Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, and under no circumstance do I claim ownership to the series.
Chapter 9: Past the Stone's Defenses
A/N: Only two more chapters (after this one) in book 1! Do you want me to post them both today? If I don't get any responses, I'm going to anyways!
Evanna's mind was reeling. They had learned that, not only did Snape and slash or Quirrell know how to get past Fluffy, but they also were going to try to steal the Stone tonight, considering that Dumbledore was conveniently absent. Of course, being the idiot she was, she was going to try to stop them (with the help of Ron and Hermione, who had volunteered of their own free will). They just had to wait for the common room to be empty.
Finally, it was just them and the Weasley twins. Evanna was just about to ask them politely to leave, when they approached her.
"Vanna, we want to help you," Fred said, determinedly. When she opened her mouth to decline, Fred rephrased it. "We demand to help you!"
"We don't need all the gory details; we know enough already," George added with a wink. This made Evanna wonder just how much time these two had spent following her.
Evanna sighed. "You two are impossible! But," she continued, "I do have a job for you. My two prime suspects are Snape and Quirrell. You can each keep watch over one of their offices. Fred, you can watch Snape's, and George can watch Quirrell's."
The twins nodded, but before they embarked, Evanna kissed them both on the cheek. "Thanks for this," she mumbled, blushing, "and good luck."
As Evanna dropped down into the inky blackness, she braced herself for impact — any impact. But instead of being met with tough ground, she landed on something surprisingly soft. Definitely not what one would expect after dropping for miles.
Evanna, Ron, and Hermione had gone into the forbidden third-floor corridor to find that someone had already been there; a harp to lull Fluffy to sleep had been abandoned by the giant dog's feet. Luckily, Hagrid had given Evanna that flute for Christmas, which the trio used to soothe the three-headed dog back into its slumber. Then Evanna, being the brave and stupid one, had been the first to plummet down the seemingly endless hole under the trapdoor that Fluffy had been guarding.
Now, she called up to her friends, letting them know that it was safe to drop down. Soon enough, she heard two other muffled thumps. She tried to go over to them, so the trio could set off to find Snape and slash or Quirrell, but she found she couldn't. Tugging on her leg, she realized that they were sitting on a plant, which had wrapped its tendrils around her, holding her in place. Evanna's eyes went comically wide, and she looked over at her two best friends, to find that only Ron had received the same fate she had; Hermione had realized what was happening in time to escape.
"Stop struggling!" Hermione commanded. "This is Devil's Snare!"
"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.
"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Hermione snapped, looking like she was deep in thought. "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare . . . what did Professor Sprout say? — it likes the dark and the damp."
"So light a fire!" Evanna choked, as the plant's grip tightened around her midsection.
"Yes — of course — but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"
"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two redheads felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.
"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Evanna as she joined Hermione by the wall, and immediately leaning against it, hand over her heart, panting.
"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Evanna doesn't lose her head in a crisis — 'there's no wood,' honestly."
Evanna smirked, looking at Ron, whose snarky remark had reminded her of how their bookish friend could sometimes be. "And that was totally a page from Hermione's book, Ron. Be careful."
Ron's ears went red with embarrassment, before the three friends set off down the only passage they could find. It was a stone passageway, which sloped downwards, and all they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. It made Evanna uneasy, thinking about her trip to Gringotts in the summer, and how Hagrid had said that there were rumors of dragons guarding some of the more high-security vaults. If they met a dragon, they might as well get her grave ready right now. Norbert had been bad enough, and he had only been a few weeks old . . .
When they reached the end of the passageway, they were stunned by a brightly lit chamber, maybe as big as the Great Hall, with hundreds of sparkly birds, fluttering around the room absentmindedly. Evanna blinked, her eyes adjusting to the newfound lights. She could see a door at the other side, and the room didn't appear to have any challenges . . .
"Do you suppose that those birds will attack us when we try to cross?" Ron suggested, looking at his friends incredulously. "They don't look vicious . . ."
Evanna smirked. "Only one way to find out. Last one there is a troll bogey!"
The trio raced, half having fun and half scared that the birds might attack, across the room. Nothing happened. The birds didn't attack, or even seem to notice the intruders.
"Huh," Evanna muttered, still with her eyes on the birds as she absentmindedly tried the door. It was locked. Maybe their task was to unlock the door? "Alohomora," Evanna attempted, but the charm did no good.
She tried to think up another way to unlock the door, but it was hard to concentrate with the birds glittering all the time — wait, since when did birds glitter? Maybe only magical birds could, but Evanna highly doubted it. Squinting up at what she had previously assumed were birds, she saw that they were actually winged keys. Another thing she noticed was a collection of brooms off to the side of the chamber.
A smile spread across her face and, without informing Ron or Hermione of her intentions, she grabbed a broom and flew off, searching for a big, old-fashioned key to fit the heavy, wooden door. The keys began to dive and dart around so quickly that it seemed impossible to catch any; but Evanna wasn't the youngest Seeker in a century for nothing.
She was quick, and had a knack for spotting things that others may miss. So it was no surprised to either of her friends that she had touched back on the floor in a matter of minutes. She held out a key with bright blue wings — one of which was crumpled, as if it had been handled recently. Beaming with pride, Evanna slid the key into the lock.
The door opened easily.
Evanna let the key fly away again, and she and her friends went through the door, into the next room, which was flooded with light as soon as they had passed over the threshold. 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.
"Now what do we do?" Hermione whispered.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."
Evanna had been dreading that sentence. Ron had taught them to play wizard's chess, and both she and Hermione were rubbish at it. Fortunately, Ron was a brilliant chess player.
"Well, Ron," Evanna said, putting a hand on her best mate's shoulder, "we'll follow your lead."
"Yes . . ." said Ron softly, "It's the only way . . . I've got to be taken."
"NO!" Evanna and Hermione shouted. Their giant chess game was nearly over and, after contemplating all the other options, Ron had realized that a sacrifice had to be made.
"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "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, Evanna!"
"But — "
"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"
"Ron — "
"Quirrell then, whatever! Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"
There was no alternative, Evanna realized that, but she didn't have to like it.
"Here I go!" Ron called, his face pale but determined. He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor — Hermione screamed but stayed on her square — the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.
Shaking, Evanna moved three spaces to the left.
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Evanna's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Evanna and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.
"He'll be fine," said Evanna, as Hermione opened her mouth to ask. "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."
Evanna scowled. "All right then, let's just go."
The next door she opened released a putrid stench. Coughing, the two girls crossed the room, past an unconscious troll whose head was bleeding. It was far bigger than the one they had fought on Halloween.
"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Hermione whispered, covering her nose.
"We could've done it though," Evanna grinned, nudging her friend playfully. Then she stopped dead in her tracks. "Hermione, is this Quirrell's protection?"
"Well, it's not potions, so I'm assuming so," Hermione said, watching as her friend went white. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Quirrell's protection is a troll, Hermione. A troll!"
"So?"
"Quirrell must've let the troll in on Halloween!"
"Evanna, this doesn't even slightly relate to that . . ."
Hermione sounded exasperated, so Evanna didn't press any further, as much as she wanted to yell, "You idiot! It all relates!"
Hermione pushed open the next door, expecting something very dangerous on the other side. But there was nothing in this room, except a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line. "Maybe Snape already completed this challenge too?"
But she spoke too soon, for as soon as 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.
"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Evanna looked over her 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 breathed a sigh of relief. "Brilliant," she said, smiling. "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."
"I'm great at codes and riddles, but when it's a threat of life or death . . . I'll trust you with this one, Mione," Evanna said, giving her best mate an encouraging smile.
A/N: YES YES YES in the next chapter, we discover whether it's Quirrell or Snape trying to get the Stone! (And we all know the answer already, and so does Evanna ;)
Please review! ~Jayce
