"Well there you go," Harry said pointing it out. "Snape's already got passed Fluffy."
The three of them stared at the door for a bit before Harry turned to the other two under the cloak.
"If you guys want to go back, I won't blame you," he said "You can take the cloak. I won't need it now."
"Don't be stupid." Ron said.
"We're coming" Hermione added "If there's one thing being around Jack all year has taught us it's that friends stick together until the end."
Smiling Harry turned to the door, took a deep breath and pushed it open.
As the door opened, low, rumbling growls met their ears as all three noses sniffed madly in their direction even though they couldn't see them.
'Then again some animals are known to be able to smell fear.' Harry thought.
"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.
"Looks like a harp," Ron said "Snape must have left it."
"It must wake up the moment you stop playing. Well, her it goes..." Harry said putting the flute to his lips and blowing gently. It wasn't exactly a tune, but it seemed to be working in putting the dog back to sleep.
"Keep playing," Ron whispered as they all came out from under the cloak and Ron and Hermione went to the trap door to pull it open.
"Want to go first Hermione?" Ron asked trying to be gentlemanly after saying he thinks it could just pull open.
"No I don't!"
"Alright..." Ron said carefully stepping over the dogs front legs, reached for the ring on the door and pulled it open.
"What do you see?" Hermione asked nervous.
Ron was about to reply saying that it was all black, when something small fast and worried came out.
"Baby Tooth!" Ron and Hermione asked as Harry had to keep playing the flute.
She looked around quickly and zoomed to them chirping and squeaking loudly, pointing the door they came from and tugging on their clothes trying to get them to leave.
"Baby Tooth, Baby calm down," Hermione said gently catching her by her wings "Now what's the matter? Where's Jack?"
Baby tried explaining again that there was danger if they go through the trap door, but they still didn't understand.
Sighing and rolling her eyes, Baby Tooth just crossed her arms and pouted.
"Ok, well anyway, this thing looks like it has to be a drop," Ron said turning back to the hole in the floor "There's no way of climbing down."
Harry, who was still playing, started waving at Ron and pointed at himself.
"You want to go first?" Ron asked "Are you sure? I'm not sure how far this goes. Give the flute to Hermione?"
Hermione let go of Baby's wings so she could play the flute, and the little fairy shot in front of Harry and tried her best to look intimidating and block his way to the hole in the floor.
"Baby Tooth we have to do this. Now stand aside please." Harry said ducking under her and lowered himself into the hole.
Then looking up at Ron said "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go to the Owlery and send a message to Dumbledore, right?"
"Right." Ron said nodding.
And Harry let go, Baby Tooth shooting down after him.
The cold, damp, air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down, and then... FLUMP.
With a funny muffled sort of thump Harry landed on something soft. He sat up and looked around his eyes not yet used to the dark, but he could feel and hear Baby Tooth chirping and tugging on his shirt.
Trusting her, he got up and went into the tunnel a little bit almost tripping over some thick vines.
Looking up at the teeny-tiny square that was once the trap door, Harry called up.
"It's ok, it's a soft landing, you can jump, but you have get up and move down the tunnel a bit afterwards."
Ron followed straight away, landing on the vines, before quickly getting up and moving.
"What the hell is that stuff?" Ron asked curious.
"Dunno, I suppose it must be here to break the fall, but it must have been dangerous or Baby wouldn't of gotten me out of it," Harry said shrugging then looking up again called "Come on Hermione!"
The music stopped a loud bark was heard from Fluffy, and Hermione jumped down and then got up and joined them.
"We must me miles under the school." she said.
"Yeah, lucky that plant thing was there." Ron said.
"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione now seeing what it was "That's Devils Snare! If we hadn't gotten out it would have wrapped around us like a snake and kill us."
"Well then it's lucky Baby Tooth was here then," Harry said seeing a small blush on the fairy's face and look of pride in her eyes. "This way." he said following the fairy down the passageway, seeing frost patterns on the walls.
'Jacks been here then.' he thought wondering where he was now.
-.-
As they walked down the stone passage way, every small sound echoing loudly when the dripping of water to the flutter of Baby's wings. Harry was reminded of Gringotts and the dragons said to be there.
Soon they came to a second room.
"Can you hear something?" Ron asked.
"It sounds like wings," Harry said looking to Baby Tooth, but she had stopped flying for a bit and was on Hermione's shoulder.
They came to the next room where above their heads were hundreds of keys were fluttering around.
"So which one's the key for the door Baby Tooth?" Ron asked getting a little shrug from her.
"Well then how did Jack get through it?" Hermione asked seeing the frost trail go under the door.
Baby flew off of the girls shoulder and went to the showery corner of the room and pulled out an ice-key and gave it to them, before pointing to the door.
"You sure this will work?" Harry asked taking one more look at the keys above them but it was impossible to pick out the right one.
"Only one way to find out," Hermione said and inserting the ice key into the lock and on the count of three, turning it and... It worked.
The three of them looked surprised, but ignored it and they pulled the door open.
-.-
As soon as the door was open, Baby Tooth zoomed in and over to the side wall chirping at them to come over.
Worried, they run over ignoring the fact as to how dark it was and the giant chessboard was there.
"Jack!" Hermione yelled seeing their friend there looking all beaten up and holding his arm as if it were broken.
"Jack you ok mate?" Ron asked worried.
"Oh yeah Bunny I'm perfectly fine I look like this every day." Jack said sarcastically.
"Who's Bunny?" Ron asked Harry who shrugged, but the question made Jack get a better look and he saw his friends.
"What are you lot doing here?" Jack asked sitting up a bit.
"What do you think? We're here to stop Snape getting the stone." Harry said.
To their surprise at that point Jack started laughing. "Oh god you still think it's him? No, I've seen who it was. Who you think did this to me so he wouldn't get beaten up by them chess pieces? No. It's Quirrell. Which mean I win that bet. Woo hoo..." he said groaning in pain a little as the laughter hurt him.
"What?" they all asked not understanding.
"It's Quirrell who came down here looking for the stone, not Snape," Jack said as Hermione looked and helped with some of his injuries. "And seeing as he hasn't left yet I guess he hasn't got it yet. I came down just after McGonagall told us Dumbledore was gone. I had just reached this room and was halfway through my game of wizards chess when the door opened and in came Quirrell, looking stronger, and prouder and less stammer than before – I told you it was an act."
Saying, in annoyed voices, they'll pay him when they get out of there, Harry and Ron helped Jack up and over to the now lit up giant chess board.
"So what's the rules here Jack?" Hermione asked.
"It's a giant sized version of Wizards chess," Jack said "We have to take the spots as black pieces and have to play our way across the room. Word of warning the White pieces are good and show no mercy when they're destroying the Blacks or they lose one of their own. And the White Queen is tricky."
The three nodded saying they heard this, but still looked worried.
"So. Ron, I think you should be our instructor," Jack said.
"Why me?" he asked, not complaining but wanting an explanation as to why Jack wasn't taking the role.
"I'm good at strategizing and sending people into battle and all that, but I was down to one knight, five pawns, one bishop and the king, before Quirrell came in – I was playing the one of the castles."
"Ok..." Ron said looking at the pieces. "Harry you be the black Bishop. Hermione you be the Queen's Castle, Jack you be the King's and I'll be a Knight."
At this the two Castles, the black Bishop and a knight, all turned and left the board.
o0o
Although Jack had warned them it was like real wizards chess, it still made the other three jump when one of the pieces were taken.
"We're nearly there... Let me think, let me think," Ron said looking at the board and the pieces when there were only about 17 left, including them.
Slowly, the White Queen turned to stare at Ron with her faceless face, her hands holding tightly onto the hilt of her sword.
"Yes..." Ron said slowly the thought coming to him.
"RON YOU DO THIS AND I WILL NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN!" Jack yelled at the redhead from his place on the other side of the board.
"Why? What's going on?" Hermione asked worried.
"He's going to let himself be taken, so the White Queen will take him and then Harry can checkmate the King." Jack said.
"NO!" they both cried and looked to Ron.
"That's chess!" snapped Ron "You've got to make some sacrifices!"
Jack was turning red now, frost coming out from his feet and looked like he was about to start yelling again when Baby Tooth chirped in his ear and he calmed down, but still turned his back on Ron signalling he didn't like this plan one bit.
"But –" Hermione said.
"Do you want Quirrell from getting that stone or not?" Ron asked "If we don't hurry he'll work out the puzzle that's holding him back and he'll have it."
"But Ron, there hast to-"
"He's right guys," Jack said sighing and slowly turning back to face them. "Alright Feckles, make your move. But you better not die because of it."
"Understood. Now, ready?" Ron asked getting nods from everyone.
Slowly Ron took one step forwards, and the White Queen came over, drew her sword and attacked him. Knocking him to the ground and dragging him off the board.
It took all Harry and Hermione had to stay on their squares and not to go running over to him.
Shakily, Harry moved forward three spaces and looked up at the King "Checkmate!" he said.
The White King reached up, took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet.
-.-
"Come on." Jack said heading for the door now they were free to move.
"But what about Ron?" Hermione asked "He's fine, Baby says he's only been knocked out. We have to get to that stone."
"What do you think's next?" Harry asked.
"We've had Sprouts, Flitwick's, and this had to have been McGonagall's" Jack said counting on his fingers.
"So that leaves Quirrell's Snape's and Dumbledore's one," Hermione said.
"I have an idea what it might be if it's Quirrell's, Jack said telling them to take a deep breath and hold their noses.
Confused, but trusting him, they did, and je opened the door.
As he did a terribly foul odor reached them making them to in addition pull their shirts up over their mouths and noses as well, as they ran passed a knocked out troll to the other door, wanting to be out of there as fast as possible.
-.-
"How did you know that would be there?" Harry asked once they get through the door.
"If Quirrell's after the stone, that meant he let the troll in on Halloween, which meant he's highly skilled with them, which meant that must have been his challenge." Jack said looking around and seeing a table in the middle of the room with seven bottles.
As they reached it, a fire of purple flames sprang up in front of door they just came through, and a fire of black flames came up blocking the door ahead.
"Snape's" Harry said looking for a way out.
"Look!" Hermione said pointing to a roll of paper on the desk and read it.
As she did, and Harry stayed with her, Jack went to the black flames and checking they weren't watching, put his hand in not feeling anything.
"Jack, Hemione's worked it out!" Harry said calling him back.
She pointed out the two bottles saying which one each did.
"Ok, Hermione you take the purple one," Jack began "And go back to Ron, find a way out and get help. Harry you take the black one first and jump through and I'll come after. You'll need me in there, it takes a trickster to outthink another trickster."
Nodding, they did as Jack said both shivering at how cold they felt and jumped through.
Jack waited a bit to make it seem he was taking the potion as well and, with Baby Tooth in his pocket, followed Harry into the last chamber.
