The enlarged ogre could be considered a formidable force, compared to the one that broke in on Halloween, it was not only bigger but stronger.
Too bad it was still not bald.
So, in less than three minutes, the door to the room opened again.
Allen, clearly displeased, appeared behind a transparent shield from a Bubble Head Charm, opening the door. He gave the three worried young wizards behind him a look that said, Everything's under control.
When Harry and the others stepped inside, trying to endure the stench, their mouths dropped in shock.
On the floor knelt a massive creature, its entire body pressed to the ground, trembling. Its small eyes darted at Harry and the others, desperately trying to make its ugly face appear harmless.
"What are you staring at? Get down!" Allen's not-so-loud scolding made the ogre press itself even closer to the floor, clutching its head firmly.
Seeing this, the rest could only think: Who's the real boss here?
Meanwhile, a certain human-shaped boss showed no hesitation. Stepping over the ogre, he opened the door to the next level. Harry and the others stared, not at the corridor beyond, but at the ogre, still offering a submissive, appeasing look, even after being stepped on.
Was it them who didn't understand, or was magic world logic just moving too fast?
Neither. The ogre had simply made a smart choice, low IQ and foolishness were two different things.
Mr. Crouch, who trained the second most loyal Death Eater in history, knew multiple languages, including Ogrish, meaning the ogre, though dumb, was still intelligent.
A few minutes ago, after Allen's stylish chain of spells, the ogre had been firmly restrained, awaiting death.
Naturally, Allen wasn't about to finish it off so easily. After adding the Head Bubble Charm to himself, he stepped forward and delivered a kick.
"To scare me!"
"To pretend to be a professor!"
"To trick me about the Philosopher's Stone!!!"
…Allen used any excuse he could to vent. Ugly creature, easy target, no one would feel sorry for it.
Then, out of nowhere, the ogre mustered immense strength, tearing free from the vines.
"What? You want to rebel?!" Allen drew his wand, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
Unexpectedly, the freed ogre didn't attack. It discarded its weapon, sank to its knees, and slammed its upper body to the ground with a heavy thud, arms clutching its head.
Stand up and fight like a man! What's with kneeling and hugging your head?
Allen, exasperated, kicked it again, but the ogre only trembled, refusing to fight. What's the point of hitting it now?
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"Move it, don't just stare!" Allen called back to the team.
Only then did the others, previously intimidated by the timid ogre, catch up, without stepping on it.
Allen was helpless. What could he do? The creature had chickened out mid-fight!
After all, it had done nothing wrong. At this moment, it was still Dumbledore's guarding boss. Morally speaking, it's innocent… The only crime was Allen barging in and kicking it senseless.
The ogre probably wanted to cry too. I'm just ugly… who did I offend?!
Ignoring the cowardly creature, the adventure team entered the next room. As they stepped in, two differently colored flames rose, sealing the path forward and backward.
"Looks like there's some potion here, maybe a hint for the puzzle?" sharp-eyed Hermione spotted it first, along with a piece of parchment.
"Oh, looks like a riddle, " Hermione began, but stopped abruptly.
Because the moment Annie touched the flames, they vanished.
This was absurdly illogical, like Holmes and Death Elementary collecting half the clues for a grand deduction, only for the police to announce the scene has working surveillance.
Professor Snape's insanely brain-teasing game was overturned, by his own students.
What would Hogwarts' "Pot King" think? Proud? Or… proud?
Who knows. Allen and company didn't care.
The walnut shell had been cracked; only the final step remained. Sweet fruit was within reach.
And the key to open this treasure? It was with Allen's team.
As they opened the door, a mirror appeared before them.
The Mirror of Erised.
The artifact concealing the ultimate treasure.
"Go for it, Harry, if I'm right, this is Dumbledore's final mechanism," Allen said, patting Harry on the shoulder.
As Harry stepped forward, Allen retreated ten paces, earning curious looks, and started rummaging through his pockets.
Wait, didn't we just have afternoon tea? everyone wondered.
But Allen didn't pull out a tablecloth, he revealed a heavy stack of metal ingots.
He placed them on the ground, over a dozen of them.
"Eh? Allen, what's this for?" Hermione asked.
"Some loot," Allen replied casually.
Since he couldn't reach the Philosopher's Stone, he'd coordinated with the twins to bring a heavy spatial bag containing these large ingots, donated by the second-hand bookstore owner. Without stock, this was the store owner's entire inventory.
And, given Allen's previous help with venom and unicorn feathers, these were gifts. The owner's words: Worth a few coins? Consider it a token of friendship!
Props to the bookstore owner, bro, this deal's yours later!
Everything was ready. Only the east wind was missing, come on, Harry!
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