Chapter 7

It quickly got to it's feet and looked down at us. It didn't have a club with it but it's fists would be more than enough to do some damage. It lifted them above it's head. "Protego!" I shouted, forming a magical shield in front of all four of us.

"You can do the shield charm!" Hermione exclaimed in amazement. The trolls fists banged down onto my shield. I flew backwards from the magical backlash but the others were alright. I struggled to my feet.

Neville and Hermione, dived out of the way as the troll swung at them. "What are we going to do?!" Yelled Harry as he dodged a fist after trying to fire a stunning spell.

"Stunning spells don't work on trolls and there is nothing to knock it out with!" Said Hermione, referring to the way we beat the other troll.

"This thing is so big it's head is only half a meter from the ceiling!" Neville yelled as he dodged a kick. That gave me an idea!

"Of course. The ceiling!" I burst out.

"What are you on about?" Harry asked. I quickly pointed my wand at the toll and shouted, "Alarte Ascendare!"

The troll shot into the air and banged it's head hard on the ceiling. It fell on the ground, unconscious. "That was brilliant!" Neville voiced loudly. Hermione and Harry nodded in agreement as they kept going past the troll. I made to move with them but I suddenly felt very weak. I stumbled and my legs gave way.

Neville caught my arm before I could collapse. I looked down at the deep cut on my side from the chess match. It was still bleeding. The others noticed me and Neville had stopped and looked back at me. "What is it?" Asked Harry. I showed him the cut on my waist. He winced.

"You said you were fine after you got taken by the bishop!" Hermione fussed.

"Do you know any healing spells?" Neville asked Hermione.

"No, they're too advanced." Hermione bit her lip. Then she picked up a large pebble off the floor and transfigured it into a giant band-aid. I stuck it over the cut, hissing as it made contact. Neville helped me along as we then continued through the door.

...

There was nothing very frightening about the next room. There was just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line. "Snape's protection," said Harry. "What do we have to do?" We stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind us 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. We were trapped.

"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. I 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 smiled. "Brilliant," said Hermione. "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."

"But so will we, won't we?" Harry asked.

"Have a little faith in 'Mione." I told Harry.

Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire, toward the Stone." Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow." We looked at each other.
"Which one will get us back through the purple flames?" I asked. Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

"You drink that," said Harry to all of us. "Get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying key room. They'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."

"It's not Snape it's Quirrell." I muttered but they ignored me.

"But Harry, what if You-Know-Who's with him?" Neville asked.
"Well, I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."

"What a great philosophy, Harry." I said sarcastically. They ignored me again.

"Go!" Harry said to us.

"No. Hermione, Neville, you go. I'll wait here." I said. Harry smiled at me weakly.

"Okay." He said then he picked up the smallest bottle and drunk the contents. He then walked through the black flames.

Once he was gone, Hermione and Neville both drank a little of the liquid from the rounded bottle and left the other way. I slumped against the wall and waited. Then to my amazement, the smallest bottle refilled itself. Of course! I thought as I smacked my palm into my forehead. The bottles must be charmed to refill, otherwise you'd just run out of potion and be stuck here. I drunk some of the potion and walked through the black fire.

...

I found myself in a big room. Harry was tied up in front of me and Quirrell was staring into the mirror of Erised on the other side of the room. He hadn't noticed me yet. I quickly whipped out my wand and pointed it at Quirrell. "Stupefy." I muttered. A beam of red light shot out of my wand and hit Quirrell in the back. Harry looked behind him in surprise.

Quirrell collapsed forwards, onto his front. I bent down and quickly untied Harry. "Would now be a bad time to say, I told you so?" I asked Harry as I helped him up. Quirrell however, had quickly shaken off the stunning spell. It is known to wear off quicker on possessed people and I suppose Quirrell was technically possessed. "Avada Kedavra" Quirrell growled, loudly.

A beam of green light shot out of Quirrell's wand heading strait for me. I just managed to roll out of the way. "Petrificus Totalus" I fired back but he batted it aside with a flick of his wand like it was nothing. Harry didn't know many spells yet, but he did manage to levitate some rocks at Quirrell with Wingardium Leviosa. Quirrell effortlessly flicked up a shield. We didn't stand a chance. Harry sent a disarming charm that was easily blocked. I could see Quirrell was just toying with us now but I only had to keep him occupied till Dumbledore got here.

Finally he got board and started firing spells back. I tried to dodge them and I even put up a few shield charms, but I was soon to tired to avoid "Everte Statum". It threw me backwards and I hit the wall with a thud. Quirrell then transfigured ropes to tie me and Harry up again. Well that was a bit pointless. The only thing that's different is that now I'm tied up as well as Harry. Quirrell picked Harry up by his shirt collar and placed him in front of the mirror. "What do you see?" He snapped.

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he lied. "I-I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

"He lies! He lies!" A raspy voice said from somewhere. That would be Voldemort.

"Tell me the truth! What did you just see?" Quirrell yelled.

"Let me speak to him... face-to-face..." The voice spoke again.

"Master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell muttered.

"I have strength enough... for this..."

Quirrell lifted his hands to his head and started unwrapping his smelly turban. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was Voldemort's face. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake. "Harry Potter..." Voldemort spat. "See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... But once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"

Harry gasped and I saw him try to move backwards. We were still tied up. My wand was lying a few feet away and I started inching towards it. "Don't be a fool," snarled Voldemort. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..." I was almost to my wand.

"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly. My hands closed around it. I pointed it at the ropes that bound Harry and whispered, "Diffindo". Harry's ropes tore and he got up, quickly shooting me a grateful smile.

"How touching..." Voldemort hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!" Harry yelled. Go Harry!

"SEIZE HIM!" Voldemort yelled. Quirrell jerked forward and grabbed Harry by the wrist.

I whispered another cutting charm at my ropes. They fell off and I jumped to my feet.

But harry had it under control. He pressed his hands to Quirrell's face and Quirrell let out an awful scream. He stumbled away from Harry in shock. "What is this magic?" He yelled. Then he burst into a pile of dust.

I ran to Harry. Then we saw Voldemort's spirit charge at us. It plowed right through Harry and he fell over, clutching his scar in pain. He fell unconscious as the spirit rushed away. I bent over Harry and shook him but he would not wake.

At that moment Dumbledore burst through the black flames and into the room. I knew Harry was safe now so I gave in and collapsed from blood loss and complete exhaustion. The world faded away into black.

...