Chapter Twenty-Three
Harry felt cool air rushing past him and then he felt himself being engulfed in water. The water closed in over his head and he could make out the entrance from the trapdoor glimmering above. Closing his eyes against the dirty water he pushed with his feet and his head broke the surface of what he assumed was an underground lake. Taking deep breaths he swam towards the yells and shouts he could hear coming on his left. He felt a hand grab his arm and turned to see Ron pulling him onto his feet.
As Harry set himself upright, he realized he was standing on the top of a stone ramp that led into a lake of dark water. It seemed to him he was standing at one end of a tunnel. The black lake was the breath of the tunnel, only a few feet, but as for the length Harry couldn't fathom. The water was only at ankle-height now but Harry wondered what its depth was further out. Looking to his right Harry saw Hermione shaking from the effects of the cold water. Harry waded over to her and put his arm around her. They were all drenched and shivering but she was the only one wearing a skirt.
"That was unexpected," stated Ron. "I didn't think there was going to be water. All I saw was darkness."
"Did you notice that there were actually two trapdoors? One was on the other end of the corridor," said Hermione. "There are two ways down here. I wonder where the other one leads to. Let's get out of this water. It's kind of creepy." She started making her way up the ramp onto a dry step that led into a narrow tunnel. Ron followed her, his hair was drenched and he was also trembling. Harry thought he heard something stir out in the dark water. Ron turned to see Harry, his head posed as if listening and his eyes narrowed as he tried to distinguish something out in the darkness.
"Is there something out there?" Ron said in a terrified whisper. Harry slowly looked down to see great rippling rings forming on the surface of the water. He watched with bated breath as the ripples grew and came closer, some already lapping around his ankles. And then Harry sensed some ancient power dwelling in the deep water. He felt its anger and confusion. Ripping his eyes away he quickly turned to Ron. "Go! Now!"
As he started to move towards the dry step where Hermione was now standing, he felt something grasp him by the ankle and he fell back into the water with a splash. He heard Ron give a yell and then Hermione's screams reverberated throughout the tunnel. The grip around his ankle tightened as the water now surrounded him, reaching up to his chin it seemed to also be attempting to drown him. He spun in the water to see the lake incensed as if a host of snakes were swimming up from the unperceivable darkness.
Harry felt himself being dragged under the water and the yelling from his friends ceased immediately as the noise of rushing water filled his ears. Then through the sound of pressing water he heard a new sound. A deep resonant drone was issuing from something in the lake.
Harry's eyes slowly adjusted to their new underwater surroundings and he now saw what had hold of his ankle. A long twisting tentacle was wrapped around it; and surrounding it were many others, thrashing about in the water. It was then that Harry saw the owner of the numerous tentacles and fear gripped his heart.
There were no eyes that Harry could see. No nose or any other facial features. But there was a mouth. An enormous wide gaping hole filled with innumerable teeth. The teeth were long and narrow, with sharp ends for ripping and tearing. Filth clung to them like shells on a shore. Harry would have guessed he was dead already but then he saw his wand drifting away from his pocket from the lack of gravity and it gave him hope. Grabbing it, Harry knew he would have to rely on wandless magic.
"Stupefy," he thought desperately, his wand pointed at the tentacle holding him. The long winding tentacle froze and Harry quickly tried to rematerialize on the surface of the water. He was already starved of oxygen. He felt the cold air on his face and screamed "Hermione! Stunners!" before he felt something else seize his ankle and was hauled back under the water. As he looked upon the dreadful sight before him he saw that there were now jets of light in the water and many of the tentacles were freezing in their position. Harry aimed a stunner at the tentacle now holding him, but nothing happened. He felt a pressure build in his head and knew it was the lack of air that was hindering his magic.
A long sinuous tentacle started to pull him closer and closer to the cavernous teeth infested mouth. Harry tried kicking at the tentacle but it was useless. He was easily going to fit within the void of the creature's mouth. He then felt the firmness of the rigid teeth against his shoulder and knew the ghastly monster was preparing to kill him. He felt one of the razor sharp teeth pierce his shoulder. He couldn't make out much considering the lack of light but he knew he was on the edge of the dark chasm and also the edge of his life. But deep down he knew he didn't want to die like this. He wasn't going to. Gripping his wand tightly in his hand and letting the knowledge that this was his last chance flood his mind, he pointed his wand directly into the gaping hole and in his mind screamed `Diffindo'.
A great roar reached his ears and he felt the creature being knocked back. Black liquid was now diffusing throughout the water. The blood of the creature was spilling from the long fissure Harry had cut through the roof of its mouth. Kicking his legs frantically Harry made it to the surface of the water. The creature had withdrawn to the depths of the tunnel. Harry's limbs ached and he didn't think he could make it to the edge of the water. But then he felt Ron grab him and drag him to the step. Harry was panting and he tried to continue breathing normally. His whole body was shaking from fright. He was lying down flat on his back. Hermione and Ron were bending over him. There was now an eerie silence within the tunnel that did nothing to calm Harry down.
"Harry, Harry! Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Hermione kept repeating worriedly. It took a minute for Harry to register what she was saying as his mind was still racing. Then when his fear had subsided slightly he turned and looked at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we better hurry. I don't want to spend anymore time in this tunnel," he said trying to stand up. Hermione pushed him back down. "No you're not. Look at your shoulder," she said indicating where his jumper and shirt had a hole pierced through them and blood was trickling out of it. "Just a flesh wound," said Harry with a reassuring smile. He stood up holding his shoulder. "I'm alright. We better move. I don't want to linger here.'
Hermione and Ron followed him apprehensively and Harry took one last glance at the lake. The blood of the enormous creature was still dissipating throughout the water but there was no other movement or ripples on the surface of the water. Harry hoped that whatever the creature was was dead. The image of its many teeth stayed in his mind for the rest of his life.
Turning Harry walked through a small doorway that led into a narrow passageway of stone. Harry could feel the water swimming around in his shoes. He could also hear the squelch after each of their footsteps. He stopped and turned to the others. Lighting his wand he turned to see Ron's pale face illuminated by the small amount of light created. "Let's prepare a bit for the next obstacle," he said darkly taking off his shoe, turning it upside down and watching the water flow out of it. After they had all done this Ron asked the question they had all been asking themselves. "What was that thing?"
"I don't know. But I don't think it was put there for the protection of the Stone. My guess is that we're miles beneath the school. And that water creature added to the protection automatically. I didn't see any dead bodies down there so I'm going to guess that whoever we're following took the other trapdoor and is still alive," said Harry.
"What do you mean by `whoever we're following'? Ron asked suspiciously. "Don't you think its Snape?"
Harry looked at him. He was still torn between Snape and Quirrell but at the moment he wasn't into arguing so he just agreed it was Snape. "Harry, you're freezing. If you stay like that you could develop hypothermia," said Hermione anxiously. Harry looked at her for a moment. He was freezing but there wasn't anything he could do right now. He didn't know a Drying charm nor did he know a Warming charm. Also he was worried at how much time they were held up by the subterranean creature. He wondered whether the thief had already got to the Stone. "I'm fine," he said but then he saw Hermione's exasperated expression and added "Okay, I've been better. But the sooner we go on the sooner we'll get out of here."
Hermione nodded, agreeing, and they continued on their way down the stone passageway. Harry could hear the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. He felt the passageway begin to slope downwards, but very slightly. Then Harry saw a sliver of light at the end of the passageway. "Keep your wands ready," Harry whispered. When they reached the end they found themselves in a circular stone room. It was dark and damp but the first thing Harry noticed was that in the ceiling there seemed to be a tunnel or slide leading into the room from some height above them. "I bet if you followed that slide up that it would lead back to the other trapdoor," guessed Harry.
"Oh my god,' whispered Hermione astounded. Harry turned to see what she was looking at, but ended up cursing himself for not looking at the room before walking into it. The room was filled with what looked like a huge plant. It was then that Harry noticed that he was even standing on it. Each footstep was like walking in a bowl of jelly. Harry heard Hermione's voice behind him. "Devil's Snare! It's amazing. One of the most murderous plants on earth," she said excitedly. "Don't worry its dead. Snape must have killed it when he came down here," she added after seeing the look of terror that Ron gave her. "It's a pity. They really are quite fabulous," she said sadly.
"Are you mental?! A killing plant. How sad that it didn't try to murder us," said Ron sarcastically. Harry bent low and examined the plant more closely. It was luminous green in color and it felt slimy to touch. Tendrils were laying on the surface of it. Harry presumed that when alive the plant was probably menacing but now it looked rather melancholy. "We better go on," he said after a moment of silence.
They continued on through another passageway exactly the same as the previous one. A wooden door stood at the end of the passage. Harry approached it cautiously and then opened it slowly. They all walked through the doorway and found themselves in a long rectangular room. It was brightly lit by magnificent chandeliers which hung from the roof. The floor was of hard marble and was richly decorated. Tall menacing suits of armor were lined up on either side of the room. Harry guessed there was about eight of them altogether.
"Do we just walk to the other side?" Ron asked perplexed.
"If you want to fight the knights," said Harry calmly. Harry looked at him with raised eyebrows before making his way down the hall.
Immediately the suits of armor sprung to life. Harry instantaneously started firing off every spell and hex he knew. The armored suits were equipped with broad swords which they swiped through the air dangerously. Harry noticed that they weren't agile and moved very rigidly. This was a huge advantage to him as he could easily spot where to target.
Ron and Hermione watched transfixed as suits of armor had their heads blown off or were smashed to pieces by the strength of Harry's spells. Soon Harry was surrounded by four of them. A darker grey suit of armor stepped forward, threateningly swinging a menacing medieval mace. Harry gulped as the knight swung it high in the air and brought it back down with tremendous force, aimed at Harry's head. He ducked at the last minute and the mace crashed into the ground, splintering the marble. The owner of the spiked metal ball was fruitlessly trying to remove it from the crater it had formed in the ground.
Another suit of armor lurched towards Harry but at the last minute a jet of red light hit it where it wasn't protected by metal and it fell with a clatter to the ground. Harry saw Hermione step forward with her wand pointed directly where the suit of armor had been. "Thanks," he said breathlessly.
"Come on! We have to reach the other side," shouted Ron, dodging a suit of armor as it thrashed towards him. Harry quickly grabbed Hermione and started evading the swords that swung over their heads. He pulled her to the door which was flanked by two brackets holding red flames. Ron was already there and as they approached it he swung the door open and they all ran through it. "Wow, Harry. Where did you learn to fight like that?" said Ron admiringly as he shut the door behind them. They heard the noise of metal hitting wood coming from the other side of the door as the suits of armor threw themselves at it trying to get through.
Harry was leaning against a wall, panting and holding his shoulder in pain. "I'm guessing that was Flitwick. It must be a charm that made those suits of armor move. Devil's Snare must have been Professor Sprouts."
The chamber they were in now was suddenly flooded with light. A scene of complete destruction met their eyes. Harry heard Hermione take a quick intake of breath while Ron gasped loudly. "This is a chessboard. Or at least it used to be," he said as he moved closer to the edge of a huge squared board. Harry could make out the different colored squares, an opulent marble white and a deep ornate blue.
Boulders of broken stone were strewn across the board and it was then that Harry turned his attention to the large figures standing motionless on the board. They towered above him and Harry got a shiver down his spine as he looked at their non-existent faces, expressionless and merciless. "You must have had to play across the board," said Harry thoughtfully looking at the shattered debris on either side of the board. "McGonagall must have transfigured the chess pieces. It seems our thief is quite the chess player. Look at all this wreckage."
Suddenly there was a thunderous pounding coming towards them. The whole chessboard which they were standing on was quivering with each pounding noise. Harry recognized the noise as approaching footsteps. Then through the door which they had to continue through stepped a gigantic troll, larger than the one they had faced in the girls toilets. Ron who hadn't encountered a troll before took a step back pulling his t-shirt over his nose to block out the disgusting smell. Harry could see the horror and panic in his eyes. Dust seeped out of the debris lying about the chessboard with each tremor that ran through the room.
Hermione inched closer to Harry and grabbed his forearm. `What are we going to do? Stunners won't work against him," she said fearfully. "He's already fought with the thief, he must be slightly weary. We need to knock it out. It's guarding the next room and I bet it won't let us through. We can't try and escape it, it'll just follow us. I think we can to do this," said Harry.
He pulled her silently from the board into the shadows of the room where Ron was standing shaking with fear. The troll hadn't spotted them but Harry guessed he knew they were there.
"Stay here. When I give the signal, start to throw stunners at him. It should confuse it," Harry said before noiselessly edging his way to the other side of the chessboard. The troll dragged its large club into the centre of the plaza that was the chessboard. Harry heard it heavy breathing and grunting.
Then taking a deep breath Harry jumped out onto the chessboard. He fired a burst of flame at it which sent the troll into a frenzy. It roared out in anger. "Now," shouted Harry. Jets of red light bounced off the thick grey flesh of the troll. Harry dodged a rebounding spell and then sent another spurt of flame at the troll.
He caught a glimpse of Ron throwing pieces of a smashed pawn at the troll to distract it. Then the troll turned its beady eyes away from Harry and started to stumble towards where Ron was standing.
Making his mind up in a matter of seconds Harry sprinted towards the vast back of the troll. Concentrating hard he jumped with all his might. Everything seemed to slow down and Harry leaped higher than was allowed by gravity. He ended up at the neck of the troll. His arms wouldn't fit around the broad neck of the creature so he grabbed onto what appeared to be a thick collar fastened around its neck. A piercing pain shot through Harry's injured shoulder and he grabbed it to decrease the stinging. He was now holding on by one hand when the troll continued its advance towards his friends. It obviously hadn't noticed that Harry was hanging onto it by its collar.
Everything slowed down for all the wrong reasons as Harry watched the troll's great wooden club crash into the place where his two friends stood. "Nooooooooooo," he screamed. His mind went blank for what seemed like an age. Then he suddenly came back to his senses and pointing his wand at the base of the troll's neck he shouted "STUPEFY" and a burst of light filled the room before the troll sank to the ground, defeated.
Harry dismounted the troll and ran to the area where his friends had been. Dust swirled around in a ghostly manner blocking Harry's view. It took a minute for Harry to realize he was screaming their names but then he heard a shuffling to his left and scurried over to see Ron covered in dust picking himself up off the ground. He seemed fine as he began to sweep the dust off his trousers. "Ron, are you alright?" Harry said worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I jumped out of the way. Just in time to."
"Where's Hermione?!" Harry shouted at him.
"She got out of the way too….. I think," he said apprehensively.
Harry started to frantically search the ground for her. Large pieces of stone lay forgotten by the walls and other pieces had been smashed to bits. Harry then heard a coughing noise coming from somewhere ahead of him. He ran to where he heard the noise and to his ears it sounded like sweet music. There he spotted Hermione lying on the ground covered in dust. Her hair was now white from the stone that lay around her.
"Hermione," croaked Harry helping her off the ground.
"I'm okay Harry. Really. I just knocked my head off the rock."
She was holding onto him for support. She seemed to be very weak. Her eyes were closed and her hand was wrapped around Harry's neck. Harry felt overwhelmed with relief though at the sight of her moving.
Ron was now standing behind them looking in awe at the troll lying unconscious at the centre of the chessboard. "So, what now? Do we continue or go back?" he asked looking at Hermione. Harry honestly didn't know what to do next. He wanted to go on but Hermione seemed to have a concussion and he wondered whether she could go on.
After hearing Harry's silence Hermione opened her eyes and stared intently at him. "We're going on."
Harry looked at her. `But…."
"But nothing. We didn't come this far to stop and turn back around. We only have Snape's left. That troll must have been Quirrell's."
Harry knew Hermione meant well but he was still worried. There wasn't anything he could do now. It would be hard enough to go back through the suits of armor then somehow fly through the trapdoor and Fluffy. There wasn't anything for it.
He looked at Hermione's determined face and nodded his head. "Come on, let's go."
Hermione could walk fine once she was supported by Harry. She looked a bit disorientated but also resolute in continuing. They past the trolls room without hesitation and continued into the next one. As soon as they stepped over the threshold of the next room a fire with purple flames sprang up blocking their way out. Another fire with black flames leaped up around the doorway leading onwards. The room was absolutely freezing and Harry felt himself shiver. He could see his breath rise in a mist before him.
"Oh great," moaned Ron. "We're trapped in a freezer."
In the centre of the room was a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing in a line. Hermione started dragging Harry over to the table and picked up a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. She squinted her eyes to read it; Harry guessed she was having problems focusing. "It's a puzzle. Typical Snape- it's not magic-its logic." She looked over the paper again and then turned to Harry. `Seven bottles: three are poison" Ron gulped "two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire and one will get us back through the purple," she explained, a slight small on her face. Harry raised his eyebrows at her gleeful expression. "I love puzzles," she admitted.
Together they sorted through the bottles. After a few minutes they were left with the two needed bottles. Harry picked up the one needed to progress through the black flames. There was hardly one swallow in it. He knew immediately what had to be done.
"I'm going on. No- listen- you two go back through the purple flames. That troll is knocked out. He won't awake for hours. Hopefully Neville warned McGonagall and Hagrid told them what has happened. I'm pretty sure Dumbledore is probably on his way back as we speak. But the thief might be gone by the time he gets here. I might be able to hold him up. Distract him or something."
Ron once again looked pale and glanced at the purple flames longingly. Hermione stared at Harry anxiously. "But what if You-Know-Who is there?
"I don't know. But I've got to do something. I can't just watch everything unfold. Now drink up and get out of this room. Lock yourselves in the troll's chamber. There's nothing there to harm you as the troll's in with the chessboard. And it's warmer than here," he said, his teeth chattering slightly.
Hermione, who had been leaning against the table dashed towards him and threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. Harry felt her warm breath against his neck as she spoke and it sent a warming sensation through him. "Harry- you're a great wizard. And you're brave and- oh- please be careful." She sobbed. She pulled away from him but was still holding on slightly to his jumper.
Harry took her hand in his. "Thanks. For everything." He whispered.
Ron came over and gave him a very manly hug, slapping him on the back. "She's right you know. You are a great wizard."
"Er…thanks," he said feeling slightly embarrassed. Ron made his way over to the table and picked up a round-bottomed flask that held the potion he needed. He then made his way over to the flames, waiting for Hermione. Hermione seemed hesitant to leave Harry to face this alone. She was still slightly teary-eyed. She wrapped her arms around him again in a tighter embrace than the last one. "Please. Take care," she breathed.
Harry felt slightly cold inside, realizing he couldn't ensure her he was going to be okay. He felt as if he was letting her down. She let go of him and walked silently over to Ron. They both took a small drink from the bottle and then made their way wordlessly through the purple flames.
Harry looked down into his own bottle. The black liquid looked like glass it was so still.
He drained the bottle in one gulp. The liquid felt like ice flowing through his body. At the dancing flames he braced himself and then took a step forward. The flames licked his body but he couldn't feel them at all. He walked through them and found himself in a dark passageway that was gently sloping further downwards. He found himself dreading every step but knew he had to continue on. The darkness pressing around him did nothing to calm him. Then he saw a flicker of light at end of the passageway and slowed down his pace so that whoever was down there wouldn't see him approach.
End Chapter
Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it. Review and tell me if you liked or disliked the different obstacles.
I was kinda worried that they'd take away the theme or essence of the story.
Anyway you needn't worry; you shouldn't have to wait long for the next chapter.
Thanks again for reading
Take care,
Radagast
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