2/2

"Right, let's go then," Hermione said, sniffing a little. With one last glance at their unconscious friend, they moved through the door at the other end of the room. In the next room was a long table with a number of bottles sitting on it. As soon as they stepped closer to the table, fire sprang up in front of and behind them.

They exchanged looks. Harry picked up a piece of paper lying on the table next to the bottles and read it through, before handing it to Hermione with a lost expression on his face.

"It's a puzzle," she said in relief. "Many wizards don't have an ounce of logic and would be stuck here forever. Brilliant."

"And we won't?" Harry questioned uncertainly. She smiled.

"Of course not. Just give me a minute," she said. Shikamaru inspected the paper over her shoulder. It was reasonably challenging, and he commended Snape mentally for coming up with it. It made sense to have a man who was the head of Slytherin, and who complained about incompetents on a daily basis, create an obstacle based on logic of all things. While he was musing to himself, Hermione seemed to figure it out, for she suddenly clapped her hands and squealed, "I've got it!"

She proceeded confidently. "The smallest is the one that will enable a forward motion, and the round one will get a person back." Shikamaru looked at the smallest bottle critically, there was barely enough for one person there, let alone three. However...the fact that there was some in there, even after Quirrell had come through, meant that there was most likely a refilling spell in place. Still...no need to endanger lives needlessly.

"Alright, here's what we'll do," he said. The other two looked at him. "One of us needs to go back and try to owl Dumbledore and look after Ron, I vote Hermione." The girl started to protest, but he raised his hand. "Let me finish. I want you to do it because, if you happen to get caught by a teacher, you are the one they are most likely to believe if you tell them about this. Besides, I can handle myself, and Harry is already a target. There's no use in all three of us going.

"Harry, I've deducted that the small bottle probably has a refilling charm on it or something. I'll go first to make the way safe in case there's more traps, and you can follow when the bottle refills."

Harry didn't looked pleased at this idea, but seemed to understand that Shikamaru wouldn't take no for an answer. He gestured for Hermione to go first. She did so hesitantly and drank from the bottle. She shuddered.

"Is it okay?" Harry asked anxiously. She nodded.

"It just - it feels like ice," she said. She gave them each a quick hug, and vanished through the fire with what sounded suspiciously like a sniff. Shikamaru was a bit relieved that she hadn't cried in front of them, he wasn't much good at comforting people; Halloween had been a rare case of him being distracted and apologetic enough to not feel too awkward. He nodded once at Harry and took his own bottle at the return gesture.

Hermione had been right, it was like ice creeping through his veins, but he wasted no time in stepping through the flames. No burning sensation, just a faint tickling one, so everything seemed to be in order. He waited, and not five minutes later, Harry appeared, looking faintly disheveled.

"That was an experience," the other boy said dryly. Shikamaru nodded. He'd done many things in both of his lives, but walking through fire had somehow never made the list. They turned and faced the next chamber. Shikamaru sighed and palmed a knife.

"I really hate it when I'm right," he said.

Quirrell looked back at them with a cold disinterest, nothing like the stuttering mess of a man he had previously portrayed.

"I see," he said coolly. "So you did suspect me."

"Yeah. For over half the year," Harry answered flatly.

"Interesting. I would have thought Severus would be a more suspicious person, what with his constant hovering and uncanny similarities to an overgrown bat. But, either way, I am here, and you can't stop me. So, be good children and stay silent. I'll make your deaths quick once I've finished," Quirrell said dismissively. He shot ropes out of his wand that bound the two tightly.

When he turned around, Shikamaru used his knife to cut through his bindings, ignoring Harry's shock at seeing the weapon.

"Now, how do I get the stone? The mirror is obviously the key, and I see myself presenting it to my master, but how...?" the professor muttered as Shikamaru shifted over to cut Harry's ropes. "Is it inside the mirror? Should I break it? Help me, Master!"

And to both of the first-years' horrors, another voice spoke, "Use Potter...use him."

"Yes, come here, Potter-" Quirrell turned around, only to get a knee to the crotch, courtesy of a certain ninja who was feeling completely done with the whole business of evil egomaniacs targeting innocent children. The professor doubled over, and Shikamaru wasted no time in seizing the man's wrist, breaking it to make him drop his wand, which he did with a shouted curse.

"Kill him..." the other voice hissed furiously.

"Of course, Master," Quirrell gasped, trying fruitlessly to escape Shikamaru's grasp. Shikamaru, unimpressed, brushed off his attempts, twisted his arm behind him, and kicked his knee in, sending him to the ground.

"Harry, grab his wand and toss it into the fire for me," Shikamaru said calmly, sending the man sprawling with a foot to the back (maybe he was overdoing it a bit, but he was going to give this man hell for trying to kill his friend, and for being evil, and for the majority of this year's stress). Harry dutifully did as told, with a small amount of unholy glee.

"NO!" Quirrell bellowed, scrambling up. It was too late; the wand vanished in a flare of magical fire, and a small explosion.

"Shut up and be quiet while we wait for the professors like a good criminal," Shikamaru said blandly, holding him by the wrist in an awkward position. Then, Quirrell did something a bit surprising. He twisted out of Shikamaru's grip, wrenching his shoulder in the process, and then lunged and managed to grab Shikamaru's wand handle. He swiftly retreated, panting, with malice painted across his face. He pointed it at Shikamaru, who carefully watched him.

"Now, you pay," the man said, breathless with pain. Shikamaru scowled. He should have just killed him at the first chance. He hadn't because Harry had been present, but with the way things were going, he was probably going to regret not doing so. He stepped out of the way of a spell and inwardly cringed at the resulting explosion behind him.

That would have hurt.

Quirrell continued to throw spell after spell at him, growing increasingly frustrated at his continued misses.

"Stand still, damn you!" the man shouted angrily.

"And let you hit me? I'll pass, thanks," Shikamaru shot back acerbically. Then, the man adopted a crafty expression that set warning bells off in the boy's head.

"If I can't hit you, then Potter will have to do!" the man crowed viciously. He aimed his wand at Harry, who had chanced a quick glance at the mirror and was smartly staying out of the way, and who then looked over in surprise - and who was also in no position to dodge. Shikamaru swore and forced chakra to his legs.

He made it in time to shove Harry aside and get hit in the chest with a spell that knocked the wind out of him and temporarily paralyzed him at the same time (and yeah, those were probably cracked or broken ribs... fantastic). He mentally berated himself, because of course the man would target Harry, and he honestly should have expected as much.

"Shikamaru!" Harry yelped. He moved to come closer stopped when Shikamaru shook his head.

"Back off," he said through gritted teeth. "Don't let him get you too."

"Yes," Quirrell drawled, walking towards the immobilized boy. "Do keep away. Would hate for you to undo all of my hard work." He hauled Shikamaru up and pressed the wand (his wand, damn it) to his temple. "Now, the stone, if you don't mind. You'll obtain it from the mirror, and I from you, and I might just let you live," the man said triumphantly.

…

Present

And now, here they were, with a spell fast approaching Shikamaru's brain at an uncomfortable speed, and Harry moving. He'd heard that a person's life flashed before their eyes before they died. Clearly, whoever had coined that had lied. Shikamaru only experienced a feeling of resignation and relief that at least Harry was alive for now, before Harry displayed inhumane speed that he had never before showed the potential for, and moved. One moment Shikamaru was on his way to becoming a body on the ground, and the next he was on the ground, but his head was intact and Harry had tackled Quirrell's stomach - thankfully too low for the spell to hit him, and Quirrell was screaming as Harry made contact with bare skin on his arm.

And then the man was flailing wildly, shooting off spells left and right and center as the stench of burning flesh filled the air, and the other disembodied voice was filling the air with furious and frantic shrieks and Harry looked to be in immense pain, but he held on, and Shikamaru was avoiding spells while also trying to end the damn bastard already - and then he was hit with a stray spell that sounded strangely like 'crew-she-oh' and his world became pain and he couldn't think-couldn'tbreathecouldn'tmove and someone was letting out pained noises in an attempt to keep from screaming that might have been him and he could taste blood but he couldn't focus because all he knew was pain - and there were voices yelling, shouting, shrieking ("KILL THE BOY!") - then everything stopped.

Panting, Shikamaru looked up from the fetal position he had curled into, and he noticed two things. The first was that Quirrell was quite clearly dead, nothing more than ash and blisters. The second was that Harry was unconscious and barely breathing. Shikamaru stood up, ignored the way his body protested violently at the action, tensed his muscles and slowly made his way over to the other boy. He reached a hand shaking with tremors to Harry's neck, and let himself slump in relief at the pulse that beat, weakly, but it was still there. Footsteps made him while around, biting back a groan as his abused body shrieked. It was Professor Snape and...Headmaster Dumbledore? (3) The pair of them stepped closer, and stopped. Shikamaru belatedly realized that he had risen to his feet and had raised his wand (when had he reclaimed that?), and that, in spite of the fact that his body was on the point of collapse and his arm felt like lead, his aim was steady and he figured his expression was unreadable and vaguely threatening.

The Headmaster raised his hands in surrender.

"We don't mean you any harm," he said gently. The wand didn't move. Somewhere in the back of Shikamaru's mind, a voice was telling him how completely idiotic he was being, but he was keyed-up and in pain, and those old reflexes were coming to light and he couldn't be bothered with wrestling down the instincts that had saved his life so recently. Frankly, he didn't trust the Headmaster enough, subconsciously, to trust him at his word, especially dialed up to eleven like he was.

"Mister Potter needs medical aid, and I don't think I would be wrong in saying that you do as well," Dumbledore continued. The wand lowered (and how could he have forgotten that the eerily still boy behind him needed help?), and then was down entirely. Both men moved forward swiftly, and Snape was at Shikamaru's side while Dumbledore was similarly positioned with Harry. Both discarded Quirrell's body entirely.

"What were you hit with?" Snape asked, giving the boy a cursory inspecting glance. Shikamaru blinked, and then old habits kicked in, and he pushed the pain to the back of his mind to give an answer.

"Some kind of paralysis spell, and something that started with a 'C' that caused each of my nerves to feel immense pain," he reported monotonously. Robotically. The man drew in a breath and examined Shikamaru's eyes. Then, he scowled.

"Can you walk?" he asked. Shikamaru hesitated, but shook his head. As much as he didn't like being touched in any manner, he also had the brain capacity to realize that he probably wouldn't make it out of the room, much less the Hospital Wing, without collapsing. And that was something he really didn't feel like doing.

Snape nodded, and without another word, reached down and picked him up and proceeded to carry him in a princess hold.

Shikamaru would have been a bit embarrassed at any other time, but he was in too much pain to care. Snape looked down at him, and something seemed to soften just a little bit in the man's expression.

"Rest, Mister Nara," he ordered. "You will not come to harm with Headmaster Dumbledore and myself here."

So Shikamaru obeyed and drifted off. His last memory was of Harry being too limp and pale in Dumbledore's arms, and a weight settling upon him when he realized just exactly who had ended Quirrell's life.

…

He was out of it for a while. He would hear snippets of conversation when he awoke, but he never stayed awake for long.

"-Unforgivable on a child! How dare-"

"...longer than a minute. Incredibly strong boy..."

"... Potter? Did he really kill Quirrell?"

"...self defense, anyone will tell you..."

Shikamaru woke up for the final time days after the ordeal, hungry, stiff, and sore. His muscles felt like they had been tenderized and then charred on an open flame.

Seemed about right.

"You're awake!" A woman bustled into his vision, and he registered her as the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey. "I was wondering if I would have to move you to Saint Mungo's."

"How long have I-" Shikamaru started, when his voice caught and he started coughing violently.

"Careful now," she said sternly, handing him a glass of water. "I didn't patch you up just so you could go and strain yourself. You've been here for three days. Your friends are quite worried, about you and Mister Potter both."

"Harry." Shikamaru's befuddled brain latched onto the name like a lifeline. "How is he?" The nurse regarded him carefully.

"We had a near miss at the beginning, but he is recovering wonderfully. He will be fully healed in no time." Shikamaru felt relief rise up in his chest - or maybe that was just his ribs healing. "You, however, were hit with an Unforgivable. You were under that spell for over a minute, and you might have residual mental and physical damage. You will stay for observation for the next week at least," the woman continued.

Shikamaru didn't complain. He might later on, but the pain in his ribs just spiked again, and he merely relaxed further into his pillow. Madam Pomfrey handed him a goblet a third full of potion without another word.

"Some Dreamless Sleep for you," she said. He thanked her and drained it.

He was pulled into another few hours of peaceful sleep, before the opening of a door roused him. He didn't open his eyes, instead choosing to find out who it was first. Another perk of being a ninja - fake sleeping to fool even the most observant of people. He had been trained to wake up without a shift in breathing pattern or a twitch. For all intents and purposes, he was dead to the world. There were about twenty minutes of silence before the person in the bed beside his - Harry - stirred.

Shikamaru listened to their conversation, at first with disinterest, and then disbelief as Dumbledore didn't address the loss of life. Yeah, Quirrell was an evil son of a bitch that deserved worse than he got, but Harry was eleven and there was no way he wouldn't be getting nightmares about this.

Accordingly, Shikamaru waited until the visitors were gone - that included Ron and Hermione because, as well meaning as they were, he didn't feel a lot like socializing - and Madam Pomfrey was in her office before going back to sleep again. On the second day in the Hospital Wing, Harry was just talking out loud, when Shikamaru decided to turn over and face a surprised Harry.

"You're awake?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, have been," Shikamaru said. He checked to make sure Madam Pomfrey was listening to her station, and then turned to his friend. "How are you?"

"Fine, mostly," Harry said. "A little overwhelmed. There was just so much happening and...I dunno. I feel a little...dazed, I guess, even a few days later."

Shikamaru nodded but let him continue.

"So, Quirrell. I, uh, didn't want to talk to Dumbledore about this, but... he's dead, isn't he?" Harry asked, looking down at his bed.

"Yes." Shikamaru watched his friend carefully.

"And I killed him, right?" Harry continued, still not meeting his friend's gaze.

"Yes."

"Is...is it wrong that I don't regret it? I-I didn't want to kill him, but I'd rather it was him instead of you," Harry said.

"I won't tell you whether it was wrong or not, that's your decision," Shikamaru said slowly. "But...you didn't enjoy it, right?" He almost regretted asking the question at the look Harry shot him.

"Of course not! I didn't - I'd never-" the boy said, looking horrified at the idea.

"There you go," Shikamaru interrupted. "As long as you don't enjoy it, you aren't in danger of becoming evil. You'll never forget it, and you shouldn't, but you shouldn't dwell too much over it either. You were defending someone, and you didn't have many options. I would have done the same in your position - so would anyone else, I'm sure."

Harry was so relieved that Shikamaru felt something in his heart tug painfully. He'd lost his own innocence long ago, and while he didn't like killing anymore than his first time, he was also desensitized enough that it wouldn't bother overly much to do so. Such was the life of a ninja. Either shape up or ship out, and the former included getting over the knowledge that killing would become fairly regular.

No one had held his hand, and after Shikamaru's first few kills, during which he had spent nights throwing up into the toilet, he had gotten used to it and had stopped being sick. He didn't want that to happen to his friends, so he would try and keep the darker aspects of life from them as long as possible.

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully. Shikamaru nodded. "So, you sound like you know a lot...have you...you know...?"

"Killed someone?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry nodded. Suddenly, Shikamaru felt tired and lonely. Here he was, in a society so different from his own that people were taken aback, horrified, even, by the end of a human life at the hand of another.

Some of his weariness must have shown on his face, for Harry said tentatively, "You don't have to tell me, sorry, I was just wondering..."

"It's fine. Yes, I have. More than once, and not all for something as noble as self-defense either," Shikamaru said. There was no bitterness in his voice, nothing to indicate previous sleepless nights and sick hours spent in front of the toilet. Harry didn't ask anything else, even though it was clear he wanted to, and the Hospital Wing was left in a pensive silence. (4)

...

Shikamaru was exhausted, and he didn't even have a decent reason for it, considering he had spent the past few days in the Hospital Wing. But, all everyone wanted to do was talk about how Quirrell was evil and how he and Harry and Hermione and Ron were heroes, but they didn't seem to realize that Shikamaru just really wanted to let sleeping dogs lie and to never talk about it again, let alone with near strangers who'd been sleeping when it had all gone down. It was how particularly hard missions were dealt with, and it was how things should have been here, but no one was getting the memo.

Neville had run into trouble on his venture to get Snape (Peeves and Filch and the Bloody Baron), which was why the man had been so long in coming. Still, there was no lasting harm done, and everyone seemed to think he had been pretty brave to go on an errand at midnight. So, when at the feast points were given to him for facing his fears and loyalty to his friends, mostly everyone clapped and meant it.

Shikamaru straight up refused to accept points for his part in the whole thing, on account of: why the hell would anyone be rewarded for breaking over a dozen school rules and endangering lives? He ended up getting Professor Snape to take away the points beforehand so that his points would count for nothing. The professor was only too happy to oblige.

The year ended relatively peacefully, with Shikamaru warning people off on pain of he would do something painful and embarrassing if they didn't piss off about the questions already. Harry thanked him, later on, and stated that he hadn't liked the attention and probably never would. There went the attention-seeking theory that Shikamaru just knew Snape still had.

Unfortunately, the end of the year also meant a return to the orphanage.

"You can come visit any time," Hermione said the day before their departure at breakfast, giving him her address. "Mum and Dad wouldn't mind, especially since you're so smart and have been raised near muggles."

"Yeah, my Mum would enjoy having you over, and the twins would love it," Ron agreed through a mouthful of eggs. "Even Percy doesn't mind you, since you're so studious and you took down a corrupt professor."

"All these people want my company. Must be my charming personality and dashing looks," Shikamaru said with a smirk. They only laughed at him. Jerks.

Harry - who had been noticeably subdued for the past few days (and not without good reason) - spoke up unexpectedly, "I'd invite you over, but the Dursleys don't take too kindly to...wizards, or magic in general, really."

"I wouldn't want to be around them either," Shikamaru said, "I might not be able to suppress the urge to react violently in their presence. Going to jail would be too troublesome; someone has to be the brains of this messed up operation."

Harry snickered at the scandalized looks of Hermione and Ron, and Shikamaru felt satisfaction at having effectively lightened the mood up. He'd be fine, and he had an enormous list of plans for the summer already. Neville tentatively offered his place as well, giving a warning about his rather forceful grandmother, and Shikamaru barely kept from giving a statement about violence towards Neville's relatives as well.

He had not forgotten the statement at the beginning of the year about his friend being dropped out of a window as a child. It seemed wizards really didn't have common sense. They apparently also didn't know human anatomy very well, since they clearly didn't know that the neck was fragile and breakable.

The train ride back to London was too short, but they made the most of it with cards and snacks and talking. At the station, the twins pulled Shikamaru aside with serious and mischievous looks on their faces (and how was that even possible?).

"Now, owl us if anything happens," George said sternly.

"Yeah, we will certainly be doing the same with our new owls. What was the address of your orphanage again?" Fred added, their two owls twittered goodbye to Hypatia, who bore it all stoically. Shikamaru felt his mouth twitch up in a faint smile, and gave his address again. After a farewell, he turned to his other friends. Mrs. Weasley greeted him warmly, as if they had known each other for all of his life, and she received his polite but sincere gratitude for the sweater with a smile. He also met Hermione's parents, who seemed a little relieved that at least one of her friends was normal (relatively, since he was neither a pure blood wizard nor a celebrity). If only they knew that he was the strangest of the bunch.

And then Harry's uncle came, and the friendliness was gone, replaced by cold disdain. He didn't say anything though, not wanting to make Harry's life harder than it had to be. Shikamaru did extract a promise of monthly reports from the boy, though, so maybe it would all be okay.

And finally, he turned to where there would be a line of taxis.

He had a lot of work to do before the next year, and while his friends would be relaxing, he knew that he would be busy in the coming months.

His life was finally getting started, and he was more motivated than ever. He would later wonder when he had started acting so differently. Damn Gryffindor mentality of charging into things head first was affecting him.

Ah, well, it wasn't like his summer could be more troublesome than his school year, right?

End of Book 1

Charms (Spells):

Freezing Charm (Immobulus): This makes its target unable to move and, interestingly enough, disables electronic devices.

Cruciatus Curse (Crucio): Unforgivable that causes target to experience great pain and agony; has been known to drive people insane when used for too long.

(1): I distinctly remember this being a thing in the movies, and since they didn't ask Hagrid about Fluffy, this is how it's going down. Shouldn't take stuff from the movies too often.

(2): This happens because Harry is eleven years old and Dumbledore tells him that risking his life is brave and commendable (like...what the hell was he thinking?), and this should have been done in the original series because that's Harry's killed someone, unintentional and in self defense as it was (children are delicate), and there is no way that Shikamaru would let that fly. Like, as I was writing this, I had the realization that it was just brushed over and never mentioned again. Sorry, JK Rowling, but I'm pretty sure this shouldn't have just been glossed over.

A/N: Book 2 out soon, probably the beginning of next week

✧\(o)ﾉ✧

Keep an eye out for Book 2.

RECOMMENDATIONS: (Tell me if you like them and have any of your own)

Five Classmates Who Surprised the Hell Out of Him - Sammery: (N) A oneshot with some introspection on Shikamaru's part. It's pretty nice, rated K+, and it's a little fluffy.

Almost Paradise - cywsaphyre: (HP) Very nicely done three-shot about Harry visiting an alternate universe where things are very much better off than his own world. It's a bit angsty, but I love it to pieces and have probably reread it five times. Rated T for violence and hurts.

Someone Worthwhile - InkMaster27: (N) This is a multi-chapter NaruHina fic that is in a modern AU where, instead of ninjas, there are gangs. Everyone is present. It's been rewritten, and I love it. Also present is ShikaTema! Rated T for violence and language (it's Naruto, and gangs...no explanation needed).

Changes to Chapter 9:

Shikamaru takes two (2) part time jobs because I did not research England's minimum wage during the 90's last time, and now I feel a bit silly for assuming he could save much with only one job at a time. Thus, voila, waiter!Shikamaru as Winston!

Shikamaru, instead of scaring Malfoy because I felt it would be redundant at this point, ensures a more permanent solution by teaching Neville some hand-to-hand defense, drilling him on strategy and situational awareness, and teaching him some higher level hexes and jinxes, because forget all of you, Neville should have had more moments to shine in canon.

Changed Shikamaru's talk to the Gryffindors a bit

Neville finally gets one-up on Malfoy. It's not prominent, but it's mentioned, and I'll try to keep the effects of that going.

Fixed some details and OOC issues