36: Chapter 36 The Footsteps of Harry's Trio

The Library was quiet after lunch. Madam Pince stood guard behind the circulation desk, her quill scratching across the register.

Allen sat against the wall, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 spread out before him.

Draco slammed his book onto the table and glanced toward the Gryffindor side.

"They're here again."

Allen didn't look up.

"Who?"

"Harry, Weasley, and Granger."

Crabbe hauled over a thick book.

"Is it unusual for them to come to the Library?"

Goyle opened the book, found no pictures, and closed it again.

"The other two don't look like they enjoy reading."

Draco glared at him.

"Granger likes it."

Allen turned a page.

"The other two were dragged here by her."

Hermione sat down, clutching three books. Harry and Ron began flipping through the table of contents and covers respectively.

Ron grimaced.

"Hermione, these books together weigh more than my trunk."

Hermione pushed the books toward him.

"If you don't want to be scared speechless by the Cerberus again, open it."

Harry quickly looked around.

"Don't say that."

Hermione lowered her voice.

"Then find the name: Nicolas Flamel."

Ron flipped through two pages.

"That name sounds like a French dessert."

Hermione stared at him.

"Ron."

Ron flipped the book back.

"Fine, I'm looking."

Draco was too far away to hear anything clearly.

"They're being sneaky."

Allen withdrew his gaze.

"You're too far away to hear."

Draco immediately looked at him.

"You heard them?"

"I guessed."

"There you go again."

Crabbe reached for a pumpkin pasty, but after a sharp glance from Madam Pince from across the room, he quickly pulled his hand back.

Goyle stuffed his pasty back into his pocket.

"We can't eat in the Library today either?"

Allen closed his book.

"There are no exceptions."

Draco was still staring over there.

"What exactly are they looking for?"

"A name."

"Who?"

"Nicolas Flamel."

Draco turned his head.

"You know?"

"I heard Granger say it."

"She said it that clearly?"

"You were too far away."

"You weren't that close either."

Allen looked at him.

"So don't ask."

Draco opened his book but couldn't take in a single word.

"Who is Nicolas Flamel?"

Allen asked.

"Are there many books in Malfoy Manor?"

Draco lifted his chin.

"Enough to keep you reading for years."

"Then you should know."

Draco's expression darkened.

"I can't possibly remember every name in every book."

"So don't mock Weasley."

Crabbe didn't understand.

"What does this have to do with Weasley?"

Allen picked up his quill.

"He doesn't know, and neither do you."

Draco suppressed his anger.

"Then how much do you know?"

"Enough to determine they are following a lead."

"What lead?"

Allen didn't answer.

Draco tapped his fingers on the table.

"The Third Floor?"

Madam Pince looked up.

"Mr. Malfoy, the Library is not a parlor."

Draco pulled his hand back, his expression worsening.

Allen wrote Harry, Ron, Hermione, Library, and Nicolas Flamel on the corner of his parchment.

Draco saw the first few words, his tone tightening.

"Are you keeping track of them?"

"Tracking progress."

"What progress?"

"How far they've gotten."

"Why do you care?"

Allen put down his quill.

"Because they'll dig up trouble."

Draco closed his book.

"Should we get ahead of them?"

"Get ahead of what?"

"The lead."

"And then?"

"To know what they're doing."

"And after you know?"

Draco was annoyed by the questioning.

"It's better than sitting here watching."

Allen leaned back in his chair.

"Sitting and watching, at least we won't get caught by a Professor."

"Are you afraid of a Professor?"

"I'm afraid of stupidity."

Crabbe nodded.

"Getting caught means losing points."

Goyle added.

"And possibly no dinner."

Draco turned his head.

"Can you stop thinking about dinner all the time?"

Goyle answered seriously.

"I can't."

At that moment, Hermione walked to the circulation desk, clutching a thick book.

Madam Pince flipped through the register.

"Miss Granger, this book cannot be taken out of the Library for too long."

Hermione answered immediately.

"I will return it on time, Madam."

Madam Pince looked at her.

"No defacing, no dog-earing, no taking it into the lavatory."

Ron muttered at the table.

"Who would take a book like this into the lavatory?"

Hermione looked back.

"Shut up, Ron."

Harry saw the title.

"Is this about Alchemy?"

Hermione returned with the book.

"Yes, Nicolas Flamel is related to Alchemy, I'm sure of it."

Ron lowered his voice.

"Then could he be raising a Cerberus?"

Harry nudged him.

"Don't mention that."

Hermione placed the book in the center.

"If you two keep arguing, I'll look it up myself."

Ron opened the first page.

"You always look it up yourself."

Hermione looked at him.

Ron changed his tone.

"I mean, we'll help."

Draco saw her checking out the book, his hand already on the back of his chair.

"What did she borrow?"

"Something related to Alchemy."

"Is Nicolas Flamel an alchemist?"

"Maybe."

"Don't fob me off with a 'maybe'."

"Then look it up yourself."

Draco stood up.

"I'm going to look at the register."

Allen spoke up.

"Sit down."

"Why?"

"Madam Pince is watching you."

Draco turned around, met the gaze from behind the circulation desk, and had no choice but to sit back down.

"Why is she watching me?"

"You were standing like you were about to cause trouble."

Crabbe asked.

"Are we going to cause trouble?"

Goyle clutched his bag of pasties tighter.

"If we are, I'll finish eating first."

Draco gritted his teeth.

"No one is going to cause trouble."

Allen looked down and added more words.

The trio began researching Alchemy.

Draco stared at that line of text.

"The trio?"

"It's convenient for keeping records."

"It doesn't sound respectable."

"They don't need you to be respectable for them."

Draco lowered his voice.

"Are you really going to leave Harry alone?"

Allen stopped writing.

"He will keep digging."

"What if he finds something he shouldn't?"

"That's something for Dumbledore to worry about."

"But he's your cousin."

Allen returned his quill to the inkwell.

"I've reminded you, don't treat relatives like talismans."

Draco looked toward the Gryffindor side.

"I just feel that no matter how embarrassing the Potter Family is, it's not Weasley's place to drag him around."

"You care about the surname."

"Of course."

"Then don't touch them."

"Why?"

Allen folded the parchment.

"Harry has Granger by his side, she'll research the information; he has Weasley, he'll follow along and cause trouble."

"What kind of combination is that?"

"It's enough."

Draco sneered.

"Enough to get themselves into detention."

"And enough to draw the Professor's attention away."

Draco understood half of it.

"So you're letting them research?"

"I didn't let them."

"You're watching."

"Watching and pushing are two different things."

Crabbe scratched his head.

"So are we watching, or pushing?"

Goyle answered.

"Allen said watching."

Draco ignored them.

"What if they find the Philosopher's Stone?"

Allen looked up.

"What did you just say?"

Draco scanned the surroundings; Madam Pince was organizing the register, and the trio was heads-down in books.

He gritted his back teeth.

"I didn't say anything."

"Don't say it in the future either."

Draco leaned in.

"Is that thing really in the school?"

"You don't need to confirm it."

"You've already confirmed it."

Allen didn't deny it.

Draco's expression sank.

"The Dean is injured, the Third Floor, the Cerberus, the Philosopher's Stone, and now Harry is researching Nicolas Flamel."

Allen looked at him.

"You put the pieces together quickly."

"I'm not stupid."

"So don't go trying to prove it."

"I can follow them and listen to what they say."

"If you follow them, you'll just expose that we're paying attention to him."

"I can stay further back."

"You won't hear anything from far away."

"A little closer will work."

"Granger will notice."

Draco frowned.

"She's just Muggle-born."

"She's more observant than you."

This remark made Draco lose face.

"Do you have to say it like that?"

Allen closed his book.

"I'm saving you from detention."

Crabbe nodded.

"Detention is bad."

Goyle added.

"And dinner might be at risk."

Draco glared at them.

"You two, shut up."

Over at their table, Hermione turned to a certain page and stopped her finger.

"It mentions immortality here."

Ron almost closed the book.

"Immortality? What does that have to do with the dog on the Third Floor?"

Harry leaned in.

"Could someone be trying to steal this thing?"

Hermione looked at the page.

"If Nicolas Flamel is related to immortality, then whatever is being hidden can't be ordinary."

Ron swallowed hard.

"So shouldn't we stop researching?"

Hermione looked up.

"Are you scared now?"

"I call that being cautious."

Harry looked at the two of them.

"Let's first figure out who Nicolas Flamel is."

Hermione closed the book halfway.

"We continue tonight."

Ron grimaced.

"Tonight?"

"You don't have to come."

"I didn't say I wasn't coming."

The three packed up their books and left.

Draco's hand was back on the edge of the table.

"It's not too late to follow them now."

Allen pressed down on his book.

"Sit."

Draco's chest heaved twice, and finally, he sat back down.

"You'd better be right."

"I usually am."

"That sounds punchable."

"You can try."

Crabbe looked at Draco.

"Should we try?"

Goyle hugged his bag of pasties.

"We can't fight in the Library."

Draco closed his eyes.

"No."

Allen took out the parchment and added the last few lines.

Hermione checks out Alchemy books.

Target: Nicolas Flamel.

Harry has connected the Third Floor secret with the hidden object.

Ron is still participating.

Draco looked at the handwriting.

"You write so clearly."

"For later reference."

"Will something happen later?"

"It's already on the way."

"And you can still sleep?"

Allen folded the parchment.

"Not sleeping is when mistakes happen."

The parchment slipped into the narrow slit in front of his palm.

Draco frowned.

"Every time you do that, I feel like I should pretend I didn't see it."

"You're improving."

"Don't use that line to brush me off."

Allen packed up his books.

"Remember what happened today."

"Which part?"

"Don't follow Harry, don't check the Library register, and don't mention Nicolas Flamel in the Common Room."

Draco looked at Crabbe and Goyle.

"Did you hear that?"

Crabbe nodded.

"Didn't hear it."

Goyle nodded along.

"I didn't hear it either."

Draco stood up.

"Let's go, the chairs in the Library are annoying."

In the Portable Space, the void looked up, its tail tip brushing against the newly deposited file.

The parchment landed next to the record of the Philosopher's Stone.

Allen closed his book and stood up to leave.