Chapter 66 - Third Challenge

Two minutes, that is how long they stood and watched the "keys" flying before they seized a broomstick each and kicked off into the air, soaring into 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, were Harry and Thomas the youngest Seekers in a century. They both had a natural talent for spotting things that often went unnoticed by others. As they weaved about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, their eyes scanned the chaotic scene looking for the key that would open the door to their next challenge.

After a minute of agile maneuvering on their brooms, Harry and Thomas's keen eyes simultaneously caught sight of something glinting amidst the flurry of keys. There it was, a large silver key with a slightly bent wing as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

"Look!" Harry exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement, as he pointed towards the silver key.

Thomas's gaze followed Harry's gesture, and his eyes widened in realization. "Nice catch, Potter."

Before Harry could react, Thomas dashed forward towards the key. Not wanting to be left out of this fun chase, Harry quickly dashed after Thomas and the silver key. With each calculated movement, they closed the distance between them and the key. At the same time, the other keys whizzed past them, but their attention remained fixed on their target. Their friends, unable to compete with them choose to retreat to the ground, despite James' insistence that they should keep flying around to catch the key themselves.

For some reason unknown to them, the silver key sped up, and that intensified their pursuit as they too sped through the air, after their target. The silver key seemed to taunt them, dancing just out of reach. But none of the boys left this to defeat them, so they narrowed the gap until they were within arm's reach.

Finally, both Thomas and Harry made a synchronized move, reaching out simultaneously to grasp the silver key.

"Got it!" they exclaimed in unison.

The two of them landed quickly and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. As Harry hurried towards the door with the struggling key in his hand, Thomas turned his attention to their friends who were eagerly awaiting the outcome. He joined Adam, Michael, James, Hermione, and Ron, and they all watched as Harry approached the door. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see if the key would unlock the heavy wooden door and what would it be on the other side of the door.

With a swift motion, Harry rammed the silver key into the lock and turned it with all his might. The sound of a satisfying click filled the chamber, and a collective cheer erupted from the group as they celebrated their success.

"Ready?" Harry asked his friends, his hand on the door handle. All of them nodded. Seeing that Harry 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. Thomas and the others shivered slightly since the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Whoa," Adam breathed, taking in the sight before them. "This is incredible! But what is this room for?"

Thomas furrowed his brow, looking around the room and the familiar sight. "I'm not entirely sure, but given the size of the chessboard and the carved chessmen, I have a feeling we might have to play a game of chess."

"Play chess?" James exclaimed, excited to hear that they might be forced to play such a grant chess game. "But these chessmen are massive! How are we supposed to move them?"

Hermione took a step forward stopping just beside the boys, studying the chessboard intently. "I believe this chess set is enchanted. We won't physically move the pieces ourselves. Instead, we'll be controlling them with our voice or our wand."

Ron, looking slightly nervous, chimed in. "But what about the white pieces? They don't have faces. That's a bit creepy, isn't it?"

Harry nodded, looking at the towering white chessmen. "It is a bit unsettling, but I don't think they'll harm us. I mean they could have done it by now right?"

Michael, who amongst all of them was probably the most excited one when he saw the huge chess game, grinned. "Well, if it's a chess match they want, it's a chess match they'll get."

"But how do we play?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron pointing to the other side of the room. "We've got to play our way across the room."

Behind the white pieces, they could see another door.

"Well, I didn't make the game, but…" Michael said, "We're going to have to be chessmen."

Michael and Ron walked up to a black knight and put their 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 the two boys, scaring them.

Ron, struggling to find his voice, managed to stammer out, "Do we... do we have to play to get to the next room?"

The knight nodded, confirming Ron's question.

"Now, don't be offended, but None of you are particularly good at chess, except for Michael and Thomas," Ron admitted, his tone laced with self-deprecation.

Hermione reassured him, saying, "Ron, it's alright. We're not offended."

Harry chimed in, echoing Hermione's sentiment. "Yeah, Ron, we're not here to judge each other's chess skills. Besides that's the truth."

James, added playfully, "If needs be, I can learn a thing or two. Just give me a chance."

Adam simply shrugged, unfazed by the chess challenge ahead. Chess was never really his thing.

Thomas, with a dramatic flourish, pretended to be deeply wounded by Ron's words. "Oh, Ron, you wound me!"

Rolling his eyes at Thomas, Ron gathered his thoughts and addressed the group. "Alright, we're missing three chess pieces, so we need two volunteers to play the game along with me. James, Michael, are you up for the challenge?"

James was the first to jump at the opportunity,. "Count me in! I'm ready to smash some pieces."

Michael stepped forward as well. "I'm game. Let's do this."

Ron grinned, pleased with their enthusiasm. "Great! Well, Michael, you take the place of that bishop, and James, you go there instead of that castle."

When she heard that Hermione decided to ask the somewhat evident question, "What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron before continuing, "White always plays first in chess. Yes... look..."

A white pawn moved forward two squares, signaling the beginning of the game. Ron took charge, skillfully maneuvering the black pieces at his command.

"James, move diagonally four squares to the right," Ron directed in a steady voice.

Their first real shock came when their other knight was ruthlessly taken. The white queen crashed him to the floor, dragging him away from the board, where he lay motionless, face down.

"Had to let that happen," Ron said, his voice trembling slightly. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Michael. Go on."

With every loss, the white pieces showed no mercy, relentlessly capturing their black counterparts. Limp black players piled up along the wall, a somber reminder of the sacrifices made. Twice, Ron narrowly saved James and Michael from being taken out, and at the same time capturing almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there," Ron muttered, trying his best to find a solution. "Let me think, let me think..."

The white queen turned her blank face toward him, staring at him with her faceless expression.

"Yes," Ron said softly, "It's the only way. I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Hermione, Harry, and Adam shouted in unison, not wanting to see their friend being put in a coma by the White Queen.

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make sacrifices! I'll make my move, and she'll take me. That leaves you free to checkmate the king, James!"

"But—" Harry began, wanting to argue with Ron about the danger of his plan.

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?" Ron interjected sharply. "Do you see Thomas, Michael, or James saying anything? Because I don't. That means I'm most likely right with my decision."

Thomas nodded his head in agreement, after all, Ron was right, sacrifices have to be made to win. Michael stepped forward, trying to explain to Harry and Hermione the nature of sacrifices in a game like chess.

"Harry, Hermione, listen," Michael began. "Sometimes, sacrifices are necessary to achieve victory. It's not just about preserving every piece on the board; it's about strategic choices and making difficult decisions to reach our goal. Ron understands that and sadly for us, this might be the only way to win."

Hermione looked torn, but she trusted her friends. Meanwhile, Harry hesitated for a moment.

"But... we can't let Ron get hurt," Harry worriedly shouted.

"I understand your concern, Harry, but sometimes sacrifices are about protecting something bigger than ourselves. Ron is willing to take that risk to give us a chance at winning. We have to trust him."

"Ron—" Harry and Hermione protested again, their worry evident.

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!" Ron exclaimed, his voice filled with urgency.

As soon as they heard their words, Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, silently acknowledging that their friends were right.

"Alright," Hermione said. "Let's do it. We trust you, Ron."

Harry nodded. "We will be ready for it."

"Ready?" Ron called out, his face pale but resolute. "Here I go. Don't hang around once we've won."

As Ron made his move, the white queen swiftly reacted, delivering a powerful blow to Ron's body and he fell to the floor, unconscious, while Hermione's scream filled the chamber. The white queen dragged him away, leaving the others to look at this scene in shock.

Once he was out of the chess table, they rushed to Ron's side, wanting to see if he was still alive, and thankfully, he was just unconscious.

A little bit shocked by what had just transpired, James hesitated for a moment before mustering up the courage to make his move. He moved three spaces to the left, strategically positioning himself on the board. As soon as James made his move, the white king, realizing the inevitable defeat, symbolically took off his crown and threw it at James' feet. The chessmen, recognizing the victory, parted and bowed, acknowledging the triumph of their opponents.

And with that, the door opened behind them white pieces. At the same time, Harry glanced back at Ron, lying unconscious on the floor. He was worried for his friend, but knowing that Michael and Hermione would take care of their friend, he followed Thomas, Adam, and James through the door, leaving behind the chess chamber.

As they left the chess room, Harry's curiosity got the better of him, and he turned to Thomas, wanting to gather his thoughts on what might come next.

"Thomas, what do you think we'll find in the next room?"

Thomas paused for a moment, trying to remember something. He glanced back at the closed door of the chess chamber for a few seconds. Then, a realization struck him, and he turned to Harry.

"You know, Harry, I can't help but feel like these rooms are quite similar to our professors," Thomas replied. "It's almost as if each room represents one of our professors, just like McGonagall mentioned when she caught us."

Harry's eyes went wide open as he found Thomas' deduction quite plausible. "So, you mean these rooms are the defenses put by Dumbledore to protect the stone?"

Thomas nodded, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Exactly. Think about it—Sprout and the devil's snare, Flitwick and the flying keys."

Before Harry could say anything, James' face lit up as he caught on to their conversation. "Wait, so you're saying the chess was McGonagall's field since it involves transfiguration?"

Thomas nodded once again, confirming James' deduction. "Precisely. Each chamber represents a unique field of magic, which means another layer of defense."

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