Bill, as if wanting to set an example, stepped onto another tile and triggered an ice trap, instantly shielding himself with a protective charm. He shot me a smile, trying to make it look like the test was child's play—and to a certain extent, it was. Bill not only had years of experience as a Curse-Breaker and stood out as a brilliant wizard, but he worked right there and had cleared the course multiple times. He knew several board combinations by heart, which was why he was exempt from paying the entry fee, as well as from competing for the refund or the prize.
Following his lead, I stepped forward, triggering a blast of hot air from the floor, which I neutralized without any major hitches. My brother gave me an approving nod as he continued his advance; I returned the nod and mirrored the movement. One tile, then another, and another. Some traps were elementary, others slightly more complex, but having been adjusted for exhibition, none retained their original lethality.
We both advanced without stumbling through the sector where the first hopefuls usually failed, and it wasn't long before we crossed the critical threshold of five tiles while maintaining an unbroken sequence.
"I really hope you reconsider and come work with me. You'd make an exceptional Curse-Breaker," Bill commented with complete sincerity.
"I don't know if it's my thing..." I replied casually while disintegrating a swarm of beetles with a snap of my fingers.
"Look at you. Neither Fred nor George managed to get this far," Bill added, executing a precise jump between two tiles to sustain his streak.
"Hey! There's no need to use us as an example!"
"Yeah, you're making us look bad. Better use Ron!" the twins protested from the sidelines, prompting Ron to glare at them, wounded in his pride.
By then, my entire family, the tourists, and the staff themselves were watching us with a mix of amusement and fascination, intrigued to see just how far we could go.
"I believe in you, Red. What you've shown so far is no small feat... Very few reach this level," Bill added with a hint of seriousness in his voice, clearly alluding to something more than just the simple test board.
"Hmpf..." I scoffed.
I stopped dead in my tracks and closed my eyes for a second. Bill halted abruptly and looked at me in bewilderment, thinking I had decided to quit or was mulling over the next step.
"Maybe you're right, but I'm not doing anything extraordinary... Not when we're still playing by different rules," I said as I opened my eyes.
I locked eyes with my family and my brother, and immediately began unbuttoning my protective vest to toss it aside.
"Red!" my family screamed from the perimeter, scandalized by the recklessness.
But I didn't stop there. After shedding the gear, I yanked my shirt off and tossed it next to the vest, leaving my torso completely bare. The entire room went dead silent. The surprise wasn't solely due to the fact that I was half-naked, but to the impressive muscle definition carved into my physique, something completely atypical for a boy my age. Even my parents' eyes went wide; especially Mum, who out of respect for my privacy had never stopped to observe me closely until now.
Murmurs erupted all around us, but I ignored them completely as I stretched my arms and smiled at Bill, who was staring at me slack-jawed.
"Now we're on equal footing," I told him as I cracked my neck. "And much more comfortable."
Before anyone could stop me, I leaped onto the next tile and chained two small consecutive bounds, flicking my wand smoothly to repel the simultaneous attacks springing up to meet me.
"Heh, yeah, this is more like it," I laughed, letting the adrenaline take hold of me. "I just stole the lead from you."
Bill struggled to close his mouth, snapping out of his stupor. He looked on the verge of reprimanding me for the danger of the stunt, but upon meeting my defiant smile and relaxed posture, he opted to keep quiet. My provocation had a personal edge, as if I genuinely needed to challenge him on neutral ground. Even though he went without a vest due to his seniority, letting me do the same bordered on irresponsibility. My parents reflected pure anguish, and Bill knew it; the right thing to do would have been to stop me for safety's sake, but weighing that the real risk of death was zero and that of severe injury was slim, he decided to play along and give me total freedom.
Following my example, Bill jumped to another tile and then a third, brushing off the traps with ease.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Red; Mum won't forgive me if anything happens to you," he joked to mask the tension.
My only response was to propel myself forward, sliding on my knees to dodge a barrage of arrows aimed straight at my chest.
"Worry about yourself. This is great... It's been a while since I've had this much fun," I shouted as I rolled over a tile and bounced toward the next to evade a cloud of acid vapor and sand.
Cries of astonishment and panic multiplied in the room. The venue attendants made a move to intervene upon seeing me so exposed, but stopped dead in their tracks. Not only did the traditional wizarding indifference to danger and the sheer entertainment value of the show prevail, but it was a personal choice and Bill was my older brother; thus, any consequences fell exclusively under our responsibility.
I was having fun. Perhaps the act of limiting my attributes and testing myself was an entertaining way to pass the time, or maybe I simply needed an adrenaline rush like this; the point was I couldn't enjoy it in solitude.
"Alright, we've passed fifteen," Bill said with a certain calm, watching me closely, attentive to my situation. The longer the sequence grew, the more dangerous the traps became, mainly because Gringotts struggled much more to neutralize the original enchantments in the deep layers. "I suppose with this you've already earned yourself a nice chunk of change."
"You say that like we're anywhere near done," I replied with a teasing smile. "But this is just beginning. Ready to dance, Bill? Let's see how far we're capable of going."
"This is getting more and more dangerous, Red," he warned with a furrowed brow. Even though he retained the ability to advance, he wasn't sure about me; at my age, a wizard shouldn't possess that kind of power or magical control, and he feared I was acting out of sheer recklessness.
"Better this way?" I said, brushing it off, before turning my head toward the perimeter of the board. "Girls, it's safe ground. Danger level B. You know what to do..."
Bill looked at me in bewilderment and shifted his gaze to the edges of the platform. There, Ginny and Luna returned my gesture with a complicit smile. Reaching into their expanded bags—which were actually a cover for their personal inventories—they pulled out some dry, flat, square bars of sugary dough with a dense filling, which they devoured quickly. My family and the gathered tourists watched them in perplexity. However, the moment they finished chewing, a spark of pure energy lit up their gazes. Instantly, mirroring my previous action, they shed the heavy protective vests and, without a second's hesitation, took the leap into the interior of the board.
"Ginny!" my mother screamed at the top of her lungs, terrified by the scene. My father backed her up immediately, stepping forward a couple of paces with the same desperation.
Yet the girls didn't flinch at all. They began picking their way across the tiles one after another, anticipating and dodging the mechanisms with remarkable agility. In part, the secret lay in the sensory enhancement, reflex, and physical dexterity effect granted by the food they had just consumed; my skill in [Cooking] had reached a high level, and the buffs it provided were no joke.
"Ginny! Luna!" Bill exclaimed, losing his composure. My lack of caution was already his limit, but the situation with the girls was entirely different.
"Leave them be, they deserve a little fun too," I said with total confidence while rummaging in my trouser pocket. "Come on, let's keep the competition going. Let's see how far we can get."
"Red, I can't protect all three of you if something happens. Even if I just focus on them..." Bill said quickly, also looking at Mum, who was about to step in, while shouting worriedly at the girls for their actions.
"Protect them?" I repeated in a mocking tone at his attempt to intervene. "I think you're very wrong, Bill."
As if wanting to prove me right, the girls seamlessly completed an initial sequence of seven tiles. They quickly joined us, pulling off combinations of eight and nine hits.
"This is nothing more than a game... I just needed a little rhythm," I added while pulling a head-sized metallic cube from my 'pocket'. "Time to put on some music."
I tossed the object into the air, and it hovered on its own while unfolding, drawing the gazes of everyone present. Gringotts security personnel made a move to intervene, believing it was an illegal gadget that could hack the board. But then, an energetic, vibrant instrumental sound with a breakneck beat—surprisingly similar to the intro rhythm of Rise of the TMNT—exploded into the room, echoing heavily against the stone walls.
"Now we're complete," I announced, executing a side flip to dodge the next mechanism through pure physical dexterity. "Girls, don't overexert yourselves; Bill and Ginny—er, Bill and I have a pending competition. Go as far as you feel comfortable! Level B!"
The two of them nodded with radiant smiles and joined the beat of my movements.
The three of us began executing what had turned into an authentic "dance with death." The transition was so fluid and unexpected that even my parents, who had already reached the first tiles with the intention of pulling us out by force, stopped dead in their tracks. Xenophilius, who had moved closer to watch shortly before, stared at his daughter with eyes wide open, completely forgetting any trace of danger.
I closed my eyes for a second, fully deploying my dance skills and bardic ear. Jumps, spins on my axis, and light traces with my wand that neutralized or deflected the traps with absolute grace. I moved like a fish in water. The girls, for their part, played as a duo: taking advantage of the generous size of the tiles, they moved in perfect synchrony, elbow to elbow or covering each other's backs. They had surpassed the ten-tile barrier and were marching firmly toward fifteen, only slowed down by the occasional difficulty of hitting the correct patterns.
The room fell completely silent in awe. The dangerous game had dissolved to make way for a top-tier choreographic spectacle. My parents remained paralyzed at the edge of the area, flanked by guards who didn't dare act, stunned by the general stupefaction.
"That's it, Red! That's how it's done!"
"We're going to get rich!"
The twins broke the spell of silence. Far from being alarmed, they burst into cheers and applause, dragging along the rest of the tourists, who began to give us an ovation as if witnessing a circus act.
"You can do it, Luna!" Xenophilius shouted from the upper railing, thrilled as much by the amazement at what his daughter was doing as by worry.