Chapter 279: Because He Was My Friend

"I was following my master's instructions, preparing to steal the Philosopher's Stone after Dumbledore left," Quirrell explained.

"I first sneaked into Dumbledore's office, looking for clues. The portraits were a nuisance, but my master taught me a spell to put them to sleep. I went through Dumbledore's letters, but unfortunately, I didn't find any clues about how the traps were set. However, I did find out he was communicating with Nicolas Flamel, and thus I obtained Flamel's current address."

"Later, when I got to the fourth-floor corridor, I saw two young wizards, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, tied up. I hid, invisible, to see what was going on."

"After a while, Snape came out of the trap area with two other students. He was furious; apparently, these students had broken into the traps and were caught by him. But I noticed Tom holding the Philosopher's Stone, and Harry was there too. It was a good opportunity. Tom had done as agreed, so I stunned Snape and took the two of them..."

"Wait," Rasmus interrupted, "What do you mean 'Tom had done as agreed'?"

"Lucas Brightson, no, he's not a regular student..." Quirrell said, "He seemed to be controlled, by my master... I don't understand fully, my master didn't explain to me, but he was also tasked with getting the Philosopher's Stone..."

"You're saying Lucas Brightson was also a servant of Voldemort?"

"No! He wasn't!" Harry suddenly interjected, "He was forced to. He would die if he didn't get the Philosopher's Stone."

"Lucas Brightson wanted freedom. My master promised to free him if he brought both the Philosopher's Stone and Harry. I don't know how he did it, but when the opportunity arose, I took them both..." Quirrell continued.

"Why did Voldemort need Harry?" Rasmus asked.

"Harry Potter once caused my master to lose his power. He wanted to understand why. He planned to use Harry's blood to create a resurrection potion, so whatever power Harry had, my master would possess it too, becoming even stronger..."

The crowd furrowed their brows, realizing Voldemort was even more cunning and cautious than they thought!

He had controlled two people to steal the Philosopher's Stone and even considered using Harry to enhance his power.

"What happened next?"

"Next, we left the school and went to the Little Hangleton churchyard, where my master's father is buried. We needed his bones..."

"Bones?" Rasmus asked.

"Yes, the ingredients for the resurrection potion required the bone of the father, the flesh of the servant, and the blood of the enemy. I gave up my left hand for this..." Quirrell said.

The crowd glanced at Quirrell's arm, almost severed at the elbow.

That's not just a hand, that's half an arm!

"We had already prepared the materials there," Quirrell said, "We had the Philosopher's Stone and were ready to start making the Elixir of Life. At this time, Lucas Brightson wanted to back out. He didn't want to kill Harry Potter; he seemed to regard him as a friend..."

"When he took out the diary, intending to attack me with a wand, my master stopped him, took control of him, and let the version of himself in the diary resurrect through Lucas Brightson..."

"Wait," Dumbledore, who had been quiet, interrupted Quirrell, "Did you say, a diary?"

"Yes, a diary," Quirrell said, "My master used a diary to control Lucas Brightson. He called Lucas 'himself,' using some method to possess Lucas's body... But I don't fully understand; my master's magic is mysterious and incomprehensible..."

"Tell me more about this diary," Dumbledore commanded.

"It's a black notebook. My master said it contains a piece of soul and some memories. Lucas Brightson, who also called himself Tom Riddle, found me in the Forbidden Forest while I was drinking unicorn blood for my master..."

"Ah! It's you! You monster! The murderer!" Hagrid shouted furiously, "So you killed them!"

"Quiet! Let him continue!" Barty Crouch shouted.

"What happened next?"

"Next, the boy, Lucas Brightson, found us. He wanted to break free from the diary's control, to regain his freedom..."

"Freedom..." Dumbledore murmured thoughtfully, "I see."

Harry also understood, "No wonder he said he saw freedom in the Mirror of Erised... He was always under control! Voldemort controlled him with dark magic, he would die if he didn't get the Philosopher's Stone..."

"Let him continue about tonight. He's barely holding on," Barty Crouch said.

Quirrell indeed looked nearly done for; his skin was pale, and he seemed about to collapse.

"Continue with what you did tonight."

"Tonight... We, we got the Philosopher's Stone... We went to Dumbledore's office..."

"You already said that, you said you reached the graveyard, and then you were making the potion," Rasmus reminded.

"Yes, the potion, we were making the potion, then my master controlled Lucas, and he cast a spell to wake the soul in the diary inside Lucas's body..."

"But he seemed to fail. When the guy woke up, he pretended to ask my master about the resurrection potion, then he blew up the cauldron with Harry Potter's wand and escaped with Harry and the Philosopher's Stone..."

"So, he saved Harry Potter and prevented Voldemort's resurrection?" Rasmus asked.

"Yes, my master was furious. When he apparated, I hit him with the Killing Curse... He should be dead..."

"Apparated?" Dumbledore caught a detail, "Not with a Portkey?"

"He apparated back to the Forbidden Forest, but my master tracked him through his own spell. We chased after him, but he disappeared again..."

"I guess what happened afterward is what I told everyone earlier," Murphy said, "They must have appeared at my place after that."

"Let's summarize," Rasmus said, "Long ago, Voldemort controlled Quirrell and used another Horcrux, the diary, to control Lucas. But it seems Lucas was not fully under his control, and he ultimately resisted Voldemort, disrupting his plan and dying for it..."

"Tom was a brave boy," Murphy said, "He also fought the Basilisk with Harry and the others."

"He saved me," Harry suddenly said.

"Again."

"I knew he was hiding something from us; I saw his diary... He often looked at it. So he was always controlled by Voldemort... And I didn't know..."

"He must have wanted to resist, that's why he talked about wanting freedom."

"He never asked me for help..." Harry's voice choked up, "In the end, behind the trapdoor, I know he hesitated for a moment. He might have thought about handing me over to save himself..."

"But he didn't."

"Because he was my friend."

"Because I was his friend."

A surge of sorrow suddenly overwhelmed him. Harry clenched his clothes tightly, using all his strength to prevent himself from breaking down and crying.

But tears still flowed, mixed with snot, choking him with coughs and retching. He fell to his knees involuntarily, his face sm

udged with tears and snot.

For him, it was as if, just a moment ago, he had just confirmed his friendship with Tom.

He decided to trust Tom completely, and he saw Tom lowering his guard.

But the next moment, when he woke up, he saw Tom's corpse.

He had been in shock until now, only realizing at this moment that he had lost this friend.

This friend he had just made, who he felt was most like himself - like another version of himself.

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