The Headmaster's Office, once neatly organized, was now in a state of utter chaos, with items thrown everywhere.
Documents, books, and stationery were scattered across the floor, as if a violent storm had swept through.
The portraits on the walls had not been spared either; they were covered by a massive black cloth, leaving the figures behind it clueless about the situation in the room.
Amidst the mess, Phoenix Fawkes had already undergone nirvana and returned to its fledgling form. It huddled quietly in a corner, its feathers ruffled and its eyes filled with terror.
Professor Flitwick stood to the side, his brow furrowed as he looked at the scene with deep concern.
Professor McGonagall used a spell to burn away the black cloth and asked anxiously, "Seniors, did any of you see the attacker's face?"
The shaken portraits all shook their heads, explaining that they had been covered by the black cloth the moment the intruder burst in. They had only caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure wrapped tightly in a black robe, making it impossible to identify them.
"Furthermore," one of the portraits added, "the person could perform non-verbal spells. We couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman."
Professor McGonagall's expression grew even more solemn. She realized that this attacker was no ordinary individual.
To be able to force Phoenix Fawkes back into its fledgling state and render it powerless in such a short time meant the opponent was clearly an extremely powerful master of the Dark Arts.
Haskui had likely taken advantage of the struggle between Phoenix Fawkes and the man in black to snatch the precious Philosopher's Stone from the Phoenix's nest, flying out through the window of the Headmaster's Office to seek Adelaide's protection.
Dumbledore did not return until nearly one o'clock in the morning.
Adelaide learned from Dumbledore that a sudden terrorist attack had broken out at St Mungos Hospital around ten o'clock that night.
Over thirty vicious Death Eaters had launched an indiscriminate attack on the hospital without warning. They brutally murdered six innocent Wizards, and over a dozen more were critically injured and rushed to intensive care units.
Fortunately, there were Aurors guarding Grindelwald at St Mungos, as well as Acolytes members responsible for the leader's daily care. They skillfully utilized the advantageous terrain of the hospital stairwells and elevator entrances to launch a fierce counterattack from above, minimizing casualties among ordinary Wizards.
By the time Dumbledore arrived at St Mungos and was tied down by the Death Eaters, he realized he might have fallen for a diversionary tactic. However, faced with such a tragic situation, he could not stand idly by. He could only unleash his most devastating spells to defeat the Death Eaters as quickly as possible.
After dealing with the enemies, Dumbledore did not delay for a moment. He immediately used Apparition to return to Hogwarts and retrieved the Philosopher's Stone from Adelaide's hands.
To thank Adelaide for protecting the Philosopher's Stone, Dumbledore promised her that he would convince Nicolas Flamel to lend it to her for research over the summer break after the school year ended.
The start of Adelaide's second school year at Hogwarts was spent in a state of chaos.
The next morning, when students passed the giant hourglasses that recorded the house cup scores as usual, they were all left open-mouthed in shock—Ravenclaw's score had actually increased by a full thirty points overnight!
"What's going on?"
"Is there some mistake?"
"The semester has only just begun, and the schedules haven't even been handed out yet. How did Ravenclaw get so many points?"
A few particularly curious Gryffindors could not contain their confusion and decided to ask a Professor for the truth.
Since the matter regarding the Philosopher's Stone had to be kept secret, the Professors could only give vague answers: "Adelaide made a contribution to the Wizarding World last night, and the school rewarded her with these thirty points."
Adelaide's pet, Haskui, had taken the Philosopher's Stone at a critical moment to prevent the intruder from succeeding, and Adelaide had then protected the stone for half the night until Dumbledore returned to take over—it wasn't a lie to say Adelaide had made a contribution to the Wizarding World.
However, this vague explanation only made the thirty points Adelaide earned for Ravenclaw seem increasingly mysterious and magical.
During the first few days of school, wherever she went, she could hear students whispering about her "heroic deeds."
Combined with the reports in The Daily Prophet about the attack on St Mungos, all sorts of outrageous rumors spread rapidly as if they had grown wings.
The most ridiculous and widespread rumor was that Adelaide was actually a hero of the night who had been secretly protecting the Wizarding World; during the attack on St Mungos, she had supposedly flown through like a bolt of lightning on the black dragon she tamed last semester and single-handedly defeated over thirty vicious terrorists.
Adelaide was speechless when she heard this rumor; they were treating her like the Bruce Wayne of the Wizarding World.
The student who made up this rumor should urgently burn their collection of Muggle superhero comics and spend more time reading the History of Magic.
Simultaneously trending with the "Hero of the Night Adelaide" rumors was another story—the heroic feat of The Chosen One Harry Potter attempting to break into the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor on the very first day of school.
Harry was truly an unlucky fellow. He got lost in the Castle on his first day of classes, and Ron and Neville, who were with him, weren't exactly reliable either.
The three of them wandered aimlessly through the stairwells, nearly arriving late for Transfiguration, and were caught by Filch just as they were about to enter the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor.
Despite Harry's best efforts to explain, Ron's wild gesturing, and Neville's face turning red as he tried to say they were just lost, the stubborn Filch simply wouldn't believe them. He even wanted to lock them in the dungeons, until Professor Quirrell, who happened to be passing by, bailed them out.
Upon hearing this news, Adelaide raised an eyebrow. This Quirrell was being a bit too reckless!
With Dumbledore's office having been broken into and the Philosopher's Stone nearly stolen, Professor Quirrell—who had no morning classes and whose office was on the third floor—actually dared to "happen" to pass by the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor? Was he not worried about looking suspicious enough?
However, his actions did win him some favor with Harry. When Neville came to find Adelaide for his daily report, he also spoke highly of Professor Quirrell. In the eyes of Harry's little group, Quirrell had become a good teacher, second only to Professor McGonagall.
Adelaide didn't bother dwelling on these matters; Dumbledore would deal with Quirrell. Over the past few days, she had focused her attention on selecting giant specimens of Flobberworms. The largest mother she had bred so far had reached 1.4 meters, nearing the ideal size in Adelaide's mind.
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.