The Potter Twins and the Philosopher's Stone [Draco Malfoy x OC]

CHAPTER 28

THIRD PERSON'S POV

"What do you reckon will be next?" Harry asked, carefully opening the door.

"Well, according to my analysis, we going to face something related to Potion and DADA." Draco said, lifting each of his fingers as he made some counting

Hermione nodded, justifying Draco's answer; "We've had Sprout, that's was the Devil's Snare. Flitwick must put charms on the key, McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive--"

"Which leave Quirrell's spell and Snape's!" Harry finished. Hermione and Draco nodded.

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

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

Elysia nodded her head furiously. Harry pulled open the next door, they hardly dared to look at what came next; but there was nothing very frightening in there, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"Snape's challenge," Draco stated. "But, erm, what do we have to do?"

"Brew some potion?" Elysia guested. "Huh? But there's no cauldron."

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

"Great! We were trapped," Draco snarled.

"Look!" Harry seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles and they looked over his shoulder to read it:

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden 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 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 sizes,
Neither nor holds in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."

"Brilliant!" Elysia yelled in frustration, "Just brilliant! A riddle in the middle of life and death!"

"Come down, Elysia," Harry patted her shoulder, "Maybe we just try all of them?"

"Harry," Elysia called, she had a judgy look on her face. "If you do that I'm going to label you as the dumbest human being."

"What--"

"You just read the riddle, there is poison amount them...!" Elysia flicked her fingers on her brother's forehead.

"Hold on, Potters.." Draco spoke up, taking the parchment in Harry's hand, reading it several times, "I think I can figure this one out."

Hermione moved next to Draco. He let her read it.

Draco stepped forward towards the bottles. He looked from the parchment and back to the bottle. Hermione came over, nodding her head as Draco pointed at the bottles, repeating it a few times while muttering.

"Well, he is Snape's favourite, and he's also very excellent in potion," Elysia said to break the awkward situation between them in the room surrounded by firewalls. "No doubt that Hermione knows her stuff."

Harry nodded, "I can see that--"

"Got it!" Draco cheered, looking at Hermione for confirmation. Hermione nodded. 

"You figured it out?" Elysia and Harry asked simultaneously as they rushed towards the two.

"Yes!" Draco smiled widely as he began to explain, "Alright, since the giant bottle is not poison and it is a twin to the second from the left, we know these two are nettle wine," He pointed at the second and the sixth bottles in the table. "It said 'But if you would move onward neither is your friend', hence,  the two of the poisons are on their left; the first and fifth bottle!"

Elysia and Harry looked blankly at him.

"There's no chance I can get the highest mark right after Hermoine if you're this clever, Draco," Elysia groaned.

"Well, anyway," Hermione picked up the seventh and third bottle, "The fourth one is the other poison which leaves us with this. Hm... and with this amount, only two people can drink it. Two for this one and two for this one."

"You two drink this one," Harry said as he motioned his hand to the purple bottle to Hermione and Draco; The potion that will bring them back. Hermoine and Draco hesitated before nodding. They knew that they might be of no use compared to one of the twins after this.  "Go and help Ron. And we need Dumbledore, so go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore. We might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really..."

Draco looked at Harry for a few moments before nodding. He drank the liquid, handing the remaining to Hermione before taking the other potion and handing it to Elysia.

"You'll be okay, Harry, Elysia!" Hermione cheered for them. "All of you. You two are great wizard and witch."

"Not as good as you," Harry smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, Mione." Elysia gave her a smile as well, "You're brilliant! "

"Me? Books and cleverness?" Hermione chuckled, shaking her head. "There are more important things. Friendship, and bravery... And guys, just be careful."

"I place 2 Galleons on a bet that it's not Snape," Draco said with a smirk as he walked towards the fire, "Deal? Potter?"

"Deal," Harry snickered and Draco walked through the flame, followed by Hermione who waved at the twin.

"You two get along pretty well," Elysia let out a little laugh before she opened the bottle cap on the potion bottle. She drank it while Harry just rolled his eyes and grabbed the bottle from her hand.

It was as though ice was flooding their bodies. Harry put the bottle down and walked forward. He grabbed Elysia's hand and braced themselves. They walked into the fire, feeling the black flames licking their bodies, but they couldn't feel them, not a single thin of pain. For a moment the Potters could see nothing but dark fire, and then they were on the other side, in the last chamber.

There was already someone there... but it wasn't Snape. 

It wasn't even Voldemort.

[1062 words]