Chapter 151: Riddle (Edited)

Harry and Hermione sat in perfect synchronicity after defeating the Troll, out of breath.

"Thanks to Snape for talking about Trolls in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class..."

Originally, Hermione just sighed casually, but suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Wait! Why are you giving us a special lecture on Trolls?"

Hermione frantically rubbed her hair, making her long, messy hair look even messier, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but there were some key facts missing that prevented her from tying things together.

Harry, who had regained his strength a little, picked himself up off the floor and asked impatiently, "So, what exactly do you suspect?"

Hermione had been saying strange things ever since she had entered the trapdoor, and Harry, slow as he was, could understand what she was saying: that there was something wrong with those levels, and that it probably wasn't where the real Philosopher's Stone was kept.

Wouldn't it make them look like fools for coming in such a hurry to break the levels and make such a mess?

Harry was only an eleven year old boy, a Gryffindor to boot, and he had been a little upset by Hermione's sudden dismissal of the situation.

Now Hermione said something as if she was trying to justify Snape...

So Harry's displeasure immediately erupted.

"Ron's been knocked out! And we almost died under the Troll's big club! Do you still think this is all Dumbledore's game to trick Snape?"

Harry waved his arms, not quite sure why he was doing it, except that it made it easier for him to vent his frustrations.

Hermione also seemed surprised by Harry's sudden spiel, and stared at the angry Harry, her mind going blank.

Because she was too shocked, Hermione couldn't even feel a hint of anger at being misunderstood, she just stared, wide-eyed and slightly open-mouthed, as Harry continued to rant.

"Besides, what do you mean by that? At this point, are you still trying to say that Snape is a good man? Isn't he the one who tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone, or is it Professor Quirrell who has disappeared?

Harry, in a fit of rage, didn't realize that he had been right in his assumptions, and that the professors watching him were finding it hard to contain their laughter.

Ron, for his part, let out a long sigh and covered his eyes.

Only Fish was a little confused, tugging at Professor McGonagall's sleeve, "Minerva, why is Scar-Head angry?" ?w?

"Well... Potter, there's been a bit of a misunderstanding between him and Hermione..." explained Professor McGonagall as politely as she could, while Snape let out a contemptuous grimace at her side.

While Fish was confused, Harry was still venting his frustrations.

"Let me tell you, why is Snape lecturing us about trolls? he's bragging, bragging about taking care of Quirrell, you got it?! Miss Know-it-all."

The words "Miss Know-it-all" brought the stunned Hermione back to her senses, and her gaze towards Harry began to turn dangerous.

Without realizing it, Harry continued to rant, "Didn't you tell me I was stealing the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect Voldemort? Didn't you burn Snape's robe and save me from his curse...?"

Harry, who was roaring, remembered at that moment that Hermione had saved his life, and even when he dealt with the troll a moment ago, the main credit went to Hermione.

Coming to his senses, Harry quickly regained his composure and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry... Hermione, I didn't mean that..." Harry explained hesitantly to Hermione, "I just... I just think you're thinking too much. Right now, we should hurry up and get the Philosopher's Stone, instead of randomly guessing about such uncertain things."

"..."

Harry apologized so quickly that Hermione, who had easily recovered from her daze and was on the verge of anger, suppressed her anger.

The emotional disconnect was so unpleasant that his tone was ungracious.

"You finally remember that I saved your life."

Hermione gave Harry a slight jab, still thinking the Philosopher's Stone was more important.

Hermione: "I was just wondering if Snape would have let us come first on purpose to get ahead of us, and then snatch the Philosopher's Stone out of our hands once we had it, after all it's obvious that us little wizards are easier to deal with than the professors magical traps."

But soon Hermione shook her head again, denying her thoughts, "No, he didn't have to go to that much trouble, he must have been much quicker than us to get in on his own.... Maybe you're right, Snape could have simply been showing off, or.... Is he deliberately luring you to die? Only then there's no point in him going out of his way to teach us about Trolls..."

Hermione's mind went into a dead end again and she grabbed her hair in annoyance.

"Don't think about that," Harry interrupted Hermione, "Anyway, let's move on, if it's as you say, it's just a facade, it's just a waste of effort, if there's a Philosopher's Stone in there, then we'll take it with us, so whatever Snape is planning, it's pointless."

"That's right."

Hermione shook her head, putting aside her confused thoughts, and walked with Harry into the next room.

As soon as they entered the new room, a purple flame erupted from the doorway behind them, blocking the exit, and a black flame erupted from the door to the next level.

In the center of the room was a table with seven bottles of different shapes side by side.

"Snape's magic."

The sight of this was the work of Snape, a Potions class teacher, even without using the elimination method.

The two cautiously made their way to the table and found a roll of parchment next to the bottles, which they opened to reveal an extensive string of words written on it.

Harry and Hermione stood together, reading the words carefully, but what neither of them noticed was that the purple flames behind them wavered oddly as they read the parchment.

"What is this?"

After reading the contents of the scroll, Harry suddenly felt his head swell, the string of words and poems didn't look like poetry, and the story didn't look like a story, which left him stunned.

Anyway, there was nettle wine, that something was deadly and such, and Harry couldn't quite understand what it meant.

Hermione, however, had a winning smile on her face, "It's brilliant," she explained to Harry, "It's not magic, it's logical reasoning, it's a riddle. If an adult wizard doesn't have the slightest ability for logical reasoning, he'll be stuck here forever."

He then solved Snape's riddle in less than a minute, to Harry's stunned gaze.

"The smaller bottle will go through the black flames, and the round bottle on the far right allows us to go back" Hermione said.

Harry picked up the smaller bottle and looked at it, "It's only enough for one person."

The two looked at each other, Harry squeezed the bottle in his hand and said, "Drink that one to get back, take Ron, use the flying broom in the first room to get back, and remember to put on your invisibility cloak on the way back in case you run into Snape."

He held up his hand to stop Hermione, who was about to speak, "Listen, I was the one who was hell-bent on finding the Philosopher's Stone, so I can't let you take any more chances for me on this last level."

At the critical moment, Harry was still very responsible and explained to Hermione with a solemn expression.

"I don't know if I'll be able to get the Philosopher's Stone, but if you see Snape on the way back, tell Professor McGonagall as soon as you can, and send Hedwig to send a message to Dumbledore, I need his support. I might be able to keep Snape at bay for a while, but I'm definitely no match for him."

"Hmph..."

The sneer on Snape's face grew even more at Harry's bold words.

Unaware that Snape had been by his side for a long time, the two cheered each other on, and then Harry opened the bottle in his hand and drank the liquid it contained.

"Good luck, and be careful!"

At that moment, Hermione didn't have time to dwell on the incongruities, she watched Harry walk towards the black flames, and then opened the round bottle....

Suddenly, a hand emerged from the air beside her and grabbed Hermione's wrist in a death grip.

The grinning Snape lifted his invisibility cloak and appeared in front of Hermione.