Between classes and their constant studies sessions to get pst the many trials beneath the trap door, None of the boys realized it was nearly spring time until Easter hit them like bricks. Months passes by without their even noticing it. Harry had been focused on learning as much about chess as he could, since his friends and brother had all proven to be utter shit at the game. Harry wasn't very good either, but he could occasionally win games against his enchanted chess board. It was a nifty little thing, a beautiful combination of runes, enchanting, and charms. It could be set to any number of difficulty settings, ranging from novice to grandmaster. Harry had issues remembering the names of the pieces, so defeating the board on its lower settings had proven to be a great challenge. One night, in the library, Fred offered a solution none of them had thought of.
"Why not blast our way through?" His idea was simple enough. They had six wizards on their side, all ready and willing. So what if those wizards were two thirteen-year-olds, a twelve-year-old, and three eleven-year-olds?Surely they could just destroy the chess board and walk past it's ruined remains. Only Draco voiced doubts about the plan.
"What if there's more to the chess board, things we don't know about? We're all really young, Harry. We could very easily die if we go into this head first, without looking. This isn't some school project. We're a bunch of kids going after what could be the most famous magical artifact in the world. As easy as it's been to get past the other defenses, this stone could be a fake, and all our efforts would be for nothing. I…I wont pretend to understand your motives. It wouldn't do either of us any good. But it isn't worth losing your life over. I have this feeling, like everything is about to go to hell. If you die now, how will I cope with that? Dark times are nearly upon us, Harry. Please don't leave me alone to face them by myself." Draco's eyes were full of a pleading loneliness Harry had never seen before. Draco's words echoed in his head, forcing him to think about the things he'd ignored until now.
"We should keep looking for ways to beat the chess set, but I think Fred is right. If we can't win, we should force our way in." Harry sighed, knowing this was the answer Draco had been hoping to avoid. "We need that stone. Even if it is a fake, we'll be one step closer to the answers we need to go through with our plan. Who knows, it might be a bridge we can use to make our own stone. It's worth the risk. If the magical world is headed to dark times, like you think, then we'll be the ones facing it. You know as well as I do that our parents fought a war that might not have ended with Voldemort's defeat. We should get the stone before our enemies do. Even if we can't bring Hermione, or my parents, back, we can still keep the stone away from those who can use it. If nothing else, it'll grant us more funds to work with." No one spoke. The world they lived in was still bogged down with fear of Voldemort. People refused to say his name out of the fear that it would bring his attention down on them, and Death Eaters still walked free. If they could get the upper hand before the war even bagman anew, then they could win this time. They could succeed where their parents had failed.
"We should stay over the holiday."Anthony said, setting a book on the table. He was the only one there who didn't know of the war from yesteryear. His parents were normal, non-magical people. But that made him a larger target. He cleared his throat once the eyes of his friends fell on him. "We can go through the trap door then. The castle will be mostly empty. Not as much as it would be if it were the Christmas holiday, but enough so we can go about unnoticed. It's the best time."
"That gives us about a week to prepare." Terry spoke up this time. Attention shifted to him. He'd taken over the general preparations, and had collected a good number of things that would serve as useful. Normal Torches, ones he'd bought with the left overs from Harry's pranks, and batteries to power them. Food and water, should they get stuck trying to get to the stone. Anthony's violin, matches, flares, brooms. He'd even thought bringing blankets would be a good idea. No one argued with him about it. The other boys nodded at Terry's words. A week is all that stood between them and their goal.
"We'll be ready with the ritual by then."George promised. He and Fred left then, to draw up more runes. They spent a lot of time drawing runes these days. Turns out a mis-drawn rune could be the death of them all. Harry stood after they left.
"We need to find a part of the girl. Without it, we'll have nothing else to use. Who knows who'll we could bring back if we tried to do this without a piece of her. We should check the bathroom on the second floor. That's where she died." The four Ravenclaws packed up their books and parchments and elf the library. It was only a short walk to the second floor bathrooms. They were dark, unlighted since they were no longer used. No girl wanted to risk being haunted by a ghost Hermione, and therefore they all avoided the place. Harry pushed the door open, peeking inside.
"It's empty." He said, pushing the door completely open.
"I should hope so. " Terry scoffed. The boys crept through the dark bathroom. Chunks of sink and wall littered the floor. A Neville sized dent in one wall sent shivers up their spines.
"We should hurry. This place gives me the creeps." Draco whispered. The other boys nodded and began to shift through the piles of rubble.
"I found something." Anthony tried to say. It came out as vomit. He was only just able to turn his head away from the object of their desire. Beneath a particularly thick chunk of sink was a tiny, child-sized hand. The nails were neatly trimmed and well cared for. It was Hermione's, for sure. The long month of being under a sink hadn't done it any favors though. It was black and rotted, most of the skin sliding off when Terry reached to pick it up. This turned Anthony's stomach upside down again. He hid in a stall, puking until the other boys dealt with the hand. Draco dumped the contents of his school bag into Harry's bag, then held it out so Terry could drop the hand in. The smell soured their stomachs, making it hard not to follow Anthony's lead. A quick air freshening charm from Harry, then they set out for their common room. They took turns carrying the bag, save Anthony. No one wanted to be anywhere near the left over hand of their class mate.
Back in the Ravenclaw Dorms
Harry's room had become a sort of home base for the Ravenclaw four. After locking Hermione's hand away in the bottom of Harry's trunk, they sat around the small room planning their next move. They'd gotten into the habit of calling her Hermione by now, more out of respect for the dead than anything else.
"We should let the twins know we've got the parts they need. Maybe we can get this over with sooner than we'd anticipated." Terry sat at Harry's desk, scribbling away with a quill. A nod and whistle to summon Hedwig later, and the note was sent. Now they could only wait. A response arrived a few minutes later, telling them that the twins weren't quite ready yet, but they would be by next week. Only time would tell now.
The Next Week, Easter Holidays.
The six wizards stood outside Fluffy's door.
"Are we really ready for this?" Anthony asked. No one spokes. They were each thinking they weren't ready, but they could admit it. Doubts and fear shook all the boys to the core, but determination pushed them forward.
"Let's go. No sense in waiting around. Besides, You and Terry made it past a lot of challenges. Can't be that many more between us and the stone." Harry took the first steps, pulling the door open. Thanks to Anthony's nimble fingers dancing across the stings of his violin, Fluffy wasn't much of a challenge. The great cerebrus was asleep before the whole group made it into the room. George and Fred strained to lift the giant paw that covered the trap door, but they were eventually able to move it to one side. One by one, the boys dropped into the pit of Devil's snare below. It tangled around them, trying to squeeze the life from their bodies. After a moment of struggling, Terry managed to pulled a flare out, causing the plant to shrink away for the pseudo flames. So far, it'd been easy. This gave them confidence. In the next room, Fred and Harry chased the tiny keys around the room on battered and broken dropped them as they caught them, letting them fall to their companions below. As the keys would land, either Draco or Terry would collected it, passing it off to George. He tried each key in the lock, having to break the wings on them so they couldn't fly away. It wouldn't have been as much of a task if the keys didn't scream out in pain and terror every time. It didn't take them long, but George was shaking badly by the time he fit the right key into the lock. Terry cursed himself for not thinking to mark the right key durning one of his and Anthony's many trips through here. It didn't matter now, however. The group walked into the chamber with the troll. It was long since dead. Terry and Anthony had placed a simple confusion charm on it, causing it to mistake hunger for itching. They'd thought that it would starve to death. They were wrong. The itching had caused the troll to scratch itself to a bloody pulp. It's hands were worn down to nothingness, and it's skin was blistered and torn. George pointed out the places around it's feet where it'd resorted to chewing to relive it's unrelenting itch. Anthony crumpled, sobbing.
"I..we… we should have found a way to kill it outright. We tortured it!" For all his twelve years, Anthony couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that his actions had directly lead to a literal hell on earth for another living being. Terry wasn't in much better shape, but his logical mind reminded him that it was the only way within their power.
"We made a mistake. It happened, and now we know better. You guys go on a head. The chess board is next. I'm going to take Anthony back up. He's no use like this. I'm not either." He lifted his crying friend, supporting his weight on his shoulders. Harry nodded, trying not to look at the left over troll. It was down to Him, Draco, and the twins. They could still do this. They opened the next door and found themselves in a giant room. Chess pieces the size of trolls towered above them. It was clear that they were supposed to play chess against the white pieces that were sizing them up from across the room.
"Should we, I don't know, stand in for some of the pieces?" Draco asked. Fred and George looked at him as if he were insane.
"That's a good way to die horribly. No, we should see if we can control the board from the side lines. If not, we force our way passed." George said, his eyes drifting back to the board. None of them were up to a serious game of chess.
"White moves first." Harry all but shouted this, hoping to entice the white players into action. Nothing. The boys exchanges nervous looks.
"I think Draco might have been right, Harry." Fred said uneasily. Harry bit his lip and looked out over the chess board.
"Okay, um. George, you take the queen's space. Fred, you be the King's bishop. Draco, take the kings spot. I'll be a pawn. I have an idea." Harry said. The pieces seemed to have heard him this time, since the named pieces moved of their spaces to make room for the boys. Harry stood off to one side, just to to right of George, waiting for the white players to make their first move. A pawn slide from a2 to a3, and the game began. Harry took a step forward, moving to the next square in front of him.
"Pawn from e7 to e6." He called, uncertain about how this would work. Since no beams of fire came down, and none of the pieces seemed to object, Harry figured he'd done well enough. The pawn took a noter step forward, clearing the way for the rook.
"Queen to H4." George didn't question him, instead running to the designated square. Things were still moving slowly, but harry didn't relax. The rook moved up, taking a3.
"King's Bishop to C5!" Harry couldn't hold the volume of his voice in check. Fred moved his three spaces forwards. By now, they'd figured out Harry's plan. It was quick, easy, and mostly unexpected. The rook slide over to the space in front of George, who shot Harry a panicked look. Harry smiled at him.
"Queen to f2. Take the pawn. Checkmate." George walked over to the disgruntled pawn, who moved off the board muttering to itself. The white King stared at him, highly displeased. It through down it's crown and stalked off the board. They'd won. It was a cheap victory, but a victory none the less. They moved on. Through another tiny door was a very small room. They stepped up to the podium that stood in the center of the floor. Black flames sprang up in front of them. A quick glance behind his shoulder told Harry of the purple flames behind them.
"Looks like we need to examine the podium a bit.' Draco said, taking a few more tentative steps up. The boys all approached, each suddenly weighing the pros and cons of this adventure. Harry felt he needed to get the stone, to regain a family he never knew. Draco was in it to make his brother happy, even if he disagreed with the methods. The twins wanted to save their own brother from his guilt. Only Harry's motives were selfish, and even then it was a child's selfishness, innocent in it's own way.
The podium was simple marble, holding several potion bottles of various sizes. Draco gently lifted a parchment off the podium.
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever 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 hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,
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 onwards 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
He read each word slowly, giving the group time to digest the riddle. Fred was the first with an answer.
"We're all doomed to die here." He said simply, taking the third bottle from the left. Before anyone could speak, he poured it's contents into his mouth. No one spoke as Fred swished the potion around in his mouth, as if tasting a fine wine. Finally, he spit the potion back in to bottle.
"Nasty as hell, but not poisoned." He handed the bottle off to George. George, off some unspoken twinspeak, takes the potions and dumps it in his mouth. He too swishes the potion around in his mouth. Confused, Harry accepts the bottle once George spits the potion back in.
"What in the world are you two thinking?" Harry asked, looking at the twice back washed potion.
"Testing a theory." They chime together. Then, before Draco or Harry could act, they walked into the black flames. Harry nearly dropped the potion when he heard them scream. For many long minutes, the twins screamed. Harry sank to his knees, Draco beside him. They held each other like the frightened children they truly were. Nothing had prepared them for this level of loss. Then the screaming stopped.
"A-are they...?" Draco couldn't finish. Harry just shook his head.
"I really don't know."