Exchanging Secrets with Harry and His Friends

Lying in the hospital bed, Breeze felt the contract inside him grow stronger. This was good. Quirrell now owed Breeze a life.

Quirrell had wanted to kill Breeze because he was no longer useful.

In Quirrell's—or rather, the thing on Quirrell's head's—view, Breeze had returned the notebook because he was cowardly and timid. This infuriated the one who had placed such high hopes on him. The price of that anger was Breeze's death, along with the contract that had yet to take effect.

Unfortunately, Breeze hadn't died, but Quirrell had genuinely hurt him. What could Quirrell pay for a life? The contract acted directly on the soul. Now, just thinking about hurting Breeze gave him a splitting headache as the contract tormented him.

"Ah! Damn it!"

Quirrell huddled miserably in his office, terrified. The person in his mind was going mad, and as his servant, he could only let him vent.

Until he finally calmed down.

"Quirrell, I need Unicorn blood. More blood. It's the only way to offset the damage caused by the contract. As long as I get the Sorcerer's Stone, I can be resurrected, and the contract will disappear. Then you'll become my most loyal servant and get everything you want..."

Quirrell trembled and swallowed, a crazed look flashing in his eyes. His life had been far too mediocre, and he was an out-and-out Ravenclaw—a Ravenclaw willing to fall into hell for his ideals.

"Master, I'll capture more Unicorns for you. I've already contacted the Werewolves outside. They'll use the Werewolves who've turned traitor in the Forbidden Forest to find where the Unicorns live..."

"I'm so glad you're all right."

Breeze was discharged without telling anyone. Everyone only noticed when he walked over to the Slytherin table.

"It wasn't a life-threatening injury, Cedric. Thanks for the cookies you sent."

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

Of course, Slytherin had sent some too. Breeze had accepted them without fuss.

Now he needed to go to Snape and get his wand back!

"Come in."

Breeze strolled into Snape's office. Snape looked up, seemingly troubled by what had happened—or perhaps wondering how to face Breeze now.

"As your Head of House, I believe I should apologize."

Snape racked his brains for a moment.

"But you were at fault too, weren't you? If you hadn't gone to the off-limits area on the fourth floor, I wouldn't have confiscated your wand... However, as part of my apology, I won't take points from you, make you deal with the slugs, or tell anyone about this—as long as you obediently stay away from there."

Snape spoke in his oily drawl, trying to ease his own embarrassment. Without waiting for Breeze to agree, he picked up a potion bottle he'd prepared on his desk.

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

Snape tossed it to Breeze impatiently. Breeze's eyes flickered, and he smiled faintly as he caught the Felix Felicis.

"I don't think this was the Head of House's fault. You were worried about me, after all." Though Breeze said this, he still held a grudge.

"Stop smiling that fake smile."

Snape picked up Breeze's wand and cast Priori Incantatem on it with his own. The charm replayed the spells Breeze had used recently, one by one.

Seeing how often Breeze had used the Disillusionment Charm and Desillusionment Charm, Snape raised an eyebrow but said nothing. In Slytherin, as long as you weren't caught in the act, it didn't count as breaking the rules.

"Take it." Snape handed Breeze his wand.

"You've been fairly obedient. You didn't lie to me and learn anything from that notebook."

Snape had worried that Breeze might have learned Dark Magic from Quirrell's notebook, which was why he'd acted as he had. He'd temporarily confiscated Breeze's wand that day because he was busy keeping order, and that had led to the crisis.

Breeze took the Felix Felicis. His wand transformed back into a bracelet around his wrist. The cool feel of the Mithril put him more at ease. He could still use some spells quite well without a wand, but he could never reach his full potential.

Since Snape had sincerely apologized, I'll let it go for now.

Breeze was a practical sort, though it depended on how much he'd been given and how serious the offense was.

"Professor Quirrell, where's my apology gift? If you don't have one, I'll give you one."

Breeze left Snape's office and headed straight upstairs. He planned to find Dumbledore. He'd passed along so much information, but Dumbledore had ignored it all. He hadn't even dealt with Quirrell's obvious oddness, and this time Quirrell had nearly killed him.

Quirrell was still sitting safely in his office. Even Quirrell himself must have found Dumbledore's conspicuous silence strange. What was Dumbledore trying to do?

"Oh my gosh, Hagrid owns that Three-headed Dog, and he knows what's being kept inside. But who exactly is Nicolas Flamel?"

Passing the library, Breeze saw Hermione, Harry, and Ron coming out with books they'd borrowed. Ron grumbled irritably. He'd revealed their secret to the world without a hint of caution. What a careless Little Lion.

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

What was he so angry about?

"Sorry, but you were the one who blurted it out. Hogwarts isn't your home, and you can't expect me to avoid this corridor."

Breeze smiled faintly, while Hermione said happily, "Breeze, I'm so glad you're all right. You scared me so much that day, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let us visit you. I didn't expect you to leave the Hospital Wing without a word."

Hermione handed the books to Harry, then pulled the awkward Breeze closer and examined him.

"I don't think you're going to pull my robes off in public."

Hermione blushed and let go.

"Sorry, I was just worried..."

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

Behind Hermione, Harry watched the friendship between her and Breeze helplessly. Ron, standing to the side, huffed in annoyance. He was unfriendly toward all Slytherins, even Breeze Order, who had an excellent reputation. He'd always believed Breeze was putting on an act and had fooled everyone—even the professors.

But Hermione was already friends with him and Harry. The Troll incident had brought them together, though Hermione had other friends too, some of whom she'd known longer.

Whenever Ron said something bad about Breeze, Hermione got angry.

Harry tugged at Ron, urging him not to lose his temper. He took some of the books from Harry, then heard Harry whisper, "He heard all that, didn't he?"

"P-probably. Why else would this Slytherin be here..." Ron sighed, but he still couldn't resist complaining.

"I just hope Hermione's Slytherin friend doesn't go tell on us like Malfoy would."

Hermione heard Ron and finally realized what was going on.

"Um, if you're talking about the Sorcerer's Stone being hidden in the off-limits area on the fourth floor, I think I know a little about that too."

"What?"

Hermione and Harry stared at Breeze, eyes wide. Ron's lips trembled as he said, "I never said anything about the Sorcerer's Stone. How do you know?"

Breeze's dark eyes narrowed. He looked at Harry, the Savior, and, considering what had happened recently, formed a theory. But he still needed to confirm it.

"I think we should talk somewhere private."

After glancing around, Hermione and the others nodded and followed Breeze to a secluded corner.

"I once overheard Quirrell talking about the Sorcerer's Stone. Snape knows about it too. Remember the Quidditch match? I got caught by Snape because I wanted to investigate the off-limits area, and he took my wand..."

At this, Hermione couldn't help interrupting. "You used Wandless Magic back then."

"I looked it up. It's an extremely advanced spellcasting technique that requires talent and hard work. Not many people can do it."

As she spoke, Hermione's face fell. She'd tried it too, but nothing had happened. It might mean Breeze had more talent than she did, and that left her feeling powerless.

"Yeah, maybe I did it because I was panicking. When you were little, you showed signs of magic without using a wand too. I was terrified when I saw the broom flying toward me. And the spell I managed was very weak. Without a wand, I can't draw on all the magic inside me."

Breeze offered Hermione a little comfort, but didn't say he'd teach her Wandless Magic or anything like that. Hermione hadn't even learned all the spells yet. She shouldn't reach too far beyond her abilities; that would only burden and hurt her.

"I think you can tell me what you suspect too..."

Back to the point, Harry and Ron looked uneasy at Breeze's words. But Breeze had already told them what he knew about the Sorcerer's Stone.

Hermione didn't have the same reservations. She believed she knew what Breeze was like.

"Hagrid let it slip. On the afternoon Harry went to Diagon Alley, there was a break-in at Gringotts. The thief was trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, which was being kept there at the time. But Hagrid had already brought it back to Hogwarts."

"On the day Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel, Malfoy brought Filch along, and we accidentally ended up in a room in the off-limits area on the fourth floor. We saw the Three-headed Dog... Hagrid said Fluffy was his pet. That's so dangerous."

When she mentioned the Three-headed Dog and Hagrid, Hermione looked angry. She couldn't persuade the giant to stop keeping dangerous Fantastic Beasts, and it put young wizards at risk!

"Hermione..." Ron tried to stop her from revealing the secret, but Harry shook his head at him.

"Ron, Order has told us his secret too."

"All right. Looks like he's fooled you too." Ron stopped talking, fuming. Both his friends had betrayed him. What could he do about it?

Hermione glanced at Ron and continued, "A while ago, Snape was limping. Fluffy bit him. We think he's trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone."

At the mention of Snape, Hermione glanced at Breeze's strange expression and fell silent.

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Dahua still isn't short.