Hermione continued to participate actively in class, earning points for the house. Harry devoted himself even more seriously to Quidditch practice, and their house points steadily increased.
Exams were approaching, and the trio—Harry, Hermione, and Ron—were preparing carefully, planning how best to demonstrate their abilities.
Yet accidents were inevitable, and with the exams drawing near, one afternoon Harry left the library. Ahead, he heard someone sit down forcefully in a classroom, quietly sobbing.
Passing by, he recognized Professor Quirrell's voice.
"Please… I can't do it."
Harry froze, startled—someone seemed to be threatening Quirrell. He crept forward cautiously.
"All right, all right…" Quirrell's voice choked again.
Then Harry saw him hurry out of the classroom, one hand adjusting his turban. His face was pale, eyes red and swollen, as if he could break into tears at any moment. Harry hid and waited until Quirrell left before peeking into the room. It was empty, though another door had a small crack. He considered going in but remembered the promise he had made to everyone—he couldn't risk going alone.
He thought carefully. Judging by the footsteps, it must have been Snape who had left through the other door. From what he saw, Quirrell had given in.
Harry called Hermione and Ron and discovered that George was with them. He recounted everything he had witnessed.
"At least you didn't act like Quirrell or Snape. That's a good thing," George said. What he valued most was that Harry wouldn't take unnecessary risks.
"Snape is about to succeed, and Quirrell has already surrendered, so he knows how to lift the curse," Ron muttered, lowering his head thoughtfully.
"And what about the three-headed dog, Fluffy?" Hermione's mind was focused on helping Neville regain his points and on doing well in the exams, so she wasn't too concerned with Snape's maneuvers.
"There's always a way around Fluffy—no need to ask Hagrid," Ron said, looking around. "I'm sure there's a safe way to get past the three-headed dog in the library. We just have to think it through. Haha, what do you think?"
Harry had always been fascinated by Snape's secrets. As people often said, your enemies know you best. Harry wanted to uncover Snape's secrets, expose his schemes, and ultimately foil him. Yet Snape's cunning sometimes even interfered with Harry's plans.
Hermione spoke before Harry could. "We should tell Dumbledore. He's the headmaster and the protector of the school—these matters belong to him."
"But we have no proof," Harry objected, trying to persuade her.
"Quirrell definitely won't testify. He's terrified. Snape will either deny it or admit it. There's no evidence. He's a professor, we're students. Everyone hates him. Everyone knows it, and some even believe him."
"Even then, Dumbledore might think we're lying. Filch would likely side with Snape. We're too weak and have no evidence. All we know are the Philosopher's Stone and Fluffy, and that doesn't follow the school's rules," Harry reasoned slowly, realizing he couldn't involve Dumbledore.
Hermione knew Harry was right but didn't want to mix the two issues, so she turned to George for support.
"Harry's analysis is correct. We lack evidence, and as students, we cannot challenge a professor. You must understand this first," George said, pointing to the table as he explained. "Quirrell is unreliable, Filch is unreliable, Snape is even more so, and Dumbledore won't believe us. You must be clear about this."
"What should I do?" Hermione asked, unsure how to respond after George's explanation.
"Do you really plan to save the school—or the whole wizarding world—on just the three of you? Go up against those mysterious figures?" George tapped the table with his finger. Everyone's eyes focused on him. Then he added, "Well, actually, four of you."
"Then let's just take the exams calmly. They're next week," Hermione relaxed immediately, seeing that George didn't support Harry's plan to intervene.
"So we do nothing?" Harry still hesitated, trying to change George's mind.
"No, wait—patience is the most important thing," George said, standing tall and looking down at Harry. "Remember, this world doesn't belong to you, and it doesn't belong to me."
Snape and his actions might be flawed, and Dumbledore will respond. We are merely hunters in the dark. If necessary, we can wield our weapons—but only Dumbledore can confront them directly. That is how the magical world works.
"Don't put the weight of the entire world on yourself. Not because it will crush you, but because you might destroy it," George continued firmly.
"Before trying to save the world, you should focus on your exams. I'm not worried you'll fail, but I don't want you to lose to Malfoy." With George's support, Hermione brightened, helping everyone refocus on the exams.
"That's sensible. We should wait for the right opportunity to find a way forward," Ron added, recalling the terrifying mysterious figures. It was best to follow George's approach and ensure their own safety—they could act decisively when the time was right.
Malfoy ran desperately, screaming in terror, unable to believe the sounds coming from his own mouth.
He had never run so fast. The cold wind of the Forbidden Forest whipped past his ears, blowing his coat into his robes. He felt almost as if he were flying on a broomstick.
He couldn't feel his legs, yet they moved like wheels spinning two thousand meters a second, carrying him almost weightlessly. His mind drifted—he almost forgot what he was doing, running like the wind.
Then he remembered.
Everything had gone horribly wrong. This shouldn't have happened. He had discovered Harry and the others' secret: Hagrid, the Weasleys, and Harry were raising a dragon—a fierce, dangerous dragon. This was strictly forbidden by the school. It was illegal—they could all be expelled.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He wanted Hagrid, the Weasleys, and Hermione expelled, leaving Harry behind at school because he was the Chosen One, and Malfoy himself would petition for Harry's expulsion.
Where was the flaw? Malfoy's mind raced. This was a perfect chance. Though difficult to seize, a clever Malfoy always found a way.
"Everyone, be sure to give this story a Powerstone! Also, 30 advanced chapters of this story are uploaded on my Patreon—you can go there and read them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
for 30 advanced chapter, visit my patreon
'patreon.com/fatimasoomro123'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"