Harry spent hours in the library, reviewing everything they had seen throughout the school year and many other things that were not included in his first-year training, but that would help him in the imminent encounter he would have with Voldemort and that Draco insisted on reminding him of every now and then, claiming that his protégé was not going to die at the hands of some random bastard.

Quidditch had come to an end and Slytherin had taken the cup, mainly due to Malfoy's ability to score and the speed with which Harry usually caught the Snitch. Anyone who saw them together would not doubt for a second that they were the perfect team and Potter completely agreed, he and the blond complemented each other in a way that seemed superhuman, but it was okay, because that led to impeccable grades in teamwork - even in Snape's subject - or in Quidditch matches.

However, neither exams nor Quidditch were of any concern to either of them, as they would be to a pair of eleven-year-olds. Rather, they were busy with other things, inquiring here and there, hearing rumours, persuading, sneaking around, and they had one clear objective: to get hold of the Philosopher's Stone before Snape, before he even had a chance to show it to Voldemort. It wasn't that Draco was entirely convinced that Snape would serve someone as useless as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but even he had to admit that some of the things Harry had told him were highly suspicious.

Stealth, patience, and an invisibility cloak were what they lived through during those last few weeks of school. Both boys had managed to figure out how to get around Fluffly, which wasn't really difficult with how absent-minded Hagrid was. They had discovered at least two more obstacles they had to cross and had planned everything in great detail, working until dawn, fine-tuning the details of their plan. There was no room for error, not in front of Voldemort and they both knew it. And it wasn't that they wanted to act like clever kids, they knew they were young and inexperienced, but they had the knowledge and the skill; if that dark wizard had been defeated by a baby Potter, he wouldn't last more than five minutes against a Harry aware of his powers. Or at least that's what Draco said.

However, both were aware that unity was strength and they quickly included Weasley and Granger in the plan. Of course, it was only the Slytherins who knew the truth behind it. For the rest of the world it was a heroic act, because nobody wanted to see Voldemort back, but Harry wasn't doing it to save the day or to save the world, he had a much stronger reason, he had a much more powerful reason. Revenge.

Potter had quickly come to the conclusion that everything bad that had happened in his life was his fault; that he grew up without a family, that he was raised by a group of hateful people, that he always felt out of place, belittled, belittled, that he wasn't even able to make a sincere group of friends apart from the few he had, that he grew up alienated from the world he belonged to, everything, everything was Voldemort's fault and he would make him pay for it.

It wasn't about getting the stone for his own benefit, being so young none of them thought about eternal life and gold was a small thing compared to the need to get rid of that weight he had been carrying since he was a year old, the weight of loss; the loss of his parents, the loss of his life, the loss of happiness, the loss of self-esteem. Because it wasn't enough to have defeated the Lord once, once he didn't remember, he needed to get even and let him know how much he hated him, that was personal.

Draco was aware of his need for revenge and didn't seem uncomfortable by how cruel and selfish that sounded, he understood and supported him, he encouraged him to continue and gave him the necessary weapons for the battle; he hadn't lied, he wasn't going to leave him alone and Harry was deeply grateful for that. He imagined that neither Ron nor Hermione would understand him, they weren't Slytherins, they wouldn't understand like Draco that hating was nothing wrong and if they knew his true intentions they would surely get in his way and that was the last thing he wanted: more obstacles.

It all happened after the exams, the ones in which Harry knew he would get a perfect grade. One of his informants—a third-year Hufflepuff—had told them that he had heard through there that Dumbledore was leaving the castle at the request of the Ministry, a call that Draco assured was too suspicious given the circumstances.

They gave the notice to Granger and Weasley and they all agreed to meet in front of the third floor door where the three-headed dog guarded the trapdoor. It had to be at midnight, when everyone had already gone to sleep and prowling around would be much easier. McGonagall and Snape had already threatened to expel them if they caught them out of bed at inappropriate hours again. They didn't want to even imagine what would happen if they found them precisely on the third floor, a floor forbidden by Dumbledore himself.

Potter and Malfoy were reading a few books in front of the fireplace while the common room slowly emptied. The last to leave had been Zabini who had not resigned himself to regaining the position of Malfoy's right-hand man now that Harry was once again his friend, his best friend . Potter had been about to cast a sleeping charm on him to get him off when the dark-haired boy had decided that continuing to read books was too boring, especially now that they were at the end of the term and could enjoy doing other things. Draco followed him with his gaze until he saw him disappear down the stairs, it was then that he turned to the green-eyed man and said:

—Go get the cape.

Harry obeyed silently, standing up and walking quietly to his room. When he returned to the common room, Draco had already closed all the books and arranged them on a small table.

"Ready?" she asked and the blonde smiled in response.

—Remember Harry, if Snape isn't the one behind the stone, you'll spend your holidays doing my homework.

"I don't understand how you can trust him," she replied, rolling her eyes.

They climbed the dungeon stairs and walked quickly through the corridors until they saw Mrs. Norris at the foot of the first staircase. Harry looked around, but Filch didn't seem to be around.

"If I didn't like cats so much I'd kick her," Draco murmured in Harry's ear, who shook his head.

As they cautiously passed the cat, she turned her head with her lantern-like eyes, but did not see them. They did not meet anyone else until they reached the stairs leading to the third floor. Peeves was hovering halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip over it.

"Who's there?" he said suddenly, as they climbed towards him. His evil black eyes narrowed. "I know they're here, even if I can't see them. Wraiths, ghosts, or obnoxious students?" He rose into the air and hovered, squinting at them. "I'll call Filch, I must, if there's something about that and it's invisible." Then Draco said:

"Peeves," his voice a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible." Peeves nearly fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and was a few inches from the ladder.

"I'm very sorry, your bloodthirsty lordship," he said in a saccharine tone. "It was my fault, it was a mistake... I didn't see you... of course not, you're invisible, forgive old Peeves for his joke, sir."

"I have business here, Peeves," Draco growled. "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, your honour, I certainly will," said Peeves, rising into the air again. "I hope the Baron's affairs will go off without a hitch; I shall not trouble him," and he vanished.

"That was great," Harry said, stifling a chuckle. "How did you know that…"

—Why do you think he never messes with the Slytherins? He fears the Baron more than anything, if he did something to us our ghost would punish him —Harry smiled amused and they continued on their way.

A few seconds later they were there, in the third floor hallway. Before approaching the door Harry put the cloak away and hid it, no one but him and Draco knew about the cloak and he wasn't going to share it with anyone else. When they reached the door they noticed that it was already ajar and Ron and Hermione were waiting nearby, their faces alert and trembling slightly. Draco rolled his eyes and Harry walked over to greet them in a very low voice.

"Snape arrived earlier, the door was already like this when we arrived," the girl reported.

"If it's Severus," the blond defended, at a prudent distance from the group.

"Let's not waste any more time," Harry said, and pushed the door open. As the door creaked open, they heard growling. All three of the dog's muzzles were sniffing in their direction.

Draco quickly spotted a harp at the dog's feet and cast a spell to get it working again. Slowly the growling faded away, he swayed, fell to his knees, and then collapsed to the floor, fast asleep.

"Too easy," said the Slytherin. "The school must be in decline if this is what protects the most coveted stone in the world." Ron snorted, clearly annoyed by his bragging. "Quickly, Weasley, open the trapdoor."

Reluctantly, the redhead approached the dog, feeling its breath hitting his face. He removed one of the animal's heavy legs from the trapdoor and pulled on the metal ring that served as a handle.

"What can you see?" Hermione asked anxiously.

—Nothing... just darkness... there's no way down, you have to drop down —the Gryffindor smiled— ladies first.

Hermione rolled her eyes but still threw herself into the darkness, thinking that Gryffindors weren't always so brave. Next was Ron, with some trepidation. Then Harry, when Draco made an exaggerated gesture of bowing and letting him pass, and then he threw himself in as well.

After overcoming the cold air of the fall, they realized that they had landed on some kind of plant. Harry couldn't see anything, everything was extremely dark. But they didn't need to see to realize that the plant wasn't exactly there to cushion their fall; it wrapped around their limbs, tying them up completely. Ron struggled against the plant, causing it to catch him at a faster speed. Harry, who was trying to get used to the darkness, finally did so; herbology wasn't exactly his best subject but he knew that plant.

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered. "It's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad I know what it's called, it's a big help," Ron grumbled, trying to stop the plant from climbing up his neck.

"Salazar, dammit, how ignorant," Draco complained, but he couldn't reply anymore because Hermione had already used her wand to kill the plant whose weakness was fire. "It's good to have someone with brain cells," the blond added.

"He's trying to say thank you," Harry explained to the girl, who blushed. "This way," Harry said, pointing to a stone passage that was the only way in.

The only thing they could hear, apart from their own footsteps, was the dripping of water on the walls. The passage led downwards at an angle. After a moment a faint tinkling and creaking sound could be heard, which seemed to come from ahead. They reached the end of the passage and saw before them a brilliantly lit room, with the ceiling curving above them. It was filled with bright little birds which flew about the room. On the opposite side was a heavy wooden door.

"The door must be locked," Harry observed.

"And the key should be somewhere around here," Hermione added.

"There," said Draco, "the key bird with the broken wing, the silver one that looks older than the others." His grey eyes darted to the other end of the room where a few brooms rested. He smiled. "Well, Potter, all yours."

"Why don't we use a summoning charm?" the green-eyed man asked, walking towards the brooms.

"Because it wouldn't be any fun," Malfoy replied. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Because I doubt it would work," he corrected himself, smiling, earning a strange look from Hermione and Ron.

Potter mounted his broom and with the skill of "the youngest Seeker in history" headed for the key, dodging the others. It took a couple of flips, two nosedives and a perfect curve under the dome of the ceiling, but he finally caught it and landed to carry it to the door where his friends were already waiting. The key was shaking in his hand so he quickly inserted it into the lock and turned. To his relief it was the right key, Draco hadn't made a mistake, though he rarely did, if it was fair.

The door opened. The next room was so dark they couldn't see anything. But when they were inside, light suddenly flooded in, revealing an astonishing sight. They were standing at the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black pieces, which were all as tall as they were and built of what looked like stone. Across the room from them were the white pieces. Ron and Hermione shuddered: the white pieces had no faces.

"Looks like my time has come," said Ron, rather self-assuredly.

—No offense Weasley but I doubt you're a better player than me —Draco intervened. —We're the black pieces. Harry —he smiled at him— you'll be the king, Weasley, the knight, Granger... Maybe the bishop. —Hermione and Harry looked at each other, worried that Ron would react badly, but they obeyed anyway, then Draco stood next to Harry, occupying the queen's place.

The game began with Draco Malfoy commanding his pieces like a general, firm and unwavering. Harry watched him out of the corner of his eye, amazed by his leadership and strategic ability. It was true that Potter had tried to learn how to play, but he was nowhere near as good as Ron or Draco and at that moment he was grateful to have the best helping him with this test.

Halfway through the game Malfoy had been silent, thinking about his next move when Ron intervened, sure of what he was doing and it had been such a good choice that the blond didn't even reply. After that, both of them complemented each other well enough to carry the game without having to risk themselves, sacrificing pawns or other pieces. However, it was obvious that all of them had to wander around the board at some point, the first to have to move had been the Ravenclaw and the Gryffindor. Harry soon realized that the only reason Draco had assigned him the position of king had been so he wouldn't have to risk it too much and he felt good, watching as all the pieces moved in his favor, for his purpose, because he was the king.

"There we go," Ron muttered suddenly. "Let me think... let me think." The White Queen turned her faceless face towards Ron, who in turn looked at Malfoy.

"You know what to do, don't you, Weasley?" the blond asked him and the redhead nodded seriously.

"Yeah…" Ron muttered. "It's the only way… I have to let them eliminate me."

"There has to be another way," Hermione said nervously, looking at the broken pieces that had been sacrificed by Draco and Ron.

"This is chess!" said Ron angrily. "Some sacrifices have to be made!"

—Ron's right, Hermione —Harry intervened and she looked at him with a frown. —The queen will go after him and the queen... Draco will be able to checkmate —the green-eyed man looked at the other Slytherin who smiled proudly at him.

-But...

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?" the redhead asked then and she remained silent.

Ron moved forward and the White Queen jumped. She hit Ron hard over the head with her stone arm and the boy collapsed to the floor. Hermione screamed but stayed in her locker. The White Queen dragged Ron to the side. He looked faint. Harry looked up from his position as Malfoy walked dignifiedly through the broken pieces, the stone corpses at his feet, as if he were a real warrior. Finally he stood in front of the king, a victorious smile on his face that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand up. The White King threw his crown at Malfoy's feet and he walked back with the crown in his hands to Potter who greeted him with an equally large smile. The blond placed the crown on his friend's raven hair and gave him a small bow.

"Your Majesty," he said, and Harry looked up proudly.

"How is he?" Harry asked Hermione about Ron, not taking his gaze from Malfoy's grey eyes, which were shining strangely.

"It's going to be okay," Hermione's voice answered, but Draco and Harry remained face to face, looking at each other, measuring each other.

—You better get back —the black-haired man told him—, take Ron and take him to the infirmary, Draco and I will take care of it from now on, the last obstacle must be Quirrell or Snape and there is no one better than Malfoy for that —then he turned around and looked at the girl kneeling next to the redhead.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, looking at the crown on his head. Harry nodded.

—Send an owl to Dumbledore anyway —he took the blond by the hand and said: —Come on.

They left the two boys behind, walking steadily to the door on the other side of the room, Harry opened the door without any problems only to find a bleeding-headed Troll unconscious on the floor. They stepped over his body relieved to not have to deal with him and finally reached the other door. In the center of the room there was only a table with seven bottles arranged in a row. Seeing that there was nothing dangerous they crossed the threshold, instantly a fire ignited behind them. It was no ordinary fire, it was purple. At the same time, black flames ignited in front of them. They were trapped.

"I must admit, this is very Severus," Draco said, walking over to the table and picking up a parchment that read:

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, Two want to help you, Whoever you find, One among us seven will let you go ahead , Another will lead the drinker back, Two contain only nettle wine, Three are deadly, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you want to stay forever, to help you in your choice, we give you four keys: First, no matter how clever the poison is at hiding itself, you will always find one on the left side of the nettle wine; Second, the ones at the ends are different, but if you want to move forward, none of them are your friend; Third, as you clearly see, we all have different sizes: Neither the dwarf nor the giant keep death inside them; Fourth, the second one on the left and the second one on the right are twins once you try them, even if at first glance they are different.

"I think it's pretty clear," said the blond. "The smallest one will take us through the black fire, towards the Stone."

"And that one over there," Harry pointed to a round bottle at the far right of the row, "will let us back through the purple fire. There's only enough potion for one person."

Draco stared at him for a moment in silence, realizing what he had to do. She smiled warmly at him, her silver orbs locked on him, making him feel strangely strengthened and complete.

The blond took a step closer to him, he was taller by a few inches but that wasn't important, not when he had leaned down and kissed him. Harry hadn't realized how much he had missed that; Draco's lips were cold and warm at the same time and they made him feel... yes, they made him feel. It only lasted a few seconds, it had been barely a peck, but it had stirred his insides like nothing ever had before. He didn't know what it meant but he wanted to feel it again. They looked at each other a little longer, Harry remembered the mirror and the visions and understood everything. That made him blush.

—If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is there, don't let him kill you, we've studied a lot and you have great potential Harry —he smiled— you've already beaten him once, do it again —he pointed to the crown above his head— you are the new king.

The brunette nodded and they both took their respective bottles of potion, drank it and separated.