[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
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Neville didn't play chess, at least not very well. Harry had never seen him play chess with anyone.
Hermione was very good at it, at least Harry thought so, and if the two of them played against each other, they would win and lose half of the time. And Ron was a super master.
As the chess champion of Gryffindor, the one no one dared to play with unless he gave a handicap, Ron displayed his excellent skills in chess.
Although Harry himself was a bit behind, he could still see some moves by watching closely.
This chessboard, controlled by some unknown system, was extremely intelligent. If it had been a normal game, Harry thought that he and Hermione would have a 60-70% chance of winning, even without Ron's help.
But there was another problem at this point. All four players had to be on the board for the game to begin.
Ron had tried this before, and the chess pieces wouldn't move unless all four were in place.
As a last resort, Hermione took the castle's place, Neville took the bishop, and Harry took the queen's position. Ron was the most special of all. He wanted to replace a knight, but the knight fell off its horse, so Ron kept riding.
Well, Ron seemed quite excited.
However, the next chess match left Ron a little embarrassed.
The reason was simple: this was magical chess, and it was very violent!
Ron couldn't, and didn't want to, let Harry and the others get hurt, so whenever there was a potential risk, if it was Hermione, Harry, or Neville, Ron could only choose to avoid it. This significantly reduced his room for maneuver.
But Ron was indeed an expert player who had defeated the entire Gryffindor common room and demonstrated his excellent chess skills. Even while ensuring the safety of all four people, he quickly gained the advantage.
Neville couldn't understand, but Harry and Hermione could.
If Ron had displayed the same level of skill in the common room, no one would want to play with him. Either way, Harry and Hermione had discreetly decided not to play chess with Ron anymore.
If there was a next time.
If there were no time limits, Harry believed that Ron could defeat all the enemies while protecting the three of them. His two pawns were about to reach the backline.
But suddenly, Ron stopped and hesitated.
Neville didn't understand what was happening, but after Harry and Hermione carefully observed the chess game, they suddenly saw the clue.
"Ron, no!" Harry shouted.
"Ron, don't take the risk," Hermione shouted back.
Both saw the move Ron was about to make. As long as the knight he represented moved forward, it would result in checkmate. The opponent only had one way to resist, by capturing the knight with the queen.
But if the opponent did that, Harry's queen would easily deliver checkmate. A decisive blow, no way out!
It would only take two moves to win, but the price would be Ron.
"Hey, you two figured it out too." Ron turned and smiled at Harry and Hermione. "We can't wait any longer. Let's go!"
As he spoke, he ordered his knight to move forward.
Sure enough, the enemy's queen arrived, as expected, wielding a massive sword and glaring at Ron.
But in that critical moment, Ron suddenly had an idea and jumped when the sword struck the knight. In the next moment, the enemy queen swung her sword and cleaved the knight in half, knocking it to the ground, and then kicked it off the chessboard.
But Ron had already nimbly jumped off the board. His intense Quidditch training made him very agile.
However, although Ron was smart and quick enough, his luck wasn't great.
The chessboard was filled with broken pieces, and it was a bit dark. Ron didn't see clearly when he fell and stepped on a broken chess piece. He twisted his ankle.
When Harry was about to defeat his opponent and he, Hermione, and the others rushed over to check on Ron, he was already sweating profusely, his clothes drenched. Looking at the slightly twisted appearance of his feet, Harry knew that Ron wouldn't be able to continue.
None of the four knew any healing magic! The effects of healing magic on humans required a very high level of skill. Not even Hermione could do it yet, let alone Harry or Neville.
Ron looked pale but managed to smile at the three of them. "Looks like my adventure ends here."
"I'll stay and take care of Ron. You three keep going." Just when Harry and the others were lost, Neville spoke up. "I know the basics of magic. Actually, I haven't learned any offensive magic yet. I probably won't be able to help you much."
Harry and Hermione were still a little hesitant, but Neville urged them loudly, "Go, Harry and Hermione. We can't let Snape get the Philosopher's Stone."
Harry and Hermione hesitated and looked at Ron, who nodded firmly. The two stopped hesitating and moved forward.
After that, there was a giant monster in the room.
To be more precise, it was supposed to be a mountain monster! It was much bigger than the one Harry and his friends encountered on Halloween night. Harry felt that, although he was much stronger now than back then, with Hermione by his side, he still couldn't say for sure if they could defeat the giant.
However, at that moment, there was a huge bloody hole in the head of the mountain monster. It lay motionless on the ground, clearly having been defeated.
Next, there was a potion puzzle. Harry imagined that it had been left by Snape.
However, this puzzle wasn't just about potions, it was a logic problem Snape had left behind.
Harry was dizzy just reading the questions.
He used to play these kinds of games back in elementary school, but he didn't like them at all.
At that moment, Hermione began her usual lecture again. What's an academic master? Just look at Hermione. They quickly extracted useful information from the question and found the potion they needed.
Unfortunately, there were only two bottles of useful potions, one for moving forward and the other for moving back.
Hermione finally decided to let Harry take the lead, went back to find Ron and Neville, and tried to find additional help. The reason was simple: Harry's magic was usually better than hers in terms of actual effect.
The two now knew almost the same amount of magic, but Harry had quicker reflexes, his Quidditch training played a huge role in this. Even now, when facing Devil's Snare, Hermione felt her immediate response wasn't good enough, so she decided to let Harry go ahead.
Harry also agreed with Hermione's judgment. In fact, he had originally wanted to persuade Hermione to let him go ahead.
After drinking the potion, Harry felt an intense cold spread through his body. With the help of this chill, he passed through the black flames blocking his path and entered the next room.
At that moment, he was glad the black flame wasn't the legendary "Fiendfyre." If it had been Fiendfyre, Harry didn't think any potion could stop it. Of course, Harry felt that, with Snape's skill, he wouldn't be able to easily set a trap with Fiendfyre.
As soon as he stepped through the door, Harry felt a sharp pain in his forehead.
His forehead had been hurting for some time, but it had been a dull, irritating pain. That would have improved once he opened his Occlumency. But in that moment, the pain was so intense that even his Occlumency technique was somewhat ineffective.
Behind the door was a large empty room, with a mirror placed in the innermost position. Harry had seen it before. It was the Mirror of Erised, and inside it were things Harry couldn't describe.
Of course, that wasn't the point. The issue was that there was another person in the room, and this person wasn't Snape, as they had thought before, nor was it Voldemort, as Harry had feared.
"Professor Quirrell? What are you doing here?" Looking at the somewhat pale Quirrell, Harry was incredulous. "Where's Snape?"
After saying this, Harry realized something was wrong.
Because Professor Quirrell, at that moment, was completely different from what he was used to seeing.
The young face, usually full of shyness and restraint, was now replaced with arrogance, mockery, and a touch of coldness.
"Potter, this is a bit unexpected," Professor Quirrell turned, looking at Harry with a surprised expression and gently shaking his head.
At that moment, his movements were calm and confident, without any sign of the usual shyness.
With a flick of his wand, several ropes appeared out of nowhere, no incantation needed, and immediately bound Harry tightly, like a swift snake. It wasn't Devil's Snare, and no matter how hard Harry tried to relax, it didn't help.
"Though I noticed you seem to be doing little things all the time," Quirrell said with a chuckle as he looked at Harry, who was tied, "I wondered if you would notice me. But when you actually showed up here, I was still a bit surprised."
"Professor... how... how can it be you? Snape..." Harry, still tied up, found it hard to believe, but stopped speaking. He had seen the increasing sarcasm in Professor Quirrell's expression.
"Snape, yes, he does look like a bad guy, always frowning all day long." Quirrell laughed mockingly, "Just like the nickname you gave him, 'Old Bat'? Haha, that's very descriptive. He flies around like a big bat. He thinks he can interfere with me, but actually, his movements just divide my attention."
Professor Quirrell was shocked and his previous shriveled expression changed. His voice began to stutter: "After all... who... who... would doubt... doubt... the pathetic... stutter... that can't even... speak clearly... Professor Quirrell?"
After saying this, Quirrell couldn't help but burst out laughing, and his laugh was completely unrestrained.
Harry only felt a chill run down his spine. When things deviate too far from expectations, people inevitably feel lost and struggle to deal with the situation.
"But, during that Quidditch match..." Harry still seemed a little reluctant to accept, but what he got in return was an even more smug laugh from Quirrell.
"Harry, Harry, you're wrong. You're so wrong!" Quirrell almost laughed until tears formed. "That day, in the stands, it was me who wanted to kill you..."
After that, Quirrell said many things as though he needed to vent.
What surprised Harry the most was that it was Quirrell who cursed him on the field, and Snape was actually trying to remove the curse!
Snape had volunteered to be the referee to avoid being cursed again. But Dumbledore was present at all subsequent matches, so Snape's efforts were in vain.
What Harry found most difficult to understand was that Snape had actually been classmates with his parents!
This was totally out of context!
Everything was completely different from what Harry had originally thought.
However, after processing all of this, Harry calmed down.
He looked at the Mirror of Erised at the back of the room. Yes, this must have been the level set by Dumbledore. It seemed that up until now, Professor Quirrell hadn't found a way to decipher the code, nor had he obtained the Philosopher's Stone.
Quirrell ignored Harry, who was completely unable to move. He was circling the Mirror of Erised. "I clearly saw the Philosopher's Stone and took it. But I don't have it. How can I obtain it? Master, I need your wisdom. How can I get the Philosopher's Stone for you?"
Quirrell suddenly said something strange.
"Use the boy." A colder, raspier voice emerged.
This startled Harry, as the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself. But at that moment, Quirrell's mouth clearly didn't move.
Quirrell obeyed the voice completely and snapped his fingers. The ropes that had bound Harry immediately fell to the ground.
However, the moment the ropes hit the floor, Harry suddenly raised his hand, twisted his wrist, and his wand appeared in his hand. "Petrificus Totalus!"
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