"That's why I always tell you to review and read more!" Hermione said in frustration, but she still waved her wand and cast the Iron Armor Charm on both Harry and Ron.
But it's not taught in the first-year books!
Harry silently complained in his mind, not daring to voice it out loud, because only he and Ron didn't know the Iron Armor Charm...
"Now's the time, charge!" Evan seized the moment to temporarily restrain the nearest stone soldiers and led the way forward.
These enchanted chess pieces moved slowly but made up for it in numbers, scattered everywhere. Even with Evan's careful maneuvering, he couldn't avoid bumping into a few.
Fortunately, Evan's wand was not just for show. A few well-placed Impediment Jinx and Splitting Curses were enough to handle these nuisances, temporarily limiting the movements of the stone chess pieces.
But for Harry, it was much more thrilling. A stone soldier swung a large sword, nearly hitting him. Luckily, the Iron Armor Charm activated, slightly blocking the blow, allowing him to barely dodge by rolling awkwardly.
Hermione, being clever, had stuck close behind Evan from the start, so she had a relatively safe journey, even finding time to use an Impediment Jinx to help Ron block the knight's lance attack.
The four of them sprinted out of the chessboard's magical range, and the stone chess pieces ceased their attacks, sheathed their weapons, and returned to their original positions to wait for repairs.
Except for Evan, the others were all sweating profusely, the sensation of dancing on a knife's edge was too nerve-wracking.
Turning back, Evan realized he had reached another area, a small platform with a black flame barrier at the front.
The surrounding ground was engraved with complex inscriptions, some of which Evan recognized from Ancient Runes but didn't understand their meaning.
After Hermione, Ron, and Harry entered, purple flames suddenly rose, sealing the entrance and trapping them inside.
It seemed this challenge hadn't been destroyed by Quirrell, Evan thought, unsure whether to feel relieved or frustrated.
Hermione was already looking at the items on the platform, seven transparent glass bottles with clearly visible colored liquids inside, and a parchment in front, which Hermione read aloud.
Danger lies before you, safety behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you find...
Drink from them, one will lead you forward,
The other will return you to where you belong...
"This should be logical reasoning! We don't need to use magic to solve it," Hermione said in surprise, then turned confidently and suggested, "How about we see who can solve it first?"
"Maybe we should just forget it?" Ron looked at the headache-inducing riddle, his mind a mess, while Harry pondered.
Hermione didn't expect them to solve it and looked at Evan.
"Out of the seven bottles, three are poison, two are wine, the smallest bottle contains a potion that can let you pass through the black flames, and the one on the far right can send us back."
In a hurry, Evan had no interest in playing guessing games. After confirming the parchment matched his expectations, he revealed the riddle's content.
Hermione couldn't believe it; it seemed to her that Evan had only glanced casually. Hermione immediately used the information Evan provided and reversed the reasoning based on the parchment's content, and the result was correct.
But it was too fast... Hermione thought, feeling frustrated.
"Anyway, Harry and I will go ahead, you can stay here. It's safe with the flames protecting us," Evan said.
"How can that be? Are you planning to leave us behind?" Hermione glared at Evan.
"There's not enough potion in the bottle for all of us to go in," Evan pointed to the small bottle with only a little potion left.
"I'll go alone. The potion should only be enough for one person!" Harry grabbed the potion bottle, and without waiting for their objection, he continued,
"Voldemort killed my parents, and I killed him when I was just born. If Voldemort really comes back, he definitely won't let me go. So no matter what, I have to stop him!"
"And maybe I can defeat him a second time!" Harry touched the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Among all present, only he couldn't back down!
"Come on, you probably don't even know how you defeated Voldemort back then, do you? I have an idea, and if it works, we should be able to come out unscathed," Evan said, admiring his courage. But considering Quirrell's condition might have drastically changed due to his actions, Evan couldn't trust Harry to go in alone, plus he still wanted to complete the mission...
Harry reluctantly nodded; although he had spoken boldly, he actually didn't have a solid plan, just thinking of charging in recklessly.
Since Evan said he had an idea for dealing with the enemy, Harry naturally abandoned the idea of a frontal assault.
"But how will you get in?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"I have my ways," Evan took out a bottle of fire-resistant potion from his wizard robe and drank it all in one go.
Evan hadn't expected this potion, which he had casually picked up in the Room of Requirement, to come in handy now.
It just goes to show that fate is unpredictable...
"What did you drink?" Hermione asked.
"Fire-resistant potion, homemade, should be effective for several minutes," Evan closed his eyes and felt a cool sensation in his body, but it didn't affect his movements.
"That was clearly more than enough for one person..." Hermione glared at Evan, dissatisfied.
"Sorry, but it's all gone now. I'll be more careful next time," Evan smiled, turned the bottle upside down, and showed it was empty.
He didn't want to deal with Quirrell or Voldemort while also protecting Hermione and Ron, turning a nightmare-level dungeon run into a true hell-level one!
Hermione walked up a few steps, her lips trembling, her fists clenched, wanting to punch Evan in the face.
But she didn't. Instead, she suddenly hugged him tightly.
"Make sure to protect yourself, until I come back!" Hermione held Evan tightly for several seconds before letting go, blushing. She felt that Evan must have done this on purpose to keep her from taking risks.
But she wasn't going to just wait...
Hermione grabbed the empty glass bottle from Evan's hand, rushed to the platform, filled half of it with the potion on the right, gave the remaining half to Ron, and then drank the potion in her hand.
"Quick! Let's go find Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione looked at Ron, and after he drank the potion, she grabbed his collar and ran out.
"But what about those stone men outside?" Ron shouted as he was dragged along.
Hermione's angry voice echoed from afar.
"Of course, we'll use magic to smash them all!"
At this moment, Hermione didn't even plan to deal with the Ministry's inspection. She intended to drag Professor Dumbledore here as soon as she went out.
Evan and the others were about to face the Dark Lord, so who cares about the Minister of Magic?
Let him be!