Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 35 The Secret of the Philosopher's Stone

Evening, Gryffindor common room.

Harry sat by the candlestick, staring at it and occasionally chuckling. He looked so silly that no one wanted to sit with him.

Loren was playing wizard chess with Ron using Seamus's pieces when he glanced at Harry. "How long has he been like this?"

Ron sighed and said in a helpless tone, "It's been like this ever since he said goodbye to his godfather."

"I have a godfather, hehehe!" Harry muttered to himself.

He would say something like that every now and then, and the two of them had gotten used to it.

"He didn't even participate in the afternoon training, but Wood and the others are very happy that the team will have two Nimbus 2000s."

Ron pushed his castle chess piece forward, adding, "Professor McGonagall's broom is still on its way, and the Nimbus 2000 he received today was a gift from his godfather. They paid extra for it, so it was delivered expedited."

At this point, Ron suddenly exclaimed with envy, "Sirius is the heir to a pure-blood family."

Loren chuckled, "Aren't you a pure-blood family too?"

Ron felt the man was being sarcastic, so he didn't continue the conversation, instead pushing the knight forward and saying menacingly, "General!"

Loren wanted his queen to go and deliver the message, but his pawn refused to listen to him. "Don't send me there! Didn't you see the knight over there? Let him go. It doesn't matter if he sacrifices himself!"

Then the two pieces started fighting. This kind of scene was nothing new. Loren's chess skills were too poor, and this set of chess pieces wasn't even his. They always ended up arguing.

Loren stopped paying attention to the chessboard and looked at Harry. "Now that we have a godfather, we don't have to worry about him grinning at himself in the mirror all day."

Ron sighed. "It's not going to be any better."

Harry suddenly stood up and said excitedly, "I have to go tell Mom and Dad!" Then he darted out of the common room.

Loren and Ron suddenly became worried.

"It'll get better after a while, right?" Loren wasn't too sure either.

"That would be best!"

Watching Harry leave, Loren remembered that tomorrow was September 19th, and he still had things to do.

"I have to go out for a bit!" she said, and then ran out.

We made our way to Hufflepuff's basement and went down the stairs. Even though the banquet was over, the stone-paved underground corridor was still brightly lit.

Loren walked up to a painting of a bowl of fruit, reached out and gently scratched one of the pears in the painting. The pear revealed a simple line drawing of a face, chuckled, and then turned into a green doorknob.

Pushing open the door, you'll find a spacious kitchen, now clean and tidy, with all sorts of plates and pots neatly arranged.

Loren didn't see anyone. He continued walking forward. The fire in the fireplace was still burning brightly, crackling and popping from time to time.

"Young wizard, is there anything I can help you with?"

A high-pitched, somewhat shrill voice rang out from behind Loren.

Shorter than Loren, only a little over two feet tall, with long, thin arms and legs connecting to a slender torso, but a large head and a pair of bat-like ears.

No wonder Hermione wanted to establish a house-elves rights association; it's just too tragic.

But the little elf was oblivious to this; his eyes were fixed on Loren, filled with anticipation, hoping to get some answer from him.

Loren composed himself. "I'd like to order a cake for tomorrow, an avalanche strawberry cake."

The little elf exclaimed with delight, "Avalanche strawberry cake! Of course, no problem! We'll make it right away and bring it to you as soon as it's done!"

Before Loren could answer, the little elf shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Did you hear that! Avalanche Strawberry Cake!"

A dozen or so elves emerged from the surrounding area in a rustling sound. The scene was too eerie, and Loren quickly stopped them, saying, "Not now, tomorrow. I'll come and get it after dinner tomorrow."

After saying that, Loren hurriedly ran away, not wanting to stay in that scene for even a second longer.

In the hallway, Loren realized he hadn't asked the elf's name or told him his own. But he wasn't too worried; he figured he could just ask in the kitchen later and find him.

When they returned to the lounge, Ron and Seamus were playing chess. Although the pieces obeyed Seamus's commands, Ron was still putting them on the defensive and gradually chipping away at their pieces.

Harry has returned, still staring at the candlestick with a wistful look on his face.

Loren walked over and sat down, turning to Harry and Nunu, and asked the two, "What's going on now?"

"Checkmate!" Ron moved a chess piece. "We don't know either; he just got back not long ago."

After the game ended, Ron and Seamus began to tidy up the pieces and rearrange the board.

Loren walked over to Harry and waved his hand in front of his eyes a few times: "Hey! Professor Snape is calling you!"

Harry visibly shuddered, then realized he was in the Gryffindor common room, and looked at Loren reproachfully.

"What happened?"

Harry sighed. "I saw Headmaster Dumbledore in front of the Magic Mirror."

"And then?" Loren thought Dumbledore was going to let the animals roam free, but he still came up to make chicken soup himself.

"Then, Dumbledore said he was going to put the Magic Mirror away." Harry felt it was a pity.

Loren knew that, besides worrying about Harry's mental health, Dumbledore also needed to use the Mirror of Erised as the final challenge in the Philosopher's Stone dungeon.

Loren changed the subject, "Did your godfather tell you about your parents' past?"

Harry's shoulders slumped. "He told me, but I don't know how to deal with it."

"I am angry and hateful about Peter Pettigrew's betrayal, but he is already in Azkaban."

"It's all Voldemort's fault, and Voldemort is already dead."

"I miss my parents, and I'm so glad I have a godfather who cares about me."

Harry slowly revealed these words, which he had just said to Dumbledore, and now he was saying them again, both to Loren and to himself.

Loren didn't say anything more; Harry was still preoccupied with his parents. In the original story, Sirius Black didn't stay with him for long either. Harry grew up while losing things; people saw him as a hero, but they didn't see that he was still just a child.

"Don't overthink it. Just look forward to it; you won't have to go back to the Dursleys' house for the holidays."

Harry's face lit up when he heard this.

……

In the library of fantasy books.

"Flamel, I want to ask you something about the Philosopher's Stone." Loren didn't immediately begin today's lessons.

"Of course, it's my duty!" Flamel floated over.

"Can the Philosopher's Stone cure werewolves?" Dumbledore wanted to write to Nico to ask, but there was already a Nico here, so why not just be direct?

"The answer is, not sure," Flamel began to explain to Loren.

The Philosopher's Stone, also known as the Philosopher's Stone, contains powerful magic. If this magic is fully utilized, it can grant any wish. There are also legends in the Muggle world about the Philosopher's Stone granting wishes, and these are not without basis.

However, no one can fully control this power; most of the time, the effectiveness of the Philosopher's Stone depends on the mind of its creator.

The prevailing belief was that the Philosopher's Stone could turn lead into gold and concoct elixirs of immortality. Nico was influenced by this belief, so his Philosopher's Stone served these two purposes. After many years of exploration, Nico realized his mistake, but it was too late to undo it.

Flammel's purpose is to help Loren avoid some detours.

As for Loren's question, Voldemort used the Philosopher's Stone to restore his body.

Flammel believed that Voldemort also had difficulty controlling the powerful magic of the Philosopher's Stone. He only saw the Philosopher's Stone as a powerful source of magic, using its power to reshape his body through magical rituals.

As long as it's a powerful source of magic, it doesn't matter if it's a Philosopher's Stone or not. However, in the modern magical world, there isn't a more powerful source of magic than a Philosopher's Stone.

If Loren could find the magic to reverse werewolves, using the Philosopher's Stone as a source of magic, it would be feasible. But according to Flamel, Nico hadn't heard of such magic for at least several hundred years.

Loren was somewhat disappointed and asked if there were any other solutions.

Flamel offered his answer: "You can first obtain the identity of a Philosopher's Stone Maker, and then use Nico's Philosopher's Stone with conviction; perhaps that will allow you to achieve your goal."

"How do I obtain it?"

"To redeem a desperate soul."

(End of this chapter)