"Verdimillious!"
Magic is all about intent. You have to envision what you want to happen. You've got to feel it. The words, the movements... these things are auxiliary, almost immaterial next to a focused mind.
Harry's wand exploded with concussive force. The spell was all too familiar - the first one he'd ever cast with a wand. It was designed to distract and possibly debilitate an enemy temporarily, used more for the green sparks it produced than its combat effects. In Harry's hands though, the green Shock Jinx became something more... violent.
Blue light arced out of his wand like lightning, snapping out and forking like the tongues of giant snakes before rejoining the main beam, which blasted into the dummy Quirrell had set up for him. The dummy, a scarecrow-like thing of hay and hessian, never stood a chance. At the moment of contact it was blasted back with dizzying speed, but it never hit the back of the classroom. For in the instant after the spell connected, the dummy ignited. It burned brilliantly and quickly, leaving only scattered ashes to remind them of its existence.
"W-w-well d-done, P-P-P-P…" Professor Quirrell stuttered. "F-full marks, I think. And… a d-d-distinction, y-yes."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, smiling grimly.
You are a first year student, Potter.
So maybe he was young and untrained. That would change.
He left the classroom, nodding to a worried looking Oliver Rivers, who slipped in past him through the closing door.
"How'd you do, Harry?" Ron asked.
"A little too well," Harry said. "Good luck mate. Catch you later, yeah?"
Just then, Ginny appeared out of a side corridor. Harry waved to her, grinning.
"Wanna go see Hagrid after Ron gets through?" he asked.
"Actually, I'm doing the test too," she said.
"You…" Harry started.
She smiled bashfully. "I realised there was no way to keep it from you once the exams started, but that's why I was helping you revise before. I'm hoping that maybe I can stay in your year."
"Ginny, that's incredible!" Harry grinned. "When did you...?"
"Pff... beginning of the year," she laughed. "Still, I only actually did anything about it in November. Professor McGonagall gave me some spare textbooks and I've spent some time with each of the professors making sure I know everything I need to. They're even letting me do the exams without a wand."
"But I thought Dumbledore said you would start next year?" Harry asked.
"Professor McGonagall saw things my way," said Ginny airily. "She persuaded Professor Dumbledore that it would be easier to keep me in the same form."
Harry rushed over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. Brushing the hair away from her ear, he whispered, "I don't know what Quirrell's done with the dummy now that I've destroyed it..."
Ginny pulled away, her eyes wide, almost vibrating with excitement. "Verdimillious?"
Harry nodded, smirking. "Reckon you can go one better?" Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "I'm going to go find the others. Good luck, Ginny."
Ginny winked at him and fell in line as he headed off to the one place that Hermione was bound to hang out during the exams.
"Ferrum over finery," he said.
The knight in the portrait bowed deeply to him. He truly did seem to live by that philosophy, for his armour was at least half an inch thick and must have weighed as much as the man inside.
"Cover your back, Mr. Potter, for others cannot be counted on to be as honourable as ourselves," he replied. "Speaking of which..."
Harry drew his wand so fast he was surprised it hadn't caught on his robes somewhere.
"Running off so soon, Potty?" Malfoy called. As ever, he was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Haven't you learned to stop bothering us?" Harry asked coolly.
"But Potty, I only want to talk," Malfoy smirked. "You're getting awfully jumpy, you know."
"I wonder why," Harry snarled. His wand was humming in his hand, willing him to let loose. But Harry knew that if he did that now, he'd regret it very much later. "What exactly do we have to talk about, Malfoy?"
"Well, you see, I hear things," Malfoy drawled.
"You should probably go see Madam Pomfrey," said Harry.
"Oh, score one for Potty," Malfoy sneered. "I hear your little girlfriend is trying to stay in your year."
"What of it?" Harry asked.
"Well, thank you for confirming it, at least," said Malfoy. Harry kicked himself mentally for letting it slip, but maintained his stony expression as best he could. "Alone, of course, it means little. A sweet gesture from the gold-digging little whorelet, I'm sure."
Harry snarled, his wand crackling with barely restrained energy.
Malfoy smirked at him. "But I also hear that she's been spending time in your dormitory. I'm sure it's all completely innocent, of course, but imagine what people would think if word were to get out..."
Harry stared at Malfoy. The little bastard had pulled out all the stops.
"I would hate to see you ruined so horrendously, of course," Malfoy went on, "but I've always thought that information should be... free."
He was being blackmailed. Harry almost asked Malfoy what he wanted, but he bit his tongue. That was a stupid question. The blackmail would never end if he gave in now. He needed some way to blackmail Malfoy in return, to stalemate him. It was all a game of chess...
"Potty, I really am a very busy man," Malfoy drawled. "I have places to go, and people to see."
Malfoy gave Crabbe and Goyle a look, and they chuckled stupidly.
"The greatest warriors apply their minds, Mr. Potter," the knight said quietly. Harry hadn't noticed the lightning fizzling at the end of his wand.
'Malfoy lords it over everyone else because he's a Pureblood, and his dad is rich and powerful,' Harry thought. 'His Death Eater dad. That's not a man who'll like weakness, especially not in his only child and heir...'
"As is your father, isn't that right, Malfoy?" Harry smiled tightly. He was so on edge he thought that he was starting to twitch.
"Of course," Malfoy sneered.
"Wouldn't it be a shame," Harry interjected before Malfoy could continue, "if he were to find out that the scion of his great and powerful house could only manage mediocre results in a school full of... what was it? Muggleborns and blood traitors?"
"What would you know of my results, Potter?" Malfoy retorted. Harry noted that he didn't look quite as happy as he had a minute ago, though.
"Enough that even Snape's favour can't save you," Harry replied. "And it would be truly, truly terrible if he were to find out that Professor Dumbledore told the entire school that you were weak and that we shouldn't bait you because you can't take it."
"What?" Malfoy said flatly. It was more of a statement than a question, really.
"Didn't anyone tell you?" Harry asked. "It was at breakfast, you know, that time when you got covered in food?"
"I remember perfectly well, Potter," Malfoy snarled.
"Well, after you left, Dumbledore said something along the lines of you 'not having the fortitude to cope with practical jokes,'" Harry explained. "I'm sure it's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, you're blood. I'm sure your father will still love you."
Malfoy gave Harry the most venomous glare he thought he'd ever seen from another human being. "This isn't over, Potter," he hissed. "If you so much as..."
"Don't worry, Malfoy," Harry said. "Your secret's safe with me... and all of Hogwarts... including all of Slytherin and Gryffindor. Actually, if I were you I wouldn't feel too comfortable. But you're a Malfoy, right? You'll be fine, I'm sure."
"Fuck you, Potter," Malfoy snarled.
"That's a Muggle curse, Malfoy," Harry frowned. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Fuck you and your little whore!" he yelled, turning tail and storming off.
"You might have overdone it slightly," the knight advised. "But you did well, Mr. Potter. Remember, the pen is mightier than the sword. This," he raised his massive broadsword with one hand as if it were a toy, "is our last line of defence."
"Thank you, Sir...?" Harry said tentatively.
"That is my secret," the knight said lightly. Harry realised then that he'd never seen the man's face, for he had always kept his visor down. "Fare thee well, Mr. Potter. Fare thee well."
Harry turned right at the secret passages' intersection, taking the path down towards the library. He found a line of fourth years outside Professor Flitwick's classroom, apparently getting ready for their own practical exams.
"Good luck," he called as he passed. He got a few smiles, but most of them just kept muttering amongst themselves.
Heading into the library, he looked up to see that Hermione and Neville were indeed sitting up on the next floor. They were studying. He hurried up to them, glancing quickly at Madam Pince to make sure the muffled sound of his footsteps on the carpet wasn't earning him her ire. She paid him little to no mind though, so he ploughed on.
"Hey," Harry whispered as he came upon them.
They offered him smiles in return, and Neville moved along slightly so that Harry could pull his chair in.
"You guys not going to give yourselves a couple minutes' break?" Harry asked. "We've spent weeks revising this stuff."
"The Potions practical is in two hours," Hermione said patiently. "It's only logical to refresh the memory."
"Hermione, we get given almost all the instructions," Harry grinned. "Are you revising cauldron safety or something?"
"Are we marked on that?!" Hermione hissed, staring open-mouthed at Harry.
"Jesus, Hermione, calm down," Harry whispered. "I don't know, but you're going to hurt yourself if you carry on like this."
She stared at him incredulously for a moment, but then slowly nodded and took a deep breath.
"Look, you're going to do great, okay?" Harry assured her. "You know the stuff back to front, and you've always been good with your wand. The important exams are the OWLs, right?"
"Yes," Hermione allowed, "but that..."
"Sshh," Harry smirked, "let me finish."
Hermione gave him a dark look, but said no more.
"Now, if there's anything you've missed in the course, or your revision, or whatever, it'll show up in your marks," said Harry. "I'll bet my vault that there isn't much you've missed, but you can learn from that and apply it in the OWLs. When the exams are done, go to the professors and ask what you get tested on in the OWLs so you can prepare for it."
"Since when are you so forward-thinking?" Hermione asked.
"Hey, give me some credit," Harry complained. "Oh, I had a run-in with Malfoy a few minutes ago. Let's just say that a portrait gave me some really good advice, and Malfoy probably won't be bothering us for the rest of term."
"Oh, don't tell me you hospitalised him again," Hermione sighed.
"Didn't I just say to give me some credit?" Harry chuckled. "To be fair, if the portrait hadn't calmed me down, I might have done worse."
Hermione and Neville gaped at him.
"Who was it?" Neville asked.
"I don't know," Harry muttered. "He wouldn't tell me his name. But he wore a really massive suit of armour, and he was so strong he could lift a sword as big as me with one hand."
"What did he tell you?" Hermione asked.
"He said that the greatest warriors apply their minds," said Harry. "That the pen is mightier than the sword, and that the sword should be our last line of defense."
"Sounds like your kind of guy, Hermione," Neville grinned.
Hermione blushed slightly, glaring at him.
"Anyway, let's go pick up Ginny and Ron," said Harry. "We can go visit Hagrid. I think it'll be better to go into the exam relaxed."
"Hear, hear," Neville whispered.
"Fine," Hermione replied.
Hagrid was, as always, more than happy to see them.
"'Fraid I ain't got much in the way o' food," Hagrid said in his deep, booming voice as he ushered them in. They all breathed a silent sigh of relief at that. Hagrid's cooking was an acquired taste that humans didn't live quite long enough to get used to. "I'll put the kettle on though. How're the exams coming along?"
"We just had our Defence practical," Hermione said. "I think my casting was fine, but my aim was a little bit off. My Flipendo hit the target off centre and made it spin more than anything else."
"I wouldn' worry about it, Hermione," said Hagrid. "I hear about kids who hit closer to the professor, or turn the dummy into dust!"
Harry smirked at Ginny, who grinned back.
"I took the exam too, actually," Ginny said.
"I heard abou' that," Hagrid smiled. "Professor McGonagall seemed very 'appy abou' yer chances, Ginny."
"But Ginny!" Hermione cried. "Why didn't you mention it? I could've drawn up revision guides for you too!"
"Don't worry, I used Harry's," Ginny grinned.
"By the way, 'Arry," said Hagrid, "I never asked 'ow your detentions went with Professor McGonagall at the weekend."
"It was fine," said Harry.
"Actually, you never did say what happened," Ron pointed out. "Did she have you go work with Filch or something?"
"No, she uh..." Harry faltered. "She had me look over the memorial board."
"Oh," Hagrid said simply, averting his eyes.
"All the names of Hogwarts students who died in the last war," Harry went on. "It's in a little room off the trophy room. She had me write each name a hundred times."
"What did you do on the second day?" Hermione whispered.
"She told me about them," Harry said forlornly.
"Ouch," Ron muttered.
Hagrid cleared his throat. "So, uh, does anyone want some tea?"
An hour passed by in idle conversation, and Harry felt himself slowly unwinding, reassured by the lack of pain from his scar. It was back to the dull itch it had always been at Hogwarts, and that was fine by him.
"So, Harry," Ginny grinned. "Tell us about this Shock Jinx you cast."
"I shouldn't boast," Harry said, blushing slightly.
"No," Hermione agreed, "but you're probably going to anyway."
"Thanks, that means a lot," Harry complained.
"Go on, 'Arry," Hagrid grinned. "What 'appened?"
When he was done, everyone but Ginny was staring at him in disbelief.
"I was right," she said smugly. "It was the exact same curse Harry used on the train."
"Yeah, but it didn't set them on fire!" Ron exclaimed.
"I was holding the wand," Ginny argued. "Probably made it less effective."
"Well, I wonder what your end of year report will say..." Hermione murmured.
"Don't mess with this guy!" Ron laughed.
"I gotta say, Harry, I ain't never 'eard of that spell settin' fire to things like tha'," said Hagrid. "It's supposed ter burn a bit when yer hit by it, but not actually burn yeh!"
"Anyway, we have to head back up to the castle," said Hermione. "We'll be late for our next exam."
"Hermione, none of us are close to the top of the register!" Ron moaned.
"I'm a lot closer than you," Hermione retorted. "Thanks for the tea, Hagrid."
"Yeah, thanks, Hagrid," they all echoed.
"Not a problem," Hagrid beamed. "Pleasure ter have yeh as always. Good luck in yer exams!"
The practical exams veritably flew by. Harry didn't do anything quite as dramatic again, but he was commended by Professor McGonagall for the accuracy of his transfiguration work.
The written exams were more stressful for Harry. He wasn't sure why, because he knew all the content thanks to Hermione's ridiculous revision schedules. Perhaps it was just that they were stuck in there for so long, whereas the practicals had been barely a couple of minutes each. Or maybe it was because by the end of the week, the nightmares Harry had been having of Voldemort pulling back the hood on his cloak to reveal unicorn blood dripping down his chin had become ten times as vivid. He was waking up in the morning feeling like he'd had no rest at all, and that was beginning to grate on his nerves.
As he rolled up his parchment and cast aside the special anti-cheating quill, he couldn't help but cheer with the rest. Maybe now that the exams were over he could have a bit of peace.
"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."
Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.
"No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass.
"I can't believe I'm still alive," Neville said. Harry almost believed he meant it.
"Relax, Harry," Ginny smiled. "Exams are over, the sun is shining and your scar isn't hurting. Make the most of this."
That's right. His scar hadn't hurt for a while now.
The greatest warriors apply their minds, Mr. Potter.
The words of old Ollivander, the man on Diagon Alley who'd sold him his wand, came back to him slowly:
After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great.
Two and two were coming together, and fear bloomed in Harry's mind as he anticipated the answer.
Voldemort was evil, true, but to do what he had done had required intelligence and power. He had been the greatest Dark lord in Britain in living memory. Which meant they'd been underestimating him.
He wasn't going to charge in like an angry bull. He'd been biding his time, finding out about the protections on the Stone so that when he attacked it he could do it quickly and quietly.
The first piece of the puzzle was Fluffy. That beast would make a big racket if Voldemort started cursing it, so the first problem would've been finding a stealthy way to subdue him. And the one person who would know how to do that...
"Hagrid," Harry breathed.
"Hmm?" Ginny murmured contentedly.
"Shit!" Harry cursed, jumping to his feet. "Guys, we have to go see Hagrid, now!"
He took off without waiting to see if they were following. From Ron's anguished groan, though, he was pretty sure they were.
"Language, Harry!" Hermione called. "What... is... it?"
"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"
"What are you talking about?" said Ron, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer.
"It's a set up," Ginny groaned. "You-Know-Who's been picking off the Stone's defenses one by one."
"You're joking," Neville panted.
Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.
"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"
"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.
"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."
He saw the five of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.
"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head – that's one of the pubs down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."
Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"
"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah … he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after … so I told him … an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon … an' then … I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks… Let's see… Yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted … but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home… So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…"
"And did he... did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Well, yeah... how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep..."
Hagrid suddenly looked horrified. "I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out.
"Shouldn't have told us?!" Ginny shouted. "That dog was guarding the Philosopher's Stone, and you told a random stranger how to get past it!"
The five of them didn't say another word until they came to a halt in the Entrance Hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.
"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry, out of breath after the frantic run across the grounds. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Voldemort or someone working for him under that cloak – it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"
"This way," Ginny said, storming up towards the Grand Staircase.
"What are you all doing inside?"
It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.
"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry thought.
"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"
Harry grimaced slightly. His scar had just twinged. "Because Lord Voldemort is here to steal the Philosopher's Stone."
The Levitation Charm that had been holding the books aloft abruptly disengaged, and they fell almost to the ground before stopping as suddenly as they'd begun. White lights were swirling around Ginny's hands, and she raised the books back up to where they had been before, albeit not in the same neat piles.
"How do you...?" Professor McGonagall spluttered.
"Professor, that thing in the Forest was Voldemort," Harry said urgently. "That's why Firenze helped you against him. He told me before you got back. The reason why my scar's been hurting is because it's linked to him somehow. It hurts when I get near him. It happened twice in the Forest... and it's happening again now."
Professor McGonagall gaped at him. "Professor Dumbledore received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew for London ten minutes ago."
"No, he received an owl from You-Know-Who," Ginny sighed.
"You-Know-Who is dead!" Professor McGonagall said obstinately. "And the protections on the Stone are far too strong for anyone to get through without us knowing about it!"
"Go and check on it then, if you're so sure," Harry grimaced. He hadn't been lying about his scar. It was burning like a hot brand on his forehead.
"Potter, you do not tell me what to do!" McGonagall said coldly, her nostrils flaring. "Now, I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."
They didn't.
"If our Head of House won't believe us, no one will," Neville muttered.
"But what can we...?" Hermione gasped suddenly. They all turned to see Professor Snape standing there.
"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.
They stared at him.
"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.
"We were..." Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.
"You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're... up to something."
"Us?" Ginny grinned.
Snape gave her a hard look, then turned to Harry.
"Be warned, Potter – step out of line again and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."
They hurried into the nearest secret passageway they could find to avoid any more unwanted encounters.
"We don't have any choice," Harry said grimly. "We need to go down that trapdoor. Now."
The others didn't look happy about it, but they didn't see any alternative either.
"The least we can do is recruit more troops," said Ron. "We're five first years."
"More troops?" Neville asked.
"He's right," Hermione muttered. "This is going to get ugly."
"We also need a way of telling Dumbledore what's going on," Ginny said.
"Well, one of us needs to go write a note to him and give it to Hedwig," said Harry. "But we're running out of time."
"I'll do it," Neville said, looking distraught. "I won't be much help in a fight, not as much as any of you."
"Thanks, Neville," Harry said, putting a hand on Neville's shoulder.
"Just don't die," Neville said, before tearing off towards the Owlery.
"Who can we count on for help?" Harry asked.
"Who do we ever?" Ginny asked.
"Fred and George," Ron agreed.
"We wouldn't have time to tell them what's going on," said Harry.
"We'll brief them on the way," Hermione suggested.
"I'll go get the cloak," said Ron.
"Meet us back here in five minutes!" Ginny called as they ran off towards the lake.
When they got to the lake, the twins had finished messing around with the squid, and were now entertaining themselves by covertly jinxing other students. One fourth year girl's robes had taken on a mind of their own, and were slowly rising...
"Fred! George!" Harry called.
"Eh?" Fred replied, breaking his enchantment.
"No time to explain, follow us!" Ginny cried.
"Now, guys..."
"This is a really bad time!" Harry interrupted.
"Hey, where's Lee?" Hermione asked.
"Went to try his luck with Angie," Fred smirked.
"We don't have time for this," Harry snarled, heading back towards the castle.
"Hey, wait up!" one of the twins called after him.
Harry careened through the Entrance Hall and through the tapestry portal into the secret passageway. Ron hadn't gotten back yet, but to be fair, he had a lot of stairs to run up and down even if he used secret passages. The others all came in at once: Ginny, Hermione, Fred, George and Ron.
"Okay, we'll take secret passages up to the third floor, we mustn't be seen," Harry said, leading them through the darkness with a Lumos charm.
"Is that what you wanted us for?" Fred or George scoffed.
"There's a three-headed..."
"Shut up and listen you two," Hermione commanded. "You-Know-Who is infiltrating Hogwarts."
"Have you lot lost your marbles?" one of them laughed.
"You-Know-Who's gone, remember?" the other added.
"I mean, you were all pretty young at the time," Fred or George said in a pompous, Percy-ish tone.
"If you don't shut up and listen to her I'll hex your nuts off," Ginny snarled.
"Fine, fine, regale us with this story."
"You won't remember, but there was a break-in at Gringotts at the beginning of the year," Hermione began.
As they reached the third floor, Harry put an ear to the door-pretending-to-be-a-wall they would be coming out from. Hearing nothing, he took the cloak from Ron.
"So since Harry's scar started hurting about twenty minutes ago..." Hermione trailed off.
"Fuck," George cursed.
"Got to admit..." Fred shrugged.
"That holds together quite well." George finished.
"Well enough, anyway," Fred amended.
"We'll help you," George said grimly. "Although I wish we had some better fighters to go up against You-Know-Who himself."
"You and me both," Harry said. "Can you keep another secret?"
"Sure, why not?" Fred grinned.
"This is an invisibility cloak," he said, shaking it out.
"No fucking way," Fred exclaimed, his eyes lighting up like Christmas had come early.
"I'm going to take us across in two groups," Harry explained. "Us four, then you two. Stay here and I'll be back for you as soon as the coast is clear."
"Got it," George said, eyeing the cloak hungrily.
Harry whipped it over himself, Hermione, Ginny and Ron, checked the corridor outside again, and then hurried out.
"Wicked."
Ignoring the twins, Harry focused on the hallway. Professor McGonagall appeared suddenly at the other end, so they hurried through a doorway, down a connecting corridor and into the forbidden corridor itself. They instantly felt the effects of the first layer of wards, trying to convince them that this was a bad idea and that they had better ways to spend their afternoon. But they weren't to be diverted. Turning towards Fluffy's door, they noticed to their horror that it was hanging ajar.
Hermione sniffed. "I hoped it wasn't true..." she whispered.
"Doesn't matter now," Harry replied. "Hide behind the fire thingies..."
"Braziers," Hermione supplied.
"Doesn't matter," Ron cut across. Hermione glared at him.
"Not now!" Harry hissed. "Just hide!"
He ran back to the secret passage and recovered the twins. Professor McGonagall had disappeared. Praying that she wasn't going to come back around to investigate the forbidden corridor, Harry picked up the pace. The invisibility cloak was only just suitable for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to run around under, but Fred and George were much bigger, and Harry worried that the hem of the cloak was lifting off the ground when they ran. Still, they had no time to waste, and maybe if a professor followed them they would see that someone had already broken into the Stone's hiding place.
The others were all well hidden behind the braziers when they got to the forbidden corridor. So well hidden were they that Harry forgot which braziers they were hidden behind and had to check to make sure they were still there.
"Come on, let's go," he whispered.
They nodded to show that they understood, and they stormed in through Fluffy's door before anyone could see them.
Just as they'd feared, Fluffy was fast asleep. A harp had been enchanted to play a slow, beautiful melody that was relaxing even them.
"Good thing, too," Harry muttered. "I forgot to bring the flute Hagrid gave me for Christmas."
"Don't worry about that now," Ron whispered. "Let's go before it wakes up."
"Don't just jump down," Fred chastised. "What if there's something down there?"
"Or a really long fall?" George added.
'Should've brought my broom too,' Harry thought disgustedly. He hadn't thought this through too well after all.
"Let me have a look," Ginny suggested. "Lumos."
Her hand suddenly producing an incredibly bright torchlight, she aimed it down the open trapdoor.
"Since when did you start saying your spells?" Harry asked.
"When I started practising for the exams," Ginny replied quietly, staring down. "It's a soft landing. Some sort of plant."
"Wish Neville was here," Harry muttered. Hermione gave him an indignant look.
"Good thing I found that parchment so quickly then," Neville smiled.
"Bloody hell!" Ron cried.
"Shh," said Hermione.
"How'd you get here without being seen?" Harry asked incredulously.
"I was," Neville admitted. "But I told Professor McGonagall I was just headed up to get my remembrall from my trunk, and she believed me, so..."
"Good job, Nev," Harry grinned. "Can you tell us what's down at the bottom?"
He hurried over to Ginny.
"Can you make the light a little, I don't know, wider?" Neville asked.
"Sure," Ginny grinned.
"Merlin's beard," Neville muttered. "That's Devil's Snare. Lots of it. It doesn't like light, but Ginny's is pretty strong and it's not recoiling from it, so..."
"Time for my party trick then," Harry grimaced.
"But Harry, that's our soft landing right there," Hermione hissed. "If you blast it away, we'll never get down safely."
"Are you a witch or not?" Ron said scathingly.
"I'll conjure some rope," Fred said, rolling his eyes. "Do your thing, Harry, whatever it..."
Harry's Verdimillious came out the same bright blue as before, but it was a thicker beam than he remembered. When it hit the violent plant below, there was a momentary sound of sizzling before the whole thing went up in violet flames with a loud whoosh.
"Was that seriously...?" George gaped.
"Yes, now let's keep going, we've made an awful lot of noise," said Harry.
George conjured rope like he was pouring it out of his wand. Fred grabbed the end as soon as it appeared, running to tie it around the trapdoor, the door, a pair of braziers outside and finally back over itself.
"Obhaeris," Fred cast. "Obhaeris. Obhaeris."
"What is that?" Hermione asked.
"Basic Sticking Charm," Fred explained. "Better safe than have a broken neck."
Unable to argue with that logic, Harry grabbed the rope and tested it.
"That should be enough, Harry," said George. "I can see it coiling on the bottom. But if you get into trouble, shout and we'll pull you up."
"See you in a bit," Harry said, jumping down.
The rope seared his hands as he slid down, and he gripped it between his legs as well to take the pressure off. One hand at a time, he grabbed the sleeves of his robes and used them to spare himself from the feeling of having his hands torn apart.
It seemed to take far, far too long to reach the ground, but when he did, he found that there was almost nothing left of the Devil's Snare. "It's safe!" Harry called.
The trapdoor looked tiny, and he could only just make out somebody nodding their head.
"I wonder how Voldemort got down," Harry muttered to himself. If there were alarms on this place, they had most definitely tripped them.
The others came down thick and fast, with three using the rope at any one time. Score for Fred's Sticking Charms.
"Right," said Ginny. "Wands out."
They advanced down a stone passageway, lower and lower below the school.
"We must be a mile down," Hermione said. Harry couldn't tell if that prospect excited or terrified her.
"Can you hear something?" Ron asked.
Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
"Do you think it's a ghost?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know… sounds like wings to me," said Ginny speculatively.
"There's light ahead – I can see something moving."
The twins didn't say a word, looking around everywhere with their wands up. Harry felt ten times better knowing they were watching his back.
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.
"Do you think they'll attack us if we go across?" said Ron.
"Probably," Harry said.
"No," Fred interjected.
"This is to slow you down," George explained.
"Look," said Fred.
Across the room was a big, heavy looking door with a big, silver lock.
"Those are keys up there," Ginny gasped.
She was right. The birds weren't just brightly coloured. They were metallic! A whole flock of winged keys.
"One lock, a thousand keys," Neville muttered.
"Flitwick," Fred said grimly.
"For an old duelling champion, this seems a bit..." George trailed off.
"Fanciful?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, fanciful," George agreed.
"Well, we're looking for one with crumpled wings," said Ron. "And it'll probably match the lock."
"Doubtful, little bro," said Fred.
"That'd be too easy," George grimaced.
"He'll be trying to trick you," Fred explained.
"What if it's a double bluff?" Hermione asked.
"Possible," Fred admitted.
"Worth a try, right?" said Harry.
"Not if trying sets off some trap," Ginny replied.
"Hey, look," Harry grinned. "Broomsticks!"
There was an assortment of broomsticks lying against the wall.
"Excellent!" Fred enthused.
"Best news all day," said George.
They all headed over to examine the gifts.
"We've got a Comet 250 here," George grinned. "Good luck catching something on this."
"D'you think the professors would fly around on brooms looking for the key?" Hermione asked.
"Hermione, we don't know squat about how to take down proper wards," George grimaced.
"And Bill is a thousand miles away," said Fred.
"Unless we're going to try asking the teachers for help again, we'd better fly," said Harry. "Now, I'll go up with Fred and George, you guys stay down here and make sure nothing dodgy happens."
"You don't know what you're looking for!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Sure we do," Harry grinned. "Big silver key. If that doesn't work... Well, it'll work."
"Oh, get back, the lot of you," Ginny sighed.
"Ginny?" Harry said uncertainly.
She didn't even look at him. Instead, she walked over to the door and placed her hand on it.
Her hand began to glow, and Harry raised his wand, watching the keys, the brooms, even the walls in his worry for her.
There was a sudden click.
"Run," said Ginny.
There was something in her voice that made them obey instantly. Fred picked Ginny up bodily and carried her through the doorway while Harry slammed the door behind them. There were countless deafening thuds as the keys, which had been idly fluttering around just seconds before, slammed into the door as if they'd been shot out of rifles.
The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. Ginny was clearly exhausted as Fred laid her down gently to the side, resting her back against the wall.
"Are you okay, Ginny?" Harry asked.
She nodded and smiled up at him. "Couldn't sit around waiting for you to try all those bloody keys, could I?" Her voice was strong, and Harry felt a great deal better to hear it.
"What did you do?" said Hermione.
"I'm not entirely sure," Ginny frowned. "I was planning on just finding some way of blasting the lock, but when I put my hand against the door I could feel all the enchantments on it. So I got rid of the one holding the door shut and then just levitated the lock open."
"That's incredible," Neville praised.
Ginny blushed slightly. "It was stupid, really, but it was all I could think of to do. We're just lucky it worked."
They waited a couple of minutes for Ginny to regain her strength before moving on. But as they stepped into the new chamber, 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. A chill ran down Harry's spine when he noticed that none of the white pieces had any 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.
"That or fight our way across," said Fred.
"Don't like our chances though," George grimaced.
"So... How do we play with a giant set?" asked 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 face them.
"I don't see the point here," Ginny frowned. "Why are they testing the thief's ability at chess? I thought they're supposed to be protecting the Stone, not giving it to the most worthy challenger!"
"I..." Hermione began, but she seemed to be at a loss too.
Harry raised his wand for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "This must be a trap, then."
Ron jumped away from the knight. However, nothing at all happened.
"Come to think of it," said Fred.
"Everything in here's been a bit..." George continued.
"Easy?" Hermione ventured.
"Yeah," said Neville. "Even if Harry hadn't blasted the Devil's Snare, you've just got to stay still and it'll leave you well alone."
"Considering how quickly Ginny got through that door," said Fred.
"It can't have been a spectacular bit of warding," George finished.
"You know, there's wards out there like the Fidelius that can make a place impossible to find unless you're told where it is," Ginny mused.
"So why weren't they used?" Harry asked.
"False sense of security maybe," said Hermione.
"Yeah, maybe there's something really nasty at the end," Ron grimaced.
"Well, let's take our places then," Fred said with mock-eagerness.
"Guys, don't be offended or anything," said Ron, "but none of you are that good at chess."
"Hey, I've beaten you a few times," Ginny protested.
"How many times have I beaten you, Ginny?" Ron asked.
Ginny pouted at him, but let it go.
"Just tell us what to do," said Harry.
"To be honest," Ron said, wincing, "I don't think I can keep everyone safe if we all go on the board."
They'd all played wizarding chess before. It was possibly the most brutal board game Harry had ever seen. The pieces would literally smash the pieces they took, and they had to be magically repaired for the next game.
Ron turned back to the knight. "If only some of us play, can all of us still go across?" Ron asked.
The knight shook his head.
"Only the people who win the game themselves can cross?" Ron asked.
The knight nodded.
"Bloody hell!" Ron cursed. "Okay, look, the one person I can guarantee safety to is the king, because if he's gone then we're all gone. So who do we need to get to the end of this?"
"What are we even going to do at the end of this?" Neville muttered.
"Duel You-Know-Who, I guess," said Fred.
"He's probably weak," said Hermione. "He's living off unicorn blood, and he's clearly not strong enough to call on his followers."
"So instead of 'we're going to die today', this is 'we'll probably die today'?" Neville asked.
"Pretty much," said Harry.
"Okay, Harry, you're the king," said Ron. "You're the only one here who has a hope of surviving a fight with You-Know-Who, so you've got to get through."
The king bowed to Harry and walked off the board.
"Fred? George? You're rooks," said Ron. "Ginny and Hermione will be the rook pawns and me and Neville will be knights."
"Ron, I trust you on this," said Hermione shakily, as the corresponding pieces left the board. "But why are we pawns?"
"Because those pawns are least likely to be taken," Ron said dully. "At least the way I play."
They took their stations, and white began to play immediately, with a pawn to e4.
Ron took a slow, shaky breath, and began to give directions.
Everything went quite smoothly until they lost their first piece. A pawn fell victim to a white bishop, who smashed it so hard that a flying fragment almost caught Harry in the head. He could feel Ginny's fear blooming, and he gritted his teeth lest they both be overwhelmed.
Neville took revenge for the pawn, firing off a Knockback Jinx that took its head clean off. He stared at his wand, and they all stared at him. They knew he wasn't strong enough to do something like that. There must have been an enchantment in place. But if that was the case, what would happen to them if they were taken?
Five minutes later, the chessboard was covered with fragments. There were a lot more white casualties than black, and none of them human, but Ron looked distressed.
"I think..." he began. "I think I need to sacrifice myself."
"NO!" they all cried.
He shook his head. "I could play delaying tactics, but we'd risk stalemate, and we don't know what that means."
"Ron, you might die," said Harry miserably. He knew what was at stake, but now that he was faced with it...
"Look, there was no way I could protect seven pieces for the whole game," Ron said furiously. "Now when I'm taken, you've all got to keep playing. If you leave your squares, we might forfeit."
"Hey Ron," said Fred.
"Yeah?" Ron asked.
"I..." Fred tried, but he seemed to run out of words.
"Good luck," said George.
"I love you, Ron," Ginny said. "Don't die."
"I'll do my best," Ron grimaced. "When I go down, you take over, Ginny."
She nodded jerkily.
"Knight to e2," he called, letting loose with a vicious flurry of jinxes. The pawn smashed into dust. "Check!"
There was a nasty grinding sound of stone on stone as the bishop on c4 turned towards Ron. Ginny hid her face in her hands. Harry's knuckles were turning white on the hilt of his sword. He was powerless to help his friend as the bishop advanced. Ron's knees buckled as the giant chess piece stopped in front of him, staring at nothing.
The bishop raised its staff high, and Ron closed his eyes. Even from halfway across the board, Harry could see the pain on Ron's face.
The staff came down like a battering ram.
"NO!" Hermione screamed. Fred stumbled forwards but caught himself before he could leave his square.
Ron slumped to the ground, white and golden lights dancing around his body.
"It didn't hit him," Harry muttered.
He stared at the bishop. The staff had only just entered Ron's square. There was about half a metre between the end of the staff and the place Ron had stood. The bishop drew its weapon back stiffly, and rotated to face the black end of the board.
"It didn't hit him!" Harry announced.
"What?" Ginny looked at him desperately.
"Why isn't he moving then?" Hermione sniffed.
"Those lights..." Neville said softly.
"There are wards here!" George yelled triumphantly.
"They saw he was human..." said Fred.
"And protected him," Ginny finished, a tear falling from her chin and splattering on the stone at her feet.
Harry stared at Ron's crumpled form as it rose up and floated to the side of the board. He'd been willing to give up his life to save the rest of them.
"Ginny," he said, with a hard steel in his voice that he hadn't been expecting. She turned to him with a matching, grim expression, as if expecting his next words. "Let's end this."
She nodded, turning back to the game.
"Queen to f2," she announced. The queen fairly raced across the board, her quarterstaff spinning to either side of her before smashing down through the hapless pawn's skull. "Checkmate."
The white king fell to his knees in defeat. Raising her quarterstaff one final time, the queen swung it right through her target's neck, sending the head flying against the wall, where it smashed into rubble. The body keeled over, breaking into larger pieces on the board.
"Ron!" Ginny cried, sprinting over to where he lay.
"He's breathing," Fred said breathlessly, "He's breathing."
Harry couldn't think what to say. He just stared.
"His pulse seems a bit weak, but other than that..." Hermione trailed off.
"When's he going to wake up?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said helplessly. "I did basic first aid, I'm not a doctor."
"I'll take him back to the hospital wing," said Fred firmly.
"Right," said George, "I'll keep this lot in one piece."
Fred hefted Ron over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.
"What if the keys attack you?" Neville called.
"They must've reset after You-Know-Who came through," George reasoned. "So they probably reset after we did too."
That seemed to reassure Neville, and they made their way tentatively through to the next chamber.
Harry stumbled backwards, covering his nose with his left hand as he threw up his wand.
"Poison gas!" he called. "Get back!"
"I… don't think so, Harry," said George.
"What is that?" Neville coughed.
"Let's go have a look," Ginny said quietly.
Her eyes began to glow with a golden light, and wisps of golden aether began to glow around her hands. However, as she raised them, George grabbed her arm.
"I've got this one," he said firmly. "Relax, Ginny."
Ginny stared up at him, the light fading slowly. Harry was initially surprised that she wasn't more defiant, but then he realised - the twins were never this serious, at school or at the Burrow.
"Contia Calixan," George muttered. "Wingardium Leviosa. Aguamenti."
The water splashed, clean and clear, into the still-forming goblet floating in front of Ginny.
"Aguamenti? You haven't studied that yet," Hermione said, surprised.
"How'd you know?" George grinned.
Hermione blushed. "I've read the set books up to your year, you haven't covered it."
"You think me and Fred learn all our tricks in class?" he asked, winking. He turned back to Ginny before Hermione could reply. "If you want to help, drink this, rest up a bit."
She took the glass and drank. Slowly at first, she was soon gulping it down as though she hadn't touched a drop in a week. George turned back towards the hazy chamber beyond, raising his wand.
"Ventus," he cast.
For a moment, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then Harry felt the breeze cooling his face and ruffling his hair as it grew stronger.
"Ventus," Hermione tried, raising her own wand.
"Try giving it a bit more of a flick at the end," said George calmly, even though his wand was now bucking in his hands as he drove the now significant wind through the entryway.
"Ventus!" Hermione commanded, her wand flying through a tight helical motion before flicking down to point at the doorway.
The response was immediate.
Her bushy brown hair, which had already been dancing in Fred's breeze, was thrown about her head like a wild thing. Harry felt his robes pick up, billowing out behind him and pulling him backwards towards the foul-smelling chamber beyond. Smaller bits of debris from the chessboard were flying past them into the other chamber, pelting them occasionally like demented hailstones.
"Good job, Hermione," he smiled.
"It was a breeze," Hermione deadpanned.
George stared at her for a moment. For five seconds, the only sound in the chamber was the rushing of the wind that was now lifting Harry almost off his feet. A smile spread slowly across his face, mischievous by his nature, but grateful. He lowered his wand, and the wind died down slightly.
"Merlin's..." Neville began.
"Aw hell," George groaned.
Harry said nothing. Without the haze and stink of the noxious gas it was producing, they could quite clearly make out the massive corpse on the floor of the next chamber. It was a troll.
And at the same time, it wasn't, for all identifying features had rotted away, leaving only its smell and size to remind them of what had once stood here.
"How long do you think it's been here?" Harry asked.
"The whole year?" Neville muttered. "Did they even feed it?"
"Guess not," said Harry.
"It's been here about half an hour," said Ginny. "Stay back!"
It took Harry a minute to figure out what she meant. The beast, which must have been half again as large as the one they'd saved Hermione from, was still moving. No, not moving ... changing. The blackened flesh was disappearing before their eyes.
"Of course," Hermione muttered. "A Corruption Curse. That's why it smells so bad! It's rotting much faster than usual!"
That mystery solved, they hurried on to the next room to find no apparent threat at all. The only thing in the cavernous chamber was a chairless table with seven potion phials on it.
"Snape," Harry snarled. "This is all going to be poison, let's just move on."
But the moment the words left his lips, great fires sprung up at the entrance and exit, blocking their path.
"Harry, it's a riddle!" Hermione gushed.
"I'm with Harry here," George shrugged. "He'd love the idea that someone jumped through all his hoops and died anyway."
"Would you rather try walking through the fire?" Neville asked.
Ginny reached a hand into the black flames at the entrance to the next room. They were so tall and thick, they formed a nearly solid wall. She gasped when she made contact, drawing her hand back. And yet, Harry felt no pain from her.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"I don't think I can go through," she said quietly. "I can resist the heat, but... It's like the fire is rejecting me."
"Hermione..." Harry sighed.
"I'm working on it," she said, her lips twitching slightly from her pained grimace. "Shh."
Harry sat and stared into the flames. He'd almost lost one of his dearest friends to this mission. Fred must have gotten to the hospital by now, if he hadn't run into a professor already. So where was their backup? Why weren't the Hogwarts staff storming down here after them?
'Hey,' Ginny thought to him. 'I'm scared too, but we have to do this.'
Light poured out of her eyes in a labouring cascade of orange-red pixie dust, and the occasional flame licked its way up a delicate hand.
A thousand thoughts raced through Harry's mind, but he couldn't find a way to express how he felt just then, even with their intimate bond. Instead, he kissed her; it was gentle and brief, but it filled his heart with courage. His wand shot into his hand from where it had been resting on the ground, sparking and spitting like a severed cable.
"I've found the one to go forwards," Hermione called. She didn't seem all that pleased.
Harry stood to face her. She was holding up a tiny crystal phial. It might've held a mouthful of potion.
"I'll go through," Harry said, in a tone that brooked no argument.
Everyone protested loudly, but it was Ginny who grabbed his attention. She didn't say a word. She simply walked over to Hermione and wrested the potion from her grip. Harry ran to intercept, but she already had the potion at her lips. Horrified, Harry tore the phial from her hands only to see her swallow.
"If you thought you were going through without me," she said, glaring murderously, "you were sorely mistaken."
"Ginny, this isn't a game!" Harry cried. "You could die!"
"So could you!" she yelled back. "You think it'll help if he kills you first? He'll come out here and wipe us all out!"
"Ginny..."
"Drink, Potter," she said. "I'm not doing this without you."
Harry stared at the phial. It still had some potion in it.
"Look, that thing probably refills itself," George interrupted. "You-Know-Who had to drink it, didn't he?"
"Yeah, you guys go in first, and we'll follow after," Hermione promised.
George's expression was becoming more strained by the second. "Look, Harry, you better look after her, okay?"
"I can take care of myself!" Ginny protested. "I'll be looking after him!"
"Probably true," Hermione said, though she wasn't smiling.
"Kick his arse, guys," Neville said softly. It was only then that Harry noticed he was crying.
"Neville..." Harry murmured.
"Look, you guys know what I was like at the start of the year," Neville started, but then he shook his head. "I... I don't know if I could deal with it if you guys didn't come out of there."
"Oh, Nev," Ginny crooned, running over and wrapping him in a tight hug.
Neville returned it for a few seconds, but then pushed her away and wiped at his eyes roughly. "You need to go. You-Know-Who could have the Elixir of Life cooked up any second."
Harry nodded to him solemnly, and drank the potion. It felt like standing inside a ghost — ice was flooding every part of his body. He passed the phial to George, who returned it to its place on the table.
They walked through the flames together. For a few seconds, they saw nothing but the shifting blackness. Then they broke out into the final chamber, untouched and unruffled.
On the other side, the final chamber was a square room, divided into an inner and outer section by a square perimeter of ionic columns. At the centre of the inner section stood an object Harry had hoped never to see again. A man stood staring back at them through the Mirror of Erised, but it was not the Dark Lord Voldemort.