Black Soul- George Weasley

The One With The Riddle

A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."

He pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

"Look!" Astraea seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry looked over her shoulder to read it:

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Three of us will help you, which ever you would find,

Two among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Two of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

Astraea let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.

"Brilliant," said Astraea. "This isn't magic — it's logic — a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."

"But so will we, won't we?"

"Of course not," said Astraea. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: two are poison; two are wine; two will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."

"But how do we know which to drink?"

"Give me a minute."

Astraea read the paper several times. Then, she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle and the forth will get us through the black fire — toward the Stone."

Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Astraea pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

"You drink that," said Harry. "No, listen, get back and get Ron, and Hermione. Grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy — go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."

"But Harry — what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well — I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."

"No", she said sternly.

"'Raea"

"I won't be my father, I won't fail the Potters like him, I'm no wimp", she yelled. "I'm going with you. End of story".

"I don't want you hurt because of me", he replied

"Harry — you're a great wizard, you know, but let me worry about my safe being. I am older"

"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed.

"Me!" said Astraea. "Books! And cleverness! Maybe you're right with the pranks. There are more important things — friendship and bravery and standing up to what's right."

"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," said Astraea. She took a long drink from the tiny bottle, and shuddered.

"It's not poison?" said Harry anxiously.

"No — but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Come on"

Astraea ran towards the black flames and stood, stunned. Then Harry was on the other side of her, in the last chamber. There was already someone there — but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.

Astraea reached and pulled Harry behind her in a protective way.

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