A copper basin held an unidentifiable, transparent liquid. At the bottom sat a round jade stone of equally mysterious purpose. Such liquids usually possessed potent properties, but the constant emission of white smoke from this one screamed danger.
The group cautiously approached the basin, examining it. Soon, they found inscriptions etched into the side, offering a glimmer of hope…quickly dashed. The writing was distinctly not English.
"What does this even say? I can't understand a word!" Harry, never the scholar, scratched his head in frustration.
"Heh…of course, you wouldn't," Malfoy drawled, crossing his arms with a superior smirk.
Harry's brow furrowed. "What? You know what it says?"
"No." Malfoy shook his head bluntly.
Harry's face darkened. "Then what was the point of saying that?"
"Uh... I just thought it suited my style," Malfoy replied flippantly.
With a growl, Harry lunged at Malfoy, ready for some close-quarters wizarding combat.
Hermione and Cassandra appeared unfazed by the two idiots' antics. "Wait, this looks like Greek," Hermione said, studying the inscriptions thoughtfully.
"Can you read it?" Cassandra asked, her expression hopeful.
"I've learned a little… This word is roughly… 'door'... 'potion'... 'take out'... 'basin'... 'jade'... 'open door'..." Hermione translated hesitantly.
Harry and Malfoy broke off their scuffle, staring at Hermione in disbelief. How did she even learn this?
Cassandra moved to the stone door and examined the circular indentation in its center, as well as the three empty slots below, clearly designed for potions. "So, drinking one of these potions allows you to retrieve something from the basin to open the door." She glanced at the assortment and, combining this with Hermione's translation, quickly pieced together the inscription's meaning.
"Which one should I drink? What happens if I drink the wrong one?" Harry scrambled away from Malfoy and fired off the questions.
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know; it doesn't say."
Malfoy leaned in, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Why don't you drink all three, Scarface, and just take the thing out, side effects be damned?"
"Why don't you drink them?" Harry retorted, shoving Malfoy away.
As the two were about to resume their argument, Cassandra stepped past them toward the copper basin. An idea had struck her.
Under Hermione's watchful gaze, Cassandra slowly placed her right hand, covered in a white silk glove, on the copper basin. After a moment, much to Hermione's astonishment, she plunged her gloved hand into the liquid and retrieved the round jade stone.
"Seriously? Is that water even safe?" Harry and Malfoy were dumbfounded.
Hermione stared intently at Cassandra's gloved hands. She doubted the liquid was harmless; the key must be the gloves themselves. Recalling her extensive reading, Hermione suspected they were an alchemical creation, and she even had a strong hunch about who had made them.
Cassandra, clutching the jade ring, approached the stone door and fit it into the circular groove.
Rumble…
The stone door slowly ground open.
"Let's go," Cassandra said simply, stepping inside first.
Beyond the door, the initial darkness had been replaced by regularly spaced lights illuminating the passage. The passage widened, large enough to be considered an interior space.
Another stone chamber. This time, two doors stood at the far end, with nothing else of note. Etched into the wall between the doors was another inscription, this one appearing to be in Latin.
Hermione stepped forward to translate…
Cassandra lightly touched both doors, then pushed open the left one. "That door has traces of magic; it must be a mechanism." Nothing happened after the door opened.
"Let's go." Cassandra's tone remained calm and even.
Hermione frowned, puzzled. How could it be such a coincidence that Cassandra's gloves allowed them to bypass the original obstacle?
But in reality, it wasn't a coincidence at all. The original obstacle wasn't like this.
Tom Riddle had renovated the place from the inside out, ensuring everything ran smoothly for his apprentice while furthering his own schemes.
The group continued, expecting more challenges, but to their surprise…
"There is no third obstacle. Please continue forward," Malfoy read aloud from a sign hanging on the wall.
"Seriously? Is Dumbledore doing things this casually?" Since they were unaware of the true culprit, they could only blame Dumbledore; he wouldn't find out anyway.
But in truth, there was supposed to be a third challenge. Tom had even allocated a considerable sum of money for it, but he couldn't resist and scrapped it.
But it didn't matter much; he'd seen enough already.
Watching Harry and his companions enter the final room, Tom emerged from the shadows of the stone chamber, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
...
In the last room, besides an ancient, exquisitely crafted, tall mirror, stood a man swathed in a thick, garlic-reeking turban.
"Professor Quirinus Quirrell!"
"Harry Potter!"
Harry and Quirinus Quirrell stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Realizing he could no longer hide, Quirinus Quirrell gave a sinister smile. "Didn't expect this, did you? I..."
"You're here to steal the Philosopher's Stone, too?"
"..."
Harry's question silenced Quirinus Quirrell.
Why did he feel that this Harry was different from the one he had imagined? Was this his destined nemesis?
Harry, oblivious to Quirinus Quirrell's thoughts, simply asked, "So, did you steal it?"
"Uh…no." Quirinus Quirrell shook his head obediently. Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind: he'd let Harry retrieve the Philosopher's Stone first and then snatch it back. "Come here and take a look. The Philosopher's Stone should be in this Mirror of Erised." He stepped back, clearing the way in front of the Mirror of Erised.
Hearing this, Harry didn't hesitate and walked straight over.
Cassandra and Hermione, however, watched Quirinus Quirrell warily, involuntarily taking a couple of steps back.
Only Malfoy stared blankly at the two, wondering what they were up to.
Harry stood before the Mirror of Erised and stared for a long time.
Quirinus Quirrell grew impatient. "Can you see it?"
Harry shook his head. "I can't."
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