Chapter 76: The Struggle for the Philosopher's Stone

After obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, Harry immediately instructed everyone to leave the room.

They could see that the stone walls were constantly shaking, and various explosions were coming from the other side, indicating the intense battle between Professor Quirrell and Alaric. 

Harry wanted to leave as soon as possible; he wasn't sure if Alaric could defeat Professor Quirrell.

In their eyes, although Alaric was strong, he was just a young wizard and might not be a match for Professor Quirrell—despite Alaric's achievements in defeating a dragon and saving a unicorn.

They thought that if they could quickly leave and alert the professors, maybe they could help Alaric.

However, as they reached the door, the walls created by Alaric through transfiguration exploded.

The strong explosion knocked them to the ground.

As the smoke gradually cleared, two figures in confrontation became visible. The shorter one, despite his slightly disheveled clothes, still maintained a composed posture—that was their friend, Alaric.

His opponent, Professor Quirrell, looked much worse.

His clothes were tattered, and he had several charred areas on his body. His left hand was twisted unnaturally, likely broken.

Despite his dire state, he gritted his teeth and cast a malevolent gaze toward Alaric.

At that moment, he noticed the Philosopher's Stone in Harry's hand.

"Give it to me!" he let out a piercing scream. "Give me what you have in your hands!"

Harry became extremely nervous when Quirrell targeted him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he denied, holding his hands behind his back.

At this point, a sharp voice spoke, sounding completely different from Professor Quirrell.

"Let me talk to him... face to face."

"But… your strength hasn't fully recovered!" Professor Quirrell said nervously.

"I still have some strength..." The eerie scene left the young wizards dumbfounded as they watched Professor Quirrell raise his hand to remove the turban from his head.

What was happening?

As the large turban fell, Professor Quirrell's bald head looked surprisingly small. Then, he slowly turned around.

Harry wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

Where Professor Quirrell's back of the head should have been, there was a face Harry had never seen before, horrifying and monstrous. The face was chalk-white, with glowing red eyes, and below were two snake-like, slender nostrils.

"Harry Potter..." he whispered.

Harry tried to step back, but his legs wouldn't obey.

Suddenly, a firm hand held onto him.

Alaric walked up from behind him, explaining, "This is Voldemort now. Ever since you killed him years ago, he has been in this half-dead state, needing to parasitize others. Disgusting, isn't it? 

And there's something even more disgusting—sometimes, when he can't find a suitable host, he has to parasitize animals."

Harry shivered at the thought.

The face spoke to Harry, "Look at what I've become! Only shadows and vapors left... I can only take on a physical form when sharing a body with someone else. 

Once I get the Elixir of Life, I can recreate my own body. So, why don't you hand over the Philosopher's Stone?"

As he spoke, he moved toward Harry, almost lunging.

"Run, Harry, towards the door," Alaric pushed Harry away and cast a barrier spell against Voldemort, but the latter suddenly turned into black smoke and circumvented the obstacle.

Then, he sprayed a black, intense fire at Alaric, forcing him to retreat.

During this time, everyone scattered, and Alaric waved his wand, firing several red lights to cover their escape.

But he deliberately let Harry slip through.

Voldemort indeed saw the opening and, like a wisp of black smoke, arrived next to Harry.

"I've got you!" he pointed his wand at Harry, laughing maniacally. "Now you're in my hands!"

Being pointed at by Voldemort's wand, Harry felt as if he were ensnared by a devil, unable to move a muscle.

Even Alaric hesitated; he could only threaten Voldemort with his wand.

The situation came to a standstill.

"Give me the Philosopher's Stone!" Voldemort said viciously.

"I've always admired courage. Yes, child, your parents were very brave. I killed your father first; he chose to die rather than submit, bravely fighting me. 

Your mother didn't need to die, actually. She sacrificed herself to protect you. Now, give me the Philosopher's Stone, don't let your mother's sacrifice be in vain."

"No! Never!" Harry firmly refused.

On the other side, Alaric sneered at Voldemort, "You ugly creature, has parasitizing animals made your brain even more stupid? How can you be sure the Philosopher's Stone is with Harry?"

"What are you saying?" Voldemort abruptly turned—whether it counted as turning with that face was debatable—and exclaimed, "Where is the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Of course, it's with the safest person," Alaric chuckled, pulling out the bright red stone from his pocket—the Philosopher's Stone.

Everyone else was left dumbfounded.

When did the Philosopher's Stone transfer to Alaric?

Suddenly, Voldemort remembered the explosion of the wall he caused. It was at that moment that Alaric had brief contact with Harry.

But how could this stump the Dark Lord?

He pointed his wand at Harry again, showing a cruel smile.

"Enough! The farce should end!" He stared at Alaric like a snake, "I admit you're skilled... but so what?

Now... hand over the Philosopher's Stone! Otherwise, this child will die here because of you, and then... you'll be known as... a murderer, haunted for the rest of your life."

"Don't care about me!" Harry nervously shook his head at Alaric, "Don't give him the Philosopher's Stone!"

"Shut up, Harry Potter!" Voldemort casually waved, stuffing a dirty piece of cloth into Harry's mouth.

Then, he turned to Alaric, "So, make your choice, mudblood!"

Alaric pretended to struggle, then gritted his teeth, "You win! Dark Lord."

He picked up the Philosopher's Stone, pretending to throw it to Voldemort, but instead, he tossed it in another direction—toward the direction of the Mirror of Erised 

"Go find this damn stone in the mirror yourself!"

"No!"

That was his last hope for a reconstructed body!

Voldemort screamed and lunged towards the Philosopher's Stone.

But he was a step too late.

He could only watch as the Philosopher's Stone hit the Mirror of Erised and then...

Then...Then bounced off and fell to the ground.

Alaric had no ability to make the Philosopher's Stone return to the Mirror of Erised ; he was lying.

In that moment, a mix of anger from being fooled and the joy of regaining the Philosopher's Stone made Voldemort tremble all over.

Excitedly, he reached out for the Philosopher's Stone.

However, the next moment, he was engulfed by a black flame.

He didn't even have a chance to utter any last words, screaming in agony as the flames burned him to ashes.

The moment the Philosopher's Stone was thrown, Alaric had already planned everything. 

To kill him in one go, he even sacrificed the Philosopher's Stone, letting the intense flames consume Quirrell, along with the Philosopher's Stone and the Mirror of Erised, leaving nothing behind.

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