Harry and Amelia Potter

1.15

We enter a dark room, with broken pieces all around it.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all." Hermione says, nervously.

"Where are we? A graveyard." Harry questions.

"This is no graveyard." I state.

Ron sighs. "It's a chessboard." We walk out onto the marble board and flames light, illuminating the board and giant players. Harry, Hermione, and I come up with him.

"There's the door." Harry says.

We walk across the board, towards the door. Suddenly, as we reach a line of pawns, the pawns bring up their swords. The four of us jump and back up.

"Now what do we do?" Hermione asks.

"It's obvious, isn't it? We've got to play our way across the room." I state.

"All right. Harry, you take the Bishop's square. Hermione, you'll be the Queen's side castle. Mia, take the other Bishops square. As for me, I'll be a knight." Ron instructs, and we all take our places.

"What happens now?" Hermione asks.

"Well, white moves first, and then...we play." A pawn on the other side moves forward. Ron studies the game.

"Ron, you don't suppose this is going to be like...real wizard's chess, do you?" I ask him.

"You there! D-5!" A black pawn moves forward, diagonal to the white pawn. The white pawn raises its swords and smashes the black one. We all jump. "Yes, Amelia, I think this is going to be exactly like wizard's chess!"

The game continues. Pieces smash each other, boom! Ron continues to give directions. "Castle to E-4!" It gets smashed. "Pawn to C-3!" Smash! Boom! The Queen turns, and smashes a piece! Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I wince. The Queen turns again. Both Ron and I study the game.

"Wait a minute." I say.

"You understand right, Mia. Once I make my move, the Queen will take me...then you'll be free to check the King."

"No, Ron! No!" Harry and I exclaim.

"What is it?" Hermione asks, not understanding the game.

"He's going to sacrifice himself!" Harry informs her.

"No, Ron, you can't!" Ron closes his eyes. "There must be another way!"

Ron turns to face Hermione. "Do you want to stop Snape or not?" He then looks back to Harry and I, "Harry, Mia, it's you two that have to go on. I know it. Not me, not Hermione, the both of you." We nod. "Knight...to H-3." Ron's horse moves forward, slides and stops. "Check."

The Queen turns and advances. Ron breathes faster, clutching the steel reins. The Queen stops. SMASH! Ron goes flying off the horse and lands on the floor, unconscious.

"RON!" Harry screams. Hermione starts walking to him.

"NO! Don't move! Dont forget, we're still playing." I tell her. Hermione moves back. I walk diagonally, in front of the King. "Checkmate." The Kings sword falls onto the ground victory. I breathe out and then the three of us run to Ron. We bend beside him. "Take care of Ron. Then, go to the owlery. Send a message to Dumbledore. Ron's right..." I look to Harry. "We have to go on."

"You'll be okay, Mia." Hermione says, then looks to Harry. "Both of you will be okay. You're great wizards, you really are."

"Not as good as you." Harry says to her.

Hermione smiles "Me? Books and cleverness? There are more important things. Friendship, and bravery. And Harry, Mia, just be careful."

We nod and stand, walking away.

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Harry and I walk down a long staircase to an empty room with pillars around it. The Mirror of Erised is in the middle of the room, and a man is standing before it. It is Quirrell. Harry and I yelp and grab our scars.

"You?" I question. Quirrell turns around.

"No. It can't be...Snape. He was the one-" Harry trails off.

"Yes. He does seem the type, doesn't he? Next to me, who would suspect, "p-p-poor s-stuttering Professor Quirrell?"

"B-but, that day, during the Quidditch Match, Snape tried to kill us." Harry says, confused.

"No, dear boy. I tried to kill you two! And trust me, if Snape's cloak hadn't caught fire and broken my eye contact, I would have succeeded. Even with Snape muttering his little counter-curse."

"Snape was trying to...save us?" I look to Harry.

"I knew you both were a danger right from the off. Especially after Halloween."

"Th-then you let the troll in." I say.

"Very good Potter, yes. Snape, unfortunately, wasn't fooled. While everyone else was running to the dungeon, he went to the 3rd floor to head me off. He, of course, never trusted me again. He rarely left me alone." Quirrell turns back to the mirror and our scars start to hurt. "But he doesn't understand. I'm never alone. Never. Now...what does this mirror do? I see what I desire. I see myself holding the stone. But how do I get it?"

A raspy voice calls. "Use the twins."

"Come here, Potters, now!"

Harry and I walk forward shakily.

"Tell me. What do you see?" Quirrell asks us.

Harry and I look in the mirror. We see ourselves. Then Harry's reflection looks at both of us. His mirror self brings his hand into his pocket and takes out a red stone! The mirror self winks and puts the stone back. Very subtly, Harry reaches to his pocket. There is a lump. We gasp.

"What is it?! What do you see?!"

"We're shaking hands with Dumbledore. We've won the house cup."

"He lies." The raspy voice says again.

"Tell the truth! What do you see?!"

"Let me speak to him."

"Master, you are not strong enough." Quirrell says worriedly.

"I have strength enough for this." Quirrell unwraps his turban and on the side opposite his face, another face is planted. It is Voldemort who appears kind of like a snake. He stretches out and faces Harry via the mirror. "Harry and Amelia Potter. We meet again."

"Voldemort." Harry and I both say.

"Yes. You see what I have become? See what I must do to survive? Live off another. A mere parasite. Unicorn blood can sustain me, but it cannot give me a body of my own. But there is something that can. Something, that conveniently enough, lies in your pocket!"

Harry and I turn and run.

"Stop them!" Quirrell snaps his fingers and fire erupts all around the room. We're stuck. "Don't be a fool! Why suffer a horrific death when you both can join me and live?!"

We shake our heads, "Never!"

"We would never join you!" I spit out at him.

"Haha. Bravery. Your parents had it too. Tell me, Harry, Mia, would you like to see your mother and father again? Together, we can bring them back." In the mirror, our parents faces appear. "All I ask for is something in return." Harry takes the stone from his pocket. "That's it, Harry. There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it. Together, we'll do extraordinary things. Just give me the stone!" Mother and father vanish.

"Shut up!" I scream.

"You liar!" Harry yells at him.

"Kill them!" Voldemort shouts.

Quirrell soars into the air and smashes into us, one hand on Harrys throat, one hand on mine. We all fall to the steps. The stone falls out of Harry's reach as Quirrell chokes him. Harry strains and squeaks. Suddenly, Harry puts his hand on Quirrell's, trying to get him off. Smoke furls from under his hand.

"What was that?" I cough out.

"I don't know." Harry whispers to me.

"Ahh! Ahh!" He backs up. His hand is crumbling into a mountain of black ash. "What is this magic?" His hand dissipates.

"Fool! Get the stone!" Voldemort instructs.

Quirrell walks forward, but I put both hands on his face. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Quirrell backs up, then his face, which is horrendously burned, crumbles as he walks forward. His whole body is ash. He falls to the floor. Harry and I gasp. We look at our own hands and I hurry over to the stone. Picking it up and I sigh, when we hear something. Turning, Harry and I see a dust cloud with Voldemort's face. The cloud rushes forward, right through Harry and then through me.

Voldemort flies away. Harry and I fall to the ground, unconscious. I still grasp the stone in an outstretched hand.