Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 18 Challenge

The first week of the new term passed peacefully. Just like in September, Hogwarts gave students ample time to adjust to school life. After returning from the Headmaster's office, Harry, unusually, blended into the atmosphere. This act might fool the other students, but it wouldn't fool Ron and Hermione. Just as he was about to sneak out under the cover of night, two figures who had been waiting by the portrait of the Fat Lady suddenly grabbed him, preventing him from becoming invisible.

"So you really did intend to sneak out by yourself!"

"Ron? Hermione? What are you two doing here!"

"You're acting too deliberately. I've never seen you take notes so diligently in History of Magic class, especially considering we've been keeping an eye on Headmaster Dumbledore's movements these past few days... Good heavens, Harry! How do you have such strength! Stop struggling, let's go back to the common room to talk!"

Harry didn't want to make too much noise in the corridor, so he followed Ron and Hermione back. But as soon as they got back to the common room, Hermione ripped off his invisibility cloak.

"You're going to stop Quirrell all by yourself? Just because you know how to get around Fluffy? Harry, use your brain! How many obstacles set up by the professor will you have to overcome before you can find him? Besides, have you never considered the worst-case scenario?"

Faced with a sulking Hermione, Harry didn't back down. He snatched the Invisibility Cloak back from the little witch and said:

"The worst-case scenario is that we do nothing and let the Philosopher's Stone fall into Voldemort's hands."

Ron couldn't stand it anymore either. He punched Harry on the shoulder and said firmly:

"Harry, we're not here to stop you from going, we're here to go with you!"

"No! That's too dangerous. You might get hurt, or even..."

"That's why we can't leave you alone! Don't you understand? Harry! The worst-case scenario is that you'll run into Voldemort himself. If that happens, having one more person will at least give us more strength."

Harry's expression grew even more surprised; he clearly remembered that Hermione hadn't dared to call Voldemort by his name just days before.

“Harry…”

Ron spoke slowly again:

"Hermione has been going to the professors whenever she has a spare moment these past few days, trying to persuade them to take better care of the Philosopher's Stone, but as you know, no adult wizard will listen to a first-year student on this matter. Several times she has even been warned that if she interferes any further, she will lose fifty points from Gryffindor."

"So the best solution you can think of is for me to come with you?"

"But you haven't come up with any good ideas either, have you?"

Harry fell silent, the words Dumbledore had left him before he left resurfacing in his memory. He looked at his two most important friends beside him and, for the last time, earnestly advised:

"When we get to the fourth-floor corridor, you two will wear invisibility cloaks and stand guard outside for me."

"impossible!"

Hermione's face turned red with anger. She pulled out a small bag and showed it to Harry:

"The Invisibility Cloak can save your life in a crisis. Besides, what else have you prepared for this mission besides a wand? Have you brewed some white cinnabar essence? Or have you prepared some blood tonics? Admit it, Harry, you need us!"

"Yeah, Harry, isn't that how friends should be?"

……

As night deepened, Hogwarts Castle was shrouded in darkness. The Invisibility Cloak was just large enough to accommodate the three young wizards, but to prevent Law and Hermione's feet from peeking out from the edges of the fabric, the three of them had to keep their heads down and walk close together. After finally evading the patrolling Filch and the troublesome Peeves, Harry and the others were only a few steps away from the corridor on the fourth floor.

dong dong dong...

Amidst their rapid breathing, the three of them felt their hearts pounding together. In an attempt to ease the increasingly tense atmosphere, Harry hastily brought up a less-than-ideal topic.

"By the way, Hermione, didn't you really want to win the House Cup for Gryffindor? Why do you seem completely unconcerned about losing points now?"

This wasn't the first time Hermione had encountered Harry's bluntness. She first cautiously looked around at the portraits, and only after confirming that the figures in the paintings were all asleep did she speak softly:

“If Voldemort really makes a comeback, the entire wizarding world will suffer. Not just you, Harry, but all those who don’t submit to him, and wizards like me from Muggle families, will become targets of persecution. At that point, losing points or even being expelled will be irrelevant.”

Hearing Hermione's statement, Ron retorted without backing down:

“Our family would never side with the dark forces. That Voldemort…Volverine is a ruthless madman, a demon! Hiding from him would only delay our deaths a little longer. Don’t worry, Harry, even if we get caught, we won’t be expelled. The three of us have such good grades that the professors can’t bear to kick such excellent wizards out of Hogwarts!”

“Then I suggest that from now on, you stop coming to me and Harry for help every time you do your homework. I heard from Professor McGonagall that the quills we use for our final exams have been enchanted with anti-cheating spells.”

"This is an insult! Shouldn't they trust us more?"

Shh! Keep your voice down, Ron!

Ron and Hermione veered off-topic, but it did effectively ease their tension. A few seconds later, they finally arrived at their destination. Looking at the door at the end of the corridor, which was ajar, Harry swallowed hard and said:

"Looks like someone beat us to it. We'd better hurry. If any of you want to go back now..."

"Oh! Stop talking nonsense!"

"We can't let you go alone!"

Harry didn't hesitate any longer. He quickly took out the owl flute that Hagrid had given him, waved his wand, and soon a not-so-pleasant tune began to play.

"Let's go!"

The moment Harry and the others pushed open the door, the three-headed hound sniffed sharply, but the noise was clearly not enough to wake them. Ron was the first to emerge from his Invisibility Cloak, stealthily moving the hound's paws that were pressing against the trapdoor. Fluffy didn't like being tickled while it slept; its three large heads furrowed in unison, and then a hot, foul stench blew Harry and Hermione's Invisibility Cloak off.

“I think I have enough space to open the trapdoor.”

"Accio Invisibility Cloak!" (An invisibility cloak flies in)

Upon hearing Ron's voice, Harry was about to use magic to quickly retract the Invisibility Cloak, but unexpectedly, the Summoning Charm, which had always worked, failed him at this moment.

With the task of protecting the Philosopher's Stone looming, Harry didn't have time to think too much. After muttering under his breath, "Huh? The Summoning Charm isn't working?" he quickly grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and continued giving instructions.

“We have to make sure Louie has music all the time, so the guy with the flute has to be the last one to go down.”

Hermione asked worriedly:

Can you see what's under the door?

"We can't see anything, and there's no ladder to climb down, so it seems we have no choice but to jump... If you can't hear me after I jump, don't follow me. Go straight to Professor McGonagall and tell him that your stupid friend didn't sleep well and went to protect the Philosopher's Stone by himself. That should give Professor Dumbledore a good reason to return to Hogwarts."

After saying that, Harry shoved the owl whistle into Ron's hand, cast a Lightness Charm on himself, and jumped. Due to the Lightness Charm, Harry floated in the darkness for a full ten seconds before finally touching the bottom.

"Lumos Maxima." (Ultimate Fluorescent Flash)

"No problem! There are no scary monsters down there! Ron, remember to put the whistle in the hand of the last person who jumps down! I'll catch you with a lightness charm!"

Harry shouted at the hole above while looking around; he seemed to be in some kind of vine-covered environment.

Soon after, Ron and Hermione floated down. As the flute music faded into the distance, the three-headed dog, Fluffy, quickly regained its senses, its fierce and raucous barking clearly audible even from a great distance.

"Luckily, we got the way to get through to Lu Wei from Hagrid..."

"What's so good about it!"

Before Ron could finish speaking, Hermione screamed, pointing at the plants at their feet:

"What we're standing on is the second obstacle!"

Upon hearing Hermione's reminder, Harry and Ron looked down sharply and were shocked to find that the two who had come down first had unknowingly been entangled in long vines.

"Finite!" (The spell stops instantly)

"Finite Incantatem!" (All curses end)

"They're not spells, Harry! And don't try to use magic against them, you'll hurt yourself!"

Hermione said as she hopped around to avoid the vines that tried to wrap around her legs:

"This thing is called Devil's Web, it's a kind of magical vine plant."

Ron seemed terrified of the dark, tentacle-like creature, and he roared:

"Oh, great! We can know what killed us before we die!"

"Don't struggle! The harder you struggle, the faster they'll wrap around you... Oh, Professor Sprout mentioned it, the Devil's Web, the Devil's Web... It likes darkness and dampness, but it shrinks back at the sight of fire. Fire! Ah! But where can I find firewood to start a fire?"

"Incendio!" (Burning flames)

Harry moved with lightning speed. The moment he heard Hermione say, "Shrink back at the sight of fire," he had already raised his wand and cast the spell. In the intense flames, the tendrils of the Devil's Web withered away with a "whoosh," just like a finger scalded by hot water.

"Phew! Looks like I really need to put more effort into herbalism class from now on..."

Harry wiped the sweat from his face and spoke to Hermione with utmost sincerity. Upon hearing Harry bow his head and apologize, Hermione, who had been feeling lingering fear just a moment ago, immediately changed her expression.

"I told you all subjects are useful!"

"Then you have to stay calm and collected like Harry!"

Ron said in a high-pitched voice:

"But where am I supposed to find firewood to start a fire?"

Seeing that Ron and Hermione were about to bicker again, Harry quickly pointed to a corridor not far away and said:

"Stop fooling around, let's go!"

The air temperature gradually decreased, and accompanied by the dripping sound of water, more and more stalagmites and stalactites began to appear on both sides of the descending corridor. In this environment, Harry and the others almost simultaneously thought of another place—Gringotts.

"They wouldn't put a fire dragon here to guard the Philosopher's Stone like Gringotts did, would they...?"

Ron's hypothesis wasn't without merit, but it was quickly refuted by Hermione.

"Have you forgotten which professors Dumbledore asked for help with? We got through Hagrid's Fluffy right from the start, so we shouldn't encounter any more magical creatures! Putting aside Professor Sprout's Devil's Web, we still have Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, and Quirrell's challenges to overcome... Wait, what's that sound up ahead?"

Through the door at the end of the corridor, the three quickly discovered the source of the "swish, swish, swish" sound—a large number of keys with wings, resembling small birds, were flying through the air. Directly below them were several fairly intact brooms capable of sweeping across the seven stars.