CHAPTER TEN:

Third Person P.O.V.:

As nightfall washed over Hogwarts, the four Gryffindors met in the common room like they had planned. Tonight was the night that they were going to find the Philosopher's Stone under the trapped door. They had planned everything. What time they were going to meet, what they needed to bring, and how they would get to the trapdoor undetected.

What they didn't plan, however, was Neville Longbottom waiting for them in the common room as they descended the stairs.

"Oi," Charlie began looking at the cowardice Gryffindor, "You shouldn't be down here."

"Funny," Neville began as he stood up from the chair he was sitting in, and walked over to his four friends, "Neither should you. You're sneaking out again, aren't you?"

Harry took a step towards Neville and tried to reason with him, "Now, Neville, listen. We were goi-"

Harry was quickly cut off, "No! You'll cost Gryffindor more house points! I won't let you leave!"

"Is that right?" Charlie challenged and stepped forward, "And how do you reckon you'll do that?"

"I-I'll f-fight you!" Neville stuttered but tried to make himself sound as threatening as possible.

"Neville, I'm really really sorry about this," Hermione spoke up, stepped in front of Charlie and pulled out her wand, "Petrificus Totalus."

With that, Longbottom froze and fell back on to the floor with a small thud.

Ron gulped loudly and looked towards the bushy haired girl, "You're a little scary sometimes, you know that? Brilliant, but scary."

Harry and Charlie laughed but couldn't disagree with the ginger haired boy. Hermione Granger wasn't someone to be messed with.

One by one the four of them left the common room, but not before saying a few things to Neville which they were planning on leaving on the common room floor;

"Sorry Neville."

"Again, I'm really sorry!"

"You kind of had that one coming, mate."

"It's for your own good."

As they left the common room, the four of them piled underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. They walked through the corridors slowly, but eventually found their way back to the third floor.

When they reached the door, Hermione whispered a quick, "Alohomora." to make the door to unlock before the went in.

Ron shut the door behind them as they entered the room with Fluffy. As they were now in the clear, they all got out from underneath the invisibility cloak.

In the room, Charlie could hear the small and delicate sound of a harp that was playing all by itself in the corner. Thanks to the music, Fluffy was fast asleep, snoring loudly.

"Snape's already been here," Charlie spoke before pointing to the harp, "Look, he's put a spell on the harp."

As the four of them walked closer to Fluffy, they noticed that his paw had blocked the trapdoor underneath him.

Harry spoke in a whisper, "We have to move his paw."

"What?!?" Ron exclaimed a little loudly, "Are you mental?"

Charlie looked at his ginger haired friend and hit him on the back of the head, "How else do you think we're gonna get in the trapdoor, you git?"

Ron hit Charlie on the back of his arm, which resulted in a small wrestle between the two of them before they were pulled off of one another by Hermione, "Would you two stop? We clearly don't have time for this!"

The two boys instantly forgave one another with a small laugh before helping Harry move Fluffy's paw. As the four of them managed to successfully move the dog's paw off of the door, they all sighed in relief.

Hermione opened the trapdoor and the four of them looked down into pitch darkness.

Harry spoke courageously, "I'll go down first, don't follow until I give you a sign. If something bad happens, get yourselves out."

Ron and Hermione nodded reluctantly.

Charlie on the other hand, had seemed to be the only one who noticed the music coming to an abrupt stop, "Yeah, yeah. I get it, Gryffindor courage and all mate. However, before you climb down into the darkness, please answer a quick question for me. Did the harp suddenly stop playing music or is it just me going mental?"

It was then that a big glob of drool from Fluffy had fell onto Ron's shoulder, "Ah! Gross!"

The four of them looked up to be met with the three-headed dog staring down at them furiously.

Charlie didn't dare make any sudden movements, but did speak quietly, "Guess that answers my question. Into the trapdoor! Now!"

One by one they leapt down into that darkness of the trapdoor. What they were not expecting was to fall into a plant-like substance once they did so.

It quickly wrapped around each of them and began to tighten slowly but surely. Each of them tried to yank themselves free, but it only made things worse. The vines were only tightening faster.

"Stop moving, all three of you!" Hermione yelled from the other side of the room from Charlie and Harry, "This is Devil's Snare. You have to relax. If you don't, it will only kill you faster."

"Kill us faster?" Ron yelled, "Oh, now I can relax!"

Hermione gave Ron an annoyed look before she slipped under the vines. Charlie grew worried at the sight, "Hermione!"

"Now what do we do?!" Harry yelled.

"Just relax." The bushy haired girl said from a location that the boys couldn't see.

"Hermione? Where the bloody hell are you?" Charlie questioned.

"Do what I say! Trust me!" The girl pleaded.

Charlie and Harry obliged instantly, and slipped underneath the vines just as Hermione did only moments earlier. Ron, on the other hand, just screamed louder as he watched his other two friends disappear.

The brown eyed boy fell to the ground just as Harry did, but he felt someone grab his arm to help pull him up.

He looked up to be met with Hermione's brown eyes, "Are you alright?"

Charlie nodded and smiled at her before wiping off the dust on his pants. He then looked over to Harry, "You okay?"

He too, nodded, "Where's Ron?"

As if on cue, the three of them heard the boy's distant cries for help above them.

"He's not relaxing, is he?" Hermione asked clearly frustrated.

"Apparently not." Charlie said bluntly.

"What do we do?" Harry asked, now facing his two friends and seeing if they had any ideas.

"I remember reading something in Herbology," Hermione began, "Devils Snare! Devils Snare! It's deadly fun... but will sulk in the sun! That's it! It hates sunlight."

The girl was quick to point her wand at the plant above them, "Lumus Solem." And with that, a bright light shot out of the top of her wand and soon enough, Ronald Weasley had fallen on the floor beside them.

The boy quickly got up and dusted himself off, "Phew! Lucky we didn't panic."

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Lucky Hermione actually pays attention in Herbology."

The four of them turned at the sound of flapping wings. They followed the sound and it led them to a room filled of keys with wings and a rusty old broomstick? How peculiar.

"I bet one of those keys happens to fit that door," Charlie said as he pointed to the door across the room.

"What's this all about?" Hermione questioned.

"Let's not question it. Let's just find that key." Harry stated in a tone that felt very final.

"That one there!" Ron yelled and pointed to the wonky-looking key floating above them, "It's the only one that's different."

Charlie ran to the door and inspected it before comparing it the key that Ron pointed out, "He's right. It looks like that's the right one."

Harry nodded before inspecting the broom, "Doesn't this seem too easy?"

"Well of course it does," Charlie said bluntly which earned a scolding look from Hermione, "But might as well give it a try. If Snape could do it, you sure can. You're the youngest seeker in a century mate!"

Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement, which gave Harry the courage to mount the old broom. As soon as he did, the keys started moving even more rapidly around the room and began chasing Harry on the broom. It wasn't any match for the Gryffindor Seeker, however, as he flew up, grabbed the key quickly and threw it down to Hermione so she could unlock the door.

Harry flew down and dismounted, before following his friends into the next room. The quiet and dark room was filled with giant chess pieces. The four of them walked slowly before Hermione spoke, "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

The brown eyed boy recognized the room set-up to resemble a giant chess board before turning to his friends, "It's a chessboard. Like the one Ron and I played with during the holidays."

Ron stepped up into the board with Charlie, "Blimey! He's right!"

Suddenly, the torches around the room ignited, which had illuminated the room immensely. It was revealed that the chessboard was completely set up. As the kids saw the door on the other side of the room, they made a start towards it. However, their path was blocked when the chess pieces came to life and moved to block the way.

"What do we do now?" Harry questioned.

"Its obvious, isn't it?" The brown eyed boy said with a smile as he admired the giant chessboard, "We have to play our way across the room."

"How are we meant to do that?" Hermione asked, nervously.

"We're going to have to be chess pieces," Charlie explained, "Harry, you go be the bishop. Hermione, you'll be the Queen's side-castle, and Ron, you'll be the Pawn."

"And you?" The ginger haired boy questioned.

"I'll be the Knight, so I can order the pieces around," The brown eyed boy explained, "Simply because, and don't take this the wrong way, but none of you are really good at chess. I think I'm our best bet."

"No offence taken." Hermione and Harry said simultaneously.

"I take offence! I almost beat you that one time!" Ron exclaimed.

Charlie chuckled, "We can discuss that later, now come on, let's play some chess."

The four of them each moved to their stations. As Charlie climbed up on his stone horse, the chess piece sprang to life and acknowledged the boy that was now on its back.

"White always plays first in chess," said Charlie, who now peering across the board, "Yeah. Look!"

Across the board, a white pawn had moved forward two squares.

The boy started to direct the black pieces. He took a deep breath before saying, "Harry, move diagonally four squares to the right."

The four Gryffindors faced a real shock when the other knight was taken by the lack of protection. The white Queen smashed him to the floor quickly and then dragged him off of the board. The piece laid there face down, splattered on the marble floor.

"Had to let that one happen," Charlie explained as he saw his friends' faces looking a bit startled, "That also explains whether or not this is going to be like actual Wizards Chess or not. Two birds, one stone. Literally."

The boy joked slightly and then turned to Hermione, "That leaves you to take that bishop, go on."

The chess pieces were brutal when it came to the destruction of one another. They showed absolutely no mercy whatsoever.

After a couple more moves, the brown eyed boy spoke up once again, "We're nearly there," The boy thought to himself for a moment, "Let me think — let me think..."

The white queen then turned her blank face towards him. Almost as if she was taunting him with his ultimate fate.

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

"NO!" Harry and Ron shouted.

"Absolutely not!" Hermione yelled, "There must be another way!"

"There isn't! That's how chess works!" Charlie snapped. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and the Queen will take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

He looked at each of his friends one by one. Ron had his mouth agape, Harry was looking around, trying to find another solution, and Hermione looked as if she was on the verge of tears, "Just promise me that when I do this, you'll go on and finish this thing without me. Give Snape a nice, old curse from yours truly."

Charlie looked at Harry specifically, "Promise me!"

Harry sighed and then reluctantly nodded, "I promise."

The brown eyed smiled before looking ahead of him at the white chess pieces once again. This was it.

He took a big breath in and then exhaled to prepare himself, "This part is going to suck."

With that, he instructed his horse to move one space forward. Sure enough, the Queen struck him with a hard blow across the face, knocking him on the ground, with the shattered pieces of his horse landing on top of him. She then grabbed him by the ankle and swiftly yanked him off of the board, just as she had done to the other severed pieces.

Charlie could taste the blood that was now pooling in his mouth. The last thing he heard was Hermione scream his name before suddenly everything went black.

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The boy awoke the following morning in the Hospital Wing. As he opened his eyes, he noticed a bushy haired girl sitting next to his bed reading a book. He instantly smiled widely — she stayed with him.

When Hermione noticed Charlie begin to stir awake, her eyes shot up and she reciprocated his smile, "Madame Pomfrey! He's awake."

The older woman came around the corner and addressed the boy, "Ah Mr. Hawthorne! Glad that you're awake."

The brown eyed boy went to speak but his throat was incredibly dry. As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, Hermione handed him a cup of water from his bedside table.

He drank it until it was empty. The poor kid was very parched. He turned to the younger girl, "Thank you."

She nodded her head back at him in response before both kids turned back to Pompfrey.

"I'm glad to be awake too," Charlie joked, "What's the damage?"

Madame Pompfrey took his chart off of the side of his bed and read aloud, "Nothing major. A mild concussion and few cuts and bruises. If anything, you were lucky."

The boy laughed, "Yeah. Lucky."

Pompfrey smiled, "As far as I'm concerned, you are good to go whenever your ready, Mr. Hawthorne."

With that, the older woman turned on her heel and walked away to check on her other patients. Charlie turned his head and met the gaze of Hermione. He smirked, "You stayed with me?"

The girl sighed, "It wasn't just me. Ron, Harry, Dumbledore and McGonagall also stopped by. I just happened to stay a little longer. I wanted to make sure you were alright. Pretty stupid thing you did back there. Brave, but absolutely stupid."

The boy laughed in response, "Did it mean anything though? I mean, did you, Ron and Harry find Snape?"

"Well, not exactly," Hermione began, "Ron and I stayed with you after we won the chess game. We thought it'd be best if Harry finished it alone."

Charlie was shocked for a moment that his friends let The Chosen One go into the last room alone, but he was grateful that they stayed with him.

"As it turns out," She continued, but this time in a whispered tone, "Snape wasn't the Professor after the Stone. It was Professor Quirrell. Apparently, he was in cahoots with You-Know-Who. The whole thing was pretty mental, if I'm being honest. And I wasn't even there! It just sounded mental from how Harry explained it."

The brown eyed boy took a moment to process everything the girl said. How could they have been so wrong? After a minute or two, the boy moved to sit on the edge of the bed, facing Hermione, "Professor Quirrell. Wow, who would've thought. Guess we owe Snape an apology. Is Harry alright?

Hermione nodded, "Yes, thankfully."

She then helped the boy out of the hospital bed and to his feet. As soon as she saw that he was fine on his own, she let go.

"Lets go. I don't want to be in this hospital wing any longer than I have to." Charlie spoke as he turned and grabbed Hermione's hand in his before running out of the room.

As the two of them entered the Gryffindor common room hand-in-hand, it wasn't long before he was engulfed in a big hug from his other two friends, causing him to separate from Hermione, "Oi! Still a little injured here, ya gits. Let's not hug too hard, okay?"

The two boys laughed as they pulled away from Charlie. Once again, the four Gryffindors stood in the common room like they had the previous night, only this time they smiled from their victory.

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The next couple of days went by in a blur and soon enough, the entire school gathered in the Great Hall for the term ending festivities.

Charlie sat with his friends of course, but did smile up at his grandfather every now and again.

It wasn't long before Dumbledore stood up and addressed the school.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...."

The boy and his friends listened to his grandfather's speech intently. It made them all wonder how the time in their first year at Hogwarts had flown by so quickly.

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two." Dumbledore continued, announcing the House Cup winners.

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Charlie could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight. How he hated that slicked haired git.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes... first — to Mr. Ronald Weasley... "

Ron went instantly purple in the face. The poor kid looked as if he could burst from embarrassment at any given moment.

"...for the assistance in the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house twenty-five points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Fred and George shook their brother as a way of congratulating him. Even Percy was heard bragging to his fellow prefects about his younger brother.

At last there was silence again.

"Second — to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house twenty-five points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms; her three friends strongly suspected she had burst into tears from how she proud she was of herself. Charlie tapped her on the shoulder and as she looked up, he gave her a big smile, which she reciprocated instantly.

"Third — to Mr. Charlie Hawthorne..."

The brown eyed boy's head shot up in the direction of his grandfather, who had just simply smiled at him,

"...for his brave self-sacrifice and calm under immense pressure, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves — they were a hundred points up. The entire table was going absolutely berserk. A couple of Charlie's older friends even started a chant of his name.

Hermione tapped the boy on the shoulder and did the same as he had done to her. She gave him a smile, which he gladly reciprocated.

"Next — to Mr. Harry Potter... " said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet once again.

"...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The screams were deafening. Those who could add up while yelling knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points — exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup — if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point.

Albus raised his hand. The room fell silent within an instance.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I, therefore, award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might as well have thought some sort of explosion had gone off. The noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table was significantly loud. Harry, Ron, Charlie, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before.

Harry, still cheering, nudged Charlie in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified. It was if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him. The two boys just simply laughed. The blonde haired Slytherin had just met the effects of karma.

The rest of the feast was a simple come down from the immense high that the Gryffindors had experienced. It was a perfect way to end the year. The house cup was now theirs. Their hard work really did pay off.

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On the very last day of the term, Charlie walked his three friends down to the Hogwarts express with Hagrid. He couldn't help but feel a little distraught that he wouldn't be seeing his friends as often as he had, but that just made him all the more excited for the next term.

He helped Ron, Harry, and Hermione load their luggage onto the train. It was then that Hagrid made a last call for the train which made the four friends have to say goodbye — well at least to Charlie.

As Harry went to say goodbye to Hagrid, Ron approached the brown eyed boy and playfully shook his head to make the boy's hair go all wild.

The ginger haired boy laughed, "You brown eyed git. I'm gonna miss you mate, you must come and visit the Burrow this summer. My parents really wanna meet you. I'll send an owl."

Charlie laughed, "Ill be awaiting that bloody bird then."

The two boys gave each other a small hug, before Ron boarded the train with his brothers.

Next was Hermione, who was hesitant to make a move towards Charlie. She didn't want to say goodbye to him.

Instead, he took a step towards her and gave her a sweet smile, "Write to me?"

She reluctantly nodded before engulfing him in a tight hug. The boy was startled at first, but soon enough, found comfort in being in Hermione Granger's arms.

"I'll miss you," She whispered so light that she thought no one could hear.

That's when she felt Charlie smile within her arms, "I'll miss you too, Granger."

The two stood there for a second and enjoyed the moment as the world seemed to stop around them. Not long after, they finally released one another and the girl gave the boy one last wave before boarding the train like Ron had.

Then there was Harry. The younger boy approached his friend and gave him a sad smile, "This is it. Back to the Dursley's."

Charlie chuckled slightly before putting a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Don't worry mate, I'll come get you... just like last time."

"I'm counting on it." Hardy smiled genuinely before giving the slightly older boy a brother-like hug.

As they pulled away, the Boy Who Lived quickly boarded the train. Charlie gave one last wave to his three friends through the train window, before moving over to Hagrid who was doing the same thing.

"I'm proud of yeh, Char." Hagrid said with a proud smile as he looked down at the boy, "Aside of almost dying, I think yeh first year was a success."

Charlie smiled, "I think so too."

The Hogwarts Express went away on it's train tracks as the brown eyed boy and the half-giant watched it disappear into the horizon.

Charlie Hawthorne finished his first year with a concussion, a family heirloom, good grades (not as good as Hermione, mind you), and three of the best friends he could've ever asked for.

Charlie and Hagrid walked back to the castle. The young boy acknowledged the bright sun and the nice day that was upon them, and basked in it for a moment.

His moment was short lived as Hagrid spoke up, "Ah! Right! Almost forgot, your grandfather wishes to see yeh. Something about your father."

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Author's Note:
*this chapter was not proof read*

And we're done the Philosopher's Stone! Thank god! I'm going to try and limit the stories to ten chapters until we get to the Goblet of Fire. Hope that's alright!

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the Philosopher's Stone! If you did, be sure to vote, comment, and share! I'd really appreciate it.

Until next time, much love to you all.

xo, Selena