Chater 20

Search for Immortality

recap:

"Professor, you mean my test it the three headed dog? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Ah, ssso you kknow that it iss a ttthree headed ddog? Sssee that'ss whyy you are tttaking the tttest, it iss becccause yyou are sso sssmart. Ttthere are aactttualy quite a ffew tttest after ttthe ddog, iif you can gget tthrough tthem all, you get to mmove up ttwo yyears. Bby the wway, Flufffy the ddog likkes mussic." With that little hint, he unlocked the door and we moved in so I could take the test.

onwards:

As soon as we walked into the room the three headed dog, appearently Christened Fluffy, the only one I know who would name a gaint, slobbering, three headed dog Fluffy, would be Hagrid, started to growl at the Professor and me. I looked around the room to try and figure out exactly what the test would entail.

There was a trap door under Fluffy, which, if the testee thought logically, they would assume that they would need to go through the trapdoor. Great, all I needed to do now is dodge the angery looking giant dog to get to the door.

Music, Quirrell said something about music and Fluffy likeing it. If he mentioned it, I can only guess that it has something to do with the back over my castle explorations, I remembered the room full of magical musical intraments. The only one that I could remember well was the pretty harp, I decided to use a charm that I read about in one of the upper level books.

"Accio Harp!" I thought really hard on the harp that I wanted, within moments it came whizzing in through the door. When I thrummed my fingers across the strings, the harp started to play its haunting melody. To my shock, as soon as I had started the music on the harp, Fluffy started to drift off to sleep.

As soon as he was asleep, I made my way over to the trap door and threw it open.

"Good jjob Miss Zeak. Conttinue oon."

I rolled my eyes at the stuttering Professor and jumped down into the dark hole, Quirrell right behind me. I jumped up as soon as I landed and started to walk off, only to trip as a vine curled its sled around my ankle. Whipping out my wand, I used a fire creating spell on the vine that I recalled as Devil's Snare, when the flame touched the vine it released both me and the struggeling Professor.

"So Professor Quirrell, how did I do on this test?"

"Qqquitte wwell. Ttthankkk yyyou fffor getting mmeme outt as well." His speech was a bit worse than usual, it seems being strangled by a killer plant has that effect on people.

"Yeah, you're welcome." We continued down the hall, making my way to my next test, whatever it may be.

The sound of fluttering made its way to my ears as we got closer to the next test. Opening the door I knew I was doomed to fail and not move up two years. The room was full of flying keys, and there where four old broomsticks along the wall. Across the room of doom there was another door, sermising from the lock, the key that fits it will be oldish silver.

"If only I had taken those flying lessons a bit more seriously. Darn!"

"I ccan helpp you iiff you wwould llike, we wwon't tttell anyone about tthis, and itt will sstill bbe good."

"Ok, thanks!" Usually I wouldn't except help, but I really can't fly that well and I am half Slytherin.

Quirrell expertly mounted his broom, who knew that he could fly. My own mounting was much less well done. But, we were up in the air now in search of the key and that's what really matters.

"Professor, there's the key...it's the one with the blue wings." As soon as I pointed it out to Quirrell, he took off after it. Within seconds he caught the key and we landed on the floor. He gave the key to me and I walked over to the and unlocked it.

The room beyond was dark, but when we walked in, the dark was parted by light, and a giant chess set made up the room. Thank goodness I'm decent with chess, just thank of what it would be if I weren't.

I took the place of the queen, I had Quirrell take the place of one of the knights, those peices are my favorites, so I play best with them. When a white pawn moved two spaces on the left side of the board, I knew it was my turn. Moving the other knight peice, the game started in earnest.

Minutes later, I had lost a couple of pawns and a bishop, I was two moves away from checkmate though. The White side was down their queen, two rooks, a knight, and several pawns. My king was still guarded by three pawns in front, a bishop on the left, and a rook on the right, therefore the White couldn'y touch my king, but it's king was wide open. We played on, I made sure to save Quirrell on his knight when a bishop trid to make a move on him. The White player fell for the move I had made earlier and left the king no where to move when I moved to my new space.

"Checkmate!"

When I yelled that out, the King got all hissy and threw down his crown at my feet, and to think what he would look like if he were a sore loser.

Without thinking too much, I quickly ran to the other door and threw it open. Just as quickly, Professor Quirrell threw me out of the way before a huge troll could grab me and then try and eat me. It was then the smell hit me, in the forest trolls don't smell too bad, but in a closed space, they reek. Quirrell quickly took care of the troll before I could even come up with a spell to take him out. I guess Professor Dumbledore hired Quirrell for a reason, the way he took out the toll explained why he was made the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

"Is this going to be another 'we won't tell anyone' test? You didn't really give me a chance to solve this one, not that I don't thank you, don't get me wrong, but?"

"Iii jjust ggot a llitttle eexxcitedd. No wewwon't tttell anyone abbout tthis."

I just shrugged my shoulders and shot him a grin. We made our way across the smelly room to get to the other door. When we entered the new room fire sprang in front of both doors, the one we came through and the one we need to go through. There was a table with bottles on it in the middle of the room, there was a scroll on the surface as well.

The two of us made our way over to the table not that we could get through either door at the moment anyways. I quickly read over the scroll and laughed, I used to do these sorts of puzzles in school in the States, there they like us to know logic as well as magic.

Reading over the puzzel a couple of more times I knew which was the poison, which was the wine, and what two bottles would let us go forward and back. I grabbed the bottle to get forward, but before I could drink it, Professor Quirrell took it and drank. He then gave it back to me to drink, must be the male ego thing the books talk about. I took my drink, leaving enough for one more person to sip, and followed Quirrell through the fire.

"Well done Miss Zeak. You made it through all of the Hogwarts Professor's traps protecting the Sorcerer's Stone."

He lost his stutter, now I knew why the voice from my dream sounded so familar, it was Quirrell without his stutter. According to his thoughts, which I only now tried to read, the Sorcerer's Stone really is in here somewhere. It also seems that he played me, he needed help to get this far.

"So why do you need the stone...is it the money or the immortality?"

"Clever girl...it's the immortality, but not for me?" His thoughts were gaurded now.

"Quirrell, do not tell the girl not yet, in fact now is the time." That was one creepy, evil voice.

"Um, what did the creepy voice mean by now is the tim...." I saw a flash of blue light, then all was black.

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karinfan123