The Silver Tongue

Chapter 13

"Talk"
'

Think'
"Parseltongue"
Chapter 13 – Professor Quirrell
After the attack at Samhain, Harry noticed how something had changed. He wasn't the only one to notice either. All the students had noticed and kept their distance in the beginning if they could and the teachers sent worried looks. Since Hermione was attacked Harry knew he had gotten protective and not just of her. Harry was protective of all members of his group. The others had also gotten protective, so it wasn't just him. Their group was closer, stronger.
With the close call on Hermione, they all hit the books to learn more. They had asked Hogwarts to add on a training room to their rooms to practice all they learned and they used the room for a minumum of a hour a day. The work showed in class. Hermione had nightmares and wouldn't calm until one of the group got to her so they started to sleep in the bedroom the room had. Harry still spent time with his Ravens and let his Snakes play when they were feeling he needed a challenge but he spent most of his time with his group.
Hermione was always with one of them, if not right beside them then in the same room. She was still afraid and they made her feel safe. To be honest, they always stayed in pairs now. Draco had started to make potions and a potion room was added to their room. Fred and George were known to be found with him there working on new 'products'. Neville was also showing a great liking to potions after Harry started to tutor him so he would help Draco whenever given a chance. Harry spent a lot of time in the Library with Hermione or in the training room practicing his combat, both hand to hand and knives.
They had even been given a name by the student body because the way they acted. They had just entered the great hall the morning after Samhain when Harry heard it. It wasn't creative but it fit them; Pack. It was true that they acted like one and wolves were Harry's favorite animals so he didn't mind. Pack. He hadn't been able fight the grin that made its way onto his lips at that. He liked how it sounded, His Pack. When he told the members of his pack they laughed, loving it too. The Twins joked about how they told Harry that they were the leader. They had taken to calling him their Alpha since then. Draco had said since he was his second in command he was Beta. The others happily fell into idea of being a Pack.
Most of the teachers found it amusing and Snape had mentioned that they even acted more like animals in their behavior. Harry hadn't understood, not seeing the way they interacted different. Snape had to point out that they had no trouble hanging onto or touching one another, most of the time without thinking; Hermione holding onto someone's arm when walking or when she felt a strong emotion, The twins always swinging an arm over someone's shoulder, Draco brushed shoulders with whoever was closest when walking or sitting, Neville brushed or bumped shoulders with whoever was with him, and Harry always instigated the arm holding with Hermione when she was beside him or brushed shoulders to whoever stood by his side. Snape also pointed out that they only did all these things with a member of the pack. They didn't care.
The only real problem since the attack was that Dumbledore had started to keep a closer eye on all of the Pack members. Harry didn't like it and he made sure that both his godparents knew it. They ran as much interference as they could to help. Harry also noticed that professor Quirrell had started to watch him more. Harry didn't know why but he didn't mind. The more the professor watched him the more Harry got to watch him back.
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Harry was in the school library with Hermione looking for a book. Hermione was in a corner hidden by shelves reading with a pile of books already around her but Harry just couldn't find a book that he wanted to read. He knew he still had a couple book to read in his bag as his aunt had just sent them to him this morning but he wanted to read something darker. He wanted to read something that the school would call dark. He knew the year before there was a Dark Arts class but it was taken out of the school curriculum. He wanted to read one of the books the school must have had for the class. He couldn't find anything and it was making him irritated.
He heard the sound of a gate opening just a few shelves from him. He blinked surprised. That was the restricted section. He moved so he could see down the aisle. There was Professor Quirrell going in. The prickling of his scar told him it was the wine eyes side that was out. His curiosity was peaked. He casted a silencing spell on himself and moved closer to the man. He could hear him muttering to himself. While Harry couldn't get all that he was saying but he did hear the words master, boy, and stone. With that Harry made his way back to Hermione so he wouldn't be caught.
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Harry and Hermione walked in to their room, finding all the others spaced out between one couch and the floor. Harry set Hermione's books she got from the library, and he carried for her as her bag was full, down on the coffee table they had put in the room. His twins were split, one on the floor with Neville playing gobstone and the other on the couch arguing with Draco.
"My twins." Both of their head turned to face him. Harry smirked letting them know they were going to like what he wanted. "I have a job for you two to do."
Fred stood from the floor grinning, "What do you need-"
"Dear Alpha of ours?" George was pulled up from the couch by Fred.
Harry handed them both a book each. "You might find that some of these techniques will help you. I want you two to spy on someone."
The twins shared a grin with each other after seeing title of the books he gave them 'The Undetectable's Way'. "Who do you want us to spy on Alpha?" Harry chuckled at their combined answer.
He looked them both in the eyes so they knew he was serious before answering. "Professor Quirinus Quirrell."
The twins shared a quick look with each other and the others. "We'll do it." George told him, though he was clearly confused.
"May we have the reason as to what he did that makes you want us to spy on him though?" Fred asked completely confused as to why Harry wanted them to spy on the most pathetic DADA teacher they had ever had.
"There is more to him than he lets on. He's not perfect though. He has slipped many times. I just want to know what I sensing and seeing." He sat in his chair. "Can you guys do that?"
"Yes." The twins gave another grin before running to the library to read in a pair of comfy chairs that over looked the Forbidden Forest. They wouldn't be leaving all weekend.
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That weekend passed slowly for Harry. He felt he hadn't spent enough time with his Snakes or Ravens recently so he had gone to both common rooms. On Saturday he went to the Snake's common room. Many of the first years tried to start fights with him. Each time he was forced to put them in their place. Only a couple of the older students tried anything with him. Yatin Bhagat was sent to the hospital by a fellow seventh year Slytherin when he tried to attack Harry from behind when Harry was dueling a fifth year. After they all got it re-established that Harry wasn't weak or stupid things settled down. He answered question, played games, helped others with homework and just listened to gossip from breakfast to lunch. The rest of the day he spent with his Pack.
On Sunday he went and stayed with his Ravens. Three of them told him they heard that Ron Weasley was planning a prank on Draco. He thanked them for the information and made note to tell the twins and Draco so they could stop it and get revenge. Only one stuck up sixth year challenged him but Samuel, the former King, stepped up to take the challenge saying if the sixth year couldn't beat him then he couldn't even think to beat Harry. The sixth year backed down after hearing that. Harry spent the rest of his time helping others with their work, talking about the new species of dragon discovered in Antarctica, playing chess, and just listening to everyone while he sat in his chair reading. When lunch ended he returned to his pack in their room.
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It was two weeks before Yule holidays that the twins came to report anything interesting about Quirrell. They came bursting into the room, eyes light with confusion and fear. They stumbled trying to shut the door as fast as possible. "Alpha!"
Harry put the blades his aunt gave him for his birthday down with the sharpening stone he was using on the. He watched his twins fall to their pillowed seats on the floor at his feet out of breath and shaking from what he asumed was fear. "My twins what's wrong? What happened?"
His question came out louder than he meant. Hermione came out of the bedroom where she was studying before bed. Neville and Draco wondered out of the potion lab. All three of them took one look at the twins shaking and to Harry who looked worried with underline anger. They all found a place to sit. The founders looked on in confusion. They had never seen the twins like that.
"He-he…" Fred looked at Harry, his eyes wild.
"He had a face on the back of his head!" George gagged like he was about to be sick. "It wasn't natural!"
Harry wandlessly and wordlessly summoned two calming draughts from the lab. He handed one to each boy and waited. The potions worked in moments. "Now that you two are calm, tell me, my twins, what happened to put you in such a state."
"Quirrell, we were spying on him like you asked." Fred started.
"You know how he is always muttering to himself," George gagged again.
"He has a face on the back of his head. Under his turban. He didn't know we were snooping in his room. He came in and took his turban off and there it was. A face with red eyes. It was stretched thin and almost deformed. Pale too, we could see veins." Fred told them as George finally stopped trying to hold back. He puked on the floor.
Harry banished the mess with a flick of his wrist and called a house elf for two glasses of sweet mint tea. George drank some of the tea to help settled his stomach. Fred gulped his all in one go. Harry continued his questions. "Did anything happen after he took off the turban?"
"Yeah." George took another gulp of the tea. "He said something about a stone being a trick. Philosopher's Stone , that was what he called it."
"Philosopher's Stone? I've heard of that. Nicolas Flamel made it. It gives eternal life but was only to work on his wife and himself." Hermione told everyone.
Harry nodded in her direction. "Twins, did you find anything out about the face. Was it a different person or a type of spell work gone wrong?"
Fred shuttered in remembrance. "He called it master. Talked about getting him a body. I will bet to say it was a different person."
Harry sat back. He needed to figure out what he wanted to do with all the information given to him. "Thank you my twins. Go take a sleeping drought and rest. How about you all call it an early night? Draco, Neville finish up what you are doing, and Hermione go put your study things way. I will be calling it a night in a little while too."
The others did what they were told to do without question. Harry sat listening to the twin follow Hermione into the bedroom after Neville got them the sleeping droughts. Draco finished up what he needed to do and both he and Neville went into the bedroom. Amara twisted her now foot and a half body around his shoulders so he could pet her. Harry couldn't understand it. Was Quirrell the one causing the prickles or was this other person. His master? Quirrell called the face his master. Who was it?
Harry thought back on all the times when Quirrell's eyes were red. They changed when an interesting question was asked and when…when Harry was around. When the others heard about Quirrell's eyes they started looking for them in class. They told him that his eyes were only red when someone asked a question that spark interest but Harry noted that they changed whenever Quirrell even glanced in his direction. The red eye man was always out when it involved him.
Harry let a tired sigh out and bid the founders good night. He made his way into the bedroom. The twins slept in the two beds closest on either side of the doorway. Neville and Draco slept beside one of the twin leaving Hermione and him to sleep in the beds across from the door. Harry made his way to his canopy bed with a determined mind. He let Amara settle herself around Nightshade on the pillow while he changed his clothing with his magic. At the earliest possible time he would approach the professor, corner him, and get his answers. It might sound like a Gryffindor way but he wasn't going to be alone. He will have, at least, two of his pack mates with him if not all of them.
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Dinner ended a few days later when Harry found the opportunity to get answers. The whole pack was with him when they cornered Quirrell in the DADA classroom. When they walked in Quirrell looked up from where he was marking papers. His black eyes turned wine red when they landed on Harry. "What can I do for Hogwarts' Pack this evening?" His voice was smooth and studder free. He set his quill to the side and leaned back into his seat with his finger folded against his lips in an intuitive position.
"Twins, room." Harry didn't turn his eyes from the professor's. The twins set the strongest silencing spells Hermione was able to find in the founder's library up. "We just have some questions. Would you mind answering them?"
Harry walked to the student desk directly in front of the professor's own desk. The twins and Draco gathered around him when he sat on the desk's top. Neville and Hermione stood by the door. Quirrell smirked at the lay out. "Ask away. I cannot guarantee that I will answer with the truth, if I answer at all."
"That's fine." Harry let some of his control go. He felt his magic released into the air around him. He saw a flash of surprise in the wine eyes before it was gone. "Let me tell you the facts before we get to the questions. You are not Professor Quirrell. Quirrell knows of you so you are not an alternate personality. Quirrell had a face under his turban with your eyes. Quirrell calls you master. Quirrell is after the Philosopher's Stone. Quirrell wants to get you a body of your own. You have been watching me every chance you get. When I speak in class you are the one who replies." Harry paused to let the man soak in all he said. He knew it might be over kill to keep saying Quirrell's name with each fact but it helped the man in front of him know that Harry knew he was someone else. "First question, who are you?"
"You, little Alpha, may call me Tom." The wine eyes, locked onto his own emerald eyes, shown with mischief. They challenged Harry without words to see if he was lying, to play this dangerous game of words and riddles.
Harry could feel his magic give him a gentle pulse. The man hadn't lied. "Very well Tom. I'm not going to ask about the Philosopher's Stone. To be frank, I don't care. What happened to your body?"
Tom showed no sign of surprise at the knowledge that Harry didn't care for the stone. He just answered the question. "Lost it in a spell gone wrong."
A pulse, truth."How did you become attached to Quirrell?" Harry sent a look that told him the challenge was accepted. He'd play the game with this Tom.
"He found me and allowed it." A pulse and then a quiver. He lied at the end.
"Allowed it? I doubt that." Harry flashed a smirk letting Tom know he was caught. Harry - 1, Tom - 0.
Tom chuckled. "Doubt it all you want little Alpha."
Harry felt Draco shift to his right. He needed to get answers before Draco lost his patience. "Why are you interested in me?"
Tom gave a lazy smirk but his eyes were cold with caution. "What makes you think I am? That seems vain of you to assume that."
"Observation, both my Pack's and my own." Harry slipped down from the desk and stepped up to lean on Quirrell's desk. Tom and him never breaking eye contact. "Now in all my Pack's classes you come out when a question is asked that interests you. You give the answer before letting Quirrell back out. On the other hand, every time you look at me, no matter how short, you are always out. You are mostly out in my class. You are the one who answers all my questions or comments on my work. Quirrell has never looked at me, let alone spoken to me. Now again, why are you interested in me?"
Tom finally broke eye contact. His eyes swept over Harry's Pack before moving back to connect with Harry's. "Your Pack will leave if you want that answer."
Harry weighed his options. He didn't like them and he didn't really need that answer. He'd find out one way or another. Harry - 1, Tom - 1. "Answer me one last question, then we're all be gone." Tom gave a nod. "Are you planning to harm anyone, student or professor?"
Tom moved forward so he had his forearms on the desk and closer to Harry who was still leaning on it. "My plans have changed little Alpha. Worry not for any life."
A pulse. Harry drew away from the desk and the man behind it. "Very well. Evening Tom." Harry gave a nod in good bye. He turned and walked to the door. Draco and the twins followed. The twins canceled the silencing spells as Hermione pushed open the door and slipped her arm into Harry's as he passed her. The game was tied for the moment.
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Yule came with Harry splitting the time between Hogwarts with his godparents and the Malfoy manor. He received many books and sweets from his friends. The gifts he cherished the most were an invisibility cloak he received from an anonymous sender, Snape informed him was his father's cloak, a photo album full of pictures of him with family, family friends, and all his godparents from his godmother, a silver oval locket with a picture of his parents on their wedding day from his aunt, and a book on Ancient Runes from his godfather.
The holidays ended and school resumed. Time continued to move fast. Quirrell disappeared and the next day students came to find out that the school had housed the Philosopher's Stone, which had been found by someone yet left untouched. Soon exams were there and the last few days of school were upon everyone. Harry and the Pack aced all their exams without worry. They spent their last few days together relaxing and when the last day came upon them they could be found in their room soaking up each other's company before the ending feast.
"We will do letters." Hermione cuddled Nightshade closer to her chest sitting on the couch between Neville and Draco.
"Of course we will Hermione." Neville laughed pulling her into a one armed hug.
"Father and Mother will have a party for Summer Solstice. I will ask for you all to be invited." Draco smiled letting Nightshade climb up his leg to curl up in his lap and sleep.
Harry smiled at them behind his book. He had worked on his blood magic every night as the book told him and felt he was ready to move onto the next exercise. He turned his full attention to the passage he needed to read. 'The second exercise is also with a mirror. Meditate with your mirror; order you memories, good and bad. Now your mirror will act as a Pensieve, collecting and holding your memories. To do this you add a memory into a drop of blood. Let it fall onto the mirror and bid the mirror to store and guard it. This will help you clear your head and sort out thoughts better. To retrieve a memory, hold your mirror and call up all the memories the mirror holds. They will flash one at a time. When you find the memory you want touch the mirror with finger that is cut and draw the memory back into you with your blood. This exercise will also help you with control.'
"Harry come on. We're going to be late to the feast if we don't get going now." Neville pulled Harry out of his thoughts and out of his chair. Harry laughed as they all made it out of their room.
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Harry sighedbwhen Dumbledore finally chose to announce the house cup. "Another has come and gone. And not without further ado it's time to award the house cup. In fourth place we have Gryffindor with 312 points." Harry politely clapped and hid a smile as the twins booed from the table. "In third place we have Hufflepuff with 352 points." Harry smiled to Neville behind him. "In second place we have Ravenclaw with 426 points." Harry cheered with the rest of his house. "And in first place we have Slytherin with 472 points. Slytherin wins." Harry cheered for the Snakes and laughed when he heard the twins call out jokingly for a recount.
It was the perfect end to his first year.
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First year is over. Now since the first year is over this is when things will change a lot from cannon. The next few years might be a little sped up but I need them too. The chapters will mostly show how the Pack changes and grows. Hope you all continue to enjoy.