Harry wouldn't have gone off investigating the Philosopher's Stone for no reason, so Victor Wick had to provide him with a proper nudge.
Victor knew that after tonight, Harry's interest had been completely piqued.
To repay the help he had received, Harry would undoubtedly help protect the Philosopher's Stone in his own way.
This was exactly what Victor needed him to do. To that end, he hadn't hesitated to have Severus Snape and Quirinus Quirrell put on a show in front of Harry at just the right moment...
Of course, both Snape and Quirrell thought they were the only ones acting; neither realized the other had also been assigned a role by a certain unscrupulous fellow.
"Wrap it up. Time for some rest. Research on the buffs has reached its final stage anyway." Victor Wick put away the two Communication Stones and lay down on his bed for the first time in a while. Soon, sleepiness washed over him; without the stimulation of the Invigoration Draught, he quickly fell into a deep slumber...
While Victor slept, Harry and the others couldn't sleep at all!
They spent a long time in the Gryffindor common room just catching their breath and slowly recovering.
What had happened tonight was simply too thrilling!
Not only had they witnessed a conflict between two professors, but they had also stepped right into that despicable Draco Malfoy's trap, nearly getting caught by Argus Filch—and they were almost turned into snacks, one bite at a time, by Fluffy...
Hermione Granger slumped into an armchair, her body trembling slightly.
Thankfully... Gryffindor's meager remaining points had been saved!
"You saw what happened tonight," Hermione said, her face pale, yet she was the first to speak. "It proves my suspicions weren't wrong. Let this be a lesson. If anything similar happens again, I hope you'll actually listen to my advice..."
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom all turned red with shame, knowing she was referring to the duel with Malfoy.
Even Ron, who usually enjoyed arguing with Hermione, couldn't find a single word to defend himself.
They had been far too impulsive tonight, firmly believing Malfoy would actually show up.
To be honest, looking back now, they realized how ridiculous their thinking had been.
How could they have believed that someone like Malfoy—who cried for his daddy whenever anything went wrong—would actually dare to seek them out for a duel?
"We were wrong," Harry apologized sincerely.
"Fine... let's not dwell on that. Harry, what did you discover? You seemed to notice something when Snape and Professor Quirrell were arguing," Hermione asked.
Harry thought back for a moment before whispering, "The wound on Snape's leg... it was a bite. But Hermione, you said trolls usually use clubs or things like that as weapons. I've never heard of them attacking people with their teeth."
"So, you're saying Snape's injury wasn't caused by the troll as the school officially claimed... but instead..." Hermione recalled the three-headed dog. "You mean... Fluffy? Snape was bitten by Fluffy?"
"It's obvious." Harry shrugged. "The bite was still bleeding, and from the size of it, it was definitely Fluffy."
"In fact, besides Fluffy, there isn't another magical creature in Hogwarts with a mouth that big..." Neville chimed in. "You can't exactly say the gargoyle at Dumbledore's door suddenly came to life and took a chunk out of Snape."
"If that's the case, everything is clear," Harry said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "On Halloween, the troll was let out to distract everyone, and Snape went to the fourth floor, where he got bitten by Fluffy."
"But that doesn't make sense!" Ron frowned in confusion. "We know something is hidden on the fourth floor... Hagrid said the professors all helped set up the defenses, and Snape was one of them... Why would he want to steal it?"
"Who knows..." Harry shrugged. "But it's the only explanation that fits. And tonight... Professor Quirrell seemed to have noticed Snape's intentions, so he was following him to protect the item."
"Should we ask Professor Quirrell tomorrow then?" Ron blinked, sounding a bit excited.
"And ask him in a way that lets the professors—and everyone else—know we broke at least fifty school rules tonight?" Hermione asked coldly.
Ron shut his mouth; his idea was indeed unworkable.
"Hagrid should know something... maybe we can go find him and try to pry some more information out of him." Harry adjusted his glasses.
"Or... we could just ignore this, go back to sleep, and pretend nothing happened?" Hermione suggested helplessly.
"I can't do that, Hermione. Professor Wick and Professor Dumbledore clearly care deeply about that item... Look how terrible Professor Wick's complexion has been lately. He must be worrying about its safety. Who knows how many times Snape has moved in secret while we weren't looking? Professor Wick has been so good to me... I have to do something to help him!" Harry said firmly.
Hermione sighed. As soon as Harry mentioned Professor Wick, she knew her attempt to dissuade him had failed again.
However, Harry wasn't wrong. One should always show gratitude.
"I'll help too... but you have to learn from tonight. Don't be impulsive. Whatever happens, we decide together after talking it through," Hermione said resignedly.
Since the decision was made, they would see it through.
She just hoped they wouldn't ruin things by being reckless again.
Victor Wick had already finished his thorough research on the Chimaera.
He had also successfully reconstructed its innate magical talent.
Compared to buffs, bloodline modification actually had its advantages.
Bloodline modification could bring a person's body and magic closer to that of a magical creature. Combined with buffs, it would certainly make someone much stronger.
But the risk was far too high. No one knew what would happen during bloodline modification.
It was well known that many strange magical creatures in the wizarding world were created by wizards... some were even monsters mutated from wizards themselves.
Clearly, others had already walked this path; Voldemort was likely one of the few successes.
"Teach this spell to everyone." Victor handed a completed piece of parchment to Brian.
Fleur Delacour was busy grading assignments as usual, so Victor had called for Brian instead.
This young man had performed exceptionally during the previous chase, leaving a deep impression on Victor.
"What kind of spell is this?" Brian asked excitedly. "Is it your Data Palace, Professor?"
"No, but this spell is replicated from the Chimaera's innate ability. It can significantly enhance your magic, strength, reflexes, and speed... it lasts for an hour. Once it wears off, you'll feel extremely hungry." Victor introduced the results of his recent work.
This spell did have a minor side effect because the human body wasn't as sturdy as a Chimaera's.
After a forced, significant boost, the body's energy consumption would accelerate... naturally resulting in hunger once the magic ended.
"This spell! It's perfect for us!" Brian excitedly took the parchment.
For these young people who had been specially trained since childhood, they understood perfectly well how much of an advantage such a boost provided in combat!
Compared to the benefits this spell brought, a minor side effect like hunger was truly inconsequential.
Worst case, they could just prepare extra chocolate!
Brian tucked the parchment away and wanted to find the others to share the spell.
However, Victor stopped him.
"I told Fleur to tell you all to learn about various industries and professions... how is the progress?"
Brian immediately broke into a smile. "Progress is quite good. After all, these are things everyone enjoys doing. You know, we didn't really have the chance to cultivate our own hobbies growing up, so we all cherish this opportunity."
After chatting with Brian for a while, Victor got a sense of their recent situation.
They weren't learning these things in a training institution. Everyone had different interests, and it wasn't realistic to bring that many teachers to a facility—especially one located in Knockturn Alley.
So, they spent their days out in the world studying and making connections in various fields.
Clearly, they were taking Victor's offhand instructions very seriously.
Of course, with the legitimate identities provided by the Ministry of Magic and Victor's massive financial backing, they were integrating into various industries very quickly.
It could be said that aside from a group of young people who wanted to enter politics through the Ministry and were still studying, everyone else was gradually finding their footing.
Victor told Brian to tell those aiming for politics not to worry.
They were still too young; they couldn't just walk into the Ministry yet. Once they were a few years older, Victor would naturally have ways to plant them inside.
For the British Ministry of Magic... pulling strings was much faster than taking exams.
"Hagrid, Snape is plotting to steal the item on the fourth floor!"
In Hagrid's hut, the group was discussing the hidden item.
When Hagrid started to grow impatient with their prying, Harry suddenly dropped a bombshell.
Hagrid was so startled he nearly dropped his cup.
Hagrid knew he couldn't let them keep talking; he had to stop these little fellows from investigating!
Thus, he shouted in his sternest voice, "No! That's impossible, Harry! I don't know where you heard that, but Snape is one of the professors who helped design the defenses. Why would he be after the Philosopher's Stone..."
Hagrid suddenly froze. No matter how slow he was, he knew he had just said a word he shouldn't have.
"Ha! The Philosopher's Stone!" A triumphant grin appeared on Harry's face as he high-fived Ron.
Hagrid's entire face turned beet red.
"So, Hagrid, what is the Philosopher's Stone?"
"No... what stone? I don't know what you're talking about." Hagrid was utterly annoyed. He stood up and began to usher the little ones out. "It's late. You lot should be going!"
As they walked out of Hagrid's hut, Harry looked back and saw the unhappy expression on Hagrid's face.
"Sorry, Hagrid... we didn't want to trick you like that, but... this is very important to us. In any case, I can't let Snape take the item Professor Wick is protecting." Harry said firmly.