First Encounter with Voldemort

Dumbledore stepped forward and patted Bing Huan's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, child. If this works out, I'll have a reason to add the points back. The House Cup will still be Gryffindor's. Alright, hurry along now. Your little girlfriend probably needs your comfort."

Helplessly taking the letter, he increasingly felt Dumbledore was like a capitalist squeezing his labor. Meanwhile, the four youngsters were being led by Filch on their way to Hagrid.

"It's a pity they've done away with the old style of punishment, hanging you by your wrists from the ceiling for days on end. I still have those chains in my office. I need to oil them, might be useful someday," Filch cackled, leading the way with his lantern.

"If you miss it that much, I can hang you up right now," Bing Huan appeared, blocking their path. Filch squinted at him. "Another student out after curfew. Quite a haul today. Let me see... oof~"

Bing Huan leaped up and shoved Dumbledore's letter into Filch's mouth. "Next time you bark, think first. You can scram now." Filch pulled the letter out, confirmed Dumbledore's handwriting, and glared hatefully at Bing Huan. "You'd better not fall into my hands."

After Filch left, Hermione rushed over, her voice choked with tears. "Huan, we're in trouble. Professor McGonagall took 150 points from us. What are we going to do?" Draco emerged nearby. "And my fifty points!" he added, before being pulled away by Harry.

Bing Huan stroked the little witch's head and comforted her. "It's okay. At least we did something we shouldn't have for a good cause, right? Points can be taken away, and they can be added back. I promise I'll help you win the House Cup this year, alright?"

"...And next year's too," Hermione wiped her tears and emerged from Bing Huan's embrace. She gave Harry and the three boys behind him a kind look, hoping they'd keep quiet. Yes, a very kind look.

He led them to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was still blaming himself, thinking he had caused them to lose points. It was Harry and Ron who comforted Hagrid, telling him not to worry about it. As they walked, they found themselves at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Draco was still a bit scared. "Are we really going in? I heard there are werewolves in there."

Hagrid looked at Draco apologetically. "I'm very sorry, but we have no choice. We must go in. So, for safety, you must all stay close to me or Fang, and don't stray from the path. That way, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest won't harm you."

Not far away, a pool of silvery liquid shimmered on the ground under the moonlight. "See that?" Hagrid pointed to it. "That's unicorn blood. We need to find this poor little creature today and prevent it from being harmed again. Now, we need to split into two groups."

"Then I want Fang," Draco said, feeling safer with the big-toothed black dog. "Alright, but I warn you, he's a bit of a coward. So, I'll go with Ron and Hermione. Bing Huan, Draco, and Harry, you go together. Okay, let's go."

Bing Huan waved his arm at Hermione, signaling he would come immediately if there was danger. He led the group through the dark Forbidden Forest. Draco muttered as he walked forward, "If my dad knew I was doing this at school..."

"Are you scared, Draco?"

"Not at all, Potter."

Swish~ A slithering sound, like a snake, flashed by from the side. "Did you hear that, Potter?"

Hiss~

Now all three of them heard it. Continuing forward, something white gleamed on the ground. It was a dead unicorn. They were too late.

The unicorn's slender legs were still in a fallen pose, looking exceptionally beautiful and tragic in the moonlight of the Forbidden Forest. Just as Harry was about to step forward, he felt a searing pain from the scar on his forehead. From the shadows beside the unicorn, a hooded figure emerged.

Though it had a human-like form, it crawled slowly on the ground like a snake, closing in on them. Harry's head throbbed harder, making it impossible to stand. Bing Huan drew Crimson Trail, slashed his palm, and a blue flame immediately rose from the blood-stained blade.

"Inferno Flame: Swift"

The flames on the blade shot towards the monster with the slash, igniting anything it touched. Just then, the sound of hooves trotting could be heard from behind them. A figure leaped over Harry's head and lunged at the monster. It was a Centaur. His hair was platinum blonde, and he had the body of a silver-maned horse.

"My name is Firenze," the Centaur said after driving away the monster, turning to face them. "Harry Potter, you must return to Hagrid immediately. The Forbidden Forest is too dangerous for you now." Firenze led the three back to Hagrid, nodding at Bing Huan before leaving.

"Good luck, Harry Potter."

Back in the common room, Harry couldn't help but pace back and forth. Hermione and Ron's eyes widened after hearing Harry's ordeal.

"Snape is trying to get the Philosopher's Stone for Voldemort... Voldemort is waiting in the Forbidden Forest. We thought Snape just wanted to get rich from the Philosopher's Stone."

"So I should wait for Snape to steal the Philosopher's Stone," Harry said, sounding somewhat neurotic. "Then Voldemort will come here and kill me. Great."

Though also a little scared, Hermione spoke up to comfort him. "Calm down, Harry. Even the Dark Lord has someone he fears, and that's Dumbledore. As long as Dumbledore is here, the Dark Lord won't be able to harm a single hair on your head."

Bing Huan stepped forward and patted Harry's shoulder. "Yes, don't be nervous. Like Hermione said, Dumbledore is enough to make Voldemort afraid. Besides, in this school now, we have two and a half fighters like Dumbledore. Even I managed to drive him back just now, didn't I?"

Bing Huan lit some calming incense for them, and soon the exhaustion after the fright washed over them. Before parting, Hermione couldn't help but ask, "That other half of the 'two and a half'..."

Harry and Ron also looked over. "Actually, if you think about it carefully, isn't there an old man with short white hair in the school wearing a suit, who does nothing all day and never teaches?"

"Who is he?"

"About Dumbledore's age, famous together, residing at Hogwarts but unable to teach... who else could it be?"

"Gasp~" Hermione inhaled sharply. "Gellert Grindelwald... He even helped me with my Dark Arts Defense homework."

Back in the dormitory, just as he was about to rest, Harry's voice came from behind. "That half... what's that supposed to mean?"

"Mmm... imported?" O_o

"..."

Exams arrived, and the weather had never been so muggy. In the entire common room and basement, only Bing Huan's vicinity felt like it had air conditioning.

"I've never liked a guy this much," Ron slumped into the seat next to Bing Huan.

Bing Huan, Hermione: ( . Д .)

Draco frowned, looking at Ron. "So that's your type, Weasley. Looks like I'll have to keep my distance." Harry didn't say anything, seemingly still worried about passing the exam, but he subtly moved to sit further away from Ron.

Ron: "What did I do?" (‧_‧?)

"Are you having a headache again, Harry?" Hermione asked, seeing Harry clutching his scar. Ever since returning from the Forbidden Forest, Harry's scar had been making its presence known.

"You should get Madam Pomfrey to take a look, Potter. If it keeps up like this, even if I win at Quidditch, it'll be a hollow victory for me, this young master."

Harry shot him a glare. "Oh, please. Even now, I'd still beat you."

"Hmph, damn Potter."

"I feel like this isn't an illness, but a warning. A warning of impending danger."

As they were about to return to the common room, they saw Hagrid playing a flute outside his hut. Harry seemed to recall something. "Blast! Snape probably already knows how to get past Fluffy!"

"Hagrid wouldn't tell him. Although he's loose-lipped, he always reacts before crucial information leaks," Ron said.

"What if we discussed magical creatures as the topic?" Bing Huan said from the side.

"Yes, that's it!" Harry started walking towards Hagrid. "Don't you find it strange? Hagrid wanted a fire dragon the most, and he just happened to meet him at the pub. This is extremely rare even among lawbreakers, yet Hagrid encountered it."

Arriving in front of Hagrid, before he could even greet him, Harry asked hurriedly, "Hagrid, do you remember what happened the day you won Norbert?"

Hagrid stroked his beard and recalled, "The guy wore a hood, and I never got a clear look at his face until the very end. He asked if I was a gamekeeper, and I told him what animals I looked after. I said I particularly wanted a fire dragon, and he said he happened to have one.

But he had to figure out if I had the ability to take care of a fire dragon. I said I could even handle Fluffy."

"Was he very interested in Fluffy?" Harry's heart was pounding, but he still asked calmly.

"Of course. I told him the most important thing with such a ferocious beast is how to keep it quiet, like Fluffy, as long as..."

"It's over!" Before Hagrid could finish, Harry ran towards the teaching building. Hagrid seemed to realize, "Close call, close call, almost let the secret out."

The remaining four people...

The group rushed to Professor McGonagall's office. "Professor McGonagall!"

Professor McGonagall stopped writing and looked at the five people. "What is it, you lot? Miss Granger, I just finished grading your exam; you did very well."

"That's not important, Professor McGonagall. We need to see Professor Dumbledore," Harry interrupted. "Professor Dumbledore received an urgent notice from the Ministry of Magic and left Hogwarts ten minutes ago."

"At this time?!" Harry became even more anxious. "Professor McGonagall, someone is going after the Philosopher's Stone!" Our cat dean could never have imagined it would be this.

He said sternly to Harry, "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. While I don't know how you found out about the Philosopher's Stone, rest assured, it is now under tight protection. That's all, don't make a fuss, go outside and get some sun."