"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Ron vehemently denied.
Harry and Hermione were a little perplexed, but Ron's next sentence revealed the reason.
"Everything on Chocolate Frog cards is the truest fact. They would never make things up!"
"Dumbledore's widely known contributions include: defeating the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his effective work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!"
"Nicolas Flamel is a real person!"
"Is there a possibility," Hermione said slowly, trying not to sound skeptical, "that Nicolas Flamel just shares a name with the Nicolas Flamel from hundreds of years ago? Just like Slytherins claiming Merlin was a student of their house. Or maybe the most outstanding members of the Flamel family always use the same name or something."
"Hermione, the Philosopher's Stone really exists," Basil said speechlessly.
Harry also emphasized, "That would explain everything. Immortality and gold—no wizard could resist that temptation. Now it's not impossible that both Snape and Quirrell are bad guys."
"Hmm, how could it be real? It's too... like something out of a fairy tale," Hermione insisted stubbornly.
"But wizards are in fairy tales too," Harry said, puzzled.
He didn't understand why Hermione was always stubborn about strange things.
Hermione wanted to say something more.
But with a sentence from Basil, "It's in books. The Catalogue of Great Alchemists, Excerpts from 14th Century Events... A History of Beauxbatons all record Nicolas Flamel and his Philosopher's Stone."
"So it really exists," Hermione believed it now. "Excerpts from 14th Century Events... I thought about borrowing that book for light reading once. But you know, Basil is too popular right now. I have to—"
Hermione's face suddenly turned red.
In recent weeks, Harry increasingly believed that Quirrell might be a good guy.
Over the next few weeks, Quirrell indeed looked paler and thinner, but he still insisted on teaching while ill, his words revealing a vitality mismatched with his appearance.
Suspecting such a person of being a bad guy—was he even human?
Basil objected to this: What if it was precisely because of this that Quirrell needed the Philosopher's Stone to heal his body?
Ron argued that a wizard as great as Dumbledore would surely give the Stone to Quirrell if he truly needed it for illness.
So that motive didn't exist.
He stuck to his idea firmly, even dragging Harry along.
Whenever they met Quirrell on the way, they would give him a smile meant to be encouraging.
Only Basil could see how irritable Voldemort on the back of Quirrell's head became because of this.
"They are mocking me! They are mocking me! Mocking me for not getting the Philosopher's Stone!"
Already furious because the version of himself in the Diary had become independent, he grew even angrier.
The result was that every time Quirrell received an "encouraging" smile, he would be tortured by Voldemort with the Cruciatus Curse that night.
Quirrell: I really want to thank you!
So, Basil didn't stop this behavior, which would surely make Harry and Ron want to dig a hole and bury themselves once they learned the truth.
How fun!
Hermione, however, didn't care about the Philosopher's Stone.
After combining Harry's words, reasoning that the small package Hagrid retrieved from Gringotts and the object in the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor was likely the Philosopher's Stone...
She focused more on fending off the male and female students attracted to Basil and making a revision plan.
For this, she color-coded all her notes.
At the same time, she urged Harry and Ron to join her (she couldn't persuade Basil, and besides, his grades were excellent, and he knew many spells beyond their grade level).
"Hermione, we're not even halfway through March yet! June is ages away!" Ron refused without hesitation.
Hermione shook her head. "Our Easter holidays start on the 31st at the end of the month. Two whole weeks off! We won't be back to studying until April 13th. That means we only have less than two months to revise!"
"But the point isn't that. I heard we have to pass these exams to get into the second year. They are very important. I should have started reviewing a month ago; I don't know what was wrong with me."
"Huh? That can't be true!" An image instantly popped into Harry's mind: him being expelled, his wand snapped, returning home to be mocked by the Dursleys.
"False," Basil blew a stray hair from his face. "In the lower years, even if you get a T (Troll) grade, you can still move on to the next year."
"Even for the O.W.Ls (Ordinary Wizarding Level) exams in fifth year... N.E.W.T. (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test) courses (sixth and seventh-year classes), also known as N.E.W.T.-level classes, officially only accept students with an E (Exceeds Expectations). But in reality, even if you get a P (Poor) in a subject, as long as you really want to study it and show a sincere attitude, professors generally won't turn you away."
"Phew." Harry and Ron sighed in relief simultaneously, putting down the books they had just picked up.
"However." Hearing Basil's word, Harry and Ron's hearts rose again.
"This excludes Potions. Professor Snape only allows students who achieve an O (Outstanding) in the Potions exam to take his N.E.W.T. course. Because of this, many young wizards' dreams have been cut short."
"For example, if you want to be a Healer at St. Mungo's or an Auror at the Ministry of Magic, you need an E (Exceeds Expectations) in Potions on your N.E.W.Ts."
"But you can't take the N.E.W.T. exam without taking the N.E.W.T. course."
"That's disgusting. Previous Potions professors only required an E (Exceeds Expectations) for N.E.W.T. classes. Only Snape raised the requirement to O (Outstanding)." Basil's eyes showed obvious disgust.
It was like Snape saying: If I don't have dreams, I'll destroy yours.
Especially since Snape was also unfair in grading, being overly lenient to Slytherins and overly harsh to other houses.
Such a person, if not for his solid professional skills, wouldn't be fit to be a teacher at all.
"So, Basil, you also think Snape is a bad guy and Quirrell is a good guy," Ron ignored the rest of Basil's words.
In his view, fifth year was still a long way off.
Basil didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Harry rubbed his hair in distress. "So I can give up on my dream of becoming an Auror or Healer ahead of schedule?"
With Snape targeting him like this, he had no hope.
Although his dream was to be a Quidditch player, he couldn't help but feel troubled.
"I can definitely get into the N.E.W.T. class. I can help you make a revision plan then," Hermione nodded confidently.
"Forget it, I don't want to be an Auror or a Healer anyway." Harry instantly regained his spirits. "This Easter, I'm definitely going to have fun. Especially since Ron is staying too."
"Yeah." Ron's eyes were filled with longing.
Passing Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Failing Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)