#81

At that moment, Hermione's sharp eyes caught sight of a harp lying beneath the three-headed dog. "Look! There's no time to waste! Someone's already gone down!"

The group's stomachs collectively dropped. They had hoped to reach the Philosopher's Stone before anyone else, to stop the Dark Lord's plans before they could take shape—but now, they were already a step behind.

"This way!" Ron and Jerry pushed against the trapdoor, managing to pry it open with some effort.

A gaping hole loomed beneath them, swallowing all light. It was impossible to tell what lay below.

"Lumos Maxima!" Ted raised his wand, conjuring a bright ball of light. Yet, even with the enhanced glow, the depths remained shrouded in darkness.

Frowning, he flicked his wrist, and the light detached from his wand, floating downward like a will-o'-the-wisp.

Hermione blinked in shock. "Wait—how did you do that? That's not how the Lumos spell works!"

Ted grinned. "It's a little something I modified,"

The spell Ted casted was based on the 'Dancing Lights' spell from D&D.

Now named the "Dancing Light Charm," Ted had leveled it up to lv4!

"Enough spell talk, look!" Ron pointed downward.

As the glowing orb descended, it illuminated a massive, writhing bed of thick, dark vines. They coiled and twisted like living serpents, shifting away from the light in a slow, eerie motion.

"Oh, bloody hell, what is that?!" Jerry shuddered, rubbing the goosebumps off his arms.

Neville took a deep breath. "That's the Devil's Snare. But it's not just any Devil's Snare—it's the kind Professor Sprout has been cultivating. Bigger, faster, more aggressive."

The group turned to him, waiting for an explanation.

"If we drop in and struggle, it'll wrap around us and squeeze tighter. It can even strangle us to death.

The trick is to stay still. It doesn't react as much to people who don't move. Its weaknesses are fire and light."

Without hesitation, Neville stepped forward. "I'll go first."

Ted quickly pulled him back. "No, let me go first."

He muttered a quick sequence of spells: "Glacius Shield. Protego. Magic Barrier."

A soft blue shimmer coated his robes, followed by a faint, metallic glint of magical armor, then a transparent bubble-like shield. Triple-layered protection.

Next, he cast "Levioso" on himself, pressing his legs together before hopping through the trapdoor.

He floated gently down, landing amidst the Devil's Snare without a struggle. He remained motionless for a few seconds, then called back up, "Alright, come down—just don't move too much!"

One by one, the group followed, casting their own versions of floating spells to land softly.

The vines slithered over their bodies like sentient eels, brushing against them curiously, but they resisted the urge to squirm.

Ted raised his wand again. "Incendio!"

A burst of fire erupted, illuminating the underground cavern. The Devil's Snare recoiled instantly, shrinking away from the heat.

They could finally see their surroundings. A massive underground chamber stretched out before them, nearly the size of a Quidditch pitch.

Artificial stone walls and pillars framed the space, all completely overtaken by the writhing plant.

"Merlin's beard, that's way bigger than I expected!" Ron gulped.

Ted didn't waste time. He cast a shock-absorbing charm on everyone as they dropped the last few feet onto the solid ground.

Jerry shuddered, rubbing his arms. "Ugh, I am never touching that thing again. I swear it tried to crawl into my sleeves."

Ron looked just as disturbed. "A vine nearly went in my mouth!"

Neville chuckled sheepishly. "Right… it's also sensitive to sound. Too much noise might rile it up."

Ron turned to glare at him. "AND YOU'RE TELLING US THIS NOW?!"

Harley cleared her throat. "Right. Where are we?"

Hermione surveyed their surroundings. "Underground for sure, but… we fell twice already. We shouldn't be this deep."

Ted examined the walls. "Probably some kind of spatial expansion charm. Hogwarts doesn't always follow the laws of reality."

Expecting the flying key challenge next, Ted stepped forward—but froze.

Instead of a swarm of winged keys, they found themselves standing in a vast cavern filled with mushrooms.

Giant, glowing mushrooms of varying shapes and colors dotted the terrain. Some stood over two meters tall, their caps glistening with phosphorescent light. Others were no bigger than a fingernail, huddled in clusters like tiny colonies.

Hermione squinted. "These don't look like ordinary mushrooms."

Harley folded her arms. "Since when does Hogwarts put anything ordinary in its secret underground tunnels?"

"Good point."

Ron and Jerry turned to Neville, their designated plant expert. "Well? What are we dealing with?"

Neville hesitated. "It looks like… a Powder Spore Mushroom?"

Jerry frowned. "And that is…?"

Neville sighed. "I don't know much. Professor Sprout once mentioned it in passing—it's not native to our world. It comes from somewhere else. And it's very dangerous."

Everyone turned to the two biggest brains of the group: Ted and Hermione.

Hermione shook her head. "I haven't read anything about this type of mushroom."

Ted smirked. "I have. Examination of Plants in Other Worlds." He glanced at Hermione knowingly—she was definitely about to ask which book he got it from.

He pointed at the mushrooms. "Look closely. Every time the air shifts, they tremble slightly, and if disturbed too much, they release a fine dust. That dust? It's their spores. Breathe it in, and you're done for."

Jerry swallowed hard. "Define 'done for.'"

Ted sighed. "Well, for starters, some spores can make you feel euphoric—"

Ron perked up immediately. "I volunteer as tribute."

"—Or they can turn your lungs into wood fibers," Ted continued. "Which, unless you have access to some very advanced potions, is basically irreversible. You'll experience a slow, painful suffocation."

Ron's face fell faster than a knocked-over chess piece. The rest of the group instinctively stepped back, giving the mushrooms an even wider berth.

The layout of the fungi wasn't impossible to navigate—there were plenty of winding paths between them.

But one wrong move, and they'd be stuck dealing with spore clouds for Merlin-knew-how-long. It was clear Professor Sprout designed this as a time-waster rather than an outright death trap.

Still, Ted wasn't taking any chances. He quickly cast the Bubble-Head Charm on everyone, forming transparent, helmet-like shields over their heads.

"Alright," Ted grinned. "Now we're space explorers. Let's move."

With their air supply secured, the group cautiously stepped forward.

Ron, however, had the grace of a drunken troll.

"Oh, come on!" Jerry groaned as Ron stomped directly onto a mushroom, releasing a small puff of spores. "Watch where you're stepping!"

"It's fine! It's fine!" Ron waved his hands frantically, accidentally brushing another mushroom, which promptly ejected more spores. "Oh, bugger."

Hermione sighed. "Ron, stop moving."

"I am stopping!" He froze, his foot inches away from yet another mushroom.

Jerry shook his head. "Mate, if Ted hadn't put that Bubble-Head Charm on us, we'd all be choking on spores right now."

"Oh, yeah?" Ron huffed. "Well, you try walking through this death garden without stepping on something!"

By the time they reached the door on the other side, Ron had singlehandedly triggered half a dozen mushrooms. Jerry clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, next time, we carry you."

Ron scowled. "Not funny."

"Actually, it's hilarious," Jerry muttered, still dodging stray spores as they reached the wooden door.

Once through, the group immediately cast cleansing spells on themselves to clear away any lingering spores.

No way were they risking delayed poisoning.

Beyond the door, they entered a vast stone chamber, a stark contrast to the natural caves from before.

The air felt heavy, charged with magic.

"Finally, a break from weird plants," Neville muttered.

But the moment they took in the scene, it was clear this next challenge wasn't going to be any easier.

Towering stone figures stood throughout the room—warriors clad in abstract, jagged armor, their faces frozen in eerie expressions.

Some wielded swords, others staffs, but all looked wrong—like someone tried sculpting medieval soldiers from memory and got the details slightly off.

At the heart of the chamber lay a massive magic circle, spanning nearly three meters across.

Strange symbols and geometric shapes were inscribed in glowing powder, pulsing faintly with arcane energy.

Surrounding the circle were dozens of tiny, intricately carved animal statues, each barely the size of a fist.

Neville squinted. "This looks familiar…"

Hermione gasped, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "This is a magical puzzle door!" She pointed at the circle. "A locking enchantment. We have to solve the puzzle to get through."

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Word count: 1511

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