Hey guys, Butterlover328 here with the next part of the Potter Twins!! (Bet you weren't expecting that!!) I did promise that I would update before the school year got out, however I may have fibbed when I said that this would the end of Chapter 16. I looked at what I've written in between the last chapter and where I am now, and I've got the average size of one of these parts (about 4000 words) and it was at a good stopping point, so I decided to update today and finish out the chapter before the end of June. I will be doing a lot of traveling in June due to lacrosse tournaments and vacations, so I will have a lot of time to write, and I am very excited about it!! Anyways, I made some changes to the end of the last update that you do need to read before you read this chapter or else you will be confused, and I've got to get back to writing so the final part of the chapter can come out sooner. So without further ado, I give to you the next part of The Potter Twins!! I hope you enjoy it!!
~Butterlover328
Previously on The Potter Twins:
"Can't we just play across??" Neville asked, watching the gigantic pieces warily. The other four first years evaluated the board as well.
"I can try, my parents and I played Chess all the time after dinner, and Draco has taught me the intricacies of Wizard's Chess. There's not much of a difference between the two." Hermione suggested.
"Really?? I didn't know that you played Chess." Harry said.
"We play all the time in the Common Room when we're not doing homework, hanging out with you three, or studying. She's quite good, and even has managed to beat me and a few of our older house mates. She's certainly not the best in the house, but she's got a knack for picking up strategies and patterns and counter them. In time, she'll probably be one of the best in the school." Draco explained. Percy considered it, then realized that it was the only option if they wanted to continue.
"Alright, go ahead 'Mione." He said. She nodded and walked over to the king.
"So, how do we play?? Do we just direct you??" She asked. The king was silent, but as it was awakened, it's arm pointed to a rook that had just left the board, leaving an empty space. Hermione's face paled as she realized what the king was trying to say.
"Are you mental?? That's totally barbaric!! We could be killed!!" She cried out. Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"What's going on??" He asked.
"We have to replace a piece on the board and play with ourselves as pieces!!" She exclaimed.
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"Are you kidding me?? What if someone gets captured?? That could kill someone!!" Percy shouted.
"I think that was the point." Draco said darkly. Neville swallowed harshly in fear, suddenly wishing he hadn't come.
"We trust you 'Mione. We know that you'll get all of us out of this." Harry said. The Ravenclaw took a deep, shuddering breath and turned to her friends.
"Harry, I'm going to have you and Percy be Bishops. Neville, you are going to be the Left Rook. Draco, you're going to be a knight with me. I need to have a good vantage point so I can figure out where to move, and I would like your help with that. We can sit on the horses to see." She explained. Draco nodded and walked over to the knight on the right of the King. He gestured to the knight as he got off the horse and walked off the board, allowing Draco to take his place while Hermione asked the other knight to step off of his horse. The knight helped her up and then saluted her before stepping off the board. The other three quickly realized they needed to take their places and moved to take their positions.
"Alright, white's going to move first, like in normal Wizard's chess, and then we can make our move." Draco explained. The first years watched nervously the white pawn in front of the right bishop moved two spaces, allowing room for the piece behind it to move if it needed to.
Hermione pointed to the pawn in front of Neville. "Pawn to A5!!" She shouted, relieved when the correct piece moved forward two spaces. The pawn in front of the other white bishop moved forward two spaces.
"The bishops are opening first, that's going to be important." Hermione noted, assessing the pieces before pointing at the pawn in front of the other rook and giving her next order. "Alright, Pawn to H5."
The game continued the way it had started, with both opponents sending out their pawns until they met and the white team took out the first black pawn. Everyone was shocked by how violent the white team was when capturing their opponents, but with Draco's support, Hermione was able to stay calm as she deftly weaved his pieces and friends around the board. They were able to predict the next moves of the white pieces once Hermione figured out it's strategy, and they swiftly moved their friends out of harm's way until there were only a few pieces left.
Both sides gave it their all, and were almost evenly matched. The only pieces left for the black team were the five friends and the king, while the white team only had it's queen, king, a bishop and a rook left. However, Hermione was torn. It was either putting Harry, who was still injured and tired from the keys in the last room, or herself in the way of the queen so that Neville could checkmate the king. Finally, she made a decision, and hoped that she didn't seriously regret this.
"Percy, you have to make sure no one moves after this next turn except for Neville, okay?? Do not move until Neville moves down the board to checkmate the king!!" She warned. Percy paled as he realized what she was implying.
"Don't you dare 'Mione!! We need you!!" He shouted, panic filling his voice.
"What's he doing??" Neville asked. Draco, who was the closest to the boy, turned to him with a grave expression on his face.
"She's going to sacrifice herself!!" He exclaimed, his face whiter than they have ever seen.
"No Hermione, you can't!! You'll get hurt!!" Neville yelled, joining in with his friends' protests.
"It's the only way!! It's either me or Harry, and he's not exactly in the best shape right now!!" With that announcement, everyone's gaze was turned to Harry, who looked like he was ready to pass out.
"I'm fine you guys." He said, but it sounded weak even to his own ears. "Really."
"See?? It's got to be me. The rest of you have to go on without me, it's the only way to prevent Quirrel from getting the stone!!" Hermione exclaimed, however her friends wouldn't have it.
"Don't do it, 'Mione!! We can think of something else!!" Draco exclaimed.
"Like what?? Look around the board, Draco!! The only way to end this game with the least amount of casualties is if I let the Queen take me. Neville will then have no one in front of him to take the King, and we can finish this!!" She exclaimed. Draco frantically looked around the board and swore under his breath when he realized that what she was saying was true. The only way he could come up with that didn't have Hermione get hurt would instead put Harry in harm's way, and he didn't want to do that either.
"Hey, I may not be a Gryffindor, but there's a time where everyone needs to be brave. This is my time. And whatever you do, do not move until Neville checkmates the King, or else this will all be for naught. Promise??" She asked. Draco swallowed as he considered his options, but then realized she would just do it anyways, and the only way to make sure that it worked was if he followed her plan. So, instead of offering anymore protests, he simply nodded silently and tried to mask his worry as she took a deep breath to center herself and calm her nerves.
"I'm really sorry about this. Knight to D4!!" Hermione commanded before she could psych herself out of it. Her friends watched in horror as the White Queen slowly turned to her once her turn was finished and skid across the board until it was next to her, then she unsheathed her sword and ran it through the clay horse underneath her. Hermione was unprepared for the attack and fell off the horse, knocking herself out as soon as she hit the floor. The queen dragged her and the pieces of the horse she had been on moments previously off the board and returned to her position on the board.
"Hermione!!" Draco, Neville and Percy shouted in unision. The friends looked like they wanted to dart over to her any second, and would've done so if it weren't for Harry's shout.
"Don't move!! We're still playing!! As soon as Neville checkmates the king, we can move, but stay where you are until then!!" He said frantically. His panicked exclamation was the only thing to stop the worried friends in their tracks.
Neville was shaking as he moved across the board five steps until he was in a space away from the King. "Ch-checkmate." He stuttered, wincing when the King's sword fell with a loud clang on the floor. Finally able to move, everyone ran as fast as they could over to Hermione to check on her condition.
Draco was the first to reach her, being the closest to where she was knocked out. He pulled her up and hugged her tightly.
"Draco, you have to let her go. I need to see if she's alright." Percy said calmly, trying to coax his way to her.
"And how would you know?? You're not a healer." Draco said crossly, not wanting to let go.
"My mom taught me a way to check to see if she's breathing. If she isn't she needs to go to the Hospital Wing right away." Percy said softly. Draco paled at the thought of Hermione not breathing and handed her over to Percy, who put his right index and middle fingers to her neck and after a few moments sighed in relief.
"She's alright, she's just unconscious." He proclaimed. The others relaxed as well, relieved with the knowledge that their friend would be okay.
"But we need to keep moving. Leave Hermione here for now, we'll get her on the way out, but we need to stop Quirrel like she told us to." Percy said. The others weren't happy, but after a short argument they agreed that they did need to move forward and so Neville and Percy picked her up and carried her away from the chessboard so that she would be safe before heading into the next room.
Upon entering the next room, they reared back and gagged heavily on the stench that permeated the room. Harry immediately recognized the smell and his eyes widened, before tearing up from exposure to the stench.
"It's a troll!!" He exclaimed, his head whipping around to try to find it. However, it stopped when he saw a giant figure slumped on the floor. Harry walked up to it's face cautiously with his custom wand out, ready to shout a spell if it moved. Percy was following him, ready to push him out of harm's way just in case.
However, they were surprised when they found the troll. It was much bigger than the one that Harry had killed on Halloween, but it had it's throat slashed and it was sprawled out on the floor, with the stench of death leaking out of it so that it covered nearly everything in the room. The kids quickly covered their mouths and noses with their cloaks so that they didn't choke on the smell, and were determined to move to the next room as quickly as possible until Percy pointed out a shape in the corner.
"Hey guys!!" He shouted, gaining the attention of the others. "I think I found something over here!!"
Curiosity overtaking them, the other boys rushed toward the figure, but it was only until they were up close that they realized who it was. Draco paled when he found his godfather slumped over, with a translucent sphere over his head.
"Well, now we know why Professor Snape didn't contact us." Percy said, a frown marring his face as he knelt down to check to see if Snape was breathing. "What's this weird bubble thing around his head??"
"That's a bubblehead charm. It's a spell that we'll learn years from now, if we make it out of here alive." Draco said, his crankiness rearing it's head as he was started to get tired again.
"Don't say that, Draco. Please. It's bad enough Hermione's injured, I don't need you acting like this. Who knows how many more of these rooms there are??" Harry pleaded.
"Alright, his breath is slightly fogging up the bubble, so that's a good sign. I'm not sure if he's awake though." Percy spoke thoughtfully as he assessed the gruff Head of House.
"If he's doing magic, then he's most likely conscious. Only children have their magic work on them as they are unconscious, and that's because they don't have the control they learn at school." Draco explained. Neville was just standing there, watching the troll warily, as if he was uncertain that it was dead, and he didn't want to face the teacher of the class he would probably be failing in if it weren't for his friends helping him all the time.
"We're going to be in so much trouble for this, guys. Maybe we shouldn't have come down." He said, getting nervous. Snape had warned them not to come down for a reason, and they knew it had been a bad idea from the start, so why were they so adamant about coming down here??
"Neville, if we didn't come down, no one might have found Snape. He may have just been left here to rot like the troll. We need to bring him up to the Hospital Wing, but first I'm going to see if he's awake and aware of his surroundings." Percy explained, before he gently shook the Professor's shoulder. Snape woke up with a start, and immediately had his wand in his hand and tensed up for a fight, before uncharacteristically letting out a groan of pain as his muscles screamed from the sharp movement he made. Percy jumped back and his hand twitched to his custom wand, but he willed himself to calm down and raise his arms to show Snape that he was not reaching towards either of his wands.
"Professor?? It's Percy Jackson. We're going to try to get you out of here, alright??" Percy asked, waiting for the man to recognize that he was not trying to harm him. Snape was quick to assess his surroundings, his wand still pointed out and ready to cast a spell at the first sign of danger, but when he realized that there was none to be seen, he lowered his wand and proceeded to glare at Percy.
"And why are you down here, Mr. Jackson?? I thought I specifically told you to stay in your common rooms until I had notified you that I was back." Snape questioned, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. Percy wasn't affected by the Professor's attitude, and crossed his arms to give him an eyebrow as well.
"You didn't reply on the parchment when you said you would, so we waited until our dorm mates were asleep before we talked to Draco and Hermione and decided to come down here. And if it hadn't been for us, you would've been stuck down here for who knows how long in a room that reeks of troll death, and I would rather go into a room that has much cleaner air than this one so I don't feel like I'm going to vomit every time I open my mouth to speak. So can we move either into the next room or the Chess room before we argue about whether or not we should be here, or are we going to wait until someone passes out from the lack of oxygen in this room and then move??" He asked, glancing around at his friends and brother to check on their conditions, and his eyebrows creased in worry as he noticed how exhausted Harry was. They were running low on energy, and Percy knew that they couldn't go on much longer, not having the endurance that he had.
Snape had also noticed the lack of strength in the others, combined with the revolting stench, was not helping the students, so he nodded and ushered them into the Chess room. Once they were in cleaner air and were able to breathe again, Harry collapsed on the ground, no longer strong enough to hold himself up as he had a coughing fit, his lungs trying to expel all the toxic air from the next room before they allowed any fresh air to fill them.
Percy had been next to him in an instant, holding Harry up and occasionally rubbing and patting his back to help ease his cough, hating that he couldn't do anything more to help ease his twin's pain. No one noticed the flash of understanding and sorrow that gleamed in Snape's eye for a small second before it was hidden underneath his mask. He reached underneath his cloak for the set of potions that he always keeps handy in case of an emergency, and picked out a light blue one and moved to the side of the room to hand it to Harry.
"Drink this, Potter. It will help you control your cough." He ordered. Percy looked up at him and motioned for the bottle.
"It might be better if I give it to him. His magic tends to flare out when he feels threatened, and I can help calm him down." He said. Snape noted his protective hold of the younger boy and nodded, silently handing him the bottle. He watched as the two boys, looking so similar and yet so different that it was only due to Snape's observant eye and calculating eye that he had considered anything at all about them, have a silent conversation between themselves and his suspicions were provided more proof as Harry nodded and allowed Percy to help him drink the potion. Harry grimaced at the taste, and his stomach threatened to throw it up, but he was able to force it down and sighed in relief as he was able to breathe normally again.
"Thank you, Professor." He said once he got his breath back, astonished that the normally surly Professor had helped him.
"Don't thank me yet, once everyone is out of here safely I will make sure you have detention until the end of the year. Is that clear, Mr. Potter??" Harry gulped and nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"Now why didn't you go to Dumbledore like I told you to??" Snape turned to Percy, who he assessed was the leader of their little group and therefore the one responsible.
"Because he's not here. He went to the Ministry after dinner and hasn't returned since. That's why we came down here, because Quirrel's trying to get the stone!!"
Snape's face darkened at the prospect. "Then you must go back to your dorms immediately and let me handle him."
"That's not going to happen. You're injured as it is from the troll, and Hermione's unconscious over in the corner over there and none of us are strong enough to carry her, plus there's the fact that Harry's so exhausted that he can barely stand and not even you could hold up two unconscious kids long enough to get them to them to the Hospital Wing in your condition, which is why Neville is going with you." Percy commanded.
"What??" Neville exclaimed, his jaw dropped in shock. Snape hadn't given a verbal response, but his nose flared in indignation at being ordered around by a rebellious, disrespectful eleven year old.
"And what will you be doing while I escort them to Madame Pomfrey's care?? Go off to fight the Dark Lord yourself?? You must be more of a fool than I originally imagined." The professor snarked. Percy didn't back down, and narrowed his eyes at the older man even as he defied his authority, looking him dead in the eye as he spoke.
"Look, the only way to prevent Voldemort from getting the stone is if we stop dilly-dallying and actually get something done without arguing every twenty seconds. He might even have it already by this point. Are we going to let him win by default because we're just standing here, or are we going to actually going to put up a fight and stop him?? Because I may have been reluctant to come in the beginning, but now that two of my friends are hurt because he chose tonight of all nights to try to get the stone, it's personal. I'm not going to let him hurt more people if I can put a stop to it, and this is just the first step. Whatever happened that night ten years ago obviously didn't kill him, so it's only a matter of time before he finds some way to return to how he was before then, and I'm not going to let that be tonight. Not on my watch." Percy expressed as he stared down his professor. He didn't want to fight the man when he could save his strength, but he would if he needed to.
Snape snorted. "You're as stubborn as your mother, Mr. Jackson. However, if you are so keen on fighting the Dark Lord yourself, then I will not stop this foolishness any longer. Maybe you can be used as an example in the future as to why arrogant, novice Gryffindors should learn why they should gain some sense of self-preservation that Slytherins are well known for."
Percy froze at the implication of Snape knowing the truth about him, but tucked it away for the time being to discuss at a later date when it was more appropriate, especially after making that big speech to convince him to move.
"Do you know what's in the next room, Uncle Sev??" Draco had to ask.
"Obviously, since that is the room that my test is in. But if nothing has changed since I put it together, then you will need my assistance."
"Fine, and then you'll go back and help Neville bring Hermione to the Hospital Wing and get some rest yourself." Percy ordered.
Just as they were about to head into the chamber, Harry's eyes rolled up into his head and he slumped to the ground. It was only due to Percy's attentiveness that he didn't crash to the ground and injure himself more.
"Harry!!" His brother shouted, before turning to the Professor, whipping out his custom wand and pointing it at the older man.
"What did you do to him?!" He demanded to know. Snape was calm and collected, and somehow that just enraged Percy even more. He hadtrusted Snape, and now that he had harmed Harry, Percy felt like it was his fault that Harry fell unconscious, and so there was no way in hell he was going to trust Snape near his brother again.
"I had nothing to do with his current condition. The potion did just as I said, it cleared his lungs. Though I must assume that due to the foreign magics from the potion healing him when his own magic has nearly exhausted itself, he fell into shock and shut down. He should be fine for now, but we will need to take him to the Hospital Wing immediately before it gets worse."
"And why should I trust you now??" Percy asked.
"Because he's telling the truth, Percy." Draco said. Percy's head whipped around to his friend.
"What proof do you have besides blind faith, Draco??"
"He's used the potion on me before." The blonde admitted. "I've got asthma, so whenever I have an attack he's given me the potion. It's why I spent so much time inside when I was younger; it would get really bad when all the pollen started spreading everywhere, so I would have to take one of them every few days in the Spring. I know every single side effect of that potion, and every effect that each ingredient can have, and passing out isn't one of them. You have to trust me on this. Professor Snape hasn't hurt Harry, and if Hermione were awake, she would tell you the same thing I am." Draco explained. Percy was conflicted, looking between his friend and the professor as he came to a decision and lowered his wand.
"You better be right about this, or I will make sure that you pay for what you've done to him." Percy vowed as he lowered his guard again.
"I will take Mr. Potter and Miss Granger to the Hospital Wing and then escort Mr. Longbottom to his dorm immediately." Snape promised, moving to pick up Harry.
"How will we get past the next room then??" Draco asked. Snape reached into his pocket and grabbed two more potions to hand to the Ravenclaw. One of them was an inky black color, while the other was a deep purple, and Draco put them away as Snape explained their uses.
"They are different versions of the Flame-freezing potion. The color of the potion needs to match the color of the fire you are walking through. The other potions that are in there are all potions designed to knock you unconscious or put you in a deep slumber, like the Draught of Living Death. Do not drink any other potions besides the ones I just gave you, or you will most likely rot down here and never be seen again. Do not touch the parchment in the chamber, as it has been charmed to influence you into drinking one of the potions on the table. Do not look back, and do not do anything other than continue. If the Dark Lord has yet to collect the Stone, he must be prevented from getting it. I only hope that your mother put some of her intellect in you, Mr. Jackson. It would be a shame to see such potential wasted." With that said, the professor took off with Neville in tow. The Gryffindor hesitated to follow him and quickly turned to his friends.
"Good luck you guys." He said, before he took off after the surly Potions professor.
"Come on, we need to move on. If you're saying that Snape can be trusted, then we need to go." Percy said, as Draco suddenly realized that it was now just down to the two of them. He took a couple breaths to stabilize himself and trudged forward towards his impending doom.
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. We finally got to know what happened to Snape!! Please don't kill me for what happened to Harry and Hermione though, they will be fine, I promise!! Anyways, since Memorial Day Weekend is this weekend, there will be plenty of time for me to write (if my siblings give me some peace and I'm not dragged all over the place, and if my teachers don't shove a ton of homework down our throats due to exams starting next week), so I should get a lot done, which hopefully will mean that you get another chapter soon. Anyways, if you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a comment down below with any questions you may have or just something random if you want. I will get back to you guys as soon as possible. Thank you guys so much for all the support, and I hope to see you guys soon. Bye!!
~Butterlover328