"Voldemort's current condition is extremely weak. He almost resembles a ghost… perhaps that's a starting point," Charles mused. Lately, he had been thinking about how to design the protection trial for the Philosopher's Stone.
The purpose of the barrier wasn't truly to stop Quirrell or Harry and his friends—it was to give the young wizards a proper test.
"Ghost-types can only be countered by Ghost or Dark-types… perhaps I can station a few of those there."
Charles had plenty of Ghost-type Pokémon. In the Pokémon Reserve, there were now several distinct colonies of Gastly and Haunter. Each colony held over a dozen Gastly and a couple of Haunter.
As for Dark-types, he only had one—his Umbreon, evolved from Eevee through high friendship. It was a strong Pokémon, one Charles had raised years ago.
Other Dark-types would have to wait until his newly obtained Starters evolved—Greninja and Meowscarada both possessed the Dark typing after evolution.
But for now, those Pokémon were still a ways off from reaching their final forms. Maybe they'd be ready by Christmas. For the moment, he could bring over the Gastly group instead.
With that decision, Charles grabbed over a dozen empty Poké Balls and took off on the back of his Pidgeot, flying across the Reserve in search of the Gastly.
The problem with making the Reserve so large was that finding anything specific could be a real headache.
Fortunately, Charles had his Gengar—a Pokémon that was practically the undisputed ruler of the Reserve's Ghost-types. It didn't take long for Gengar to lead him deep into the forest, where a whole cluster of Gastly drifted about.
With Gengar's presence, capturing the Gastly was a breeze. Most of the Pokémon in the Reserve were still relatively low-level anyway. Anything above Level 30 had been specifically trained by Charles this past month. Most others were around the mid-teens.
"Gengar!"
Charles's plump, grinning Gengar waved its stubby hands, barking out orders to the Gastly.
"Gengar! Gengar!"
The Gastly all floated about energetically, wide grins spreading across their gaseous faces. They seemed to be saying, "Don't worry, boss Gengar! When that noseless guy shows up, he won't know what hit him!"
Charles brought the group to the Third floor room.
As soon as he entered, the three-headed dog, Fluffy, noticed him. But the massive beast didn't dare growl in front of Charles. Upon seeing him, it immediately backed up, revealing the trapdoor hidden beneath its paws.
"Good boy," Charles said, tossing a large chunk of bloody meat. All three heads lunged for it at once, growling and snapping as they fought for a bite. They shared one stomach—but each head had its own tongue, and no one wanted to be the one who didn't get the tasty piece but still gained the weight.
Charles chuckled, lifted the trapdoor, and jumped down.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
He flicked his wand, casting a Levitation Charm on his own robes. The wide fabric billowed gently as it slowed his descent.
He landed as softly as a feather, but even that tiny sound drew the attention of the first guardian—the Devil's Snare.
The Devil's Snare was a magical plant whose mature vines could lash out like serpents, ensnaring and strangling intruders.
Defeating it wasn't hard. The plant hated light and warmth. And conveniently, even first-year students learned the Fire-Making Spell.
"Incendio."
A ring of fire burst into being around Charles, its glow pushing back the twisting vines. Feeling the heat, the Devil's Snare recoiled into the dark corners of the chamber.
"This plant reminds me of Brambleghast from the Paldea Region," Charles remarked thoughtfully.
Brambleghast, the Tumbleweed Pokémon, was a Grass/Ghost-type whose thorny body could drain the life energy of its prey as it rolled along the wind.
Beyond the Devil's Snare was an empty room—Dumbledore's designated space for Charles's challenge.
As usual, Charles began by using the Extension Charm to enlarge the area, then spent several hours carefully arranging the layout of his trial. By the time he was done, it was well past midnight.
Just as he was preparing to leave, he heard young voices echoing from above.
First came a panicked wail.
"We're finished! We're doomed! We're gonna die!"
Then a girl's slightly rough voice shouted, "Come on! Alohomora!"
"Ron and Hermione?" Charles muttered in surprise. "Looks like I just caught them breaking in." Concerned that they might get hurt, he hurried upward.
"He thinks the door's locked," Harry whispered. He had been ditched by Malfoy, and the coward had even brought Filch after him. Luckily, Filch hadn't inspected the lock carefully—Hermione had already opened it with a simple Unlocking Charm.
"I think we're safe now—come on, Neville!"
But Neville tugged at Harry's sleeve.
"What is it?"
Harry turned—and for a moment, he thought he'd stepped into a nightmare.
"We're dead…" Ron whispered in terror. Now he understood exactly why this place was forbidden.
Before them stood a monstrous dog that filled the entire room from floor to ceiling. It had three heads, each with a pair of glaring, wild eyes, three twitching noses, and three drooling mouths—ropes of saliva hanging between rows of yellowed fangs.
The beast stood utterly still, six eyes locked directly on them.
Just as the four young wizards thought their lives were over, a calm voice rang out from the side.
"Quiet, Fluffy."
Charles flicked his wand. The floor transformed into thick iron chains that wrapped tightly around the Cerberus-like dog in an instant.
"Professor Gold!" Harry and the others nearly burst into tears at the sight of him.
Merlin knew what horrors they'd just faced.
"You four," Charles said, his tone mild but authoritative, "it's ten minutes to midnight. Why aren't you in your dormitories? And need I remind you that Headmaster Dumbledore specifically forbade anyone from coming here?"
Harry's face burned with shame.
To him, Hagrid and Professor Gold were the two people he was most grateful to—they'd rescued him from Privet Drive and shown him a new world. Getting caught breaking the rules by one of them… he couldn't have felt worse.
"Professor, we…" Harry stammered, at a loss for words.
"I told you we shouldn't have come!" Hermione groaned, almost hysterical.
"All right," Charles said at last, sighing. "It's late. I'll take you back to your dormitories. Come to my office tomorrow afternoon."
"Professor—you're… not expelling us?" Hermione asked hesitantly, hope flickering in her eyes.
"Normally," Charles said with a faint smile, "we don't expel students for this sort of thing. But punishment is inevitable. I'll tell you the details tomorrow."
(End of Chapter)