Chapter Forty-Four: A Brave Adventure
Water dripped steadily down the stone walls, and their footsteps stirred up dust as they moved slowly along the corridor, each of them descending with care.
"Listen—doesn't it sound like something's happening?" Hermione slowed down and asked in a hushed voice.
The others followed suit, easing their pace and straining to listen. From ahead came a soft rustling sound.
"Is it a ghost?""It sounds like something flapping its wings.""It's right ahead—I can see something moving."
They reached the end of the corridor, where a vast hall opened up before them. The high, arched ceiling made the space feel even more imposing. Countless small, crystal-like birds fluttered through the air like living jewels, beating their wings in the light. On the far side of the hall stood a massive wooden door, tightly shut.
"Will those birds attack us if we cross the hall?" Ron asked, scanning the surroundings warily.
"Don't jump to conclusions. Take it slow—test things first," George said. Fully armored, he stepped forward cautiously. The birds paid him no attention at all. He quickly reached the closed door and tried pushing and pulling it, but it wouldn't budge. He even tried an Unlocking Charm with his wand, but nothing happened.
Seeing that the path seemed safe, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed him across the hall.
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked as he stepped up and twisted the doorknob.
"What are those birds supposed to do?" Hermione turned her gaze upward, watching them circle above.
"They're not birds—they're keys," Harry said suddenly, a spark of realization flashing through his mind. He looked around and spotted several broomsticks in a corner. "Look—broomsticks. We're supposed to fly up and find the key to this door. It must look different from the others."
Harry mounted a broom and shot into the air, scanning the swarm of keys.
"There are way too many of them," Ron muttered, but he grabbed a broom and followed Harry up into the cloud of fluttering keys.
Seeing Harry and Ron in the air, George stayed on the ground, keeping watch in case something went wrong.
Harry's flying talent was truly exceptional, and he had a sharp eye for targets. To him, this wasn't much different from chasing the Golden Snitch. Sure enough, after only a few minutes, he shouted, "I see it! Over there—the one with sky-blue wings! One side looks bent, like it's already been caught once!"
"Ron, block it—I'll grab it!" Harry signaled. He surged forward, accelerating in a burst of speed. Before the key could react, it was firmly in his grasp.
He landed quickly and ran to the locked door, still clutching the key. With some effort, he jammed it into the keyhole and turned it. Click. The lock sprang open. As soon as the door opened, the key wriggled free and flew off again, now even more battered than before.
They pushed the door open. Inside was complete darkness—until someone stepped across the threshold. Suddenly, the room lit up, revealing a terrifying sight.
They were standing on a giant chessboard. Towering black chess pieces carved from massive stone loomed before them, each taller than a person. At the far end of the board stood an opposing army of white stone pieces.
"What do we do now?" Harry asked quietly. He didn't know how to play chess.
"To get across, we have to finish the game," Ron said, looking around and voicing his guess.
"But how do you even play wizard's chess?" Hermione asked nervously, still struggling to process the scale of the battlefield before them.
"If we're playing chess, let me take command," George said with a faint smile. "I may not be a master, but when it comes to calculation, I won't lose to the professors."He didn't play often, but he read widely—and basic knowledge went a long way. In pure calculation, he was confident he wouldn't lose to a wizard whose logic and math skills were mediocre at best.
George stepped onto the square of a black knight. Instantly, the stone came to life—the knight mounted its horse, which began to pace slowly beneath it.
"Each of you needs to replace a piece," George said after a moment's thought. "Ron, take the other knight. Harry, you're the bishop. Hermione, you'll be the rook."
As his words faded, the original knight, bishop, and rook turned and left the board, clearing their places for the four of them.
"In chess, White moves first."Once all four had taken their positions, the white pieces advanced, launching the opening moves of the game.
George began directing the black pieces carefully in response. His chess skill wasn't refined, but his calculations were precise, and the enchanted pieces on the other side had limited intelligence. Through careful exchanges, he steadily traded pieces, soon capturing most of the opponent's forces.
On their side, although many black pieces were lost as well, George made sure to protect them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained unharmed—though their faces had grown noticeably pale.
"A bit scary, isn't it?" George asked quietly once the game was over.
"A little," Harry admitted, his face white and his legs still trembling. "They don't hold back at all—even though they're just stone pieces."He remembered how, with a single sweep of a white piece, a black one had been smashed to the ground and dragged off the board. He'd narrowly avoided that fate several times, and the memory still made his heart race.
"I'm starting to think the professors' protective enchantments are getting stranger and stranger," George said after everything he'd seen. The feeling gnawed at him. "Are these trials really meant to protect the Philosopher's Stone—or are they meant to test courage?"
"Don't say that," Hermione said, hopping lightly on the spot, trying to shake off the tension. "The way you put it, it really does sound like that."Standing on the chessboard as a living piece had been a bizarre experience—round after round of waiting for enemy pawns to attack, watching nearby pieces get struck down and dragged away. Anyone who claimed they weren't nervous would be lying.
"I still don't get how Snape got through here," Ron said, frowning. "There's no sign of damage anywhere."
Assuming that Snape had already gone ahead, they didn't linger any longer. They passed through the door and continued down the corridor beyond.
"What do you think we'll face next?" Harry asked, growing more anxious as time passed. He worried that Snape might already have succeeded.
"The Devil's Snare was Professor Sprout's trap. The magic on the keys was Professor Flitwick's work. That chessboard was Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration," Hermione said, counting on her fingers as she spoke. "If we keep going, there'll still be traces of Quirrell's magic—and Snape's. And at the end… Dumbledore."
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