Harry Potter: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me from Studying

Wade was very fond of the Weasley twins; they were the kind of people who, even in the most desperate situations, would strive to bring joy to others. He had only intended to stop them from continuing their reckless behavior, but looking at their bright expressions, he couldn't help but wonder—

Why should he keep the truth for Voldemort?

Voldemort went to great lengths to hide his true identity because he feared Dumbledore. What good would it do Wade to help him hide? On the contrary, if Wade was the sole possessor of a secret, his situation would be very dangerous if the other party ever found out. But if the secret spread, the trouble would fall on Voldemort instead.

Thinking this, his conflicted feelings about keeping the secret instantly cleared.

However, Wade also didn't want to completely spread the news and leave Voldemort no escape. After all, even Dumbledore couldn't permanently kill him right now, and Voldemort was only hiding at the school to steal the Philosopher's Stone. If he realized his efforts were futile and, in a fit of rage, went on a rampage, the students at the school would be no match for him, and who knew how many would die before Dumbledore could arrive.

He carefully began, "Actually..."

The Weasley twins' eyes lit up.

"—Let's find a quiet place to talk."

For Wade, the safest places were his own dormitory or the Umbrella Room.

He remembered there was also the hidden Room of Requirement in the school, but when Wade watched the movie, he was only focused on the plot and special effects, not on the specific location of the Room of Requirement. As a result, he had been searching on and off for three months without finding it.

To avoid a scenario like in the movies—where the protagonist discusses a crucial secret, only for a listening ear to betray it to the villain, causing a series of tragedies—they came to the Umbrella Room.

The holidays were approaching, and everyone's enthusiasm for studying had waned. At this moment, only two people were in the Umbrella Room: Hermione, almost entirely hidden by tall stacks of books, looking utterly overwhelmed by her reading, and Ryan, who had brought in a pile of wood and was building new targets.

"Wow, is this your secret hideout?" Fred was the first to poke his head in and look around.

Soon, another red-haired head appeared beside him. After a glance, he greeted, "Hello there, Miss Know-It-All."

"Ugh, I'm not good," Hermione said glumly. "Does anyone know who Nicolas Flamel is? He's not in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, nor in Who's Who in Modern Sorcery. I can't find his name in Important Discoveries in Modern Magic or A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry either. I've almost gone through a hundred books! Is he not written about at all?"

The few people inside and outside the room froze simultaneously, then said in unison, "What are you talking about, Hermione! That's Nicolas Flamel, of course he's in books!"

Hermione slowly raised her head, blinked, and a rare, almost pitiful, look of bewilderment crossed her face.

"You... all know Nicolas Flamel?"

"Of course!" Ryan propped up a target. "He celebrated his 665th birthday last year! It was in the Daily Prophet! My dad says he might be the longest-living person in the world."

"665 years old?" Hermione repeated, disbelieving.

Fred said, "Nicolas Flamel is the greatest alchemist. He created the only Philosopher's Stone in the world."

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione felt she must have seen that term in a book somewhere.

George said, "The Philosopher's Stone can turn any metal into pure gold, and it can also create the Elixir of Life. My biggest dream as a child was to own a Philosopher's Stone."

"Turning lead into gold? Immortality?" Hermione still repeated.

Wade, who had turned to close the door, couldn't help but quip, "Hermione, have you turned into a repeater?"

Though Fred and the others didn't know what a "repeater" was, the meaning was simple enough, and they burst out laughing.

Hermione looked eagerly at Wade. "So, Wade... you wouldn't happen to know Nicolas Flamel too, would you?"

Wade explained simply, "I'm studying alchemy lately, and his works were the first ones I read."

"Alchemy?" Ryan was surprised. "That's a sixth-year subject!"

"Yes, but I can start building a foundation now," Wade said. "Theo isn't with you today?"

"He went to help Professor Sprout organize the greenhouses. I remembered the target I broke last time couldn't be fixed, so I decided to make some new ones," Ryan explained, patting his clothes, pulling down his sleeves, walking over, and picking up a cup of water to drink.

Wade casually cast Scourgify on him, removing the tiny wood chips.

Fred straddled a chair and poked Hermione. "Hello! Are you okay? Still alive? Do you know what number this is?"

Hermione, who had been sprawled across the table, reached out and swatted away Fred's hand dangling in front of her eyes. She sat up, annoyed. "I should have just asked—I've been looking for over a month!"

Wade flipped through the books on her table; they were all about modern magic history. Of course, she wouldn't find Nicolas Flamel there—he was born in 14th-century France and written about in older books.

"Hermione, why were you looking up Nicolas Flamel?" Ryan asked kindly. When Wade wasn't around, Hermione was always generous in answering everyone's questions, and they had long considered her a true friend.

"I, I just..." Hermione was about to say it was nothing, because explaining the reason would expose their rule-breaking adventure into the Forbidden Corridor in the middle of the night. But when she looked up and saw everyone around her looking at her with concern, their gazes sincere and open, she felt a great sense of shame for her evasive behavior.

"It's like this—" Hermione hesitated, but finally recounted their adventure, and how, after the Quidditch match, she, Harry, and Ron visited Hagrid, the Gamekeeper, who inadvertently let slip that the thing guarded by the three-headed dog was related to Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.

"It seems that big dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone," Hermione concluded. "I bet Flamel asked Dumbledore to keep it for him! He knew someone was after the Philosopher's Stone, and he and Dumbledore are friends, which is why the Stone is at Hogwarts."

Hermione glanced at Wade but didn't mention Wade's previous guess—though she increasingly felt Wade was right, and the whole thing might just be Dumbledore's test for Harry. However, letting other students know that the Headmaster was showing special treatment to a particular student wouldn't be good for Harry.

What it was like to be at the center of attention was clear from how Harry, upon first entering school, was constantly pursued and cornered by his classmates. Hermione knew her friend was deeply troubled by this.

"Then who is after the Philosopher's Stone?" Ryan asked.

Hermione said, "Harry and Ron are convinced it's Snape, because his leg seemed to have been bitten by the three-headed dog. But I think—"

Before she finished speaking, George suddenly said, "—Quirrell?"

Hermione paused for two seconds before saying, "What does that have to do with Professor Quirrell? Although I also think he's not very competent—"