Through the Trapdoor

Looking back, Arthur would probably question how he'd managed to get through his exams when he expected Voldemort to pop out of nowhere at any moment. And yet the days went on and there was no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well on the other side of the locked door.

It was nothing short of hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. All of the students were given these special quills for the exams that were enchanted with an Anti-Cheating Spell.

There were also practical exams, which Arthur enjoyed a lot. Flitwick would call each student one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance across the desk. McGonagall would watch them turn a mouse into a snuff box, with points given depending on how pretty the snuff box was, but would take points away if it had whiskers. With Snape, he'd make them all nervous as he'd breathe down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion.

Despite doing the best he could, Arthur tried ignoring the immense, burning pain in his forehead that had bothered him ever since that trip into the Forest. Neville assumed he was just suffering from exam nerves since Arthur couldn't sleep. The truth was really because he kept getting woken up by his old nightmare, but it was worse than before because it now had a hooded figure with dripping blood in it.

The others weren't as worried as Arthur about the Stone's safety. Arthur thought it was because they hadn't seen what Arthur did in the Forest or because they didn't have scars on their foreheads that burned. Yeah, the idea of Voldemort coming back scared them but he wasn't visiting them in their nightmares and they also said that as long as Dumbledore's around, nothing would happen. And there's the fact that they were so busy with revision as well.

The very last exam ended up being History of Magic. It was a whole hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self stirring cauldrons. Once it was over, they were free, free for a whole week until their exam results came in.

When the ghost of Binns told everyone to put their quills down and roll their parchments, Arthur and everyone cheered.

"Somehow, that was easier than I expected. It also seemed pointless to learn about stuff like the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct." Chrys said as they flocked out into the sunny school grounds.

The trio all made their way down towards the lake and flopped down under a tree, basking in the shade as a cool breeze brushed their faces and the sky was clear of any clouds. They watched the Merlon twins and Lee Jordan tickle the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows. The fact that such a creature exists in the lake made Arthur shake his head in disbelief, what else is there that this world offers?

"Finally, we can relax." David said as he stretched out on the grass. He then noticed that Arthur was rubbing his forehead.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I just wished I knew what this means. My scar keeps hurting. It's happened before but not this often." Arthur hissed through the pain.

"Why not go to Madam Pomfrey?" Chrys questioned.

"But I'm not ill. If anything, it must be a warning, that danger's coming." Arthur snapped at her.

"Arthur, try to relax, will you? The Stone's fine as long as Dumbledore's around at Hogwarts. Plus, we've never found proof that Snape has found a way past Fluffy and that Quirrell has done something questionable. Snape's nearly had his leg ripped off once and won't risk it again. Besides, the time Hagrid lets Dumbledore down will be when Draco gets expelled, unfortunately." David further explained.

Arthur sighed in acceptance of all of this, but he can't shake off that feeling that there's something he's forgotten to do. He didn't bother asking Chrys as he knew she'd say that it's just the exams. But he was sure that this feeling had nothing to do with the exams.

He ended up watching an owl fly towards the school across the blue sky with a note in its beak. He knew that Hagrid was the only one that sent him letters, other than the Dentleys for the weekly catch up. And Arthur knew Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore, he'd never tell anyone about how to get past Fluffy, but-

That's when he was thinking about the dragon egg. His eyes widened and he snapped his fingers.

"We gotta get to Hagrid's!" He told David and Chrys, jumping to his feet and ran off, though David and Chrys were able to catch up.

"Why? What's wrong?" Chrys asked.

"Don't you find it odd that the one thing Hagrid wants the most is a dragon and yet some stranger shows up with an egg in his pocket? Dragon eggs clearly aren't a common thing to find in one's pockets, especially since it's against wizarding law." Arthur explained the thought that had suddenly come into his head. The two found themselves realising what he's suggesting.

"So whoever gave him the egg must be either Snape or Quirrell." David said before they started sprinting towards the Forest.

They saw Hagrid sitting in an armchair outside his house with his trousers and sleeves rolled up. He was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo. Finished yer exams? Got time for a drink?" He greeted them.

"No, thanks, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, that night you won Norbert? Do you remember what the stranger you were playing cards with looked like?" Arthur replied.

"Dunno, he wouldn' take his cloak off." Hagrid said casually. He then raised his eyebrows when he noticed the trio looked stunned.

"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."

Arthur sat down next to the bowl of peas.

"Well, what exactly did you two talk about?" He asked.

"Well… he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here…. He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look 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 ter go ter any old home…. So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…."

"And was he interested in Fluffy at all?" Arthur asked, sounding 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 then looked horrified, realising what he was saying.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that! Forget I said it! Hey, where're yeh goin'?" He blurted out as the trio went off.

They didn't speak until they entered the Entrance Hall, which was gloomy in comparison to the grounds.

"We now need to go to Dumbledore. Hagrid's told either Snape, Quirrell or Voldemort under that cloak how to get past Fluffy. They must've figured a drunk Hagrid would be easier to get information out of him. Dumbledore had better believe us. And if Bane doesn't stop him, Firenze could back us up. Just where is Dumbledore's office?" Arthur said.

All three of them looked around, suddenly remembering that they didn't know where Dumbledore's office was.

"We'll just-"

"What are you three doing inside?" McGonagall's voice cut Arthur off. They looked and saw her carrying a large pile of books.

"We need to see Professor Dumbledore." Chrys said, sounding serious and bravely.

"See Professor Dumbledore? Why?" She asked, sensing something fishy.

"Because there's something important we need to talk to him about." Arthur replied, not wanting to go into detail about the Philosopher's Stone. This, though, made McGonagall's nostrils flare.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once." She revealed. That explained that owl Arthur saw earlier.

"Gone? Now?" He then asked, now feeling real fear.

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Pendergast, he has many demands on his time-"

"But this is really important."

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Pendergast?" He decided to just reveal what they know.

"It's about the Philosopher's Stone-"

Clearly McGonagall didn't expect to hear that because the books she carried all tumbled out of her arms and didn't pick them up.

"How do you know-?"

"Professor, we know that someone's about to try and steal it. We need to tell Professor Dumbledore." Arthur cut her off, stressing how serious things are. She then eyed the trio with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected." She then said.

"But-"

"Pendergast, I know what I'm talking about." She cut him off, bending down to gather up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

They didn't however as they waited for her to be out of earshot.

"It's tonight. Either Snape or Quirrell will go through the trapdoor tonight. They've figured out everything and Dumbledore's out of the way. They must've sent that note and therefore make the Ministry surprised to see him." Arthur explained.

"But what can we-"

Chrys whimpered, making both boys look to see Snape standing there.

"Good afternoon." He said smoothly, which was disturbing to Arthur in particular.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this." He then said with an odd and twisted smile.

"Well…." Arthur began, for the first time, unsure of what to say.

"You want to be more careful. Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor couldn't afford to lose many more points than before, can they?"

Feeling defeated, the three turned to go back outside, but then Snape called them back.

"Be warned, Pendergast, any more night time wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you." He strode off towards the staff room. Arthur glared at him, just questioning how a bully like him could still be a teacher.

Once they were outside on the stone steps, he turned to the pair.

"Okay… one of us is gonna have to keep an eye on Snape, wait outside the staff room and follow him if he does leave it. You'll have to do it, Chrys."

"And why me?"

"You'd be more convincing than us two. You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick." David reasoned. Chrys agreed and went to go watch out for Snape.

Guessing that a teacher would be by the third floor corridor, the two boys went off to the Gryffindor common room and waited for Chrys.

Not ten minutes later, Chrys entered through the portrait hole.

"What happened?" Arthur asked, shocked to see her back so soon.

"I'm sorry, guys. Snape came out and asked what I was doing. I said I was waiting for Flitwick and he went to go get him. I've only just got away so I don't know where he went." She said. This made Arthur realise there's no other choice.

"That's it. I'm going to the trapdoor tonight and try to get the Stone first." He said, which made the two look shocked.

"Are you crazy?!" David hissed.

"Didn't you hear what Snape said? You'll be expelled!" Chrys added.

"I don't care! If Snape or Quirrell get the Stone then Voldemort comes back! Having heard what it was like when he tried to take over, imagine what it would be like if he came back? There won't be a Hogwarts to get expelled from! Losing points also doesn't matter! He will not stop after finishing me off, he'll kill many others. I'd much rather try to stop him now than to just wait and have him kill me later. Fact is, I'm going through that trapdoor and neither of you can stop me! And in case you forgot, he killed my parents to try and kill me." Arthur argued against them with real passion and drive.

The whole common room was silent for a bit until Chrys spoke in a small voice.

"You're right."

"I'll use my Invisibility Cloak. It was luck that I got it back." Arthur stated, remembering that the note he had was in the same handwriting as the note the Cloak came with on Christmas.

"Is it able to cover all three of us?" David then asked, surprising Arthur.

"What?"

"Did you really think we'd really let you go on your own?" David questioned, looking at Arthur as though he grew an extra head.

"Exactly. Do you really think you'd be able to get to the Stone without us? I'll have to go through some books and see if there's anything helpful." Chrys added.

"But then you two would be expelled as well if we're caught."

"About that…. Flitwick actually told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They won't throw me out after that." Chrys said grimly.

When dinner was over, the three sat nervously apart in the common room. No one had bothered any of them, all that happened was Mike patting Arthur's shoulder as he walked past him. Chrys would skim through notes, hoping she'd come across an enchantment that Stone would be guarded with. Arthur and David didn't say anything as they were thinking of what they'll do.

At a slow pace, the room emptied with people drifting off to bed.

"Go get the Cloak." David whispered as Lee Jordan had finally left, stretching and yawning. Arthur quietly made his way up to the dark dormitory. When he pulled the Cloak out, he also grabbed the flute Hagrid got him for Christmas, knowing he'd need it on Fluffy. He then made it back down to the common room.

"We'll put the Cloak on here and make sure it does cover all three of us. If Filch spots any of our feet wandering along on their own-"

"What are you doing?" A voice said from the corner of the circular room. Neville made his appearance known from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor, his toad.

"Nothing, Neville." Arthur tried acting like nothing was going on, trying to hide his Cloak behind his back. Neville, though, realised what's going on based on their guilty faces.

"You're going out again."

"No. We're not, just go back to bed, Neville." Chrys shook her head. Arthur's eyes looked over at the grandfather clock by the door, seeing that they couldn't afford to waste more time as Snape or Quirrell could be playing Fluffy to sleep already.

"You can't go out, you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble." Neville said.

"You don't understand, this is important." Arthur tried to reason with him, but Neville was steeling himself to do something desperate.

"I won't let you do it. I'll-I'll fight you!" He said, now standing in front of the portrait hole.

"Neville! Get away from the hole. You don't know what you're doing!" David exploded, staying quiet enough to not wake anyone else up.

"I-I do know what I'm doing! I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"This isn't one of those times! Please!" David begged, taking a step forward, which caused Neville to drop Trevor, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on, then, try and hit me! I'm ready!" He said, raising his fists. Chrys stepped forward, pulling her wand out.

"I'm so, so sorry about this, Neville." She said as she raised her wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" She cried, pointing it at him. His arms snapped to his sides, legs springing together and his whole body became rigid as he swayed until he fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.

"What was that?" Arthur gasped as Chrys ran to turn Neville over. His jaw was also jammed shut. All that moved were his eyes, which looked at the trio in horror.

"It's the full Body Bind. Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry." Chrys said, utterly miserable.

"We had to, Neville, there's no time to explain." Arthur added.

"You'll understand eventually." David said as they all stepped over him and put the Invisibility Cloak on.

It seemed that leaving Neville motionless on the floor was a bad omen. Being really nervous, every statue's shadow looked a lot like Filch and every distant sound of the wind sounded like Peeves swooping towards them.

They spotted Mrs Norris near the top of the first set of stairs they've reached.

"Why can't we just kick her?" David whispered. Arthur shook his head and then they climbed carefully around her. While she turned her lamp-like eyes on them, she didn't seem to notice them.

By the time they reached the staircase up to the third floor, they didn't meet anyone else. Peeves bobbled halfway up, loosening the carpet for someone to trip on.

"Who's there?" He suddenly said when the trio climbed up the staircase. The poltergeist then narrowed his black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?" He rose up in the air and floated, squinting his eyes.

"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

Arthur remembered what Sam said at the start of the school year about the Bloody Baron.

"Peeves, the Bloody Baron has his reasons for being invisible." He said in a hoarse whisper.

This made Peeves almost fall out of the air in shock. He did manage to catch himself in time and hovered a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr Baron, sir. My mistake, my mistake, I didn't see you, of course I didn't, you're invisible. Forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir." He said greasily.

"I have some business to do here, Peeves. Stay away from this place tonight." Arthur croaked, hoping he didn't have to speak like this any longer as it was killing his throat.

"I will, sir, I most certainly will. Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you." Peeves replied, rising up in the air before scooting off elsewhere.

"That was bloody brilliant." David whispered.

They then found themselves outside the third floor corridor after a few more steps. They noticed that the door was ajar.

"Great, Snape or Quirrell has now gotten past Fluffy." Arthur whispered. The door being opened made them truly come to terms with what they're about to do.

"This is it, no turning back now."

"Let's do it." David said.

And so Arthur pushed the door further. The creaking drew the attention of Fluffy because the trio heard low rumbling growls. All three of the dog's noses sniffed towards them, yet they couldn't see them.

"Is that a harp at its feet?" Chrys whispered.

"It is. Snape or Quirrell must've left it there." David replied.

"The dog must wake the moment the music stops playing. Here I go." Arthur took a deep breath before he placed Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't much of a tune but the large creature's eyes started to droop. Arthur didn't stop, hardly drawing breath as the dog's growls slowly ceased, tottered on its paws and then fell to its knees and slump to the ground, now fast asleep.

"Don't stop playing." David cautioned as they all slipped out of the Cloak and crept to the trapdoor. They felt the dog's hot and smelly breath as they neared the three giant heads.

"We'll be able to pull the door open." He then said, looking over the dog's back. He then gritted his teeth and carefully made his way over the legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"Well, what do you see?" Chrys asked anxiously.

"I don't see anything, just black. There doesn't seem to be anything to climb down with. We'll just have to jump down." David replied back.

Arthur waved back at him, still playing the flute, and pointed at himself, saying he'll go first.

"Give the flute to Chrys, then." David said. Arthur did just that, the few seconds of no music made the dog growl and twitch before it fell back to a deep sleep.

Arthur climbed over it and looked down the trapdoor, seeing that there's no sign of the bottom.

He lowered himself until he only hung from his fingertips.

"If anything does happen, don't follow after me. Just go straight to the owlery and send Athena to Dumbledore, okay?" He said to David.

"Got it." He nodded.

"Well… see you in a minute, hopefully." Arthur then said before letting go. Cold, damp air rushed past his body as fell for who knows how long until-

FLUMP. With a muffled thump, he landed on something soft. He sat up but he didn't move, looking around to get used to the gloom. He seemed to have landed on some kind of plant. He then looked up to see the light from the open trapdoor, which looked like the size of a postage stamp from where he was.

"It's okay! You can jump, there's a soft landing!" He called up to the others. David followed immediately. He landed sprawled out across from Arthur.

"What is this stuff?" He asked.

"I don't know, it's some kind of plant. Chrys!"

The music from above stopped, followed by a loud bark but Chrys had already jumped down, landing to Arthur's right.

"We must be miles underneath the school." She said. Arthur's eyes finally adjusted, seeing so many different dark tendrils around them. He felt like he knew this plant.

"I guess it's a good thing this plant thing's here." David replied.

"A good thing?! Look what it's doing to you both!" Chrys shrieked as she leapt and struggled her way to a damp wall. The reason for her struggling was because the plant tendrils started twisting around her ankles. Both Arthur and David already had their legs bound tightly without noticing.

Chrys was able to free herself before the plant could wrap around her. She watched in horror as the two boys at first fought against the plant, which ended up wounding around them tighter and faster. Upon realising this, they had no choice but to stop.

"It's Devil's Snare! Oh… crud, what did Professor Sprout say about them?" Chrys said, her hands on her head, trying to recollect.

"Don't they like the damp and the dark?" Arthur chocked as a tendril started wrapping around his neck.

"Light a fire!" David said, adding to that. Chrys grabbed her wand and waved it, muttering an incantation before jets of bluebell flames shot out. Within seconds, the plant loosened its grip on the boys, slithering away from the light and warmth. Eventually, their bodies were let go and they made their way to Chrys.

"I'm just glad we paid attention in Herbology." Arthur said, wiping sweat from his face.

"Yeah. Anyone else might've panicked." David added.

"Come on, this way." Arthur then said, pointing down a stone passageway which was the only way forward.

As they were walking, the only thing they heard other than their footsteps were gentle drips of water trickling down the walls. The passageway would then slope downwards, reminding Arthur of Gringotts. Hopefully there won't be a dragon down here.

"Wait, do you hear that?" David then whispered. They all stopped and remained quiet until they heard it. It sounded like soft rustling and clinking coming up ahead.

"What is that?" Chrys asked. Arthur thought for a second, thinking of what could make such a sound.

"I think it's wings."

"There's light up ahead. There's movement, as well." David added.

They had reached the end of the passageway and found themselves in a brilliantly lit chamber. The ceiling arched high up and the room was full of small, glittering birds, all fluttering and tumbling around the room. And on the opposite side of the room was a heavy wooden door.

"Will they attack us if we cross the room?" David asked.

"I have no idea. Might as well see." Arthur replied before he sprinted across the room, covering his face. He expected pain from sharp beaks and claws striking him all over, yet nothing happened. He had reached the door, perfectly fine. He then pulled the handle and yet the door was locked.

The other two followed after him and made various attempts to open the door, but they had no luck. Not even Chrys with the Alohomora Charm.

"Now what do we do?" David asked, exasperated. Arthur looked up at the birds, remembering how they're glittering and that's when it hit him when he saw a bunch of broomsticks next to them and back up at the 'birds'.

"These are keys. We have to catch the key that fits the door." He explained. David examined the lock on the door.

"Then the key we're looking for is a big, old fashioned silver key." He said as they each got a broomstick each and kicked off into the air, looking through all of the various keys. They made attempts to snatch some but the bewitched keys would dart and dive so quickly that it was nearly impossible to catch one.

Of course, Arthur's the youngest Seeker in a century. He was able to spot things others didn't. After a whole minute or two of weaving through the various rainbow feathers, he had finally noticed a large silver key with a bent wing. It was already caught and stuffed roughly through the keyhole.

"I see it!" He told the others as he sped towards it. The other two were able to follow him and then be able to corner the key as it sped towards the wall. Arthur leaned forward and with a nasty crunch, had the key pinned against the wall with one hand. Both David and Chrys cheered.

The three then landed soon after and Arthur ran right to the door, holding the key tightly as he rammed it into the lock and turned, glad to see that it had worked. Having opened the door, he let the key go, watching it take flight, looking very battered after being caught twice.

"Here we go." He then said to the other two, pulling the door open.

The next chamber they entered was so dark they couldn't see a thing. But once they entered, light flooded the entire room and revealed an impressive sight.

The three stood on the edge of a large chessboard, behind the row of black chess pieces, all of which were taller than they were and having been carved from black stone. Facing them in the opposite end of the chamber were the white pieces. What unnerved the trio was the fact that the white chess pieces had no face.

"Looks like we're gonna have to play to enter the next room." Arthur said, knowing David would be in his element here. There was also a door behind the white chess pieces.

"But how do we play?" Chrys asked.

"We're gonna have to stand in for some chess pieces." David said with utter seriousness, walking up to a black knight and touched the knight's horse. At once, the stone had sprung to life. The horse then pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head, looking down at David.

"Do we have to play to get across?" He asked it, resulting in a nod.

"Well… we're gonna have to take the place of three of the black pieces." He turned to the others.

"Then what do we do?" Arthur asked him.

"Okay… Arthur, you take the place of a bishop. Chrys, you'll take over a castle."

"And you?"

"I'll be a knight."

The chess pieces clearly listened because said pieces all turned their backs to the white pieces and moved off the board, leaving three empty squares that Arthur, David and Chrys took over.

"Normally white moves first in chess." David said. Of course, a white pawn moved forward by two squares.

David then directed various black pieces, all of which moved silently to wherever he sent them. As all this happened, Arthur started questioning what might happen if they lose.

"Arthur, move diagonally four squares to the right."

The first real shock for them came when their other knight got taken down. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay still, face down.

"I had to let that happen, guys. It leaves you free to take that bishop, Chrys. Go." David told them.

Whenever they'd lose any of their pieces, the white pieces didn't show any mercy. This led to a huddle of limp black pieces slumped up against the wall. It was two times when David had only just noticed in time that both Arthur and Chrys were in danger. He'd dart around the board taking almost as many white pieces as they'd lost black ones.

"We're almost there…. What to do…." He muttered to himself, thinking about his next move. The white queen then turned to face him and a look of understanding came over his face.

"Yes… no other choice. I have to be taken."

"NO!" Both Arthur and Chrys shouted.

"Guys, this is chess! You have to make sacrifices! Once I make my move and she takes me, you'll have to checkmate the king, Arthur!" David snapped back. Arthur realised that there is indeed no other choice. Snape or Quirrell may already have the Stone by now. So he nodded back in understanding.

"Here I go…. Don't hang around once you've won, understand?"

He stepped forward and the white queen pounced on him instantly. She struck him hard on the head with her stone arm and he crashed to the floor, resulting in Chrys screaming, though she managed to stay on her square. The white queen then dragged David to one side, looking like he was truly knocked out. Arthur was now much more driven and focused to stop Snape or Quirrell from getting the Stone.

With clenched fists, he moved three spaces to the left. This made the white king take off his crown and throw it at Arthur's feet. They've won. All the chess pieces parted and bowed, leaving the way to the door open.

With one look back at David, Arthur and Chrys ran through the door and went through the next passageway.

"Any ideas what's next?" Arthur asked, not wanting to talk about David, who he hoped was alright

"There was Sprout with the Devil's Snare, Flitwick with the keys, McGonagall with the chess pieces… that means Quirrell and Snape are left." Chrys listed off.

When they reached another, they opened it immediately and ended up having a disgustingly familiar smell enter their nostrils, making them cover their noses. Their eyes also watered as they looked at a troll much larger than the one they faced on Hallowe'en out cold on the floor in front of them with a bloody lump on its head.

"At least we don't have to fight this bugger. Let's get going." Arthur said, walking around it to the next door, seeing that the troll was Quirrell's addition. Now they have to deal with Snape's.

What they saw in front of them was a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"What are we supposed to do?" Arthur asked as they entered the threshold, which caused a fire to spring up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't normal fire, either, as it was purple. At the same time, black flames shot up in the doorway that led onwards.

"Hey, look." Chrys said as she grabbed a roll of paper that lay next to the bottles. The two read what was on 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.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move 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.

Arthur looked at Chrys, seeing that she was smiling, which confused him.

"Logic. It's a puzzle. Many great wizards don't seem to have even an ounce of logic, so they'd be stuck here forever."

"And us?" Arthur asked her.

"We'll make it out. Everything we need is in this paper. There's seven bottles: three of which are poison, two are wine; one to get us safely through the black flame and the other to get us back through the purple one." She explained.

"Well, go ahead and figure it out." Arthur pushed her on, knowing that this was a chance for her to be in her element.

She would read the paper several more times, walking back and forth in front of the table. She'd sometimes mutter and point at the various bottles.

Eventually, she snapped her fingers.

"I've got it! The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire, to the Stone." She pointed at the smallest and tiniest bottle.

"There's only enough in it to get one of us through. What about the one to get back through the purple flames?" Arthur said. She pointed at the round bottle at the right end of the line.

"You're gonna have to drink that. You need to go back and get David, grab brooms and get out the trapdoor and past Fluffy. Then go to the owlery and send Athena to Dumbledore. I might be able to hold off Snape or Quirrell for a while if possible." He then said, now getting serious.

Chrys looked at him, eyes watering and lips trembling before she threw her arms around him.

"Chrys?" He questioned, shocked by the sudden affection.

"You're a great wizard, you know." She said, slightly muffled.

"I ain't as good as you." He said as she let go. His reply made her crack a smirk with a snort.

"There's more to being a witch or wizard than books and cleverness. Friendship and bravery are just as if not more important. Please be careful." She told him. He nodded.

"Go on, drink first." He told her. She grabbed the round bottle and after drinking its contents, she shuddered.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

"It's not poison. It's like ice flooded my body." She replied.

"Now go before it wears off." He nodded to the purple flames. She nodded before walking straight through it.

Now on his own, he took a deep breath as he picked up the smallest bottle and faced the black flames.

This is it. Whoever he'll face on the other side of those flames, he'll be ready.

Taking a deep breath, he drained the bottle in one gulp, feeling like ice was indeed flooding his body. He dropped the bottle and walked forward, not even flinching as he reached the flames, which didn't even affect him.

For a moment, he saw nothing but dark fire until he found himself on the other side, in the last chamber.

Someone stood. It wasn't Snape. Or even Voldemort.

We're approaching the end, just one more chapter. Btw, little rant time, do any of you book readers hate how the films made Hermione a perfect heroine and make Ron dumb? There will be none of that here. I'm not Steve Kloves who feels the need to character assassinate one character to make another seem more perfect than they're supposed to be with my OCs.