"Professor!" Ana yelped as she looked on helplessly. She took a few steps and began to kneel down to check on Lupin, but Pettigrew again aimed his wand at her chest.

"Stand back, child," Pettigrew barked. "As long as you do as I say, your professor will not be harmed further."

Lupin, still shivering from the cruciatus blast, gave Ana a kindly look. The red bandanna wrapped tightly over his mouth prevented him from speaking coherently, but the muffled grunts he made sounded something like, "don't worry about me, Anastasia – just find a way to save yourselves!"

Pettigrew approached the pedestal, and spoke to the encased Orb in Parseltongue. [I have come to claim the mighty Orb of Exuberance. Bring forth your challenges – I shall prove my worthiness!]

A hidden doorway revealed itself on the opposite side of the platform, revealing a large, seemingly empty chamber. Pettigrew thrust his wand in the direction of the children. "You three," he snarled, "go." Like a ranch hand with a cattle prod, he herded them into the newly-opened room.

The chamber was somewhat brighter than the previous room, but quite nondescript as there was only one apparent opening, and a single piece of parchment in the middle of the floor. Ana picked it up, and read its contents aloud:

"The first challenge will be one of the mind. The way to the next challenge is locked, which can only be opened by a special key… a key that cannot be held by the hand."

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Othniel asked.

Ana looked upward in thought. "A key that cannot be held by the hand… hmm…"

Harry, meanwhile, went into action. He took to searching the walls, looking for anything that looked out-of-place – off-color stones, a piece of rock that jutted out, or indentations. After several minutes of searching, he spotted a greenish stone about three feet above his head. He stood on his tiptoes and tried to reach it… still nowhere close to touching it. He took to jumping, but the discolored patch remained just beyond his reach.

"Argh," he groaned in frustration. "Ana, could you come here for a moment please?"

Ana nodded. "What's up, Harry?"

"I need your help to reach that somewhat greenish patch up there," Harry said, pointing at the stone. "Could you get on my shoulders and try pushing it in, and see if it does anything?"

"All right," Ana agreed. Harry knelt down so Ana could climb on his back, and slowly Harry returned to his feet, grunting with the additional weight on him. "Just hold me steady, please." Ana quickly found the stone and pushed it in with both hands, and the children heard a low grumbling sound from the opposite end of the chamber.

Ana hopped down off of Harry's shoulders, and kicked herself for not figuring out the meaning of the clue earlier. "It's a clavichord," she declared, pointing at the keyboard instrument that jutted from the opposite wall. "That's what they meant by key."

Othniel scrunched his face in confusion. "Clavi-whaaa?"

"Clavichord," Ana repeated. "It's a predecessor of the piano."

"Oh," Othniel replied. "Sooo… can you, erm, play?"

Ana giggled. "I should hope so… otherwise five years of piano lessons would have gone to waste!" She made her way over to the keyboard, but shook her head in dismay.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, confused. "I thought you said you could play?"

"The notation is wonky," Ana sighed. "It looks like neume."

"Neume?" Harry parroted.

"It's a precursor to modern musical notation," explained Ana. "Give me a minute while I try and figure this out."

"If anyone can do it, you can," Othniel assured Ana.

Ana began humming the melody to herself. "No, no, that's not it," she whispered. "Doesn't sound right." She continued to study the sheet music for several minutes, before finally letting out a triumphant yelp. "I got it!" She deftly placed her hands on the manual, and played the melody with confidence. When she finished playing, another archway revealed itself, leading to another chamber.

"Awesome job!" Harry exclaimed. "One down, two to go…"

The three children marched on to the next chamber, which upon first glance didn't look particularly dangerous or even complicated – an iron truss bridge spanned a large chasm, roughly the length of a football pitch.

"I'll try first," Othniel offered confidently. "It doesn't look so tough…"

"Okay, but just be careful," Harry advised. "Something tells me there's more to this room than meets the eye…"

As soon as Othniel stepped on the bridge, the chasm instantly filled with bubbling lava, with some bubbles popping just inches below the bridge. Two more steps – shwunk! Six massive pendulums, spaced in fifty-foot intervals, began to swing from side to side. Each pendulum culminated in heavy hammers that easily looked powerful enough to shatter bones upon impact. And if that wasn't enough…

"Yaaaugh!"

Two massive jet plumes erupted just inches in front of Othniel. He immediately jumped back, and checked to see if there was something that activated the jets. He didn't see any obvious tripwires or any other apparent mechanisms that could activate them. He again stepped forward toward the first pendulum – whooosh! Again, the jets ignited but with even more intensity.

Once again, he stepped back to the beginning of the bridge to try and make sense of its mechanisms. Okay, so those flame jets activate once I get close to that first pendulum, he surmised. It's likely that there's a jet between each pendulum.

He observed the pendulums carefully, and mentally calculated the intervals of each swing. Each pendulum swings about six seconds after the previous one, and the pendulum returns every eight seconds… hmm… I think it's designed for me to sprint the whole thing in one go – it's just a matter of timing it right.

He called to Ana and Harry. "Hey guys… we have to run the whole length at once – we have to time it just right."

He steadied himself, and once the first pendulum passed the center of the bridge, he took off, full-speed. He cleared the first two pendulums, with the flame jets erupting just a split second behind him.

"Come on, Othniel," Ana pleaded. "You can do it!"

He continued his blaze, not worrying about the flame jets or even the pendulums – all he wanted was to get to the other side of the bridge intact. Three, then four down… almost there… now five…

Othniel had just one last pendulum to get past, and he was home free. Unfortunately, toward the end he began to feel a little winded and couldn't maintain top running speed, then wham! The final pendulum caught him on the shoulder, and he fell in a heap, just short of the other side of the bridge.

"Othniel!" Ana screamed.

Othniel moaned in pain – he couldn't move his right arm at all; his clavicle must have been fractured in several places, he figured. "I'll be all right, guys," he called out, though the tone of his voice made it sound less than certain. He slithered the last twenty or thirty feet on his belly, and rolled over on his back once he knew he was in a safer area.

Harry went next – he was determined to help his friend, or at the very least keep him safe until they could find someone sufficiently skilled in healing. He knew Othniel was correct in having to run the course all at once, but he knew he couldn't slow down for any reason. He made it through all six pendulums, with the last one just a fraction of a second from hitting him, and knelt next to Othniel. "Hey Othniel," he said with a big grin on his face. "I'm really proud of you, man. You were awesome on that bridge. We'll make sure we get someone to look at that shoulder of yours… but for now, just try and relax."

"All right, dude," Othniel murmured with a grin of his own. "I'm glad you made it all in one piece, but we still need to get Ana to come over!"

Harry turned around. "Your turn, Ana," he yelled. "We're not going on without you!"

"I'm scared, Harry," Ana shrieked. "I don't think I can do it… I'm not as fast as either of you…"

"Yes, you can," Harry assured her. "You're a very brave girl… you've been through plenty of scary moments with me."

Ana bit her lip. "I'm not sure," she replied. "This… this is different… I don't have wheels like you or Othniel, and honestly, I don't think I'm that brave at all… I had a hard enough time getting past spiders and snakes!"

"No, Ana," Harry countered. "You're a lot braver than you think you are. You've got four Gryffindor friends who look at you as one of their own – even Professor McGonagall said you have what it takes to be in her house!" He smiled knowingly. "It's okay to be scared – both Othniel and I were scared out of our minds when we did it. But being brave isn't the same as not being scared… being brave is is about ignoring your fears, and doing scary things anyway! And I've seen you run… you're plenty fast!"

"Okay," Ana sighed reluctantly. She waited for the right moment so she could get past all the pendulums without stopping. After taking a deep breath, she ran as hard as she could, constantly reminding herself not to slow down until she had gotten past the sixth pendulum. One, two, three – she flew past them like a gale-force wind. Fourth, no problem. The fifth was quickly approaching, so she found another gear and put on an extra burst of speed to narrowly avoid a gruesome collision with the oncoming hammer. And the sixth… she was running out of steam. She knew stopping could result in her being burned to a crisp, so almost instinctually, she jumped as high as she could, just as the final pendulum was swinging back her way, and somersaulted just out of the hammer's reach. When she landed, she looked back – all six pendulums were cleared.

I did it, she thought to herself. I actually did it!

Out of breath, she stumbled over to the boys. "You were right, Harry," she murmured with a huge grin on her face.

Harry returned the smile. "See? I knew you could do it." He pointed downward with his head. "I don't s'pose there's anything you can do for Othniel? I know you're not a medic, but if you can maybe ease the pain a little bit? Y'know, until help arrives?"

Ana shook her head sadly. "Not really. I know very few healing spells, and Othniel needs something more advanced – perhaps once we get back to the main chamber, we can free Professor Lupin, and he might be able to render more assistance, such as a bandaging charm. I'm sorry, you guys."

Othniel tried sitting up, putting his weight on his good arm. "It's okay," he said. "Just one more obstacle to get through, and we can get back to the castle."

Ana, however, gently laid Othniel back down. "You need to lay down for now, Othniel," she cooed. "I'll make sure you're all right until we get the Orb." She then looked at Harry. "Harry, the last Perlustration is all up to you. Someone needs to be with Othniel, and it might as well be me."

Harry was about to blurt something out in protest, but Ana cut him off. "Harry, you have to finish this last one alone. This was always meant to be your moment." She smiled sweetly at her best friend. "All term long, I've heard how you were deemed the Boy-Who-Lived; the Chosen One, if you will. That means nothing to me… you understand better than any of us what real magic is… bravery, honor, and friendship. That's what makes you a terrific wizard." She stepped forward, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Harry gave Ana an embarrassed smile. "I'm only great because I have friends like you."

"Now go," Ana urged. "We're all counting on you…"

Harry turned around, and saw an opening which led to yet another chamber. Unlike the first two, it was quite small, and nearly pitch-black, if it weren't for a multi-tiered fountain in the center. The fountain fed into a circular pool, about the size of a tractor tire, and the water had an eerie glow about it.

He approached the pool with caution. He felt the calm around him; the peaceful streaming of the glowing water from the fountain to the pool. What in the world am I supposed to do now? Then, something in the pool below him grabbed his attention. There was his reflection, as expected, but something looked, well, different. He peered downward, looking much more closely.

The boy he saw was certainly himself – same messy dark hair, scar, and round glasses, but he was dressed in some sort of wizaring regalia, and holding the Orb of Exuberance like a scepter. In the background, he could make out the severed heads of Pettigrew and Voldemort, mounted on the wall like Muggle hunting trophies.

The reflection grinned at Harry, and thrust the Orb as if offering it to Harry. The real Harry shook his head. "No! The Orb is not mine to use!"

Again, the reflection offered it to Harry, although its expression showed signs of frustration. Again, Harry declined the offer. "If I take that Orb, then I'll become the very thing I swore I'd never want to be like!"

The reflection gave Harry a spiteful glare, and slowly changed its appearance. Its height increased by several feet, and shed its regalia, revealing a horrifying demon with goat legs and a pair of slightly-curved horns on the top of its head. Lucifer, Harry thought in horror. The demon screamed an eardrum-shattering curse, and lunged at Harry from the pool. Harry covered his ears and closed his eyes, as the demonic essence gushed forth from the water. It whooshed past Harry, who fell on his knees, cowering in terror, before emitting another loud scream and vanishing.

When Harry opened his eyes and uncovered his ears, he noticed the entire chamber was glowing, and he heard a hauntingly beautiful sound – something like a choir, mixed with bells and the higher registers of a pipe organ. He slowly stood to his feet, and found another newly-exposed passageway. He exited the room through this corridor, and found himself on the opposite side of the platform with the pedestal.

Pettigrew snickered with anticipation. "Ahh, I see you've succeeded in overcoming the three trials, Potter. Go on, claim the Orb!"

Harry slowly approached the pedestal, and as he reached out, the glass casing vanished, leaving the Orb exposed. He felt a tingling sensation as his fingers touched the dogwood rod, and then retracted his hand just as quickly. The tingling wasn't a positive sensation – no, he got the feeling that it was a warning of sorts…

"It's a cursed rod," Harry said. "It's been cursed since its very inception! It's not mine to take!"

"Foolish child," Pettigrew snarled with contempt. "Get out of the way – I'll take it then!" He roughly shoved Harry to the side as he grabbed the Orb with both hands. He chuckled to himself as he beheld the Orb. "When I return to Magical Britain, I'll return Lord Voldemort to corporeal form, then when he least suspects it, hit him with a Cruciatus curse ten times more potent than he can muster! He'll whimper at my feet and beg to serve me as his lord and master… perhaps I'll oblige – the fool deserves to experience the indignity of pain and servitude!"

He pointed the Orb at Harry. "As a token of my gratitude, I'll grant each of you four a quick, painless death. Any last words, boy?"

Harry's face grew long in panic. "But you said… you said you'd leave us once you've gotten your prize!"

Pettigrew laughed smugly. "I did… but I'm afraid you and your friends are too dangerous to simply leave alive. I'm not going to chance it by returning to Britain only to have a hundred aurors greet me upon my arrival, you know." His face then morphed into a nasty scowl. "Goodbye, Mister Potter. And good riddance. Avada ke… what?!"

A loud snarling sound came from the same chamber where Harry emerged from only moments prior… then a large, red serpent charged forward toward Pettigrew with a mighty hiss.

"Kyr'thandios!" Harry exclaimed with surprise!

Pettigrew quickly shifted his focus away from Harry, who then used the distraction to untie Lupin. "Come on Professor," he yelped. "Othniel's hurt, and Ana's been looking after him… we need to get them, and get out of here!"

Lupin nodded at Harry. "Lead the way, Harry."

Meanwhile, Pettigrew and Kyr'thandios were battling fiercely. Pettigrew fired devastating hex after devastating hex – some hitting the snake, but Kyr'thandios was able to get a good bite on Pettigrew's wrist. "Aaaaaaaarrrrrgh," the rat-faced man yelped in agony. He turned toward the snake, and fired a single curse. "Avada kedavra." The bolt hit the snake so hard, that it burst into ten thousand pieces, coating much of the chamber in scales and bodily fluids.

As soon as Kyr'thandios met his end, the ground beneath them began to tremble, knocking Pettigrew off his feet. He stumbled again as he picked up the Orb, and began searching for Lupin and the children.

Lupin, meanwhile, cast a bandaging charm on Othniel which stablilized his injuries, and eased some of the pain. He'd still need medical attention, but he could at least stand up and move about. He followed the other three out the reflecting pool room, and back into the chamber with the platform, where Pettigrew had just gathered his bearings.

Pettigrew followed them in hot pursuit, doing his best to stay on his feet as the ground below them shook with ever-increasing intensity. He pointed the Orb at the fleeing crew, who were also trying to keep moving despite the shaking earth. "Crucio!" he cried out with fury, and the bolt hit Ana on the shoulder.

"Aaaaiiiigh!" she screamed as she collapsed on her knees.

"ANA!" Harry and Othniel yelled out in terror.

"Keep going, boys," Lupin urged. He picked up the violently-shaking girl, carrying her on his shoulders as he followed Harry and Othniel back into the winding tunnel that led back to the grotto.

Pettigrew aimed his wand again, ready to cast another Unforgivable at the crew, but an especially violent tremor knocked him off his feet, and the Orb flew out of his hand, rolling around as he tried getting to his feet. The tremor was so violent, a massive ravine opened, which effectively separated him from Lupin and the children. He rushed to track down the rolling Orb before it tumbled into the abyss, but just as his hand reached out to retrieve it, another shockwave knocked him into the chasm, screaming as he fell into the abyss. Peter Pettigrew – and the Orb of Exuberance – were no more.