Chapter 65: The Obstacle Course, Speedrun Edition

Silven followed behind Dumbledore, the two of them crossing the grounds shrouded by night, the whole way in silence.

Hagrid didn't follow along; he believed that, since Dumbledore had returned to the school, there was nothing to worry about, and it wouldn't be long before the fellow coveting the Philosopher's Stone would be dealt with.

It was still Fluffy who needed him more — the poor little fellow must be in pain, Hagrid's heart gave a series of twinges, and he couldn't help but shed tears again.

It was all because of that shameless, despicable thief; once Professor Dumbledore caught that fellow later, he was definitely going to teach the other party a good lesson.

While Hagrid was looking after Fluffy, Dumbledore and Silven had already walked into the castle, and stopped their steps again in the entrance hall.

The castle had been thrown into utter chaos by the three-headed dog — the twisted, warped staircase hung in mid-air, on the verge of collapse; the broken marble railings were scattered across the floor; the portraits on the wall screamed in panic, scrambling one after another into safer frames.

The professors who heard the commotion had all come out as well, and Professor McGonagall was the first to walk over.

"I already know, Minerva." Without waiting for her to say anything, Dumbledore spoke directly: "Are any students injured?"

"Fortunately not — hearing this news really let me heave a sigh of relief," Professor McGonagall said, her tone unfriendly. "I said long ago that putting a three-headed dog inside the castle would sooner or later cause trouble. It's good that no students were caught up in it this time."

"In fact, there was," Dumbledore said.

"What did you say?" Professor McGonagall immediately grew tense, her voice trembling slightly. "Who is it, how are they now!"

"It should be nothing serious, or you could ask him yourself." Dumbledore turned slightly to the side.

Only then did Professor McGonagall notice Silven, who had been following behind.

"Ollivander? You… how could you?" Her expression grew worse and worse. "It's so late — why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"I wasn't out after curfew this time, Madam Pomfrey can testify!" Silven said hurriedly. He glanced at Dumbledore, saw that the other party looked in no hurry, and simply went ahead and patiently explained.

"I went to visit Fred and George, and on the way back I suddenly heard a commotion on the fourth floor…"

Silven recounted what had happened.

Besides Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore was also listening very attentively.

"I must thank you, Mr. Ollivander," he said solemnly. "You lured the three-headed dog out of the castle, and cooperated with Hagrid to subdue it, successfully preventing an even greater disaster."

"But it was still too risky — he's only in first year," Professor McGonagall said with a stern face. "When facing a large fierce beast, the stupidest thing to do is to run toward open ground. You should have used the castle's terrain and waited for the professors' support."

"I happened to see Hagrid just then," Silven said.

Professor McGonagall's expression wasn't so taut anymore, and at the same time she thought of another matter.

"You said just now that someone got into that room on the fourth floor? Who was it!"

"I don't know," Silven shook his head. "I didn't see him."

"Professor McGonagall! Headmaster Dumbledore!"

At this moment, a scream came from not far away, and two more people came running over.

"Granger? Weasley?" Professor McGonagall nearly lost her breath in one go.

How was it two more Gryffindors again?!

"Headmaster, Harry… he…" Ron was gasping for breath, pointing upstairs in broken, panting words.

"Harry went to keep an eye on him, did he?" Dumbledore asked.

The two nodded vigorously.

Dumbledore immediately rushed toward the fourth floor, and Silven hurriedly followed.

Professor McGonagall was talking with the other two at that moment, and didn't notice Silven's little move, which allowed him to successfully follow Dumbledore up to the fourth-floor corridor.

Most of the railings and stairs damaged by the three-headed dog had already been repaired, but that door was still on the ground.

When they arrived, Professor Flitwick was just about to jump down through the trapdoor.

"Leave it to us, Filius," Dumbledore said.

Hearing Dumbledore say that, Professor Flitwick looked a little regretful, but still nodded and stepped away from the trapdoor, going on to repair those railings and walls.

"How about you go down first," Dumbledore extended his hand, making an after-you gesture.

Silven immediately jumped into the trapdoor.

The passage was very long; cold, damp air whooshed past his ears, his falling speed began to slow, his body grew light, as if something were supporting him from behind, and finally, like a feather, he landed lightly on the ground.

Beside him was a huge mass of vine-like plant, its thick tentacles gently writhing, like a dozen octopuses tangled together.

Strange — he hadn't felt a thing, and had just passed straight through the middle of this plant.

"Devil's Snare," Dumbledore also appeared beside him. "I'm sure you can handle this little trouble, but we're in a bit of a hurry now.

"Alright, keep up — this time I'll take the lead." Dumbledore quickened his pace.

Pushing open the next door, inside were countless birds, dazzling like jewels, flying about the room.

These birds were all keys, but only one of them could open the door opposite.

But Dumbledore had no intention of stopping to search at all; he walked straight to the opposite side, took out a key, and opened the door.

"Filius just gave it to me," he said with a smile, displaying a large key in his hand. "Keep up."

After that came the giant wizard chessboard, but when the two of them came in, those chess pieces hadn't yet fully recovered from their damaged state.

"What luck — I've never been any good at wizard's chess," Dumbledore said, once again quickening his pace through the room.

They came to another doorway — behind it was the obstacle Quirrell had set up.

But inside this door wasn't the troll Silven had expected, but several red caps, all motionless now, sprawled haphazardly on the ground.

This time Dumbledore said nothing, and walked straight past.

He pulled open the next door; the moment the two of them crossed the threshold, purple flames rose up behind them, and at the same moment, black flames leapt up at the doorway ahead.

"Need to solve the puzzle?" Silven glanced at the long table before him, and the several bottles placed on it.

This was the obstacle Snape had set up — only by drinking the correct potion could one pass through the flames.

"The correct procedure is indeed like that, but as I keep saying, we're a bit pressed for time."

At some unknown point a wand had appeared in Dumbledore's hand; he gave it a light wave.

The black flames instantly parted to both sides, leaving a wide passage in the middle.

Silven didn't pay attention to this marvelous sight; his gaze was locked firmly on the hand in which Dumbledore held his wand.

【Laurel wood, dragon heartstring, thirteen and a quarter inches】

【Status: Broken, Stagnant】

【Properties: Spell Range -10%; Mana Condensation Speed -10%; Fire-type Magic Effect +3%】

(End of this chapter)