With one sentence, Hagrid had revealed most of the "secret".
Neither Terry nor Sterling would be unfamiliar with the name Nicolas Flamel, especially Sterling, who was currently studying alchemy to repair Terry's Shield Charm necklace.
Harry also looked thoughtful. He had a vague impression of this name but couldn't recall the details...
But seeing Sterling's expression, he stopped wondering.
Sterling definitely knew. He could just ask Sterling later at Utopia.
Since joining Utopia, with so many external brains available, his mind, which had developed rapidly from pairing with Ron, seemed to show signs of regression.
"Well, Hagrid, didn't you prepare snacks?"
Harry encouraged Hagrid to bring out a large plate of cakes. Ron, who'd been gulping tea to wash away the lingering disgusting taste in his mouth, straightened up the instant he saw the plate and enthusiastically called Sterling and the others over.
"These rock cakes are delicious! Come try them!"
Wasn't this obviously a trap?
Sterling felt they might be mistaking him for a Gryffindor... No, with such obvious behaviour, forget Gryffindors. Even trolls would notice something wrong, right?
But seeing Hagrid's expectant gaze...
Damn, it was an open conspiracy.
After Terry took a cake, he cautiously squeezed it with his hand, then quickly understood why it was called a "rock cake".
Really no different from stone slabs. He suspected his teeth would become as loose as an eighty-year-old's after one bite.
So he committed an act that desecrated the Tea God.
Terry stuffed the cake into his teacup, trying to let the tea soften it, while harshly convincing himself this was inferior tea that could be slightly wasted.
Sterling ignored all complications and simply bit into it.
The rock cake only made his teeth ache a bit. With some extra jaw muscle effort, eating it wasn't too torturous.
Actually, if one's teeth were up to standard, the rock cake's taste was acceptable. After all, it was Hagrid's daily food, so it couldn't be too awful.
Harry and Ron both looked disappointed.
Hagrid grinned happily, patting Sterling's back with great appreciation.
Happy times always pass quickly. Soon the sky darkened; Hagrid lit a fire in the stove, then slapped his forehead.
"Oh, Harry, you should return to the castle!"
"The forest edge is quite dangerous at night... Shall I escort you back?"
He picked up a pink umbrella and escorted Sterling's group until they could see the castle gates before returning.
A pink umbrella... Sterling sensed something odd. It wasn't raining now, with no signs of rain either...
So he secretly activated magical vision for a look.
Oh, there were actually threads. Was it a magical tool?
Just that this thread looked strange, like a broken thread forcibly maintained in good appearance by a transparent tube.
Though curious, Sterling had other things to do.
"Terry, could you grab me a pie from the Great Hall later? Beef filling. I'm going to... handle something."
"Sure. Wait, you're not going to the Forbidden Forest again, are you?"
Terry grew alert. Sterling shook his head.
"Then fine. Pure beef or beef with pineapple?"
"Beef with pineapple... Actually, get two. Those rock cakes weren't very filling."
"I ate mine soaked in tea... I feel like my whole stomach is tea and cake... I can't eat dinner. Not from fullness, from nausea. Next time I'll definitely make Padma and the others taste it too."
At the staircase landing, Sterling waved goodbye to Terry.
Dumbledore was sprinkling powdered sugar on a plate full of cookies. Across from him, a chair awaited a guest.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans."
Hearing the headmaster's office door open, he snapped his fingers. Two cups of milk with ample sugar were delivered by house-elves, still warm.
"Good evening, Sterling. Haha, I knew you'd come check on this old man."
"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore."
Sterling unceremoniously pulled out the chair and sat, picking up the cup for a sip... seemed insufficiently sweet?
But still acceptable. Only Dumbledore at Hogwarts could barely keep up with his sweet tooth. Eating and drinking here suited his taste.
Harry had once sipped his tea and been completely stunned by the sweetness.
"Hagrid's side... did you deliberately arrange that? To let Harry know? Or for me to know?"
"Both. Why don't you tell me what you've learnt?" Dumbledore smiled, eating a cookie.
"Oh, pineapple-orange flavour isn't bad. Want to try?"
"I'd say it's just average." Sterling ate while organising his thoughts, connecting clues in his mind.
"Your secret with Nicolas Flamel is hidden in the fourth-floor forbidden corridor. Naturally under the three-headed dog's trapdoor. Tom probably came for it too, right?"
"Why not for Harry?"
"He's had too many opportunities for that. Besides, he's probably still uncertain about Harry... From fighting him in the forest, I feel he's... not that brave."
"Brave! Haha, Tom indeed lacks this precious quality!" Dumbledore really wanted to drag Voldemort over to hear this.
"Then... the Philosopher's Stone, right? Or some other alchemical item that could help Tom resurrect?"
Dumbledore applauded. "If possible, I'd love to award Ravenclaw thirty points for your acuity..."
"Well, technically you could..." Sterling gazed at Dumbledore with obvious hope, but the Headmaster suddenly found the ceiling incredibly fascinating.
Not a chance. Award Ravenclaw yet another round of questionable points, and McGonagall would burst through his door wanting to know why he seemed to favor the blue house, potentially going so far as to strip him of his Gryffindor status.
"It's the Philosopher's Stone. I think you haven't forgotten that what Tom obtained in the forest was merely a temporary body?"
Sterling nodded, a new doubt arising.
"But Professor, a temporary body. How long can this body last? Since he escaped, doesn't that mean he still needs to preserve it?"
"A very long time, but then it would no longer be a body capable of using magic."
Dumbledore transfigured a cookie into a tiny Inferius model.
"Tom is very skilled at blurring the boundaries between life and death... That body indeed won't last long, but he'll suspend it at the moment of collapse. Making it into the living dead, Inferi, or other dark creatures."
"But the cost is severely regressed spellcasting ability. No longer being a wizard's body, his strength would probably regress to near Snape's level. Elite Auror standard?"
Hey! The same strength as school professors!
Sterling suddenly grew excited. This level was completely within his response range!
"But we can't rule out him finding ways to reconstruct a temporary body when infiltrating Hogwarts."
"Though this would weaken too much soul power, considering your existence... I think Tom would do this."
"So let's speak openly, Sterling."
Dumbledore's half-moon glasses flashed.
"Prophecy. A prophecy chose Harry as Tom's nemesis. The responsibility of truly ending Tom will undoubtedly fall on Harry's shoulders!"
"I must train Harry. Train his courage and his strength; make him qualified to step onto fate's chessboard at the final moment and fulfil his destiny."
"Sterling, I need your help."