text
stringlengths 2
72
|
---|
the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the |
bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to |
catch one. |
Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. He |
had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's |
weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large |
silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and |
stuffed roughly into the keyhole. |
"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one -- there -- no, there |
-- with bright blue wings -- the feathers are all crumpled on one side." |
Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into |
the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom. |
"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off the |
key with the damaged wing. "Ron, you come at it from above -- Hermione, |
stay below and stop it from going down and I'll try and catch it. Right, |
NOW!" |
Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upward, the key dodged them both, and Harry |
streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and |
with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one |
hand. Ron and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber. |
They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in |
his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned -- it worked. The moment |
the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very |
battered now that it had been caught twice. |
"Ready?" Harry asked the other two, his hand on the door handle. They |
nodded. He pulled the door open. |
The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as |
they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an |
astonishing sight. |
They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black |
chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what |
looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the |
white pieces. Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly -- the towering |
white chessmen had no faces. |
"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered. |
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across |
the room." |
Behind the white pieces they could see another door. |
"How?" said Hermione nervously. |
"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen." |
He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the |
knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the |
ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron. |
"Do we -- er -- have to join you to get across?" The black knight |
nodded. Ron turned to the other two. |
"This needs thinking about he said. I suppose we've got to take the |
place of three of the black pieces...." |
Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, |
"Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at |
chess --" |
"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do." |
"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, YOU 90 |
next to him instead of that castle." |
"What about you?" |
"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron. |
The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a |
knight, a bishop, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces |
and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that Harry, Ron, |
and Hermione took. |
"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. |
"Yes... look..." |
A white pawn had moved forward two squares. |
Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he |
sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost? |
"Harry -- move diagonally four squares to the right." |
Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white |
queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he |
lay quite still, facedown. |
"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to |
take that bishop, Hermione, go on." |
Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. |
Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. |
Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in |
danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white |
pieces as they had lost black ones. |
"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think let me |
think..." |
The white queen turned her blank face toward him. |
"Yes..." said Ron softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken." |
"NOF Harry and Hermione shouted. |
"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take |
one step forward and she'll take me -- that leaves you free to checkmate |
the king, Harry!" |
"But --" |
"Do you want to stop Snape or not?" |
"Ron --" |
"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!" |
There was no alternative. |
"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now, |
don't hang around once you've won." |
He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard |
across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor - |
Hermione screamed but stayed on her square - the white queen dragged Ron |
to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out. |
Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left. |
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had |
won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With |
one last desperate look back at Ron, Harry and Hermione charged through |
the door and up the next passageway. |
"What if he's --?" |