A Certain Scientific Harry Potter 2

"I'm Ron Weasley, and this is my pet, Scabbers."

"Oh, you keep a rat as a pet?" Harry raised his eyebrows slightly, but quickly broke into a friendly smile. "He looks quite cute~"

Meanwhile, Neville, who was tidying up his bed, also cast a casual glance at Ron's back.

A rat, huh...

Neville had always known that ever since Harry learned to walk, he had never ignored a single rat he encountered!

Some fugitives might be like needles in a haystack, but as long as they were still alive, he would definitely be able to drag them out!!

Three: Harry Potter, the school is very safe~

Hagrid had once said that Hogwarts was the safest place in the world, and Harry was "deeply convinced" of this.

Flying Class, which lacked protective measures and where the professor was relatively lacking in authority, was very safe, especially when taking it alongside Slytherin House.

When Madam Hooch escorted a student who had fallen and injured himself due to poor flying skills to the hospital wing, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House began to idly provoke Ron Weasley, whom he viewed as a blood traitor. In the end, it took Harry and Neville stepping in to defuse the situation... fortunately, a group brawl was avoided.

Likewise, Harry's roommate—the Demolition Expert Seamus Finnigan—was also very safe, especially when he was in Potions class.

During one Potions lesson, just as Seamus's cauldron was about to explode, Harry proactively cast a spell to protect Seamus and Ron, who was about to be caught in the blast... Although Snape criticized Harry for a long time because of this, he ultimately didn't deduct any points from him.

This was, of course, not just because Harry had demonstrated superior potion-making skills upon enrollment, but because his mother, Lily, had once explicitly told him...

"If Severus dares to deduct points from you for no reason, you write home and tell me!"

So, they say, a child with a mother is like a treasure~

Finally, the safest thing in this school was undoubtedly the Troll feast during the Halloween banquet.

That was the first time Harry had seen such a dim-witted but incredibly powerful monster, the first time he had rushed into the Girls' Bathroom to find Hermione, who had been left behind, and the first time he had a club nearly the size of his own head swing past the tip of his nose!

In the end, Harry had to cast the Shield Charm his father had taught him since childhood to take the brunt of the Troll's club, resulting in him being slammed directly into Hermione...

At the same time, Neville, who was helping from the side, finally hit the Troll's club with a Levitation Charm, and after a successful free-fall, managed to knock the giant creature over.

Thus, when Professor McGonagall and the others rushed over, what they saw in the messy Girls' Bathroom was a fainted Troll, a terrified-looking Neville, and a boy and girl rolling together in a disheveled heap...

"I felt I could handle the Troll, so I came looking for it on my own; Neville only followed because he was worried about me; and Hermione was simply dragged into this by me—she didn't even know about the Troll!"

Rising to his feet without a blush or a skip in his heartbeat, Harry patted his chest without hesitation and took full responsibility for everything... even though this matter had nothing to do with him from the start.

Likewise, Hermione had actually run there because she was too heartbroken after being insulted by Ron Weasley at noon, but Harry didn't mention a single word of it, effectively clearing Ron's name.

"Mr. Potter... I can only say that you are exactly like your father was back then."

Hmm... judging by the look in Professor McGonagall's eyes—the kind that sees through everything but chooses not to say it—the "exactly like" she referred to probably wasn't just about being mischievous.

Afterward, when Hermione thanked Harry with a blushing face and nervously asked about his condition, Harry just smiled indifferently.

"If I had already arrived but failed to protect you, wouldn't that have been useless?"

Since he had stepped forward, he had to do his best; this was what Harry's father had taught him by example. From childhood to now, Harry had always taken his father, James, as his role model, and naturally, he wouldn't back down now.

Moreover, after personally experiencing the feeling of successfully protecting others through his own efforts, his mood was incredibly high.

Especially since the person he protected was Hermione Granger—the girl he had been somewhat interested in since he first enrolled.

Having experienced the Troll incident together, the trio naturally became close friends, remaining inseparable on almost every occasion.

Harry and Neville also reaped additional benefits; at least they no longer had to rack their brains over those long, smelly History of Magic and Astronomy assignments.

Although Hermione wouldn't write them for them directly, she could at least lend them her notes to copy~

Ron was also very grateful to Harry, not only because Harry hadn't ratted him out when facing the professors, but also because of the care Harry had shown him since the start of the term.

Of course, Harry was actually quite caring toward everyone, and he had now undoubtedly been crowned the dormitory leader.

However, he didn't act rashly by asking to see Ron's rat, but instead began to probe indirectly about the situation of the Weasley family and the detailed origin of that rat.

A pet passed down from Ron's brother, Percy—if you counted carefully, it should be over ten years old...

This was quite magical; was a rat a creature capable of living that long?

Harry felt it was necessary to ask an authority on this subject: Hagrid.

Of course, what he wanted to ask Hagrid wasn't just about the rat, but also about a major discovery the trio had made during this school year!

The Sorcerer's Stone was hidden in Hogwarts, and Voldemort had returned—he was coming to steal the Sorcerer's Stone!!

Faced with Harry, who had been very close to him since childhood and was also the biggest "second-generation wizard" at Hogwarts, Hagrid had no way to hide anything.

Not to mention the previous incidents involving the Troll, the Unicorn, and so on, just looking at Hagrid's mouth—which was like a wide-mouthed jar—he basically spilled everything within three sentences~

Thus, Harry basically knew everything.

It was almost impossible for a rat to live longer than ten years; in fact, three years was a major milestone... This matter was of great importance, and Harry had to write home to tell his family!

Additionally, the Sorcerer's Stone was indeed currently at Hogwarts. Although none of the professors had seen what the stone actually looked like, everyone had come up with ingenious mechanisms to protect it.

But now, someone was going to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, and that person was a professor!

All signs pointed to the person wanting to steal the stone being Snape, but Harry felt it didn't seem right, though he still didn't know who it actually was.

Just like that, time moved toward the end of the term exams. When the trio discovered that Dumbledore had actually left the school, they all felt that something terrible was about to happen!

"What should we do now? If this continues, that guy is going to succeed!" Neville said, the first to show his anxiety.

"Hermione, what do you think we should do?" After a moment of deep thought, Harry turned to Hermione. "You're the smartest one among us; you'll definitely have a good plan for this!"

"Me? But... I really only know how to study by the book! The Sorcerer's Stone and all that..."

Hermione was completely overwhelmed by nerves. The Sorcerer's Stone was far more serious than getting an answer wrong on an exam, and to be asked to make a decision like this so suddenly...

However, just as she was sinking into self-doubting hesitation, she inadvertently met Harry's encouraging gaze.

"That's already very impressive. At least you're better at it than Neville and me; the two of us couldn't even get a hundred percent if we cheated." Harry smiled, his face clearly filled with trust.

"In short, we'll tell you all the information we have, and once you've synthesized it, you can decide what we should do!"

Four: Harry Potter, cornering Voldemort!

Now, the entire burden fell on Hermione.

Regardless of whether the person trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone was Snape, he was doing it for You-Know-Who, and once You-Know-Who obtained the Sorcerer's Stone, the consequences would undoubtedly be unimaginable!

Yet, when Hermione saw Harry's trusting gaze, her chaotic thoughts strangely settled down.

Because it was as if he were telling her... go ahead and make the decision, even if something goes wrong, he would take full responsibility!

"Phew..." Taking a long breath, Hermione composed herself and began to organize all the information they had gathered.

After a detailed deliberation, 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 placed the Sorcerer's Stone in the Chamber to protect it, they certainly wouldn't have gone to the trouble of leaving another exit path there..."

Having said this, Hermione carefully glanced at Harry before continuing: "So... if I were that thief, even if I actually got the Sorcerer's Stone, I would only be able to return the way I came..."

"Re... return the way you came?" Neville was stunned upon hearing this, looking at Hermione in disbelief. "How on earth did you think of something like that?!"

"It's just like Harry said, gather all the information we know and try to think of every possibility." Hermione explained softly, "What I finally thought about was, if we failed to stop that guy from getting the Sorcerer's Stone, what should we do then... we can't just give up like that~"

"Hermione, you are simply too smart!" Harry even clapped his hands with excitement. "I dare say, with this line of thinking, there isn't a second person in all of Hogwarts who could have come up with it!"

That's right, why should they go down there and brave those troublesome obstacles?

Even if the other party got the Sorcerer's Stone, they only had this one path to leave, so it would be better to ignore their actions, directly ask all the professors to block the exit together, and then hold out until Dumbledore returned!!

"I was just thinking about it; actually, the risk is quite high, it is the Sorcerer's Stone after all..." Seeming a bit embarrassed by Harry's praise, Hermione lowered her head slightly, her cheeks even starting to burn.

"I think you should stop being modest. Just look at Harry's expression, you can tell he definitely approves of your decision." As a bystander, Neville had seen through everything. "Alright, you two go to the fourth floor and keep watch; I'll go contact Professor McGonagall and the others. See you later~"

Before Harry could even reply, Neville ran off on his own.

Just kidding, he didn't want to stay here and be a third wheel any longer~

The entire Hogwarts soon sprang into action. Professor McGonagall brought almost all the staff to the room at the end of the fourth floor. Hagrid directed Fluffy to move aside, and then everyone cast all sorts of Locking Spells, Impediment Jinxes, and Barrier Wards, completely sealing the Trapdoor!

And once all the staff had gathered, Snape's suspicion was cleared, and the true culprit finally surfaced.

The only one missing among the professors was Quirinus Quirrell. Where else could he be right now? Of course, he could only be in the Chamber, alone... no, he should be feeling miserable with his new master~

From evening until midnight, Quirrell stood before the Mirror of Erised in the Chamber until his legs were trembling, yet he couldn't wait for the protagonist of this story.

In the mirror, he was holding the Sorcerer's Stone and grinning wildly, but in reality, his hands remained empty.

"Go back... that brat probably isn't coming." An eerie voice came from behind Quirrell, seemingly emanating from the turban wrapped around his head.

"Ah... Master, are we not going to wait any longer?" Quirrell asked cautiously. "Besides, so much time has passed; they have likely set up an ambush outside..."

Quirrell was certainly not a fool; on the contrary, coming from Eagle House, he was quite clever and easily thought of the follow-up to Hermione's plan.

It was a pity his will was ultimately too weak, otherwise, he wouldn't have been controlled by the great villain and unable to act of his own volition.

"I told you to go out, so go out!" The voice behind him snorted with displeasure. "Once you're out, kill Harry Potter immediately!!"

"Yes... as you command~" Facing an order that was practically a death sentence from the Dark Lord, Quirrell couldn't refuse and had no choice but to return the way he came.

'Damn it...' The Dark Lord in his parasitic state couldn't help but curse inwardly at this moment.

If he had known, he should have threatened the lives of the entire school to get to Harry Potter earlier; otherwise, how would this brat have dared to toy with him like this?!

But since he had been resurrected once, and the Sorcerer's Stone was now out of reach, he might as well go and kill the child who would hinder him!

However, speaking of that Sorcerer's Stone... who knows if it was ever really in the mirror~

BOOM!!

The battle began with the explosion of the Trapdoor. Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort, displayed a high level of dueling prowess, even managing to hold his own against several professors in the cramped space without losing ground!

However, his powerful performance turned into reckless, death-defying madness the moment he saw Harry and the others lingering at the scene!

"Harry Potter, you damn coward! You didn't enter that Chamber?!" Quirrell—or rather, the Voldemort behind him—questioned with uncontrollable rage.

"Because your plan was seen through by Hermione a long time ago~" Harry laughed dismissively. "Since we can corner you here, why would we need to go down there and take unnecessary risks?"

"Damn it... was it that filthy Mudblood?"

"What did you say?!" Harry's face darkened instantly, and he raised his wand in a flash!

"Heh heh, was I wrong? By the way, your mother was also a disgusting Mudblood! And she wasn't just a Mudblood, she was a complete liar! Talking about divine miracles, saying I would be defeated by a child... all of it was a shameful lie!!"

Amidst the roar, Voldemort controlled Quirrell's body to levitate, and at the same time, he unleashed a thick green light at Harry!

"I will prove it... die, you filthy half-breed Harry Potter! Avada Kedavra!!"

"Bastard... you're the one who should die, aren't you?!"

None of the professors present had expected this, not even Dumbledore, who had rushed back just in time to intervene; they never imagined Harry would be so impulsive and swift, actually beating them to the punch by countering Voldemort's Killing Curse with a spell of his own!

The terrifying green light rapidly bore down on Harry's body, yet he felt no fear at all, glaring instead with unwavering fury at the enemy before him!

"Don't you dare... insult the people who mean the most to me!!"

In that instant, the lightning-bolt scar on his arm flared brilliantly, transforming into a beam of intense light that surged into Harry's spell, instantly reflecting Voldemort's Killing Curse back at him!

"Damn you! Harry Potter... no!!"

Voldemort, possessing the body, let out a scream of agonizing torment as he once again experienced the pain of being struck by a Killing Curse; as Quirrell's body crumbled to pieces, the Dark Lord was reduced to nothing more than a skull formed of dark magic.

"Damn you, Harry Potter, I will never let you get away with this!"

The skull let out a chilling roar, shrieking as it lunged toward Harry's body, but the latter merely puffed out his chest and met it head-on!

"I'm not afraid of you! No matter how many times you return, I will always defeat you!!"

V: Harry Potter, was the Sorcerer's Stone stolen?

Harry had to admit that engaging in a heated confrontation with Voldemort in front of the entire school faculty (ahem, mostly just one person in particular) had certainly satisfied his surging emotions and desire for a grand display at that moment...

However, having the Dark Lord's magic pass through his chest was truly not a pleasant experience, and his consciousness plunged into total darkness almost instantly.