Chapter 45: The Challenge - Part 2
Chapter 45: The Challenge - Part 2
Liam felt that, even if he was just a soul in the body of a child, he should step up and make sacrifices before the children.
So when Ron asked about the plan that required a sacrifice, Liam said it was no problem. Following Ron's instructions, he ate the opposing queen. Then, he watched as the opponent's knight charged toward him.
"Iron Armor." Liam cast the Armor Charm, and then saw the knight slash his sword across, sending Liam flying off the chessboard, shattering the Armor Charm in the process.
"Are you okay, Liam?" Harry and the others asked in unison.
"I'm fine, nothing serious. Let me sit for a moment. Your game might take a while, so keep it up." Liam replied. Then he sat down, out of Harry's sight, and held his ribs. The spell he had learned from the notebook had only provided a slight cushion, due to his young age and the unclear notes.
While Harry and the others continued their game, Liam lifted his shirt and began examining his ribs using his knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Sure enough, two ribs on the right side were broken. Fortunately, in the wizarding world, such purely external injuries were the easiest to treat. However, he couldn't speak loudly or move much right now.
Soon, Liam heard Ron decide to sacrifice himself to win the game. He stood up, wincing in pain. The sudden movement and the large arm gesture while casting the spell seemed to have caused his ribs to puncture his lung. Blood frothed at the corner of his mouth as he cast an Iron Armor charm on Ron.
Then, the White Queen struck Ron on the head with her arm, knocking him unconscious and dragging him off the chessboard. The Armor Charm failed to block the attack.
After Harry won the game, Hermione gasped, "Liam, I saw you coughing up blood. How are you now?" It seemed Hermione had noticed when Liam was casting the spell while bleeding.
"Don't worry about me", Liam said. "It's just a minor injury. I might not be able to continue with you, but Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing will heal me quickly. I'll stay here and watch over Ron. You guys should hurry and move on."
Hermione and Harry still looked worried but quickly opened the door and proceeded down the corridor to the next place.
Once they were gone, Liam slowly stood up and walked over to Ron.
After dodging a fallen castle piece, he reached Ron and saw a large, purple bruise on his head. Upon examination, Liam realized that either the chess piece had shown mercy or his half-effective Armor Charm had worked, as Ron only had a concussion and no broken bones.
Liam lifted Ron's eyelids and carefully examined his pupils, then checked his pulse. It seemed he would be fine and would wake up soon.
However, Liam was concerned that they might need to leave soon, so he pointed his wand at Ron and cast, "Fountain of Water."
A stream of water sprayed from Liam's wand onto Ron's face. Ron quickly woke up, shielding his face and mumbling, "Is it raining?"
It appeared to be a side effect of the concussion, but Ron recovered quickly. A couple of minutes later, he sat up, leaning against a fallen statue, watching as Liam turned a piece of stone into a wooden stick and used a knife to cut a strip from his robe to reset and secure his ribs.
Seeing the blood on Liam's chin as he turned around, Ron was startled. "Liam, you're coughing up blood!"
"It's nothing serious, just a minor injury. I bet Madam Pomfrey will heal me in a minute. Now that it's fixed, I'll be fine", Liam replied.
Then, both of them leaned against the statue, weak but chatting.
"Have Harry and the others reached the place where the Philosopher's Stone is kept? What if they encounter Snape?"
"I don't think that will be much of a problem for them. Besides, if Harry managed to escape from that person once, he can certainly do it again, and maybe even a third time", Liam said, thinking to himself. After all, this was just a trial for Harry, and Dumbledore must have made the necessary preparations. Otherwise, for safety, Dumbledore could have just kept the stone in his pocket, and no one would have been able to take it.
Not to mention, if the obstacles were approached in the suggested manner, they weren't particularly difficult, not like they were designed for an adult Dark Wizard.
However, Liam suspected that Dumbledore hadn't anticipated Voldemort possessing Quirrell. If he had, even though Dumbledore couldn't kill Voldemort, he could have set up some spells to weaken Voldemort's power and put him to sleep for several years. Instead of just being weakened for two years due to the loss of his physical body, as in the original story. Moreover, Dumbledore, being a clever man, wouldn't risk Harry's life for no reason.
While Liam and Ron were chatting idly, Hermione ran out from the door opposite the chessboard.
Seeing Liam and Ron sitting there, wide awake, she excitedly told them, "We should hurry to the Owlery to send an owl to Dumbledore."
The three of them ran to the room full of keys where the broomsticks were kept. On the way, Hermione told Liam and Ron that after the chessboard, they encountered a Troll, but it had already been knocked out. She and Harry made it to the final obstacle, but found that the potion to pass through the flames and confront the thief was only enough for one person. Harry decided to face the thief, while she was to get Liam and Ron to report to Dumbledore.
As soon as they finished speaking, they reached the room with the broomsticks. Riding the brooms to the trapdoor, Liam used the music box from his waist to hypnotize the three-headed dog.
They then headed to the Owlery but ran into Professor Dumbledore in the entrance hall.
Seeing their disheveled state, Dumbledore asked, "Harry has gone to confront him, hasn't he?" and then hurriedly rushed to the fourth floor.
Watching Professor Dumbledore's back as he ran to the fourth floor, Liam and the others felt a sense of relief. As their spirits relaxed, the pain from their injuries immediately flared up. They supported each other as they made their way back to the school grounds.
Madam Pomfrey seemed to have been informed in advance. She was standing at the entrance to the Hospital Wing, dressed in her nightgown and a robe.
Seeing their disheveled state, she muttered to herself while ordering Liam and the others to lie down on the beds for examination.
Liam took off his dirty and torn coat and carefully lay down on the bed.
As soon as his head touched the pillow, he heard the System's voice:
— Slightly altering the process of the trials, you have earned 2 Deviation Points.
With 24 Deviation Points, Liam was confident he could find a world where he could gain significant power. He was determined to explore this new world and acquire strength. After all, relying on minor deviations to gain a few Deviation Points in a major event like today was somewhat disappointing. However, when he lacked power, it was better to follow his instincts, as only the living have hope, right?
(End of Chapter)
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