50: Chapter 50 Winter is Coming and the Rumors of the Philosopher's Stone

Late November, the cold wind crept through the cracks in the Library windows, and the fire in the brazier burned dim.

Ron pushed aside a thick book and rubbed his forehead.

"I swear, either Nicolas Flamel doesn't exist, or everyone who writes books hates him."

Hermione looked up.

"He must exist."

"Then why won't he appear in the index?"

Harry finished flipping through the borrowed cards.

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong direction."

Hermione spread out the parchment.

"Directory of Modern Wizards, Important Modern Discoveries, History of Magic appendices, Alchemy biographical index—we've checked them all."

Ron slumped onto the table.

"So we've searched everywhere."

"We haven't checked the Restricted Section yet."

Ron sat up straight immediately.

"No way, don't mention the Restricted Section."

Harry also shook his head.

"Not now."

Hermione looked at the two of them.

"I didn't say we were going tonight."

Ron let out a sigh of relief.

"You sounded like you were about to drag us in there right now."

Hermione tapped the parchment with her quill.

"Hagrid mentioned this name, which means it has something to do with that thing on the Third Floor."

Harry nodded.

"He let it slip at the time."

Ron frowned.

"And he said he couldn't talk about it."

"So you think we should stop?"

Ron looked at Harry.

"I think we should have dinner first."

Hermione lifted her pen.

"Ron."

Ron raised his hand.

"Fine, keep searching, until I freeze into an icicle."

Two rows of bookshelves away, Allen sat in the shadows with a thin volume spread out beside him.

Draco pulled down his scarf and looked toward the Gryffindor table.

"They're still looking for Nicolas what?"

"Flamel."

"The name doesn't sound like anyone important."

Nott shielded half his face with a book.

"Just because you can't find him in the Library doesn't mean he's not important."

Draco looked at him.

"You know?"

"I know they've been looking for half a month."

"I'm asking about the person."

Nott lowered his book.

"In the field of Alchemy."

Draco immediately looked at Allen.

"You knew all along?"

Allen closed the thin volume.

"Guessed it."

Draco's expression darkened.

"You didn't say anything."

"You didn't ask the right question."

Crabbe was hugging the History of Magic, his eyelids drooping.

"What is Alchemy?"

Goyle thought for a moment.

"Turning things into gold?"

Draco glared at him.

"Don't make us look even stupider in the Library."

Allen watched the trio.

"They're stuck."

Draco asked in a low voice.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Allen picked up an old book nearby.

"They can't get stuck yet."

Nott closed his book.

"You're going to help them?"

Draco frowned.

"Help Gryffindor?"

Allen's fingertips brushed over the spine of the book.

"Let them move forward."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that they will run into trouble first."

Nott glanced at Allen.

"You want Potter to keep attracting the attention of the Professor and Quirrell for you."

Draco's brow relaxed.

"That makes sense."

Crabbe asked.

"Does that book have the answer?"

"Half of it."

Goyle asked seriously.

"Is half an answer enough?"

Allen looked up.

"It's enough for Granger."

Draco snorted.

"You certainly trust her."

"I trust she will latch onto the clue."

Nott looked toward the Gryffindor long table.

"She's almost at her limit."

On the other side, Hermione finished flipping through a new book, her tone tight.

"Still nothing."

Harry tucked his hands into his sleeves.

"Maybe we should ask Hagrid."

Ron immediately shook his head.

"He'll say we shouldn't ask, and then let even more slip."

Harry said.

"That would still be progress."

Hermione stared at the table.

"No, he's already nervous because of the Third Floor, asking him again will make him guard against us."

Ron made a bitter face.

"Hermione, are you even managing how Hagrid reacts now?"

Hermione pushed the parchment in front of him.

"Do you have a better idea?"

Ron looked at the page full of book titles.

"I have one."

Harry asked.

"What?"

"Admit that Nicolas Flamel is just some old man no one knows, and then go eat dinner."

Hermione picked up a book.

"You can go first."

Ron immediately looked at Harry.

"She's doing it again."

Harry dragged the book in front of himself.

"Let's look a little longer."

Ron clutched his head.

"You two are going to be the death of me."

Madam Pince looked up from the distance.

"Quiet."

Ron shut his mouth and whispered.

"Her hearing is better than a cat's."

Hermione reminded him.

"Don't get us kicked out."

Harry opened a book.

"Could Nicolas Flamel be on a Chocolate Frog card?"

Ron froze.

"Why would you think that?"

Harry frowned.

"I don't know, I just feel like I've seen that name before."

Hermione immediately wrote it down.

"Chocolate Frog cards count as a clue too."

Ron's eyes widened.

"You're actually writing it down?"

Hermione looked at him.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I'm just missing dinner."

Behind the bookshelf, Allen raised his hand and pushed the old book off the edge of the table.

The old book didn't hit the floor; it veered half an inch in the shadows of the bookshelf and slid into the aisle, brushing against the lower shelf spine.

Draco's expression changed.

"What did you do?"

Allen withdrew his hand.

"The book wasn't placed steadily."

Nott stared at the aisle.

"It happened to go in such a convenient direction."

Draco gritted his teeth.

"Potter, this is the Library."

Allen looked at him.

"So don't speak loudly."

"You can't do this every time."

"Do what?"

"Push things out and then say it's nothing."

Allen picked up his quill.

"This time it's a book."

Nott added.

"What's the title?"

"Excerpts from Modern Alchemy Notes."

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Does it have Nicolas Flamel written in it?"

"It's written as Dumbledore's Alchemy collaborator."

Nott continued.

"Granger will be able to find it by following the name."

Draco looked toward the Gryffindor side.

"Will they trust a book that just fell out on its own?"

Allen watched Hermione stand up.

"If she's the one who picks it up, she will."

In the aisle, Hermione was walking toward the bookshelf carrying two books when her toe touched the old book.

She bent down to pick it up.

"Strange."

Ron poked his head out from the table.

"What?"

"How did this book fall here?"

Ron said.

"Maybe it wants to go home to eat dinner too."

Hermione opened the cover.

"Excerpts from Modern Alchemy Notes."

Harry stood up.

"Alchemy?"

Ron also leaned in.

"Finally not History of Magic?"

Hermione flipped through the pages quickly.

"Quiet."

Ron looked at Harry.

"She's not cold anymore the moment she sees a book."

Hermione stopped on a page, her fingertips pressing on the text.

"Wait."

Harry moved closer.

"Did you find Nicolas Flamel?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, but it mentions Dumbledore here."

Ron's eyes widened.

"The Principal?"

Hermione read.

"Albus Dumbledore is famous for discovering the twelve uses of dragon blood, and also maintains correspondence with a long-term collaborator in the field of Alchemy."

Harry asked.

"Who is the collaborator?"

Hermione looked down.

"This page is covered by ink blots, only the beginning of a surname remains, 'Fla'."

Ron slapped the table.

"Flamel!"

Madam Pince looked up from behind the counter.

"Mr. Weasley."

Ron shrank back.

"Sorry."

Hermione lowered the book.

"Don't rush, we can't be sure."

Harry grasped the main point.

"Dumbledore, Alchemy, Flamel."

Ron kept his voice down.

"And Hagrid guarding that thing on the Third Floor."

Hermione's fingers stopped by the page.

"If that thing is related to Alchemy, then Nicolas Flamel might be an alchemist."

Ron frowned.

"What would an alchemist put in a school?"

Harry said in a low voice.

"The package Hagrid took out of Gringotts."

Hermione looked at him.

"You still remember?"

Harry nodded.

"The newspaper said Gringotts was broken into that day, and Hagrid and I had just been there."

Ron swallowed.

"So could the thing transferred from Gringotts be under the Third Floor?"

Hermione closed the old book.

"It's only a possibility."

"So what do we do next?"

"Check it out, keep researching Alchemy."

Harry said.

"And the Chocolate Frog cards."

Ron sighed.

"I knew dinner was gone again."

Hermione looked at him.

"You can think while you eat."

Ron stood up immediately.

"I like that."

The three walked toward the borrowing desk.

Madam Pince took the book and glanced at Hermione.

"This book is too old, be careful."

"I will, Madam."

Ron asked Harry in a low voice.

"Why is she so polite to Hermione?"

Harry said.

"Because Hermione doesn't use books as pillows."

Ron was unconvinced.

"I only did that once."

Hermione turned back.

"Twice."

Ron shut his mouth.

Behind the bookshelf, Draco watched the three leave.

"They really bit."

Nott withdrew his gaze.

"Granger will find Nicolas Flamel."

Draco asked Allen.

"Why did you want them to know?"

Allen folded the parchment he had written on.

"Because Quirrell is looking too."

Draco's expression changed.

"You want Harry and Quirrell to run into each other?"

"Harry is already on the way."

Nott said in a low voice.

"You straightened the signpost."

Draco looked at Allen.

"If they find out what's under the Third Floor, will it attract the Professor?"

"Yes."

"Wouldn't that be even more chaotic?"

"It's better if the chaos is on their side."

Draco was silent for a moment.

"What are you going to do next?"

Allen stood up.

"Spend the winter."

Draco sneered.

"You think I'll believe that?"

"You don't have to believe it."

Crabbe stood up, hugging his books.

"Can we eat now?"

Goyle looked toward the door.

"If we're any later, the pudding will be gone."

Draco waved his hand impatiently.

"Let's go."

Nott followed beside Allen.

"Should I keep watching Granger?"

Allen nodded.

"See what books she borrows, don't get too close."

"If she finds out?"

"Admit that you're also researching Alchemy."

"The reason?"

"The Nott family doesn't lack an interest in old books."

Nott nodded.

"That's enough."

Draco turned back.

"Can you two stop talking behind my back?"

Allen walked past him.

"You heard us."

"Hearing doesn't mean I know what you're actually plotting."

"Then don't know for now."

"Potter."

Outside the Library door, cold wind poured in from the corridor, blowing the torches askew; Allen stopped and turned back.

"Draco, don't mess with Harry and the others lately, and don't write letters mentioning Nicolas Flamel."

Draco frowned.

"Can't I even tell my father?"

"No."

"The reason."

"Your father will judge, will investigate, and will make things more complicated."

Draco stared at him.

"You don't hold a low opinion of my father."

"He's not stupid."

Draco snorted.

"I can accept that."

Allen looked toward the Great Hall.

"Let Gryffindor investigate, let Quirrell watch, let the Professor guess."

Nott added.

"And we watch from the sidelines."

Allen did not deny it.

"Yes."

Draco pulled his scarf tighter.

"Sounds sinister."

Allen walked forward.

"Sounds safe."

Crabbe asked.

"What about dinner?"

Goyle replied.

"Eat it safely."

Draco rolled his eyes.

"You two shut up."

Allen looked back at the Library.

The trio had taken the old book away.

The thread of the Philosopher's Stone was moving forward again.