The Final Trial (1)

Time passed quickly, and exams were almost upon them.

You asked about Malfoy's punishment? Going to the Forbidden Forest was like going home for him now. There was no longer any scene like in the movies where he was scared half to death. It was already good enough if the creatures in the Forbidden Forest did not run when they saw him—after all, Slytherin students formed parties in the Forbidden Forest every night to grind monsters. Acromantulas shrank back at the sight of silver-green robes, Red Caps burrowed underground when they heard Slytherin footsteps, and even werewolves went around them. Even if there was danger, the Nine-Tails Cloak would protect them.

Unfortunately, Malfoy had not caught the black-robed man who had killed the Unicorn that night. He had wandered through the Forbidden Forest for most of the night and found only a Unicorn's corpse and blood trails dragged across the ground. By the time he followed them, the figure had already vanished into the depths of the forest.

Exam day was unbearably hot.

Hogwarts was truly hot in June.

Especially in the large classroom where they took their exams. All the windows were open, but there was no wind. Even the curtains could not be bothered to stir. They had to write with specially issued quills, as those quills had been enchanted to prevent cheating.

After the written exams came practical tests. Professor Flitwick called them into the classroom one by one and tested whether they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk.

Professor McGonagall had them turn a mouse into a snuffbox. The prettier the transformation, the higher the score, but if it did not look right, points would be deducted. The mouse in front of Su Yu was a little gray thing, crouching on the desk with black bean-like eyes fixed on him. Su Yu raised his wand, aimed it at the mouse, and recited the spell.

The mouse began to transform. Its body shrank into a lump, its fur took on a metallic texture, its tail retracted, and its nose became the lid of the box—but the color was wrong. It should have been silver, yet it was gray, and the shape was wrong too: flat, like a crushed tin can. Professor McGonagall came over and took a look. Her lips pressed together, but she said nothing. Su Yu did not know what that meant, though he felt it probably did not mean points had been deducted.

When Professor Snape tested them, everyone was nervous to death. They tried desperately to remember how to brew a Forgetfulness Potion, staring so hard their eyes nearly popped out. Su Yu's Potions had improved considerably from before, but he had only gone from "completely hopeless" to "barely passable." Snape came over and looked down at his cauldron. His black eyes lingered on the potion's color for a second before moving away. He said nothing, but Su Yu thought the corner of his mouth had twitched—not a smile, but a confirmation of just as expected.

Their last exam was History of Magic, where they had one hour to answer questions about an eccentric old wizard who had invented the cauldron.

When the ghostly Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and hand in their papers, students across the school cheered as one. They had a week of holiday to wait for their exam results.

After the exams, Su Yu dragged his nearly drained body to the lakeside, supported by Daphne, to find Sister Fa and Sister Ka, who had been waiting there.

This was the story of three top students and one terrible student.

The four of them found a large tree and sat beneath it. Su Yu lay on the grass with his head resting on Sister Ka's long legs. The Nine-Tailed Fox jumped out of Su Yu's arms and crouched in a corner of the blanket, pawing at the pastries in the basket. Sister Fa smacked her paw, so she pulled it back, only to stretch it out again when Sister Fa turned away.

Daphne sat beside Su Yu, took a pastry from the basket, broke it into small pieces, and fed them to him bite by bite, hoping to quickly restore his exhausted brain.

Sister Fa leaned against the trunk, watching Daphne feed Su Yu. The corner of her mouth lifted, and there was a glimmer in her eyes. "Daphne," Sister Fa said, "you spoil him too much. One day, Su Yu is going to be spoiled rotten by you."

Daphne smiled gently and said nothing more. She broke another cookie in half and held it to Su Yu's lips. Su Yu opened his mouth and ate it, chewed twice, then suddenly sat up, turned sideways, and kissed Daphne on the lips.

A ring of cookie crumbs was left around Daphne's lips by Su Yu's kiss. She froze for a moment, her face faintly flushing, then reached out and pinched Su Yu at the waist.

The pain made Su Yu shudder. He curled up and dodged to the side, shouting as he fled, "Sister Fa! Blow on it for me! It hurts!"

Sister Fa rolled her eyes at him. Then, with a look of disgust, she reached out and shoved Su Yu toward Sister Ka.

Su Yu naturally fell back onto Sister Ka's lap and muttered, "Sister Ka, save me." Sister Ka looked down at him, the corner of her lips curling up slightly. She neither pushed him away nor spoke. She simply brushed the hair from his forehead and gently pressed a finger between his brows.

The four of them enjoyed the quiet afternoon like that. Occasionally, a fish leaped from the lake and splashed back into the water, sending ripples spreading outward in circles.

The Nine-Tailed Fox finally stole a cookie from the basket. Crouching at the edge of the blanket, she nibbled it in tiny bites, her amber eyes narrowed into slits.

They did not return until the sun was nearly setting.

That night, Su Yu had just finished bathing. He came out of the bathroom, drying his hair, and was about to sleep with Sister Fa in his arms.

Peeves burst in.

He came straight through the wall, his purple body doing a somersault in midair. His pointed hat nearly jabbed the chandelier on the ceiling.

The Nine-Tailed Fox exploded.

She had been dozing at the foot of the bed. Startled by Peeves's sudden appearance, she sprang straight up from the bed, her four legs kicking in the air. All nine tails puffed up at once, and her entire body instantly swelled by a size as Spinosaurus Form activated.

Her mouth opened, and a cluster of golden light gathered in her throat—that was the sign of a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb forming.

"Don't!" Su Yu rushed over and pressed one hand against the Nine-Tailed Fox's head, forcing her mouth shut. Her teeth clicked together, and the Tailed Beast Bomb died in her mouth, releasing a wisp of green smoke. She glared at Su Yu, but he ignored her.

"Peeves," Su Yu said, turning around with his voice lowered, "what exactly happened?"

Peeves did a flip in the air, his hat slipping crookedly to one side. "Harry! Ron! Hermione! They broke into that room on the fourth floor! But something unknown seems to have happened in that room, and now none of the three are known to be alive or dead!"

Su Yu frowned.

In the movie, that place had simply been a trial ground Dumbledore had prepared for Harry. There was not really anything dangerous there. Apart from a little danger when Harry faced Quirrell at the end, Dumbledore had been watching nearby. So Su Yu had not bothered with the three of them at all. A little trial was good for them, and Hermione needed a chance to prove herself too.

Something was wrong.

Su Yu's frown deepened.

Dumbledore had set him up again.

That night's Flame Troll—

Su Yu did not think any further. He quickly put on his clothes, turned to Sister Fa, and said, "I'm going to the fourth floor." Then he rushed out of the dormitory.

Sister Fa sat on the bed, her book still open in her hands, but her gaze was not on the pages. Her brows drew together slightly, and her fingers lightly tapped the edge of the page twice—a small habit she only had when thinking. After considering it, she felt something was wrong.

Sister Fa put down the book, got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, draped an outer robe around herself, and left the dormitory.

There were still several people chatting in the Slytherin common room. The fire in the fireplace burned brightly, and three or four people sat on the dark green sofas drinking tea. Sister Fa walked to the fireplace and rang the bell Slytherin used specifically for assembly.

Three minutes. Within three minutes, every Slytherin student had appeared in the common room. From first-years to seventh-years, there were nearly a hundred people.

Sister Fa stood before the fireplace, the firelight reflecting on her face.

"The Prefect has gone to that room on the fourth floor," Sister Fa said. "But I have a bad feeling about it."

She paused.

"Now, you decide for yourselves. Those who want to come, take one step forward."

There was no hesitation.

Nearly a hundred people stepped forward together. Their footsteps struck the floor so neatly that it sounded like one person moving. This time, Crabbe and Goyle were not half a beat slow either—Crabbe's mouth was still open and Goyle's eyes were still wide, but their feet had already moved forward.

Sister Fa's gaze swept across every face.

"Good. Go back and prepare your equipment. Everyone moves out in two minutes!"

The common room immediately became busy. Everyone returned to their dormitories to prepare their gear. Two minutes later, nearly a hundred people stood neatly in the common room. The boys all wore white shirts, green ties, black suits, and black trench coats. The girls all wore white shirts, green ties, black jackets, pleated skirts, and black stockings. Silver-green badges glimmered faintly inside everyone's robes.

Sister Fa walked at the front, with Sister Ka beside her and Daphne in the middle of the group. Nearly a hundred people formed a long line and silently crossed the corridors and climbed the stone stairs.

Filch and Mrs. Norris trembled at the sight. For the moment, they had no intention of catching students out after curfew.

On Su Yu's side, he had already put on the Nine-Tails Cloak.

He even leaped straight up the stairs—with one kick against the ground, he shot up half a flight, tapped the railing with his toes, then shot up another half-flight.

If he had been able to Apparate, he would have been up there long ago. The Anti-Apparition Jinx in Hogwarts Castle had been personally set by Dumbledore, and no one could get around it.

Su Yu charged to the fourth floor and kicked open the door.

The first room was empty. The Three-Headed Dog was not there. Only several thick iron chains lay on the ground, stretching from iron rings in the walls to a large cushion in the center of the room. The chains had been broken, their fractures jagged and uneven.

Su Yu had no time to think about where the Three-Headed Dog had gone. He saw that the trapdoor in the floor was open. He jumped in.

The second trial was darkness.

Before his feet even touched the ground, things lashed toward him from every direction—vines.

Su Yu's eyes changed. Black tomoe spun within his red pupils, connecting into a circle: the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

He inhaled deeply, chakra surging through his chest, then exhaled a massive blast of flames. The vines twisted and curled in the fire, turning to ash with a scorched stench. The remains of Devil's Snare writhed on the ground a few times, then stopped moving.

The third trial was a huge room, its ceiling densely covered in keys. Thousands of keys flew through the air, their wings beating like a flock of startled sparrows. A door stood at the other end of the room. It had already been opened, so it seemed Hermione and the others had passed this trial.

Su Yu did not take a broom. He simply jumped through the doorway.

A huge chessboard stood in the fourth room.

As soon as Su Yu entered, he heard Ron shout, "Sacrifice is unavoidable! Harry, I'll move forward and let it take me, then you can checkmate that king! Don't you want to hurry and stop Snape?"

With that, Ron stepped forward and was knocked unconscious by the white queen. His body fell to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. The white queen dragged him aside, while Harry moved three squares to the left and won the game.

Su Yu jumped beside the two of them. Hermione stared at him in surprise, then hurriedly rushed forward and hugged him.

"Su Yu!" Hermione's voice was sharp and bright, trembling with the relief of surviving disaster.

"It's all right now." Su Yu placed a hand on the back of Hermione's head, his fingers threading through her fluffy curls.

Su Yu walked to Ron's side and crouched to examine him. Ron's breathing was steady and his heartbeat normal. There was only a bump on the back of his head from when he had struck it after the white queen knocked him out. Su Yu told Harry to help Ron over to the side.

All the chess pieces moved aside, bent their knees, and knelt, clearing a path to the entrance. Su Yu, Hermione, and Harry walked between the chess pieces and pushed open the door to the next trial.

There was only a dead troll in the fifth room.

A strong medicinal smell filled the air, mixed with the troll's distinctive rotten stench. It was enough to make them want to vomit.

"I'm really glad we don't have to fight it," Harry whispered as they carefully stepped over its enormous leg. His voice was very low, as though he was afraid of waking the troll.

"Hurry up, I don't dare breathe!" When Harry pushed open another door, he and Hermione hardly dared to look inside. Su Yu found the two of them a little funny—cowardly and brave at the same time.

But contrary to Harry's expectations, there was nothing frightening inside. There were only seven bottles of different shapes, neatly lined up on a table.

"This is Snape's trick," Harry said. "What do we have to do now?"

The moment they crossed the threshold, purple flames rose at the doorway behind them. At the same time, black flames burst to life at the door ahead.

They were trapped in the middle.

"Look!" Hermione pulled a piece of paper from beside the bottles and called Su Yu over to read it.

It read:

There is danger ahead and safety behind, if you can find it. Two of our bottles can help you; one of the seven will help you move forward, another will send you back where you came from, two are merely ordinary nettle wine, and three are deadly poison. Choose quickly if you do not wish to stay here forever!

To help you choose, we offer four clues:

First, no matter how cleverly poison is hidden, you will always find it to the left of nettle wine; second, the bottles at the ends are always different, but if you move inward, there is no good wine; third, as you can see, all the bottles are different sizes, and neither the short nor the tall bottles are dangerous; fourth, the second from the left and the second from the right are a pair, though they do not look alike.

Su Yu's head hurt just from reading it. Hermione, however, was unusually excited. She liked solving puzzles like this. As for Harry? Su Yu wanted to laugh when he looked at him. Did Snape expect Harry to have a brain? This was clearly making things difficult for a fool.

Before long, Hermione clapped her hands.

"Got it!" she said excitedly. "The smallest bottle will let us pass through the black flames and find the Philosopher's Stone!"

Harry looked at the tiny bottle. It was only as big as his thumb. "There's only enough for one person," he said. "It's barely enough for one swallow. So which bottle will let someone pass through the purple flames and go back?"

Hermione pointed to the round bottle at the far right. It was slightly larger than the thumb-sized bottle, and the liquid inside was red.

There were three people now, but only two doses of potion.

Hermione spoke first. "I won't drink it. Su Yu, you should. Whether you go forward or backward, I'll just wait for you to save me."

"These flames can't hurt me," Su Yu said. "Hurry back."

He poured the red potion into Hermione's mouth, then casually put a Nine-Tails Cloak on her as well.

"Hurry back and wait," Su Yu said. "I'll return. Be good."

Hermione hugged Su Yu, gave him one last look, and moved her lips without making a sound before vanishing.

Su Yu turned to look at Harry.

"Let's go."

He held out his hand, and golden chakra spread over Harry too, forming a layer of armor. "Drink the potion. We're going in."

Harry poured the potion into his mouth.

"Follow me," Su Yu said.

Su Yu led Harry into the seventh trial to face Voldemort directly.