Ready or not, here I come, you can't hide

Gonna find you and take it slowly

Ready or not, here I come, you can't hide

Gonna find you and make you want me

~ Ready or Not x Fugees

Chapter 14: The Tasks

"Well, this isn't how I planned on dying." Theodore struggled to say.

"This really isn't the time, Theo." Draco said as he tried to swat another vine, but failed as another snapped around his wrist, restraining his arm from any other movements.

Indeed, this really wasn't the time, Tobias thought as he tried to fight against the vines that were wrapped around his legs. He was starting to regret sliding down the trapdoor without actually seeing what was at the bottom. He was so excited about going after the stone that he didn't think through all of the obstacles that would be in his way. And even if he did, he would have never thought of this hiding beneath a trapdoor.

While he, Draco, Theodore, and Ron were trying their best to entangle themselves from the vines, Tobias noticed that Hermione and Neville weren't anywhere in the bed of vines. Instead, they were standing with their backs against a nearby wall, watching in horror as the other four boys fought for their lives. As Tobias fought, the vines clamped on harder, trying to prevent as much movement as possible. He became more frustrated as more vines wrapped around him, now entrapping his arms and torso.

"Stop moving!" Hermione cried. "That's Devil's Snare!"

"Well, that helps." Ron growled.

"As much as I enjoy your knack for knowledge, Granger!" Draco called out. "It's really not helping right not."

"Can you two shut up?!" Hermione snapped back. She paced the room. "Devil's Snare—Devil's Snare—oh goodness, what did Professor Sprout say?"

"Anytime today, Hermione!" Theodore gasped.

Neville then felt a lightbulb flash above his head. He knew about Devil's Snare. He remembered the exact lesson they had in the greenhouses, how could he not have thought about it before? He quickly turned to Hermione, grabbing her shoulders to stop her pacing.

"Hermione, don't you remember?" He said quickly. "Devil's Snare? It likes the dark and the damp—"

"So light a fire!" Hermione finished his sentenced. She then frowned. "But—"She looked at the five boys. "We don't have any wood."

"Wood?!" Tobias exclaimed.

"Have you gone mad?" Theodore choked out.

"No, I have not." Hermione said, crossing her arms across her chest. "We need wood to start a fire."

Tobias closed his eyes. This was the end.

Draco and Ron looked at each other, both apparently aware of what the other was thinking. How could they have missed that Hermione was muggle- born?

"ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?!" They both bellowed. Their voices shook the room, the sound echoing off the walls, causing Neville to cover his ears. Hermione's face went pink, seeing as she completely forgot she could do magic.

She pulled out her wand, muttering a spell, and a jet of flames came out and released the four boys from the plant. They all fell onto their knees, coughing and gasping for air. Theodore rolled on his back, sighing in relief that they had made it out of there alive. He rolled his eyes back to look at Hermione and Neville, who were standing over them.

"Has anybody ever told you that you two are brilliant?"

Ron scoffed. "Brilliant?" He got up and dusted himself off. "'We don't have any wood.' Honestly."

Snape, once again, was residing in his office. He couldn't sleep—his mind on the whole Philosopher's Stone situation. He couldn't help but feel he could've done something to stop Quirrell from going in there. Even if he did study the enchantments a thousand times, something still could go wrong. He was still young, and he was so eager to put himself towards this mission—Snape couldn't help but feel that he may have been too eager. Though the Dark Arts Professor made it very clear that he needed to go in alone, Snape couldn't help but feel that he should have went in with him.

And then there was Tobias LeStrange—or Harry Potter—who, somehow, found out about the stone. There was no doubt that the boy would go after the stone. His devotion to the Dark Lord was clear, and he would do anything to keep Voldemort alive. But Snape also knew that Tobias would disobey his orders because he had no one else. His "parents" were no longer in his life—Rodolphous was dead and Bellatrix was in jail. Lord Voldemort was the only family the boy had—and it sent shivers down Snape's back.

There was a knock on the door, and Snape could only wonder who would be knocking on his door at this hour. Dumbledore was gone, and even if he was back, he would've called Snape to his office. Hoping that it may be Quirrell with the stone—or even Tobias—he flicked his wand, unlocking the door to allow the person to come in.

"Severus." Said Professor McGonagall. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Snape felt a pang of disappointment but did not show it as he greeted the transfiguration professor. "Not at all. Is there something I can help you with?"

Professor McGonagall walked towards his desk. It was apparent that she had something to say that she couldn't afford others to hear. Snape flicked his wand again, casting a silencing charm on the room and shutting the door. She sat down in the seat in front of his desk, her lips pursed.

"Three students from my house are missing Severus, and I am certain that three are missing from yours as well."

Snape internally cursed himself. "Your evidence, Minerva?"

"I was doing my rounds, as always, making sure that all students were accounted for." She said. "And tonight, three of my first-year students were not in bed."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "And what does that have to do with my house?"

McGonagall intertwined her hands together, looking at Snape with a knowing look. She knew that he knew what she was referring to. But just like a Slytherin, he wanted her to deliver all the details before coming to any conclusions. But little did Snape know, he wouldn't be able to slither his way out of this one.

"Because the missing students are Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom," she said in a matter- of – fact tone. "And we both know Severus that these three Gryffindors do not travel alone."

And Professor McGonagall was right. Snape cursed himself again—the boy must've gone after the stone, but then again there was no reason to assume. He may have asked the three Gryffindors to retrieve the stone for him. But then again, this was James and Lily Potter's son. Snape suppressed a groan as he rose from his desk, retrieving his robes.

"I will check my house to make sure that my students are accounted for." He said. "For the time being, Minerva, it would be wise to alert the other head of houses—some of their students may be missing as well."

Professor McGonagall nodded, but Snape could tell she was annoyed by his lack of action. She stormed out of the room, leaving the door opened behind her. Snape then left and headed towards the Slytherin common room, but he had a strong feeling in his gut that the three first year boys would not be in bed. He had an even stronger feeling that he knew where they went as well.

The six were walking down a dark passageway. To where? Nobody knew. But Tobias had been confident that this was the way to the stone, and since nobody had any better ideas, they all followed him. They walked slowly, their head on a swivel. They didn't want another encounter as they did with the Devil's Snare. Nobody said anything. Everyone kept their ears open for any noises, their eyes looking for the Philosopher's Stone.

"Wait, Stop." Tobias suddenly said. "Can you all hear that?"

The other five first years stopped, trying to find the noise Tobias was talking about it. It was a bitter silence for a moment, but then they heard it. A light fluttering sound—an inconsistent fluttering sound. As if something, or some things, was flying around somewhere.

"It sounds like birds." Said Hermione.

"There's only one way to find out." Tobias said. "Come on." And he began to run down the corridor, the other five following him. He couldn't see anything, but he followed the sounds of fluttering ahead, drowning out the shouts and the sounds of feet pounding against the floor.

"I think I see something ahead!" Draco called out.

There was a light growing as they approached the end of the passageway. Tobias ran even faster, eager to see what was ahead. Maybe it would be the stone. Or maybe it was whoever entered the trapdoor before him. He pulled out his wand, and the other's followed suit. He stopped running a few inches from the lighted room, preparing himself for whatever was in the next room. He took a deep breath and walked into the lighted chamber.

The first years looked in awe at the chamber. It was beautifully lit. It had a high ceiling and beautiful birds flying around the room. A brown wooden door was on the other side of the room and two broomsticks laid on the floor next to it.

"So all we have to do is cross the room?" said Draco, cracking his knuckles. "Piece of cake." He took a step towards the middle of the room, but Hermione grabbed his arm, preventing him from taking another step.

"What's the deal, Granger?" He said with a smirk. "Can't stand to see me go?"

She rolled her eyes. "Those aren't birds. Look."

Draco looked up, realizing that these flying creatures weren't birds. Yes, they had wings but they had no beak, or feet, or even feathers. Their body shape was off, and even Draco knew that birds didn't glitter like that.

"They're keys." Tobias whispered.

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "Whose bright idea was it to make flying keys?"

"My guess would be Professor Flitwick." Tobias said as he walked forward. Hermione wanted to call him back, but quickly shut her mouth when she noticed that the flying keys did not react to Tobias's movements.

Tobias walked to the other side of the room, now face to face with the wooden door. He pulled on the knob, but it was no use. He muttered an unlocking spell, but nothing happened either. He then noticed a key hole above the doorknob. Looking back at the keys, and then again at the lock, Tobias figured out what they need to do.

"The keys," He said, pointing to the swarm of keys flying above them. "One of them is the key to unlocking the door."

"How are we supposed to know which one is the right one?" Ron said. "They're hundreds of them!"

"Look at the door." Said Neville. "It won't be any ole key. It'll be big, old fashioned."

"Like that one." Theodore said, pointing towards a key fluttering through the bunch. It was clearly different from the rest. It was silver instead of gold and it was much bigger than the rest of the keys.

Tobias grabbed the two broomsticks and tossed one to Draco. The two Slytherins then mounted their brooms and kicked off into the air, racing around the room to catch the key. They ducked and dodged flocks of keys that tried to throw them off course, but even then, their target was becoming harder and harder to reach.

"Tobias, I have a feeling this key doesn't want to be caught." Draco said out of breath.

Tobias barely heard him as he zoomed towards the key. He became lost in the rush of the air and the wings of the other keys wiped against his skin. He could see the key clearly, just as he could see Neville's rememberball that day at flying lessons. He pushed his broom forward, stretching out his hand to catch the key.

Draco zoomed in from the other direction, watching Tobias chase the key into a nearby wall. He finally caught on to his cousin's plan—he was trying to trap the key. Draco picked up speed, trying to catch the key in the other direction so that at least one of them could pin it down. The two Slytherins were now neck and neck, hands both stretched to catch the key.

Neville covered his eyes as Hermione, Theodore, and Ron watched intently.

"Leave it to those two to make catching a key this dramatic." Said Theodore, putting his hands in his pockets.

Tobias smashed the key against the wall, and Draco took out of his hold. They both flew back down to the ground and tossed the brooms aside. The other four ran across the room towards them. Draco now held the key in both hands as it struggled against his hold. The blonde Slytherin stuffed the key in the lock and turned it. The lock clicked and Tobias pushed the door opened. They couldn't see anything, only darkness. Tobias turned back to his five friends.

"Ready?"

His friends nodded, and he led them into the next room.

Snape entered the Slytherin Common room. It was empty, as it should be this time of night. He walked inside slowly, keeping his eyes out for anything out of the ordinary. And it wasn't long until he did find something.

A petrified Pansy Parkinson.

Her body laid stiff on the ground, her eyes wide and her arm stretched. She was holding her wand as if she had meant to cast a spell before she had been petrified. Snape took out his wand and pointed it at the dark- haired girl.

"Finite Incantartem."

Pansy's arm then dropped and all the color returned to her face. She blinked a few times, trying to regain her focus. She then noticed Professor Snape standing above her, and she abruptly sat up, her eyes darting back and forth around the room as if she was looking for someone.

"Looking for someone, Miss Parkinson?" Snape asked.

"Professor Snape," she breathed out. "It's Tobias, he's gone!"

"Gone where?" He asked, though he already knew exactly where he was.

Pansy shrugged. "I don't know! But I know it has something to do with his grandfather! I tried to stop him, but he body- bound me."

"Was he with anyone?"

"He was with Malfoy and Theodore." She nodded.

Snape once again had to suppress a groan. The boy went after the stone. And what made things worse, Quirrell was down there as well, retrieving the actual stone so they could make the swap. If Tobias got there before he did, the plan would be ruined. Lord Voldemort would become immortal. He looked back down at the first year girl sitting below him. He thought about erasing her memory, but seeing as she didn't know much about the situation, he thought better of it.

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson. I will go find Mister LeStrange and the others. Please return to bed."

Pansy nodded and stood up, dusting down her nightgown. "He isn't in trouble is he, Professor?"

Snape sighed. Was he in trouble? Snape honestly didn't know. "I believe that is none of your concern. Now please return to bed."

He turned on his heel and walked out of the common room. His next destination: The third floor corridor. He walked swiftly down the corridors, dismissing peeves and the other ghosts. The corridors were empty, the only sounds that could be heard were the heels of Snape's shoes.

When he entered the corridor, the first sign that Tobias LeStrange had been here was spotted. His invisibility cloak was lying on the ground. No doubt it had been used to sneak him, Draco, and Theodore to this side of the castle unnoticed. Snape also noticed that the door leading to Hagrid's dog was opened. He walked to the door, slipping his wand through the crack. He said a spell and next he heard a loud thump and then snoring. The dog was now asleep. Snape slipped through the door and made his way down the trapdoor.

The six first years now stood in front of what seemed to be a giant chessboard. They stood beside the black chessmen, who were at least three times taller than they were. On the other side were white chessmen of the same size. And behind the white chessmen was another door. Tobias felt his stomach tie itself in knots as he noticed that the chessmen did not have faces.

"Now what?" Draco said.

Theodore and Ron stepped forward, mischievous smiles on their faces.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Theodore.

"We have to play to get across." Said Ron. He looked at the others. "And I think we have to be chessmen."

"All of us?" Neville asked, wringing his hands as he looked at the massive chess pieces.

There was a loud cracking sound, and the five jumped. They turned their heads towards the obstruction to find Theodore standing in front of the black knight, who was now alive. The horse ran its hooves over the ground and the knight was staring down at Theodore.

"Not all of us." Theodore said, turning towards the rest. "There are only three empty spaces. Meaning three of us have to play." He turned back to the knight. "Right?"

The black knight nodded.

"Okay," Ron began. "It's obvious that me and Theodore will be playing, but we need a third man."

Tobias was about to offer himself, seeing as Draco was horrible at wizards chess and he wasn't really sure if Hermione could play or not, but then Neville stepped forward.

"I'll play." He said.

Theodore raised his arms in the air. "Alright, Longbottom!"

Tobias turned to Neville. "Neville, you don't have to play if you don't want. I can play."

"No, Tobias." Neville said shaking his head. "I'll be fine. It's you who needs to get across, not us."

Tobias nodded, and Neville proceeded to take his place on the chessboard. Ron was a knight, Theodore was a bishop, and Neville was a castle. The corresponding chess pieces then walked off the board, finding a place to sit beside Draco, Hermione and Tobias.

"Let the games begin!" Theodore said.

Tobias watched as white moved first—a white pawn moved forward two squares.

Ron and Theodore looked at each other, as if they were both telepathically trying to decide what their next move would be. Tobias watched as Theodore moved diagonally four squares to the right.

"You know what's about to happen next right?" He called out to Ron.

"Yeah." Ron called back, he then looked to the others. "You may want to move, the next move won't be pretty."

Tobias, Hermione, and Draco backed up as far as they could. And based on what happened next, they were grateful that Ron gave them a warning. Their other knight had been taken. The white queen smashed him onto the board and dragged him away.

"That's barbaric." Hermione said with disgust.

"Alright, Neville." Ron shouted. "Now you're free to take the bishop."

Neville walked forward, his legs shaking violently with every step. Once he made his last step, he touched the bishop, claiming it his. The bishop then exploded into a million pieces and one of the black pieces swept him off the board.

"Brilliant, Neville!" Theodore shouted, causing a small smile to spread over Neville's face.

The game went on. Ron and Theodore were losing as many black pieces as they were taking white pieces. Rubble and dust was everywhere. White pieces were exploding by Neville's touch every so often and the black and white pieces were both having their fun smashing and dragging their opponents off the board. This game seemed more violent than Quidditch, and that was saying something. After a while, the board was starting to clear out—the game was almost over.

"We're nearly there." Ron said. "What do you think, Theo?"

"Let me think." Theo replied. His eyes darted across the board. Theodore kept his face leveled throughout his examination, and Tobias couldn't figure out if he had found a solution or not. Theodore finally nodded and turned back to the red- haired Gryffindor.

"I have a solution, but you might not like it."

Ron nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Thinking what?" Hermione asked, overhearing the conversation.

Ron turned to her. "I have to let them take me."

"What?" Tobias said. "No!"

"It's the only way." Theodore said, grimly. "That's chess."

Ron nodded. "The queen will take me, and then Theodore will be able to check the king. We win."

"It's not worth risking yourself, Weasley." Draco snapped.

"Do you want to save your grandfather or not?" Ron bellowed, growing frustrated with everyone's protests.

Tobias said nothing, but Ron knew his answer.

"I have to do this, Tobias. Otherwise, we lose."

Tobias nodded. He watched as the white queen turned around towards Ron. Ron took a deep breath and stepped forward. The white queen immediately struck him down, and Ron fell to the ground. There was a speck of blood on his forehead and he appeared to be unconscious.

"Bloody hell." Theodore whispered.

Hermione screamed and tried to run onto the chessboard, but Draco grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"If you run onto the board, you'll ruin the game." He said quickly as Hermione struggled in his hold.

The white queen grabbed Ron by his robes and dragged him off the chessboard. Theodore stood there for a moment, but then finally moved forward. Tobias watched as he moved three spaces to the left. He stopped in front of the King, staring fearlessly into the blank face of the chess piece. The king then took off his crown and placed it in front of Theodore's feet before exploding into pieces. The game was over, they had won.

Tobias didn't care for the celebration as they all ran over to Ron, who was still unconscious on the ground. Hermione kneeled beside him. She put her fingers to his neck and sighed in relief that he was breathing.

"He's alive." She said. "But somebody needs to stay with him."

"I'll stay." Said Theodore.

Neville stepped forward. "Me too."

"I'll stay, too." Draco said.

Tobias turned to his best friend. "Draco—"

Draco smirked. "Somebody needs to cover for you. Plus you have Granger."

Tobias clapped his best friend on the shoulder. Loyal, that one was. Hermione got up and dusted herself off. They both walked to the door on the other side. Tobias laid his hand on the doorknob. He turned around one more time, and watched Theodore, Neville, and Draco levitate Ron's body off the chessboard. He looked at Hermione, who gave him a small smile. He twisted the doorknob and they walked inside, entrapped in the darkness once more.

Quirrell stood in front of the mirror, becoming more frustrated by the minute. He stood inside the gold chamber, the last chamber of the quest. He had made it, he had completed each task, but there was one problem—the stone wasn't there. He knew that the mirror of Erised was supposed to show one their deepest desire, and Quirrell thought he and Snape had done enough occlumency to trick the mirror into showing him with the stone.

But yet the mirror showed him his reflection—him standing beside his mother. His left arm is turned at a certain angle to where Quirrell could see that there was no dark mark. His mother looked as he remembered her when he was younger. There was no fear in her eyes, there was no fear in his. He walked back and forth from the mirror, but it showed him the same thing. He removed himself for a few minutes, closing his eyes to concentrate on the stone, and only the stone. But even then, that didn't work.

The mirror saw past his façade, and saw his true desire. He couldn't stand looking at this image—this reflection showed him no truth. And yet every time he looked into it, he felt as if it was real, in some faraway world—in some distant universe. He grew so frustrated that he punched the mirror, but before his fist could even touch the glass, a force pushed him back away from the mirror. Quirrell looked up, and there was the reflection staring up at him.

There was the life he could've had looking at him. A life with no evil, a life where he was not judged by this mark on his arm. A life where he could be free. A life where his mother was alive, and she saw him as the goodness in the world—instead of the evil that she had seen in him that night. His world fell apart that day, and this whole year he had been working towards getting it back.

He sighed, seeing as that he could still deliver Lord Voldemort the fake stone. He stood up to leave, opening the door to walk out of the chamber when he heard voices in the distant. He listened closely, realizing that the voices were of children, first years. His eyes lit up as he recognized one of the voices. Tobias. The boy had come. Quirrell turned back and looked at the image in the mirror. He still had a chance to make things right.

He closed the door and sat back down on the steps, preparing himself for Tobias's arrival.

Snape walked into the room and noticed that it was nearly destroyed. There were chess pieces everywhere and white dust covered the ground. He walked in slowly, his wand at the ready just in case. He walked into the light, lowering his wand when he noticed four boys—two Gryffindors and two Slytherins sitting in the corner of the room.

"Well, what do we have here?" He sneered.

Draco jumped at the sound of his voice. "Professor!"

Theodore and Neville then turned around, and Neville's face went completely pink. All three of them stood in front of the fourth boy, who Snape saw to be the Weasley boy.

"We can explain!" Neville said desperately. Snape internally rolled his eyes.

"Why yes, Longbottom. Please explain why you four are out after hours, residing in the third- floor corridor which Dumbledore clearly stated was off limits at the beginning of the year?"

Neville went even pinker, Theodore and Draco stepped forward.

"You know why we're here, Professor." Draco said. Theodore nodded in agreement.

Snape looked at the four boys. He indeed knew why they were here, he had just been hoping he was wrong. But seeing the first years covered in dust and soot, he knew they had been up to something. That they were seriously trying to get to the stone.

"Where is Tobias LeStrange?" he asked.

The three boys said nothing, each one not wanting to give away Tobias's location. Even if Snape knew about the stone, he was still a professor. Tobias needed to get his grandfather the stone, and it was their duty to help him get there. Snape seemed to realize that as the silence deepened.

Snape sighed. "What happened to Weasley?"

"He hurt himself in the chess match." Theodore said.

Snape looked at the boy. He was indeed unconscious, and there was a patch of dried up blood on his forehead. He needed to get to the hospital wing.

"We need to get him to the hospital wing."

"We?" Draco said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, we." Snape snapped back. "Unless you three rather spend the next six years attending another school."

Neville gulped, but Theodore and Draco's stand did not falter.

"You're helping us?" Draco asked. Snape nodded.

Theodore was silent for a moment. "Meaning we're not in trouble?"

Snape groaned. Why was the Nott heir so difficult? "No, Mister Nott, you three, or four rather, are not in trouble. Now we must get Mister Weasley to the hospital wing."

"What about Tobias?" Neville asked, looking at the opened door on the other side of the room.

"I will come back for Mister LeStrange." Snape said softly, looking at the opened door as well. "Get him up. We need to move him quickly."

The three first-year boys aimed their wands at Ron's body and levitated him above the floor.

"Concentrate your magic." Said Snape. "One wrong move and you'll drop him."

He then turned around, leading the way out of the chess room. The three first years right behind him, and Ron's body levitating behind them.

Hermione held the parchment in her hand, pacing the room as she read it. Tobias stared at the seven bottles sitting on the table in front of them. He turned to look at purple flames blocking the doorway behind them. He then turned towards the black flames blocking the doorway in front of them. According to the parchment, three of the bottles are poison, two are wine, one would get them through the purple flames, and one would get them through the black flames. But the question was: Which was which?

Hermione clapped her hands together as she dropped the parchment. Tobias watched her walk over to the table, picking up each and every bottle and examining it. She picked up the smallest bottle.

"This will get us through the black fire." She said proudly.

Tobias looked at the bottle and frowned. There was barely enough in there for one person. How was he and Hermione supposed to share that?

Hermione then picked up a round bottle at the right end of the table. "This will get us through the purple flames."

"You're sure?" Tobias asked.

Hermione nodded. "Positive."

Tobias looked at the round bottle, and again it was barely enough for the both of them.

"Hermione," He said. "you know there isn't enough for both of us?"

Hermione smirked. "Because both of us aren't supposed to go through the flames. These defenses were set up for one person to try to get passed them, not two." She handed Tobias the small bottle.

"You're the one that needs to get to the stone, Tobias." She said as took the top off the round bottle. "Not me, not Ron, not Draco. You."

Tobias looked down at the small bottle in his hand. To be honest, he was nervous. If Hermione left, he would be by himself. What if he needed them in the next task?

"What about you?"

Hermione smiled. "I'll go find Draco and the others. We'll be here as soon as you get back."

Tobias nodded. "Okay, but go find Professor Snape. If you find him, tell him where I am."

"Why?"

"I don't know who's waiting on the other side. It may be him, it may be Quirrell, or maybe someone else. If you find Snape, then you'll know I'm in trouble. And he'll help me."

Hermione frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Hermione stood there for a moment before throwing her arms around Tobias. Tobias was startled at first, but wrapped his arms around her. His cheeks grew red with embarrassment as the hug lasted longer than expected.

"Uh, Hermione?"

Hermione quickly let him go. "Sorry." She bit her lip. "You're a great wizard, Tobias."

Tobias chuckled. "Not as good as you."

"Books!" Hermione scoffed. "There are more important things like friendship….and bravery."

Tobias looked at his bushy- haired friend. He unscrewed the top to the potion and held it up to hers. "To friendship and bravery."

"To friendship and bravery." Hermione said. They then both swallowed their potions, both shuddering from the effects.

"It's like ice." Tobias said.

Hermione nodded in agreement. She turned around to walk through the purple flames. But before she walked through, she turned around one more time. She watched as Tobias walked towards the black flames on the other side, preparing to step through to the next task.

"Tobias!" She called out and the dark haired Slytherin turned around to face her once more.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

Tobias smirked. "No promises." And he stepped through the black flames. Hermione watched as the black flames died out as he stepped to the other side.

Tobias watched the black flames dance around his body, but was relieved that he could not feel them. He took his time walking through the fire. He tried to prepare himself for whatever was waiting for him on the other side. Hermione was gone, Draco was gone—he was now all alone. He pulled his wand out as he neared the end of the flaming passage.

He then entered a golden chamber. The room was small and shined brighter than the chandelier in his manor. He looked down to notice a mirror—he knew that mirror. It was the mirror of Erised. This is where Dumbledore moved it. But Tobias then felt his heart sink into his stomach as he noticed someone was standing in front of the mirror.

The man smiled at him through the reflection in the mirror. "Mister LeStrange. What a surprise."

Author's Note: Not a dramatic cliffhanger, but I wanted to save the Tobias and Quirrell confrontation for the next chapter. We're almost there you guys! Thank you for all the follows and reviews!

~TheeStoryTeller