Kael took out his wand and reached beneath the trapdoor.
"Lumos!"
In the midst of a dazzling white light, Kael vaguely saw a mass of green vines curled up directly below the trapdoor.
"Sure enough, it's Devil's Snare."
Kael put away his wand and called Fluffy.
"Just stay here, and if Dumbledore brings anyone over later, just call me loudly."
"Woof woof..."
Fluffy, having just finished eating jerky, obediently nodded its dog head.
Kael patted its big head and jumped down from the trapdoor.
"Splash..."
The soft Devil's Snare, like a hammock, caught Kael securely.
Feeling the snake-like soft tendrils on him, Kael didn't struggle at all, just lay quietly on them.
Three seconds later, the tendrils loosened, and Kael touched the ground. He flipped over, stood up, and looked strangely at the Devil's Snare in front of him.
Really don't know what Professor Sprout was thinking, choosing to use this thing as a checkpoint. Even blindly picking a plant from Greenhouse Three would be better than this.
Devil's Snare sounds intimidating, but its weakness is too obvious—afraid of light, afraid of fire. A simple Lighting Spell can render it useless.
Also don't know what Professor Sprout was thinking, clearly meant to stop people from progressing, yet arranged a Devil's Snare as a cushion. That's such a waste!
Kael looked around, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly:
"Whose Devil's Snare is this?"
...
There was complete silence, with only some sporadic echoes.
Whose Devil's Snare...
Devil's Snare...
Snare...
Fluffy, curious about the commotion, poked its dog head out and looked down.
"It's nothing to do with you, go back!"
Fluffy whimpered and reluctantly withdrew its head.
Kael cleared his throat and continued to shout:
"Ahem... whose Devil's Snare, if no one claims it, I'm taking it!"
...
Still, no one answered.
Having gone through the motions, Kael nodded, took out a box from his leather pouch, and unfolded it on the ground.
After about ten seconds, he stuffed an entire Devil's Snare, pot and all, into the box.
After completing all this, Kael dusted his hands off and walked toward the next checkpoint with the box.
Following a stone corridor, Kael arrived at a brightly lit room.
But the room was empty, with nothing in it, and further ahead was a heavy wooden door.
Kael pulled on the handle, and the door opened in response.
"..."
This... Professor Flitwick must have slacked off.
Looking at the pitch-black room in front of him, Kael hesitated whether he should continue forward.
From the current situation, it's not hard to guess that, aside from Fluffy and Devil's Snare, the other checkpoints are probably not yet completed.
But if he just went back like this, wouldn't this trip be for nothing?
"Oh well, since I'm here, might as well take a look."
Kael shook his head and stepped forward.
As he crossed in, the originally pitch-black room instantly became brightly lit.
Looking at the chessboard below and the pieces around that were taller than him, Kael's mood improved quite a bit.
Professor McGonagall really outdid herself, her ability to act is much stronger than Professor Flitwick's, which is why she could become the vice principal.
It seems that he must win at chess in order to proceed.
To be honest, Kael felt quite anxious.
He didn't play much Wizard Chess and usually only played a few games with Fred or George when passing time. It was fine for entertainment, but it was somewhat lacking compared to real experts.
Kael casually walked to a black castle, reached out to touch the black stone chess piece, preparing to take its place.
"Let's give it a try, at worst, I'll just go back the way I came."
Yet after waiting for five minutes, that chess piece didn't budge at all.
Feeling puzzled, Kael walked to the knight... and it was the same.
Next the bishop... pawn... king... all were the same.
He walked around, all the way to the exit, and those chess pieces still didn't react at all.
Evidently, these were all for show, even Professor McGonagall didn't complete her checkpoint.
Beyond was the same, all the rooms were empty.
Kael could only return the way he came, leaving in disappointment.
Seems he really came too early.
Maybe in Dumbledore and the professors' view, Fluffy alone was enough to chase away any intruders, there was no need to rush to complete those checkpoints.
After leaving the fourth floor, Kael went to the underground classroom again before returning to the Hufflepuff common room.
"Thank heavens you're finally back."
Cedric was in the common room all along, and when he saw Kael come in, he immediately walked over and curiously asked, "Where did you go just now?"
"Fourth floor." Kael replied, "Weren't we supposed to go there together?"
"I'm asking where you went after we ran back from the fourth floor."
"I didn't run..." Kael thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I saw Fluffy last year at Hagrid's... oh, by the way, Fluffy is the name of that Three-Headed Dog from that day."
Kael sat down on a chair, placed a pot of pumpkin juice he had just taken from the kitchen and a few biscuits on the table in front of him.
Even late at night, the house-elves in the kitchen looked no less than during the day when Kael entered; they even opened the stove, ready to prepare a lavish meal.
But that was too time-consuming, and Kael just wanted to fill his stomach a bit, so he declined.
At this moment, Cedric just realized, and incredulously said, "Wait... did you just say you know that Three-Headed Dog?"
"Yes, I knew it last year." Kael replied, "It's less than two years old now, still just a kid."
"But... then why didn't you tell us just now?"
"I did say it." Kael shrugged, "But you guys ran too fast, and in a blink, everyone disappeared."
Cedric's face suddenly became a bit red.
When he saw the Three-Headed Dog, his mind went blank, and his first instinct was to run away; he wouldn't care what anyone else said.
Kael pushed the plate of biscuits towards Cedric.
"Want a biscuit? Cheese-filled, tastes pretty good."
"Sure... thanks."
Cedric felt a bit hungry too, so he took one and put it in his mouth.
"You stayed on the fourth floor the whole time?"
"Yes." Kael nodded.
Cedric took another biscuit and asked curiously, "Did you notice the trapdoor beneath the Three-Headed Dog?"
"I saw it, but unfortunately..." Kael sighed, "Maybe we went too early, the professors haven't had time to set it up correctly; now it's just a few empty rooms down there."