The Girl Who Lived

Chapter 14

When Raven was done expelling her dinner, Hermione helped Raven back up and gave her a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth. Draco seemed mildly concerned, watching as she teetered from side to side, before the two of them watched Hermione, Ron and Harry get into place. "W-hat are they doing?" her voice cracked, desperate for the water no one had. "We have to play our way across the board - well, they do, anyways. They're all insane."

She could agree, nor disagree. Especially when the pieces moved. "This... this isn't regular chess, is it?"

"You mean besides them being abnormally large? Of course it isn't 'regular' chess. Wizards chess is much more interesting." Draco shrugged, watching Ron as he looked around the board. "Ron, you... don't suppose this is like real wizards' chess. Right?"

"You there! D5." Ron ordered, watching a pawn slide forward, diagonally from the white piece on the other side of the board. Raven shrieked when it was destroyed, hiding her face in a startled Draco's shirt. "P-Potter! I'm not your babysitter!" he whined, though he made no move to shove her off. He was the only person here that wasn't on the board, she'd just latch back on. "I'm pretty sure this is gonna be exactly like wizards chess." Ron gulped.

Piece by piece the pawns and rooks fell, both sides being decimated by the other. The white queen moved forward, stabbing the last rook next to Harry, making Raven jump at how close he was to being hurt. "You understand now, Harry?" Ron spoke, breaking Raven out of her panic. "Once I make my move, the queen will get me. And then you'll be free to check the king."

Hermione and Ron argued, but Raven and Draco were eerily calm about the sacrifice he was going to make. She was upset, but at the same time, she knew little to nothing about the rules of the game to make any other suggestions. "Do you want to stop Snape, or not?" Ron's voice rang out again, making Draco stiffen. "Snape? What's he got to do with this?"

"They think Snape is after the Sorcerer's Stone, whatever that is."

Draco didn't comment, but it was clear from his expression that he didn't know what to think about the new information. Ron's knight moved forward, the four of them watching as the white queen moved towards him slowly. Painfully slow, it stopped in front of him before raising its sword, destroying the horse he sat on, knocking him to the ground. Hermione moved to rush towards him when Harry held up a hand. "Stop! Don't move... remember, we're still playing." She stepped back, eyeing Harry with worried eyes. Raven couldn't even look at this anymore. She turned her back to the board, looking up at the beautifully crafted ceiling with a frown on her face. "Oh my god, Harry's going to die. He's going to be murdered by a statue."

Five really long seconds went by, when she heard her brother say, "Checkmate." and the crash of a sword filled the air. She turned quickly, expecting Harry to be gushing blood or dead, only to find him unharmed. Mostly. The fall from the vines earlier were nasty. Everyone rushed towards Ron, Draco walked but he still went to check on the boy, and Raven let out a sigh of relief when she saw his chest move up and down. "Take care of Ron. Then go to the Owlery to send a message to Dumbledore... I have to do this alone."

"Alone? Harry, I think you're forgetting that I'm still here." Raven frowned, Harry shaking his head. "No, it's too dangerous."

"So is flying on a broomstick while a swarm of keys try to impale you. So is wizards chess. So it jumping down into a pit of Devils' Snare... and so is going into the forbidden forest at night. I'm not a little girl, and I'm going whether you want me to or not." she ranted, Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise. Ron was unconscious, Hermione smiled and Draco... was rather impressed. Not with her speech, but her stubbornness was to be praised. At a later date. Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Fine... you're right, you're stronger than I give you credit for."

The twins descended down the steps behind the next door, the room slowly getting darker and darker with each step they take. Harry and Raven winced, their scars burning once more as they entered an oval room. In the center stood a mirror... and in front of the mirror stood a man. "You? N-No. It can't be." Harry spoke, walking towards the man. Raven was rooted to the spot. It was a teacher, certainly. His head was wrapped, his robe seemed a little too big, and his stutter had lulled Raven into a false sense of security in his class. "Snape, he was the- he was-"

"Yes, he does seem the type, doesn't he?" the professor spoke with ease. Where was the stutter? While distracted with Harry, Raven took the opportunity to create a field around the room. She might not be able to protect Harry with her kind of magic, but she learned enough to help him in any way she could. "Next to him, who would ever suspect p-p-poor s-st-stuttering p-p-p-p-professor Q-Quirrell?" he spoke, either not noticing the energy that filled the room, or perhaps he didn't care.

"But... but that day, during the Quidditch match. Snape tried to kill me." Harry spoke again, gaining her attention. Quirrell shook his head with a small hum. "No, dear boy. I tried to kill you. And trust me, if Snape's cloak hadn't caught on fire and broke my eye contact, I would have succeeded. Even with Snape muttering his little counter-curse."

Raven felt like she was going to be sick all over again. Slowly she stepped forward, standing next to her brother and grabbing his hand. "Told you it wasn't him." she gloated, Quirrell's eyes locking on hers. "Snape's little pet, how lovely. I can't count the times I've tried killing you. But you just always were in the company of someone I couldn't afford to kill." he sighed, Harry tensing up. Raven took a deep breath, remaining calm.

"Funny. He's the boy who lived, why would you want to kill me?"

"Your magic is as strong, if not stronger than your brother's. I reckon that if you weren't there, he wouldn't have survived that night."

His attention went back to Harry. "After that troll incident I made, while everyone was hustling about, Snape wasn't fooled. I was never trusted again... but he doesn't know. Doesn't understand. I'm never alone." his body turned back towards the mirror, the scars on the twins burning hotter than ever before. "What does this mirror do? I see what I desire. I see myself holding the stone. But how do I get it?"

His rambling made Raven nervous, watching as he glared at himself in the mirror.

"Use the boy."

The voice startled the twins, and they looked around as Quirrell turned to them, pointing a finger at Harry. "Come here, Potter. NOW." he demanded, his voice echoing off the walls. Harry obeyed, standing in front of the mirror, while Raven stayed on the steps trembling. What should she do? She couldn't move. "Tell me. What do you see?"

Harry stared at the mirror, his shoulders shooting up in surprise before he relaxed. What did he see? "Well what is it?! What do you see?"

"I-I... I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. I've won the house cup."

"He lies."

"TELL THE TRUTH. What do you see?!" Quirrell ordered, face turning red in anger. "Let me speak to him." the voice spoke again, Quirrell turning his head to listen. "Master, you aren't strong enough." he spoke cautiously. The voice assured him that he had enough for speaking, and Quirrell started to unwrap his turban...