Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, after eating some not particularly tasty turkey in the Great Hall, Breeze returned to the Owlery.

Breeze was now powerful enough to use magic to temporarily open a passage for owls in the Owlery, which was protected by a powerful Disillusionment Charm. So all his presents had been delivered here. There were just as many as the presents he'd sent out, if not more, and they'd all been chosen with great care.

There were a few unexpected gifts, too.

"Why would Hermione send me a new pair of Dragonhide Gloves? These can't have been cheap."

Had Hermione realized how much thought Breeze had put into getting her onto the house Quidditch team, and was she finally repaying him? Breeze couldn't help thinking with a smile.

The girl was clearly enjoying herself. There was no way she'd be content with nothing but dull reading.

Breeze decided there was no point trying to guess what Hermione was thinking. Who could understand a girl's mind? Even if she was Hermione. Cedric's gift was much more straightforward—and very magical. It was a plant that bore transparent fruit, which supposedly tasted just like green apple pie.

"Ah, Breeze, you really gave me a brand-new cleaning kit and a bronze tray!" Faner excitedly tore open his gift box and scampered around inside, pulling one cleaning tool after another out of the box, which had been enchanted with a temporary Undetectable Extension Charm. He'd already placed the bronze tray beneath the bronze lamp.

"I was going to buy you a dress, but you are a male snake, after all." Breeze shrugged and tossed aside the gift Malfoy had sent him. It was a voucher for 200 Galleons' worth of Quidditch gear, redeemable for a Broomstick of any model.

The wizarding world had sales coupons now, too!

Breeze had quite enjoyed the ritual of opening all the presents.

But why had most of the Slytherins sent him gifts?

"I'm going out for a bit. Put all these presents away for me, Faner."

"Go on, go on. I'll take care of it."

Breeze cast a Disillusionment Charm and a Disillusionment Charm on himself, then headed for the fourth floor. He passed the corridor lined with suits of armor, soon went beyond the Trophy Room, and arrived at the Forbidden Corridor, where entry was forbidden.

The torches flickered dimly. Filch clearly didn't care much about cleaning this place; dust coated the walls. The wooden door stood out, and Breeze hadn't forgotten how flustered he'd been when he'd faced Snape there.

"Sometimes a necessary risk can bring answers. Is the Sorcerer's Stone really in here?"

Breeze wasn't sure. The Sorcerer's Stone was, after all, an important treasure.

"Alohomora!" The door was locked, so they'd put some protections in place after all. But for Breeze, who knew magic, it was as good as paper. One unlocking spell was all it took.

"If they really wanted to protect the Sorcerer's Stone, why didn't Dumbledore just keep it on himself? Was he afraid it'd poke him in the backside while he slept? Heh."

Breeze cautiously pushed open the door and saw a three-headed dog fast asleep, snoring loudly.

As if it had caught a scent that was both strange and familiar, the three-headed dog opened its eyes one by one, then looked at Breeze with delight, tongues lolling.

They were very fond of Breeze!

Last time, they hadn't shown their friendliness right away and Breeze had petrified them. They'd learned their lesson this time: the moment they saw him, they put on their best, most obedient expressions.

Breeze was pleased, and understood that it was thanks to the power of Nature Affinity. Ever since he was little, animals and plants had adored him. Even the breeze and rain seemed especially gentle with him. But he hadn't expected magical creatures to be fond of him, too, just like magical plants.

"Hold it!"

Breeze's expression turned cold as the three enormous heads moved in to lick him with their panting tongues. Thankfully, the three-headed dog could be reasoned with. Otherwise, Breeze would have had to petrify it again.

Sensing the somewhat turbulent magic around Breeze, the three-headed dog seemed to feel threatened. It slowly backed away, making room for him, then flopped down on the floor, looking dejected.

Looking at the three stupid faces, Breeze couldn't help thinking that none of the dog's three brains were much good. There had to be a reason it was only fit to guard a door.

Breeze used the Levitation Charm to lift the trapdoor. Below it lay a straight, pitch-black passage. He cast Lumos, and in the light he could just make out some vines. As the light touched them, they swayed uneasily.

"Devil's Snare. It's already formed a net. Is that to catch anyone who goes down?"

Breeze wondered aloud, then carefully leaped down. He used the Growth Charm to make one of the Devil's Snare vines grow rapidly and catch him. Thanks to his affinity with nature, the vines didn't hurt him at all, saving him a lot of trouble.

"Isn't this the giant Devil's Snare Professor Sprout transplanted back then?" Breeze remembered that Professor Sprout had given him a little greenhouse box that very day. The Devil's Snare had been put into the enchanted flowerpot Dumbledore gave her, shrunk down, and carried away.

"Did Dumbledore bring it here?"

Breeze continued on with a bemused expression. Was Dumbledore worried Quirrell would fall and break his neck?

Then Breeze's expression grew even stranger. When he carefully pushed open the door in front of him, he found a room full of winged keys, spinning and leaping through the air, dancing and casting shadows.

Forgive Breeze's choice of words; he couldn't think of anything more ridiculous.

The silver-shimmering keys dazzled him. Beside the door leading out of the room stood several old Broomsticks, exactly like the ones used in Flying Class!

"I hope Dumbledore put those rickety Broomsticks there to make Quirrell lower his guard, and not so he could fly around looking for the key."

Breeze was ever so grateful. He put all his strength into casting Alohomora. The lock on this door had been enchanted with an anti-unlocking spell. An ordinary young wizard definitely wouldn't be able to open it with a spell. It was obviously not meant for Quirrell.

Beyond the room of keys was an enormous game of Wizard's Chess. The pieces looked dignified and solemn, refined and elegant, their patterns intricately detailed... Breeze could think of plenty of fine words to describe them, because this was clearly Professor McGonagall's handiwork. She loved carving details and patterns. He'd heard that was how the upper-year exams were graded—though, of course, that was only for marks above a passing grade. Some idiots were lucky if they could make anything change at all.

"I had no idea Professor McGonagall had such a peculiar sense of humor. But I have to admit, this is powerful magic. Everything is so orderly."

It gave Breeze a better understanding of Professor McGonagall's abilities. He couldn't do anything like this yet.

As he spoke, Breeze strolled across the room, but he didn't slack off with his spells. One powerful Levicorpus after another hoisted the enormous chess pieces into the air, letting him cross the board directly.

Breeze would have liked to follow the rules, but this wasn't a game. No one had said he couldn't use other means.

"This is practically a joke."

Breeze felt insulted. He'd prepared himself for deadly traps and evil monsters, ready to brave a perilous dungeon and claim its treasure, and this was what they'd shown him!

"Ugh!" The Troll's stench...

Breeze stared at the Troll, which was dumbly gazing back at him. It looked awfully familiar...

He silently cast several Freshness Charms, then hit the still-bewildered Troll with a Petrificus Totalus. A Summoning Charm snatched the club from its hand, and Breeze used the Levitation Charm to swing it hard into the Troll's head.

"Thump!"

Breeze hadn't put much magic into the Petrificus Totalus, so the spell wore off under the club's blows. A huge lump rose on the Troll's head, and it collapsed to the floor, its fate unknown. The Troll should thank Merlin for his kindness; Breeze wasn't planning to kill it for now.

After going around the Troll, Breeze entered a room that looked like a Potions exhibit. Seven oddly shaped bottles sat on the table. As he entered, purple flames suddenly sprang up behind him, while black flames flared in the passage before him.

"Does Snape play intelligence-reducing games, too?" Breeze picked up the piece of parchment on the table. It explained how to get through: all it took was a little logical thinking and a brain that wasn't from the same source as the Troll's.

"I hope the final treasure isn't Dumbledore's flower-print skirt!"

This was practically entrapment. "Stay away if you don't want to die horribly"—maybe the three-headed dog guarding the entrance was the real final boss.

Breeze shouted, "Piertotum Locomotor!"

A blue light surged around Breeze. It was a protective spell that created a shield when cast, providing effective defense over a certain area and helping ward off danger.

With the support of his powerful magic, Breeze crossed the black flames and reached the final room.

But there was nothing here.

Breeze's head hurt a little.

"Damn Dumbledore! I should have poked a few holes in those woolen flower socks I gave you!"

Breeze refused to give up. He searched carefully, but still found nothing.

"I'm the idiot here. Who would actually leave the Sorcerer's Stone lying around? Or maybe the time just isn't right yet?"

"What is Dumbledore waiting for?"

Breeze left the room, furious at the potions lined up on the table. He tore up the parchment without a second thought, then left a complicated high-school math function problem for whoever came next. He rearranged the potions according to the answer to the problem. He'd seen it before in An Qing's memories; it seemed to have been one of his college entrance exam questions.

An Qing had been so resentful about that exam problem that Breeze remembered it vividly, too.

Enraged, Breeze went downstairs and cast a powerful Stupefy on the Troll. He dragged it to the entrance to the next room and set up a trap: anyone who stepped near the Troll would wake it. He also stuffed the club back into its hand, then used a Transfiguration Spell to change its material properties and shape. Anyone who saw the Troll wake up would be delighted by the combination of steel and spikes.

With such powerful magic sustaining it, the Transfiguration wouldn't wear off for the rest of the school year.

Next, Breeze carefully lowered the chess pieces, then without hesitation smashed several of his side's pieces. That would make it more of a challenge. He also cast Permanent Sticking Charms on the feet of several pieces, so they wouldn't be able to move. But weren't the other side's pieces a little too old and battered? Hardly fair...

When he reached the room full of flying keys, Breeze pulled out quite a few of the Broomsticks' twigs!

That was the only way to make the flight exciting. And among those flying keys...