The Checkpoint

It seemed the two of them were quite surprised looking at the "Philosopher's Stone" in Dumbledore's hand.

After all, the "real Philosopher's Stone" and the "fake Philosopher's Stone" in their hands were almost identical in appearance, color, and the magical aura they emitted.

"This is terrifying!" Quirrell's gaze towards Kayson was filled with shock.

"I need your help designing obstacles to protect this Philosopher's Stone, but we also need to leave openings for passage. After all, I don't want to cause chaos throughout the school when it's time to retrieve the Stone," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"No, no, no, no problem, but I, I'm not ready yet, I haven't prepared anything," Quirrell stammered.

"It's alright, there's no rush for that. They can set it up first, naturally from the inside out."

The next moment, Dumbledore snapped his fingers, and a fearsome flame suddenly engulfed them all, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared in a room.

In the center of the room was a stone platform, and Dumbledore placed the Philosopher's Stone in the center of it.

"Please begin, who wants to go first?" Dumbledore asked, looking back at everyone.

Kayson saw that the other professors weren't saying anything, so he shrugged, "I'll go."

"Kayson, just in case you didn't hear clearly earlier, I need to add that the level you design must have a backup way for our own people to enter."

"Ah... alright."

Kayson, who hadn't been listening carefully, abandoned the idea of burying TNT in Hogwarts and casually arranged a hidden piston door with obsidian, then connected the Redstone circuitry to the adjacent wall.

He also set up a wall full of levers, with a hidden launcher at the very top.

Only one lever corresponded to the piston door, while all the other levers were connected to the launchers.

"Professor Snape, please trouble you to put some harmless potions inside."

Snape nodded, "I promise I'll make the intruders sleep for a whole day."

The other levels were set up by the other professors: Snape's logic puzzle, Professor McGonagall's oversized wizard chess, flying keys and magical doors, Devil's Snare, and finally, the giant three-headed dog brought by Hagrid.

Kayson walked from the inside out and confirmed that Hagrid's level was the most serious, aiming to kill intruders. The other levels were either as simple as a joke or had low penalties.

Only Hagrid's.

As expected of his straightforwardness.

After finishing all of this, Kayson was about to return to his office to lie down, but Dumbledore secretly called him to his Headmaster's Office.

"Kayson, your... piston door, that's the name, right?"

"...Mm-hmm." Kayson nodded.

"What is the correct way to enter it?" Dumbledore took out a large box of snacks from his drawer, all of them sweets.

His demeanor, combined with his question, made him look exactly like a young wizard holding a pile of snacks, trying to bribe someone for the answers to a pop quiz in the next class.

"Uh, actually, I don't know. I just arranged the circuits randomly when I was setting them up."

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

Dumbledore looked at Kayson with his sincere eyes.

"...Alright, that magical circuit is the same as the red stone you used to make the fake Philosopher's Stone. As long as you touch the magical circuit with the fake Philosopher's Stone, the door will open," Kayson finally answered, unable to withstand Dumbledore's strange and intimidating gaze.

"In that case, I'll need another Redstone made by you," Dumbledore said.

"Who else needs it? Definitely not you. I remember you can Apparate within Hogwarts."

"Harry Potter."

"You're really going to let an eleven-year-old kid play Dragon Quest? You're a bit extreme," Kayson criticized directly, his hands already raised.

"Harry has fame, but he needs solid achievements. This is the achievement I'm giving him, just like you share your Alchemy results with your students," Dumbledore explained.

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

Dumbledore clasped his hands on the desk and pondered for a moment, "This is a prophecy, made by Trelawney, the Divination professor at Hogwarts."

"Ha! Even though this is the wizarding world, I have to say, it's surprising that a wise person like you believes in prophecies," Kayson said sarcastically.

"I'm not superstitious about prophecies, but I respect them. This is about whether we can finally kill Tom and defeat Voldemort. I must calculate all possibilities and try every method to kill him."

"Voldemort's vitality is too tenacious. Everyone in the wizarding world once thought he was dead, but he just reappeared on the back of Quirrell's head."

"I cannot afford even the slightest mistake."

"Alright, even if it means believing in a vague prophecy?"

"Even prophecies," Dumbledore nodded.

"Fine." Kayson produced a thumb-sized redstone cube and placed it on the desk.

"Find an opportunity to give it to Harry yourself."

"No, I think it would be better if you gave it to him. And... tell him how to use it, so he doesn't end up helpless in front of your piston door with this little thing," Dumbledore pushed the redstone back.

"Life is not easy," Kayson sighed, waving his hand to destroy the redstone cube.

"Also, if Quirrell asks you how to open that piston door, answer him in a vague, roundabout way that you won't remember later," Dumbledore added.

"Uh... I said before that if I drink, I'm a dog. It looks like I'm going to break my vow," Kayson said with a pained expression.

"Life is short, enjoy it while you can. There's nothing wrong with drinking. You just picked the wrong company. Believe me, few people can drink as heartily as Hagrid. The fact that you can outdrink him is already a rare feat of drinking prowess," Dumbledore comforted him.

"...True, who could possibly match a giant drink for drink? I'm amazing!"

Dumbledore's few words cured Kayson's mental exhaustion. He watched as Kayson, full of spirit, left the Headmaster's Office and headed towards Hagrid's hut to resume their epic battle.

As for the fine wine he had finally managed to retrieve from Dumbledore's old manor, he would have to wait until Kayson sobered up before he could enjoy it.

What a shame, what a shame.

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