The Wrong Weasley | Harry Potter

Chapter 13 - The Sorcerer's Stone

"Alohomora." Hermione says as they reach the door. As the four enter the room, they hear a harp playing and Fluffy snoring. 

"Oh, great. Snape's already gone down." Artemis groans quietly as she pulls the cloak off them. Harry stuffs the flute Hagrid had gifted him for Christmas back in his pocket, not needing it anymore.

"He's put a spell on the harp." Harry adds.

"Ugh! It's got horrible breath." Ron complains as they move closer to the massive dog.

"We have to move its paw." He says.

"What?" He asks. Artemis rolls her eyes at her brother and grabs one side of the paw. Harry joins her, followed by Ron and Hermione. They move the paw off the trapdoor, Fluffy still sound asleep. 

"I'll go first." Harry tells them as they look down the trapdoor. "Don't follow until I give you a sign. If something bad happens, get yourselves out."

"We're not gonna leave you, Harry." Artemis replies. He opens his mouth to argue before realizing the room is a lot quieter than it had been before.

"Does it seem a bit quiet to you?" He asks.

"The harp. It stopped playing." Hermione points out. The four look up and see Fluffy waking up. "The flute, Harry!" She exclaims. 

Harry pulls the flute from his pocket and starts playing it. Fluffy starts to snore again as he falls back asleep, and the others breathe a sigh of relief. 

"Let's go." Artemis says, gesturing to the trapdoor. Hermione nods and jumps down first, followed by Ron, then Artemis, then Harry.

"Lucky this plant-thing is here, really." Ron tells them as they look around.

"Whoa!" Harry exclaims as the plants start to move, wrapping around them. He and Ron struggle as the plants pin them in place, but Artemis and Hermione stay still.

"Stop moving, both of you. This is Devil's Snare. You have to relax." Hermione explains. 

"If you don't, it'll kill you faster. You should really know this, we learned about it in class. Honestly, it'll be a miracle if you two pass your exams." Artemis adds.

"Kill us faster? Oh, now I can relax!" Ron says sarcastically. 

Artemis and Hermione both roll their eyes at him before they disappear through the plants. They hear Ron and Harry yelling their names as they fall to the ground below. 

"Just relax!" Hermione calls.

"Where are you?" Harry asks.

"Do what she says!" Artemis answers, rolling her eyes. Harry falls down next to them and she helps him to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asks him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He replies.

"He's not relaxing, is he?" She asks as they hear Ron screaming for help above them.

"Apparently not." He tells her.

"We've got to do something." She says.

"What?" Harry replies.

Artemis sighs and pulls out her wand. She raises it and casts a spell, bright light filling the room. The Devil's Snare retreats, freeing Ron. He falls down next to them and she shoves her wand back in her pocket.

"Ron, you okay?" Harry asks him. He nods and gets up, glancing at the plants above them.

"Whew! Lucky we didn't panic." He says, making his twin roll her eyes.

"Lucky Hermione and Artemis pay attention in herbology." He corrects.

"When Hermione and I tell you to do something, do it!" Artemis scolds her brother as she glares at him.

"Yeah, all right." He agrees, patting her back as she pulls him into a tight hug.

The four head down the hallway towards the next room, pausing when they hear sounds ahead.

"What is that?" Hermione asks.

"I don't know. Sounds like wings." Harry answers.

He leads the way forward, entering the next room. Keys with wings fill the room, flying up above them.

"Curious. I've never seen birds like these." Hermione says.

"They're not birds, they're keys. And I'll bet one of them fits that door." Harry replies as they approach the broom floating in the center of the room.

"What's this all about?" She asks. Harry and Artemis shrug, but Ron pulls out his wand, moving towards the other door. Hermione follows him as he tries opening it with magic.

"Well, it was worth a try." He says.

"Ugh! What are we going to do?" Hermione groans.

"Look at the door, I bet the key will match the lock." Artemis suggests.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one. Probably rusty, like the handle." Ron announces.

"There! I see it!" Harry exclaims. "The one with the broken wing."

"Go, Harry!" Artemis tells him, pushing him towards the broom. He shakes his head.

"It's too simple." He says.

"Oh, go on, Harry! If Snape could catch it on that old broomstick, you can. You're the youngest seeker in a century." Ron encourages. Harry nods and grabs the broomstick. When he does, the keys screech, swarming him.  "This complicates things a bit." He adds as Harry tries swatting the keys away.

Artemis joins Ron and Hermione near the door as they watch Harry fly after the key with the broken wing. He catches it and flies towards them, throwing it to Hermione. She grabs it and opens the door. They slam the door shut behind Harry and the hear the swarm of keys slamming into the other side.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all." Hermione announces as they enter the next room and spot the broken statues.

"Where are we?" Harry asks. "A graveyard."

"It's not a graveyard. Look." Artemis says. Ron nods and moves to stand between the statues.

"It's a chessboard." He tells them. They join him as fires illuminate the room.

"There's the door." Harry exclaims, pointing to it on the other side of the board. They walk across the board, but the pawns come to life, drawing their swords to stop them. The four step back and the pawns move back to their original position.

"Now what do we do?" Hermione asks.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron replies. "We got to play our way across the room."

"No, Ron! Those swords were real, someone could get seriously hurt!" Artemis protests.

"We have to, Ari! We have to win if we want to get through the door and stop Snape!" He tells her. She looks to the statues, then the door, then to Harry.

"Fine." She agrees, ignoring the feeling that something terrible is about to happen.