"I'm Ron Weasley, and this is my pet, Scabbers."
"Oh, you keep a rat as a pet?" Harry raised an eyebrow slightly, but quickly broke into a friendly smile. "He looks pretty cute~"
Neville, who was making his bed, also happened to glance at Ron's back.
A rat...
Neville had always known that ever since Harry could walk, he had never ignored a single rat he came across!
Some fugitives might be needles in a haystack, but as long as they were still alive, Harry would definitely track them down and catch them again!!
Three: Harry Potter, School's Quite Safe~
Hagrid had once said that Hogwarts was the safest place in the world, and Harry deeply agreed.
Flying Class, with no safety measures and relatively little authority from the professor, was quite safe—especially when it was held with Slytherin House.
When Madam Hooch took a student who'd fallen due to poor flying skills to the Hospital Wing, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House started needling Ron Weasley, whom he considered a blood traitor. In the end, Harry and Neville had to step in together to defuse the situation... At least there hadn't been a brawl.
Likewise, Harry's roommate—the Demolition Expert Seamus Finnigan—was quite safe, especially during Potions Class.
Once, when Seamus's cauldron looked ready to explode during Potions Class, Harry had cast a spell to protect Seamus and Ron, who was about to get caught in the blast. Snape scolded Harry for quite a while afterward, but didn't take any points away.
Of course, that wasn't just because Harry had shown exceptional talent in Potions when he first arrived at school. It was also because his mother, Lily, had made it very clear to him...
"If Severus dares take points off you for no good reason, write home and tell me!"
That's what it meant to be a mother's precious child~
Finally, the safest thing at this school was the Troll feast during the Halloween Feast.
It was the first time Harry had seen one of those dull-witted but astonishingly strong monsters. It was also the first time he'd gone into the Girls' Bathroom looking for Hermione, who'd been left alone, and the first time a club nearly as big as his head had swung past the tip of his nose!
In the end, Harry had to cast the Shield Charm his father had taught him from childhood and take the Troll's club head-on. The blow sent him flying straight into Hermione...
At the same time, Neville, who'd been helping out nearby, finally managed to hit the Troll's club with the Levitation Charm. After a free fall, it successfully smashed the enormous creature to the ground.
So when Professor McGonagall and the others hurried over, they found a stunned Troll on the floor of the messy bathroom, Neville looking shaken, and a boy and girl, covered in dust, sprawled together...
"I thought I could handle the Troll, so I came looking for it. Neville only came along because he was worried about me. And Hermione was simply caught up in this because of me—she didn't even know there was a Troll!"
Getting up without so much as a blush, Harry patted his chest and took all the blame without hesitation... even though none of it had been his fault in the first place.
Likewise, Hermione had actually come here because she'd been so upset after Ron Weasley had insulted her at lunchtime. But Harry didn't mention a word of that, letting Ron off the hook entirely.
"Mr. Potter... I can only say that you're exactly like your father was at your age."
Well... judging by the knowing look in Professor McGonagall's eyes, she probably didn't just mean that he was mischievous.
Later, when Hermione thanked Harry with a red face and nervously asked how he was doing, he only smiled as though it were nothing.
"I came all this way, but if I couldn't protect you, wouldn't that make me useless?"
If you stepped up, you had to do your best. That was what Harry's father had taught him by word and example. Harry had always looked up to his father, James, and he certainly wasn't going to back down now.
Besides, after putting that into practice and successfully protecting someone through his own efforts, Harry felt absolutely ecstatic.
Especially since the person he'd protected was Hermione Granger—the girl he'd been a little interested in ever since he first arrived at school.
After going through the Troll incident together, the three of them naturally became close friends, almost inseparable wherever they went.
Harry and Neville also reaped some extra benefits. At least they no longer had to worry about those long, tedious History of Magic and Astronomy assignments.
Hermione wouldn't write the essays for them, but she was willing to let them copy hers~
Ron was grateful to Harry, too—not only because Harry hadn't given him away when facing the professor, but also because Harry had looked out for him ever since they arrived at school.
Of course, Harry was pretty considerate toward everyone. By now, there was no doubt that he'd been made dormitory prefect.
Still, he hadn't rashly asked to see Ron's rat. Instead, he'd started discreetly asking about the Weasley family and the rat's history.
A pet passed down from Ron's older brother Percy... By any serious reckoning, it had to be over ten years old.
That was remarkable. Were rats even capable of living that long?
Harry thought it was worth asking an expert on the subject: Hagrid.
Of course, he didn't just want to ask Hagrid about the rat. The three of them had also made a major discovery this school year!
There was a Sorcerer's Stone hidden at Hogwarts, and Voldemort had returned. He was going to steal the Sorcerer's Stone!!
Facing Harry, who'd known him well since childhood and was also the biggest wizarding trust-fund kid at Hogwarts, Hagrid simply couldn't keep the secret.
Never mind all the trouble that had already come up, from the Troll to the Unicorn. Hagrid's mouth was as wide as a jar, and in three sentences flat, he'd spilled just about everything~
So Harry now knew almost all of it.
A rat was very unlikely to live more than ten years. In fact, three years was already a major milestone... This was serious. Harry had to write home and tell his family!
Also, the Sorcerer's Stone really was at Hogwarts. None of the professors had seen what it actually looked like, but they'd each contributed a security measure they were proud of to protect it.
But someone was planning to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, and that person was a professor!
All the clues pointed to Snape as the one trying to steal it, but Harry didn't think that was right. He still didn't know who it really was, though.
And so time passed until the end-of-term exams were over. When the three of them discovered that Dumbledore had actually left the school, they all felt that something was terribly wrong!
"What are we supposed to do now? If this keeps up, that guy's going to succeed!" Neville said anxiously.
"Hermione, what do you think we should do?" After thinking it over, Harry turned to Hermione. "You're the smartest of us. You'll definitely come up with a good idea!"
"Me? But... all I know how to do is study from books! The Sorcerer's Stone and everything..."
Hermione was completely flustered. The Sorcerer's Stone was far more serious than getting an exam answer wrong. To suddenly have to make a decision about something like this...
But just as she began to hesitate, unsure of herself, she met Harry's encouraging gaze.
"That's impressive, too. You're much better at studying than Neville and me. We can't even copy our way to a hundred." Harry smiled, his face plainly filled with trust.
"Anyway, we'll tell you everything we know. Once you've put it all together, you can decide what we should do!"
Four: Harry Potter, Cornering Voldemort!
Now all the pressure was on Hermione.
Whether or not the person trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone was Snape, he was doing it for that mysterious man. And if the mysterious man got the Stone, the consequences would be unthinkable!
But when Hermione saw the trust in Harry's eyes, her jumbled thoughts unexpectedly settled.
It was as if he were telling her... Go ahead and make the decision. Even if something went wrong, he'd take full responsibility!
"Phew..." Hermione let out a long breath, calmed herself, and began organizing all the information they had.
After thinking it through carefully, she seemed to have finally grasped the key to the problem!
"We all know that Apparition is impossible at Hogwarts. And since Dumbledore and the other professors put the Sorcerer's Stone in the Chamber for protection, they certainly wouldn't go out of their way to leave another exit over there..."
At this point, Hermione glanced cautiously at Harry before continuing. "So... if I were the thief, even if I really got the Sorcerer's Stone, I'd have to go back the way I came..."
"G-go back the way you came?" Neville stared at Hermione in disbelief. "How did you even think of that?!"
"Just like Harry said, I put together everything we knew and tried to think of every possibility," Hermione explained softly. "I finally wondered what we'd do if we couldn't stop that person from getting the Sorcerer's Stone. We couldn't just give up after that, could we~"
"Hermione, you're absolutely brilliant!" Harry even clapped, his face lighting up. "I'd bet there isn't anyone else at Hogwarts who could have come up with that plan!"
Exactly. Why should they go down there and deal with all those troublesome obstacles?
Even if the other person got the Sorcerer's Stone, there was only one way out. So why not ignore what they were doing, have all the professors block the exit, and hold out until Dumbledore came back?!
"I was only thinking out loud. There's a lot of risk in this, too. After all, it's the Sorcerer's Stone..." Hermione lowered her head slightly, embarrassed by Harry's praise. Her cheeks were even starting to burn.
"Don't be so modest. Just look at Harry—you can tell he approves of your decision." Neville, watching from the sidelines, had seen right through everything. "All right, you two go stand guard by the fourth floor. I'll contact Professor McGonagall and the others. See you in a bit~"
Before Harry could even answer, Neville ran off ahead by himself.
As if! He wasn't going to stay here and be a third wheel~
Hogwarts sprang into action in no time. Professor McGonagall brought nearly all the staff to the room at the end of the fourth floor. Hagrid told Fluffy to move aside, and then everyone piled on Locking Spells, Impediment Jinxes, Barrier Wards, and the like, sealing the Trapdoor shut!
Once all the staff had assembled, Snape was cleared of suspicion, and the real culprit finally came to light.
The only professor missing was Quirinus Quirrell. Where could he be? Why, he could only be alone in the Chamber... No, he should have been there with his new master, feeling rather miserable~
From evening until the middle of the night, Quirrell stood in front of the Mirror of Erised in the Chamber until his legs were trembling, but the protagonist of the story never showed up.
In the mirror, he was grinning as he held the Sorcerer's Stone in his hands. In reality, his hands were still empty.
"Let's go back... That kid isn't coming." A sinister voice came from behind Quirrell. It seemed to be coming from inside the turban wrapped around his head.
"Ah... Master, are we not going to wait any longer?" Quirrell asked cautiously. "And it's been so long already. They might have set up an ambush outside..."
Quirrell wasn't an idiot. On the contrary, as a member of Eagle House, he was quite clever, and had easily figured out the next step in Hermione's plan.
Unfortunately, his will was too weak. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been controlled by the big bad and left powerless to resist.
"I said get out, so get out!" the voice behind him snapped impatiently. "Once you're outside, kill Harry Potter immediately!!"
"Yes... As you command~" Facing what was practically a death sentence from the Dark Lord, Quirrell couldn't refuse. He could only retrace his steps once more.
Damn it... The Dark Lord, in his parasitic state, cursed inwardly.
If only he'd threatened Harry Potter with the lives of everyone at the school beforehand. Then the boy wouldn't have dared toy with him like this!
But he'd already been resurrected once. Since getting the Sorcerer's Stone was out of the question, he might as well kill the child who would stand in his way!
But then again, speaking of that Sorcerer's Stone... Who knew whether it was even inside the mirror~
BOOM!!
The battle began as the Trapdoor exploded. Possessed by Voldemort, Quirrell showed an extremely high level of dueling skill. He could even hold off several professors at once in the cramped space without losing ground for a short time!
But as soon as he saw that Harry and his two friends had stayed behind, his impressive display of strength turned into a frenzied, death-defying assault!
"Harry Potter, you damn coward! You didn't even go into the Chamber?!" Quirrell—or, to be precise, Voldemort behind him—demanded furiously.
"Because Hermione saw through your plan ages ago~" Harry laughed scornfully. "Since we can block you here, why would we go down there and take unnecessary risks?"
"Damn it... That filthy Mudblood?"
"What did you say?!" Harry's expression instantly darkened, and he raised his wand without delay!
"Heh heh, am I wrong? Oh, right—your mother was a disgusting Mudblood, too! And not only was she a Mudblood, she was a complete and utter liar! Saying that I'd been struck down by divine providence, that I'd be defeated by a child... It was all a shameless lie!!"
As he roared, Voldemort made Quirrell's body rise into the air, then fired a thick beam of green light straight at Harry!
"I'll prove it... Die, you filthy half-breed, Harry Potter! Avada Kedavra!!"
"You bastard... You're the one who deserves to die!"
None of the professors had expected it—not even Dumbledore, who'd just returned in time to step in. They hadn't expected Harry to react so impulsively and so quickly that he'd cast a spell at Voldemort's Killing Curse before any of them could!
The terrifying green light rushed toward Harry, but he wasn't afraid in the slightest. He only glared furiously at the enemy before him!
"You don't get to... insult the people who matter most to me!!"
In that instant, the lightning-shaped mark on his arm suddenly shone, turning into a streak of brilliant light that flowed into Harry's spell and sent Voldemort's Killing Curse right back at him!
"Damn it! Harry Potter... No!!"
Voldemort, possessing Quirrell, let out a scream of agony. He felt the pain of being struck by the Killing Curse once again. As Quirrell's body crumbled piece by piece, the Dark Lord was reduced to nothing but a skull made of magic.
"Damn you, Harry Potter! I'll never let you get away with this!"
The skull let out a chilling roar and charged at Harry, but Harry thrust out his chest and met it head-on!
"I'm not afraid of you! No matter how many times you come back, I'll defeat you every time!!"
Five: Harry Potter, the Sorcerer's Stone Was Stolen?
Harry had to admit that facing down Voldemort in front of the entire school staff (ahem, though really it was mainly one person) had thoroughly satisfied the surge of emotion and desire to show off he'd felt in that moment...
But having the Dark Lord's magic pass straight through his chest was hardly a pleasant experience. His consciousness plunged into complete darkness almost instantly.
Before you continue