After saying goodbye to the Weasley twins, Adrian headed back to the Gryffindor common room alone.
On his way back, he discovered that his mental interface had updated with new information about the Marauder's Map in his magical items inventory.
[Magical Item: Marauder's Map]
[Magical Power: Strong]
[Description: A comprehensive map of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that displays the real-time locations of all living beings within the castle grounds. Unless extraordinary concealment methods are employed, no one can escape its detection.]
The [Strong] magical power classification surprised Adrian, though after thinking that the map could track even Dumbledore's movements, it made perfect sense.
He couldn't help but wonder how James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin had managed to create such a powerful magical artifact during their student years over a decade ago.
Peter Pettigrew, currently lurking so close to his friends, might know something about how it was made...
With the Marauder's Map in his possession, Adrian now had the ability to expose Peter Pettigrew's true identity. But he had no intention of doing so, at least not yet.
First, such a revelation would likely bring Sirius Black to Hogwarts, but since Black's innocence hadn't been proven, Adrian didn't want to face another interrogation from Dumbledore so soon.
Second, having the map made Adrian much more confident about his plan to sneak out and buy the potion ingredients he needed. All he needed now was the right opportunity.
The Gryffindor common room was unusually quiet when Adrian entered. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat clustered around the fireplace, but their expressions were far from the celebratory mood he'd expected after their Quidditch victory.
"Hey, Adrian, where did you disappear to?" Ron immediately pulled him over when he spotted him coming in.
"Ask your brothers about that," Adrian replied briefly, then changed the subject. "Shouldn't you be celebrating Harry catching the Snitch?"
"We've been talking about why my broom suddenly went crazy during the match," Harry said, shaking his head grimly.
"Snape must have cursed it!" Ron declared with righteous anger.
"I saw Professor Snape muttering a spell with my own eyes," Hermione added, unusually willing to suspect their Potions professor. "The timing matched perfectly with when Harry's broom started acting up. When Harry's broom got better, Snape stopped chanting."
Since Adrian had "handled" the problem so quickly this time, Harry had been safe before Hermione could take any dramatic action, so there had been no fire in the stands.
Adrian listened to their theories about Snape's alleged murder attempt, then decided to set the record straight.
"Actually, Harry, it was Professor Quirrell who caused your broom problems," he said calmly. "I was sitting right next to him and managed to interrupt his spellcasting."
Adrian briefly explained how he'd caught Quirrell pretending to sleep while doing silent magic, but Harry looked like he couldn't believe it.
"Professor Quirrell? That's impossible!"
"But Hermione saw Snape chanting something too," Ron protested.
"Obviously one of them was casting a counter-curse to save you," Adrian explained patiently. "If Quirrell was trying to help you, he wouldn't need to hide what he was doing."
"Maybe Professor Quirrell was afraid of Snape fighting back!" Harry said desperately.
Actually, Adrian's explanation was starting to make sense to Harry, but emotionally he couldn't accept the possibility that Snape had saved his life.
Ron and Hermione stayed skeptical too. Snape's behavior in every class made it crystal clear that he hated Harry, why would he suddenly turn protective?
Adrian sighed and decided not to say more in Snape's defense. The full story was too complicated, and it would be better coming from the people actually involved.
Snape had certainly earned Gryffindor's hatred through his own actions...
"Just try to stay away from both of them for the rest of the term," Adrian advised finally.
"I am staying away from them!" Harry said in frustration. "But apparently one of them still wants to kill me!"
Since arriving at Hogwarts, he'd been Snape's favorite target, and now Quirrell might be trying to murder him too. Harry couldn't understand why so many people wanted to hurt him.
After everyone had calmed down, Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared the information they'd gathered from Hagrid after the match. Hermione summarized their conclusions:
"So either Snape or Quirrell, maybe both, want to get past the three-headed dog's trapdoor and steal whatever Dumbledore is hiding down there."
"By the way, Adrian," Hermione said suddenly, "do you know who Nicolas Flamel is?"
Adrian hesitated. He knew he shouldn't reveal information about the Philosopher's Stone at this stage. Finally, he shook his head.
First, he needed stable conditions for brewing potions, the fewer distractions, the better. Second, recklessly interfering with Dumbledore's carefully orchestrated "hero development program" could have serious consequences. Adrian had no desire to endure another interrogation, nor did he want to disrupt the timeline too much. His one real advantage was future knowledge, and if he squandered that, he'd be stumbling forward blind. For now, taking drastic action was too dangerous, even if it might eventually become inevitable. After all, he had already nudged the story off its original course in small ways. Still, he wanted to be stronger before making any major changes. That meant, for now, his top priorities were completing the blood potion and learning/praticing spells.
He wasn't worried about Quirrell actually getting the Philosopher's Stone during this period, because Dumbledore hadn't placed the Mirror of Erised in the final chamber yet. The mirror wouldn't be installed until Dumbledore was certain Harry could pass its test.
Right now, even if Quirrell reached the final chamber, he'd find nothing but empty space.
Seeing that Adrian didn't recognize Nicolas Flamel's name, Hermione, Harry, and Ron looked disappointed but soon went back to their speculative discussion.
Adrian wasn't particularly interested in a Philosopher's Stone he couldn't get anyway. His immediate concern was whether Hagrid had gotten that dragon egg yet... though judging by the timeline, probably not.
Adrian decided to focus on gathering his potion ingredients first during this window of opportunity.
Two days later, Adrian found the perfect chance. After an exceptionally boring Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, he had the entire afternoon free.
That would be more than enough time for a trip to Hogsmeade.
After carefully checking the Marauder's Map to confirm that no one was near the secret passage to Hogsmeade Village, Adrian approached the statue of the one-eyed witch. He tapped it with his wand and whispered, "Dissendium."
There was a soft grinding sound as the witch's hump separated from the main body, revealing an irregular opening. Adrian cast a Lumos charm and squeezed into the narrow, cramped secret passage.