To address one reader who pointed out the fact that Snape couldn't be the one after the stone because Harry just came from Snape's office: There are many ways to get to that particular corridor, and the teachers who were part of the stone's defense must have some way to get down there quickly in case the alarms were tripped. Of course, they would know how to disarm the alarms too, for those wondering. Kudos, Charlie Quill, on your astute observation. For that, this chapter is for you.
"Are you ready for this?" Harry asked his two friends, and when they nodded his hand found the doorknob.
It opened easily, as the door hadn't been shut completely. Harry shot a wary glance at his two companions as the door creaked open. A faint musical melody drifted to their ears, and Hermione pointed out the still-playing harp in the corner.
"He's already been here," Harry said, noting the trap door that lay open. "Let's go." They crowded around the black hole, peering into the depths.
"How far down do you think it is?" Colt asked, a sudden chill washing over him. Both Hermione and Harry shrugged as Colt sat back on his haunches. "Does it seem…quiet to you?" They all turned to gaze at the harp, which had inexplicably stopped playing. A low grumble could be heard from above them, and they all looked up to see three humongous heads looming over them. Harry pushed Hermione into the hole, jumping immediately after her. Colt followed suit, but not before Fluffy ripped a chunk of his shirt from his shoulder.
The three children landed hard on a firm but giving surface, which began to move under them.
"Is everyone okay?" Harry called, hoping that none of them had been injured from the fall.
"I'm okay," Hermione called.
"Me too, but Mum's gonna kill me. This was my best jumper." Harry chuckled a little, moving his limbs to make sure nothing was broken. Before he could stand, however, something slithered out and wrapped itself around his neck. He looked around at his friends to see they were in the same predicament. Out of instinct, he began to struggle, but that seemed to only make it worse. As one, the three children chorused.
"Devil's Snare!"
"We have to relax," Hermione explained.
"What good will that do?" Harry yelled out.
"Do you remember nothing Professor Sprout taught us?" she called back, forcing her muscles to relax. Almost instantly, she sank through the vines, causing Harry and Colt to cry out.
"Hermione!" Harry called out in panic. But through his struggling he heard her voice from below him.
"Just relax! Trust me!" Harry looked around in a panic as Colt closed his eyes momentarily before sinking through the vines.
"Colt!" He lurched up, trying to free himself from the vines' hold, but they only gripped him tighter.
"He's not relaxing, is he?" Colt asked Hermione once he'd picked himself up off the floor. Hermione shook her head and pulled her wand, but was at a loss as what to do next.
"Think, think," she muttered to herself. "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare. It's deadly fun…but will sulk in the sun! That's it, Devil's Snare hates sunlight!" She pointed her wand at the mass of vines above her. "Lumos Solem!" A beam of light shot forth from her wand, causing the vines to jerk away, thus relinquishing their hold on Harry. He dropped through unceremoniously, and Colt laughed as he helped his friend up.
"Lucky you didn't panic," he joked. Harry brushed himself off and glared at Colt.
"Come on," they heard their friend's voice from ahead of them. "If we don't hurry, we won't be able to stop Sn-whoever from getting the stone." Harry and Colt rushed forward and joined Hermione in the hall. As they walked, they began to hear fluttering ahead of them.
"What is that?" Hermione asked, straining her ears. As they neared the end of the hall, the rustling grew louder. They reached the end of the hall and gazed at the large chamber before them. It looked oddly immaculate for a room buried beneath the castle, but stranger still were its occupants. Hundreds of birds were flying around, glittering the light. Colt looked closely at the layout of the room and saw a door on the other side. He strode over to it purposefully and pulled on the handle. But it wouldn't budge. He tried a couple of unlocking spells, but none worked.
"I'm gonna have to fly," Harry said from behind him. Colt turned to see him running his hands over a broom carefully placed in the center of the room. He then turned his attention to the birds flying around, expecting one of them to dive at him at any moment. But then he realized they weren't birds at all…they were keys. Harry nodded at him in agreement and began scanning the room for the key that fit the door.
"It's gonna be an old-fashioned one," Colt offered, peering at the lock on the door.
"I see it!" Harry said, grabbing the broom. But as soon as he kicked up off the ground, every key in the air began zooming at him, causing Hermione to shriek in panic. She dove for the door and grabbed Colt's hand as they pressed themselves against the wall.
Harry flew up and around, dodging the metal keys at dangerous speeds. A few grazed him as they tried to swarm his vision, making him momentarily lose sight of the key he needed. He felt the blood drip down his face, but he ignored it, searching desperately for his target.
Then he saw it again: a key, a little larger than the others, with a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and forced into the lock. It was surrounded by other faster keys like some sort of guard, but Harry was quick. He darted forward, thrusting his hands into the mass of keys. He felt them scratching his hands, but to no avail. His fingers closed around the old key and he dove down, heading straight for his friends.
"Catch the key!" he called out, and Hermione readied herself. Harry threw the key down as she reached up for it, grasping it firmly. Harry pulled up in time, followed by the rest of the keys. Hermione quickly opened the door, ushered Colt through, and held the door open for Harry. But Harry wasn't going to make it to the door before the keys overtook him. With the old key in her hand, Hermione waved it around, darting back to the hallway they had come from. Harry flew through the door as the keys switched targets.
"Shut the door! Go on!" Hermione yelled at her friends.
"Let the key go! Come on!" Harry cursed her Gryffindor bravery silently as he watched her dodge several attacks. She found a haven in a small nook across the room.
"I can't without letting some of these buggers in with you. Just go, I'll be fine!" Hermione waved at her friends from her crouched position in the corner. The keys were hovering dangerously overhead, waiting for her to move. A few of them saw Harry move from the doorway and darted that direction. Quickly, Harry grabbed the door and slammed it shut.
Colt protested as Harry shut and bolted the door, but knew it was the only way to go on. "What next?" he asked in exasperation, running his hands through his disheveled hair.
"Someone's already handled it for us," Harry stated, staring at the room before him. Large pieces of stone were piled around the room, as if statues had been blown apart. Harry gazed at the line of black figures facing away from them, and the ruins of white dust that lay on the other side of the room.
"It's a chess board," Colt stated, "Or it was. Whoever was down here just blasted their way through. Guess they were in a hurry." They walked quickly across the rubble and through the next door. A foul smell filled their nostrils, and Harry turned away instinctively.
"What is that?" Colt asked, covering her mouth. But his question was answered as they saw the large mountain troll resting in a rather uncomfortable position in the middle of the room.
"How long do you think this has been here?" Colt asked Harry. He smiled at his friend slyly as they carefully tiptoed past the unconscious troll.
"I'd say Halloween," Harry chuckled. Colt rolled his eyes as they stepped through the next door. "You know," Harry continued, "the more we go on, the more I don't think my uncle could be the one after the Stone."
"Why, Harry?"
"Well first, as skilled as he is, there's no way my uncle could catch that key. He was a Chaser his years here. And he loves chess, so I don't think he would have simply blasted his way through."
"Unless he was in a hurry," Colt pointed out.
"My uncle can beat me in five moves," Harry replied. "And that troll was still breathing," Harry gestured behind him. "My uncle hates trolls. He would have killed the thing outright just because." They entered the next room and Colt looked at Harry.
"Yeah, but only the teachers can bypass their own defense." He pointed to the seven potions placed carefully on the table. Harry groaned as purple fire lit up behind them, and black flames licked the doorway ahead.
"Now what?" Harry asked. Colt stepped forward and pulled a scroll from the table, unrolling it and allowing Harry to gaze over his shoulder as he read:
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 hidden 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 on their insides;
Fourth, the second on the left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though are different at first sight.
"Now that is my uncle," Harry sighed.
Colt turned to Harry, smiling. "My brother used to bring logic puzzles home from high school." Harry shot him a quizzical look. "He's a Squib, my oldest brother. Mum and Dad sent him to Muggle school; he wants to be a math professor."
"Okay, so what do we do?" Harry pulled his friend back on track.
"Give me a minute," Colt said, taking the scroll over to the table and repeated the riddle to himself, pointing to each bottle in turn. His brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to decipher the logic puzzle. After a few minutes, he clapped his hands together.
"I got it!" Harry walked over as Colt began explaining.
"This one," he picked up the smallest bottle, "will get us forward through the black flames." Harry took the bottle from Colt's hands.
"There's only enough for one," he pointed out. "Which one gets you back?"
"This one," Colt picked up the round bottle at the right end.
"Take that one," he began, "go back and get Hermione. Take the broomstick up and out past Fluffy. Get a message to Dumbledore with a school owl. I'll go on and hold whoever is down there. That'll give Dumbledore enough time to get here."
"And what if You-Know-Who is with him?" Colt asked timidly.
"Then I'll see if my luck holds out," Harry answered darkly. Colt shook his head.
"Snape's had a bad influence on you." He downed the potion in his hand and shuddered.
"What's it like?" Harry asked.
"Like ice," Colt answered as he clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Good luck, Harry.."
"You too, Colt," Harry said as he watched his friend walk through the purple fire. He turned to face the black flames and fingered the small bottle in his hands. He paused for a moment afraid to go on; afraid of what would happen if his uncle were the one to face him on the other side. Pushing his fear down, he drank the potion in one gulp. Hot ice swept through him and he forced himself through the black flames. He stopped dead as he faced the man on the other side of the flames.
"No," he whispered helplessly.
Alright, let's take a vote. Who wants to lynch the author for that terrible cliffhanger? -show of hands-
…wait a minute…
Next chapter will wrap things up. Thanks to all who are sticking through this.
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