A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"That's good!" Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Let me explain our current plan. First, keep a close eye on Snape."

“Understood!” Ron immediately agreed. “That’s easy; he’s the person I see most often every day.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, but nodded nonetheless.

"Second, try to find out from Hagrid who else was involved in protecting the Philosopher's Stone."

If Snape wants to get it, he'll definitely try to solve the other puzzles. Understanding this will allow us to track his progress.

"Thirdly, there's Hagrid. We need to keep an eye on whether he's told anyone else about the method he used with Momo."

“Don’t forget there’s a fourth point,” Hermione reminded her. “We need to prepare for the exam.”

"Exam?" ×2.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, both feeling utterly overwhelmed.

They weren't good students; for them, exams were a necessary hurdle in life, but also the hardest one to overcome.

“No way, Hermione,” Ron said sheepishly. “The holidays have only just ended, and the exams are still hundreds of years away!”

“Then we still need to prepare a review plan.” Hermione’s tone left no room for argument. “We’ve already wasted too much time on Nicolas Flamel.”

If I don't catch up on what I've learned in class, I might not even pass the final exam.

"You're going to fail?" Ron laughed as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. If this weren't a library, he would have laughed out loud.

Harry was also trying not to laugh. "Hermione, besides Aaron, you're the least likely person to fail at Hogwarts."

You know everything; you don't need to review at all.

"I don't need to review?"

It seems you've forgotten that Draco and I had a bet!

If I lose, Aaron will have to do a favor on behalf of the family.

Although I don't know as much about the magical world as you do, I do know how important this kind of gamble made in the name of a family is.

Unfortunately, Draco had been working exceptionally hard during this period, and even Professor McGonagall, who was not fond of Slytherin, praised him.

So, do you want to see Draco win?

Harry and Ron immediately became serious. Malfoy was the person they disliked the most, without exception, not even Snape.

If Hermione really makes a mistake and loses, allowing him to "get away with it," they will definitely be very depressed before the start of the following year's school.

Moreover, if they were to face Malfoy in the future, they would be at a significant disadvantage, since even Hermione, their 'strongest' member, had lost.

Thinking of this, both of their eyes became serious.

“Hermione, I think you’re absolutely right,” Harry said. “Studying is the most important thing for a student, and we can’t afford to neglect it.”

“I think so too,” Ron said solemnly.

Hermione: ......

She had said so much with great effort, but in the end, it was all less useful than a single Malfoy.

She could only blame herself for making the wrong friends.

As a top student, Hermione quickly devised a study plan for the two of them, generously gifted them her own notes, and diligently supervised their studies.

The teacher also assigned all sorts of homework, and "study hard and make progress every day" became the norm in their free time, which made the two underachievers suffer terribly.

Even amidst the storms of academic pursuits, they still devoted most of their energy to supervising Snape... and Hagrid.

......

A few weeks later, at the game's guardhouse.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione came to visit Hagrid as usual; this was their eighth visit to Hagrid recently.

The first time they approached him, they bluntly told him that they knew what Momo was guarding was the Philosopher's Stone. Every time after that, they would casually mention: Has anyone asked about the method through Cerberus?

But Hagrid's answers always seemed very reliable to them: "No one but me and Dumbledore knows how to get through Moose, and I would never tell anyone else."

Snape didn't show anything unusual. He always had a long face and sometimes seemed particularly irritable, but the more he acted like this, the more reassured Harry and Ron felt.

This means that the Philosopher's Stone is still safe, and Snape has not yet succeeded in obtaining it.

This time they plan to ask other questions.

“Hagrid!” Harry hesitated for a moment before asking, “We want to know what other switches, besides Moose, protect the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Hagrid's expression immediately turned serious. "Why are you all so concerned about this!"

Harry, I'm reminding you again, this has nothing to do with you.

"So that means there really are other mechanisms?" Hermione asked, "Like spells or magic?"

“I can’t say that, it’s a very important secret,” Hagrid said, frowning. “Of course, I don’t know either.”

"Um..." Hermione hesitated for a moment, "Do you know who designed those traps?"

“I do know that, it is…” Hagrid said with a smug smile, then his expression turned serious again, “You almost tricked me again, Hermione.”

It would be very troublesome if I let this slip.

“But it can’t be that complicated!” Harry pleaded. “Please, Hagrid, just tell us!”

We already know about the Philosopher's Stone, so what's one more thing?

"Don't give me that, Harry." Hagrid chuckled and pressed Harry into a chair. "Ever since I accidentally let slip about Nicolas Flamel, you lot have become more and more unruly."

“But someone’s already trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone,” Ron interjected. “We’re sure it’s Snape.”

Hermione pursed her lips, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

She wanted to say 'I'm not sure,' but she didn't say anything.

“Snape?” Hagrid paused for a moment. “I know almost all Gryffindors dislike him, but that’s no reason for you to doubt him.”

Besides, Snape was one of the people who designed those mechanisms; he couldn't possibly have stolen it.

“That’s even worse,” Harry said, his face grim. “It will make it much easier for him to steal.”

Hagrid, does he really not know how to do it through Moose?

“I’ve said it a dozen times, no one knows except me and Dumbledore,” Hagrid said impatiently.

“Hagrid, just tell us!” Hermione pointed at Ron and Harry. “You don’t think they’ll give up so easily, do you?”

Hagrid looked at the two of them and saw the determination in their eyes. He sighed helplessly, "Alright! But I have one small condition."

"Could you borrow Aaron's pet cat, Abe, for me?"

Chapter 46 How to Kidnap a Cat

"What?" Hermione immediately stood up, glaring angrily at Hagrid with his thick eyebrows and big eyes. "Absolutely not, I don't agree."

And Hagrid, how could you have such an idea?

"You want us to steal a cat? How could you even think of that?"

"Shh!" Hagrid gestured for silence, looking awkwardly at the three of them. "I didn't say I'd steal it, I just borrowed it, the cat."

“No way.” Hermione said speechlessly, “Hagrid, I think you may not know, but Aaron treats Abe like a treasure. He takes him to class, to meals, and to sleep. He’s practically inseparable from him.”

Hagrid nodded. "I've also secretly inquired about it, which is why I'm asking you for help."

“But…” Harry was very puzzled, “Why do you need a cat?”

"There are so many cats at school, can't we just get a different one?"

"Hahaha!" Hagrid laughed triumphantly. "You don't understand, I have a special intuition about animals."

I noticed that cat was something special when you first arrived at Hogwarts.

“No matter how complicated it is, it’s still just a cat!” Ron said.

“No, it’s too small. It’s too narrow-minded. I even doubt that it’s a cat.” Hagrid said with great certainty. “You’ve had more contact with Abe than I have, so you should be able to sense more directly that the little guy’s intelligence is exceptionally high.”

“He’s not just a little gluttonous,” Ron murmured.

"Greedy?" Hagrid's interest was immediately piqued. "What does it usually eat?"

"I eat everything."

Candy, cookies, cakes, puddings, chocolates, potatoes, and most of all, chicken legs.

Five out of ten times, it's glued to a chicken leg and gnawing on it. Ron paused, then wailed incredulously, "My God! My life is worse than a cat's?"

Harry patted Ron on the shoulder, feeling a bit sympathetic. One of them was living under someone else's roof, and the other was from a poor family. Compared to Abel the cat, their lives were incredibly difficult.

“You see, you can tell how special Abe is just from his diet. Do most cats have such a good appetite?” Hagrid said.

“This further demonstrates how much Aaron values ​​Abe,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “Hagrid, I advise you not to get your hands on it.”

"I didn't intend to do anything to it."

Those who know me know that I never abuse animals; I genuinely treat them as friends.

I'm just curious and want to observe it closely. If you don't trust me, you can supervise me from the side.

Harry shook his head with a wry smile. "Hagrid, it's not that we don't trust you."

"But this matter is just too..."

“That’s so embarrassing,” Ron said.

"Yes, it's so embarrassing."

"Losing face is secondary," Hermione said, her face grim. "The more important thing is that it will cause Aaron's opinion of us to plummet."

“That’s right!” Harry said, somewhat puzzled. “Hagrid, why didn’t you go borrow it yourself?”

“If I could borrow it, I wouldn’t have come to you,” Hagrid said helplessly. “Ever since I showed interest in Abbe at the library, he’s been very wary of me.”

“That’s even worse. If Abe gets lost, Aaron will think of you first,” Hermione said.

That's why I asked you to borrow it.

I've inquired around, and at Hogwarts, apart from a few substitute professors, Draco is the only one he's closest to.

But there's no way he, Strylin, could help me; he might even tell Aaron.