Make Me.

Book 1 - Chapter 19

It was Quirrell. 

It was bumbling, babbling, Professor Quirrell, stood in front of the pair, except he was different. He was smiling; he never smiled. And his face wasn't twitching at all. 

"You!" gasped Harry. 

Though Ellie was shocked beyond words could describe to see Professor Quirrell standing in front of her, she couldn't imagine the earthquake that was happening inside of Harry, seeing as until seconds ago, he was completely convinced that he was going to be meeting Snape in this last chamber. If Ellie's jaw was hanging open, Harry's was on the floor, maybe below it. 

"Me," Quirrell spoke calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter. But, you." He pointed a calm finger at Ellie. "I did not expect to see." 

"But I thought - Snape -" Harry was sputtering. 

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, but his laugh didn't sound like it's usual quivering treble; it was cold, sharp, and high pitched. "Yes. Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat." The man's eyes pierced Ellie for a moment before floating back to Harry. "Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering, P-Professor Quirrell?" 

Harry looked like he was having trouble taking in this information and Ellie felt that now was not the time to say 'I told you so.' 

"But Snape tired to kill me!" 

Ellie did not understand how Harry was still trying to blame this all on Snape, when the culprit was standing, clear as day, right in front of them. She furrowed her eyebrows at the boy, but her attention was recaptured by the steady, stern voice of the professor. 

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you." 

At this, Ellie couldn't hold it in any longer. She knew it wasn't the time, but her mouth just opened and spoke for her, in Harry's direction. 

"See? I told you so," Ellie whisper shouted out of the corner of her mouth, pulling a testy face. 

Harry didn't seem to hear the girl as he was too caught up in the new streams of information flowing through his head, weaving left and right, connecting points here and there, cutting the flow from others. 

"Snape was trying to save me?"

"Of course," said Quirrell coolly. "Don't you listen to your friend?" He motioned to the girl. "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny really... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching...."

At that, Ellie became very aware of her surroundings, his words sending a jolt through her body. Quirrell kept talking but Ellie wasn't listening to him. Her eyes were darting around the chamber. 

There was no one else there, just two first years and a professor, who happens to know a lot more about magic than probably both of them combined, Ellie thought. No Dumbledore. No Snape. No one. Walking through the flaming doorway, Ellie knew there was a possibility that she would be met with something evil on the other side, but she didn't actually think it was going to happen. Her ears tuned back in for Quirrell's final words. 

"I'm going to kill you tonight." 

Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang up out of thin air, one set wrapping themselves tightly around Harry, the other around Ellie.