By early May, things had settled down. Hermione was again confident she could write a proper essay, within the assigned parameters. She still had Harry check her work, as not doing so would be the height of folly. After all, it was much better to be spanked by Harry than paddled bare in front of Snape!
Harry was willing to help her and was gratified to see she was adjusting to the challenge of answering questions within a limited amount of space. He no longer expected to have to spank her…except for that one time a week ago, where Harry was sure she did it on purpose. She denied it, but there was a look in her eyes…Did she really want him to spank her? Hermione sure could be confusing at times.
Harry and Neville were looking for Hermione, as she wanted to go over some potions review, easily their hardest subject. Susan said she was in the charm's classroom getting some study questions from Professor Flitwick. So, they went up to the third floor to get to the charm's class. As they approached the class, they heard Hermione call from the other direction, and went to see what was going on. They entered a corridor not really used, and saw Hermione standing still, by a door. Professor Quirrell was with her evidently explaining something, but they were not in hearing range, so they didn't know what. He saw them and motioned them over.
As soon as they were close, he waved his wand, and something grabbed the two boys and pushed them through a door. Quirrell and Hermione immediately followed them through, and the door slammed closed making a squelching sound. This was that door they had been avoiding all year because of the headmasters warning! Harry looked around and saw a huge dog, as in bigger than a bus, with 3 heads. Fortunately, it was sleeping with a magical harp playing next to it.
Harry turned to Hermione and realized something was wrong. She was standing perfectly still with tears in her eyes just imploring him. Harry attempted to go over to her when Quirrell said,
"Ah ah ah. Don't try it. Do you see that ring around her neck?" There was a glowing brownish red ring of magic around Hermione's neck. Quirrell made a hand gesture, and the ring glowed slightly brighter…and shrunk. Hermione started gasping for air she could not get. He was strangling her. Her face stared turning dusky. Quirrell then made another gesture and the ring became duller and enlarged.
Hermione suddenly was gasping for great breaths of air, her chest heaving, as her color changed to being flushed.
"If you want to watch her die, disobey me. However, if you do what I ask, I will release her, remove the ring and leave the three of you intact. Do we have a deal?" And he raised he hand to strangle Hermione again. It was also noteworthy that the studder was gone, and the eyes were very calculating and cold. This was not the Quirrell who taught their class.
"Stop! We will do as you say." Harry, said in defeat.
"Good! There are some traps that Dumbledore created to guard something. Interestingly, they were designed for students…young students. However, I cheated for you and already disposed of the Cerberus. As you can see, they sleep when they hear music. Over there is a trap door. All three of you jump down it…now."
Harry led the three to the trap door. With Neville's help he was able to lift it and push it over, leaving it open. When they looked in the hole all they could see was darkness below. Hermione said wait, and cast Lumos. She shined it into the hole and moved the light around. They could see a net of some vine about 8 feet down, with the floor 6 feet below that. Suddenly Neville yelled, "OUCH!" Quirrell had hit him with a powerful stinging jinx. Quirrell looked at them raising his want again and said, "I'm waiting."
Harry jumped down, and landed on the net. It held. "Come down, the net's strong enough." He yelled.
Hermione and Neville jumped down. Unfortunately, that is when things went pear-shaped, as the net had many tendrils which started grabbing and constricting around the three kids.
Neville suddenly held very still and yelled, "It's devil's snare! don't move, or it will just constrict faster. We need a bright light or flame to make it let us go."
Harry yanked his arm free and cast the spell yelling out "Lumus Maxima" and a very bright light came from the tip of his wand. He shined in on the plant holding him, and the plant retreated, letting him go. He kept on shining it around until there was a hole large enough to swing down to the floor. After swinging to the floor, Harry immediately shined it on Hermione and Neville, making the plant release them. He was able to partially break their fall, and keep the two from hurting themselves as they landed.
Once clear of the Devil's Snare, they looked around to see Quirrell standing there, without a care in the world. "Nice job. Keep going." Pointing at a door.
Harry went over to the door, opened it and looked in. There were hundreds of birds…no winged keys! flying around the room. The keys do not appear to respond to anyone entering the room as Harry cautiously entered. He slowly walked across the room keeping a weather eye on the keys.
Harry tried the door, its an old antique door locked with a old antique lock in the middle of it. Hermione and Neville joined him, and Hermione cast Alohomora, but it did nothing. Harry yelled to Quirrell and asked, "Do you have a more powerful opening spell?"
With a smirk on his face, Quirrell replied "Of course I do. However, this is your challenge, figure it out….or watch Hermione slowly die."
Neville trying to keep Harry's anger in check and save Hermione quickly reasoned, "Quirrell said these challenges are for kids. That means there are clues and an obvious answer. Adults get the unsolvable riddles for traps."
Quirrell nodded and said, "Very good!"
Neville looked around at the keys and noticed something. He yelled out, "See that old key, that kind of looks like the lock, I bet that's it."
Hermione looked around and said, "There are flying brooms on the wall. Harry, grab one and get that key."
Harry went to the brooms, and looked them over. He grabbed one that looked sturdy. As soon as he touched it, he sensed magic rising up. Harry exclaimed "Look out! A trap activated as I touched the broom!" and Harry immediately mounted and took off.
Harry flew in the air twisting and turning to get away from the keys which were following him, and attempted to get to the old key which was running away. As he chased the key he yelled to the other two, "Be ready to open the door, we won't have much time!"
Harry caught up to the key and grabbed it. He then flew over to Neville and dropped the key in his hand yelling "Open the door!" as he zoomed past with the keys following.
Neville put the key in the key hole, and it fit! He then turned the key and the door opened. Once open, he removed the key as Hermione ran through the door. They waited and as Harry flew by on the broom, Neville slammed the door shut! They heard a bunch of impacts which likely were the keys attempting to follow.
"Well, that's three down, only a couple more to go." Said Quirrell. Merlin, Harry had really started to dislike that voice.
The room was huge! There was a large chess set with pieces on it set up for a game, taking up the whole room. There was a very large door on the other side of the room.
Harry, holding the broom, looked at the chess set. The pieces were huge, each anywhere from 5-foot pawns with swords to the 8-foot-tall queens with huge maces. Figures, they were on the Black side.
Harry tried flying over the chess set, and as soon as he approached, ALL the pieces drew their weapons and turned toward him. The Rooks drew their bows and aimed at him. He immediately returned and landed watching the chess pieces go back to their ready positions. "Well, that didn't work."
Hermione sighed and thought out loud, "Not surprising, though it was worthwhile to attempt. I am thinking we have to play across."
Neville pointed out, "The other side is white, they need to make the first move." He went over to the board and yelled "Make your move!"
Instead of white making a move, the Black king bowed to him and motioned for them to take its place. Neville sighed and stepped into the square. The king motions to the other two.
As Harry is about to step on the board, Hermione yelled, "Stop! Let's try having all of us get on the King's square. That way we don't lose someone playing the game until we all lose."
Harry, about to step onto a square pulled back. He shrugged and said, "It's worth a try." And stepped onto the square with Neville. The king motioned to Hermione who squeezed onto the square with them. At that point White moved.
Neville yelled, "IT WORKED!" and looked at Hermione. "That was brilliant!" exclaimed Neville
Hermione blushed and mumbled, "It was nothing." Harry grabbed her hand and grinned at her.
Harry let Neville and Hermione whisper about what moves to make, and stayed out of it. He knew they were much better at chess then he was. It looked touch and go, for a while, and they got all the way to the endgame before finally winning.
"Finally!" Muttered Quirrell. "Keep going."
Harry went to the next door which must be 10 feet tall and opened it. There was a sudden "ROAR!" and Harry saw a troll lumbering over to him! He slammed the door closed!
Quirrell said ominously, "WHAT are you doing?"
"There is a troll in there! We can't fight that!"
Quirrell just raises his hand and Hermione starts choking.
Harry screamed, "WE CAN'T FIGHT THAT! IT WILL KILL US ALL!" Watching Hermione choke he turned to Quirrell and yelled, "And we would certainly need her help!"
Quirrell smirked and motioned again, allowing Hermione to breathe. As Hermione gasps for breath, "You better start making a plan, or you will soon be watching her die."
Hermione gasping for air said, "Trolls have magic resistant skin, our OWL spells have no chance." She looked around, "we have weapons here, can we throw anything or drop something on the troll?"
Harry went over and examined the choices, "Why don't we raise up the iron mace of the queens and drop them on the troll's head?"
Agreeing that is their best chance Harry and Neville each raised up a mace over the doorway. Hermione then opened the door and stepped back. Fortunately, the door was large enough for the troll, which lumbered through. The boys dropped their maces right on its head. With a meaty thunk, the black mace hit cleanly while the white mace smashed the right shoulder. The troll wobbled, and fell to the ground.
Quirrell clapped, "Bravo! Nicely done. Get going."
Glaring at him the three moved on to the next door. They opened it cautiously, and saw a room with a table and some bottles on it in the center. Nothing else was visible other than the door on the other side.
The three entered the room, and approached the table. As they got to the table, flames roared up covering both the door forward, and the door back. On the table Hermione noticed a riddle. She soon figured out which bottles are poison and wine ruling them out. She then figured out which bottle goes forward, and which bottle goes back.
Looking at Quirrell, "Here is the bottle forward. There is only enough for one person."
Quirrell said smiling, "Excellent! The three of you passed the gauntlet! You should be proud, but I want all three of you to go forward, so we will do this. One of you will take the potion, and I will freeze the flames so the rest of us can follow."
Harry took the potion and stepped through the flames before vanishing. Hermione looked concerned.
Quirrell frowned at her and exclaimed, "He's fine!" He then made a gesture with his wand and the flames vanished. The three then followed Harry into a large round room. In the center of it was the mirror of Erised.
Quirrell went over to the mirror, looked in it for a while, and sighed, "Well that didn't work, I was hoping…..Boys! Get over here!" The two boys followed by Hermione walked over to the mirror.
Quirrell then commanded, "Look into the mirror and tell me what you see!"
Neville looked and said "I see my parents hugging me with my gran, Harry, Hermione happy for me. Same thing I saw in class."
Harry replied, "I see Hermione and my extended family all around me, with my parents there too. I really hate this mirror." Meanwhile the Harry in the mirror smirks and takes a red stone out of its pocket and puts it back in." Harry feels something settle in his trouser pocket.
Hermione then said, "Should I look?"
Quirrell just waved her away, and looked into the mirror. "This doesn't make sense. How do I get the stone? WAIT! Where is the stone?" He spins and glares at the boys.
Harry exclaimed, "Why didn't you say you wanted the stone? When I looked in the mirror, it appeared in my pocket. Here." And he took it out and was about to toss it to Quirrell, when he paused.
Harry then commanded, "Free Hermione and I will toss it to you."
Quirrell looked angry, but Harry motions to throw it at the stone floor instead, and Quirrell fearing for the stone, calms himself down. "Fine, you kept your side of the bargain."
Quirrell then made a complicated gesture to Hermione and the ring vanishes. She starts crying in joy at not being continuously strangled, any more. Harry nods and tosses the stone to Quirrell, while the three of them back away.
Quirrell caught the stone and looked at it. At first, he looks ecstatic, but on taking a closer look, he is furious! "It's a FAKE!" He yelled, and blasts the mirror to a million pieces.
He then looked over at the children, and Harry yells, "You can search me! Search all of us! That was the stone placed in my pocket! Are you really surprised Dumbledore cheats?"
Quirrell just growls and raises his wand. It's tip glowing an ominous green, and he started pointing it at them."