The Vanishing Quirrell

Ron is a guy with a really weird thought process.

You could call him stupid, but he's a master chess player, knows all the slang and superstitions of the wizarding world. In fact, if he puts in a little effort, he can get good grades in any subject.

But most of the time, he looked like a Hufflepuff, the "good-for-nothing" Hagrid called him.

No, he's also a master at hyping himself up, making up stories, shirking responsibility, and shifting the topic.

It can only be said that his thought process is very strange. This time, even Ryan was confused for a moment, let alone Harry, who was next to him.

What kind of person would be terrified and then excited upon hearing that Voldemort might appear?

Death Eaters? Wrong!

Ron Weasley? Correct!

Fortunately, Ron is someone who can't hide his inner thoughts, and he quickly revealed his thought process.

"If it really is the You-Know-Who, and he really wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone, then I'll have an excuse. Everything is up to Dumbledore. We just need to go and see if the fourth floor is the same as before. There won't be any danger, and Mom and Dad might even praise me." Ron said excitedly to Harry in a low voice.

"No, we can't go straight there!" Harry remained somewhat calm after hearing Ron's nonsense.

"Let's find Draco first. We'll keep an eye on Quirrell and see if he's still there. If he's disappeared, we'll go back in a few minutes to avoid running into him," Harry said, rubbing his forehead.

"Yes, that's it. Harry, if it's true—then your forehead is incredibly useful—it can sense danger—could your Third Eye be located on your forehead?" Ron nodded and then said.

Harry rubbed his forehead again, not because it hurt, but because he was wondering if he really wanted to bring Ron, this jerk, along.

Amidst his self-doubt, Harry finally found Draco playing with Goyle, Crabbe, and a girl who looked like a poodle under the shade of a tree.

Upon seeing Harry and Ron, he greeted his friends and walked towards them.

"Draco, who's that girl who's been staring at me like she wants to eat me alive?" Harry nudged Draco's right chest with his elbow.

"Pansy, I met her at a party when I was a child, and she's now my classmate and collegemate."

"Harry, she's so cute, how come you never noticed her? Did you go blind in Herbology?" Draco said, his eyes wide.

"Cute? Draco, if I may be so bold, she looks—no, I'm not sure how to put it." Harry stammered.

"Just tell me," Draco said.

"Well, have you ever seen a poodle?" Harry asked indirectly.

"Well, Harry. I don't think you understand at all! Isn't she adorable?" Draco said to Harry with an expression that said Harry didn't know what he was talking about.

"What?" Ron was completely baffled, but he wasn't interested in this at all, so he didn't dwell on it.

"Harry, stop talking nonsense with Malfoy."

"Tell me about your Third Eye —uh, I mean the scar," Ron interrupted.

"Harry, what did you Prophecy this time?" Draco immediately became serious.

Ever since Draco visited Fluffy in the small room on the Third Floor Corridor, he has become superstitious about this and has started to stay away from a large black dog kept by a seventh-year student from their college.

In his view, this was an ominous sign!

Ron had also approved of Draco's actions, even though they usually didn't get along.

According to Ron, if they saw something ominous, that would be terrible.

His uncle Bilius had seen one.

Then, he died 24 hours later!

"It's not Prophecy. My scar is hurting again, just like that person I met in the Forbidden Forest who looked like Voldemort," Harry emphasized.

"That—that could just be a poacher," Draco said, trying to convince himself.

"Poacher? Impossible! Stop deceiving yourself. This scar was left to me by Voldemort. I'm certain of it, and everyone in the Wizarding World knows it."

"Why would it react if it hadn't seen its owner who left it behind?" Harry said irritably.

"Harry, relax. Have you forgotten where we are? As long as Dumbledore is here, the Philosopher's Stone won't be in danger. After all, we're just junior wizards. As Hagrid says, everything is under Dumbledore's control. Quirrell is suspicious; he knows how the Unicorn died. If he didn't do anything, it means we don't need to do anything else," Ron reassured him.

Then, Ron, on Harry's behalf, told Draco what they were going to do—first, find out Quirrell's whereabouts; if he wasn't there, then go to the forbidden room on the fourth floor in a few minutes and report to Dumbledore if anything was found.

"Why don't we bring the Invisibility Cloak? What if Filch is patrolling on the fourth floor? Do we have to go find your brothers, Weasley, to distract him?" Draco suggested, then added, "I'll go check on Quirrell, the Staff Room, and his office. You guys go get the Invisibility Cloak."

And so, the three of them split into two groups.

Soon, they gathered on the 5th floor.

However, Draco's pale face already said something.

"Quirrell is not here! I also learned from Professor McGonagall that Dumbledore is not here either; he went to London! And don't you think it's a coincidence? Filch has also been sent out of the castle and won't be back until very late." Draco paced anxiously in circles.

"So this is what they mean by just in case. I understand." Harry's expression hardened.

"Only me, and only me," Harry murmured, then put on the Invisibility Cloak.

"Don't be silly, do you think we'd let you act alone?" Malfoy, anticipating this, grabbed the invisible Harry.

"Wouldn't it be better to go and see for ourselves? Once we know what's going on, I can go to Hagrid. He trusts us, and I'll have him write to Dumbledore!" Ron was completely baffled.

"Don't you understand yet? You really are Ravenclaw and not Hufflepuff?"

"Harry wants to face that wizard alone, instead of just watching like we originally planned," Draco said irritably, having already pulled the Invisibility Cloak off Harry again.

Judging from the annoyed expression on Harry's face, he did indeed have this plan.

"Harry!" Ron looked like he was about to cry. "I don't care if you're the Chosen One or anything, but you absolutely cannot abandon me and Malfoy."

"Don't worry about me holding you back. I can be a human shield when necessary," Ron said excitedly.

"Okay, there's no one here right now, so let's put on the Invisibility Cloak here. Hmm, perfect, that way no one will see our feet walking on the ground."

"In my previous dream, I saw another unfamiliar wizard. Judging from the light coming through the door, it must have been nighttime."

"It's afternoon now, we should still have time. Maybe Quirrell hasn't arrived yet either; he's just doing his preparations."

"Maybe we'll just take a look and then go to Hagrid to report to Dumbledore." Harry sighed with relief as he finished speaking.

It wasn't that he was afraid, but rather that he didn't want to take his friends on an adventure.