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Beneath the trapdoor there was only empty space, and far below, a large mass of Devil's Snare was growing.
It was a magical plant that loved dark, damp environments. It had a certain degree of awareness of its own and could use its tough, powerful vines to bind prey until it died.
Wizards skilled in Herbology often cultivated it specifically to use as a defense for treasures.
It could be considered a relatively dangerous magical plant.
But when Dudley came down, the Devil's Snare had all shrunk back into the corners of the walls, clearly after having gone through an unpleasant experience with light.
Devil's Snare feared light and heat.
Those were its natural weaknesses.
And also its greatest weaknesses.
It was like humans transformed into vampires. The moment they touched sunlight, they would be burned on a massive scale.
The best way to deal with Devil's Snare was with spells related to light and heat.
Dudley looked around and saw that the place was completely empty. Harry and the others were not there. It was obvious they had already moved on ahead of him.
"I wonder how far they've gotten by now."
Murmuring that, Dudley began moving his left foot sideways in a slow, strange way, while his right foot moved the opposite way. His whole body began to move with a peculiar step, slowly... slowly... until he seemed to blend into the surrounding darkness and vanished without a trace.
Shadow Step.
One of the Zoldyck family's assassination techniques. An extremely practical ability, capable of hiding the body in darkness and erasing all sound of movement.
As Dudley advanced using Shadow Step, strange, complex, intricate lines began appearing on the floor behind him.
Transmutation circles...
...
At that moment, Harry and the others had already found the correct key among the swarm of flying keys and opened the door ahead.
"This is way too easy."
Both the Devil's Snare and the flying-key challenge had been absurdly simple obstacles.
For the first, all you had to do was pay the slightest bit of attention in Herbology class.
For the second, anyone with a basic grounding in Charms or the ability to fly a broom could get through it.
By pure coincidence, in Herbology they had just learned how to deal with Devil's Snare.
And Professor Flitwick had just taught them how to distinguish the real thing from the fake with magic.
Quite the convenient coincidence.
They had even started to suspect that the three-headed dog Dudley was dealing with outside was actually the hardest obstacle of all.
That simply was not something a few first-years could handle.
Even if they were a group of exceptionally capable first-years.
"Are we really not going to wait for D?"
Harry looked back toward the dark chamber they had come out of and asked the others.
"Let's go a little farther first."
Hermione answered with her wand raised, her tone serious. Among all of them, she was the best at Charms, and she had been the one to discover the real key with a single spell.
"We can't disappoint Dudley. If possible, we have to finish these tests before he gets here."
"We can't depend on him all the time. What he needs are companions, not dead weight."
The fact that she had not been able to help at all against the three-headed dog left her deeply dissatisfied with herself. Out of everything she had learned, she had found absolutely nothing she could use in that situation.
"Then, Potter, what are you waiting for?"
Malfoy said impatiently and shoved Harry aside, opening the next door.
He had not managed to do anything against either the Devil's Snare or the flying keys.
And on top of that, Potter had ridden the broom and taken the real key.
No.
In the next stage, I'm definitely making my move.
The others exchanged looks and quickly followed him inside.
It was a room unlike the ones before, and much larger than it first appeared. They stood at the edge of an enormous chessboard. In front of them loomed gigantic black chess pieces, each several heads taller than they were. On the far side of the chamber, facing them, stood the white pieces.
"Wizard's chess?"
Malfoy muttered under his breath, clearly recognizing what it meant. Then he cast an unfriendly look at Ron.
"Tsk, Roast Beef. Looks like this is your turf. From the looks of it, we'll have to finish this game to get through."
Ron was the best among them at wizard's chess.
"My name is Ron!"
That was it.
His fist clenched.
That damned Malfoy was doing it on purpose.
Ron shook his fist at him furiously, but Malfoy simply ignored him.
After all, he was only little Ronnie.
"This is Transfiguration. It must be Professor McGonagall's work."
Hermione spoke again, seeming to have reached the key point.
"The Devil's Snare represents Herbology, so that was certainly prepared by Professor Sprout. The fake keys clearly had a Duplication Charm on them, so that was Professor Flitwick's doing. I think the next stages must still include challenges from Professor Snape or Professor Quirrell."
The young wizards only studied a handful of subjects.
So naturally, the number of professors was not very large either.
"Then the first stage, with the three-headed dog, was made by Professor Kettleburn?"
Neville seemed to realize it too.
Kettleburn was the professor of Care of Magical Creatures.
"I don't think so."
Malfoy made a face.
"The three-headed dog is clearly not on the same level as the rest. The only person who would put something like that there is Hagrid, that reckless giant."
Ever since Hagrid got his dragon egg, Malfoy had been visiting his hut frequently. Once, while Hagrid was bragging about his skill at raising creatures, he had casually let slip that he had once raised a three-headed dog before. At the time, Malfoy had not thought much of it, but now, after Hermione's comment, he suddenly remembered.
Meanwhile, Ron had already been studying the board for quite some time.
"Hey, listen. I think I already know how to get through this stage. There are three missing pieces. I'm going to need three people."
The only way through was to play the game.
Of course, there was a faster way. If they were capable of smashing the pieces with magic, they could probably pass that way too.
But obviously, that was beyond them.
They had not yet learned spells that powerful.
So if they could not break the rules, then the only option was to enter the rules and use them to their advantage.
That was what Dudley was always telling them.
"Then let me be the first."
Neville volunteered on his own.
"My brain doesn't work as well as yours, and my spells aren't as good either. But I think I can still be useful for something. Like now."
"I'll be the second."
Harry stepped forward too.
Ron thought for a moment before saying,
"Then I'll be the thi—"
"I think..."
Malfoy cleared his throat, shoved Ron aside, and stepped forward.
"The third one should be me."
That move caught everyone off guard. They all stared at Malfoy in surprise.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Do you think I can't do my part?"
Though he spoke as if annoyed, Malfoy had clearly expected that reaction. He shrugged and continued,
"Don't even dream about it. I'm not going to let only you Gryffindors be the ones who get to shine."
"But..."
Ron hesitated.
"No buts. Since you're the player, you can't be one of the pieces yourself. You need to keep a cool head the whole time, otherwise you won't be able to play at your best. Granger's right. We can't be dead weight. So let's prove it. Let's prove it to him. Let's prove it to Big D!"
Malfoy spoke seriously.
"I don't want to lose. So let's win, Rofski!"
Ron had actually started to feel a little moved.
But that last word ruined everything instantly.
"I already told you, my name is Ron! Ron Weasley!"
"All right, Mr. Weatherby."
"Malfoy, you bas—"
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