We all sped through the corridors and through to McGonagall's office. We ran as fast as we could through the rows of chairs and stopped at McGonagall's desk.
"We need Professor Dumbledore immediately," I panted and McGonagall looked up. "I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is not here, he received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London," she replied and returned to marking student work.
"He's gone, but this is important," Harry begged, "it's about the Philosophers Stone."
McGonagall had a confused and terrified look on her face as she looked back up at us. "How do you know-" she asked but Hermione cut her off, "someone's going to try and steal it."
There was a long silence before McGonagall spoke again. "Now I don't know how you four found out about the stone," she sighed, "but I assure you that it is well protected. Now will you go back to your dormitories, quietly."
We all sighed and turned around leaving. We exited the room and Harry turned to us, "that was no stranger hagrid met, it was Snape, which means he knows how to get past fluffy."
"And with Dumbledore gone," Hermione sighed but our conversation was interrupted.
"Good afternoon," a slow deal voice boomed from behind us. I gulped and we all looked up.
"Now what would four young Gryffindor's such as your selves be doing inside on a day like this?" Snape asked and we tried to answer but the words got stuck in our throats.
"We - erm - w-we were just-" I mumbled but Snape spoke again. "You better be careful," he muttered, "people will think your up to something."
And with that he took off, his enormous black cloak flowing behind him. "Now what do we do?" Ron asked and Harry sighed.
"We going down the trapdoor," he ordered, "tonight."
That night me and Hermione got changed quietly in our dorm, to make sure not to wake the others. I put on my light grey knee high socks and a small white tennis skirt. I layered an oversized light grey sweatshirt and we set off down stairs, meeting Harry and Ron on the way down.
Harry had his invisibility cloak so we could sneak out without Filch catching us.
We got to the common room and were greeted by a small, fat green toad on the arm chair. "Trevor," I grumbled and Ron stepped forward.
"Trevor, shh, go you shouldn't be here," he shooed the small frog and someone popped their head out from around the arm chair. "Neither should you," Neville appeared and stood up, "your sneaking out again aren't you. I won't let you. You'll get Gryffindor into trouble again. I-I'll - I'll f-fight you."
He put his fists up shaking and I really felt bad for him.
Hermione sighed and brought out her wand. "Neville I'm really, really sorry about this, Petrificus totalus."
She walked her wand and Neville froze, landing in the floor. I flinched as his plump body flopped on the ground. Poor Neville.
"Your a little scary sometimes," Ron gulped, "you know that? Brilliant, but scary."
I nodded in agreement and Harry walked on. "Let's go," he ordered and we followed him.
"Sorry," Harry apologised as he passed Neville:
"Sorry Neville," I muttered and kept walking.
"Sorry," Hermione copied and grabbed my hand as we kept walking.
"It's for your own hood you know," Ron mumbled as he picked the cloak up and followed us.
We walked under the cloak through the halls and to the third floor. "Ouch," Hermione yelped at Ron, who was behind her, "you stood on my foot." Ron apologised and we reached the big black door.
"Alohamora," Hermione whispered and pointed her wand at the lock, unlocking the door.
We stepped in and a beautiful noise was being played. "Wait a minute," Ron muttered. It was a harp, playing a lullaby in the corner of the room. The dog was soundly sleeping with its paw on the trapdoor. "He's, snoring," Harry whispered as the cloak flew off of us, blowing both mine and Hermione's hair in the boys faces.
"Snape's already been here," I gulped and Harry finished my sentence, "he's put a spell on the harp."
I knelt down at the trapdoor and sighed. "We have to move its paw," I ordered and Ron gasped. "What?" He quivered and Harry knelt down next to me. Hermione and Ron followed and all together we moved the giant fluffy dogs paw away from the trap door.
"I'll go first," Harry began and we nodded, "if something bad happens get yourselves out."
"Does it seem quiet to you?" I asked and we turned around. "The harp," Hermione whispered, "it's stopped playing.
"Ugh!!!" Ron yelled and we all looked at him, "yuck!!" I giant slobber of saliva had dropped onto Ron's shoulder, I cringed and looked away.
The four of us looked up and the dog was awake, staring and growling at us. "Jump!" Harry screamed and he jumped through the trapdoor. I jumped him and went Hermione after me, then Ron last, him shutting the door as he dropped.
Hermione landed at one side of the room and Harry the other. Ron landed in the middle and me opposite him. "Wow," Ron beamed, "lucky this plant thing was here really."
I looked around. Something doesn't seem right. These weeds remind me of something. I let out a yelp as the roots of the plant rapped around my waist.
The plant began to wrap around us all tighter and tighter. Ron, Harry and I struggled and tried to pry ourselves free, Hermione however looked quite calm. The vine wrapped around my neck and that's when I started to panic.
"Stop moving," Hermione ordered, "all three of you. This is devilsnare. You have to relax. If you don't it'll only kill you faster."
Did she just say kill you faster?
"Kill us faster?!" I screamed. "Oh now I can relax," Ron struggled as he tried to pry himself free.
Hermione pulled a face at us and closed her eyes as the plant sunk her down through the roots. "Mione!!" The three of us yelled and I panicked even more.
Is Hermione dead? No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
"Now what are we gunna do?" Ron groaned and struggled even more.
"Just relax," Hermione yelled.
"Hermione where are you?" I panicked. "Just relax. Do what I said, trust me," she begged and I sighed.
"Your lucky I trust you Hermione," I cried and closed my eyes, relaxing. The plant dragged me down through the roots and I dropped to the floor.
"LIZZIE!" The boys yelled and started to shout for help. Seriously, we would not last two seconds without Hermione.
"Just relax guys," I tried to calm them and heard Harry sigh. He dropped down onto the floor and I helped him up. "Are you okay?" I asked and he nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He muttered as he brushed himself off.
"HARRY!" Ron screamed over and over again.
"He's not relaxing is he?" Hermione sighed. "Apparently not," Harry shook his head and I groaned.
"We've got to do something," I moaned and Harry turned to me, "what?"
"I remember reading something in Herbology," I shouted as I thought for a second. "Devilsnare, devilsnare, its deadly fun.......but will sulk in the sun that's it. Devilsnare hates sunlight."
I pointed my wand up at Ron and yelled, "lumos tolem."
A bright beam of light shot out of my maple wood wand and Ron fell through the devilsnare and landed on the floor. He groaned as he stood up. "Few," he panted, "lucky we didn't panic.
I snickered and giggled a little at Ron's stupidity. "Lucky that Elizabeth pays attention in Herbology," Harry corrected him and Ron shrugged, looking down.
We walked in through another door to be greeted by a bunch of birds. "I've never seen birds like these," Hermione gasped. I took a closer look and noticed that they weren't birds. "I don't think they're birds," I gasped. "Their keys," Harry added, "and I bet one of them fits that door."
We walked to the middle of the room and saw a broom. It was just a normal broom and it was floating in the air. "What this all about?" I griped and Ron shrugged. "I don't know," Harry spoke and stepped closer to examine the broom more.
Ron went off and Hermione followed him. "Alohamora!" He yelled but nothing happened, "well it was worth a try."
Hermione groaned and stomped her foot, "what are we gunna do?"
"We can't give up," I ordered, "there's got to be some way we can get through the door."
"There's got to be a thousand keys up there," she moaned again. "We're looking for big old fashioned one. Maybe rusty as the handle," I let them know and searched around for the key.
We all looked around in the sky. I looked from key to key but they all looked the same. "There, I see it," Harry yelled, "the one with the broken wing."
I smiled and patted his shoulder, "good eye Harry."
He focused on the broom, looking at it carefully. He sighed and stared at it again. "What's wrong Harry?" I asked and he looked at me. "It's too simple," he replied and looked back at the broom.
"Oh go on Harry," Ron moaned, "if Snape can catch it on that old broomstick you can. You're the youngest seeker in a century."
Harry nodded and I stepped back, walking over to stand with Hermione and Ron. Harry hopped on the broom and flew up. The keys went crazy. Flying as fast as they could after him. The keys barged into him and Harry wafted them away.
"This complicated things a bit," Ron gulped and Hermione and I nodded.
Harry flew up, following the old key. He flew up higher and higher and I crossed my fingers. "Got it!!" He shouted and he threw it down, Hermione catching it and we ran over to the door. Hermione struggled to unlock it and jiggled the key around. "Come on," I badgered her and she finally opened it. Harry flew in and we quickly shut the door. The keys that were following him slammed in the door and we sighed in relief. We did it.
We walked through a passageway and two large double doors stood at the end. We walked through and appeared in a large room. Statues stood at either side in rows and the floor was checkered. "I don't like this," Hermione whispered, "I don't like this at all."
"Where are we?" I asked. "Some sort of graveyard?" Harry guessed and and Ron corrected him. "This is no graveyard," he informed us and walked to the middle of the room, "it's a chess board."
We all walked forwards and Harry gasped. "There's the door," he bellowed and the four of us stutter towards it. The statues/chess pieces moved their swords to create a barrier. We gasped and stood back. I gulped and stared with wide eyes.
"Now what do we do?" Hermione asked. "We can't give up," I lectured them, "there's got to something we can do to get past."
"Oh my god, It's obvious isn't it?" I beamed after a few seconds of thinking, "we've got to play our way across the room."
I looked at Ron smiling, "Ron, it's your time to shine."
He smirked and walked to stand in front of us. "Right," he began, "Harry you take the empty Bishop Square. Hermione you'll be the queen's side castle. And Elizabeth you'll be the queen."
I nodded and looked at my space. I can make that work. "As for me," Ron continued, "I'll be a knight."
We all walked to our spaces and Ron sat on his horse. I took a deep breathe and focused. "What happens now?" Hermione asked. "Well," Ron answered, "white moves first, and then we play."
White moved its player and I felt a pit in my stomach. "Ron," I quivered, "you don't suppose this is gunna be like real wizards chess do you?"
Ron thought for a second then looked up. "You there D5," he ordered and pointed to a piece. The chess piece moved to where Ron offered it to and stopped there. The whites piece drew out its swords and stabbed it through our chess piece. It shattered everywhere and we all stared in shock and panic.
"Yes Lizzie," Ron confirmed, "I think this is gunna be exactly like wizard chess."
For the next, around, thirty minutes everything was getting demolished. Pieces of shattered stone were everywhere. One piece even flew to my face and scratched a line across my cheek. The blood had dropped down my cheek but I didn't care. Another scratched my eyebrow, leaving a slit in the middle.
"Castle to E4!"
"Pawn to C3!"
Ron was shouting and the chess piece were moving. There were little fires in the corners of each room and almost all of the chess pieces had been destroyed. The white queen turned to Ron and Harry gasped.
"You understand right Harry?" Ron shuddered, "once I make my move, the queen will take me, then your free to check the king."
"No, Ron No!" Harry yelled and I felt like I was about to cry.
"What is it?" Hermione asked and a tear dripped down my face. "He's going to sacrifice himself," I squealed and Hermione gasped.
"No you can't!" She yelled, "there must be another way!"
"Do you wanna stop Snape from getting that stone or not?" Ron snapped another tear dripped down my face. "Harry it's you that has to go on I know it," he sighed, "not me, not Hermione, not Lizzie, you."
Harry nodded and I wiped the tear from my cheek. Ron took a deep breath and spoke, "knight to H3."
His horse moved to the required space and he checked the queen. The queen moved closer and closer to Ron. He was hyperventilating and I could feel my lip trembling. The queen stopped in front of him and I prepared myself. She drew her sword and stabbed the horse, the pressure causing Ron scream and fall to the ground. He hit his head on the floor and laid there, passed out.
"Ron!!" We all yelled and Hermione stepped closer to him. "No!" I screamed, "don't move."
"Don't forget," Harry yelled, "we're still playing."
Hermione nodded and stood back in her place. Harry walked over to the queen, making our last move. He stopped in front of the statue and yelled, "checkmate."
The sword fell to the ground and I smiled. We won. All three of us immediately ran over to Ron. Poor Ron. "Take care of Ron," Harry ordered and we nodded, "then go to the owlery, send a message to Dumbledore. Ron's right I have to go on."
"You'll be okay Harry, your a great wizard. You really are," Hermione smiled and I nodded.
"I'm not as good as you," Harry chuckled and I giggled.
"Me? Books cleverness. There are more important things. Like friendship, and bravery. And Harry just be careful," she sighed and he nodded. He looked at me and smiled. I nodded and he stood up, walking over to the door.
I looked at Hermione and she smiled, nodding. I smiled back and stood up running over to Harry. "Harry!" I yelled and he turned around. I stopped in front of him and sighed.
I leant forwards and hugged him tightly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he wrapped his around my waist. "Harry," I whispered in his ear, "if you die down there, I'll name one of my kids after you."
We both giggled and I pulled away. "Thanks," he joked and I smiled.
This could be the last time I ever see Harry. I don't believe he'll die down there, but if he does I'll regret never doing this. So here we go. I leant up and pressed my lips against his. I kissed him and he kissed me back. I cupped his face in my hands and pulled his face in closer. A few seconds later I pulled away and smiled. I nodded and he nodded back. I sighed and walked back to Hermione, waving him off.