Disclaimer: don't own any of the characters except things dealing w/ the castle…

Chapter 7: the castle

"So what the heck are we suppose to be doing?" Ron asked as they walked toward a large, gray stone old castle.

Harry dug into his pocket. "Here, what we're suppose to do…we are suppose to find 5 stones-hmm…coal, ruby, emerald, sapphire and diamond. And this is where they are located." Hermione and Ron looked over Harry's shoulder to see a map. There was a black mark under the castle, red mark in the dinning room, green mark in a bedroom, blue mark in another bedroom and finally a white mark it a ballroom-sized room.

"Well-lets hurry!" Hermione said.

"Wait-are there people in here?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry answered. "But there are some things." Ron shivered and Harry beckoned them to follow him. They crossed a bridge, which was over a swamp with moving things in it. Harry pushed open the large door slowly. There was no sign of anyone, so they stepped inside.

"Should we split up?" Hermione asked.

"Absolutely Not!" Ron bawled. "It just a bad idea, OK."

"Sure…" Hermione said.

"How about you and Ron go look for the ruby in the dinning room and I'll search under the castle." Harry suggested.

"Why? It's TOO dangerous! I'm coming with you then!" Ron exclaimed.

"What! And leave me all alone to search?" Hermione asked. "Fine, since Ron's a baby." Hermione walked away from them. She didn't know why she agreed. Besides there wasn't much scary sounds…

***

"We got the coal, you have the ruby?" Harry asked.

Hermione looked at the red stone. "Yep. Or it's just some red rock." She tossed it to Harry. "Have fun getting the coal?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other for a while. Ron answered, "We were ok."

"Good. Lets get the other stones-up the stairs." Hermione said. They went over to the stairs and walked up it. It was one of those skinny, long ones that twirled up and up. It felt like over and hour when they finally reached the top.

"Finally. I sure got my exercise for today." Ron commented and flopped into an old chair.

"I know what you mean…" Then Harry's eyes grew wide. "Ron! Get of that chair!"

Ron looked at the chair. All of the sudden it began to shake and Ron was thrown off the chair. It grew a little larger, then skinnier then into a shape of a dragon. It breathed fire.

"Oh no…" Ron said. Then Harry exclaimed. "Run!" They did so and really fast then they hid in a closet and waited until no more sounds were heard except their heart beats. They open the door; to see the dragon chair thing had disappeared.

Ron pushed to get out of the closet. "Lets hurry up and get out of this fu-"

"Hold the language for just a minute!" Harry demanded. He looked around. "Obviously if a chair can be a dragon, more stuff in this house is probably dangerous too."

"No kidding!" Ron commented sarcastically.

"Well Harry-how are we going to get the other stones I mean they are in bedrooms and there is a lot of stuff in a bedroom." Hermione asked. "You know- how do we know that no one is living here?"

"We don't know. But if we don't get those stones…"

"You- Know- Who's gonna rob the worlds brains." Hermione said, closing the closet door.

"Wha-wha-Voldemort? He's behind this?" Harry said in surprise.

"Oh! His name!" Ron wailed.

"Oh give it a rest, Ron! Almost every year he's been coming and he's going to rise soon!" Harry snapped. Then said to Hermione, "I should of known! He's always scheming to get the impossible!"

"Well- he's probably got someone who's helping him."

"Pettigrew?"

Hermione licked her lips, rubbed her left jaw and sighed. "Maybe- but there may be someone else…"

Harry shook his head.

"Okay- how bout we don't split up this time?" Ron suggested. Harry agreed. They look at the map.

"Looks like the emerald stone is in the right corner-" They peered inside the room. There's a bed in its spot. They went inside cautiously, and started searching the bed. 'Look, under, inside-"

Hermione looked under the bed and pushed boxes out of the way. "Uh guys- there's a small door in the wall."

"Open it!" Ron demanded.

Hermione took a deep breath and opened the door. Inside was a glimmering emerald. "Found it!" Hermione grabbed the stone and closed the door. She stared at the stone. "Its beautiful."

Harry put it in a bag with the other stones. "Next bedroom."

The next bedroom was like the other one. The stone is where the bed was- left corner. Hermione goes under the bed and opens the small door.

"Ok-give the sapphire to me." Harry said.

"The stone- isn't here-" Hermione said, searching for it. Hermione got out under the bed.

"Hermione-"

"Where is it?" Hermione turned around and saw the door was squeaking as it was slowly closing. Then all the sudden it closed. Harry ran to the door and turned the doorknob.

"LOCKED! We're locked in!"

"Someone is here!" Ron said, and sat down. "Well don't just stand there- Wands, wands!"

Hermione tried but it didn't work. "Its either magically locked- or I'm powerless from the soreness."

"Is it still sore?" Harry asked. "Your head?"

"No the only thing sore is my jaw." Hermione said, rubbing it. "It's nothing!"

"Well ok then, let me try." Harry tried (and failed). "Ron, you wanna shot at it?"

"No thanks." Ron said stubbornly. Hermione and Harry turned away from the door.

"Ron- don't be stubborn- especially not in this situation." Hermione said.

"Stubborn?"

"Guys- don't fight…"

"Fight? We're not fighting!" Hermione snapped

"Then don't raise your voices."

"Why are you never angry- never raising your voice, Harry?" Ron asked, saying 'Harry' loud and slow, his jaw moving from side to side briskly. "Is it because you got no feelings, Harry, hmm nothin to say, Harry? Or to good for us cause you go on defeating The Dark Lord?"

"What?"

"Maybe we should of gone on Harry's train then." Hermione suggested angrily.

"Why?" Harry asked. "So Ron can fall in love with one of my Harry's?" Hermione looked and Harry and agreed.

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS COME DOWN ON ME?" Ron asked.

"Because your always the one yappin yappin!"

"Well at least I got more speech." Ron said, looking at Harry through narrowed eyes.

"Well at least I'm richer!" Harry yells. There was a second of silence where both Harry and Ron's tempers were boiling inside of them. Hermione could not say anything. What was going on?

"You dirty son of a-"

"Guys…"

Ron attacked Harry, messing up his already messy hair. Harry started hitting his head when Ron grabbed his glasses and bent the middle.

"Guys…" They continue to fight. Hermione yelled, "Guys!"

"What?" Harry asked then someone knocked out Ron. It wasn't Harry. Before Hermione could see exactly who it was, she was knocked out too.

***

"Hermione!" a stern voice said.

"Wha-what?" She looked around. Students were all staring at her.

"Get up! It's not time to fool around. This isn't like any of your other classes. You should be paying attention, this is important homework."

"I'm sorry…" Hermione said, getting up. She was in a muggle classroom. She sat down and organized her papers on her desk. She had several packets of papers. The first one had 'Voldemort' on the front. She skimmed through the first one. She saw words like beginning, hero, sorcerer's stone, friends, and death. She looked through the rest. Each one said 'Voldemort'. Except for the last one. It said 'Traitor.' She skimmed through it to see words like train, small, friends, stones, and castles. The bell rang.

"Finish that report, hermione." The teacher said pointing to the 'traitor' one. "It might be some practice for the big report- in period seven."

"Is that my next period?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. But you've got some time."

Hermione frowned, smiled and then left. She went through the large halls, looking around. She didn't have a clue where to go, until she passed a room that said "period seven" She was about to open the door when Harry came, and stopped her.

"You can't go in there! You're too young and not ready." Harry said.

"Well- I don't know where to go."

"Back to period six. Your only half way through that."

"Oh-well I just thought-" Hermione looked inside the window and saw Cho and other students from hogwarts.

"Everyone thinks I'm ready for period seven." Harry said. "I'm not though. But it's important. It may change our lives forever."

Suddenly Hermione frowned and said, "Hey- I don't go to a muggle school-" and awoke.

Hermione found herself in a dungeon. Ron and Harry were there, talking.

"I'm just wondering why they didn't suck our brains…"

"Well they could of got Hermione…" They saw Hermione get up.

"Hermione! Back in the bedroom something made us all angry and now we're in a dungeon and there's someone here keeping us captive and we don't know who it is!" Ron said.

"Obviously." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Look guys I had a dream-"

"Dream? Now why would they want to listen to your dreams when we're in this situation." A familiar voice said.

"Oh my God-" Harry said. They turned around.

"No…" Hermione said. There was a long silence.

A man stood in front of them with a gun- 19 years old, not to long, brown hair…

Ron finally said, "We're doomed."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hold on a minute! There's more to come, 1 chapt maybe… oh and sorry if I might have had says instead of said or sees instead of saw. I was writing a story that was in present grammar. ( TOW the Soap Opera-friends)