The four of them hurried over and opened the trapdoor. Below was darkness so deep they couldn't see the bottom. Harry slowly slid down the opening. "If anything happens to me, let Huan take you out of here. Write to Dumbledore."
Nearby, Bing Huan dodged Fluffy's three snapping heads while looking for chances to punch him and draw his attention, so Hermione and the others wouldn't be targeted.
Harry let go and soon landed on something soft, like some kind of plant. When he looked up, the opening was already no bigger than a postage stamp. Harry shouted, "You can come down! It's a soft landing!"
Ron jumped down right after him, landing beside Harry, followed by Hermione. Just as Draco was about to jump, Hermione's scream rang out from below.
"What is this thing?!"
The plant that had caught them sent out snake-like tendrils, which wrapped around all three of them in the blink of an eye. The more they struggled, the faster and tighter the vines coiled.
Draco shouted down at them. "What's wrong?"
"Stop moving!" Hermione yelled. "It's Devil's Snare! Struggling will only make it worse!"
"Then what do we do? I can barely breathe."
"Be quiet, I'm thinking!" Hermione said. "Devil's Snare likes the dark and damp. It hates warmth and sunlight."
"Then burn it," Harry said, already struggling to get the words out.
"But there are no matches here!"
"Are you even a wizard?!" Ron was starting to lose his cool.
Draco pulled out his wand and took a deep breath. "Here goes!" He leaped down, pointing his wand at the Devil's Snare below.
"Lumos!"
The Devil's Snare, which had been surging forward, immediately recoiled, releasing them. The four of them managed to break free.
"Thank goodness Hermione paid such close attention in Herbology," Harry said.
Ron said, "And thank goodness Draco didn't panic at the crucial moment like you did."
Once the light from Lumos faded, tendrils of Devil's Snare began creeping out again. They wove a huge net above the four of them.
Harry yelled up, "Huan, we're safe! Come down!" At that, Bing Huan kicked Fluffy away and dove through the opening like a swimmer. But before he could land, the Devil's Snare had almost filled the passage above them again.
With no time to grab his wand, Bing Huan extended his left hand. A ball of light gradually gathered in his palm.
"Shining Finger!"
The light made the vines part, leaving a gap wide enough for Bing Huan to pass through. Hermione took Bing Huan's hand. "What did you just do?"
Bing Huan scratched his head. "Oh, I didn't have time to grab my wand while I was in midair, so I tried Wandless Magic. I didn't expect it to work."
"But your incantation was different, too. I've never heard it before."
"We'll have plenty of time to ask about that once we get out. We still have to protect the Philosopher's Stone. This way." Harry pointed to a stone corridor.
To avoid giving away their position, none of them dared speak. In the corridor, the only sounds were their footsteps and water dripping slowly.
As they walked, a new sound came from ahead. At the end of the corridor was a brightly lit room. Countless winged keys were flying around, and opposite them stood a heavy wooden door. A few flying brooms were parked nearby.
Bing Huan patted Harry on the shoulder. "Your turn to show off, ace." Harry grabbed a broom, kicked off, and shot into the dense swarm of keys. It wasn't as hard as catching a Golden Snitch, even with the others helping to distract them.
Harry found his target anyway. After catching the right key, he hurried toward the wooden door. The room beyond the next door was pitch-black at first, but the moment they stepped inside, it lit up.
Once their eyes had adjusted, they found themselves beside a giant chessboard. The pieces nearest them were black, while the ones on the opposite side were white.
As soon as they approached the white pieces, they drew their double-edged swords. "Looks like we have to win the game to get through," Ron said gravely.
He walked up to a black knight. "Do we have to play alongside you to get through?" The living black knight nodded.
Ron looked at the others. Draco shrugged. "Why are you looking at me? I'm no match for you at Wizard's Chess, Weasley."
The other three had no objections. Bing Huan wasn't interested in Wizard's Chess, while Hermione and Harry were both hopeless at it.
"Right, Harry. You and Malfoy will take the places of those two bishops. Hermione and Bing Huan, you'll replace the rooks." Ron climbed onto a knight. "And I'll be a knight."
Once everyone was in position, a white pawn moved forward two squares.
The game began. Ron was undeniably skilled at Wizard's Chess. He had to fend off the white pieces' attacks while also figuring out how to protect his own side.
But after several exchanges, the losses on both sides were about even. Ron was still on his knight, thinking through every strategy he could use, when the White Queen turned her featureless face toward him.
"Yes, that's it. This will end it."
"Stay calm, Weasley. There must be another way." The other three hadn't yet realized what was happening when Draco suddenly shouted to stop Ron.
"Do you even believe that yourself? We can't waste any more time here."
Harry understood now, too. Ron was going to sacrifice himself to end the game. "You can't do that, Ron."
"This is chess!" Ron had never been so stern. "We're out of time, so someone has to make a sacrifice."
"But—"
"Do you really want Voldemort to come back?"
Hermione and Draco were about to say something, but Bing Huan stopped them. "Don't try to talk him out of it. He's already made up his mind." Ron's expression was resolute. Even decades later, Ron would remember this as one of the coolest moments of his life—one that would make his top three, at least.
As soon as Ron moved, the White Queen charged at him from nearby. Her stone arm slammed into Ron's head, sending him flying off the board. Hermione cried out. Harry and Draco clenched their fists despite themselves, their faces pale.
But they couldn't stop now, or Ron's sacrifice would be for nothing. Harry walked toward the king, trembling. The White King removed the crown from his head and tossed it at Harry's feet. All the white pieces bowed and stepped back, clearing a path.
Harry and the others turned to take one last look at Ron, only to see him slowly getting back up. "That... didn't really hurt." Hermione, ever observant, noticed a golden light flash over Ron.
"I think I forgot to tell you all. Before we stepped onto the chessboard, I stuck a Diamond Protection Talisman on each of you. So the pieces couldn't hurt us. I only had Ron direct us because I was worried we might not get through the next door if we didn't follow the rules."
Bing Huan stood with his hands in his pockets and looked at them. "Didn't we agree? Everyone gets back safely."
Devil's Snare, flying keys, flying brooms, and giant chess pieces that came to life.
All that awaited them now were the obstacles Snape and Quirrell had set up. Harry pushed open the door, and a nauseating stench hit them. A Troll, even bigger than the one on Halloween, lay there.
It was lying motionless on the floor, unconscious. It looked like someone ahead of them had dealt with it. They hurried into the next room, or they really would have thrown up from the smell.
Ron continued muttering as they walked. "Quirrell must have set up that obstacle. It stank so much!" The next room's furnishings puzzled them. Compared to the rooms before it, this one seemed almost bare.
There was only a table, with seven differently shaped bottles and a piece of parchment on it. As soon as they crossed the threshold, flames sprang up in both the door behind them and the final door ahead.
Hermione picked up the parchment. It held a riddle.
Danger lies ahead, safety behind,
Two of us can help you, if you find them in time.
Drink one, and it will lead you onward,
Drink the other, and back to where you came from.
Two hold Nettle Wine,
Three are killers, waiting in line.
Choose, unless you wish to remain here forever.
Here are four clues to help you decide:
First, no matter how cunningly the poisons hide,
They're all to the left of the Nettle Wine;
Second, the two at either end give different advice,
But neither will help you move forward;
Third, you'll find that the bottles are of different sizes,
And neither Death lurks in the Giant nor the dwarf;
Fourth, the second from the left and the second from the right,
Though they look different, taste the same.
Hermione let out a long breath. Since entering the Trapdoor, this was the first time the little girl had smiled.
"Brilliant! It's a logic puzzle." Hermione read the parchment over and over again. She paced back and forth in front of the bottles, working through the possibilities. Before long, she had found the right potion.
But unfortunately, this time the thief hadn't left them a full supply, unlike at Fluffy's obstacle.
There was only enough potion in the bottle for one swallow. Harry took it. "I'll drink it. You should take the potion that sends you back. Someone has to inform Dumbledore. I might be able to hold that person off for a while, but I definitely won't be able to beat him."
"But what if the mysterious figure is with him?"
"I escaped once by sheer luck. Maybe I can do it again." Harry pointed to the scar on his forehead.
"Don't talk nonsense, Potter. Is that really something you can leave to luck? You could die!" Bing Huan stepped forward and looked at the boy, who was beginning to resemble the Chosen One.
"You don't need to face an enemy you can't possibly defeat, Harry."
"Can't possibly defeat him? I don't understand. I only know someone has to stop him, and I'm the best person for the job." Harry wanted to sound noble, but his hands were trembling all the same. What eleven-year-old wouldn't be afraid to die?
Bing Huan continued, "The trial began the moment we entered the fourth-floor corridor. I held Fluffy back at the first obstacle; Draco saved us at the second; the third tested Harry's flying talent; at the fourth, we relied on Ron's chess skills. Now it's Hermione's logic and intelligence that have helped us through.
"What I mean is, not one of us could have made it here without all the others. We should work together from here on, too. You may be the Chosen One in the wizarding world, but to us, you're our friend first. Those so-called titles come second."
Before you continue