Chapter Forty-Nine

Seventh Floor, Hogwarts, Scotland, 26 March, 1991

In the past two months, things at Hogwarts had become increasingly strange; though the prank war had ended, there was something wrong with Professor Quirrel. Strange sounds could be heard coming from his classroom at all hours of the night, and he was becoming increasingly jumpy. Someone had also been badly injured by Fluffy, the girl's arm nearly ripped off of her body. Her name was Susan Bones, and Henry had said that she was still in St. Mungo's, trying to get her arm re-attached.

Professors Snape and Lupin had also been acting oddly, especially whenever Loki was in their classes with Adrian.

Professor Dumbledore also began leaving the school frequently, supposedly to oversee his Ministry positions.

He was gone tonight, and they were sure that another opportunity wouldn't present itself for quite some time.

Yes, tonight was the night.

"Are you sure we have to do this?" Neville squeaked. "We can't tell a professor?"

"No, Neville! We don't know who we can trust!" Hermione huffed.

"Except Uncle Severus," Draco added.

"And Uncle Remy," Henry said.

"And Sirius!" the rest of the boys added.

"Sirius wasn't ever a suspect, gits. He wasn't even here during the troll attack!" Daphne scoffed. "And we still aren't sure about Professor Lupin, Henry, much as you'd like us to be."

"Well, I'm sure," Henry replied stubbornly. "He and Mr. Black are the best teachers here."

Loki barked in agreement, his tail thumping against Blaise's leg.

"Couldn't you leave him, Ade?" Blaise complained, shoving the dog's tail away from himself and scowling at the seemingly grinning animal..

"And have him howling all night? No thanks," Adrian snorted. "He'd wake up everyone in the school!"

"He's right, you know," Hermione said. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not be caught breaking this many school rules."

They all snorted at her.

"Only you, Hermione, would be worried about breaking school rules at a time like this," Ron snickered.

Hermione scowled and punched him hard in the arm.

"Ow!"

"Ron, shuttup!"

"She hit me!"

"You deserved it."

Third-Floor Corridor, Hogwarts

"Ready?" Adrian asked, hand on the doorknob.

"Just- just do it," Neville said firmly.

Adrian pushed the door open, and they were greeted by the snapping and snarling of Fluffy, the three-headed dog.

"Drake, Hermione, now!"Henry yelled as Fluffy's mouth's opened wide.

The two ran forward and hurled beakers full of the Draught of Living Death into the dog's mouths.

Fluffy snarled and gagged as the potions went down its throats.

After a few more seconds, however, the dog's six eyes rolled back into its three heads and it collapsed in a drooling snoring heap.

"Yes!" Hermione yelled, slapping Draco's proffered hand and grinning triumphantly. Draco smiled back.

"Alright, let's go," Ron said, shoving one of the dog's massive paws off of the trapdoor and yanking it open.

"Well, at least that- that thing won't hurt anyone else," Neville shuddered.

"That's the spirit, mate!" Ron said, clapping him on the back. Looking down into the lightless room, he cheerfully called, "Who's first?"

Daphne ran past them and executed a perfect swan dive as she disappeared into the darkness, laughing at the scandalized looks on their faces as she went.

"Bloody show off," Adrian muttered, following her in a similar fashion, the rest of their friends jumping less-gracefully after them.

When Adrian landed, he rolled to his feet only to immediately lose his footing and slip, only managing to stay standing because he grabbed a rope that was hanging from the ceiling.

At least, he thought it was a rope until it wrapped around his wrist and twisted down his arm.

"What is this?" Hermione cried.

"It's wrapped around my legs! I can't move!" Henry yelled.

"Diffindo!" Draco yelled, and a flash of silver light blinded him. "It's some sort of... vine or something."

"Just don't move," Blaise advised from somewhere to Adrian's right.

"Augh! Gedoff!" he heard Ron yell, his friend's panicked voice echoing eerily off the walls.

"Daph? Neville? Are you alight?" Adrian called, realizing that she and the Gryffindor were the only ones who hadn't said anything.

"I'm fine, Ade," Neville said quickly. "I think I know what this plant is…"

"Daph? Where are you?" he called. When he didn't hear a reply, he grabbed his wand with his free hand a muttered, "Lumos."

What he saw in the faint light horrified him. Daphne hadn't been as quick to recover as the others, and the black vines covered her body from her shoes to her nose. Her eyes were wide and pleading.

"Devil's snare!" Neville cried.

"What?"

"This is devil's snare! It reacts to adrenaline in the bloodstream of its victims! Just stay calm, and whatever you do, don't move," he said.

"Neville, I think it's a bit late for that to work on Daphne. What else can we do?" Draco asked.

"We could cut the vines-"

"We could cut her by accident! Think of something else!" Adrian yelled.

"Fire!" Hermione yelled. "Devil's snare fears fire, or actually heat, but that's beside the poi-"

"Hermione, this is not the time!"

"Right, sorry! Fire, fire, oh and I don't have any matches," she said distractedly.

"Matches? Are you a witch or aren't you?" Ron bellowed.

Blushing, Hermione and Adrian quickly summoned bluebell flames, being the only ones who had freed their wand arms.

The vine seemed to leap away from the flames, releasing its hold on Ron, Neville, and Henry. As the flames spread, the vine hissed and jerked away from them, dropping Draco, Adrian, Hermione and, finally, Daphne, who gasped in huge breath.

"Thanks," she croaked, rubbing her already bruising neck.

"Don't mention it," Hermione and Adrian panted.

"Hey," Adrian said, looking around. "What happened to my dog?"

They looked up to see Loki peering sadly at them from the entrance to the trapdoor.

"He can't jump, Adrian, he'd break his legs," Hermione said.

Sighing, Adrian nodded in agreement. "Loki, go back to the Room of Requirement. I'll see you in a few hours."

Loki whimpered, scratching at the sides of the entrance.

"Loki, go!" Adrian commanded. "I don't want you anywhere near Fluffy when he wakes up."

Loki howled brokenheartedly before he disappeared from their sight.

"Alright, let's go," Adrian said sharply, turning and walking toward a heavy wooden door at the other end of the room.

"Lumos," the rest of the Firebrands whispered, and the small room brightened considerably. When they opened the door, it led into a long, narrowcorridor, though this corridor was not brightened from the wandlight at all; it smelled strongly of mold and the sickly-seetness of rot. Water dripped down the walls, and the slope downward had Neville bumping into the others every once in a while.

"What's that noise?" Neville asked.

"I don't hear anythi-"

"Shh, Ron," Adrian said, waving a hand at his friend. "I hear it too."

As they came closer to the door, there was a distinct fluttering noise on the other side.

"Well," Hermione said nervously, "we've come this far, haven't we?"

"Okay, wands out. On the count of three. One…"

The flapping sounded louder.

"Two…"

They took a breath, each of their grips tightening on their wands.

"Three!"

They burst into the next room, wands at the ready. When they looked around, however, they realized that they wouldn't need them after all.

"What in Merlin's name?"

There were birds. Tiny, flapping, glimmering birds, thousands of them. Inside the room, the sound of their thousands of flapping wings was maddening, very loud and constant.

"What are we supposed to do?" Henry yelled, covering his ears in hopes of blocking out the buzzing drone.

"I dunno, it- Hey! There's a door over there!" Adrian yelled, running across the room. "It's locked!"

"Well unlock it, you git!" Draco and Ron yelled at him.

"Alohomora!" he cried, but the door remained stubbornly closed when he tried the handle. "It didn't work!"

"Maybe you need the key!" Blaise yelled, pointing upward.

Looking to the ceiling, Adrian squinted through his glasses and noticed something rather startling; the birds were not birds at all. Rather, they were winged keys of every shape, size, and color.

"Wicked," Ron breathed.

Glancing around, Adrian saw four ancient, heavy brooms leaning against the far wall. "I think we use these to catch them."

"Ugh, they're so old," Draco said, wrinkling his nose.

"Come on," Adrian sighed, grabbing his brother and dragging him toward the brooms.

"Can I fly one?" Henry asked. "I've gotten loads better."

"Sure, Henry. Just look for a big, old, silver key, alright?" Adrian said as Draco and Daphne each grabbed a broom.

The four of them kicked off, flying lazily through the crowd of keys.

"I see it!" Henry yelled. "There!"

"Well, grab it then!" Draco yelled.

"I can't, it's closer to Ade."

Adrian looked around and saw a large, silver skeleton key with pale blue wings hovering a few feet in front of him. Somehow, he felt that this was the proper key.

He tensed, preparing to spring. Just when he began to dart toward it, the key rocketed away from him. Setting his jaw, he chased stubbornly after it through a swarm of keys that suddenly rushed at him, slicing his skin as though it were nothing more than tissue paper.

Wincing as a rather huge green-winged key cut his forehead jaggedly and another dug deep into his calf, the boy followed the key, forcing the broom to its ancient limits. All the while, he twisted and darted skillfully through the air after the silver key with light blue wings, praying to every deity that Hermione had ever mentioned that this was the right key and that he wasn't on a wild goose chase.

Or key chase.

Summoning all his strength, both physical and magical, Adrian ignored the many gouges and cuts and surged forward, closing his hands around the right wing.

"Yes!"

He pulled his arm to his chest and zoomed to the ground, tumbling off the broom with a groan.

"Here," he grunted, waving the key wearily under a grim Ron's nose.

"You alright, mate?" Ron asked, taking in his friend's many, many cuts.

"I'm fine, Ron. Open the bloody door," he grunted, sitting up slowly as Draco, Daphne, and Henry landed around him. Looking up at Henry's face, he managed a slightly bloody grin. "Nice flying up there, Henry."

"Thanks, I've been practicing."

"Yeah, yeah, d'you think we could continue this love-fest later?" Ron asked sarcastically. "It isn't exactly safe down here!"

"Does the key work?"

Ron smirked hugely. "Yeah, and you wouldn't believe the next one!"

Blaise and Draco tugged Adrian to his feet, and he leaned on Henry and Neville for support, as they were closer to his own height.

"Alright, Ron. What are you so excited about?" Hermione sighed.

Grinning broadly, Ron pushed the door open and hurried inside.

Just beyond the door stood a massive chess set, over three times their own size; the knights' mounts were large enough for them to ride.

"I see why Ron was so excited," Henry said hollowly. "He's actually good at wizard's chess."

"And you aren't?" Hermione squeaked. "But you've grown up with that horrid game!"

"Not all pure and half-bloods are good at chess, Hermione," Blaise explained. "Ron has a real gift with strategy and quick-thinking, which is probably why he is in our House."

"Oi!" Ron yelled. "Why do I have to keep telling you lot; we need to move our arses!"

They rolled their eyes and hurried to Ron's side, Adrian removing his arms from Henry and Neville's shoulders and sitting carefully on the edge of the chessboard.

"What are we supposed to do?" Neville asked.

"We have to play our way across the board," Ron said, surveying the obstacle gleefully. "It's simple, really. We're the black pieces, and they're white."

"Ron, there's no way that Ade can play. He can't even stand up!" Henry said, glancing down at his friend, who scowled at him in return. "Well, you know I'm right, Ade!"

"Right. Well, he can stand on the same place as someone else," Ron said. "But unless we want to leave him here, he has to play, like the rest of us."

"How do you know?" Draco snapped. "Who's to say that we can't just drag him across right now?"

"Hey!" Adrian objected, but no one heard him.

"I already tried walking across the board, git," Ron snorted. "Watch."

Ron ran across the board, only to be confronted with the points of the Pawns' swords.

"See? We all have to play."

Draco grumbled. "Well, let's get this over with."

Ron set them in their places, keeping Adrian with him on the Knight's horse.

After a tense moment, the center white pawn moved forward one space, and the game began.

"Pawn to E4!"

"Blaise, go to G5!"

"Hermione, step forward!"

"Neville go- not there! Stop!"

Neville, in his excitement, stumbled forward and directly into the path of the white Knight. Looking up, Neville saw the Knight grin as his sword crashed down where he stood.

Hermione screamed and started toward her friend, who lay motionless on the ground, his leg and foot bent at unnatural angles.

"Stop, Hermione, or you'll be taken too!" Ron yelled, waving a hand at her sharply.

"I don't care! He could be hurt or worse, Ronald, and all you care about is your stupid game!"

Ron's face turned a brilliant shade of purple, which clashed with his hair. "Well, if that's what you think, you can just-"

"Hermione, I can take the Knight, and see if he is alright," Draco offered before Ron could finish his retort. He moved to the proper place and brandished his wand rather than a sword, but the white Knight left the board all the same. He looked carefully at his fallen friend, and made sure not to move from his place.

Looking back at them, he managed a smile. "His leg is broken, and I think the sword only clipped him. He's just unconscious, Hermione."

"Thank Merlin," she breathed.

Ron glared at her as he ordered Daphne to take a castle.

The game seemed to take forever, but with Ron acting as general, the white pieces were falling quickly.

"Okay, the Queen is still in play!" he yelled. "Blaise, can you take her out?"

"No, Ron, I'm not in the right position!"

"But I am," Ron muttered. Looking back at Adrian, who had been quiet this entire time, he saw that his friend was pale, his formerly white shirt awash with its owner's blood. The jagged cut on his forehead had caked his face with blood.

"Drake! Drake, he's almost fallen unconscious!" Ron yelled. "He can't keep going after this, or he'll be hurt even more!"

"Well, I'm not leaving him here alone!" Draco yelled back.

"I-I'll stay with him," Ron said shakily. "I'll stay with him and Neville. It's my fault they're in this state anyway. I should have paid more attention-"

"It's fine, Ron," Adrian said. "I'm fine, honestly."

"No, it isn't," he muttered. "Knight to white Queen!"

Ron sat tall on his mount as he approached the second last and most dangerous piece on the white team. "Now!"

The horse bucked and kicked the Queen in the back, sending her sprawling.

Taking the initiative, Draco boldly stepped forward into the King's path. "Check!"

The King remained motionless as the sword dropped out of his hand.

"YES!"

Ron sagged in relief, quickly jumping off of the steed and pulling Adrian after him, the other boy's limp body sending him sprawling. "Drake! Help me with him!"

Draco rushed to Ron's side, helping him carry his brother.

"Hey, I can walk!" Adrian protested.

"Yeah, you just can't stand up!" Draco grunted, hauling his brother to his feet.

"Details."

"I'm still staying with Neville," Ron said firmly. "Merlin only knows what else is down here."

"Here, take this," Draco said, handing Adrian a bright orange potion.

Adrian downed it gratefully.

"Strengthening Potion," Draco explained. "He'll be able to stand up."

"I'm going," Adrian said stubbornly.

"Over my rotting corpse, you are!" Draco bellowed. "You're staying here with Ron, little brother."

"I'm going!"

"You are not!"

"Going!"

"Not!"

"Going!"

"Not!"

"Stoppit!"

The brothers looked at Hermione. "Draco, if he thinks he can make it, let him come. We need all the help we can get!"

"But-"

"But nothing," she said firmly. "That's how it is."

Adrian grinned and dashed to the door, only limping a bit from his leg injuries. The potion seemed to have taken immediate effect.

"Come on, then!" he called. "What's back here can't possibly be any worse than anything back there!"

"I think it could be," Henry murmured, but as he was quiet, no one else heard him.

"Oh, shit!"

'What did I tell them?' Henry thought, drawing his wand as he advanced toward the door.

It was a troll.

A huge, smelly mountain troll, even bigger than the one from Halloween.

And it was pissed off.

"Look, another one!" Hermione- or maybe Daphne- screamed.

Indeed, there were two trolls in the room, both equal in size, smell, and rage.

"You must be joking! Three!"

Henry whirled around. Three mountain trolls in a school?

Dumbledore must be mad!

But it was true, what they said; trouble really did come in threes.

And the six children were surrounded.

"Now what?"

HA!

A cliffie!

I have the rest written, and I shall post it Saturday!

Enjoy!

Oh, and I apologize for the mislabeling of the previous chapter!

-TheNefariousMe