Dumbledore's Sting Operation

Although William did not know the Fiendfyre and could not control the Fiendfyre, since this was a challenge, Dumbledore would definitely leave behind the key to pass it.

The group walked to the table, Hermione picked up a roll of parchment next to the bottle. She read:

Danger is ahead, safety is behind. Two of us can help you. Drink these; one will lead you forward, the other will take you back to where you started.

Two of them contain Nettle Wine. Three are assassins, lined up and waiting. Choose, unless you want to stay here forever.

We also provide four clues to help you choose: First, no matter how cunningly the poison hides, it is actually standing to the left of the Nettle Wine;

Second, the contents of the bottles on the left and right are different. Neither will be useful to you if you want to move forward; third, you will find that the bottles are all different sizes.

Death is not hidden among Giant and dwarfs; fourth, the second from the left and the second from the right, though different in appearance, taste the same.

After listening, William smiled and said, "A simple logic puzzle. I wonder who came up with it."

"These Potions were all concocted by Professor Snape, and he should be the one who made them," Cedric said, glancing down at the bottles.

Hermione smiled too. "Many of the greatest wizards lack any ability for logical reasoning, so they're stuck here forever. But this one isn't too difficult."

William nodded. To be honest, Muggle are much better than wizards in this respect. Their academic education ensures that they often have a strong sense of logic.

"Then let's see who can figure it out first?" Hermione suggested.

William conjured a piece of parchment with his wand, then picked up a quill pen and said with a smile, "You guys do the deduction, I'll leave a little gift for Professor Snape too."

William thought for a moment, then quickly wrote on the parchment:

Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore each have a non-zero natural number, and it is known that the product of the two numbers is either 8 or 16.

Snape: "I don't know Dumbledore's numbers."

Dumbledore: "I don't know Snape's numbers either."

Snape: "I still don't know."

Dumbledore: "I still don't know."

Snape: "I understand."

Dumbledore: "I understand too."

What numbers are they holding?

After William finished writing, he placed it on the table. Hermione was the first to guess the answer to the question Snape left behind.

She clapped her hands excitedly. "I know! This smallest bottle will help us get through the black flames!"

William picked up the unassuming little bottle, sniffed it carefully, and recognized it as Potions he had never seen before.

Professor Snape is truly a hidden genius; he can even invent Potions to ward off Fiendfyre. How terrifying!

"Is such a small bottle enough for all of us?" Cedric asked.

William used Transfiguration to conjure six straws. "If each person gets a few drops, that should be enough."

William took a few drops with the straw and put them in his mouth. The taste was like ice, instantly permeating his entire body.

Several people carefully sucked a few drops, and finally a small amount remained in the bottle.

William left behind the bottle of Nettle Wine, but took all the other Potions with him.

"This is Potions that can suppress Fiendfyre; I need to study it," William said earnestly, "And try to find out Potions ingredients."

"Is it possible to research this?" Hermione asked with interest.

"Of course it's possible. We can analyze the Potions's ingredients using Scarpin's Revealing Charm, but it's quite complicated and will take a long time to figure out," William explained.

"And these few bottles of poison, since they were prepared by Professor Snape, must be very potent."

I'll also try to concoct an antidote. You know, according to Golpalott's Third Law... the antidote for a mixture of poisons is greater than the sum of the antidotes for each individual ingredient.

We must not only choose the antidote for each individual component, but also find the additional ingredient that can Transfiguration various unrelated components through a process akin to Alchemy...

Everyone listened as if they were hearing gibberish, because William was talking about content from an advanced Potions Class, something that was only taught in sixth grade.

Although Hermione didn't understand, she still looked interested, seemingly finding the method quite amusing.

After a while, William was the first to enter the Fiendfyre. He saw black flames licking his body, but he felt nothing.

In that instant, he could see nothing but black flames—then he made it to the other side and entered the last room.

This is a spacious, beautiful circular room filled with all sorts of funny little noises. On the long-legged table, there are many strange and wonderful silver objects, spinning and emitting small puffs of smoke.

The walls are covered with portraits of the former male and female principals, all of them gently snoring in their respective frames.

But actually, they were all secretly laughing.

Hmm, this room looks familiar.

"Uh--Isn't this the Headmaster's Office?!"

In September, William felt his hands and feet were ice-cold, and he turned to leave.

Dumbledore set up such a complex system just to find out who would be out at night?

This is entrapment!

How incredibly boring!

He was about to turn back when Cedric and the others swarmed in.

Fred looked at the silverware on the table and laughed loudly, "Is this our reward after we finish the challenge?"

Reward my ass!

William quickly told him to shut up, lowering his voice, "Let's go... this is Dumbledore's office..."

The group's faces stiffened, and they quickly turned to leave.

"Since you're here, why don't we chat for a while? I'd be happy to have a heart-to-heart talk with the young wizards before bedtime to understand their mental state."

I'm more curious: why are they here at midnight if they're not in their own beds?

The office bedroom door suddenly opened, Dumbledore emerged wearing a fluffy purple nightgown and a nightcap with a small ball on his head.

Nestled in Dumbledore's arms, holding Bobocha, it looked at William with an innocent expression and let out a weak meow.

They actually came to dance the night away in front of the principal's bed!

William stood at the front, giving an awkward smile. Hermione hid behind him, trying to minimize her presence and avoid being noticed by the headmaster.

"I told you not to come!" The girl would have shouted if Dumbledore hadn't been there.

"Please sit down," Dumbledore said kindly.

Six chairs appeared under everyone's bottoms.

"Want something to drink?" Dumbledore moment. "Milk will do. A glass of milk before bed is good for your stomach."

Dumbledore waved his wand, and six steaming cups of milk appeared on the table.

"Ah, Bobocha, you're here." William seemed to have just noticed his cat.

He forced a smile and said, "I thought you'd gone missing, so I brought a few of them to look for you late at night. I never expected to find you here with the principal... hahaha..."

Cedric and the others nodded quickly, forcing a serious laugh, seemingly agreeing with William's statement.

Dumbledore and sat down in the chair.

"So, you've violated at least a dozen school rules. How many points should I deduct from your license?"

"Dumbledore said cheerfully."

(Thanks to "Still Little Mantou" for the donation, (//?//))