Though Hermione’s long explanation left Harry and Ron completely dazed, there was one word they heard loud and clear—immortality.
“Immortality... Is that really possible?”
As soone who hadn’t grown up in the wizarding world, Harry struggled to grasp, let alone accept, the idea that immortality could be real.
“I think it is, Harry.”
Hermione, who also didn’t co from a magical family, understood his hesitation. She flipped through a few more pages and began to explain.
“There have been reports about the Philosopher’s Stone for centuries, but the only known surviving one belongs to the famous alchemist and opera lover, Nicolas Flal. He celebrated his six hundred sixty-fifth birthday last year and now lives in seclusion in Devon with his wife, Perenelle—she’s six hundred fifty-eight.”
“...”
“...”
Harry and Ron both gulped. That number—over six hundred years—was enough to shock anyone.
No wonder Flal’s na didn’t show up in A Study of Recent Developnts in Wizardry. He wasn’t modern at all.
Smack!
Hermione slamd the book shut and looked at Harry and Ron with a serious expression.
“Now do you understand how serious this is?”
“Uh... what?”
“Isn’t it obvious? That big dog must be guarding Flal’s Philosopher’s Stone! I’m willing to bet Nicolas Flal asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him. They’re friends—and Flal must’ve known soone was after it.”
Hermione’s deduction left Ron gaping. He probably hadn’t expected the secret they’d stumbled upon to be this huge.
And he didn’t doubt Hermione’s theory for a second.
Then Harry’s eyes lit up, as if he suddenly rembered sothing.
“If that’s true, then when Hagrid went to Gringotts on Dumbledore’s orders, he must have been moving the Philosopher’s Stone!”
“A stone that can turn tal into gold and make you immortal! No wonder Snape’s after it—who wouldn’t want sothing like that?”
The more Harry talked, the more excited he got as everything began falling into place.
But in his excitent, he let sothing slip.
“Professor Snape? What does this have to do with Professor Snape?”
Hermione raised a suspicious eyebrow at the na Harry had blurted out. She clearly didn’t understand why Snape was suddenly part of the conversation.
“Uh...”
“Harry, are you hiding sothing from us?”
“No—it’s just... I don’t know how to explain it. Let’s find sowhere to talk first. Then I’ll explain everything properly.”
Seeing how serious Harry looked, Ron, who was about to keep pressing him, held his tongue.
Hermione, on the other hand, imdiately closed her book and stood up, ready to follow him. This was the most eager Ron had ever seen her.
Maybe it was the thrill of getting closer to the truth—Hermione seed more than ready to uncover whatever secrets Harry was about to reveal.
Looks like there really was a reason the Sorting Hat placed her in Gryffindor...
...
Speaking of which, ever since the broomstick incident, Harry Potter wasn’t sure if he was just being paranoid or if it was actually happening—but he kept getting the strange feeling that no matter where he went, he’d run into Snape.
Sotis, he even suspected Snape was following him, trying to catch him alone or sothing like that.
With this suspicion lingering in his mind, after Ron had been sent to the infirmary for the fight and the Quidditch match had ended, Harry suddenly decided—on a whim—to secretly follow Snape, who had been at the pitch serving as referee.
That impulsive decision ended up revealing a secret about Snape...
“The Forbidden Forest? You’re saying Snape and Quirrell chose a place like that to et?”
Ron Weasley, never one to hide his disdain for Slytherin, imdiately shot up in agitation before Harry could even finish.
“Oh, shut up! Do you want everyone to hear about this?”
Hermione hurriedly opened the door to the empty room they were in and peeked outside. Only after confirming no students were passing by and that Peeves wasn’t around did she close it and return to the others.
“No one’s out there. Now, what did you hear, Harry?”
Harry glanced at Ron, who looked a little sheepish, then at Hermione, who was watching him with laser focus, like she was afraid of missing a single detail. For so reason, Harry suddenly felt nervous—he could almost hear his own heartbeat.
He pushed up his glasses reflexively and began telling them what he’d overheard...
...
As Harry spoke and the minutes passed, Hermione began to understand why he’d been so wary of Professor Snape.
“So that ans our guess was right—it really is the Philosopher’s Stone. And Snape... Professor Snape is trying to force Professor Quirrell to help him steal it. The reason he approached Quirrell was to figure out how to get past Fluffy?”
Once Harry finished explaining, Hermione quickly organized the information and laid out the key points.
Right—Fluffy was the na of the three-headed dog Hermione had ntioned to Draco before. She’d learned the na from Hagrid.
“So you’re saying the only reason the Philosopher’s Stone is still safe is because Professor Quirrell is holding out against Snape?”
“If that’s the case, then yeah—I don’t have much faith in Quirrell.”
“...”
Even Hermione, who always respected her teachers, couldn’t find a way to argue with that. After all, anyone could see how nervous and jumpy Quirrell always was.
“I think we should tell Headmaster Dumbledore or another professor about this.”
“Oh, co on, Hermione. You really think the adults are going to believe a bunch of first-years?”
“But they’re professors—they’re way more powerful than us.”
“Still...”
“And you’re accusing another professor, rember.”
For once, Ron was unusually clear-headed. His comnt left Hermione at a loss for words.
Thinking about how tense things already were between Snape and Harry, she realized that if they brought this to the staff, the first assumption would be that they were just trying to get back at Snape. Worse, it might tip him off.
And how would they even explain how they knew about the Philosopher’s Stone?
“No matter what, we have to help Professor Quirrell. We’ll do it our way!”
“Exactly! I was thinking the sa thing!”
As she looked at Harry and Ron, their faces full of determination, Hermione hesitated. Maybe telling the professors wasn’t the best idea after all.
Besides... deep down, she couldn’t deny the thrill she felt.
There was sothing exhilarating about getting closer and closer to the truth...
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