31

Chapter 31: Of Traps and Trapdoors

Quirrenus Quirrell smirked as he glided silently through the shadows, his master was quite pleased with the proceedings for which he was relieved.

For months they had tried to get the Potter brat on his own, especially after that day in the Forbidden Forrest. How the brat had managed to harness such raw magic was a source of great disdain for his master, one which he was severely punished for.

He wouldn't fail again!

Casting a quick muffling charm upon his feet as well as a notice me not charm cast upon himself Quirrell set off after the four first years who had just left the library, only one of which was important. Harry Potter, the brat who lived was currently making his way down the stairs along with three of his... Friends.

Of course his master was furious when he had first found out that two of the pure blooded Slytherins had taken to spending time with the whelp but there was little that could be done for it at the moment.

'Remember the plan Quirrell,' The voice of his master echoed through his mind causing his footsteps to falter for a moment before resuming their previous pace, 'Do not fail me again! Do, and you will not appreciate the consssequensssessss,' the voice continued in a harsh tone which left no doubt behind as to what would happen should he fail again.

As his prey neared the Hufflepuff common rooms Quirrell could feel his pulse speed as he began to contemplate the best course of action he should take. He would need to remove the Longbottom disgrace from the picture before taking out the Potter brat as well.

A simple stunner would work on Longbottom but Potter would probably be able to fight his off within minutes and they couldn't have that now could they?

No, the crude but efficient muggle way would have to do. A knock to the head would no doubt but him out for a decent amount of time. Now, what could he use to do it? There were no rocks... Perhaps an extinguished torch?

There! In the center of the corridor between it's entrance and the kitchens stood a suit of armor complete with a shield. Perfect.

Speeding up his steps as the two first years continued their leisurely walk just ahead of them Quirrell quickly cast a silencing charm on the suit of medal and took the shield from its clutches.

Within seconds he had cast a stunner at Longbottom and, as his prey whirled around with a shocked expression lighting up those emerald depths Quirrell took great joy in raising the shield high above his head before forcing it down onto the Potter brats temple and watching as he crumbled to the floor with a satisfying thunk.

Taking only a moment to savor the thrum of approval that he could feel coming from his master Quirrell once again set to work as he silenced Potter and cast a spell which bound him in thick ropes. With one last spell to disillusion him Quirrell quickly turns and makes his way back to the third floor corridor.

They had work to do...

Albus Dumbledore was sitting at his desk with a look of contemplation upon his fave as he once again focused on just what he could possibly do to maintain his role as headmaster.

He was no fool despite what others seemed to think, he knew that unless something major happened to prove his worth, to prove that the wizarding world needed him (and they did) he would instead be spending the rest of his natural years within the confines of Azkaban...

No, he couldn't let that happen. The greater good needed him!

With a growl of rage he grabbed a random item off of his desk and just as he was preparing to throw it into the flames he was brought to a stop as a loud clanging sounded throughout his office.

Moving quickly Albus made his way towards the source of the noise, wishing all the while that he was wrong. If this was what he thought it was he would have to move quickly, if he was right then his time of freedom had come to an end.

As he drew even with the trunk that he had stored the Sorting Hat after the beginning of the year, the blasted thing had the nerve to defy him after all, Albus quickly shot a stunner at Fawkes who had taken to attacking the trunk. The blasted bird was destroying their bond with it's disobedience!

On the far end of his office sat one of the many items which upheld the schools various monitoring systems. This particular one was in a far corner and had been tied to a rather ghastly grandfather clock who's face was currently depicting those of Quirrenus Quirrell, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter.

This was not good! He had to act fast otherwise he would be caught and sentenced. No, Dumbledore had to leave now, but where? His manor was here in England and the goblins had blocked his access to the various properties he had been using from the boy... No, he needed somewhere more secure than that, somewhere only he knew about...

That's it! He would go to Gellerts old manor! He was still keyed into the wards after all and it wouldn't be hard to kill of the few elves that may still be there. Yes, that's what he would do but he would still have to have time to do it. He needed to buy himself time...

"What is it Albus? Who was attacked?" The voice of his predecessor Armando Dippet called out from the wall behind his desk bringing him out of his thoughts.

He couldn't let them know! They would surely run to the ministry just as soon as he did! No, he needed to stop them. It was for the greater good after all...

As we finally neared the entrance to the third floor corridor Potter finally began to stir. Good, I'd rather he not miss the destruction of that mutt that he was so fond of.

"I know that you're awake Potter," He sneered without the damnable stutter he had taken on throughout the year to help avoid suspicions.

Quirrell felt a spark of amusement roll through him as the brat began to struggle uselessly against his bonds. Foolish boy, did he really expect to be able to escape so quickly? The fool.

Smothering a cackle of amusement as the brat attempted to scream, possibly for help, Quirrell flicked his wand at the ropes and watched as they constricted harshly around the pale skin of the boy robbing him of precious air.

Quirrell smirked as he met the large tearful eyes of his captive, reveling in the feeling of approval which his master granted him.

Flicking his wand once again in order to both loosen the binds, it wouldn't due for the brat to pass out from lack of oxygen and miss all the fun after all, he also made it so that he was floating upright and in perfect view of the next festivities.

Oh yes, he was quite looking forward to the next proceedings...

Fluffy jumped to his feet with a growl as the door to the room that he was in was thrown open.

It couldn't be master or his pup after all, they were always considerate and knocked so that he knew it was them. He missed his pup, it had been a while since pup had last come to spend time with him. He was worried about pup, he seemed so tired...

Looking towards the door Fluffy let loose a snarl as he saw pup tied up in a leash behind a man who smelled of evil and death. Whoever this was they would pay for hurting his pup!

Pup was squirming in the air and tears were falling down his face as he looked at Fluffy in anguish, this man would pay. No one hurt his pup!

With his hackles raised Fluffy lunged at the man with the odd purple fur on his head with every intent to tear his head off and present it to master as the ultimate prize. After all, his pups was masters pup too.

Quirrell raised his wand with a cruel cackle as the great beast lunged at him only to be thrown back against the far corridor wall through the use of a simple reducto.

Of course he could always employ the use of the beasts pathetic weakness but his master was so enjoying the look of pure anguish on the boys face.

With immense satisfaction Quirrell took care to make sure that the next spell he cast was seen by the boy as he cast a dark spell reminiscent of the cutting curse only so much better as it opened hundreds of cuts upon the victims body. Reveling in the howl of pain from the mutt as well as the tell tale dimming of his captives eyes Quirrell blasted the trapdoor open and unceremoniously through Potter through it...

Severus and Pomona were just preparing to leave the headmasters office when the flames in the fireplace turned green.

Pointing their wands at the fireplace they were both shocked and confused when Charlie Weasley and two others came tumbling out of the fireplace with looks of desperation plastered on their faces.

"Where is Harry!?" Charlie croaked as he looked at Pomona with such a fierce look of agony on his face that it caused the two professors to freeze momentarily until Pomona broke out of her shock first and gave a quick explanation before they were all racing out of the office and towards the third floor.

Severus' motions were mechanical as he ran with the others, everything that they had learned today finally catching up to him at this most inopportune of moments. The largest of the days revelations however was that Charlie Weasley could be none other than Balaur Harry's soul mate.

No wonder Albus was never able to figure it out!

Once they had managed to reach the third floor corridor they were further shocked at the condition that the Cerberus was in with Poppy and Hagrid tending to his wounds all the while shooting longing and helpless looks to the trapdoor.

As they entered the pair looked up with looks of obvious relief.

"Quickly, they've all gone down to follow. They may need help though Severus. Yours is the only obstacle they don't know the answer to!" Poppy said desperately before reaching out and stopping Hagrid from following. "No Hagrid, I need you here to restrain Fluffy. Harry will be fine, the others are going and Harry would want for you to help Fluffy, you know how much Harry cares for him."

Casting one last look back at the pair as he followed the others down through the trapdoor Severus gained new respect for the man he had previously considered an overemotional brute. The man looked honestly torn between helping Harry or helping his beast. In fact, Severus had a suspicion that if it weren't for Poppy's comment on Harry's wished the man would be free falling with them.

How very Slytherin of her...