A few days ago, the Quidditch match had ended just ten minutes in, with Harry snatching the Golden Snitch out of the air.
The rare outcome kept people talking for quite a while.
Gradually, no one brought up Harry's "dark history" anymore.
…
It was a bright, sunny Sunday.
Harry sat in his dormitory and unfolded a worn piece of parchment.
The parchment was quite large—when spread out, it covered nearly the entire surface of a table. It was square, aged, and yellowed with time.
And it was completely blank.
If someone were to draw a few lines, sketch some mountains, mark a few red Xs, and draw a large black skull in ink at the bottom, it might be mistaken for an ancient treasure map.
…
Harry had found this item in Filch's office.
Maybe it was because Harry was a genius and Filch was a Squib.
Whatever the reason, Filch always seemed to come up with absurd excuses to punish him.
During one visit to Filch's office, Harry had spotted a cabinet labeled "Confiscated and Highly Dangerous Items"—and that's when he remembered. There was a powerful magical artifact inside.
So, after class one day, Harry retrieved the parchment.
Strictly speaking, the parchment had once belonged to his father, James Potter.
It was the Marauder's Map, created by James, Sirius Black, and their fellow troublemakers.
A map capable of displaying the location of every person in Hogwarts.
…
Harry drew his wand and tapped the parchment lightly.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
From the point of contact, fine black lines spread like a spiderweb across the page.
In the blink of an eye, the previously blank parchment transformed into a densely detailed map.
But unlike a regular map, this one was alive. Dozens of tiny black dots moved and twitched across the surface.
Each dot was labeled with a name.
Hermione. Neville. Malfoy. Professor Dani. Filch's cat. Oh—and Professor Quirrell. Strangely, Quirrell's position did not include Voldemort's name.
Harry thought to himself: Maybe Voldemort doesn't count as alive? Or maybe… he doesn't count as a person at all?
He stared at the location of the Headmaster's office. No dot labeled Dumbledore.
He scanned the entire map again—still no trace of him.
That meant Dumbledore had left the castle.
Harry breathed a little easier.
He exited the Gryffindor common room and headed for the room on the right side of the fourth-floor corridor—the one Dumbledore had strictly forbidden anyone from entering during the opening feast.
He was going to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone!
Harry tugged at the doorknob. As expected—it didn't budge.
After casting Alohomora, the door creaked open a few inches.
Harry sighed. If they really wanted to protect the Philosopher's Stone, they should've set the difficulty to "nightmare mode." What is this, "easy mode"?
Do they seriously think the later obstacles are enough?
Grumbling to himself about how even a first-year could break through this kind of setup, Harry pushed the door fully open and stepped inside.
The room was dim. He couldn't see much, but he could hear slow, heavy breathing.
A massive black silhouette loomed ahead, and two large red orbs glowed in the dark.
Even without seeing the creature clearly, it was terrifying enough.
Harry remained calm.
He pulled out a small stone figure and cast a Continuous Singing Charm on it.
The little statue began to sing.
The enormous shadow slowly lowered itself to the ground, its threatening growls turning into submissive whines.
The sounds softened until they became soft, steady snores.
Only then did Harry move forward.
Up close, the monstrous three-headed dog was far more horrifying.
There's just something about sheer size that invokes fear.
Especially when it's something so grotesque and monstrous-looking.
Still, it made Harry even more excited for his Big Black.
Surely a fully grown dragon would be even larger.
Someday, Harry imagined, I'll be riding my black dragon through the sky, with a few lovely girls in my arms… He nearly drooled at the thought.
He stepped over one of the dog's massive legs.
Beyond it was a trapdoor.
Harry pulled open the brass ring.
A pitch-black hole stared back at him. There were no ladders.
This wasn't a basement.
Harry frowned and first cast Wingardium Leviosa on himself—a charm he'd learned at the beginning of the year—then followed it with an advanced version of Lumos.
A brilliant flare shot from the tip of his wand, plunging down like a flashbang.
He peered into the shaft.
Below was a massive network of thick, black, sinewy vines.
Thanks to Snape's Potions classes, Harry recognized it immediately.
Devil's Snare.
It looked a little like regular vines—but dozens of times larger.
It thrived in dark, damp places.
Its most dangerous trait was its ability to rapidly entangle anything that moved. Far more aggressive than a python.
In the Forbidden Forest, running into Devil's Snare was practically a death sentence.
But if you knew its weakness, it wasn't that scary.
Devil's Snare hated light and fire.
So when Harry's glowing light dropped down among the vines, the Devil's Snare instantly recoiled, creating a clear circular passage.
Harry jumped down and easily slipped through the tangled mass.
He now stood in a stone corridor.
It sloped downward—reminding him a bit of the vault tunnels in Gringotts.
From ahead, he heard the faint tinkling of bells.
At the end of the passage was a brightly lit chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling.
Hundreds of winged, glittering keys, resembling birds made of gemstones, flitted about in the air. On the opposite wall stood a heavy wooden door.
These weren't birds at all. They were the enchanted flying keys that could unlock the door—but from a distance, they looked just like birds.
There were hundreds of them swirling above.
Harry knew that if he tried to catch one, they'd all attack.
He had no intention of chasing them around on a broomstick.
Instead, he raised his wand and muttered,
"Ten-Lock Web."
All the flying keys were instantly drawn together in a tangled cluster.
Then he cast:
"Finite Incantatem."
This was a spell that could cancel enchantments cast on objects.
It was a seventh-year level spell.
For most wizards, it was one of the most advanced spells they'd ever learn.
The keys stopped moving, falling still.
But now Harry had to try each key in the lock, one by one.
At this point, he really wished he had a bottle of Felix Felicis—with that, he might pick the right key on the first try.
Still, his luck wasn't too bad. On the fiftieth try, he found the right one and opened the door.
Before leaving, he re-enchanted the keys with Flight and Attack charms…
Then moved on to the next chamber.
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⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter
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