A/N: Hey everyone! Admittedly not my best chapter...too much stress -,- sorry for the long wait! And also, this might be the last chapter for about two to three weeks because of exams and testing. Thank you for the support! You are all amazing! Its a bit short though, compared to everything else...

area808code: There will be! Trust me, this is still the start! And Bella and Sirius, let's just say things are to go downhill soon...

Darkheart949: Hey Kitty! Don't feel the shame, you just started! Also, PLEASE STOP IT WITH THE NICKNAME!

istoleyourgoat: Have you ever read a story before, Devvie? *sigh* It's called a chapter XP and nickname...

"It's Professor Snape!" Harry hissed in my ear. "He's the one going after the stone! He wants to live forever; the Elixir of Life does just that, it keeps you immortal!"

"What?" I looked back surprised. "How?"

"It's something stone produces, meet us at Fluffy's door at midnight, we're trying to head him off."

"Alright."

~o~

Third Floor Corridor

Midnight

~o~

I met up with Harry, Hermione, and Ron at midnight and looked at each of them; they were under the cloak but I could hear them walking closer. "I can hear you guys." I hissed quietly.

"So could Peeves," Hermione answered; shedding the cloak, she turned to Harry and Ron. "Come on!"

I tilted my head to the side and closed my eyes, a soft music drifted from the other side of the door and my eyes snapped opened. "Fluffy is asleep."

"Good," Hermione whispered as she pried the door opened.

We slipped by and found the trapdoor underneath Fluffy's paw, the trap door's lock had been smashed and the splinters were littered around.

"Now what?" Ron whisper-yelled frantically.

"We open it," I waved my wand and lifted Fluffy's paw.

"Quickly, Harry is coming!" the snake-like voice hissed.

"Yes master!" the nervous voice squeaked.

"Hurry!" I looked to my friends. "They're almost to the stone's chamber."

"They?" Hermione looked at me surprised. "I thought it was just Snape."

"Two people, I don't know who though and it definitely isn't Snape," I chewed my bottom lip. "I might not be able to get back, uh, Ron?"

"Why is it so quiet?" Ron whimpered staring at the drop of water on his sleeve in horror.

That's when we stiffened when we realized the harp wasn't playing anymore. "The harp stopped," Harry hissed as we looked up.

All three of Fluffy's heads were glaring at us slobbering and Harry screamed. "JUMP!"

He sprang into the opened trapdoor followed by Hermione and Ron; I went last pointing my wand at Fluffy. "Stupefy!"

The spell didn't stun Fluffy but he snapped back shaking his head dazed and I jumped in. Darkness swallowed me until I landed in a tangle of leaves, it started to writhe and move around me and I stilled.

"Devil snare, stay still and do not panic, Foxie. It constricts anyone who gets near it," a voice whispered in my mind. An echo of a woman's voice I haven't heard in my life but it felt completely familiar; had I heard it before?

"It's Devil Snare! Relax!" Hermione shouted as I dropped from the Devil Snare to the ground landing on my feet. "Ron! Stop struggling or it'll kill you!"

"BLOODY HELL, HERMIONE!" Ron's answer was a shout as the plant curled tighter around him. "NOT HELPING!"

"Lumos Maxima on three," I said yanking my wand free from my sleeve. The willow wand curved to my hand and I pointed it to the mass above my head.

"One, two, three!" Hermione yelled. We both looked away and yelled. "Lumos Maxima!"

There was a flash of light that made black spot dance in my eyes and a thump close by. Harry and Ron had landed atop each other and were wheezing and trying to suck oxygen into their lungs.

"Oh shush," I gingerly opened my eyes and blinked the black circles and dizziness away. "We need to hurry!"

Once they caught their breath, we sprinted forward down the hall as the rustle of wings grew louder and louder; we entered a big room full of flying keys and I ducked a low flying one. "Talk about losing your keys."

"Look brooms!" Harry called running over to five brooms leaning against a wall. "I think we need to find a key that gets us through the door."

"Then let's go, Seeker!" I called grabbing a broom and kicking off the ground; years of flying in the forest surrounding our cottage paid off as I zipped up through the mess of keys.

"That one!" Harry called pointing to an "injured" key flapping around with one of its wings crumpled. It limped away from us as we flew closer, I turned to Harry and dove right as a swarm started to chase me.

"Take left!" I yelled, I looped around and started chasing it toward Harry. Harry snatched the key out of the air and jumped from his broom landing and running. Hermione and Ron touched down back to the ground and we followed with me dodging the swarm of silver keys diving down upon us.

"Hurry!" Ron screamed.

Harry stuffed the key into the lock and the door opened; we fell through locking the door behind us as we landed in a pile of arms and legs.

"Okay, now what," I frowned getting up and looking at the giant chess board. There were pieces missing from the black side but the rest towered over us with gleaming swords or shining pointy hooves.

"Wizard chess?" Ron asked hopefully. "Finally, something I'm actually good at!"

"What do we do, though?" Hermione asked as she tried to walk past the pawns that drew their swords. "Play?"

"Yes," I say nodding to the empty squares. "Ever played chess before?"

"I'll be a knight," Ron said scrambling up his chess piece and climbing up. "Harry, you be the right rook and Hermione a can be a bishop."

"I can be the other bishop," I say, "What's the strategy?"

"The four move one?" Ron asked.

"They will expect it and we are black, we go last..." I bit back a mad laugh, Black was my mother's maiden name.

"Look," Harry said nervously pointing to a pawn.

The pawn moved up and land on a square, Ron gulped and said clearly, "Pawn E2 to E4."

Just as it moved the other pawn drew its sword and slashed our pawn to tiny pieces of blackened rubble. There was a shocked gasp from Harry and a squeak from Hermione as the pieces flew at them.

"Okay don't step off your square if it's not your turn," Ron said shakily. "Or that may happen."

"Change of strategy," I whispered.

We started a game of the world's most dangerous chess match, playing so that our friends won't get smashed to tiny pieces. Suddenly I realized what Ron was going to do. "Ron!"

"I have to, and then Harry will be free to checkmate the king! We'll win, Vulpecula!" he replied before spurring his knight into the square.

Before Hermione could scream the queen smashed the knight into pieces throwing Ron off hitting the ground unconscious.

"Don't!" I screamed when she almost stepped off her square. "Harry, checkmate the king!"

Shakily, he moved to the square Ron had left opened and said. "Checkmate."

There was a clatter as the sword that the king held fell at Harry's feet, "Ron!"

We ran to Ron who was sprawled on the ground unconscious, Harry looked at Hermione, "Take Ron to the hospital wing and send a letter to Dumbledore to get back!"

Hermione nodded before grabbing Ron's shirt and starting back to the door as we started to the door that was opened. When we ran through we stopped cold at the staircase leading down it wasn't Snape as I had thought but Professor Quirrell.

"Professor?" I asked. "Where is he?"

"You!" Harry gasped shocked.

"Me," Quirrell turned. "I was wondering when I'd be meeting you, Potter."

"But I thought – Snape – he," Harry stammered confusion spreading across his face.

"Never mind Severus," Quirrell shot off looking at me. "My, or our, master wanted to see you, Vulpecula saying your mother and father were in his inner circle."

I glared at him, "Where is he? I heard you talking to somebody you called master, you were talking about us."

"Ah," he grinned. "Our master, the Dark Lord."

"Let me speak to them," a voice suddenly hissed making Quirrell's face drain of color.

"My lord, you aren't strong enough," he whispered.

"Do not test me, Quirrel," the voice replied making Quirrell gulp and turn; he reached up and undid his turban showing a terrifying sight - Voldemort's face was sticking from the back of Quirrell's head.

"Ack!" Harry yelped.

"Seize him!" Voldemort shrieked as Quirrell turned again. "He knows how to get the stone from the mirror!"

Quirrell leaped at Harry as my arm started to throb, I sprang up as Quirrell started to howl in pain. At the touch of Harry's skin, his own started to smolder and crumble to dust. "Harry!"

Harry didn't seem to listen as he lounged up and grabbed Quirrell as the older wizard thrashed trying to free himself but he turned to dust his robes falling down. I whipped my wand out and a curse fell from my tongue. "Avada Kedavra!"

The green spell hit Quirrell and he blew into ashes, I froze and turned to Harry. "We need to-"

Before I could finish, a smoky figure rose from Quirrell's pile of dust and flew at Harry. He let out a scream before falling back, my vision blurred and I pointed my wand at the figure taking shape. "Impedimenta."

~o~

Hospital Wing

~o~

I shook my head and sat up to the hospital wing and a table of Ravenclaw treats mixed with two Gryffindor colored presents - most likely from Hermione and Ron. Glancing around, I saw Harry in the bed across from me but nobody else - students or teachers.

I just laid back down squeezing my eyes closed as tight as they could go. "What happened?" I said aloud, not caring if the door opening was the Minister of Magic coming to expel me for using the killing curse.

"Harry defeated Voldemort," a voice replied - Professor Snape.

"Professor!" I opened my eyes to the potions master. "I didn't know you were there."

"You saw the Dark Lord?" Snape asked his eyes met mine and I nodded hesitantly.

"Yes," I replied.

"I would like to know how do you know the killing curse?" he questioned.

"I have no idea," I answered. "It was the first thing that came to my mind, I didn't know what it did until I cast it."

"I believe it was from your real mother, Bellatrix, she taught you about things when you were branded. Any free time she had was spent teaching you about the magical world and the Dark Arts."

"I heard it," I said. "A voice in my head was talking about Devil Snare when we were caught, but, she called me Foxie."

"That was her pet name for you," Snape replied. "She referred to you as Foxie, the Dark Lord named you his protegee and bestowed the title 'The Dark Rose'."

"His protegee?" I breathed. "Really? The Dark Lord named me his protegee, that's...unheard of."

"Unheard of, until now."

~o~

Platform 9 ¾

~o~

"Nymphie!" I cried. I lounged up and tackle-hugged her. "Summer's here!"

"Aw, Vulpecula, is it? Too bad you are home now," she teased.

"Nymphie!" I laughed. "Come on, I need to show you something!"twisting

She held my hand and looked to me before we disapparated home; I felt the feeling before my vision cleared and I was standing by the tree outside the magic bubble. We walked through into the mini-forest surrounding the cottage. Maybe the summer won't be too bad...