Cunning Dumbledore

Hospital Wing.

After commanding the Basilisk to fall back into slumber, Kyle arrived here as quickly as possible.

Harry was sleeping peacefully on one of the hospital beds, while Dumbledore was talking to Madam Pomfrey beside him.

Madam Pomfrey looked somewhat unhappy.

"Last year it was a dark wizard, this year it's Death Eaters, so what will our Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts be next year... You-Know-Who?"

Madam Pomfrey glanced sideways at Dumbledore. "If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised at all."

Dumbledore simply smiled, offering neither rebuttal nor explanation.

Whether it's Oren or Quirrell, he was the one who brought them in, so he does bear a lot of responsibility; he can't escape the blame.

Fortunately, Kyle came in at that moment.

"Oh, you've come at the right time, Kyle, we were just talking about you..."

Dumbledore quickly ended his conversation with Madam Pomfrey and walked toward Kyle, but a second later, he was pushed aside by Madam Pomfrey.

"You should have come to the Hospital Wing right away!" Madam Pomfrey glared angrily at Kyle.

At this moment, she looked more like a villain than Voldemort.

Kyle looked pleadingly at Dumbledore, hoping he could help him out of this predicament.

But their headmaster suddenly became interested in the Potions bottle next to him, looking down at it intently without glancing in their direction at all.

Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey didn't say anything more.

"Alright, don't move!" She took out her wand and waved it twice in front of Kyle.

The tip of the wand emitted a soft white light, which eventually formed a cloud-like substance that enveloped Kyle.

Madam Pomfrey stared at the "clouds" for a long while before letting out a slight sigh of relief.

"Very good, no signs of Dark Magic."

"You should really feel lucky..." Madam Pomfrey said sternly, "When Harry Potter was sent here, he couldn't even utter a complete sentence."

She took out a bottle of Potions and then shooed Kyle to the sickbed.

"Um... Poppy, may I say a few words to him?" Dumbledore, "Just a few words, it won't take up much time."

"Even so, Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey frowned, "The child has just been through Fiendfyre ...he needs rest."

Dumbledore nodded and did not insist further.

After drinking the Potions, Kyle felt a wave of dizziness and quickly fell asleep.

When he woke up again, it was the next morning.

Kyle was woken up by the noise.

He heard Madam Pomfrey roaring angrily, seemingly trying to drive Fred and George away.

Good morning, Kyle.

Kyle opened his eyes and saw Dumbledore smiling beside his hospital bed.

He felt this scene looked somewhat familiar.

Oh right, it was the same last year... and around the same time.

"Good morning, Professor." Kyle sat up and asked, "How is Harry Potter?"

"I'm glad you asked," Dumbledore said. "He's fine, he should wake up around noon... Would you like something to eat? There were some fried pork chops in the kitchen this morning."

"No, I don't have much of an appetite." Kyle shook his head.

"That's such a shame, the fried pork cutlet was absolutely delicious today."

Kyle thought Dumbledore would ask him why he went to the restricted area, but he didn't. After a brief chat, Dumbledore simply said calmly, "By the way, remember to return Fluffy to Hagrid later. He was really worried about him last night."

That's strange... why did I think Quirrell hid it yesterday?

It wasn't until an hour later that I realized he wouldn't have needed to do that if he just wanted to get through the Trapdoor. And hiding such a large Three-headed Dog wouldn't be an easy task."

"Unless, there's some kind of magical item... like a box or a bag or something."

"Uh..." Kyle was a little embarrassed.

In fact, the small Felix Felicis he drank only lasted for about an hour.

"I'm sorry, Professor."

"It's alright, Kyle. I didn't mean to blame you. In fact, even if you hadn't taken Fluffy, Quirrell would have had other ways to get through the Trapdoor."

Kyle nodded; he had already guessed Dumbledore's purpose.

Subconsciously, Kyle glanced around.

The room contained only him, Dumbledore, and Harry, who was fast asleep.

But Madam Pomfrey he most wanted to see, wasn't here. How he missed her... how she chased people away yesterday.

Kyle started changing the subject, from Quidditch to exams, and then to the final House Cup...

Dumbledore patiently chatted with him about this and that, and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself.

But what was bound to happen eventually did. Just as Kyle finished talking about the House Cup and was about to move on to the next topic, Dumbledore spoke first, "Speaking of the House Cup... I suddenly remembered, Kyle, did you see a bright red stone yesterday?"

"So what does the House Cup have to do with the Philosopher's Stone... This topic shift was too abrupt," Kyle thought to himself.

But when Dumbledore asked, he nodded and said, "I saw it. Harry Potter was carrying it, but then it fell into the Fiendfyre."

"Yes, Harry said the same thing," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "But what's interesting is that the Philosopher's Stone is a very magical stone; even Fiendfyre has a hard time burning it."

I went back to check later, and there wasn't a trace left... That's impossible."

"Have you looked carefully?" Kyle said softly, "Maybe it rolled into another room..."

"I searched very carefully," Dumbledore smile. "It seems you already know that the Philosopher's Stone is hidden there."

"Um... I heard it from Harry Potter."

Kyle said, "During breakfast one day, he and Ron were discussing how to stop Professor Snape from stealing the Philosopher's Stone from the Forbidden Zone."

Kyle wasn't exactly lying, because he had indeed heard Harry and Ron mention the word "Philosopher's Stone" more than once.

Sometimes it was in the Great Hall, sometimes in the corridor; when they were "conspiring loudly," they didn't even notice if anyone else was around.

Most people just thought they were talking nonsense and didn't take it seriously.

"It seems they've gotten quite a bit of information from Hagrid," Dumbledore a smile and a shake of his head.

He looked at Kyle again. "So you don't know where the Philosopher's Stone is either?"

Kyle didn't say anything.

"So it seems... the Philosopher's Stone was taken by that Niffler."

"I examined the image reflected in the Mirror of Erised yesterday..." Dumbledore blinked. "Perhaps I can ask Newt; he should be able to recognize the Niffler."