Hermione stared wide-eyed at the open door, then at Draco beside her, who remained calm and collected, completely bewildered.
She even forgot to breathe, and after a long while, she suddenly came to her senses. "... You, you really did it? Three steps? And we're still completely unharmed?"
"This is Professor McGonagall's live-action Wizard's Chess... How do you know it so well?"
She stepped forward, grabbed Draco's arm, her eyes filled with shock, admiration, and an undisguised adoration.
"You're amazing, Draco!"
Draco looked down at her sparkling eyes and couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and gently pinched her flushed cheek. "Now you believe I'm a master of Wizard's Chess?"
Hermione's cheeks flushed, and she nodded vigorously, no longer arguing. "I believe you! You're the best!"
But the next second, she suddenly froze, her pupils shrinking slightly.
She suddenly remembered--
He won.
That doesn't mean she lost again.
Draco stepped forward. " Miss Granger, remember this well, you now owe me two things."
Hermione shrank back, waving her hands and shaking her head vigorously. "No more betting! I'll never bet with you again!"
Draco couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Come on, nobody loses all the time!"
"I'm not betting anymore!" Hermione puffed out her cheeks. "I'll always lose when I bet with you, I'm not falling for it!"
Draco looked at her flustered yet adorable appearance and just smiled. Well, what the future holds... who knows?
He turned to look at the now-open entrance to the next level, his eyes regaining their composure. "Let's go, don't keep the previous levels waiting too long."
As soon as the two stepped through the open stone gate of the Wizard's Chess, the passage behind them instantly darkened, and a familiar and heavy smell of fish and dust suddenly filled the air ahead.
Following the smell came Troll, even larger and more robust than the one in the bathroom.
It was shoving a huge, cracked wooden club, emitting a muffled growl in the dim stone chamber.
As if instantly activated by the intruder, its murky eyes suddenly locked onto the two of them, without even bothering to scream.
He swung the massive club, as thick as a bowl, and with a deafening roar, brought it crashing down on his head!
"Careful!"
Draco reacted with astonishing speed. Almost at the same second the Troll moved, he gripped Hermione's wrist tightly, twisted his waist, and slammed her to the side.
"Boom--!!"
The giant club slammed heavily onto the spot where the two had just stood, instantly shattering the stone bricks and sending fragments flying, shaking the entire stone chamber.
Hermione was held protectively in his arms, and when she landed, Draco caught her steadily without causing her any bumps or bruises.
She quickly regained her footing, her wand already pointing steadily forward. " Impedimenta!"
A transparent barrier instantly formed in front of him, forcefully blocking the Troll's second Cleansweep.
The barrier emitted a blinding light, forcing the Troll to pause abruptly.
"Well done, Hermione!"
As Draco finished speaking, his wand pointed directly at the Troll's knee, and he said coldly, " Locomotor Mortis!"
The spell struck the Troll's joint precisely, causing it to freeze, its heavy body instantly losing its balance, and it staggered, almost falling over.
The Troll, writhing in pain and enraged, let out a deafening roar and wildly swung its massive club, smashing everything in its path. Stone fragments flew everywhere, and dust filled the stone chamber.
Draco pulled Hermione behind him protectively. "It's slow, let's continue our coordinated attack. This time I'll hold it off, you focus on its weaknesses!"
"Okay!" Hermione replied without hesitation.
Draco nimbly circled around to the Troll's left, continuously unleashing distracting spells. " Riddikulus!"
" Incarcerous!"
Multicolored spells exploded on the Troll, leaving it dizzy and disoriented. Its giant club swung wildly, nearly hitting itself several times in the process.
Taking advantage of the Troll's complete distraction, Hermione took a deep breath, aimed at the most vulnerable spot between its eyes, concentrated all her attention, and unleashed a spell:
" Stupefy!"
A dazzling red light shot out straight and struck the Troll's forehead precisely!
The Troll's massive body shuddered violently, its hand wielding its giant club froze in mid-air, and its turbid eyes instantly lost their luster.
After letting out a muffled groan, he collapsed to the ground like a mountain, completely unconscious, the ground sinking heavily behind him.
The smoke and dust slowly settled, and the stone chamber returned to silence.
Hermione's grip on her wand relaxed slightly, her chest still rising and falling gently; her palms had been sweating from nervousness.
Draco immediately put away his wand, strode over to her, looked her up and down, and asked worriedly, "Are you alright? Were you hit by any pebbles?"
Hermione shook her head and looked at him, her eyes sparkling with the light of a battle just ended. She couldn't help but laugh, "We worked together so well."
Draco breathed a sigh of relief, reached out and gently flicked her forehead, saying teasingly:
"It seems there's really nothing wrong. Our Miss Granger seems to have fallen in love with the feeling of fighting."
Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly as she brushed the dust off her sleeve. "It's not that I've fallen in love with fighting, it's just... when I'm with you, even the most dangerous things don't seem so scary anymore."
As soon as she finished speaking, she paused for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly. She quickly looked away, coughed lightly, and added:
"I mean, we have good teamwork, are very efficient, and save time."
"Oh, I see." Draco deliberately dragged out his words, his eyes almost overflowing with laughter, as if he clearly saw through it but didn't expose it.
Hermione nodded, forcing herself to remain calm. "Of course."
She steadied herself, her gaze falling on the unconscious Troll on the ground, and suddenly her brow furrowed slightly:
"Speaking of Troll... didn't Professor Quirrell secretly put the troll in the girls' restroom before? How come there's still one here?"
Draco toyed with his wand, glanced indifferently at the enormous, foul-smelling Troll, and casually spoke:
"It's obvious that the one released was a Troll, while the one guarding this place is a large Troll."
Hermione was speechless. "Isn't that obvious?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance fearfully at the massive club capable of smashing boulders, and whispered, "Thank goodness it was us who broke in; if it had been Harry and Ron..."
"I'd probably get smashed into mincemeat by that thing on the spot," Draco retorted without any politeness.
Upon hearing this, Hermione's face paled instantly, and she instinctively gripped her wand tightly, her heart clenching sharply.
Just imagining that scene sent chills down her spine.
Harry and Ron's combat experience was far inferior to their teamwork, and they couldn't withstand more than a few rounds against such a ferocious Troll.
She murmured softly, "That was too dangerous... Luckily we dealt with it beforehand."
Draco patted Hermione's head and looked towards the stone door deep in the passage, which was faintly glowing. "The final challenge is just ahead, Miss Granger. Are you ready?"