Chloe Cullen - A Harry Potter and Twilight Crossover

Chapter 20: Through the Trapdoor

I try to keep as calm as I can in the common room after dinner. I help Hermione looking through books for possible enchantments that we could break and possible spells that might be useful. Then, the common room slowly empties. "Better get the Cloak," I tell Harry when Lee Jordan leaves. Harry runs upstairs and gets the Cloak and flute that Hagrid made him. He runs back to us. "We'd better put the Cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us - if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own -" "What are you doing?" says a voice from the corner of a room. I look around and see Neville behind an armchair. "Nothing, Neville, nothing," says Harry. Neville looks at us. "You're going out again," he says. "No, no, no," says Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?" "You can't go out," says Neville, "You'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," says Harry, "this is important." "I won't let you do it," he says, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll - I'll fight you!" Is he being serious? I roll my eyes. "Neville," Ron explodes. "Get away from that hole and don't be an idiot -" "Don't you call me an idiot!" Neville says. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the ones who told me to stand up to people!" "Yes, but not to us," says Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing." Ron takes a step forward and Neville raises his fists. "Go on then, try and hit me!" Harry turns to Hermione and I. "Do something," he says desperately. I step forward and point my wand at him. "Petrificus Totalus!" I cry. Neville's arms snap to his sides. His legs spring together. His whole body goes rigid and then he falls flat on his face. I turn him over. "Let's go" I say. I get back under the Cloak and we very carefully leave the room.

We get to the third floor corridor in about fifteen minutes. When we do, we find the door is already ajar. "Well, there you are," says Harry quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy. "If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he says. "You can take the Cloak, I won't need it now." "Don't be stupid," says Ron. "We're coming" I say. Harry pushes the door open. Low, rumbling growls meet our ears. All of them sniff in our direction. "What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispers. "Looks like a harp. Snape must've left it there." says Ron. "It must wake up the moment you stop playing," says Harry. "Well, here goes..." Within seconds, the dog falls asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron says to Harry as we slip out of the Cloak. I can smell the dog's nasty breath and feel it on me. "I think we'll be able to pull the door open. Who wants to go first?" he asks. After a minute, I say, "I will." I pull the ring of the trapdoor and look down. "What can you see?" Hermione asks. "Nothing. Looks like we'll have to drop" I say. Ron turns to me. "Are you sure you want to go first?" he asks. "Well, one of us has to" I say. I sit down on the edge of the trapdoor and scoot forward until I'm falling. Cold, damp air rushes past me as I fall down and down until I land on something soft. I sit up and feel around. Feels like I'm on a plant.

"It's okay!" I call up. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!" Harry follows, and then Ron and Hermione. "What's this stuff?" Ron asks. "I don't know" Harry says. Then, I start to feel something grabbing me. The plant. It's trying to get a firm grasp on me, holding me here. I just manage to pull myself free from the plant and huddle near a stone wall, with hermione. "Lucky this plant thing's here, really," says Ron. "Lucky!" Shrieks Hermione. "Look at you both!" The plant has bound itself tightly around their legs. "Stop moving!" I tell them. "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," snarls Ron. "Shush!" I say. I whip out my wand and set a jet of bluebell flames on the plant. In seconds, the plant loosens its grip and Harry and Ron make their way over to us.

"This way," says Harry, pointing to a stone passageway. The only thing I hear is water trickling down the walls. "Can you hear something?" I whisper. I hear soft rustling. "Do you think it's a ghost?" Harry asks. "Sounds like wings to me." I say. "There's a light ahead - I can see something moving." We reach the end of the passageway and see a lit chamber. It's full of flying things. If I look really closely, I think they're keys. "Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" says Ron. "Probably," says Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swoop down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run."

Harry covers his face with his arms, and sprints across the room. Nothing happens. "Now what?" says Ron. "These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," says Hermione. "They're not birds, they're keys" I say. "I think we've got to catch the right key and open the door. Yes, there are broomsticks over there" I say. "But there are hundreds of them!" "Then we better get started" I say. Each of us grab a broomstick and kick off into the air. So far, none of the keys we've tried are the correct one. "That one!" he calls to us. "That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side. I speed after the key and catch it. I hold it in a grip so I can't lose it. We land quickly, and I run to the door. I ram it into the lock and turn. When the door clicks open, the key takes flight again. "Ready?" Harry asks us. We nod and Harry pulls the door open. When we step into the next chamber, light fills the room to reveal a giant chessboard.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispers. "It's obvious, isn't it?" I ask. "We've got to play our way across the room." "How?" says Hermione nervously. "I think," says Ron. "We're going to have to be chessmen." He walks up to a black knight and puts his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone springs to life. The horse paws the ground and the knight turns his head to look down at Ron. "Do we - er - have to join you to get a cross?" The knight nods and then Ron turns to us. "This needs thinking about..." he says. "I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces..." We stay quiet while Ron thinks. Then, he says "Now, don't be offended or anything, but Harry, Hermione, you aren't that good at chess. Chloe, I'll need your help" he says. "Harry, you take the place of that bishop, Hermione, you go there instead of that castle, Chloe, you take the place of that knight. I'll be the other knight."

The chessmen were obviously listening, because at these words, both knights, a bishop, and a castle turn their backs on the white pieces and walk off the board, leaving four empty squares that we all take. "White always plays first in chess," says Ron, peering across the board. "Yes... look..." A white pawn moves forward two squares. Ron and I work together, directing the black pieces. "Harry - move diagonally four squares to the right." I say. He does, and then a white piece moves. Ron and I talk in mumbled voices. "I know of one way we can win. But I have to be taken" I tell him so only he can hear me. "Are you sure?" he asks. I nod. "It's the only way to save the stone. We don't have much time" I say. He pales, but nods. I don't tell them what I'm doing. I step forward. The white's queen moves next. "CHLOE!" I hear Harry and Hermione shout before the queen knocks me out with her giant stone hand.

*Author's note: I decided to change my upload days to Saturday because I've decided that's the day I plan on taking a break from homework. I went to a seminar at school about studying and the presenter said "My mom told me that even God took a break, so who do you think you are." Saturday's will be my day off from school.*