Chapter 6

After dinner the four of us were sitting in the common room waiting for everyone to clear out. I could see the others were very nervous. Hermione was franticly going over enchantments to try and find what we might come across. Harry and Ron were just dreading what they they had to do. Honestly, I'm not to worried about it. I already know what's going to happen.

Slowly the room emptied as people went upstairs to their dorm rooms. Harry ran upstairs to get the cloak when Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. He came down a few seconds later with it bundled in his arms. He also had the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us. If filch spots one of our feet wandering along on it's own-" Ron was saying.

"What are you doing?" Said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been trying to make another break for it.

"Nothing Neville." Harry insisted.

"Your going out!" He said.

"No we're not. Why don't you go to bed Neville?" Hermione said.

"You can't go out! You'll get caught and loose house points. I won't let you!" He proclaimed as he crossed his arms. We needed to go but I didn't want Hermione to have to put Neville in a full body bind so I launched into a quick explanation.

"Neville," I began, "The third floor corridor on the right hand side is forbidden because there is a giant, three headed dog in it. There is a three headed dog there because the dog, along with other enchantments, is guarding something called the Philosopher Stone. Some one is going to try and steal it tonight because Dumbledore is gone. If he gets the Stone he could bring Voldemort back to his full strength. Is that what you want, Neville?! Hmm!?"

"N-no." He spluttered.

"That's right!" I said, "So move aside or we'll make you move." He didn't say anything for a moment.

"Only if I can come!" He said defiantly. I looked at Harry. I don't know why, but we all just saw him as the leader.

"Fine. Let's move." Harry finally said.

All five of us could not fit under the invisibility cloak, so there was a lot of peeking round corners and sneaking down halls. Eventually we made it to the door to fluffy. Hermione took out her wand to cast the unlocking charm but Harry saw that the door was slightly ajar, so he just pushed it open.

...

The dog was sleeping. There was a harp playing in the background. It was enchanted. We moved our way to the trap door. This was me and Neville's first time seeing the dog and I could not help gazing in wonder as he shied away. We pulled the trap door open. "Who first?" Asked Ron.

"I'll go." Harry said immediately. He lowered himself into the hole until he was dangling by his hands. He looked down briefly, before letting go. There were two suspense filled seconds before there was a soft thump. It was like the sound you hear when you punch a pillow.

"Are you alright Harry?" Ron called down as I turned around to make sure the dog was still fast asleep. Luckily, the harp was still playing and the dog was still sleeping.

"I'm okay." He called, "It's a soft landing, you can jump!" As soon as he said this I jumped in the hole. I landed next to Harry. I found myself on top of a heap of vines. I was soon followed closely by Neville. Then Hermione, and finally Ron.

"What's this stuff?" were his first words.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall." Harry replied. At that moment the vines seemed to come alive. They started wrapping themselves around our ankles and wrists. I struggled against the thick vines. I knew I should relax but thrashing around just comes naturally in this sort of situation. The vines started coiling around me faster and tighter.

"This is Devil's Snare!" Neville said immediately. "We have to relax." He said as he stopped thrashing.

There was a pause, then Neville fell through the plant and onto the floor two meters bellow. Hermione did the same and joined him. I took a deep breath and started to relax my mussels but it turns out that I didn't need to. "Lumos solem" Neville yelled. A blinding light shot out of his wand. Immediately, the Devil's Snare retracted and Ron, Harry, and I fell to the ground. I got up, rubbing my back side. "Thanks." I said to Neville.

We continued on and came to the room full of flying keys. There were three broomsticks in the centre of the room. "So that must mean..." Harry looked around the chamber while the other two squinted up at the flock of keys. "... yes, look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!" Ron examined the lock on the door. "We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one, probably silver, like the handle." Harry, Ron and Hermione each seised a broom stick and took off.

Harry soon spotted the correct key. "Look, there!" He pointed, "The big one with the broken wing." He zoomed after it. It zigzagged through the air to try and avoid capture but Harry was to skilled. He used his seeker skills to pluck it right out of the air. He flew back down to the ground and jumped of his broom. He tried the key in the door and to his delight it fit. He turned it and the door clicked open.

...

We entered the next room. There it was, the giant chess board. It was the size of a classroom and each square was a meter wide and long. The chess pieces were huge. Bigger than us in fact. "Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room." Behind the white pieces they could see another door.

"How?" said Hermione nervously.
"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen." There was a long pause as this information sunk in.

Ron immediately took charge. "Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle." He said. "Neville, you take the knight on the right. Annie, you'll be queen."

"What about you?" Hermione asked.

"I'll be the knight on the left."

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words the two knights, a bishop, a castle and the queen, all turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board. We took our places in the five empty squares. "White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes... look..."

A white pawn had moved forward two squares. Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them.

"Annie, go and take that castle." Ron said, pointing me to a white castle. I complied, moving across the board and stopping in front of it. It moved off the board in defeat and I took it's place. We kept going like that for a while. Then I saw something I didn't like. "Ron!" I exclaimed nervously, pointing to the white bishop that was slowly advancing on me. But it was to late. Ron could do nothing as it got closer and closer to me.

"Oh god Annie, I'm so sorry." Ron said as the piece reached me. It lifted its sword and swung it in a wide arc. The flat side of the stone blade connected with my waist. I fell and tumbled off the board into the scraps of fallen pieces. "Annie!" I heard them all yell.

I had hit my head on something hard but I was still conscious. Blood was trickling down a gash on my forehead and the side where the sword had connected with my body, was burning with pain. It was bleeding at an alarming rate. "No, don't move!" I heard Ron yell at someone. "Don't forget, we're still playing." I groaned quietly and rolled onto my other side. I pushed myself off the ground and stood up.

"It's alright. I'm okay." I told them. Relief flooded Harry and Hermione's faces.

"Annie, thank god!" Neville yelled.

"I'm so sorry." Ron apologized again.

"I'm fine." I lied. The game of chess continued.

...

"We're nearly there," Ron muttered suddenly. "Let me think let me think..."

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.
"Yes..." said Ron softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted.

"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, Harry!"

"But-" Neville began to argue.

"We can't let you-know-who get his hands on the Stone!" Ron cut him off. There was no alternative.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go. Now, don't hang around once you've won." 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 the side by me. He looked as if he'd been knocked out. I crouched down next to him, making my side scream in pain. He was still breathing. "He's going to be fine." I assessed.

Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left. The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. We had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. I stood up and we left with one more desperate look back at Ron. We walked through the doors and into the next room.

Lying on the floor of the next room was a huge troll. It was a bit bigger than the one we fought on Halloween. It appeared to be knocked out. We began walking past it. Then it happened. Neville tripped over and fell right on top of the troll's face. He quickly got off but the damage was done. The troll grunted and woke up.

...