Pain. That was the first thing Harry noticed when he regained consciousness, followed almost immediately by the sound of someone screaming,
"MY SON ALMOST DIED, DUMBLEDORE! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY NOT KNOW THAT ONE OF YOUR STAFF WAS THE ONE TRYING TO STEAL THE STONE!?"
"My dear lady, I assure you that-" a voice began before it was cut off again,
"AND FURTHERMORE! WHAT THE ACTUAL BLOODY HELL WAS THE PHILOSOPHERS STONE DOING IN A SCHOOL IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"
"She's right, Dumbledore," a second voice said, "That stone should not be within a hundred leagues of this school, especially considering its history."
Slowly, Harry opened his eyes but could only see fuzzy shapes and weakly tried to reach for his glasses; a sudden gasp stilled his hand, and Harry suddenly found it being grasped by someone,
"Harry! You're awake!" A voice said before Harry's glasses were placed gently on his face; Harry gasped in surprise as he saw his mother and father standing in front of his bed next to Professor Dumbledore and Sirius. Next to Harry's bed sat Hermione and Ron, while Fred and George were sitting on the other side with Ginny,
"What are you all doing here?" Harry asked sheepishly as he slowly rose into a sitting position to face them.
"We came to see you, you damn fool!" Fred replied with a laugh,
"Language!" Molly retorted sternly before turning to Harry, who shrank back from the glare, she was leveling at him.
"Harry James Weasley!" Molly thundered, "What the devil were you thinking?! You nearly died! You would have if not for your friends bursting into Professor Flitwick's classroom!"
"Mum, I was trying to keep Professor Quirrell from hurting them," Harry replied weakly, "He nearly killed Tracy! And then he stunned Theo! He would have killed him if I had run away!"
"It was very noble for you to stand up for your friends, son," Arthur replied quickly, "But that bastard nearly killed you! Your mother and I nearly lost our minds when Dumbledore Flooed us and told us what happened!"
Harry's head dropped to his chest as his father's words hammered home, and he felt tears beginning to run down his face when someone sat down next to him; looking up, Harry saw it was his mother, who quickly took him in a tight embrace and held him as she quietly cried into his shoulder.
"Please, Harry," Molly said softly, "The next time something like this happens, don't try and be a hero, okay? Instead, just run for help, okay?"
"I promise, mum," Harry replied softly as Arthur sat down on the other side of Harry and joined in the hug.
"Mum…." Harry said in a scared voice as the memory of what happened returned to him, "Mum, I saw him…."
"Saw who, sweetie?" Molly asked as she pulled away,
"He's supposed to be dead, but I saw him…." Harry replied, his black hair slowly turning white, to the surprise of those watching.
"Pup?" Sirius asked in a worried voice, "What's wrong?"
"Voldemort…." Harry replied in a small voice, "He was attached to the back of Quirrell's head…."
The temperature in the Hospital Wing seemed to drop instantly at Harry's words, and it took a moment before anyone spoke.
"Are you sure, Harry?" Dumbledore asked,
"I saw him too," Ron said, making everyone turn to him in shock, "When I came upon Harry and Quirrell, I saw a second face sticking out of the back of his head, but I didn't know it was…that it was him."
"He told me…." Harry replied, "He told me who he was…."
"It's not possible…." Arthur said in a horrified whisper, "He's supposed to be dead!"
"Unfortunately, life is rarely that simple or that easy," Dumbledore said sadly.
"You mean to say that Vol…that HE was here?!" Molly whispered as she held Harry tighter, "How could you not know that, Dumbledore!"
"Contrary to popular belief, I am, in fact, human," Dumbledore said in a tight voice, "I am not omniscient. Had I known that the Dark Lord possessed Quirinus, I can assure you that I would have acted sooner."
"Perhaps we should continue this conversation in your office, Professor," Sirius said tensely, "Harry needs his rest, and I don't think this conversation is appropriate for children,"
"Quite right," Dumbledore replied quickly, turning to leave; Sirius followed him a moment later after giving Harry's shoulder one last squeeze.
"We'll be back soon, okay, sweetie?" Molly said softly as she rose to leave, "Stay here, Ginny,"
"Okay, mum," Ginny replied softly.
Once they were alone, Harry turned to those that remained with a somber expression,
"So, what happened?"
"Well, we ran for help like you told us to," Hermione replied quickly, "We ran into Professor Flitwick's classroom and told him what was happening, and he immediately Flooed the other teachers for help, then told us to wait in the classroom until he returned. After that, I don't know what happened."
"I can take over from there, Hermione," Ron said quickly, making Harry turn to his brother,
"Quirrell had you dead to rights. I couldn't get him to let go of you! I thought….I thought he was going to kill you…." Ron turned pale as he finished speaking and Harry placed a calming hand on his brother's shoulder before motioning for him to continue.
"Anyway, that's when you grabbed his face, and it started smoking! That's when he let you go and started screaming; the next thing you know, Professor Quirrell turned to ash and just fell apart."
"He what?" Harry asked in horror,
"His body just disintegrated!" Ron said in a horrified voice, "Then this black smokey thing came out of the ashes and flew out of the window, but the most terrifying thing was that it seemed to be screaming as it flew away!"
The group shivered as one at that, and Ginny moved closer to Fred, who wrapped his arm protectively around her,
"Then what happened?" Harry asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Then the teachers showed up with wands drawn!" Ron said, "They levitated you and Theo to the Hospital Wing while demanding to know what happened,"
"How long have I been here?" Harry asked with a grimace, "And where is Theo?"
"Not long," Hermione said softly, "Just a few hours."
"And Theo woke up a little while ago," Fred clarified, "Once he was sure that you were okay, he went back to the Slytherin common room to tell the others."
"Yeah, Rhea Malfoy came running in here not too long ago, asking about you," George said with a wink that made Harry blush, "Not consorting with the enemy, are you, Harrykins?"
"Shut up…" Harry scowled, making the others erupt in laughter as his hair began to turn bright pink and his face began to grow redder.
"Aw, look!" Fred said with a laugh, "Our little brother is blushing! Now, why would he be blushing upon the mention of Rhea Malfoy?"
"I don't know, my dear brother," George laughed back, "But it sure is interesting!"
Whatever else the twins might have said was halted as Harry smacked them in the face with his pillow, causing further laughter until, at last, Madam Pomfrey came storming out of her office,
"What's all this?! Mr. Potter needs his rest, so out! The lot of you!"
XXXX
"Could it really have been him, Albus?" Arthur asked as soon as they entered Dumbledore's office and the door closed behind them,
"As much as I would love to say no, I fear it was," Dumbledore replied softly as he took his seat behind his desk and steepled his fingers.
"But how is it possible?" Sirius asked with gritted teeth, "Harry beat the bastard! Everyone knows that!"
"Unfortunately, the only people who truly know what happened that night are Harry and Voldemort," Dumbledore said softly, ignoring the flinch that the others produced at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, "And seeing as how Harry was a baby at the time, I fear the only one who truly knows what happened is the one who was destroyed."
"But according to Ron, he was possessing Quirrell," Sirius said thoughtfully, "So what is he, now? Some type of wraith?"
"Voldemort delved into dark magic that few dare to explore," Dumbledore replied, "He performed inhuman experiments and pushed magic further than it's ever been pushed. Who can say what that has done to him? Whatever it is that he's done has made him into a being that is forced to possess others in order to have a body of his own."
"Can he come back?" Molly asked in a hushed tone, "Is it possible for him to regain his former power and come back?"
"Unfortunately, there are ways in which he might return," Dumbledore said sadly, "But that would require him to receive aid from another, which, thankfully, he does not possess at the moment."
"If he does come back, Harry will be in danger," Sirius stated,
"Undoubtedly," Dumbledore replied seriously, making Molly and Arthur pale,
"No!" Molly cried, "He will not have him! He took my brothers; he will not have my son too!"
Arthur wrapped his arms around his wife as she began to cry into his shoulder,
"Arthur, we can't let him have Harry!"
"We won't, Mollywobbles," Arthur said soothingly as he rubbed her back, "We'll kill anyone who tries!"
"Damn straight!" Sirius growled, "I owe that bastard for all the years I was locked in Azkaban and for the loved ones he took from me!"
"For now," Dumbledore said loudly, bringing the group's attention back to him, "Harry will undoubtedly need you all. I'm sure this has been a truly traumatizing event for him, and he will need his family to help him through it."
"We should head back to the Hospital Wing to check on him," Molly sniffled,
"Should you wish to stay the night, I'll inform Madam Pomfrey to make beds available," Dumbledore said with a warm smile.
"Thank you, Albus," Arthur replied, "But I think that we'll be heading home soon now that we know that Harry is going to be okay,"
"And that you will be removing that damn menace to society from the school grounds!" Molly added with a dangerous look in her eye that made Dumbledore suddenly nervous, not that he would admit it, of course.
"Of course!" Dumbledore said quickly as he rose from his chair, "The stone will be gone by dawn tomorrow. You have my word on it!"
"See that it is, Dumbledore, or so help me, I'll shave your beard off!" Sirius said with an evil smile that made Dumbledore pale and absent-mindedly stroke his beard as he thought of what he would look like without it.
Without another word, the group exited Dumbledore's office, and the aged headmaster leaned heavily against it, his back pressing hard against the wood,
"I really am getting too old for this," Dumbledore said softly.
XXXX
"Just what the bloody hell were you thinking, fighting a fully trained wizard all on your own?!" Daphne asked after a quick hug, the next day, at breakfast when Harry entered the Great Hall,
"I guess I wasn't thinking," Harry offered with a small smile,
"Obviously not!" Daphne growled, "You bloody Gryffindors are all the same! All brawn and not a brain among you!"
"Hey!" Hermione cried in indignation,
"I didn't mean you, Hermione, obviously!" Daphne scoffed before turning and walking back to Slytherin's table,
"Um…. thank you for saving me, Harry," Tracy said shyly before turning to follow Daphne, a deep blush beginning to form on Tracy's neck, which confused Harry greatly,
"Girls are weird…." Harry said in bemusement, made worse when Hermione began to laugh for some reason,
"You have NO idea," Theo said with a slight grin before turning to follow his housemates.
Harry was just starting on his oatmeal when a slight cough from behind him caused him to turn around and gasp in surprise as he saw Rhea Malfoy looking down at him with a raised eyebrow,
"Good morning, Rhea," Harry said warmly as he rose to greet her, as Narcissa Malfoy had taught him, "How are you doing today?"
"Much better now that I know you are alright, Mr. Potter,"
"You can call me Harry if you want to, I mean," Harry said softly, noticing how Rhea seemed to be fighting a smile at that for some reason.
"I might just do that….Harry," Rhea replied with a smile that made Harry freeze like a deer in headlights for a moment; without another word, Rhea turned on her heel and strode back to her table while the rest of Gryffindor tried not to laugh as Harry's hair turned bright pink.
"They grow up so fast," Dora said dramatically as he placed a hand on her forehead and pretended to swoon, to the enjoyment of the rest of Gryffindor's table.
"What are you on about?" Harry asked in bemusement, which only seemed to make the table laugh harder,
"I'll tell you when you're older," Dora teased,
"See what I mean?" Harry asked Ron, "Weird, every one of them!"
The table howled with laughter at this, and Harry felt himself turning beet red as he dug into his breakfast and tried to ignore the noise surrounding him.