The Challenge

It seemed the two of them were greatly shocked by the "Philosopher's Stone" in Dumbledore's hand.

After all, the "real Philosopher's Stone" looked almost exactly the same as the "fake Philosopher's Stone" in his own hand, whether in shape, color, or the magical fluctuations it gave off.

"Terrifying indeed!" Quirrell looked at Kayson with shock filling his eyes.

"I need your help designing obstacles to protect this Philosopher's Stone. However, we must leave a way through for ourselves. After all, I don't want the whole school thrown into chaos when it comes time to retrieve the stone," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"N-No, no problem. But I, I haven't prepared anything yet. I haven't prepared anything at all," Quirrell stammered.

"It doesn't matter. There's no rush for now. Let the others set theirs up first. Of course, we should work from the inside out."

The next moment, Dumbledore snapped his fingers. A fearsome blaze abruptly swept over all of them, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared inside a room.

A stone platform stood in the middle of the room, and Dumbledore placed the Philosopher's Stone at its center.

"Please begin. Who would like to go first?" Dumbledore turned back to the group and asked.

Seeing that none of the other professors spoke, Kayson shrugged. "I'll do it."

"Kayson, in case you didn't hear me clearly just now, let me add this: the challenge you design must have a backup method for our own people to get through."

"Ah... all right."

Kayson, who really had not listened carefully just now, gave up on the idea of burying TNT beneath Hogwarts. Instead, he casually arranged a hidden piston door out of Obsidian and ran the Redstone circuitry to the wall beside it.

He then set up an entire wall full of levers, with a concealed dispenser at the very top.

Only one lever corresponded to the piston door. Every other lever was connected to the dispenser.

"Professor Snape, please put some harmless potions inside it."

Snape nodded. "I guarantee the intruder will sleep for an entire day."

The other challenges were set up by the other professors: Snape's little logic test, Professor McGonagall's oversized Wizard Chess board, flying keys and a magical door, Devil's Snare, and finally, the massive three-headed dog Hagrid brought over.

Kayson walked from the inside to the outside and confirmed that, among the entire series of challenges, only Hagrid's was truly serious—meant to kill intruders. The other challenges were either so simple they were practically jokes, or their punishments were too mild.

Only Hagrid's.

That was why he was so earnest.

After everything was finished, Kayson was about to return to his office to continue lying around like a corpse when Dumbledore quietly called him to the Headmaster's Office.

"Kayson, that... piston door of yours. That's what it's called, right?"

"...Mm-hm." Kayson nodded.

"What is the correct way to get through it?" Dumbledore pulled a huge box of snacks from his drawer, all of them sweet.

Combined with his question, he looked exactly like a little wizard clutching a pile of snacks as a bribe while asking for the topic of the next class's quiz.

"Uh, actually, I don't know either. I arranged the circuits randomly at the time."

Dumbledore looked at Kayson with his sincere eyes.

"...All right. The magical circuit is like the Redstone I used to make your fake Philosopher's Stone. As long as the fake Philosopher's Stone touches the magical circuit anywhere, the door will open." Unable to withstand Dumbledore's strange, frightening gaze, Kayson finally answered.

"In that case, I need another piece of Redstone made by you," Dumbledore said.

"Who else needs one? It definitely isn't you. I remember you can Apparate within Hogwarts."

"Harry Potter."

"You really want an eleven-year-old child to play hero against a dragon? That's a bit extreme." Kayson immediately gave his sharp assessment.

"Harry has nothing but fame right now. He needs genuine achievements, and this is the achievement I intend to give him, just as you share the fruits of your alchemy with your students," Dumbledore explained.

"That's different. Besides, what does Harry need achievements for? What does he need fame for? Those are burdens to an eleven-year-old. He can't handle them."

Dumbledore folded his hands on the desk and thought for a moment. "It is a prophecy, made by Trelawney, Hogwarts's Divination professor."

"Ha! Even though this is a magical world, I still have to say that it's surprising for a wise man like you to believe in prophecies," Kayson said sarcastically.

"I do not blindly believe in prophecies, but I respect them. This concerns whether we can truly kill Tom in the end and defeat Voldemort. I must calculate every possibility and try every possible method of killing him."

"Voldemort's life force is too tenacious. Everyone in the wizarding world once believed he was dead, yet he appeared openly on the back of Quirrell's head."

"I cannot afford the slightest mistake."

"All right, even if it means believing in a vague and intangible prophecy?"

"Even if it is a prophecy." Dumbledore nodded.

"All right." A thumb-sized Redstone block appeared in Kayson's hand, and he placed it on the desk.

"Just find an opportunity to give it to Harry."

"No, I think it would be better if you gave it to him. And while you're at it... tell him how to use it, so he won't be left at a loss when facing your piston door with this little thing in hand." Dumbledore pushed the Redstone back.

"Life isn't easy," Kayson sighed, waving his hand and destroying the Redstone block.

"One more thing: if Quirrell asks you how to open that piston door, answer him in a clever, roundabout way that you won't remember afterward," Dumbledore added.

"Uh... I said before that if I drank again, I'd be a dog. Looks like I'm going to break my vow," Kayson said with a pained expression.

"Life is short; enjoy it while you can. There is nothing wrong with drinking. You merely chose the wrong opponent. Believe me, few people can drink Hagrid under the table. The fact that you managed to drink him unconscious already proves you have an exceptional tolerance," Dumbledore comforted him.

"...That's true. Who could possibly drink a giant to a draw? I'm amazing!"

With just a few words, Dumbledore cured Kayson's mental turmoil. He watched Kayson leave the Headmaster's Office in high spirits and head toward Hagrid's hut to continue their great battle.

As for the fine liquor Dumbledore had painstakingly dug out from his old family home, he could only wait until Kayson sobered up from this round before enjoying it again.

What a pity.