Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and Herbology? Nailed them. Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Astronomy? A piece of cake.
In the blink of an eye, final exams at Hogwarts were over.
"Has Quirrell made his move yet? or has he already grabbed the Stone?"
On the last day of exam week, Neville found Lynn, looking completely worried.
"If he had the Stone, Quirrell would have skipped town immediately," Harley cut in before Lynn could answer. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to steal the thing and then hang around the crime scene, right?"
"I actually think it's going to happen today," Cho joined the discussion. She had been wanting to bring this up for a while.
"Did you notice something, Cho?"
"Yeah." Cho nodded. "Professor Dumbledore didn't come to dinner today. He's been there every other day this week, but not tonight."
"Maybe Dumbledore was lured away?" Neville felt this explanation made perfect sense. "Should we go double-check, or just take action?"
"I didn't think you had it in you to be this impatient, Neville. But remember, Gryffindor values bravery with brains," Harley reminded him. She thought Neville was being a little too reckless. "I can go ask Professor Snape for two more vials of potion. We didn't use that Draught of Living Death last time, right? It'll come in handy now. We can sneak up behind him and knock him out cold!"
Talking about ambushing someone and knocking them out with such righteousness... Harley had definitely been influenced by Snape.
"If the entrance to the chamber is in the room guarded by the three-headed dog, how do we get in safely?"
"Relax, Neville. When you mentioned this before, Cho and I went to chat with Hagrid. That dog's name is Fluffy. As long as you play some music, Fluffy goes straight to sleep."
Harley patted her chest confidently. "Everything is under control."
"But there is one thing I need to ask you, Lynn."
Harley turned to look at Lynn, who was slacking off on the side. "Professor Dumbledore hasn't actually left, has he? Since he set up this whole adventure, he probably knew about this from the start. He likely leaked the information to spark everyone's curiosity about the third-floor corridor because he knows the consequences are manageable."
"I think you're right."
Lynn looked up slightly. His gaze seemed to penetrate several walls, staring from the Room of Requirement toward the Headmaster's office on the eighth floor. Dumbledore was currently munching on a jar of Cockroach Clusters and teasing Fawkes on his perch.
"So, when do we head out?" Cho asked Lynn softly.
Even though she was a Ravenclaw, the house's defining trait was a massive interest in unknown, novel knowledge. This secret treasure—something hidden that none of them fully understood yet—was a mystery Cho was dying to solve.
"No rush. Let's wait a bit. Do you guys want to test out the card game Fred, George, and I are designing? The magic isn't fully coded yet, but the rules and some of the decks have a preliminary design."
"Sure!"
Harley was the first to agree. She had been interested since she first heard about it. After all, she was the majority shareholder of "Doraemon Inc.," even if she was just a silent partner who provided the funding.
"Let me explain the rules."
Lynn pulled out a stack of brand-new cardstock and handed some to everyone.
Time flew by as they played cards. When the clock hands pointed to 11:50 PM, Lynn clapped his hands, signaling them to pause the game.
"We can head out now. Professor Dumbledore has made his move, so we should too."
"Lynn, did you put a tracker on Professor Dumbledore?" Harley asked curiously. "How do you know where he is or where he's gone?"
"That's a secret."
Lynn grinned and walked toward the exit first.
"We want to go to the space in front of the room at the end of the third-floor corridor," he stated clearly to the door ahead.
He had figured out a few tricks for using the Room of Requirement. Inside the room, if you stated a clear need, the Room would respond quickly and accurately. The intelligence level of this room was way higher than any "Smart Home" AI from his past life.
The other three dropped their cards, stood up quickly, and gripped their wands.
They pushed the door open—and stepped out right at the end of the corridor. The wooden door housing Fluffy was only a few yards away.
With a soft creak, the flimsy wooden door was pushed open. As the light from their wands illuminated the darkness, a massive three-headed dog revealed its terrifying fangs.
"Fluffy!"
Harley shouted at the big dog without a hint of fear. Fluffy's three heads paused, the ferocity he had just been faking vanished, and six large black eyes looked at Harley curiously.
"Good boy needs to go to sleep~"
Harley started humming a lullaby and walked softly toward Fluffy. The terrifyingly large dog began to get drowsy and groggy immediately. Compared to the heavy metal bass voice Hagrid used to sing to it, Harley's humming was practically angelic.
While scratching Fluffy's giant head with one hand, Harley waved the others over, signaling them to hurry up and open the trapdoor.
"It's so dark."
Cho peeked down and grabbed Lynn's arm. "We won't get hurt jumping down, right?"
"Of course not. Who wants to go first?"
"I'll go."
Neville took a deep breath and stepped forward without hesitation, his figure instantly swallowed by the darkness below.
Cho followed right after. She let go of Lynn's arm and jumped into the entrance, looking a bit nervous.
"Let's go!"
After Cho went down, Harley grabbed Lynn's hand and dragged him down with her, jumping with a look of excitement in her eyes.
Falling in the dark is usually nerve-wracking, but after dropping for a while, a gentle force cushioned their bodies. Telekinesis was a top-tier ability, even in the wizarding world.
However, when they stopped falling, they didn't feel the solid ground beneath their feet. instead, they landed on something soft with a weird texture.
"Lumos."
Neville, who had landed first, lit the tip of his wand. A moment later, his voice rang out. "It's Devil's Snare. But don't worry, light can drive it back. Fire works too."
Neville, who was a superstar in Herbology, was practically Professor Sprout's favorite student. She had lamented several times that he hadn't been sorted into Hufflepuff.
As the wands lit up one by one, the Devil's Snare that had been trying to entangle their legs quickly recoiled, revealing the stone floor beneath.
"Piece of cake!"
Harley hopped lightly onto the ground. "I thought the second level of the adventure would be harder than Fluffy. I didn't expect it to be this simple."
"I knew it! Professor Dumbledore definitely leaked the info on purpose to let us have this adventure."
They looked at each other and smiled. For students who actually paid attention in class, these minor obstacles were a breeze.
"So, what's the next level?"
Hands behind her back, kicking her shoes lightly as she walked, Harley took the lead, looking like she was strolling through an amusement park.
After walking for a bit, a glimmer of light appeared at the end of the damp, cold stone corridor. They quickened their pace and entered a brilliantly lit circular room. At the far end, a locked door blocked their path.
"We probably need to find the key, right?" Harley looked up at the winged keys fluttering near the high ceiling and spoke cheerfully. "Well, we've got two super-talented Seekers right here!"
Hundreds of dazzling key-dragonflies couldn't stump Harley and Cho. Their dynamic visual acuity was excellent; if they could spot a Golden Snitch moving at high speeds, finding a key that was surely marked in some special way would be a walk in the park.
"Arresto Momentum!"
Cho waved her wand gently, and the flying keys suddenly seemed stuck in thick glue. Feeling that wasn't enough, she waved her wand again. "Impedimenta!"
The keys froze completely in mid-air, turning into statues.
"Lynn, over there!"
Harley raised her hand, pointing to a large, antique-looking key with sky-blue wings.
"Easy peasy."
Harley and Cho high-fived. Then, they took the large key Lynn had plucked from the air and opened the heavy wooden door ahead.
"Come on, give us a real challenge..."
Harley pouted slightly, feeling the difficulty of this "grand adventure" was too low. "At least make it harder than final exams. This isn't fun at all."
"You're getting picky now?" Lynn looked at Harley with amusement. "If Professor Flitwick heard you, he'd assign you a ton of extra homework for the holidays."
"I didn't say anything! Please don't give me extra homework, Professor Flitwick!"
Harley clasped her hands together and shook them toward the air.
After the Flying Keys, the next room shifted from darkness to bright lights. A massive 15x15 chessboard appeared in the clearing ahead of them.
"It's Professor McGonagall's level!"
Harley stepped forward happily. "But what kind of chess is this? Wizard's Chess?"
"No, Wizard's Chess doesn't have this many squares." Neville shook his head in confusion. "I haven't seen this game before."
"This is the second game Fred, George, and I are planning to design: Auto Battler."
"But we haven't even started building it yet; we just laid out the design concept. Did Professor McGonagall actually build a finished version? Is this the power of a Professor?"
Although this version of the Auto Battler was a rough draft—using soldier pieces instead of the card characters they had designed—it followed the demo Lynn had shown the twins. The soldiers were divided into Swordsmen, Knights, and Archers. However, McGonagall had added extra classes: Wizards with wands, Shield-bearers with shields, Alchemists with golems, and even Animagus Shifters who morphed between human and animal forms.
"So how do you play? Lynn, teach me!"
Harley looked at Lynn with sparkling eyes. "You're researching such fun stuff and didn't tell me? I could have helped!"
"What kind of help?" Lynn raised an eyebrow.
"I could act cute with Professor McGonagall and ask to be a beta tester!"
"You..." Lynn laughed and tapped Harley's head. "If people find out about it too early, what we release later will look like a knock-off of their copy."
"But we made it first!" Harley put her hands on her hips, huffing angrily. "How can people be so shameless!"
"First come, first served. That's why this part needs to be kept secret. At least, no one outside of us can know."
"Fine..." Harley pursed her lips in disappointment. "Then hurry up and finish it, Lynn. I want to play!"
"Looks like this level is Professor McGonagall testing me."
Lynn took a few steps forward. The pieces on the board were divided into two teams. The blue pieces were Lynn's, and the red ones were McGonagall's. However, only McGonagall's pieces were equipped; Lynn's were empty-handed. A pile of neatly arranged stones sat nearby—McGonagall was testing his Transfiguration skills too.
If he followed McGonagall's configuration and gave them standard weapons, Lynn would definitely be at a disadvantage because he couldn't create Animagus Shifter pieces.
"Since you're not playing fair, Professor McGonagall, don't blame me!"
Lynn chuckled, drew his wand, and waved it at the stones. The heavy rocks transformed rapidly under his control.
But the equipment that appeared wasn't the swords and shields of the Middle Ages.
Dozens of suits of power armor, radiating a hardcore "Warhammer" aesthetic, descended from the sky. His soldiers instantly transformed into a loyal Astartes Chapter.
Chainswords roared! Bolters were locked and loaded!
"We are born for the Imperium! We die for the Imperium! Until the last breath!"
"FOR THE EMPEROR!"
It was a massacre.
Sitting in her office, Professor McGonagall suddenly froze. A look of sheer baffled consternation crossed her face, as if she had a retort stuck in her throat that she couldn't swallow or spit out.
Meanwhile, back in the chamber, Lynn was having a blast. He was tempted to hand-craft a whole Warhammer figurine set right now. However, looking at the heavy casualties in front of him—only two ceramic-plated tin cans were left standing—he realized this complex Transfiguration was still too difficult for him.
Maintaining it for a short time was okay, but long-term was impossible. This wasn't just a battle of strategy; it was a test of the magical power left within the transformed objects. A master of Transfiguration could turn parchment into a twig that snapped realistically and stayed that way; a beginner's twig would turn back into paper as soon as you bent it.
"Okay, next level—"
Harley, full of energy, continued to lead the way. But the moment she pushed the door open and walked in...
Her face instantly turned pale. She covered her mouth, lifted Lynn's robe, and shoved her head inside.
"It smells so bad!"
Her voice was muffled. "Did we walk into a septic tank?"
"It's a Troll."
Lynn pinched his nose too. In front of them, several trolls with lumpy heads lay sprawled on the ground. The stench was radiating from them.
"Ventus!"
They hurriedly waved their wands, and the magical whirlwind quickly dispersed the thick, nauseating odor. The four of them didn't dare stop, scrambling frantically to the end of the room and rushing through the door.
Harley, tearing up from the fumes, grabbed Lynn's collar to wipe her face.
"— Gag~"
"Have some hygiene, Harley. I'm not a dishrag..."
Looking disgusted, Lynn pushed Harley's head away.
"It must be Quirrell, that big dung bomb!" With red eyes, Harley aggrievedly hugged Cho, burying her face in Cho's chest and taking several deep breaths. "Thank god Cho still smells nice."
"I'm saved~"
Harley, revived and back to her energetic self, pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped the tears from Cho's face, which had also been induced by the stinging stench.
"You have a tissue but you wiped your face on me..."
"I forgot just now. My mind went blank. It was all just terrible smells."
"This level must be Professor Snape's setup!" Leaving Lynn aside, Harley dragged Cho quickly to the table ahead.
Just then, deep purple flames sprang up in the doorway leading to the next room, while black flames roared to life behind them, blocking their retreat.
"It's a puzzle! Cho, you're good at these, right? Neville, come take a look too."
Ignoring the fact that their path was blocked, Harley focused on the potion logic puzzle on the wooden table, calling Cho and Neville over to solve it.
As for Lynn—Harley excluded him immediately. Having him simply glance at it and give the answer took all the joy out of solving puzzles.
Lynn didn't crowd around Snape's puzzle either. Instead, he curiously pulled some materials from his pockets—raw steak, twigs, iron wire, all sorts of random things—and started testing them in the two types of fire.
All he could say was... Snape was the only Professor who took the security of the Stone seriously. He designed a trap you couldn't just brute force.
The black fire behind them was incredibly hot; even a metal ingot tossed in turned into a puddle of liquid metal in seconds.
The purple fire ahead was extremely insidious. It permeated the interior of objects to burn them. The premium brisket Lynn had brought along for a potential barbecue test began to ulcerate the moment it touched the purple flames. The pus-like black juice that dripped onto the floor corroded the stone. If that touched a person... it would be horrific.
"Snape's skill with the Dark Arts... maybe he should be the second coming of the Dark Lord?"
"This stuff is a hundred times scarier than the Cruciatus or the Killing Curse! Scary as hell. Good thing Harley is my bro."
Lynn imagined a scenario where he got desperate enough to hit on Harley, only to get caught by Snape... A chill shot from the soles of his feet to the back of his head, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
"Lynn! We found the antidote!"
Just as Lynn was shivering, Harley's voice came from behind him.
She was holding a thumb-sized vial of potion, shaking it at him.
"There's only enough for one mouthful. Who do you think should go in?"
"Neville said he wants to go, but... I don't know why, I want to go too. I feel like... there's something important about me ahead."
Harley brushed the long hair back from her forehead, revealing the lightning bolt scar. "It started hurting again just now. Like it's reminding me of something."
Lynn looked at Harley and Neville. Both born at the end of July. Both children of parents who had escaped Voldemort three times. The children of prophecy.
"Is it destiny? Or is it fate?"
Lynn didn't answer, just mulled it over. Suddenly, he wanted to laugh.
"In that case, let's go take a look together."
"Let's see what's waiting for us at the end."
Lynn took a deep breath, focusing his mind with unprecedented intensity. The air around him began to ripple and distort—it was telekinesis, nearly solidifying into physical form, twisting the light and shadows as it gathered around him.