(69) The Knocked-Down Troll And Seven Bottles Of Potion

"No! Wait..." Harry finally understood as he watched the chess piece fall.

"Harry, it seems you understand. As long as I make the next move, the queen will take me, and then you can checkmate the opponent's king." Ron looked at Harry solemnly.

"Ron! No! No!"

"No! This won't work! I understand what you mean!" Draco also understood and shouted immediately, "I know Harry's chess piece can't be moved, but my pawn can! Ron! Don't be impulsive!"

"Wait! What are you talking about?" Hermione didn't understand the conversation between the three at all.

Harry took a deep breath, his eyes reddened: "Ron is going to sacrifice himself!"

"There must be another way!" Hermione said anxiously, "We can definitely find another way! Ron, you..."

For a while, everyone was trying to persuade Ron to think of other ways, and Ian followed suit.

"Do you still want to stop Snape from stealing the Philosopher's Stone?" Ron took a deep breath. "This is the only way. Don't stop me anymore, Harry."

Ron smiled in relief: "Harry, Ian, I know very well that you two should keep moving forward."

"Not me, not Draco, not Hermione or Cassandra, but you two brothers." Ron looked at Harry and Ian, his voice firm, "You have to face that person, so you must not fall now."

Harry was silent, his eyes reddened, staring at Ron, unable to say a word.

"Only by moving forward can you go further."

Ian looked at Ron, who was calmly seated on the knight piece. "Ron, don't worry, finish this game of wizard chess that belongs to you. You'll be fine."

Ron smiled but said nothing, only replying: "Of course, Ian, I believe you."

After that, Ron rode his knight piece and moved forward on the chessboard, his expression determined: "Knight to H3."

As soon as Ron finished speaking, the horse under him neighed to the sky and rushed to the position of H3.

The white queen slowly approached Ron's knight, raised her long heavy sword high, and stabbed it into the stone horse beneath him.

The knight was struck down by the queen and shattered into pieces on the ground, and Ron also fainted among the stones.

"Ron!" Everyone looked at Ron lying on the ground, worried.

"Don't move! The game is not over yet!" Ian stopped them and turned to look at Harry. "Harry, it's your turn."

Harry nodded, walked firmly to the White King, and declared the final move: "Checkmate!"

The White King removed the crown from his head and threw it at Harry's feet, loosened the sword in his hand, and fell to the ground.

They had won!

The white chess pieces bowed and retreated, clearing the path to the door.

All of them immediately ran to Ron to check on his condition.

"He's fine, just fainted." Ian checked Ron and took out a bottle of recovery potion for him to drink.

Ron soon stirred under the effect of the potion and slowly opened his eyes: "I'm okay?"

"I brought the potion." Facing the surprised looks of the five, Ian shrugged. "It's better to be prepared."

Cassandra stood up and dusted herself off: "Let's go to the next level."

"Draco, Harry, you hold Ron." Ian gave a few instructions and walked ahead. "Let's move quickly."

The five followed Ian and trotted across the chessboard.

"What else can come next?" Draco looked ahead, his face pale. "This is already the third level."

"We have passed Professor Sprout's mechanism, the Devil's Snare." Ian said as he walked. "It must be Professor Flitwick who enchanted those keys, and Professor McGonagall was the third level, transfiguring the chess pieces and bringing them to life."

"Then there is only Professor Quirrell's magic, and Snape's..." Cassandra stopped halfway through her words.

Ian naturally took over Cassandra's unfinished thought: "And whatever Professor Snape set up. I guess it's a potion."

The six continued forward and pushed open the next door.

As soon as they entered, a disgusting stench hit their noses, forcing them to lift their clothes to cover them.

Seeing this, Ian quickly cast a Sense-Destroying Charm on the group: "Temporary loss of smell."

The sense of smell of the group disappeared, and they could no longer detect the foul odor, which made them feel much better.

They lowered their hands and clearly saw the scene in front of them—a troll.

This troll was even larger than the one Ian had knocked out on Christmas. It lay motionless on the cold floor, unconscious, with a bloody lump on its head.

Ian waved his wand and curled his lips slightly: "Looks like I don't have to duel with the troll this time."

Hermione patted her overconfident boyfriend: "Hurry up and go to the next level. It's better if you don't have to deal with the troll."

The six of them passed through the troll room, reached the next door, and pushed it open.

What came into view was a table with seven bottles of different shapes on it.

"Looks like the last level." Ian pointed to the seven bottles of potion. "Snape's level."

As soon as the six crossed the threshold, flames suddenly rose behind them, blocking their way back.

The flames were unusual—they were purple.

At the same time, black flames blocked the door leading forward.

Ian and the other five were trapped in the middle.

"There's a hint." Hermione grabbed the parchment next to the bottles and read the words aloud:

"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.

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 clues, Hermione let out a satisfied sigh.

"I have to say, this is too clever!" Hermione's eyes were shining. "This isn't magic, this is logical reasoning—a riddle."

Ian stared at the seven bottles with interest. Only the Half-Blood Prince Snape could come up with such a puzzle.

If it were any other pure-blood wizard, they wouldn't have designed such a brain teaser.

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