Chapter 10 – Quest for the Stone
Jon walked out of the Charms exam with a small smile on his face. It was their last of the year and he had enjoyed showing his depth of knowledge to the man that had quickly become his favourite teacher. Professor Flitwick had given a proud smile as Jon performed each spell asked for with ease and efficiency.
"Stop smiling. You're far too cheerful after all that." Ron grumbled. His hadn't gone quite so well.
Jon's grin only widened, "Look on the bright side. We're done for the year now; you've got nothing left to worry about."
The testing had been done alphabetically, so Ron was the last of their little group to finish. Harry had struggled with a few of the spells, the wand movements or pronunciation slipping his mind, but overall, he had done quite well. Hermione was happy enough with her performance, she had been worried that her answers to the written part weren't thorough enough but it was hard to argue with the results of practical tests. Either you succeeded or you failed.
Hogwarts was bathed in warm sun as they left the castle. The last of winter had finally abated and spring had begun. The group were going to visit Hagrid for the first time since the dragon incident; he had invited them to celebrate the end of their exams with a cuppa.
"It was horrible!" Ron exclaimed, "Snape was constantly breathing down our necks. He's a bloody menace!" The potions exam had been a particularly tough one, even Jon had to agree. Snape had seemed determined to put each and every one of them off.
"Professor Snape." Hermione corrected. She didn't have to like the man to respect him.
Ron rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea. Though they all got along well enough these days there was still occasional tension, Ron was still more Harry's friend than Jon and Hermione's.
"I'm just glad they're all over." Harry said, talking over the awkward pause. "It'll be nice to be able to relax without feeling like I should be studying."
There was a lull in the conversation, each person lost in their own thoughts or enjoying their tea. Hagrid had laid out a batch of his rock cakes in the centre of the table though they remained untouched. Not even Ron had the stomach for them.
"How 'ave you been, since the Forest?" Hagrid asked, his eyes on the Potters. "I never really did say thank you for 'elping with Norbert, or apologise for what 'appened in there."
Jon gave Hagrid a smile, "We've been okay. You're our friend, Hagrid, we were happy to help."
"I still wish we could have done something more about it." Harry hated waiting to see what would happen, he would rather be doing something proactive to prevent Voldemort getting the Stone.
Hagrid gave him a stern look, "You did well to avoid it. It's dangerous business."
"I still can't believe they let a three-headed dog into a school!" Ron said, a shiver passing down his spine. He hadn't seen the beast and he hadn't wanted to; the thought alone was enough to give him a few sleepless nights.
"Fluffy ain't that bad! It's like I told the man in the pub, the one who lost the dragon egg to me in the first place. He wanted t' be sure I could handle a dragon. There's a trick to calming every creature, I said, all Fluffy needs is a little bit of music and he goes right to sleep!"
"Hagrid, you didn't actually tell that man about Fluffy specifically, did you?" Hermione asked.
"Well, he wanted specific examples. A dragon isn't easy to take care."
"Did you see the man's face?"
"He kept his hood up the whole time. I didn't think anything of it, if he had a dragon he wouldn't want to be flashing his face to everyone who saw."
"Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed, "That was after Halloween, Voldemort could have seen Fluffy after setting the t-troll loose. You told him the secret to get past!"
Jon stood abruptly, his chair scrapping across the floor. "We need to tell someone. Now!"
Professor McGonagall's classroom was located on the first floor. They ran as quickly as they could up the dirt path, almost knocking over a group of older students when they burst through the main doors into the castle. The corridors were empty and the staircases clear and still, as if Hogwarts itself could feel their urgency. McGonagall sat at her desk, taken aback as four of her Gryffindor first years ran into her classroom and up to her desk.
"We have to see Professor Dumbledore! Immediately!" Harry yelled, gasping for breath.
McGonagall gave them a bewildered look, "I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is not here. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London."
"He's gone? But this is important! This is about…" Harry tailed off as he realised what they were about to admit to knowing.
"The Philosopher's Stone." Jon finished, his voice firm.
"How do you know –"
"Voldemort's going to try to steal it!"
"I don't know how you four found out about the Stone but I assure you it is perfectly well protected." McGonagall's tone was severe, her face pulled into a frown, "Now would you go back to your dormitories? Quietly."
Jon felt his face contort into a scowl, anger stirring in his stomach. "Don't you understand? With Dumbledore gone, Voldemort will make his move tonight. He's had a year to learn about your protections and how to overcome them."
"Dormitories. Now." McGonagall dismissed them sharply.
The scowl disappeared, replaced with an entirely neutral expression. "Yes, Professor." Jon turned on his heel and walked from the room, the others too taken aback from his sudden change in attitude to do anything but follow. Except for Harry. He knew that look; it was the same one he wore when dealing with the Dursleys.
"So, what do we do now?" Harry spoke once they had left McGonagall behind.
"Nothing. We gave them a warning, we were ignored. It's not our problem anymore." Jon was furious, the emotion slipping through his mask of calm.
"We have to do something! Voldemort is dangerous. He killed our parents and if he gets a body back he'll come after us too; it's smarter to do something now than to wait until he's back."
Jon looked at him incredulously, "Do something. Like what?"
"We go after the Stone ourselves. We get it and take it away and hide it ourselves." Harry declared, sudden confidence overtaking him.
"Fine." Jon let out a deep sigh, running his hand back through his hair. "Fine, we get the Stone. Hermione, Ron, I can't ask either of you to come with us."
"You didn't abandon me, I'm not going to abandon you. I don't have enough friends to risk losing any." Hermione's reminder of his own words to her brought a wry smile to Jon's face.
"I'm not leaving either." Ron declared, "We're Gryffindors, we're meant to be brave."
Harry gave his friend a happy grin. They were all in, and they were going to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
It was late, well past curfew. They had forgone the invisibility cloak, there was no way they could all fit under it and still move quickly, and speed was of the utmost importance tonight.
"This is it?" Ron asked. They stood in the third-floor corridor.
"This is it." Harry confirmed. He removed a hand carved flute from his pocket, a gift from Hagrid, and gently pushed open the door. The gentle sound of harp music and the quiet snores of Fluffy the Cerberus could be heard from the moment they entered, and the trapdoor lay open in front of them.
"Voldemort's already been here." Jon muttered as they advanced into the room, "This changes things. We need to go wake Professor McGonagall and tell her what's happening."
"Why?" Ron complained, "Why can't we go after him?"
"Please Ron, just do as I ask. We're kids, we can't –" Jon cut himself off, all of a sudden realising just how quiet the room had become. "In!"
Jon pushed Harry and Hermione forward through the trap door, tumbling in after them. A massive jaw closed where Harry had been moments before. Jon caught a glimpse of Ron's bright hair following them in before they landed with a thump.
"Everyone okay?" Jon asked into the darkness.
"Yeah, just peachy." There was Harry.
"I'm fine." And Hermione.
"Urgh, fantastic." And Ron too, they all made it in.
Jon breathed a sigh of relief, "Great. What is this stuff we landed on?"
Jon tried to stand but found his legs held in place by thick vines. The floor was moving, ensnaring their limbs and holding them in place. He struggled, but the more he moved the tighter the grip got.
"It's Devil's Snare!" Hermione called, "Stop moving and it'll let you go." To prove her point, Hermione fell perfectly still and sank down into the vines. It was disconcerting to watch. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jon held still and fell through to the floor below.
Ron watched wide eyed as two of his friends disappeared, just scaring him more. When Harry fell still and disappeared too, Ron panicked. He thrashed frantically, whimpering as he felt a vine slide around his neck.
"Incendio!" Jon's muffled voice called from below, and suddenly he was free and sinking. Ron landed with a thud on his back. Jon was tucking his wand away while Hermione peeked into the next room. Harry pulled him to his feet.
"Graceful landing." Harry commented with a smile, nudging Ron.
Ron's face went red, "Shut up." He muttered as Harry laughed.
The next room was empty except for the birds fluttering high above them and the wooden broom floating in the centre. The door that should have barred the way into the next room lay shattered on the ground, even the hinges had been ripped off the wall.
"Above us! Those aren't birds, they're keys." Hermione exclaimed. Right enough, what Jon had first thought to be birds were in fact keys with silvery wings.
"Clearly Voldemort isn't much of a flyer." Harry quipped as they made their way forward.
The room ahead had a black and white tile floor and was filled with statues facing each other at opposite sides of the room. It was until the torches lit up around the room that they realised what it truly was.
"It's a giant chessboard!" Harry exclaimed. As the four of them walked onto the board the pieces came to life, and four white pieces gave up their spaces, one knight dismounting his horse to join the others at the edge of the board. Jon tried to walk through, and made it all the way to the line of white pawns before they drew their weapons and blocked his way.
"I get it! We have to play our way across, that's why those pieces moved." Ron grinned, eager to be useful.
Jon rejoined the others, "This one's on you Ron, you're the best chess player out of us."
Ron nodded, his expression suddenly grim as he realised the responsibility he was taking. He was literally about to play with his friend's lives. "Harry, you take the king side castle, Hermione can be the queen side one. Jon you're the bishop. As for me, I'll be the knight."
"What happens now?" Hermione asked.
"Well, white moves first. Then we play." A white pawn moved forward and the game had begun.
"Ron, you don't suppose this is going to be like real wizard's chess, do you?"
"You there, D5!" Ron called, pointing to one of his pawns. It skidded forward, coming to a halt two spaces forward and to the right from the white pawn. It drew its twin swords and struck the black, shattering it across the board. "Yes Hermione, I think this is gonna be exactly like wizard's chess."
It didn't take long for Ron to start winning. He played far too often, usually when he should have been studying. Commands were called and pieces shattered until only a few white pieces remained, and they almost had the king boxed in.
"Jon, once I make my move the queen will take me. Then you're free to check the king." Ron instructed, holding his gaze.
Harry gasped, "No, Ron no! You can't sacrifice yourself, there must be another way!"
"Do you wanna stop Voldemort from getting the Stone or not?" Ron turned back to Jon, "It's you that has to go on, I know it. Not me, not Hermione, not even Harry. You. You have the best chance of stopping him."
Jon's expression grim, he nodded.
Ron took a deep breath, "Knight to H3." Ron's piece skidded into position, "Check."
The white queen turned in place to look at Ron. It approached. Raising its sword above its head, it swung, hitting Ron and shattering the stone horse below. Ron screamed as he fell, and lay unmoving on the floor in the dust and debris. Hermione let out a gasp, instinctively stepping forward to help.
"No!" Jon yelled, "Don't move! Don't forget, we're still playing." Hermione returned to her place and Jon walked forward as Ron had bid.
"Checkmate." The white king's sword slipped from his grasp, and the pieces became still. They had won. Immediately the three left standing ran to Ron. He lay unmoving, his left leg had one too many bends in it.
"His leg is broken, but he's breathing. He'll live." Jon said, relief in his voice, "Stay with him Hermione, protect him. Harry and I will go on."
Hermione enveloped Jon in a fierce hug, her eyes filled with tears. "Be safe." She hugged Harry too, before drawing her wand and settling in to wait beside Ron. Jon and Harry moved on.
As they entered the next room, a wall of black fire sprang up to block the way, and a wall of purple fire blocked the way back. They were trapped. A table sat before them holding seven bottles of different sizes, each a different colour. A piece of parchment lay in front of them. It read:
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 for evermore,
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 onwards, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are 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.
"A riddle." Jon said, "This one will be Snape's. Maybe we should have brought Hermione." Harry let out a tense laugh. "Okay, so the biggest isn't poison and has a twin in the second from the left, so they've gotta be the wine. So that means that the one on the far left and the one to the left of the big one are poison. If the one on the far right is different to the one on the far left then that isn't the second poison, but if it doesn't help us go forward then that's the way back. We also know that the smallest isn't poison so the one to the right of it is, and the small one will let us go on."
Harry looked at Jon bewildered, "You lost me around the middle of that. So, that one then?" They each took a sip and stepped together through the purple flames.
"Well we aren't burning alive." Jon observed dryly. The corridor opened into a wide chamber, the pillars around the room making it look even more grand. In the centre of the room, shinning in the light of the torches, was the Mirror of Erised. Stood in front of it was none other than…
"Quirrell?"