Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter XX
April 1993
"Harry!" a voice cried out.
'Who is that?'
"Harry! Wake up!" The voice cried more urgently.
'She sounds awfully familiar,' Harry thought as he felt himself being pushed back and forth.
"Bloody hell! Wake up!"
Harry's eyes shot open to see a large brown figure standing over him. His head felt groggy and his vision was a little blurry; obvious side-effects of an overpowered Stunning Charm.
As his vision cleared, the large brown mass over him became the unmistakable visage of Hermione Granger. She was kneeling down beside him and had her hands on his shoulder, shaking him.
Harry shook his head to clear his senses before he turned to her. "I've never heard you swear before."
Hermione let go of him and rested back on her knees. "Seemed like an appropriate time."
"What's happened?" Harry glanced groggily back and forth down the hallway. All he could remember was that he had been thinking about what happened with Daphne when a voice had called out to him. After that, there was nothing.
"You've been stunned," Hermione informed him.
"Figured that out, did you?" He didn't need her to tell him.
"Danny and I were too." Harry couldn't help but think that that was the kind of information you lead with.
"What!? Where's—"
"The Room," answered Hermione, anticipating Harry's question. "But that's not the worst of it. Someone took Danny's wand."
Harry's mind into overdrive. Did someone know that the wand was a fake? Who would want to attack him and Danny? One name immediately came to mind.
'Malfoy's gone too far this time.'
"Where's the map?"
"Right here," Hermione reached into her robes and pulled it out. "It's how I found you."
Harry opened it hastily, scanning each section as quickly as possible until he finally found Malfoy in the Slytherin Common Room. A quick look also showed that Daphne was in her room and, more importantly, moving around.
'She's safe.'
Folding up the map, "Any word on Fred and George? Were they attacked?"
"No," Hermione shook her head. "They're with Danny in the Room."
No wonder he couldn't find them on the map, the Room of Requirements was the only place the map didn't show. Harry didn't know if his father and uncles had never found it or simply because the Room had the ability to appear in different locations.
"Good, let's go."
Hermione helped Harry get to his feet and they immediately set out to the seventh floor. Hermione had to full-out run just to keep up with him.
Once they reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, the Room's door quickly materialized as if it anticipated Harry's need.
Harry swung the door open. "Danny!" His eyes quickly found his brother and the twins standing together in the middle of the room.
"I'm here." Danny rushed over and Harry wrapped his arms around him. When they pulled apart, Harry kept his hands on Danny's shoulders.
"You okay?" Harry asked but more so about his control than his state of being.
Danny nodded. "Yeah, a little rattled, but I'm okay. Figured it was better if I came here. Stay out of sight, you know, just in case."
"Who could've done this?" asked Fred.
"Who would?" added George.
"We didn't see who attacked us," Hermione chimed in. "But it must be more than one person if they got Harry at the same time."
"Malfoy must have gotten one of his flunkies to help him." Harry's anger started to bubble at the mention of that greasy hair ponce.
"Are you sure it was Malfoy?" George didn't look all that convinced and neither did Fred.
"Yeah, he's been about the little stuff. Kind of a big move, attacking you and Danny straight up. What if one of you had fought him off, or even just seen him?"
"He's been gaining ground in Slytherin." Harry paused as a thought came to him.
'Daphne had been right. There were other ways to show one's superiority.'
"He might think now is his time to move in." Harry looked between Fred and George and still saw some uncertainty in their eyes.
"But why attack Danny and take his wand?" asked Hermione. She didn't sound all that convinced either.
"That's something I'll just have to ask him," Harry said menacingly.
Harry stormed through the Slytherin entrance wall and made a beeline towards the small congregation next to the main fireplace. At its center, sat Draco Malfoy. When he saw Harry approaching, he smirked and spoke with a tone of feign ignorance.
"Potter! What do you—?" Malfoy didn't have a chance to finish as Harry grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall.
"Where is it?"
Malfoy grunted from the impact but still replied in the same cocky mannerism. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Give it back to me right now or I'll—"
"Or you'll what?" Malfoy disarmed. "Beat me senseless right here in front of everyone."
That's exactly what Harry wanted to do. But he wouldn't, not yet anyway. Harry released Malfoy with a shove.
"Just give it back to me, Malfoy." He wasn't going to say it again.
"I haven't taken anything from you." Malfoy smiled devilishly. "Not yet, that is."
"I don't care about your games, Malfoy."
"That's your problem, Potter." Malfoy started pacing back and forth. "You have no sense of propriety." He made a subtle move and Crabbe and Goyle stood and moved behind Harry. "This is how it's done. It's not your fault, though, it's what happens when blood gets tainted." Crabbe and Goyle got closer and closer; ready to strike. "That's why you'll lose. That's why I'll..."
Harry threw back his elbow into Goyle's face and kicked Crabbe back all in one motion. At the same time, Harry flicked his wrist to retrieve his wand and bound the two of them in rope. He then turned and pointed his wand in Malfoy's face.
"...win." Malfoy nervously looked down at the tip of Harry's wand.
"Anything else to say?"
Malfoy stepped back. "You have no idea—" Harry punched Malfoy hard in the face. The force of the blow sent Malfoy back into the wall and he slumped to the ground. In retrospect, Harry probably put too much into the punch but he had heard enough empty posturing for one day.
All around them, the other Slytherins nervously watched to see what Harry would do next. Harry, though, only noticed one person staring at him. Daphne stood at the foot of the staircase to the dorms. She must have heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening. A part of him sincerely wished that she hadn't just witnessed what had occurred.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it, Harry turned away from her and back to the still form of Malfoy.
"Accio wand." From inside Malfoy's robes, a short black wand shot out and landed in Harry's outstretched hand. Harry tossed it back almost instantly. Malfoy had been telling the truth, after all.
Harry made a quick survey of the room. Most had backed away as far as possible and were looking between him and the pile of bodies on the floor. What surprised him were the looks of sympathy for Malfoy and disgust for him. Was he now the villain and Malfoy the hero? Either way, the tide was certainly turning.
Harry walked quickly over to Daphne. She was about to speak but Harry cut her off. "Go back to your room now and stay there."
"What's going on?"
"Please, Daphne," Harry pleaded. Now was not the time for Daphne to be Daphne.
"No!" Daphne fired back heatedly. "Not until you tell me why you've done this. This is not what we talked about."
"I don't have time to argue with you about this. Just do as I say." Harry's eyes softened. "Please, Daphne."
She finally seemed to sense that there was more going on. "Alright." Her expression then changed to concern. "Whatever it is, be careful, ok?"
"I promise." Harry meant it; to a point. He didn't know what was about to happen or where it might take him, but he would be careful.
Harry watched her go back down the stairs and waited until he heard the sound of her door shut before he turned around and left the common room.
He walked quickly, his robes billowing after him. He was heading for the courtyard that Danny and Hermione had been attacked. He had sent Fred and George there while he confronted Malfoy to survey the scene and look for any clues.
When he arrived, the twins were already waiting for him.
"We found nothing, mate," reported George.
"No one saw anything," added Fred.
Harry didn't have much hope that they would. "Alright, both of you, go find Professor McGonagall and tell her what happened."
"What are you going to do?"
Harry was already surveying the area. "Have my own look around."
The three of them parted ways, the twins towards the Transfiguration classroom and Harry for the spot where Hermione and Danny had been sitting. The two had been under one of the small trees in the courtyard. Hermione had said that they'd been leaning back against the trunk and had been hit from behind. Harry checked the base of the tree but didn't see anything worth noting.
Harry did a full three-sixty to survey the archways that surrounded the perimeter of the courtyard. He walked over to the one that offered the best angle to carry out an attack and not be seen. Harry lined up the shot carefully to lead him to the exact spot that the caster must have stood. He examined the entire area closely, looking for any evidence that would tell him anything about who did this.
He found nothing.
Harry looked up and down the hallway, trying to decide which way the caster might have fled after he had taken Danny's wand. Going with his gut, Harry went down the left corridor, his eyes peeled for anything.
The further he walked, the more despondent he became. He was about to give up and go back to look down the right corridor when he heard the pattering of footsteps. It could have been anybody. It was only late afternoon, though the sun was starting to disappear behind the castle turrets, but Harry's alertness wouldn't let it go without investigating further.
The pattering had stopped and Harry could only now hear a tapping sound of wood against stone. Harry flicked his wrist to retrieve his wand and slowly crept along the wall until he reached the corner.
When he made the turn, Harry couldn't believe he hadn't seen it coming.
"Hello, Harry." Adrian Grey was leaning casually against the wall. He had Danny's wand between two fingers in his left hand in clear view.
"Grey," growled Harry. It had been so long since he had paid Grey any mind. It was failure on his part that he hadn't kept better tabs on him.
"Grey," he said mockingly as he shoved off the wall to stand opposite Harry. "Always so dramatic, always so serious."
"Hand it over." Harry held out his hand.
"What, this?" Grey twirled the wand between his fingers. "I just found it on the ground. Strange, huh? Most people are more careful with their wands."
Harry could see in Grey's eyes that he was just playing with him. They both knew he was the one who had stolen the wand. Harry had the thought to summon the wand and be done with it but Grey had one arm behind his back which undoubtedly held his own wand ready to counter. Harry was forced to play along.
"I know who it belongs to. I'll take it to them."
Grey made a show of looking offended. "And lose out on my reward!"
"You want a reward?" It really shouldn't have surprised him that Grey would ask for something.
"I would think so. Wands are our most precious possession. I think that that would entitle me to something."
Harry would appease if only to get this over with. "What do you want?"
"Revenge,' Grey replied casually as he, in one quick and fluid motion, raised Danny's wand.
"Bombarda."
Harry had anticipated this but didn't bother moving to avoid the spell. Harry knew with Danny's wand that nothing would happen and, somehow, Grey knew that also.
"Funny." Grey held up the wand to inspect it. "Most people at the very least can get out a flicker when using another's wand." Grey smiled. "But you knew that, didn't you."
"I guess you and its owner just aren't that compatible." Harry tried to reason it away. He should have used a shield charm or done something. There had been no need to add to Grey's suspicions.
"Then, I suppose, there's no reason for me to keep it." Grey took the necessary steps to stand in front of Harry. "Here."
Just as Harry was about to take the wand, Grey said something else.
"Tell your brother he should be more careful."
Harry reached out to take the wand with one hand and grabbed Grey's wrist with the other. In one quick motion, Harry disarmed Grey and had him on the ground in an arm lock that resembled a chicken wing.
"You're going to tell me why you did this." Harry aggressively said into Grey's ear.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Grey replied with feign ignorance.
Harry knew he wasn't going to get anything out of him. Why would Grey first assault Harry or Danny and then spill everything at the first opportunity? No, Harry couldn't do anything to get his answers out of Grey.
'But maybe Dumbledore could?'
A year ago, Harry would never have considered it. It was a testament on how far he and Dumbledore had gone to repair the damage between the Headmaster and his family. Harry gave a firm jerk to Grey's entrapped arm and heard a soft crack in the shoulder. Grey didn't make a sound as he rose to his feet.
"Where we going, buddy?" asked Grey jovially, as if they were only playing a game.
Harry wasn't going to answer or acknowledge that the two of them were definitely not 'buddies.'
The walk to Dumbledore's office was a quiet affair. Grey went along peacefully and never made a move to escape; not that it would have made a difference.
Just before they reached the gargoyle, they ran into the twins and McGonagall.
"Mr. Potter!" cried McGonagall when she noticed the way Harry was holding Grey. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I caught the thief," replied Harry with another tug to Grey's entrapped arm.
"I'm innocent, Professor," grunted Grey, though there was still a chirpiness to his voice. This was still just a game to him.
McGonagall maintained a slightly aghast expression. "Unhand him this instant, Mr. Potter."
Harry did so reluctantly. He didn't want Grey to worm his way out of this. Grey stepped away from Harry as he flexed and rotated his obviously sour shoulder.
"Explain yourselves," commanded McGonagall with a little of her Scottish drawl slipping out.
"I found—" started Harry but McGonagall quickly interrupted him.
"Not you, Mr. Potter. I want to hear what Mr...Mr..." She stuttered as she tried to remember Grey's name.
"Adrian Grey, Professor," answered Grey. It sounded as if he had expected her not to remember.
Only a little pinkness appeared on McGonagall's cheeks. "Of course, Mr. Grey."
Grey then proceeded to recite what sounded a prepared speech. "I was walking the halls around the southwest courtyard, just minding my own business, when I noticed something wedged in a crack at the base of the wall."
"He's lying, Professor," Harry cried out.
"Enough, Mr. Potter." McGonagall's eyes warned Harry off any future outbursts. "Go on, Mr. Grey."
"I picked up the wand, as any concerned citizen would, and as I was examining it to see if I could figure out who it belonged to, that's when Harry showed up, accused me of stealing, and attacked me."
McGonagall lingered for a moment on Grey, assessing the validity of his story, before she then turned to Harry.
"Mr. Potter?"
"Fred and George told you what happened?"
McGonagall nodded. "They did."
Harry's featured hardened. "Then I'm only going to discuss this with Professor Dumbledore."
Professor McGonagall's jar dropped slightly and even the twins' eyes bulged at Harry's boldness.
"I assure you, Mr. Potter," her nose twitched slightly. She was not accustomed to students speaking to her in such a manner. "Anything you need to discuss with the Headmaster, you can discuss with me, the Deputy Headmaster." She emphasized her title and her meaning wasn't lost on anyone.
"I'm sorry, Professor, but no I can't."
If it had been anyone else, Harry probably wouldn't still be breathing at this point. Professor McGonagall, though, knew that there were things that were private between the Potters and the Headmaster but that was still no excuse.
"You'll have to, the Headmaster is not here at the moment."
That was the last thing Harry wanted to hear.
"Where is he?" he asked urgently.
Again, McGonagall's nose twitched at being questioned but still answered Harry.
"He received an urgent message from the ICW. An emergency session has been called."
Harry immediately thought of the stone. This was a perfect opportunity. Students were heading back to their dorms. Given that it was the weekend, most of the staff was off campus except for those that resided in the castle. And now Dumbledore was no longer here.
'Someone has to make sure the stone is safe.'
Harry could tell McGonagall but given the state of their current conversation, he didn't think it would go over very well. Not to mention that he didn't know how much Dumbledore had shared with her. Hopefully little and less.
"Professor, someone needs to get to the third floor."
"The third floor?" McGonagall certainly hadn't expected that. Her eyes narrowed. "Mr. Potter, that area is off limits. What do you know about it?"
That told Harry all he needed to know. McGonagall wasn't on the level. Harry was going to have to take care of this. It would take too long to explain everything and there was a good chance she wouldn't even believe him.
"Professor, I really need to go." Harry stated but it looked like he had finally gotten to the end of McGonagall's patience.
"We are not done here, Mr. Potter."
Harry was already starting to back pedal, ready to make a break for it, if he had to. "I'm sorry, Professor," McGonagall started to pull her wand. "But I—"
"I did it, Professor." Grey suddenly blurted out. "I took the wand."
"Mr. Grey?" She was shocked by Grey's sudden confession. Grey, though, stepped forward and smiled.
"I did it all. I attacked Potter and Granger. Took Potter's wand and waited for Harry to find me."
Harry didn't know why Grey was confessing all of a sudden but he wasn't going let it stop him from seizing the opportunity to leave.
"Is that enough for you, Professor?"
"You may go, Mr. Potter, but I will expect you to return to give your statement." She made it clear he was going to answer for his behavior. "Mr. Grey, you will come with me."
"Of course, Professor."
As Grey walked towards McGonagall, he casually turned around and mouthed the words, 'You're welcome.'
Harry looked back but hid his confusion. Now was not the time to delve into Grey's intentions. Harry motioned to Fred and George to follow him.
The three walked at a brisk pace but once they reached the fork that either led to the third floor or the Room of Requirements, Harry stopped and turned to the two of them.
"What's going on, Harry?"
"What's this about the third floor?" Both obviously waited for an explanation.
Harry had made a conscious decision to leave Fred and George out of the whole Nicholas Flamel, Philosopher's Stone business. He figured the fewer people who knew about it all, the better.
"There's no time to explain. Here take this to Danny." Harry handed Fred the wand. "He and Granger can fill you in."
"You're not coming?" asked Fred.
"I've got to get to the third floor."
"I'll go with you," said George.
"No, go with Fred." Harry didn't want to get them involved.
Fred, though, supported his brother's request. "Harry. If this is what you're making it out to be then at least one of us should go with you and back you up."
Harry waved them off. "Don't worry. It's probably nothing, anyway. You know me, though, I just need to go and make sure." Harry smiled, hoping it would be enough to assuage them.
"Alright, we'll get Danny and Hermione and meet you there."
"Just in case it does turn into something." It was obvious that they were not going to let this go.
He simply nodded along with the plan but only so that they would leave. "I'll wait for you there then."
Harry waited until he saw Fred and George disappear down the hall towards the seventh floor. He felt bad for lying but he wasn't going to risk others, especially Danny.
He quickly made his way to the main staircase and took the stairs he needed to end up at the third floor. The door to the corridor was already slightly ajar and Harry only had to push to open it all the way.
'Someone's already inside.'
The entire corridor was pitch black. Harry couldn't see anything, not even his own hand in front of him. Harry pulled his wand. "Lumos."
Harry looked back and forth down the corridor but still couldn't make out much in the darkness. It was almost like a spell was over the corridor to keep people from seeing despite the use of magic.
Luckily, Harry knew from Danny and Granger's story where they first found Fluffy that the correct way was to the right. He didn't remember them saying anything about the darkness but figured it was an added protection put in place by Dumbledore. If Gringotts wasn't save, then a few more security measures were more than reasonable.
As he slowly made his way down the darkened hallway, Harry began to hear the sounds of a harp playing a soft melody. Once he reached the source of the music, Harry opened the door to reveal the large silhouette of the Cerberus, Fluffy.
The massive three-headed dog was snoring peacefully. Each breath was like a whirlwind that blew Harry's hair back and it wasn't exactly a pleasant smell either. Harry noticed the harp right next to the door.
Play a little music and she'll right to sleep.
The thief was definitely here and already had a massive head start. Harry checked behind him but didn't hear any sounds of Danny, Granger, and the twins. By now, they shouldn't be too far behind him but he wasn't going to let them catch up.
'It's safer for them if I do this alone.' He justified to himself.
It wasn't the most rational of plans but deep in Harry's mind he could see pictures of the graveyard and the tombstones of his friends and family. He wouldn't risk the chance of making his dreams a reality and they were better off if he did this alone. Hopefully, they would understand that and find a way to get a message to Dumbledore. All he needed to do was stall the thief long enough.
Harry went over to the harp and carried it over to the chamber door and set it down. Harry then went over to the trapdoor by Fluffy's feet and opened it.
Once again, Harry saw nothing but darkness. It was impossible to tell how far the passage went.
"Lumos Maxima." A ball of light like a flare shot down the chasm but whatever spell lie over the corridor was also at work here. Harry wasn't able to make out anything.
Harry sat down and hung his feet over the side. Looking down and then back up at Fluffy, Harry reached with one hand to close the trapdoor behind him and with the other he raised his wand at the harp.
"Bombarda."
The harp flew back and crashed somewhere in the darkened corridor. Almost instantly, each pair of eyes on Fluffy's heads began to open. Harry wasn't about to wait around, though, and dropped down the trapdoor, closing it behind him.
The sensation of free-falling was not one Harry particularly enjoyed. He quickly cast another Lumos Maxima to act as a guiding light so he could see ahead of him as much as possible. He kept his wand trained beneath him so he could cast a Cushioning Charm at a moment's notice.
After what felt like five minutes, Harry finally saw a hint of solid ground and cast the Cushioning Charm. When he was a few feet from splatting against what appeared to be stone, Harry bounced as if off a trampoline from the invisible force of his charm and landed in a crouched position.
Harry thought he had landed safely but he immediately felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his left leg when he landed. Looking down, he saw the cause of his pain as a long, thin, wooden spike embedded in his leg right above his ankle.
Harry winced slightly as he pulled it out and examined it closer. Upon realizing what it was, Harry quickly raised a shield around his entire body.
Almost instantly, an endless onslaught of spikes bombarded against the blue luminescent shield. Fortunately, with the added light of his shield, Harry could just make out the source of the spikes.
'Spike bushes.'
Spike bushes were a species of magical plants that, just as their name describes, shoot wooden spikes as a means of defense. They flourished exclusively in the wild and were frequently seen in areas where valuable potion ingredients grew. The easiest way to deal with them was fire.
This was obviously Professor Sprout's contribution to the stone's defense. The bushes surrounded the entire chamber and were strategically placed to attack whoever landed. Harry was lucky that he remembered what the spikes looked like from his second year in Herbology.
It would have been easy to deal with them with a few Incendios but the drawback to the Shield Charm was that while nothing could get in, nothing could get out either.
Harry stood up and tested his leg to make sure he was okay enough to move on. His ankle definitely hurt but he was still able to walk. Protected by his shield, Harry examined the chamber. It was a little chaotic with the constant assault of the spikes but he was able to make out a path through the bushes that lead to a large wooden door.
The intensity of the spikes increased dramatically the closer he got to the door. Thankfully, Harry's shield held up and they dropped harmlessly to the floor.
It was once Harry reached the door that he realized something. The shield, while it protected him from the spikes, also kept him from being able to open the door. The only way he could is if he either dropped the shield or waited until there were no more spikes left. The latter, however, wasn't an option, what with the thief already having a lead on him.
He would have to be quick but there was no way he could do this without a few dozen spikes in his back. Willing to just bite the bullet and go for it, Harry reached out for the doorknob so he could open it as quickly as possible.
Harry took several deep breaths to brace himself before he dropped his shield. The pain was immediate but Harry was through the door in a manner of seconds.
As soon as he was through, Harry collapsed to the ground. His back was on fire. He reached behind him and started pulling the spikes he could reach but there were a few he couldn't. Harry only let himself have another moment before he had to embrace the pain. He had no other choice. He had to move on.
Harry rose to his feet and examined the new chamber he was in. The room was shaped like a cylinder with no visible clue on how high it went. Winding up along the side was a spiral staircase with doors scattered sporadically all the way up.
Harry had to take a moment to think about what was the objective of this challenge. It couldn't possibly be to just climb the stairs until he reached the top because, by the looks of it, there didn't appear to be one.
The correct path had to be through one of these doors but there was an innumerable amount of them. How was he supposed to know which door to choose?
Seeing no other recourse, Harry started climbing and stopped at the first door.
"There's no way it's the first one."
Harry turned the knob anyway. On the other side, there was nothing but complete darkness. There was no sign that there was anything on the other side and no sign that he would come through unscathed.
"What to do I have to lose?" he asked aloud as he closed his eyes and braced himself before he stepped through.
His feet landed on solid ground and when he opened his eyes he found himself exactly where he had started. He turned around and saw the same wooden door he had just walked through. This obviously wasn't the right door.
Harry climbed up the stairs to the next door. When he opened this one, he was met with the same dark abyss as the first door.
"Here goes nothing." This time, though, Harry kept his eyes open as he stepped into the darkness. Instantly, his view became the same one he had seen when he first entered the chamber. Harry looked behind him and saw the door he had walked through to leave the spike bush chamber. He looked down and saw the small pile of spikes he had taken out of his back.
A theory started to form on how this chamber worked. Harry went back to the first door and walked through. Just like before, he ended up back in front of the same door. Harry then climbed to the third door on the staircase and walked through that one. Once again, Harry ended up back at the door to the spike bushes chamber.
"There's a sequence to it." He had to choose the right door in the right order. Otherwise he would have to start over at the beginning. He couldn't just keep climbing, though. The staircase probably never ended. One of these doors must lead to the next chamber. The idea was ingenious and Harry immediately thought of Professor Flitwick and his affinity to puzzles.
Unfortunately, Harry's momentary elation on figuring out this puzzle didn't last for very long. Just knowing the question didn't give him an answer. With so many doors, how on Earth was he supposed to figure which doors were the right ones?
So far, he knew that the first door was the correct one to start with. Harry was thankful he had chosen Arithmancy as an elective; however, the magical world had a myriad of possible number patterns that could be bases for the door sequence.
Harry's first thoughts were the numbers three and seven. Both were extremely prominent numbers in the magical world with many magical properties.
Harry decided to start with the number three. Since the first door was the starting point and the second and third didn't work, Harry would try the fourth door to see if it was simple as adding three each time.
Unfortunately, Harry ended up right back at the start again.
Harry then tried the seventh door and then the eighth but ended up with the same results.
"So I'm not adding or multiplying by three or seven."
Not sure on where to go from there, Harry decided to try each door he could after first going through the first door. But the fifth, sixth, ninth, and tenth doors all sent him back to the bottom of the staircase.
Harry's frustration, not to mention his fatigue, started to mount. He had gone all the up to the twentieth door but was still getting sent back to the start. There had to be something he was missing so he started to try everything he could think of.
He checked each door for any markings that would offer a clue as to the proper sequence.
There were none.
He checked if there was a pattern in the number of stairs between each door.
There wasn't.
He tried to send something through each door before stepping through to see if would come out either at the bottom of the stairs or back at him.
It didn't work.
He even tried to start from a different door than the first. Thinking perhaps the first door was a trick to throw him off track.
It wasn't.
On and on he went but nothing ever sent him anywhere other than back to the start.
Harry collapsed at the foot of the staircase. He had finally given up after almost an hour.
"What is it!? What do I have to do!?" Harry yelled up to the never-ending spiral of stairs and that's when something finally clicked.
'A spiral.'
Harry remembered the first time he had walked into Professor Vector's classroom there had been a large spiral drawn on the board. Professor Vector had gone on to tell them that the reason for many of the common twirling and swishing wand movements they used in Charms class had been derived from that very spiral; more importantly, the number sequence that created it.
"The Fibonacci."
That's when Harry realized the one thing he had yet to try: going through the first door twice. For the Fibonacci numbers were an integer sequence that increased by the sum of the previous two numbers.
"And in order to get it started, you have to start with one plus one."
Harry sprung to his feet and hurried up to the first door. He stepped through like he had done countless times but immediately turned around to face the door again.
"Please work," he said as he turned the knob and stepped through again.
He was still in front of the first door.
Harry let out a huge sigh of relief but it didn't last for very long. The true indicator that he had found the correct sequence was if door number two worked.
Harry took the necessary steps to stand in front of the second door. His hand was shaking as he turned the knob for he knew that if this didn't work, he'd probably never escape this chamber and fail his mission.
Harry opened the door, stepped through, and almost leaped with joy that he was still on the staircase in front of the second door.
With renewed vigor, Harry went to door to door in the sequence.
'Three, five, eight, thirteen, twenty-one, thirty-four,...'
It was after the eighty-ninth door that Harry was starting to feel winded. He was definitely going to have to institute some kind of stair-master training. When Harry made it to the two hundred thirty-third door, he was actually breathing heavily.
"Please be this one."
Harry opened the door and saw the usually dark void but, this time, when he stepped into it, he didn't come out onto a staircase but a small hallway that ended with another wooden door.
Relief washed over him as Harry collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. He had to take a moment to rest and catch his breath before the next chamber.
Dumbledore certainly hadn't pulled any punches protecting the stone. He couldn't imagine what he had to face next, nor did he really want to.
When he opened the door to the next chamber, he quickly noticed that it was designed to look like some kind of Renaissance fair, more specifically, a melee circle. The ground was made of white sand and a traditional grand stands with a circular ten foot high wall separating the combatants and the crowd. Normally, the walls would be made of only wood but this wall had six alcoves each with a large stone soldier carrying various weaponry from the Middle Ages.
Across the stadium was the exit door. This one, he noticed, had a large padlock that was probably magically protected from any kind of tampering.
"Where's the key?"
The chamber was set up like a medieval tournament. Surely, that meant he was supposed to win the key through a trial by combat.
Harry rested his hands on the padlock. The moment he did, trumpets roared to life announcing the beginning of the melee.
But where was his opponent?
Harry turned around to look back into the center of the circle but there was no one there. He walked to the center and spun around but, still, there was no one else here.
That's when he heard it. The sound of stone rubbing against each other. Harry turned to the source and quickly dodged to his left to avoid a large, stone battle-axe from slicing him in two.
The stone soldiers had come to life!
Harry made a mental note to at least thank Professor McGonagall that only one soldier was alive at a time instead of all six. He was probably going to have to fight all of them before he could move on.
Harry flicked his wrist and his wand shot into his hand.
"Reducto!" But nothing happened. The battle-axe wielding soldier remained unaffected and was advancing on his position.
"Reducto!" Harry cried more forcefully. But again nothing happened.
'I have to win without magic,' Harry realized as he scrambled out of the soldier's reach.
But he didn't even have a weapon. How was he supposed to defend himself?
Harry backpedaled and played keep-away as he thought up a plan. Luckily, McGonagall's spell didn't make the soldiers particularly fast. But Harry couldn't do this forever, especially not after climbing so many stairs. His legs felt like they could fall off at any second. There had to be a way to defeat them, though. There had to be some kind of weakness.
Harry examined the soldier carefully while maintaining a safe distance. The grey stone was smooth without any distinguishing features that Harry could make out. There was really nothing special about them...besides the fact that they were trying to kill him.
'There has to be some way to beat them,' Harry thought as he analyzed his opponent.
The soldier would stand still and rotate along with Harry whenever he moved laterally. The soldier would only advance once Harry had stopped moving. It never let Harry see its back. Was there something there that was the key to defeating them?
Harry tried running faster around the outside of the circle so he could get behind it but the soldier always kept pace.
There was only one way he was going to be able to get behind these guys. He had to get in close, wait for them to attack, and then slip behind them.
Harry stopped going in a circle and stood still in a crouched position. The stone soldier slowly marched its way to him, raising its battle-axe along the way. Just as it prepared to strike it down upon him, Harry rolled past its left leg and was standing behind the statue before the axe struck the ground.
Harry quickly surveyed the soldier's back and just below its neck line there was a small nub. Hoping that this was it, Harry jumped up and hit the nub as hard as he could.
Instantly, the soldier crumbed into a pile of broken rocks.
Harry smiled triumphantly but it was extremely short-lived. Two of remaining five stone soldiers came to life and entered the arena. These two were wielding a mace and a morning star.
Harry got into a ready stance and waited for them to approach. Now that he knew what he needed to do to defeat them, it was only a matter of executing. However, this time, the statues did something differently. The one with the mace charged at him like the previous soldier but the one wielding the morning star remained a few feet behind. As they grew closer, Morning Star started swinging its weapon at an ever increasing rate. Meanwhile, Mace started swinging viciously to its left and right to guard against someone from getting past it.
Harry visibly gulped. That was certainly going to make it harder.
It quickly became obvious that there was no way to defeat Mace without first getting rid of Morning Star. But that meant that Harry would somehow have to get past Mace without moving too laterally so that they'd stop advancing and rotate to track him. Harry timed the motion of Mace's swings and just when they were feet away from him, made his move. He rolled past Mace, just avoiding getting hit in the face, and kept rolling until he was behind Morning Star.
Harry sprung to his feet, quickly located the nub, and sent Morning Star crumbling to the ground. Mace, however had already stopped and turned around to face him. Harry barely had a moment to register the mace colliding with his left shoulder. The force of which, sent Harry crashing into the sand.
Harry screamed in pain as his left arm went completely dead. Something was definitely broken but Harry didn't have time to do something about it now. Mace was already on top of him again and Harry had to quickly roll to his right to avoid another blow.
Harry put as much distance as he could between him and Mace and started moving around so Mace would stop and rotate with him. It gave Harry the time to do something about his shoulder. He managed to fasten a sling by ripping his robe. It would restrict his movements but it was better than the distraction of the pain.
Fortunately, now that it was just Mace, Harry could easily defeat it. Unfortunately, there were still three more statutes to fight and Harry had the sinking suspicion that all three would activate next. But first Harry had to deal with Mace.
Harry stopped his lateral movements and waited for Mace to advance. Once it was close enough, Harry rolled past its left leg, jumped up, and Mace became nothing more but a pile of rocks.
Harry's hand immediately went to his sore shoulder. He rolled on his right out of necessity but all the movement certainly didn't help with the pain. There wasn't time to dwell on it, though, as the final three stone statutes came to life and entered the circle.
'It wouldn't hurt to have some help right about now, would it?' a condescending voice (that sounded suspiciously like Daphne) said in his mind.
But there was nothing for it, the decision had been made to do this alone and Harry was forced to reap what he sow.
The three remaining soldiers, Spear, War Hammer, and Scottish Claymore, stood in a two by one formation. Spear and War Hammer in the front with Claymore in the back. By the looks of it, the two in the front were protecting the one in the back.
'Claymore must have the key.'
Harry stopped moving to see what kind of attack formation they would use but the three never moved. All they did was do the usual rotation so that were always facing him.
'They're in defensive mode. I have to attack them.'
Harry didn't welcome the thought. His mobility was already limited with his shoulder and without the ability to utilize their movements to get past them, Harry had no idea how he was going to defeat them.
Harry moved in slowly. Once he was close enough to be in range of Spear, it thrust its weapon at Harry's chest. Harry instinctually dodged to his right to avoid moving to the side of his disabled arm but had to quickly jumped back to escape a thunderous blow from War Hammer that would have made Harry resemble a nail being driven into a piece of wood.
Harry moved back to reassess his strategy while Spear and War Hammer returned to their defensive stance. Claymore had yet to move. It would seem like Claymore was willing to let its two compatriots do the work for it but Harry was sure that if he got close, it would have no problem slicing him in two.
Harry made some quick movements weaving in and out to test Spear and War Hammer's defenses. No matter what direction Harry came at them, Spear would move first and then War Hammer would strike in whatever direction Harry dodged. If Harry was still close enough, War Hammer would take another shot at him but never stray too far from its post. Claymore, still, did not move.
That's when a wild thought entered Harry's mind on how to defeat the two of them. A small smile crept on Harry's face. This was either going to work or Harry was going to end up very dead. It all mattered on what Claymore would do as it happened.
Harry charged at Spear and once it made its move, Harry dodged purposefully towards War Hammer. It was another quick move to avoid the hammer strike. Harry sprung into the air, using the hammer as a foot hold to boost himself over onto Spear's head. The close proximity didn't allow Spear to use its weapon but did allow Harry to reach the button that reduced Spear to a pile of rubble.
Harry didn't have a moment to waste. War Hammer had turned to him, ready to strike again, and, at the same time, Claymore wielded its weapon to ready position.
This what Harry had gambled on, that Claymore would stay still after he had finished off Spear. Now that he hadn't, Harry rolled quickly, splitting his two foes. Both took a swing at him but Harry was too quick.
Then, the two did something none of the other statutes had done, they attacked as if they were real knights. No more rotating to track him and no more slow advancement followed by a single strike. War Hammer still appeared to be guarding Claymore but Claymore was definitely now in the fight.
Harry tried to escape to their right but War Hammer blocked his path. The same thing happened when Harry tried to the left. Right away, War Hammer and Claymore advanced aggressively on Harry. Harry had to use all his skills and nimbleness just to stay alive. It wasn't long before Harry ran out of room and had his back against the wall, literally.
War Hammer and Claymore towered over him and Harry had a true moment of fear. There was no space for him to escape and no means to block any of their attacks. Harry's right hand felt all along the wooden fencing, trying desperately to find any foothold he could use to escape.
There was none.
War Hammer, on Harry's left, made the first move. Harry managed to dodge it in the little space that he had between War Hammer and the wall. He wanted to stay as far from Claymore as possible; easier to avoid one attacker then two.
Harry tried the same move of jumping on the hammer but War Hammer must have learned from the last time and lifted the hammer with Harry still on it. The unexpected inertia made Harry lose his balance and he fell hard right into War Hammer's chest and slumped to the ground. Harry had only a second to embrace the pain for out the corner of his eye, Harry saw Claymore raise his longsword and strike to sever Harry's head. Harry ducked in the nick of time but still felt the blade scrap the top of his head.
The blow, instead, struck War Hammer right in the waist and had enough force to cleave War Hammer clean in two. Harry thought that that would be the end of War Hammer but it turned out the spell that brought them to life would only stop if the nub was pushed on their backs.
At a different time, Harry would probably find it funny to see a bodiless pair of legs and an immobile torso wielding a hammer try to attack him. The fact that Harry had to still jump out of the way of a hammer strike and avoid being kicked in the chest kept him from seeing the humor.
Fortunately, Harry now had enough room to escape. As he ducked another strike from Claymore, Harry quickly kicked the nub on War Hammer's back and scrambled away to regroup before the final showdown with Claymore.
Harry was extremely short of breath, his left shoulder still ached something fierce, and the few spikes he hadn't managed to remove had dug deeper into his flesh each time he had rolled on the ground, but the fact that he was down to the final stone statute was enough to push the pain aside just a little bit longer.
Claymore started its advance, twirling its sword along the way in a menacing fashion. Harry, though, wasn't worried. Now that it was just one more, Harry knew exactly what to do. He rolled underneath Claymore's swing, jumped, and slapped the nub that disintegrated the stone soldier to a pile of rocks. A loud burst of trumpets announced the end of the melee. Harry nearly collapsed in exhaustion, thankful that it was finally over.
Instead, Harry stood over Claymore's remains and pick through the stone until he found the large iron key for the exit door. He then shifted his left arm to sit more comfortably in the brace and dragged his feet over to the door.
Once he placed the key in the lock and stepped through the door, Harry collapsed on the ground and leaned back against it.
'I just need to take a little breather, that's all.'
But Harry could not seem to get control of his breathing.
"Why...can't...I...breathe?"
That's when Harry noticed a soft hissing sound coming from the ceiling. Harry immediately took note of his new surroundings. The chamber he had just entered was very plain. All it had was a large table in the middle with two fountains the size of bath tubs on the right and left side. The room was lit by a few dozen torches along the stone walls.
The air started to look thick, like a fog was building inside the room. That's when Harry realized that the reason he couldn't catch his breath was because there was something wrong with the air.
Harry struggled to his feet and stumbled towards the table. On it, were two phials and a note, which read:
The air is poisonous.
You have a minute until you die.
Choose right and live.
Harry immediately started to panic. He had no idea how long he'd been in the chamber but judging by how difficult it was getting to breathe, he probably didn't much time left. He quickly reread the riddle and studied the two phials.
'Choose right and live.'
Was the riddle supposed to be that obvious? Harry grabbed the right phial. It was empty. In a panic, Harry grabbed the left one. It was empty, too.
Confused and running out of time, Harry snatched the note and reread it.
'What am I supposed to do!?'
Harry started coughing violently as the fog thickened around him.
'Choose right and live. Choose right and live. Choose right...' Harry's eyes looked all the way to right of the chamber.
The water fountain.
'That has to be it.' Harry stumbled and crawled until he reach the right fountain's edge and immediately started gulping down as much as water as he could cup in his hand but it wasn't working. He still could not breathe.
Had he picked wrong? Should he go to the left fountain?
Harry knew he didn't enough time. The fog was too thick and Harry was already suffocating from the lack of air. Blood was even starting to pool in his mouth and he could taste it each time he was forced to gulp for air.
Seeing no other option, Harry mustered what strength he could and lifted himself over the fountain's edge and into the water. He managed to turn himself around and watch through the watery distortion as the fog encompassed the entire space of the chamber. Harry tried with all his might to hold his breath but he barely had any to begin with. His options were quickly becoming to either drown or die from the poisonous air.
Soon, instincts kicked in and Harry closed his eyes as lifted his head out of the water to take the last breathes of his life.
But, miraculously, clean air filled Harry's lungs. He opened his eyes and the poisonous fog had disappeared.
Harry lifted himself out of the tub. What he thought was water must have been some kind of antidote.
'I really hate you, Slughorn.'
Harry took a few moments to enjoy the fresh air. He had never felt more mentally and physically exhausted. There was even the brief consideration to stop here. To let whomever was at the end of this just have the stone and that'd be the end of it.
'You can't let that happen, Harry. You're no quitter.' His voice told him in his mind.
With renewed determination, Harry walked over to the door on the opposite side of the chamber. This time, as he opened the door, he was prepared for any surprises the next chamber had in store.
Or so he thought.
"You?"