The last of the cold from Winter wore off as spring fully crept in and the temperature difference caused a few problems. The first being it got MUGGY. All that snow and ice melted and that water just hung in the air uncomfortably. Apparently it was way worse for Slytherin as they were in the dungeon that was already damp being under the lake as it was. Malfoy a several others could be heard complaining about how they had to expel the moisture once a day or it settles into the fabrics in the place. This apparently meant not totally dry pillows and blankets on their beds before the older students taught the younger ones what to do.-
Easter came and with it the exams that everyone was dreading. These were set into two parts for each class, written and practical. The exams order went charms, transfiguration, DADA, potions, herbology, astronomy and history. The classroom for the written portions was a sweltering one as everyone was crammed into it for a much longer period of time than usual. We were given anti-cheating enchanted quills for the written portion and watched like hawks as we worked. The practical exams were both simple and perfect for their subjects. Flitwick had us make a pineapple tap dance across a desk-
Mcgonagall had us transfigure mice to snuffboxes and Snape had us brew a forgetfulness potion. Quirelmort had us show a few of the spells from the textbooks but looked barely able to stand for the entire time. Sprout had us trim and transfer plants while Sinistra and Binns just questioned us on the knowledge taught. Finally the exams were finished and the entire castle seemed to let out a breath in relief. Personally I didn't think they were all that bad as the exams only covered the stuff actually taught.-
Admittedly it was quite a lot of information to keep track of but my mind was a steel trap and any information I gained stayed right there waiting to be recalled. I even made sure to go above and beyond during the written and practical portions to try and ensure my grades were all O's. The grading system was like most things in the wizarding world, a bit silly. From top to bottom it went O, E, A, D, T. O stood for outstanding, E for exceeds expectations, A for adequate, D for dreadful and T for troll.-
I watched the golden trio closely after the exams ended. Ron and Hermione were relaxed, as much as Hermione was able to anyways. But Harry was constantly looking like something was bothering him. Considering his scar was especially angry looking recently that was hardly a surprise. It was only when I caught the three of them rushing to Hagrid's hut that I knew the game was afoot. The bottom of this years spiral of events was rapidly approaching and I'd need to watch carefully so nothing unexpected happened.-
History had already proven that canon was slipping out of whack as reality didn't have plot armor. The incident with the troll was more than enough proof of this as without me all three of the golden trio would be dead. I couldn't expect this matter to end cleanly like in the book or movies and shadowed the trio. I watched them figure out that Quirelmort knew how to get past Fluffy, the Cerberus. I watched them go to Mcgonagall who was grading papers and try to convince her that the stone was in danger. I watched her blow them off as nothing more than over imaginative children, which was fair.-
Finally I watched them make a mad dash for the trapped passage that held the stone at the end. While they did that I was also watching Quirelmort make his/their way through the puzzles with brute force. Fluffy was lulled to sleep with an enchanted harp, the devils snare was burnt, the flying key in the chamber of flying keys stumped the parasitic union for a moment before the correct key was found and violently torn out of the air with magic.-
The giant chess board was viciously blown to pieces though that exertion seemed to wrack Quirrell's body with pain. His own troll guardian was knocked out just as violently and finally came Snapes fire riddle. Quirelmort didn't even bother attempting to solve it but just split the flames down the middle and walked into the room with the mirror of Erised. The mirror was a cruel trap and also a gamble on Dumbledore's part as he clearly expected Voldemort to get caught up in his obsession. It may have even worked as Quirelmort stood there casting a number spells on the mirror in an attempt to coax out the stone they could see but not touch.-
Unfortunately the well intentioned but MASSIVELY ill prepared Harry Potter and friends blitzed through the challenges and the boy who lived confronted something even worse than who he was expecting. From an outside perspective it was almost funny to see how dumbfounded he was that not only was it NOT Snape trying to steal the stone but in fact Voldemort attached to the back of Quirrell's head. What was less funny was the immediate thrashing the boy got when he tried to turn his feeble spell knowledge against the union.-
Voldemort like always though monologued and played with his food. Tempting words laced with mockery and false promises. He complained about how disappointing Harry was. How he had started to wonder if I was the one the prophecy mentioned instead. And oh how Harry seemed to loathe being compared to me. Not that I couldn't understand it, he had to listen to everyone talk about how great I was while he fell to the wayside. With his trauma based inferiority complex courtesy of his Aunt and Uncle one could imagine the sort of dislike he might feel about it.