Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


Chapter 12 – Through the Trapdoor


Snape did not join them in the training classroom over the four hours that they waited. They'd missed dinner waiting on him, something Ron was still lamenting, and knew they were close to missing curfew as well, though none of them cared. Finally, Harry decided they'd waited long enough and the three snuck out of the classroom and made their way to the third floor. They didn't have the cloak, but luck was on their side and they didn't run into any problems.

"Alohomora!" Hermione cast the spell to let them into Fluffy's room. They had been prepared to immediately start singing the school song – the only form of music they could create given they had no instruments – but Fluffy was already asleep.

"Voldemort's been here already." Harry said as they looked to the enchanted harp that was playing a soft melody. Knowing they had no time to waste, the three began to carefully push Fluffy's large paw off the trapdoor, sighing in relief when the movement didn't wake him. "I'll go first." Said Harry. "If it's safe I'll call for you to follow. If not, go back to McGonagall. Maybe she'll believe us when she hears I've gone through the trapdoor." Ron and Hermione nodded and Harry jumped down into the darkness. He fell for only a few seconds before landing on something soft and calling up for the others to follow. It was not a moment too soon, he realised, for Fluffy started barking, obviously having woken from his nap. Ron and Hermione landed beside him.

"Lucky this cushion thing was here." Said Ron, but he wasn't thinking that for much longer.

"Stop moving, both of you!" Hermione cried. "This is Devil's Snare, if you move it will only kill you faster."

"Kill us faster? Well now I can relax!" Ron seemed incapable of not moving as he continued to try and pry the plant off him, but Harry followed Hermione's advice.

"What did Professor Sprout say in Herbology about Devil's Snare?" He asked Hermione, who was clearly trying to remember herself. It took her a few moments, but eventually she came through, as she always did.

"That is sulks in the sun! Devil's Snare hates sunlight!" Both she and Harry began to carefully try and pry their wands out from under the plant enough to cast a spell. Finally succeeding, they cried together "Lumos Solem!" Blinding sunlight shot out of their wands and the Devil's Snare immediately began retreating, almost letting out a cry of pain as it went. As the vines released them to move toward the darkness, a hole was created that the three fell through, hitting the cold stone floor hard.

"Thanks." Muttered Ron as they caught their breath. Harry and Hermione nodded and they began to make their way down the corridor they found themselves in. A buzzing noise could be heard from the end, getting louder as they drew closer. Entering a room they discovered it wasn't a buzzing at all, but the flapping of wings.

"Keys?" Harry asked confused, having expected some kind of bird. A door slammed suddenly and the three turned to see another door across the room.

"We're not too late. He's not that far ahead!" Harry sounded relieved.

"The door's locked." Said Ron, having run over and trying the unlocking charm, but to no effect. "I bet one of the keys unlocks it, and if the lock is anything to go by, we're looking for an old rusted looking one." Harry nodded and began scanning, his seeker skills being put to good use.

"There!" He pointed. "It's got a broken wing."

"And we've got a way to catch it." Hermione nodded towards a broom standing alone off to the side. By the tone of her voice she didn't like the looks of this and neither did Harry.

"It's too easy." He agreed. Still, with no other alternative he climbed on the broom and took to the air. As soon as he did, the keys stopped floating about lazily and began to attack him. While not quite as easy as he'd originally thought, Harry still made quick work of catching the key and throwing it to Hermione. She unlocked the door and held it open for Harry who flew through, followed quickly by the slamming of the door to stop the keys. Their entrance into the next room was neither subtle nor quiet, and they realised immediately that they should have been more careful when they saw a figure standing several feet away. They had thought that it was Voldemort who was just ahead of them, and their noisy entrance would give him a chance to attack, but they couldn't have been more wrong.

"What…explain yourselves, all of you!" McGonagall shouted, looking angrier than they'd ever seen her. Another figure, Snape, came to stand beside her, and the trio wondered if they were in more trouble now than they would have been had it been Voldemort; both professors looked apoplectic.

"Professors!" Harry gasped, having not expected this turn of events. "What are you doing here?"
"That is not the question needing an answer, Potter." His head of house growled. "What were the three of you thinking coming down here? I cannot think of any reason why beyond a desire to die, or at best to break every school rule imaginable."

"We were trying to keep the stone from Voldemort!" Harry retorted, getting angry. "We came to you, told you we thought the stone was in danger and you sent us away like errant children. What else were we supposed to do when you wouldn't believe us?"

"As always your assumption is entirely inaccurate, Potter." Sneered Snape. "Professor McGonagall did take your warning seriously, enough so that we came down here ourselves to make sure that the stone was secure."

"And you couldn't have just said that?!" This was exactly the type of thing Harry hated, and what he'd been working towards never having done to him again since he was seven years old. Adults often dismissed children and discounted their thoughts and opinions, but Harry would not be dismissed.

"We are not required to inform you of every movement we make, Mr. Potter." Said McGonagall.

"No, but it didn't occur to you that in this you might have wanted to? If you had just told us you'd take care of it instead of dismissing us completely we wouldn't be here!" McGonagall's lips pursed, but she said nothing to that remark and Harry knew that if nothing else came of this evening, he had made McGonagall think twice about dismissing people.

"Be that as it may, you should never have come down here!" She said finally.

"No, but we did, so what now?" Ron spoke up. He and Hermione had remained silent in the face of their teachers' anger, but Harry's bravery was rubbing off on him. Hermione too. Though she was unable to verbally question the professors, she stood up alongside Ron and Harry.

"We will deal with your punishment later." McGonagall decided. "For now you will remain with us. I am not sending you back alone, Merlin knows how you made it through the first time."

"It really wasn't that hard." Said Harry. "Honestly I'm surprised you consider the stone secure when three first years can get through the traps." McGonagall glared at him and Harry went silent. Their attention now turned to the new room they were in, and more specifically what trap they faced now. As they followed the professors further into the room, Ron gasped.

"Whoa! A chess board!" Ron, who loved chess, was quite in awe. They had made it almost across the board when the pawns moved, blocking their path. "Do we have to play to get across?" Ron actually sounded excited.

"Not today, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall waved her wand and the pawns returned to their original position, allowing them to continue to the door behind them.

"Of course!" Gasped Hermione, seeing her teacher dismantle the trap so easily. "You transfigured the chess set, didn't you professor? And Professor Sprout gave the Devil's Snare, Professor Flitwick, probably charmed the keys…are all the professors guarding the stone?" Although still mad, McGonagall couldn't stop the twitch at the corner of her mouth at her brightest pupil's quick deduction, though she said nothing. The next room they entered was empty save for several bottles lined up on a table. At least, that's all there was until they closed the door and fire sprang up, blocking their way forwards and backwards. Snape strode forward with purpose and picked up one of the bottles, examining it closely; this was clearly the trap he had set.

"Someone has been here." He said after a moment, turning to his colleague. "The potion is not all there, someone has drunk it." McGonagall's face went from angry to worried. She turned to face her students and they could see the apology in her eyes; clearly they'd been right about someone trying to steal the stone.

"Is there enough for us all?" She directed to Snape who shook his head.

"Not even with the extra vial I brought." He produced another bottle from within his robes.

"Then we send them back and go on ourselves." She decided, but again Snape shook his head.

"There is not enough of the potion that will allow them to go back for all three." He explained. "This was not designed for multiple people, which is why I brought the extra vial for us. There should only be enough of each potion for one person; however, as they are not full grown, two of them should be able to return."

"And there's enough for three to continue?"

"Just. And again, only because one is not full grown." McGonagall nodded and turned to her students once more, trying to decide which two would return, but Harry beat her to it.

"You two go back." He said to Ron and Hermione. "Send an owl to Dumbledore and stay safe." They nodded, albeit reluctantly, clearly not wanting to leave their friend. Snape handed them a vial off the table and Hermione drunk half before giving the rest to Ron. They turned towards the door they'd come through and walked through the fire blocking their path as if it were nothing. Snape then handed Harry the vial off the table, while he and McGonagall shared the one he'd brought. Harry drank down what little of the liquid was left and followed the professors through the fire, not feeling any heat from it, as they made their way forwards. The next room housed a creature Harry was unfortunately familiar with, though luckily in this case the troll was already knocked out. Further proof that someone had beat them here. They went through another door, and Snape and McGonagall were on high alert, Harry joining them as he felt his scar begin to burn once more. Moving forwards, they saw a figure standing at the far end of the room, in front of the Mirror of Erised.


A/N - One more chapter till the end of year one, then we get Ginny properly brought into the story!

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