Chapter 14: Through the Trapdoor
No One Pov
Never let it be said Ronald Weasley bore even the slightest ounce of intelligence. The group didn't think he could've gotten dumber than when he announced to the Great Hall that Draco Malfoy had an illegal dragon on school grounds. Every eye had turned to Draco, who stood and announced he gained his familiar, a young female Norwegian Ridgeback named Onyx, currently be cared for by Onyx due to her youth.
Draco received many congratulations from those who knew about familiars. Ronald Weasley was promptly given detention for trying to get Draco in trouble.
Dumbledore certainly provoked more dislike from the group when he tried getting Harry to reveal where they got Onyx. Since Draco and Neville were with him, all three received detention for refusing and Draco snapped at Dumbledore for attempting to enter his mind.
In the forbidden forest Harry and a frightened Neville saw a creature drinking the blood of a unicorn and were rescued by a centaur. The group couldn't figure out what it was, but they knew they owed two of their owns lives to a centaur. It was scary how close they'd been to losing both boys.
In the ten weeks to currently, the afternoon after the final exams of the school year, Onyx grew a startling amount. She was as large as a carriage now, and according to both Hagrid - who's studied up - and Charlie Weasley she would now slow her growing. Dragons grew to around this size young to protect themselves, but now that she could hunt for and protect herself she no longer needed to grow exceptionally fast.
In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams when he half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment. The days crept by and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive, and well behind the locked door. Quirrell had been twitchy, more so than usual, even a bit agitated.
It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where students did their written papers. They had been given special new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-cheating spell.
Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest. The others did their best, but nothing seemed to help the pains. Percy thought Harry had a bad case of exam nerves because Harry couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his old nightmares, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.
Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but everyone seemed as worried about the Stone as Harry. It was a relief to him. The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Quirrell or anyone else might be up to now.
Their very last exam for the first years was History of Magic, for the third years it was DADA and for Percy it was Transfiguration. When the Professors told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, even Percy couldn't help cheering with the rest. He was so sure he'd pass his OWLs anyways.
"That was far easier than I thought it would be" Percy said as they met up amongst the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learned about the-"
"No more studying" Greg and Vince sighed happily, stretching out on the grass.
"You could look more cheerful, guys" Blaise teased.
"We've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet!" Theo added humorously. Chuckles escaped the twins. Harry wasn't paying attention though, rubbing his forehead.
"Harry?" Avery spoke gently. Everyone jolted when Harry jumped up.
"I wish I knew what this means!" He burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting - it's happened before, but never as often as this!"
"Go to Madam Pomfrey" Dudley suggested.
"I'm not ill" Harry groaned in frustration. "I think it's a warning... It means danger's coming..."
"Harry, relax, the Stone's safe for now. Anyway, we've never had any proof Quirrell found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down, as much as I loathe to admit it" Pansy reassured.
Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Daphne explained.
"That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one"
Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy... Never... But...
Harry suddenly jumped to his feet after finally settling down again.
"Where're you going?" Wondered Dean sleepily.
"I've just thought of something" Harry said. He had turned white and took off running, startling his friends. "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now!"
"Why?" panted Seamus, hurrying to keep up.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd" Harry explained, scrambling up the grassy slope. "That what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"
"What are you talking about?" Avery asked, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer. The older members of the group had a sinking suspicion of what he meant though. They all arrived swiftly at the hut, where Hagrid was sitting outside with Onyx.
"Hullo" he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"
"Yes, please" Draco panted, but Harry cut him off.
"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Onyx? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno" Hagrid replied casually. "He wouldn' take his cloak off"
He saw the three of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows. Percy was twitching now, but remained silent. Avery's newfound instincts were also beginning to dawn, screeching danger and something wrong.
"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head - that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up"
"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?" Harry asked.
"Mighta come up" Hagrid frowned, attempting to remember. "Yeah... He asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after... So I told him... An' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... An' then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... Yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... But he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."
"And did he - did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm. It dawned on them all what he was asking now. The terrifying thought had them looking at each other, now understanding it.
Did Hagrid tell someone how to get by Fluffy?
"Well - yeah - how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep-"
Hagrid suddenly looked horrified. Not half as horrified as the group of students, who looked at each other with a horrified realization. Every look said one thing, oh no. For Hagrid, because he just told them. For them, because someone knew and they were worried who the cloaked wizard was.
"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" Hagrid blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey - where're yeh goin'?"
None of the students spoke to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds. No one else was around, but they were all somewhat panicked.
"We've got to go to Dumbledore" Harry stated. As protests erupted, he continued. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Quirrell or Voldemort under that cloak - It must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office? I know no one likes him, no one trusts him, but he's the strongest wizard in the castle and he hid the stone for a reason. He may be the only one able to protect it, we are just students, remember?"
"This way" Percy said. The group went off quickly, speed walking the halls.
"We'll just have to-" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.
"What are you lot doing inside?"
It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.
"We want to see Professor Dumbledore" Pansy stated, rather bravely, Avery thought.
"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"
"It's sort of secret" Harry said, but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared. She looked disapprovingly at her lions.
"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago" she stated coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once"
"He's gone?" Draco asked frantically. "Now?"
"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Mr. Malfoy, he has many demands on his time-"
"But this is important!"
"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Weasley's?"
"Look" Avery interrupted, throwing caution to the winds. "Professor - it's about the Philosophers Stone-"
Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up. Her look of shock was unexpected.
"How do you know-?" She spluttered.
"Professor, I think - I know - that Qui - that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. We've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore!"
She eyed the group with a mixture of shock and suspicion.
"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow" she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected"
"But Professor-"
"Potter, I know what I'm talking about" she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine"
But they didn't. They watched her leave, Avery silently seething. She didn't know why she felt so enraged, but she had to focus to control it.
"It's tonight" Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Quirrell's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up"
"But what can we-?"
"We have to try" Dudley stated. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He awkwardly shuffled. "Th-this Voldemort guy. He's gotta be stopped, so if Quirrell's stealing the Stone for him or another evil purpose, we gotta do what we can, right? Like Harry said"
"Yeah..."
Harry made a plan. He sent Daphne and Percy to watch Quirrell, while the rest of them went to check Fluffy. However McGonagall turned up yet again, and was not happy.
"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she thundered. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from each of your houses, Gryffindor included! Yes, boys, from my own house!"
The group retreated, where they met with Daphne and Percy. They'd lost Quirrell thanks to Snape, who was suspicious of them. It quickly became an argument of going after the stone, or leaving it for Quirrell.
"McGonagall will expel you if she catches us anywhere near those enchantments again!" Percy exclaimed.
"SO WHAT?!" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Quirrell gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"
He glared at them all. It was silent.
"You're right Harry" Pansy said in a small voice.
"I'll use the invisibility cloak" Harry stated, referring to the object he recorded at Christmas.
"But will it cover all of us?" Avery asked. Everyone blinked.
"All - all of us?"
"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?" The twins grinned.
"Of course not" Daphne said briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful..."
"But if we get caught, you will all be expelled, too"
"Not if I can help it" Theo said grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that"
"We've all come this far together" Vince stated.
"We're to the end together" Greg stated.
After dinner the lot of them sat nervously apart in the common rooms. Some read up on what they could, others thought about plans incase of trouble. Everyone was determined though.
Slowly, the rooms emptied as people drifted off to bed.
After curfew the groups met. The Slytherin Kids somehow managed to squeeze under the invisibility cloak, Neville managed somehow to sneak by Filch and the Gryffindor kids took one of the twins secret passages. Percy nearly screamed when he saw them use the Marauders map, and learn what it could do.
The group met. All of them were on full alert. Every statues shadow seemed like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them, and Neville said he'd seen Mrs. Norris skulking around. Somehow he hadn't been caught by her.
"You should've kicked her Nev, just this once!"
"Yeah, ruddy cat woulda deserved it"
The quips were amusing, but didn't quell any nerves. They were lucky until they reached the staircase to the third floor. They all froze seeing Peeves, who was halfway up loosening the carpet so people would trip. He looked at them and his unnaturally large grin seemed to grow.
"My my" he spoke with wicked black eyes. "Wee students out of bedzies! Should call Filch, I should, if students a-creeping around"
"Don't do that Peeves" Avery blurted out. She didn't know where the sudden rush came from, but she stepped forward. She felt something magic in the air stir and it sent shivers down her spine, through her hidden wings. "We need to get by. It's very important. More important than my reputation as a prankster"
"And what could possibly be so important, Miss Evans?" Oh, Damn it to hell. Sir Nicholas, the Bloody Baron, the Grey Lady and Fat Friar. The ghosts looked down at the students sternly, even the Fat Friar had an intimidating gleam for him.
"Quirrell is going to steal the Philosophers Stone tonight, possibly right this minute, and we believe it may be for Voldemort. Quirrell has tried to kill Harry once this year, and I can feel something wrong with my magic in the air right now. Forgive me for being so rude, Sir Nicholas, but this is more important than we have time to further explain and we cannot allow you to stop us now" Avery straightened as she spoke, speaking seriously. She didn't know where the authority she spoke with came from, but the ghosts looked startled. It was quiet before they heard an angry yowl.
"Crap. It's Mrs. Norris and Filch" Seamus said.
"Go. This once, we will cover for you" The Fat Friar ordered.
"Thank you, Friar!" Neville beamed. The students rushed up the stairs. As they ran for the hall, they heard Peeves cackle and Filch on the stairs, shrieking about the carpet tripping him up. The students got to the locked door, only to find it was unlocked now. Now only unlocked, but also ajar.
"Well, there you are" Harry said quietly. "Quirrell's already got past Fluffy"
Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all of them what was facing them. Harry turned to the group, more serious than anyone had seen him. He had a stance like a leader, someone to respect.
"If you want to go back, I won't blame you" he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now"
"Don't be stupid" Blaise scoffed.
"We're coming" Daphne stated. The twins pushed the door open.
As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, but it was asleep much to their relief. However it was starting to wake up, growling.
"What's that at its feet?" Pansy whispered.
"Looks like a harp" Neville whispered. "Quirrell must have left it there"
"It must wake up the moment you stop playing" Draco added.
"Well, here goes..."
Harry put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased - it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.
"Keep playing" Dean warned Harry as they slipped into the room and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.
"I think we'll be able to pull the door open" Neville said, peering over the dog's back.
"Want to go first, Pansy?" Draco asked.
"No, I don't!"
"All right" Theo gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He helped Greg and Vince over, and they bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor. They swung the trapdoor up and open.
"What can you see?" Daphne said anxiously.
"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop" Theo explained.
"Then I'll go first. As a prefect and the oldest, I'll ensure it's safety" Percy spoke sternly. The three snakes let them lion pass them.
"You want to go first? Are you sure?" Avery asked.
"I don't know how deep this thing goes" Theo warned. It was quiet as Percy lowered himself through the hole until he hung by his fingertips. The twins looked pale by the sight. Then Percy met Avery's eyes.
"If anything happens to me, don't follow. Take them and go straight to the staff"
"You have my word" Avery stated.
"See you in a minute, I hope..." Percy smiled at his brothers and let go. Everyone panicked, waiting for anything to be said or done. To hear Percy or not.
With a funny, muffled sort of thump Percy landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.
"It's okay!" He called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!"
The twins followed right away. They landed, sprawled next to Percy. The three brothers grinned at each other. One by one the first years came down until it was only Harry and Avery left.
"What's this stuff?" Seamus asked.
"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, you two!"
The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Harry and Avery had already jumped. They landed on Percy's other side. The group exhaled in shaky relief.
"We must be miles under the school" Theo said.
"Lucky this plant thing's here, really" Dudley finally spoke.
"Lucky!" shrieked Avery. "Look at you all!"
She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for everyone before them, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing. They were to relieved to have noticed.
Avery had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the others fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.
"Stop moving!" Neville ordered them. "I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"
"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help" snarled Dean, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.
"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Daphne cried.
"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Draco gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.
"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... What did Professor Sprout say? It likes the dark and the damp" Neville rambled.
"So light a fire!" Harry choked.
"Yes - of course - but there's no wood!" Dudley cried, wringing his hands.
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD!?" Percy bellowed. "ARE YOU A WIZARD OR NOT?"
"I got this!" No one expected it.
Flames erupted off Avery's hands. Not an outrageous amount, but it was startling. No one saw the silent, wandless magic until the fire lit up the place. After a few minutes of her using her flames against the Devil's Snare, everyone was free and safe.
"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Neville" Harry praised as he joined them by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.
"Yeah" The Twins agreed. "And lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis - 'there's no wood', honestly"
"This way" Draco called, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward. Avery led the way, holding a hand up with fire in her palm.
"Okay so. The fire thing is definitely new" Pansy stated.
"Yeah. I did some reading up on Veela, since I'm half Y'know? Veela can control fire and half Veela have been able to do so as well, being beings of fire" Avery confessed. "I only got the fire thing down over the last few days, it's still very weak, but it's working"
"Well good on you, Avery" Percy praised. She grinned, but they fell back into silence.
All anyone could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon - Onyx and their combined power wouldn't be enough...
"Can you hear something?" Greg whispered. Everyone listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
"Do you think it's a ghost?" Dudley asked quietly.
"I don't know, I doubt it..." Seamus frowned.
"They did let us go" Dean added.
"Sounds like wings to me" Vince whispered loudly.
"There's light ahead-" Fred began.
"-I can see something moving!" George finished.
They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber. It's ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.
"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Daphne whispered.
"Probably" Percy replied.
"They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once..." The twins frowned.
"Well, there's no other choice..." Daphne said. Everyone looked at her. "I'll run"
"What!?" Protests erupted, but the pureblood heiress covered her face with her arms and sprinted across the room. She expected to feel sharp beaks and claws at any second, but nothing happened. She reached the door untouched, but the door was locked when she pulled the handle.
The others followed her. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Percy tried a charm. They all began brain storming, eyes on the birds.
"Now what?" Neville asked.
"These birds... They can't be here just for decoration" Draco stated. Everyone watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering-...
Glittering?
"They're not birds!" Harry realized suddenly. "They're keys! Winged keys - look carefully. So that must mean... "
"Yes - look over there! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!" Avery gestured to brooms. There were 9.
"But there are hundreds of them!" The twins gaped. Blaise examined the door.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one - probably silver, like the handle" Blaise explained. Avery, Harry, Draco, the twins, Blaise, Pansy, Percy and Dean took brooms. The others waited. However the second they soared into the cloud of keys, the keys reacted. Those on the ground dove down to avoid the bewitched kegs that darted and dove so quickly they were almost impossible to catch.
Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.
"That one!" He called to the others. "That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side!"
The twins went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off their brooms. As the others flew to help them, getting them down safely, Draco and Avery flew with Harry.
"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called to them, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Draco, you come at it from above - Avery, stay below and stop it from going down and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"
Draco dove, Avery rocketed upward, and the key dodged them both. Harry streaked after it; It sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Loud cheers echoed around the high chamber.
They landed quickly and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned. It worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.
"Ready?" Harry asked the others, his hand on the door handle. They all nodded. He pulled the door open.
The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.
They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. The first and third years shivered - the towering white chessmen had no faces. Percy resisted such a thing.
"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Percy uttered weakly. "We've got to play our way across the room"
Behind the white pieces they could see another door.
"How?" Daphne questioned nervously.
"I think" Theo whimpered. "We're going to have to be chessmen"
He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Theo.
"Do we - er - have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Theo turned to the others.
"This needs thinking about... " Percy said.
"I suppose we've got to take the place of the black pieces..." Avery unsurely stated.
"Now, don't be offended or anything, but few of us are that good at chess-" Pansy began.
"-So Draco, your in charge" Harry said knowingly. Draco looked shocked.
"Your a brilliant chess player, Malfoy. We trust you" the twins stated firmly.
"Thank you..." Draco breathed. Then he went serious. "Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Avery, you next to him instead of that castle. Percy, you-"
Soon everyone had a place. Everyone was on edge, nervous. The chessmen listened. As Draco assigned spots, the black pieces turned their backs to the white pieces and walked off so the kids could take their places.
"White always plays first in chess" Draco said, peering across the board. "Yes... look..."
A white pawn had moved forward two squares. Draco started to direct the kids. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost?
"Harry - move diagonally four squares to the right"
Their first real shock came when their only actual chess piece was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.
"Had to let that happen" Draco whispered, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Daphne, go on"
Every time one of their own was lost, the white pieces showed little mercy. Soon there was a huddle of injured students slumped along the wall. Dean, Seamus, Dudley, Vince, Greg, and the twins all got taken down. Twice, Draco only just noticed in time that Harry and others were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost their own.
"We're nearly there" Draco muttered suddenly. "Let me think - let me think..."
The white queen turned her blank face toward him. His friends looked at him, but he looked worried and sad, giving them a weak grin.
"Yes... " Draco whispered softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken"
"NO!" Greg, Vince and Pansy shouted.
"That's chess!" snapped Draco. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me - that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"
"But-"
"Do you want to stop Quirrell or not?"
"Draco-!"
"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"
There was no alternative.
"Ready?" Draco called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won!"
He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Draco hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor - Pansy screamed but stayed on her square - the white queen dragged Draco to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out, like their friends had been.
Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear.
"Harry. Daphne. Avery. Blaise. You go on ahead. Theo, Pansy, Neville, I need you to help me with the injured" Percy spoke up.
"Alright" no one had time to argue. The four named rushed through the doors as the rested stayed behind.
"What if their-?"
"They'll be all right" reassured Harry, trying to convince himself. "What do you reckon's next?"
"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's" Avery stated. They had reached another door.
"All right?" Blaise whispered.
"Go on" Daphne ordered. Harry pushed the door open.
A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making all four of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had defeated at Halloween, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.
"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one" Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe"
He pulled open the next door, all of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.
"Snape's" Blaise stated. "What do we have to do?"
They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.
"Look!" Daphne seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. She read it aloud for them.
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind
Two of us will help you, which ever 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 bidden 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
Daphne let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing. Avery and Blaise were stunned too.
"Brilliant" Daphne praised. "This isn't magic - it's logic - a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever!"
"But so will we, won't we?" Blaise asked gloomily.
"Of course not" Daphne scoffed. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple"
"But how do we know which to drink?" Harry asked.
"Give me a minute" Daphne dismissed.
Daphne read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.
"Got it" she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire - toward the Stone"
Harry looked at the tiny bottle, picking it up.
"There's only enough there for one of us" he said. "That's hardly one swallow. Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"
"Actually that's obvious. You. And Avery too" Daphne stated.
"Only enough for one" Blaise frowned.
"But Veela are creatures of fire, enchanted or not" Both witches said in sync, Daphne knowingly and Avery with realizing awe. Silence.
"Let's test it, shall we?" Avery murmured. They watched her stick an arm into the black flames, and return unscathed. Relief spread quickly, Harry wouldn't be alone. "You two go help the others, alright?"
"Alright" Daphne agreed.
"What if You-Know-Who's with Quirrell?" Blaise blurted out.
"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" Harry remarked, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again"
Daphne's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him. Avery smirked, Blaise just watched in amusement.
"Daphne!"
"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know"
"I'm not as good as you" Harry replied, very embarrassed, as she let go of him. He was very aware of Avery's teasing look and Blaise's amused one.
"Me!" Gasped Daphne. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!"
"You drink first" Harry urged. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"
"Positive" Daphne. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered. Blaise drank the half she didn't, looking like he'd puke it back up.
"It's not poison?" Asked Avery anxiously.
"No - but it's like ice" Blaise whined.
"Quick, go, before it wears off" Harry ordered.
"Good luck-"
"Take care-"
"GO!" Harry and Avery shouted. The two turned and went through the purple fire. Harry took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames, only to feel a hand grip his. The cousins stared a look, then faced forward together.
"Here we come" Harry whispered, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.
It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward with Avery. He braced himself, saw the black flames licking his body, but couldn't feel them - for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire - then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.
There was already someone there - but it wasn't like they hadn't expected this.
Thankfully there was no Voldemort!