What happened to Hermione when she stepped through the purple flames, leavnig Harry to face Snape - or Voldemort - whoever he was. How did she and Ron manage to get through the chambers and up, past Fluffy? Here's what i think happened...

'Harry – you're a great wizard you know,' said Hermione with her arms around Harry.

'I'm not as good as you,' said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.

'He!' said Hermione. 'Book! And Cleverness! There are more important things –friendship and bravery and – oh Harry – be careful.'

'You drink first,' said Harry, glancing down at the bottle, which came from the, end of the table. 'You sure which is which aren't you?'

'Positive,' said Hermione. She would never forgive herself if the bottle she had given Harry was holding was not the potion to get through that black flame. Hermione lifted her own bottle to her lips. She took a long drink from her own bottle and shuddered.

'It's not poison?' said Harry anxiously.

'No – but it's like ice.'

'Quick, before it wears off.'

'Good luck – take care –'

'GO!'

Hermione took a big breath and stepped through the flame, wondering, for the second time since the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, if she was going to see Harry alive again.

The flame licked her skin pleasantly. Hermione would have marveled at the potion, and stored it in her memory bank to research about it, if it wasn't for Ron.

Harry had told her to go get Ron and dash up to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore.

As Hermione stepped over the threshold, she was hit with a foul stench.

'This troll needs a proper burial,' muttered Hermione. The smell had gotten stronger. She ran around the body and into the chamber before.

Professor McGonagall's giant stone chess board and men were back in position, and as still as – well – stone. Ron was still slumped on the side of the chamber, and had a gigantic bruise across his forehead. His clothes had thick streaks of blood, streaming down, and forming small puddles beside him.

Hermione ran to the redhead. She pulled his shoulders up and let it rest against her breast 'Come on Ron, wake up, wake up ...' She shook him slightly but her did not stir. She stook up and paced around 'Okay Hermione, Think. What spells do you know?'

She pointed her wand at Ron. 'Envervate!' Nothing happened. 'ENERVATE!' she shouted. Still nothing happened.

'Right Hermione, Enervate is usually only used for those who have been stupefied. Right,' Hermione was mumbling to herself, fretting.

'Let's try something else…'

Again she pointed her wand at the slumped figure. 'Reincarni! Vivovixi victumus! Enervate! Exsucito! Despierte! Exsucito!'

Hermione shouted every spell she could think of to awaken someone from sleep, but none prevailed. Tears were streaming down her face as she was yelling.

Hermione gave up, and thrust her wand back into her robes. She flung herself forward and cradled Ron's head against her breast.

'Oh come one Ron, Harry told me to wake you up! Please do!' Hermione's tears fell onto Ron's closed eyes.

His eyes fluttered slightly.

'Ron? Can you hear me?' She spoke loudly, but she could not hide the tremor in her voice.

He groaned.

'Come on Ron, Harry's getting the stone – he's really close – you've got to wake up. We need to go owl Dumbledore. Come on! We said we wouldn't back out. We said that we'd help him!'

Ron groaned again. Hermione let her tears drop freely. Her tears had caused the first sign of movement, so her tears were going to help him gain his strength.

'Come on Ron, we'll get you straight to Madame Pomfrey and she'll patch you up.'

Ron's head jerked away, but Hermione forced it back. She wiped her tears and spread it across Ron's eyelids. She hesitated for a moment, and wiped more tears from her eyes onto Ron's lips.

Hermione could see that his was regaining some of his strength.

He tried to sit up, and Hermione helped him. She slung his arm across her shoulders and they slowly made their way across to where the Black chessmen were. She conjured up a big, soft, comfortable chair and sat Ron in it.

'I'm going to go and open the door to where the winged keys are, alright Ron?' she whispered. 'I'll go open it. You stay here, try not to black out again.

Ron nodded feebly.

Hermione ran towards the large door but an arm struck her middle and she was thrown back. She saw the arm of a black pawn retract. She looked at all the black pieces, but all were facing the opposing side, except the queen. Her head was faced towards Hermione. At least that's what it seemed to be.

Hermione crawled to the foot of the chess piece and touched the hem of her stony dress. The queen's head looked down at her. She looked up. 'Do we have to join the white pieces and play our way across the board?'

The queen nodded.

Hermione's already sore stomach spun. She was no good at chess. This was one of the few things Hermione couldn't do this; this was not a matter of reading and memorising something out of a book. She was even worse than Harry, she had to admit. Ron, however hurt he was, had to do this.

Hermione crawled back to the red armchair. Using the armrest as support, she brought herself up to slouch next to Ron.

'Ron,' she whispered.

'Yes?'

Hermione gulped. He sounded so weak. 'We have to play our way across the board. I can't play well. Do you think you can direct the pieces?'

There was a moment of silence. 'I'll try.'

'I need a yes, or a no, Ron.' Hermione knew that she sounded cruel, forcing Ron to say something that he couldn't. Forcing him to do something he couldn't.

'Yes.'

'What pieces shall you be? What shall I?'

Ron thought for a moment. 'Same as last time. I'll be a knight, you can be a bishop.'

'Thankyou so much Ron!' whispered Hermione. She kissed the top of his head, and helped Ron to the empty white square, ignoring the stabbing pain in her stomach. Hermione stood next to him, in her own square, but still supporting him.

'Ron, I'm really sorry I'm making you do this, but it's the only way that Harry can stop Snape from getting the Stone.'

Ron nodded.

Before they began, Hermione moved the red armchair to the square Ron was in. 'Here, sit on the chair. I'll move you to which ever square you need to get to when it's your turn to move.'

Ron nodded again. Her climbed into the chair and began directing his troops.

A few minutes into the game, Ron had already taken so many black pieces. Only a handful of pawns, a bishop and the king and queen were left. There were also a couple of white pieces slumped across the wall. The black pieces had taken a couple of pawns and a rook, knight and bishop.

'Nearly there, nearly there…' Ron muttered. He ran his fingers through his hair.

Hermione looked at the pieces on the board, and the positions of the white pieces. No, not one single thought of strategy hit her.

She wanted to encourage Ron, urge him, but she knew that when playing chess, Ron liked silence.

'Hermione,' Ron croaked, 'move to six-H'

Hermione walked diagonally for squares to her right, front.

The white queen moved straight, and swung her sword against the black queen.

Queen? The queen was a very important piece! And Ron had let the queen get taken! Someone would only let their queen die if he or she was about to —

'Checkmate!' said Ron in what sounded like a triumphant voice.

Hermione swung around. Ron had used a rook and checkmated the king.

The chessmen bowed and parted.

Hermione's tears flowed freely again and she scrambled to Ron's side, guiding him to the door.

Ron tried to brush her aside, but she kept a firm grip on his arm. Together they made their way through the door, and through the chamber where the winged keys were fluttering, and into the chamber with the Devil's Snare.

There, Hermione pondered on how they were to go up through the trapdoor, without touching the plant, and without getting hurt by Fluffy, the three-headed dog.

'You could Wingardium Leviosa me up there,' said Ron, who had obviously had gotten some of his humour back. Hermione disapproved of the tone in his voice, but didn't comment on it.

'No that won't do, because one: You won't be able to get past Fluffy without getting hurt again, and two: how will I get up?'

'We need to have the music playing before we go up, so Fluffy will be asleep when we get up there … where's that flute?'

Hermione rummaged through her robes and extracted the wooden flute that Hagrid whittled for Harry's Christmas present.

'So, we're got the flute,' said Ron, 'how do we fly up there?'

'Ron! That's it! We fly up there!'

'I think you missed the how part,' Ron mumbled.

'Wait here, don't go anywhere.'

'I can't, not with a throbbing head and a broken leg.'

Hermione dashed back down the chamber and was back with a broomstick. She figured that Ron wouldn't be able to fly on his own, so she only needed one broom.

'Is your head alright? What about your leg?'

'They can be tended to later. Let's just get up there.'

'Right well, I think you're going to have to play the flute – you're okay with that, right? Good – and I'll fly up.'

In a few moments time, Hermione was hovering just above the Devil's Snare, and Ron was blowing across the top of the flute. His right hand was clutched around Hermione's middle, and his head resting on her back. He didn't want to fall, even if the plant was only a two feet down.

Above the pair, they heard the snarls and growls of the giant dog soften and turn into drools.

'Right, I think that they're asleep, but keep playing,' Hermione whispered. Hermione slowing began to ascend. The weight of two eleven year olds on the battered broom, was something Hermione was worried about, but the broom didn't give way.

Hermione fingered the latch, and pushed open the trapdoor. She guided the broom to the edge of the room, ignoring the saliva that dripped onto her, and motioned Ron to get off. Ron hopped off, and stumbled slightly but continued to play. Hermione ran back to the trapdoor and dropped the broom into the darkness.

She unlatched the door of the third corridor on the right hand side of the castle. Quickly, Ron and Hermione slunk out, before Fluffy could see them.

'Okay, let's go to the owlery now,' said Ron, and he darted down the corridor and down the stairs. Hermione was startled at his outburst of energy, but followed quickly.

They had just reached the entrance hall when Professor Dumbledore appeared. Hermione opened her mouth but Professor Dumbledore cut across her.

'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' Professor Dumbledore did not need Ron's solemn nod, or Hermione's eyes starting to glisten. He hurtled off up the marble stairs.

'Well, Dumbledore will save Harry,' said Ron cheerfully.

Hermione lightened up. 'Alright, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey, and hope Harry hasn't been harmed yet.'

'He won't be,' replied Ron, as they made their way to the Hospital Wing together, 'He's the Boy Who Lived, the Boy Who Lives.'

A/N

Okay, okay, OKAY! STOP BADGERING ME! I've been uploading one-shots more often than my other one. Well I'm SORRY! I'm trying to find where to cut my chapter in half for all of you, as yo ulike shorter chapters...