HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

The three pushed open the wooden door, and a huge wizard's chessboard suddenly appeared before them.

The black and white checkered floor stretched to the far end of the room, with thirty-two chess pieces neatly arranged, each one taller than the rest of the room.

The white pieces on the opposite side were already on high alert, their cold, stone-like faces exuding a murderous aura.

Of the three, Ron was clearly the best at chess, so he naturally stepped forward to command the battle this time.

“Looks like we’ll have to take matters into our own hands.” Hermione’s voice trembled slightly. The three exchanged a glance and silently walked toward the empty black chess piece position—Harry took the place of the bishop, Hermione stood at the castle, and Ron took a deep breath and stepped toward the fallen knight.

Ron's fingertips trembled slightly, but the moment he touched the stone chess piece, his eyes suddenly sharpened. "Listen carefully..."

His voice was surprisingly calm. "Harry, move four squares to the right front."

The pieces began to move, making a heavy scraping sound. The entire room trembled when the Black Knight was struck down by the White Queen. The stone knight lay face down, cracks spreading from his armor. Hermione gasped, and Harry felt a chill run down his spine.

“No…it’s alright,” Ron’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “It’s a necessary sacrifice. Harry, now you can eat their bishop.”

As the game progressed, more and more black pieces piled up against the wall. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ron's forehead, but his commands became increasingly decisive. Twice, he almost anticipated White's three-move attack, timely luring Harry and Hermione away from danger.

Sagres leaned against a stone pillar in the shadows, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

The red-haired boy's calm and rational demeanor at this moment was astonishing—he was not only calculating each move, but also coordinating the entire battle.

This Weasley boy is probably much more interesting than he appears.

“Listen,” Ron suddenly broke the silence, his voice unusually calm, “Next… I have to be eaten.”

"No!" Harry and Hermione shouted in unison.

Ron whirled around, his eyes burning with unwavering determination: "This is chess! There have to be sacrifices!" He pointed to the chessboard. "If I make this move, the Queen will capture me, but at the same time you'll checkmate the White King, Harry!"

"don't want……"

"What are you still hesitating about? Do you still want to stop Snape?" Ron's voice suddenly rose, echoing in the empty chess room.

Sagres, who was watching the "live stream," was completely bewildered upon hearing this. He wondered what this had to do with Snape. Was it because the Batman often targeted the three of them, leading him to subconsciously regard him as an imaginary enemy?

He shook his head and continued reading, still puzzled.

Ron straightened his collar and stood up straight like a true knight: "Do as I say."

As Ron took that step, the White Queen, just as he had predicted, whirled around, and her stone scepter crashed down with a whooshing sound. In the final moments, Ron gave Harry a trembling smile and mouthed, "He'll die."

He was then knocked unconscious and fell to the ground.

Harry's heart nearly leaped out of his chest, but he did not betray Ron's sacrifice—three steps later, the White King's crown slammed to the ground, and all the white pieces on the chessboard simultaneously laid down their weapons.

They won.

The door to the next level slowly opened, and Harry and Hermione looked back sadly at Ron one last time before rushing through the door and walking down the next corridor.

“Ron, he…”

"He'll be alright."

Harry said it with certainty, as if he were convincing himself.

Ron Weasley was indeed unharmed, because Sagrais arrived just in time and healed all of the young wizard's injuries with a single "Rejuvenate".

Sagres gently stroked his chin. This game was more exciting than he had expected—not only a contest of skill, but also a test of courage.

They did a great job!

Chapter 43 Forward and Backward

Harry and Hermione's adventure continues. Pushing open the heavy wooden door, a stench of rotting flesh and mold surges in like a wave.

The two were instantly choked and staggered back two steps, tears streaming uncontrollably down their faces.

Through the blurry vision, a colossal creature, at least fifteen feet tall, was pacing around the room, dragging a stone club, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

“Merlin’s beard…” Hermione’s voice caught in her throat. This troll was a size larger than the one from Halloween, its bluish-gray skin covered in boils, and the animal skins wrapped around its waist emitted a nauseating stench.

It suddenly stopped, tilted its head to look at the intruder, and its cloudy little eyes sparkled with dull curiosity.

“Don’t just stand there! Hermione!” Harry grabbed Hermione’s wrist. “Remember Professor Greengrass’s practical class? Fred said they told us about it…”

"What?" Hermione looked bewildered.

“Professor Greengrass’s practical courses have seen many students successfully deal with trolls, haven’t they!” Harry shouted to Hermione as he ran to attract the troll’s attention. “You should know at least one of those spells!”

Hermione finally snapped out of her daze. "Spells? Yes, I know a lot of them..."

"That's good, let's find a way to take it down!"

"Let me think, let me think..." the little witch kept repeating, gradually overcoming her fear. "I've got it!"

“Lure it here…” Hermione shouted to Harry, pointing to a spot not far in front of them, “Here, bring it over.”

The troll reached out several times but failed to grab Harry. It gradually became agitated and started swinging its stone club at Harry.

Harry narrowly avoided the troll's swinging stone club several times with skillful changes of direction and dodges, but even so, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He finally managed to lure the troll to the designated location, where the little witch was holding her wand, ready to strike.

"The floor collapsed!"

Hermione decisively cast a spell on the ground Harry had just stepped on. The moment the spell struck the ground, the smooth floor collapsed and created a hole.

The troll chasing Harry didn't pay attention to its footing at all; it stepped directly into the pit and instantly lost its balance.

Boom!

The towering giant collapsed to the ground, losing its grip on the stone club, and flew swiftly toward Harry, who was turning to look back.

"Yugadilmurat Leviosa!" A standard levitation charm stopped the stone rod's momentum in time, saving Harry.

"Stone Impact!" Hermione immediately controlled the stone club to smash into the troll's head.

The giant, which had been struggling to get up just a moment ago, immediately lay motionless on the ground, unconscious, with a large, bloody lump appearing on its small head.

Harry slumped to the ground, his heart pounding as if it would burst out of his chest.

Hermione's wand was still pointed at the troll, her arm trembling slightly, but her eyes had hardened. "Let's go!"

She pulled Harry up. "Snape may have already gotten the Philosopher's Stone."

They stumbled into the next room, greedily breathing in the relatively fresh air.

The sight before them left them frozen in place—on an ancient stone table, seven uniquely shaped glass bottles were neatly arranged, refracting a hazy glow in the dim blue firelight.

“It’s Snape’s mechanism…” Harry’s voice was a little strained, and his fingers unconsciously touched the scar on his forehead.

Just then, the door behind them burst into flames with an eerie purple blaze, while a wall of inky black fire rose from the exit in front of them.

They are trapped in this deadly puzzle.

Hermione hurried forward, her trembling fingers unrolling the parchment scroll. As Harry drew closer, he smelled a mixture of wormwood and mint emanating from the paper.

"Danger is imminent..." Hermione whispered the riddle, her voice echoing slightly in the enclosed space.

As she deciphered the clues one by one, Harry's gaze shifted between the seven bottles: emerald liquid swirled in the slender crystal bottle on the far left; deep purple potion writhed like a living thing in the short, stout earthenware jar beside it; and frost had formed on the surface of the silver bottle in the very center…

“A very clever question,” Hermione said, “but it’s not magic—it’s logical reasoning. Without the ability to reason logically, you’ll be stuck here forever.”

"What? You mean we can't get out?"

“Of course not,” Hermione said. “The answer is on this piece of paper—one of the seven bottles will take us safely through the black flames, and the other will take us back through the purple flames.”

Harry watched Hermione intently as she solved the puzzle, and suddenly noticed that there were still teardrops on her eyelashes from the troll's fumes.

Just then, a bubble suddenly popped out of the rightmost conical flask, and the amber liquid inside was decreasing at a visible rate.

“Hermione…” Harry warned nervously, “I think these potions might evaporate…”

“It’s solved!” Hermione put down the parchment. “According to the fourth clue, the second one from the left and the second one from the right taste the same—meaning they are both nettle wine and can’t help us get through the fire…”

Her wand touched several bottles in turn. "By process of elimination, we found that the smallest one is the key to the next room, while this round bottle is the key to return to the previous room."

"How did you know the answer so quickly?" Harry couldn't believe it.

Hermione smiled and said, "Don't forget, Harry, I'm a Muggle-born wizard. When it comes to logical reasoning, few people are better than me!"

“Alright.” Harry took a deep breath and placed the small crystal bottle into Hermione’s hand.

“Listen to me,” his voice was more steady than I had expected, “Go back and find Ron—get two brooms from the room with the Flying Key. Go straight to the Owl Shack and have Hedwig deliver a message to Dumbledore.”

His green eyes gleamed with unwavering determination in the reflection of the black flames. "Then, if possible... try to find Professor Greengrass."

Hermione's fingers gripped the bottle tightly, her knuckles turning white: "But... if that person is with Snape..."

“I’ve already escaped from him once.” Harry subconsciously touched the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, forcing a smile. “Maybe I can escape this time too!”

Hermione's lips trembled, and she suddenly lunged forward to give Harry a tight hug. "You are the bravest wizard I have ever met."

Her voice muffled on Harry's shoulder.

“No, I’m not,” Harry said, his ears turning red with embarrassment. “You’re the best. Without you, we wouldn’t even have made it past the first level.”

Hermione took a step back and wiped her reddened eyes. "Me? I just... can recite. But there are some things you can't learn from books..."

She recalled what Professor Greengrass had once said, "For example, true courage, and... friendship that is more precious than gold."

“Yes, it’s very precious!” Harry affirmed, picking up the smallest bottle and handing the other round bottle to Hermione.

"Then let's toast to our friendship!" The boy forced a smile, trying to crack a joke, but his voice trembled slightly.

"You must have these two bottles, right? You're not mistaken, are you?"

“Absolutely not,” Hermione said firmly, taking a large gulp and shivering.

"Is everything alright?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Then let's go back!"

Hermione nodded, then plunged headfirst into the flames.

The moment she stepped through the wall of fire, she heard Harry shout behind her, "Tell Ron—his chess is fantastic!"

The flames engulfed her figure, leaving only a single strand of curly hair drifting down in the heat. Harry stood alone before the stone table, staring at the last remaining drop of potion in his hand. Black flames churned before him, like some kind of menacing monster.

He raised the bottle and whispered into the empty room, "I have to do this!"