The green spring grass was fine and silky, caressing the pads of Harry Potter's fingers. A light breeze carried the incomparable scent of blooming vegetation from the Forbidden Forest. The boy's back rested comfortably in a hollow between the roots of a tree that grew on the banks of the Hogleike.
Hermione Granger was perched next to him, using Harry's thigh as a pillow and reading a third-year runes textbook - not from the library, but ordered by mail from Flourish and Blotts. Quite expensive, by the way, more of a collector's item. Such editions were not very popular even among old families, although, according to Draco, Malfoy Manor had similar copies. The reason was the same archaic language and the fact that many of the techniques and spells described in them were considered too cumbersome and outdated.
But Harry had already begun to slowly deduce, with the help of inner voices, an interesting theory, according to which it turned out that in ancient times, in the times before Merlin, the connection of this world with the warp was much closer than now. And the Gods - or their analogues in this world - walked among mortals, sometimes mixing reality and the Immaterium, trying to remake the material plane for themselves. So any echo of those times could help him in his research into Chaos magic - like those runes that were described in the textbook found in the Forbidden Section.
If it is true, then all this "useless" and "outdated" knowledge could have been obtained for next to nothing from those wizards who do not realize their real value!
Although, it must be admitted, this particular rare textbook cost almost three times more than a regular one. But here the rarity of the edition and the high cost of the design played a role.
"What a great day ," Sweet Tooth's voice rang out carefree in my head. "Now if only I had a glass of Amasek and a cherry cigarillo, everything would be perfect!"
Harry smiled, feeling on his tongue a shadow of the taste that Slaaneshith had transmitted to his brain. The tart-sweet taste of an unknown drink with grape notes, spicy smoke settling pleasantly in the lungs. The sensations were fleeting and unreal - but the boy hoped that someday he would be able to feel something like this in reality.
"Do you remember that you have a battle ahead of you?" Ruffnut grumbled irritably. "That damn Quirrell is getting closer to that artifact - and you've been lounging around, eating and groping girls for over two months already!"
Harry's hand, which had been thoughtfully running through Hermione's curls, trembled slightly.
"Is everything okay?" the girl looked up at him, sensing movement.
"Yeah… yeah," Harry smiled. "Don't pay attention, I was lost in thought."
Granger shrugged and buried her face in her book again. Harry frowned; all the relaxed mood had vanished because of that damned Ruffnut. And he hadn't groped anyone! Big deal, he'd let some older girls paw at him like a teddy bear - after all, it had been kind of nice. Harry didn't quite understand the nature of this feeling, and the voices in his head weren't making it any clearer. Only Sweet Tooth giggled mysteriously, promising to come back to this issue in a few years.
Well, it also just happened that Hermione started using him as a pillow - like now, for example. She would lean her head on his thigh to make it easier to read, or she would settle on his chest, or she would curl up under his arm - in general, the number of hugs between them somehow naturally increased. But to say that he was "groping" someone is a complete lie and slander!
Although, those same senior students, looking at the two of them, settled in a chair in the living room under one blanket, for some reason rolled their eyes with affection and squealed enthusiastically.
The Khornite's accusations sounded all the more unfair considering that Harry had not been idle for the last two months!
Taking advantage of the access to the catacombs under the school (as well as the obvious sloppiness of the Fat Lady in the portrait that hid the entrance to the Gryffindor common room), Harry managed to brew several potions from the school program with "additions" from Dobryak, made significant progress in both regular charms and warp magic, and that's not even mentioning the ritual of Feeding the Weapon!
Oh, yes! Harry performed a ritual that strengthened and improved his dagger using the soul of a unicorn foal. What was left of it after he dedicated it to Slaanesh.
By the way, it was this last fact that probably infuriated Ruffnut more than anything else. Killing in battle when there is a real chance of being killed yourself - this is something the Khorne daemon understood and accepted. But cruelly torturing someone who can neither fight back nor even object - this terribly angered the Khornate!
And the fact that the sweet, rich soul went to the hated antagonist of the Blood God made Ruffnut literally knock on the walls of Harry's skull in fits of blind rage!
But the boy did not regret for a moment his decision to sacrifice to Slaanesh!
This time he felt a faint echo again, from somewhere deep in the warp. The same distant whisper that had reached him when he had sacrificed that junkie. Only this time it was not coming from the top of a mountain of skulls, but from a luxurious palace surrounded by wondrous gardens… At least, that was what the vague dreams and visions he had experienced said.
The reward was precisely these two and a half months, filled with bright and amazing sensations from seemingly completely ordinary things! Sweets and even ordinary food seemed much tastier, smells excited the sense of smell, and touching the soft grass or Granger's hair caused a strange excitement, like a hot wave from the stomach to the chest.
But Harry was not allowed to lie lazily and enjoy the clear and sunny spring morning: the offended and angry as a dog demon of Khorne howled inside, demanding to get up and act - no matter how!
Grumbling and cursing under his breath, Potter was forced to shoo Hermione away, stand up and stretch. If he couldn't idle away his time, then he had to sort out Granger's training. Sure, they had already started studying a few things together, but until now Harry hadn't trusted her with many of his secrets.
It all started when Hermione saw Harry reading a book and writing something down at the same time, without looking at the parchment - she was very impressed! And when it turned out that he was reading a book on the History of Magic, and writing an essay on potions, the girl was completely stunned, asking how Potter does it. And when she learned that such a thing can be learned, she was filled with the desire to master it herself!
Since then, he and Hermione often studied and trained together. "Trained" in the sense that they practiced ordinary spells - Harry didn't tell his friend about warp magic or his theory about ancient magic. Yet.
And now, when the restless Khornit pulled the boy out of his state of contemplative laziness, reminding him of Quirrell's threat, he had a thought - isn't it high time? To slightly lift the curtain on truly secret knowledge for the clever Granger? Especially since...
"That you've already hired her to calculate the Forecast ," the Smart Guy chuckled. "And the girl did a hundred percent! I can't even believe that she's twelve."
"Hermione is very smart," Harry agreed, already stomping towards the castle, accompanied by Granger. "But you have to give out knowledge very carefully, so that she doesn't reveal some of my... secrets," the boy hesitated, embarrassed.
"Indeed ," the Tzeentchian daemon chuckled. "No need to dump everything on her just yet. But it is worth opening her mind a little to the warp."
"Is it dangerous?" Harry asked, just for the sake of form.
"Not much more dangerous than for you ," the Smart Guy chuckled. "Under our control and with the study of the appropriate mental techniques, no problems at all. To be honest, I like a follower like that."
"Hey, why should our friend be your follower?!" Sweet Tooth was indignant. "As for me, she will suit me just fine too... after she grows up ," the demon Slaanesh clarified.
"Isn't that a bit too rich for you?" snorted the Tzeentch. "Your Prince just recently received such a juicy soul as a sacrifice - and you already want more? You'll make do."
Harry chuckled, but didn't interfere in the squabble of the spirits - he had already reached the entrance to the castle.
Another, also weighty, argument to open up a little to his friend was the need for support in the confrontation with Quirinus Quirrell for possession of the mysterious artifact! Of course, he could hope to defeat the adult teacher with the help of cunning and surprise. Or, without entering into battle at all, follow him and steal the artifact from under his nose. But Harry tried to soberly assess his strength - and this assessment said that he was not yet ready to clash with an experienced wizard.
Just a couple of years ago, when Harry was an ordinary runt, bullied at school and humiliated by his relatives, he probably would have also tried to get into the story with the mysterious artifact. But not to get it for himself, but to prevent the villain from taking possession of it! Now, four spirits were whispering to him thoughts that were far from altruistic.
Smart Guy was positively filled with burning curiosity! He wanted to know what kind of artifact was hidden in the dungeons under the hatch guarded by the three-headed dog. He wanted to dig into it, open it, understand it, and add the information he received to his already boundless knowledge.
The sweet tooth was choking with greed, imagining how they would take this magical treasure in their hands, use it for their own benefit and entertainment, enjoy new bright sensations - whatever they might be.
Bully was angry. I mean, more angry than usual. That some stutterer was trying to do his business behind people's backs, that he dared to hunt an artifact that they themselves had their eye on as a trophy - everything! Blinding, white-hot rage was seething inside him, trying to break out.
Dobryak was emitting a miasma of… concern. If not to say – outright fear! When such protective measures are used to hide some magical object, it means that it is a very powerful artifact. What would happen if a dishonest person got his hands on something like that – was it worth finding out? Better to get his hands on this thing and hide it away, out of harm's way, before anything happens.
Harry himself probably wouldn't have been able to explain where the emotions and desires of the spirit advisors ended and where his own began. And he didn't ask himself such questions at all, immersed in the vivid sensations granted by the Ocean of Souls, with all the spontaneity of a child!
"Hermione," the boy called out to his friend when she was about to go up to the girls' dorm to get her writing materials - she was going to do her homework for Monday. "Do you want to start practicing those abilities you asked about tonight?"
The girl froze, raising her leg over the first step of the stairs leading up.
"Really?" She opened her eyes wide. "O-of course!" She blurted out. Then she frowned. "But why at night?"
And she glanced suspiciously at the Weasley twins sitting at the other end of the living room - the only ones, besides her and Harry, who were here now.
"Let's put it this way..." Potter winked mysteriously at her. "It's a very... very big secret! Few people have such knowledge, and it's certainly not worth sharing it with just anyone."
At first, Hermione turned pale from excitement. And then she turned a little pink - from Harry's words. After all, it turned out that for him she was not "just anyone", but his most trusted friend!
"After lights out, when your roommates are asleep, go down to the living room," the boy quietly instructed her. "Just take the wand - you won't need the rest. Try not to be noticed!"
Hermione nodded seriously and, after a slight hesitation, ran to the bedroom. But she couldn't concentrate on her homework anymore - all the girl's thoughts were absorbed by the upcoming sortie!
In fact, if it weren't for her interactions with Potter, and occasionally with Weasley and that nasty Malfoy, she would probably be horrified by the very idea of breaking the rules! And after several Gryffindor students had been caught wandering the corridors at night two months ago, and the elder McLaggen had been sent to St. Mungo's to recover from his injuries, that horror must have only deepened in her soul.
But there was a strange aura of forbiddenness around Harry . Some kind of challenge, wrongness, absurdity that called and begged him to do something against the rules and propriety! Hermione was not fully aware of it, she just felt it - and she liked this feeling.
And so, as soon as her neighbors fell asleep, the girl with unruly chestnut hair decisively pulled back the curtain of her bed and, hastily putting on her shoes, quietly left the bedroom and went down to the living room.
"You've come. Good," nodded Harry, who was sitting in one of the armchairs next to the extinguished fireplace. For a moment, Hermione thought that her friend's eyes were strangely flickering in the semi-darkness – an eerie crimson light. But, shaking her head, the girl shook off the obsession. No time to think about stupid things! Soon her friend would teach Hermione those amazing tricks that he had already demonstrated more than once – that was what was important. "Let's go. We need to hurry before it's over…" He closed his eyes for a moment, as if listening to something inside himself. And then finished mysteriously: "While there is still a chance to slip by unnoticed."
They threw the invisibility cloak over their shoulders and slipped out of the living room to the sleepy grumbling of the Fat Lady about "restless youngsters who can't decide whether to go out or not."
Hermione's first shock was the appearance of Quinky.
"House elf," Harry explained indifferently, ignoring the hunted look of the house elf and the frowning one of Granger herself. "They serve the school and carry out the orders of those who... found an approach to them."
The last phrase clearly calmed the girl down - otherwise, the pitiful sight of the strange little creature in the greasy pillowcase made her feel uneasy. But if Harry "found an approach"... it hardly meant anything bad.
The second shock was the instantaneous movement to the Hogwarts dungeons. Of course, Hermione already knew about Apparition - Professor McGonagall had clearly demonstrated the ability of wizards to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye during their first meeting. But she had also read about the school's protective charms, which made movement impossible within the castle's boundaries!
Hermione made a mental note to ask Harry more about this phenomenon. She might have asked questions on the spot, in her usual manner, but then Potter opened the door to his secret room with a sly look.
This was where the third shock came for Hermione Granger: because she saw in front of her a real wizard's laboratory!
Or rather, something like a wizard's laboratory could be seen in most of the Hogwarts professors' offices. The same Snape's dungeons - that's definitely the lair of a mad alchemist. But this... This room seemed to have come from the pages of Hermione's favorite fantasy books!
In all honesty, Harry's lab was pretty makeshift. He'd scavenged from the abandoned classrooms on this floor of the catacombs, and had managed to cobble together a potion-brewing nook, an alchemy table, and some sort of workbench. The walls of the tiny room were covered in runic symbols, though the matrices and chains were far from complete.
But the main attraction of this small hall was, undoubtedly, the sacrificial circle, glowing with an otherworldly light, located in the very center! The eight-pointed star of Chaos, composed of double lines, inside which the same runes shone, was more than three meters in diameter. The eerie and at the same time fascinating appearance of this drawing made Granger fall out of reality for some time.
"Hermione. Hermione!" Harry called insistently to his friend, seeing that she had fallen into a stupor.
- Huh? - the girl perked up, tearing herself away from the strange colors that shimmered on the runes on the magic circle. - Harry! - she immediately frowned. - What is this?
"A ritual circle," Potter said dismissively, as if he were talking about the weather. "In order to cast particularly powerful spells, you have to do complex calculations and energy manipulations. So it's like..." He paused, searching for an example. "Something like a Muggle calculator."
"Only one that works on blood and souls ," Sweet Tooth chuckled, but quickly fell silent under the displeased hissing of Smart Tooth.
"Wow," Hermione breathed out, her eyes wide with admiration. Then she frowned again. "But how did you learn all this? And why is it such a secret?"
"I got an inheritance from my parents," the boy shrugged. And he didn't lie! Judging by what the spirits-advisers told me, they were able to find Harry and make contact thanks to the ritual that his mother performed. Also a kind of inheritance.
"Oh, wow!" Hermione finally cast aside her doubts. "Is that why it's a secret? Family secrets? I read that many wizarding families have entire closed libraries filled with knowledge available only to members of their families, and also…"
Harry just smiled imperceptibly. The smart guy was right: one general phrase, not containing a lie, or even a particularly deep meaning - and the interlocutor himself already thinks up everything that is needed for you.
"Oh," Hermione suddenly faltered again. "And you…" she swallowed. "Are you ready to share such… such secret knowledge with me?"
- Of course! - the boy smiled back. - I've already told you more than once - you're my closest friend, Hermione. I trust you, and I know that you'll never tell anyone my secrets. But just in case, if you want, we can make a small oath, - he said casually.
"Yes, I'm ready!" the girl nodded seriously. Harry heard Smarty laugh contentedly in his head. "What do you need to do?"
"Aren't you afraid of cutting your palm a little?" Potter asked. "Don't worry, I can heal scratches like that very quickly!"
"Ah… okay," Granger turned slightly pale, following Harry to the ritual circle and holding out her open palm to him.
The dagger, once a long camp knife stolen from a tourist shop, had almost lost its original appearance. It had grown almost twice as long, the blunt side was covered with strange serrations, the handle was decorated with amazing carvings. And, of course, its entire blade was covered in unholy demonic writing, now glowing with an otherworldly light that made the eyes of an unprepared person begin to ache and water.
"Ouch!" Granger squeaked, turning away. Tears gushed from her eyes. "That hurt!"
"Don't turn away, Hermione," Harry gently lifted her face by the chin and forced the girl to look at the games of strange colors and swirls that flared up in the center of the ritual circle. "True knowledge cannot be gained if you turn away and hide your gaze. Look!" He firmly fixed Granger's head so that she did not tear her gaze away from the dancing lights of the warp. "Or," here he looked into the heavily breathing girl's eyes, "have you changed your mind?"
"No!" Hermione cried, shaking her head for good measure. "I… I can do it!"
"Then let's seal the oath," Potter nodded and lightly ran the blade of the dagger across the girl's palm. She sobbed in pain, but did not move away. "By the thirty-seven keys of Tzeentch, may I open your mind to the Truth of Chaos!..."
Hermione arched her back, struggling to breathe. Her limbs convulsed, and a faint wheezing sound came from her throat. Blood began to ooze from Granger's eyes and ears as images from the warp entered her mind, taking root in her soul and consciousness.
"Okay. Now let's guide our friend a little before she gets lost in the waters of the Immaterium ," Smarty said contentedly - and Harry felt how his friend's essence, that notorious soul, stopped rushing about in the warp streams. As if a huge palm lifted her up, giving her support and self-confidence.
In physical reality, this was expressed in the fact that Hermione's eyes and ears stopped bleeding, and the girl's breathing evened out. After some time, she took a sharp breath and opened her eyes, in which horror splashed in half with delight and amazement.
- H... Harry! That was... What was that? - she finally blurted out. And then, feeling her face, she realized that she was covered in blood. - I'm covered in blood!
"It's okay," Potter smiled encouragingly, coming up to the girl and looking into her eyes. "You saw it, right? You saw this Ocean? You heard it? You felt it?"
- Yes... yes! - she looked at Harry more intelligently. - Oh, God! It was... it was terribly strange, - she clasped her hands. - And strangely terrible. But at the same time - wonderful! - Hermione exclaimed. - It's like... like an endless galactic super library!
Potter's head was filled with choking sounds, and the other three burst into three loud laughs.
"I haven't heard such an original… and banal definition of the warp for a long time ," Sweet Tooth snorted cheerfully, having finished laughing.
"But why isn't there a word written about this in the library?" Granger suddenly frowned, which made Harry burst out laughing too.
"Oh my god, Hermione!" Harry said, slapping his knees and laughing. "You just had almost all the secrets of the universe revealed to you, and you're checking them against what's in the school library? Seriously?!"
- Oh, come on! - Granger blushed, listening thoughtfully to herself. - I... hear something... Some voices - from that very Ocean. What is that anyway, by the way?
Harry smiled widely. This was another test from his spirit advisors - the ability to independently explain to another person what the warp and Chaos were. And in such a way as to interest, but not frighten. After all, there is a time for everything!
Now, any ally counted. There was only a little time left until the end of the school year, and Quirrel certainly wouldn't wait.
And so he took a deep breath and began his impromptu lecture...
The Forbidden Corridor on the third floor of the main building of the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has never been particularly crowded. Firstly, because the classrooms in this part of the castle have not been used for lessons for a couple of decades. Secondly, because it is, after all, a "Forbidden" corridor! That is, closed to visits by students.
Of course, many students, like the Weasley twins, were drawn to the "forbidden" nature of this corner of Hogwarts like flies to honey! But for this case, Professor Dumbledore installed a whole network of tracking and blocking charms - and therefore the pilgrimage of daredevils who loved to break the rules to the Forbidden Corridor very quickly came to naught. Dozens of points deducted and tedious detentions had an effect even on the reckless red-haired twins.
And now it was exam time, so the whole of Hogwarts was somehow frozen and quiet. The fifth- and seventh-year students reacted very nervously to the slightest noise, and the prefects were so brutal that even the most inveterate hooligans tried not to show themselves in the corridors.
It was the combination of these factors that allowed Harry and Hermione to easily reach the door behind which was hidden a three-headed dog guarding the hatch to the dungeon with the artifact.
"Professor Quirrell has paved a real avenue for us in the wards," Hermione said thoughtfully, looking at the Forbidden Corridor right through the warp. "All that's left is to get past the dog and… well, and what's next," the girl swallowed a little nervously. To be honest, she still couldn't believe that she had gotten involved in such a dangerous adventure, using secret magic that wasn't part of the school curriculum. But this magic gave her too incredible opportunities to refuse it!
As for the adventure... Well, now it was clear what the Sorting Hat had in mind when it sent Granger to Gryffindor.
Harry frowned slightly, offended. The boy was somewhat offended by how easily his friend had mastered so many magical techniques in a measly month and a half, which he had trained and honed for two years. She greedily, tirelessly and insatiably absorbed any knowledge and skills that Harry or Smarty could give her - and it was the latter, with Potter's help, who was establishing contacts with Hermione. She knew nothing about Smarty's existence yet - only general information about the dangers of the Immaterium and its inhabitants, so similar to classic demons. But Harry knew that one day he would have to introduce his best friend to his spirit advisors - when she was ready.
However, judging by her progress, she would be ready soon enough. Potter, to be honest, himself didn't know how to feel about this.
On the one hand, he was damn glad that finally someone would share his little secret and passion. Harry had never had friends - real friends, made of flesh and blood. And so Hermione's company was something as pleasant for him as the opportunity to eat cakes to his heart's content after so many years of abstinence. And if she knew and accepted what he was doing, and also helped in it - Potter's happiness would know no bounds!
On the other hand, Harry felt something like… jealousy. And rivalry. Jealousy of his amazing and unique abilities, which seemed to be not as unique as they used to be. And feelings of rivalry – accordingly towards Hermione. Because, after all, she became the second witch in the world – after him.
Harry's thoughts even began to hear whispers from Ruffnut and, for some reason, Kindly, urging him to kill Granger and hide the body in the depths of the catacombs. But the boy rejected their words in horror, after which he indignantly demanded that they stop advising such things!
Rivalry or not, he had no intention of giving up the friendship he had long awaited. He was supported in this endeavor by Smarty… and, suddenly, Sweety.
"Throwing away beautiful girls because of fear of competition is beyond good and evil! " the Slaaneshi was indignant. "Who was the one screaming the loudest about cowardice here?!"
"I don't give a damn about your witchcraft competition!" Zabiyaka yelled back furiously. "It's the fatso who shakes like jelly at the mere thought of a good fight or a hint of rivalry! And I'm against fucking witchcraft and sorcerers in principle!"
Harry only winced at this: with all the advantages that Ruffnut gave, such as strength, endurance and other physical improvements, he had one very, very important drawback. Rejection of magic! According to the Khornit, striking an enemy in any way other than close combat, nailing with improvised objects and just fists is meanness and cowardice. And he would gladly dismember everyone who used "unfair tricks".
So, almost immediately after entering Hogwarts, young Potter had to endure a new wave of constant calls from Ruffnut to kill those around him. Up until now, increased physical activity had helped somewhat - like back then, in Little Whinging in the first days. But the Khorne began to get mad again from the lack of a "normal" fight - and sooner or later something had to be done about it.
If Ruffnut's calls were somewhat expected, then Kindly surprised Harry by joining the Khorne demon in calling for Hermione to be killed. But if Ruffnut wanted to kill the girl simply along with all the other inhabitants of the castle, then Kindly was aiming specifically at Granger herself!
After delving into his emotions and feelings, Harry was surprised to realize that the aversion to competition and the fear of eventually losing had indeed nested in his soul. Having sensed them, Kindly, apparently, tried to take some measures.
However, the four spirits played the role of a system of checks and balances in Harry's soul perfectly - and therefore the timely intervention of the Smart Guy and the Sweet Tooth prevented the boy from committing an irreparable act. Although that impulse was quite strong - which frightened Harry and made him make a note to control himself better in the future.
They actually got through the Forbidden Corridor itself without any extra effort. They only listened to their feelings in the warp to rule out any surprises, but that was basically unnecessary: Hermione was right - Professor Quirrell had untangled and deactivated most of the tracking charms in the corridor, so they would definitely not be restored for at least another half hour or hour.
The three-headed dog was asleep. More precisely, he was dozing lightly, obeying some conditioned reflex that made him fall asleep at the sound of music. This music was coming from an enchanted harp, installed, apparently, by Quirrell.
Harry quickly pulled out a small box of black and silver powder from his bosom - a special potion he had recently brewed, with an enhanced sleeping effect. In fact, it was the most ordinary magical potion of Dreamless Sleep, only with a couple of additions - this time, recommended by the Smart Guy.
He and Hermione simultaneously took out their red and yellow faculty scarves and wrapped them tightly around the lower parts of their faces - so as not to inhale too much of it themselves. And then, nodding to each other, they stepped forward sharply!
Harry quickly emptied the contents of the box into all three of Fluffy's faces, and Hermione, concentrating, used warp telekinesis to remove the Cerberus's heavy paw from the hatch they needed - she had learned this technique almost on the first day.
Then things got a little… simpler.
A flight into the darkness, immediately followed by a volley of otherworldly fire that simply burned out the Hell's Snare, a man-eating plant left by Professor Sprout, that was waiting in the darkness. But that was the easiest part.
The room with the flying keys could cause problems for the average burglar: to overcome it, you had to have real talent in flying on a broomstick... or be a warp sorcerer. And if both of these qualities were combined, then it couldn't be easier.
In the room with the giant wizarding chess set, Harry for the first time regretted that Ron and Draco were bloody nerds who could only be torn away from their club by a nuclear war! Because this was exactly where their talents would have come in very handy.
And he tried to hang out with those two fools too. And if Malfoy was simply showing Harry certain signs of attention as a friend, then Weasley was simply and without fuss trying to draw Potter into their adventures with McLaggen and other machinations. Which Harry was somewhat... uninterested in.
In general, in this friendly-competitive tandem Malfoy-Weasley, he sometimes felt like an extra - so much these two, with the red-haired twins who had joined them, Crabbe, Goyle and several other representatives of the two other faculties, were stewing in their own affairs! No, if it weren't for Harry's own affairs, he would have certainly gotten involved in their adventures. But to sacrifice his own interests for the sake of someone else's stupid undertakings - no thanks. At least he didn't stop being friends with these guys.
As for giant chess…
The bully was eager to fight! But, to Harry's incredible amazement, he did not lead him into a stupid fight, just to crush these huge creations of transfiguration, but with passion suggested tactical methods and dodges, leading, albeit to huge losses, but in the end - to victory! With rare hints from the Smarty - who demonstratively fell silent every time Harry sat down to play chess so that the young wizard himself could learn something - Potter himself was surprised that in the end he won!
The only things left on the board were a bunch of pawns on both sides, a couple of rooks, and Harry's black queen. And as soon as the white faceless pieces that were their opponents were checkmated, the passage opened.
"The first test is purely for the element of surprise," Hermione sniffed excitedly, nodding in time with her steps and words. "Even the most experienced wizard may not react to the Hell's Snare properly… Then – tests for Quidditch player talent, also highly specialized. If you're not a strong wizard, not everyone can pass something like that. Now – chess, an even more specific skill. And now…"
They entered a small hall that looked more like the arena of the Colosseum... reduced fifty times and under a low vaulted ceiling. A terrible stench hit them in the face, forcing them to wince and pull their scarves back up over their noses.
— А теперь — силовое противостояние, — прогундосила Гермиона, указывая на валяющегося на полу тролля с огромной шишкой на голове. Кто-то явно успел отделать чудовище до потери сознания. — Точнее, было силовое противостояние, — уточнила девочка, морщась от запаха. — Профессор явно с легкостью вырубил тролля, которого сам же и притащил в школу для старшекурсников.
They had no doubt that this was the same monster that had broken out on the upper floors on Halloween. A rare teaching aid. Considering that the renegade professor had not killed it, he was still not eager to burn his bridges completely: even though this creature was a dumb, half-intelligent monster, it was still more or less protected by the laws of the Ministry. And besides, it was valuable school property, guarded all this time by the same Quirrell! At least the professor still valued his work.
Ruffnut howled in disappointment inside Harry, but he was adamant - he would not listen to the voices of Khorne and Nurgle for some time. This was a kind of punishment for Kind and Ruffnut. And there was no point in going against his own wishes and trying to force him to finish off his only normal friend among mortals! Such actions required a certain reaction from the true owner of the consciousness where the four demons were quartered - that's how Smarty put it. This thought was unexpectedly supported by the fifth tenant - the one who lived in the scar on Harry's forehead.
By the way, the boy had not yet come up with a name or a nickname for this mysterious stranger. He showed himself too rarely, and even then - just insignificant fleeting thoughts, which Harry quickly learned to separate from his own and hide from the rest of the inhabitants of his head. After all, being a student of the Smart Guy and not keeping a little secret from the others - somehow even indecent.
In general, they passed the troll indifferently (or, more precisely, as quickly as possible and trying to breathe as little as possible).
To get to the next room.
The ring of fire that surrounded them with Hermione made the boys wary - it was very reminiscent of the Fire that they themselves could give out with a wave of their hand. Warp-fire! Smoky, black-crimson flame of the Immaterium.
But still, no. It was a product of the material world's wizards' magic. Programmed to cool down under certain conditions. Conditions that were described in a scroll of parchment lying on the table with a row of bottles.
- So, - Hermione smiled excitedly, taking the scroll with the puzzle in her hands. - And now - a test of knowledge of potions, DADA and logical thinking... Professor Snape clearly tried hard! - she exclaimed admiringly. - There has never been such a multi-stage, smart, magnificent riddle before!
Harry mentally agreed with his friend. Snape was certainly a rare goat, but you couldn't deny his charisma and genius! If the previous tests - even from Flitfick with the flying keys and from McGonagall with the chess - were relatively straightforward and "simple", then here...
Professor Snape was damn demanding of the intellect, knowledge and skills of his students. And not only of his students - he gave the possible intruder a very difficult and deadly task!
If Kindly hadn't been sent into a kind of exile, Harry would probably have experienced another attack of fear from Hermione's abilities, which surpassed his own. Because after a couple of moments she simply and without fuss poked at the right bottle.
"There," she nodded. "But you'll have to go there alone, Harry." Here the girl's eyes widened and she sobbed. "And… That… Good luck!"
After that, she impulsively hugged the boy, as if trying to convey at least a piece of her luck and warmth.
Potter himself took a deep breath. The warp in this place, despite all the specifics of the world and its magic, hummed unpleasantly, knocking down his foresight and shaking all sorts of garbage into his consciousness. Harry's desires, Harry's fears, images of victories and defeats, echoes of battles, the wheezing of the dying, the moans of lovers and even the sound of Filch farting four floors above - all of this merged into a fierce cacophony of the past, future and present. Distracting, disguising, dodging...
But - as the boy realized, already opening the heavy door to the final hall - all these evasions and disguises were not directed against him.
They were aimed at the man standing in the middle of the wide hall with columns around its perimeter. The man in the ridiculous purple turban, standing in front of a massive mirror. The mirror that Harry had already seen in the engraving in that book in the Restricted Section!
"P-Professor Quirrell?" the boy asked the absolutely stupid question out loud. It was obvious who he expected to meet and who he did meet. But as a kind of conversation starter... Why not?
- Ah! Potter, - the renegade grinned without the slightest surprise. - He has come at last. As my Lord predicted! Well? - He turned to Harry with a smug smile. - Surprised? I bet he has all sorts of things in mind for poor Severus! He is a rather... ambiguous character. A dark, evil bat - just right for the role of a villain, eh? - As if listening to something, the professor snorted. - And at the same time: who would suspect the unfortunate st-stammerer...
"Actually, Professor," Harry interrupted with a smug smile, "I've been keeping an eye on you since late autumn."
The smug smile disappeared from Quirrell's face and he began to stutter in earnest:
- Sorry - what?!
"Your suspicious body movements, the attention you receive from both the Headmaster and Professor Snape," Harry began listing with a cheeky smile. He knew how to read glances and facial expressions: the Smart Guy could teach anything, and so he also noticed the glances between Dumbledore and Snape. "The strange smell, the idiotic turban, obviously hiding some artifacts, plus the ability to hide thoughts that appeared out of nowhere - that's your conclusion...
And then PAIN pierced Harry's forehead. Not pain, but PAIN!
All four spirits screamed in panic, and Harry realized with horror that he had begun to... break away from the warp!
But suddenly it was all over. And then another voice began to sound. A creaky, angry voice, as if coming from under layers of fabric:
- Let me talk to the boy!
"B-but, my Lord," Quirrell dared to object, swallowing, "you are still too…"
"Quickly!" the voice roared, and the renegade professor began to unwind his turban.
"Interesting ," the Smart One smiled enthusiastically, as if there had not been a moment of panic just now. "This… this is very similar to a mixture of a daemonhost with Eldar soul stones and the Thrones of the Mechanicum of the Knightly Houses in our former world! An absolutely fierce and impossible heresy, contrary to logic itself, but… here it is – before us!" – despite the evil words, the voice of the Tzeentch demon was filled with admiration. "I definitely like this… Voldemort. He is a genius. A genius!"
On the back of Professor Quirrell's head was a distorted, ugly face with predatory, snake-like features and deep wrinkles. The spirit of the Dark Lord.
"Well, here comes the Big Boss ," Sweet Tooth said in a ringing voice.
- Harry... Potter!... - the wrinkled face croaked, causing disgust and horror. - Do you see what I have become? A ghost, a chimera... Just a shadow of what I once was!
Harry himself did not understand how he ended up tied with magical ropes.
"He does magic without a wand! Magnificent! For the natives, it's a real masterpiece!" the Smart Guy admired.
"I would prefer, instead of admiring this freak, to come up with a plan to destroy him!" Potter screamed mentally, swallowing.
"You… smell strange," Voldemort suddenly interrupted his speech. "Hm… No… Unlikely. But if there is a possibility..." the back of Quirrell's head "shaked its head." "Slave!"
"Yes, sir!" the renegade responded immediately.
"Take the boy to the mirror," the Dark Lord commanded. "It is somehow connected to his magic. And therefore, he will be able to extract the Philosopher's Stone from him!"
"The Philosopher's Stone?!" the Smart Guy and the Sweet Tooth cried out simultaneously. "WE NEED IT, WE SIMPLY NEED IT!!..."
— ХВАТИТ! — рявкнул Гарри вслух, рухнув на колени и закрыв уши руками.
There was a moment of silence. Then the thing on the back of Quirrell's head spoke again. With a wide smile on its lips.
- Yes. Yes! I knew it, I knew it! Whatever magic that mudblood Evans used, it was borrowed Ancient Power! That whore stole something from the Potter-Peverell vault - and cast it on her puppy! Something vile, dirty... just right for the likes of her and her bastard, - the Lord spat contemptuously, causing Harry to choke with indignation and rage!
No one. Never! Could!! Talk about his parents in such a tone!!!
NEVER EVER!!!
At that moment, something burst in his head. More precisely, not in his head - in his soul!
The valve that was supported by four spirits and that protected the inexperienced sorcerer from falling into Chaos and ingloriously dissolving in it, crumbled to dust. And the four involuntary companions screamed sharply in panic!
None of them (none? hmm) even imagined such pressure from the boy's soul!
The magical bonds fell away. And Harry Potter looked up at Professor Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort's spirit. The look of eyes that had no whites. Only an endless, glowing emerald abyss with vertical pupils that glowed with the otherworldly fires of the warp!
"W-what?!… W-why?!" Quirrel tried to squeeze out in horror.
"Kill him!" the ghost in his head was the first to get his bearings. Voldemort realized that something had gone wrong.
The renegade professor clearly didn't want to do anything - but he had to. He rushed forward and even tried to snatch his wand...
And he collapsed, screaming in agony and clutching at his visibly decaying hand. The same hand with which he had risked grabbing Harry Potter.
There were no voices of the four spirits. There were no strange echoes from the scar on the forehead.
There was only a vague Whisper-Roar-Cry-Moan of thousands of voices that poured into Harry's brain and fed his rage and strength! Like that first time Harry Potter died !
YOU WANT TO LIVE, RIGHT??? - the voices asked.
And Harry Potter knew that to all the answers of Chaos itself - Indivisible, Eternal, Beautiful and Terrible Chaos - he would always answer only one thing. "Yes!"
YOU CAN ENJOY YOURSELF IN THE ARMS OF OUR SEPARATE PARTS, DEMONS, GODS, ANYONE YOU WANT! BUT YOU KNOW THAT THEIR NARROW WORLDS WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH FOR YOU, LITTLE MAN. ONLY WE… WE – THE OCEAN OF CHAOS, INDIVISIBLE, CAN GIVE YOU WHAT YOU TRULY THIRST!..
Hundreds, billions of voices simultaneously rammed his mind with all sorts of desires, emotions, talents, paths, possibilities and aspirations - and all of them were amazing! Where are those narrow-minded paths that his spirit-advisers suggested?...
Although - it flashed through Harry's mind at that moment of cruel and pleasant agony - one of his advisers had clearly predicted this Path. It was good that he had become his student. The clever one would take credit for that.
The last thing Harry remembered was Quirrell's body crumbling under the influence of Chaos entropy, Voldemort's spirit screaming in rage and...
And the mirror of Erised, sparkling with the power of the warp, which seemed to laugh and sparkle with the power of the warp. Welcoming the new servant of Chaos.
Chaos Indivisible.
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