The third floor corridor
In the years to come, Harry would probably bet about how he'd never remember how he managed to get through any one of his exams, when he almost expected Voldemort to break into the classroom at any moment, risen back to full power and ready to finish the job. But the days flew by, incredibly quickly while the temperature seemed to rise every second, and every day Voldemort didn't come out of hiding did not put him at ease. He couldn't even have a normal conversation with any of his friends– nearly every sentence included something about an exam; Studying for this, or messing up on that.
They had taken both written and physical exams-- Flitwick pulled them into his class one by one and watched them make a pineapple tap dance across a desk. McGonagall had them turn a mouse into a snuff box (she'd give or deduct points depending on how pretty the snuff box had been, or if it had a mousey feature). Snape had been breathing down their necks, watching as most failed to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.
Harry tried the best he could, but he could barely focus; His scar had been aching and burning day in and day out, and he hadn't been getting much sleep. He couldn't tell if it was the recurring nightmares revolving Voldemort, or the fact that Terry's snores only seemed to get louder every night, or if he had been too stressed out from exams. Maybe it was because they didn't have burning scars on their foreheads, or maybe he had just been more prone to nightmares, or maybe nobody made an attempt on their lives when they were babies, but none of his friends had been too worried over Voldemort or the Stone-- not even Ron. He felt crazy, almost; was he worried over nothing? It was clear Fluffy was just fine... and the stone was protected... but something felt off about just leaving it be, as much sense he had to do so.
The very last exam, History of Magic, had been by far the easiest. An hour of writing about a batty old wizard, and they had been free for a week of no exams or classes. And what a wonderful week it would be, for their exam results wouldn't come out until the end of it. When Binns finally told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, many couldn't help but cheer.
"That was so much easier than I thought! Who actually stays awake in Professor Binns's class long enough to even know who he's talking about?" Padma said relievedly, drinking out her goblet in the Great Hall. Everyone there, including them, had already abandoned their robes and uniforms for something more suitable to the weather. "Er, no offence Luna."
"Right, like, nobody ever stays awake in his class!" said Lisa. "If it was put into numbers-- probably three people, and only three because everyone else is snoring before he even starts teaching,"
Harry hadn't said a word, lost in thought, until Hermione and Ron had come over.
"There you three are! I guess you finished your last exam?" Hermione asked, gesturing at their clothes.
"We finished an hour ago," said Luna. "and Padma felt entitled to a meal."
"We just finished about ten minutes ago, and I've never been more grateful to be done with studying. Although, I'm a little disappointed we studied more subjects than we'd needed. Anyhow, would you all like to join me out at the lake? It's a lovely day, you know," Hermione suggested. She had already taken off her robes, surprisingly-- Harry would've guessed she'd be the last. Or maybe she changed because Ron changed-- he almost looked more Muggle than she did.
"I'd like to, but--"
"Your head's still hurting? Well, we've all told you to go to Madam Pomfrey, why haven't you?" Lisa cut Harry off, as Padma finally finished eating.
"I'm not-- the problem isn't that I'm sick. But the other thing is that it's not a migraine. It feels more like some type of... warning. Like something's wrong." Harry told them, rubbing his forehead, as Hermione stood up.
"Huh, you really think? I mean, we've determined that the Stone's safe, haven't we? And Hagrid's told us only he knows how to get past Fluffy. Well, he and Dumbledore, but that doesn't really count. Come here, let me check." Hermione put the back of her hand on Harry's forehead, then her palm, before saying he didn't feel hot.
"I've already said it, I'm not sick," Harry assured, shrugging her off. "Wait. Hermione, you said Hagrid?"
"Yes, I said Hagrid's told us only he and Dumbledore know how to get past Fluffy." Hermione said.
Harry jumped up-- of course! Why didn't he realise earlier? Hagrid had a hard time keeping a secret-- especially if he was coaxed into it! His head was hurting still, but he could hardly feel it with how strongly his heart was beating. It was as though there was a puzzle before him and it very simply solved itself. Before he was sure what he was doing, he was rushing out the Great Hall. By time he was able to make his legs stop, he had been barrelling down the slope to Hagrid's-- Hagrid had been sitting in an armchair outside, shelling peas into a large bowl. As it turned out-- running did still make you tired, even if you didn't know you were running.
Hermione and Padma were there within the minute, Ron right behind them, but Lisa had been a bit slower.
"Harry, why-- and how were you running-- so fast?" She panted, and Harry spotted Luna still walking down the front steps.
"I wasn't running fast, I was just running," He said, but they all shook their heads.
"Harry, you were running fast. That was the fastest I've ever seen someone so short run." Padma said.
"Yeah, Harry, you were running really fast. I agree with Padma, that's the fastest I've ever seen a person run. I'm just not going to bring height into it, but you are very short," Hermione said, as they neared the hut.
"Hullo," said Hagrid, smiling. "Finished with yer exams? Yeh got time fer a drink?"
"No thank you, Hagrid, we're in a hurry. I've just got to ask you a quick question; That night you won Norbert, what did the guy who gave you the egg look like?" Harry asked.
"Dunno," said Hagrid perfectly casually, "wouldn't take 'is cloak off." He saw the four of them looked shocked and raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in Hog's Head–-that's the pub down in the village. Probably bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw 'is face, kept his hood up." Harry sat down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you... mention Hogwarts? At all?"
"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah... yeah, he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here.... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after, so I told him, an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon. An' then.. I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks.... Let's see.. yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted.. but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home.. So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."
"Did- did he seem interested in Fluffy? Any other things he wanted to know?" Harry asked, trying his hardest to keep calm.
"Well, yeah-- how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even 'round Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit'a music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep--"
Hagrid suddenly looked mortified, clasping his hands over his mouth. And honestly, Harry felt mortified. If Hagrid could tell them, then he could definitely tell a stranger when he was drunk. The stone was absolutely not safe, and he was sure of it. It couldn't be. Someone capable of getting a dragon egg wouldn't just conveniently run into Hagrid and give it to him, someone who wants a dragon? It's too perfect, it couldn't be coincidence.
"I shouldn'ta told yeh that! Forget I said it--! Wait, where're yeh goin'?"
It seemed he wasn't the only one to realise this, because Hermione answered, "We're going up to the... uh, Library! You know, so we can do research on.. Research. For next year. Get an early start, obviously."
"You guys are thinking the same thing, right?" Lisa asked, as they came to a halt in the entrance hall. "We've got to tell Dumbledore! Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and best bet is, he can get into the school-- or he's already in the school!"
"But what if Dumbledore doesn't listen to us? We'd sound mental– insisting that You-Know-Who's back, and we haven't got any real evidence!" Hermione said, and they all paused as the realisation passed over them.
"She's right. If worse comes to worst, we'll have to handle this ourselves," Harry shrugged. "I kinda see your point now, Ron. The chance Dumbledore, or any professor, believes us is as much a chance as finding a galleon in a trash basket."
"Well... How would we handle it ourselves?" said Padma. "We don't know any effective dueling spells--
"And Harry-- if it really is You-Know-Who, you'd be the main target!" Ron chimed in. Padma looked offended he cut her off, but she nodded anyway.
"We don't know what could happen. We-- we're first years! Am I the only one who gets that?"
"We are about to be second years," Luna suggested, but it didn't seem to have made Padma feel much better.
"You'll notice that hardly anyone else has got any clue this is happening, anyway," Harry assured. "And fighting Voldemort now isn't... it... I mean-- I've survived the killing curse, the Dursleys, and this school entire year without fail. Surprisingly, having to fight Voldemort doesn't feel as.... Scary? Not if doing it now saves me from having to fight him later when he's stronger."
"What are you four doing inside?" said a voice from across the hall. It had been McGonagall, carrying a pile of books.
"We got too hot outside." said Harry quickly.
Hermione nodded before asking, "Say, Professor, Where's Professor Dumbledore? I didn't see him earlier?"
"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago- he received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew for London at once."
"He's gone?" asked Padma frantically.
"He has many demands, seeing as he's a very great wizard, Miss Patil," said McGonagall, almost coldly, as she dismissed them back outside, saying they had been cooled down enough.
"It's tonight. It has to be." Harry declared, once he saw McGonagall had been out of sight. "Whoever sold Hagrid the dragon egg, whoever had been in the forest, they're going down the trapdoor tonight. Dumbledore's gone, nobody thinks the Stone isn't safe. It's the best night it could be. I'm going out tonight, and I'm going to try and get the stone first."
"Harry, are you mental?!"
"It's dangerous! What if--"
"That man might be down there! Who knows who he even is--"
"Harry, tell me you're not serious!" Hermione said, louder than Ron, Padma, and Lisa. "You can't just go down there! Especially not alone! You'll be expelled if you don't die down there!"
"So what? If Voldemort gets that stone, there won't be a Hogwarts to be expelled from! Do you think Voldemort will just feel bad and leave you alone because you're first or second years or whatever, when he tried to kill me as a baby? When he killed my parents, you think he felt bad for them just because they had me with them? If it's not for the school, then it's for me. For them."
"Yes, but--" Hermione said in a quiet voice, her face red. Her ears were twitching. "How would you even get down there?"
"I have the invisibility cloak, and none of you need to be following me! I don't want you getting hurt for me!"
"Oh, please, it's not us getting hurt for you!"
"Yeah, right! It- it's exactly like she said," said Lisa. "We're not letting you go because we don't want you to get hurt at all!"
Ron suddenly questioned, "Could the invisibility cloak fit six?"
"What?"
"Could it fit six?" he repeated. "We could all go together. Six's better than one, innit? And not like we'd let you get away with going alone," He suggested, shrugging.
"All six of us? I mean, it'll probably cover all our heads but we'd better walk quiet." Harry said,
"Harry's the shortest one of us, so he should lead. Ron, you're the tallest. You're gonna have to bend down to not get seen." Hermione said, as they began to stroll the grounds.
"I don't think I'll be going," said Luna. "But I think you'll all do just fantastic without me."
"That's so totally sensible, I almost don't wanna go," said Lisa, sounding almost miserable. "but I think it'll be totally fun to go. I mean, when's the next time I'll ever get to break the rules for an actual good reason? Ooh! I just got an idea! We could do a spell! An enlarging spell-- we could find a book about it in the Library, I bet!"
"Genius! I know the perfect book!" Hermione said, and she and Lisa disappeared before anyone could object. They returned shortly, Hermione certain that she could cast the spell effortlessly.
And, suddenly, as the hours passed, they had been scheming for the night in the shade under a tree. After dinner, they sat in either of their common rooms, and nobody bothered them; For half of them, nobody had a word they wanted to say. This wasn't the first night, and it definitely wouldn't be the last. Harry hadn't been nearly as upset by it anymore. As long as he tuned out the voices, he didn't have a thing to worry about-- and that was only getting easier and easier. Padma and Lisa, meanwhile, were speaking aimlessly, pretending to keep up conversation. Harry didn't talk much. He was too busy thinking about what they were about to do to talk.
Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.
As some sixth year finally left, stretching and yawning, Harry ran downstairs to the boy's dormitory. He pulled out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy-- he didn't feel like singing; Not that he could anyway.
He, Padma, and Lisa all gotten underneath the cloak and walked up to the seventh floor-- if everything had so far been going to plan, Hermione and Ron would be waiting outside the Gryffindor common room, ready to go. And luckily, they had been, but they looked ashamed.
"What's wrong? Oi, Ron, get off my toe, you twat!" Padma whispered, as she pushed Ron away; He had been stepping on her foot while getting underneath the invisibility cloak.
"Neville tried to stop us from leaving, and--and..." Hermione admitted, putting her face in her hands, almost seeming like she'd sob. "it doesn't mean much, but I just feel so bad for what I did. I used the full body-bind on him!"
"Sshh! It's Mrs Norris..." Lisa shushed her, pointing at the stupid cat, who had been standing at the top of a flight of stairs.
"Let's kick her, just this once," Ron insisted, but everyone else disagreed, and they continued to the third floor corridor.
They didn't meet anyone else until the reached the staircase to the third floor; Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.
"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie, or ghostie, or wee student beastie?"
He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them. "Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."
Harry had a sudden idea.
"Peeves," he said in a hoarse, silent whisper, before Peeves could catch them. "The Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."
Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.
"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr Baron, sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake-- I didn't see you-- of course I didn't, you're invisible-- forgive old Peevsie for his little joke, sir."
"I have business here, Peeves," said Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight. All night."
"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron! I'll not bother you!"
And he flew off.
"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron, as Harry coughed and cleared his throat. Soon, atleast a second later, they had been standing before the door to the third floor corridor. But the door had already been slightly ajar.
"He's already gotten in. I bet you he's halfway to the stone now." Harry said, disappointed. "Just take the cloak back with you."
"Well, what are we waiting for then?"
"You're still coming with?"
"Harry." Hermione looked at him. "Of course we're coming with. We didn't come this far just to back out because he's already gotten here. Quitting isn't all that fun, you know," She said, and the others agreed.
"We've already planned this all out, what's wrong with adapting a little?" Padma wondered, seemingly changing up everything they were going to do in her head.
"Padma, you can't forget," Ron had joined in, but they didn't get the chance before Lisa started ushering them into the corridor. "Well, let's go! The longer we take, the worse!"
Hermione had shrunk the cloak just enough so it could fit into Harry's pocket. As the door creaked open, growls met their ears, and they froze. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them in the dark.
"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.
"Looks like a harp," said Lisa.
"You-Know-Who must have left it there," Padma said.
"He'll probably wake up the moment it stops playing." Harry said, and he sighed as he felt the flute in his pocket. Atleast he'd brought it. "Well, here goes nothing..."
Harry put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't exactly a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased– it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.
"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out from under the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's breath as they got nearer the giant heads.
"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Padma?"
"No, I don't! I don't like three-headed dogs, believe it or not!"
"Alright." Ron gritted his teeth, as he stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.
"What can you see?" Lisa asked.
"Nothing. It's just black– there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."
Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself.
"You want to go first? Are you sure?" Ron asked, Harry nodded. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Lisa so she can keep him asleep."
Harry handed the flute over. In the few seconds of silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Lisa began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep. It seemed she knew what she was doing-- or, at the least, she knew better than he did.
Harry climbed over Fluffy's legs looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of a bottom.
"I'm starting to regret doing this.." He mumbled, looking over his shoulder. Earlier, when the rest of them had been planning, he told them everything that he was pretty sure they didn't already know; He was starting to regret that too. Everything he could ever remember-- the words just came out of him, and he took a deep breath. He was the boywholived and if he died, he would die fighting. Trying to, atleast. "If I don't call back up that it's safe, then go to the owlery and call for Hedwig-- I'm sure she'll find Dumbledore. But don't come down if I don't say so."
He dropped himself down the trapdoor. Cold air was rushing past him, and whatever anxiety he had was replaced with a shivering, tingly feeling. He landed uncomfortably on something sort of soft. It felt like it was a plant of some sort, but nothing he thought he'd learned about-- Muggle or magical. Maybe he should've pay more attention in Herbology. But he was safe nonetheless. He almost didn't want to, but he called up to the little square of light that was the open trapdoor-- "It's alright to come down! It's a soft landing! Er- sort of!"
Padma landed beside him almost immediately, and shortly after, Ron fell down, his foot kicking her backside.
"What's this stuff?" were his first words when he had managed to set himself steady.
"Some sort of plant. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, 'Mione!"
Hermione jumped and had barely landed on Harry's other side.
"We must be miles under the school," She said, helping him to his feet.
"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron. He shouted up, "Come down, Lisa!"
"Oh - no! We're not lucky! We are anything but lucky!" Hermione shrieked, as the distant noises of the flute stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Lisa had already jumped and landed where Hermione did. "Look at you three! Get away from that thing, now!" She said frantically, pulling herself and Harry to the nearest wall.
Unfortunately, their legs had already been bound tightly in long vines without their noticing, and a loose vine managed to get onto Harry and Hermione. She had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her foot, but Harry hadn't been as lucky. She tried her hardest to pry him from the vines wrapping around him, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.
"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered, pulling harder on Harry's arms. "It'll stop if it thinks you're dead!"
"But what is it?!" Padma gasped, and Lisa answered at once, "Devil's Snare! Either don't move, or-- OW!"
"The Devil's Snare! Thanks for telling me the name! How perfect I forgot my textbook, innit?!" shouted Ron sarcastically, trying to stop the plant from wrapping around his neck.
"Light something! It hates light!" Lisa shrieked, as the Snare wrapped tighter and tighter on her arm. "Or- or, um, don't move! EEK-- don't move, don't move, don't move!" She was having a hard time with that, it seemed, because she was still moving around-- a lot. They all were. It wasn't really easy to stay calm enough to not move. Harry was having a hard time breathing, and he tried to not move-- he really did, but it didn't seem very possible when he was too busy struggling for air to hold his breath and stay still.
"Well- I would, but I can't! I'm not letting go of Harry!" Hermione said, ripping up vines. "I- I can't light a fire, I- oh-- er- er--"
"Can't light a fire?!" Ron repeated, "Are you MAD?! You're a witch! Use your bloody wand!"
"Oh! R- right!" she whipped out her wand, muttered something, and a flash of bluebell flames hit the Snare, making it lose its grip on them as it squirmed under the fire. Padma, Ron, and Lisa fell to the ground, and the vines around Harry retreated, trying to put out the flames.
"That'll teach you for attacking us," Padma said, spitting at the Snare when they had all gotten a considerably good distance away from it.
"Good thing we have Lisa the Herbology expect here, huh?" Ron said, panting, as they walked down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward. "And good thing she doesn't lose her head in a crisis. Can't light a fire-- honestly, what were you thinking?"
All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the sound of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded unsubtly of Gringotts. He remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, he may as well just give up. And a fully-grown dragon-- Norbert had been bad enough, and he was just a baby...
"Can you hear something?" Padma whispered. Harry listened. A noisy rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
"Sounds like wings to me, Ron..."
"Shh! There's light ahead-- something's moving."
They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceilings arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.
"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron asked.
"Maybe," Harry shrugged, trying his best to sound nonchalant. He sure hoped not. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... nevermind. But, well, if there's no choice... I'll run, I guess."
"You certainly can run." Hermione said encouragingly. Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel the sharp pain of something picking at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked. The other four followed him; They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried Alohomora.
"Now what?" Ron said.
"The birds. I mean, they can't be here just for decoration. They look like..." Padma trailed off, squinting up at the birds.
They watched the birds soaring overhead. They were... glittering? Oddly-shaped, without a doubt. They almost looked like--
"Keys!" She shrieked.
Winged keys, fluttering their way from this side of the room to the other. Keys-- that made sense, but why could they fly? Unless... Harry looked around the chamber. "Look-- broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"
"But there are hundreds of them!" Lisa exclaimed tiredly.
Ron examined the lock on the door closely.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one... probably silver, like the handle." He said.
"You scare me. In a good way, I mean... but still." Padma said, grimacing.
Three of them seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one. Not exactly impossible, however, for Harry was the youngest Seeker in a century-- Seeker indeed. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.
"That one!" He called out. "That big one there-- no, the one with bright blue wings! The feathers are all crumpled on one side!"
Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom; He almost knocked into Lisa, making her squeal in horror, "I don't want to be on a broomstick anymore!"
A moment later, Padma having switched places with Lisa, the battered key had been cornered, and now, struggling in Harry's hand. He hopped off his broom a few feet above the ground and forced the key into the door-- it worked. The key squirmed out of his grip once the door clicked, and snapped right back into the air.
"Ready?" Harry asked the others, his hands tight on the door handle. They all nodded. He pulled the door open.
The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they took a few steps in it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight. They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. They all couldn't help but shiver-- the towering white chessmen had no faces.
"Now what do we do? Play?" Harry asked.
"It's obvious, innit?" said Ron uncertainly. "We've got to play our way across the room or we back out."
Behind the white pieces they could see another door.
"How?" asked Hermione nervously.
"I think... we're going to have to be chessmen." Lisa said, her teeth gritted.
Ron walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.
"Do we, er-- have to join you to get across?"
The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other four.
"This needs thinking about..." He said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of five of the black pieces..."
"You suppose we what!?" Hermione snapped. "I'm not playing as a chessmen and getting a staff knocked against my head!"
"Well I don't think we can back out now." He pointed at the door they walked in from, which now had been shut.
A minute or so had passed in awkward silence, Ron thinking, before he said something. "Don't get offended, but--"
"We're not going to get offended. We know you're the most chess-smart out of all of us, just tell us what to do already." Padma said.
(Before the actual chess game starts, I want it to be acknowledged I don't know shit about chess or how to play it so if something doesn't make sense that's why but i looked up a bunch of stuff and i hope it makes sense)
"Okay. Lisa, you go to... the..."
"I'll go to the left pawn," Lisa declared, walking over before Ron could say anything else. She had already been beside the pawn. Ron already looked unsure.
"Padma, you be the rook. Hermione, you can take the place of the castle. Harry, you fill in for the queen. She can move around the most, and we need you to get across the most. Just avoid any form of danger, and try to corner the King. I'll be a knight."
The chess pieces had been listening, it seemed, for the pawn, a rook, a castle, the queen, and a knight turned their backs on the board and wobbled off, leaving five empty squares.
"White always plays first," Ron said, clambering onto the Knight's horse. A white Pawn had moved forward two squares.
Ron, and occasionally, Lisa, who'd chime in whenever Ron was uncertain, started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever they were sent. Harry's knees were trembling-- what if they lost? What if one of them had to be taken?
Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.
"Had to let that happen. If we're lucky, you're not gonna have to do all that, Harry..." said Ron, looking shaken. "There. Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."
Every time one of the men lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed that one of them were in danger, but he paid close attention to Harry, keeping him as far away from trouble as possible. Ron himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.
"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think-- let me think..."
He moved Padma along, but it was now apparent that no one else noticed Lisa had been in a bad spot. And it was too late to do anything, because she was now open to the white knight. He struck her arm sharply before dragging her off the board.
"Wait! Wait, no, no, no!" Ron gasped, and his ears had gone very low and very pink. "That wasn't-- oh, dangit! Oh no, oh no, oh no... when did that knight get over there? I didn't..."
"Ron!" Padma snapped her fingers. "Focus! Lisa will be okay, but we've got to make it to the end first! Stay - focused! It's sad, but- but sometimes sacrifices 've got to be made!"
"Right, right," he nodded. "Right! Harry, go into the corner! Trap the king!"
The moment white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet.
They had won.
But it hardly mattered mcuh. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear for walking through. But none of them even went for it-- they all ran to Lisa.
"I'm alright, I'm alright," she murmured, her face very, very pink and tear streaked. "Nothing Madam Pomfrey can't fix..."
"You three aught to go up ahead. Who knows how hysterical Lisa's about to start acting while she's healing." Padma said, grimacing. "Trust me. I've grown up around this stuff, their natural body magic healing will make them incredibly delusional. You get it, Ron. It's a very long and very complicated process, or something, but--" She gasped, cutting herself off, shrieking when Lisa gripped her shoulder and began gnawing at the end of her ponytail. "Lisa, no, no, no! That's my hair!"
"You two go on without me," Ron denied. "Whatever's up ahead, I won't be much help. There's two left-- Snape's, and I think Quirrell's. I'm no good at Potions, and you two can definitely handle anything Quirrell's done. I should stay behind, anyway-- it's my fault she's hurt, anyway."
Hermione frowned and stared at her feet. She took a deep breath, and then said, "I'm sorry for being mean to you, Ron. Especially when we ended up down here anyway. You're... really brave."
Ron nodded at her, his face a bit pink. "Er- yeah. G- go get the stone."
That was the last thing Harry and Hermione heard, as they slowly charged through the door and up the next passageway.
"Which one do you think is up next?" asked Harry.
"Maybe Snape's? If we have to brew something, we might get lucky if You-Know-Who didn't use all of it. And if it's Quirrell's, we'd probably have to duel something. Assuming, still, it's You-Know-Who, then it's probably... er, well, dead."
They had reached another door.
"You alright?" Harry whispered.
"I'm fine, Harry. Come on,"
Hermione pushed it open; A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their shirts up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one back from Halloween, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.
"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry muttered as they stepped carefully over one of it's massive legs.
"Right. Come on, I can't breathe." Hermione said.
Harry pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next-- but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.
"Snape's. What do we have to do?"
They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't an ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward.
They were trapped.
Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, for he had been frozen in place, and pulled him to the table. He watched silently from under her arm as she held a roll of paper beside the potion bottles.
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry had almost been amazed to see that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing. Riddles were a ridiculous thing, really, and he was only lucky that the riddles into the common room were easy. He understood part of this, but then...
"Brilliant," Hermione said shortly. "This isn't magic, it's logic. A puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."
"Hermione, I might have to leave this to you. This doesn't make sense," Harry admitted, his face red.
"Don't worry, Harry. I can do it. Everything we need is here on this paper-- seven bottles: three of them are poison, two of them are wine, one will get us safely through the black fire, and another one will get us back through the purple."
"But how do we know which to drink? Actually, I'll just be quiet. I bet you already have it figured out."
Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and holding them up. She relined them, and pulled out two specific ones. At last, she clapped her hands.
"Got it," She said proudly. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire-- toward the Stone."
Harry looked at the tiny bottle. It barely had enough for a single swallow.
"This bottle will take us back through the purple flames." Hermione said, picking up the other bottle she had secluded from the rest. Harry took the smaller bottle, and popped the top.
"Hermione, you go back. I've got to be the one that faces whoever's in there."
"What? Harry, no! I- it's been all speculation! What if it really is You-Know-Who?! I'm not letting you--" Hermione argued, reaching to pry the tiny bottle from Harry's hand. He had drank all of it before she got the chance, however. He shivered as a cold feeling rushed through his body.
"Trust me. Please. Go back through there, and take a broomstick from the flying keys room. Go write something for Hedwig to take to Dumbledore. She'll know you're looking for her." Harry said. Hermione's lip quivered and tears filled her eyes. She pulled him into a hug.
"Promise you won't die."
"I promise I'll try not to."
"That's the best I'm going to get, isn't it?"
Hermione let go, and breathed a heavy breath. "You're a brilliant wizard, Haz. You are now, and I know you're going to continue to be one when you're older." She said, popping the top of round bottle. "You're gonna get older. I'm sure of it."
"Haz? Well, you're an amazing witch yourself, Hermione."
"Me?" Hermione asked, laughing tearfully. "Books, and cleverness of all things! No, but you'd know all about that, of course you would-- there's much more important things than just friendship and courage alone, and you've proven that." She said, drinking the potion. "Good luck."
Harry could still see her frowning as she walked through the purple fire. He turned to the black fire.
He gathered up the courage to walk forward. When his nerves were as calm as he supposed they could be, he stepped through. For a moment, he couldn't see anything. Only darkness. But before he knew it, he was in the final chamber. He tried his best to ignore the hammering of his heartbeat and instead focus on the feeling of his wand in his hand.