Chapter 44: The Trapdoor
"What's with the Marauders and Flower Boys??" Lily asked, noticing the two group of guys were glaring at one another with great dislike.
"I've no idea. I think it's only Sirius. Or was it the match??" Stefanie replied, eyeing the two groups of guys who were part eating and part glaring.
"I think they're jealous of each other for having so much attention or something." Arabella said, looking from the Gryffindors to the Hufflepuffs. Many others had noticed the glaring dispute between the two groups and had avoided their paths.
"Is there something going on between F-Four and Marauders??" Shannie asked suddenly. The four Ravenclaws were eating their dinner at the house table with the rest of the fourth-year Ravenclaw girls.
"There's something going on between them that we don't know." Jennifer said, eyeing the four Hufflepuffs behind her and the Gryffindor in front.
"Like what??" Yvonne asked, did not like disagreement between friendships, shown concern for the two groups of guys. Over the past year, the four of them had become great friends with most of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. The Flower Boys, on the other hand, were good friends from school.
"The Match??" Yvette suggested. "F-Four were all out to win but in the end they lost."
"Maybe we can do something between the two groups?" Jennifer said suddenly, as if an ingenious plan had been plotting in her mind.
"Like what??" Shannie asked quizzically.
"Locking the two groups in a classroom and make them fight all they want." Yvette said.
"That's a great idea!!" Yvonne praised.
"That's what I was thinking off exactly." Jennifer said.
"We need to get help Lils, Stef and Bell." Yvette said finally. The four girls exchanged a triumphant grin and looked at how the staring war between the Marauders and F-Four were proceeding.
"Any idea how to stop those childish guys from their staring war??" Stefanie asked.
"I doubt so. I think they might start a food fight soon." Lily said, eyeing the way James and Sirius fiddling with their chicken chop.
"I won't be surprised. We already had three major food fights this year and countless minor ones this year. Broken the number of food fights in a year in Hogwarts." Arabella said and the three girls laughed.
"So what can we do??" Stefanie asked again.
"Locked the two groups in a room and let them kill one another." Arabella said.
"That sounds like a Wizard Duel." Stefanie commented.
"We need help from Eve, Jen, Shan and Von for the Flower Boys." Lily said.
"I think we should eat faster. I foresee a food fight coming up." Arabella said.
"I think most people predicted that as well." Lily laughed. Most of the people had cleared the Great Hall. Those remained eyed the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs apprehensively.
"Hey girls, we got something that need your help." Jennifer, along with Yvette, Shannie and Yvonne, came up towards the three girls at the Gryffindor table.
"We need your help on something too." Lily said, grinning.
"Is it about the eight guys??" Yvette said.
"Yes!!" Lily, Arabella and Stefanie chorused.
"Let's get out and talk. I detect a food fight." Arabella said. The seven girls hurried out of the Great Hall, giving one final look at the Marauders and Flower Boys.
"Where are we going??" James asked the three girls.
"We found this place that time while exploring and we want you guys to come with us." Lily elucidated on how they found that abandoned room. The three girls had tried to find a room far away from the four towers and staff rooms, empty enough so that they would not break anything, big enough so that they could fight all they want, and barely any windows around to make sure no one heard them.
"Why did you want us to go??" Sirius asked playfully.
"Because it's kinda deserted." Arabella said, giving Sirius the don't-ever-think-dirty look.
"Where is it anyway?? There is no place in Hogwarts the Marauders had yet to explore." Remus commented.
"It's at the further towards the end of the Charms corridor." Stefanie said. "You guys don't really explore this part because Charms is never your favorite subject."
"That's true. We didn't bother to explore this portion of the corridor because there's nothing to see!!" James said. "Everyone knows it's a dead end!!"
"It isn't." Lily grinned mischievously. "There's something exciting behind that dead end."
"Where are we??" James asked.
"Third floor corridor!!" Lily shouted from the door. The Marauders could hear the girls locking the door outside and some charms were being said.
"Alohomora!!" Remus said, pointing his wand at the door. The door did not open the slightest bit.
"What are you girls trying to do??" Sirius shouted. "Stef, how could you do this to your dearest brother??"
"You're my dearest brother, that's why I'm doing this to you." Stefanie replied from the outside.
"You guys have fun!!" Arabella shouted before no sound coming from the girls outside. The three girls had actually charmed the door with a soundproof charm, a lock-plus-lock charm and unbreakable charm before leaving, giggling away.
"What are they trying to do??" Remus said, bewildered.
"No idea. We never explored this part of the castle before, did we??" James commented, looking around the large room.
"Look!! I've this Persian carpet at home!!" Sirius said excitedly at the large rectangular carpet, which was in front of them. The rooms seemed to be full of carpets and the walls were rather empty. There were barely any windows except some small windows high above.
"Who cares?? Anyway why is there such a big empty room in the castle??" James said, deep in thought.
"There might be something special around here. Maybe one of those shelves actually open to a trapdoor or something??" Sirius said excitedly.
"Shan!! Get us out!!" Shannon shouted at the top of his voice.
"What are you girls trying to do??" Xavier yelled.
"Sorry guys, but this is just for fun!!" Jennifer shouted from the outside. The four girls giggles suddenly died down and no more sound could be heard.
"What the hell??" Malcolm muttered. The Flower Boys turned around and ended up face-to-face with the Marauders.
"Now I finally know what's going on." James said, grinning.
"What??" The Flower Boys looked totally confused.
"They're really dumb." Sirius whispered and the Marauders chuckled.
"So what can we do here??" Shannon asked.
"How about a Wizard Duel??" James suggested.
"Good idea. We-" Before Shannon finished his sentence, a carpet flew up and hovered on top of the Flower Boys for awhile before it dropped straight on them.
"Hey!!"
"Ouch!!" Muffled voices of the four boys could be heard from the Flower Boys underneath the rather huge and heavy carpet.
"Wingardium Leviosa!!" Suddenly four different carpets from different direction flew towards the Marauders and crashed together in mid-air.
"Ouch!!"
"Get up!!"
"I'm trying!!" The Marauders crawled their way out from the carpet heap.
"Hey look!!" James said, he spotted something like a trapdoor on the uncovered ground.
"Don't try to trick us to look behind, Potter!!" Shannon said angrily.
"We're not doing anything. Let's go and check out the trapdoor." James instructed and the Marauders walked towards the trapdoor.
"There's really a trapdoor, Shannon." Lewell said.
"Let's check it out." Xavier said, pulling Shannon along with him.
James bent down and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and opened.
"What can you see??" Sirius asked.
"Nothing – just black – there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."
"Who says anything about going down??" Shannon said.
"No one. But we, being the Marauders, explore the school grounds whenever possible. We definitely can't miss a new discovery." Sirius said.
"Who want to go first??" Peter asked timidly.
"You sure you want to go first?? Are you sure??" said Sirius. "No one knows how deep this thing goes."
"Might as well as give it a try. I'm jumping in first. Will give you a cue when I'm at the bottom." James said bravely and he climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor once again. There was no sign of the bottom. He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then James turned to Sirius and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go get help and get me up, okay??"
"No prob, Jamesie!!" Sirius shouted at the dropping James.
After James let go, cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and –
FLUMP!! With a funny, muffled sort of thump, he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the dark. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.
"It's OK!" James called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the opened trapdoor. It's a soft landing, you can jump!!"
Sirius followed straight away and he landed right next to James.
"What's this stuff??" were Sirius' first words.
"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on Rem and Pete!!" James shouted up to the light. Remus and Peter jumped down together and landed in front of James and Sirius.
"We must be miles under the school." Remus said.
"Lucky this plant thing's here." Sirius said.
"Lucky??" James joked. "Look at you both!!" He leapt up and struggled towards a damp wall. Peter followed James movement instinctively. Both of them had to struggle because the moment they had landed, the plant had started to twist snake-like tendrils around their ankles. As for Sirius and Remus, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.
James and Peter had managed to free themselves before the plant got a firm grip on them. Now the two of them watched how Sirius and Remus fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.
"Stop moving." Peter said suddenly. "This is the Devil's Snare. It likes the dark and damp-"
James pointed out his hand and muttered a spell and sent a get of the bluebell flames at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies and they were able to pull free.
"Let's get going." James said and pointed at a stone passageway, which was the only way on.
FLUMP!! FLUMP!! FLUMP!!
"Hey, wait for us!!" Lewell called out to the retreating Marauders.
"Why should we??" Sirius said sarcastically.
"Because we're going to explore this together, right Shannon??" Xavier said.
"Alright then. Who knows what's lie beyond??" James said and he pointed his wand the Flower Boys and muttered the same flaming spell. The creepers unraveled from the four guys instantly.
"Thanks!!" Lewell said. "Let's explore together, shall we??" The eight guys walked in silence down the slope, which was their only route. All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls.
"Can you hear something??" James said. The walls around echoed.
They listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
"Do you think it's a ghost??" Peter asked.
"I don't know.. sounds like wings to me." Shannon commented.
"There's light ahead – I can see something moving." Sirius said as he pointed to the front.
They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy, wooden door.
"Do you think they'll attach us if we cross the room??" Remus said.
"Probably." James looked around. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swoop down at once.. well, there's nothing for it.. we'll run."
The eight boys covered their faces with their arms and sprinted across the room. All of them ended up opposite, untouched by the flying objects. James pulled the handle, but it was locked.
The guys all tried pulling the handle, tugging and heaving at the door, but it did not budge at all.
"Alohomora!!" Sirius said. The door did not moved at all. "Why on earth is this call door-unlocking charm when it failed to open door twice in a day??" Sirius complained.
"Now what??" Malcolm asked.
"These birds.. they can't be here just for decoration." James said thoughtfully.
The eight of them watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering brightly.
"They're not birds!!" Shannon said suddenly.
"They're keys!! Winged keys – look carefully. So that must mean.." James looked around the chamber while the rest squinted up at the flock of flying keys.
"Yes – look!! Broomsticks!! We've got to
catch the key to the door!!"
"But there are hundreds of them!!" Shannon commented.
Remus examined the lock on the door.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one – probably silver, like the handle." Remus said finally.
They seized a broomstick each and kicked off the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.
James seemed to have a knack for spotting things other people could not. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had bent wings, as if it had already been caught several times.
"That one!!" James called out to the others. "That big one – there – no, there – with bright blue wings – the feathers are all crumpled up."
All eight guys went speeding in the direction that James was pointing, Peter and Malcolm crashed into the ceiling and nearly fell off his broom while Remus and Lewell crashed onto each other.
"We've got to close in on it!!" James called, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wings. "Sir, you come at it from above – Remus, stay below and stop it going down – and Shannon and I'll try and catch it from the opposite directions. Right, NOW!!"
Sirius and Xavier dived while Remus and Lewell rocketed upwards, the key dodged them both and James and Shannon streaked after it; it sped towards the wall. James leant forward and with a nasty crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Cheers echoed around the high chamber from all the guys.
They landed quickly while James and Shannon ran to the door, the key struggling in Shannon's hand now. He rammed it into the lock and turned – it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught once again.
"Ready to go?" Shannon asked the other seven, his hand on the door handle. All of them nodded excitedly and he pulled the door opened.
The next chamber was so dark that they could not see anything at all. But after the eight stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight. They were standing on the edge of a huge 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. The eight boys exchanged a look – the towring white chessmen had no faces.
"No what do we do??" Shannon asked.
"It's obvious, isn't it??" James said. "We've got to play our way across the room."
Behind the white pieces they could see another door.
"How??" Peter asked nervously.
"This is getting exciting!!" Sirius exclaimed.
"I think we're going to have to be chessmen." James said, looking at the missing parts of the black pieces. "Rem, you're our best player, we trust you to instruct the moves."
"I think Vell can do better." Shannon said suddenly. "He is talented in Wizard Chess since kindergarten."
"How about Rem and Vell combine their ideas??" James suggested.
"Good idea." All of them nodded in agreement.
"Do all of us have to participate??" Sirius asked.
"I think so." Remus said; they started positioning themselves onto the giant chessboard. "James, Shannon, you two shall be the knight. Sirius and Xavier, the bishops. Peter and Malcolm, the Castle. Lewell and me shall play as the pawn." The chessmen seemed to have been listening because at these words, the one bishop, two knights and one castle, as well as four pawns turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board leaving eight empty squares, which the eight of them took.
"White always plays first in chess." Lewell said coolly, peering across the board. "Yes.. look.."
A white pawn had moved forward two squares.
Lewell and Remus started to direct the black piece, both seems to be thinking along the same line. They moved excitedly wherever they were sent to.
Their first real shock came when one of the pawns was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he laid quite still, face down.
"Don't worry." Lewell said calmly. " I assure you that none of us will get hit." Both of them continued to manipulate the chess pieces.
Finally the white king took off his crown and threw it at James the knight feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. They walked confidently towards the door and up the next passageway together.
"What do you reckon's next??" Sirius asked gleefully.
"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 Plain's spell and Porky's.." James pointed out.
They had reached another door.
"Ready??" Shannon asked the group.
"Go on, dude!!" Remus said encouraging, grinning at Lewell. Lewell returned with a grin, which was rare because he seldom smile.
A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making them pull up their robes over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw a troll right in front of them. Shannon closed the door again.
"What shall we do now??"
"Fight the troll."
"Or turn back."
"Let's vote."
"All for fighting the troll."
"How??"
"Stupefy??"
"Is our stunning spell strong enough to tackle the big troll??"
"I remembered that eight people saying the stunning charm together could knock a dragon out cold."
"Well, for excitement sake. Let's do it."
"Yes!!"
"Once I open the door and count one, two three. All of us say the spell at the exact same time"
"If he did not get stunned, we can still close the door."
"Ok, here I go." James opened the door to reveal a full-grown mountain troll. "One, two, three."
"STUPEFY!!!!!" The eight of them shouted exactly at the same time. The troll dropped down onto the ground instantly with a loud thud that made the whole room tremble.
"We did it!!"
"Shannon and I shall go forward first, if anything happen, the six of you back us up by shouting the stunning spell. Once we reach the other end, the next two come forward."
"Ok, let's go!!"
James and Shannon made a quick sprint as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs and reached the other end at record time. Soon after, two by two, the eight of them reached the other end of the room.
"Come on, I can't breathe!!" Shannon muttered.
James pulled open the next door, both of them hardly dare 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.
"Porky's." Sirius muttered.
They stepped over the threshold and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It was not an ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onwards. They were trapped.
"Oh no!!"
"Look!!" Lewell seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. The rest of them looked over his shoulder to read it:
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.
Chose, unless you wish to stay here evermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these flues 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.
Lewell and Remus actually smiled at the puzzle.
"Brilliant, 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, James said. "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 is to drink?"
"Give us a minute."
James, Sirius, Remus and Lewell read the paper several times then they walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering and discussing and pointing at them. At last, they high-fived with one another.
"Got it. The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire." James spoke up.
They looked at the small bottle.
"I think it should be enough for all of us." Sirius said. "One small mouthful per person, alright??"
"Which one will get us back through the purple flames??"
Remus pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.
"Let's drink and quickly walk through before the potion wear off." James said and they moved towards the black flame. He took a small sip.
"What does it taste like?"
"It's not poison??" Peter asked cautiously.
"No – but it's like ice. I see you at the other end." James turned and walked straight through the purple fire. It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He saw the black flames licking his body but could not feel them – for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire – then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.
Wow. What's that shiny reddish thing on the stand?? James walked towards the table at the center of the chamber.
"Yo man." Sirius called out and he walked towards James. "What's that??"
"Hey." Remus followed in next. "Jeez. What's that??"
"It looks like a precious stone." Shannon walked in after Peter towards the four guys standing in the center.
"I don't think it's just a simple stone." Xavier commented and walked towards them.
"It's like a blood-red ruby." Malcolm said, eyeing the tiny stone at the center.
"It's the Sorcerer's Stone." Lewell walked in finally and said.
"Sorcerer Stone??" Peter asked.
"So this is the famous legendary Sorcerer Stone of the Wizarding World." Shannon said, looking at it with interest.
"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making of the Sorcerer Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers." James said.
"The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold." Sirius continued. "It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal."
"There've been many reports of the Sorcerer Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Nicholas Flamel, the noted alchemist. He is the only known maker of the Stone." Lewell added.
"Albus Dumbledore must be Nicholas Flamel partner in the work on alchemy. This must be the legendary Stone they created." Remus said knowingly.
"Very good. You boys know your work very well." Albus Dumbledore clapped and suddenly appeared in the chamber.
"Professor Dumbledore." The eight boys chorused in a shock.
"I'm really glad that the eight of you worked together, for the first time in the whole year." Dumbledore said. The eight guys looked at each other and grinned happily.
"Well, it was coincidence that we discover the trapdoor and the chambers."
"All the staff knows about this though. But I never expect any student will be able to find the trapdoor and cross this five obstacles we've set." Dumbledore said, smiling at the group.
"Well, I guess that's what is called teamwork." James spoke up.
"Very good. Let's get out of here." Dumbldore said.
"How??" Shannon asked.
"Close your eyes. Don't try to peak, Sirius." Sirius then shut his eyes tightly. Dumbledore muttered something and the next moment, all of them were back in his office. "You may open your eyes now."
"How did we end up in your office??" James asked, bewildered. I'm quite sure my feet never left the ground.
"Aha, that's magic." Dumbledore said and winked behind his half moon spectacles.
"I wonder how are the eight guys doing." Lily said, after about five hours later. It was dinner time now and the seven girls had been talking about what could had happened inside the locked room.
"Well, let's release them tomorrow. It would be nice to let them spend the night together." Arabella joked.
"I don't think we need to release them tomorrow because they're here for dinner with us." Stefanie said smiling. The six other girls turned to look at the entrance of the Great Hall.
"Wow, they look fine." Jennifer grinned.
"They look happy to me." Shannie said in amazement.
"Whatever did they do inside??" Yvette questioned.
"We had done a good deed." Yvonne commented and smiled.
Everyone else in the Great Hall had turned to look at the eight boys in amazement. They were walking together, joking and laughing together as if they were friends for ages. It was indeed an amazing sight since the guys had been shooting daggers, not literally, at one another for almost the whole school year.
"I bet they're discussing about a major prank." Jennifer said.
"I don't doubt that. Two group of prankster come together. What do we get??" Lily joked.
"An ultimate prank of the century." Yvette said. The girls giggled.
"How about when seven of the most amazing girls come together??" Arabella said.
"A miracle!!" Stefanie replied, glancing at the eight happy fourteen-year-old boys who were sitting together at the Gryffindor table.