Philosopher's Stone

Harry and Ron panted as they sprinted back the way they had come, only stopping when they reached the room with the Devil's Snare. They leaned against the wall, still shaken, listening as the distant thudding of the troll smashing at the door gradually died away. It had probably given up.

However, when they looked up at the trapdoor they had fallen through at the top of the room, a new problem appeared—the trapdoor was more than ten meters above the ground! The surrounding stone walls were smooth, with nothing to climb!

"The question is, how do we get back?" Harry stared desperately at the unreachable exit. "We can't stay trapped here forever, can we?"

Ron looked equally miserable. "We're done for... We can't fly, Hermione isn't here, and now we're really dead!"

The two fell silent, as though the shadow of death had descended over them.

Suddenly, Harry jerked his head up, his eyes lighting up. He grabbed Ron's arm and said excitedly, "Wait! Ron! I've thought of a way! Maybe... maybe we don't need to run! We can go back and defeat that troll!"

Ron looked at Harry as if he had gone mad. "Are you crazy?! How could we possibly beat a troll?!"

"No! Not by fighting it head-on!" Harry said quickly, his mind racing. "Do you remember what we learned on Halloween?"

Ron blinked, seeming to understand a little. "You mean..."

"Yes!" Harry said eagerly. "We don't have to attack it directly! We just need to use the Levitation Charm—Wingardium Leviosa—to make its club float, then control the club and use its own weapon to knock it out! Like what Quirrell did, except in reverse!"

Ron's mouth fell open. The idea sounded crazy, but... it seemed to make a little sense? Trolls were stupid. If its club suddenly flew out of control and smashed into it, it would probably be too slow to react!

"But... can the Levitation Charm control something that heavy? And that precisely?" Ron hesitated.

"How will we know if we don't try?" Harry was filled with a desperate, all-or-nothing courage. "It's better than staying here and waiting to die! Besides, if both of us cast it together, our magic should be enough!"

Infected by Harry's determination, Ron gritted his teeth. "All right! Let's do it!"

And so, the two Gryffindors who had only just escaped death summoned their courage again and crept back to the troll's room.

They carefully pushed open a crack in the door and saw the troll sitting on the floor with its back to them, boredly poking the ground with its club.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, drew a deep breath, and raised their wands at the enormous club in the troll's hand. With all their strength, they clearly recited the spell:

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Two faint beams of magic shot from their wand tips and struck the club. The club trembled violently, then actually began to float unsteadily into the air!

The troll froze for a moment. It looked down at its empty hand, then up at the floating club. Its stupid brain seemed unable to understand what had happened.

"Now!" Harry shouted. "Make it come down!"

The two concentrated with all their might, struggling to guide the floating club as it smashed down hard toward the troll's enormous head!

"BANG!!!"

A dull thud rang out! The club struck the troll squarely on the crown of its head!

The troll let out a short, confused whimper. Its eyes rolled back, its huge body swayed, and with a crash, it toppled to the floor, unconscious.

The room fell silent at once.

Harry and Ron stared dumbfounded at the troll sprawled on the ground, then at each other, hardly daring to believe they had succeeded!

"Merlin... we... we really did it!" Ron's voice trembled with excitement.

Harry also let out a long breath, a victorious smile appearing on his face. Though it had been dangerous, they had actually defeated a troll with courage and a bit of cleverness!

"Quick! Before it wakes up, let's get to the next room!" Harry pulled Ron up, stepped over the troll's body, and continued deeper into the forbidden area.

Gryffindor courage and wisdom shone brightly in that moment. Of course, if they had known that Snape was not waiting ahead of them at all, but something far more terrifying, they might not have been so optimistic.

Harry Potter, alone—Ron had bravely "sacrificed" himself on the giant wizard chessboard and was temporarily unconscious—pushed open the final door and entered the vast, cold chamber. At the far end of the room stood the ornate, mysterious Mirror of Erised he had seen before.

Yet before the mirror stood a figure with his back to him. The person wore a tattered black robe and had a tall, thin frame.

"Harry Potter..." A cold, hoarse voice rang out, carrying a horrifyingly familiar feeling. "You really do love sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

The figure slowly turned around.

Harry's heart was instantly seized by terror! What he saw was neither Professor Snape, as he had expected, nor Professor Quirrell, but a pale, haggard middle-aged wizard he had never seen before. Yet that face... Harry felt as though he had encountered that evil aura somewhere before!

What terrified Harry even more was that the wizard's expression was stiff and his eyes hollow, as if he were a puppet being controlled. And at the back of his head... another face had faintly emerged! A more twisted, pallid, noseless serpent-like face with scarlet eyes—Voldemort's face! It was so clear, so evil, as though it were the true master of that body, while the face at the front was merely a mask!

Voldemort—or rather, his remaining soul had completely taken control of this new host—fixed Harry with those scarlet eyes, a cruel curve lifting at his lips.

"Look who it is..." Voldemort's voice came directly from the mouth on the back of the head, carrying a bone-chilling coldness. "The Boy Who Lived... Harry Potter. Just like your damned parents, you're always ruining my plans."

Harry's entire body froze in fear, and he nearly dropped his wand.

Voldemort seemed to enjoy Harry's terror. He gave his wand a light flick.

Harry felt an invisible force instantly seize his throat and lift his entire body off the ground, his feet dangling in the air! He struggled in agony, but could not break free.

Controlling his host's body, Voldemort dragged Harry roughly before the Mirror of Erised like a rag doll and forcibly pressed his face against the cold glass!

"Now, look at me, Potter!" Voldemort hissed in his ear. "Watch me take the Philosopher's Stone and regain my strength! Then... watch how you die! Just like your foolish parents!"

Harry was forced to look into the mirror. Reflected within it were not only his own frightened, twisted face, but Voldemort's sneering serpent-like face, and... something deep within the mirror that seemed to be glowing...

Overwhelming terror, the suffocating grip on his throat, hatred over his parents' murder... all those emotions exploded within Harry! He knew he had to do something! Otherwise, everything was over!