The Headmaster's Office
It's already late at night, and there's still an hour until the 10 p. m. curfew.
"You guys should go back now, it's almost 10 o'clock. Filch especially likes to pretend to accidentally stop students from going back to the lounge at this time, so that they can go to his office to receive their punishment." Ron glanced at the clock on the wall.
Although Ron enjoys being in the spotlight, he doesn't want to be noticed by his two friends because of his great father.
He felt this was a stain on his father's reputation.
"What? Toilets were also invented by Muggles?"
"Yes, and Muggles also have many different forms of entertainment than the wizarding world."
But Harry and Draco still seemed reluctant to leave. Draco was asking Harry questions about the Muggle world, while Harry was talking about computers and games that he had never had the chance to touch.
"Harry, the Philosopher's Stone is missing. What was Dumbledore's reaction? What about Nicolas Flamel? Is he dead?" Ron asked quickly, extremely anxious. This was the only question he could think of to distract them.
That way, Harry won't be able to talk to Draco about Muggle things anymore.
"Philosopher's Stone?"
"According to Dumbledore and his plan, even if the Philosopher's Stone hadn't been stolen, he would have destroyed it in front of Voldemort to prevent Hogwarts from being targeted by Voldemort again because of it."
"Nicolas Flamel and his wife had long since lived enough; they were just preparing some Elixir of Life for their funerals." Harry's eyes gleamed with reminiscence.
"In my opinion, Dumbledore is definitely lying to you, or Nicolas Flamel is lying."
"He probably is indeed tired of it, but he's tired of living as Nicolas Flamel."
"He must have mastered the method of making the Elixir of Life without the Philosopher's Stone, or he has extra Philosopher's Stones."
"With Dumbledore, the Greatest White Wizard, as witness, everyone knows he's dead and no longer has the Philosopher's Stone, so he can start a new journey with his lover under a different identity." The more Draco spoke, the more convinced he became that his idea was correct.
Ron nodded in agreement, agreeing that Draco's explanation was more plausible.
"Maybe. But I don't think Dumbledore lied or was deceived."
"Ron may know this; I discussed it with Dumbledore in front of the Mirror of Erised during Christmas."
"He said a lot of profound things, many of which I can't fully repeat, but one sentence I remember very clearly is, 'Death is just another great adventure.'" Harry thought for a moment and then offered the opposite opinion.
"So Dumbledore let you know about the function of the Mirror of Erised in advance, arranged for us to go to the Forbidden Forest, and left you a message just in case."
"Oh right, I remember you also mentioned before that you and Hagrid went to get the Philosopher's Stone together, right?"
"Besides, Hagrid is never one to talk his mind—to you. Hagrid has repeatedly emphasized that everything is under Dumbledore's control."
"Dumbledore, what if you fail and get killed by the You-Know-Who?" Draco said angrily, his expression showing lingering fear.
"In my opinion, the crippled You-Know-Who and Quirrell are no match for Harry at all!"
"And according to your previous thinking, the Unbreakable Vow was a deception, but Dumbledore just happened to appear—in my opinion, Dumbledore has always been hiding behind the scenes."
"No matter what we do, there won't be any danger," Ron retorted nonchalantly.
"Indeed, combining what that mysterious young man said with what I knew before, the Philosopher's Stone in the Mirror of Erised can only be obtained if you know about it but don't want to take it."
"Moreover, it seems that even Occlumency is ineffective, let alone Confundus Charms."
"When Voldemort boasted, he only mentioned that he was a master of Occlumency, which, literally, only applies to the level of Occlumency," Harry said. At this point, Ron and Draco couldn't help but say in unison, "We can do nothing and the Philosopher's Stone will remain unharmed?"
Harry nodded dejectedly.
"Dumbledore is indeed Dumbledore. Although he can't compare to my father, he's still very remarkable."
"Harry, Saturday is the last Quidditch Match of the year. You'll definitely have to train tomorrow. It's almost 10 o'clock, you can go back now." Ron first couldn't help but praise Dumbledore, and then gave them the hint to leave.
Meanwhile, the Headmaster's Office on the 8th floor of Hogwarts was unusually lively.
Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick, and even Professor Sprout, who usually stayed in the greenhouse, all came to the Headmaster's Office.
They stood around a red stone with the past headmasters depicted in the magic paintings on the wall and Dumbledore.
"Is this the Philosopher's Stone?" Professor Flitwick stood on a floating chair to avoid having his view blocked by the other professors.
"With it, I might be able to cure more diseases, such as Dragon Pox." An old witch with long, silver, curly hair in a picture frame next to her immediately opened her eyes. Dilys de Winter, a former healer of St. Mungo's's, was very curious.
In the picture frame closest to the ceiling, next to Dilys, a yellow-faced wizard with short black bangs chimed in, "Now that we have the Elixir of Life, what diseases do you need to research? Doris, you're confused."
"Everard, you!" Doris was surprised that her former principal and neighbor would criticize her.
The four professors below also fell silent, all looking at the Philosopher's Stone with curiosity.
"Listen up! Haven't you noticed that no one else is saying anything?" an old male wizard who looked frail couldn't help but interject.
"Thank you, Armando." Dumbledore winked his blue eyes at his former headmaster.
"You're welcome, Albus. It's our duty to serve the current principal," Armando Dippet waved his hand.
"Do I need you to tell me?" Phineas Nigellus, the most unpopular headmaster in history, stroked his goatee and said sarcastically.
"Quiet down." Dumbledore tapped the table.
The four deans of the colleges beside him all kept their eyes down, remaining silent.
But Snape couldn't help but speak up soon enough, "What, didn't you want to destroy it? Is that not allowed?"
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, Professor Sprout accidentally dropped her hand gloves, still bearing the marks of mud, and Professor Flitwick gasped, nearly falling off his chair.
The portraits of the male and female principals around them seemed to have known all along.
"I didn't come here to show you how I destroyed the Philosopher's Stone. This stone isn't the Philosopher's Stone at all; even Voldemort was fooled by it." Dumbledore with a profound and enigmatic air, revealing his signature smug smile.
"When did the You-Know-Who arrive at the school?!" Professor McGonagall couldn't help but take a half-step back. "And where is Professor Quirrell?"