The exam date was getting closer and closer, and Harry was in a state of fear. He was afraid that Voldemort would suddenly appear one day, because he felt that Voldemort could steal the Philosopher's Stone at any time. He was almost not in the mood to review, and even when he was reading, he was often distracted.
"Harry, to be honest, I think we should report this to the headmaster and the professors immediately." Ron already knew what they had seen in the Forbidden Forest. "I never believed a word from that Slythrin," he said as he patted the table in front of him to show the seriousness of the situation.
"They won't believe it." Harry shook his head.
"Malfoy won't tell on the Mystery Man," Hermione whispered.
"You're actually speaking for that Slythrin?" Ron looked confused.
"He didn't lie to us about Nobber, did he?" Hermione said.
"That was just his plan. Think about it, when the Mystery Man comes back, his father will be so happy!"
Hermione did not know how to answer him.
"Stop it." Harry buried his head in his book, as if he did not want to think about these things anymore. His scar had been stinging from time to time since he came back from the Forbidden Forest, and he could not even sleep well at night. Neville even suspected that he had a phobia of exams because he always woke up screaming.
No matter how much the top students looked forward to it, or how much the underachievers hated it, the final exam was finally coming.
Whether it was making a pineapple tap dance across a desk, turning a rat into a snuff box, or telling Malfoy how to concoct an Amnesia Potion, none of these were difficult for Malfoy, who had graduated long ago, let alone those classes that only required him to memorize, such as the History of Magic.
Anyway, when the ghost of Professor Binns asked them to put down their quills and roll up the parchment paper, everyone was liberated.
The three of them got together after the exam. Harry said that his head still hurt, and Ron suggested that they go to Hagrid's house to relax.
"Oh no." When they mentioned Hagrid, Harry seemed to have thought of something, and his face turned pale. "There's no such thing as a random coincidence," he said.
"Harry, what are you talking about?" Ron was puzzled.
"I have to find him and figure it out now." Harry hurriedly pulled the two of them to Hagrid's house.
Hagrid's words were easily tricked, and Harry confirmed his own thoughts. Hermione and Ron's faces instantly turned pale.
"That person is either Snape or Mystery Man." Hermione trembled.
"We have to find Headmaster Dumbledore quickly. Maybe the Centaur can testify for us." Thus, the group of them rushed to the principal's office. The result was obvious. They were met with a cold shoulder. They had no choice but to run to the stone steps outside.
"We can only go by ourselves," Harry said helplessly.
"Harry, Professor Mag just said —" Ron wanted to persuade him, but he was interrupted.
"I know. If you ask about these things again or run around, you'll lose points or be expelled." Harry's expression was a little crazy. "So what? If Voldemort really comes back, then what's the point of the School Championship Tournament? Hogwarts will be razed to the ground, and maybe all of us will die. If I failed to stop him today, maybe I'd just die a little earlier. "
"You're right, Harry." Hermione nodded.
"I'll go with you, Harry," Ron said.
"Me too," Hermione said quickly.
"I can't be a burden to all of you." Harry shook his head quickly.
"What's scarier than death? Harry, "Hermione said softly. Hermione said softly. She paused. "And Professor Flitwick just whispered to me that I got a hundred and twelve on the exam for his course. They can't bear to chase me away with such a high score. "
"Then what about me?" Ron wailed.
This sentence made the three of them laugh, and the tense atmosphere actually eased a little.
After dinner, they sneaked around to avoid the others and sat in the common lounge. No one bothered with them, and of course, no one wanted to bother with them. When almost all the students were asleep, Harry ran upstairs to get his invisibility suit. When he returned to the lounge, he was discovered by Neville, who was still awake.
"You're breaking the school rules again!" Neville said loudly.
"Petrify all of you!" Hermione pointed her wand at Neville directly. "I'm sorry, Neville," she said softly. Then, she said to the other two, "We don't have time. We don't know where Snape is now. We have to hurry."
"Okay." The other two nodded.
As for Neville, he was now lying straight on the ground. His whole body was stiff and looked as stiff as a board.
Along the way, they avoided Pippi and Madam Loris. They even scared Pippi a little. Finally, they reached the corridor on the fourth floor. The door was already open a crack.
Hearing the door open, the big dog started to bark. They saw a harp on the ground and knew they had to hurry. Snape was in front of them.
Harry took out the flute that Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He started to play a few tuneless notes. Slowly, the big dog stopped barking — it wobbled a few times and knelt down. Then, it flopped onto the floor and fell into a deep sleep.
Then, Harry scouted the way and the other two jumped down. They were thankful that there was a bunch of plants here to cushion their fall, but they realized that the long vines had wrapped around their legs.
"Oh, no!" The two boys screamed.
"Blazing fire." Hermione raised her wand and pointed it at the pile of plants as she cast a spell. Blue flames that resembled bellflowers sprayed out from the tip of her wand. In just a few seconds, the two boys felt the vines shrink away from the light and warmth, loosening their entanglement. The plants twisted and twitched, automatically loosening the vines around them. Harry and Ron finally broke free.
"Hermione, you're amazing," Harry praised. Ron, who was beside him, also chimed in. "Yeah, right. How did you know that this thing is afraid of fire?"
"It's taught in class. Don't you know?" Hermione said unnaturally.
It was not only taught in class, but also in the note that Malfoy gave her. "The Devil's Web is most afraid of fire." The few sentences on the note did not make sense. There were also a few spells. Hermione was more impressed by this than the IQ lessons taught in class.
"Did he know that we were going to steal the magic stone?" Hermione shuddered. Then, she said to herself, "It's just a coincidence, a coincidence."
But what happened next, she could no longer tell herself that it was a coincidence.
The three of them walked down the slope and came to the end of the corridor. In front of them was a brightly lit room with a high, vaulted ceiling. Countless little birds that were as dazzling as gems flapped their wings and flew around the room. There was a heavy wooden door on the opposite side of the room.
Harry easily grabbed a silver key. They continued to move forward and entered a second room. It was dark before, but when they entered, it was suddenly brightly lit. They saw a huge chessboard with a large number of chess pieces standing on it. These chess pieces were much taller than the three of them. How did they get through this door? There was only one answer. They had to win the game and go through.
The three of them began to play black, replacing a knight, a bishop, and a castle. Of the three, Ron was the best at chess. Harry was a novice, and although Hermione had a good IQ, she was not good at it. The early stages were peaceful, but when the White Queen fiercely knocked the knight to the floor and dragged him out of the chessboard, all three of their faces showed a look of shock.
"Sacrifice is necessary, Harry. I have to be eaten," Ron said after helping Harry and Hermione out of trouble.
"Ron, wait!" Harry tried to dissuade him, but Ron had already taken a step forward. The white queen immediately rushed over. She raised her stone arm and smashed it down.
"There are many obstacles!" Hermione suddenly raised her wand and pointed at the white queen. Suddenly, the white queen's swift arm became sluggish, as if in slow motion, and she could not smash it down.
"Harry, why are you still in a daze? I can't hold on much longer," Hermione hurriedly shouted to Harry. Harry seemed to be stunned by this change. Trembling all over, he moved three squares to the left. The white queen took off her crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won.
"Hermione, how did you do it?" Ron gasped for breath after surviving a calamity.
"Don't worry about it. Let's go." Hermione did not know how to explain, so she could only change the subject.
"Yes, we don't have time." Harry said hurriedly. Then, the three of them hurriedly walked down the corridor. They bypassed a heavily injured monster and arrived in front of a table. There were seven bottles on it.
Hermione quickly deduced the effects of the potions in the bottles. Harry told the two of them to go back and report, while he drank the potion that could pass through the black flames.
The bone-piercing cold helped him resist the black flames. He could not see anything, only the black flames in front of him. Then, he smoothly came to the other side and entered the last room.
"No!" The moment Harry entered, he saw a scene that made his eyes bulge. There was already a person inside — it was not Snape, and it was not even Voldemort. The man raised a stone. Harry recognized him. He was Quirrell.
Quirrell seemed to have noticed him. The back of his head turned. Harry heard, "Master, your strength has not recovered yet." It was Quirrell's voice.
"It is enough for me to move a part of it. Give me the right to use the body." It was a sharp voice.
There were two voices in the same body. Harry could not help but shiver.
The large scarf was loosened. At the place where Quirrell's head should have been, there was a face. Harry had never seen such a sinister and terrifying face before. The color of the face was like chalk. Its red eyes shone, and below it were two slender snake-like nostrils.
Suddenly, the face began to laugh loudly. Words such as maniacal laughter, madness, and insanity could all be used to describe his smile. His hand gripped the stone tightly, as if he had seen an illusion. That extremely ugly face revealed a twisted expression. His hands waved non-stop, making Harry feel a wave of disgust. After the disgust, it was fear. "He has the Sorcerer's Stone. He is Voldemort. Am I going to die?" His thoughts began to drift. He felt that the next moment, a death curse would be shot at him. He regretted not learning a few more defense curses, but then he remembered that the teacher of the Defense Against Black Magic class was also Voldemort's subordinate. He thought about all sorts of things, but death did not come.
He gathered his courage and looked at Voldemort. He realized that the stone in his hand was turning into powder bit by bit, slipping from his palm to the ground.
"No!" As if his beautiful dream had been shattered, he let out a hoarse and sharp cry. He regained his consciousness, but his expression became even more sinister. He looked at Harry.
Harry said to himself, "I don't know why he destroyed the Sorcerer's Stone. Although I might die, it is enough." Then he sank into darkness. It was unknown whether he had fainted from fear or had been hit by the curse.