The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

Harry was stunned for a moment, then looked at Vera with a puzzled expression: "Is she alright?"

"There's probably nothing to worry about," Vera blinked, her voice a little uncertain.

She looked down at the picture card in Harry's hand again and said softly, "You also drew a picture card of Dumbledore on the train earlier."

Harley paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh yeah! I felt like the name sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it..."

Vera nodded: "Now the clues are connected."

Just then, Hermione rushed back, carrying a huge old book in her arms.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think to look for it here!” she said excitedly in a low voice. “I borrowed this from the library a few weeks ago to read for entertainment.”

She began flipping through the pages rapidly, eventually stopping on a particular page.

Vera pushed her wheelchair closer, and Harley joined in. The three of them huddled together, looking at the yellowed pages of the book.

“Look here,” Hermione’s finger traced a passage of text, “Nicolas Flamel is the only known creator of the Philosopher’s Stone, which can turn any metal into pure gold and can also create the elixir of immortality…”

"An elixir of immortality?" Harley gasped. "So what that person wanted was..."

“Immortality,” Vera whispered, her dark eyes appearing exceptionally deep in the candlelight.

The three fell into a brief silence, and the surrounding noise seemed to fade away all at once.

Hermione was the first to realize: "So, the person who wanted to harm the unicorn, the person who broke into the school hospital to steal the herbs, and the person who wanted to use Cerberus must be the same person."

Unicorn blood can prolong a person's life, but it comes with a curse.

Phoenix tears have powerful healing and detoxifying effects.

The magic stone grants immortality.

“So,” Harley racked her brains, “this person is nearing the end of their life and desperately needs things to prolong their life and heal their wounds, which is why they’ve set their sights on these items…”

Vera and Hermione exchanged a glance, both seeing the same unwavering certainty in each other's eyes.

“It’s Quirrell, right?” Harley looked at the two of them and slowly revealed her answer.

There's no way around it, it's just too easy to guess.

Why does Quirrell always appear pale-faced, as if he's about to die?

In addition, they saw him injured on several occasions, and his whereabouts were very strange, making it hard for anyone not to notice him.

Not to mention that Vera had already pointed out that something was wrong with this person before the very first Quidditch match.

Most importantly, Snape, who was considered a distractor in the original story, was never questioned by them this time.

He glanced at them and saw that Hahe and his companion all had eager expressions on their faces, so he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Not yet.

Voldemort was nearing his end at this point.

Unable to obtain the magic stone, unable to kill the unicorn, and even the phoenix tears, they've all set their sights on her fire dragon.

If Harley and Hermione were allowed to bump into each other like that, who knows what might happen.

We need to gradually weaken Voldemort over the next period of time... or she could go herself and take him down directly, that's also an option.

Vera whispered, "If it really is Quirrell, then there might be someone else behind him. It's unlikely that he could have done so much on his own."

Harley and Hermione exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and sudden realization in each other's eyes.

“You mean…” Hermione lowered her voice, “that Quirrell might be acting on someone’s orders?”

Vera nodded gently, her long, silver-gray hair gleaming softly in the candlelight: "Think about it, Professor Quirrell may be eccentric, but does he really have such powerful abilities?"

Harley frowned, her fingers unconsciously rubbing her chin. "Indeed...and he usually seems so...uh..."

“A coward?” Hermione added incisively.

The three of them simultaneously recalled Quirrell's stammering lectures and his panicked reaction after being hit by the Weasley twins' snowballs, and fell silent for a moment.

Indeed, in terms of appearance alone, Quirrell is not as intimidating as Snape.

“So we need more evidence,” Vera concluded. “We can’t act rashly before we identify the mastermind behind it all.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully: "So what should we do next?"

Vera looked at Harley: "First of all, Harley, you can't act alone. If Quirrell really has a problem, he might notice that you're investigating him."

Harley pouted, but seeing Vera's serious expression, she nodded in agreement: "Okay."

“Secondly,” Vera continued, “we need to monitor Quirrell’s actions, but we must ensure our own safety.”

Hermione's eyes lit up: "We can take turns following him! Using the Invisibility Cloak!"

Vera shook her head: "It's too dangerous. I have a way, leave it to me."

"Is...is this really okay?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

Vera smiled slightly: "Trust me."

Just then, the door to the common room opened, and Percy Weasley walked in: "Curfew is over! Everyone back to your dorms!"

The jubilant crowd sighed in disappointment, but still left in twos and threes at the urging of the prefect.

Back in their dorm room, the three of them tacitly avoided continuing their previous conversation.

Hermione yawned: "We have class tomorrow, we should rest."

Harley nodded, her tone tinged with relief: "So starting tomorrow, we won't have to go to the library anymore, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Vera smiled helplessly, "Go to sleep early, goodnight."

Chapter 119 Harley: You guys are whispering behind my back again (Bounty 1/2)

For the next month or so, life went on as usual.

After a period of time since the start of the semester, Hermione began to prepare her next revision plan and even tried to get Harry to join her.

So most of the time, Harley was forced to learn from Hermione, but she would occasionally find an excuse to slip away.

Although Quirrell looked increasingly pale and thin, his spirit did not seem to have been completely destroyed.

Vera received no warnings from the castle during this period, which means that after Quirrell and Voldemort's frequent activities last semester, they finally ran out of steam and were waiting for the right opportunity.

That's normal, since the little dragon hasn't been born yet.

Voldemort couldn't just barge into Hagrid's hut and threaten him to ripen the dragon eggs.

Vera sat in a corner of the library with a book in front of her, but her attention was not on it.

Outside the window, the cold February wind howled past.

The book "Advanced Transfiguration Theory" was open in front of her and had been turned to the last chapter, but her mind was not on it at all.

“Vera?” Hermione’s voice pulled her back to reality. “You’re daydreaming again.”

Vera blinked and closed the book: "Sorry, I was just thinking about how to apply the spells in this book."

Harley glanced at the book cover with a hint of astonishment and couldn't help but ask, "You've learned all the spells in this book?"

This looks like content for at least higher grades!

"Not yet." Vera shook her head modestly, her fingertips tracing the cover. "Transfiguration... is quite difficult."

She thought that with the help of magic circuits, she could master the contents of the book in a month at most, but the more she explored the science of transformation, the more profound it became.

Especially for someone like her who already has a certain understanding of Muggle science, it is still quite difficult to completely bypass some physical rules in her thinking and use magic.

She is currently working hard to figure out how to make the snowman move as if it were alive.

"Don't force yourself if it's too hard. It's all beyond the syllabus anyway." Harley picked up her book and put it aside. "Give your brain a rest, maybe you'll figure it out someday?"

Vera wasn't annoyed when her books were forcibly taken away; she simply smiled and said, "Alright, whatever you say."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harley, you just don't want to study, that's why you're dragging Vera along, right?"

Harley stuck out her tongue and grinned, not denying it.

"Never mind, we've been in the library for so long anyway, might as well go out for some fresh air."

As she was saying this, she was about to push Vera away when she turned around and saw Hagrid standing in front of a bookshelf not far away, flipping through a thick book.

His massive frame stood out starkly among the bookshelves, frequently drawing sidelong glances from the surrounding students.

"Hagrid?" Harley whispered in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Hagrid slammed the book shut, walked over in a panic, and hid something behind his back.

“I was just… looking around,” Hagrid said, then suddenly looked at their books with suspicion. “What are you doing here? Are you still looking for Nicolas Flamel?”

Harley shrugged. "No, we already know, including the fact that the dog was guarding the Philosopher's Stone—"

"Shh!" Hagrid quickly glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Don't say it here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Vera looked with interest at the book he was holding behind his back: "Hagrid, are you interested in dragons?"

Hagrid's face flushed bright red, and he hurriedly hid the "Guide to Raising Dragons" even deeper behind his back.

"Uh... just browsing... doing some research..."

Harley's eyes widened immediately: "Hagrid! You're not raising—"

"Shh!" Hagrid glanced around nervously and whispered, "Let's go outside and talk."

The four of them arrived at the courtyard outside the castle. The cold February wind howled past, but at least they didn't have to worry about being eavesdropped on.

Hagrid rubbed his hands together, stammering, "Actually... I did get a dragon egg..."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "Hagrid, keeping dragons is illegal!"

“I know, I know,” Hagrid said, scratching his unkempt beard in frustration, “but I won it in Hogsmeade! That Greek lost a bet with me and gave me the dragon egg…”

“Hagrid,” Vera interrupted him, not wanting to repeat information she already knew, “how is the dragon egg now?”

Hagrid's eyes immediately lit up: "It'll hatch soon! I'll put it in the fireplace and watch over it day and night!"

Hermione looked like she was about to faint: "Hagrid, do you know what dragons look like when they grow up? They breathe fire, they bite, and they grow incredibly fast!"

“No, it will be very well-behaved,” Hagrid said stubbornly. “It won’t hurt anyone.”

Perhaps in the eyes of a half-giant, everything looks small and cute...

Seeing Hagrid's stubborn yet excited expression, Vera knew that persuasion was useless, so she asked instead, "Hagrid, when will the dragon eggs hatch?"

Hagrid rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming: "Almost there! I've been observing it every day, and cracks have already appeared on the eggshell!"

Hermione gasped. "Then wouldn't that mean we could be at any moment—"

“That’s right!” Hagrid said excitedly. “Would you like to come and see?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Harley's eyes lit up. Hermione hesitated for a moment, but how could an eleven-year-old not be curious about unknown magical creatures?

Therefore, all three of them tacitly agreed to the proposal.

Hagrid's cabin was hotter than usual, and right in the center of the fireplace, under the kettle, lay a large, blackened egg.

“Right here,” Hagrid said proudly, carefully poking at the dragon egg with fire tongs. “I’ve been reading books lately to learn how to raise it, so there won’t be any problems.”

Vera pushed her wheelchair closer to the fireplace, feeling the heat emanating from it.

She could sense a faint life force emanating from the dragon egg—much stronger than when she had been in Quirrell's office.

All I can say is that Hagrid is truly skilled at raising animals.

Sometimes Vera wondered if this was some kind of talent of the giants, like the dwarves in fantasy novels who were skilled in forging.

"When will it hatch?" Hermione asked, looking at the egg with a mixture of curiosity and worry.

“It’ll be in the next few days,” Hagrid said excitedly. “I can feel it moving!”

As if to confirm his words, the dragon egg suddenly shook slightly, making a soft clicking sound.

Hagrid was so excited he almost jumped up: "Did you see that? It moved!"

Harley and Hermione couldn't help but come closer to take a look, while Vera remained seated.

Through the connection of the magic circuit, she could sense that the little life inside the dragon egg was conveying a vague emotion to her—warmth, safety, and anticipation of hatching.

It is responding to her spiritual connection.

This connection is like a mother's comfort, making the unhatched baby dragon feel more at ease.

“Hagrid,” Vera asked softly, “what do you plan to do after the dragon hatches?”