Chapter Summary: Alex/Harry starts having bad dreams, takes his exams, and then he and his friends ... well, read the chapter to find out.
After the incident with Hagrid and the baby dragon, Alex started having bad dreams. In the past, he had a couple of dreams involving flashes of green light, which he now had figured out must have something to do with his biological parents' murders and the attempt on his life. His current dreams. however, had a woman screaming and an evil laugh in addition to the green light that must be the Killing Curse. He couldn't figure out why he was having these dreams now, and didn't like them waking up in the middle of the night and then taking him at least an hour to fall back asleep. Also, his hidden scar kept pricking every so often, especially in Defense Against Dark Arts class, and he couldn't figure out why. The only time he felt truly relaxed from these worries was when he was brewing potions, either in Potions class or when he, Beth, and Hermione were doing some extra work under Professor Snape's supervision once a week.
Things didn't get better when Alex and his friends went on a visit with Hagrid and found out that something or someone had been attacking unicorns in the Forbidden Forest. Two had died in the past month. According to one of the centaurs that lived in the forest, it seemed that whomever or whatever was attacking unicorns were after the blood.
Right after the visit, Hermione and Beth rushed to the library and checked out some books on unicorns. They returned with the discovery that unicorn blood could be used to prolong life, even if you were close to death, but it was a cursed life, for it involved the death of something pure and innocent.
"But who'd be that desperate?" Alex wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"
Beth gave him a look. "And who do we know of that would be that desperate, Alex? Especially considering what is hidden at Hogwarts right now."
Alex turned pale. "But the prophecy that Mum made said Voldemort would return to power thirteen years after his defeat, not ten! And Aunt Maria would have had a vision of it happening."
"That doesn't mean Voldemort can't make an attempt to return to power and fail," pointed out Beth patiently. "And you know Aunt Maria can't control her visions."
"What prophecy are you talking about?" asked Ron. "You two never mentioned it before."
"Mum made a prophecy about thirteen years ago that said that Voldemort would one day be defeated, but return to power thirteen years after that. There will be dark times, but eventually the one that defeated him the first time will vanquish him for good. Since the first part came true, our family knows the rest will come true as well, and as Alex is the one that defeated him the first time, that means he'll have to do it again."
"But Alex, how can you face You-Know-Who again and vanquish him for good?" asked Hermione, rather horrorstruck.
"Well, I don't really want to face Voldemort, but it's not like I'll face him unprepared, Hermione," answered Alex. "And if he went after me when I was just a baby, then do you think he'll stop when I'm a teenager? Voldemort might have even guessed that I had the power to defeat him, and that's why he targeted me in the first place."
Hermione blinked. "That is a good point, Alex. If You-Know-Who is after you, then you really have no choice but to defend yourself and defeat him."
"We'll help you, of course," said Neville. "You might have to be the one to do the actual defeating, but we'll help you get there, Alex."
"NO!" shouted Alex. "It's bad enough that my biological parents died because of me! I'm not getting my best friends killed too!"
"Alexander Jacob Romanov!" snapped Beth, looking angry. "It's Voldemort's fault that Lily and James Potter are dead, not yours! Even if he hadn't been after you, there's no guarantee that they wouldn't have died, since they were fully involved in fighting him and his Death Eaters. And it's our choice if we want to help you fight him. We know what can happen and accept it."
"Beth's right," said Ron. "And you've read enough books to know that while the hero is the one to defeat the bad guy, his friends helped him get there and fought any followers the bad guy had, Alex. So just accept the fact that we're helping you. How long do you think you'd last without our help, anyway?"
Hermione snorted. "Not very long. Let's see, Ron's brilliant at strategy, Neville is the best at Herbology and almost as good in Defense Against Dark Arts, Beth is better than you in Potions and Transfiguration, and I can pick up any spell that's not related to Defense faster than you."
"Fine," said Alex, giving up. His friends and sister had a point, and there was no use in wasting breath in a futile attempt to talk them out of it.
"Well, now we're pretty much certain that You-Know-Who is after the Stone," said Hermione. "But with it at Hogwarts under Dumbledore's protection, it should be safe."
The others agreed, so they went back to studying for the exams, which also took their mind off Voldemort for the time being.
Two weeks later, the exams arrived and Alex did his best to concentrate on them despite the pain in his hidden scar, the dreams he had of his biological parents' deaths, and the vague worry that Voldemort would find some way to get past Dumbledore and try to go after the Stone. The only exam he was sure of doing well in was Potions, since he had no difficulty focusing long enough to brew a Forgetfulness Potion. The irony of having to remember how to a brew a potion that induced forgetfulness was not lost on him, either. He was also fairly sure of at least passing Herbology, since Neville had drilled him long enough in that.
Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Alex couldn't help cheering with the rest.
"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds."I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."
Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows. "No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Alex, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."
Alex was rubbing his forehead. "I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting — it's happened before, but never as often as this."
"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.
"I'm not ill," said Alex. "I think it's a warning… it means danger's coming…"
Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.
"Alex, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. We have no proof as to who would try to get past Fluffy, and Hagrid is the only one that knows how. And Neville will play Quidditch for England, no offense, Neville, before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."
"None taken," responded Neville, who knew that while he wasn't bad at Quidditch, neither was he good enough to one day get signed on to a professional team.
Alex nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."
Alex was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He rubbed his forehead again and looked at Beth. "There has to be something that we missed."
"But what?" Beth frowned in thought, then gasped. "I just realized something! We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."
"But why?" asked Hermione.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Beth, jumping to her feet, "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?How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't we see it before?"
Alex and Hermione immediately realized what she meant, Ron still looked confused, and Neville caught on a few second later and quickly explained to Ron as the five of them hurried across the grounds to Hagrid's house.
Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.
"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"
"No, we're in a hurry," replied Alex. "Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."
He saw the five of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows. "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."
Alex sank down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"
"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah… he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took 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 it ter go ter any old home… So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…"
"And did he — did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Beth asked, trying to keep her voice 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 suddenly looked horrified. "I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey — where're yeh goin'?"
The five of them didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.
"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Alex. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was probably Voldemort under that cloak — it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Where's Dumbledore's office?"
They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.
"I guess we'll need the Marauder's —" Alex began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.
"What are you five doing inside?"
It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.
"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, the others thought.
"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"
Alex swallowed — now what?
"It's sort of secret," he said, but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.
"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."
"He's gone?" demanded Alex frantically. "Now?"
"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Mr. Romanov, he has many demands on his time – "
"But this is important."
"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Romanov?"
"Look," said Alex, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor — it's about the Philosopher's Stone —"
Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up..
"How do you know —?" she spluttered.
"Professor, I think — I know — that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."
She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion. "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "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."
"But Professor —"
"Mr. Romanov, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."
But they didn't. "It's tonight," said Alex, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Voldemort's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."
"I'm getting our cousins," said Beth. "They know about Stone, and can help us. And you can find Professor Snape and tell him. He'll take us seriously, I'm sure."
However, it turned out that Professor Snape wasn't at Hogwarts either, for he had gone to deliver a supply of potions to their grandmother, and had accepted an invitation to stay for supper. Vera, Ivan, and Cara were quite alarmed when they heard everything that the quintet had deduced.
"But Aunt Ana's prophecy said that Voldemort won't return to power until three years from now!" protested Cara.
"That doesn't mean that he won't try," said Vera. "He needs to be stopped. Even if we have to be the ones to do it."
"And how are five first-years, a second-year, a third-year, and a fourth-year supposed to do that?" demanded Ivan. "We might know how to get past Fluffy, but what about the other protections that were set up? We can't just go rushing off and do something rash. I'm sending a letter to the adults in our family telling them what's going on and getting their advice."
Cara and Vera looked satisfied with that, but Alex wasn't. The quintet went off to the Room of Requirement. "By the time our family writes back with advice, it could be too late!" exclaimed Alex.
"Well, what do you propose we do?" snapped Beth. "Stop Voldemort ourselves, when we're only first-years?"
"We've got the Marauder's Map," interrupted Hermione. "We can use that to see if and when you-Know-Who tries to go after the Stone."
"And then what?" inquired Neville, looking nervous. "How do we stop him?"
Alex shrugged. "Voldemort is still rather weak at the moment, so stopping him won't be as difficult as it would be back when he was in power."
"We'll still need to get past the protections," pointed out Ron. Alex went to get the Marauder's Map and invisibility cloak, and at the last second pocketed the flute that Hagrid had given him for Christmas since it would help put Fluffy to sleep. When he returned to the Room, he joined Beth and their friends in preparing for the possible ordeal ahead.
Hours later, Neville took his turn to look at the Marauder's Map. He gasped and exclaimed, "Professor Quirrell is trying to go after the Stone! And there's another name with him! It says Tom Riddle!"
"Quirrell's after the Stone?" asked Ron, incredulous. "So that stutter and everything was an act? And who's Tom Riddle?"
Beth examined the Map. "The two names are on top of each other, not next to each other. Somehow they're the same... oh no, what if Voldemort's possessing Quirrell somehow?"
"But then why is the name Tom Riddle?" asked Alex.
"Do you really think Voldemort is his real name?" answered Beth. "I mean, the one that he was born with?"
"No," responded Alex after a moment of thought. "He probably chose that name. Well, let's go try and stop Quirrell and this Tom Riddle, who may be Voldemort."
Beth and Alex got under the Cloak, while Hermione, Neville, and Ron did the Disillusionment Charm on themselves, and they set off for the third-floor corridor. When they got there, they found that Quirrell and Riddle had already gotten past Fluffy, for there was a harp lying nearby. Beth started playing the flute, while Alex opened the trapdoor and the other three removed the Disillusionment Charms.
"I'm going down," said Alex. "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go to the Owlery and send a letter to Dumbledore." He took a deep breath, lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips, and then let go.
Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and — FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.
"It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"
Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to Alex. "What's this stuff?" were his first words.
"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, you guys!"
Beth handed the flute to Hermione, who started playing, and jumped down. Neville followed seconds later, and then Hermione.
"We must be miles under the school," Beth said.
"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.
"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you guys!" She and Neville leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. They had to struggle because the moment they had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around thier ankles. As for Alex, Beth, and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.
Hermione and Neville had managed to free themselves before the plant got a firm grip on them. Now they watched in horror as the two boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them. Beth, however, had the sense to stay still once she realized the uselessness of struggling.
"Stop moving!" Neville ordered them. "It's a Devil's Snare that's got you guys!"
"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.
"Will you shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" snapped Neville. "Let's see, it likes the dark and damp, so we need to light a fire. Hermione, you're better at that than me, so you do it."
"Yes — of course — but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"
"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of bluebell flames at the plant. In a matter of seconds, Alex, Ron, and Beth felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.
"Okay, I guess I do need you guys," admitted Alex once they were free. "Your Herbology knowledge came in handy, Nev, and you knew how to make the fire, Hermione."
"Glad you realized that," said Beth. "Now let's continue."
The next chamber turned out to contain flying, winged keys, one of which was needed to open the door at the opposite end. There were three broomsticks available for use. Neville and Hermione, the poorest flyers, volunteered to sit this one out. The other three each seized a broom and took off, looking for the correct key, which would be a big, old-fashioned one that was probably silver, like the handle of the door. After a few minutes, Alex spotted a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.
Beth, Ron, and Alex, working together, managed to get the key into a position so that the latter could catch it.
They landed quickly, and Alex ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned – it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.
"Ready?" he asked the other four, his hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.
The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.
They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. The five shivered slightly – the towering white chessmen had no faces.
"Now what do we do?" Alex whispered.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."
Behind the white pieces they could see another door.
"How?" asked Hermione nervously.
"I think," replied Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."
He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.
"Do we — er — have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other four.
"This needs thinking about…" he said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of five of the black pieces…"
The others stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but none of you four are that good at chess —"
"We're not offended," interrupted Alex quickly. "Just tell us what to do."
Neville took the place of a bishop, Hermione a rook/castle, Beth and Alex the queen and king, and Ron was a knight. White moved first, with a pawn, and then Ron began directing the black pieces. Alex had complete confidence in Ron's chess and strategy abilities, but he still couldn't help worrying over what would happen if they somehow lost.
Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.
"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."
Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Neville and Hermione were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.
"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think — let me think…"
The white queen turned her blank face toward him.
"Yes…" said Ron softly, "It's the only way… I've got to be taken."
"NO!" the others shouted.
"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I make my move and she'll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Neville!"
"But —" protested Neville.
"Do you want to stop Quirrell or not?"
"Ron —" began Alex.
"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"
There was no alternative. "Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go — now, don't hang around once you've won."
He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor —
Hermione screamed but stayed on her square — the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.
Shaking, Neville moved three spaces to the left.
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Neville's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. At that moment, Vera, Cara, and Ivan appeared, rather out of breath. Cara looked furious.
"What were you thinking?" she demanded. "I'm about to go to bed when I get a vision of you guys getting past that three-headed dog! I immediately contacted Vera and Ivan."
"We got past Fluffy, Vera figured out the Devil's Snare, and then we got the key," said Ivan. "But why are you guys doing this when we told you earlier -"
Alex took out the Marauder's Map and thrust it under Ivan's face in reply. "Quirrell's after the Stone? And who's this Tom Riddle?"
Beth explained what she had guessed. Ivan and Cara looked sick. Vera made a face, but then devoted her attention to checking up on Ron. "He's just knocked out," she said a minute later. "He should be fine when he come to, other than having a horrible headache. Ivan and Cara, you two stay with Ron. I'll go on ahead with the others."
The four first-years and Vera continued on. In the next room, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one the Gryffindor quintet had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.
"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Alex whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."
He pulled open the next door, the five of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.
"Professor Snape's," said Alex. "What do we have to do?"
They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.
"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. The others looked over her shoulder to read it:
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, which ever 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 bidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here 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 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.
Alex managed to work out that two bottles were poison, three were nettle wine, one let you move forward, and one let you move back, but knew that he would not be able to work out which bottle was which without taking a very long time at it. Fortunately, he had Beth, Hermione, and Vera, who were quite good at logic puzzles, and they were able to solve it in about five minutes. Unfortunately, the bottle that got you forward was the smallest one, and there was only enough in it for one person to go forward.
Vera sighed. "I take it you'll be going on alone then, Alex. You're the one that's fated to defeat him, so it makes sense for you to be the one to stop him now. I don't like it, though." She pulled him in a tight hug. "Please take care, cousin, and good luck."
"But he can't go alone!" protested Beth. "I at least need to come along! Alex and I have never been separated in anything important ever since he became my twin!"
"There's not enough potion for the both of us," said Alex. "And how do you think I'd feel if something happened to you? I'm fated to defeat Voldemort for good, so my chances of surviving this are really good, but we don't know about yours. Beth, you're my sister and the one person I love most in this world, after our parents. I don't want you being a target."
Beth wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. "All right, Alex, but be careful." She threw her arms about him, kissed him on the cheek, and then fell back in Vera's arms, still wiping away tears. Hermione and Neville hugged Alex, wished him good luck and told him to be careful, and then they along with Beth and Vera drank the potion that would take them back. The four of them, at the same time, made a Romany symbol of good luck and then turned and walked straight through the purple fire.
Alex took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames. "Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.
It was as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward; he braced himself, saw the black flames licking his body, but couldn't feel them — for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire — then he was on the other side, in the last chamber. He wasn't at all surprised to find Quirrell there.