[Chapter Size: 1700 Words.]
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"This is impossible!" When Harry and his friends spoke with Hagrid about Snape casting a spell on Harry during the competition, Hagrid shook his head to show that he couldn't accept it.
"Snape would never do something like that. Although he can be a bit hostile at times, he would never do something like that."
"But I saw it with my own eyes. He looked like he was casting a spell!" Hermione said confidently.
"But why would he do that? It can't just be because of a game. Listen, Snape isn't that petty." Hagrid continued shaking his head, not believing what Harry and the others were saying.
Harry exchanged glances with the others, and at that moment, he realized that Hermione was still the wisest. Even Hagrid refused to believe them, much less the other professors.
After hesitating for a moment, Harry decided to continue revealing the information: "On Halloween, we saw Snape go down the corridor on the fourth floor, and then his leg got injured. He must have been bitten by the three-headed dog. We think he was trying to steal something the dog was guarding."
"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid's eyes were as wide as large lamps, with a look of disbelief.
"Fluffy?" Harry and the others looked at Hagrid, surprised, their faces full of suspicion.
"Um... yes..." Hagrid's eyes suddenly became a little distracted. "I bought it from a Greek. You know, the magical civilization there was ancient in Greece, and they had some messier things. I found it by accident. Um, three-headed dogs are quite rare..."
"They are really rare." Ron nodded seriously. "But why is it in the corridor?"
"Dumbledore borrowed it from me to guard..."
"Guard what?" The four of them lit up with excitement. If they knew what the three-headed dog was guarding, it would be much easier to infer Snape's motives.
"Don't worry about that, don't worry about that." Hagrid seemed to react suddenly and waved his hand quickly. "You shouldn't know about this, it's top-secret. Don't ask silly questions and don't think silly thoughts, understood?"
"But Snape wanted to steal that thing!" Harry said anxiously.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Hagrid shook his head violently. "Snape is a professor at the school. He can't do something like that."
"If he wants to kill Harry, then there's nothing he won't do." Hermione disagreed. Her opinion of Snape had completely changed, and now Snape had become a major villain in her mind.
"It's like casting a curse. It's written in the book..."
"I'm telling you, you're wrong!" Hagrid interrupted Hermione roughly. "Although I don't know why Harry's broom was acting that way, it definitely couldn't have been Snape. Snape couldn't have done that to a student."
Feeling that his tone had been a bit harsh, Hagrid took a deep breath and continued.
"Listen to me, kids. You're getting involved in something you shouldn't be. This is extremely dangerous, do you understand? Forget about Fluffy, forget about that corridor, forget everything about it. This is something Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel need to worry about..."
"Nicolas Flamel?" Harry suddenly noticed the name. "Is that a person's name?"
Hagrid looked stunned for a moment, then led Harry and the others out of his hut. He seemed extremely angry, but was clearly angry with himself.
…
Hagrid kicked Harry and the others out angrily because he had let the secret slip.
But even though Hagrid had revealed everything, Harry and the others still did not know what to do. A word that might be a name, but that they didn't even know how to spell, was of very limited help to them.
"Who is Nicolas Flamel?" Harry asked Hermione on their way back to the castle. He felt the name was somewhat familiar, but when he tried to think about it, he had no idea.
Normally, when Harry and the others had questions they didn't know the answers to, they could ask Hermione or Padma and get the answer, especially Hermione.
However, this time, Hermione furrowed her brow and shook her head. "I didn't even hear the word Hagrid said clearly, and it's not necessarily a name, right?"
Harry and the others nodded, although Hagrid's words seemed to refer to a person's name. Even if Hagrid had said a name, his pronunciation might not have been standard.
"Should we ask the professor?" Neville asked cautiously. His toad was hopping energetically in his arms.
"No!" Hermione immediately shook her head. "The professors must know about this thing. If we ask about it, it's likely to attract the professors' attention. Once the professors notice, it will inevitably reach Snape's ears. Once he knows, he will become more cautious, and it will be harder for us to catch him. Our biggest advantage right now is that he doesn't know we are watching him."
Harry and Neville nodded when they heard this.
"By the way, why don't you ask me?" Ron, who had been silent since leaving Hagrid's hut, suddenly spoke up.
"What's the point of asking you?" Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes and said. "You slept better than anyone else during History of Magic!"
Although Harry and Neville didn't say anything, the expressions they gave Ron were exactly the same as Hermione's. They thought the same way.
How could Ron, a bad student, know something that even the brilliant Hermione didn't know?
However, Ron grinned arrogantly: "Even though I slept through History of Magic, I still know who Nicolas Flamel is."
"Really?" Harry and the others' eyes suddenly lit up.
"Come with me." Ron nodded proudly, then quickly led the three back to the castle and headed to the Gryffindor common room.
It was a visit day to Hogsmeade, so the common room was empty.
Ron asked Harry and the others to wait downstairs while he ran to the dormitory. After a while, he returned with a small wooden box.
Harry and Neville recognized the box immediately; it was the one where Ron kept his Chocolate Frog cards.
When the box was opened, Hermione's eyes sparkled. It was a small box, but in reality, it had dozens of layers, each one carefully stacked with thirteen cards.
"Cool!" Though it wasn't the first time Harry and Neville had seen this, they couldn't help but let out an exclamation of admiration.
The box was made by Fred and George, and according to Ron, they had put a lot of effort into making it for him.
Ron skillfully found two cards from a pair and carefully placed them in front of the others.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore!
Nicolas Flamel!
"Ah!" Harry couldn't help but let out a quiet gasp when he saw Dumbledore. Fortunately, no one else was in the common room, otherwise, he would have drawn attention.
Just like Ron and Neville, Harry had started collecting Wizard Cards and had nearly fifty by now. Of course, there was still a large gap between him and Ron and Neville.
Ron was the one who had collected the most cards, with nearly 500 by now, many of which were very rare, like the card of Nicolas Flamel that Hermione was holding right now!
Harry also remembered why the name Nicolas Flamel sounded familiar.
The first card he ever received was Dumbledore's, and in Dumbledore's introduction, Nicolas Flamel was mentioned.
This abbreviation was common, but it wasn't easy to associate it with something familiar. Some full names aren't commonly used, except in formal writing. For example, Ron's full name is Ronald Bilius Weasley, but hardly anyone calls him that.
Once, during Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall called Ron "Mr. Ronald," and Ron himself didn't respond.
"It's him. I should have thought of him." Hermione lowered the card of Nicolas Flamel and said with some regret, "This person is very famous, even in our world."
Harry nodded. It certainly was.
If the most famous witches and wizards in Britain are Merlin and Morgana, then in France, it should be the legendary alchemist Nicolas Flamel! A man who could create elixirs of immortality and turn stone into gold.
These three characters appear in many legendary novels, games, and films. Usually, they are characters who bring many benefits to the protagonist.
"Now that we know about this person, what happens now?" Neville asked casually, his eyes full of curiosity as he looked at the Nicolas Flamel card, neither he nor Harry had this card.
"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Harry say Hagrid once retrieved a small package from Gringotts?"
Harry nodded. He, Hermione, and the others had discussed this before.
"So it must be true. The thing the three-headed dog is guarding must be the Philosopher's Stone." Hermione said seriously.
"What stone?" Ron looked confused.
Some people like to read without fully understanding the material. Some people like to collect cards without delving into the details.
Ron collected many Wizard Cards, but he didn't know much about the real stories behind those characters. Of course, this was also related to the fact that Nicolas Flamel wasn't a wizard known for his magical powers.
Ron was very familiar with the invincible Andros. He'd even heard a lot of gossip about him.
"Goodness," Hermione exaggerated deliberately. Harry imagined she was trying to make up for not thinking of Nicolas Flamel sooner. "You don't even know about the Philosopher's Stone. You must have heard of the Midas Touch and the Elixir of Immortality, right?"
In fact, Ron reacted after she finished speaking, but he opened his mouth and still didn't say anything.
Hermione regained her composure and whispered, "This must be it now. What Snape wanted to steal was the Philosopher's Stone!"
"But why does he want the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked curiously. "To turn stones into gold? While gold is great, it shouldn't be that important to wizards, right?"
Hermione furrowed her brow slightly when she heard this.
"Elixir of Immortality!" said Ron.
"Snape is only in his thirties. I don't think he'll need the Elixir of Immortality for at least thirty years..." Hermione shook her head, her face full of confusion. "Let's first figure out the details of the Philosopher's Stone, okay?"
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