[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-war-at-hogwarts":3,"chapter-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-33":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wizard War at Hogwarts",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2358006,4612,"Chapter 33: Breaking Through the Barrier","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-33",33,"\u003Cp>We exchanged a horse for a minister, but successfully delivered the chariot into his territory. Now we need to plan a new attack—how should we move…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ron was loudly strategizing with his pieces, while Harry fiddled with his own—this time he was playing white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I move my minister four squares to capture his queen, what will he do? Moving a knight or advancing a pawn won’t work—she’ll definitely move, and she’ll come this way. If so, I’ll take a bold step: sacrifice my knight outright. If his queen moves like that…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry felt the sun warm on his skin, drowsy and heavy-eyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I’ll shift my chariot here and give check. If he moves here, I’ll move my minister like this to capture his queen. He can only think of moving here…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Harry had dozed off, chin propped on his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I’ll keep checking with my minister—he’s forced to move here, but my queen is watching this square, and here—this square is within range of my other chariot! Ron proudly moved a piece. “Your turn, Harry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ron!!!” Harry suddenly let out a piercing cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? What’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh sorry, I just dozed off—I had a dream.” Harry said apologetically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I dreamed we were playing wizard chess—you were the knight, I was the minister. Then you got captured by the white queen, and it scared the hell out of me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop talking nonsense and play.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm…” Harry glanced at the board—it looked nearly identical to the dream. He swiftly moved his queen, denying Ron any chance to win by sacrificing pieces. He remembered that in the dream, after Ron’s knight was sacrificed, Hermione’s chariot won with a brilliant double check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why Hermione? That was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Harry stared intently at the board, he heard someone knocking on the dorm door—a girl, urgently calling, “Harry, Ron, please help me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry opened the door and found Hannah, her eyes red and swollen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I begged so many people just to get in—hurry, you have to help Neville. Quirrell’s already inside—the fire, the professors are gone!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Relax, it’s just a game,” Harry reassured her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no—it’s not! Neville said he didn’t think the Death Eaters were serious. He told me to find you—Hermione went in with him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” Harry felt a chill. He snatched up his wand, rushed to the door, then turned back, yanked a pistol from the drawer, and checked—six bullets left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he pulled his invisibility cloak from under his pillow, slapped Ron’s shoulder, and said, “Let’s go, Ron. Hannah, keep looking for professors—find whoever you can, hurry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They ran straight to the room at the end of the third floor—the door was open, and Fluffy was sound asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry swiftly flipped open the trapdoor and fired a Red Spark spell into the void, using its glow to survey what lay below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jump—it’s Devil’s Snare.” Harry leapt down. With a dull, muffled thud, he landed on something soft. When he looked up, the opening above had shrunk to the size of a postage stamp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ron jumped down too. Harry knew Devil’s Snare feared light and heat, so he avoided Fireball spells—fearing a firestorm—and instead fired several Red Sparks. The sparks were enough to make the vines wither. They broke free and followed the only corridor that looked like a path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the corridor’s end, they found a brightly lit chamber, its ceiling arched high, filled with tiny birds glowing like jewels, flapping their wings endlessly. Behind the room stood a thick, solid wooden door—half-open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look—this must be Madam Hooch’s riddle,” Ron pointed to the brooms in the corner. “Finding the right key among all these flying ones will take some effort.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now I get how Hannah got out,” Harry said as he slipped sideways through the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the door lay a giant chessboard. Harry and Ron gasped at the sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the pieces lay twisted and broken—many shattered into fragments. The white king had been cleanly severed at the waist; the black king remained intact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think Neville did this?” Harry asked skeptically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If not, then he’s in real danger,” Ron swallowed hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They rushed through the chess room, and immediately a stench of mildew filled their noses—they had to cover their faces with their robes. Tears streamed from their eyes as they finally saw it: on the floor lay a troll, far larger than the Halloween one, its head completely gone—only a charred, jagged stump remained. The gruesome sight made Harry feel sick, nearly vomiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry,” Harry realized what had happened and they quickened their pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they saw a wall of black flame—and Hermione, crying as she fumbled with seven small bottles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry stepped forward and whispered, “What’s wrong—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s a logic puzzle,” Hermione sobbed. “When we arrived, there was a huge noise—Neville went in first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aaaahhhhh!” A heart-wrenching scream echoed—Harry and Ron froze. It was Neville’s voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have to get in,” Harry said urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No—the only potion, the third one—it’s wrong!” Hermione cried harder, but the more she panicked, the less she could sort out the puzzle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did Neville get through?” Ron asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know—in a flash, he cast a spell—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you remember what spell?” Harry was frantic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know—it wasn’t taught. I just heard the word ‘clock.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough. Trust the Peverell once.” Harry wrapped the invisibility cloak tightly around himself and charged into the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Ron and Hermione’s astonishment, invisible Harry ran unharmed through the fire—as if the flames parted for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry clearly saw the flames licking his skin, yet felt no heat. The cloak was perfectly insulating—this fire couldn’t touch it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the final barrier, he saw the overturned Mirror of Erised—and Quirrell. It was indeed Quirrell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gripped Neville’s hair, dragging him to the mirror, snarling, “Tell me again—what do you see?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see… your end,” Neville said. His clothes were torn, his face burned, his hair charred—Harry knew the fire had been agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it.” Quirrell cursed. “Crucio!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neville screamed again. Harry knew he couldn’t wait. He crept closer, slowly drawing his pistol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The curse ended. Neville collapsed, mouth open, eyes shut, writhing in agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quirrell took two steps forward, reaching to haul Neville up—when Harry yanked back his cloak and fired three shots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the bullets halted midair—an invisible wall blocked them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think I didn’t cast a Shield Charm?” Quirrell sneered. “Expelliarmus!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A red bolt struck—Harry’s pistol flew from his hand. But his wand remained tightly clutched in his left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Expelliarmus!” Harry cast it on the spot—felt as if the spell had been made for him, effortless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the red spell barely cracked Quirrell’s shield—then another red bolt struck, knocking his wand flying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quirrell flicked his fingers—a rope appeared out of thin air, binding Harry tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You came too? Perfect! I thought only this fool was here.” Quirrell grinned wickedly. “Now it’s perfect—I’ll get the true enemy’s blood, willingly given, not stolen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled a silver dagger from his robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So on Halloween, you deliberately collected my blood? What are you planning?” Harry struggled uselessly, buying time. Hannah had gone for the professors—anyone who came could fight Quirrell, and they’d alert Dumbledore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quirrell slashed Harry’s hand, collected some blood, then walked to Neville, grabbing his wrist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course—to resurrect the Dark Lord. The Philosopher’s Stone works better, but we need a backup plan.” Quirrell raised the blade. “The Dark Lord wants to kill you himself—but this boy? He doesn’t matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You want the Stone, right?” Harry pleaded. “Let’s figure something out—don’t kill Neville.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then take it out of the mirror for me!” Quirrell roared, yanking Harry’s hair and dragging him to the mirror, forcing his face nearly against the glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can see a little—but not clearly. I need the mirror upright, and me standing directly in front of it.” Harry said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As you wish.” Quirrell waved his wand—the mirror steadied on the floor. Then Harry felt an invisible force lift him, suspending him before the mirror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry stared intently at the glass. He saw Zhang Qiu appear—and quietly slipped his wand into his sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he definitely felt something long and rigid pressing against his forearm.\u003C\u002Fp>",1360,"2026-06-21T04:54:27.874Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c77ca2b6df68e1de6f3a44a431b436334e1bc95aafdb78e855e1dc23feec413f","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-34","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-32",528,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-war-at-hogwarts-cover.jpg"]