The two of them passed through a corridor overrun with Devil's Snare, fireballs floating above their heads, and arrived at the third challenge.
The room had been filled with winged keys, while a flying broomstick sat nearby. It was obvious that this challenge had been devised around Harry's flying talent after he had demonstrated his gift for Quidditch.
Vaughn did not even feel inclined to comment on this challenge. He merely made a sound:
"Tsk!"
By the time they reached the chessboard challenge, he did not even make that sound.
Dumbledore was eager to hear the "user's" feedback. "Vaughn, what do you think of these two challenges? I spent a long time considering how to accommodate Harry and the others' individual strengths while maintaining the proper difficulty of the challenges themselves."
"For the flying keys, I asked Phoenix—Professor Flitwick—to enchant the keys with the 'Arrow-Shooting Spell.' If they failed to follow the rules and use the flying broomstick to catch the correct key, they would be attacked."
"This giant chessboard was based on an ancient spell, Piertotum Locomotor. It is Minerva's favorite. It can temporarily bring these giant stone statues to life. I asked Minerva to arrange an endgame position. Ron will certainly find it very satisfying."
"There are two more challenges ahead. One is a troll, meant to test Harry and Miss Granger's combat abilities. The other is a potion challenge, meant to test their logical thinking and courage."
Having said that, Dumbledore smiled at Vaughn, seemingly waiting for praise.
What he received, however, was Vaughn's expressionless face. Vaughn stared at the head beneath Dumbledore's soft cap as though wondering what exactly was inside it.
He gave his "tactful" assessment. "To be honest, Albus, these challenges are all very boring!"
Dumbledore's smile stiffened slightly, and he could not help