Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
...
"What's the verdict?"
"Well it's clearly broken!"
"Well we can't just leave him like this! This is my brother that we're talking about."
"You were the one supporting his decision. You could have said something else rather than tell him to keep going!"
"He was right though, the longer it kept going the more danger the rest of us would have been in."
"You're not helping here."
"My brother's unconscious with a broken arm, if we go back now then we'll have to face this stupid ass chess board again and who knows what will happen next time."
"I'll take care of him."
Harry, Hermione and Fred turned to look at Daphne after she had said her first words since the end of the game. "Look, you guys depended on me to get us through that all unscathed and I couldn't do it," she said, her hands clenching into fists. "I was brought down here with you guys for this one specific thing, to keep you safe and I couldn't do it. I take responsibility and hence I should stay here with him until you three finish off whatever the hell is next!"
Daphne's determination was clear for the rest of them to see before she took off the jacket that she had brought with her, folded it up and placed it beneath George's head. "Are you sure about this Daphne?" asked Hermione.
"Just go!" exclaimed Daphne, not turning around to look at the rest of them as she knelt down beside George's prone body. The other three looked at each other with a sense of uncertainty but didn't want to say anything to deter Daphne from her current course of action. Slowly, the three students began to walk towards the exit behind their defeated opponent.
Before they got too far, Fred stopped in place and looked over his shoulder. "Thank you Daphne."
"Don't thank me," came the weak reply from the member of Slytherin. It only took a small amount of time later for her and George to be the only one's left in the room and allowed her to finally release all of the emotion she was feeling. Tears began streaming down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably, saddened by what had happened when responsibility had been placed upon her. She had made the statement and proclaimed that she was under the protection of Harry and whether it was true or not, she had gone and gotten one of his friends badly hurt.
Would he still look out for her after the trouble she had caused? Would she still be welcome to talk with them as a friend and ally? Or would she be discarded for having failed at keeping them all safe?
Sadly, her thoughts couldn't help but linger on the last option being the most likely.
Had Daphne gone through with the other three, she likely wouldn't have been able to assist with the ongoing battle taking place given her state of mind. After all, combating a Troll without having such a burden on the mind was difficult enough of a task.
...
Neville did his best to calm his breathing as he focused on the next battle ahead. While the last student had underestimated him which had given him a clear advantage. Now though, his opponent was well aware that he wasn't to be taken lightly. Not that Susan would likely have gone easy on him in the first place. The Hufflepuff student had come into this competition with something to prove and Neville had known that amongst even the third year students, Susan was the one to be weary of.
Staring across the dueling platform, Susan was already in position, poised and ready for the signal to begin. "You can do this Neville!" shouted Tracy, much to the ire of those of her own house to watch her cheer for the opposing team.
Her words didn't particularly calm him down, but it did help him focus as he raised his wand and prepared for the fight ahead. Neville did his best to ignore the noise of the crowd and focus solely on the person in front of him as he remembered just what he had to accomplish.
The signal to begin sounded and unlike the previous bout, there was no instant casting as both Susan and Neville sized each other up. Neville was prepared and ready to cast a shield if necessary but it seemed as if Susan was waiting for another opportunity to arise. As seconds ticked by without so much as a spell being cast, Neville opted to make the first move.
As soon as his hands started moving Susan struck, her spell shooting forward in that moment where Neville had been unprepared to shield himself. Other instincts kicked in however as he shuffled out of the way of the attack and tried to counter, only to see another jet of light soaring towards him. Neville scrounged a shield up in time but with his awkward movements, he ended up tripping over himself, crashing to the ground.
Susan didn't let up her assault and before Neville had a chance to comprehend what had happened, his body stiffened in place, leaving him unable to move an inch. Just like that, he had been beaten without being able to mount even anything of an offensive showing. It had been expected but still, it had hurt his pride.
It did just show him how far he had to go.
And he was determined to do just that.
...
Hermione collapsed in the corner of the room, trying her best to keep her wits about her as Harry and Fred fought the magical creature confined within the small and dimly lit room. She had exhausted her own options, nothing she was capable of casting able to break through the hide of the troll.
She knew that Harry had been able to kill one of these creatures previously but the area in which he had been able to do so was far greater. If he was to use what he was capable of while she and Fred were in such close proximity then there was no guarantee that they wouldn't be caught in the attack.
Wracking her brain, she considered how she could provide some manner of help in the situation as she watched Fred slide through the legs of the troll, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow. She needed to provide something of a distraction, to allow Fred and Harry the time they needed to be able to come up with some sort of finishing strike.
Pushing herself to her feet, Hermione concentrated on the task at hand. Every puzzle had a solution and this was no different. She could help in only a way that she could. She had a spell somewhere in her arsenal which could prove useful in this situation. All Hermione had to do as analyze the situation, all while Harry ducked under a wayward strike from the troll who roared in annoyance.
Hermione made her move, internally praying that everything went smoothly because she knew that if she were to fail, something terrible would most likely happen. The troll looked down on her, the human child not even a quarter of it's size and it bellowed at her before raising it's fist. Raising her wand, Hermione cast out the one spell she could think of that could very well shift the entire tide of this conflict.
"Lumos!"
The simple spell, taught to first year students, illuminated from the tip of her wand and bathed the room in light. The troll, who had been living with only a small sliver of light for as long as it had, found itself blinded, roaring in agony as it reached for it's eyes in pain, collapsing onto it's rear as it did so. With the troll temporarily immobilized as it struggled with it's sense of sight, Fred and Harry looked at one another with Harry pointing to the roof. Understanding, Fred aimed his wand above the troll.
"Bombarda!" he cast, the effects instantaneous as large slabs of the roof broke off and crashed down upon the troll. While magic had been ineffective, blunt force was capable of doing more than enough damage when colliding with the head of a creature, even one as physically gifted as a troll.
The three students found themselves collapsing on opposite walls as they did their best to comprehend just how they had managed to survive against such unspeakable odds. As the putrid air lingered, the three children shared a look with each other, no words needing to be said as they silently told each other how thankful they were to have fought alongside one another.
Several minutes passed as they all did their best to compose themselves. "That was mental," Fred said as he pushed himself to his feet, his actions soon followed by that of Harry and Hermione.
"Did you kill it?" asked Hermione as she took some timid steps towards the troll.
"It's still breathing," declared Harry as he pointed to it's chest where there was a small rise and fall. "Don't know how long it will be out for though so we need ot be quick."
Hermione wanted to argue, to tell them that they needed to take a rest but the putrid smell permeating off of the troll gave them no luxury of wishing to stay in the same spot for longer than necessary. It didn't help that they were still on a time limit and the longer they stayed to recover, the chance they were discovered increased. There still wasn't telling if there was any further tasks for them to make their way through and if there would be more time wasted.
"Alright then, let's move," she said, mimicking some action movie her father enjoyed watching. At the start of this endeavor there had had been five of them and while two were left behind, they were still alive. If all five of them made it out of here alive, then she would count that as a victory regardless.
...
Albus Dumbledore clapped politely as Susan Bones was named the winner of the tournament, having overcome a third year student in the grand final of her bracket. It was something most impressive and would hopefully serve to help push forward the agendas of many of the older students. If someone within their first years of schooling at Hogwarts could overcome somebody with years more experience, it could potentially push them to better themselves.
Retaking his seat, he listened as Professor McGonagall announced the line up for the fourth and fifth years. Well, at least he made it look like he was paying attention. In truth, he was wondering just how Harry Potter and his motley crew were faring. If there were any injuries sustained, he imagined that they would try to keep them to themselves or come up with some farcical reason to see Madam Pomfrey.
Even if by some margin, if they were to make it to the end, what would Harry see in the Mirror of Erised? The Philosopher's Stone was hidden in there but it could only recovered by someone who only wished to find the stone but not use it. Given that the children didn't know what it was that they were currently searching for, they wouldn't be able to retrieve it.
So what would happen then? Would they collapse in on themselves, disappointed at one another for having gone so far for nothing in return? Would they get angry and turn on one another? Or somehow, would they go about it all their separate ways and reunite at another point when they have more faith that they could accomplish their goal, whatever it may be?
Silently, he hoped of all the options, that amongst all of them that Harry didn't break the mirror. It was rather precious to him after all.
...
Harry watched on silently, Fredby his side as Hermione deciphered the riddle in front of them that woul allow them passage to the next room. Given everything that Hermione had read aloud twice over, he had an inkling as to which potion would need to be drank but didn't want to state it out loud, less Hermione came up with a different solution. If the two of them agreed then he could trust that his gut instinct matched her unwavering logic.
He still trusted her judgment call on the matter but if it differed from his at least there would be a discussion on it. "It's this one," said Hermione finally as she picked up the smallest vial, the liquid in it only enough for a single person to consume.
"So what, after all that only one of us can go through to the next part?" stated Fred, his cheerful demeanor long gone. It was clear that he was worried about his brother but Hermione didn't want to talk about it.
Harry however. "Fred, go and be with your brother," he said softly. "If he's woken up, you and Daphne take him to the infirmary and get him checked out."
"Is that just so you can go in and swoop on whatever's behind the last door? How do you think that makes me feel Harry? We almost died fighting a troll! George almost died making a sacrifice so that we could move forward! Why should you be the one to make it to the next step?" asked Fred, anger swelling over as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.
"Because I'm not," said Harry as he sat down on the stone floor, placing his back against the nearby wall. Fred meanwhile looked at Harry in temporary disbelief. "Given what we've gone through thus far, it is unlikely that there will be another strength based trial ahead. Therefore, it only makes sense for Hermione to go on. If it's anything to do that doesn't require brute force, I trust her to do better than I would."
Hermione meanwhile was flabbergasted at the faith being put in her by Harry. Her mouth opened and shut on multiple occasions as she struggled to form any sort of coherent sentence. A mild chuckle from Fred stopped Hermione in her tracks.
"You know what, that's so werebatshit crazy that it'll probably work," said Fred. "Just so you know, if I go back and the troll wakes up after me, it'll just be the two of you down here."
"I'm aware," confirmed Harry.
"Fine," said Fred with a dismissive wave of the hand. "I'll, hopefully, see the two of you in the common room in a couple of hours."
Hermione still struggled to form words, only bringing forth a small, "wait," by the time the door had shut. With the two of them locked in together, Hermione looked at Harry while she held the small vial in her hand. "Harry, are you sure about this?"
"Hermione," said Harry slowly. "Whatever is beyond that door, I trust that your levelheadedness will be more than enough to make your way through whatever lies ahead. If at any time you feel it is too much, come back and we'll call it a day because let's face it, if you can't solve it then there's no way that I could."
Hermione could tell that Harry was buttering her up, but just to hear that he had that much faith in her felt far better than she was willing to admit. Her neck twisted so that Hermione could lock her gaze on the vial held between her fingers. Drinking this would allow her, and only her, to go through to the next part.
Uncorking the vial, Hermione consumed the small amount of liquid inside before turning to face the door ahead.
There was no turning back now.
...
Hope you enjoyed.