I own neither Harry Potter nor Star Wars. I promise to do nothing with other people's characters they wouldn't have had them do themselves. Of course, for Star Wars, I could have the Ewoks (living teddy bears that wear little more than leather hoods and the bones of their enemies) craft an elegant hippy gown for their new friend Princess Leia. Right before they try to eat her friends.

The five students made their way out of the chess chamber.

"I don't feel right, leaving Ron behind," said Hermione. Her face was screwed up with worry.

"He'll be fine," said Fred. "I don't think there's anyone in Hogwart's as good at chess as he is."

"That's right," George agreed. "If it's something he wants to know, he'll know everything there is to know about it. It's just that annoying 'don't want to know it' stuff he has trouble with."

"Like everything but chess and quidditch," added Fred.

"Quiet," whispered Harry. "We're at the next area."

A closed door lay ahead of them, and a foul odour was tainting the entire area.

"Ugg," gagged Neville. "What could that be?"

"Only one way to find out," answered Harry. He opened the door. The chamber was empty. The nearly unbearable stench lingered, though.

"Of course," said Hermione. They all looked at her. "This all must have been here to protect the Philosopher's Stone. If there were creatures set here to guard it, they wouldn't be needed any longer."

"Then why not dismantle the whole thing?" asked Fred.

"They probably will this summer," answered Hermione. "It wouldn't make sense to leave any animals or creatures down here if they weren't needed, though. They would have been removed."

"For whatever reason," said Harry, "we don't need to deal with it. Hold your breath and let's go."

Harry and the others held their breath and moved through the small room as quickly as they could.

"Pawn to E4!" Ron called out.

He was sitting on the queen side knight, directing his pieces from there. The first of his pawns slid forward two spaces. The black side immediately responded by sending their matching pawn forward to stand in front of it.

"Knight to F3!"

He sent out his King side knight. The black pieces mirrored his move. Ron threatened the knight with his bishop, only for the black pieces to counter with a pawn.

Back and forth, the pieces went. Ron didn't actually move the piece he was sitting on till 12 moves in. The first casualty was on the next exchange when Ron lost a pawn. He took out the invading piece with a pawn of his own.

They were twenty moves in before Ron lost another pawn. He had been quite nervous about the stakes of this game and had been playing quite conservatively.

He was shaken quite badly when a black rook suddenly charged down the field and demolished his own rook! This left his own knight in a position to attack the black rook. He called for it, and the horse he was sitting on galloped over, reared onto its hind legs, and struck the castle with its hoofs. The rook exploded into dust.

The game went on and on. There was one stretch where the enemy queen was right next to him. He was protected by a pawn, but it was still pretty unnerving for her to be standing there, glaring at him the entire time.

Ron ended up sacrificing a bishop in order to break a hole in the defence surrounding the enemy king. His own king was threatened by the enemy queen and a rook before Ron was able to pin the black king down between himself, a pawn, and the black's own bishop. The black king threw his crown down with even more disgust than the last time.

Ron climbed down from his knight and surveyed the battlefield. He eyed the door he was now supposed to go through, then the door where his brothers and friends had gone ahead.

"I wonder where I'm supposed to find Dumbledore, anyway?" he asked himself. He shook his head, gave a sigh, and ran to the door. Opening it, he slipped out of the chess room.

Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the Twins found the next room was even smaller, and barely held all them. As soon as they all had passed the threshold, flames shot up to block both entrances. Black flames blocked their path forward, and purple fire prevented them from moving back. A series of bottles were arrayed on a table, with a note. Hermione picked up the note and read the logic puzzle that was obviously left by Professor Snape.

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 hold 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.

"Can you figure out which one lets us move ahead?" asked Neville.

"Of course," said Hermione. She studied the riddle for a moment, pointing at each bottle as she eliminated possibilities. She singled out the smallest bottle.

"That one," she said.

"There's hardly a swallow in that bottle," said Fred. "Which one of us goes in?"

"All of us," replied Harry.

"I don't think that bottle contains enough to get more than one of us through," argued George.

"It doesn't matter," said Harry.

"Ummm," Fred said, "I think it might matter."

"I wouldn't trust it," explained Harry. "Why would anyone leave the key in the same room as the lock? I know that's been the case so far in all of this, but we can't count on that trend continuing. This is obviously a trap of some sort. If all of this was really meant as protection, then none of those bottles should let you through. If Professor Snape left it, I'd bet drinking any of them would probably incapacitate you."

"Then how do we get through?" asked Hermione.

Harry looked at the wall next to the door frame that housed the black fire. He ignited his lightsaber and started to slice through the stone. In less than a minute, he had created a new opening large enough for them to all move single file into the final chamber.

The large room was circular, and in the very centre was a tall, ornate mirror. Standing with his back to the mirror was Argus Filch. He hand was clenched around the throat of a very scared looking Daphne Greengrass. Her breathing was ragged, and it was clear that he was very near to choking her! In the hand that wasn't choking Daphne, he held her wand, pointed at the approaching children.

"We meet again, Potter," the caretaker rasped.

"Mr Filch," Harry said. The others spread out so that if they needed to, they could fire spells off without accidentally hitting themselves.

"No!" Filch yelled. "Not anymore." His eyes shone red with a demonic light. "I'm far greater than that squib could ever be."

Neville had been staring at Daphne since they had entered the chamber. He could contain himself no longer.

"Let her go!" he yelled at Filch.

The red-eyed man glared at the Longbottom boy.

"How typical," Filch sneered. He let out a mocking imitation of Neville. "Let her go! You contribute nothing but noise." Dismissing Neville, he looked back to Harry. "I want the stone," he demanded.

"The stone is gone," Harry exclaimed. "Flamel destroyed it."

"I figured as much," Filch said. "It's been obvious ever since I got down here that the stone never came back here. At least until now." He peered at Harry's lightsaber, pointing at it with Daphne's wand. "You've got yourself a new toy since the last time we met, haven't you? How convenient your magic sword is the same colour as my stone. Perhaps a simple trade will give us all what we want. You want the girl, you give me the stone. Just hand over the sword, I'll get it out myself."

Harry was dismayed how much the evil man had either guessed or figured out. The possessed caretaker had been squeezing the young Slytherin girl's throat tighter as the conversation continued.

"If she dies, you lose your only bargaining chip," Harry said, trying to get Filch to loosen up his grip.

"I'm immortal, brat," the possessed caretaker sneered. "If she dies, I lose nothing I haven't already lost. Now choose!"

Harry didn't know if the stone which now focused his lightsaber would actually provide any benefit to Voldemort/Filch, but he was out of options and out of time if he wanted to save Daphne. Filch's hand had closed entirely around her throat, and her face was changing from red to purple as she ran out of air!

Harry extinguished the blade. Filch's eyes shone with greed as Harry tossed the weapon to him. Daphne was thrown down as Filch reached his hand out to catch the device! His mouth opened in surprise when it suddenly flew past his grasp and darted across the room! Everyone turned to follow its flight and stared in shocked amazement as they saw the summoned weapon fly into the hand of Ronald Weasley!

Neville darted forward, grabbed Daphne's arm, and started to drag her away from the startled Filch.

Ron, who was able to mask his approach by coming up behind the twins, broke into a run for the last few steps towards Filch, fumbling with the unfamiliar device. Pressing everything he could find on the golden handle, his thumb pressed the activation stub just as he got within striking distance of Filch. The blade ignited, and Ron attacked. The young Gryffindor lacked finesse, and he was not trained in any form of combat, but he had the element of surprise on his side and a good deal of luck.

With one swipe, he slashed at Filch with the blade of light, and the man's arm fell to the floor. Flying out of the caretaker's now detached grip, Daphne's wand went clattering away on the stone floor, out of reach. With a scream of pain and rage, Filch reached out with his remaining arm, and Ron froze as he was paralyzed with a wandless body binder. Ron could feel his throat being squeezed with magic as his body was lifted off the ground. A flurry of spells came at the one-armed caretaker from Harry, Hermione, and the twins, but none were having any lasting effect. Jelly legs, the impediment curse, and tickling jinxes were sent out from Harry and Hermione, but they simply splashed off of him as he focused his hatred on Ron. The twins sent out more advanced and powerful stunners, cutting curses, and incarceration conjurations, but they swerved around the caretaker as if he were shielded against them.

"You're going to pay for that, boy!" Filch yelled at Ron. Just as he was beginning the incantation of what was sure to be a painful and horrendous curse, a bolt of brilliant red light flashed across the room, slamming into Filch and throwing him to the ground! Ron dropped and toppled over, still as a statue. Everyone once again looked back to the entrance to the chamber to see Professor Snape with his wand trained on Filch.

Displaying an air of aplomb that any Jedi would strive to match, the Potions Master addressed Neville.

"I believe, Mr Longbottom," he said as he slowly walked to the group of children, "that I instructed you to leave this in adult hands."

Neville didn't bother to answer. He was kneeling on the floor near Daphne, who was clutching at him in a crushing hug.

"Such disobedience," Snape said, kneeling next to Daphne and Neville, "calls for, shall we say, ten points from Gryffindor?"

The potions master let a very slight smirk slip onto his face as he performed a simple healing charm on Daphne's bruised neck.

"I'm afraid," he informed Neville, "that will somewhat offset the 60 points I grant you for your diligence in rescuing one of my Slytherins."

"Thank you, sir," Neville choked out. He was nearly in shock from the rapid changes and was just relieved that Daphne was found and alive.

Filch lay on his back, knocked unconscious from Snape's stunner. A dark grey mist began pouring out of the downed man's nose and mouth!

"Get behind me!" Snape commanded. The students moved to obey, but the before anyone could take more than a few steps, pain exploded in Harry's head as the wraith once again shot through him, and darkness took him as he fell to the floor, unconscious.