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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 --?"