It was ironic, one may think, that the whole year Harry and his newfound friends spent researching and avidly trying to figure out why Snape would want the Philosopher's Stone. It was precisely due to this research that they were faced with an enormous chess set, situated in the centre of a cathedral-sized chamber. It was almost frightening. Harry was at a loss, unsure of their next step...
Harry looked out towards the massive chess board, worrying his lip in a nervous habit. His hands felt sweaty and clammy, and he couldn't shake the foreboding feeling.
"Harry." Ron's voice interrupted the preteen's moment of fear, causing him to glance over at the ginger-haired Weasley.
"Harry trust me." Ron continued, gesturing out towards the pieces; he turned his eyes which became calculating onto the chess set. Harry followed his gaze, anxiously awaiting his new friend's words.
"You see that? That's a Queen. The main pawn of the board. We need to play our way across the room." Ron explained, quite shockingly knowledgeable.
Hermione was about to move forward when Ron gripped her arm, the brunette giving the ginger a confused look. Her confusion quickly morphed into horror when the chess pieces that were blocking their way, came to life; unsheathing their stone swords in response to Hermione's movement.
Ron let out a steady exhale of breath, giving his friends a hard look.
"Let me take care of this." He then steeled his nerves, quickly barking out orders.
"Harry, you're the bishop. Move to its square. Hermione, you're the Queen and me? I'm the Knight." With determination, and telling orders where people follow; it felt oddly familiar in a different way. Nevertheless, Ron moved out onto the board; taking his place on the Knight square and seating himself on the horse. He cast a glance over the board, the situation feeling grim.
"They can take away my house."
Ron squinted, his hand moving to hold his head as a sudden headache and strange flash of scenes floated back and forth. And now the memories had a voice; a more gruff, experienced and older voice. It drifted out the back of his skull before he could pinpoint to whom exactly it belonged, but he knew it from somewhere. He shook his head. Though, as quickly as it appeared; it disappeared just as quick.
"What happens now?" Hermione's voice interrupted Ron's confusing moment, snapping him back to focus once everyone was suited on their respective squares.
"Well, white moves first… And then? We play." Ron's eyes now fixated on the battle that was about to begin, which brought up another strange flash.
"All my tricks and toys…"
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, especially now that he had to focus. Watching as the white piece slid into place, his mind already thinking up strategies. His eyes narrowed in thought, before being interrupted by Hermione once more.
"Ron… You don't suppose- That this is like real wizard's chess, do you?"
Ron winced, choosing to focus on his move.
"You there! D5!" He commanded, watching it as it too, slid into place. The opposing pawn unsheathed its blade and swung it once. In an explosion of dust and debris, the top half of Ron's pawn clattered to the floor, utterly decimated. He gulped.
"Yes Hermione, I believe it's going to be exactly like Wizard's chess."
And so, it began.
With each piece being moved and destroyed...
Harry knew a sense of dread, helpless as Ron did all he could. Especially as a chess piece next to him was destroyed. The dust and debris and the scene which gave him a sense of an utter powerless feeling. Then... it occurred to him.
"Wait a minute-" Harry uttered in rising horror.
Ron smiled sadly, nodding. "You understand, right Harry? Once I make my move, the Queen will take me. Then you're free to check the King." But Harry couldn't deal with it, shaking his head in protest.
"No, Ron- No!" Harry protested, causing Hermione to shout out, 'What is it?!' Harry spun on his spot, to give her a panicked look. "He's going to sacrifice himself!" Hermione gasped, giving Ron a horrified look.
"No you can't! There's got to be another way!"
Ron shook his head in response, giving them both a scolding look. "Do you want to stop Snape from getting that stone or not?" He then continued without a beat. "Harry, you need to go on. I have a feeling it's got to be you. Not me, not Hermione. You."
He steeled his nerves again.
"Knight to H3." And as he grew nearer, that same familiar voice which he still couldn't pinpoint.
"One thing you can't take away?"
As the Queen reared its sword, preparing to strike.
"I AM IRON MAN!"
And then Ron let out a scream as his chess piece was destroyed and he fell to the ground below.
"Ron no!" Harry shouted, whipping around to halt Hermione from moving. "Don't move! Remember, we're still playing!" Before turning back around and began moving. With each step, as he grew closer, his nerves were rising. He stopped in front of the King, sending it a determined and furious look.
"Checkmate."
And, with a jolt, the chess piece dropped its weapon.
Moving on, adrenaline running through his veins, Harry grasped Hermione by the hand and led her into the next room.
All this time, their efforts had been focussed solely on identifying Snape as the perpetrator of the various mysteries and incidents occurring throughout the year. And now, in this claustrophobic box of a room, he and Hermione were faced with a gate of writhing, black flames. Behind them, in the doorway through which they had entered, sprang a vortex of burning purple.
Sitting in a neat row in front of them, on a long table, stood seven bottles of varying colours and sizes, their only common trait being that they were all opaque. Only one mind could have conjured such a simple and yet complex task.
Harry scoffed at the irony.
"Brilliant...", Hermione whispered. Her eyes were wide with awe. "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." Her awe quickly transformed into determination. "I believe we've got to figure out which leads towards the room," Hermione added, giving the bottles a look over as Harry nodded with a slightly confused look.
As they stepped towards the bottles, the bottles themselves suddenly levitated and began moving around until they were in completely different places. This made Harry facepalm, as he didn't even pay attention to where the labelled bottles were originally placed.
Hermione furrowed her brows, reading the labels, and already working out the puzzle as Harry frowned upon catching sight of a green coloured potion that made something flash before his eyes.
"That's my secret Captain,"
An older, more tired and experienced voice faded in and out, causing Harry to almost miss Hermione going 'Ah ha!' and gesture to him. Harry shook his head and approached the bushy-haired young witch.
"I figured it out!" Hermione grinned, pointing towards a clear coloured potion. "Harry, you've got to drink this one. It'll lead you to Snape." She instructed as she was already holding a murky coloured potion. "This one? This one will lead me back. Harry, I know you can do this." Hermione gave Harry a determined look, as she readies her bottle.
Harry nodded in response, taking the bottle that Hermione had shown him, and at the same time, they drank their respective bottles in unison.
"Good luck, Harry," Hermione said, before heading back through where they came.
Harry turned to the offending flames, gulping. "Here we go…" And so, he marched right through.
Now in a large circular room, stood the Mirror of Erised and…
"Professor Quirrel?" Harry gasped, eyes wide with shock. "I- I never knew-" Halting his words, his eyes narrowing. He and his friends, all this time believing it was Professor Snape- How did they get so easily fooled?
Said Professor turned, noticing Harry. And, unlike the stuttering mess he was at classes, spoke in a clear voice.
"Hello, Potter." Before turning back to the mirror, his lips curled up into a sinister smirk.
"Hard to believe, isn't it? That all this time, Professor Snape wasn't trying to kill you. He was trying to protect you." Professor Qurriel let out a harsh laugh, before wincing.
"Yes, Master- I'm trying. I cannot figure out the old fool's puzzle." Pausing, the traitorous professor suddenly smiled. "Of course, Master."
While this was happening, Harry's hands had curled up into fists, mentally kicking himself for not seeing this sooner. How could he have known?! If he had-
"Boy. Come here." Professor Quirrel's voice interrupted Harry's line of thought, causing him to fearfully approach. "You see this Mirror? Look into it and tell me what you see…"
Harry resisted the urge to gulp, turning his gaze to the mirror with fear which then morphed into shock.
What stood before him, was not himself, but of a man, a much older man, with tired eyes and an obvious happy smile. Stood beside him, was of another man and a woman, all giving Harry happy smiles.
The man in between, held out a strange red stone, before putting it in his pocket.
Harry felt something drop in his own pocket, causing him to blink.
Then… The man's expression morphed into anger, as his skin began turning green.
Harry gasped, causing Professor Quirrel to ask in barely concealed excitement.
"Boy! What do you see?"
The man in the mirror began mutating and changing, becoming a buff green humanoid monster that let out a roar that made Harry let out a scream of fear.
"Killlll himmmmm!" A voice hissed, causing Harry to fall back and attempt to crawl away.
"Yes, Master!" Professor Quirrel began stalking towards Harry. "You heard that voice, Boy? Can you guess who that was?" His lips curled up into a menacing smile as he began unwrapping his turban.
"Voldemort," Harry uttered, fear bubbling at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. Then, as he thought more about it, remembering how he was an orphan because of the Dark Lord, that Voldemort had murdered his parents, anger began bubbling up.
"You… You killed my parents…" Harry whispered, hands gripping at the stone floor as his fringe caused a shadow over his eyes.
Professor Quirrel chuckled, though Harry couldn't see, he knew there was a face on the back of Professor Quirrel's head. "Yes… yes, he did." Now standing in front of Harry, Professor Quirrel was taken aback of what he saw next.
"YOU KILLED THEM!" Harry roared, his voice mixing in with his magic's as his eyes swirled and glowed eerily with magic, but… What was strange, that it almost seemed… alive.
Harry lunged forward, his hands grasping Professor Quirrel's face which caused the Professor to let out a hiss of pain. Momentarily stunned, Harry noticed smoke coming off from where his hands were placed. And before he knew it, Professor Quirrel became nothing but dust and bones.
As Harry began losing the ability to stay awake, caused by a drain of his magic, another memory flashed in his mind, that of a man as he turned to a blonde haired man wearing a strange suit.
"That's my secret Captain, I'm always angry!" Then the tired looking man turned to, is that aliens?!, before rapidly changing into that frightening monster, except, it wasn't as terrifying as before.
Then… Harry blacked out.
