A/N: Hey lovlies, I hope you're enjoying the story! I know it's been very closely following the original story so far, but just you wait, this is the last chapter where that is fully true :) let me know what you guys think will happen or what you hope will happen.
Also, to iamshinydragonmist, I was at the time I wrote the chapter, lol. I mean I still am a fan, just not in the fandom.
Anyway, If any of you can correctly guess how this story arc ends, I'll DM you and we can talk about doing something interesting in the story for you as a small reward. Anyway. I hope you enjoyyyyy! Baaaaiiii!
(Harry POV).
"We must be miles under the school," Henry said
"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Draco added.
"Lucky!" Shouted Urie suddenly. "Look at you!"
Leaping up, she struggled toward a damp wall, because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Henry, Draco and I, our legs were already bound tightly in long creepers without us having even noticed it was happening.
Urie had managed to free herself before the plant had got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the rest of us fought to pull the plant off, but the more we strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around us.
Finally giving up for a moment, I stopped, coughing and spluttering. "Stop moving!" Henry finally gasped. "I think I know what this is -- it's Devil's Snare!"
"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Draco, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.
"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Henry.
"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" I gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around my chest. I was having to take deep breaths to keep myself calm as my heart was racing so fast, I thought I might pass out before I was choked to death.
"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say? -- it likes the dark and the damp." Henry thought, then as if a light had gone off in his head, he looked at Urie
"Urie, get your wand and light a fire!"
She pulled out her wand and almost dropped it as with shaking hands and trembling lips, a spell spilled from her mouth and in moments, the plant near us burst into flames, causing the tendrils to slide away. We quickly threw the plants away from us and pulling out our wands, we all lit them and held them up.
"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hen," I said, joining Urie by the wall along with the others. Sweat was pouring off my face and I wiped at it.
"Yeah," said Draco.
"This way," I finally said, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.
As we went, all we could hear apart from our echoing footfalls was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and I was reminded suddenly of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, I remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If we met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon -- Norbert had been bad enough...
"Can you hear something?" Urie whispered.
We all listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."
"There's light ahead -- I can see something moving."
We reached the end of the passageway and beheld then a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above us. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.
"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Draco asked.
"Probably," said Henry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run."
"I'm coming with you." I said and though for a moment my cousin looked slightly annoyed, he nodded in agreement. I knew he was probably feeling protective, but this was just as much something I needed to do as he did.
In unison, we took a deep breath — I covered my face with my arms, and on three, we sprinted across the room, expecting the entire time to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at us any second. Nothing happened however and we reached the door untouched. As I uncovered my face, Henry pulled the handle, but it was locked.
The other two followed now just behind us. Together, we all tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Urie tried her Alohomora charm.
"Now what?" said Draco.
"These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," I said.
We watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering --
Wait..?
Glittering..?!
"They're not birds!" I added, suddenly. "They're keys! Winged keys -- look carefully. So that must mean... " I looked around the chamber while the other three squinted up at the flock of keys. "... yes -- look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"
"But there are hundreds of them!"
Draco examined the lock on the door.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one -- probably silver, like the handle."
As a team, all four of us seized broomsticks and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. As we flew, we grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.
Not for nothing, though, as I, the youngest Seeker in a century other than Jakoba Skyknight, had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, I noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.
"That one!" I called to the others. "That big one -- there -- no, there -- with bright blue wings -- the feathers are all crumpled on one side."
Draco and Henry went speeding in the direction that I was pointing, crashed into each other, and nearly fell off their brooms and Urie followed it in circles.
"We've got to close in on it!" I called, not taking my eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Draco, you come at it from above -- Urie, stay below and stop it from going down Henry, you stay over that side and I'll come at it from this side. We've got it in a square. Now, I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"
Draco dived, Urie rocketed upward, and Henry came at it from across the room. The key dodged them all, but I streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, I leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. My friends' cheers echoed around the high chamber.
We landed quickly, and running to the door, the key struggling in my hand, I 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?" I asked the other two, my hand on the door handle. At my friends nods, I pulled the door open.
The next chamber was so dark that we couldn't see anything at all. But as we stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.
We were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than we were were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing us, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. I shivered slightly - the towering white chessmen had no faces.
"Now what do we do?" Draco whispered.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Henry. "We've got to play our way across the room."
Behind the white pieces I noticed another door.
"How?" said Urie nervously.
"I think," Henry answered, "we're going to have to be chessmen."
I looked at my cousin as 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 him.
"Do we -- er -- have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Henry turned to the other two.
"This needs thinking about... " he said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of some of the black pieces..."
Urie, Draco and I stayed quiet, watching Henry think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but none of you are particularly good at chess--"
"We're not offended," I said quickly. "Just tell us what to do." My cousin wasn't any professional or anything, but he and Uncle Zander had always loved a good game of chess and played it often, though Henry usually won, because he was really good at mapping out moves and remembering ten step ahead plans.
"Well, James, you take the place of that bishop, Draco, you can take that other bishop, and Urie, you next to him instead of that castle."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to be a knight," said Henry with a smirk.
The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a two bishop, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving four empty squares that we all took.
"White always plays first in chess," said Henry, peering across the board. "Yes... look..."
A white pawn had moved forward two squares.
Henry started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. My knees were trembling. What if we lost?
"James -- move diagonally four squares to the right."
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 Henry, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Urie, go on."
Every time one of our men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall.
Twice, Henry only just noticed in time that Urie, Draco or I were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as we 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 Henry softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken."
"NO!" We all screamed, Horror on our faces.
"That's chess!" snapped Henry. "It's a war game guys! Sometimes, you've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me -- that leaves you free to checkmate the king, James!"
"But--"
"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"
"Henry!" I wanted to cry in that moment, looking at my cousin and best friend as he stared back at me. Just a year ago, things had felt — had been so different. Now, we were just kids trying to do the right thing.
"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!" There was a determination in him that sent shivers spinning down my spine.
"Wait!" Draco, terrified, was looking at something that Henry hadn't seen. "I should be taken, that would leave Urie to move and then Henry, you can make it."
My cousin looked at the board for a moment, then after a second he looked at Draco. "It would work, but are you sure?"
"Yes." Draco didn't look sure, but when I really looked at him, I knew he was just as determined as we were.
"Wow… Draco Malfoy, you surprise me every day." Urie looked at him and he merely nodded, though now when I looked at him, I could see his legs trembling beneath him.
"I used to have a very different view on what was right and what was wrong." He looked directly at me. "You guys have helped me a lot this year." I gave him a smile, still feeling like I was going to cry.
"Ready?" Henry now called. "Alright Draco, there you go!"
Draco moved swiftly, saying as he did. "Now, don't hang around once you've won."
As soon as his feet touched the square, the white queen pounced. She struck Draco hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor -- Urie screamed but stayed on her square -- the white queen dragged Draco to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.
Shaking, the rest of us moved and after the moves Henry directed, we won.
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Henry's feet. We had done it! We won! The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear.
I looked at Henry and Urie, who was crying now as she looked at Draco. "You should stay and take him back." I told her and Henry nodded.
"If what Hagrid said about which teachers are guarding the stone is true, then we've only got Snape and Quirrells stuff next and whatever Dumbledore did, so you should take Draco back.
She opened her mouth to protest, but looking back at Draco, she finally nodded with a small sob. "When I get back, I'll go find someone, okay? She hiccuped and nodding, Henry stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you Urie." He looked at her then like he looked at others in our family — like Amber, Jade, Sapphire and I knew that just as I did, he loved Urie and wanted her and Draco to be safe.
"Don't die, okay?" She said into the hug and after pulling away, she forced me into a hug — though I didn't really try and fight it — before turning away to go get Draco.
"We'll try." With that, Henry and I turned and charged through the door and up the next passageway.
"I hope she can find her way out of here, carrying Draco." Henry said.
"They'll be all right," I said, trying to convince myself. "What do you reckon's next?"
"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, Snape's and whatever Dumbledore's done."
We'd had reached another door.
"All right?" I whispered.
"Go on."
Together, we pushed it open.
A disgusting smell filled our nostrils, making both of us pull our robes up over our noses. Eyes watering, we saw, flat on the floor in front of us, a troll even larger than the one we had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.
"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Henry whispered as we stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."
I pulled open the next door, both of us 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.
"Snape's," said Henry. "What do we have to do?"
We stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind us 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.
We were trapped.
"Look!" Henry seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. I looked over his 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.
Henry let out a great sigh and I, amazed, saw that he was smiling, the very last thing I felt like doing. "Brilliant! This isn't magic -- it's logic -- a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."
"But so will we, won't we?"
"Of course not," said Henry. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."
"But how do we know which to drink?"
"Give me a minute."
Henry read the paper several times. Then he walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to himself and pointing at them. At last, he clapped his hands.
"Got it," he said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire -- toward the Stone."
Harry looked at the tiny bottle.
"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow." Henry thought hard for a moment as he lifted the little bottle and smelled it.
"I remember learning in Professor Flitwicks class." My cousin began, "about a charm that doubles liquid, though depending on how much liquid is in the container and what ingredients are in it, it will take away its effectiveness as it's got to split it in two."
"Huh?"
"Take an energy drink for an example, if you double it so two people can drink it, the caffeine will be half as effective and work half the time."
"That's a really risky thing to do."
"I'm not letting you go alone, Harry Potter." I gave him a half smile, feeling so anxious about it, that I really didn't want to fight him on it, so after a moment, I nodded.
"Alright."
"It will wear off super fast if I double it, so let's go drink it by the fire." Nodding, I followed him as he walked over and pulled out his wand.
As soon as the spell left his lips, his wand tapping the little vial, the liquid inside bubbled fiercely as it rose up, then after a moment, it settled.
"Alright, as soon as you take your sip, immediately hand it to me and step through the flames, I will meet you on the other side." I nodded as he handed me the bottle.
Suddenly, it was as though ice was flooding my body, though less sharp and more gentle. Handing the bottle to my cousin I didn't have time to brace myself as I stepped through the black flames, which were hot— as if I were getting really sunburned, though other than that, they did not hurt me. For a moment the black flames were all I could see, then I was on the other side, in the last chamber, my brother immediately standing by my side.
There was already someone here though -- but it wasn't Snape, nor was it Voldemort.
A/N: I hope you liked it babes! Remember to review and share your thoughts.
