PS/SS Chapter 16 summary

[katzefan at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 29442

In Chapter 16, the school year is just concluding and the 
students are taking their final exams. Harry, Hermione and Ron 
are also worried about the possible reappearance of Voldemort - 
Harry more so than the others. He also wonders why his scar 
hurts so much. After their last exam, the three are sitting by the 
lake when it suddenly occurs to Harry - how is it that the one 
thing Hagrid wants the most is a dragon egg, and he just 
happened to run into someone willing to play cards for an egg 
they just happened to have on them? The three rush to Hagrid's 
hut. He tells them he doesn't know what the stranger looked like 
because he wouldn't take his cloak off. 

Hagrid admits to having had quite a few drinks with the stranger, 
and that he told the stranger that a person just had to play music 
to put Fluffy to sleep and so get past him. He suddenly realizes 
he's also told the three students the same thing. They rush back 
to talk to Dumbledore, but Prof. McGonagall tells them the 
headmaster has been summoned to the Ministry of Magic in 
London. They try to explain their concerns to McGonagall, but she 
dismisses them, saying nobody can get at the Stone. As they 
leave McGonagall, they run into Snape, which rattles them even 
more. When they get away from Snape, Hermione agrees to 
keep a watch for Snape while Ron and Harry try to get past Fluffy. 
However, they run into McGonagall again, and she tells them in 
no uncertain terms to take themselves out of the area of the 
restricted corridor or she'll dock Gryffindor 50 points. They go 
back to the common room and find Hermione has had another 
encounter with Snape, and had to give up her own watch. Harry 
decides he no longer has a choice: he believes Snape is going 
to make a try for the Stone very soon. He tells Hermione and Ron 
he is going after the Stone that same night. They argue, but 
finally agree with him, and offer to come along.

That night, Harry takes the invisibility cloak and the three start
out - but run into Neville before they can leave the common room. 
He attempts to stop them, and in desperation, Hermione 
performs a full Body-Bind spell on him. They also come across 
Peeves in the corridor, but they are all under the invisibility
cloak, and Harry scares the poltergeist away by pretending to be 
the Bloody Baron.

They get to the forbidden corridor and find the trapdoor open. A 
harp sits nearby. Fluffy is awake, as nobody is playing the harp. 
Harry blows a few notes on his wooden flute, and Fluffy nods off 
immediately. They can't see anything when they peer down 
through the trapdoor. Harry hands the flute to Hermione and 
jumps through the trapdoor, followed by Ron and Hermione. It's 
not until Hermione is through the door that they find they've 
landed on a plant called the Devil's Snare, which is winding itself 
around Harry and Ron. Hermione has managed to get out of its 
way. After a few moments of panic, she sends a jet of fire at the 
plant, which releases the two boys and backs off.

The three encounter a room with flying keys and a locked door at 
the other end. All three use available broomsticks in an attempt 
to spot the key they need. Harry spots it first, and organizes a 
pincer movement with himself, Ron and Hermione. He 
succeeds in catching the key and opens the door.

In the next chamber is a huge chess set. Ron takes charge here, 
and the three take the place of three black chess pieces. The 
game begins, and the three are horrified to realize this is full-
sized wizard's chess, in which pieces are 'taken' by being 
smashed down by the opposite side. As the game draws to a 
close, Ron realizes the piece for which he is substituting must 
be sacrified; Harry can then checkmate the king. Harry and 
Hermione protest, but Ron insists it's the only way they can win 
and Harry and Hermione can go on. He steps forward, and the 
white queen strikes him down. Harry moves forward and the 
white king surrenders. Harry and Hermione go to the next 
chamber, where they find an unconscious troll.

In the chamber after the troll, they find themselves trapped 
between a purple fire (behind them) and a black fire (in the 
doorway leading onwards). On a table in the room are seven 
bottles. One allows you to go back through the purple flames, 
one allows you to move ahead, two contain wine and three 
contain poison. Hermione realizes it's a logic puzzle, and after 
some thought, points out the two bottles they need. She drinks 
one and goes back the way they came. Harry drinks the other 
and moves through the door ahead. Someone is waiting for him 
- but it's not who he expected.

Questions

1) Why on earth would Dumbledore continue to trust Hagrid so 
much when Hagrid drinks too much and blurts out sensitive 
information to people he doesn't even know?

2) Prof. McGonagall knows as well as anyone that Harry is 
special. So why doesn't she listen when he tries to tell her about 
the possible theft of the Stone?

3) Why do you suppose Peeves is so frightened of the Bloody 
Baron?

4) Is it just luck - or predestiny - that of the skills needed to get 
through the protections surrounding the Stone, Harry, Hermione 
and Ron just happen to (between the three of them) have them 
all?

5) At the end of the chapter, did you have any inkling who would 
be waiting for Harry?