After dinner, the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. At least, Harry was nervous. Blaise looked as if he hadn't a care in the world. He was busy casting lazy charms at the fireplace, making the flames change color and give off different aromas. Millie had retreated to an armchair not far from them, busily scribbling on a roll of parchment she kept handy for when she felt bored. Harry envied them. He thought about practicing a few more grabs with the snitch, as he would need every ounce of skill he possessed to get past Flitwick's charm tonight, but all he could do was stare at the blue flames conjured by Blaise, trying to be braver than he felt. After all, this was his idea. He had to be the leader.
Miraculously, no one bothered them. A few second year girls giggled and drew closer as Blaise charmed the flames to a rosy pink with a light, flowery scent. But they scooted away again when he flipped them to a sickly green that smelled of boiled cabbage. Harry felt his own stomach roil at the smell and hissed at Blaise, "Will you stop doing that? The changing smells are starting to make me nauseous."
"Oh sorry!" Blaise apologized, "I didn't realize I was doing it."
The flames resumed their normal orange-yellow hue and began to waft the scent of burning wood through the room once again. Blaise leaned his back against the couch he shared with Harry, twiddling his wand between his fingers and betraying the first sign of his own anxiety. They didn't talk. Neither did Millie, but then she had never been much of a talker. It was impossible to know what she was thinking as she distracted herself with drawing.
Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.
Finally, Millie spoke, "Better get the cloak."
Harry reached under his robes and realized with a sinking feeling that the cloak wasn't there. He'd left it in the dormitory, folded neatly in his satchel along with used quills and a few textbooks. He told the others he would grab it, and walked quickly up the stairs. He moved quietly to avoid waking his sleeping roommates, though he was sure he'd never be heard over the sound of Goyle's raucous snoring. He had just pulled out the cloak when his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy, thinking that it was almost as if Hagrid had given him permission to embark on this task, having provided the very thing Harry would use to get past his dog.
As he turned to run back down to the common room, he heard a quiet voice whisper behind him, "Potter?"
Harry's blood turned to ice. He already knew whose voice it was, but still he glanced over his shoulder to see Malfoy sitting up in bed, rubbing his eye sleepily.
"What are you doing?" he asked through a yawn.
"Go back to sleep, Malfoy." Harry hissed through his teeth.
But Malfoy had seen the cloak in Harry's hand. He couldn't possibly know that it was an invisibility cloak, but his eyes grew large all the same. He was suddenly wide awake.
"Are you going out? At this hour? What are you up to?"
"It's none of your business, Malfoy," Harry whispered urgently, certain that at any moment Malfoy's rising volume would wake Crabbe and Goyle, and then he would really be in trouble. "Now go back to sleep."
Harry turned to go and began walking down the stairs, but behind him he could hear Malfoy throwing off his bed-covers.
"I'm coming with you."
"No. You are not."
"If you don't let me come with you then I'll tell my father..."
"You can tell your father where he can stuff it, for all I care!" Harry said angrily, "If you know what's good for you you'll butt out!"
Harry reached the common room feeling ready to transfigure Malfoy into something really unpleasant. He could tell on by the looks on Blaise and Millie's faces that they were not pleased to see him emerge from the stairs with Malfoy in tow. Harry returned their accusing glances with one of supplication, glancing pointedly at an ornate grandfather clock sitting in the corner. They had already wasted too much time. Snape was probably past Fluffy by now.
"Ah-ha!" Malfoy said, as if he understood anything about their plan, "You've got the others here, too! I knew you were up to something. So where are you going? Down to the kitchens for a late night snack?"
"This is a bit more important than that, Draco," Blaise said, feigning a casual air, "Unfortunately, it's a private party, and you aren't invited."
"Oh yeah?" Malfoy said pompously, "And what are you going to do to stop me?"
"Petrificus Totalus!" Millie shouted without warning.
Harry hadn't even seen her pull her wand, but suddenly Malfoy crashed to the floor, his arms pinned to his sides and his legs glued together.
Harry and Blaise stood over Malfoy in shock. His jaws were clamped shut, preventing him from speaking, but his eyes stared wildly at them with an expression of complete horror.
"What've you done do him?" Harry whispered.
"Full body bind," said Millie carelessly, "Are we going to do this or not?"
"Alright. It's now or never, I suppose," said Blaise with an air of fatalism. He stepped over Malfoy's prone form. "Have a nice nap, Draco!"
"Don't wait up for us, OK?" Harry said, stooping to give Malfoy a condescending pat on the head before following the others out the door. They waited until they were out of sight before slipping the cloak over their heads.
The confrontation with Malfoy seemed like a bad omen to Harry, but they were in luck as they made their way to the third floor. They saw no one except the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin House ghost, who seemed too preoccupied with groaning, shaking chains, and haunting the school like a proper ghost rather than searching for students out of bed. They passed by him without being detected and were soon at the entrance to the forbidden corridor.
The door was already ajar.
"Well, what did I tell you?" Harry whispered, "I knew Snape wouldn't miss this chance."
Seeing the open door impressed the seriousness of the situation upon them all. Harry felt a tug on the cloak as Blaise came to a full stop, clearly hesitating. Millie was breath in short, light gasps. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to them.
"If you want to go back, you can," he said. "Take the cloak. I won't need it now."
"D-Don't be stupid," Blaise stammered after the briefest of pauses. Somehow, seeing him afraid boosted Harry's courage. He wanted to be brave for his friends.
He turned to look at Millie, who was surveying him with impatience.
"Are we going or not?" she whispered.
Harry grinned, and pushed the door open.
Low, rumbling growls met their ears, accompanied by a delicate melody. All three of Fluffy's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though he was fast asleep.
"What's that at its feet?" Blaise whispered.
"I think it's a harp," said Harry, squinting at the gold object shining in the gloom. The music notes were drifting toward them from the instrument, which appeared to be playing itself.
"Snape must have left it there."
"It must wake up the moment you stop playing..." Blaise said thoughtfully.
Even as he spoke, the tune suddenly stopped, as if the harp was responding to their chatter, offended at having its song interrupted. Almost immediately, Fluffy began to growl in earnest, as first one, then two, then three pairs of eyes opened and began searching the darkness for an intruder it could smell, but not see.
"Well, I guess that's my cue," said Harry, lifting the flute to his lips. He blew, and although it wasn't a discernible tune, Fluffy's eyes began to droop on the first note. The dog slumped to the floor, two of its heads resting on its massive paws, with one in the middle. It was then that Harry noticed what lay on the floor directly in front of the dog. There was a trapdoor.
Blaise had spotted it too. "Keep playing," he whispered to Harry as he slipped out from under the cloak.
"I think I'll be able to pull it open," Blaise said as he inspected the iron ring nailed into the crude trapdoor. "Want to go first, Millie?"
"Ha!" Millie barked into Harry's ear, "No."
Blaise grinned, "Alright, here goes nothing."
He bent and pulled at the ring of the door, which swung up and open.
"Well? What's down there?" asked Millie. Harry was still busy playing random notes on his flute.
"Not sure, too dark," Blaise said, peering into the darkness, he pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos."
The tip of the wand emitted a soft, white light, but it seemed incapable of penetrating the inky darkness below the trapdoor.
"There's no ladder or stairs that I can see, so we must have to drop down."
"What if it's a trap?"
"I'm quite certain that it is a trap. We're trying to steal something, after all."
"Well what if you drop down there and break both of your ankles?"
Harry gave an impatient tweet on the flute, causing both of his friends to jump in surprise but miraculously not waking the sleeping dog. He glared at him, jerking his head to continue. Every second the wasted allowed Snape to get closer to the stone.
Blaise seemed to have a moment of clarity, and he looked at Millie.
"Levitate me."
"Excuse me?"
"Flitwick's spell. The one we learned first term. Use it to lower me into this pit and I'll tell you what I find."
"I can't!" Millie said instantly, "You know I'm no good at charms!"
"Well it's either that or you go first into the chamber. Which is it going to be?"
Millie glared at him, but it was obvious she didn't want to go down first. Drawing out her wand from her robes, she pointed it menacingly at Blaise.
"Now, wait a minute," Blaise cautioned, holding his hands in front of him protectively, "You're gripping that thing like you're going to stab me with it. The levitation charm won't work with such a stiff hand. You need to be more fluid. Remember, swish and flick."
Millie obviously resented the coaching, but Harry saw her correct her grip on her wand. Holding it delicately between her thumb and two fingers she practiced the sweeping motion once, twice, then murmured the words, "Wingardium leviosa."
Blaise jolted off the ground, but hovered in place easily. Harry watched, entranced, as Millie guided him with her wand toward the black opening of the chamber below. He was so transfixed that he forgot to play the flute, and as soon as the music stopped he could hear Fluffy growl menacingly behind him. He quickly put the flute to his lips and began to play again.
Blaise dropped lower and lower into the pit until only his head was visible. He rotated slowly in the air as he descended, turning so that he could give Harry a final wink before disappearing entirely. Harry and Millie both rushed to the edge of the trapdoor to peer into the gloom after him. Millie apparently broke her concentration, because after a second they could hear a soft thump which sounded like Blaise had dropped onto something below.
"Blaise!" Harry whispered, forgetting once again to play the flute as he listened intently for his friend's voice in the dark. "Blaise, are you alright? What's down there?"
"Harry?" called Blaise calmly, "Do you remember that spell Longbottom mentioned to defeat Devil's Snare?"
"Of course," Harry called back, "It's lumos solem."
"Oh, brilliant," Blaise said, "Then I suggest you jump. It's quite soft."
Despite Blaise's calm assurances, Harry had a bad feeling about where this was leading. Behind him Fluffy was growling and staggering drowsily to his feet, so there was no time to argue. Harry and Millie exchanged one final glance, nodded to one another, and jumped down below.
They landed with the same soft thud onto a large, leafy mass. Blaise was only a few feet from them covered head to toe in thick green vines. No sooner had Harry landed that vines of the same quality quickly began coiling themselves around his legs. The Devil's Snare was far larger than the sample he had encountered in the Herbology greenhouse. It was as if Professor Sprout had used an engorgio charm on it, as well.
"Everyone cozy?" Blaise said, feigning calm in an effort to prevent the plant from strangling him faster. "Yes? Well Millie, I hope you still have that wand in your hand, because we're going to need it."
"Why am I the one who has to do the charm again?" asked Millie in an irritated voice.
Harry still had use of his right arm. He used it to feel around in his robes and grab his own wand from his pocket.
"I've got it," he said, "You might want to close your eyes."
Millie and Blaise squeezed their eyes shut as Harry shouted, "Lumos solem!"
Instead of the soft white luminescence which usually accompanied the wand-lighting charm, the chamber was filled by a warm light with the brilliant intensity of the sun. Harry kept his eyes shut tight to prevent himself from being blinded as the Devil's Snare quickly uncoiled itself from his arm and legs. The plant shrank back into the darkest corner, desperate to get out of the light, leaving Harry and his friends to back against the opposite wall. Harry canceled the charm and waited for his eyes to get accustomed to the gloom. Blaise pulled out his own wand and used the simple lumos charm to light it. He smiled at Harry.
"Nicely done."
Harry smiled back and lit his own wand once more. Millie followed their lead, and the three of them made their way down the next corridor.
"What do you think it'll be next?" Blaise whispered.
Harry listened carefully. From behind a wooden door in front of him, he could hear a faint clinking sound. The metallic click reminded him of something he'd heard before, of wings tapping on glass...
"I think it's going to be Flitwick's..." Harry said. He placed his hand on the wooden door and pushed. It swung open easily. Inside were hundreds of enchanted keys. Each one had a pair of delicate, opalescent wings attached to its stem. They fluttered in the golden light above their heads.
"Well, at least it's bright enough to see," Blaise said. He ended the charm but kept his wand safely in hand, just in case. He then jogged over to another door directly across the chamber from them. He tried pushing it open, pulling it open, and finally pointed his wand at the handle.
"Alohamora," he said, but the door didn't budge. He turned back to Harry and Millie with a shrug, "Worth a shot."
Harry turned his attention back to the keys. He knew Professor Flitwick wouldn't have gone to all this trouble only to have the door open with a simple charm. It was obvious that they were supposed to catch one of the keys. He scanned among the rainbow-colored keys carefully, searching for one that somehow stood out from the rest. Finally, he spotted a large, silver key with a badly bent wing fluttering near the ceiling. Harry remembered how he'd bent the wing of the key in Flitwick's office when he caught it, and thought this was probably the one. Snape must have already shoved it into the lock.
"But how did he catch it?" Harry asked aloud.
"Harry, look!" Millie said. She pointed toward a wall where a line of booms rested. They looked like the brooms they had used for flying lessons at the beginning of the year, and Harry was not keen to try grabbing at an enchanted key on one of the unreliable school brooms. He missed his Nimbus 2000. If only Mrs. Zabini had let him bring it to school...
"Come on, Harry!" Blaise said. He quickly grabbed one of the sturdier looking brooms, and even Millie followed suit. Harry decided that if he could catch Longbottom's rememberall on one of the rickety school brooms, then he could do this too. The three of them kicked off the ground and sailed easily into the air. Harry had lost sight of the silver key, but he told the others what to look for, and the three of them set to work, zooming around the chamber.
Millie spotted the key first, but it was Harry's constant practice with the snitch that paid off. Laying himself flat against the handle of his broom, he fell into a perfect dive, swooping past both Millie and Blaise and lifting up just before striking the hard stone floor, the key clutched in his hand.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Harry ignored the cheers of his friends and landed quickly. He rushed to the door and turned the key in the lock. It opened smoothly. Harry held it open as he released the key again. It fluttered away feebly, looking very battered from being manhandled twice.
Blaise and Millie had dismounted their brooms and where quickly at his side, darting into the next chamber. No one said a word, but Harry knew what they must be thinking. They had already faced the three challenges they'd prepared themselves for. What came next would be a complete mystery.
They stood with their backs to the door, wands at the ready, wondering which professor had set the next task.
They were in another dark chamber. It was silent. Harry could just make out a few large, imposing shapes in the gloom, like statues or gravestones. Without warning, torches ignited themselves along the sides of the chamber, illuminating the statutes and dazzling Harry's eyes.
Harry waited for something to happen – for the statues to spring to life and attack, or for some beast to come skulking out of the shadowy corners of the room – but nothing happened. Harry took a cautious step forward, flanked by his two friends. He realized that what he took to be statues were actually chess pieces. On their side were two rows of black pieces, while the white pieces faced them across a chessboard-patterned marble floor.
Harry had a wrenching feeling of unease in his stomach.
"Anyone know how to play chess?" he asked. Blaise and Millie both shook their heads. "Right. Well, maybe we can just get across?"
They stared at one another with trepidation, then Harry led the way across the board. He could see the entrance to the next chamber beyond the larger-than-life chess pieces, but as they drew nearer the white pawns sprang to life, blocking their path with swords made of stone.
"This has McGonagall written all over it," Blaise said testily.
"So there's no way around it. We'll have to play," Harry said, desperately trying to remember the rules of chess.
But Millie surprised them both by lifting her wand into the faceless visage of one of the pawns. "I don't think so," she said. The she whipped her wand at the statue and shouted, "Flipendo!"
The white pawn was blasted backward, toppling into a bishop and a knight. Harry and Blaise had no time to be impressed, as the other pieces, both black and white, began to charge the board, ready to do battle.
Harry ducked as a knight on horseback swung a lethal looking mace over his head.
"Millie!" he shouted over the sudden din, "I could use a curse, right about now!"
"Try expulso!" she shouted, pointing her wand at an oncoming rook. Harry watched it explode into a shower of rubble.
He pointed his own wand at the knight and shouted forcefully, "Expulso!"
He was delighted by the immediate success. The knight burst apart, stones flying in every direction. Harry had to cover his head for protection.
"I think the black pieces may actually be on our side?" Blaise shouted as he dodged a bishop. Harry spared a glance around the room and saw it was true. The black pieces were busy grappling with their white adversaries. As Millie continued to fire spells right and left, the black side was slowly advancing across the board, gaining ground.
"Geminio!" Blaise shouted, firing a spell at one of the black pieces. Harry watched in awe as their ally split into two identical pieces. The twin knights quickly fell onto a white bishop, tearing it to pieces. Harry pointed his own wand at the black queen, who was doing a fine job of cutting down white pawns with her massive stone sword. Mimicking the spell he'd seen Blaise perform seconds before, he duplicated the queen, and her twin sister began gliding slowly across the board, taking down pieces in her path. She seemed to be moving toward the white king, who in all the melee had not moved from his position.
Harry had an idea. He knew enough about the rules of chess to know that the game ended when one check-mated the king. He thought if he could get the king to surrender, then the other pieces would stop fighting them. He felt this theory confirmed at the sight of the white king, who for the first time began gliding away as the black queen he'd created advanced.
"Reducto!" Harry said, firing the spell at a pile of rubble to blast it out of his path. He took off after the king, thinking between himself and the queen he'd be able to block the king in a corner. He had to dodge fighting pieces as he went, avoiding the swings of maces, swords, and lances. He didn't even see the advancing rook about to plow him over until he heard Blaise scream, "Immobilus!" and the piece froze only inches from him.
"Thanks!" Harry shouted, waving to his friend over his shoulder as he continued to sprint across the board.
"Just check the king!" Blaise said, catching on to Harry's plan.
Harry hurdled over a fallen knight, dodged around two dueling bishops, and finally stood before the king just as the queen had him cornered. Harry expected the queen to drive her sword through the king has he'd seen her do to the other pieces, and he braced himself for the blast. Instead, the pieces froze. There was a terrible moment of anticipation while Harry waited for something to happen. Then the sword gripped between the hands of the king, pristine from lack of use, fell from his hands and landed at Harry's feet.
The warring pieces stopped immediately, and Harry's friends emerged from the cloud of dust on the battlefield. Millie's hair looked mussed and had a fine layer of white powder, and Blaise had a shallow cut above one of his eyes, but otherwise they looked unharmed. Harry grabbed both their hands to help them over some of the rocky debris, and together they walked toward the next door.
"You guys are amazing," Harry said, feeling like he should say something to them after that experience, "Where did you learn all of those high-level spells?"
"You weren't so bad, yourself," said Blaise, running a hand over his short hair to dispel some of the dust. "Anyway, you can't help but pick up a few things when you've spent all of your time hanging out in the library."
Millie didn't say anything, but then she'd always been talented at the spells which caused the greatest amount of destruction.
They hesitated before opening the next door.
"What do you suppose it is?" asked Harry.
Blaise touched the cut above his eye and winced, "Whatever it is, I hope it's friendlier than than McGonagall's chessboard."
"Snape or Quirrell," Millie reminded them. "That's all that's left."
Harry looked at his friends and they looked back at him. At his nod, they all three placed a hand on the door, the other gripping their wands, and pushed.
The door swung open to reveal the most disgusting smell any of them had ever encountered.
"Ugh!" Harry said, throwing his arm over his face to block the putrid aroma. "What is it?"
"Some kind of pestilence?" Blaise guessed, covering both his nose and mouth.
Millie was pointing with her wand toward a large figure lying face-down in the center of the room.
"Troll..." she said. Her voice had a nasal quality, as she was pinching her nostrils closed.
"Troll?" Blaise said, aghast, "You mean like the one that got in on Halloween?"
"Maybe that's how it got in," Harry said, wanting to inspect the creature but unwilling to draw nearer to the source of the awful smell. "Maybe it wasn't a distraction. Maybe Quirrell was just transporting it down here to protect the stone."
"Well, whatever. It's knocked out now. Though I don't know how Snape did it, they're supposed to be naturally immune from charms and spells..."
"Can we just get out of here?" Millie asked, "That thing reeks."
Harry and Blaise didn't argue, and the three of them raced across the room to the next chamber.
"Only Snape's..." Harry said. This time there was no hesitation as they opened the door. All three of them were eager to get away from the troll, partially because they were afraid it would wake at any moment, but mostly because it smelled so terrible.
Harry didn't know what he was expecting, but a table lined with potion bottles was not it. Of course, he knew that Snape was the potions master, but what was Harry expected to do? Identify each potion by smell or something like that? Harry wasn't wild about the idea. He remembered Snape saying in one of his lectures that there were poisons so potent, that even inhaling some of the vapor could knock one unconscious for days.
Knowing that their only option was to press on, they proceeded into the room. They had no sooner cleared the threshold than flames erupted both behind them and across the archway beyond. A wall of purple fire blocked the way back, while a sinister black inferno marred the path forward. They were trapped by the enchanted flames.
Without another option, they stood before the table and looked down at the bottles. Sitting in front of the row was a piece of parchment, a message written out in Snape's neat scrawl.
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 hidden 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.
Millie groaned, voicing exactly the way Harry was feeling.
"Great, a riddle," she said without enthusiasm, "How are we supposed to solve this?"
Blaise picked up the paper and read it over again, frowning. "Mum always used to recite riddles to me when I was little. She said a lot of magical creatures are fond of them, and we'd play games to solve some of the more famous ones."
"There are famous riddles?" Harry asked.
"Sure there are. The really clever ones."
"So can you solve this one?"
Blaise shook his head, "This one's different. This is unique. Snape must have developed it himself. Maybe if I had some scrap paper and half an hour to work it out..."
"We don't have half an hour," Harry prodded, "Snape's probably in the chamber with the stone right now. If we don't hurry, he'll escape with it."
"Alright, fine!" sighed Blaise, staring at the bottles on the table, "Let's see. Seven bottles total. Three are poison, two are wine. The remaining two will get us out of here; one forward and one back."
"So which one are we supposed to drink?" Millie asked.
"Give me a minute!" Blaise said testily, staring down at the riddle again. Harry joined him, peering over his shoulder so he could read the passage. Millie watched them glumly, clearly feeling that riddles were not her strong suit.
"There will always be poison to the left of the nettle wine," Harry said, thinking aloud. "Doesn't that mean that the bottle on the far left can't be wine?"
"Right, and we know that the biggest bottle and the smallest bottle aren't the poison."
Together, they worked their way through the clues until they had nearly figured out the riddle.
"I think this is the one that will move us forward," Blaise said, pointing to one of the bottles they hadn't been able to agree on.
"I don't know..." Harry said, feeling uncertain. Millie was frowning at them both. She had been waiting silently for a few moments, listening to them talk. Now she was inspecting the riddle herself.
"It has to be this one," Blaise said, his confidence in himself mounting. "I'll go first."
"Wait!" Millie suddenly cried. But it was too late. Blaise had already grabbed the bottle and sipped the liquid inside.
Harry and Millie stared at him in wonder, and Blaise looked at them triumphantly.
"What? See, I'm fine."
Then he fell to the floor, convulsing horribly. A sickly black foam began bubbling out of his mouth.
"Blaise!" Harry shouted, falling on his knees next to his friend. Instinctively, he rolled Blaise onto his side to keep him from choking on the black bile.
"Harry! Here," Millie said, handing Harry one of the bottles from the table. She gripped another in her own hand.
"What is it?" Harry said, desperately hoping it was an antidote to the poison Blaise had just consumed, although the riddle had said nothing about an antidote.
"It's the one that will let you continue forward," Millie said, her voice wavering slightly.
"What?" Harry said, momentarily forgetting about their mission in his concern for Blaise.
"Harry, you're right. Someone has to stop Snape. You're the one who pushed us this far." Millie held up the bottle she clutched in her own hand, "This will let me go back. I'll take Blaise to the hospital wing and get help. You should keep going."
"But... Are you sure about this?" Harry asked. Blaise's convulsions had stopped, but his eyes were closed and he was breathing shallowly.
Millie looked scared, but she nodded, "I was listening. And I think... I think this is right."
She lifted the bottle to her lips and drank. There was only enough in the bottle for one person. She and Harry stared at each other fearfully, the seconds feeling like hours, but nothing happened. Millie didn't experience the same reaction as Blaise.
"OK. So that has to be right," Millie said, gesturing toward Harry's potion, "Go now."
Harry watched as she picked Blaise up, pulling him over one of her broad shoulders. Harry watched her approach the purple fire apprehensively. What if she hadn't drank a potion at all, but merely nettle wine? He might be about to watch his friends go up in smoke.
Millie hesitated only a fraction of a second before leaping through the purple flames. She seemed to pass through safely, and the flames didn't appear to catch on Blaise either.
"Go, Harry!" he heard her shout again, and then she was gone.
Harry gripped the bottle in his hands. He was scared. What if Millie was wrong about the riddle, and he was holding another bottle of poison in his hands? He could be stuck down there, seizing just like Blaise had, and no one would be there to rescue him. He ran to the table to check the riddle again, but he couldn't think straight. He couldn't remember where this bottle had been on the table before Millie handed it to him.
Harry took a deep breath and uncorked the bottle. He decided that he needed to be brave. He needed to trust in his friends.
After reminding himself that Millie had gone to get help, he took a drink of the potion.
It was like ice water running through his veins. Harry gasped, thinking for a moment that they had made a mistake after all, and this was the cold breath of death sweeping over him. But he didn't swoon. There was no dramatic seizing or foaming at the mouth. He appeared to be fine, although he was very cold. Harry braced himself and faced the black flames. He walked through them, watching the flames lick at his hands and robes, but not catch. It was over in an instant, and he was standing in the last chamber.
As expected, there was someone already there. But the figure before him was not dressed in Snape's familiar black robes. Instead, he wore a turban.