บท 48: Chapter 48
The exams ended in a week and they would be free for another week after which they would be sent back home.
Alex was busy reading books on alchemy in the library like he had no care in the world while Aman seemed to have wanted to relax as all he did was sleep, eat and duel random people for fun.
While every single one of the students were having fun, there was one person who seemed to be preparing for something big. A task, if successfully completed, would bring his master back to power.
Quirrel sent a letter to Dumbledore and a few minutes after the headmaster was gone, he set off to the third floor corridor.
Getting past the three headed dog was as easy as breathing as he knew its weakness. The devil's snare was child's play as anyone who could tell which plant it was, would know its weakness.
Voldemort had originally wanted to fight the dog but was told by Quirrel that there must be another way.
The third obstacle of finding the key was something that was extremely time consuming for him as it took him almost ten minutes to catch the right bird.
Affected by Voldemort's rising temper, Quirrel twisted the bird's wings a bit too much while he used it to open the door to the next room.
The moment he entered through the door, Voldemort's irritation grew but he could do nothing other than sit on the back of Quirrel's head and watch as he played the game.
With the help of Voldemort's advice throughout the game, Quirrel had finally managed to beat it and moved on to the next room which he knew was his own troll.
While Flitwick's birds and McGonagall's chess board had delayed him by a lot, beating a troll that he knew so much about was like playing with a child for Quirrel.
After he quickly disposed of the smelly fat creature, he headed to the next room where he saw a row of different sized vials. Quirrel had tried his best over the past few months to find out about Snape's trap but was unable to make him utter a single word about it.
Different coloured flames sprang up behind them, purple and black in colour. Quirrel spotted the sheet of paper while Voldemort observed the flames.
"These fires… inextinguishable by normal means and burn for ever… but they are so stable unlike the fiend fire that I have mastered. Brilliant, utterly brilliant magic."
"Um, master. I found a message for us. Looks like a hint to get out of here."
"Read it out for me."
Quirrel took a deep breath before he began reading the contents on the paper.
"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onwards neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."
Voldemort was unfortunately, unable to solve it. Frustration clouded Quirrel's mind as he felt like tanking a random potion and drinking it.
He held himself back and consoled his master before he focused and tried to solve the puzzle.
About ten minutes later, Quirrel confidently took the smallest one and examined it.
"Master, a freezing spell should be enough to get through the black flames."
"I DON'T NEED AN EXPLANATION! GET THROUGH THIS DAMN THING!"
Quirrel quivered before he cast the freezing spell on the flames which made them blue in colour but were extremely cold instead of hot.
He walked through and after a few steps of being able to see only blue, he was out.
A large mirror stood at the centre of the room. There were no more doors that led to another room so he was sure that this was the final room. The room that held Dumbledore's trap.
He knew which mirror it was when he saw the name written on it.
"Erised… the mirror of desire…"
He observed his reflection for a while and then began to tap the frame of the mirror. To his surprise, he found parchment rolled up behind the mirror frame while he was examining the mirror.
He opened it and read its contents before panicking.
"M-master, this was all a trap made by the headmaster. Every level here was meant to slow us down and stall for time.
The moment we opened the trapdoor near the dog, an alarm trigger was set off, alerting Dumbledore. I am sure that he is already on his way back.
The person who wrote this letter also claims to be your follower and asks for forgiveness as they were unable to openly help master. There is also an address written here and it says that a vial of elixir of life is at this location.
What are your instructions, master?"
"Fast… go… there…" Voldemort's voice seemed weak and feeble again.
Quirrel hurried back and although it took a while, it was way quicker to exit the place as the tests/levels didn't work on a person who wanted to retreat.
After he was out, he took a random broom from the school storage and headed out before apparating outside of Hogwarts boundaries. He had apparated to a location that was close to the address that was in the letter and for the rest of the way, he walked.
He reached the place and walked into an alley. A few meters inside the alley, he saw something that looked like a phonebooth.
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