HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 34 Quirrell's Departure

"Master, we...we're almost there...we're about to get the magic stone."

"Shut up, you idiot, stick with them."

"Yes...yes, Master."

Quirrell followed Harry at a distance, and there was another sinister voice coming from him.

The poor professor was unaware that someone was following him. No, it was two groups of people following him, neither of whom noticed the other.

Emeric hid on the left, moving silently like a kitten, and his scent was perfectly concealed by the surrounding plants.

Dumbledore and Severus hid on the right, their voices perfectly concealed by the Silent Charm. Coupled with their frequent need to track others, these two were highly skilled at tracking.

And so, neither of them noticed the other, and the two peacefully followed Quirrell until they reached the wall of flames.

"This must be a challenge set by Professor Snape, otherwise who would be so insane?!"

Ron scratched his head in frustration, completely baffled, his brain practically exploding. He stared intently at the seven bottles of potions on the table, trying to make the antidote appear on its own.

Danger lies ahead, safety lies behind. Two of us can help you. Drink them; one will lead you forward, the other will send you back to where you started. The other two contain nettle wine, and the three are killers, lined up waiting. Choose, unless you wish to remain here forever.

First, no matter how the poisons are hidden, they are all located to the left of the large bottle of nettle wine; second, the contents of the bottles on the left and right are different, so they will not be of any use to you if you want to move forward; third, you will find that the bottles are different sizes, and there is no Grim Reaper hiding in the giant and the dwarf; fourth, the second bottle on the left and the second bottle on the right, although they look different, taste the same.

Hermione ignored the mad Ron and pulled Draco aside, where the two began to compare their solutions.

"Malfoy, I deciphered that the third bottle is the potion for advancing, the seventh is the potion for retreating, the first, fourth, and fifth are poison, and the second and sixth are wine."

Draco nodded; he had the same answer. The other two, who didn't like to think too much, completely trusted the answers of the two academic high-achievers.

The four started arguing about who should drink the potion and go inside. Hermione thought she should go in while Draco kept an eye on the two troublemakers outside, since they were boys and it would be easier to communicate with them. Draco thought he should drink it, since he knew the most spells among the four, and Hermione should stay behind to watch over the two troublemakers. Besides, Hermione was a girl, and boys should protect girls.

Ron thought one of him and Harry should go in, with the smart one staying outside to cover the rear; Harry thought he was the biggest one and should protect the others.

"Idiot, stop waiting and rush in."

"There's...there's fire, Master, and...we'll be discovered."

Voldemort couldn't wait any longer. He snatched the body and rushed into the wall of flames. He was going to be resurrected and gain immortality. This body should feel honored to become nourishment for the great Dark Lord's resurrection.

A dark shadow flashed by, and Emerick transformed into a kitten and climbed onto Harry—this was their signal. Whoever Emerick followed would retrieve the Philosopher's Stone.

Harry drank the potion that propelled him forward and rushed into the fire, while Hermione quickly drank the potion that pushed her back. She went to find the professors, while Draco and Ron stayed in the middle to wait for Harry and Emeric.

"Professor Quirrell, no, I should say Voldemort, what are you trying to do to the Philosopher's Stone? Your scheme will not succeed!"

"Where's the Philosopher's Stone? Where's my Philosopher's Stone? Harry Potter, hand over the Philosopher's Stone now, or I'll kill you! Hurry up!"

The empty room contained nothing they wanted, except for a mirror. The small room had no place to hide anything, only this mirror.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Harry Potter, come here and look at this mirror."

Both of them had thought of this. Voldemort, fearing that Dumbledore might tamper with the mirror, forcibly pulled Harry over and made him stand in front of the mirror.

Harry saw himself in the mirror and gave a strange smile, then pointed to his right pocket. He felt a weight in his pocket; Emerick, hidden inside, had been hit by the Philosopher's Stone that had fallen in. The little cat, feeling wronged, tucked the stone into its arms, unable to even reach out to touch the sore corner.

"It must have been you who took my Philosopher's Stone. It was you, it must have been you, Harry Potter. Then you can pay with your life. If you die, I can resurrect you without the Philosopher's Stone."

A strong sense of malice rushed towards Harry; Voldemort wanted to kill Harry, because if Harry died, the prophecy would be broken.

"Blazing Flames"

A burst of fire shot out from the wand and flew straight toward Harry. Fearing that Emerick would also be harmed, Harry grabbed the kitten in his pocket and threw it away.

A soft wave appeared in front of Harry, blocking Voldemort's spell and enveloping him like a hug.

Harry felt his mother's embrace, and tears streamed down his face. He missed his parents so much. He didn't want to be a savior; he just wanted his parents.

The kitten carried the Philosopher's Stone back to Harry's arms, wiping away his tears with its horns, its soft fur providing Harry with some warmth.

"Vulcan clears the way"

A burst of flames rushed toward Voldemort in front of them, and Severus grabbed Harry by the collar and pulled him behind him to protect him.

After the firelight died down, he turned to prepare to tidy up the runaway cubs, with Emeric pretending to be a kitten nestled in Harry's arms.

"America Thaddeus, what are you doing here?" Severus had just finished bragging to Dumbledore about how his student was more well-behaved than Dumbledore's Golden Boy, only to turn around and see the two of them together.

"Miya," Mimi doesn't understand what you're saying.

"Meow, meow!" Let go of the kitten's horns, it hurts!

The kitten was grabbed by its horns and stuffed into the man's arms. Severus was so angry that he wanted to hit the cat. He had raised the kitten for so long, and it hadn't come home for several days. It had even gone out to fool around and almost got hurt.

Emeric obediently stopped moving, enjoying the perfect perk. He leaned against his wife's fragrant chest, letting whoever wanted to leave go. It wasn't him, anyway. The kitten comfortably started kneading, and then he heard the man threaten to throw him out if he moved again.

After taming the cat that wouldn't come home, Severus began berating the brats who had been acting like heroes. "Fifty points deducted from each of you. Draco, you shouldn't have come to Slytherin; you should have gone to Gryffindor. And you lot, have you been reading too many fairy tales? Do you think four little kids can beat Voldemort? Is it fun being heroes? The combined age of the four of you isn't even as many points as you've lost. You really enjoy going out at night, don't you? Congratulations on earning yourselves a month of confinement. Draco, if you don't get your fifty points back before finals, I'll make time to visit Malfoy Manor."

The four children stood trembling in Severus's shadow, the enraged Potions professor at full power. Harry held Draco's hand, Ron led Hermione by the arm, restraining each other from escaping. They desperately wanted to run away; Professor Snape was terrifying, even more frightening than Voldemort.