Chapter 10:

"Something is different about Harry" Hermione pondered to herself.

It was almost the end of the first week of term had started and she had noticed that something had shifted in her best friend. It was nothing big or obvious but a lot of little things. She honestly doubted that anyone who wasn't as close to Harry as she was would even notice.

For example, he was much more quiet than he used to be. Harry was never the most talkative person to begin with but he used to at least comment on things or crack a joke every once in a while. Now he didn't speak unless he was directly spoken to or in class. All other times he sat quietly or could be found scribbling and drawing in a notebook he always had with him. Often he simply vanished for hours at a time. Despite frequent searches, she could never find where he went.

Another thing that bothered her was that Harry didn't appear to eat or sleep that often these days. He always appeared late to meals and left early after shoveling in his food as quickly as possible. In the common room at night, Harry was the last one up the stairs and the first one down in the morning. The deep bags under his eyes suggested that he didn't sleep even when he was in his bed.

When she asked him about this bizarre behavior, he claimed that he had been inspired by her this summer and simply wanted to get ahead in his studies and that she should be happy she finally had a study partner that would be able to keep up with her.

To the outside observer, it would look as if Harry had finally started to grow up a little and take his education more seriously. A large part of Hermione was absolutely thrilled and a little smug at this new change in him and her role in it. However, another part of her was growing concerned.

It was almost as if her friend was worried about something hunting him. Whenever he entered a room, his eyes darted back and forth as if looking for something. He walked quickly with a tight hold on his bag as if he were afraid of being stopped and searched by someone. He mumbled to himself when he was writing in his book, muttering quietly about defenses and traps like he was planning some kind of raid.

Yes, something was definitely wrong. And she was going to find out what, even if she had to tie him to a chair to do so.

Unfortunately, she didn't get much of a chance to talk to Harry the next day. After Potions he had vanished again. He wasn't at dinner or in the Common Room that night. He wasn't anywhere in the library. Ron reported that the curtains around his bed were tightly shut when he went to bed and when he woke up.

When he didn't show up at breakfast, Hermione grew frantic.

"It's 'ine 'ione" Ron grunted through a large portion of his breakfast.

She shot him a withering look. "Its not fine Ronald. He hasn't been seen yesterday afternoon. He could be missing or hurt!"

Thankfully Ron managed a titanic swallow before answering her. "If he was hurt, one of the teachers would have told us. Look if he isn't in Defense, we can go to McGonagall. Deal?"

Hermione couldn't find fault with this so she attempted to finish her oatmeal and fruit in piece. Somehow, it didn't taste as sweet as if had just a moment ago.

When they walked into their first DADA lesson of the year, they found Harry sitting in the front row, writing frantically on a piece of parchment.

She let out a breath she hadn't been aware that she was holding. She moved forward to yell at him and maybe shake him by the shoulders for good measure when he looked up at her and gave her the most brilliant smile. He looked exhausted but ecstatic as if he had won 2 Quidditch cups at once while Malfoy fell into a pile of dung.

"Where on Earth were you Harry? We were worried sick!"

"I think I figured it out Mione! I was reading a biography and found a first hand account by Slytherin's son! The study has traps but I figured out why they didn't activate last time! I came from below and not from above. They only activate if you come down from the forest! Now I only need to figure out counter hexes and its as good as mine!" he babbled

"Harry I have no idea what you're talking about. What study? What traps? What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" She slid into the seat next to him as the rest of the class shuffled in.

Harry regarded her for a long moment and slowly nodded as if he had made up his mind about something. He opened his mouth and began to speak…

Only to be cut off as Professor Lupin strolled into the room and shut the door with a loud bang.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Professor Remus Lupin and I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. For this year anyway. You can all put your books away, we are having a practical lesson today."

A ripple of excitement spread through the room. They had never had a practical lesson before if one didn't count Professor Lockhart's experiment with the Pixies.

"If everyone could follow me, we are heading to the staff room this morning."

The students trooped after Professor Lupin. Hermione chatted with Fay Dunbar about the Transfiguration homework and her new shoes until Lupin ushered them inside the staff room.

The room was empty except for their group. A large old fashioned wardrobe stood against the far wall. It rattled ominously.

"Now a large part of the Third Year Defense Curriculum has to do with identifying and defending against magical creatures. Who here can tell me what a Boggart is?"

Her hand shot into the air as did a blonde Slytherin's girls and, to her shock, Ron's.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley. What is a Boggart?"

"Uhh… it's a shapeshifter isn't it? It turns into your fears. We had one in the attic once and Mum wouldn't let us near it."

"Excellent, 10 points to Gryffindor. As Mr. Weasley put it, a Boggart is a shape shifter. It turns into the thing you are most afraid of in the world as a defense mechanism. They usually like to live in dark spaces such as desks, crawlspaces or this wardrobe here. Now who can tell me what we are doing here?"

Again, Hermione thrust her hand into the air.

"Ms. Granger?"

"We are going to face whatever comes out for us?"

"Exactly. In a way, you are going to face your fears. The best way to defend against a Boggart is to learn what it becomes when it encounters you and defend against it. There is a spell that will repel Boggarts that is very useful to know. Everyone repeat after me. Riddikulus."

The class practiced the words a few times, although Malfoy looked reluctant.

"Alright, now we can begin. Mr. Longbottom, you can be our first participant."

A look of pure terror appeared on Neville's face as he shakily moved to stand next to Lupin and the wardrobe.

"Now Neville, what are you afraid of?"

Neville mumbled something so softly that Lupin, who was standing right next to him, had to ask him to repeat it.

"Professor Snape."

Lupin chuckled. "Perfectly reasonable, Neville. Now I need you to come up with a way to make Professor Snape funny. Picture it in your mind. Laughter is key to defeating a Boggart. Do you have it?"

Neville nodded. Lupin gripped the handle of the wardrobe and pulled it open. Out of the darkness stepped Professor Snape himself. He fixed Neville with his trademarked glare and sneer.

Neville raised a shaking wand and incanted. "R-Riddikulus." He stuttered. Nothing happened. He tried again.

Suddenly Snape was wearing a witches day robe in a bright shade of yellow. He was clutching a large handbag and wearing a large purple hat with a large stuffed vulture on it. The class let out a stream of laughter at the sight of the hated professor. The creature hissed, fled back into the safety wardrobe and shut the door.

"Wonderful Neville!" He turned to the rest of the class with a huge smile on his face. "Now who is next?"

Over the next hour, over half of the class faced their fears. There were giant spiders, clowns, snakes, and even a mysterious giant trout that caused Lavender to almost faint from fright.

However, much to her disappointment, Lupin called them off before Hermione could take her turn.

"Sorry to cut everyone short, but I need the last few minutes of class to explain the project we will be doing this year. Over the course of this year, you and a partner will be doing a series of assignments that will build upon what you have learned in class. These assignments will culminate during your final exam in June."

Even before Lupin stopped talking, people were practically running across the room to partner up with their friends before someone else could pick them. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Ron practically sprinting at her.

"These partners have already been chosen." Lupin said to groans of disappointment. He pulled piece of parchment from his pocket. "When I call your names please go stand next to your partners."

He called a few names until he got to her. "Hermione Granger with Anthony Goldstein." Hermione was pleased. She had never had a conversation with Anthony, but he had a reputation as a hard worker. They would work well together.

Lupin went further and further down the list. Harry ended up paired with Susan Bones, Neville was paired with Lisa Turpin, and Parvarti was matched to Dean. Eventually there were only 4 students left: Malfoy, Ron, Lavender, and the blonde Slytherin girl who had put her hand up at the start of class.

"Well" Hermione reasoned, "at least being partnered with Lavender will force Ron to have to study. Heaven knows she can't do it herself."

"Draco Malfoy with Lavender Brown."

Hermione let out a slight sigh. Ron wasn't going to be happy about this.

Already Ron's face slowly turned pale. The girl's face turned an impressive shade of red and then almost purple.

"And of course, that leaves Daphne Greengrass with Ron Weasley. Now don't worry we won't really start in on these until after Halloween but its good to know your partners beforehand. 10 points to everyone who faced the Boggart. Class dismissed."

"I'm doomed" Ron moaned for what must have been the 50th time. Harry couldn't help but agree with him.

They were sitting in the Common Room in the chairs closest to the fire. They were supposed to be working on homework but keep getting distracted by Ron's misery.

Daphne had cornered Ron on their way out of the Great Hall after dinner. She had dragged him away to a corridor to "explain some of the facts of life" to her new partner. Harry hadn't heard exactly what was said but it was easy to hear Daphne's shouted voice from two corridors away. Ron had come back looking like someone had burned a stack of Firebolts in front of him. Ever since he had been in a funk.

"Honestly Ron. If you just keep up with your studies and do your share on the project won't have a problem with you." Hermione snapped, annoyed that he was distracting her.

He gave her a nasty look. "You don't get it Hermione. She threatened my…" He let out a shiver and subtly moved to cover himself.

Harry shivered but tried to focus on his homework. The sooner he was done, the sooner he could focus on building his plan.

Over the past week, he had devoted almost all of his waking hours to devising a plan to breach Slytherin's study to get to the Time Stone. He hadn't slept more than 3 hours a night and was barely eating. It was hell. However, slowly but surely it was paying off.

Just last night, he had deciphered a section of Slytherin's journal describing a concept for a one-way warding scheme on the study. If a person came in through the forest entrance the traps would activate but if they came through the Chamber they would not. That way Slytherin would not accidentally fall prey to his own traps.

However, he was working too hard, even he could tell. Hermione was starting to grow suspicious; he could see it in her eyes. Sooner or later she was going to corner him. But that was a problem for the future. Right now he needed to focus.

The trio worked in silence for close to an hour before Ron finally threw in the towel. He loudly got to his feet, stretched, put his books away, and went to take a shower.

Belatedly, Harry realized that he and Hermione were the only ones in the Common Room beyond a pair of 7th years sitting in the corner studying.

This was clearly the opportunity Hermione had been waiting for. She shut her book with a snap and looked expectantly at him.

"Harry we need to talk right now. What's been going on with you?"

Internally he bit back a curse. He hadn't been expecting this conversation to happen so soon.

"What do you mean?" he asked lamely. She fixed him with an unimpressed look.

"Where should I start? You disappearing for hours at a time every day? Your new obsession with that journal? How about how you are not eating? Or not sleeping? Oh Harry, I'm worried about you. What going on. And don't you dare lie to me and say its nothing?" she said, her voice raising at the end.

He paused for just a moment. Hermione could see the gears turning his head, weighing his answer.

"I'm just trying to study ahead. Like you said this year is the most difficult one yet and they are only going to get harder from here. If I don't change my study habits now I never will. I want to be able to keep up with you in class."

He could tell she wasn't thrilled with his answer but she didn't seem willing to stir a fight. Yet.

"Ok its just… don't burn yourself out. You need to eat and sleep. And take a break every once in a while. I know how that sounds coming from me but still. I haven't ever had a best friend before and need you to be OK. OK?"

His promises and affirmations seemed to reassure her a bit more.

"It's getting late. I'm going to bed." She gathered her things and walked to the bottom of the girl's staircase. She turned back to him. "You know… if you ever need anything. Please come to me. You can talk to me about anything."

Harry nodded, feeling touched. He could count on one hand the number of people who had ever genuinely cared about him.

She went up the stairs.

He waited a few minutes to make sure she was really gone. He then pulled out his notebook and the journal.

Harry hated lying to Hermione, but he had already decided he couldn't tell her the truth. Somethings were better kept secret. Also this was Hermione, the most fact driven person he knew. She would never believe him without proof. She would try to have him committed.

He pulled out the long list of spells he was going to need to know before he could go anywhere and grimaced.

It was going to be a long night.

Sirius ducked two more gunshots as he vaulted over a boulder and sprinted into the woods. He moved frantically down the path looking for any place he could hide and transform. Spying a large ditch, he threw himself down the steep incline and rolled to the bottom in an ungainly heap. His side screamed at him where he had collided with the door to the house. He ignored it.

Above him, the muggle farmer's footsteps got closer and closer. Sirius could head his deep breathing and the barking of dogs in the distance.

The farmer stopped just outside the ditch. He didn't dare move or even breathe.

"Next time, I'll put one through your skull you bastard! Stay off my land!" He heard the farmer turn and slowly amble back towards his house. Sirius waited he could no longer hear his footfalls before he let out a shaky breath.

And today had been going so well.

After he had left the Grangers, Padfoot had wandered into London with one goal in mind: Getting to Diagon Alley. He would be able to get desperately needed supplies before he would need to head north. It had been a bit of a trial finding the muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Growing up a pureblood, he had only used it a few times before.

Once he had found the tavern, it had been easy to sneak through the crowded pub during the lunch rush. Nobody looked twice at a familiar that was being sent to fetch things for its master. In fact, Tom even opened the arch for him.

Once he was on the Alley itself, it finally sunk in just how much shit he was in.

His own face was glowering from posters that were plastered across every shop window and free bit of wall. Large, blinking print informed him that he had a 10,000 Galleon bounty on his head. Aurors patrolled in teams of two up and down the alley, doing random security checks on passersby. A team of four wizards were stationed outside the front doors of Gringotts, doing detection spells on anyone who came in or out, obviously trying to catch an impostor.

His half-formed plan of trying to somehow get into his family vault immediately died. He would have to find another way of getting things he needed. Like decent robes, shoes and a wand. Everything else could wait.

In the end, he had only been able to get anything at all because of pure luck. He had been pacing the alley for a few hours looking for something when he noticed a young mother and her toddler sitting at a table outside Fortescue's. The toddler was pitching a minor tantrum because her chocolate ice cream had fallen onto the ground. The exasperated mother dropped her wand into her shopping bag and went to comfort the child. Sensing an opportunity, Padfoot moved a little closer. The mother was completely distracted, making shushing and cooing noises at the toddler. He crept even closer.

Suddenly the toddler stopped crying and her eyes grew wide. "Doggy!" she cried in glee. Padfoot clamped his jaws over the bag and sprinted down the alley. "Hey!" the mother cried.

She tried to give chase but she was no match for Padfoot's speed. He ducked under the legs of an Auror and turned the corner and raced into Knockturn alley. He heard her footsteps slowly grow dimmer and then faded completely.

Padfoot huddled in the deepest, darkest corner of the alley and turned back into Sirius. He rummaged through the bag. He pocketed the wand and a bag of Bertie Botts beans before he found the real prize: a brand new set of robes from Madam Malkin's. Yes they were women's robes but Sirius wasn't in a position to complain. He was just glad for the warmth.

After that things had been better for a while. He had managed to escape the alley, slipping right past the Aurors and shopkeepers, and make his way to back to Muggle London. He hitched a ride on the back of truck that took a few hours outside London. When it stopped he got out and started to walk north. He made surprisingly good time, London slowing falling behind. If he only could keep this pace, he would be at Hogwarts in a few weeks, maybe less

In the end, it was his stomach that betrayed him. He had been living on berries and river water for two weeks now and his stomach felt like it was eating itself. Padfoot could keep going for longer than Sirius could but even his dog form had limits.

He stumbled upon a decrepit farm house a few miles outside Birmingham. The house seemed to be empty and this would only take a few minutes. His stomach clenched at the thought of food in any form and before he knew it, he was unlocking the door with his borrowed wand. There was no one inside but there was a fully stocked fridge and cabinets full of food.

He inhaled two sandwiches, a packet of crisps, and part of a ham in record time. He was reaching for a third sandwich when he heard the door open.

"Ellen?" a male voice rang out. "Ellen is that you?" Sirius froze, a sandwich halfway to his mouth.

"Ellen?" His footsteps faded away as he moved through the house. All was silent. Sirius stuffed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, grabbed an apple and started to inch towards the door

Suddenly a shotgun blast shattered the silence. The wood above Sirius's head splintered. He bolted for the door.

"Get back here you bastard!" the man roared. He fired again punching a massive hole in the wall where Sirius's head had just been. Sirius threw open the door and took off in a dead sprint, the farmer in hot pursuit.

It was finally the second week of October and the entire school had a party atmosphere at breakfast. Everyone even the professors, with the exception of Snape as usual, seemed to be in a joyous mood. For most older students, they were excited to be out of the castle for a few hours for the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. For the third years, this excitement was double because this was their first trip to the legendary village.

The younger years were excited to hear wild tales about the village from the older students and to start planning how they would spend their time once they got to be old enough. Older siblings regaled their younger brothers and sisters with stories and promises to bring back lots of sweets from Honeydukes. Gossip flew back and forth about who had a crush on whom and what they were getting up to in the village.

But among all this, Harry was excited for a different reason. After more than a month of preparing, today was the day. He was going after the Time Stone today.

He was ready. Or at least he really hoped he was.

He had spent hours pouring over spells books in the library, looking for counter measures and detection spells. There was no record of what signature defenses Slytherin had favored in his ward schemes, so he had been forced to try to be prepared for anything. He tried a few of the more powerful spells he had found in an upper year text book but he hadn't quite gotten the hang of those yet. He had even spent time in Myrtle's bathroom, speaking to the carving on the faucet in Parseltongue, just in case he needed it.

He had even gotten lucky that he didn't have a signed Hogsmeade permission slip, which gave him a large period in which it would not be noticed if he disappeared for a while.

Everything had seemed to fall into place for him to go today.

He just needed one more thing, and he was hoping it came today. It had to come today. His whole plan depended on it.

Three Weeks Earlier...

"Professor Sinestra says a permanent keyed alarm ward is impossible to bypass because you can't can't walk, swim, fly or apparate through it. Its detects the life signs of a witch or wizard and will go off if anyone goes near it."

He and Hermione were sitting in the library once again, working on an essay for DADA about wards.

"But I think it's easy to get around." she continued

He cocked his head. "Ok, I'll bite. How do you get through it?"

"Don't you see its obvious. You send in something without a soul!"

Now he was confused. "What doesn't have a soul?"

"Why a robot obviously. If you send in a muggle bomb defusing robot, it could easily get past the wards. In fact, a lot of magical problems could be circumvented with the right muggle device. Like I said, witches and wizards don't have an ounce of logic or common sense. They think they are invincible with magic so they never think of things from a muggle point of view. Wizards are more powerful but muggles can adapt better."

Harry didn't have an answer to that so he went back to his books. Slowly they finished studying and the two walked back to the dorm. However, something was nagging at Harry, something she said.

Wizard's didn't understand muggle devices.

Slowly an idea formed in his mind, a small one. He didn't have to go around the traps, he could go through them. Not with magic but with something else.

Harry turned and walked quickly to the Owlery, hoping to make it before curfew. He had some letters to send.

Now...

That had been several weeks earlier, and his order still hadn't come. He had been assured by the Apothecary that it would take a while but this was getting nerve racking. If it didn't show up today, he would lose his window.

The rustling of owls shook him from his thoughts. Mail time. He looked up, searching for the distinctive plumage of Hedwig. She was easy to spot among the grays and browns of the school owls as she swooped down toward him. She attracted almost every eye in the hall as she settled in front of him, and for good reason. Clutched in her talons, was one of the oddest pieces of mail that had many at people Hogwarts had ever seen.

"Wazz at?" Ron mumbled through his eggs.

"Honestly Ron. It's a Styrofoam box. Muggles use them in shipping fragile materials. What's did you order Harry?"

Harry merely gave her a grin as he tore through his box and pushed aside packing peanuts, looking for…

Bingo.

He quickly pocketed the object, hoping that no one would see it. It was just as well that everyone was distracted by the sight of the strange box and packing peanuts. They were actually passing it around the table so that every could get a good look at it.

Harry didn't care. Now, he was ready.

As if on que, Ron stood up and declared "I'm ready. Let's go to Hogsmeade." As one, the Gryffindor third years stood up and began to practically run towards their dorms to get their bags and coats. The rest of the school quickly followed.

Ron and Hermione walked with Harry up to the tower. They were uncomfortable with leaving him behind and were trying to reassure him.

"I know your disappointed Harry but it really won't be that bad. Just think of it this way. You'll know all of the good spots when you come next year." Hermione said brightly.

"Yeah, mate we can go to Zonkos for you! Oh and we can bring you loads of butterbeer and candy from Honeydukes!" At the mention of Honeydukes Ron's eyes got glazed.

Harry assured them that he would be fine and that he would be appreciative for anything they could bring him. He walked with them to the front door where Filch was waiting with a list of students. He shot Harry a nasty glare when he apparently got too close to the door, and he took a step back. Ron and Hermione gave him one last look and then there were gone.

He made it seem as if he was walking towards the library, just in case anyone was following him, and then he cut back towards Gryffindor tower. He quickly moved through the common room and up to his empty dorm.

Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and stuffed it in his bag. He let out a deep sigh.

He slowly walked back down to the first floor as to not look suspicious. He gave a quick hello to Professor Flitwick as he went.

He stopped in the corridor just off the entrance hall. He swung his cloak over his shoulders and walked towards the front door. Harry held his breath as he passed Filch, who was still checking students out.

Fortunately, the caretaker didn't even look in his direction as he was too busy menacing a pair of fourth years who had dirt on their shoes. Harry didn't understand why that mattered if they were LEAVING the school rather than coming in, but to Filch it apparently made perfect sense.

Harry quickly crossed the grounds until he came to the area of forest close to Hagrid's hut. He took one last look at the castle, and the stream of students heading out of the castle. He could just barely make out a person with flaming red hair walking down the lane.

He took another deep breath.

Showtime.

After several minutes of walking, Harry found himself once again in the clearing with the trapdoor. He took a moment to marvel at how well the door blended in with its surroundings. It was lucky that he had marked in someway or else he never would have found it again.

He heaved the large rock aside and pulled the door open. The tunnel was pitch black and a patch of cold air rose out. He shivered violently.

Some small part of his brain, the part that reacted violently in the presence of a Dementor, screamed at him to walk away and this tunnel was dangerous.

"Well, in for a penny in for a pound." Harry mutter quietly to himself.

He lit his wand and descended into the trap door.

The first sign of trouble came when the trapdoor shut and locked itself on its own. No matter how much he pushed the stubborn piece of wood wouldn't budge an inch.

Light flared from an unseen place, illuminating the stone walls of the short corridor. The curtains fluttered like beckoning fingers, trying him to draw him closer and closer. Seeing no other option, he entered the study. Somehow it looked different than before. Whereas before it had seemed homey and warm now there was a sinister quality to the air. The shadows from the fire cast sharp and menacing shadows on the walls. Even the air seemed cold and settled heavy in his lungs. He took a quick glance over his shoulder and was not surprised to see that the curtains had vanished leaving nothing but a blank stone wall behind.

Aware that he effectively walking in a mind field, Harry took a step forward. Nothing happened "Specialis Revelio!" he incanted. It was a very useful spell that would tell him if any spells were cast in the immediate area and what the general effects, if any, were. Seeing nothing, he took another step. Nothing happened again. Feeling slightly more confident, he took a third step, this towards the cabinet. He could see the bright green glow of the stone.

A light creaking sound was the only warning he got before a heavy book crashed into the side of his head, sending him to his knees. He looked up through a blurry haze of pain to see a legion of books rising from the chairs around him.

"Damn."

As one, the books pounced on him like a school of Piranhas, coming from all directions. "Impedimenta" Harry roared, stopping one of the books dead in its tracks. He cast it at another one, but there were too many books. By the time he stopped one, the spell wore off another one and it came back at him.

He dove behind the couch, but the books simply followed him. There was something wrong here. There was no way these books should be this heavy, they had to be enchanted. A large encyclopedia on magical creatures would have crushed his head if not for a quick roll. Another book hit him in the stomach, knocking the wind from him.

With a wince, Harry got to his feet and was almost decapitated by a fast moving dictionary.

Alright, he needed a new plan. If freezing them didn't work maybe fire would.

"Incendio" he growled, aiming at the nearest book. It burst into flames and disintegrated into a pile of ash. He cast again and again and was soon surrounded by a small mountain of ash. It was working, but too slowly. No matter how much he cast there was always another book ready to take its place. Some of the flaming books had even taken it upon themselves to launch themselves at him in a suicide attack.

Suddenly the floor began to tilt. To Harry's horror, he saw that the floor was being tilted in the direction of the now open trap door. A trap door that let into a several hundred-foot fall onto a hard stone floor.

The books attacked him with renewed vigor, each one forcing him backwards with the force of its strike. With a sinking feeling, Harry realized this was a two-part trap. The books were supposed to corral him backwards until the trap door opened and then they were going to force him over the edge.

He tried to burn as many books as possible, but more kept coming. Now the unnaturally heavy books were striking him every second in every part of his body. The floor kept getting steeper and slicker.

He felt something crack inside him as the books continued their onslaught. One struck him right in the mouth, snapping one of his teeth and causing him to spew blood. He was three steps away from the trapdoor, two steps away…

Suddenly his legs were taken out from under him and he was tipping over. He tried desperately to reach for something, anything at all. But there was nothing but air

And then Harry fell over the edge and into the darkness.