I Have Never Been Alone

Quirrell was not in a very good mood right now. More precisely, neither he nor Voldemort was in a particularly good mood.

They had silently passed through every obstacle and arrived at the place rumored to house the Philosopher's Stone. Fortunately, they had chosen another way in; otherwise, they might have discovered just how laughable the traps along the way were.

But now, standing before them was a massive mirror!

The mirror was extraordinarily ornate. It reached all the way to the ceiling, with a golden frame and two clawed feet at its base. Of course, they knew what it was called. This was the Mirror of Erised.

The Mirror of Erised allowed people to see the deepest, most urgent, most intense desires of their hearts.

But honestly, after staring at it for so long, they had indeed seen their deepest desires—but they had not found the one thing they most wanted to find!

The Philosopher's Stone. Quirrell had gone through endless hardship to reach this damned place. He had even racked his brains to avoid all those traps before finally making it here.

Yet there was nothing here. Just a fucking huge mirror!

"Have we been tricked?"

Quirrell could not help thinking it. He truly felt as though he had been deceived.

Because there was nothing here that he wanted, only a large mirror that made him feel like he was falling apart inside!

Soon, Quirrell heard a series of explosions from behind him.

Clearly, it was a warning that someone had entered. But Rocky did not dare leave. He had no other choice now!

Who knew what would happen to him if he failed to find the Philosopher's Stone?

Those damned Death Eaters probably would not spare him, would they?

Quirrell gave a bitter laugh. Being able to see the Death Eaters again would already be a good thing—it would at least mean he was still alive. But if he failed to find the Philosopher's Stone, who knew what that thing attached to his body would do to him!

The footsteps behind him drew closer and closer, and Quirrell's expression grew increasingly grave.

But when he saw in the Mirror of Erised's reflection that the people entering were a group of students rather than someone like Professor Dumbledore, he immediately relaxed somewhat.

Thankfully, they were only a group of children!

Quirrell felt that his luck was pretty good. Though he could clearly see that they were led by Noah Finneal, the most outstanding student in the entire school and someone from the same House as himself, and though he knew that Noah could use a terrifying curse like Sectumsempra—

So what?

He was just a child!

Quirrell knew his own capabilities. His magical power was not much stronger than that of a recent graduate from the upper years, a problem the wizarding world had been unable to solve for ages.

It seemed that the strength and amount of magical power depended primarily on talent. There was simply no way around it.

But as a former Ravenclaw, Rocky possessed an extensive store of knowledge. Otherwise, he would never have become a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

His abundant magical knowledge and theory, along with his techniques for casting various spells, allowed Rocky to handle plenty of trouble.

As for these little brats?

Quirrell did not take them seriously at all. Still, Rocky was in no hurry to act. He noticed that Harry had also come to this damned place, and his heart leaped with joy.

Just because he could not find the Philosopher's Stone did not mean Harry could not!

As the person who had killed the Dark Lord, and the only person to survive the Dark Lord's hand, Quirrell believed Harry had to be extraordinary. Perhaps he really could help him find the Philosopher's Stone!

"It's you!"

When Noah and the others entered and saw the person standing motionlessly before the magical mirror like a statue, they immediately grew tense.

But when Harry recognized him through the mirror, he was utterly astonished.

"Professor Quirrell? Why is it you? I thought it would be Snape!"

"Yes, he certainly looks like a bad person, doesn't he?"

Quirrell turned around expressionlessly. He looked utterly calm, and his voice was equally cold.

In his eyes, these brats would be dead soon enough. He did not mind speaking with them a little longer.

"So it was you. No wonder." Noah had long known it was Rocky, but he still had to put on a look of sudden realization. "With you around, who would suspect poor, stuttering Professor Quirrell?"

"You are very clever, Mr. Phileas." Quirrell rarely showed a hint of a smile. "As a Ravenclaw, I am proud of you. But you truly should not have followed these reckless Gryffindors, because it will cost you your life."

"Thank you for the advice, but if I remember correctly, weren't you also taught by Professor Flitwick?"

"That's right, it was Professor Flitwick. I respect him very much."

"Then do you remember something he once said? Do not let danger and fear corrupt your heart and cause you to fall into darkness?"

"Hmph!"

Quirrell's expression darkened. He truly wanted to shout at Noah, What the fuck do you know!

But reason told him it was better not to yell. There was not even any need to answer the question!

At this point, nothing Rocky said would matter anyway. Besides, he still had someone on him!

"Fine, it seems you do not want to answer that question. Oh, right. I heard that during the Quidditch match, Harry's broom went out of control. Sorry, I have no interest in Quidditch, so I did not watch it. Harry once said Professor Snape had tampered with it, but it seems it was you, wasn't it?"

"That's right. It was me. If that damned Snape had not interfered, believe me, Harry would already be dead!"

"What?"

Shock appeared on Harry and Ron's faces at the same time. They had never imagined that Professor Snape, whom they had always believed was the villain, was actually the one who had saved Harry!

It was simply unbelievable!

"Nothing is impossible. If Snape's magical power had not been so strong, even if he had cast a counter-curse, it would have been useless!" Quirrell snorted, and his earlier smile vanished without a trace.

"See, Harry? I told you Professor Snape would not attack you. It turns out I was right, wasn't I?" Noah shrugged indifferently. He had known all along that Snape was the one who had been protecting Harry.

"But speaking of which, Mr. Phileas, I always thought Harry was my greatest threat. Yet now I have realized that you and your friends are my greatest threat, especially after Halloween!"

"Oh? Really? Should I say I'm honored?"

For some reason, Quirrell suddenly shifted the topic back to Noah—more precisely, to Noah's group.

Kate and the others found it somewhat strange, but they soon felt it made perfect sense. Quirrell's words had already made them realize many things.

"So, you were the one who released the troll on Halloween."

"That's right. But unfortunately, that also made Professor Snape suspicious of me. He no longer trusted me. He never allowed me to act alone again."

As he spoke, Quirrell turned around and looked once more at the enormous magical mirror, a strange curve appearing on his lips. "But sadly, I have never been alone."