Chapter 6: Escape

Into the detention center, came a 12-foot giant in chains, a rat which was only a few inches high in itty-bitty chains and four young wizards in Death Eater uniforms.

The duty officer looked up. "No one alerted me to any prisoner transfers," he complained.

Suddenly, wands were out. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

The detention guards' arms snapped to their sides, their legs jumped together, they all became as stiff as boards, and then one by one, they began toppling over.

Fred was unshackling Hagrid. Ron was unshackling Scabbers.

The rat leaped up onto a control panel and seemed to blunder against an alarm switch.

Lights began flashing. Klaxons began blaring.

"We gotta hurry!" shouted Hagrid.

Harry was already running down the corridor towards Princess Hermione's cell. He unlocked and slid the door open.

She got up off her cot, blinking. "You're a little short for a Death Eater, aren't you?"

"Huh? Oh, the uniform. No, I'm Harry Potwalker. I'm here to rescue you!"

Hagrid shoved his smiling face in through the door. "Hello Hermione!"

"Hagrid!" Hermione ran to him and gave him a hug.

The Weasley boys were retreating towards them. "Death Eaters!" they cried. "Lots of them."

Harry shouted, "Where's the back door?"

"There isn't any!"

Hagrid glanced around. "Where do you want one?"

"Just there!"

The giant ripped out a section of wall.

Ron scooped up Scabbers and leaped into the newly-made opening. Fred and George followed.

"Come on!" bellowed Harry as he jumped in too.

But Hagrid was looking into the huge black maw he'd created with some trepidation. "I don't know . . ."

"Move it, ya big baby!" shouted Hermione. Her kick in the seat of Hagrid's pants sent him hurtling downwards.

Then she leaped in after him.

۞

They landed on some kind of squishy plant. Snakelike tendrils began wrapping around them.

"I know what this is!" said Hermione. "It's Devil's Snare!"

"Devil's Snare?" gasped Hagrid. He pointed his pink umbrella. "Incidio!" A bolt of blue flame shot out. The plant screamed and let everybody go.

"Come on, everybody!" Harry shouted. "This way!"

They raced down a stone passageway to a room filled with flying keys. Ron sheltered his eyes and raced across the room to the door on the far side. It was locked.

"Alohamora!" cried Hermione, who was right behind him. The door stayed locked.

Hagrid was there too. He threw his tremendous shoulder against the door, but he merely bounced off.

"We need to find the proper key!" Harry declared as his eyes searched through the swarm of glittering keys. "Ah there!" He picked up Scabbers and flung the hapless rat, which struck the key squarely, and both fell to the floor.

Harry raced across the room, followed by Fred and George. He scooped up both the rat and the key, raced the rest of the way to the door, tossed Scabbers to Ron, jammed the key into the lock and twisted. The door clicked and opened.

Everyone hurried through and slammed the door just as the other side of it was pockmarked by thousands of angry, flying keys.

They found themselves looking at a gigantic chessboard. Each of the men was as large as they were.

George muttered. "I think we have to play our way across."

The White King turned and nodded gravely.

Fred said, "Ron, you're the best chess player here. You need to tell us what do so."

Ron nodded and stepped onto the White King's square. The piece obediently left the field. Harry replaced the pawn directly in front of Ron. Hermione replaced the Queen. Scabbers took the place of the pawn directly in front of her. The twins replaced the two bishops, and Hagrid wandered down and replaced the king-side rook.

"Okay Harry," said Ron slowly. "Advance two squares.

Harry did, but a black pawn took two steps forward and was looking him right in the eye. "Ron?"

"Nothing to worry about, Harry. Pawns aren't allowed to take straight ahead. George, three squared diagonally, if you please."

George, who had been standing next to Ron came out and took up his position, two squares to the left of Harry. As before, a black bishop echoed George's move and came out, standing nose to nose with George. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, little brother."

"Hermione," said Ron gently. "Two squares forward and to the right, please."

She walked out cautiously, taking her position just behind Harry and one square to his right.

Ron could tell that Black wanted to again copy the move, but that would place the two Queens across the board from each other. Black was too cautious to chance that move. Instead, the pawn in front of the Black Queen came one square forward to take up a supporting position behind the pawn of the Black King.

Ron grinned. "Hermione, go forward quickly! Run straight ahead! Take the place of that black pawn there!"

She didn't understand, but she did as she was told. She ran forward and elbowed the black pawn out of the way.

"Check mate!" Ron gloated.

They hurried into the next room. As they did so, flames leapt up behind them. Flames also blocked the doorway on the far side. In the center of the room was a long table with seven potions on it. Next to the potions was a long and very complicated poem. A clever person was needed to figure out which potion did what.

"What do we do, Princess?" asked Hagrid helplessly.

"Simple," said Hermione. "It's pure logic. Has anyone figured it out yet?"

The three Weasleys were mouthing the complex wording of the poem, trying to make heads or tails of it. Finally, they gave up, as did Harry and Hagrid. "It's up to you."

Hermione winked. "Pour the potions on the fire and quench the flames," she instructed them.

So, feeling awfully stupid, they did.

The final door took them back to Hanger Deck 13. Darth Snape turned to them. "Ah Hagrid," he hissed. "At last, our final battle." The potions master slowly raised his wand.

So Hagrid belted him. Hard. Snape flew backwards and hit his cowl on a metal bulkhead.

"Quick everybody!" shouted Harry. "Run for the car!"

It was a short sprint. Everyone crammed themselves in, Ron fired up the engine, and the car turned and fled from the Death Star.