They gathered outside the office. "Tonight—tonight, whether it's Snape or Quirrell, the person helping Voldemort is going to make it through the Trapdoor.
"All the conditions are in place for him to act, and Dumbledore has been led away."
"Wait, what's going on? And what does Professor Snape have to do with it?" Even now, Draco only knew that someone might be after the Philosopher's Stone.
Bing Huan looked at Harry. "Harry, didn't you tell him?"
Harry shook his head. "I thought Ron would tell him."
"I thought Hermione would tell him."
"I thought Huan would tell him."
"I thought Harry would tell him."
Draco said, "...Fine, I'll leave right now. I'm leaving!"
They went to the small lake outside Hogwarts and talked over one another as they told Malfoy all the clues and theories they had about the situation so far.
"It can't be Professor Snape. He's been harsh with me since I was little, but he'd never steal anything. As for Quirrell... I really can't see him being on You-Know-Who's side. This is tricky." Malfoy stroked his chin as he thought.
They walked outside, trying to come up with a plan.
"Good afternoon." Snape appeared behind them. "Such lovely weather, and several Gryffindor students gathered here with a Slytherin. People might think... you're up to no good." He gave Harry a long look, then turned and walked away.
Draco and Ron said, "That was terrifying."
Hermione said, "We almost got caught."
Harry said, "Did he just glare at me again?"
Bing Huan said, "Does he have a wind machine under that cloak?"
As if he'd made up his mind, Harry turned to them. "It doesn't matter who it is anymore. I'm sneaking out tonight and getting the Philosopher's Stone first."
"Have you gone mad, Potter? You'll be expelled. Do you want to go back to that Muggle family who bullied you?"
"Don't you understand, Draco?!" Harry shouted. "If Voldemort gets the Philosopher's Stone, he'll come back. Then Hogwarts will be finished, and it won't matter whether we're expelled. I'm going tonight, and you can't stop me. He killed my parents."
"You're right, Harry." Seeing Harry grow more and more worked up, Hermione hurried to speak softly.
"I'll use my Invisibility Cloak. Luckily, I got it back after losing it."
"But the Invisibility Cloak can't cover all five of us."
"F-five?"
"Oh, did you think we'd let you risk your neck alone?"
"Don't even think about leaving us behind." Hermione took Bing Huan by the hand. "Let's look through some books. Maybe we can find something useful..."
"Don't even think of playing the hero alone, Potter. You can't handle something this big without me." Draco crossed his arms and gave Harry a teasing look.
"You... aren't you afraid of getting expelled?"
"Like you said, if the Hogwarts where we all live is gone, it won't matter whether we're expelled."
"Besides, Professor Flitwick said I got 120 points. He'd never have the heart to kick me out." Hermione spoke with conviction.
Ron, Harry, and Draco practiced their spells while Hermione discussed how to get past the obstacles with Bing Huan. "Spells, Potions, Herbology, Dark Arts Defense... If things go as expected, the challenges will be in one of those areas."
"And flying, too," Bing Huan added. Ron leaned over from the side. "It'd be hard to fly in a basement, wouldn't it? There wouldn't even be room for the Golden Snitch to maneuver."
"If I remember correctly, there aren't any classrooms beneath that room. And it might have been enchanted with an Extension Charm; otherwise, there wouldn't be room for all the obstacles the professors set up."
"We can figure out a way to handle those things. The biggest problem is how we'll get past Fluffy. He's not like Fang, who'll cower if you scare him. Potter ran off too quickly last time, and we didn't find out from Hagrid how to calm him down."
"Leave Fluffy to me. I'll hold him off while you go through the Trapdoor." Bing Huan closed the book and looked at them.
"No!" All four of them objected.
Even Snape had been injured by Fluffy and still hadn't made it through. Wasn't Bing Huan just asking to get killed?
"Have you forgotten what I did to the Troll? Fluffy is an obstacle we have to get past. Besides, I don't need to fight him for long. Once you're through to the next stage, I can get away and catch up. Fluffy can't fit through that little opening."
"But..." Hermione started to say, but Bing Huan took her hand.
"I promise I'll come back safely. I won't get carried away. Trust me."
"Then you have to keep your promise. Otherwise... otherwise, I'll spank you." Hermione understood that this was the only option they had, so she stopped trying to dissuade Bing Huan. They split up and returned to their dormitories, waiting for nightfall.
Thanks to the 150 points they'd lost earlier, even the Chosen One's halo wasn't enough to make their fellow Gryffindors very interested in Harry and the others. At least, as far as saving the Wizarding World went, those 150 points were enough to go down in history.
Ennnm... minus 150 points for saving the Wizarding World?
As for Draco, after the 50 points he'd lost earlier and his recent change of views—"We shouldn't look down on others because of our bloodline. Our nobility means we have to take on more responsibility"—things had changed.
The faction poisoned by extremist Pure-blood ideology regarded that belief as heresy. Even Pansy Parkinson, who had always clung to him, no longer thought well of him. Goyle and Crabbe were showing signs of switching allegiance to a new master.
Draco was perfectly happy to let them go. Better that than keep them close and have them turn on him one day. But just as the number of people in extremist Pure-blood families was dwindling, more Slytherin students were beginning to wonder if they'd been on the wrong path.
Draco even declared openly, "Salazar Slytherin founded our noble House of Slytherin, and he deserves the respect of every one of us. But that doesn't mean we can't surpass him. Time has proven that his ideas weren't entirely right.
"Ambition, cunning, and honor—those are what he passed down to us. What we should do is give him a true Slytherin in return. A noble Slytherin."
The Pure-blood faction was still powerful, despite the Malfoy family backing them. For everyone else's sake, they'd continued to spread their ideas in secret, quietly expanding their circle of allies.
And today, Draco Malfoy was going to fire the first shot in his quest to make his supporters known throughout Hogwarts. After night fell, he evaded everyone's notice and headed to the meeting place to wait.
Over in the Gryffindor common room, the crowd was gradually thinning. Harry and the others exchanged nods and were about to leave when they heard a toad croak.
Ron said, "Trevor, go on! You shouldn't be here!"
"Neither should you." Neville came out from behind the sofa. "Are you planning to sneak out and get into trouble?"
"No, Neville. We're not going anywhere. You should go to bed." Harry glanced at the time. They were almost out of time.
"You'll get Gryffindor into trouble! I... I'll fight you!" Neville raised his fists, preparing to stop them with his bare hands.
"Hm? What's that?" Bing Huan's gaze suddenly shifted to a spot behind Neville. As Neville turned around, Bing Huan lightly chopped the back of his neck with one hand. They settled the sleeping lion on the sofa, left the common room, and met up with Draco.
When they reached the corridor on the fourth floor, they found the door unlocked. Through the crack, they could see the Three-Headed Dog resting. Its snores mingled with the sound of a harp.
"Looks like someone's already made it past the first obstacle, and they left Fluffy unharmed for us. There's still time to change your minds. I can give you the Invisibility Cloak." Harry still didn't want his friends to risk their lives.
Bing Huan hooked an arm around Harry's neck. "Still trying to act tough with me, huh?"
Ron chimed in. "Don't be ridiculous."
"We're going together."
"You can't do this alone, Potter."
As Harry pushed open the door, the music stopped abruptly. A low, savage growl took its place. Fluffy's three heads began jerking around, sniffing as they tried to find the intruders.
Bing Huan struck first, sliding beneath Fluffy and punching it hard in the stomach. Fluffy recoiled in pain, revealing the Trapdoor beneath it. "Now! Get down!"
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