Exchanging Secrets with Harry and the Trio

Lying in the hospital bed, Brie felt the contract within his body tighten. This was good; Quirrell now owed Brie a life.

Quirrell had wanted to kill Brie because Brie had lost his utility.

In the mind of Quirrell—or rather, the thing attached to the back of Quirrell's head—a Brie who returned the notebook was cowardly and timid. This infuriated the one who had placed such high expectations on him, and the price for that anger was Brie's death, along with the contract that had yet to be put to use.

It was a pity that Brie was still alive, but the harm inflicted upon him was real. As for the price of a life, how was he to repay it? This was a contract that acted directly upon the soul; now, whenever he even thought of harming Brie, he would be tormented by a splitting headache.

"Ah! Damn it!"

Quirrell cowered in his office, terrified. The person in his mind was raving, and as a servant, he could only endure the constant venting.

Until he finally calmed down.

"Quirrell, I need unicorn blood—more blood—to offset the damage caused by the contract. Once I obtain the Sorcerer's Stone, I shall be resurrected, the contract will be erased, and you will become my most loyal servant, gaining everything you desire..."

Quirrell trembled, swallowing hard, a look of madness flashing in his eyes. His life had been far too mediocre, and he was a Ravenclaw through and through—a Ravenclaw willing to fall into the abyss for his own ideals.

"Master, I will capture more unicorns for you. I have already contacted the werewolves outside; they will use the defecting werewolves in the Forbidden Forest to track down the unicorns' habitat..."

"It's so good to see you're alright."

Brie was successfully discharged. He hadn't told anyone, and it wasn't until he walked to the Slytherin table that the crowd noticed him.

"It wasn't a fatal wound, Cedric. Thank you for the cookies you sent."

For the past few days, the entrance to the Hospital Wing had been piled with snacks sent by the younger students who liked Brie, as well as his friends.

Of course, Slytherin house had sent some as well, and Brie accepted them without hesitation.

Now, Brie needed to find Snape to get his wand back!

"Enter."

Brie strolled into Snape's office. Snape looked up, seemingly troubled by the events of that day, or perhaps wondering how to face Brie now.

"I believe that as your Head of House, I should express my apologies."

Snape searched his mind for the right words.

"But you were also at fault, were you not? Had you not gone to the forbidden area on the fourth floor, I would not have confiscated your wand... However, as a gesture of compensation, I will not deduct points, I will not assign you to scrub flobberworms, and I will not tell anyone about this incident, provided you listen and stay away from there."

Snape spoke in his oily, drawling tone to shake off his awkwardness. As he spoke, he picked up a prepared potion from his desk without waiting for Brie's agreement.

"Felix Felicis. This bottle is worth several hundred Galleons; it is additional compensation."

Snape tossed it to Brie impatiently. Brie's eyes flashed, he pursed his lips in a smile, and caught the Felix Felicis.

"I don't think this is the Head of House's fault; you were only worried about me." Although Brie said this, he still harbored a grudge deep down.

"Put away that fake smile."

Snape picked up Brie's wand and cast Priori Incantatem on it. Through the spell, the charms Brie had recently used were traced back one by one.

Seeing the Disillusionment Charm and the Desillusionment Charm used frequently, Snape raised an eyebrow but said nothing. In Slytherin, as long as you weren't caught in the act, it wasn't considered a violation.

"Take it." Snape handed the wand to Brie.

"You were obedient enough not to deceive me by learning the contents of that notebook."

Snape had been worried that Brie might have learned Dark Magic from Quirrell's notebook, which was why he had acted that way. He had confiscated the wand temporarily to maintain order, which had ultimately led to the crisis.

Brie took the Felix Felicis, and his wand transformed back into a bracelet around his wrist. The cold touch of the Mithril brought Brie a sense of relief; although he could use some spells well enough without a wand, he could never reach his full potential.

Considering Snape apologized sincerely, I'll hold off on holding a grudge for now.

Brie was a very pragmatic person, though that depended on the benefits provided and the severity of the incident.

Professor Quirrell, where is your apology gift? If you don't have one, I'll send you one myself.

Brie walked out of Snape's office and headed straight upstairs. He intended to find Dumbledore. He had clearly passed on a great deal of information to Dumbledore before, yet the man had turned a blind eye, failing to deal with Quirrell's obvious abnormalities, and this time, he had nearly been killed.

Even now, Quirrell remained safely in his office. Surely even Quirrell himself must find such an unusually quiet attitude strange? What exactly was Dumbledore planning?

"Oh, god, Hagrid is actually the owner of that three-headed dog, and he knows what's hidden inside! But who on earth is Nicolas Flamel?"

Passing by the library, Hermione, Harry, and Ron emerged carrying borrowed books. Ron muttered irritably, revealing their secret without a shred of caution—what a careless Little Lion.

"It's a Slytherin!" Ron reacted, his eyes widening as he glared at Brie.

What was this guy so angry about?

"Apologies, but I believe that was your own loose tongue. Hogwarts isn't your home; you can't demand that I don't walk this path."

Brie smiled faintly, while Hermione, standing to the side, said happily, "Brie, I'm so glad you're okay. You scared me to death that day, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let us in to see you. I didn't expect you to leave the wing without a word."

Hermione handed her books to Harry to hold, then reached out to check on the awkward Brie.

"I don't think you want to lift my robes in public."

Hermione blushed and pulled her hand back.

"Sorry, I was just worried..."

"I understand, but it's fine now. You can trust Madam Pomfrey's medical skills."

Behind Hermione, Harry watched their friendship with a helpless expression, while Ron snorted in a huff. He was unfriendly toward all Slytherins, even the well-regarded Breeze Order. He had always believed Brie's behavior was a facade, that he had fooled everyone—even the professors hadn't noticed.

However, Hermione was already a friend to him and Harry, a bond forged by the troll incident, though she had other friends as well—some even from before she met them.

Whenever he spoke ill of Breeze, Hermione would become angry.

Harry tugged on Ron, urging him to hold his temper, and took some of the books from Harry's hands, whispering, "He heard everything just now, didn't he?"

"P-possibly, but who told this Slytherin to be standing right there..." Ron sighed, though his words remained unforgiving.

"I just hope this Slytherin friend of Hermione's doesn't go snitching like Malfoy."

Hermione, having overheard Ron, finally realized what was happening.

"Well, if you're talking about the Sorcerer's Stone hidden in the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor, I think I know a little something about that too."

"What?"

Hermione and Harry widened their eyes at Breeze's words, while Ron stammered, "I never mentioned the Sorcerer's Stone. How did you know about it?"

Breeze's pitch-black eyes darkened. He looked at the Savior, Harry, and combined with recent events, a theory formed in his mind, though he still needed to verify it.

"I think we should go to a corner to talk."

Glancing around, the three of them nodded and followed Breeze to a secluded spot.

"I once heard Quirrell mention the Sorcerer's Stone. And, well, Snape knows about it too. Remember the day of the Quidditch match? I was caught by Snape because I was trying to investigate the restricted area, and he confiscated my wand..."

At the mention of this, Hermione couldn't help but interject, "You performed wandless magic at the time."

"I looked it up; it's a very advanced spellcasting technique that requires both talent and hard work. Not many people can do it."

As she said this, a look of disappointment crossed Hermione's face. She had tried it herself, but there was absolutely no reaction. This likely proved that Breeze's talent surpassed her own, which left her feeling helpless.

"Well, perhaps it was out of desperation. You didn't use wands when you first displayed magic as children, either. I was terrified when I saw the broomstick flying toward me, and the power of the spell I used was very weak. Without a wand, I cannot channel all the magic within my body."

Breeze offered a brief word of comfort to Hermione, but he didn't offer to teach her wandless magic. Hermione hadn't even mastered all the basic spells yet; it was better not to aim too high, as it would only be a burden and a source of harm for her.

"I think you can share your own theories now..."

Returning to the topic, Harry and Ron, standing beside Hermione, looked hesitant, but Breeze had already shared what he knew about the Sorcerer's Stone.

Hermione, however, didn't have such reservations; she believed she understood Breeze's character.

"It was Hagrid who let it slip. On the afternoon Harry went to Diagon Alley, there was a robbery at Gringotts. The thief was trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone that had been kept there, but the stone had already been brought back to Hogwarts by Hagrid."

"On the day Malfoy and Harry were supposed to duel, Malfoy lured Filch to us, and we accidentally ran into the room in the fourth-floor corridor and saw the Three-headed Dog... Hagrid says Fluffy is his pet, but it's clearly dangerous."

Speaking of the Three-headed Dog and Hagrid, Hermione looked annoyed. She couldn't convince the half-giant to stop keeping dangerous magical creatures; it was far too risky for young wizards!

"Hermione..." Ron tried to interrupt her spilling of secrets, but Harry shook his head at him.

"Ron, Order has shared his secrets with us too."

"Fine, it seems you've been fooled by him as well." Ron huffed and stopped talking; his two friends had betrayed his trust, and what else could he do?

Hermione glanced at Ron and continued, "A while ago, Snape was limping; that was from Fluffy's bite. We believe he is trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone."

At the mention of Snape, Hermione glanced at Breeze, whose expression was strange, and brought her story to an end.

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