Chapter 8: Sophus
Harry felt as if his head has been split into a hundred pieces. He looked around at the room the portal from the platform has taken him to. It was an interesting room that was circular in shape. The room was dimly lit with thousands of fireflies buzzing about on the ceiling. Harry got up on his feet to explore the room. He felt uncomfortable being in a strange place without his wand. Just then he spotted something that answered his prayers. Trapped in some vines on the wall was a beautiful golden wand. Harry dashed over to the wand and examined it. He tore the wild vine away from the wall and grabbed the wand before it fell to the ground. When his fingers touched the wand a strange voice spoke out.
"The individuals of Sophus must be gifted with the two strengths many lack in this world, chivalry and wisdom. A sophus is sought to be a leader and a fighter. This wand will be yours if you prove your courageousness in the trials to come. Good luck."
The voice faded into the distance. Harry looked at the wand carefully. The wand looked very much like the wand he bought from Olivander his first year at Hogwarts. He looked more closely to see that the only difference between the two wands was that the one he had now was gold and had a strange symbol that looked like a snake being stabbed with a sword at the base of the handle. As he held onto the wand, he could feel jolts of power streaming through his fingers. He shook himself out of a daze and quickly looked around the room for an exit. He saw a door, smaller than normal doors, at the eastern part of the circular room. He headed toward the door, and saw a sign hanging above the door. It read:
"Behind this door will be your first trial. Look beyond the obvious and reverse your logic. Keep that in mind as you proceed. Good luck."
Harry had no idea what the sign meant by looking beyond the obvious and to reverse his logic. He couldn't help but think why he had been brought here. But the only thing Harry could think about was to get out and the only way he could was to follow through with these obstacles and ask questions later. He turned the knob of the door and entered a room that looked like a cliff. The room seemed to have been split apart in the middle by a deep trench of fire. A single 13 foot rope connected the two sides of the trench. He saw a door on the opposite end of the enormous room. To the left of the rope was a bucket of water, and to the right of the rope was a bucket of oil. It was apparent to Harry that he was probably suppose to cross to the other side by walking on the rope. But he also knew it wouldn't be as simple as it looked because of the clue the sign gave him. The room felt as if it were a big oven. The flames roared as Harry thought of a solution to this puzzle.
"Maybe If I use the bucket of water and oil as a balancer then I can get across the rope." Thought Harry. He decided to give it a shot. He took the bucket of water in his left hand and the bucket of oil in his right. He placed his foot firmly on the rope and started to walk slowly. Just as he started to walk it felt as if the rope had disappeared. He dropped the bucket of oil into the fire in trying to maintain his balance but he completely lost it. With his free right hand Harry managed to grab onto the side of the cliff. Suddenly the roaring stopped and the room became cool. He looked down to see that the bucket of oil had extinguished the fires. He placed the bucket of water at the top of the cliff and used both arms to pull himself back up. He thought deeply.
"Look beyond the obvious...and reverse your logic." Harry thought. He had finally understood the clue. He thought of how he could cross the narrow rope without falling. Reversing his knowledge, Harry decided to run across the rope without trying to balance. He also decided to take the bucket of water with him to set off his balance. He slowly walked toward the edge of the cliff where the rope started. He picked the bucket of water up again in his left hand and placed his foot firmly on the rope. He took a deep breath and started to run across the rope as if it were solid ground. He felt his body float as his legs pushed against the rope beneath his feet. When he felt solid ground again, Harry opened his eyes to discover he had made it across the cliff to the other side of the room. He set the bucket down on the ground and walked toward the door. But when he got to the door, wet mud covered every single inch of it. He used his hands in attempt to clean the oozing mud from the door knob, but as he wiped the mud it came heavier and thicker than before. He stopped in place for a moment to think. Then he remembered the bucket of water that he placed at the edge of the cliff. He picked up the bucket of water and splashed it onto the door. In an instant the mud hardened and started to crack. Harry shielded his eyes from the mud and dirt flying about as it cracked open and revealed a shimmering door. Upon the door was a key attached to a note. He grabbed the key and opened the note to discover it saying:
"Congratulations, you have cleared the Klippe de Feuers trial. Through this door will be your second and final trial. Good luck."
Harry put the key into the keyhole of the door and unlocked it. The door slowly opened revealing a room masked in thick fog. Harry's vision couldn't have reached passed 3 feet but he maintained focused and walked slowly onto the premise. Shadows seemed to dance about as his eyes strained themselves to see through the fog. What am I supposed to do? Harry wracked his brain for a solution to this mysterious room. As he waded through the fog he felt as if he were walking down hill. What is this place? Harry continued to walk, cautiously expecting something to jump out at him at any given moment. But nothing did. The eerie silence sent chills up and down his spine. Just as Harry decided to turn back his foot caught onto a large object and he flew two feet smashing into the ground. He quickly got to his knees and started to feel through the darkness for the unknown object. As his fingers brushed the cold ground they collided with what felt like a hundred pound stone. He crept his fingers slowly on the surface as if he were spreading the most delicate butter and felt strange grooves all over the stone. As his fingers reached what felt to be the middle of the rock, he felt a protruding button. What in the world? He hesitated but pushed it. As the button snapped into place the fog seemed to swirl in a waltz towards the ceiling. Flames all around the room flickered to life. Harry shielded his eyes as the room became engulfed with light. A voice suddenly boomed throughout the room.
"Harry Potter. My how proud I am of you for coming this far. I'm sure you have hundreds of questions running through your brain right now but I can't answer them yet and for that I am sorry. Hermione and Ron have successfully inherited the ancient powers of the Soldato and the Rainha but for you I'm afraid it'll take another month of training. I'll be watching you. Keep it up. The Sophus are not easy to please. Do your best and remember always know there is something better at the end of the road. Good luck."
Harry recognized the voice as none other than professor Dumbledore's. He hadn't noticed before but as he examined the room a bed, kitchen, furniture and other necessities for living have appeared at the eastern wing of the room. A door lay to the western side of the room labeled "Cloister of Trials". Harry had, as Dumbledore predicted, hundreds even thousands of questions to ask. What am I being put through? What is a Soldato? A Sophus? A Rainha? None of this made sense to Harry. But the only way out is to move on. A thundering boom shattered his thoughts as a large sheet of instructions spread itself along the southern wall. Harry walked toward the wall, wand ready, Give me all you got...Sophus.
Harry felt as if his head has been split into a hundred pieces. He looked around at the room the portal from the platform has taken him to. It was an interesting room that was circular in shape. The room was dimly lit with thousands of fireflies buzzing about on the ceiling. Harry got up on his feet to explore the room. He felt uncomfortable being in a strange place without his wand. Just then he spotted something that answered his prayers. Trapped in some vines on the wall was a beautiful golden wand. Harry dashed over to the wand and examined it. He tore the wild vine away from the wall and grabbed the wand before it fell to the ground. When his fingers touched the wand a strange voice spoke out.
"The individuals of Sophus must be gifted with the two strengths many lack in this world, chivalry and wisdom. A sophus is sought to be a leader and a fighter. This wand will be yours if you prove your courageousness in the trials to come. Good luck."
The voice faded into the distance. Harry looked at the wand carefully. The wand looked very much like the wand he bought from Olivander his first year at Hogwarts. He looked more closely to see that the only difference between the two wands was that the one he had now was gold and had a strange symbol that looked like a snake being stabbed with a sword at the base of the handle. As he held onto the wand, he could feel jolts of power streaming through his fingers. He shook himself out of a daze and quickly looked around the room for an exit. He saw a door, smaller than normal doors, at the eastern part of the circular room. He headed toward the door, and saw a sign hanging above the door. It read:
"Behind this door will be your first trial. Look beyond the obvious and reverse your logic. Keep that in mind as you proceed. Good luck."
Harry had no idea what the sign meant by looking beyond the obvious and to reverse his logic. He couldn't help but think why he had been brought here. But the only thing Harry could think about was to get out and the only way he could was to follow through with these obstacles and ask questions later. He turned the knob of the door and entered a room that looked like a cliff. The room seemed to have been split apart in the middle by a deep trench of fire. A single 13 foot rope connected the two sides of the trench. He saw a door on the opposite end of the enormous room. To the left of the rope was a bucket of water, and to the right of the rope was a bucket of oil. It was apparent to Harry that he was probably suppose to cross to the other side by walking on the rope. But he also knew it wouldn't be as simple as it looked because of the clue the sign gave him. The room felt as if it were a big oven. The flames roared as Harry thought of a solution to this puzzle.
"Maybe If I use the bucket of water and oil as a balancer then I can get across the rope." Thought Harry. He decided to give it a shot. He took the bucket of water in his left hand and the bucket of oil in his right. He placed his foot firmly on the rope and started to walk slowly. Just as he started to walk it felt as if the rope had disappeared. He dropped the bucket of oil into the fire in trying to maintain his balance but he completely lost it. With his free right hand Harry managed to grab onto the side of the cliff. Suddenly the roaring stopped and the room became cool. He looked down to see that the bucket of oil had extinguished the fires. He placed the bucket of water at the top of the cliff and used both arms to pull himself back up. He thought deeply.
"Look beyond the obvious...and reverse your logic." Harry thought. He had finally understood the clue. He thought of how he could cross the narrow rope without falling. Reversing his knowledge, Harry decided to run across the rope without trying to balance. He also decided to take the bucket of water with him to set off his balance. He slowly walked toward the edge of the cliff where the rope started. He picked the bucket of water up again in his left hand and placed his foot firmly on the rope. He took a deep breath and started to run across the rope as if it were solid ground. He felt his body float as his legs pushed against the rope beneath his feet. When he felt solid ground again, Harry opened his eyes to discover he had made it across the cliff to the other side of the room. He set the bucket down on the ground and walked toward the door. But when he got to the door, wet mud covered every single inch of it. He used his hands in attempt to clean the oozing mud from the door knob, but as he wiped the mud it came heavier and thicker than before. He stopped in place for a moment to think. Then he remembered the bucket of water that he placed at the edge of the cliff. He picked up the bucket of water and splashed it onto the door. In an instant the mud hardened and started to crack. Harry shielded his eyes from the mud and dirt flying about as it cracked open and revealed a shimmering door. Upon the door was a key attached to a note. He grabbed the key and opened the note to discover it saying:
"Congratulations, you have cleared the Klippe de Feuers trial. Through this door will be your second and final trial. Good luck."
Harry put the key into the keyhole of the door and unlocked it. The door slowly opened revealing a room masked in thick fog. Harry's vision couldn't have reached passed 3 feet but he maintained focused and walked slowly onto the premise. Shadows seemed to dance about as his eyes strained themselves to see through the fog. What am I supposed to do? Harry wracked his brain for a solution to this mysterious room. As he waded through the fog he felt as if he were walking down hill. What is this place? Harry continued to walk, cautiously expecting something to jump out at him at any given moment. But nothing did. The eerie silence sent chills up and down his spine. Just as Harry decided to turn back his foot caught onto a large object and he flew two feet smashing into the ground. He quickly got to his knees and started to feel through the darkness for the unknown object. As his fingers brushed the cold ground they collided with what felt like a hundred pound stone. He crept his fingers slowly on the surface as if he were spreading the most delicate butter and felt strange grooves all over the stone. As his fingers reached what felt to be the middle of the rock, he felt a protruding button. What in the world? He hesitated but pushed it. As the button snapped into place the fog seemed to swirl in a waltz towards the ceiling. Flames all around the room flickered to life. Harry shielded his eyes as the room became engulfed with light. A voice suddenly boomed throughout the room.
"Harry Potter. My how proud I am of you for coming this far. I'm sure you have hundreds of questions running through your brain right now but I can't answer them yet and for that I am sorry. Hermione and Ron have successfully inherited the ancient powers of the Soldato and the Rainha but for you I'm afraid it'll take another month of training. I'll be watching you. Keep it up. The Sophus are not easy to please. Do your best and remember always know there is something better at the end of the road. Good luck."
Harry recognized the voice as none other than professor Dumbledore's. He hadn't noticed before but as he examined the room a bed, kitchen, furniture and other necessities for living have appeared at the eastern wing of the room. A door lay to the western side of the room labeled "Cloister of Trials". Harry had, as Dumbledore predicted, hundreds even thousands of questions to ask. What am I being put through? What is a Soldato? A Sophus? A Rainha? None of this made sense to Harry. But the only way out is to move on. A thundering boom shattered his thoughts as a large sheet of instructions spread itself along the southern wall. Harry walked toward the wall, wand ready, Give me all you got...Sophus.