A Little Game of Trials (I)

"I thought Hogwarts exams would be terrifying. Turns out, they were pretty fun."

"Weasley, the Potions exam must have given you a hard time!"

"Shut up, Malfoy! At least I'll get an E!"

The five of them walked out of the classroom after finishing their final exam, with Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy still bickering nonstop.

That was right—Malfoy had wormed his way into their group. The original Golden Trio had now become a five-person points-losing squad.

Of course, Draco was there because of Eli. Ever since their adventure in the Forbidden Forest and the later battle at the Dueling Club, he had become Eli's biggest fan.

He pestered Eli all day to teach him magic.

After all, they had petted a dragon and faced danger together. Draco's relationship with the trio had improved considerably.

At least they were no longer as openly hostile as before, though they still enjoyed taking shots at one another whenever they could.

Especially Draco and Ron. Those two just could not stand the sight of each other.

In any case, Eli had influenced them all greatly.

Ron was no longer a complete academic failure. He had been promoted to merely struggling.

Harry had become obsessed with dueling, finally putting his natural talent to use.

Hermione had also been influenced by Eli. She joined the Dueling Club and turned the knowledge from her books into practical combat experience.

And Draco had finally dropped his favorite line: "I'm telling my father."

"I wonder how the Philosopher's Stone is doing. Has it been properly protected?"

Harry still could not stop thinking about the Philosopher's Stone.

"The Philosopher's Stone? You still haven't explained it to me."

Draco looked completely baffled again. He had wanted to ask ever since hearing about it in Hagrid's hut, but he had held it in until now.

Seeing that the poor fool's curiosity was about to explode, Eli patiently explained it to him.

After a long explanation, Draco touched his slicked-back hair in shock.

"Snape wants to steal a stone protected by Dumbledore?"

The words I don't believe it were practically written across his face.

"You may not know this, but Snape has plenty of assets. He has connections with many families. He would never steal the Philosopher's Stone for gold!"

As a member of the Malfoy family, Draco did know something about such matters.

"But the evidence is right there! There's no way to clear him of suspicion!"

Ron immediately clashed with Draco again.

Harry separated the two, who were practically nose to nose. "Draco, Snape isn't doing it for gold!"

"Then what is he doing it for?"

Harry lowered his voice, afraid that someone passing by might hear. "It's for Voldemort. He's working for Voldemort!"

Harry said that name without the slightest hesitation. Draco's face immediately went pale, and Ron looked deeply uncomfortable as well.

Only Eli and Hermione showed no reaction.

Eli knew he would have to face old Voldemort sooner or later. Besides, Voldemort had not been resurrected yet, so saying his name did not matter.

As for Hermione, she was Muggle-born and had never witnessed Voldemort's terror.

"You shouldn't say that name," Draco quickly stopped Harry.

"Why?"

Draco lowered his voice even further. "There were rumors that You-Know-Who put a spell on his own name, allowing him to pinpoint the location of anyone who called it!"

"But isn't he..."

Hermione had never heard of such a bizarre spell and found it hard to believe.

"No. He isn't dead."

Harry's words drew everyone's attention.

He touched the scar on his forehead. "The shadowy figure we encountered that day was him! He gave me this scar. When I met him that day, it hurt terribly."

Eli knew Harry was completely right. Voldemort was currently hiding on the back of Quirrell's head.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. As members of pure-blood families, Draco and Ron had naturally heard of that man's terror.

"But he's fallen so low that he has to rely on Unicorn blood just to stay alive. There's nothing to be afraid of! He wants to use the Philosopher's Stone to regain his power. If he succeeds, the nightmare will become reality!"

Eli broke the heavy silence, and Harry and Ron became especially fired up.

"Right! We have to stop him!"

The group left the castle. Hagrid's hut stood not far away, and Hagrid was sitting outside the door, playing music.

Harry froze. A sudden flash of insight made everything click, and he hurried toward Hagrid.

"Harry, where are you going?"

"No wonder! Don't you find it strange? Hagrid wanted a dragon, and then he just happened to meet someone carrying a dragon egg. What kind of person walks around with a dragon egg in their pocket?"

A look of realization crossed Hermione's face, while Ron and Draco remained confused.

Eli was a little excited. It's coming, it's coming—the little game of trials is coming!

No, how can I be as reckless as those little lions? I need to stay calm. Hehe...

"Hagrid, do you remember what the person who gave you the dragon egg looked like?"

The group was slightly out of breath.

Hagrid looked in surprise at the children who had suddenly run over. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "He was wearing black robes. I couldn't see his face."

Their expressions changed. Black robes? Wasn't that suspicious?

No one wearing black robes was ever up to any good!

"Did he say anything to you?"

"Oh, of course. He asked what animals I'd raised before, and I told him all sorts of things."

Hagrid looked a little proud.

"Was he especially interested in Fluffy?"

"Yes, he did ask a few questions about Fluffy. I told him that the trick to dealing with animals was knowing how to calm them down. Take Fluffy, for example—give him a little music, and he falls asleep right away!"

Hagrid's expression was especially gentle when he mentioned Fluffy. Then his face suddenly changed. Oh no, he had let something slip again.

The five of them turned and ran toward the castle.

Hagrid muttered, "I shouldn't have told you that."

Professor McGonagall was still in the classroom grading some assignments when several young Wizards suddenly burst in.

"Professor, we need to see Professor Dumbledore. Now!"

Before he had even steadied himself, Harry shouted.

Professor McGonagall jumped in fright and looked at them with displeasure. Why were these troublesome children here again?

"Professor Dumbledore received a letter from the Ministry of Magic and rushed to London. What exactly is this about?"

The group exchanged glances.

"Someone is going to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"

Professor McGonagall's expression changed immediately. "How do you know about the Philosopher's Stone? But regardless of how you found out, it is very well protected. You students should return to your dormitories at once. This is none of your concern!"

They were thrown out looking thoroughly dejected.

How could Dumbledore have been called to the Ministry of Magic at exactly this time?

Something was wrong! The young Wizards realized it too.

"We're going to the trapdoor tonight. Tonight!"

Harry declared firmly, Gryffindor courage shining through in full force.

Draco looked incredulous. "Tonight? You mean we're going to face... that man ourselves?"

"Malfoy, are you scared?"

Ron seized the chance to jab at him.

Draco immediately got angry. He could lose to anyone, but not to this guy.

He puffed out his chest.

"Fine, let's go! Who's scared?"