Happy New Years Eve! Good-bye 2018, hello 2019! Hope you have a very safe New Year!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

Chapter 14 – Past Fluffy

"Well, there you are. Snape's already got past Fluffy," Harry said.

The four of them lingered outside the door.

Harry sighed and spoke up again, saying, "If you want to go back, I won't blame you. You can take the cloak. I won't need it now."

Lucy was shaking her head before he was even finished talking.

"Don't be stupid," Ron said.

"We're coming with you," Hermione insisted.

"Besides, do you think you could do this without us?" Lucy finished.

Harry looked at each of them in turn and then turned back to the door. He led the way inside the room.

All three of Fluffy's heads turned to look at the door. It must have known that they were there, even though it couldn't see them. It began sniffing frantically in their direction.

"What's at its feet?" Hermione whispered.

"Looks like a harp," Ron answered. "Snape must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," Harry speculated. "Well, here goes.…" He fumbled around for the flute in his robes for a moment before pulling it out and putting it up to his mouth. He blew into it; it sounded a bit shrill.

Fluffy's eyes, however, immediately drooped.

"Keep going, Harry," Lucy whispered.

Harry continued, making sure not to pause for too long to draw breath, and Fluffy began to get sleepier and sleepier. It slowly lowered itself to the ground. As soon as it was fully laid out on the floor, it started snoring.

"Keep playing," Ron urged Harry, and they slowly pulled the cloak off.

Fluffy was still fast asleep, so they tiptoed over to the trapdoor, Harry continuing to use the flute.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," Ron said, examining the trapdoor. "Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!" Hermione exclaimed, her voice high.

Ron looked at Lucy, who put her hands up in mock surrender. "I would really rather not, unless none of you want to go," she said.

"All right," Ron sighed. He hopped over one of Fluffy's legs to the ring handle of the trapdoor. He tugged on it hard, and the door swung up.

"What do you see?" Hermione asked, craning her neck to try and see through the door.

"Nothing—just black," Ron reported back. "There's no way of climbing down. We'll just have to drop."

Lucy swallowed nervously.

"You want to go first?" Ron asked, looking at Harry, and Lucy looked over to see Harry nodding, the flute still to his lips. "Are you sure?" Ron questioned. "I don't know how deep this thing goes."

"Hermione, take the flute so Fluffy stays asleep," Lucy said, nodding.

Hermione reached out her hand. Harry passed it over, and Hermione quickly resumed playing. In the silence during the exchange, Fluffy began growling lightly, but as soon as Hermione began blowing into the instrument, the dog fell back into its slumber.

Harry clambered over the dog's leg to join Ron by the door. Lucy saw him take a deep breath before sitting on the edge of the hole with his legs dangling down. Then he lowered himself down until all Lucy could see were his fingers holding onto the floor.

"If anything happens to me, don't follow," Harry's voice came up to them. "Go straight to the Owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right," Ron replied, and Lucy and Hermione exchanged a worried look.

"See you in a minute, I hope," Harry finished.

"So optimistic, that boy is," Lucy muttered.

Then Harry's fingers disappeared. The other three waited with held breath, hoping for a sign that Harry was all right.

"It's okay!" Harry finally called up to them. "It's a soft landing! You can jump!"

Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

Ron quickly sat and swung his legs into the trapdoor. "I'm going to jump," he said to the girls. "Lucy, you follow me—and then Hermione after."

"Make sure you let me know when you've made it down," Lucy replied. "I don't want to fall on you. Then I'll let Hermione know when I'm out of the way."

Both Ron and Hermione nodded, and Ron slid through the trapdoor.

"Come on, Hermione," Lucy said once he was out of sight. "Let's get up to the door." She climbed over Fluffy's leg and then helped Hermione over, so she could continue using the flute.

"Lucy, the landing's clear!" Ron's voice echoed up from below them.

Lucy nodded to Hermione, sat down on the floor, and slid through the trapdoor like Ron had. She couldn't help the little squeak that escaped her as she fell through the air. Then, after only a few seconds, she landed beside Ron and Harry.

"Hermione, come on down!" Lucy called as she scooted away from where she had landed.

The music stopped, and they heard a great bark from above. Then Hermione landed next to Harry.

"We must be miles under the school," she said, looking around.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Ron replied.

"Lucky!" Hermione cried suddenly. "Look at the three of you!" She had jumped up and was making her way over to the wall with difficulty.

Lucy looked down in horror and saw that the plant had started to wind itself around her legs and ankles. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed it until Hermione had said something.

"Stop moving!" Hermione shouted at them. "I know what this is—it's a Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called. That's a great help," Ron snapped. He was attempting to keep the Devil's Snare from wrapping a tentacle-like vine around his neck.

"Shut up, Ron!" Lucy snarled back. "Stop moving—the more you struggle, the faster it moves."

"I'm trying to remember how to kill it," Hermione said anxiously.

"Well, hurry up! I can't breathe!" Harry coughed out.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare… what did Professor Sprout say? It likes the dark and the damp," Hermione mused aloud.

"So light a fire!" Harry gasped.

"Yes, of course," Hermione said, "but there's no wood!"

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron shouted. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" Hermione said. She pulled her wand from her robes and cast her blue flame spell.

Lucy was the first one to untangle herself from the plant, and she backed quickly into the wall where Hermione was standing. Then she pulled her own wand out and mimicked Hermione, sending more flames towards the plant. It began to writhe away from the boys much more quickly, and they hurriedly joined the girls along the wall.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," Harry said, running a hand over his face.

"Yeah," Ron said, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis—there's no wood—honestly."

"Shove off, Ron. If you hadn't been squirming so much, it wouldn't have been as dangerous as it was," Lucy shot back, glaring at him.

"This way," Harry said, interrupting them. He pointed down a stone passageway, which was the only path they could see that led away from the plant.

~LJ:TH~

All four of them were quiet as they walked along the passage, and there was no other sound apart from the occasional water drip. They walked for a long time in silence until finally—

"Can you hear something?" Ron asked in a low voice.

The other three strained their ears to listen for what Ron was hearing.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" Hermione whispered, looking worried.

"I don't know," Lucy replied. "Sounds like wings to me."

The rustling sound grew louder as they continued forward.

"There's light ahead—I can see something moving," Harry announced after a few beats of quiet.

They kept moving forward until they came to the door of a surprisingly bright chamber with a high ceiling. Among the rafters flew brightly colored birds, drifting lazily amongst each other. Across from the doorway they were standing in was another door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron asked, breaking the silent awe.

"Probably," Harry replied. "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."

Lucy and Hermione looked worried as he prepared himself. Then, after covering his face with his arms, Harry broke into a run. None of the birds paid him any attention, however. When Harry reached the other end of the room, he grabbed onto the handle of the door and tugged.

"I can't get it to move," he called back to the others. "I think you'll be able to come across, though. I don't think they'll attack or anything."

The other three proceeded with caution, but as Harry had guessed, the birds didn't come down from the air. Lucy and Ron took hold of the handle and tried pulling it together, but there was nothing for it; the door was stuck.

"Let me try," Hermione said, not unkindly. She stepped up, drew her wand out from her sleeve, and tapped the handle. "Alohomora!" Nothing happened, and Hermione looked down dejectedly.

"It was worth a try, 'Mione," Lucy said encouragingly.

The four of them turned around to investigate the room again.

"Now what?" Ron asked.

"These birds… they can't be here just for decoration," Hermione added thoughtfully.

They all watched the birds, each thinking about what they could do.

"They're not birds!" Harry suddenly burst out. "They're keys! Winged keys—look carefully. So, that must mean…" he trailed off, looking around the room.

Hermione and Ron were squinting up at the keys, while Lucy watched Harry carefully.

"Yes! Look," Harry continued, "broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!" Hermione exclaimed in disbelief.

Ron turned and looked carefully at the handle of the door. "We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one—probably silver, like the handle," he reported.

"Let's get looking, then," Lucy said. "The sooner we find this key, the better."

The four of them hurried to where Harry had pointed out the broomsticks and took off into the air. Unsurprisingly, they hadn't been in the air long when Harry spotted the correct key.

"That one!" he shouted out to them. "That big one—there—no, there—with the bright blue wings—the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Without further ado, Ron immediately zoomed towards it, missed, and nearly sent himself crashing into the wall.

"Ron, be careful!" Lucy scolded.

"We've got to close in on it!" Harry instructed. "Ron, you come at it from above—Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down—Lucy, you come in with me and stay on the left. I'll try to catch it coming at it from the right."

Hermione and Ron took their places, and Lucy zoomed over to fly next to Harry.

"Right," Harry called. "NOW!"

Ron dived down, and Hermione zoomed upward; the key dodged both of them. Lucy blasted towards it from its left, and it evaded her, as well. Harry flew right after it. The key and Harry got closer and closer to the wall when Harry reached out and pinned the key against the stones.

Lucy, Ron, and Hermione cheered loudly as they landed again. Harry hurried to the door, jammed the key into the lock, and turned it. The lock clicked, and the four knew it had worked. Harry let go of the key, which feebly fluttered back to the others.

"Ready?" Harry asked, panting slightly.

The other three nodded, and Harry pulled the door open. Their eyes were immediately met with darkness, and they hesitantly stepped through the door.

~LJ:TH~

As they entered the next room, lights immediately appeared, showing them to be in another large chamber. It was not empty. On the floor in front of them was a giant chessboard. Directly ahead of them were huge black chess pieces. They could see in between these chessmen to the opposite side of the room, where the white counterparts towered, blocking the door to the next room.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered to his nervous friends.

Lucy shrugged wordlessly.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron spoke up. "We've got to play our way across the room."

"We can't just walk across and try to get through the door?" Hermione asked uncertainly. She had never been that great at chess.

"No, I think Ron's right," Lucy replied. "What would be the point of having this huge chessboard here if all we had to do is walk across it?"

"Well, how are we going to play our way across, then?" Hermione asked, turning to Ron.

"I think," Ron started slowly, "we're going to have to play as chessmen." He slowly walked over to a black knight piece and reached his hand out.

The piece sprung to life immediately, causing Lucy and Hermione to take a startled step back. The knight looked down at Ron.

"Do we—er—have to join you to get across?" Ron asked the piece. The knight nodded, and Ron turned to look at his friends. "This needs thinking about…" he said, more to himself than the others. "I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces.…"

The other three remained silent while Ron contemplated what they should do.

After a few minutes, he spoke up again, saying, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but none of you are that good at chess."

"We're not offended," Harry said quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

Lucy noticed that he was looking quite nervous. "You're the boss here, Ron," she added with a slight smirk, trying to ease the anxiety of her companions.

"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle," Ron commanded lightly. "Lucy, you're going to have to take the other castle's place, on the other side of the board."

"What about you?" Hermione asked in a soft voice.

"I'm going to be a knight," Ron announced.

As if the chessmen had been listening to them the entire time, a knight, a bishop, and both castles turned their backs on the board and walked off to the side. There were now four empty squares, which the four first-years went to quietly. Lucy was alone next to the huge chess pieces. She leaned forward to try and see her friends.

"Lucy, can you hear me?" Ron called from his position.

"Loud and clear, captain," Lucy replied.

"White always plays first in chess," Ron said. "Yes… look…"

One of the white pawns had slid forward two spaces.

The game had begun. Ron commanded the black pieces around the board, while Lucy, Harry, and Hermione remained quiet. The chess pieces didn't make a sound as they moved to where Ron sent them. Occasionally, Ron would send Lucy, Harry, or Hermione to another square, and they would go immediately. Sometimes Ron had to save them, getting them out of danger of being taken.

At one point, Lucy glanced at Harry and could tell what he was thinking: What if they lost? Lucy was wondering the exact same thing.

"We're nearly there," Ron murmured eventually. "Let me think.… Let me think.…"

There was silence except for the white queen piece turning back to face front after taking out their other bishop.

"Yes," Ron finally said, "it's the only way.… I've got to be taken."

"NO!" the other three shouted. Lucy swallowed with difficulty. She didn't think that the queen would take it easier on Ron when she took him out just because he was a human and not an actual chess piece.

"That's chess!" Ron shot back hotly. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward, and she'll take me," he explained, gesturing to the queen. "That leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

Harry started, "But—!"

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?" Ron asked

Hermione squeaked, "Ron—"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the stone!" Ron cut her off impatiently.

The other three fell into a quiet despair.

"Ready?" Ron said, taking a few extra seconds to prepare himself. "Here I go—now, don't hang around once you've won." Then, before the others could say anything else, he took his move.

As soon as he had stopped, the white queen lashed out at him, her arm connecting solidly with his head. Hermione screamed but remained in her place. Ron collapsed to the floor, unconscious, and the queen dragged him from the playing field. Then the queen took her new space.

"Go, Harry," Lucy whispered softly, keeping her eyes on Ron's unmoving figure.

Harry moved a few spaces. The white king immediately took the crown from his head and threw it at Harry's feet. With that, the chess pieces bowed and then moved to the sides of the board, leaving them a path to the door.

Lucy immediately sprinted to Ron's side. When she reached him, she looked up to see Harry and Hermione watching her. They were still standing on the board, looking confused.

"You two go on," Lucy said to them. "I'll stay with him. When he wakes up, we'll find a way out and try sending a message to Dumbledore."

Harry nodded and pulled Hermione away without a word. There was a look of determination on his face as the two of them disappeared through the door.

Lucy knelt on the ground next to Ron and checked his head. There was a small cut at his left temple but otherwise he seemed okay. He was probably going to be nice and bruised up, though, Lucy figured. He had collapsed onto a stone floor, after all. She quickly took off her sweater, shivering slightly in just her plain t-shirt, and balled it up under Ron's head. Then she waited.

~LJ:TH~

It wasn't long before Ron began to stir.

"Ron!" Lucy exclaimed in relief.

His eyes fluttered for a moment before he opened them fully.

"How are you feeling?" Lucy pressed.

"Lucy?" Ron asked groggily. "I feel like I got hit by a bunch of bricks. My head is pounding. Wait—what happened to Harry? And Hermione?"

He tried to quickly jump up, but Lucy put a forceful hand on his shoulder and made him stay down. "Harry and Hermione went on," she explained. "I stayed behind to make sure nothing happened to you."

Ron blinked at her. "Thanks," he murmured quietly. Lucy smiled at him, and he quickly asked, "What are we going to do now?"

Lucy helped him slowly into a sitting up position. She swept her sweater back on over her head, as well. "First of all, we're going to have to find a way out," she replied. "It'd probably be a good idea to get the Invisibility Cloak, too, before someone else finds it."

A noise made the two of them quiet immediately. They turned to the door where Harry and Hermione had gone through. Lucy thought she heard footsteps on the other side.

Then Hermione burst through the door.

"Hermione!" Lucy exclaimed, jumping up and running at her. They met halfway between the door and where Ron was sitting. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Hermione replied breathlessly. "Harry went on to find the stone. Ron, are you okay?"

"I'm good," Ron answered, struggling to his feet. When he made it up, he looked a bit shaky but otherwise seemed fine. "We should go after Harry, in case he needs some help."

"No!" Hermione insisted. "Listen, Harry told me what we should do. We need to get the brooms from the key room and fly out of here. Then we need to send an owl to Dumbledore to explain what happened tonight."

Ron shouted, "But—!"

"Hermione's right," Lucy said, shaking her head at him. "We have to try to get more help. Let's get going!"

With that, the three of them set off quickly, going back the way they came.

In the next room, they each picked up a broom and kicked off into the air. They soared through the passage and the room with the Devil's Snare before coming up short.

"What about Fluffy?" Ron said in a worried voice.

The girls looked at him blankly for a moment.

"Wait!" Lucy said. "Hermione, you still have the flute, right?"

Hermione nodded, reaching into her sweater pocket and pulling the flute out.

"Okay, 'Mione, you're going to have to go first," Lucy instructed. "Start playing the flute, and you should be okay to fly through the trapdoor without Fluffy noticing."

Hermione quickly put the flute to her lips and played a few notes. She hovered in the air for a few seconds, playing the flute near the opening of the trapdoor. Then she slowly flew her broom through the door. Lucy and Ron followed closely.

Once back in the third-floor corridor, the three of them dismounted. Hermione continued to blow into the flute, and they dropped the broomsticks to the floor with a clatter. Lucy felt around the trapdoor and scooped up the Invisibility Cloak.

"We should really be more careful with this thing," she muttered as she joined her friends.

They hurried out of the room and down the corridor. They had just exited the forbidden part of the third floor when they stopped short. In front of them, Dumbledore was moving swiftly in their direction.

"Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?" Dumbledore said somberly.

Surprised and slightly out of breath, Lucy, Hermione, and Ron could only nod. Dumbledore turned and hurried in the direction they had just come from. For an old man, he moved pretty quickly.

"Now what do we do?" Hermione asked quietly.

Lucy looked quickly at Ron. "We should take Ron up to the hospital wing," she said.

"I don't need to go to the hospital!" Ron insisted.

"Ron, you might have a concussion," Lucy scolded him, "or possibly even internal bleeding. You need to be looked at."

Ron sighed darkly, but he allowed Lucy and Hermione to take him up to the hospital wing.

~LJ:TH~

When they reached the ward, Madam Pomfrey hurried out of her office, looking both worried and irritated. "What are you children doing out of bed at this hour?" she demanded.

"It's an emergency," Lucy replied. "Ron here… er—"

"Ron fell down a flight of stairs," Hermione cut in helpfully. "We were worried that he might have a concussion or maybe even internal bleeding."

Madam Pomfrey eyed the three of them for a moment. "Very well," she said. "Come here, Mr. Weasley. We'll check you over."

Ron stood in front of Madam Pomfrey as she waved her wand over him for a few minutes. Then, after telling them all to stay put, she went over to a cupboard on the other side of the room. She returned a moment later with a goblet full of potion.

"Here you are," she said. "Drink all of this, and then I want you all to go right back to your house. Mr. Weasley, you'll need to go to sleep right away for the potion to start working."

"Thank you," the three Gryffindors chorused.

Madam Pomfrey watched as Ron drank the entire goblet. When he was finished, she took the goblet from him, and the students left the hospital wing.

"What about Harry?" Ron asked as he and the girls walked down the corridor. "What if something's happened to him? We have to wait up to see him—"

"Ron, you heard Madam Pomfrey," Lucy said immediately. "You have to go straight up to bed. We'll figure out what happened to Harry in the morning."

So, they silently made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. They didn't meet any teachers or ghosts along the way. The Fat Lady was unhappy when they woke her up to give her the password, but she swung open and let them in.

The first thing that Lucy noticed was that Neville was no longer in the common room. Someone must have found him and removed the Full Body-Bind Curse while Lucy and her friends had been away. She wondered who had removed the curse and if Neville had told them who'd cast it on him in the first place.

Lucy sent Ron up to his dormitory, and then she followed Hermione up the girls' staircase. When she reached her bed, she fell on top of it, exhausted. Evie appeared and snuggled into Lucy's side. Lucy fell into an uneasy sleep, her worries for Harry following her into her dreams.

~LJ:TH~

A/N: The end of this chapter has gone through many transformations over the years. I'm finally mostly satisfied with this one.