"But who is that outlaw?" Harry asked his question loudly, "If you have to be cursed for the rest of your life, you might as well die, right?"
"That's right," Firenze agreed, "unless you're just using it to delay your life so you can drink something else. Something that fully restores your energy and spells, something that makes you Something of immortality. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at the moment?"
"The Philosopher's Stone! Of course, the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who it is..."
"Can't you imagine? Who has been waiting silently for so many years, eager to make a comeback... Who is clinging to life and waiting for the opportunity?" Firenze elaborated on the obvious questions again and again.
For a moment, it was as if an iron claw suddenly grabbed Harry's heart. For a moment, he couldn't even feel the pain in his calf, and just kept breathing, as if he would suffocate immediately if he didn't.
"Are you saying," Harry said in a low, hoarse voice, "that it's Vadi—"
Maka paid no attention to what Harry said. He was with Hermione at the moment. She seemed to be a little uncomfortable, her face was slightly pale, and she remained silent.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Maka looked at her and asked.
"No, it's nothing, I just-" Hermione pursed her lips, "I just feel that I have read so many books and learned so much knowledge. But when I need to use it, I-"
"If I had even used a levitating charm, Harry wouldn't have been hurt."
Maka shook her head slightly and whispered: "This has to be done step by step. Moreover, it is time for you to narrow the scope of your study. At least you should learn how to choose first."
Hermione nodded. Maka had said similar words several times, but she didn't really listen until now.
"Okay, this time the target has been found, we should go back!" Hagrid clapped his hands.
As Maka said, Harry's leg injury healed quickly and he didn't even wait until the next day. Amidst the surprised compliments, he and Hermione chatted for a long time with Ron. In the lounge, Harry expressed his speculation - he believed that Snape's real purpose of stealing the Philosopher's Stone was to give it to Voldemort.
To this end, Harry excitedly told Hermione and Ron about this discovery. Suddenly, Harry's excitement, Ron's panic, and Hermione's worry were all clearly revealed, and the three of them began their end-of-semester life facing exams with their own thoughts.
…
The circumstances of the exam are naturally different.
Take Harry, for example. He has been worrying about where Voldemort will come from recently, and this kind of speculation often makes him uneasy. But as time passed, it seemed that Lu Wei was still snoring safely behind the locked door.
Another example is Hermione. She has also been reviewing intensely recently - she always feels that her knowledge is not solid enough, so she still recites or copies it over and over again.
Another example is Maca. Uh-he didn't seem to have anything to say, because his mind was not on the exam at all. Every day, I am either studying the material theory of potions or refuting the Book of Truth, so I don’t even mention it.
The days passed and the exam finally arrived.
But what is surprising is that Maka almost missed the first test. This was just because he was still scrambling for time as usual, and rushed to the classroom that was supposed to be scheduled for that day before class, but he didn't even remember that it was already the day of the exam!
The exam time always passes quickly, and not long after, the tense exam is over.
While Harry and others were relaxing in the warm sunshine, Maka had returned to the library again and continued his research. Not to mention, he has recently gained some insights into the symbols on the Scroll of Truth, and he will probably be able to tinker with something soon.
And because of this, he left the library not long after. This time, he went straight to the Room of Requirement—he had some interesting ideas he wanted to try out.
Just as Maka was excited about her research findings, Harry and the others learned some terrible news from Hagrid.
"... Hagrid, I have something to ask you. Do you remember the night you won the Nobel by playing cards? What did the stranger you played with look like?"
"I don't know," Hagrid said casually. "He won't take off his cloak."
He saw the expressions of astonishment on the faces of the three children immediately, and he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"What's so strange about this? The Pig's Head Bar is the bar in the village. There are always some weird guys coming there. That guy might be a dragon vendor. I never saw his face clearly. He was wearing a pocket. Where’s the hat!”
Upon hearing this, Harry plopped down and sat on the ground.
"What did you say to him, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts?"
"Maybe I mentioned it." Hagrid frowned and tried to remember, "By the way... He asked me what I did, and I told him that I was the gamekeeper here. He asked me a little more about what I was looking after. Animals, I told him that... and then I said I'd always wanted a dragon."
"Later... I don't remember clearly, he kept buying me drinks. Let me think about it again, by the way, then he said he had a dragon egg in his hand. If I wanted it, we could play cards and bet. It was a gamble, but he had to find out whether I had the ability to deal with this dragon. He didn't want the dragon to run out and cause trouble! So I told him that I could even control Lu Wei, and a dragon didn't count at all. What-"
"Does he seem... to be very interested in Lu Wei?" Xia Li asked, trying his best to keep his tone calm.
"Yes, quite interesting - how many three-headed dogs can you meet, even near Hogwarts? So I told him that Fluffy is actually very easy to deal with, you just need to know how to quiet him down Come down and play some music for it, and it will fall asleep immediately—"
Having said this, Hagrid suddenly showed an expression of horror and regret on his face.
Harry, Ron and Hermione stood up and left immediately. They remained silent until they reached the hall and stopped in their hurry.
"We have to go find Dumbledore—"
Harry took a few steps back and forth, but couldn't figure out how to find him. Just as they were hesitating, Professor McGonagall appeared behind them.
"If you must ask for Professor Dumbledore, he left ten minutes ago." She said coldly. "He received the urgent letter sent by the owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew to London immediately."
"He's gone?" Harry said anxiously, "At this time?"
"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard. He has many things to do and his time is precious-"
"But this matter is very important!"
When Harry blurted out the words "Philosopher's Stone", Professor McGonagall was so shocked that the book fell to the floor.
"How do you know—" she stammered.
"Professor, I think, I know that Sn... someone is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. I have to talk to Professor Dumbledore!"
Professor McGonagall looked at him with a mixture of surprise and suspicion. She obviously couldn't believe this, and seemed confident in the Philosopher's Stone's defenses.
In the end, she said, "I suggest you go outside to bask in the sun" and left in a hurry.
"Tonight," Harry said quickly, when he was sure that Professor McGonagall was too far away to hear, "Snape will go through the trap door tonight. He has got everything he needs, and now he has Dan... Bumbledore cheated him out of school. That letter must have been sent by him, and I bet the Ministry of Magic would be shocked to see Dumbledore suddenly appear."
"But what can we-"
Hermione gasped sharply, and Harry and Ron turned around, only to find Snape standing behind them.
"Good afternoon, little lions," he said with a sneer, looking at them.
"You shouldn't stay indoors in this weather." Snape's muscles twisted into a weird smile.
"We were just-" Harry found that he didn't know what to say.
"You need to be careful," said Snape. "By wandering around like this, people will think you are up to something bad. Gryffindor can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"
Harry blushed at this, and they turned and walked outside, but Snape called them back.
"Just a reminder, Potter. If you wander around in the middle of the night again, I will personally expel you!" Snape sneered, "I wish you a pleasant day."
As soon as the three people arrived on the stone steps outside, Harry couldn't wait to speak.
"Well, we have to do this now," he whispered urgently. "One person is to keep an eye on Snape and wait outside the staff room. If he comes out, follow him! Hermione, this is best done by You do it."
Hermione wanted to ask why her, but when the words came to her lips, they changed into something else.
"Why don't you discuss it with Maka first?"
It can be seen that her trust in Maka is obviously higher than that of Harry and Ron.
Harry thought for a moment and felt that maybe it was true as Hermione said, Maka always had some tricks up her sleeve and was always very relaxed about breaking school rules.
But when they searched almost all over the school, they still couldn't find where Maka was, which made them suspicious.
"Where did Maka go?" Ron scratched his scalp and wondered.
"It should be said, where else could he go - we've been everywhere!" Hermione was also confused about this.
After all three hesitated for a moment, Harry made the decision.
"Let's go ahead with the plan just now!" he said, "Let's split up and keep an eye on Snape first."