However, they had barely charged into the swarm of keys swirling like a kaleidoscopic vortex when Allen excitedly seized a key and swooped down toward the door. He thrust the large silver key with its drooping wings into the keyhole and twisted hard. With a click, the lock sprang open! The key instantly flew back out of the keyhole and slipped away. Having been caught twice in a row, it looked utterly worn out.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione cheered as they landed and hurried to the door. Allen pushed it open. The second room was pitch-black, and they could see nothing. But the moment they stepped inside, the room suddenly blazed with light, revealing a shocking sight.
They stood at the edge of a huge chessboard. Before them were black pieces, each taller than they were, seemingly carved from black stone or something similar. At the far end of the room, facing them, stood a set of white pieces. Harry, Ron, and Hermione trembled all over—the faces of those towering white pieces had no features at all.
It's like walking into a horror movie. Allen inwardly grumbled. We can only rely on Ron for this one. After all, he doesn't know a thing about wizard chess. Allen thought calmly.
"What do we do now?" Harry asked quietly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ron said. "We have to play chess to get to the other side of the room."
They saw a door behind the white pieces.
"How do we play?" Hermione asked nervously.
"I think," Ron said, "we have to take the places of the pieces."
Ron really was good at wizard chess. Even with an extra Allen, he still managed to force a draw. In the end, he sacrificed himself to secure their final victory. Along the way, Hermione nearly moved