Breaking Through

Harry pulled out the Christmas present Hagrid had given him, a flute that Hagrid had made himself, and began to blow it with all his might.

As soon as the whistle sounded, Fluffy collapsed.

The three of them continued playing the flute as they tiptoed past Fluffy.

Harry opened the trapdoor on the ground and glanced at the other two.

"I'll jump, you guys jump."

The two nodded, and then Harry jumped down.

After Harry signaled that he had landed safely, Ron and Neville followed suit and jumped down.

The exit below was covered with Devil's Snare, a type of binding plant. All three were tightly bound by the Devil's Snare, unable to break free.

The three terrified individuals struggled desperately, but to no avail. Finally, Ron, true to his wizarding family background, remembered. "I know magic!" He then laboriously pulled out his Wand and hastily cast a few spells.

The Devil's Snare is a light-averse plant, and the light of the Curses disgusted it, causing it to reluctantly release the three people.

Having successfully passed another hurdle, the three walked down the corridor and arrived at a bright room. At the far end of the room was a heavy wooden door, which they tried for a long time but couldn't open. Frustrated, the three could only look up at the sky, where countless winged keys were fluttering about.

"The key to the door must be inside; we need to get it," Harry analyzed.

Ron and Neville agreed. The three of them searched the room and successfully collected all three Flying Broomstick.

The three of them flew into the air, desperately trying to grab the key, but apart from Harry, the other two were not very good at flying.

"Neville, why don't you go down and keep an eye out for the keys..."

Under Neville's aggrieved gaze and with Ron cheering him on from the sidelines, Harry, after what seemed like an eternity, finally managed to grab the key to the gate, thanks to his status as the "youngest Seeker in Hogwarts history."

Having narrowly escaped another challenge, the three felt a surge of confidence welling up from within, and continued forward with the strides of dragons and tigers.

Soon, they arrived at the next room.

There was a huge chessboard in the room, with enormous chess pieces standing on it, taller than the three of them. The white pieces stood to one side of the three, and the black pieces stood opposite them.

Clearly, to get through this room, you must win a game of Wizard's Chess.

A wicked smile crept across Ron's lips.

No one knows Wizard's Chess better than me!

He directed Harry and Neville to stand on the chessboard, beginning the most thrilling and exciting game of Wizard's Chess he had ever played.

The process wasn't great, but the result was alright. To win, Ron sacrificed himself, paving the way for Harry and Neville to the next level.

"We must keep going! We can't let Ron's sacrifice be in vain!" Harry said firmly, looking at Neville who was hesitant.

They came to another door. Pushing it open, a familiar Harry hit them, and Neville nearly stumbled from the stench. They both covered their noses and went inside.

In the center of the room lay a Troll, motionless. On the Troll's head was a large, bloody swelling.

The two were relieved that they didn't have to fight the Troll anymore; Harry wasn't sure he could defeat Troll again. They hurried across the room, escaping the Troll's aura of scent.

With nervous hearts, the two opened the next door. Before them stood a table with seven bottles of various shapes on it.

As soon as they stepped across the threshold, a purple flame blocked their retreat, while a black flame rose from the other side of the doorway, blocking their path.

There was a piece of parchment on the table. Neville walked over, unfolded it, glanced at it, and immediately handed it to Harry, then stared at him expectantly.

Harry curiously took the parchment and began to read it.

"Danger is in front of us, safety is behind us..."

"..."

Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He looked up at Neville, and the two stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"We've already passed five checkpoints. This one must be Snape's, the penultimate one. Since we haven't encountered Snape along the way, it means he must be at the final checkpoint. We don't know how long Professor Dumbledore's checkpoint can hold Snape off, so we can't afford to waste any more time!"

With an indomitable spirit, Harry grabbed the nearest bottle and downed it in one gulp, giving Neville no chance to stop him.

Harry smacked his lips, thinking the taste was pretty good, then closed his eyes and plunged headfirst into the flames ahead.

Neville was at a loss as Harry left. He didn't know if the Potions Harry had just drunk was the right one.

If Harry drank the correct Potions, it meant Harry successfully passed through the flames, but it also meant he couldn't pass through the flames in front of him. If Harry drank the wrong Potions, it meant... he still didn't know which Potions he should drink.

A difficult choice lay before Neville, causing his already not-so-bright little brain to completely shut down.

It's unclear what Neville was thinking, or perhaps he wasn't thinking at all? In any case, Neville grabbed a bottle of Potions and, just like Harry, downed it in one gulp.

Just as he was about to plunge into the flames, Neville suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Silence filled the room.

About 10 seconds later, a low laugh broke the silence. The laughter grew louder and louder until it turned into maniacal laughter.

The air in the corner of the room distorted, and Bell appeared, bent over, clutching his stomach and laughing wildly.

"Hahaha~! Hahahaha~~!"

Bell had been laughing for almost a minute, but he still couldn't stop. He was holding his stomach with one hand and leaning against the wall with the other, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"Hahaha~! I can't take it anymore, how can this be... haha~! It can be this funny..."

Upon receiving Lim's report, Bell rushed to the Fourth Floor Right-Side Corridor as quickly as possible.

Although Ravenclaw's Gryffindor Common Room's, Bell was much faster than Harry, and the others. So, while Harry, and the others were encouraging each other outside Fluffy's room, Bell arrived just as quickly.

Bell, who maintained the Disillusionment Charm and Silencing Charm throughout, stayed close behind the three and witnessed their entire challenge.

Bell was still positive about the three's performance. After all, they were just three 11-year-old Little Wizard; they couldn't be too strict with them. Even if they were a bit slow, it was still within the normal range.

Bell wasn't quite sure either, but he wasn't familiar with these three people, so he didn't care.

What really made Bell unable to suppress the vomiting spirit in his body was the levels set by these professors.