From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 48: The Evil
Ever since the news of the incident on Halloween spread, Hermione felt that the people around her had become friendlier. Even when she pointed out the Gryffindors' irregularities, most people would just mutter, "They are just like Professor McGonagall."

The ones who changed the most were Harry and Ron. They started to become cautious, fearing that they would upset Hermione in any way, and eventually end up like the troll.

So somehow, Hermione had two more little followers. At first she felt a little uncomfortable, but later she felt a sense of responsibility. She had to keep an eye on these two most mischievous first-year Gryffindors and not let the gems in the Gryffindor hourglass decrease.

And for Harry and Ron, this was also a good deal. At least they could finish their homework in the Gryffindor common room and didn't have to endure the gazes of the Slytherin students while referring to Ivy's homework in the library.

That day Hedwig brought Harry a note from Ivy, who invited them to meet at Hagrid's hut.

Harry and Ron, the two chicks, immediately looked at their mother bird. After hesitating for a moment, Hermione decided to go with them because she had something to do with Ivy.

After the change in public opinion among classmates in the past few days, Hermione felt that the theory that Ivy instilled in her on the Black Lake that day did have some merits. However, she remembered very clearly that it was not she who destroyed the troll, but Ivy's elemental orb, and she also remembered that Ivy had said before that he would train her.

After November, it started snowing in the Scottish Highlands and the weather became very cold. The mountains around the castle were gray and covered with ice and snow, and the lake was as cold and hard as quenched steel.

Hagrid's hut was quite warm, and except for a little smoke from the burning wood, everything seemed very cozy.

When the three knocked on the wooden door of Hagrid's hut, it was Ivy who opened it for them. As soon as Harry entered the door, he saw his broom, which he hadn't seen for a few days.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Hagrid appeared with a pot of strong tea. He found cups for the three young wizards. "Is this Her Majesty the Queen of Cannon?"

After Hagrid finished speaking, he burst into laughter. It seemed that even Hagrid, who was far away from the castle, knew Hermione's nickname because of the Weasley twins' promotion.

"Let's hear the heroic deeds of the Queen of Cannon herself!" Hagrid sat down and looked at Hermione with expectant eyes.

Hermione was so embarrassed that she looked at Ivy with a red face and couldn't speak. On the one hand, she wanted to tell everyone directly that it was all Ivy's fault; on the other hand, she felt that she shouldn't tell anyone. What if the professors confiscated Ivy's elemental orb on the grounds that it was "too dangerous"? It must be a very valuable magic prop, and she didn't want to cause trouble for Ivy again, especially when Ivy was still a Slytherin.

"I have a different discovery about that." Hermione tried to change the subject. "Remember the three-headed dog in the room at the end of the corridor on the fourth floor? I think someone wanted to steal something from there."

"Who? A three-headed dog? Only a madman would steal a three-headed dog!" Ron's brain, which was not much bigger than a teaspoon, perfectly misunderstood Hermione's statement.

"Idiot! Of course we're not stealing the three-headed dog, we're stealing what it's guarding!" Hermione glared at Ron who interrupted her, and then kindly explained to them, "The three-headed dog is standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."

"No wonder Snape wanted to provoke the three-headed dog! He wanted to get the treasure behind the door!" Harry suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Hagrid was confused by the continuous information. "How do you know about Fluffy with three heads? What does this have to do with Snape?"

The three of them looked at each other, then explained to Hagrid the duel that had taken place in the castle before, and the fact that Harry saw Snape injured in the Potions classroom.

"Tsk tsk - you guys are much crazier than I thought." Hagrid shook his head and sighed, then looked at Ivy who was sitting next to him. He didn't expect that this student who also loved magical creatures had such a high level of magic that he could freeze Peeves into an ice lump!
"Wait, Hagrid. Didn't you say three-headed Fluffy?" Harry spotted the blind spot. "Yeah - it's mine - bought it from a Greek bloke I met at the tavern last year - I lent it to Dumbledore to keep an eye on -" "What?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Come on, stop asking," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, got it?"

"But Snape wanted to steal it."

"Perhaps Quirrell was involved," Hermione pointed out calmly.

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who always wraps himself in a garlic scarf?" Ron denied Hermione's speculation as if he had heard a joke. "Impossible! If he had real ability, he wouldn't just read out the textbook in class."

"He was the one who put the troll in the castle on Halloween." Hermione gave her evidence. "Do you remember what he said when he broke into the party?"

"The troll is in the dungeon?" said Harry uncertainly.

"Yes, but we actually encountered it in the corridor on the third floor." Hermione accidentally let it slip because Ivy was with her at the time.

"'朕'? You're really speaking more and more like a royal person," Ron joked. (In English, "we" is "we", but when the Queen of England uses the first-person pronoun, she also calls herself "we", which is similar to the ancient Chinese emperors calling themselves "朕". Hermione's nickname is "Cannon Queen", so Ron misunderstood.)
Hermione glared at Ron for interrupting her, and then continued, "When the professors found me, Professor McGonagall came up the stairs below, while Snape and Quirrell came down from above. So they are most likely accomplices."

"I'm telling you, you're wrong!" Hagrid said angrily, "I don't know why that troll appeared on the third floor, but Snape and Quirrell would never want to kill a student! Now, all three of you listen to me - including you, Ivy!"

Although Ivy didn't interrupt, Hagrid obviously didn't forget his existence.

"Listen! You are meddling in matters that are none of your business. This is dangerous. Forget the big dog, forget what it's guarding, this is between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel -"

"Aha! There's a man called Nicolas Flamel involved, isn't there?" cried Harry.

Hagrid was furious and he started to get angry with himself.

"Ivy!" Hermione noticed the silent Ivy, "As an ancient wizard, you must have heard of Nicolas Flamel, right?"

Hagrid immediately gave Ivy a pleading look.

Ivy took a sip of strong tea and uttered a word clearly: "Philosopher's Stone."

Then they were driven back into the ice and snow by Hagrid.

(End of this chapter)