Kyle took out his wand and pointed it at the trapdoor below.
✭ Lumos ➜ Wand-Lighting Charm ✭
In a dazzling white light, he vaguely saw a cluster of green vines curled up beneath the trapdoor.
"Devil's Snare, as expected." Kyle put away his wand and called for Fluffy, "Stay here. If Dumbledore brings anyone later, bark loudly to alert me."
"Woof woof..."
Having just finished his jerky, Fluffy obediently nodded his dog head. Kyle patted his large head and jumped down through the trapdoor.
Thud...
The soft Devil's Snare caught him like a hammock.
Feeling the snake-like tendrils wrapping around his body, Kyle didn't struggle at all, just lying there quietly. Three seconds later, the tendrils released him, and he touched the ground. He flipped over to stand up and looked at the Devil's Snare with a strange expression.
He really couldn't understand what Professor Sprout was thinking, choosing this plant as an obstacle. Almost any plant randomly picked from Greenhouse Three with eyes closed would be more effective than this.
Devil's Snare sounded intimidating, but its weaknesses were too obvious — it feared light and fire, and a simple illumination charm was enough to render it useless.
He wondered why Professor Sprout would set up Devil's Snare as a cushion in an obstacle course meant to stop intruders. It seemed incredibly wasteful.
Kyle looked around, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly, "Whose Devil's Snare is this?"
...
There was complete silence around him, with only a few intermittent echoes in response.
Whose Devil's Snare... Devil's Snare... Snare...
Hearing the commotion, Fluffy curiously poked his head out and looked down.
"Not your business, go back!"
Fluffy whimpered and reluctantly withdrew his head.
Kyle cleared his throat and continued shouting, "Ahem... whose Devil's Snare is this? If nobody claims it, I'm taking it away!"
...
Still no answer.
Having completed the formalities, he nodded, took out a box from his leather bag, and spread it out on the ground. Within seconds, he had stuffed the entire Devil's Snare, pot and soil included, into the box.
After finishing this, Kyle dusted off his hands and carried the box toward the next challenge.
Following a stone corridor, he arrived in a brightly lit room. However, the room was empty with nothing in it, and ahead was a heavy wooden door.
Kyle pulled the handle, and the door opened immediately.
"..."
This... Professor Flitwick must have been slacking off.
Looking at the dark room in front of him, Kyle hesitated about whether to continue. From the current situation, it wasn't hard to guess that apart from Fluffy and the Devil's Snare, the other obstacles hadn't been completed yet.
But if he just turned back now, wouldn't this trip be a waste?
"Oh well, I'm already here, might as well check it out." Kyle shook his head and took a step forward.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, the previously dark room suddenly became brightly lit. Looking at the chessboard under his feet and the chess pieces around him — taller than he was — Kyle's mood improved considerably.
Professor McGonagall really delivered — her initiative was much stronger than Professor Flitwick's. No wonder she became Deputy Headmistress.
The next step should be winning a chess game to proceed further.
To be honest, Kyle felt quite nervous. He didn't play much wizard chess, usually only passing time with Fred or George for a few games. It was fine for casual entertainment, but he wasn't quite up to par against real experts.
He casually walked up to a black rook, touched its stone body, and prepared to take its place.
"Let's give it a try. Worst case, I'll just go back the way I came."
But after waiting five minutes, the chess piece showed absolutely no reaction.
Kyle walked over to a knight in confusion... with the same result. Then to the bishop... pawn... king... all the same.
He walked all the way to the exit, and the chess pieces showed no reaction. Clearly, these were just props — Professor McGonagall hadn't completed her obstacle either.
The rooms further ahead were all empty as well. Kyle could only return the way he came, leaving in disappointment.
It seemed he had indeed come too early. Perhaps in Dumbledore's and the professors' view, Fluffy alone was enough to scare away intruders, so they didn't rush to complete the other obstacles.
After leaving the fourth floor, Kyle made a trip to the underground classroom before returning to the Hufflepuff common room.
"Thank goodness you're finally back." Cedric had been waiting in the common room. Seeing Kyle enter, he immediately approached and asked curiously, "Where did you go?"
"The fourth floor." Kyle said, "Didn't we go there together?"
"I'm asking where you went after we ran back from the fourth floor."
"I didn't run..." Kyle thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I saw Fluffy at Hagrid's place last year... Oh, by the way, Fluffy is the name of that three-headed dog."
He sat down in a chair and placed a jug of pumpkin juice and several cookies on the table in front of him.
Even at night, the kitchen had no shortage of house-elves. When Kyle went in earlier, they had even lit the stoves, preparing to make a sumptuous feast. But that would have taken too much time, and he just wanted a snack, so he declined.
At this point, Cedric finally processed what he'd heard and said incredulously, "Wait... you said you knew that three-headed dog?"
"Yes, I met him last year." Kyle said, "He's not even two years old yet, still a puppy."
"But... why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"I did." Kyle shrugged, "But you all ran so fast that when I turned around, everyone was gone."
Cedric's face suddenly turned red. When he saw the three-headed dog, his mind had gone blank, and his first reaction was to flee — he wouldn't have paid attention to what anyone was saying.
Kyle pushed the plate of cookies toward him.
"Want a cookie? They're cheese-filled and quite tasty."
"Yes... thank you." Cedric was feeling a bit hungry too, so he took one and put it in his mouth, "Have you been on the fourth floor this whole time?"
"Yes," Kyle nodded.
Cedric took another cookie and asked curiously, "Did you notice the trapdoor beneath the three-headed dog?"
"I saw it, but unfortunately..." Kyle sighed, "I think we went too early. The professors haven't had time to set things up yet. Right now, there are just empty rooms down there."
✭✭✭
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