Chapitre 46: Chocolate
David stood facing Moloch, the massive three-headed dog, frustrated by its refusal to move its paw from the trapdoor. After a while, David decided to leave.
As he opened the door, Moloch panicked, thinking David was angry. It barked anxiously.
"What's wrong?" David turned back, puzzled.
The dog barked again, but David couldn't understand. He sighed, wishing he had inherited his grandfather Newt's ability to communicate with magical creatures.
Then, Moloch seemed to have an idea. It began panting and wagging its tails, looking expectantly at David.
David's eyes widened as he realized what the dog wanted. "You want me to play the flute?"
Moloch's three heads nodded enthusiastically.
"You're smarter than you look," David teased, pulling a clarinet from his bag. He'd forgotten he had it.
As soon as David played a few notes, Moloch swayed, its heads drooping. The enormous dog stumbled aside and collapsed, its paws moving off the trapdoor.
David raised an eyebrow. "That was fast! You're quite the actor, aren't you?"
With the path clear, David opened the trapdoor. Below was a pitch-black hole, so deep the light of his Lumos spell barely reached the bottom.
"How do I get down there?" he muttered. Flying was an option, but without knowing what lay below, it was too dangerous.
He glanced back at Moloch, who was now snoring loudly. "Hey, has Dumbledore been here recently?"
The dog didn't respond, so David raised his voice. "Stop pretending to sleep!"
Moloch groaned, reluctantly waking up. It shook its heads and indicated that Dumbledore hadn't visited in some time.
"What about Hagrid? Or anyone else?" David pressed.
Moloch thought for a moment, then nodded, confirming someone had been there.
"Did you let them in?"
The dog groaned indignantly, shaking its heads.
"Alright, I get it. You're loyal," David said with a chuckle, patting one of its heads. "If anyone comes back, make some noise and let me know. I'll bring you more food next time."
Moloch wagged its tails in agreement.
As David walked back to his dormitory, invisible under a Disillusionment Charm, his thoughts were racing. Was the Philosopher's Stone hidden beneath Moloch's trapdoor? It seemed like the most precious item Dumbledore would want to protect this year.
But someone else had already tried to access it. Could it have been Snape? Or even Voldemort?
David groaned in frustration. The fragmented information in his memory felt incomplete, like trying to recall a poem during an exam but forgetting the key lines.
David barely slept that night. Thoughts of the Philosopher's Stone kept him awake until dawn. When he finally drifted off, it felt like mere minutes before someone shook him awake.
"David, get up! We'll be late for class," Harry's voice called.
David groaned, his head heavy and his eyes barely opening. Neville handed him his clothes, and he stumbled out of bed, muttering, "I'm just a little tired."
By the time he reached the greenhouse for Herbology, Hermione immediately noticed his state.
"David, are you okay? You look awful," she said, concerned.
"I'm fine," David replied quickly. "Just had a nightmare last night."
Hermione gave him a suspicious look. "A nightmare? Really?"
"Really!" David insisted, avoiding her gaze.
Thankfully, Professor Sprout started class, sparing David from further interrogation. However, his exhaustion caught up with him. He made mistake after mistake, and Hermione eventually took over his tasks to prevent further disaster.
Things only got worse in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirrell's monotonous reading from the textbook was too much for David in his sleep-deprived state. He dozed off at his desk, completely missing the lesson.
Hermione tried to wake him at first but eventually gave up, shaking her head in exasperation.
After a quick lunch, David returned to the dormitory to nap. Staying up all night had been a mistake, and he vowed never to do it again.
By the afternoon, he felt slightly better but found himself dozing off again during History of Magic. Professor Binns' droning voice drained whatever energy he had left.
After class, David packed up his books, ready to follow Hermione to the library. But she stopped him.
"You don't need to come with me today," she said firmly. "Go back to the dorm and get some rest. You'll end up losing points for Gryffindor if Professor McGonagall catches you like this tomorrow."
Before leaving, she handed him a small piece of chocolate. "Eat this before bed. It'll help you sleep without nightmares."
David watched her walk away, feeling a pang of guilt. Hermione had seen through him, yet she still cared enough to help.
Holding the chocolate, David promised himself he wouldn't lie to her again.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone