Finally! Another chapter!

Disclaimer/Notes: See chapter 1

Chapter 21 – Harry

That’s one trap down, how many are there? I’m supposing Professor Sprout cast that one. Well, it would make sense.

The next door opens into a room. It looks normal at first glance… until I notice that the walls of stone aren’t really stone. They’re pineapples.

Of course, Ron starts laughing… which isn’t a good thing because then the pineapples start flying at us crazily!

“Nox!”

Great, there went the lights. Ow! Can’t Ron control which spell he uses – Ouch! Duck, swish, ack! Just tripped over another pineapple!

This is a very annoying trap, but I can see how it’d be effective – ow! My head! Stupid pineapples! Hey! Stop it!

“Lumos!” Well, it’s light again, so now we can see the pineapples still merrily hurtling at us, though it’s not good… they only seem to be going faster. What to do?

Gah! Just tripped again! This is annoying! I can’t concentrate at all!

“Petrificus Totalus!” I hear Ron cry out, and six of the pineapples freeze. Instead of falling, though, the split open.

With a clatter, six crystal keys fall out.

“Well, that’s interesting.” Yuki says, as he cries out a curse of his own. “Incendio!” A blast of flame engulfs most of the pineapples, but instead of a key flying out of these, it’s an alligator.

It’s a hungry-looking, black alligator that immediately tries to eat my leg! “Um… Thundreflash!”

A blast of lightning shoots from my wand and knocks the alligator away. Phew. It’s not out yet though, but Ron trips over a pineapple and lands atop it…

I think the extra weight did it.

“Thundreflash! Thundreflash!” What, I don’t really know many curses! At least they seem to be working…

But it’s so hard to avoid these pineapples! Ack! Where’d that acid come from? My robe! No time to think, must avoid-!

“Erase!”

Yuki’s pulled some weird shield charm or something, but the acid just vanished. That’s not much, though, because the next thing we know there are arrows flying at us! On the other hand, the arrows are popping the rest of the pineapples, so the floor’s getting covered with kings… and other odd things.

“Freeze!”

Yuki froze a portion of the floor. Ron is searching through the keys. Hm, smart of him. One of them must be the right key to the door…

Right?

Well, why else would we be here?

Yuki suddenly curses as he drops a key he was holding. With the pineapples gone, we should just be able to take our time, right?

“What’s wrong Yuki?”

“It bit me!” He points to a red swelling on is hand, then at a key on the ground. Uh-oh…

Ron suddenly doesn’t look as confident. However, his keys haven’t bitten him, right? Wait! There’s a pink rash on his face! I wonder how much it’s a problem…

Flitwick sure was… determined.

“How are we going to figure out which keys are which without picking them up and testing them, though?

There’s silence for a few minutes as we try to figure out a resolution to this situation. Yuki’s wrapped up his hand in a handkerchief, but I hope it doesn’t get worse. It wasn’t poisoned was it?

I hope not…

“I wonder how You-Know-Who got past this.” Ron mutters.

Yuki shakes his head. “No idea. Harry?”

“I’m not sure what to do either…”

Suddenly, something strikes me like a bolt out of the blue. If someone was here before, they must have used a key… therefore, it will be a key that looks used, right?

“Ron! Look at the keys, but don’t touch them, and try and find one that looks like it’s been used before! You too Yuki!” We all bend down looking.

I pick up a green key that looks used, but it sprays slime in my face. Yuck! Guess that wasn’t it… handkerchief, which pocket was it in? At least my glasses took most of the blast instead of my face.

“This one?” Ron tries a blue key in the doorknob. The key melts and he yelps as he drops it. Oh dear.

“Here.’ Yuki takes a key and tries it. However, it bursts into flames and he’s forced to drop it too. This is frustration.

I’m supposed to have good eyes as a seeker, right?

Well, it’s got to be in here somewhere…

In a few seconds, though, I see a pink key and sure enough, it opens the door and we walk in, tired but not yet defeated…

The next room doesn’t look much better. It’s dark too, so we cast Lumos again. The darkness clears… to reveal…

A pig.

It’s a big, pink, ugly pig sitting in a mud puddle. There’s nothing else in the room.

“I wonder what the teachers were thinking when they created these traps.” Yuki deadpans.

Ron coughs. “Let’s not guess… so now what? Do you think we have to defeat the pig to continue? This is a trap, right?”

“Maybe?”

Ron whips out his wand and sends the leg-locker curse at the pig… the pig gives a squeal, and turns into two buckets. This does not look good.

In front of the door to the next room, a blue fire springs up.

“… Well, I suppose we drink the purple stuff in these buckets to get to the next room.” Ron says quietly.

“Why are there two though?”

“I don’t know one’s a spare?”

That is not reassuring at all…

“You want to take a sip from one bucket, and I’ll try the other one?” Yuki volunteers. Ron makes a face, but it’s a good idea. At least one of us will get past the fire then… he nods.

Why not?

Yuki takes a sip from one bucket, Ron from another. I’m suddenly struck by a brilliant flash of insight and drink from both. Then, just in case one doesn’t work, the other will, right?

We walk into the flames and there’s a flash of light…

End Chapter

Completed 2/4/05

I know, had to create me own spells

Thundreflash = Thunder flash. Little bolt of lightning.