Disclaimer: One Piece and Harry Potter does not belong to me, each belongs to their respective author.
Challenge by TheBlackSeaReaper.
Beta: TheBlackSeaReaper
-.- Devil's Snare vs. Devil's Fruit
Not always what you want is the best, unfortunately this was the situation in which the little ones were at the end of that week.
Sitting on the grass in front of the lake, Ace tried to play the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas, trying not to think that in that precise moment, Norbert was transported with Ron, Fred and George's brother; where it could grow with his own kind.
Beside him, were the others; Hermione had thought that with such good weather was good idea to study outside; Neville struggled to learn Potions, his worst subject; Ron several minutes ago had chosen to rest lying on the grass the books and exam forgotten; and the Twins plotting something apart from the rest. All in an attempt to dispel any thought of Norbert.
"It must be a really hard journey" Ron muttered, clearly thinking out loud.
"Ron!" Hissed Hermione.
"Yes, it is," insisted the boy, possibly without knowing what had generated with his comment, "Imagine having to travel all the way to Romania with Snape."
"Thank you, dear little brother," Fred muttered without looking "for remind us our situation."
Not that they all will miss Norbert, Ace was the only one who truly missed him, but everyone was worried about Hagrid.
Dumbledore had spoken with Hagrid, after making it clear that he knew he had a dragon, the old Headmaster had assured Hagrid that he would personally see that Norbert where relocate to a safe place and with his kind. A much clearer conversation than the one of Ace with Snape, which mostly had been insinuations and assumptions, on which the pirate insisted in defend Hagrid and Snape didn't give a single details, which led to a lot of confusion.
After several letters, preparedness and hide a restless dragon, who just listened to Ace, and a pirate who insisted on teaching the dragon how fly and breathe fire; finally it was stipulated that Norbert would go to Romania with Charles Weasley; and Snape would make the trip on the weekend to deliver the little beast personally, this more than anything to control and prevent anything that could go wrong.
But as expected, despite all the precautions and preparations that had been made, Hagrid was worried, so worried as a parent when a child traveling alone for the first time.
"Hagrid's really lucky," Neville murmured finally.
Hermione sighed in defeat.
"Why you say that, Nev?" ask Fred.
"Do not you think it is incredible that wanting a dragon more than anything in this world, he encounters a traveler with a dragon egg in his pocket?"
Ace had gotten up and ran a questioning look at those present.
"And what's more luck," Ron said, "That he have won it in a bet, those things are worth a fortune"
"Me being a criminal..." Ace began suddenly staring at some point at infinity, ignoring the questioning looks from everyone for so peculiar phrase "Why would I bother to steal such a valuable thing, only to lose it on a bet"
"He was drunk?" Fred said, "It would not be surprising."
"But in exchange for what? What could Hagrid offer that was as valuable as a dragon egg?"
"Maybe he just wanted to get rid of the egg" Ron said.
"I would sell it" George said, "Sure there are hundreds of people who would buy it at any price"
A Tenryuubito, Ace thought quickly, but this was not the time to stray from the topic ramblings at what would be the situation it they were in the Great Line.
"Fluffy?" Neville asked, thinking hard in what Hagrid could have that was as valuable as a dragon.
"The Philosopher's Stone" Ace said.
Silence...
"Hagrid would not give the stone in exchange for a dragon," said Hermione quickly, "it is not even his."
"He does not even have it, anyway" finished Neville.
"No, He would not," Ace said, "But if the exchange was not the dragon for the stone, but, the dragon for information"
"Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore" Ron insisted.
"Not directly, and if when they talk about the dragon, Fluffy came in conversation too." Hermione muttered.
"Hagrid would have to be very drunk" Fred said.
"Believe me, it is not so difficult," said Ace, remembering when he met the man and the rest remembered Christmas.
"Wait," said Neville hoping to see if he understood well, "are you saying that someone came up to Hagrid that night, with the strict purpose to exchange a dragon for information of Fluffy?"
"It should be someone who knew about Fluffy" Fred said.
"Someone who knew that Fluffy guards the stone" finished George.
Everyone was silent, not daring to speak up their thoughts.
"I think it's best to go with Hagrid" Ace said "It's the only way to confirm this".
Everyone nodded and rose quickly, packed up and went towards Hagrid's hut. The cabin had returned to normal, no more windows shut and curtains closed, no more bottles of brandy, and Fang was in calm again.
"Ah! Boys! "Hagrid greeted cheerfully," What brings you in today? Like something to eat? "
"In fact, Hagrid," Hermione began, "we wanted to ask you ..."
"How are you feeling?" interrupted the pirate.
Certainly, Hagrid wasn't expecting that, either the kids because they had come to ask how he managed to get Norbert, no?
"Good, Ace, I'm really good, although I'll miss him"
"And he will miss you too," continued the boy, "but it is the best for him, though Norbert was really lucky"
"Falling in your hands was a fortune, what kind of man was the one who brought it?" Fred asked where he realizes what was Ace doing; a subtle way to avoid suspicion with the question.
"The one you won in the bet?" George continued, to add precision to the question.
Hagrid seemed to think a moment, forcing his memory to recall that night.
"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off." He saw Hermione, Ron and Neville look stunned and raised his eyebrows. "It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head - that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."
Ace did not seem surprised. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"
"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after... so I told him... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."
"And did he - did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Fred asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Well - yeah - how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep -"
Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.
"Music! Are you kidding" Ace said distracting Hagrid "I always thought a commanding voice, was enough."
"Of course not, Fluffy is a sensitive creature, and innocent. Especially the right head."
"Yes and the center head have a worse temper than mine" muttered the pirate.
"Yes, that head may be a little irritable ... Wait ... how do you know that, Ace?"
Hermione stepped forward standing in front of the pirate "Ace, soon it will be time to eat, you need to go and take your midday nap " Ace looked at her like she was crazy. "Sorry Hagrid, but you know with Ace's Narcolepsy he has to follow a fixed schedule of naps."
"I do not need ..." but the girl interrupted him with an elbow.
"Oh, Yeah, sure," said Hagrid completely confused by the quick change of subject. Before Hagrid could add more, the children rushed out of there.
"Hermione, I will not take any nap" Ace said as they walked to the castle.
"It was just to get out of there quickly," said the girl. "Even if you should take your nap. But that's not important now" and suddenly stopped to turn around and look at the guys who were after her. "Someone knows how to pass Fluffy."
Total silence.
"What do we do now?" Ron asked.
"We will go and get the stone, before someone else robe it." Ace said.
"Ace, this is bigger than us," said Hermione, "we have to tell Professor Dumbledore ..."
"This is no bigger than us, this is a treasure and we have to go for it"
"But..."
"Come on, Hermione," Fred said.
"After all you have read," said George.
"And you've seen"
"Are not you curious to see the stone?"
All eyes were focused on the girl who watched the twins with pursed lips, fists clenched tightly, and a clear anger they had nailed what she wanted and fought to control.
"That's what you say, because you want to go," said in denial.
"And you do not?" Ace asked, seeing that they were winning.
The girl did not answer for a moment, before adding. "It would be dangerous"
"After the troll I doubt it." Ron said for the first time in a long time.
"Besides," continued Neville "After Fluffy what could be worse?"
Before they could consider that thought, Ace stepped forward, drawing the attention of everyone.
"Yosh, we leave tonight" and something in the smile of Ace, reassured everyone.
-.-
Later that night, at dinner, Hermione did not complain that Ace had fallen asleep; maybe it was better to let him sleep long before that night.
And even later, when they went to the common room, no one was surprised that Hermione was reviewing in detail her notes, secretly memorizing and recalling every single spell and information that could be useful for tonight. Across the table she occupied, the twins were reviewing an object, not allowing anyone to see it; their self-assigned mission was to inform the time that all or at least most of the teachers and prefects were to sleep. How they did that, no one knew, they had said: "We have our ways" and that was all.
Ron and Neville sat, sunk in thought each one on each side of Ace, who sleep soundly without a care in the world.
It was not until the last member of the tower, a senior, went to sleep, that Ace awoke up and muttered: "Is it time?"
The twins replied a simple, "It's time." And so the five boys began to prepare to leave the tower.
Ron went to get the invisible cloak, while Ace walked to the window, letting in Mecha.
"All right, let's go"
They travel through the hallways and stairs in silence, under the cloak were Ron, Neville and Hermione, while the more experienced, Ace and the Twins, guided the group. They arrived with no problem at third-floor corridor where Fluffy lifted his three heads, and seeing that the visitors were the children his tail became a range of emotions.
Ace walked to big dog and started petting one by one the heads that demanded attention. On the other hand Ron opened the trapdoor, while the others approached.
"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."
"There was no sign of the bottom."
"I'll go first," said Ace, leaving Fluffy.
"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes."
"No problem, wait here until I tell you" and without more, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, he dropped into space.
He descended quickly, his blood pumping hard, dam of emotion, and finally ... Flump. With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, His eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.
"It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"
Ron followed right away, one by one they fell, Fred followed then George, Neville and Hermione to last.
"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.
"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you!"
She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Ace, Neville, George, Fred and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing. Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her.
Trying to get free they fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them. The only one not moving was Neville.
"Stop moving!" he said. "I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"
"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.
"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.
"Devil's Snare it likes the dark and the damp" said Neville "We need fire!"
"Yes - of course - but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.
"Forget the wood, we do not need it" said Ace.
But before Ron could said that they were wizards, and they did not need wood or Fred or George say that Ace was very calm, as if everything was in control, Ace took a deep breath and exclaimed "Enkai" as a wave of fire from the boy expanded, in complete control without touching or injuring any of the boys. In a matter of seconds, the boys felt it loosening grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.
"What the hell was that?"
"Enkai - Blaze Commandment" said Ace as if it was nothing.
"What kind of spell is that?" ask Hermione.
"Wait, did you use wand less magic?" said Ron.
But Ace was looking at the dark passageway in front of him.
"Did you hear that?" he asks.
Every one of the group looked at the passageway in alarm, except Hermione. "I have never heard any 'Enkai' spell"
"Hermione" said Fred eyes still on the passageway "I'm more worried on what Ace's animalistic hearing catch just a moment ago that in what wand less spell he use."
She hate to admit it, but he was right. "This is not over" she said to Ace as they started to walk on the passageway, all they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls.
"I think I hear something?" Ron whispered.
A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."
"There's light ahead - I can see something moving."
They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.
"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.
"There is just a way to found out" said Ace.
Steadily, Ace began to move around the room, he was not afraid of the strange birds, if as Ron said, the birds decided to attack, his Mera-Mera fruit would protect him from any harm. But no attack came, He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked.
The others followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried her Alohomora charm.
"Now what?" said Ron.
"These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione.
They watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering - glittering?
"They're not birds!" Fred said suddenly.
"They're keys!" George continue.
"Winged keys..."
"Mecha" call Ace "It is your turn" Ace raised his arm where the bird was placed and flew.
Ron examined the lock on the door.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one - probably silver, like the handle."
"You hear that, Mecha?"
A cry was heard as an answer, as the bird cross the cloud of keys and feather.
Meanwhile the twins search around the room. "Look! Broomsticks!"
Ace, Fred, George, and Ron, each seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, Ace noticed a large silver key.
"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings."
Ron went speeding in the direction that Ace was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom.
"Ace" call Ron "Mecha is faster, we need to corner the key so he captured the key."
"Right! Fred, George, you on the sides, Ron you from above and I will go from below. Mecha, you catch that damn key"
This was his moment, and Mecha knew it, this was his moment to show off. Using the full force of his wings, the bird swooped on his prey of blue wings, which could just go straight without changing direction, since otherwise the guys would catch it. Mecha raised his claws and in a swift motion he captured the big key.
Neville and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber.
The bird came down with Hermione to deliver his prey, and once she has it in her hands she rammed it into the lock and turned - it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered.
"Ready?" Hermione asked the boys, her hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.
The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.
They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Neville, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly - the towering white chessmen had no faces.
"Agh, don't tell me we have to play?"
Behind the white pieces they could see another door.
"We've got to play our way across the room." said Ron. "I think," he pause "we're going to have to be chessmen."
He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.
"Do we - er - have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the others.
"This needs thinking about" I said. He turned back to the knight "With one of us to join you is enough?" the knight nodded. "Well, that makes things easier. Now, do not be offended or anything, but none of you are that good at chess -."
"We're not offended," said George quickly. "Just tell us what to do."
"I will take the place of one of the black pieces..."
"No man in my command will fight while I sit back and watch."
"Is the only way," insisted Ron "it is easy if it is only me."
"This will be like the wizard chess, where the pieces smash each other?" Hermione asked uncertainly.
Ron watched the pieces "Most likely"
"And that should leave me calmer?" Ace insisted sarcastically.
Ron sighed in defeat, and he finally said, "Okay, but only you Ace, you take the place of that bishop"
"What about you?"
"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.
The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, and a bishop, turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving two empty squares that Ace, and Ron took.
"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. "Ace... move diagonally four squares to the right."
Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.
"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken.
They lost pieces, but also won many, but as time passed, those waiting outside the board became more nervous.
"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" Hermione shouted.
"There has to be another way" shouted Neville.
"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, Ace!"
"But -"
"We have to get the stone before Snape or not? This is our only chance."
"Ron -"
"Please, this is something I need to do."
There was no alternative.
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 ... the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out. Hermione ran beside Ron, to check if he was OK.
Ace's full attention was on the girl, who the moment she sighs in relief he turned his eye to the king, and moved three spaces to the left.
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Ace's feet. They had won. As the chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear, Ace took the crown and rush to Ron, which was surrounded by the Twins, Neville and Hermione, with Mecha on her shoulder.
There was blood on his head dripping on his cheek, but not much, at least it did not look to be something serious.
"You stay with him" Ace said, placing the crown on Ron "I will go ahead to get the stone"
"We will go with you," said George
"Don't think you're going to get rid of us so easily," Fred continued.
Ace stood there for a moment, thinking about the best course of action.
"Okay," and with that he start to run "Neville, Mecha, Hermione, you stay and look after Ron."
Ace, Fred, and George charged through the door and up the next passageway.
"What do you reckons next?" said Fred.
"Quirrell's spell, and Snape's." answered his brother.
They had reached another door, and Ace pushed it open.
A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making all of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, at the other side of the room, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, looking at them.
"Well, my brother," said Fred, "We wanted to fight a troll"
"The universe has a peculiar way of granting wishes"
"Well," Ace said as his fingers thundered "I'm curious to know how strong this thing is ", and he lunged to the creature without anything else than with his fists alone.
"In other circumstances I would worry," George said, pulling out his wand.
"But we're talking about Ace" Fred pulled out his wand to.
Standing at different points in the room, the twins were positioned so that they surrounding the troll, while Ace was engaged banging and dodging the huge mace. The twins pointed to the mace and flew off.
"Excellent," said George, without seeing that suddenly, and with an enormous force, troll waved his arm to one of those responsible for losing his mace and threw Fred across the room.
"Fred!" Exclaimed the two boys while Ace took advantage of the moment to strike the troll, with all his strength, in the head, and the creature fell unconscious.
George was already with his brother, when Ace ran toward them.
"Fred, are you okay?" ask the pirate.
"You wanted to know how strong that thing was" said Fred, with one hand on his head "it hits hard believe me"
Ace did not respond immediately while rapidly checking the blow in Fred's head, nothing serious, just a scratch.
"Fortunately it did not have enough momentum"
"Don't tell me it could have been worse?" Fred said as Ace nodded. "Ouch, well, let's get out of here. I cannot stand the smell."
They pulled open the next door, but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.
"Snape's," said George. "What do we have to do?"
They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them 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 are trap". Said Fred, still holding his side, it seemed that he was not as good as he claimed.
"Look!" George seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. The other two looked over her shoulder to read it:
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever 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.
"You stay here," Ace said, "I will go for the stone"
"Okay," replied George, watching the state of Fred "let's figure this out ..."
But Ace had already entered the black fire. It did not burn, as expected, but it felt different than a normal fire, it itchy, it was like passing between multiple branches of pines that stung, but it didn't hurt.
Once on the other side of the flames he was surprised to find a small room with no apparent danger, but in the center rested a very familiar mirror.
But where was the stone?
It did not look that he could move further on, it had to be in that room, and the mirror was the answer.
He carefully moved to the mirror, knowing he would see the blue sky and the sea in it. And so it was, blue sky and sea, his reflection, tall and strong, was again on the cover of the Moby Dick, in his hand stood a blood red stone, smiling he turned around and walked to the man who was sitting on the chair under the mast.
Even with oxygen and serum, the man he called Oyaji, commanded respect.
And Ace offered him that to get rid of those tubes.
-.-
After several minutes, the purple fire faded, but only for a few moments to let in new visitors.
"Fred, George!" Hermione exclaimed, followed by Ron supported by Neville.
"Shh ... we are thinking" In their hands was a piece of parchment.
"What are you doing?" Hermione said, when she suddenly noticed the state of Fred "What happened?"
"Did you saw a troll in the previous area?"
"Yes" she replied fearful of the answer.
"That's what happened"
Well, thought the girl is not as bad as they are so at easy.
"Where is Ace?" Asked Hermione.
"Remember that wand less spell" continue George.
"Yes" she replied fearful of the answer again.
"Ace crossed the fire as if it was nothing"
"Leaving us with seven dwarfs" pointed Fred at the seven bottles.
The boys watched the fierce flames, and Ron could only utter "Merlin's beard how he did that?"
"I do not know, but to ask we first have to figure this out" said Fred.
"We almost have it, just ..." said George
"Oh! Give me that!" cried the girl, taking the parchment.
After reading it, Hermione let out a great sigh and the Twins, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing they felt like doing.
"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."
"And I suppose," George said, "that you already know the answer."
"Of course not," said Hermione. "But everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."
She quickly went to the table, and noticed, for the first time, the candies that were in front of each bottle.
"And that is?"
"It is our elimination method to decipher what is in each bottle"
"Ok, uh ... Give me a minute."
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 ..."
"We don't want to know it"
"We want to solve it…"
"…Ourselves"
"As you wish, I will go for Ace"
And she took one of the bottles, sipped the content and went down the black fire.
Once he had vanished in the flames, Fred and George looked at each other "Good thing we had not done anything, yet."
"Surely you are, my brother, I do not think she will like the idea of a joke"
"And what exactly are you two planning?" Neville said, clearly everyone had forgotten he was there.
The twins only smiled.
-.-
Across the black fire, Hermione emerged from the flames, in one wide, fire-lit room, where the only object that was there was a mirror, and in front of the mirror was Ace.
The boy looked like he had not noticed the arrival of the girl, being so absorbed in what he saw in the mirror, but for some reason tears were falling from his eyes.
Well, if she knew something about Ace it was that surely he would not like to know that she had seen him cry.
"Ace!" called the girl.
Hermione turned her view to the black fire, giving him the chance to wipe out the tears.
"Hermione, what are you doing here?"
"I came looking for you" answer the girl.
"Ron?"
"He regained consciousness"
"I'm Glad" Ace muttered.
"So this is the test of Dumbledore?" asked Hermione.
"So it seems, has something to do with this mirror but I cannot understand what the rules are." Ace began to move around the mirror "He did something to the mirror, the last time I did not see this"
"Last time?" wonder girl "This is the mirror you found in December?"
"Yup"
"What did it used to do in December?"
"It showed what I most wanted, but now it shows me the stone" after finishing a spin around the mirror, stood beside it. "I know what I see right now is not what I want most ..."
"Maybe Dumbledore enchanted the mirror to show what one most desires, related to stone"
"Something like trick the mirror, you think he could do that?"
"We're talking about Dumbledore, not for nothing he is the most brilliant minds of the age."
Giving two tentative steps she placed herself just behind Ace. "Can I try?"
Ace, without thinking for a second step aside, leaving space for Hermione to observed her reflection.
The girl then looked at her reflection, no big news, but a moment later, the reflection Smiled at her. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket - and as it did so, Hermione felt something heavy drop into her real pocket. Somehow - incredibly - she'd gotten the Stone.
"Ace" she called, as she put her hand into the pocket of her skirt and took the stone.
After taking it out, Hermione carefully observed the stone while Ace watched the stone and then the mirror, muttering "I do not understand".
Hermione could not help but chuckle; Ace seemed more intrigued by the mystery of the mirror and the stone, than the fact that they already had the stone.
"What did you saw besides that you held the stone?" asked the girl just in time before Ace decided it did not matter "Maybe that's the answer."
Ace move a couple of steps, standing before the mirror again; without the stone, it seems, the image that unfolded before him was the same as the one he had seen in December.
"I am presenting the stone ... to my father," he said after choosing the words so that she understood.
"Your father?"
Seeing her questioningly look Ace hurried to add: "No Potter, but Oyaji, the man who received me as a son and I called him father. None of us had the same blood, but he called us his children and we called him father... "
"And you gave him the stone?" Hermione ventured to say.
"Yes, although I have the feeling that he would refuse to use it, he would keep it as a gift but I do not think he would use it for eternal life."
"Ace..."
"Well, we found the stone, what if we go back with the other, before they decide to come and get us?"
Noting the desire to change the subject, Hermione answer with a quick "okay", as Ace continued walking to the black fire.
"I just want to know how we will cross ...?" but she did not finish the question, Ace with his hands separated the fire with what appeared to be a normal fire orange.
As if it was nothing, Ace continued to advance, followed closely by Hermione.
"Without doubt, Ace, you owe us a very good explanation."
Back in the room with the bottles, the twins held the smaller bottle, cap in hand.
"You found it?" Ron asked.
"Hermione found it" Ace replied, while he approached Fred.
"Excellent, what will we do with it?"
"Nothing, we will deliver it to Dumbledore" shout Hermione
"But we can use it before we give it up?"
"No way"
"Guys, let's go" Ace said as he repeated the trick of separating the fire, this time with the purple fire.
"That requires a good explanation"
"Tomorrow, please," Ron muttered.
"I'm very tired." Neville continued.
The pirate just sighed before adding, "Really, you can't endure anything."
-.-
Author's Notes
Ok, I don't understand with when I am more uneasy I feel the need to publish...
First of all, just do not think I write so fast, with a chapter of Firefly it takes me at least a month to get it ready; I write the chapter in my native language and then translate it into English, then it's the review from my Beta.
I'm almost finished with Book One. Yei! That excites me a lot, I think that's why I got excited and wrote, in my native language, all the way through the chapter 13 and 14, before I translate chapter 13 at the end of last month.
Now I have part of the last chapter of Book One, I only need to refine details of preparing Book Two and we are ready to go.