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24

A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead. "Do you think it's a ghost?" Harry asked.

"I don't know... sounds like wings to me." Ron murmured.

"There's light ahead- I can see something moving." I muttered.

We reached the end of the passageway and saw before us a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron inquired.

"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once . . . well, there's no other choice... I'll run."

He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. I expected to see sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked. Ron, Hermione and I followed him. We tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried Alohomoraing it.

"Now what?" said Ron.

"These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," Hermione said thoughtfully. We watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering- glittering?

I let out a tiny gasp. "They're not birds... they're keys. Of course, I'm a bloody idiot for not figuring it out earlier! So that must mean..." I glanced around the chamber to see a broomstick tucked in a corner. "There! I'll go up and get it... I've got to find one that's a big, old-fashioned one.

"Probably silver, like the handle" Ron added upon further inspection on the door's handle.

I mounted the broom with expertise and flew up to the top of the chamber to get a good view of the things below. Ron, Hermione and Harry kept pointing out different keys that could be it, but after the first few wrong keys, I began ignoring them. And... my Seeker sight, as Cedric called it, kicked in.

There.

I dove down, and to any others, it'd seem that I was aiming for Hermione's face. I grabbed the key, which was flying in front of her nose, and pulled up before I could crash, looping back down once I gained stability once more.

I dashed over to the door, the key struggling in my hand. I rammed it into the lock and turned- thank Merlin it worked; I would've started loosing faith in my skill if it hadn't. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.

"Ready?" I asked the other three, my hand on the door handle. They nodded. I pulled the door open. The next chamber was so dark I couldn't see anything at all. But as I stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal...well, it was something.

We were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing us, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. I shivered slightly- the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room." Behind the white pieces we could see another door.

"How?" said Hermione nervously.

"I think," I replied, "we're going to have to be chessmen."

I walked up to a black knight and put my hand out to touch the knights horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at me. "Do we- er- have to join you to get across?"

The black knight nodded. I turned to the other three. "This needs thinking about." I said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces." Harry, Hermione and Ron stayed quiet, watching me think. Finally I spoke, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but you two are that good at chess, only Ron is-"

"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Harry," I directed. "You take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go there instead of that castle. Ron, you take the queen."

"What about you?" Hermione asked nervously.

"I'm going to be a knight," I replied.

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop, queen and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that the four of us took.

"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes... look..."

A white pawn had moved forward two squares. I started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever I sent them, second guessing every choice I made. What if we lost?

"Harry- move diagonally four squares to the right." Our first real shock came when our other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.

"We had to let that happen, didn't we, Roxanne?" asked Ron, looking shaken. I nodded. "It eaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."

Every time one of our men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, I only just noticed in time that Harry, Ron and Hermione were in danger. I darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as we had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there," I muttered suddenly. "Let me think- let me think..."

The white queen turned her blank face toward me. "Yes..." I mumbled softly, "It's the only way. I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Harry, Hermione and Ron shouted.

"That's chess!" I snapped. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I make my move and she'll take me- that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

"But-"

"Do you want to stop whoever it is or not?"

"Roxanne-"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, they'll already have the Stone!" There was no alternative.

"Roxanne, think of Cedric!" Ron exclaimed desperately. I hesitated a moment, then made up my mind, my legs trembling.

"Ronald Billius Weasley," I hiss, my eyes turning to his; I must've looked scary then. I could feel the fire ignited in my eyes as I spoke. "Do not use him against me when I'm trying to make sure your little trio lives."

I stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She crashed into me, and the last thing I saw was blinding white.