"Nicolas Flamel... You're investigating the Sorcerer's Stone?" Harry's expression turned serious!
"Hmph! I knew it! You must've known about this too~" Hermione glared at Harry in mock anger.
This time, she didn't resent Harry for keeping secrets from her again. In her eyes, the fact that he was willing to tell her about the Sorcerer's Stone meant he'd already planned to let her in on it.
She'd just beaten him to it this time, that was all. Hehe~
"Wait... where did you hear about this?" But as Hermione secretly congratulated herself, Harry's brow gradually furrowed.
Based on his deductions so far, aside from Dumbledore, none of the professors at Hogwarts, Hagrid included, should know that what had been hidden away was the Sorcerer's Stone!
So... where had Hermione found her clues?
"I overheard it~" Hermione snickered like a little beaver that had stolen a pinecone. "On Christmas Eve, I accidentally overheard Snape threatening Quirrell. He mentioned the name Nicolas Flamel, so I decided I'd investigate as soon as I got back to school. Here, take a look~"
Hermione pointed to the words on the page. They were all about the Sorcerer's Stone.
'The Sorcerer's Stone is a product created through ancient alchemy. It has the astonishing ability to turn metal into pure gold, and can also be used to make the Elixir of Life, which grants immortality to anyone who drinks it.'
'The only known Sorcerer's Stone belongs to the famous alchemist and opera lover Nicolas Flamel, who celebrated his 665th birthday last year. He currently lives in seclusion in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (658).'
The book's account was fairly detailed, but only one thing really mattered to Harry: the Sorcerer's Stone was a product of ancient alchemy!
The Space Ring Scamander had given him had also been made using alchemy, so... could there be a connection between the two?
"Anyway, I've figured it all out now!" Hermione said proudly. "The thing Hagrid brought back from Gringotts was the Sorcerer's Stone. It should be hidden in a secret chamber under the Trapdoor on the fourth floor, guarded by that Three-headed Dog."
"And by keeping an eye on Quirrell and Snape all this time, I also found out... the other professors have helped set up the defenses. They're all working together to protect the Sorcerer's Stone!"
Impressive~
The proud top student lifted her head like a swan, while Harry beside her offered a respectful round of applause.
Hermione's mind really was something else. Her logic was so clear she could rival those maddening computers in video games~
Harry knew all this because he had foreknowledge of the plot, but Hermione had worked it out bit by bit from scattered clues!
So what had the Sorting Hat been thinking when it put such a clever girl in Gryffindor?
Was it trying to meet its annual KPI?
"But I still have a few questions... Why was Snape arguing with Quirrell about the Sorcerer's Stone? And who exactly is trying to get their hands on it?!"
Snape wasn't on bad terms with Harry like he had been in the original story, so Hermione hadn't rashly concluded that he was the first boss trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone.
"He was probably just trying to confirm that the Sorcerer's Stone was there. As for Quirrell... he really is more than just a timid stammerer."
When Harry had tested Snape the other day, Snape had clearly hesitated over whether the Sorcerer's Stone existed. That suggested he, like the other professors, had helped set up the defenses without knowing what they were protecting.
Now that he was pressing Quirrell about the Stone, perhaps he'd grown suspicious about what everyone was guarding.
Of course, there was an even more likely possibility: someone had sent him to approach Quirrell!
On Halloween, Snape had been bitten by the Three-headed Dog. Harry vaguely recalled some details from the original story... Quirrell had said Snape was on his way to the fourth floor to stop him.
So... Snape had supposedly been going to stop Quirrell, but ended up getting bitten himself. That made no sense at all!
But if someone had instructed him to do it, and this so-called "stopping" was really a "pretend alliance," then everything fell neatly into place.
Clearly, some people had known from the start that Quirrell was the real villain.
Time to give a manual shout-out to the scheming old Headmaster~
By now, Harry was certain that the Sorcerer's Stone wasn't at Hogwarts at all!
The real reason Dumbledore had sent Hagrid to Gringotts and then made a big show of gathering a bunch of professors to set up defenses was to lay a trap and lure the blockheaded Quirrell-Voldemort into blundering right into it~
Imagine Quirrell gleefully breaking into the vault ahead of Hagrid, only to find no Sorcerer's Stone inside—just a fake that immediately brought Dumbledore to mind. What would his expression have been?
Startled, he would have assumed the Stone had already been taken away by Dumbledore. He'd have had no choice but to leave everything untouched and rush back to the school to search.
That strange round trip during the holidays would already have been enough for Dumbledore to identify him as the mole.
After that, Dumbledore gathered a bunch of teachers and had them busily set up defenses. Seeing this, Quirrell would naturally become convinced that the Sorcerer's Stone was at Hogwarts, and keep running around trying to break through the defenses!
But perhaps only Dumbledore himself knew where the real Sorcerer's Stone was.
Still, he'd used this nonexistent Stone to successfully lure Quirrell into his trap.
His ultimate goal, of course, was for Harry, the Boy Who Lived, to come face-to-face with Quirrell...
And confront Voldemort!
(p.s. Looking back at the original story, it really makes little difference whether the Sorcerer's Stone existed or not. Voldemort made a huge fuss trying to steal it and got nothing; the protagonist went through all that trouble to protect it, only for it to be destroyed in the end... Poor Flamel couple, they barely got a mention before being written out. That's all~)
Chapter 77: The Librarian's on My Side Too (10/10)
"So, Snape wants to protect the Sorcerer's Stone, and Quirrell's the one with something to hide, right~"
After discussing things with Harry, Hermione had cleared up her two earlier questions.
But immediately afterward, a distinctly unconvinced look appeared on her face.
"I still can't figure out what I lost to you in!" Hermione pouted indignantly. "I barely saw you investigating this at all. You even spent a long time holed up in the Room of Requirement. How did you figure out Quirrell was suspicious before I did?"
For competitive Hermione, investigating the Sorcerer's Stone was a rare contest between her and Harry before their final exams. Even if she'd lost, she needed to know exactly how!
"Because Quirrell's only a pawn. Someone else is the one who really wants the Sorcerer's Stone!" Harry quietly covered the scar on his forehead. "You know, this spot's been hurting a lot lately..."
"Th-then... could it be?!" Hermione froze, then instantly became flustered. "No! We have to tell the professors right away, and Headmaster Dumbledore! That Vol—"
"Hermione, calm down first!!" Harry hurriedly caught the little witch's restless hands.
Her hands were ice-cold. She was clearly terrified and worried out of her mind.
"This is far too serious. If it gets out, it could cause panic throughout the entire Wizarding World! Besides, do you remember what happened with Dobby?" Harry looked Hermione in the eyes. "Until we have solid evidence, the Headmaster and the professors won't believe us. So for now, we can only lie low and gather as much evidence as possible... Uh, why are you looking at me like that?"
As he patiently comforted her, Harry suddenly realized that Hermione was staring at him strangely.
"I thought... you'd go back to keeping everything from me like before and try to leave me out of it." Hermione's nostrils flared ever so slightly. "At least you've got a little conscience this time~"
"Of course I don't want you involved, but... I know you wouldn't listen to me." Harry gave a wry smile, but his gaze gradually grew firm. "Besides, I think you're safest when you're with me!!"
The situation was clear now. Quirrell would fall into the trap because the Sorcerer's Stone didn't exist, and in Dumbledore's script, Harry and Voldemort were bound to fight!
Hermione had stood by him to the very end in the original story. Now that they were family, she'd be even less willing to let him face danger alone. So he might as well tell her who their real enemy was and give her time to prepare.
As for keeping Hermione from going to the other professors, it was because even if they did, it wouldn't help.
Dumbledore would certainly put restrictions on the professors, so in the end, probably only Severus Snape would step forward to help.
But then Dumbledore would find out that Harry was secretly trying to win Snape over, and that would only cause complications.
In short, since the situation couldn't be changed, they might as well go along with it. As long as Hermione and Harry stayed safe, they could take as much advantage as possible of this "test" and build up their strength!
"Harry... We'll get through this, right? We'll both be okay... right?" Hermione, still full of worry, rested her head on Harry's shoulder and softly murmured his name.
"Yeah, we will! We'll be fine, no matter what—this time and in the future!!"
Holding the girl's hand tightly, Harry spoke with a certainty he'd never felt before!!
After they'd opened up to each other, Harry and Hermione's lives had outwardly returned to normal. Every day, they went between the classroom, the dining hall, the library, and their dormitory.
But in truth, they'd secretly turned the Room of Requirement into a training ground and started working on improving their abilities in a focused way.
Harry casually mentioned to Snape that his scar hurt so much it was interfering with his Potions brewing, and sure enough, after Snape glowered and snapped, "What's that got to do with me?"...
He secretly began giving Harry extra lessons.
Spells like Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Diffindo, and Levicorpus, along with all sorts of Potions recipes and ingredients—Snape dumped them all on Harry without caring whether he could keep up.
Mm, Snape's actions were always more honest than his words~
Time flew by. The spring term and Easter holiday soon passed, and the Hogwarts students entered their final exam period. Harry and Hermione were just as busy.
One afternoon, however, they had a rare encounter in the library with Hagrid, who was almost never seen there.
"Hagrid, are you here to borrow a book too? What are you borrowing?"
Harry had only asked out of curiosity, but to his surprise, Hagrid started acting strangely evasive.
"N-nothing! Oh, just a few books for a bit of light reading. I've got something else to do, so I'd better be off~"
With that, Hagrid hurried away.
"What's he so nervous about?" Hermione asked, puzzled, watching Hagrid's retreating figure. "It's not as if we'd ask him how to get past the Three-headed Dog."
"Well, we can just ask and find out~"
Harry smiled mysteriously and led Hermione into Madam Pince's office.
"You're asking about Hagrid? Hmm... ordinarily, I wouldn't reveal that, but I'll make an exception this time. Take a look at the records yourself. Hagrid borrowed several books for light reading, all about Dragons."
The Hogwarts librarian, Madam Irma Pince, was a strict and very proper witch.
She was a thin, elderly woman with a dreadful temper who was always shouting at the students. In Hermione's eyes, she often seemed like a malnourished, mean-spirited vulture.
But today, Hermione noticed that Madam Pince was quite friendly toward Harry. Not only was she pleasant and amiable, she even let him look through the library's borrowing records as he pleased!
"I see. Madam Pince, thank you so much!" Harry said with a smile as he returned the records. "By the way, you've gotten even prettier lately~"
"You cheeky brat, what are you talking about? If you're done, get out of here. Stop wasting my time~"
"Sure thing!"
Hermione: w(?Д?)w
Watching Harry and Madam Pince interact in perfect harmony, Hermione began questioning her whole life.
"Wait... what's going on here?" Hermione asked, her little face blank with confusion. "Why are you so close to Madam Pince?"
"Hehe, you wouldn't understand~" Harry grinned and winked at Hermione. "Madam Pince and I aren't particularly close, but my roommate is. That's why she's willing to do me special favors."
"Your roommate... you mean Mr. Filch?"
An unexpected bit of gossip nearly made Hermione bite her tongue~
(p.s. For the relationship between Filch and Madam Pince... go read Half-Blood Prince. Also, here's the second batch of ten updates for today. Thanks so much for all your support. Starting tomorrow, we'll go back to two updates a day. Unless something goes wrong, there won't be any missed or interrupted updates. Stick around and see how Sanmiao behaves now that he's joined this site. That's all~)
Chapter 78: Hagrid Was Deliberately Given the Dragon Egg
For Hermione, Argus Filch and Irma Pince were two people who seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with each other...
Well, okay, they did have a little in common.
After all, they were both thin, both hated students, and both worked as caretakers.
So... were they secretly having an affair?
"Of course they are!" Harry said as if it were obvious. "Otherwise, who do you think Mr. Filch wears that new coat I gave him for?~"
Many principles of social interaction were universal, whether in Eastern or Western society.
Before coming to Britain, Harry had often seen claims online in the Great Celestial Empire like "Western society isn't based on personal connections" and "Westerners follow rules, so knowing someone won't make much difference." A lot of those claims were actually pretty one-sided.
It was only after he'd really come to Britain that Harry learned Western society also depended on cultivating a network of connections, and that having more friends really did make things easier.
As for the idea that knowing someone wouldn't help much, that was often true—but sometimes it was because you and your so-called acquaintance weren't close enough~
"Hmph... So you and Madam Pince had already gotten close a long time ago, is that it?" Suddenly, Hermione's tone and expression turned strangely dark.
"Yep~" Harry, still unaware of the disaster about to befall him, continued to show off.
"So... you also knew from the start that if I told Madam Pince I was looking for clues about Nicolas Flamel, she'd help me find the books herself?!"
"Uh, y-yes~" Harry began to sense something was wrong, and a few beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
"So you little brat knew all along and still didn't tell me?! You made me look through books in the library until I thought I'd throw up!!"
The Little Lion had already blown her top, pouncing on Harry with claws bared and yelling as she hit him~
"Dragon breeding... What do you think Hagrid borrowed those books for?" After they'd messed around for a while, Hermione straightened her clothes and asked, completely baffled.
Before you continue