Ron could only follow. "Hey, what's gotten into you two? Wait for me."
Soon, the Trio reached the eighth floor and knocked on the door of the Headmaster's Office.
"Oh, Harry, Ron, Hermione, what brings you here?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore..."
"Professor Dumbledore..."
The three talked over one another, making Dumbledore's head throb. He could only press his hands down gently and say in a warm voice, "All right, all right, don't rush. One at a time."
All three shut their mouths, exchanged a glance, and said in unison, "Someone wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"
A sharp gleam flashed through Dumbledore's eyes. "Oh? Where did you hear about the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Uh..."
The three stared at one another. "That's not important!"
"We suspect someone used the Imperius Curse on Hagrid to find out about the Philosopher's Stone!"
"Oh, that certainly is startling news."
Dumbledore took off his glasses and thought for a moment, then pulled a large handful of sweets from a drawer and handed them out to the three:
"All right, I understand. Off you go now."
Harry immediately said loudly, "Professor, you don't believe us?"
"No, of course that's not it," he said earnestly. "But this isn't something you should be worrying about. The professors and I will handle it."
After seeing them out of the office, Dumbledore murmured:
"So, after going such a long way around, it's still about the Philosopher's Stone?"
Nurmengard, Austria.
The weather had grown increasingly cold lately, and heavy snow had fallen outside for half a month straight. Without magic, this old, long-neglected castle would probably have collapsed under its weight already.
Grindelwald sat huddled before the fireplace, warming himself with his hands tucked together. An old movie played on the television beside him. The old man glanced over at it now and