Chương 62: Chapter 62 - Trying
When Thomas, Harry, Hermione, James, Adam, Michael, and Ron reached Hagrid's hut, they saw the half-giant sitting in an armchair just outside his house. The warm breeze carried the scent of freshly shelled peas, and they saw Hagrid cooking with his sleeves and trousers rolled up.
"'Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"
"Yes, please," said Ron who was out of breath, but Harry cut across him.
"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."
When he said that, everyone but Ron look at Hagrid in shock making the half-giant confused.
"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head – that's one of the pubs down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."
"Hagrid, don't you find it strange that he kept his hood up the whole time?" asked Thomas, concerned that maybe Harry's prediction might be true.
Hagrid paused furrowing his brows as he thought. "Well, now that yeh mention it, it does seem a bit odd, doesn't it? But I reckon he just wanted to keep his identity hidden, y'know? It ain't e'sy to be a dragon dealer."
"Hagrid, we've been having some strange occurrences lately. We were wondering what did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?'
"Mighta comes up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah … he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here … He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after … so I told him … an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon … an' then … I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks … Let's see … yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted … but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home … So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy …"
As Hagrid continued his recollection of the mysterious stranger, Thomas put together all of the events that happened in the past year or so. The puzzle pieces began to align in his head, forming a scary picture that sent a shiver down his spine. The thought that this so-called dragon dealer could be responsible for the recent events, including the encounters with the devil woman and the dangers Harry had faced, was unsettling, to say the least. And because of those thoughts, Thomas decided to seek some guidance from Bahamut, since that guy was old enough to know most of the tricks.
[What troubles you?]
Thomas focused his thoughts, reaching out to Bahamut. 'Bahamut, I need your help. The stranger Hagrid encountered, the one who had a dragon egg...I think it was the same man that the devil woman defended. Did you feel any dark presence around me in the last couple of days? '
[You don't think I would have told you, my host about some enemy around you?]
'You really want me to respond to that?'
[However, I did sense a faint residue of darkness, but it is not as potent or malevolent as the presence we encountered before. But with my power still shackled with my main body, I could exactly destroy the barrier that was preventing it from being sensed by your teachers, not without blowing the whole castle.]
While he was talking with Bahamut, Thomas heard something that made him freeze.
"And did he … did he seem interested in Fluffy?' Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Well, yeah, how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep …"
Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.
"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! "
"Merlin's beard!" Thomas exclaimed, unable to contain his shock. "We need to move, now!"
Hagrid look at Thomas and his friends, confused as to why they left like that, as they abruptly turned and sprinted back towards the castle, leaving Hagrid bewildered in his armchair. "Hey, where're yeh goin'?"
Once they reached the entrance of the castle and all of them stopped to catch their breath, Hermione turns towards them. "We have to tell Dumbledore about this. He's the headmaster, and he has the Philosopher's Stone. It's his responsibility to handle this."
Harry and Ron, however, voiced their disagreement, arguing that they had discovered this information and should deal with it themselves. They believed that involving Dumbledore would only complicate matters further. "No, we have to go ourselves!"
"Yeah, it would be too late if go for Dumbledore."
Thomas shook his head, as he couldn't believe just how suicidal those were. "Harry, Ron, I understand why you don't want to go to the headmaster, but if that devil woman is anywhere near the Philosopher's Stone, I'm sorry to say this, but that will only lead to our deaths. I doubt we can fight her even if all work together."
Before Ron or Harry could respond, Michael spoke up. "What if we split up? Some of us can go and inform Dumbledore while the rest head towards the Stone. That way, we have a better chance of covering all bases."
"I'm not going to say who, but those good at fighting should come with me and Thomas, while the rest should go to the headmaster's office."
Adam nodded in agreement. "I'm with James. I won't let anyone get to that Stone without a fight, even if that means fighting a devil."
Hearing his friend's plan, Thomas didn't have any problems doing it like this. "Alright, let's do it. Ron, Hermione, and Harry, you three should go to find Dumbledore and inform him immediately. While Michael, Adam, James, and I will head towards the Stone. Is that ok with y'all?"
Ron was about to argue when a familiar voice made all seven of them freeze in their place. "What are you seven doing here?"
Summoning her courage, Hermione stepped forward and replied, "Professor McGonagall, we were actually looking for the headmaster. We have urgent information that we need to discuss with him."
McGonagall's eyebrows furrowed when she heard Hermione's words. "Urgent information? What is it about?"
Seeing that McGonagall wasn't exactly keen on listening to their excuses, Thomas decided to interfere and respectfully spoke to the professor. "Professor McGonagall, this is something that only the headmaster needs to hear. I'm deeply sorry, but it's related to the incident that I was involved in the forest."
McGonagall's eyes widened when she heard that it was about that. And after being silent for a second, she let out a sigh before speaking.
"I'm afraid I cannot help you with that, Mr. Grayson. The headmaster left for the Ministry of Magic just ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl delivering a letter, and it required his immediate attention."
"He's gone?" said Harry frantically. "Now?"
"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time …"
"But this is important. "
But this is important.'
Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?'
"Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor, it's about the Philosopher's Stone …"
Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms but she didn't pick them up.
Never in his wildest nightmares would have Thomas thought that Harry, out of all of his friends would throw all of the caution to hell and actually tell a teacher about the stone. But with nothing left to do, he decided that the least they could do is to tell McGonagall how they know about the stone.
"Professor McGonagall, a while ago we found the trap door beneath Fluffy, the three-headed dog that guards the Philosopher's Stone. And, I won't say how, but we are sure someone is going to steal the stone, and until now we didn't know when."
McGonagall's eyes widened in shock as she digested her student's words. And after a few seconds, she barely managed to put together a sentence.
"Are you certain of this?"
Thomas nodded firmly. "Yes, Professor. "
"I assure you that the stone is safe, not to mention that Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected and not only by that dog."
"We have to…"
"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."
As soon as McGonagall left, Harry couldn't help but voice his suspicions and thoughts. "It's tonight. Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."
Michael shook his head, countering Harry's claim. "Harry, we've been through this before. Let's be honest here, Thomas has shown you time and time again that Snape isn't the enemy here. We shouldn't jump to conclusions without solid evidence."
Adam stepped in, supporting Michael's argument. "C'mon Harry, how many times do we have to prove to you that Snape is not the bad guy? Let's focus on the evidence we have and not let our personal biases cloud our judgment."
James, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke up, shocking everyone with his deduction. "Come on, guys, let's be real. Snape doesn't need the Stone. Why would he want to spend an eternity teaching and berating kids? He has better things to do with his time like brooding or something."
Listening to James, Thomas found his friend's words close to how he viewed Snape rather than a sly old bastard that wanted to steal the stone and then torture Harry and the rest of the students. "James has a point. Let's not get distracted by baseless suspicions. Since no matter who it is…we are alone in this."
Hermione was the first one to react. "There are seven of us here and I hope to God only one of them. In theory, we should be more than enough to take on whoever is going to steal the stone, even if he's indeed Snape or someone else."
"But Hermione, what can we …"
Hermione gasped and the boys wheeled around looking in horror at the figure that was standing behind her. Stumbling across McGonagall could be misfortune but finding Snape, standing behind you, most likely overhearing your conversation, was akin to hell.
"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.
But none of them could mutter a sound.
"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.
"We were …" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.
"You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw really can't afford to lose any more points, can they?"
All seven of them look at the ground, not knowing how to respond, and just as they turned to go back outside, they heard Snape calling them.
"Be warned, Potter, any more night-time wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. As for you, Grayson, I thought you were better than this. Good day to you."
As soon as Snape left, Harry turned towards the others, telling them his plan. "Listen, we need to act quickly. Someone has to keep an eye on Snape and find out what he's up to. Hermione you and Michael, should do that. Both of you are smart. Besides, if you two got caught you can always pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know."
"Oh, shut up," Hermione said, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape. As for Michael, well he seemed indifferent, not objecting or showing any particular interest in the assignment. He glanced at Hermione and nodded, signaling to her that he would follow her.
"That means, Harry that the rest of us would stay on the third floor right?" Thomas said, curious to see just how much Harry had thought in advance.
"Yes. Now let's go."
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