The Strategic Directive
Phoenix's command—"Tonight, we confirm the defenses"—rang with finality. It was early June, and the sense of impending crisis was palpable, a low magical hum beneath the surface of the school's final weeks. Harry, Ron, and Hermione met Phoenix in a cramped, abandoned classroom, bringing the flute, the knowledge, and the raw courage Phoenix needed to execute his plan.
Phoenix, his amethyst-violet eyes gleaming with cold purpose, laid out the path to the Stone with surgical precision.
"We are moving now," he stated. "The threat is active, and our delay is no longer strategic. This is not a collective challenge. Each of you has a specific, single purpose that plays to your latent magical strengths. I will act as the fail-safe and the final key. You will follow my directives without question."
He then led them, moving with absolute silence and speed, toward the massive oak door of the third-floor corridor. Phoenix, without ceremony, raised his hand. A silent, precise pulse of his refined Dragon Core magic dissolved the complex locking mechanisms and intricate warming charms placed on the wood, and the door swung open without a sound.
Fluffy and the Efficient Bypass
Inside, the three-headed dog, Fluffy, immediately began a low, guttural growl that quickly escalated into a trio of terrifying roars.
"Music," Phoenix whispered, pushing Hermione forward.
Hermione, pale but resolute, pulled out the wooden flute Hagrid had given Harry. She took a deep breath and began playing a nervous, slightly off-key tune. The effect was immediate. The massive heads drooped, and Fluffy's growls subsided into three enormous, snuffling snores.
Phoenix did not wait. He moved to the center of the room, looking down at the massive trapdoor. Instead of struggling with the immense, charmed weight of the wooden door, he used a focused burst of purified Core magic to instantly vaporize the centuries of rusted, magically reinforced hinges that held the door in place, allowing it to swing open easily and silently.
"Efficiency is paramount," Phoenix said, looking back at the trio. "We go."
The Challenges of the Trio
They dropped through the trapdoor and landed on a mass of thick, snaky vines.
"Devil's Snare," Hermione instantly gasped, recognizing the suffocating coils tightening around her and the boys. Ron began to struggle in panic, but Hermione, with a moment of brilliant, practiced recall, shouted, "Lumos Solem!" A brilliant jet of sun-like light erupted from her wand, and the Devil's Snare recoiled as if burned, releasing them all.
"Excellent, Granger," Phoenix approved, his tone clipped. "The knowledge of the mind overcomes the panic of the body."
The next chamber contained hundreds of small, fluttering keys and the sleek, silvery form of a broomstick, all overseen by Professor Flitwick's elaborate charm.
"Potter, your turn," Phoenix directed. "Your training as a Seeker was not for sport; it was for this moment. Focus on speed and agility, not magic."
Harry, seizing the broom, was instantly aloft. Already honed by weeks of training that Phoenix had subtly amplified, Harry flew with an unnatural, perfect precision. He soared through the maelstrom of keys, his instincts as a Seeker taking over, and snatched the large, battered key that clearly belonged to the next door.
The following chamber was Professor McGonagall's colossal chessboard. Ron, energized by the strategic challenge, found his element. "Phoenix, you're the Black Knight. Harry, you're the rook. I'll take the Bishop's place." Ron directed their moves with precise, shouted commands, sacrificing himself in the end with a brave move that allowed Harry to checkmate the White King. Ron's piece was struck down with a terrifying clatter, leaving him momentarily dazed.
Phoenix helped Harry and the slightly wobbly Ron through the door.
The Absolute Detour
In the penultimate chamber was Professor Snape's Potions Riddle: a line of seven bottles of liquid fire and poison, with a carefully constructed logical puzzle to determine the correct path.
Hermione immediately began reading the riddle, her brow furrowed in intense concentration. Phoenix, his patience thin, did not wait. His new purified Dragon Core magic abhorred the waste of time required by complicated logic.
He walked directly to the wall separating them from the final chamber. His eyes glowed a powerful violet . He pressed his palm against the cold stone, and without any visible spell or sound, the Runes of Protection woven into the ancient wall—Snape's brilliant magical signature—began to glow fiercely, then instantly vaporized. Phoenix's power did not attempt to break the wall; it instantly suppressed and reversed the foundational concept of "Wall" that Snape had charmed into the stone.
A small, perfectly circular opening, just wide enough for a student to pass through, instantly appeared in the wall, vaporizing the stone and the runic protections into harmless dust.
"The riddle is inefficient," Phoenix said dismissively, turning to Hermione, who stared slack-jawed at the clean, impossible hole. "It wastes valuable time. There is no need for logic when one possesses the power to circumvent the premise."
"Granger," Phoenix instructed, his eyes fixing hers. "You have served your purpose. Weasley needs tending. You will use the correct potion to return with Weasley to the surface. This is where you stop. Do not follow."
Ron, still dizzy, looked confused. Harry, sensing the cold, final resolve in Phoenix, knew better than to argue.
"Potter," Phoenix commanded, his voice a low, intense rumble. "You will remain here. Wait for my signal. The true threat inside is one I must handle alone. Do not confuse your Gryffindor recklessness with actual tactical ability."
Phoenix stepped through the hole in the wall, disappearing into the final chamber, leaving Harry isolated, Ron incapacitated, and Hermione trembling with a mixture of terror and awe.