Opening the trapdoor revealed a pitch-black void below, with no ladder to descend.
Alaric took the lead, agilely jumping down, landing on something soft.
"No problem!" he shouted back at the opening, now reduced to a small spot of light. "It's a soft landing. You can jump! I'll catch you."
However, when Harry and Ron jumped, Alaric merely assisted them, but when Hermione and Cho Chang jumped, he caught them in a princess carry, leaving them blushing.
Ron and Harry couldn't help but silently criticize Alaric for being too focused on the girls.
"What is this stuff?" Ron asked, feeling the strange damp softness on the ground.
"I don't know, it seems like some kind of plant. Probably laid here to cushion the impact of the fall," replied Cho Chang, curiously touching the ground.
"To be honest, it's fortunate we have this pile of plants here," Ron said.
"Fortunate for what!" Hermione exclaimed, "Look at you all!"
She jumped up suddenly, struggling to move towards a damp wall.
She struggled because the plants on the ground started moving, entwining around her legs.
Ron was the most unfortunate; one of the things extended tendrils like a snake, wrapping around his ankle and suspending him upside down.
Others were also unknowingly entangled by the long vines.
"This is Devil's Snare!" Hermione screamed as she struggled continuously. "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... What did Professor Sprout say to deal with it? It likes darkness and dampness—"
Before she could remember what Devil's Snare specifically feared, Alaric acted.
"Incendio!"
A huge wave of flames shot out from the tip of the Spellweaver.
Everywhere the flames swept, Devil's Snare burned to ashes, and the ones entwined around the young wizards retreated automatically due to the high temperature and brightness nearby.
"To be honest, Hermione," Alaric stopped the fire spell and turned to her, "your knowledge is actually extensive enough.
But when faced with unexpected situations, you are too nervous, causing you to forget everything. I suggest you practice magical dueling."
"Okay, I will..." Hermione replied shamefully, lowering her head. This time she could have thought of a solution, but she got stuck because she was too panicky.
So, they continued forward, and in front of them there seemed to be a faint rustling sound and tinkling noises.
Arriving at the end of the corridor, they faced a brightly lit room with a high arched ceiling. Countless dazzling little birds flutter their wings, flying all around the room.
Across the room was a thick wooden door.
Ron was worried that these "little birds" would attack them as they passed through the room. Still, when he gathered the courage and rushed to the other end of the room, nothing happened.
He safely reached the door, pulled the handle, but found it locked.
"These birds... they can't just be for decoration," Hermione said. "They are keys! Winged keys—look closely. Obviously, this means..."
They saw several broomsticks in the corner of the room.
Among them, Alaric, Harry, and Cho Chang were the best at riding broomsticks. Each of them mounted one, searching through the flock of keys.
But there were too many keys, and finding the right one from this many was an enormous challenge.
"No, wait!" Cho Chang was the first to give up searching.
"This is not right. We can't possibly find the correct one from so many keys. Dumbledore wouldn't design a challenge that is impossible to complete.
Otherwise, they themselves wouldn't be able to enter. There must be another way."
Her words reminded Alaric, and he returned to the ground, pulling out his wand.
Sure enough, among the flying keys, one silver-white, old-looking key flew out and was caught by Alaric.
It struggled, but Alaric's strength rendered it immobile.
He inserted it into the keyhole, twisted it forcefully—yes, it was the right one.
With a click, the lock opened, and the key flew away again.
It was caught too forcefully, and it looked disheveled.
The second room was pitch black, and they couldn't see anything. However, as soon as they entered, the room suddenly lit up, revealing a shocking scene.
They stood next to a giant chessboard, with black chess pieces in front, all taller than them and seemingly carved from something like black stone. At the other end of the room, facing them, were some white chess pieces.
"Now what?" Harry whispered.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ron said, being the best at Wizard's Chess, feeling like he was on home ground here.
"We have to play chess to get to the other end of the room."
They saw a door behind the white pieces.
"How do we play?" Hermione asked nervously.
"As I see it," Ron said, "we have to act as chess pieces."
He walked up to a black knight, reached out, and touched the knight's horse.
Immediately, the stone came to life, the horse scraped the ground with its hooves, and the knight turned its helmeted head to look at Ron.
"Are we—uh—supposed to move with you guys to get across?" The black knight nodded.
"In other words, we have to replace five of the chess pieces." Hermione analyzed. "We have to win, and none of these five pieces can be taken during the battle."
"What happens if they're taken?" Cho Chang asked dumbfoundedly.
"Probably...dead." Alaric replied to her scratching his neck.
"This requires some skill." Cho Chang shrank in fear. "I can't do it."
"Ron, how about you?" Harry looked at his best friend. "I remember you're quite good at this."
"I..." Ron was eager to try, but after careful thought, he became a bit afraid. "If it's only three, I'd be more confident."
Suddenly, Alaric asked, "How do you play Wizard's Chess?"
He had intended to learn Wizard's Chess but got busy making brooms and wands, dealing with the dragon, and rescuing the unicorn. He completely forgot about it.
"It's exactly the same as regular chess, except all the pieces are alive. It's like commanding an army during the game, and the pieces provide advice.
So, you need to understand the temperament of each piece thoroughly to avoid any trouble while commanding." Hermione answered. "You haven't played it before?"
"So what? It seems pretty simple." Alaric's eyes lit up. This was just like turning a turn-based game into a real-time strategy game. If it's a competition, then bring it on.
"Let me do it." He said loudly. "Just protect five pieces. Easy peasy."
However, when the others heard that this was Alaric's first time playing Wizard's Chess, they all expressed reluctance to go up.
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