A ruined Hogwarts

After five or six minutes, Harry and Hagrid hurried back, still arguing.

"Hagrid, that person overheard Lu Wei's weakness!"

"Don't think too much. I think the person just now might just be a little wizard who sneaked into the Forbidden Forest. Harry, you don't have to worry about this, it has nothing to do with you..."

"How could it have nothing to do with me! If the Ether Society achieves its intention, their next target will be me! They want to kill me, Hagrid..."

"What is the Aether Society? Didn't Dumbledore mean You-Know-Who..." Hagrid blurted out his words in surprise, then slapped himself in the face and immediately stopped talking.

Harry didn't want to let him go like this. He paused on the spot, staring directly at Hagrid: "Mysterious man? Voldemort?"

"Don't say that name..." Hagrid muttered vaguely.

"Hagrid, you mean, Voldemort also wants the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry felt that his thoughts had never been so clear. "So, everything makes sense. The Aether Society kidnapped Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell, pretending to be them, sneaked into Hogwarts, wanted to get the Philosopher's Stone, and also wanted to kill me... They were Voldemort's admirers or collaborators, and they wanted to bring Voldemort back. And make him immortal!”

"How do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?" Hagrid said loudly, "Don't think about it, Harry, that's none of your business!"

"So now I can only wait for those people to get the Philosopher's Stone, and then Voldemort can come here and kill me!" Harry said breathlessly, and then suddenly covered his forehead. He felt his scar suddenly hurt.

"Don't worry, Harry, Dumbledore is here. As long as Dumbledore is here, the mysterious man will not dare to do anything even if he is alive..."

"Yes, I have to talk to Dumbledore about this!" Harry ran towards the castle.

Owen sat quietly in the small room and listened to the two people's argument. He closed the notebook in his hand with a "snap" and let it spin smoothly on his fingertips. His dark eyes looked in the direction of the castle, with a meaningful smile on his face.

He walked out of Hagrid's hut unhurriedly, looked at Hagrid's helpless figure and Harry's running back, and comforted him in a soft tone: "Don't worry, Hagrid, I'll go and watch." he."

"Please, Owen, don't let him do something stupid." Hagrid patted Owen on the shoulder and knocked him crookedly, "Hey, what is this? It's all my fault..."

Owen rubbed his shoulders that were numb from being slapped. After nodding politely and saying goodbye, he followed Harry at a fast but not messy pace and caught up with the little wizard who was panting and climbing the stairs on the third floor of the castle.

"If you want to go to the eighth floor, there is a shortcut here." Owen casually pushed aside a portrait on the other side and pointed to a dark passage behind the portrait.

"Oh, thank you, Owen." Harry bent down and got in, passed through the short secret passage, pushed aside another portrait blocking the way in front of him, and found that he had arrived at the building between the seventh and eighth floors. stairs.

"You are really familiar with the secret passages in the castle." He said to Owen, who was slowly following him. After such an interruption, he found that he was no longer so panicked.

Owen just raised the corners of his mouth slightly and gestured to him to go up the stairs. The two climbed up to the eighth floor together, came to the principal's office, and stood in front of the ugly huge stone monster.

"Sizzling honey candy," Harry said to the stone monster.

"If you are looking for the principal, he is not here. If you are not looking for him, please feel free to do so." The stone monster made a thick voice, and then jumped to the side, revealing the wall that was cracked in half behind it and the wall behind it was slowly moving and rising. spiral staircase.

"Where is Dumbledore?" Harry blurted out, "When will he be back?"

"That's not what I should care about." The stone monster said lazily, "If you don't go in, I will continue to sleep."

Harry paced back and forth impatiently, and just when he was already thinking about asking Hedwig to send a letter to Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall's voice came from far away: "What are you two doing here?"

Professor McGonagall, who was dressed meticulously, was walking this way, followed by two kittens, one white and one orange. Their long tails were raised high, and their heads raised looked proud and cute.

Owen was instantly fascinated, showing a soft smile, squatting down and stroking the heads of the two kittens, forgetting Harry. These little cuties raised by Professor McGonagall were already familiar with Owen, and they did not reject his touch, but they seemed more aloof and cold, and they managed not to purr even under Owen's skillful cat petting techniques.

They are the managers who help the vice-principal patrol the castle and maintain order. They must not embarrass the cat!

Harry weakly raised his right hand to Owen, then sighed resignedly and said with a serious expression: "Professor McGonagall, do you know where Dumbledore went?"

"He went to attend a meeting of the International Federation of Wizards." Professor McGonagall obviously knew that Dumbledore was teaching Harry alone, and replied without any doubts, "This meeting was held in the United States. He will probably The genius will come back.”

"Why now..." Harry said anxiously.

"You know, Dumbledore is the chairman of the International Federation of Wizards and it is impossible for him to miss important meetings." Professor McGonagall said, her nose twitched slightly, and she muttered in an inaudible voice: "Although this meeting is also It's not important, but those who like to make trouble are starting to impeach their chairman again. There must be such a thing every once in a while, and as a person involved, he has to go there... If they are willing to spend half of this time on business , it’s not like I can’t always do anything good..."

Owen raised his eyebrows while stroking the cat. Voldemort still has such a method? Or is it just a coincidence?

"But I have something very important to tell Dumbledore!" Harry said urgently, not understanding the reason for Dumbledore's departure.

"It's a pity, Mr. Potter. I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to contact him now." Professor McGonagall said sternly, "Dumbledore is a great wizard who has many things to do and time is precious. I don't want you to always disturb him with small problems. he."

"It's not a small problem, it's... it's about the Philosopher's Stone, Professor!" Harry clenched his fists and finally said, "Someone wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"

"I think... you shouldn't know that..." Professor McGonagall was stunned and stammered. She quickly adjusted her mood and looked at him with surprise and suspicion: "I don't know how you found out about this, but please don't worry, it is strictly protected and foolproof. You don't need to worry about it. ."

"Okay, it's time for you to leave. I suggest you go out and bask in the sun, or do your homework instead of thinking about it, Mr. Potter. I hope you will be more attentive to the Transfiguration homework you hand in next time." Professor McGonagall He passed them and left, and the two little cats followed behind with light steps.

Owen watched helplessly as the two heartless kittens left without looking back. He pursed his lips slightly, looking a little lost. Harry also stood there in despair, watching blankly as the stone monster slowly moved back to its original position and blocked the door of the principal's office with its stone butt.

Until the study group meeting in the afternoon, Harry was immersed in a state of excitement and restlessness, a bit paranoid about being persecuted, thinking that Voldemort would come back after tonight and come to kill him.

After hastily finishing the explanation of a defensive spell, he whispered in Owen's ear: "I can guarantee that tonight, the people from the Aether Society will not wait long... Professor Snape and Professor Snape who were captured by them will not wait long..." Professor Quirrell may be killed, and Voldemort may come back, show off his power, and raze Hogwarts to the ground... But I don’t seem to have to worry about that, because I will be killed before then..."

He looked at Owen who was waving his wand nonchalantly, then looked at the students around him, and suddenly froze. He felt sour in his heart because he suddenly realized that Owen and the others were different from him. They come from pure-blood families, so they can just sit back and watch without worrying about being killed...

Harry said self-deprecatingly: "Yeah, you don't care, because you can still seek refuge with Voldemort, and he won't kill you... maybe he will turn Hogwarts into a school dedicated to teaching black magic, so that you can Let’s continue studying here.”

Wow, what you said is quite touching. Owen glanced at Harry, thinking with a half-smile.

"But I will never surrender to the dark forces under any circumstances. You know, Voldemort killed my parents. I will resist until the end, even if he wants to kill me, it won't take much effort." Harry continued, with an expression on his face. Become determined. Even if no one around him supports him, he will resist to the end.

No, maybe things can turn around. As long as I get the Philosopher's Stone before the Aether Society and hide it, even if it's just me... Harry suddenly had such an idea in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it became, and his eyes gradually brightened.

Owen narrowed his eyes, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said softly: "Why do you think no one is willing to resist with you? If you don't tell or ask about some things, you will never know what others think."

"How about telling the others?" He pointed at a group of young wizards who were practicing spells.

"Are you crazy? This has nothing to do with them!" Harry's eyes widened. "I can't drag them into the water. Owen, don't worry about this. I can handle it alone." The worst-case scenario is nothing more than that. He was caught before getting the Philosopher's Stone and sent back to the Dursleys to die...

"You want to get the Philosopher's Stone alone?" Owen said, looking into his eyes.

"Ah?" Harry moved his body unnaturally, and suddenly felt that Owen's eyes seemed to be able to see through his heart, but he could not see through any emotions behind these dark and deep eyes. A sense of oppression.

"You're so good at guessing your thoughts." Owen straightened his body, put his right leg on his left leg, and suddenly smiled slyly, "But you alone can't get the Philosopher's Stone."

He suddenly clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention. Ignoring Harry's pleading eyes and shaking his head, he cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, the study group has been established for more than half a year. During this period, we By motivating each other and making progress together, everyone has gained a lot. Now, we are about to face the first test, and it is time to test everyone’s quality.”

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Draco pulled out a chair next to him and sat down carelessly.

Owen smiled gently and said: "Our friend and teacher, Harry, is in trouble. Although he has always wanted to bear it alone, I know that he needs our help now."

"What's wrong with you, Harry?" Draco's gray eyes stared directly at Harry. He patted his chest and promised: "If you have any difficulties, just tell me directly. As long as I write to my father and tell him, there will be nothing that can't be solved!"

"You have been teaching us for so many days, and we hope to help you." Daphne also said with a smile. She was very aware of the preciousness of that knowledge, and she also had admiration and gratitude for Harry who imparted it without reservation. Whether from a personal emotional point of view or from the perspective of benefit exchange, she is very willing to help the other party overcome difficulties, even if it means using her family connections.

"If the professor can't help you, the problem you encounter must be very difficult. Tell me, and I can at least help you think of a solution." Hermione took a deep breath and sat down aside. Although she does not have any influence in the wizarding world, she is confident that her clever mind can be of some help.

"I will do my best!" Neville was not good at words and just gestured with his fists.

"If there's anything we can do to help, just tell us!" Blaise and Pansy also expressed their opinions. None of them were white-eyed wolves, they knew how to repay kindness, and their favorable impressions of Harry had indeed exploded recently.

"Hmm..." Crabbe and Goyle responded blankly, hiding the snacks in their mouths.

"You..." Harry secretly wiped the corners of his eyes, feeling a little sore, "You don't need to..."

"Very good, then, Draco, tell everyone about the Aether Learning." Owen interrupted Harry and said to Draco.

"Those guys?" Draco gritted his teeth and hammered the table. He looked at the people who knew nothing, and suddenly felt superior because he had mastered advanced information, and raised his chin higher and higher.

Next, he vividly recounted what happened that night, together with Harry's attempts to see through the disguise of the Aether Society, and all the little wizards listened carefully.

After Draco finished speaking, Owen snapped his fingers: "Yes, the purpose of the Aether Society is to obtain the Sorcerer's Stone to achieve their ulterior purpose. Then they will have a way to overcome Harry They are very determined to use the strange power in his body and kill him...This morning, the people from the Aether Society have obtained a way to pass the three-headed dog, which means that they will probably start to take action tonight."

"No, they are going to surrender..." Harry heard Owen's deliberate vagueness, and halfway through speaking, he was interrupted by Owen again.

"Dumbledore has left school and will definitely not be able to come back today, and Professor McGonagall does not believe Harry's words, and Professor Snape seems to be someone from the Aether Society in disguise..." Owen said clearly, "Harry Now isolated and helpless, the only way is to get the magic stone before the Aether Society and buy yourself a certain amount of time."

"You mean, as long as the Aether Academy gets the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry's situation will be in danger." Hermione keenly discovered the point, "There is a causal relationship between them? If they can't get the Sorcerer's Stone, haha Will nothing happen to Li?"

"That's right." Owen slapped the table, startling Harry who was anxious to explain, and the words he had not yet spoken were stuck in his throat.

"Actually, if the professors are willing to guard the door of the restricted corridor on the fourth floor, this won't be a problem. We can definitely try to convince them." Hermione frowned, "But we can't be sure whether any professors are controlled by them. Living."

She took a deep breath: "If Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell are indeed disguised as people from the Aether Society, if they have this ability, it will definitely not be difficult to sneak attack other professors, and there will be many opportunities... I Know that there are spells that can control others, such as...the Imperius Curse."

"If the professors are unreliable, we will have no choice but to get the Philosopher's Stone before the Aether Society." Owen nodded and said softly.

"It's not unreliable, after all, it's just my conjecture." Hermione shook her head, and then said firmly, "We need a two-pronged approach. Some people should seek help from the professor. It is best if two people work together and one person explains to the professor. Another person was observing the situation in the dark, alert to surprise attacks. The other group of people tried to..." She took a deep breath: "Go and get the magic stone!"

"You must be crazy, how are we going to get the Philosopher's Stone..." Draco gasped.

"If you're scared, you can go back now and hide yourself in bed shivering." Hermione sarcastically said.

"Who said I'm scared?" Draco also mocked, "I just don't want to follow a reckless man and lose my life in a daze."

"If you can't come up with a more effective way, then shut up!" Hermione hugged her shoulders, raised her chin, and glanced at everyone with sharp eyes, "Which of you...has any objections?"

A group of young wizards looked at each other, then shook their heads together. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but was stared back with sharp eyes.

Owen looked at the powerful little witch with some surprise, and shook his head in amusement, which saved him a lot of trouble.

The sky outside the window had dimmed. The little wizards quickly discussed plans and division of labor, and then walked out of the classroom.