Chapter 9
Hermione and I climb out of bed when everyone was asleep, and sneak down the stairs to meet Harry and Hermione on the bridge that has the girl's dormitories at one end and the boy's dormitories at the other. We all nod at each other and make our way into the common but stop when we hear croaking. "Trevor."
"Trevor shh!" Ron whispers. "Go, you shouldn't be here!"
"Neither should you." Neville replies as he appears from behind a chair. "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?"
"Now, Neville, listen." Harry starts. "We were-"
"No!" He cuts Harry off. "I won't let you!" He stands up. "You'll get Gryffindor in trouble again! I-I'll fight you." He holds out his fist and I roll my eyes.
"Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this…" I trail off and I take out my wand. "Petrificus Totalus." Neville freezes and falls backward onto the ground. I put my wand back in my pocket.
"You're a little scary sometimes…you know that?" Ron comments. "Brilliant, but scary." I roll my eyes.
"Let's go." Harry states and walks by Neville. "Sorry." I follow Harry.
"Sorry." I mumble, feeling guilty for put a spell on my friend. We make our way into the corridor and put the cloak over ourselves before making our way to the 3rd floor. We sneak through the 3rd floor corridor to Fluffy's door.
"Ow!" Hermione exclaims with a low voice. "You stood on my foot!"
"Sorry." Ron apologises as Hermione draws her wand, and points it at the door.
"Alohomora." She casts and the door opens. We go in and stand silently.
"Wait a minute…he's…" Ron trails off as the cloak is blown off us. "Sleeping."
"Snape's already been here." Harry says with a frown. "He's put a spell on the harp." We approach the sleeping dog and I scrunch my nose up at Fluffy's breath.
"Uh. It's got horrible breath!" Ron whispers.
"We have to move its paw." I command.
"What?!" Ron questions.
"Come on!" I demand and we grab the big paw, and push it off the trap door. "Okay. Push!" We move the paw just enough to open the trap door. "I'll go first. Don't follow until I give you a sign." I nod as I consider the darkness bellow. "If something bad happens, get yourselves out…Does it seem a bit…quiet?" It does.
"The harp." Hermione comments. "It stopped playing." I see drool come down on Ron's shoulder.
"Ew." Ron says with disgust. "Yuck! Ugh." We all look up and see a very awake and very angry Fluffy.
"Jump! Go!" I exclaim and Harry jumps through the door. Then me, I land on something soft that looked like vines. Is this what I think it is? Devil's Snare? Hermione falls next to me and Ron falls a few feet away.
"Whoa. Lucky this plant-thing is here, really." Ron says to no one.
"Whoa!" Harry exclaims as the plant begins to move. "Oh. Ahh!" The plants begin to tie us up but Harry and Ron don't stop squirming. I exchange a glance with Hermione.
"Stop moving, both of you." Hermione commands, softly. "This is Devil's Snare. You have to relax." I find myself going through to the other side of the vines as Hermione talks. "If you don't, it will only kill you faster."
"Kill us faster? Oh, now I can relax!" Ron exclaims as Harry yells, "Stefani!" Hermione lands beside me.
"Hermione!" Ron shouts. "Now what are we gonna do?!"
"Just relax!" I exclaim.
"Stefani! Where are you?" Harry asks.
"Do what I say." I answer. "Trust me." A few moments later, Harry falls beside me and onto his back. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Harry mumbles as he gets up.
"Help!" Ron yells.
"He's not relaxing, is he?" Hermione comments.
"Apparently not." Harry replies.
"Help! Help me!" He continues to yell and I roll my eyes. Why can't he trust us?
"We've got to do something!" Hermione exclaims.
"What?" Harry asks.
"Hermione, do you remember what he read in Biology about Herbology?" I question. "There was a rhyme about Devil's Snare. I can't think of it off the top of my head."
"Um…" She trails off. "Devil's Snare, Devil's Scare, it's deadly fun…but will sulk in the sun."
"Of course, Devil's Snare hates sunlight!" I finish as Hermione gets out her wand before pointing it upwards.
"Lumus Solem!" Hermione casts and the Devil's Snare shrieks as Ron falls below.
"Ron, are you okay?" Harry asks as Ron lands.
"Yeah." Ron answers.
"Okay." Harry sighs in relief.
"Whew. Lucky, we didn't panic!" He proclaims as he stands.
"Lucky Stefani and Hermione pay attention in Herbology." Harry retorts with a look and I give the same look along with Hermione. I hear a noise that sounds like birds flapping.
"What is that?" Hermione asks.
"I don't know." I answer. "Sounds like wings." We enter the next room and there were keys with wings flying around.
"Curious." Hermione sounds. "I've never seen birds like these."
"They're not birds, they're keys." Harry explains. "And I'll bet one of them fits that door." We approach a broomstick that was suspended in the air.
"What's this all about?" Hermione questions.
"I don't know." I reply. "Strange." Ron walks over to the door and takes out his wand.
"Alohomora!" He exclaims and shrugs. "Well, it was worth a try."
"Ugh! What're we going to do? There must be 1000 keys up there!" Hermione exclaims.
"We're looking for a big old fashioned one." Ron suggests. "Probably rusty like the handle."
"There! I see it!" I exclaim as I spot it. "The one with the broken wing!" I point and look at the broom before frowning.
"What's wrong, Stephani?" Hermione asks.
"It's too simple." I murmur. "Harry, you fly." Harry frowns back at me before looking at the broom.
"Oh, go on, Harry!" Ron says. "If Snape can catch it on that old broomstick, you can! You're the youngest seeker in a century!" Harry nods and grabs the broom. All the keys suddenly go one direction, right at Harry. He climbs on, swiping at them. "This complicates things a bit!" Harry pushes off into the air. He flies off, after the old key. The keys follow him. After flying around, Harry grabs the old key.
"Catch the key!" Harry exclaims. He zooms by me and throws the key which I catch before putting it in the lock.
"Hurry up!" Ron yells. I get the door unlocked and open it before rushing through with Hermione and Ron, followed by Harry on the broom. I slam the door shut and hear a thud as the keys slam into it. "You alright, Harry?"
"Yeah, fine." Harry answers. "Let's go." We enter a dark room, with broken pieces all around it.
"I don't like this." Hermione comments, grimly. "I don't like this at all."
"Where are we?" Harry asks. "A graveyard?"
"This is no graveyard." Ron answers with a sigh. "It's a chessboard." We walk out onto the marble board and flames light, illuminating the board and GIANT players.
"There's the door." Harry states and we walk across the board, towards the door. Suddenly, as we reach a line of pawns, the pawns bring up their swords; making us jump back.
"Now what do we do?" Hermione questions.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron questions. "We've got to play our way across the room. All right. Harry, you take the Bishop's square. Hermione and Stefani, you'll be the Queen's side castle. As for me, I'll be a knight." We all take our places.
"What happens now?" Hermione asks.
"Well, white moves first, and then...we play." Ron explains. A pawn on the other side moves forward.
"Ron, you don't suppose this is going to be like...real wizard's chess, do you?" Hermione questions.
"You there! D-5!" Ron commands and a black pawn moves forward, diagonal to the white pawn. The white pawn raises its swords and smashes the black one. I flinch. "Yes, Hermione, I think this is going to be exactly like wizard's chess!" We all exchange looks of worry. I wince on every smash and boom that happens.
"Wait a minute." Harry murmurs with a frown.
"You understand right, Harry." Ron starts. "Once I make my move, the Queen will take me...then you'll be free to check the King.
"No, Ron! No!" Harry shouts in desperation.
"What is it?" I ask.
"He's going to sacrifice himself!" Harry exclaims.
"No, Ron, you can't!" Hermione yells at him. "There must be another way!"
"Do you want to stop Snape or not?" Ron retorts to Hermione. "Harry, Stephani, it's you that has to go on. I know it. Not me, not Hermione, you two." Harry and I nod. "Knight...to H-3." Ron's horse moves forward then slides to the left before stopping. "Check." The Queen turns and advances, and stops before Ron. She takes her weapon and impales it into the horse. Ron goes flying off the horse, screaming, and lands on the floor, unconscious.
"RON!" Harry yells out and I grab Hermione to stop her from moving. "NO! Don't move! Don't forget, we're still playing." Harry walks the diagonal in front of the King. "Checkmate." The King's sword falls onto the ground. After the sword falls onto the ground, we run to run. "Take care of Ron. Then, go to the owlery. Send a message to Dumbledore. Ron's right...We have to go on.
"You'll be okay, Harry, Stephani." Hermione says to us. "You both are a great wizard and witch, you two really are."
"Not as good as you." Harry and I compliment at the same time, and Hermione smiles.
Me? Books and cleverness?" Hermione questions. "There are more important things. Friendship, and bravery. And Stefani, Harry, just be careful." We nod and we stand up before moving onto the next room. A disgusting smell fills my nostrils as we walk into the next room. On the floor in front of Harry and I, a troll was tackled and out cold.
"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as we stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe." He pulled open the next door and there was a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line in the room. "Snape's. What do we have to do?" We stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind us 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. We were trapped.
"Look!" I picked up a roll of paper lying next to the bottles and examined it. Harry was looking over my shoulder to read it:
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.
Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was
smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.
"Brilliant," I murmur. "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?" Harry asks.
"Of course not," I say. "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 questions
"Give me a minute." I mumble in concentration. I read the paper several times before starting. Since the giant bottle is not poison and it is a twin to the second from the left, we know these two are nettle wine (2nd and 6th). Therefore, two of the poisons are to the left of these (1st and 5th). The ones at each end are different and since we know the left end is poison, both nettle wines have been found, and it will not help you move onwards, the rightmost bottle sends you back (7th). This leaves 2 bottles and we know the dwarf is not poison, so it must be the one to move ahead (3rd). Finally, the remaining bottle must be the third poison (4th). "Got it. The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire - toward the Stone." Harry looked at the tiny bottle.
"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow." We looked at each other. "Which one will get you back through the purple flames?" I point at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.
"You drink that," said Harry. "No, listen, get back, and go and help Hermione with Ron."
"But Harry - what if You-Know-Who's with him?" I ask.
"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again." My lips trembled, and I dashed at Harry and threw my arms around him. "Stephani!" Harry exclaims.
"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know." I mumble
"I'm not as good as you," Harry retorts, very embarrassed, as she let go of him. "You drink first. You are sure which is which, aren't you?"
"Positive," I say. I took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered. It was so cold.
"It's not poison?" Harry asks anxiously.
"No - but it's like ice." I answer.
"Quick, go, before it wears off." Harry commands.
"Good luck - take care." I reply.
"GO!" Harry exclaims. I turn and walk straight through the purple fire. The potion worked. I knew I was right. I continue backwards to where Hermione and Ron was. Hopefully, Harry can do it. I believe in him, at least.
