chapter 27

And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

"Use the boy... Use the boy..."

Quirrell rounded on Harry.

"Yes -- Potter -- come here."

He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.

"Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

Harry walked toward him.

'Key, knows about what is in the mirror, so I must lie, I must look and lie about what I see, that's all', Harry thought desperately.

Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.

Harry saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket -- and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow -- incredibly -- he'd gotten the Stone.

"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"

Harry screwed up his courage.

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," Harry invented. "I -- I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

Quirrell cursed again.

"Get out of the way," said Quirrell.

As Harry moved aside, he felt the Sorcerer's Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it?

But Harry gets out his wand and makes Key untrapped.

Key flies to Harry quietly.

Key and Harry heard a high voice speak, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.

"He lies... He lies..."

"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

The high voice spoke again.

"Let me speak to him... face-to-face..."

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough... for this..."

Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot.

Harry and Key would have screamed, but they couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Harry Potter...Key Walter " it whispered.

Harry and Key tried to take a step backward but their legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket, Potter?"

Key takes Harry's hand and tries to get away.

But, Quirrell puts a shield around the exit.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..."

"Liar!" Harry blurted, finally being able to move.

Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching... " it hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"Not a chance, you won't get this stone", said Key, finally opening her mouth.

"Ah, the fae", it hissed. "Protecting your cousin".

Key stands by Harry's side.

"Seize them!" It hissed.

Harry felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; 

Key's aura swiped Quirrell out of his feet, making him let Harry go, her eyes stopped twitching.

"Uh, that was lucky", said Key.

"Seize them! Seize them!" It hissed.

Quirrell gets back up, and sends a verge of energy around Key, weakening her.

"Key!" replied Harry.

"Harry… " replied Key weakly.

Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck -- Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony.

"Master, I cannot hold him -- my hands -- my hands!"

Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms -- Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.

Harry helps Key as Quirrell is distracted and tries to escape.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Key whispers to Harry, then moves out of the way.

Harry reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face.

"AAAARGH!"

Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain -- his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse.

Key helps Harry, then feels her energy return and thinks it odd, but ignores it.

As Key helps Harry, she sees Quirrell die, then Harry blacks out in her arms.