Disclaimers: See Chapter 1 for more info.
Acknowledgements: To TooLazyToLogin for giving me the original idea for this series. To DoctorWhovian18, for being my beta-writer/reader for this series, for her ideas on pranking, ideas on other things about the story, her advice and helpfulness, and the list go on. To LOTCR, for her ideas for this story. I'd also like to thank ValueMyHeart for reviewing, following, and favoriting this story. To all my readers who are favoriting, following, and reviewing this story. And I'd also like to thank Frodo and the hobbits for their help with this story as well. Yes, that sounds crazy to the normal readers, but I'm still thanking Frodo and his friends anyway.
Okay, we've arrived at last to the chapter I was on before I did major back-tracking. Now that we're back, my mind can finally rest on the present moment in the story. But right now, readers feel free to read on. I feel so happy that we're here. :) Also, DoctorWhovian18 and Frodo were a big help with this chapter, too. So, I am thanking them for their ideas. :)
While eating dinner in the Great Hall, Aria noticed a change in Frodo. He was unusually quiet, but Frodo was becoming impatient. Should she tell Frodo what she knew? It was too obvious from her re-reading the first Harry Potter book what would happen that night. It was her favorite chapter, but then she would have to break the rules in order to reach the Forbidden Corridor. Well, maybe she wouldn't have to go down there alone. But then she was concerned Frodo would make the attempt with just Harry, Ron and Hermione.
After dinner, Frodo sat with Aria. Frodo twiddled his fingers, unsure whether to admit to Aria the truth of where he was going. It was risky discussing the Stone to anyone other than Harry, Ron and Hermione… but then Aria was an authoress! She would know what was going on. Well, she knew about Bilbo's adventures and possibly his… at least, now she did. Maybe she would know something about his journey that evening to find the Stone with his other three friends.
Frodo broke the silence in low mutters, telling Aria, "Look Aria, about tonight…"
This was her chance! Whispering, Aria told Frodo, "I know where you're going tonight, Frodo. You're going after the Sorcerer's Stone. And I want to come with you. It's my favorite chapter in Harry Potter's book series."
Frodo was stunned. This was unlike Aria. "You – You want to come with me?" He was growing excited. This was definitely not like Aria. Had she gone mad, or was this a sign of her changing?
Aria admitted to Frodo, in a low mutter, "Frodo, I wouldn't miss this. I know you can use your hand magic to turn yourself invisible. What about me? Can you expand on it?"
Frodo felt determined now. Maybe if his focus was accurate, he could expand his invisibility cloaking spell to Aria and himself. It was worth a shot. He extended his hand to her. "Take my hand."
Aria did as she was told. In the blink of an eye, Aria didn't see her hand and then she did. Did she miss something? Staring at her hand now in amazement, Aria asked him, "How did you do that?"
Frodo chuckled. "I've been practicing. Looks like I've got enough focus that I can expand the cloaking spell." By now, he made a muting bubble, where he and Aria could talk using their regular voices. "We can talk louder now. No one's going to bother us. Promise. I've been expanding on the muting spell, too."
Aria spoke a little louder, still nervous someone would stop them. "Okay. How exactly are we getting to the third-floor corridor? You've gotten yourself into enough trouble as it is…"
"Aria, are you with me or not?" asked Frodo. He could have his cheeky moments.
"Yes, I'm with you, Frodo," said Aria, serious. She caught on. Sheepish, Aria apologized, "I'm sorry."
"It's all right," said Frodo, calmly.
Aria sighed in relief.
However, Frodo had to ask her, "So, is all you worry about is rules and such? Aria, you need to mellow out."
"Well, now that I've been out of my own head, I've been mellowing out. Besides, this is important and you're my friend. Whose side do you really think I'm on? Yes, I love creativity and I know I need to be braver, but this is my chance to have an adventure. I wouldn't miss this. Besides, I've always found the Chambers to the Sorcerer's Stone fascinating," admitted Aria, excitement growing inside of her.
Even though no one was paying that much attention to him in Ravenclaw house, except for Aria mainly, Frodo said to her, relieved to have her along, "Well then, consider yourself my Ravenclaw companion. Who knows? We might just win those points back for our house." He grinned uncontrollably. This was an awkward moment, but then he was adjusting to these awkward moments. A thought about Pearl Took flashed in his mind.
Aria asked, a little saddened, "But Frodo, what about Pearl?"
Frodo heaved a sigh. "Pearl is a giggly girl, incapable of lying to anyone, let alone my business." He added to relieve himself and Aria, admitting with a cheerful grin, "but I'd rather have you down in those Chambers with me."
Aria beamed a smile. This was going to be an eventful evening. "Then let's wait until everyone goes to bed before we begin our trip to the third-floor corridor."
Frodo admitted, "Then I better ready my hand magic for the journey. That's why I didn't use it as much this afternoon."
Aria said nothing, but nodded in agreement. She couldn't wait for the evening. Yet it was better she avoided telling anyone anything about this venture. She was getting quite good at keeping secrets herself. She just hoped she wouldn't let Frodo down before the journey to find the Sorcerer's Stone.
Minutes passed. Frodo and Aria stayed together, as students slowly went up to bed. When the Ravenclaw Common Room had emptied, Aria turned to Frodo. This was their chance and hopefully Frodo knew what he was doing.
"Ready to go Aria?" asked Frodo, double-checking.
Aria nodded. "I'm ready."
"You're not going anywhere," said a familiar male voice. The voice belonged to Folco, who startled them as he moved from behind a chair.
Frodo and Aria jumped, startled to see him.
Frodo told Folco, doing his best to keep his voice calm, "Folco, Aria and I must go." This was serious business. He didn't have time to be held back by anyone.
Folco didn't listen. "Are you mad? You'll get Ravenclaw in trouble." He glared at Aria, "and you. I expected better from you, rather you're choosing to sneak out of the common room at this hour. You're no better than Frodo."
Frodo heard enough of these words from McGonagall. He certainly didn't need to hear it from his friend. Given the circumstance, and where Folco stood in front of a chair, Frodo had a plan. Lowering his head, Frodo said to Folco, "Folco, I really didn't want to do this. I'm sorry, but I have to…" He waved a hand skywards in a quick movement. The reaction, he was a bit surprised it worked, was Folco shutting his eyelids fast before collapsing backwards into the chair.
Aria checked to see that Folco was breathing. He was and snoring. Aria turned to Frodo, asking him, nervously, "Will he wake up?"
"Not for a couple of hours. Come on," said Frodo, leading the way towards the door.
Once Aria had caught up to him, Frodo grabbed her hand first so they turned invisible. He held onto her hand as they exited the Ravenclaw Common Room. Frodo did feel bad leaving Folco where he was. It felt like he would be caught again for putting Folco under a sleeping spell, as if feeling Filch's gaze lurking on his shoulders; however, Frodo was too busy keeping watch of Aria and making sure they were invisible than anything else. And he could admit the invisibility spell actually felt stronger and easier than it did with him going on his solo missions.
On the way to the Grand Staircase, Frodo and Aria could hear Ron whispering. Frodo opened the door, just as footfalls were made on the first set of stairs. Happy to have muted their footfalls and other sounds, Frodo led Aria down the stairs, past Mrs. Norris, after Harry, Ron and Hermione. They moved slowly, each taking their time. Harry, Ron and Hermione felt like they were being watched by someone. Hermione suspected it was Frodo, but she wouldn't have guessed Aria was following them; still, she had this strange feeling Frodo brought a friend.
The five friends were stopped on the staircase up to the third floor by Peeves. Harry had a brilliant idea of tricking Peeves into thinking he was the Bloody Baron. Peeves, not wanting to upset the Baron, floated away from the third floor. Now was their chance! They were all lucky they hadn't been seen or caught.
Slipping into the third-floor corridor, Frodo took Aria with him fast after sneaking past Harry, Ron and Hermione. Walking quicker down the corridor, with Aria on tow by her wrist, Frodo led his authoress straight to the door leading to the Forbidden Corridor. To his surprise, the door was already open. And speeding towards them were Harry, Ron and Hermione. A crunch was heard, upon which Aria stomached her pain. Ron moved his foot off Aria's, immediately regretting the decision.
Hermione whispered, "Is that you, Frodo? Did you bring a friend?"
"I think I stepped on Frodo's friend," admitted Ron, whispering back.
Frodo undid the mute spell, but kept the invisibility on him and Aria. Aria made a small, whispering scream of pain. Frodo asked Aria, in a whisper, "Are you all right, Aria?"
Aria managed to say, making a fast recovery but still gulping the pain, "I'll live. Ron stepped on my foot."
"Aria's here, too. I thought this was supposed to be secret, Frodo," whispered Harry.
Frodo whispered back, sheepishly, "Aria already knew before I could say anything."
Aria murmured softly, "It's true."
Harry asked his four friends then, "Look, none of you have to come with me–"
"Don't be stupid," said Ron.
"We're coming," said Hermione.
"As am I," said Aria, a little quicker.
Frodo said, a little slower to Harry, "What Aria means is we're coming with you."
"Well, you go on ahead of us, Frodo, Aria," said Harry, gesturing forward as best he could.
Frodo used the mute spell again with his hand magic to open the door silently. He held the door for Aria as she followed him inside. Once Aria was through, Frodo left it open for Harry, Ron and Hermione to enter the room. When everyone was inside, Frodo left the door creak slowly ajar on its own. After a quick whisper in Aria's ear to leave the door alone, Frodo still held Aria's hand as Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped before the three-headed dog.
When Harry began to play on Hagrid's flute, Frodo told Aria, "I don't think I need to keep us invisible now."
"You don't? But Frodo…" Aria was terrified. This dog was scarier than she first imagined, and worse up close.
As Harry, Ron and Hermione slipped out from under the cloak, moving closer to the trapdoor, Frodo turned off the invisibility spell he had over him and Aria. They were still holding hands and while they gave embarrassed blushes, Frodo remembered what was going on and led Aria straight to the trapdoor. They released as soon as Ron opened the trapdoor hatch. The hole below was covered in thick darkness.
Passing the flute to Hermione, Harry lowered himself into the hole until only his fingers held the sides. He explained to Ron, Frodo and Aria, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"
"Right," said Ron.
"See you in a minute, I hope…" and Harry plunged into the darkness.
Frodo waited for a sign that Harry was all right. The moments ticked by. Aria was trembling with fear and concern. What if something happened to Harry? What did she remember reading? Harry dived into the hole and…
Harry's voice was heard from somewhere below: "It's okay! It's a soft landing, you can jump!"
Ron followed without question. He certainly didn't want to stay up in the room with Fluffy. Frodo gently touched Aria's arm, making her jump a bit from the silence, broken by the dog's growling.
"Aria, you go next," said Frodo. "It's okay."
It was the encouragement she needed. Even though she was afraid, Aria moved into the hole on the other side that Ron and Harry took. She gave Frodo one last concerned gaze, while Frodo gave her in exchange a reassured glance. Aria let go, disappearing into the hole. Now it was Frodo's turn to be concerned. For a few moments, he didn't hear any news until…
"Frodo, come down here! It's safe!" called Aria, her voice bellowing.
Concluding that Aria's was all right, Frodo leapt into the hole. He fell down, down, deeper into the hole until… FLUMP! Frodo had landed on something soft and plantlike. He was also a foot or two away from Aria. She was fine for the most part and relieved that the plant broke her fall.
Harry called to Hermione next. Hermione stopped playing the flute. Fluffy barked, but it was too late for him: Hermione had already jumped, landing next to Harry. But Hermione darted away from the plant before it could get to her. Harry, Ron, Frodo and Aria weren't so lucky, as the snakelike tendrils from the plant wrapped around their legs tightly without their notice. Although Hermione managed to free herself, when she called to her four friends they struggled to break free. The plant wound around them more due to this.
"Stop moving, all of you!" Hermione ordered them, "This is Devil's Snare."
"That's a great help, Hermione," said Ron.
"What do we do?" squealed Aria, freaking out.
"Hermione, do something," cried Frodo.
"I'm thinking!" said Hermione. Then she remembered Professor Sprout's words: "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare – it likes the dark and damp –" Then she remembered. Pulling out her wand, Hermione cast bluebell flames at the plant.
The snakelike tendrils loosened their grip on Harry, Ron, Frodo and Aria. The four scrambled to get away, dashing towards Hermione without a second thought. Frodo had to grab Aria, as she had fallen into a bit of a daze. But then the plant retaliated and grabbed Aria's wrist. Frodo used his hand magic on the plant, shooting the fire-making spell at it. Once again, the snakelike tendrils loosened, causing Frodo and Aria to scramble towards Hermione. Glad to be safe from the plant, Frodo checked Aria's wrist, which was reddened from where the plant got her.
"Here. I'll heal that," said Frodo, clamping his hand on her wrist. From his hand came purple light, which flowed on Aria's tiny wrist. When the purple light stopped, Frodo released Aria's wrist, allowing her the chance to massage it. The red bruise was healed, as if it was never there.
However, Aria still felt pain. She said to him, "Thanks Frodo."
"You're welcome," said Frodo, grinning at her. He said to Hermione next, "And we really need to thank you for remembering Incendio. It helped us."
"Yes, well…" Hermione was cut off by a fiery, liquid sound in the near distance. "Do you hear that?" She wasn't the only one, as the others heard the sound too. "What is that?"
"Sounds like lava," said Harry.
"We haven't been near lava," said Ron.
"Let's find out what that is," said Frodo, taking Aria's hand and leading her down a stone passageway.
In truth, the stone passageway was their only way forward. Harry, Ron and Hermione pressed on after Frodo and Aria. They were just as curious to know where the lava was coming from. The passageway ended, allowing them to enter a large room with a black rock floor, covered in white spots here and there. The rock felt smooth and crusty, yet it stayed hard under their feet. Before them was a large part of the floor replaced by a flowing river of lava going in a horizontal direction. The next stone passageway was beyond that. There was no way to cross the lava river.
"How do we cross this?" asked Hermione, as she and the others stopped in the middle of the room.
"Well, let's have a look…" Frodo was about to pull out his wand, but found he could not. His wand wasn't with him. "Where's my wand?"
"Did you drop it?" asked Ron.
"No," said Frodo. He recovered, "At least, I don't think I did."
Hermione checked her own pocket. She gasped, "My wand's gone, too! It's not there! I know I had it with me."
"So is mine," said Harry and Ron together.
"What do we do now?" asked Aria. She didn't have a wand, and yet she didn't know if she had any magical powers or not. All she could do was wait for the others to decide what they should do next.
"Well…" Frodo was unable to continue. What stopped him were two ghosts that entered the room from the drain pipes in front of them.
Aria asked, innocently, "Maybe they're friendly. Frodo?"
However, Frodo drew another conclusion. "I don't think they are." Actually, he was terrified that the ghosts might hurt them. They certainly were not there to make their lives pleasant, or at least that was Frodo's conclusion.
"How do we get past?" asked Hermione.
Just then, the two ghosts zipped towards them. Hermione and Harry were pushed to the floor by the specters. Ron stayed his ground, sticking his fists into the air in preparation for a fight. Aria didn't want to be hit, and cowered in the process. Frodo, though he was nervous, remembered the plant. Of course, this was one of the teachers' challenges! Collecting himself, Frodo took a few steps forward. He would confront the ghosts.
"What do you want?" asked Frodo to the ghosts, hoping they would communicate.
The ghosts paid no heed to him, nearly toppling him over on his own feet.
Ron had an idea. "Frodo, I think you're going to have to defeat the ghosts. You're the only one among us who knows how to perform hand magic. Try a spell on the ghosts."
"Yes," said Hermione, standing up. "That's very possible."
"Okay," said Frodo. He opened his hands and said the incantation, "Lumos Solem!" Raising his hands, spreading them out around the room from where he stood, Frodo attacked the ghosts with the spell.
The spell worked! The two ghosts retreated back into their drain pipes, not coming out as Frodo struck them again with the spell. The floor moved above the lava river, forming a wide, flat path to the next stone passageway. Checking the path, Frodo found it to be thick enough and safe to walk on. He gestured forward:
"Go on ahead of me," said Frodo to his friends.
Harry, Ron and Hermione crossed the chasm in a walk. Aria followed, and bringing up the rear was Frodo. Frodo checked one final time about the room, but the ghosts didn't come out again. Relieved, Frodo followed the others down the stone passageway. The last thing Frodo, Harry, Ron and Hermione checked was their pockets. To their delight, their wands had reappeared, in the exact same spot where they left it.
The next chamber was filled with jeweled birds. Harry corrected them all by informing them the birds were keys, which he guessed one of them fitted into the door. Harry also spotted broomsticks. Aria quickly drew her own conclusion, mainly out of fear:
"Eh… why don't you four go on and catch the key."
"Afraid of heights, Aria?" asked Ron.
Aria nodded, saying nothing in exchange. But then, she didn't have to. Her message was loud and clear.
Frodo said to Aria, "Look, hobbits are afraid of heights, too. I'm mastering my fear, but… you don't have to fly with us if you don't want to."
"Even though this is interesting," said Aria, pointing out. "However, I'm a Muggle. I wouldn't be able to fly on a broom, but I seriously wish I could."
Harry told Frodo, "Let's go and find that key." He grabbed a broomstick and flew into the air.
Frodo gave Aria a longing expression. He wanted to stay on the ground with her; however, finding that key was more important right now. Aria's encouragement did snap Frodo out of his reverie. Right, he needed to find the key. Grabbing a broomstick, Frodo mounted it and soared into the air after the others. Aria waited on the ground below, but she too hoped they would find the broken key and fit it into the lock. This part of the adventure always made her nervous, but also fascinated.
Although Ron and Hermione did their best to catch keys, Frodo and Harry knew they were looking for something else. That was when they spotted a silver key with blue wings; only one of the wings was broken. Ron and Hermione moved into position, as Harry instructed, but the key darted past them. Frodo gave chase after the key, but it was Harry who caught it. Frodo stopped looking and flew down to join Aria, relieved the task was complete and he didn't have to catch anything. Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed down after Frodo, Harry with key in hand.
Aria asked Frodo, "Happy to be on the ground?"
"Delighted," said Frodo, smiling.
There was a click, which followed with the key flying away, more battered than it had been earlier. Harry asked his friends, pressing on the handle, "Ready?"
"Yeah," said Frodo, nodding.
Aria, Ron and Hermione nodded in silence. With a pull, Harry opened the door.
Because this chapter would have been too long, I've split up this sequence into two chapters. So, we'll get the conclusion of Frodo, Harry, Ron, Hermione and my journey into the Chambers to find the Sorcerer's Stone in the next chapter. Okay, bye. :)