looked just like Daphne, except for her eyes. While Daphne had blue eyes, Emma's were a unique hunter green color.

Emma also sported large, ample breasts, and slender curves. But her ass was her real asset, as it was absolutely fantastic.

Emma hugged Daphne, and then she threw her arms around Harry. He squeezed his future mother-in-law tightly.

When Emma and Harry broke apart, Daphne looked seriously at him.

"You should come visit us over the summer. Mum would love it, and so would Storey." Daphne said.

"I'll make sure I show up at some point." Harry promised, and he hugged the blond.

After Emma and Daphne Apparated away, that just left Harry, Susan, and Hermione.

It wasn't too long before the extremely busty Amelia Bones walked up. Her hair was more brown than red, though it did have a bit of reddishness, Harry supposed. Just like Susan, Amelia had positively enormous tits. Amelia Bones was the bustiest woman that Harry had ever seen, without question.

"Auntie, this is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger." Susan introduced her friends to her aunt.

Introductions were made, and then Susan and Amelia went off together.

That just left Harry and Hermione.

"Do your parents know how to get on the platform?" Harry wondered.

"Yes, they do. I wrote them a very detailed letter." Hermione explained.

"I hope you're not still feeling guilty about 'letting' me go into danger." Harry said acutely.

"I… no, of course not." Hermione looked away.

Harry pulled Hermione into a hug, and the bushy haired girl relaxed into his arms after a few seconds.

"I'm fine, Mione. You don't have to worry about me." Harry said softly.

"I know." Hermione whispered, looking up at him her big brown eyes.

Harry felt the strongest urge to kiss her, there and then. He almost did, in fact, but then he heard a voice shout.

"Hermione!" the voice exclaimed, and Harry and Hermione broke apart in surprise, looking over at the speaker. She was a Muggle woman of beauty, Harry couldn't help but notice. She didn't have the perfect beauty most witches have, and she had age lines starting to appear on her face, and her breasts were only of medium size, but something about her was alluring to Harry.

He realized abruptly that it was because she looked like Hermione.

"Mum! This is Harry, my friend." Hermione introduced.

"Harry Potter." Harry held out his hand.

"Kate Granger." she replied with a smile.

"Harry!" a voice shouted, interrupting Harry and Kate's introductions. He looked towards the speaker, and saw Nym making her way towards him. Her hair was pink today, but longer than it had been at Hogwarts. Nym had it up in a messily made bun.

Nym wore tight, ripped jeans and a deep blue tank top. Her Muggle attire really showed off her generous bosom and shapely curves.

"Who's this?" Kate asked.

"Nymphadora Tonks. Harry's like my little brother." Nym introduced herself.

"Tonks, this is my mum, Kate Granger." Hermione said.

"Nice to meet you." Kate said. Nym slipped an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Wotcher, Harry." Nym said as the two of them walked away from the Grangers following some quick goodbyes, "Your mum's finishing up her Hogwarts stuff, so I volunteered to come get you home safely."

"Thanks, Nym." Harry smiled.

And with that, Harry and Nym Apparated away.