Forward and Back

Harry and Hermione's adventure continued. As they pushed open the heavy wooden door, a wave of stench mixed with rotting flesh and mildew rushed over them.

They instantly staggered back two steps, tears spilling uncontrollably from their eyes.

Through their blurred vision, they saw a huge creature at least fifteen feet tall pacing around the room with a stone club dragging behind it. Every step made the ground tremble faintly.

"Merlin's beard..." Hermione's voice caught in her throat. This Troll was even bigger than the one at Halloween, its bluish-gray skin covered in boils, while the animal hide wrapped around its waist gave off a nauseating smell.

It suddenly stopped and tilted its head at the intruders, dull curiosity flickering in its cloudy little eyes.

"Don't just stand there, Hermione!" Harry grabbed her wrist. "Remember Professor Greengrass's practical class? What Fred said they taught us..."

"What?" Hermione looked utterly lost.

"Professor Greengrass's practical course! Lots of students successfully dealt with Trolls, didn't they?" Harry shouted at Hermione while running about to draw the Troll's attention. "You have to know at least one of those spells!"

Hermione finally snapped out of it. "Spells? Right, I know plenty of them..."

"Then that's enough. Find a way to knock it down!"

"Let me think, let me think..." the young witch muttered repeatedly, gradually overcoming her fear. "Got it!"

"Lead it over here..." Hermione shouted at Harry, pointing to a spot not far in front of her. "Here. Bring it here."

After failing to catch Harry several times, the Troll became increasingly enraged and began swinging its stone club at him instead.

Harry changed directions and dodged nimbly, narrowly avoiding the Troll's swinging club several times. Even so, cold sweat covered his forehead.

At last, he managed to lure the Troll to the designated spot. The young witch stood ready with her wand raised.

Floor Collapse!

Hermione decisively cast the spell at the ground Harry had just crossed. The instant the spell hit, the flat floor collapsed into a hole.

The Troll chasing Harry never noticed where it was stepping. It walked straight into the pit and immediately lost its balance.

Boom!

The towering Troll crashed to the ground. It even lost its grip on the stone club, which flew rapidly toward Harry as he turned around.

Wingardium Leviosa! A perfectly cast Levitation Charm stopped the club just in time and saved Harry.

Boulder Impact! Hermione immediately controlled the stone club and smashed it into the Troll's head.

The Troll, which had been struggling to rise a moment before, lay motionless on the ground, unconscious. A huge, bloody swelling had appeared on its small head.

Harry collapsed onto the floor, his heart pounding as though it would burst from his chest.

Hermione still had her wand pointed at the Troll. Her arm trembled slightly, but her gaze had turned resolute. "Go!"

She pulled Harry up. "Snape may already have the Philosopher's Stone."

They stumbled into the next room, greedily gulping down the relatively fresh air.

But the sight before them left them rooted to the spot—a row of seven differently shaped glass bottles sat neatly arranged on an ancient stone table, refracting hazy halos beneath the dim blue flames.

"It's Snape's trap..." Harry's voice tightened as his fingers unconsciously touched the scar on his forehead.

At that moment, the door behind them burst into strange purple flames, while a wall of pitch-black fire rose before the exit ahead.

They were trapped within this deadly puzzle.

Hermione hurried forward and unfolded the parchment scroll with trembling fingers. When Harry leaned closer, he caught the scent of wormwood and mint drifting from the paper.

"Danger lies ahead..." Hermione softly read the riddle aloud, her voice producing a faint echo in the enclosed space.

As she interpreted the clues one by one, Harry's gaze moved back and forth between the seven bottles. Emerald liquid rolled inside the slender crystal bottle on the far left; a dark purple potion wriggled like a living thing in the squat ceramic jar beside it; frost coated the surface of the silver bottle in the center...

"It's a very clever problem," Hermione said. "But it isn't magic—it's logical reasoning. Without the ability to reason logically, you'd be trapped here forever."

"What? You mean we can't get out?"

"Of course not," Hermione said. "The answer is on this paper—of the seven bottles, one will let us pass safely through the black flames, while another will send us back through the purple flames."

Harry watched Hermione concentrate on solving the puzzle and suddenly noticed that tears, brought on by the Troll's stench, still clung to her eyelashes.

Just then, the conical bottle on the far right suddenly popped out a bubble. The amber liquid inside was visibly dwindling.

"Hermione..." Harry warned nervously. "I think these potions are evaporating..."

"I've solved it already!" Hermione put down the parchment. "According to the fourth clue, the second bottle from the left and the second from the right smell the same—which means they're both Nettle Wine and can't help us pass through the flames..."

Her wand tapped several bottles in turn. "By process of elimination, this smallest one is the key to the next room, while this round bottle is the key to returning to the previous room."

"How did you figure out the answer so quickly?" Harry could hardly believe it.

Hermione smiled. "Don't forget, Harry. I'm a Muggle-born witch. When it comes to logical reasoning, very few people are better at it than I am!"

"All right." Harry took a deep breath and pressed the tiny crystal bottle into Hermione's hand.

"Listen to me," he said, his voice steadier than he had expected. "Go back and find Ron—take two brooms from the Flying Key room. Go straight to the Owlery and have Hedwig send a message to Dumbledore."

His green eyes shone with determination in the light of the black flames. "Then, if possible... try to find Professor Greengrass."

Hermione gripped the bottle tightly, her knuckles turning white. "But... if that person is with Snape..."

"I've escaped from him once already." Harry unconsciously touched his lightning-shaped scar and forced a smile. "Maybe I'll escape again this time!"

Hermione's lips trembled, then she suddenly rushed forward and hugged Harry tightly. "You're the bravest wizard I've ever seen."

Her voice was muffled against Harry's shoulder.

"I'm not," Harry said, his ears turning red with embarrassment. "You're the amazing one. Without you, we wouldn't even have made it past the first challenge."

Hermione stepped back and wiped at the corners of her reddened eyes. "Me? I just... memorized books. But some things can't be learned from books..."

She remembered what Professor Greengrass had once said, "Like true courage, and... friendship more precious than gold."

"That's right, it's precious!" Harry agreed firmly. He picked up the smallest bottle, then shoved the other round bottle into Hermione's hand.

"Then here's to our friendship!" The boy forced a smile, trying to make a joke, but his voice trembled slightly.

"You're sure these are the right two bottles? You didn't make a mistake, did you?"

"Absolutely not." Hermione spoke with certainty, then took a large gulp and shivered all over.

"No problem?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Then go back!"

Hermione nodded and plunged headfirst into the flames.

As she stepped into the wall of fire, she heard Harry shout behind her, "Tell Ron—his chess playing was brilliant!"

The flames swallowed her figure, leaving only a curled strand of hair drifting down in the heat. Harry stood alone before the stone table, staring at the last small mouthful of potion in his hand. The black flames churned before him like some snarling monster.

He raised the bottle and softly said to the empty room, "I have to do this!"