'It is a bit frustrating, how difficult they make it for us to interact with people outside our own Houses,' Daphne commented. 'There are a number of people in other Houses that I think I should get on with much better than some of the people in my own.'
Harry groaned. 'Tell me about it. I'd much rather you were in our House instead of that Muggleborn swot Granger.'
'For that matter, I shouldn't object to trading Weasley and Finnegan for Nott and Zabini, either,' Draco added.
'You lot can keep Crabbe and Goyle, though,' Harry said with a winning grin.
'I can't stand that Granger girl,' Pansy said. 'She's so ugly too! With that bushy hair and those buckteeth. It's not far that she should be at the top of every class.'
Draco raised an eyebrow. 'She may be the top girl in every class, Pansy, but I hardly think she's the top student.'
Pansy giggled. 'You and Aries stand so far above the rest of us, I didn't even think of counting you.'
'You're right about one thing, though,' Harry said. 'Granger is an all-around pest.'
Daphne frowned. 'I actually feel rather sorry for her,' she said quietly. 'I know she can be a bit off-putting, but she seems terribly lonely. Just imagine what it must be like to go to a school where you don't know anyone or anything.'
'Dean Thomas seems to be adjusting just fine,' Draco pointed out. 'He knows what he doesn't know and is happy to learn. Granger, though...'
'Is different,' Daphne cut in. 'She's trying to prove to everyone that she really belongs here.'
'She doesn't, though,' Pansy said bitingly. 'She's a Mudblood.'
Harry sat still for a moment, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. 'My godmother was a Muggleborn,' he said quietly. 'Lily Potter. But everyone says she was a brilliant witch.'
Draco nodded thoughtfully. 'Her portrait's really nice. She doesn't act at all like Granger.'
Pansy backtracked as quickly as she could. 'I didn't mean to say anything against your godmother, Aries.'
'Of course not,' Harry said dully. He paused before turning to Daphne. 'You may have a point. Maybe Granger would be more tolerable if she had someone to be nice to her, to explain how things work.'
Daphne shrugged. 'It's always worth a try. If she turns out to be as awful as she seems at first glance, no one's going to force you to spend time with her.'
Harry nodded, and there was an awkward silence.
'By the way, Draco,' Pansy broke in with a giggle. 'Guess where I spent the holidays!'
.....
Without the Weasley twins to distract them, and armed with their new escape plan, the boys wasted no time in executing their grand heist. Late on the second night of term, Harry and Draco slipped out of their dormitory under the Cloak and made their way to the third-floor corridor. Each boy wore a Portkey around his neck that would activate only when its owner uttered a specific password.
When they reached the locked door, Harry whispered, 'Alohomora,' and the cousins crept inside. Just as before, the giant dog detected their scent and moved towards them, but this time Harry and Draco immediately began to sing, Draco taking the melody line and Harry the harmony.
'Lullaby, and good-night,' they sang, 'in roses bedight. Creep into thy bed, there slumber thy head.'
The dog instantly relaxed, its three heads each sporting a goofy, doggy grin. It lay down on the stone floor and drifted off to sleep. The boys continued to sing as they made their way to the trapdoor and jumped in. Harry was careful to close the trapdoor behind him as he jumped, lest anyone else come in and discover what had happened. Even through the trapdoor, Harry could hear the sudden snarling as the dog woke up.
The landing was surprisingly soft. Harry felt relieved...until the floor began to twist around his legs.
'What is this?' he demanded.
'I'm not sure,' Draco replied anxiously.
Harry lit his wand. 'Great Merlin!' he exclaimed. 'It's Devil's Snare!'
'It likes the wet and the dark,' Draco said quickly. 'We should light a fire.'
Harry nodded, and muttered the incantation. Flames burst forth from the tip of his wand, and the Snare let the boys go.
'That was close,' Draco muttered.
'I wonder what other nasty surprises Dumbledore has in store for us,' Harry mused.
They made their way along the damp stone corridor, and soon entered a brightly lit chamber. There was a door on the far side of the room, but it was locked, and refused to open to spells. Up above them, it looked as though a thousand birds were fluttering about. Harry looked more carefully, and then it dawned on him.
'They're keys!' he exclaimed. 'Winged keys.'
'Which one do you think opens the door?' Draco asked. 'They all look the same.'
Harry smiled. 'They are all the same, except for that silver one. It matches the lock on the door.' He spotted a broomstick out of the corner of his eye. 'I'll have to catch it.'
'We don't have time for Quidditch heroics,' Draco said, rolling his eyes at the eager expression on Harry's face. He lifted his wand and pointed it towards the iron key. 'Accio Silver Key!' he intoned, and the key flew into his hand. He opened the door easily and let the key fly back to its brothers. Harry and Draco walked through the door and found themselves facing a giant chessboard.
'Do you think we have to play?' Harry asked.
'No, Aries, I think the giant chessmen are just here for decoration,' Draco snapped.
Harry gave his cousin a funny look. 'You seem unusually tense.'
'Sorry,' Draco said sheepishly. 'It just all makes me a bit nervous. I mean, none of the obstacles so far have been exactly what you'd call difficult. There must be something worse up ahead.'
Harry groaned. 'That's a cheerful thought.'
'As for the chessboard,' Draco mused, ' I suppose we need to take the place of the pieces. I'll be the king, you can be the queen.'
'Thanks, mate,' Harry said sarcastically.
They took their spots. Before play began, Harry leaned over to Draco and whispered in his ear. 'Go for scholar's mate.'
Draco nodded, and they began to play. It was the oldest trick in the book, but it worked. Four moves later, it was checkmate, and Harry and Draco happily passed through to the other side. They found themselves facing a very angry mountain troll.
'This should be easy,' Harry said with a grin, and brandished his wand.
'Don't kill this one,' Draco suggested. 'If we leave the protections in place it will take longer for them to figure out we've taken the Stone.'
'Good point,' Harry agreed, and pointed his wand at the troll's head. 'Imperio!' he whispered, and the troll docilely allowed them to pass.
'You're awfully good at that,' Draco observed with a frown as they walked on ahead. 'How many times have you used it before?'
'Only once,' Harry replied with a grin. 'I Imperiused the Sorting Hat to put you in Gryffindor.'
'WHAT?' Draco exclaimed. 'What did you do that for?'
Harry shrugged. 'It was taking too long. I didn't want to be separated from you.'
'You're one scary wizard, Aries.' Draco shook his head in bewilderment. 'Not that I mind. I didn't like the other option the Hat was giving me.'
'What was it?' Harry asked.
'Not telling,' Draco said primly. 'That's the price you pay for your impatience.'
'If I hadn't done it, you mightn't have wound up in Gryffindor,' Harry said defensively.
Draco snorted. 'Think about we're up to at the moment, Aries. We're stealing the Philosopher's Stone, just for the hell of it. If that isn't a Gryffindorish thing to do, I don't know what is.'
Harry smirked and the cousins moved on to the next obstacle.
Flames suddenly burst up both in front and behind, trapping them in a stone room with a table, on which lay a row of potions and a riddle written on parchment.
'This is tricky,' Draco muttered after he read the instructions, and began trying to figure out the puzzle. 'Some of the phials are poison, some are nettle wine, whilst one will take us forward, and one back. Let's see...'
'We don't have time for this rubbish,' Harry said. He levelled his wand at the row of potions. 'Toxicum revelio,' he muttered, and small black clouds appeared over the phials that contained poison. 'Vinum revelio.' A purple haze appeared over the phials that contained nettle wine. 'Does that help?' he asked wryly.
.....
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