On the 3rd floor of Hogwarts Castle.
Inside a certain room, a large, bored dog lay sprawled across the floor. It had three massive, ferocious heads. One was turning to look around, another had its eyes closed in a light doze… With a soft creak, the wooden door slowly opened.
All three of Cerberus's heads lifted at once, turning toward the doorway.
Just as Cerberus was about to bare its teeth and bark furiously, it caught the scent drifting in from outside and instead began wagging its tail.
When Dumbledore entered the room with Lucien, Cerberus let out three loud barks in unison, then trotted over excitedly.
Its middle head lowered itself toward Lucien, clearly waiting to be petted.
Seeing this, Dumbledore chuckled.
"It seems the Cerberus really likes you."
Lucien reached out generously and scratched Cerberus's scalp.
"I do seem to be rather popular with animals. And now I also have the unicorn's blessing."
He pulled out three roasted lamb legs and tossed them over. Each one was neatly caught midair by a massive mouth.
Cerberus squatted down, its three heads swaying as it carefully chewed on the fragrant lamb legs.
Dumbledore and Lucien walked up to the trapdoor, which opened automatically.
Lucien leaned forward and peered into the dark opening, looking down.
What reached him first was a faint rustling sound, like a snake slithering through branches and leaves.
It was pitch-black below, without the slightest trace of light, so Lucien quietly activated his Eye of Peering Magic.
At once, his vision filled with vast tangles of dark green vines, twisted and interwoven. Like giant pythons, they were coiled together, slowly writhing.
The last time he had looked, the shaft had been empty. Now it was completely covered in Devil's Snare.
This magical plant possessed considerable constricting power, capable of restraining even large, powerful creatures such as trolls for a time.
However, its weaknesses were just as obvious.
It feared light and fire.
Ordinary beasts or common magical creatures found it difficult to produce light or flames.
But for a wizard, this was far too simple.
For instance, the most basic Lumos spell was taught to first-year students in their very first Charms lesson.
Hmm. Professor Sprout, who had set up this challenge, was truly kind.
As long as one could recognize Devil's Snare, passing through it was easy.
"Lumos!"
A small sphere of light condensed at the tip of Lucien's wand.
The glowing orb then detached from the wand. As it fell through the opening, it suddenly expanded, releasing a brilliant light.
The snake-like tendrils were forced to retreat, revealing a wide gap.
Lucien transformed, becoming an owl, and flew straight down.
As he neared the ground, he naturally shifted back into human form and landed steadily.
He looked up at the Devil's Snare slowly closing above him.
From this height, the Devil's Snare could even serve as a cushion.
The Head of Hufflepuff was truly kind and considerate.
"This stage is quite simple, isn't it?" Dumbledore asked. He had appeared beside Lucien at some point.
Lucien nodded.
"Yes. As long as you can recognize Devil's Snare and remember its weakness to light and fire, it's fine."
"In the review class a few days ago, Professor Sprout even specifically mentioned this plant, saying it was within the exam syllabus."
It was practically like having the answer spoon-fed to them.
The two of them walked down the long corridor and arrived at the room at the very end.
Rustle~~!
The sound of wings beating filled the air as countless jewel-like birds fluttered around the chamber.
Lucien looked more closely and realized they weren't birds at all, but winged keys.
Professor Flitwick's challenge.
Lucien walked over to the heavy wooden door on the opposite side of the room, examined the keyhole, and memorized its shape and size.
Although he noticed the flying brooms in the corner, Lucien didn't use them. Instead, he transformed into an owl once more.
He didn't even need the assistance of his Eye of Peering Magic. The owl's excellent dynamic vision alone was enough for him to lock onto his target.
A large silver key with sky-blue wings.
With a few swift beats of his wings, Lucien seized the key.
He then passed the stage set by his own Head of House with ease.
Dumbledore couldn't help but give a light clap, silently admiring the elegance of Lucien's Animagus transformation.
Upon entering the next room,
the previously dark surroundings suddenly became brightly lit. The entire room was a giant chessboard, with black and white chess pieces two to three meters tall arranged across it.
Professor McGonagall's wizard chess challenge.
After surveying the layout of the pieces, Lucien shook his head slightly at Dumbledore.
"Headmaster, this stage would normally require multiple people working together."
Dumbledore asked with mild curiosity, "From your tone, is there another solution?"
"Heh~" Lucien flicked his wand lightly.
"It's very simple for Black to win. One violent method is to blast all the White pieces apart. Or alternatively…"
As he spoke, Lucien tapped his wand several times. The White pieces abruptly transformed, taking on the appearance of Black pieces.
"…you can just turn all the White pieces into Black ones. As long as only Black pieces remain on the board, it's enough."
Dumbledore's lips twitched slightly beneath his beard.
These chess pieces had been Transfigured by McGonagall herself, making them exceptionally solid and stable.
Under normal circumstances, young wizards of this age shouldn't be able to blast the pieces apart with spells, let alone use layered Transfiguration to overwrite them with another transformation.
But Lucien could do it.
"A solution that goes straight to the root, Lucien. And you also have the magical skill to match your ideas."
They moved on to the next challenge, but before even opening the door, Lucien caught a familiar stench.
When he opened it, he saw—oh, a troll.
This one was even larger than the one from Christmas.
Was Quirrell really that fond of trolls?
Seeing the young man beside him clearly eager to try something, Dumbledore recalled the incident on Halloween night and adjusted his glasses.
"Ahem… perhaps we don't need to test the troll stage?"
Lucien nodded, looking at the troll with a hint of regret. The creature's dull mind inexplicably felt a chill.
He felt these challenges were still a bit too simple and could be improved.
For example, adding some Magical Chomping Cabbage to the Devil's Snare, or setting traps among the flying keys. As for the troll, why not try the Magic Weaving Technique?
He could already modify the circuits of magical creatures. Why not practice on this troll?
Although modifying an adult individual was troublesome, it would be manageable as long as long-term stability wasn't required.
In any case, Harry and the others wouldn't have to fight the troll themselves. Quirrell would scout the way ahead for them.
Lucien followed Dumbledore into the next room.
However, the moment they crossed the threshold, purple and black flames flared up behind them and from the doorway opposite.
Lucien calmly walked to the center of the room. There stood a table with seven oddly shaped bottles, and a piece of parchment beside it read:
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
After reading the riddle, Lucien couldn't help complaining inwardly.
Snape's challenge was called Potions, but it was really a logic puzzle.
Devil's Snare relied on Hermione, the flying keys on Harry, wizard chess on Ron, the troll on… well, Quirrell.
And this final potion stage also relied on Hermione.
A very clear division of labor, indeed.
~~~
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