Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

The Weasleys stared at him for a moment, then looked as if they had just remembered something: "Ah, you are—"

"The library's—"

"What's your name again?" the two brothers asked together.

“Wade Grey, from Ravenclaw,” Wade said.

The twins suddenly realized—they had heard this name countless times from their youngest brother, Ron. Every time they finished class with Ravenclaw, Ron would talk enviously and jealously about how a young wizard named Wade in the same grade was admired by the professors and was sure to be the next Percy.

But from what they saw, Wade Gray was completely different from their brother Percy, and like them, he was an alchemy enthusiast, which made them like him even more.

The Weasleys exchanged glances and leaned closer, saying, "Aren't you curious?"

Quirrell always wore that big scarf—

"No matter how the weather changes, he never takes it off—"

“We went to the kitchen and asked the house-elves, and he hadn’t even asked them to help wash the scarf—”

“So there must be some secret hidden under his scarf! It can’t be known by anyone!” Fred Weasley said with certainty. “Maybe some kind of dark magic weapon that’s damaged his brain.”

“It could also be an incredibly ugly bald head—” George Weasley couldn’t help but laugh. “Just imagining that scene would be hilarious.”

“Don’t bully Professor Quirrell just because he’s easy to talk to!” Wade advised gently in a Hermione-esque tone, “Do you dare to go and mess up Professor McGonagall’s hair?”

"Don't say such scary things, okay?" Fred put his arm around Wade's shoulder in a familiar manner. "And I've also discovered something strange. Do you know what it is?"

"What?" George asked in a witty, comical tone.

“I’ve noticed—” Fred looked at Wade and drawled, “We’ve all mentioned the suspicious points about Quirrell’s scarf, but you don’t seem curious at all!”

Wade's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly realized that beneath the brothers' jovial attitude lay an incredibly keen intuition.

His gaze shifted slightly, and George noticed it immediately.

He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "So you knew?"

Wade crossed his arms, took a step back and leaned against the wall, squinting at the Weasleys: "So... this is an interrogation?"

George and Fred exchanged a glance and laughed simultaneously, "Of course not!"

“You found the answer to the problem before we did; that’s why we lost,” Fred said seriously.

“But as for interrogation or anything like that, that’s impossible. We’ll find out the answer ourselves!” George flashed a bright smile.

Chapter 41 Frankness

Wade really liked the Weasley twins; they were the kind of people who would try to bring joy to others even in the most desperate situations. He had originally just wanted to stop them from continuing their reckless behavior, but looking at their bright expressions, he couldn't help but think—

Why should I cover up the truth for Voldemort?

Voldemort went to great lengths to hide his true identity because he feared Dumbledore; what benefit would it bring Wade to help him conceal it?

Conversely, if Vader is the only one who knows a secret, his situation will be very dangerous once the other party discovers it. But if the secret is leaked, it is Voldemort who will be in trouble.

Thinking about it this way, the anxiety I felt because of hiding the secret suddenly vanished.

But Wade didn't want to spread the news completely, leaving Voldemort with no way out. After all, Dumbledore couldn't kill him completely now; Voldemort was only hiding his identity at the school to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. If he realized he couldn't get it and went on a killing spree in a fit of rage, the students at the school would be no match for him, and countless people would die before Dumbledore arrived.

He hesitated before saying, "Actually..."

The Weasley twins' eyes lit up.

"Let's find a quiet place to talk."

For Vader, the safest place besides his dormitory was the Umbrella House.

He remembered that there was a hidden Room of Requirement in the school, but when Wade watched the movie, he was so focused on the plot and special effects that he didn't pay attention to the Room of Requirement's exact location. 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 is discussing a crucial secret only to have it overheard by a pair of eavesdroppers who then leak it to the villain, leading to a series of tragedies—they come to the Umbrella House.

With the holidays approaching, everyone's enthusiasm for studying has waned. At this moment, there are only two people in the Umbrella House—Hermione is almost completely blocked by the tall pile of books, looking like she's overwhelmed by reading; while Ryan has brought over a pile of wood and is making a new target.

"Wow, is this your secret base?" Fred was the first to peek in and look around.

Soon another red-haired head popped in next to him, looked him over, and greeted him, "Hello, Miss Know-It-All."

“Oh dear, I’m so frustrated,” Hermione said dejectedly. “Does anyone know who Nicolas Flamel really is? He’s not in *The Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century*, nor in *The Directory of Contemporary Wizards*. I can’t find his name in *Major Discoveries in Modern Magic* or *Studies in the Development of Modern Wizardry* either. I’ve gone through almost a hundred books! Was he never even written into any of them?”

The people inside and outside the room froze, then exclaimed in unison, "What are you talking about, Hermione! That's Nick Flamel, of course he's in the book!"

Hermione slowly raised her head, blinked, and a rare look of heartbreaking confusion appeared on her face.

"You all... all know Nicolas Lemaître?"

“Of course!” Ryan lifted a target and said, “He celebrated his 665th birthday last year, and it was even in the Daily Prophet! My dad says he might be the oldest person in the world.”

"665 years old?" Hermione repeated incredulously.

Fred said, "Nico Lemaître was the greatest alchemist; he created the only Philosopher's Stone in the world."

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione thought she must have seen the term in that book.

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

"Turning stone into gold? Immortality?" Hermione repeated.

As Wade turned to close the door, he couldn't help but complain, "Hermione, have you turned into a broken record?"

Although Fred and the others didn't know what a tape recorder was, the meaning was simple and easy to understand, and they all burst out laughing.

Hermione stared at Wade expectantly: "So Wade... you don't know Nick Lemaître either, do you?"

Wade explained simply, "I've recently been studying alchemy, and the first thing I read was his work."

"Alchemy?" Ryan exclaimed in surprise, "That's a sixth-year course!"

“Yes, but I can start laying the foundation now.” Wade asked, “Wasn’t Theo with you today?”

“He went to help Professor Sprout tidy up the greenhouse. I remembered that the targets we broke last time were beyond repair, so we decided to make some new ones,” Ryan explained, patting his clothes, rolling down his sleeves, walking over, and picking up a water glass to drink.

Wade casually gave him a "Clean Up" treatment, removing the tiny wood shavings.

Fred straddled the chair and nudged Hermione: "Hello! Are you alright? Are you still alive? Do you know what number this is?"

Hermione, who was sprawled on the table, reached out and slapped away Fred's hand that was waving in front of her eyes. She sat up and said with annoyance, "I should have just asked him directly—I've been investigating for over a month!"

Wade flipped through the books on her desk; they were all about the history of modern magic. Of course, this wouldn't lead to Nicolas Flamel—he was born in 14th-century France and was mentioned in earlier books.

“Hermione, why did you choose Chanic Flamel?” Ryan asked with concern. When Wade wasn't around, Hermione always generously answered everyone's questions, and they had long considered her a true friend.

"I... I just..." Hermione wanted to say it was nothing, because explaining the reason would expose that they had violated the rules by trespassing into the restricted area in the middle of the night. But when she looked up, she saw that everyone around her was looking at her with concern, their eyes open and their expressions sincere.

This made her feel extremely ashamed of her cover-up.

“It’s like this—” Hermione hesitated for a moment, but finally recounted their adventure, including how she, Harry, and Ron visited Hagrid, the gamekeeper, after the Quidditch match, and how he inadvertently let slip that the things Cerberus was guarding were related to Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.

“So it seems that big dog must be guarding Flamel’s Philosopher’s Stone,” Hermione concluded. “I dare say Flamel asked Dumbledore to keep it for him! He knew someone was after the Philosopher’s Stone, and since he’s friends with Dumbledore, that’s why he put it at Hogwarts.”

Hermione glanced at Wade but didn't voice his previous guess—although she was increasingly convinced that he was right, and the whole thing might be a test Dumbledore had given Harry. But letting other students know that the headmaster was giving a special treatment to a particular student was not a good thing for Harry.

What does it mean to be lauded and adored? Just look at how Harry was surrounded and chased by his classmates when he first entered school, and you'll understand. Hermione knew that her friend had been deeply troubled by this.

"Who's after the Philosopher's Stone?" Ryan asked.

Hermione said, "Harry and Ron both think it was Snape because his leg looks like it was bitten by Cerberus. But I think—"

Before she could finish speaking, George suddenly said, "—Quirok?"

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

Chapter 42 Let Dumbledore Decide

The Weasleys looked at Wade.

Wade thought for a moment, then, without mentioning the plot he knew, simply recounted word for word what he had heard that day.

He has an excellent memory; even though more than a month has passed, his retelling of the conversation was almost entirely accurate.

An invisible chill seemed to rise from the soles of my feet. A long silence fell inside the umbrella-shaped room; no one spoke for a long time.

Finally, Fred broke the silence: "I have to say—this joke isn't funny at all—did you understand, George?"

George nodded silently, his face unusually pale.

“So—” Ryan struggled to understand, frowning as he said, “Professor Quirrell isn’t Professor Quirrell, no—it should be said, a dark wizard has possessed him? He wants to kill Harry Potter? Our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—is a Death Eater?”

He glanced around at the crowd, seemingly expecting someone to suddenly shout, "Did I scare you? Hahaha!"

But no one spoke.

Ryan sat down, leaning on the table, and after a long pause, said hopefully, "Shouldn't we—shouldn't we go find Professor Dumbledore? All the Death Eaters are afraid of him. If Professor Dumbledore intervenes, he'll definitely be able to—"

Hermione shook her head slightly and said softly, "No, you don't understand, Ryan—'He became a big star by stepping over my dead body'—think about that, Ryan—who else would say that?"

The color slowly drained from the boy's face. Ryan clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly. "But—it's impossible—that person is dead, isn't he—everyone knows he's dead—by Harry Potter…"

He seemed to have suddenly bitten his tongue, and his voice stopped abruptly.

Hermione looked at him with pity. She could tell that the boy actually believed her, but he just didn't dare to admit it.

—It's as if if you don't acknowledge it, that person won't come back to life.

There was nothing to laugh at, because she also felt a shiver run down her spine.