[ Location: The Final Chamber ][ Date: June 4th, 1992 - 11:50 PM ]
"KILL HIM!" Voldemort shrieked.
Quirrell lunged, flying over the fire of the torch I'd just exploded. He wasn't aiming for me anymore. He was aiming for Harry, who was clutching his pocket.
"Harry!" I yelled. "Touch him! Your hands!"
Harry didn't ask why. He threw his hands up in panic as Quirrell grabbed his throat.
Ssssss.
Smoke rose from Harry's skin. Quirrell screamed, recoiling. His hands were blistering, turning red and raw.
"It burns!" Quirrell howled, his skin blistering where Harry touched him. "Master, I cannot hold him!"
"Kill him! Use your wand, you fool!" Voldemort rasped, his voice sounding like dry leaves skittering on stone.
Quirrell fumbled for his wand, his trembling, burnt fingers to draw the wand.
'Oh no you don't.'
I whipped my wand out.
"Expelliarmus!"
A jagged bolt of scarlet light tore from my wand. It smashed into Quirrell's hand with a crack like a whip.
His wand went flying, spinning violently away and clattering into the dark shadows of the chamber. Quirrell stared at his empty, shaking hand, dumbfounded.
Harry saw the opening. He didn't hesitate. He jumped, slamming his palms onto Quirrell's face.
"AAAAHHH!"
Quirrell crumbled. He fell back, his face blistering and cracking like dry clay. He thrashed, turning into ash before our eyes.
Harry gasped, falling backward, the Philosopher's Stone slipping from his pocket and rolling across the floor.
Harry's eyes rolled back. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Voldemort's spirit—a screaming cloud of smoke—rose from Quirrell's remains. It roared, diving at Harry one last time.
'Not today, Tom.'
I stepped between them. I flared my Magical Resistance and pushed out with every ounce of my Telekinesis.
'BEGONE Voldy!'
The spirit hit my mental wall, hissed in frustration, and flew through the ceiling, fleeing the castle.
Silence fell.
I stood there, panting, blood dripping from my nose onto my green jumper.
I looked at Harry. Passed out. I looked at the door. Dumbledore wasn't here yet.
I looked at the red stone lying on the floor.
and Mirror of Erised on my left.
'The Philosopher's Stone. Infinite gold. Infinite life and of course mirror.'
Lloyd Frontera (Admin): GRAB IT! GRAB IT NOW! DON'T THINK! JUST LOOT!
'WTF?? I don't think I turned 'ON' the video mode? Can he sense loot across dimensions? Forget it, I'll worry about his greed later.'
I walked over to mirror and stored it.
Than walk towards stone.
My hand trembled as I picked it up. It was heavy. Warm.
'If I take this, Dumbledore will think it was destroyed or stolen by Voldemort. It fits the canon. He tells Harry it was destroyed anyway.'
"Finders keepers," I whispered.
[ System Alert: Legendary Item Acquired! ][ Item: The Philosopher's Stone. ][ Stored in Inventory. ]
I heard footsteps thundering down the corridor.
'Dumbledore.'
I quickly lay down next to Harry, closed my eyes, and pretended to be dead to the world.
[ Location: Hogwarts - Hospital Wing ][ Date: June 7th, 1992 - Three Days Later ]
Harry woke up, had his chat with Dumbledore, and ate some earwax-flavored beans. The usual.
But we weren't leaving yet. We had to finish the term. If we vanished now, Dumbledore would send Aurors to find the "missing orphans." We had to play the long game so we could come back for Year 2.
"Shika," I whispered into the darkness of the ward that night. "You asleep?"
"I was," Shikamaru's voice came from the bed next to me. "Until you spoke."
"It's heist time. Last night before we go back to the dorms. We need supplies."
Shikamaru sighed, sitting up. "Troublesome. Is this really necessary?"
"I need potions for my world," I said, pulling on my robes. "And you need... I don't know, wizard candy?"
"Acceptable."
We crept out of the hospital wing. Or rather, I crept. Shikamaru just... blended. One second he was there, the next he was a shadow on the wall.
'Ninja stealth is unfair.'
Target 1: Snape's Private Stores.
The dungeons were empty. Everyone was asleep.
I used Alohomora to pick the lock on Snape's cupboard.
Click.
"Jackpot," I whispered.
Rows of vials glittered in the torchlight.
'System. Scan and identify.'
I started grabbing bottles, shoving them into my Inventory.
Skele-Gro x3 (For broken bones).
Blood-Replenishing Potion x5 (For my nosebleeds).
Veritaserum x2 (Truth serum. Useful).
Polyjuice Potion (Stock) (Always handy).
Phoenix Tears x3 (Vials) (Rare material).
Then I raided the ingredients.
Boomslang Skin.
Bicorn Horn.
Dragon Blood.
I grabbed the eyeballs.
Target 2: The Library (Restricted Section).
We moved to the library.
"I'll watch the door," Shikamaru said, leaning against a suit of armor. "If Filch comes, I'll Shadow Bind him."
I slipped inside.
I didn't have time to read. I just grabbed titles that looked useful for a Psionic/Wizard hybrid and have multiple copy of the same book.
Advanced Occlumency: Shielding the Soul.
Wandless Casting: Theory and Practice.
Curses and Counter-Curses.
Magical Drafts and Potions.
Light and Dark Charms.
[ Inventory Updated. ]
"We're heavy," I whispered to Shikamaru as we snuck back. "Mission accomplished."
[ Location: The Great Hall - The Leaving Feast ][ Date: End of Term ]
The Great Hall was decked out in green and silver. Slytherin had won the House Cup. Malfoy was banging his goblet on the table, looking smug.
"Depressing," Harry muttered.
"legend…."
"Wait for it," I whispered, buttering a roll.
Dumbledore stood up. He did his speech. He awarded points.
"To Mr. Ronald Weasley... for the best played game of chess... 50 points."
"To Mr. Shikamaru Nara... for strategic brilliance under pressure... 50 points."
"To Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire... 50 points."
"To Mr. Harry Potter... for pure nerve and outstanding courage... 60 points."
"And finally... to Mr. Vivan Frostwell. For protecting his fellow students regardless of the cost... 60 points."
"…dary"
The hall erupted. Gryffindor had won.
We threw our hats in the air. Even Shikamaru looked mildly pleased (mostly because the noise woke him up).
"We won!" Hermione hugged me, nearly knocking me off the bench. "We actually won!"
"told you," I grinned.
[ Location: King's Cross Station, London ][ Date: Departure Day ]
We rode the train back. We ate sweets. We played Exploding Snap. We acted like normal kids finishing a normal year.
The train pulled into Platform 9 3/4.
"Well," Shikamaru stretched, cracking his neck as we stepped onto the platform. "That was... an experience. Magic is weird. The food was okay though."
I looked for Hermione. She was standing by a pillar, looking for her parents.
"Hermione!" I called out.
She turned. She ran over and hugged me.
"Write to me?" she asked, pulling back. "You promised you'd visit St. Jude's."
I felt a pang of guilt. I wasn't going back to St. Jude's. I was disappearing from this reality.
"I'll write," I lied (maybe the System had a cross-dimensional mail feature?). "And hey."
I reached into my pocket (Inventory) and pulled out a small, leather-bound book I'd swiped from the library. Theory of Charm Work.
"For you," I said. "Light reading."
She beamed. Then, before I could react, she leaned up and pecked me on the cheek.
"Bye, Vivan," she whispered, turning bright red, and ran off to her parents.
I stood there, touching my cheek.
"You're blushing," Shikamaru noted dryly.
"Shut up, Shika."
We walked through the barrier back into the Muggle world. We walked out of the station, blending into the London crowd until we found a quiet alleyway.
[ System Notice: World Quest Complete. ]
[ Objectives Met: Survive Year 1 (Check), Retrieve Stone (Check). ]
[ Bonus: Looted the Castle (Check). ]
[ Rewards: ]
1000 Points.
Magic (Permanent Integration).
Random Spell Book: Apparition.
New Feature Unlocked: Dimensional Comm-Link (Holo Panel).
'Comm-Link? I can call people?'
[ Initiating Return Transport... ]
"Ready to go home?" I asked Shikamaru.
"Yeah," he yawned. "I need a nap in a world where the stairs don't move."
The world twisted. The sounds of London dissolved into the familiar scent of my bedroom in Hawkins.
[ Location: Hawkins, Indiana - Vivan's Bedroom ]
[ Date: January 1984 (Exact moment of departure) ]
I blinked.
I was back on my bed. The baseball I had thrown into the air was just coming down.
Thwack.
I caught it.
It felt like I had been gone ten months. But the clock hadn't ticked a second.
I sat up. I felt... different. My chest hummed with the Magic. My mind was fortified with Occlumency. My Inventory was stuffed with illegal potions, Books and an Infinity Stone equivalent.
And my Telekinesis was Level 5 (Mastery: 70%) (Grinding during the heist helped).
I opened the Chat.
Vivan Frostwell: We're back. Mission complete.
Lloyd Frontera (Admin): SHOW ME THE LOOT!
Vivan Frostwell: Uploading only some of inventory list now. Prepare your wallet, Lloyd.
Shikamaru Nara: I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me up unless the world is ending.
[ System Update: New Friend Added to Comm-Link: Hermione Granger (Harry Potter World). ]
I stared at the notification.
'I can call her? Seriously?'
I grinned.
'Hawkins just got a Wizard.'
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