Exiting the Headmaster’s office, Linus Vance spotted Harry flying toward the Forbidden Forest on his broomstick in the distance.
“What is he doing now?!” Linus growled, cursing his own meddlesome nature.
Casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself, he dashed out of the castle without breaking stride, giving chase to Harry soaring through the sky above.
Linus was plenty familiar with the Forbidden Forest at night, though he rarely visited during the day.
The overgrown, dense forest paths were treacherous, but fortunately, Harry wasn’t flying very fast, circling and looping as if looking for something.
*Is today the day he overhears Snape and Quirrell’s conversation?* Linus recalled the plot.
*There shouldn’t be any real danger.
I shouldn’t have bothered coming!
But well, since I’m already here…*
Harry finally picked up Severus Snape’s voice from above and quietly landed atop a tall beech tree.
Linus spotted a grim-faced Snape and a stammering Quirrell ahead, ducking silently behind a boulder to eavesdrop.
Positioned lower than Harry, Linus could hear them much more clearly.
“Have you figured out how to get past that beast of Hagrid’s yet?” Snape asked, glaring coldly at Quirrell.
*Boss, you really sound like a villain right now,* Linus sighed inwardly.
“B-B-But, Severus, I—I don’t know w-what you’re talking about,” Quirrell stammered in response.
“You don’t want me as your enemy, Quirrell,” Snape said, stepping closer to him.
*If I were a judge, this tape alone would be enough to convict you,* Linus mused.
“I—I don’t know w-what you mean,” Quirrell cowered before his cold colleague.
“You know perfectly well what I mean.”
*Gentlemen, this conversation is very interesting, and I mean that in every sense of the word,* Linus bantered silently.
But right then, something went wrong.
Linus felt an invisible wave ripple across the area.
*Oh crap.
That’s the magic-sensing wave unique to high-tier wizards.
Voldemort’s awake.*
Now he knew he was here, and he knew that he knew he was here.
*Time to retreat.
Best not cause trouble right now—I need a couple more years to build up my strength.* Linus decided to back away, but inadvertently stepped on a dry twig, which snapped with a crisp *crunch*.
“Who’s there?” Quirrell demanded instantly, as if they had rehearsed the timing beforehand.
The sudden shout startled Harry, who was leaning forward on the beech tree trying to hear better.
With a sharp gasp, he lost his grip and fell straight out of the treetop toward the ground.
“Wingardium Leviosa.” At the critical moment, Snape’s Levitation Charm saved Harry from splattering into a pancake.
*Damn it, I’m the useless teammate now,* Linus thought. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
“Harry Potter.
The famous Savior.
Skipping class during the day to creep into the Forbidden Forest and eavesdrop on professors?” As Snape spoke in a chill voice, Harry’s Nimbus 2000 tumbled out of the tree.
Linus stealthily hit it with a non-verbal Levitation Charm—he couldn’t save the boy from getting caught, but at least he could save the broom.
“What are you doing here, Professor?
Why are you trying to threaten Professor Quirrell?” Harry threw caution to the wind now that he was caught.
“I believe what I do in this school is none of your concern, Savior,” Snape sneered, grabbing Harry by his robes and yanking him upright toward the castle.
“Now, I am taking you to see our venerable Headmaster to see what excuse he has left not to expel you.”
“No, you can’t!” Harry struggled in vain—well, not entirely in vain, as he managed to grab hold of his Nimbus 2000.
Quirrell trailed behind them.
As he passed behind the boulder where Linus was hidden, Quirrell pulled back his hood, flashed Linus an elegant smile, and continued heading toward the castle.
Leading the way through the Forbidden Forest, Snape hauled Harry with his left hand while keeping his right hand tightly clutched around his wand.
Quirrell followed a short distance behind, two voices clashing in his head.
One was cold and decisive: *”The boy had at least three Shield Charms active around himself.
What magnificent combat instincts.”* The other was sycophantic and flattering: *”Master, compared to you, he is nothing more than a firefly’s flicker.”*
Linus trailed at the very back.
He had to guard against Voldemort, who was growing increasingly unhinged, suddenly losing his mind and hurling two Avada Kedavra curses to take out Snape and Harry, completely shattering the timeline.
Given Quirrell’s twitchy, unhinged behavior during Defense Against the Dark Arts lately, that wasn’t an impossibility.
The four of them returned to the castle one after another.
Snape and Harry were intercepted in the Entrance Hall by Professor McGonagall.
Harry wasn’t dragged before Albus Dumbledore, nor did he succeed in convincing McGonagall that Snape was up to no good.
By the time Linus drew near, the argument was winding down.
“Very well, Mr.
Potter.
As punishment for trespassing into the Forbidden Forest during the day, five points will be taken from Gryffindor, and you will serve detention tomorrow night at eleven o’clock.
Report to Mr.
Filch in the Entrance Hall,” Professor McGonagall announced before shooing him off to dinner.
When Linus approached the table during lunch, he overheard Harry saying to Ron and Hermione, “It has to be Snape.
He’s threatening poor, cowardly Professor Quirrell into helping him steal the Philosopher’s Stone.”
Linus couldn’t really defend Snape.
After all, the man not only looked like a villain but actually engaged in dubious deeds.
Defending him blindly would only get Linus lumped in with the dark side. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Besides, Linus was the one who had inadvertently landed Harry in detention that morning, so he was actively avoiding eye contact out of guilt.
“That’s way too dangerous, Harry.
I mean,” Ron said, still rattled, “if Quirrell hadn’t been there this morning, Snape definitely would’ve killed you.”
“Harry, how could you follow Snape out into the grounds all by yourself?
That was far too risky,” Hermione chided.
“Well—well, nothing happened, did it?” Harry spotted Linus approaching and clumsily changed the subject.
“What brings you over, Linus?”
“Just here to listen to your grand adventure.
How far along are you?” Linus used a serving fork to put a piece of steak on Hermione’s plate, adding, “Eat your protein, kid, or you won’t grow tall.”
Hermione gritted her teeth at the latecomer.
“Has *someone* forgotten that they still have a mountain of homework to grade in the library?”
Linus finally remembered the stack of Charms class parchments he had abandoned with her.
“My bad, my bad!
Please, enjoy your meal—no, have some soup!” he pleaded, desperately piling food onto her plate.
“Listen,” Harry lowered his voice, “we’ve confirmed Snape is the mastermind.
If Professor Quirrell hadn’t been quietly resisting him, Snape would’ve gotten the Philosopher’s Stone by now.”
Linus had to recall every tragedy across both his past and present lives just to keep from bursting out laughing.
“But you don’t have any proof,” he managed to squeak out through gritted teeth.
“We have to rely on ourselves.
Professor McGonagall doesn’t believe us, and Hagrid doesn’t either,” Harry said dejectedly, down about the adults’ lack of trust.
“Then we’ll prove to them that we’re right,” Ron declared, clenching his fist.
“To protect the Philosopher’s Stone.” Hermione held her hand out over the table.
Harry and Ron placed theirs on top, and then all three turned to look at Linus.
“How could I miss out?
We’re the Four Tigers of Gryffindor!” Linus said brightly, adding his hand.
Hermione slipped her hand from the bottom, placed it over Linus’s, and pressed down gently.
“For Gryffindor!
Let’s go!” she cheered softly.
Four ragged whispers of “For Gryffindor!” drew curious looks from around the house table.
“What kind of foolish game are they playing now?” Malfoy asked Crabbe nearby.
“How should I know?” Crabbe looked bewilderedly at Goyle.