Chapter 470: Is This Possible?
Chapter 470: Is This Possible?
As they crossed the threshold, the group could hardly believe their eyes.
In the room, there was only a table, and on it were seven peculiarly shaped potion bottles.
"A table and a few bottles, is this Snape's mechanism?" Jordan's words had barely left his mouth when a purple flame erupted behind them, sealing the entrance they had come through. A similar flame, this time black, blocked the doorway ahead.
They were trapped.
"Those flames... they don't look too friendly."
"Tell us something we don't know," George snapped at Jordan, gesturing for him to be quiet. He turned to Albert, seeking his opinion. "What should we do now?"
"The secret must lie in those bottles. Take a look!" Fred reached for a piece of parchment that lay beside the bottles, cleared his throat, and read aloud:
"Danger lies ahead, safety lies behind.
Two among us can lend a hand.
Drink them down, one to lead you forth, the other to return you whence you came.
Two hold nettle wine within.
Three are killers, awaiting in line…” Aside from Albert, the other three were completely baffled.
"This must be some sort of puzzle!" Fred muttered, handing the parchment to Albert as if relinquishing his role in the puzzle-solving process.
"Just tell us how you figure it out later!" Jordan patted Albert on the shoulder, clearly passing the task to him.
George, equally stumped, spread his hands and gave a helpless smile. "I'm not great with these things either."
Ignoring the three, Albert continued reading:
"Choose, unless you wish to linger here forever.
We offer four clues to guide your choice:
First, no matter how cunningly they hide, the poisons stand to the left of the nettle wine; "This is essentially a logical reasoning game," Albert concluded after swiftly scanning the parchment.
"You probably don't know that many great wizards actually lack logical reasoning skills," Fred commented offhandedly upon hearing Albert's words.
"I bet if it weren't for you, we'd be stuck here forever," George chimed in, urging Albert to decipher the puzzle.
"You won't be," Albert suddenly said.
"Won't what?" The trio was confused by Albert's statement.
"You won't be stuck here forever. Professor Dumbledore will come and get you out," Albert clarified, then reread the parchment.
Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, George prodded, "What have you figured out?"
"This parchment tells us that out of the seven bottles, three contain poison, and two contain nettle wine," Albert explained as he handed the parchment to George.
"One of them will allow us to pass through the black flame safely. Yes, it's the smallest bottle. As for the one that will send us back through the purple flame, it's this one." Albert picked up the round bottle on the right and presented it to the group.
"How do you know that?" The three were dumbfounded, finding it incredible that Albert had made his deductions so quickly.
"It's simple," Albert began. "You label the seven bottles from left to right as one to seven."
"Label them?"
"Yes, for easier identification. The fourth clue mentions the second from the left and the second from the right, which look different but taste the same. Based on that, bottles two and six contain nettle wine. They may look different, but since they're not poison and they share the same taste, it's the only logical conclusion." Albert pointed to the second and sixth bottles. "According to the third clue, the bottles vary in size, and there's no death lurking among the giants and dwarves. So, bottle six is not a poison."
"Since the poisons stand to the left of the nettle wine, bottle seven is not a poison either."
"Using the process of elimination, the poisons must be in bottles one, three, four, and five." Albert pointed to the four bottles. "And since bottle three is the smallest of the seven, it's the dwarf, so it's not a poison."
Albert set aside bottles three and seven, continuing his explanation. "According to the second clue, the contents of the bottles at both ends are different. If you want to move forward, they won't be of any use, so the bottle on the right end can only help us retreat by passing through the purple flame."
"Is that all there is to it?"
After Albert's elucidation, the trio finally understood the logic behind the puzzle.
"It is quite simple. Anyone with a functioning brain should be able to figure it out," Albert remarked.
"But I doubt anyone could solve it as quickly as you did!"
The three couldn't help but wonder if Albert was subtly calling them idiots.
"There's probably only enough potion for one person," Fred said, picking up the smallest bottle and giving it a shake. "It looks like there's not even a mouthful left."
The four exchanged glances, and eventually, Fred handed the small bottle to Albert.
If anyone could proceed, it would be him.
"I have an idea!" Albert said after a moment's thought. "Using the Gemino Curse, we might be able to pass through the black flame together, but it's risky. I'm not sure if the duplicated potion will work, as I've never tried it before."
"Do you think it will work?"
None of them wanted to halt their progress.
"I'm not sure," Albert hesitated, ultimately deciding against letting Fred, George, and Jordan take the risk. It would be unwise to incur injuries at this point. "Never mind, you guys wait here."
"Remember to tell us what good stuff Professor Dumbledore hid in here later!" Fred, George, and Jordan were a little disappointed but didn't insist, sensing the danger of the flames.
"Will do," Albert assured them.
Albert opened the smallest bottle and downed its contents in one go.
A chilling sensation permeated his body, causing him to shiver.
Albert tossed the empty bottle back to Fred and strode toward the black flame, which posed no threat to him.
After passing through the black flame, Albert descended a staircase and soon reached a room.
Just as he had expected, based on the novel's description, the final obstacle was the Mirror of Erised, which Dumbledore had relocated from the room of requirement.
Albert was curious to see if he could retrieve the Sorcerer's Stone from the mirror.
He approached the mirror slowly, his reflection smiling back at him. It seemed... unchanged.
No, there was a difference.
Albert noticed that his reflection was smiling at him, and then, incredibly, the Albert in the mirror reached into his pocket and pulled out a red stone.
It was the Sorcerer's Stone he had seen with Nicolas Flamel.
"This... could it be..."
Albert reached into his pocket and, sure enough, found a red stone.
Staring at the Sorcerer's Stone in his hand, Albert was left speechless.
Is this possible?
"The Headmaster must have a way to put the stone back," Albert reassured himself. (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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