In the dead of night, Harry, Ron, and Hermione knocked down the guardian of their path — Gryffindor's Sword Saint, Neville Longbottom. The poor little Neville, hit with a Full Body-Bind Curse, could only lie helplessly on the cold, hard floor — weak, pitiful, and powerless.
After getting past Neville, the trio ran into Peeves the Poltergeist blocking their way. Luckily, Harry reacted quickly and disguised himself as the Bloody Baron, scaring Peeves off and clearing the way for them to enter the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor.
But when they got there, they realized they were already too late. Fluffy, the three-headed dog, was fast asleep, snoring away. At its feet lay a harp — they assumed Snape had left it behind.
The three of them jumped down through the trapdoor, safely passing Hagrid's three-headed dog and landing softly on Professor Sprout's Devil's Snare.
Thanks to Hermione actually paying attention in class, she helped Harry and Ron break free of the Devil's Snare's strangling vines. A few seconds of bluebell-like flames were all it took to drive it back.
Next up was Professor Flitwick's room of flying keys. Gryffindor's Seeker, Harry, shone brilliantly, easily catching the right key without needing any slowing spells like the Freezing Charm.
In the massive chessboard room, Ron had his moment of glory. If he could even beat Eda at chess, winning this game was no problem at all. But to protect Harry and Hermione, Ron had no choice but to "sacrifice" himself, crashing heavily to the floor and losing consciousness.
There were only two left to protect the Philosopher's Stone — Harry and Hermione moved on to the next room. In the room filled with a foul smell, the troll had already been knocked out, so they didn't have to do anything to get through Quirrell's trap.
Quirrell was quite experienced when it came to handling trolls, so when setting up a barrier to protect the Philosopher's Stone, he naturally chose a troll — it would be easy for him to get past it.
Completely unaware of this, Harry and Hermione kept moving forward, only to be faced with Snape's obstacle next.
Hermione was not Eda — she didn't know what all these potions were, so she could only rely on the simple riddle to figure out which ones were poison and which one could help them.
After each drinking the potion that protected against fire, Harry went forward and Hermione went back. Now, the only one left who could stop 'Snape' was Harry himself.
But when Harry Potter stepped into the final room, he was stunned — there was no sign of Snape. Instead, standing there was Quirrell, the person he had trusted without question!
Ever since Halloween, Harry Potter had suspected Snape.
No matter what Hagrid said, he had stuck stubbornly to his belief. Even Eda's reminders hadn't swayed him — he had been absolutely convinced it was Snape. No matter how strange Quirrell's behavior was, he had never once doubted that professor.
Even now, seeing Quirrell here, Harry couldn't believe it was real — not until Quirrell spoke the truth himself did Harry finally understand what was really going on!
The last barrier protecting the Philosopher's Stone was the Mirror of Erised, personally placed there by Dumbledore. Quirrell couldn't pass the test of the Mirror. It wasn't until the Voldemort attached to the back of his head reminded him that Quirrell thought of the nearby Harry.
Harry was brought in front of the mirror by Quirrell. In it, he saw himself putting the red Philosopher's Stone into his trouser pocket — and then he felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Incredible! It was pure magic.
The Stone that Quirrell had tried everything to get and failed — Harry had gotten it so easily!
Harry used a clumsy lie to fool Quirrell, but he couldn't fool the cunning Voldemort — his lie was quickly exposed.
Quirrell tried to grab the fleeing Harry, but he couldn't touch him. The moment his left hand brushed against Harry, he shrieked and yanked his hand back — his hand looked as if it had been burned, covered in blisters.
"Master, I can't hold him… my hand… my hand!" Quirrell cried out in pain, begging Voldemort for forgiveness.
"Then kill him, you fool — do it now!" Voldemort's harsh voice echoed through the underground chamber.
Quirrell drew his wand and aimed at Harry, who was dashing toward the black flames. Just as he was about to utter the deadly spell, a voice like a tinkling bell rang through the room: "I'm late — what a shame I missed the look on your face!"
Esmeralda Twist stepped through the black flames into the chamber. She held up her wand, standing in front of Harry just as Dumbledore had once stood in front of her.
Harry stared in shock at Eda's sudden appearance, and Quirrell's face mirrored his surprise — neither of them could understand how Eda had appeared here.
Let's turn the clock back for a moment, to when Harry was rushing to Professor McGonagall's office.
While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were anxiously heading there, Eda had quietly slipped back into the castle under cover of night.
During her three years at the castle, Eda had spent plenty of time exploring it with the twins. Now, under the cover of a Disillusionment Charm, she easily avoided the other students and intercepted Fred and George halfway, just as they were about to go "bother" Professor McGonagall.
Together, they hid in an empty classroom near the forbidden section on the 3rd floor.
Fred and George each gave Eda a big hug. They didn't ask where she'd been all this time — there was no need for words when it came to how much they missed her. A long-awaited hug said more than a thousand words ever could.
The last time Eda had sat and chatted like this with the twins was a month ago, but that month had felt as long as a year.
The Marauder's Map lay open on a desk beside them, with two similar-looking flasks pressing down its corners. George had brought the map straight from the dormitory, and the two flasks were Eda's containers for the fireproof potion. Fred had only managed to get them out of the girls' dormitory by tricking Angelina.
"Eda, do you really want to help Dumbledore keep an eye on Harry?" Fred asked. He still felt a bit resentful toward Dumbledore, especially for keeping Eda's whereabouts a secret.
"He helped me, so I'll help him back. The less I owe, the better," Eda said indifferently. "Besides, I want to test myself a bit too."
"I don't know where you went, but you feel different somehow," George said, his sharp instincts picking up on the subtle change in her.
"That place is something I can't talk about for now. I met an interesting old man there — he helped me understand a lot of things and see many things clearly," Eda said. "It was an unforgettable journey."
"Unforgettable, sure — so unforgettable that you didn't even bother to send a single letter back. Do you have any idea how terrified Professor McGonagall is to see the two of us now?" Fred complained, rolling his eyes at Eda for good measure.
Eda let out an awkward laugh and said, "That place really was impossible to communicate from. Even if I'd written you a letter, there'd have been no way to get it to you — owls can't reach that place!"
Fred shook off Eda's hand tugging at his sleeve, ignoring her attempt to placate him. He focused on the Marauder's Map instead, noticing that Quirrell had already left his office and was heading for the fourth floor.
When Quirrell's name disappeared from the right-hand corridor of the fourth floor, Fred asked, "So, do we go catch him in the act now, or wait a bit longer?"
"Wait a bit longer. The star of this show hasn't made his entrance yet — why should us side characters be in such a rush to get on stage?"
The three of them continued chatting in low voices, talking about what had been happening at school lately while keeping an eye on the Marauder's Map — especially on the Gryffindor Tower.
"You have no idea — while you were gone, Flint and that bunch of Slytherins got ridiculously cocky. They even started swaggering down the hallways sideways," Fred said. "We even got into a fight with Flint. He shouldn't have run his mouth about you."
"As for those few idiots from Gryffindor, we didn't spare them either," George added. "Fred and I just so happened to have a few… unfinished experiments — their existence solved the problem of lacking test subjects. If it weren't for Madam Pomfrey, they'd probably still be stuck in the hospital wing right now!"
Fred and George hadn't taken Eda's departure lightly — every Gryffindor who had anything to do with forcing Eda to leave school had been dealt with by the twins, one by one. If they'd had the chance, even Dumbledore wouldn't have escaped the twins' "special treatment."
In front of the twins, Dumbledore was no different from anyone else — just another face in the crowd. Being headmaster didn't earn him any special privilege; to Fred and George, everyone was equal.
Fred was showing Eda the results of their latest experiments — candies that could make someone sick for a short time, though they were still working on developing the antidote.
"Hey! He's on the move — Harry just left the common room, and Ron and Hermione too." George, who had been watching the Marauder's Map, interrupted Fred's boasting.
Keeping an eye on the common room itself was pointless — too many names, too tiring to watch. Watching the tower was enough; as soon as Harry left, they'd spot him right away.
Eda hopped down from the desk and said, "Once the three of them go in, we'll wait a bit before following. Poor old Fluffy is really in for it tonight."
And so, Harry had no idea that what waited ahead of him wasn't Snape, but Quirrell — nor did he know there were people following behind him. Recklessly, he led his friends on to "protect" the Sorcerer's Stone.
Not yet twelve years old, Harry was still just a kid — he couldn't possibly think everything through.
He never once wondered how they could possibly get through all the Stone's protections. If it weren't for the professors slacking off and setting such easy obstacles, they might have met their end long before ever laying eyes on the Stone.
Harry had never really thought about it either — how could a first-year like him possibly stop Voldemort?
Did Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi give him the courage?
If it weren't for the protective power he carried within him, how could he ever have broken free from Quirrell's control?
That's the protagonist's halo for you — something no one else could ever hope to have.
When Harry and Hermione entered the troll's room, Eda and the twins had just reached the giant chessboard. The twins immediately spotted Ron lying on his back on the floor.
They rushed over to check on him, and seeing that he was only unconscious, they finally felt relieved.
Eda also walked over and waved her wand over Ron. Under the effect of the Reviving Charm, the unconscious Ron slowly came to.
He stared in shock at Eda, and at the twins hovering over him — he had only just woken up and nearly fainted again from surprise.
"Eda—!? And You guys?! What are you guys doing here?"
(Eda and Dumbledore's actions adjusted the order of events at the end of the school year, having Quirrell attempt to steal the Sorcerer's Stone a few days earlier than in the original timeline.)
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