She landed with a soft THUMP, on something soft and springy. Something rather like a – like a plant?
Looking around, she saw Ron and Harry standing in the middle of the room, being slowly covered with creepers crawling around them. Hermione was still free, watching in horror as the two boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they struggled, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.
"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is-it's Devil's Snare!"
Strangely enough, the plant didn't seem to want to wrap around her. It slithered around her, never touching her.
"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Hermione cried when Ron retorted.
"Hermione, it hates light!" Lizzie cried, remembering the lesson they had on dangerous plants that they were not to approach.
"Lumos Maxima," she yelled, and a jet of light burst out of the tip of her wand, illuminating the whole room. The Devil's Snare shrunk back, unraveling and releasing the boys and Hermione. They fell through holes in the floor, onto the hard stone.
"Lucky you two pay attention in Herbology," Harry said as he clambered up, wiping sweat off his face.
"Come on you guys, let's go," said Lizzie, pulling them along.
"Can you hear something," whispered Ron.
They listened, straining and a soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
Lizzie rolled her eyes.
"I don't know…sounds like wings to me."
"There's light up ahead - I can see something moving."
Their reached the end of the corridor and saw a large chamber, filled with small jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling around the room. On the opposite side of the room was a heavy wooden door.
"Do you think they'll attack us if we run across the room?" Ron asked.
Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once…well, there's no other choice…I'll run."
He took a deep breath, lifted his arms to cover his face, and sprinted across the room. Instead of sharp beaks and claws tearing him to shreds, he reached the door untouched. He tugged the handle once, twice, but it was locked. The three of them followed him. They pulled and heaved but it wouldn't budge. Hermione's Alohomora charm and Lizzie tried to pick the lock, but it wouldn't budge. The door was magically sealed.
"Now what?" said Ron.
"These birds…they can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione.
"That's cause they're not birds," Lizzie said. "At least, not that I can tell. They're keys. And I think were supposed to catch the key that belongs to that door."
"But how," Harry asked.
They looked around, and Harry yelled, "look, broomsticks!"
She and Harry rushed to grab one while Ron examined the lock.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one, probably silver like the handle.
Nodding that they heard him, they kicked off into the air, soaring into the flock of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the keys darted away so quickly it was next to impossible. Lizzie was rubbish at Seeker, and Harry made her feel awkward and clumsy on a broom, watching his weave through the rainbow of feathers.
"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one - there - no, there- with the broken wing."
Lizzie went speeding at it, going too fast and flying right past it and crashing into the ceiling. "We've got to get close to it!" Harry called not taking his eyes off the key.
Lizzie shot at the key from behind, herding it towards Harry. Harry dived at it, and with the key trying to avoid both of them, it flew down low enough that Hermione was able to jump and scratch it from midair.
She ran over to the door, ramming the key into the lock, and turned. The moment the lock clicked open, the key took off again, barely able to fly with the damage of being caught twice.
They ran into the room, which was so dark they couldn't see anything at all, but once they stepped into it, light flared to life at once.
They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were almost twice their height. Facing them across the chamber, were the white pieces.
"There's the door," Harry cried, and they started walking forward, but were blocked when the white pawns pulled swords out and blocked their way.
"Now what do we do," whispered Harry.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play out way across the room."
He glanced around, taking in the pieces, before saying, "Harry, you take the empty bishop square. Hermione, you'll be the Queenside castle. Lizzie, you don't suck at chess, so, you take the Queen, and protect the King at all costs. As for me, I'll be a knight."
Ron climbed aboard the horse, and Harry, Lizzie, and Hermione took their assigned spots.
"What happens now," Harry asked.
"Well, white always moves first in chess," Ron said, peering across the board. "And then, we play."
He directed the pieces, and they moved silently to where he sent them. The first real shock came when the other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to bits and dragged him off the board.
"Had to let that happen," Ron said shakily, his face ashen. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."
The white pieces did not have mercy. Every time they sacrificed a piece to win the game, it was smashed to bits and dragged off the board. Thrice, Ron had only noticed just in time when the other three were in danger. He himself darted around the part, taking away almost as many white players, Lizzie shouting out strategies that might help.
There was a pause in the action as Ron considered his next move. "Almost there," he muttered.
Lizzie gasped, realizing what Ron was considering doing. "Ron, quit it. You better not be thinking what I think your thinking about."
"Lizzie, you know it's the only way. I have too!"
Harry, who realized what they were talking about, shouted, "NO! No Ron."
"It's the only way! If the Queen takes me, Harry's free to check the King."
Hermione, the last one to understand, gasped and turned to him. "Ron you can't, there must be another way."
"NO, there isn't. This is chess. You've got to sacrifice pieces to win the game. Do you want to stop Snape from getting that Stone or not? Harry, it's you that has to go on, I know it. Not me, not Lizzie, not Hermione, you."
They waited with bated breath as he commanded his stone horse into the path of the white queen. She turned, stabbing his horse with her lance, and he fell, screaming to the floor.
Hermione and Lizzie screamed, and Hermione made to step off her tile, but Harry and Lizzie turned to her, both yelling, "don't move! We're still playing."
Hermione and Lizzie stood there, petrified with fear, while Harry silently walked to the King, proclaiming, "Checkmate." The sword in the King's grasp fell to the floor, and the chessman bowed, leaving the board clear for them walk through the door on the other side.
They rushed to Ron, and Hermione whispered, "is he dead?"
Lizzie saw his chest rising and falling, and sighed in relief, saying, "no, just knocked out." She looked at the back of his head which had hit the floor, and there was thankfully no blood, just a large bump. "Hermione, he'll be fine. But we've got to hurry.
They ran to the other door, flinging it open to reveal, a disgusting smell, making them pull up their robes to cover their noses. Lying flat on the floor in front of them was a troll, even larger than the one from Halloween, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.
"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over its legs.
He pulled open the next door, the three of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing frightening in here, just a small table with seven bottles standing in a line.
"What do we do?" Harry asked.
They stapped into the room, and instantly a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway, mesmerizing purple flames high in the air. On the other side of the room, black flames shot up in front of the other doorway. They were trapped.
"Look!" Hermione cried, pointing at a small scroll lying next to the bottles. Harry and Lizzie leaned over either of her shoulders 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 us 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, are all 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.
Hermione let out a great sigh, and Lizzie noted she was smiling.
"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.
"But so will we, won't we?"
Lizzie stared at Harry in surprise. "Harry Potter, you should know that Hermione here possesses more logic than you and me combined. This is just a silly little puzzle. She'll solve this in a second."
Hermione flashed her a smile, and said, "Give me a minute."
She read the paper several times, and then walked up and down the line of bottles, pointing at them and muttering to herself. At last, she clapped her hands.
"Got it," she said. Lizzie nudged Harry with her arm, a satisfied smirk on her face. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire - to the Stone."
They all stared at the tiny bottle.
"There's hardly enough for one of us," Harry siad. "That's barely one swallow."
They all exchanged glances. "Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"
Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.
"You drink that," Harry said, pointing at Hermione. "No, listen, get back, grab Ron. Use the broomsticks and they'll get you past the trapdoor and Cerberus." Lizzie interrupted him, saying, "Cerberus won't hurt you. I told him not too." Harry nodded, and continued. "Get to the owlery, send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we'll need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."
Lizzie nodded, saying, "I'll wait here. If he gets past you, I'll stop him from getting past this room."
Harry nodded, but Hermione said, "what if it's You-Know-Who. What if he's with Snape?"
"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" Harry said, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."
Hermione's lip trembled, and she dashed to Harry and threw her arms around him.
"Hermione!"
"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know."
"I'm not as good as you."
"Me! Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery - oh Harry - be careful!"
"You drink first," Harry urged. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"
"Positive," said Hermione. She took a long swig from the bottle at the end, and shuddered.
"It's not poison," Harry and Lizzie said at the same time.
"No - but it's like ice."
"Quick, go, before it wears off."
"Good luck - take care -"
"GO!"
Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire.
They stared after her for a few seconds, before Harry turned to the small bottle. He reached to grab it, and Lizzie hugged him hard, saying, "You better come back to me you jerk." He nodded, laughing and pretended not to notice the tears in the corners of her eyes.
"Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.
He set the bottle and walked forward, through the flames, and into the next chamber.
Lizzie could only watch helplessly, and wait, hoping she would see him again.