Beating the Obstacle Course

When Hermione and the Gryffindors accidentally found Fluffy in the third-floor corridor, she mistakenly believed that the corridor leads to an obstacle course. One that a student can complete for extra credit (stemming from the idea that things are done differently at Hogwarts, including daring and dangerous feats).

## Round 1

To defeat the first obstacle, she asked Blaise for information on three-headed dogs and researched the mythology of the cerberus.  Over the next two months Hermione assembled an explorer's kit. Some items were found at school (such as a music wand from Madam Pomfrey), while others were sent to her by her parents (with her father sending her items based on a Dungeons & Dragons explorer's kit.) In November, while the school went to the Gryffindor-Slytherin quidditch match, Hermione did reconnaissance of the third-floor corridor. She easier passed Fluffy, but her 50 foot rope was not enough to reach the bottom of the trap door. Defeated, she climbed out to plan for another day.

## Round 2

   Hermione made a second attempt during the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff quidditch match. This time she brought extra rope (Fluffy's lead, courtesy of Hagrid). It was enough to reach the Devil's Snare, which Hermione dropped through after a quick *incendio* to the vines. In the room of flying keys, Hermione opted to ignore the flying test. Instead, she used a muggle lock-pick set to open the door. Despite this success, Hermione was unable to continue to the chess challenge on, as she is a poor chess player.

Learning of Hermione's lack of skill, Blaise offered to teach Hermione how to improve. That, however, did not go far. Blaise asked her why she's so desperate to win, and Hermione lied, saying it's so that she can show up Ron Weasley in the one thing he's good at. Of course, since she's not good at the game, Blaise decided to look into a workaround. For Christmas he got her one of a pair of specially linked chess sets. With it, she can secretly play/show her 'opponent's' moves on one board, and Blaise can offer her countermoves on his own board.

## Round 3

Armed with this new chessboard (as well as a potions kit, testing strips, and a collapsible cauldron for a potions challenge), Hermione made her third attempt. She made extra precautions, like leaving catnip near the kitchens to distract Mrs. Norris and choosing a night she had astronomy class (as an excuse for being out at night). Her first snag was that Fluffy landed on the trap door. She woke him up so that he'd move, though he tore at her robes a bit before falling asleep again. This time she ignored the rope and simply jumped down to the devil's snare. She quickly passed that obstacle and the flying key room.

For the chess game she played as the Black King. The Black King piece handed her its obsidian crown, which she wore during the game. With Blaise "playing" for her, the game went on for a long while, but ultimately succeeded. The White King relinquished its own crown to her as the victor. She kept both crowns as symbols of her victory.

The Troll room was next. This own Hermione succeeded in by casting a bright *lumos* to blind the troll while she ran straight through to the next room. Like in canon, the potion room wasn't a hard change for Hermione to pass. That said, she did use the testing strips on all seven bottles just to be sure Snape didn't mix the potions around on purpose.

In the Mirror room Hermione first inspected the inscription -to no avail. She then looked at mirror itself. Since she didn't know about the Philosopher's Stone hidden inside (let alone want to use it), Dumbledore's spell easily gave her access to the Stone. At first she was upset, believing that someone else had already claimed the 'real' prize and left behind a calling card; but eventually decided that she must be the first person to reach the end. That in mind, she decided to leave a fake prize in the mirror. She transfigured a loose stone to look (mostly) like the Philosopher's Stone and used her intent to ask the mirror to hide it. Thus, the 'obstacle course' was won.

1. ↑ Chapter 15: The Midnight Duel https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/15/New-Blood
2. ↑ Chapter 17: The Trade https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/17/New-Blood
3. ↑ Chapter 17: Wingardium Leviosa https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/18/New-Blood
4. ↑ Chapter 23: Exploring the Corridor https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/23/New-Blood
5. ↑ Chapter 28: Exploring the Corridor - again https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/28/New-Blood
6. ↑ Chapter 32: Interlude https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/32/New-Blood
7. ↑ Chapter 35: Christmas Morning https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/35/New-Blood
8. ↑ Chapter 37: Back to School https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/37/New-Blood
9. ↑ Chapter 39: The Obstacle Course https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/39/New-Blood