The Bravest Snake

CHAPTER 29

Draco, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard. Black and white chessmen dotted the squares, each on their own side, all taller than they were. It was like standing in a black and white forest. Draco reached out and placed his hand on one of the black pieces, feeling cool stone.

''Look.'' Hermione nudged him and pointed to the towering white chessmen. ''They have no faces. That's so creepy.''

''Now what do we do?'' Harry whispered.

''It's obvious, isn't it?'' Ron said. ''We've got to play our way across the room.'' Even though Draco was sure Ron knew that this whole situation was dangerous, he looked a little excited at the prospect of playing chess. After all, that was his area of expertise.

Harry stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck over the white pieces. Draco followed his line of sight and saw that behind them, there was another door. ''Okay, but how do we do that?''

''I think,'' said Ron. ''we're going to have to be chessmen. And chesswomen - for Hermione.'' With impressive confidence, he walked up to a black knight and forcefully pushed it with one hand. Immediately, the stone sprang to life, the horse pawing at the ground restlessly and the knight turning its head to look at Ron, its armor creaking. ''Do we - er - have to join you to get across?''

The black knight nodded its helmeted head. Ron turned to look at the other three. ''I suppose we've got to take the place of the three black pieces... now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess -''

''I like to think that I have a fighting chance whenever I play you, but go on. Tell us what to do, you're the only one who really can,'' responded Harry.

''Well, Draco, you take the place of those two bishops over there, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle. Harry, you can be our reserve in case anything goes wrong and you need to run.''

''What about you?'' Draco asked. He was glad Ron looked like he knew what he was doing, since Draco didn't consider himself particularly good at chess.

''I'm going to be a knight.''

The chessmen must have been listening to Ron's prior instructions, because two bishops, a knight, and a castle turned their stone backs on the white pieces and walked off the board. Draco, Harry, and Hermione hurried to fill the empty squares.

''White always plays first in chess,'' said Ron, looking down at the board. ''Yes...look...'' A white pawn had already moved two squares. Ron pointed to the black pieces, then to the squares they needed to go to. Like obedient dogs, they moved silently wherever they were directed. ''Draco - move diagonally four squares to the right.''

The spell was broken. Draco forced his feet to move quickly. Their other knight was suddenly taken. The other team's queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board. He  lay there still, facedown. Draco gulped. This is quite a rough game of chess.

''Had to let that happen,'' said Ron. ''Leaves you free to take that bishop Hermione, go on.'' Every time a black chess piece was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a pile of limp black players dejectedly slumped against the wall. Ron was fully locked in the game, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones. ''We're nearly there,'' he muttered. ''Let me think - let me think...''

The white queen turned her blank face towards him, staring straight into Ron's soul without any eyes at all.

''Yes...'' said Ron softly to himself. A couple months ago, Draco wouldn't have believed anything about him to be soft at all. ''It's the only way... I've got to be taken.'' 

''NO!'' Draco, Harry, and Hermione shouted. 

''That's chess!'' Ron snapped. ''You've got to make sacrifices! When the queen takes me - that'll leave you free to checkmate the king, Draco!''

''But - '' Hermione protested.

''Do you want to stop Snape or not?''

''Ron - ''

''Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!''

Draco and Hermione glanced at each other, the unspoken knowledge of 'there was no alternative' passing through their eyes. 

''Ready?'' Ron's face was as white as a sheet but still managed to look determined. ''Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won.'' As he stepped forward, the white queen pounced like a hunting lioness. She slammed Ron's head with her stone arm, sending him crashing to the floor. Hermione screamed but stayed on her square. Draco shakily moved three squares to his left, watching the queen drag Ron to one side.

As soon as Draco's shoes to touch the other square, the white king took off his crown and threw it at Draco's feet. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door clear. They had won.

''Should we just leave him?'' Hermione asked, unsure. Harry shrugged. ''Okay then...''

When Harry pushed the door open, a disgusting smell immediately filled their nostrils. With their eyes watering, they saw a troll sprawled on the floor, even bigger than the one on Halloween. It looked to be knocked out.

''I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one,''Harry whispered as they stepped over it's legs. They were as thick as tree trunks and had the same texture. ''Come on, I can't breathe.''

He shoved open the door, but there was nothing as disturbing - surprisingly it looked normal. A table filled the room with seven differently shaped bottles lined up. When they'd all stepped over the threshold, a fire sprung up behind them in the doorway. Black flames licked the air at the other doorway. They were trapped. 

''Look!'' Hermione ran to a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. When she had finished reading it, she showed it to Harry and Draco.

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 nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Chooses, 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 one 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.

Hermione let out a great sigh, and Draco realized she was smiling, the last thing he felt like doing. ''Brilliant,'' she said. ''This isn't magic - it's logic - a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic. But everything we need here is on this paper.''

''How do we know which one to drink?'' Draco asked. ''Would Snape really poison someone?''

''Yes,'' Harry replied. ''Let her think.''

''Already thank.'' Hermione held up the smallest bottle. ''Here you go. There's only enough for two very small swallows.''

''Which one will get you back to Ron?'' Harry asked. Hermione pointed to a rounded one. ''Alright, you go and get Ron, then go and get Hedwig and alert Dumbledore as quickly as you can, okay?''

Hermione rushed to Harry and Draco and threw her arms and them. ''You two are great wizards, you know.''

''We're not nearly as smart as you,'' Draco laughed. 

''Me!'' said Hermione, her voice choked. ''Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Draco, Harry, be careful!''

''We will,'' Draco promised, pulling away and grabbing the bottle, lifting it to his lips. ''Let's do this.''