Chapter Thirteen: Trials of the Trapdoor
Title: Harry Potter and the Spirit Riders
Chapter: 13
Author: Hikari no Vikki
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Parings: Sorry, only frivolous friendships for now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Zelda. Really. I don't.
Description: Crossover with Legend of Zelda. The Phantom Hourglass has been handed down since its beginning, until finally it makes its way into the hands of a boy named Gabriel. He fights alongside Harry Potter, and soon discovers a darkness that has been waiting to exact a deadly revenge.
Author's Notes:
Merlin's pants! This is like 24 pages! Wow... only three more chapters! (Including this one) Wish me luck in finishing quickly! I don't own the riddle at the end of the chapter, which belongs to the book, so, it's really, truly, absolutely, never-in-a-million-years not mine. :D
Oh, and I had wanted to address Snape's reaction to Gabriel's apparent natural talent for Potions, but I kind of forgot to add him in the scene from (was it last chapter…?) Draco and Gabriel working on the all-purpose cleaner. No clue if it actually exists, but it seems like it would be something a wizard would invent, seeing as how they seem to be bent on creating cleaning products masquerading as spells and potions… :P
(You can tell I've read far too many HP fanfics, lol) So Snape is in this one. :)
Gabriel cut up the salted goldfish as quickly as possible, knowing that if he went too slow, the acids would begin a very quick disintegration process and he wouldn't be able to get another batch. Some of the other students, he saw, had tried cutting slow and were now having to figure out which of the replacement ingredients would be the best… not something he wanted to do. The goldfish were the best ingredient for the potion for obvious reasons.
So he did his best not to flinch as slimy fish guts flicked themselves all over his face and clothes. (He made a note to shower before the next exam.)
They were making a Forgetfulness potion as their exam in Potions class. Gabriel seemed to enjoy working meticulously and on his own, his thoughts sorting themselves out into their proper places as he worked. Which was good, because he still had to explain to Draco about himself. Since the infamous 'dragon incident', Harry and the others had discussed and explained pretty much everything from how Draco and Gabriel had become friends, to Harry's connection to Voldemort and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Thing was; only Harry knew about Gabriel and the Hourglass in its entirety.
He was skeptical about telling Draco, even though he knew that he was his friend and he could trust him completely. Shaking his head as he slowly poured the minced goldfish bits into the potion, watching it simmer a pale orange, Gabriel knew he was just scared about what the bit about Bellum meant for him. There was obviously still more to be done.
Gabriel's brow furrowed in concentration. How long was the potion supposed to last…? Right, twelve hours. Only a few more ingredients, a bit of dittany, six rose petals, and what was the last thing? Octopus powder, for a proper, smooth transition. He laughed secretly to himself and glanced up at Professor Snape, who was watching him. Snape had an odd smirk on his face (so out of character!) that seemed to suit him. Gabriel flashed him a small smile and went back to his work as furiously as before.
Telling Draco couldn't possibly be the hardest thing in the world. No, that was something else entirely.
As the last sands of Snape's little black hourglass fell, Snape stood up. "Stop! Scoop up some of whatever foul concoction you've managed to make and bring it here. Clean up your stations afterwards, and no cheating or you'll receive much worse than a failing evaluation."
Gabriel glanced down at his potion and smiled. It gleamed a bright strawberry red, just like it was supposed to. How very nice. He scooped a bit up and bottled it in the labeled exam container. He was the last to turn it in, Snape taking it from his hands and examining it carefully.
"You take pride in your work, Silverwings?" Gabriel blinked. "I think so, sir. I like the way it makes me feel." He scratched his chin idly, wondering what in the world the potions' master was getting at.
"And how is that?" Gabriel blinked again.
"Calm, sir. And maybe a little proud… sir." Inwardly, he grinned at his careful response. It was so very honest; he couldn't help but tell the truth.
Snape nodded, stoic once again. "Very well. You show a bit of potential… for a Gryffindor." Gabriel chuckled. "Thank you, sir. May I clean my station now?" Snape nodded briskly, staring at Gabriel's potion again for a moment before setting it next to only five others of that exact same color.
Yes… it was much harder to be praised by Professor Snape himself.
.oOo.
"So how do you think you did on your exams?" Draco asked, walking up to stand beside Gabriel in the archway. It overlooked a stretch of the lake, where the Weasley twins and Jordan were teasing the Giant Squid's tentacles, and where Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat enjoying the afternoon.
"I know I aced Potions," he replied, laughing.
"Well, of course! You always know what your doing. Still don't know how you do it…" Gabriel reduced his laughter to a low chuckle and winked. "Just intuition, I suppose. By the way, there's still one more thing I wanted to talk about."
Draco raised an eyebrow but said little more than, "Go on…"
Gabriel looked away towards the lake. He pulled out the Hourglass from its bag, and explained its history.
"So, now I'm its guardian, and Bellum, the creature that you saw that night, know it. So his primary motive now is to find me, kill me, and destroy the Phantom Hourglass. I still don't know why he wants it gone, though…"
Draco scoffed quietly. "It has the power to stop and turn back time for goodness sake! Who knows what else it can do… surely that's not the extent of its abilities if this thing is really as powerful as the centaur made it out to be." Gabriel turned to look at him and thought on his words for a moment.
"Yes, I suppose you're right…" He rubbed the right side of his face with a relieved sigh; he'd done it. The worst part was over… right? "Shall we go join the others now?" He asked, flashing the blonde a wry grin.
"Sure."
Just as Gabriel was about to take a step, Draco touched his shoulder.
"Wait, do any of the others know?" He glanced over to Harry and the rest of them sat as Aria approached the group.
Gabriel frowned. "Just Harry. I would appreciate it if you could keep it quiet for now… I'm not ready to tell anyone else yet." Draco nodded, and then tilted his head to the side, confused. "How does Harry know?" Gabriel shrugged. "After the Quidditch match – you know, the one Snape was refereeing? – Harry and I had an argument and I ended up dragging him a half-hour into the past with me. Snape almost caught us outside his office, since that's where we ended up." Gabriel paled.
"I never want to do that again."
Draco laughed, and walked with Gabriel towards where the others sat.
He'd just managed to get his laughter down to a small snicker when they heard Harry say something unsettling.
"I think it's a warning… it means danger's coming…"
"Your scar's still burning, Harry?" Harry turned around to see Gabriel and Draco. Harry nodded. "It's like I'm forgotten to do something, and I don't know what…"
"You're sure it's not just exams?" Aria queried gently, staring up at the sky.
Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think so…" He too, stared up at the sky, as if searching for an answer. Then, as suddenly as he'd quieted, he stood up. "Where're you going?" Ron mumbled lazily. "I've just thought of something," Harry replied absently. "We've got to go see Hagrid right away."
Gabriel, who was still standing, raised an eyebrow. "Why, may I ask?"
"Don't you think it's a bit odd," he rattled on, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket?" Aria rubbed her chin and pouted, thinking. "He does have a point there…" "Right! Well, how many people run around with dragon eggs in their pockets? Lucky they came across Hagrid, don't you think?"
"It does seem kind of suspicious, " Draco mused.
"Why didn't I see it before?" Harry continued, not listening.
They found Hagrid sitting in front of his house, playing idly on a long shiny flute in the afternoon sun. "Afternoon," he greeted them, pausing his playing for just a moment, "Finished your exams? Would you like a drink?"
Ron was about to answer, but Harry beat him to it.
"No, we're in a bit of a hurry. ("Just after we've finished our exams?" Draco whispered to Gabriel. "He's not going to buy that." Gabriel shrugged and whispered back, "Harry's not thinking clearly." Draco chuckled. "Does he ever?" Gabriel snickered. "Not really.") Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know the night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno," Hagrid replied casually, "he never took his hood off…"
Aria popped up behind Harry. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid?" she asked politely, "Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"
"Might've come up," said Hagrid warily as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah… he asked what I did an' I told 'im I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sort o' creatures I looked after… so I told him about Fluffy." "And did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying not to sound too pressing.
"Well, yeah, how many three headed dogs do yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him. Just play 'im a bit o' music and he'll be off straight to sleep."
Hagrid suddenly stopped.
"I shouldn't have said that…" he muttered. "Forget I said it! Hey, where're you off to?"
But they were already off, running towards the castle. They didn't stop until they were in the entrance hall, a yard or so away from the grand staircase. "We've got to tell Dumbledore," Harry said at last. Problem was, no one actually knew where his office was. "We'll just have to–"
"What are you three doing inside?"
They all whipped around to find Professor McGonagall carrying a large stack of books.
"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione rather boldly. "See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, suspicious of their motives. "Why?" Silence. No one knew what to say.
"Because," Gabriel piped quickly, "it's urgent. We really would like to speak with him."
"I'm afraid, Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she grumbled callously, "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."
"He's gone?" Harry twittered, "Now?"
"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has more important things to do than cater to the whims of his students."
"But this is important!"
"Something is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?"
"Look," Harry began, exasperated, which earned him a few panicked looks exchanged by his friends, "Professor – it's about the Sorcerer's Stone!"
Professor McGonagall, obviously expecting something else, promptly proceeded to lose her grip on her books, which both Gabriel and Draco managed to catch before they hit the floor.
"How do you know…? She spluttered.
"Professor, someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore." She paused a moment, studying each of them before replying. "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow, she said at last. "I… don't know how you found out about the Stone, but I can assure you that it is well protected. "
"But Professor…"
"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she snapped quietly. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine." She turned to Gabriel and Draco and took the books from their hands.
"Thank you, dears," she said shortly, leaving the group to stare after her.
They didn't go back outside.
"It's tonight," said Harry chillingly, "Quirrell's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He must have sent that note… the Ministry's going to get a real shock when he turns up."
"But what can we–" Draco stopped, staring at something in the background.
They all wheeled around. Snape was standing there, no more than a foot away from where Gabriel – the furthest from Harry – stood. "Good afternoon," he said smoothly. "Good afternoon, Professor," Gabriel answered him brightly, almost too brightly.
"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said with an odd, twisted smile. "W-We… we were…" Harry began, not sure where he wanted to go with himself.
"We were wondering where there might be a piano I could practice with." Gabriel finished, glancing dramatically off to the side. "I so much wanted to show them how well I could play." Snape hummed noncommittally. "In any case, you'll want to be more careful," he replied, "Hanging around like this, people will think you're… up to something."
Harry gave a slight start, and then turned away, dragging the rest of them along. But Snape called them back.
"Be warned, Potter… any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you." Everyone scampered off, but he held Gabriel back, leaning down to whisper something in his ear.
"You'll want to know this… the key to potions is not intuition, but logic."
Then he strode off in the direction of the staffroom.
Gabriel scampered off after his friends, and looked at Harry, their eyes locking. "Tonight, Harry?" Harry nodded as Draco raised an eyebrow. "Tonight, what?" Gabriel grinned. "Tonight we take the Stone before Quirrell does, that's what."
.oOo.
"Gabriel, you should go ahead before us," Harry whispered as Lee Jordan finally went up to bed.
"Why?" Harry glanced down at the bag the held the Phantom Hourglass.
"Because we don't have enough room under the cloak for you and Aria." Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "She's coming? I thought she'd be sleeping like a sensible person." He grinned. Harry laughed quietly. "Not too long ago, I would have said the same about you. Sneaking off at night, huh?"
Gabriel smiled. "Right, I'll go. Just tell them I risked my life and limb just to get there safe, right?" Harry face-palmed himself before shooing him away.
Gabriel waited until he was sure the portrait had closed completely before he even thought about untying the drawstrings of the satchel. He reached in and pulled it out in a single fluid motion, but paused to think about what he wanted of the Hourglass.
I need time to stop for… ten minutes exactly. No one will hear me, or see me.
Then he turned it over.
It was a strange sensation, very different from what he felt going back in time. He himself didn't feel a change, but the atmosphere transformed completely. Color drained from his surroundings, giving it an odd black-and-white movie kind of feel. The air changed, too. It acquired a dry, dusty sort of quality to it, as though it were being recycled. But he knew every moment he stood there marveling at the changes, he was losing the time he'd asked for (speaking of which, the Hourglass was glowing in an odd way, and some of the sand – presumably the other twenty minutes he hadn't asked to use – had transported itself to the bottom of the container mysteriously).
So he set off.
His footsteps made no sound against the carpet. Or the stairs.
He once turned around the corner to come face-to-face with Professor Flitwick – in mid-stride – and nearly yelped in surprise (privately, in a far-off corner of his mind, he was actually thinking about how cool it was).
When he arrived at the third floor, he realized he'd have several minutes to wait before Harry and the others got there. He could already sense Draco around here somewhere – lurking in the shadows. He was good at that. So he chose to do the same, and wait.
The last few seconds fell to the bottom, and the world became itself once more, unaware that it had stopped for exactly ten minutes.
"Gabriel?"
Draco whispered, his voice traveling along the walls until Gabriel could guess it came from the shadows to his left.
"Over here, on your right. I used the Hourglass to get here."
Silence. "I could tell. Your energy just sort of seemed to pop out of nowhere."
More silence. "We should probably stop talking now." "Yeah."
After a while, the two boys heard somebody talking at the top of the stairs. "I have business here, Peeves. Stay away from this place tonight." Peeves flew away, whimpering a string of 'Yes sirs' and 'Of course sirs' under his breath. Draco wondered, offhand, "What was that about?" as the others entered the hallway.
"Peeves got to us," Harry supplied, "so I thought up something quick to make him go away." Gabriel chuckled. "Posing as the Bloody Baron? How inventive. And what took you so long?" Harry shrugged. "Neville caught us trying to leave. Hermione had to curse him to stay put. But we should get going. Come on." He took the cloak off of the four of them (Aria, Ron, Hermione, and himself) and opened the door to Fluffy's chamber.
A light, feathery sound cascaded all around them as they entered, and Fluffy was already fast asleep. "What's that?" Ron asked, wondering where the music was coming from. Draco pointed to a large standing harp, which was playing on its own. "That. Quirrell must've charmed it to keep playing so he could get inside."
Gabriel frowned. "But I doubt he would have charmed it to play forever. Harry, do you have your flute?" Harry took it out of his robes and handed it to Gabriel. "Here, you actually know how to play that thing. But its only for if the harp stops playing, right?"
Gabriel nodded. "Right. You five just open the trapdoor. I'll keep watch."
Draco and Aria picked up one of the huge paws that lay over the wooden square in the floor and dragged it off to the side. Harry, Ron, and Hermione grabbed the metal rung in its centre and slowly pulled the door back, Aria and Draco helping as soon as they set down the paw so that the door wouldn't slip out of their hands and land with a loud thud.
Once it was down, they all looked over to glance down the hole.
It was pitch black. Gabriel, who was still keeping tabs on the harp, laughed shakily. "So… who wants to go down the creepy trapdoor into darkest part of the school first?" Harry couldn't help but grin a little. "I'll do it."
"You sure?" Hermione asked him tentatively.
Harry nodded.
"And if anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore." Draco nodded. "Sure, we'll do that." Harry lowered himself down into the hole until just his fingertips were hanging onto the side.
"See you in a minute… I hope."
Gabriel's ears twitched. Something was different. "Guys, do you hear…?" He whipped around to look at the harp, which had stopped playing. Already the dog was starting to twitch. "Hurry!" he hissed, before pressing the flute to his lips and beginning to play.
Ron went down next, then Aria, Hermione, and finally Draco. Gabriel winced as he heard somebody (most likely Hermione) scream on the way down. Then he himself stopped playing and jumped down before the dog could so much as take another breath.
It was cold. Darn right drafty. The wind seemed a tad damp as well; too damp.
When he finally landed, it was on something soft and slimy, and the smell instantly gave it away. He quickly scrambled up back to the wall just as part of the substance tried to reach for his ankles. "Devil's Snare!" he hissed. "This is just great…" Hermione knew what he was thinking, as did Draco. But neither did Harry, Ron, and Aria.
"Devil's Snare?" Aria whimpered, shaking terribly as the plant snaked a tendril around her neck. "Okay, so, um… we know what it's called… how do we kill it?" Ron snarled, arching back to avoid having the same done to him.
"Shut up, that's what I'm trying to remember!"
"Wow," Draco whistled, "Granger can curse." Gabriel glared, but was to busy also trying to remember how to kill it. "What did Professor Sprout say? Devil's Snare, Devil's snare… it's deadly fun…"
"It's deadly fun…" Hermione repeated, keeping calm as her thoughts raced.
Draco relaxed as well, perhaps a little too much. Just as he thought the Devil's Snare would take him under, he suddenly dropped straight though. "Ah!" Hermione and Gabriel snapped to attention. "Draco!" Gabriel called.
Draco winced. He'd landed flat on his back against reinforced concrete, not very cushioning for an unexpected fall. "I'm okay!" He groaned as he propped himself back up. "There's a floor under all that plant! Just relax like you're falling asleep and you'll go straight through!" He sighed and lay back down.
"Though I'd be careful on the landing." He added.
Gabriel glanced over towards Harry and Ron. "Best do as he says. We've got nothing else to go on." Then he leaned back and sunk straight through. This, however, did nothing to improve Ron's panicked disposition, and neither did Hermione as she did the same. They landed slightly better than Draco did on the floor, only ending up with rather sore rear ends.
"You can do it, Ron! Just relax!" Hermione shouted.
"It's all right, Aria! I'll be here to catch you!" Gabriel coaxed gently.
"I'm not catching Potter, no matter how much you beg…" Draco muttered.
Aria looked to Harry and flashed him a sympathetic smile before doing the same as the others had and sunk through the Devil's Snare into (roughly) her brother's waiting arms.
Harry glanced at Ron, who by now was completely panicking with no sign of stopping. He sighed, and sunk through, landing against a tough wall. Wincing, he steadied himself and stood beside Hermione. "Don't panic!" she tried again, slightly weaker.
"I'm not going to panic!" came the frightened reply from above.
Harry glanced at Hermione. "He's panicking." She growled, frustrated. "Now what did Professor Sprout say? Devil's Snare, it's deadly fun…"
"But will sulk in the sun!"
She looked up and Gabriel, who had finally remembered the last of it. "Oh! That's right!" Hermione pointed her wand up at the Devil's Snare.
"Lumos solem!"
A bright beam of light shot towards the killer plant mass, which issued a slicing shriek that rattled their bones once the light touched it. It did, nonetheless, have the desired effect; the vines completely withdrew from the centre and Ron dropped to the floor with a thud. He stood up, dusted himself off, and straightened himself. "And did I panic? I think not!" He beamed, oblivious to reality.
Everyone just sighed and began to proceed.
"What?" he asked, still clueless. "Come on," Aria mumbled, exasperated, dragging him by the collar.
As they walked along, they couldn't hear a thing with the exception of their own footsteps and the dripping of water tricking down the walls. The way the passageway sloped downward made Gabriel wonder exactly how far down they were, but he didn't much beyond that, knowing it wouldn't be good to be thinking such things. Eventually he did begin to hear something other than the water; a light, rustling noise, and a gentle clinking, much like a set of keys on a rung would sound.
"Can you hear that?" he asked quietly.
Harry and the other stopped to tilt their head and listen. "Yeah," Ron agreed. "I hear it. What do you think it is?"
"Birds?" chirped Aria.
"I dunno, maybe. It does sound like wings a bit."
They didn't speak again until they reached the end of the passageway, where they came upon a brightly lit chamber. The ceiling was high and vaulted, archways supporting the structure cleanly with assorted candles gleaming on posts. Above them was the source of the fluttering.
"Those aren't birds…" Draco began, his eyes narrowing to clarify, "those are more like… keys. Yes, look carefully! Winged keys…" His eyes scanned the room for anything else until the came to rest upon a single broom in the room's centre. "I'm guessing you use that broom to catch them."
"But which one?" Hermione wondered, watching as Harry crossed the room to inspect the lock on the opposite door.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one – probably silver, like the handle." He walked back to the broomstick, which was floating in the air. The other gathered around it. "So," said Draco, sounding slightly amused, "who wants to be the one to draw to short straw? No doubt all the other keys will target whoever so much as breathes on the broom for even a second."
Everyone stepped back.
"I–I'll do it," Harry fumbled, "It can't be that hard if all the keys start attacking me once I touch the broom. That'll leave the right key wide open."
"He has a point there," Gabriel mused.
"You okay with this, mate?" Ron pressed; making sure Harry would be fine. "Yeah, it's fine. I'm the youngest Seeker in a century, right? Can't be too terrible, all some hundred-odd keys attacking at once…" He glanced up, spotting a rather beaten looking silver key, one shimmering blue wing slightly bent to one side. "You might want to step back. I'm going to try now."
He paused, his hand an inch from touching the wood.
"It might also be a good idea to start running for the door… I don't think they'll stop just because I catch the right key."
So they all started running the moment he mounted the broom.
WHOOSH!
All the keys immediately noticed the small boy on the broom and turned for him: all but one. Harry zeroed in on its silvery glint and kicked off just before the keys reached his spot, circling back around after him without missing a beat.
But still, he wasn't the youngest Seeker in a century for nothing. The silver key was certainly as fast as a Snitch itself, and twice as nimble, dodging around the archways – sometimes making u-turns around them that Harry could barely make – but he stayed right there, hot on its trail. Harry pressed the broom even further after one such turn, knowing he'd have to make another risky swan dive to finish it. He reached out, fingers splayed, until the grasped the silver key tightly, wings twitching.
Then he dived, jumping off the broom before it had a chance to land (though the broom's magic would land it without him) and he sprinted for the door, jamming it into the lock and opening it for everyone else; not to mention closing it before the keys could catch up with him.
SLAM!
Finally, they were safe. "I never, ever want to do that again." Harry huffed, breathless. "Don't blame you, mate." Gabriel agreed. "Come on, we've got more trials ahead."
But they didn't have to go very far for the next one.
A few steps into the dimly lit room and several sources of light brightened it up in a flash, revealing an amazing sight.
They stood at the edge of a large chessboard, behind what seemed to be the black chessmen, all of which were taller than them and made from the same material as Gabriel's wand, onyx. On the opposite side were the white pieces, most likely carved from marble or white stone. To make matters worse, none of the white pieces had faces.
"So what now?" Draco squeaked. Gabriel glanced at the blonde and then back at the board.
"I'm assuming we have to play our way across."
He walked over to one of the knights and touched the flank of the horse, the stone instantly springing to life. The knight's head turned round to Gabriel. "Do we have to join you to get across?" The knight nodded. Gabriel grimaced. "Well… ah…"
He turned to the others. "Since there's quite a few of us, we have to be careful how we play. Ron? Would you care to help me? You're a fair chess player." Draco stepped up. "As am I, but… only as a match. I doubt I could actually win anything." Gabriel shrugged and shook his head. "Regardless, we'll need you. So, Aria, you'll take the Queen's spot, Harry, you take the kingside bishop."
"Hermione should take the queenside castle," Ron observed, "and I'll take the queenside knight."
Gabriel glanced at Draco. "Are you fine with the furthermost kingside pawn?"
Draco shrugged. "Seeing as you're probably taking the King, sure, why not? We still need at least one other stone piece for the stronger ones. Just be careful where you put me, yeah?" Gabriel nodded. "Right. Well, everyone, to your stations!"
All the proper pieces moved out of the way to let everyone else take their places. Some parts of the pieces stayed behind: the knight's horse, or the bishop's lance. Once they'd picked up their weapons and got settled, Hermione whispered, "Well, what happens now?"
"Now," said Ron defiantly, "we play."
A white pawn moved forward two spaces, and the game began.
Gabriel glanced over towards Aria's side of the board to Ron. "You call first move. We'll direct every two turns, that all right with you?" Ron nodded, licking his lips as he was deciding on a move. As he was thinking, Aria turned to him.
"You don't suppose this is going to be like… real Wizard's Chess, do you?" Ron looked up at the board. He pointed to the D-7 pawn. "You there! D-5!"
The pawn moved diligently forward, settling itself diagonally from the white pawn. The white pawn unsheathed his sword, and sliced it right though the black pawn, sending the poor thing limping off to the side. Ron grimaced.
"Yes, Aria… I think this going to be exactly like Wizard's Chess."
Gabriel trembled, wondering what might happen if they lost. Then he gulped. He was the king. If they lost… oh dear. He hoped that if they did, it was a castle that got him. They only carried shields. Ron made his next move with a better pawn, and then Gabriel directed two more. These pieces, unlike the smaller ones they played with, didn't talk to them or give them hints.
Here, they were on their own.
They hadn't any real shockers until they lost their other knight. The white queen sent it toppling to the ground in a heap, dragging it off to the side. "You did that on purpose, right?" Aria piped quietly, turning to her brother. Gabriel still hadn't moved her. Ron didn't want to either. He wasn't sure if Gabriel would ever forgive him if his sister got hurt.
"Y-Yeah." Gabriel stuttered, regaining his voice quickly. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione. Go on."
Gabriel and Ron worked together to make sure everyone else was safe. Gabriel couldn't move very far, but he knew Ron could, so they had to make sacrifices to make sure Harry and Hermione (and eventually Aria, seeing as she was their Queen and most powerful piece) weren't taken out. Draco couldn't move very far either, but Gabriel knew that if he could just get him to the other side, he could bring another piece back.
But it turned out that he never got the chance.
"We're nearly there," Ron muttered suddenly. "Let me think…"
Gabriel studied the board. Harry could move into position to check the white king, but the queen would take him if he did. However, if Ron moved in front of the Queen, then Harry could move without fear of being taken! No…
"Don't do it, Ron!" he cried.
Everyone's attention snapped to Gabriel. "What?" Harry asked, "What's wrong?" Gabriel winced, knowing it was Ron's turn to make the call, not his. "Ron's going to sacrifice himself to let Harry take the king." Hermione cried, almost stepping from her square. "Ron, no!" Ron looked back at her.
"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"
"But, Ron–"
Ron turned back to Harry. "Look, it's you that has to go on, Harry. You and Gabriel. Not me, not Hermione, not Aria, or even Draco." He paused, and then added, "Sorry, no offence." Draco shrugged. "None taken." Ron turned to Harry a final time. "It's the both of you, I know it."
Draco looked over to Ron as he grasped the reins nervously. Was he really so willing to risk his life just to save everyone else, including his own sorry ass? "Hey." Ron looked up. Draco held up a hand so he could speak. "You know, before you do this, I want you to know… you're actually not so bad. For a Weasley." Ron tilted his head. "I think he's saying thanks, Ron." Gabriel put in. Ron nodded, flashing him a small smile before he clung to his horse to keep himself steady. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and called out his move.
"Knight to H-3!"
Slowly, ever so slowly, the horse moved three spaces forward and one space to the right. Ron glanced at the king and nervously whispered, "Check." The moment the horse stopped, the white queen began to turn around. She moved just as slowly towards Ron, each second feeling longer than the last. Then she arrived at the square before his. For a moment, he wondered why she wasn't attacking, but then she unsheathed her sword and sent it plummeting right into the horse's flank.
The piece shattered, sending Ron flying backwards onto the ground, his head hitting against a bit of a broken castle, leaving him beaten and bleeding. "Ron!" Hermione cried, about to step out of her square. Gabriel stopped her just in time. "Hermione, wait!" She did. "We're still playing," he reminded her. She nodded, and huddled back to the middle of her square.
"All right… Harry, you can move three spaces diagonally… to the left. Go."
Harry did so. Directly in front of him was the white king himself. "Checkmate!" Harry cried. The king untied his sword and let it fall to the ground with a metallic clatter, as well as his crown, since they had won.
Gabriel's heart lightened a little. They'd won!
But…
As the chessmen parted and bowed to clear the door, they all gathered around Ron. Draco grimaced. "Those wounds look pretty bad…" Aria looked back at the door to the room with the flying keys. "I could always go back and use the broom to get help… Hermione, do you know how to dress a wound?" Hermione nodded quickly. "Then you do that. I'll go and get help. The three of you," she gestured to Harry, Draco, and Gabriel, "go forward. There are still Quirrell and Snape's tests to get through. Now get moving!"
Gabriel wondered briefly where his meek and gentle sister had gone but there wasn't time to brood. Soon he was off scampering towards the next chamber with Harry and Draco.
Inside lay a disgusting smell, which they had to cover their noses with their robes to be able to stand. It came from a huge troll lying in the middle of the room, out cold with a rather bloody bump on its head.
"I'm so very glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered. Gabriel pushed him along faster. "Quickly, quickly now. I can't breathe here…"
They pulled at the next door, no one wanting to know what came next, but what they saw was hardly frightening at all. Inside laid a table, with seven glass bottles sitting in a long, neat row. "Snape's test," said Draco as he closed the door behind him. "What do we have to do?" Immediately as he said this, however, purple flames sprang up in the doorway, leading Draco to leap across the threshold to avoid being burnt. "That… was close."
"Tell me about it," Gabriel whistled. "You could have been seriously hurt."
Draco got up and dusted himself off, walking over to the table, glancing up at the black flames springing up before the opposite doorway. "Looks like we're trapped," Harry sighed. Then he noticed a small scroll lying on the table next to the bottles. "Huh? What's this?" He picked up the scroll and unfurled it for Draco and Gabriel to read.
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 forevermore,
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 onward, neither is you 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.
Gabriel blinked. "Good God, it's a riddle!" Draco shivered. "It's brilliant. It's not magic at all – it's logic – a puzzle! A lot of the greatest wizards don't have an ounce of logic. They'd be stuck in here forever."
"And so will we," Harry sighed, "won't we?"
Gabriel snatched the paper from his hands. "Not if I can help it. You see; everything we need is here on paper. There are seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely back, and another will allow us to proceed." Draco hummed. "So how do we know which is which?"
Gabriel winked. "Leave that to me." Draco nodded.
"Right, you're good with potions, so you should be able to sort this out."
First, he opened each bottle and sniffed them. Two bottles smelled distinctly like wine; he knew which ones were which. Once he had that down, he could begin the process of elimination. Harry and Draco stood off to the side, watching as he tugged and tousled his hair as he walked up and down the table, pointing at the bottles.
After a long while, he still couldn't figure it out.
He looked back at Draco. "I think I've almost got it, but I need a consult. Can you help?" Draco looked shocked. "Me? Are you sure?" Gabriel nodded. "I may be great at potions, Draco, but you're the one with the true cleverness here." Draco walked over to the paper and studied the puzzle again.
"You know which ones are wine, right?" Gabriel pointed to them.
"I have those down. That's why the first thing I did was to smell them." Draco nodded. "Right, right. And…"
It went on like this for a little while until Gabriel explained everything he could to Draco. Draco looked at the potions, the puzzle, the potions, and thought. Finally, it clicked. "I've got it!" He picked up the smallest bottle and held it up. "This one will let us go forward – toward the Stone." Gabriel nodded. "Say, what was I missing? It was the dwarf and the giant thing that got to me…"
Draco nodded. "That was it, and a part of the second left, second right bit. You were confusing the different sides." Gabriel face-palmed himself. "Wow, that was smart." Draco chuckled, and flashed him a rare smile. "You did your best. I'm glad you asked me for my help." Gabriel returned the smile and nodded. "Right."
Harry studied the small bottle. "Say, that's barely enough for two of us. Which one will take us back?" Draco tapped the rightmost bottle. "This one."
He stared at it and picked it up. "You know? I'll take it. You two really need to go ahead. I'll look for another way out, in case your sister's been delayed." He glanced at Gabriel, who took the small bottle when offered. "All right. Are you sure?" Draco nodded. "Positive. And, just so I can prove I'm not lying, I'll drink first."
He stood in front of the purple flames and popped the top of his bottle. Then he downed it quickly, setting it on the floor.
"Hey, Potter?"
Harry locked eyes with Draco. "Yes?" "You're a great wizard, you know." Draco nodded to him in respect. Harry did the same. "You too… Draco."
"No, not really… Harry. Good luck to you both."
Then he turned and ran through the purple flames.
Harry and Gabriel stood there for a moment in the silence. Then Gabriel turned to Harry and they both turned to the black fire. "This is it, Harry." Gabriel said quietly, suddenly very somber. Harry nodded. Gabriel popped his small bottle's cap, and dropped it, taking a small drink and handing it to Harry, who downed the rest of it, setting the bottle on the floor as Draco had done.
"Here we go," Harry whispered.
The potion felt like ice trailing down the middle of their backs, flooding their bodies from there. Both boys walked forward, bracing themselves, but the flames simply licked at their bodies, doing no harm at all. For a moment, neither could see anything but darkness – then they were on the other side. It was a columned hallway, with fires set at spaced intervals between the columns.
The two boys ran forward, rounding the corner, and found exactly who they were expecting to see: Professor Quirrell.
(crumples into a heap) I am so exhausted… I started this yesterday at the slowest pace imaginable, but once I got to the trials I just couldn't stop! I still had to eat and drink and other things, but… yeah. I owe much to Pepsi and Zelda music for this one. I doubt I could have finished so soon without them.
For the different tests, I chose certain parts from the book and movie and tweaked them to suit my needs. To start, Hermione doesn't say 'Lumos solem' in the book, but she does in the movie. In the book, it's Ron that checks the door, not Harry. When playing chess, the pieces are still there in the book but aren't in the movie. They didn't leave any of their weapons in either version except the horse for Ron's knight in the movie, so the weapons part was my own invention (as well as the three extra pieces being taken out due to my two OCs and Draco). The movie never shows the last two tests, so I used the book's version to adapt a little more on character depth. Aria's finally starting to show a little color… pity we won't really get to see more in this story.
I hope you liked the National Treasure and Mummy references that I put in (if you can spot them). Reviews are most absolutely appreciated. :D
- Hikari no Vikki
