Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 30: Final Exam pt 2

It had felt so ... right. That was the worst thing about it to Hermione. She and Neville had talked just that afternoon with Harry about the Third Floor corridor and the Philosopher's Stone and about how important it was to keep an eye on Jim and Ron and make sure they didn't do anything foolish. They'd even stayed up in the common room a few hours after curfew talking in case the two tried to sneak by. But instead, Jim and Ron just walked boldly up to them right before midnight to tell them that Dumbledore had been lured away, that Snape was going to steal the Stone that night, that no one would listen to them, and that their only chance was to steal the Stone themselves before Snape got to it. And suddenly ... it felt right.

Not that bit about Snape, of course. Hermione trusted Harry's judgment on that score, and she agreed with him that Quirrell was likely the culprit. Nevertheless, it suddenly felt right to think that whoever the thief was, no one else would be able to stop him except a quartet of First Year students who didn't know any major combat-related spells more powerful than the Leg-Locker Curse ... that Quirrel himself had taught them! But none of that mattered, because trying to stop him was right, and everything else would take care of itself.

Jim's invisibility cloak was a tight fit, but they all made it to the Third Floor without incident. The Cerberus was still waiting, albeit a little groggy looking. She'd noticed a small harp lying on the ground nearby, but Jim was already on the case. Apparently, Hagrid has accidentally revealed to him that music could put the hound to sleep, which Jim did with a handmade flute the half-giant had given him for Christmas. The trapdoor was already open, but Neville stopped everyone from proceeding as he took a big sniff from the musty room below. Immediately, he informed the group that the room below was full of Devil's Snare, a dangerous carnivorous plant that killed by crushing its prey but which was extremely vulnerable to fire. Neville went first and used the Bluebell Flame Charm to clear a path for everyone else.

Jim's Seeker skills made short work of the Key Room, but Hermione thought it was odd that someone would design a defense for the Stone that could only be overcome by exemplary Quidditch skills. Something about it seemed ... not quite right, but she shook off her concerns as they made it through to the next room which contained a giant Wizard's Chess board. That seemed even less right to Hermione, but she saw no options but to play. There was a moment of terror when Ron chose to sacrifice the knight he was riding in order to ensure a quick victory. She screamed as the other piece charged towards him, but at the last second, Neville cast the Levitation Charm on Ron, lifting him out of the way of the attacking piece and setting him down gently by the side of the board.

"Well done, Neville," she'd said excitedly.

"Yeah!" he replied in excitement. "And I didn't even set him on fire!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" exclaimed Ron. "Was that a thing that might have happened?!"

"Um, never mind," said Hermione quickly. "Forget he said anything. Jim, take the king so we can get out of here."

He did, and the quartet proceeded on through the next room and its already incapacitated troll to what Hermione thought was the penultimate room. Hermione easily solved Snape's logic puzzle, but even as she did, she had to push down the growing feeling of not right, indeed quite possibly wrong that was beginning to worry her. What also worried her was that there was only one potion to go forward and one to go back, which mean that two people would apparently be stranded in this room until help arrived ... which might be a while since they hadn't bothered to tell anyone where they were going, something that Hermione suddenly thought was quite out of character for her and very wrong indeed. But before she could go any farther to articulate that thought, Jim distracted her with an observation about the potion vials.