Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 13 The Strange Quirrell

"Hey, isn't this Granger? Miss Gryffindor, the know-it-all. Where are you headed?"

"None of your business, Malfoy, get out of the way!"

"Are you going to the Quidditch pitch? To watch Potter practice? I advise you not to waste your time! Think about it, your classmates only see you as a tool to earn points for the house, no one considers you a friend. If Potter were really close to you, would he be taking Weasley around every day without you?"

"Ha, I think you're the one who's really envious because Harry got into the Quidditch team, right? After all, truly talented people can get into the house team as Seekers without even having to ask their fathers to bribe the school."

"What would someone like you know about Quidditch! You filthy little Mudblood!"

……

"Harry! Where are you going?"

Hermione grabbed Harry, who was about to pull out his wand and head towards the Slytherin table.

“It’s all in the past now. Besides, the Great Hall is full of people. It’s a small matter if you get points deducted for fighting here. If someone uses this as an excuse to punish you and ban you from Quidditch matches, then it’s not worth it.”

Ron chimed in at this moment:

“Yes, Harry, it’s not worth it for someone like that. We can think of other ways, like getting Fred and George some special candy or something. They’ve researched a lot of things that can make people sick or embarrassed.”

Harry put away his wand and slowly sat back down on the bench. He had read many books and knew what Mudblood meant, but he just hadn't expected Malfoy to do something so despicable.

"I originally thought he was just a bit arrogant, but now it seems we really need to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson."

Hermione, fearing that Harry might have a moment of despair and try to curse Malfoy again, quickly changed the subject:

"By the way, Harry, how did you find me?"

"Ah... I, didn't I see you at the library the day before yesterday? I thought it was because I kept refusing to study with you, and then..."

Harry's words were half true and half false. He certainly couldn't tell her that Mo Ran had reminded him to go find Hermione, but at the same time, he did feel a little guilty about refusing Hermione's requests multiple times.

"Ha, so you think I went...and skipped dinner because of you, right?"

Harry nodded, then turned his head towards Ron, a little embarrassed. Ron, on the other hand, shrank back, as if to say, "Don't look at me, it's none of my business, I'm not going to the library."

The atmosphere began to get a little awkward, and just as the conversation between the three of them was stalling, Hermione took the initiative to ask Harry:

"If I invite you to study at the library in the future, will you come with me?"

"Ah! As long as it's not the history of magic or astronomy... um..."

Harry instinctively gave a response that perfectly captured his typical straight-laced nature. Had he not turned and met Hermione's gaze, he probably wouldn't have realized he shouldn't have answered that way. Seeing Harry's forced, awkward smile, Hermione simply shook her head helplessly and then jokingly finished the rest of his sentence for him.

"Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays won't work, because you need to find professors for tutoring and Quidditch training."

"..."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

After a pleasant breakfast, Harry went to class with Hermione and Ron. According to Harry, he felt it was unfair to have Moran take his boring lessons, but Moran knew perfectly well that Harry wanted him to be with Hermione. Moran wasn't sure if the suspension bridge effect existed in the wizarding world; if not, perhaps future wizards could use the "troll-fighting effect"—interpreting anxiety as someone making one's heart flutter.

In the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone movies, the troll incident occurs after Hermione is brought to tears by Ron. While Mo Ran isn't entirely sure of the exact timeline in the films, Professor Flitwick's teaching progress is far from reaching the Levitation Charm chapter. Furthermore, Quirrell's absence from the scene of the troll attack with Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape makes Mo Ran suspect something is amiss.

Why did Quirrell bring the troll to Hogwarts beforehand? Why didn't he arrive with the other two professors? Was it because Professor Snape failed to capture him? What was he doing then? And what exactly was the second two-headed monster? I absorbed a lot of dark magic when I killed it; was it related to the troll, or was it another magical creature I'd never seen before?

Mo Ran knew these questions couldn't be resolved by discussing them with Harry. So, even though Harry shared his thoughts with him in a dream, he only said—you should find an opportunity to ask Professor Dumbledore. As a time traveler, Mo Ran's greatest advantage was his understanding of the plot. Therefore, before defeating Voldemort or possessing absolute power, he didn't want to do anything that would significantly impact the story's direction. Otherwise, if the timeline shifted, the future might develop uncontrollably due to a small butterfly effect. Now that Quirrell had already taken action, and that strange dark magic creature was proof that the plot was starting to go astray, Mo Ran had to try to steer the story back on track to prevent Harry and his friends from falling into danger or even meeting with misfortune.

"Harry, we're going to the greenhouse outside the castle for our Herbology class next period. Which way are you headed?"

After following Harry around the stairs a few times, Hermione noticed something was off. In fact, Harry didn't know why he kept going in circles; it was as if a voice inside him was directing him to wander aimlessly.

"Sorry, I'm a little lost."

“But Harry, we’ve had several herb classes before, and you’ve never gotten lost?”

Ron, who had explored the campus with Harry, also noticed something was wrong. However, just as he was speaking, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the steps beneath his feet.

"What's going on!"

Ron gripped the stone handrail tightly, looking around as he called out:

"The direction of all staircases can change, don't you remember?"

Hermione also had her brows furrowed, but judging from her expression, she was probably more worried about being late for class and losing points.

After a long few seconds, the stone steps finally stabilized. Somewhat impatient, Harry no longer cared where the stairs led; he strode forward and said:

"Let's go this way first, otherwise these stairs will change again."

As the three of them pushed open the door together, the eerie atmosphere that rushed towards them sent shivers down their spines. Looking at the strange stone statues, the dilapidated stone walls, and the dust-covered cobwebs before them, Ron immediately bristled, his red hair standing on end like red seaweed floating in the ocean.

"Does anyone think we shouldn't have come here?"

"We shouldn't have come here in the first place. This is the fourth floor, a forbidden area that Dumbledore mentioned when he started teaching!"

Hermione's reminder made Harry realize the seriousness of the problem.

"Come on!"

Unfortunately, things weren't that simple. Just as the three young wizards were about to turn and leave, something suddenly darted in through the door.

"Oh, look what I found! You naughty first-graders, running around in the restricted area instead of going to class! Tsk tsk tsk tsk naughty naughty naughty naughty naughty! You should be arrested!"

"It's Mischievous Ghost! Oh my god, Mischievous Ghost, I'm begging you, please don't cause trouble, you'll get us expelled!"

"Oh, that won't do. I'm doing this for your own good. It's your fault for not following the school rules. I'll go find Filch now."

Ron was already on edge, so he rushed up and punched Peeves, saying irritably:

"Get out of our way! Don't block our path."

This led to a huge mistake. The little devil's entire "ghost" swelled up, like a balloon filled with air, and then he roared at the top of his lungs:

"Students are skipping class and wandering around the restricted area on the fourth floor!"

Harry grabbed Ron and Hermione, ducked past Peeves, and tried to run outside, but Peeves wouldn't let them go. He slammed the door shut and locked it.

Harry glared fiercely at Peeves, then immediately pulled out his wand and chanted:

"Alohomora!" (The Alohomora opens)

Click! Click!

"Hahaha! Little wizard trying to escape with magic! No way! I won't let you open the door!"

Peeves laughed loudly, pointing at the door he had locked again and making faces at Harry. Before Harry and the others could even curse Peeves's shamelessness, they could already hear Filch's voice through the door.

"Where are they, you little devils?"

At this crucial moment, the sharp-eyed Hermione suddenly pointed to a pitch-black spot at the end of the corridor and said:

"Come this way! There's another door here!"

A series of clattering footsteps echoed in the darkness, and Harry and the others practically ran for their lives. Hermione, wand in hand, pointed towards the lock before they even reached the end of the corridor and began to chant:

"Alohomora!" (The Alohomora opens)

The click sounded only once before Harry and the others rushed in, quickly closed the door, and pressed their ears against the door to listen carefully.

"Mischievous Ghost! Are they inside? Open the door for me!"

You have to say 'please'.

"Don't mess with me, you little devil! Open the door!"

"If you say that magical word 'please,' I absolutely will not open the door for you!"

"Okay, please open the door for me."

"Hahahaha! Let me tell you, if you say 'please,' I absolutely will not open the door for you, you idiot! Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!"

Peeves' loud laughter gradually faded away, along with Filch's angry curses.

"The Arahu Cave is open?"

Feeling safe, Ron immediately relaxed and focused all his attention on the spell Harry and Hermione had just used.

"You can look through Chapter Seven of the Standard Spellbook when you have time!"

"Okay, I'll go check it out when I have time, or Harry can teach me... You'll teach me, right, Harry?"

Not hearing a response from his friend, Ron slowly turned around, and immediately, his hair, which had just fallen down, stood on end again. Dumbledore's warning at the start of school echoed in the minds of Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"The corridor on the right side of the fourth floor inside the castle is also forbidden. If you don't want to leave Hogwarts with a terrible death, don't go there."

The three young wizards couldn't see what kind of room they were in, because a huge three-headed dog filled the entire space from ceiling to floor. The giant dog's six fierce eyes were fixed on the strangers who had entered its room, and it growled threateningly, with sticky saliva hanging down to its paws like ropes from its mouth.

"Impedimento!" (Obstacles abound!)

"Run!"

Harry reacted the fastest; he knew the big dog hadn't attacked immediately because it hadn't expected anyone to be there. And now, it had come to its senses!

"Awooo! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Amidst deafening roars and violent crashes, Harry and his friends fled from the fourth floor like madmen. Filch had run off elsewhere after being tricked by Peeves, but even if he hadn't, no one would choose death over Filch. When they finally arrived breathless in the greenhouse, Professor Pomona Sprout, the Herbology Professor, let the latecomers off with a joke.