Through the Fire

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Edmund quickly took their places on the chessboard.

Ron was practically glowing with excitement.

This trial felt as if it had been prepared especially for him. Well, to be fair, it more or less had.

After being overshadowed again and again, Ron finally had a chance to show what he could do.

Unfortunately, Edmund shattered that beautiful dream almost at once.

"Geminio!"

Edmund's position was simple. He might not know how to play wizard's chess, but he was still a wizard.

And as a wizard, he naturally ought to defeat magic with magic.

Several Doubling Charms later, the black pieces on the board had multiplied several times over.

Edmund still felt that was not enough, so he added a layer of shielding to each black piece as well.

A few minutes later, everyone watched in silence as every white piece on the board was surrounded by three to five black pieces and beaten down in a brutal mob.

Harry and Hermione looked at Edmund with open admiration. Their expressions said they had learned something important.

Ron, on the other hand, looked as if his entire worldview had collapsed.

"This is not wizard's chess," he muttered. "It is not supposed to be like this."

He looked as if someone had taken the game apart and put it back together wrong in front of him.

Once Edmund's black pieces had violently swept every white piece off the board, the door behind the white side opened immediately.

It looked almost impatient, as if it wanted to send this group of disasters away as quickly as possible.

They filed through and reached the next trial.

The room beyond was empty.

Hermione sniffed the unpleasant smell lingering in the air and analyzed it at once.

"This should have been Professor Quirrell's trial. Probably the troll. But Edmund already dealt with it."

Harry and Ron nodded numbly.

So they still had not been useful.

At this point, they might as well remain obedient spectators and cheer from the sidelines.

Then everyone entered the next room. As soon as they stepped inside, flames of two different colors rose up, sealing both the way back and the way forward.

In the middle stood a table with seven oddly shaped bottles and a piece of parchment.

Hermione walked over, picked up the parchment, and began reading.

"It seems to be a riddle. We can try to solve it."

Edmund naturally would not deny the young witch her moment. Since she wanted to solve the puzzle, he let her try.

After reading the parchment several times, Hermione paced back and forth in front of the row of potion bottles. In the end, she selected the smallest bottle in the row.

"This one should help someone pass through the flames and enter the next room."

Harry looked at the tiny bottle. There was only enough potion inside for one mouthful.

He decided he would drink it and go on alone.

"I will go in with you," Edmund said. "I have a way through the fire, but it will only let me pass."

Of course, Edmund had many ways to cross those flames. He could probably extinguish them directly if he wanted.

But they were about to face Voldemort. He did not want to be distracted protecting Hermione.

Harry, as the hero of the original story, should be fine. More importantly, he was still needed to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone.

Hearing that Edmund would go with him, Harry visibly relaxed. With Edmund there, he finally had some confidence.

Harry drank the potion and walked into the flames ahead with solemn determination, as though he were marching toward a farewell he might never return from.

Edmund was just about to follow when Hermione suddenly rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"Please protect yourself," she whispered. "I will find Dumbledore."

Only after several seconds did Hermione release him, her eyes red.

Edmund gently rubbed her hair and answered with unusual softness.

"Do not worry. I am strong."

Then he turned and walked toward the flames.

As Edmund moved forward, firelight appeared behind him.

"Cryy!"

With a clear call, a noble, magnificent phoenix appeared behind Edmund.

It was Aurea.

Edmund did not stop. Framed by the phoenix, his figure seemed almost sacred and solemn, leaving Hermione and Ron stunned where they stood.

Golden flames ignited around Aurea and wrapped themselves around Edmund.

The astonishing thing was that the fire did not harm him at all. He passed smoothly through the flames ahead and disappeared from their sight.

"Quirrell? It was you?"

Harry stared at the final person in the chamber in shock.

"It was me," Quirrell said.

His voice sounded nothing like usual. It had become cold, eerie, and faintly twisted.

"I was just wondering whether I would meet you here, Potter."

"But I thought Snape..."

Harry clearly could not believe it.

The stammering, timid professor who had always seemed to be bullied by Snape was the one truly after the Philosopher's Stone.

"Harry, I told you a long time ago," Edmund said as he appeared in the room, still guarded by phoenix fire. "Do not let prejudice make your decisions for you."

He looked toward Quirrell.

"Quirrell, we meet again. You were lucky to survive the Forbidden Forest."

Edmund's expression cooled.

"But you will not run today."

Then his gaze shifted past Quirrell.

"And neither will you, Voldemort."

x

x

x

If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/auroraclairevale