From the distant inland of Europe, Austria, to Hogwarts far away in the Scottish Highlands — even carrying two people, the phoenix Fawkes didn't take much time at all.
Compared to the Portkey they used to get to Austria, Eda still felt that traveling by phoenix was more comfortable — at least she didn't get phoenix-sick.
Dumbledore didn't take Eda straight back to Hogwarts but instead brought her to the empty Shrieking Shack. After Eda left, the Weasley twins hadn't come back here again.
Looking at the familiar furnishings of the Shrieking Shack, Eda finally felt like she was truly home. Though the shack didn't belong to her, everything here was closely tied to her, carrying so many of her happy memories.
Fawkes perched on a nearby bookshelf, preening his feathers, while Dumbledore sat directly down in the rocking chair by the window — a spot that originally belonged exclusively to Eda but was now forcibly claimed by the Headmaster.
Having "lost" her rocking chair, Eda could only resign herself to sitting on the sofa. Fortunately, the sofa was comfortable enough to bring her some comfort.
Looking at Dumbledore, who sat with his eyes closed, Eda said, "Showing up here instead of going straight back to the school — if you have something in mind, you might as well just say it."
In the past, Eda would never have asked like this; she would have waited for Dumbledore to speak first.
"No one knows that I left the school to fetch you from Nurmengard. They all think I went to a meeting at the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore said, gently rocking the chair. "What a fine opportunity for someone — Albus Dumbledore away from the school."
"You really do think of everything, don't you!" Eda said. "Aren't you afraid he'll see through your little trick and choose to bide his time instead?"
"The Philosopher's Stone isn't exactly a lifeline for me — I can afford to delay things," Dumbledore explained. "But he can't afford to wait. Recently, several unicorns have been killed in the Forbidden Forest, and their blood has been drunk. You should know what that means."
Unicorn — a sacred magical creature. A unicorn's hair can be used to make wands, its horn can neutralize poisons, and it's said that drinking from a goblet made from its horn keeps one healthy and free from illness.
Even though every part of a unicorn is precious, harming one is no easy task. Unicorns are only drawn to pure-hearted, kind maidens; they will lay their heads on a young girl's skirt and fall asleep, allowing their hair to be plucked or their horns to be taken.
Whether it's their hair or their horns, no one is willing to take a unicorn's life just to obtain its blood. Unicorn blood can prolong life — but the moment your lips touch that blood, you are cursed for the rest of your days.
No one wants a half-alive, cursed existence. Not even the most desperate people would make that choice.
But Quirrell, forced by his master, did exactly that. Stealing the Stone was already urgent — even knowing it was Dumbledore's trap, Quirrell would still leap right in.
Dumbledore didn't want to drag out the matter of the Stone any longer. If Quirrell left the school, finding him again would become much harder.
He couldn't stay on guard forever — forcing Quirrell to show himself and settling it now was exactly why Dumbledore was hiding in the Shrieking Shack.
"Aren't you worried that Harry might follow and then something unexpected happens?" Eda asked again. "Or do you just have absolute faith in your plan?"
Dumbledore looked into Eda's eyes and said, "Haven't I already paid the price for having too much confidence in you? Harry won't come to harm, because he has a power within him that will protect him. And I have another plan ready to ensure everything goes as it should."
"You didn't make me your backup plan, did you?" Eda asked knowingly. "That's why you ended my exile at this exact moment and brought me back — because everyone assumes I've been expelled, no one would expect me to appear at the school now, right?"
Dumbledore didn't respond to Eda's sarcastic tone. Instead, he asked, "Don't you have anything to eat here? Or maybe in your handbag?"
"No, I left it all at Nurmengard."
"Then go buy some in the village!" Dumbledore said. "You wouldn't have the heart to watch an old man, over a hundred years old, go hungry, would you?"
Eda walked up to Dumbledore and held out her hand to him, signaling for him to pay up.
But Dumbledore just looked at Eda with those blue eyes of his, making no move to reach for his money.
"Hand it over! If you don't have any money, then you can stay hungry!"
Dumbledore just kept looking at her. Eda didn't back down at all; her hand stayed out, firm and righteous. Dumbledore had no choice but to place a small pouch of coins into her hand.
Eda weighed the pouch like an old pro, listening to the clink of metal coins inside. Only then did she pull up her hood and leave the Shrieking Shack.
Dumbledore closed his eyes and settled back into the rocking chair, thoroughly pleased with himself. It seemed sending Eda to Nurmengard had indeed been the right move.
It was just that — when Dumbledore eventually learned that Grindelwald had already changed Eda's views on dark magic — one could only wonder if he'd still smile so contentedly.
Let's leave Dumbledore and Eda aside for now and shift our focus back to Harry Potter, because right now he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
...
The weather today was a bit stifling.
Harry sat restlessly in the classroom, not taking in a single word of what the professor at the podium was saying. It felt like there was a small beast roaring inside his chest, making him agitated and distracted.
The faint pain from the scar on his forehead made it impossible for him to calm down.
Ever since he had witnessed Voldemort drinking the unicorn's blood, the stabbing pain in his scar had been haunting him, keeping him awake night after night. Harry felt it was a warning — reminding him that Snape was about to act.
A few days before the whole Gryffindor row, Eda had kindly reminded Ron about the dragon egg, so Harry and Hermione had gone to Hagrid to find out the truth.
The stranger who'd won the dragon egg had already learned from Hagrid how to get past the three-headed dog — which meant Snape now knew how to safely get through it too. The Philosopher's Stone was no longer safe.
Luckily, Dumbledore had always been at the school. Though he had left briefly, he'd returned quickly. But today, Dumbledore had left again — and by lunchtime, he still hadn't come back, which only made Harry more uneasy.
With Dumbledore gone, there was no one left who could stop Snape!
Harry Potter might have pinned all the blame on Snape, completely ignoring Snape's subtle protection of him, but he wasn't blind — at the very least, he could see that Snape's strength was one of the best at Hogwarts.
He somehow made it through to dinner, but the headmaster's chair at the staff table was still empty. Dumbledore still hadn't returned. Harry sat staring blankly at that empty seat, his mind filled with images of Snape holding the Philosopher's Stone out to Voldemort.
After dinner, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to Professor McGonagall's office.
Hermione got straight to the point: "Professor, when will Professor Dumbledore be back? We want to see him!"
"Why?" Professor McGonagall asked in confusion.
"Because…" The bravery Hermione had shown just moments ago vanished and she didn't finish her sentence. The anxious Harry spoke up for her: "Because Snape—I mean—someone is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone! Only Professor Dumbledore can stop him!"
Professor McGonagall's books clattered to the floor.
She said, "Dumbledore has gone to London. He won't be back until tomorrow. I don't know who told you about the Philosopher's Stone, but rest assured, no one can steal it. It's under tight protection — absolutely safe."
It had to be said, when it came to acting, never mind 'Potions King' Snape, even Quirrell was better than Professor McGonagall at this moment.
It was only because the trio in front of her were still so new to all this that they didn't notice how stiff McGonagall's performance was.
After leaving the office, Harry said, "It's tonight. Snape is going to go through the trapdoor tonight. With Dumbledore out of the school, there's no one left to stop him from stealing the Stone."
"But what can we do?" Hermione said helplessly. "Professor McGonagall doesn't believe us."
The three of them were just first-year students — they had no way to stand up to a professor, no way to stop Snape from stealing the Philosopher's Stone.
"What if I get the Stone first?" Harry made a decision — an idea that sounded utterly absurd the moment he said it.
They couldn't beat Snape — but could they get past the Stone's protections?
Yes, they could, because the protections were actually rather half-hearted…
"Are you crazy? You can't do that!" Hermione said. "Think about Eda — she was expelled just for trying to attack another student. Do you want to get expelled too?"
"Eda won't be expelled!" Ron suddenly said.
Ron's defense of her was touching, but unfortunately it came at the wrong time. Neither of the two in front of him were as close to Eda as he was — right now their focus was all on the Philosopher's Stone.
"Fred and George have already gone mad — they're camped out in front of Professor McGonagall's door every day. Do you want us to end up like that too?" Hermione went on.
Hermione did feel sorry for what had happened to Eda, but there was nothing she could do about it — stopping Harry now was far more important. She couldn't just watch her best friend end up like Eda.
Hermione's reasons were sound — but Harry's were even more convincing, more airtight. Harry started laying out the facts and reasoning it all through, and both Ron and Hermione were persuaded by his words.
The three of them decided to protect the Philosopher's Stone together — even if they got expelled, they'd be expelled together. No one would be left behind alone.
In her office, after sending Harry and the others away, Professor McGonagall sat in her chair, massaging her temples. She felt these three were even harder to handle than Eda — at least with Eda, if she spoke sternly enough, Eda would immediately quiet down.
With a sigh, Professor McGonagall bent down to pick up the books scattered all over the floor. In a little while, she'd have to face the next wave of visitors.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Weasley twins were probably already on their way to find her.
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