Winter Arrives

"Did you get the book?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I got it," Harry mumbled. He was very tired from his mission the previous night.

"Great! So, have you taken a look at it?"

"No. I'll do it tonight. Unless you want to take it with you over the winter break."

Hermione shook her head. "I probably won't have time. Plus, we're going to a reunion with my all-muggle family; it wouldn't be a good idea to be carrying anything remotely magical around."

"I see," said Harry. They were walking down the road in Hogsmede village. Snow had come down heavily that week, and now the grounds and the nearby town were beautiful. Hagrid had felled a towering evergreen, and soon it would be decorated and presented in the great hall.

"Hey, look at these great things I got at Zonko's!" exclaimed Ron, running up to the two. He displayed a pack of stink pellets with a flourish. "Fred and George said these are great for distressing the prefects!"

"What do they do?" asked Hermione, picking up one of the pink discs cautiously.

"I'll show you!" Ron replied, hurrying off down the path. The others followed, and shortly they were at a small park where Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were blasting apart various things with combustion spells.

"Shh…" said Ron, motioning for silence. Then, he crept carefully up behind the Slytherins and held out a stink pellet. He looked over his shoulder, winked, and tossed the disc into the midst of the three miscreants. Before the tablet hit the ground, Ron was back at a safe distance, hiding behind a bench. The pellet broke apart on the snow-covered rocks and spewed a cloud of green gas, making the threesome cough and gag.

"Brilliant!" Harry commented.

"Let's get out of here," said Ron, leading his friends away from the scene without being seen by the hacking Slytherins.

* * *

That night, Harry sat on his bed, reading the book he had taken from the restricted section. He found the part that detailed the locations of each tunnel, and was amazed by what he read…

The practice chambers, or training courses, where situated in and around Hogwarts. The most common places for them were within the walls, in the dungeons, and in the towers. They were typically made of a series of rooms, each containing a complex puzzle or a group of enemies.

The first tunnel to be made was a part of the dungeons later converted into the potions storerooms. Students within had to walk down a staircase, transfigure two gnomes into statues, and use Wingardium Leviosa to move them onto a set of switches across a chasm. These switches, when pressure was applied, would activate a gate that allowed students to progress into the next area.

However, there was another grate, which could not be open at the same time as the first. Therefore, students were to turn and either lift away or knock off the petrified gnomes so that the first gate closed and the second opened. Once opened, the second gate would allow six gnomes to enter…

The book continued to detail all of the puzzles and combat situations within each tunnel, as well as the records for each. Harry soon found two very intriguing ones. There was a hidden staircase behind the painting of a mother and child on the fifth floor that led up to the parapet, where a Wingardium Leviosa-themed challenge ensued. This was one of the later ones to be built, but the puzzles no longer existed. Harry was amazed; he had waked by that very picture at least once a week, and he had never suspected that it hid an ancient chamber.

The next one was curious indeed. Unfortunately, the ink had run badly, obscuring most of the description of the challenges. However, Harry could make out the most important parts:

One of the last chambers to be built was used by several classes, including but not limited to Defense Against the Dark Arts, taught at the time by Professor Tripperell, and Charms, taught by Professor Dumbledore. It was excavated into the foundations of the castle, with the entrance being a large wooden door down by the Black Lake, down the path from the miniature Stonehenge.

Most of the next section was obscured by the smeared ink:

The course began with a long, dark tunnel-------the students------ooden walkwa-----invo------facing redcaps and need------carpe retractum-------------------------------------------there, they would----to climb---------------------until------------------------the grate would seal, and----------------------------and they would-----------------------------------to the exit.

The best time was five minutes, thirteen seconds. This was achieved by Thomas Riddle. Second place went to Eckhardt Kelldaer, at five minutes, forty-five seconds..

Harry was shocked. Voldemort had been through that course, and he actually held the highest record! He put the book away, hiding it from all who might accidentally find it, and went to sleep. This was truly strange indeed.

Thank you very much for reading! I am very pleased to be back and writing once again. Please review!