Chapter 17
"I'd always heard Hogwarts' final exams werefrightful," Hermione said, as she exited the castle with Harry and Ron on June 4th, after their last exams. "But I found that rather enjoyable."
"Speak for yourself," Ron groused. "Alright there, Harry?"
"My scar," Harry said as he rubbed it, wrinkling his brow. "It keeps burning."
"It's happened before," Hermione observed, remembering that he'd done the same thing several times over the course of the school year.
"Not like this," Harry answered.
"Perhaps you should see the nurse," Ron suggested.
"I think it's a warning," Harry replied. "It means danger's coming." He paused as they walked out onto the lawn, trying to decide where to go, when he saw Hagrid. "Of course!" he exclaimed, his voice low.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd," Harry said, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon, and a stranger happens to have one? I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pocket?"
"They can't," Ron said.
"That's illegal," Hermione added.
"Exactly," Harry replied, and ran up to the man outside his cottage. "Hagrid," he said, interrupting the man and getting his attention. "Who gave you the dragon egg? What did he look like?"
"I don't know," Hagrid answered. "I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."
"But this stranger though, you and he, well, you must've talked," Harry argued.
"Well," Hagrid said thoughtfully. "He wanted to know what sort of creatures I looked after — you know, to make sure I could handle a dragon. I told him, 'After Fluffy, a dragon's going to be no problem'."
"Was he interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked.
"Well, of course he was interested in Fluffy," Hagrid replied. "How often do you come across a three-headed dog, even if you're in the trade? But I told him," Hagrid continued proudly, "The trick to any beast is to know how to calm him, take Fluffy for example, just play him a bit of music, and he falls straight to sleep."
Hermione gasped and looked at Ron and Harry who had the same expressions.
"I shouldn't have told you that," Hagrid said, realising what he'd said.
They turned and ran off back to the school, running as though their lives depended on it. They didn't stop until they were in Professor McGonagall's office.
"We have to see Professor Dumbledore!" Harry told her as Hermione and Ron panted for breath. "Immediately."
"I'm afraid he's not here," Professor McGonagall said, looking puzzled and a bit alarmed. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left straight away."
"He's gone?" Harry asked in disbelief. "But this isimportant! This is about the Philosopher's Stone!"
Professor McGonagall looked at them in shock. "How do you know...?"
"Someone's going to try andstealit!" Harry said urgently.
"I don't know how you found out about the Stone," she said. "But I assure you, it'sverywell protected. Now, would you go back to your dormitories? Quietly."
Hermione exhaled heavily and turned with Harry and Ron in disappointment. Sometimes, she thought bitterly. It stinks being young... and smart... no one believes you when you tell them you know something. Sometimes you just have to prove it... but how...by breaking the rules and getting expelled?
"That was no stranger, Hagrid met," Harry said as they exited McGonagall's office. "It was Snape. Which means, he knows how to get past Fluffy."
"And with Dumbledore gone -" Hermione began.
"Good afternoon," a slow, honeyed baritone broke into their conversation, and they looked up in surprise. "Now what would three young Gryffindors such as yourselves be doinginsideon a day like this?"
"Ah, we — were just," Hermione stammered, caught off guard and trying to fight her inability to lie to a teacher.
Snape arched his brow.
"You ought to be careful," he said, keeping his voice low as he looked at them. "People will think you're...upto something."
"Nowwhat do we do?" Hermione whispered urgently after they'd watched the man stride away.
"We go down the trap door," Harry said definitively and looked at them. "Tonight."
Hermione was antsy the rest of the evening. She debated with herself multiple times whether or not to tell Oliver what was going on or to wait until everything had blown over...ifit blew over. Several times she'd started a letter when they were in the common room, only to wad it up and throw the parchment into the fire. Dinner came and went, and she found that she could hardly eat anything, her stomach was so knotted with dread. Finally, Harry came down into the common room and motioned for her and Ron to follow him.
"Trevor," Harry said when he entered and saw Neville's toad as they approached him.
"Trevor," Ron hissed quietly. "Go, you shouldn't be here!"
"Neither should you," Neville said, leaning around the chair by the fire so they could see him. "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?" he asked, getting to his feet.
"Now, Neville, listen, we were -" Harry began.
"No," Neville said. "I won't let you! You'll get Gryffindor into trouble again. I-I-I'll fight you," he stammered, but put up his fists.
"Neville," Hermione said as she drew her wand. "I'm really, really sorry about this, Petrificus Totalus."
Neville's body went rigid and he fell over.
"You're a little scary sometimes," Ron said. "You know that?Brilliant, but scary."
"Let's go," Harry said, walking by Neville.
"Sorry," Hermione apologised again as she walked by the boy.
"It's for your own good, you know," Ron added as he left the common room.
Out in the corridor, Harry wrapped them under the invisibility cloak, and they made their way down to Fluffy's room on the third floor. Hermione, the best at spells, let them in again, and they were surprised when they entered to find the dog already asleep, a harp playing nearby. Fluffy's breath blew the cloak off of them once the door shut behind them.
"Snape's alreadybeenhere," Harry said, taking in the sleeping dog. "He's put a spell on the harp."
"Ugh," Ron said. "It's got horrible breath."
"We have to move its paw," Harry said.
"What?" Ron asked, incredulously.
"Come on," Harry said.
Leaning down, the three of them pushed the large paw from over the trap door. Harry paused after opening it once they'd moved the dog's paw. "I'll go in first," he said as they peered down into the darkness below. "Don't follow until I give you a sign. If something bad happens, get yourselvesout. Does it seem... a bit quiet to you?"
"The harp," Hermione said, looking over her shoulder. "It stopped playing."
"Ugh!" Ron exclaimed, causing them to look at him in time to see something oozing down his shoulder. "Yuck!" he continued as he tried to get it off.
They looked up and froze when they saw Fluffy leering down at them. All three heads awake, mad, and hungry.
"Jump!" Harry yelled, snapping out of his daze. Harry went first, and Hermione followed. She looked up as she fell to look for Ron and saw the trap door splinter before Ron followed, yelling on his way down.
"Woah," Ron said, when he landed beside them. "Luckily this plant thing's here, really."
Before they could move and get their bearings, the vines moved.
"Woah!" Harry cried in alarm as they began binding the three, Ron and Harry struggling.
Hermione struggled as well before she realised what she was sitting on and stilled instantly. "Stop moving, both of you," she said. "This is Devil's Snare, you have to relax. If you don't, it will only kill you faster."
"Kill us faster?" Ron cried in alarm. "Oh,nowI can relax."
Hermione sneered at him before the plant lowered her through the hole beneath it.
"Hermione!" Ron and Harry called in panic.
"Now what are we gonna do?" Ron asked.
"Just relax," Hermione yelled at them.
"Hermione, where are you?" Harry asked.
"Do what I say," Hermione said in exasperation. "Trust me."
Harry stilled and was lowered as well. Ron however, totally flipped out. "Harry!" he screamed in fear.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked when Harry met up with her below the plant.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said, getting to his feet.
"He's not relaxing, is he?" she asked.
"Apparently not," Harry replied.
"We've gotta do something," Hermione said, flustered.
"What?" Harry countered, just as urgently.
"I remember reading something in Herbology," Hermione said, racking her brain. "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... It's deadly fun... but will sulk in the sun! That's it! Devil's Snare hates sunlight! Lumos Solem!" she shouted, pointing her wand up at the vines and a bright, golden light shot from the tip of her wand.
Ron cried out as he fell once more, crashing into the floor.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Ron said, getting up. "Ooo, lucky we didn't panic," he said as he looked at the vines overhead.
"Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology," Harry scolded him.
They headed down the tunnel they found themselves in before they stilled at a noise.
"What is that?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know," Harry answered. "It sounds like wings."
They travelled a little further, but stayed in the shadows as they peered into the room that opened up beyond.
"Curious," Hermione said, looking around. "I've never seen birds like these."
"They're not birds," Harry murmured. "They're keys. I'll bet one of them fits that door," he finished, seeing the door across the room.
"What's this all about?" Hermione asked, her eyes landing on the broomstick hovering in the middle of the room.
"I don't know," Harry replied.
Ron approached the door, taking out his wand. "Alohomora!" he said, trying the handle. The door remained locked. "Well," he said, shrugging. "It was worth a try."
"Ugh!" Hermione said, turning around. "What are we going to do? There must be a thousand keys up there."
"We probably want a big old-fashioned one," Ron said. "Probably rusty like the handle."
"There! I see it!" Harry said, pointing up into the air. "The one with the broken wing."
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked as they all looked at the broom.
"It's too simple," Harry answered.
"Oh, go on, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "If Snape could catch it on that old broomstick,youcan. You're the youngest Seeker in acentury!"
Harry touched the broomstick and the keys suddenly swarmed, flying faster, surrounding the key that Harry had seen. Harry waved away the keys in front of him as he tried to get into the air on the broom. He made a few laps around the room before he caught up to the key he was looking for, and reached out to grab it.
"Catch the key!" Harry yelled, after following the swarm around the room and thrust it toward Hermione and Ron where they waited by the door.
Hermione caught the key as Harry went by on his next pass. She jammed it into the lock and turned, pushing the door open, and she and Ron hurried through. Harry joined them, still on the broom, the keys chasing him. They slammed the door shut and Harry pulled the broom to a halt, jumping off and breathing heavily as they heard the swarm of keys thump into the door behind them.
The next room they entered cautiously. It was dark and cavernous. Larger than the one before based on the sound of their footsteps.
"I don't like this," Hermione said. "I don't like this at all."
"Where are we?" Harry asked, seeing things scattered around them that looked like marble, and muttered, "A graveyard."
"This is no graveyard," Ron said, striding forward as he looked around. "It's a chess board."
The torches brightened around the board as Ron came to a halt on the centre of the board and Harry and Hermione joined him.
"There's the door!"
They walked forward but the pawns drew their swords and held them out at their sides, blocking the path forward. They backed away slowly and the pawns sheathed their swords.
"Now what do we do?" Hermione whispered.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron asked. "We've got to play our way across the room. Alright, Harry, you take the empty bishop's square. Hermione, you'll be the queen-side castle. As for me, I'll be a knight."
Harry and Hermione nodded and went to their designated squares.
"What happens now?" Hermione asked, never really having paid attention to their chess games.
"Well, white moves first," Ron said. "And then... we play."
One of the pawns moved forward, but before Ron could make a play, Hermione interrupted.
"Ron," she said. "You don't suppose that this is likerealwizard chess, do you?"
"You there," Ron called to a pawn. "D5." The pawn moved and the three winced as the white pawn attacked it, cutting it in half. "Yes, Hermione," Ron said, looking pale. "I think this is going to beexactlylike wizard chess."
Ron manoeuvred several pieces that they lost, keeping Hermione, Harry and himself safe from attack. "Castle to E4!" he directed, and they lost it. "Pawn to C3!" he called again, and it was another lost piece. They lost several more pieces.
"Wait a minute..." Harry said suddenly as he looked around the board and what was left.
"You understand, right, Harry," Ron answered. "Once I make my move, the queen will take me, then you're free to check the king."
"No," Harry said. "Ron,no!"
"What is it?" Hermione asked, confused.
"Ron's going to sacrifice himself," Harry answered.
"No, you can't!" Hermione said. "Theremustbe another way!"
"Do you wanna stop Snape from getting that Stone or not?" Ron snapped. "Harry," he said, turning back to him. "It's you that has to go on. I know it. Not me, not Hermione.You."
Harry watched him for a moment and then nodded.
Ron took a deep breath and grabbed the reins of his horse. "Knight to H3," he said finally. It was as if they watched in slow motion, panic rising in each of them as the knight moved to the designated square.
"Check," Ron said when the horse stopped.
The queen turned just as slowly and made her way to Ron. Reaching back with her weapon, she slammed it into the horse, and Ron was thrown from his seat with a cry, and didn't move.
"Ron!" Harry shouted before turning to Hermione who had taken a step. "No!" he said as she halted. "Don't move. Don't forget, we're still playing." She stepped back, and nodded. Harry moved across the board in front of the king. "Checkmate." he called out. The king dropped his sword, the cavernous room echoing with the clanging of metal against marble when it fell.
They ran over and checked on Ron, relieved to see he was still breathing, just knocked out.
"Hermione," Harry said. "Take care of Ron, then go to the Owlery. Send a message to Dumbledore. Ron's right. I have to go on."
"You'll be okay, Harry," Hermione said, smiling at him. "You're a great wizard. You really are."
"Not as good as you," Harry answered.
"Me," Hermione said with a laugh. "Books and cleverness. There are more important things. Friendship, and bravery. And Harry, just be careful."
Harry nodded and Hermione watched him go, praying to any god that she could think of, Muggle and wizard alike, for his safety.