AN: thanks all so much for the reviews and PMS on my last chapter. I also seem to be getting a lot of PMS asking why does Hermione seem to cling on to Skyler a lot- it will be revealed in time but Hermione see's Skyler as an older sister.
The quartet creeped down the staircase at midnight, Hermione sticking close to Skyler. When a croak erupted into the silent night, making them jump. Neville was sitting on the arm chair nearest to the fireplace, Trevor his toad on the arm.
"Your going out tonight again aren't you?" Neville asked, getting up from his seat, his blue pyjamas on display, the bear design making Skyler smile at the boy.
"Now Neville listen," Harry started, only to be interrupted.
"No, you listen! I wont let you; you'll get Gryffindor into trouble again. I'll fight you," Neville said weakly, bringing his fist up, seeming to forget he had his wand.
"Neville I'm really sorry about this, Petrificus Totalus." Skyler stated, pointing her wand at the slightly chubby boy. Neville's limbs locked together as he fell over straight as a board. Ron gulped.
"You're a little scary sometimes, you know that? Brilliant, but scary."
Skyler ignored him, rushing over to the boy to place a blanket around him and a pillow under his head. The quartet continued out of the common room, under the invisibility cloak and making their way to the third floor corridor.
"Alohamora," Hermione whispered, pointing her wand at the lock on the door that guarded the corridor and fluffy, the lock opening with a soft clunk.
The sound of soft harp playing filled the air, along with soft snores coming from the large three-headed dog, barely hear able over the snores.
"Wait a minute he's snoring," Harry said confused at why the large dog wasn't snapping and growling at them.
"The harp has been charmed to continue to play," Skyler stated, moving swiftly over to the dog and dragging its paw away from the trap door, eyes fiercely glowing white. Harry crouched down next to the trap door, looking up at his friends, taking a deep breath and opening it, revealing total darkness.
"I'll go first, don't follow until I give you a sign, if something bad happens get yourselves out. Does it seem a bit quiet to you?" Harry asked suddenly, hearing no music or the dog snoring. Drool dropped down onto Ron's shoulder, making the four friends exchange a look of fear, before they all jumped down the trap door, landing on what seemed to be thick vines.
"Whoa," Ron whispered, "lucky this plant things here really."
The vines started to writhe and move, wrapping like cords around their legs and arms, seeming to move faster as they struggled against them.
"Don't move its Devils Snare," Skyler shouted, "You have to relax if you don't it will only kill you faster."
"Kill us faster, oh now I can relax!" Ron shouted back at Skyler, who was sitting perfectly calm. Skyler slowly dropped through the thick plants, disappearing from their sight.
"Skyler!" the three friends screamed, worried for her.
"Now what?" Ron asked, still struggling against the vines.
"Just relax!" Skyler shouted from below them, making Hermione instantly stop moving, letting her slowly disappear from sight, along with Harry.
"Help, Help!" Ron screamed, writhing against the vines.
"He's not relaxing is he?" Hermione asked worriedly, staring up at the thick mass of vines above them. "I've got to do something…what was it that Madame sprout told us, Devils snare, Devils snare its deadly fun, but will sulk in the sun that's it!"
Skyler whipped out her wand, pointing it at the mass of vines. "Lumos solem!" light erupted from her wand at the vines, which screeched and shrunk away from it, releasing Ron who dropped down next to them.
"Ron are you ok?" Harry asked, helping his friend up from the floor as Skyler placed her wand behind her ear.
"Woo, lucky we didn't panic." Ron stated, looking sheepish at the glare Hermione placed on him.
"Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology you mean?" Harry said with a slight smirk, before the group moved onwards.
The quartet walked through a door, the sound of wings flapping above them made them look up, alerting them to hundreds of keys flying above them, each key held up by wings. A broom was suspended a few feet above air, held there by magic. Ron took out his wand and walked over to the door opposite them, pointing it at the lock.
"Alohamora."
The spell didn't work, leaving Ron to jiggle the door handle roughly, before walking back over to his friends.
"I think we have to find the key that fits the lock," Harry stated suddenly, having looked between the broom and flying keys.
"That could take ages!" Hermione exclaimed, staring up at the masses of keys above them.
"There, that one with the broken wing." Skyler pointed out softly, the key in question being old and rusty in appearance, matching the door.
Harry climbed onto the broom, shooting up into the air, snatching the key quickly, as its broken wing ailed it in getting away. Landing, Harry dismounted quickly unlocking the door and walking through along with his friends just as the other keys shot at the door, many thuds indicating them crashing. They quickly appeared at the edge of a large chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Harry, Skyler, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly – the towering white chessmen had no faces.
"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."
Behind the white pieces they could see another door.
"How?" said Hermione nervously.
"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."
He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.
"Do we — err — have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other three.
"This needs thinking about…" he said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces…"
Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron and Skyler think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess—"
"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."
"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go there instead of that castle. You Skyler are going to be the king."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.
The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop, the king, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving four empty squares that Skyler, Harry, Ron, and Hermione took.
"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes… look…"
A white pawn had moved forward two squares.
Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost?
"Harry — move diagonally four squares to the right."
Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.
"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."
Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.
"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think — let me think…"
The white queen turned her blank face toward him.
"Yes…" said Ron softly, "It's the only way… I've got to be taken."
"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted, Skyler just stayed silent and faced the other way.
"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I make my move and she'll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"
"But —"
"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"
"Ron —"
"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"
There was no alternative.
"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go — now, don't hang around once you've won."
He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor —
Hermione screamed but stayed on her square — the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.
Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Harry, Skyler and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.
"What if he's —?"
"He'll be all right," said Harry, trying to convince himself. "What do you recons next?"
"He'll be fine" Skyler repeated, trying to soothe Hermione who was crying.
"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's."
They had reached another door.
"All right?" Harry whispered.
"Go on."
Harry pushed it open.
A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, standing up right and snarling was a bigger troll than the one at Halloween and it had spikes on it's club.
"Run!" Skyler screamed shooting off a shield spell and stopping the troll's club in time to keep them from getting hurt, they rushed off with Skyler knocking it out with a boulder in the corner.
He pulled open the next door, the three of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.
"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"
They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.
"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry and Skyler looked over her shoulders to read it:
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, which ever 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 bidden 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 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.
"Think you could figure it out?" Harry asked.
Hermione let out a great sigh at Harry and Skyler, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.
"Brilliant," said Hermione. "This isn't magic — it's logic — a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."
"But so will we, won't we?"
"Of course not," said Hermione. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."
"But how do we know which to drink?"
"Give me a minute."
Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.
"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire — toward the Stone."
Harry looked at the tiny bottle. "There's only enough for one of us, which one will get us back through the purple flames?"
Hermione pointed at the end of the line where a small rounded bottle was, the liquid in there only being enough for one.
"Drink them, Hermione go see if Ron's fine, contact Dumbledore somehow. Harry you go on ahead, I'll find my own way through." Skyler stated, handing her friends their respective bottles. Harry and Hermione shared a sad look as they drank their liquid, before stepping through their respective fires, leaving Skyler alone in the small room.
Skyler took out her wand, pointing it at the black fire, white eyes glowing fiercely.
"Aquamenti," water shot from her wand, dousing the flames out. Revealing a thick wall of concrete blocks, Skyler scrunched up her nose.
"Bombarda!"
Slight chunks of the wall crumbled.
"Bombarda!"
Again only slight chunks crumbled away. Skyler hissed under her breath, eyes glowing a fierce white.
"Bombarda Maxima."
The whole wall shot away from the blast, a stray brick slamming against Skyler's head, knocking her unconscious.
XxxX
Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.
"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasely were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."
"How long have I been in here? Are my friends okay?"
"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasely and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried. Miss. James was fine, only a slight concussion from a stray brick."
"But sir, the Stone —"
"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that.
"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"
"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you."
"It was you."
"I feared that I might have been too late."
"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer –"
"Not the Stone, boy, you — the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend — Nicolas Flamel —"
"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted.
"You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."
"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"
"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."
Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.
"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all — the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."
Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.
"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking… sir — even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who —"
"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."
"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"
"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share… not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time — and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."
Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me… things I want to know the truth about…"
"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."
"Well… Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"
Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.
"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day… put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older… I know you hate to hear this… when you are ready, you will know."
And Harry knew it would be no good to argue.
"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"
"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."
Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet. When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "And the invisibility cloak — do you know who sent it to me?"
"Ah — your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things… your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."
"And there's something else…"
"Fire away."
"Quirrell said Snape —"
"Professor Snape, Harry."
"Yes, him — Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"
"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."
"What?"
"He saved his life."
"What?"
"Yes…" said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt… I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace…"
Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.
"And sir, there's one more thing…"
"Just the one?"
"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"
"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone — find it, but not use it — would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes… Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them — but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"
He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"
XxX
Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. Madam Pomfrey had held him up fussing about, insisting on giving him one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row.
A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him.
Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…
"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."
A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.
"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."
The room went very still. The Slytherin's smiles faded a little.
"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes…
"First — to Mr. Ronald Weasely…"
Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with bad sunburn.
"… For the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."
"GO RON!" Skyler yelled with a smile on her face.
Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"
At last there was silence again.
"Second — to Miss Hermione Granger… for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."
"WHOO! GO HERMIONE!" Skyler and the Twins called out with a few catcalls thrown in.
Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears.
Gryffindor's up and down the table were beside themselves — they were a hundred points up.
"Third — to Mr. Harry Potter…" said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "… for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."
"GO HARRY GO! WHOOO!" the Twins screamed out again.
The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points — exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup — if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point.
Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.
"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom. Also, I award fifty points to Miss. Skyler James for the use of powerful spells and the most impressive sight of damage of school property this old wizard has ever seen."
Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before. Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him. They also saw Skyler being swung around by the twins and Lee Jordan.
"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."
He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.
It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls… they would never, ever forget tonight.
Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Skyler, of course, had the best grades of the first years with Hermione a close second.
Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life.
And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays.
Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station.
It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.
"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "the three of you — I'll send you an owl."
"I'm afraid I wont be able too, as I'm not coming back to school next year. Though I'll be back in time for third year hopefully." Skyler stated softly, white eyes soft as Hermione clung onto her arm with a tight grip.
"What? Why not?" Harry asked franticly, worried about his best female friend.
"I'm going through a phase at the moment, but don't worry, I'll be back soon." Skyler replied with a smile, giving her friends a hug each before walking along the platform, dragging her trunk behind her. Leaving the trio of friends to watch their strange, but brilliant friend walk away, leaving them with many unanswered questions.
AN: I wont be doing the Chamber of Secrets as its to do with Skyler's phase which will be revealed in the sequel- Skyler James: Year Three. The first chapter will be up some time next week, thank you all for reading so much, I am honoured that you spent the time to read my story.
