Chapter 19: Prelude to the Stone

            In the Common Room, we sat down and waited for Harry. Hagrid carried Neville, who was still knocked out cold, up to his dormitory, then told us to go to bed after Harry had returned. When Harry did, however, he brought Ron downstairs—half asleep.

            Harry started pacing.

            "Snape wants the Stone…he wants it for Voldemort…Voldemort's waiting in the forest…and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich…"

            "Stop saying the name!" Ron hissed, frightened.

            "Calm down, Harry," I said. "Just…just calm down, okay? Getting excited about it is only going to make it seem worse."

            "Well it is worse!" he yelled.

            "Hush!" I said. "You'll wake up the whole tower." Harry nodded and sat down in the chair in front of us.

            "But still…this is getting worse, yes," I said. "And what did Firenze mean by that? He said the same thing Dumbledore told me before we left for Japan."

            "I don't know," Harry shook his head. "But we'll have to keep our eyes on Snape. The minute he looks like he's gonna steal the stone, we'll go to Dumbledore."

            I didn't like that plan at all, but I did not voice my opinions.

***

            Syaoran and Sakura also did not have much to say about it. They were worried, yes, but they were more concerned with what Firenze had told me than anything else. Even as I woke up the next morning, I was wondering exactly what they had meant.

            Our exams were to start that May 4th, and Hermione and I were ready to tackle them with vigor. Harry and Ron were still trying to cram stuff into their head from Potions. I don't think they ever considered how fast the exams came upon us.

            It was hot, sweltering hot. The rooms were cooled by enormous blocks of ice inside tubs even larger than the ice, but it was still warm enough to make us all sweat. We took our tests with special quills with an Anti-Cheating spell on them, courtesy of Professor Flitwick.

            Then the practical exams began. Tap-dancing pineapples and mice-turned-snuffboxes and the Forgetfulness Potion danced away at our memories, and our grades worried us all.

            Harry seemed worried, but I couldn't do much to assuage his fears. There wasn't much anyone could do until the exams were over, really. History of Magic was the last one. The last one, and then we'd be free, free to visit with each other until the train came to take us home.

            Hermione and I were both relieved to find that the History of Magic tests weren't nearly as grueling as the others had been. Old Binns probably was still using the same one he had when the last goblin revolt had come about. Something was still bothering Harry, though. He kept saying that there was something he'd forgotten, and I didn't blame him at all. He wasn't really in the best of moods, considering all that we'd already survived and found out. I think he was still worried about what Snape might try.

            Sure enough, Harry leaped to his feet and took off out of the Common Room, his steps almost too fast to keep stride with.

            "Where are we going?" Ron asked. He'd been on the verge of taking a nap when it'd happened, so he was very tired.

            "I've just thought of something," Harry said, redoubling his speed. Hermione had to jog to keep up, but Harry's ashen face made him look deathly ill. "We've got to go see Hagrid. Now."

            "What?" I said.

            "Why?" Hermione asked.

            "Don't you think it a bit odd," he explained, huffing a little in his effort. "That the one thing Hagrid always wanted was a dragon, and—"

            "Oh, I'm sure lots of people want dragons for pets," I said sarcastically. "I'd love to have one following me around, biting my hand, breathing fire. Must make great marshmallows, dragon's breath."

            "—And a stranger just happens to turn up with a rare dragon egg in their pocket?" Harry pressed. "How many people walk around with dragon eggs in their pockets, if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

            "What?" I said. "What didn't you see before?"

            "Hullo," Hagrid greeted us, grinning. "Finished yer exams? Have time for a drink?"

            "Yes, please," Ron jumped in.

            "No, thanks, Hagrid," Harry said, sending a glance at the red-haired boy. "I've got something to ask you. The night you won Norbert, what did the stranger look like?"

            "Dunno," Hagrid shrugged. "He wouldn' take his cloak off. You get a lo' of strange folks in the Hog's Head—that's the pub's name."

            "Did he ask you about Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Suddenly, I caught on. Harry thought Hagrid might have let the secret to Fluffy out!

            "Did he offer you a lot of drinks?" I asked.

            "Y-Yes, ter both," he said, blinking. He looked as if he were trying to remember the events of that night. Hagrid babbled on about telling the stranger about his game-keeping duties, and what sort of creatures he took care of. "Then he said he had a dragon egg, and asked if I wanted to play cards fer it…he asked if I'd be up to it, and I tol' him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy—"

            "And did he—did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked calmly, but I could sense an edge of panic behind his words. Apparently Harry knew how slippery-tongued Hagrid was, especially when he had a few drinks.

            "Well—yeah," said Hagrid, looking at him as if he'd grown another head. "How many three-headed dogs do ya 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 and he'll go straight ter sleep—uh-oh."

            He suddenly looked horrified, but we were already moving.

            "We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort."

            "Neither prospect good," I said. We were in the dark and gloomy doorway of the school, both looking at each other, lost.

            "What are you four doing inside?" Professor McGonagall had appeared.

            "We'd like to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, rather bravely.

            "Wh-Why on Earth for?" Professor McGonagall said.

            "We wanted to talk to him about perhaps organizing a team to put together a map for next year's first years," I said, coming up with a story fast. It seemed plausible to me, and Professor McGonagall bought it. However, she had some extremely bad news.

            "I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said gravely. "He received an urgent message from the Ministry of Magic. You can talk to him in tomorrow, when he comes back." She walked off, carrying her great load of books.

            "Dumbledore's gone?" Hermione shrieked.

            "Snape must've done it," Ron said.

            "Without a doubt," Harry agreed. "It's tonight. Snape's going for it tonight. We've got to go to the trapdoor and try to get inside."

            Snape, however, had popped up, catching us unawares. He sent us off outside and watched us like a hawk for a long time, until dinner. We were then told that all students were to go to bed early that night, to get rid of the exam jitters and such.

            Harry, on the other hand, had other plans.

            "I'm going tonight," he whispered to us. "I'll get the Stone before Snape does, or I'll tear it from his hands. He can't make the Elixer of Life without certain Potions ingredients, right?"

            "Right," I nodded, having done extensive research on the topic.

            "I'll go under my cloak," he said.

            "Can you take Ron with you?" I asked. "It'll be a tight fit with three of us under mine."

            "What?" Harry blinked.

            "What, you think you're going to leave us behind?" Hermione asked.

            "We're coming, too, mate," Ron grinned.

            Snape, however, changed our plans. We had decided to "turn in" early, in hopes of just waiting outside the portrait door, but that didn't work.

            "Okay, Hermione and Angel, you go and tail Snape," Harry said. "Ron and I'll go to the trapdoor and play a song or something for Fluffy. Once the coast is clear, you come to the room, too."

            Hermione and I nodded. We walked up to the High Table, where Snape was finishing his dinner. Hermione wanted to speak with Professor Flitwick, anyhow. I was still remembering the fact that Snape had once been nice to me when he asked what I was doing there.

            "I-I'm waiting for Hermione," I said quickly, pointing to her. She was talking animatedly to Flitwick. "She wanted to discuss some of her test questions with him, sir."
            "Hmm," he nodded and walked past me. I watched him as closely as I could, hoping Hermione would wrap it up with Flitwick soon. She came over, a sort of flushed grin on her face, and we walked as innocently as we could while keeping our speed. We caught a glimpse of Snape heading for the dungeons—far away from the trap door.

            "Let's go," I said. "I don't think we'll have to worry about him for a while." I pulled the Invisibility Cloak over our heads, and we took off.

            "Yeah," Hermione nodded, still grinning.

            "What did Flitwick say, anyway?" I asked.

            "Well, he told me to tell you, too, so…" she grinned wider as we ran, fueling my curiosity. "Our scores were tied for the highest in our class. Above everyone else, even the Ravenclaws. 115 percent, can you believe that?"

            "With all the studying we did, I ain't surprised," I grinned. "We got everything, including extra-credit?" She nodded, still grinning.

            When we came to the trapdoor, we weren't grinning anymore. Fluffy was out cold, a bewitched harp playing a soft lullaby. Harry and Ron were peering into the dark square, arguing.

            "You did tail Snape, right?" Harry said.

            "Yeah, he was going completely the other way!" I ran up toward the hole. "Either he's really fast, learned how to bypass the Apparating Anti-Charm, or we are blaming the wrong dude."

            "I'd take the former," Ron said.

            "Either way, he's in there already," I said. "We've got to go after him. Let's go. Leave the cloaks here, I don't think Fluffy's going to wake up any time soon." Harry nodded, uncertainly, and we placed the cloaks in the corner. Ron looked down in the hole and gulped, loud enough for us to hear.

            "After you, Ron," Harry said. Ron nodded, though not happy with going first, and jumped in. He shouted up that there was some plant that gave a really light landing, and Harry, Hermione, and I jumped in after him. However, we heard a voice call down to us.

            "What are you doing?"

            "Neville, get out of here!" I shouted up.

            "You're going to lose more points for Griffindor, aren't you?" he accused us.

            "No, we're going to save the stupid planet, now get going before someone spots you!" I said.

            "Save the planet?" Neville asked. "What are you doing?"

            "You'll find out soon, Neville, now please, please!" I was close to begging. "Go back to the tower! Send an owl to Professor Dumbledore, tell him something's wrong. Tell him it's about the Sorcerer's Stone!"

            "The Sorcerer's Stone? What's that?" Neville asked.

            "Did you know you ask too many questions?!" I asked hysterically, and I felt Hermione and Ron and Harry trying to hold me down. "Get going!" He nodded and ran off.

            "Angel…" Hermione said, her voice a warning crescendo. She was not beneath me. I looked down, and in the gloom of the light, I saw long, black, plant-like tethers binding me, all the way up to my neck. It had begun to squeeze me to death. I looked around. Harry and Ron were also tightly bound, and Ron was looking slightly blue.

            "It's Devil's Snare," Hermione said weakly. "It likes the cold and damp…"

            "So make a fire!" I said.

            "But there's no wood…" Hermione wrung her hands.

            "Mione," I said slowly, carefully. "Think. What are you? And what are you carrying?"

            "Oh. Right," Hermione whipped out her wand, and several plumes of flame shot out and landed all around Ron, me, and Harry, ending with herself. The plant dropped us onto the hard stone floor below.

            "Lucky we landed on the plant, he says," Harry said, glaring at Ron.

            "Like I knew it was going to try to choke us all to death?" Ron said, looking grumpy.

            "We're out of it, thanks to Hermione," I said. "Let's move on."
            "Lucky Angel didn't lose her head when we were being choked to death," Ron retorted. "'There's no wood', my—"

            "Ronald!" I said. "We're through it! It's done! Let's move on with our lives, please!"

            "Ronald? Since when do you use my full name?" Ron said.

            By then we'd come to the end of the hallway, where we heard a loud rushing sound, like a thousand butterflies flying at once. It turned out to be a billion keys instead.

            "Keys?" I said.

            "They must be for the door," Harry said, pointing to the door opposite the one we'd entered.

            "Will they try to hurt us if we cross the room, though," I said. When David was younger, he used to throw things at me—but metal was his favorite. Keys even more so. They hurt.

            We decided to try it anyway. We crossed unscathed, but found the door locked.

            "Yeah, like he's gonna leave it unlocked," I muttered. "How are we supposed to get to them? They're all the way up there!"

            "On those!" Ron said, pointing. There were several broomsticks set up against the one wall.

            "Harry, Angel, you've got to get up there," Hermione said.

            "What key are we looking for?" I asked, grabbing a broom. There were only two.

            "Old fashioned, probably silver," Ron answered. Since when was he an expert on locks?

            "That one," Harry pointed to one with a broken wing. It was obvious that it had been caught in a hurry. I mounted my broom, but Harry was already after the key. That was when the keys began to attack him.

            "Harry!" I called up. "I'll draw the keys away, you try to catch the key we need!" He nodded and I rose up into the storm of keys. I flew around, catching as many of them as I could to keep them simply out of the air. The keys all chased after me, thinking that I had the key, giving Harry time to get it.

            "You guys unlock it!" I called down. "Harry and I will keep them at bay while you get through the door!"

            Sheepishly, however, I realized that the keys had already stopped chasing us. They had once Harry had caught the key. I landed on the stone floor, my face bright red. Hermione left the door open, so that we could get out of there just as easily.

            "What do we do now?" Harry asked. I had walked into a dark room, and saw nothing for a few moments. Joining Hermione and Ron, the four of us gaped around the room.

            "Isn't it obvious?" Ron said. "We've got to play our way across the room."

            "P-Play?" I stuttered. "Play Wizard's Chess across a room?! D'you see the size of these men? You see 'em? We could get killed!"

            "We could be killed by Snape anyway," Harry said. "Ron, you're best at chess. You direct us."

            Tight-lipped and uncertain, I nodded. Ron took the place of one of the knights, and I took the place of one of the castles. Hermione took the other one, and Harry became a bishop.

            "Okay," I said, hyperventilating. "Ready when you are, Ron."

            He nodded, and started up the game by moving himself. He took a lot of risks with himself, but didn't risk any of us, which left him little room to spare. Soon, it came down to the four of us, our king, our queen, and one pawn. On the other side, the queen, two pawns, and the king.

            I realized what Ron was doing.

            "Ron!" I shouted. "What are you doing? You'll get hurt!"

            "It's chess," he answered back, quite bravely, I might add. "You have to make some sacrifices."

            "Wha-What?" Hermione said. "What's he doing, Angel?"

            "He's going to sacrifice himself so Harry can checkmate the king," I said, swallowing the bitter bile that had risen in my throat. The white queen struck him from the black horse upon which he rode, and he was knocked out. Hermione cried out, but didn't move. Harry took that last step forward and the white king was defeated.

            The white pieces parted. I glanced back to see Ron, out cold. He was breathing, I could tell. He wasn't dead. It put a second stride in my step, and I followed Harry and Hermione as fast as I could

            "What do you think we have next?" I asked cheerfully. "A dragon? A troll? Perhaps a giant, even!"

            "Stop it, Angel," Hermione said, rubbing her elbows.

            "Sorry," I said. "What do you think Quirrell would be brave enough to put in there, though?"

            We walked through the door and saw a troll, knocked out cold.

            "A troll…" I muttered. "Why would Quirrell put a troll as his protection?"

            "I don't know," Hermione shook her head. "Let's get out of here."
            "I can't breath," Harry agreed and pulled open the next door.

            The last room held a table, a sheet of simple parchment, and nine differently shaped bottles. As soon as we were past the threshold of the room, a purple fire lit our way back and a black one led the way forward. Hermione read the paper, and grinned.

            "This isn't magic—it's logic," she said. "It's a simple game."

            "Too bad I was always horrible at logic," I muttered.

            "I'm not," Hermione said. "Let's see. Two of them will let you into the next room, and two will lead you back. Two are filled with wine and three are poison. The four we need are of equal size and shape."

            There were indeed four tiny round bottles.

            "These two," she pointed at the first two. "Will lead into the next room. And these two lead back."

            "There's only a mouthful in each bottle," I said, blinking. "Even if two of us go forward and one back, we won't all be able to go either way. One will still be left here."

            "Neville's gone to get Dumbledore, but I'm not sure he'll keep quiet," Harry said. "Hermione, you take Ron and go help Neville. Send Hedwig out, and get Professor McGonagall."

            "Tell her what's really going on," I told her carefully. "She'll want to know."

            "Okay," Hermione nodded, but her lip was trembling. "Angel… Harry… what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

            "I was lucky once," Harry grinned. "Maybe I'll get lucky again."

            "But…oh…Harry!" she flung herself around his neck and hugged him tightly. I smiled.

            "Hermione!" Harry looked at her, bewildered.

            "Angel," Hermione hugged me too. She let go and looked between us. "Just promise me you'll both be careful. Okay?"

            "We promise, Hermione," Harry and I said in unison. Hermione drank a little of the back potion.

            "Well…take care…"

            "GO!"

            Hermione walked straight through the purple fire.

            "Well, you ready?" I asked, taking a deep breath myself. I pulled out my wand and held the small bottle to my lips.

            "Yeah," he did the same.

            The potion felt like a million shards of ice had just crawled down my esophagus. I looked at the black flames, paused, then pushed through them, perfectly okay. Harry followed.     

            We saw the backs of the two people that neither of us were expecting. Neither were Snape. Neither were Voldemort. I recognized one almost immediately from the large purple turban. I did not recognize the other.

***

Who is this other person? Why is he in the chamber with Quirrell (C'mon, you know that stupid turban)?