A Simple Logic Puzzle

You're checkmated!

As soon as he finished speaking, the White King released his Longsword, and the remaining white pieces retreated, silently announcing the outcome of the game.

"We won?" Ron said in surprise, seemingly still a little incredulous.

"We won, but it's not over yet." Aaron looked at the gate guarded by the white pieces. "The challenges ahead will definitely not be easier than the ones before, and we'll also have to face a big boss."

"Ron, are you sure you can manage on your own?" Harry asked with some concern.

"Hmm... okay."

"Then you'll have to wait for us here. You don't need to participate in the remaining levels."

"What? But I'm already here." Ron stood up somewhat indignantly, but as soon as he took his right foot, he staggered and almost lost his balance.

"You can stay here!" Hermione said. "We can't carry you over, can we?"

"If we encounter any more dangerous traps, we can't help you in your current state."

"You don't want to drag us down with you, do you?" Aaron bluntly added insult to injury.

Ron opened his mouth, remained silent for a long while, and then reluctantly lay down on the spot.

I'm lying down, but not giving up; I'm just truly powerless to do anything about it.

Although I don't want to admit it, he is indeed a burden to the team now, commonly known as someone who drags them down.

Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal; dragging others down would only result in a few points being deducted. But in this situation, dragging others down obviously puts the rest of the team in greater danger.

"A wise decision."

Aaron chuckled and then moved on to the next level.

Hermione and Harry gave Ron an apologetic look and followed Aaron into the next door.

Pushing open the door, a stench hit me.

The three of them saw a familiar Magical Creatures, Troll.

However, this Troll was slightly more wretched than the one they had seen on Halloween Eve.

It lay motionless on the floor with a large bump on its head.

"Great, it seems we don't have to fight the Troll anymore," Harry said.

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Actually, you can think of it this way: the first guy who came in was very powerful; he defeated a Troll with ease."

Harry's expression froze for a moment, but then he thought it was only natural. If he were just an ordinary person, how could he possibly have the guts to steal things from Hogwarts?

"Let's get out of here!" Hermione said, covering her mouth and nose. "We're going to suffocate if we stay any longer."

The three of them immediately bypassed the Troll and pushed open the next door.

There's no magic here, just a table and seven bottles of different shapes.

"This level must have been designed by Professor Snape," Aaron said thoughtfully. "It's not going to be about making Potions, is it? If so, I suggest I turn back right now."

Because that takes a lot of time; by the time the Potions is ready, the You-Know-Who will have already succeeded.

Harry took a deep breath and took a step forward.

In an instant, purple flames blocked the doorway, and black flames also sprang up on the next door.

"Brilliant!" Aaron's eye twitched. "As expected of Professor Snape, he really leaves no way out!"

"We have no choice but to go now." Hermione shrugged, then walked to the table, picked up a parchment, and read aloud:

Danger lies ahead, safety lies behind.

Two of us can help you. Drink them; one will lead you to your destination, and the other will take you back to where you started.

Two of them contain Nettle Wine, and three are assassins, waiting in line.

Make your choice, unless you wish to stay here forever.

We also provide four clues to help you choose:

First, no matter how cunningly the poison hides, it is actually standing to the left of the Nettle Wine;

Second, the contents of the bottles on the left and right are different, so neither of them will be of any use to you if you want to move forward;

Third, you will find that the bottles are all different sizes, and there is no Death God hidden in the Giant and dwarfs;

Fourth, the second one on the left and the second one on the right, although they look different, taste the same.

After Hermione finished reading, a confident gleam appeared in her eyes. "This isn't magic; it's logical reasoning."

"Brilliant! No wonder he's Professor Snape. Warlock who can't deduce will probably be stuck here forever."

"Don't get excited yet, I don't want us to be trapped here."

"What are you thinking? This kind of logic problem can be solved in less than half a minute."

If it were brewing Potions, there might be some reward for the effort, but this... is really a bit speechless.

"Half a minute?" Hermione paused, then turned to look at the seven bottles. "Are you kidding me? It takes me at least a minute or two to sort them out."

Harry stood silently to the side, trying his best to minimize his presence.

Is he the only one who thinks this hurdle is insurmountably difficult? Or is there really such a big difference between the worlds of top students and struggling students?

"It's not difficult. The most important thing when doing this kind of question is to analyze it step by step." Aaron walked to the table, took a quick sniff, and pointed to the second bottle on the left and the second bottle on the right.

"It tastes just like that. Professor Snape is really rich!"

This kind of Nettle Wine is rarely seen on the market; it costs at least twenty yuan.

The first one on the left is poison. As for the second and third bottles of poison, they are mixed in with the third, fourth, and fifth bottles.

The bottle on the far right isn't poison or Nettle Wine, but it won't help us move forward, so it's obviously meant to send us away.

"And the large bottle is the Giant, while the smallest bottle in the middle is the dwarf, who can help us keep going." Aaron finished speaking and shrugged. "Less than twenty seconds, how easy!"

Harry and Ron stared at him, speechless with astonishment.

"You definitely need a bottle that can pass through the black flames, right, Harry?"

"Yes!" Harry nodded.

"Very good." Aaron then looked at Hermione and handed her the large bottle. "Drink it, then go out and return home."

"But what about you?"

"I'll go!" Harry said. "This little bottle only has one sip, maybe even less. It should only be big enough for one person to pass through."

Aaron, you and Hermione go back together, then go and send a message to Dumbledore, asking him to come and rescue us.

This matter has little to do with you guys anyway. I'll try my best to stall Snape, but I probably can't hold him off for long.

"Idiot!" Aaron said dismissively. "I only agree with letting Hermione go back; I oppose everything else."

"Why?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"First of all, the person inside is definitely not Professor Snape. I've said that countless times, but you just keep insisting on making that assumption."

Secondly, if you send a message to Dumbledore at this time, by the time he returns, he'll probably only be able to collect your corpse.

"Most importantly, I've thought of everything you've thought of, and even things you haven't thought of." Aaron said, seeing Harry's eyes grow even more confused, and sighed speechlessly, "Forget it, I can't explain it to you."

You just need to understand one thing: I have my reasons for preventing the You-Know-Who's resurrection, and it's not unrelated to me.

"Was it the time in the Forbidden Forest?" Hermione asked tentatively.

After all, back in the Forbidden Forest, that man in black robes was quite interested in Aaron, and was willing to give up the Unicorn Blood to capture him. The phrase "relentlessly pursued" might not even be enough to describe it.

If Hagrid hadn't arrived in time, the consequences could have been much more severe.

"The Forbidden Forest?" A few question marks flashed above Aaron's head. "That's right, it was that time."

"It was the most embarrassing moment of my life, and if I didn't get my revenge, I'd feel incredibly guilty."

"But..." Harry swallowed hard. "How do you plan to stop him?"

If it's not Snape inside, then it can only be You-Know-Who.

I have this scar on my head; maybe it will help me turn bad luck into good.

And you?"

"Don't worry about that, he wouldn't have the heart to kill me."

Hermione nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. "That's true."

"Okay, even so, he can still arrest you."

"He doesn't have that chance," Aaron said meaningfully. "Anyway, unlike you, I never do anything I'm not sure of, nor do anything without thinking."

Harry:...

Something doesn't sound right about that!

"There's another problem: this small bottle only contains enough for one person, and there are two of us."

"Tch!" Aaron curled his lip, picked up the Nettle Wine on the table, and poured the little bit of medicine from the small bottle into it. "Now it's enough for three people, let alone two."

"Then am I...?"

"Don't speak yet!" Hermione was interrupted by Aaron before she could finish speaking. "Drinking the other potion and leaving this place is what you should do."

"No, I disagree."

"You have no choice but to agree." Aaron said, taking out his Wand. "I won't lay a hand on a girl, but this is for your own good. You'll understand once we get out."

"You..." Hermione's lips trembled, "Really not?"

"No, don't even think about it, there's no room for discussion."

Hermione sighed softly, glared at Aaron with her bloodshot eyes, then picked up the bulging bottle and took a big gulp.