Hermione Granger and the Philosopher's Stone (Completed)

Chapter 16 - Wizard Chess

Hermione landed in a dark room next to Harry. They were all sitting on a strange plant. It must have been the reflection, but Hermione thought that both he and Ron had turned green
"We must be miles under the school" she said, not quite sure of why she was whispering. Suddenly feelers started crawling up her feet, as of it was alive. She stared at it in horror as it wrapped itself around her ankles
"Lucky this plant thing's here, really" said Ron, oblivious to the fact that the plant was quickly climbing up both his and Harry's legs. This comment woke her up
"Lucky!" she shrieked "Look at you both!"
With difficulty, she kicked the plant off her and backed up against a damp wall, kicking at feelers that were still trying to grab at her. She was forced to watch as her two best friends were slowly choked by a plant. It was almost like quicksand. The more they struggled, the faster the plant wrapped itself around them. Hermione shut her eyes and mentally went through everything Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, had ever told her. Finally she found it
"Stop moving!" she shouted "I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"
"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help" snapped Ron
"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione. She was trying not to look at the plant crawling round Ron's neck. She knew he could be a bit of an idiot, but she didn't want him to die
Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, as the plant snaked around his stomach. None of these comments were helping Hermione
"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say? - it likes the dark and the damp-"
"So light a fire!" Harry spluttered
"Yes -- of course -- but there's no wood!" Hermione exclaimed
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"
"Oh, right!" she said. She pulled out her wand
"Lacarnum Inflamarae!"
A jet of blue flames shot at the plant. It retreated, leaving Ron and Harry sitting on the floor looking shaken but unhurt.

Weak with relief, Hermione walked over to Ron and helped him up. Ron smiled feebly, and they both walked to the wall where Harry was waiting, breathing quickly and wiping sweat off his brow
"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione" said Harry
"Yeah" said Ron "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis - 'there's no wood,' honestly"
He shook his head and grinned at Hermione, who sick out her tongue
"This way," said Harry, and they walked down a diagonal corridor made of dark stone, like in Gringotts. They could see light in the distance
"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered. Hermione stopped. There was a faint fluttering noise directly above them
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."
"There's light ahead - I can see something moving"
They walked into a brightly lit room. Flying above their heads were several hundred yellow birds
"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron uncertainly. Hermione wasn't sure, from a distance, the birds looked harmless
"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 raised his hands like a shield and charged at the door. Nothing happened. He reached the door and signalled for Ron and Hermione to follow, which they did.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, the door wouldn't open. Hermione pulled out her wand and tried every charm and curse she knew, but to no effect
"Now what?" said Ron
"These birds... they can't be here just for decoration" said Hermione, squinting at them. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something odd about those birds
"They're not birds!" Harry said excitedly "They're keys! Winged keys - look carefully. So that must mean... yes - look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"
"But there are hundreds of them!"
Ron examined the doors lock
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one -- probably silver, like the handle"
Hermione was very impressed. It must have shown, because Ron said quietly "there's no need to look so surprised" before following Harry to get a broom. Hermione grinned at him before following

All of them mounted their brooms and kicked off into the air. Despite being an abysmal flyer, Hermione could understand why Harry enjoyed it. It was completely exhilarating; it was as if all her worries were left on the ground. They all charged at the keys, but it was as if they were magnets, they did all they could to avoid them, which made it even harder to find the specific key they were looking for. Thankfully, they had a seeker with them
"That one!" Harry called after about a minute "That big one -- there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side"
Unfortunately, despite its broken wing, that key seemed even more determined to avoid them
"We've got to close in on it!" Harry said "Ron, you come at it from above - Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"
Hermione zoomed upwards, the wind whistling through her hair. There was a flash of red as Ron rocketed past her and before she knew it Harry had the struggling key, his arm raised as if in a Quidditch match. Hermione cheered and Harry turned red. They landed and quickly unlocked the door. He let the key go and it flew off rather lopsidedly
"Ready?" Harry asked, his hand on the door handle. They nodded, and the door swung open