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The long, winding stone corridor was eerily quiet, the only sounds being their own footsteps and the occasional drip of water sliding down the damp walls.
The corridor sloped downward, which reminded Harry of Gringotts. His heart gave a sudden thump as he thought of the legendary dragons that guarded the wizarding bank vaults.
If they ran into a dragon here—a fully grown one at that... even Norbert had been tough to handle—"You hear anything?" Ron whispered.
Harry tilted his head and listened. There were faint rustling and clinking sounds coming from ahead.
At the end of the corridor, they reached a brightly lit room with a high, vaulted ceiling. Countless tiny, jewel-toned birds flitted and flapped around the room like a living kaleidoscope. On the opposite wall stood a thick, heavy wooden door.
"You think they'll attack if we try to cross?" Ron asked.
"Clearly, the only way to find out what these little guys do is to go across," Augustus said, glancing at the swarm of winged creatures filling the air.
Harry took a deep breath, raised an arm to shield his face, and dashed across the room as fast as he could. He fully expected to be clawed or pecked to bits—but nothing happened.
He made it to the other side completely unharmed. The door didn't budge when he yanked the handle. It was locked.
Augustus came over with Ron and Hermione in tow. Harry kept pulling and pushing, but the door wouldn't budge. Hermione gave it a go with Alohomora, but that didn't help either.
"So now what?" Ron asked.
"Didn't you notice? These flying 'birds' are actually keys," Augustus said, scanning the room. "Look closely, they all have wings. One of them must open this door."
Ron and Hermione looked up, staring at the swarm.
"But there are hundreds of them," Ron said, squinting at the keyhole.
"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned key—probably silver, shaped like a door handle," said Harry.
The trio grabbed some nearby broomsticks and launched themselves into the swarm, carefully searching for the key that matched the lock.
Augustus activated his Eye of Detection, scanning the entire mass of fluttering keys. In no time, he spotted a large silver one with drooping pale blue wings—it looked like it had been caught and jammed into a lock before.
He pointed his silver wand at it, and with a directed Mage Hand spell, an invisible force seized the tired-looking key in midair. It squirmed a little, but gave up quickly, as if it was used to this kind of rough treatment. The hand floated it right over to Augustus.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione dismounted and gathered around.
"This should be it," Harry said, though he wasn't entirely sure.
"Well, only one way to find out." Augustus shoved the key into the lock and gave it a twist—click. The lock sprang open, and the key immediately flitted away again, looking thoroughly worn out from getting caught twice in one day.
"Ready?" Augustus asked, hand on the door handle.
The three of them nodded.
He pushed the door open.
The second room was pitch black—they couldn't see a thing. But as soon as they stepped in, the room blazed with light, revealing a scene that made them freeze in shock.
They were standing at the edge of a giant chessboard. Towering black chess pieces loomed in front of them, each one taller than they were, carved from something like dark stone. Across the room, facing them, were equally tall white pieces. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared, shivering with nerves—the white pieces had no faces.
"Now what?" Harry whispered.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ron said. "We have to play our way across."
They could see a door behind the white pieces.
"How are we supposed to play?" Hermione asked nervously.
"My guess?" Ron said. "We have to take the place of pieces."
"I don't think it's that complicated," Augustus said, smiling faintly. These constructs were well made, sure, but mostly for show. Compared to the terrifying mechanical beasts that guarded wizard towers in other realms, these chess pieces were practically adorable.
He pointed his wand into the air, and a massive black cloud started forming at the ceiling. As it swelled and spread, it blanketed the entire room.
Then, huge chunks of hail began pelting down from the cloud, smashing into the chessboard below. Ice crystals exploded on contact, frost spreading across the board like wildfire, connecting tile to tile and covering every piece.
In mere moments, the entire room transformed into a glistening world of frozen spires.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione just stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the winter wonderland before them. Words failed to express what they were feeling—everything they might have said seemed way too weak for this surreal, frozen landscape.
"Well, that was definitely the easier way," Ron muttered, rubbing his eyes like he was trying to make sure he wasn't dreaming. For once, Hermione didn't argue—she just nodded slowly, like a robot.
"Let's go. No telling what's next," Augustus said, waving them forward as he walked confidently across the slick, icy floor toward the next exit.
"What do you think is waiting in the next room?" Harry asked as he caught up to him.
"We've already passed Sprout's trap—the Devil's Snare. The enchanted keys were definitely Flitwick's. McGonagall must've animated the chess set. That means all that's left are Quirrell's spell and Snape's," Augustus said as they approached another door.
"Ready?" Harry asked quietly.
"Go on in."
Harry opened the door.
A wave of stomach-turning stench hit them like a wall. They immediately pulled up their robes to cover their noses. The smell was so bad it brought tears to their eyes.
Through their blurry vision, they saw a massive troll lying unconscious on the floor, even bigger than the one they'd fought before. It wasn't moving, and it had a huge, bloody lump on its head.
"Thank Merlin—we don't have to fight it," Harry whispered. They carefully stepped over its huge legs.
"Let's keep moving, I can barely breathe."
He pushed open the next door, bracing for whatever horror might be waiting—but the room wasn't scary at all. Just a simple table, and on it sat seven bottles, each with a different shape and filled with liquid in shimmering colors.
The liquids glowed like they held powerful magic, each hue more enchanting than the last.
"....."