A Dead End for the Group
After learning about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone from Will, Harry and his friends fell into a state of anxiety. Convinced that Snape was going to steal the stone and offer it to Voldemort, they were trying to think of a countermeasure.
"If you ask me, we should go and protect the Philosopher's Stone," Ron said after a moment of thought. "Or we should get our hands on the stone ourselves. That's the only way it'll be easy to protect."
Harry nodded with deep conviction. "Ron's right. We should get our hands on the stone."
"Are you out of your minds?" Hermione said, her face full of disbelief.
"Harry defeated You-Know-Who, remember? Maybe letting Harry hold that stone is the safest bet after all." Ron's gaze darted around a little.
"That's not what I mean," Hermione glared at Ron. "How are you going to get past that trapdoor guarded by the big dog? It could swallow the two of you in one bite each, and there's another head watching the others to figure out if it needs a second helping!"
"Harry, it's too dangerous. You're walking to your deaths. There's no way you can get down beneath the trapdoor," Neville also tried to dissuade them, though his words sounded a bit harsh.
"Don't talk nonsense, Neville. We'll figure out a way," Ron muttered. "Anyway, we have to get the stone before Snape does."
"We could go and ask Hagrid how to subdue that big dog." No sooner had Harry raised the idea than Ron shot it down.
"Harry, Hagrid didn't look like he was just ordinarily angry, and I don't think he'd tell us how to deal with that big dog. He's not even willing to believe Snape would hurt you."
"I mean we can wait until he cools down and then go ask him. Hagrid lets a lot of things slip when he's happy. Remember just now?" Harry's words made the others realize that Hagrid was not good at keeping secrets.
"Maybe we could get Hagrid a Christmas present to make him happy."
"But what does Hagrid like?" Neville was not very familiar with Hagrid yet.
"He likes everything related to fantastic beasts the most," Harry said decisively. "We can get him some gifts related to fantastic beasts."
"I'll write a letter to Charlie and ask him to send me a bag of dragon scales." Ron thought of his second older brother, who was studying fire dragons in Romania, and wanted to ask him to get some scraps.
"Ron, dragon scales are very precious magic materials. Not only can they be used for alchemy, but they can also be made into potions or used as special materials. Besides, I read in books that staff members aren't allowed to casually take any products from fire dragons. Are you sure your brother will really mail you a bag?" Hermione offered a reminder, which gave Ron pause. He really did not know any of this; he only knew that Charlie was researching fire dragons.
"I can pay. I still have quite a few Galleons in my vault." Harry volunteered, the thing he cared about most right now being the prevention of Voldemort's return.
"Besides, I think we should tell Professor Dumbledore." Hermione put forward her own thought.
Neville stood beside Hermione. "I—I also think we should tell Professor Dumbledore. We can't compare to them ourselves."
"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Ron stared at Hermione in bewilderment. "Wouldn't that be the same as confessing to Professor Dumbledore that we entered the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor?"
Hermione looked at Ron and Harry, and said gravely, "Don't be silly. What if we can't stop Snape? He's an adult wizard and a professor at Hogwarts. You don't think you can deal with Snape, do you?
"We should tell Professor Dumbledore. Don't forget, he's the only person You-Know-Who is afraid of. If we want to stop You-Know-Who's plot, we should tell Professor Dumbledore."
Hermione stared at the three boys with a serious expression.
Standing outside the Headmaster's Office, Harry felt his throat go a little dry.
Would Professor Dumbledore deduct points from Gryffindor because he broke into that corridor? Would he believe his words? Would he believe Snape wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone?
He suddenly felt that having his friends send him here was simply a mistake, and he did not know the office password. What if Professor Dumbledore was not in his office today or didn't come back—would he have to wait a whole day?
Fortunately, a few minutes later, his doubts were dispelled.
Professor Dumbledore pushed the door open and came out, the eyes behind his half-moon glasses revealing a look of surprise. "Harry, what are you doing here?"
Harry swallowed. "Professor, I want to talk to you about the Philosopher's Stone."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and let Harry into the office.
An hour later, Harry emerged from the office. Facing his friends, Harry shared some news with them. "Professor Dumbledore said that Snape is 100 percent trustworthy. He couldn't possibly steal the Philosopher's Stone."
This left everyone at a loss, and Ron even began to doubt Dumbledore. "Is the professor too old...?"
Their investigation had run into a dead end.
As for Will, he did not get mixed up in these troublesome matters; day after day, he grinded his experience.
[You have used Charms multiple times. You are more proficient with a certain charm. Charms +1]
[You have acquired new Curse Studies knowledge. Curse Studies +1]
[You have acquired new Dark Magic knowledge. Dark Magic +1]
[You have acquired new Charms knowledge. Charms +1]
This past month had been quite peaceful for him. By the time Christmas arrived, he had finally gone up another two levels, raising Curse Studies to level 2 and Herbology to level 3. Most importantly, he had farmed a lot of Runes experience, having grinded Runes to [Runes LV2 (100/200)].
It wouldn't be long before Runes could also acquire a bonus ability.
[Potions LV3 (99/300)]
(LV2 Bonus Ability, Discerning Eye: You can more easily distinguish changes in the state of potions; LV3 Bonus Ability, Potion Proliferation: The yield of potions you brew increases by 5%)
[Curse Studies LV2 (79/200)]
(LV2 Bonus Ability, Curse Factor: Your resistance to curses increases by 10%)
Amidst a "peaceful and tranquil" atmosphere, Christmas was approaching, and the young wizards had already grown restless on account of the impending holiday.
One morning, while Will was eating breakfast, his owl flew into the Dining Room and dropped a letter for him, landing squarely on his fried egg.
Will opened the letter, which was stained with a little grease—this was the very first letter he had received at Hogwarts.
The first line made him raise an eyebrow in surprise.
Dear son:
I already know you went to Hogwarts to study...