Through the Trapdoor they went
A day before the start of the Exams Celestia, the twins, and Regulus made their way toward the Forbidden Corridor, being the four with most experience they deemed it for the best if they went up while the others waited in Celestia's room.
Thankfully Professor Flitwick had been more than delighted to allow them to have a sleepover ' so they could take a final look over their Notes before the Exams in the morning.
,, This certainly-"
,, Is going to be-"
,, The most dangerous Prank we've ever done." The twins said, George, carrying an exact replica of the Philosopher's Stone with himself as they took the final steps towards the Forbidden Corridor.
Since they had to let Dumbledore under the impression that the Stone was still under his grasp they spend the last week Transfigurating the replica under the instructions of Nicolas Flamel himself.
Celestia could have cried in joy when the man told her he'd let her guide him through how to make a Video-call.
,, But-"
,, It's also-"
,, Definitely the most exciting." They said, grinning.
,, Remember that should we die those will be your final words." Regulus told them, at which they grinned proudly. ,, Then we don't regret a thing, dear Reggie!"
Celestia shook her head in slight amusement, impressed by how the twins were able to be their usual selves in such a situation.
The group of four stopped before the locked door, Celestia taking her Wand. ,, Alohomora."
The lock broke and she carefully opened the door..............
There, in the middle of the room, held back by only a chain sat the Cerberus..
,, Quite nasty looking...." George murmured, Fred, nodding as he scrunched his face up when the creature's drool began falling on the ground.
,, The only way to pass it is by playing music..." Celestia said, glancing at Regulus, who took a small pebble and carefully levitated it toward the side of the room.
,, Ready ?" He asked, the other three nodding.
Together they cast a Spell that Transfigurated the Pebble into a Music Box, a gentle tune filling the room.
They quietly watched as the Cerberus grew tired, yawning from time to time as it sat down and made itself comfortable.
It only took five minutes for it to fall into a deep slumber.
,, Go!" The Quartet sprinted into the room, the twins lifting the trap door as Celestia and Regulus jumped in first, Fred and George following just as the Box had finished playing its Melody.
The Trap-door shut and they heard the Cerberus growling lightly, but nothing else, so they breathed out a sigh of relief.
,, Almost got us..."
Just as they said it, the Devil's Snare began moving, capturing them.
,, You just had to Jinx it, didn't you ?" Regulus asked, the twins giving him a nervous smile.
,, Just relax......." Celestia instructed, calmly breathing in and letting her body relax. ,, It will let go of you as soon as it deems you're not food."
She felt the plant's grip on her loosen and sink further down, until finally the plant let her go and she fell to the ground, thanking her reflexes as she landed on her two feet and not on her back.
Regulus took a small breath in to calm himself and followed after Celestia, the twins appeared seconds after him, though they weren't as lucky with their landing, groaning in pain as they took the two first year's hands to get up.
,, Couldn't have made it so one's landing would be cushioned, could he ?" The twins complained, more to Dumbledore than anyone else. ( Not that the man could hear them )
"This way," said Celestia, walking down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.
All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Celestia was fondly reminded of Gringotts.
Then they began hearing it....
A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling 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.
,, It seems like we've reached Madam Hooch's task." Regulus said, their group calmly walking towards the door on the other side of the Chamber.
,, Immobulus!" The Keys froze in their position, all of them hovering in the air and remaining in their previous spot.
Celestia gave a small nod and swished her Wand ones more. ,, Accio Key with the broken Wing."
The Key appeared not a second later and she unlocked the door with ease.
The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, the 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.
,, Blimey........... This is ridiculously huge." The twins chimed in astonishment, not having expected the Pieces to be taller than bloody Hagrid!
,, Just walk along the edges of the board, as long as we don't step foot on the actual one the Pieces will not recognize us as their Opponents." Celestia calmly stated, all of them walking slowly so they wouldn't accidentally step on the board.
After almost five minutes they finally managed to cross the room, arriving at the next door.
George pushed it open and immediately all of them covered their noses because of a disgusting smell filling their nostrils.
And the culprit sat was laying asleep on the floor.
,, Gaah! Another bloody Troll ?" Fred asked, pinching his nose as tears appeared in the corners of his eyes.
If someone were to describe the smell of a Troll.......
They would probably tell you it reeked like a mixture of trash that had been left in the sun too long, a very large pile of unwashed clothes, and the scent of the decades-old classroom the school refuses to renovate and has been already used by your Great-Grandparents.
So yeah.....
It was torture.
,, Dear Rowena.! Lets go quickly..!." Celestia said, all of them rushing to the door and taking a large breath of fresh air when they reached the next room.
,, Even if you don't kill the old man-"
,, We will get revenge for this." The twins said, feeling sick to the stomach because of that Troll.
,, I agree..." Regulus said, the only hint of his discomfort being the fact that he got very pale and the tips of his hair turned a very bright white.
, They can go all out on that one....' Celestia thought to herself, looking around.
There was a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line, but not much else.
Meaning that this was Professor Snape's task.
In that exact same moment purple flames shot up, black flames covering the door they had just come from and nearly burning Fred, who George quickly pulled aside, not wanting his twin dead before they even saw the Stone.
Celestia's Bi-colored eyes then found the roll of paper sitting next to the bottles and calmly walked towards it, reading it.
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 bidden 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.
,, Not bad..." Celestia said, finding the riddle rather amusing. ,, Three are Poisonous, two are Potions and the last two are simply Wine, knowing Professor Snape he put the Potion which holds the Key to resisting Fire in the smallest. "
Professor Snape had a very bad habit of filling certain Potions into bottles of different sizes.
And the smallest always held the most helpful Potions, like Cures for Boils or the Pepperup Potion.
,, Well, we won't be needing those anyways." Regulus said, pointing his Wand at the purple flames.
He cast the Extinguishing Spell and the Flames diminished immediately, the twins gave a whistle, impressed.
,, Good job on that one, Reggie." They praised, all of them walking to the final door.
Pushing it open, it revealed a small Chamber, dust and spiderwebs sharing the space.
And leaning right against the middle of the Wall was the Mirror of Erised.
,, Blimey..."
,, Holy Godric....."
The twins were mesmerized by the sight in front of them.
Celestia quickly covered their eyes, not wanting to risk anything. ,, Don't look at it directly...... We don't want more than need be to resist the mirror's Curse."
,, Sorry.." They chimed, turning away from the mirror so Celestia could take her hands back.
Celestia simply nodded and went ahead, Regulus close behind her, keeping his head down so he wouldn't be even tempted to look at it.
She stopped in front of the Mirror and looked straight at it.
, My deepest desire....... I wonder what it will show me.' She wondered, waiting.
The Mirror began its Magic, starting to form something.....
When it finished Celestia gave a small hum.
,, See something interesting 'Tia ?" George asked, curious about what Celestia's deepest desire possibly could be.
After all, what could someone who had everythinf long for?
Celestia kept quiet but gave a small smile, feeling the Stone appear in her pocket after a few more moments.
, How amusing...' She thought, turning to the other three and presenting them with the Sorcerer's Stone.
----------------
,, .......... That was easier than I thought it'd be." Fred said, George, nodding beside him as the Quartet made their way up towards the Ravenclaw Tower.
They were still in shock by how easily they were able to pass the tasks Dumbledore had put together.
Not to mention leave the Chamber.
It had taken them less than fifteen minutes to leave after finishing their task, counting in the time needed to make sure no traces of them ever having been there remained.
Too little for an object such as dangerous as the Sorcerer's stone.
,, He definitely created them with the thought of first years being able to pass them in the back of his mind." Regulus said, walking beside Celestia, their hands as usual intertwined.
,, That he did indeed." She said, stopping as they reached the Bronze Knocker.
,, I follow you all the time and copy your every move, but you can't touch me or catch me. What am I ?" It asked, eyes glowing blue.
,, Your Shadow." Celestia answered, at which they were allowed to enter the Ravenclaw Common room.
From there they quickly made their way towards Celestia's Chambers, their friend's heads snapping towards them as they entered.
,, Are you guys okay ?!"
,, Did you get the Stone !?"
,, Are you Injured ?!"
And immediately they were bombarded with questions.
Chrome took the exact moment to jump away from Blaise, Celestia catching him while chuckling.
,, Hey there, buddy." She greeted, smiling happily as the Niffler wrapped his tiny arms as far as he could reach around her neck, refusing to let go.
,, We're fine, nobody is injured and yes Hunter we were able to retrieve the Stone." Regulus answered, shooting a pointed look at Hunter who was about to ask them once more.
Hunter gave a smirk, making a gesture as if he was zipping his mouth shut and throwing the key away.
,, And the Fake ?" Theo asked, looking at the twins since they were tasked with creating it.
,, It's-"
,, In the Mirror."
,, We were-"
,, Surprised-"
,, By how-"
,, Easy it was to-"
,, Place it inside-"
,, Without really looking at it." They said, having let Celestia guide them through the process completely blind.
The others breathed out a sigh of relief at that.
,, Thank Merlin............. We were really worried for a bit." Susan said, all of them taking a seat somewhere in the room.
,, Are we going to send it back to Lord Flamel immediately?" Hannah asked, at which Celestia placed the Stone on the desk, in view of everyone.
,, Not immediately...... Sir Nicolas will be seeking refuge at Pendragon castle for the next few months, which means I will hand it back to him personally." She said a calculated look on her face.
In moments like these she often times missed Tom, having left the A.I at Pendragon castle so he would be able to gather....certain information for her.
,, Pendragon castle...... " Hannah and Susan whispered, mesmerized.
,, May we visit you there someday?" They asked, eyes sparkling.
Magical children were often told the story of the Pendragon family, and how the castle build by Queen Morgan, Eve and King Xavier stood atop a mountain, surrounded by forests and magical labyrinths that were filled with monsters, to protect those living in the villages nearby, Hannah and Susan being no different by wishing to view it for themselves.
Celestia turned to them, smiling. ,, Of course. The more the merrier, no ?"
The two Hufflepuffs positively beamed at those words.
,, Hey 'Tia-" Celestia turned to the twins, both redheads having made themselves comfortable by leaning against their little Ravenclaw.
,, You still haven't told us what you saw in that mirror." They said, everyone now looking interested.
Even though they all were befriended, Celestia with her past in the Muggle world remained the most mysterious of them all, never really having talked about her life all that much besides some small bits and pieces of information. It made every oppurtunity for learning something new about her exciting.
Celestia blinked, glancing around and spotting everyone's eyes on her expectantly.
Even Regulus was doing it.
She gave a close-eyed smile. ,, A Zouwu."
That made everyone blink.
,, A... A Zouwu...?..." Aiden repeated, baffled.
Zouwus were gigantic elephant-sized cats with claws and fangs sharp enough to tear apart an actual elephant with ease. Imaging someone with the stature of Celestia standing next to such a beast was rather comical.
Hunter started laughing. ,, With 'Tia's luck we might as well have one running around Hogwarts soon!"
The others laughed as well, Celestia chuckling fondly as she watched her friends. , I'm deeply sorry for lying...... but it's not the time to reveal my secret just yet.'
Regulus stared her dead in the eyes, his eyebrow rising. ,, A Zouwu ?" He repeated.
,, They're loyal creatures. Dangerous, but great companions to have on your side." She said.
Regulus simply gave a hum, not believing her in the slightest.