Chapter 467: A Simple Mechanism
Chapter 467: A Simple Mechanism
Albert could feel himself falling downward, the cold, damp air rushing past his ears.
Above him, he could hear the terrified screams of Fred, George, and Lee Jordan as they tumbled down the tunnel, a sound that made him want to laugh.
Sure enough, they were still too inexperienced.
Although there was a Devil's Snare cushion below, Albert had no desire to plunge headlong into it. So, he cast a cushioning charm, also slowing the descent of the others who had jumped down, bringing them to a sudden, jarring halt in mid-air.
The cushioning charm felt peculiar, as if Albert were a feather gently floating downward, albeit at a slow pace.
"That was terrifying!" Fred exclaimed, patting his chest. "That was definitely a fall of several stories. If it weren't for the cushioning charm, we might have broken our necks."
"Don't worry, if things had proceeded as they usually do, we would have landed on those things." Albert pointed to the vines above and offered a reassuring smile.
"What's with those vines?" Lee Jordan frowned, eyeing the writhing plants with a sense of foreboding.
With the light spheres Albert had created now completely gone, the vines had regrouped.
"Any guesses?" Albert asked casually.
"Stop keeping us in suspense."
"This should be another mechanism. Which professor do you think set this up?"
"This thing can actually move?" George wanted to back away, seeking to put some distance between himself and the eerie vines.
However, he soon discovered that the vines had already entangled his legs, and with a stumble, he fell into the pile of vines, which immediately sent out tendrils like snakes, coiling around his body.
"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Albert winked at George, unconcerned by the long vines wrapped around his own legs.
"What the hell is this?" George struggled desperately to tear off the vines, but the more he tried to break free, the faster and tighter the vines constricted.
"Don't move! I remember what these are – Devil's Snare!" Fred screamed.
Upon hearing this, the initially panicked Lee Jordan also froze, no longer daring to move.
"Oh, dear Albert, we're breaking up with you. How could you just stand there and watch us struggle?" George complained angrily.
The vines were already creeping up his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.
"The more you struggle, the tighter it coils," Albert reminded them kindly. "Actually, this is just a very simple mechanism, like a greeting, asking if we've been studying Herbology diligently."
"Damn it, your jokes aren't funny at all. Please, hurry up, I can't breathe!" George gasped for air, desperately trying to tear the vine from his neck.
"Devil's Snare thrives in darkness and dampness, but fears fire and light," Fred muttered as he waved his wand, conjuring flames to drive away the vines.
Within seconds, everyone felt the vines retreating, trying to avoid the light and warmth.
Lee Jordan added his fire to burn the vines and attempted to rescue George. The Devil's Snare writhed and twitched violently in the face of the flames, automatically loosening its grip on George.
"Isn't this interesting?"
The disheveled George was finally pulled to his feet by Albert, who had intended to pull Albert down with him, but to no avail.
"Thanks, I guess," George said grudgingly, though he couldn't help but admire Albert's composure. From the start, Albert hadn't shown a hint of panic.
If it weren't for Albert's calm, Fred and Lee Jordan might have been strangled by the Devil's Snare.
"When did you realize they were Devil's Snare?" Lee Jordan asked curiously.
"From the beginning, but I thought it would ruin the fun of your adventure if I said so," Albert replied with words that made everyone want to hit him. "This is a test of one's knowledge and calmness."
"Usually, when people are caught in Devil's Snare without knowing what it is, it's normal for them to panic and struggle."
"Thanks a lot for the explanation," George said sarcastically.
"What do you think Dumbledore hid here? You must have some idea!" Fred asked, looking at Albert.
"What do you think it is? This doesn't seem like a difficult mechanism, does it?" Albert smiled. "Let's go and see what else is ahead."
"You must know something."
"It's said to be something that was almost stolen from Gringotts," Albert asked with a smile. "Are you guys also planning to get your hands on it?"
The three shook their heads. They wouldn't steal something the headmaster had hidden.
As they continued forward, they walked down the sloping corridor, their footsteps echoing along with the sound of water droplets slowly dripping down the walls.
"Do you guys hear that?" Lee Jordan stopped and cocked his head to listen.
The others fell silent, listening intently to the faint rustling sounds coming from ahead.
"Let's go and see what it is."
Albert pointed ahead, where a light was shining.
At the end of the corridor, they discovered a brightly lit room, the source of the sounds coming from above. On the high, arched ceiling, countless birds flapped their wings, flying around the room.
"Is this... the second mechanism?
"What do you guys think? If we were to just walk in, would those birds attack us?" George, having learned his lesson from the previous trap, was now extra cautious, afraid of blundering into another trap.
"There's a door over there. We probably need to get through this room," Fred said, pointing at the thick, heavy-looking wooden door opposite them.
"It's possible," suggested Lee Jordan. "If they all rush us at once, we can cast an Exploding Spell together and blast them away."
"That's not a bad idea. I don't want to run straight through them either," George added, not keen on facing the sharp beaks and claws of the birds.
"What do you think, Albert?"
The three of them looked at Albert, awaiting his decision on whether to blast the birds above them or not.
"This challenge might be more interesting than we thought, and those things above aren't just birds," Albert said, pointing at the flying brooms in the room. "Let's go. I don't think we'll be attacked, at least not for now."
"Are you sure?" Lee Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Alright, I'll go first." Lee Jordan took a deep breath, covered his face with his arm, and sprinted to the other side of the room.
As expected, he made it safely.
"These things seem to all be keys," George realized the secret of the birds—they were all flying keys.
"The door is locked."
Fred walked over and tried to open the door with Lee Jordan, but it didn't budge.
"Let's try Alohomora," George suggested, and he cast the spell, to no avail.
"Could there be an Anti-Alohomora Charm on the door?"
The three of them looked at Albert again, as he was the only one who could remove such a charm.
However, his attempt was also unsuccessful.
"Or we could just use Engorgio to break the door down," suggested Lee Jordan, remembering their grand entrance on their first day at Hogwarts.
"It's best not to. I don't want to be pecked at by those flying keys," Albert stopped Lee Jordan's crazy idea.
"Don't tell me we need to find a key among those flying ones," the four of them looked up at the keys flying above.
"Congratulations, you're right. We probably need to find the right key to open the door," Albert said calmly. "They are obviously not just there for decoration."
"But there are hundreds of keys up there!"
"You should be glad we have three excellent Quidditch players here," Fred couldn't help but sigh.
George had already grabbed a broom and was about to distribute them to the best fliers among them, as there were only three brooms, leaving the less skilled Lee Jordan behind.
Albert didn't take a broom, instead, he was inspecting the lock on the door.
In the novel, Harry found the key because it had been used by Quirrell, so it had some damage, but how were they going to find the key?
"We need to find a big key," Lee Jordan pretended to examine the doorknob.
"They're all big keys," Fred pointed out.
"Does anyone know what shape the key for this type of lock should be?" Albert suddenly asked.
"Maybe... it's shaped like a door," George waved his hand, drawing the outline of a key in the air.
"That won't be easy. There should be quite a few keys like that," Lee Jordan mumbled.
"Try to find a rusty door key. I reckon the key should be old and rusty too," Albert pointed at the rusty door lock.
"Aren't you coming? You're better at this than us," they asked, confused, as they each grabbed a broom and hovered in the air, looking back at Albert.
"No, I'll try something else. I want to see if I can pick the lock with Muggle tools," Albert refused, shaking his head. He was already preparing to use lock-picking tools to see if he could open the door the Muggle way.
If that didn't work, they could always try to catch a key later.
The group flew into the dense cluster of keys, searching for the one Albert had described, reaching out to grab any suitable keys they found.
However, the enchanted keys were too quick, making it difficult to catch them.
"Think of something fast!" Fred shouted.
"We... we could make a big net and trap all the keys!" George finally came up with a good idea.
The three of them landed and started to use Transfiguration magic to create a large triangular net, feeling excited about trapping the keys in it.
But before they could execute their plan, they heard a click, and the door lock suddenly opened.
The three of them froze and turned stiffly to see Albert, who was holding the doorknob and smiling at them. "Looks like the door is open. Let's go in."
He pushed the door open.
"How... how did you do that?" Lee Jordan stuttered.
They had racked their brains to try and catch a key, but for what?
At that moment, even Fred and George were filled with self-doubt.
"I can't be sure if this method will work," Albert explained, "but it seems that wizards don't pay much attention to Muggle methods, hence this loophole."
(End of Chapter)
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