"Ron, even you took a swing at Professor Quirrell," Harry said helplessly.

  Ron was at a loss for words.

  Hoare felt a bit disappointed; ime he sold Ron out, he'd have to lower the price, as this brother seemed to have gotten even dumber.

  "If you don't believe me, ask the ghosts!" Ron protested loudly, his voice eg down the corridor for a few seds, sg them both into hiding.

  "Ron!" Harry quickly covered Ron's mouth. Ohe echoes faded, they hurriedly ran forward.

  Hoare could only catch a few words from afar.

  "The ghosts heard Quirrell shouting in the infirmary, 'He's back! He's back! It must be him!'" Ron said, shivering.

  "He's definitely up to something..."

  After that, Hoare couldn't hear anymore.

  Hoare stepped out from behind a Roman n. The Fat Lady of Gryffindor was sn in her portrait.

  Do portraits o sleep too? Hoare couldn't help but get closer to study it, but after finding nothing, he left.

  He didn't see that after he left, the Fat Lady, who had been asleep, opened one eye.

  Seeing Hoare walk away, she dared to wake up and quickly fled to another portrait to share the gossip she had overheard.

  Even though the Dark Lord had disappeared for eleven years, his fear still lingered.

  Even the ghosts and portraits were shrouded in his shadow.

  Hoare took a shortcut through a side path, looping around twice. He distinctly felt himself going uphill at times and downhill at others.

  Looking out from a window that resembled a vent, Hoare saw Filch patrolling with his Mrs. Norris in his arms.

  After about fifteen minutes, Hoare emerged from the secret passage onto the third floor of Hogwarts.

  To the right of the corridor, there was a wooden door in the er.

  Holy, if Hoare hadn't e specifically to find it, he might have easily overlooked this door.

  The wooden door was incredibly worn, secured with an iron lock.

  Hoare recalled the obstacles behind this door from his memory.

  Inside were tasks set by each professor, simple yet somewhat tedious.

  He wondered if the Summoning Charm would work. Hoare thought about it and figured it wouldn't; otherwise, the man with a snake face could just shout "Philosopher's Stone, e" ahe stohout all the fuss.

  Staring at the door, Hoare opened a music box and pced it on the ground to prevent the door from suddenly opening and the three-headed dog from making trag patrolling professors.

  "Exge for Alohomora, Levitation Charm, Summoning Charm, ao," Hoare exged for all the spells he might need.

  [Ding]

  [Panel Updated]

  [B-Level Abilities: Charms (Patronus Charm, Basic Transfiguratioaught}, Petrificus Totalus, Fioying Curse, Body-Bind Curse, Leg-Locker Curse, Jelly-Legs Jinx, Stupefy, Alohomora, Levitation Charm, Summoning Charm, Reducto, Lumos)]

  [Avaible Galleons: 1458 Galleons, 6 Sickles, 23 Knuts]

  Hoare pulled out his wand and whispered to the lock, "Alohomora."

  The lock clicked open.

  Hoare ehe pitch-b, holding the music box. The gigantic three-headed dog y on the ground, sn, with one of its heads bubbling from its nose as it slept.

  Hoare pced the music box in a er against the wall to prevent the three-headed dog from actally hitting it if it turned over.

  With the three-headed dog settled, "Lumos," Hoare's wand lit up with tiny stars, and he began searg for the door to the obstacle.

  At that moment, one of the three-headed dog's paws moved, revealing a wooden floor structure.

  Hoare sloroached, crouched down, a it with his hand. It was indeed wood, likely the door he was looking for.

  "Levitation Charm," the weight of the three-headed dog was beyond Hoare's expectations. He had to cast the Levitation Charm twice to successfully lift the three-headed dog.

  Sure enough, the door was right beh the three-headed dog.

  What a clever trick.

  The three-headed dog's weakness for music was uo this one; Huessed Hagrid must have used music to lull it to sleep when it was young.

  For others trying to ehis obstacle would have scared them away.

  And the only fw in this obstacle was Hagrid.

  Hoare moved the three-headed dog slightly to the side. After all, it was still ed and couldn't go far.

  With everythi, Hently opehe wooden door on the floor, then crouched down and slipped through.

  As he desded through the wooden door, he nded on a patch of Devil's Snare, which tightly bound Hoare. He y still, and the Devil's Snare gradually rexed, l him to the ground.

  In front of him was a straight room, shtforward it was almost ughable.

  It wasn't that Hoare wao pin, but was this obstacle even serious?

  Any first-year who paid attention in css could get through this.

  Hoare dusted himself off and tinued forward.

  After passing through two empty rooms, Hoare was stopped by another locked door.

  In front of the door, tless keys with wings fluttered about. Hoare, looking bored, cast "Petrificus Totalus."

  His Quidditch training had made him want to hit anything that moved.

  The keys froze with the spell, dropping to the ground.

  Hoare immediately spotted the unique one, picked it up, and easily unlocked the door.

  Hoare breezed through each obstacle, feeling as if he were on a leisurely outing.

  Until the final obstacle, set by Headmaster Snape, required two people to drink potions simultaneously to pass.

  One person would return to the start, and the other would tinue forward.

  But Hoare was alone.

  Hoare looked at the green fmes burning before him, p whether the Aguamenti Charm could extinguish them.

  Probably not, as these didn't seem like ordinary fmes.

  Fire, burning.

  Could he be stuck here, with the Philosopher's Stone just beyond, being to him?

  In his dilemma, Hoare suddenly remembered he had something useful in his pouch.

  He pulled out a bottle of shimmering gold potion, a Felix Felicis he had brewed just in case. Hoare uncorked it and drank it in one gulp.

  After ten seds or so, the feeling was quite extraordinary.

  Hoare's sixth seold him to drink the potion from the third bottle on the right.

  He picked it up, drank it, and walked straight through the green fmes.

  !!!

  Hoare looked at the empty Felix Felicis bottle. This stuff was amazing! He still had a faint sixth sense, which told him...? Not to go in?

  Hoare uzzled. He was already inside, so why was the Felix Felicis telling him not to enter?

  He looked up. This pce didn't seem like a room; it was more like ay cavern.

  dles lit the cave all around, illuminating the space with no shadows.

  There was nothing iterly barren.

  Hoare realized why his sixth sense had told him not to enter...

  0Niffler0