Sundays at Hogwarts were even more relaxed than usual. Especially after last night's heavy snowfall, the castle grounds had transformed into a winter wonderland. Early that morning, the students had already built several giant snowmen.
One of them was modelled after Dumbledore himself, arms raised high, holding flags representing the four Houses. Balanced atop his head was a signboard flashing with brightly colored words: "Vote for me!"
There was no need to guess who was behind it.
Although Dementors still patrolled the grounds, the students were no longer as frightened as they had been at the beginning—not since they'd acquired a certain "ultimate weapon." In fact, some of the bolder Gryffindors had even started hunting down the Dementors instead.
The Aurors were at their wit's end. The reason the Dementors were cowering from the stench of dung bombs and not attacking was because they were around to hold them back. Did these kids really believe Dementors feared dung bombs as much as they feared the Patronus Charm? If this kept up, these already-starving monsters were bound to lose control and gift someone a kiss!
That morning, the Golden Trio had arrived bright and early at Hagrid's hut. The moment they stepped inside, Hagrid enthusiastically brought out a batch of freshly baked rock cakes, urging them to have a taste.
"No thanks, Hagrid. Tea is more than enough," Harry said quickly.
The trio waved their hands in hasty refusal—they hadn't forgotten how Ron nearly lost a tooth the first time he bit into one of those.
"So, what brings you lot here this early?" Hagrid asked as he munched loudly on a rock cake.
"It's about that room down the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor—the one guarded by the big dog. Do you know anything else about it?"
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Hagrid choked violently. "Oh Merlin—what fourth-floor room? What big dog? I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"Could you not shift your eyes around like that when you say it?" Harry said, exasperated.
"…"
Hagrid turned his gaze to Fang, who was gnawing on a tattered old boot. "Fang! What've I told you about chewing up random junk?!"
"???"
Fang tilted his head in confusion, then promptly resumed his battle with the boot.
"HAGRID!!" Harry and Hermione shouted in unison.
"I really don't know!" Hagrid whimpered pitifully. "I just did what Professor Dumbledore asked—had Fluffy guard the room entrance. That's all I know!"
"But you mentioned before that it had something to do with Nicolas Flamel," Hermione said, stepping closer and narrowing her eyes. "There's definitely some kind of secret in that room, isn't there?"
Hagrid instantly slapped a hand over his mouth. "I…I won't tell anyone else about the Philosopher's Stone. Not anymore!"
Hermione and Harry blurted out, one after the other:
"You won't again tell…"
"…anyone else about the Philosopher's Stone?"
"You've told someone else already?!" they both shouted.
"No!" Hagrid cried in panic, flailing his hands. "No, no! I…I just…While I was sending an owl from the tower, I might have heard someone asking what was in that fourth-floor room, and I might have casually replied…But it must've been my imagination! There was no one there!"
"But I remember that upper-year students learn Disillusionment Charms," Ron said in surprise. "And there's also the Invisibility Cloak…Someone must've been hiding there, right?"
"What?!" Hagrid froze, panic overtaking his face. "No, no, that's impossible—what are the chances?!"
Harry glared. "Hagrid, how could you just blurt something like that out?!"
"I…I don't know! I was just suddenly spaced out and said it without thinking!"
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look, the same thought flashing through both their minds—
Someone had used the Imperius Curse on Hagrid?
Of course!
Hagrid was a half-giant, born with high magical resistance. That would explain why the Imperius Curse only made him seem dazed for a moment before he unwittingly answered the question.
If that was the case, then someone reckless enough to cast an Unforgivable Curse within Hogwarts already knew the location of the Philosopher's Stone!
The Stone was in danger!
"Hagrid, when exactly did you tell them?" Harry asked.
"Yest…yesterday," Hagrid stammered.
"Let's hope it's not too late!"
Without another word, Harry and Hermione leapt to their feet and bolted out the door.
"We have to tell Professor Dumbledore right away!"
Ron had no choice but to follow. "Hey! Wait for me, you two! What's going on?!"
Soon, the trio reached the eighth floor and knocked urgently on the door of the Headmaster's office.
"Ah, Harry, Ron, Hermione. What brings you here?" Dumbledore greeted them.
"Professor Dumbledore…"
"Headmaster…"
The three of them began talking all at once, their anxious voices clashing in a chaotic mess that made Dumbledore rub his temples.
"Alright, alright," he said gently, motioning for calm. "Slow down—one at a time."
They all fell silent simultaneously, then exchanged a glance—before blurting out in unison:
"Someone is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"
Dumbledore's eyes gleamed with sudden intensity.
"Oh? And where exactly did you hear about the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Uh…"
The three of them exchanged glances. "That's not important!"
"We suspect someone used the Imperius Curse on Hagrid to extract information about the Philosopher's Stone!"
"Oh, now that is quite a startling revelation."
Dumbledore took off his glasses and pondered for a moment, then opened a drawer and handed the trio a generous handful of sweets.
"All right, I understand. Now off you go, back to your dormitories."
Harry immediately raised his voice. "Professor, you don't believe us?"
"No, of course I do," Dumbledore replied sincerely. "But this isn't something you should be concerning yourselves with. The professors and I will take care of it."
After sending them out of the office, Dumbledore muttered to himself,
"So, after all that roundabout business, it still comes back to the Philosopher's Stone…"
———
[Austria—Nurmengard]
The days had grown increasingly colder. Snow had been falling steadily for over half a month now. If it weren't for magic, this ancient, dilapidated fortress would likely have collapsed under the weight.
Grindelwald sat huddled by the fireplace, warming his hands. An old film was playing on the TV beside him. From time to time, the old man turned to glance at the screen, occasionally tossing in another log.
Inside the room, the only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the wind whistling faintly through the gaps in the window.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock came at the door. Grindelwald gave a lazy wave of his hand, and the door swung open. A gust of wind and snow burst into the room, instantly chilling the air.
Edward stepped inside, covered head to toe in snow, and used his backside to shut the door.
"Long time no see, Mr. Grindelwald."
He carried several large and small bags in both hands, resembling someone visiting relatives for the holidays. The reason he didn't put them in an Undetectable Extension Pouch was precisely because he wanted to make a show of it.
After setting the bags down, Edward brushed the snow off his coat and looked around the room, which had noticeably changed since his last visit. Clearly, Grindelwald had added a fair bit of furniture, all neatly arranged—turning a prison cell into something approaching a home.
Lilith leapt out of Edward's arms at once and trotted straight over to the TV, sitting herself down attentively. But when she saw it wasn't Tom and Jerry playing, she turned her head and let out a single "meow" at Grindelwald.
Grindelwald tossed another log into the fire, stood up, and walked over to the TV. With practised ease, he loaded a Tom and Jerry VHS tape into the machine and started playback.
While doing so, he muttered, "So this cat really does understand television. I thought it was just hanging around for the warmth."
Seeing Lilith sitting happily and watching Tom and Jerry, Grindelwald instinctively gave her a gentle pat on the head. Then he turned to Edward and said, "You've been back from your academic tour for over ten days, haven't you? If not for the stuff you brought, were you even planning to visit me?"
Edward gave an exaggerated expression of innocence. "That's unfair, sir. You were the one who practically threw me out last time, looking all annoyed. I thought you didn't want to be disturbed. If not for the fact that my bones were with you this whole time, I'd have come much sooner to check in!"
He cleared his throat and added, "So, uh…how's the research coming along?"
"A bit of progress."
Grindelwald stood up lazily and walked to a cluttered corner filled with odd items. He bent down and rummaged around for a while before pulling out a bone—crystal-clear and engraved with dense, intricate runes. Magical energy faintly pulsed through the carvings, and embedded inside, visible through the translucent surface, was a small, black stone about the size of a pinky fingernail.
"If you can reintegrate this into your body, you should be able to perform wandless magic using it."
Edward took the bone and examined it carefully. Compared to the wand he had previously bought from Ollivander, this felt far more natural—and for good reason. It was his own ulna.
"When you say 'a bit of progress,' you mean…?"
"I mean it's still far from perfect. As you know, a typical wand is composed of a wand core and wand wood. Your ulna serves as the wood, but I tried every known wand core material and none of them were compatible."
He pointed at the black stone embedded in the bone. "Until I used that. It was something I picked up while helping Albus with something years ago—purely by chance."
"To be honest, I was grasping at straws when I stuffed it in there…but it worked."
Edward frowned. "So it worked… but there's still a catch?"
"Exactly. The magical energy—well, let's call it magic for simplicity—in that stone is finite. The more you use it, the more it depletes. Once it's drained, this bone will no longer function as a magical conduit."
"…Do you have any more of those stones?"
Grindelwald spread his hands. "That was a one-time thing. It came from a mutated magical creature. In all my years, I've only ever seen one."
Tch. So it turned out to be a single-use item, huh?
Still, Edward wasn't too disappointed. "Either way, it gives me an extra layer of protection."
"Heh, good attitude."
Grindelwald chuckled approvingly, then added, "Don't worry. Since I'm bored out of my mind nowadays, I'll definitely continue this line of research. Next, I plan to abandon traditional wand cores and experiment with other magical materials. So…"
He grinned mischievously. "Once you're done here, put this bone back in, and leave the spare one for me."
"…"
You really think my bones are Lego bricks you can swap in and out at will, don't you…
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.