𝐀𝐈𝐌 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐘┊ᴴᵃʳʳʸ ᴾᵒᵗᵗᵉʳ

12 ★ Through the Trapdoor

"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first." Harry said.

"We." said Crystal, "I will also go, Harry."

"You're both mad!" said Ron.

"You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT!" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape or Quirrell gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave our families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? He almost had me and my family! He finished last of the Crystal's family, her mum! We're going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop us!"

"Will your parents allow it, Harry?" said Crystal cautiously after he stopped shouting.

"They definitely won't but they did their all to protect me all this time." said Harry, "Now it's my turn. I won't be able to forgive myself ever if I sit still today, knowing everything and don't do anything."

Crystal nodded feeling Harry's determination. He had made a resolution to stop Voldemort.

"You're right, Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.

"Crystal and I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all four of us?" said Ron.

"All -- all four of us?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you both go alone?"

"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful..."

"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too." said Crystal.

"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on this exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

𖤍𖤓⌁☍❾¾➵♆△⍎⚔︎

After dinner the four of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory and came down instantly. Crystal remembering something to take went to her dormitory and came back.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us -- if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own --"

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back.

Neville stared at their guilty faces.

"You're going out again," he said.

"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"Neville," said Crystal, "Please pretend you didn't see us and go to sleep."

But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.

"I won't! I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll -- I'll fight you!"