Chapter 36: Hagrid's Message
The last heavy rain before winter descended on the Scottish Highlands struck Hogwarts in early October. It was the night of the Slytherin trial match.
Wood sat alone on the empty Quidditch pitch, letting the rain soak him through as if he were trying to drown himself. It was common knowledge that Wood considered Slytherin his archrival, the greatest obstacle to his dream of winning the Quidditch Cup before graduation. He had assumed that with Harry, Gryffindor was a sure thing. But after seeing Warren's performance, Wood had fallen back into despair.
Harry wished Wood had not. From that day on, Wood's Quidditch training reached new levels of intensity. If he had possessed a shred of rationality, he would have forced them to skip their classes to focus solely on Quidditch.
Harry was miserable as a result. Not only was he struggling with an increasingly heavy workload, but he also had to attend Quidditch practice four evenings a week.
One day in mid-October, a haggard and thin Harry finally ran into Warren again. Lately, Warren seemed to have returned to his busy schedule, disappearing the moment classes ended.
Warren was startled by the dark circles under Harry's eyes.
"What have you been doing to yourself?"
Harry gave him a mournful look. "Homework. Training. Does not Slytherin train?"
"Three evenings a week. Anything more than that and it affects your performance."
"Lucky you. Flint looks mean and dumb, but at least he knows that."
Warren remained silent. He had drawn up the training schedule himself. Flint, of course, had objected. Warren had responded by hitting him with a Disarming Charm to prove who was in charge. He soon discovered that having an idiot for a captain had its advantages. Flint could not defeat him, so he did exactly as he was told. He held no strong opinions on the training regimen. Plus, whenever Slytherin was accused of playing dirty, Flint made for the perfect scapegoat.
"Harry, did you need something? If not, I would better get going. I am rather busy."
Warren was not making excuses. Lately, he had been spending all his time in Snape's office, using the magical extraction method to familiarize himself with various ingredients. It was difficult work. Even processed ingredients from magical plants and creatures retained residual magic. He could not disrupt that with his own magic, so progress was slow.
Harry grabbed his arm. "Nicolas Flamel."
Warren was at a loss. He looked at Harry, who seemed to have aged years in a matter of days. "You are exhausted, and you are still thinking about that?"
Harry gave a sheepish grin. Warren pulled out a Chocolate Frog card. "Remember when we first met, and you and Ron were talking about the cards? It says so right there."
Harry shot to his feet, muttered a hasty goodbye, and sprinted back toward Gryffindor Tower.
Warren shook his head, hurried through his meal, and headed back to Snape's office.
Professor Snape had been in a better mood lately. Maybe it was because he enjoyed seeing Harry suffer. Or perhaps it was because he finally had someone to discuss Potions with. Whatever the reason, at least he no longer marked essays with such venom, as if trying to tear the parchment apart. Nor did he summon students who had made mistakes just to reduce them to tears with his vicious tongue.
Warren greeted Snape, who was quietly writing with his quill, then went to his usual seat and took out a piece of aconite.
He gently tapped his wand, carefully injecting his magic into the aconite while his other hand scribbled notes with his quill. He recorded the internal structure of the aconite as it appeared in his mind, along with his guesses about its properties. He would categorize them first, then experiment later.
Time flew by as he concentrated. When he finally set down the aconite, it was six in the evening. It was getting late.
Warren nodded to Snape. "Goodbye, Professor."
Snape called him back. "Weasley."
"Call me Warren, Professor."
"Warren." Snape swept his hair back, looking uncomfortable. "The Quidditch season starts next month. Your first match is against Gryffindor. How is your training progressing?"
"Not bad." Warren thought for a moment. "Flint intends to have two people specifically target Harry. That is nasty and cruel."
Nasty and cruel was exactly what Snape wanted to hear. He felt a warm glow of satisfaction. He changed the subject. "I have noticed you have been focusing on aconite lately. Do you plan to use it as the main ingredient for a new potion?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Hmph. It is highly toxic." Snape sounded dismissive, seemingly annoyed by Warren's overconfidence. "Once you finish analyzing it, write me a paper."
He was clearly concerned Warren would be reckless and wanted to review his work. Warren smiled and agreed. He was curious to see Snape's reaction when he finally discovered what Warren was developing.
Warren left the Potions office and headed to the Great Hall. Today, he took a seat at the Ravenclaw table. The Ravenclaw girls were always so gentle and considerate, creating the perfect atmosphere for relaxing. Unfortunately, he had only managed to exchange a few words with Cho Chang before Harry, Ron, and Hermione came looking for him.
"Warren, you..." Harry started to say, but then he noticed Cho beside him. For some reason, he began to stammer. "I... I am H-H-Harry. Harry Potter. Everyone knows your name."
Cho gave Warren a warm smile and waved. "You are busy. We will talk later."
Harry stared blankly at her retreating figure. Ron nudged him. "What is wrong with you? Why are you staring into space?"
Harry snapped out of it. He caught Warren's knowing smirk and Hermione's suspicious look. For the first time, he thought Ron was brilliant. He flushed and coughed. "Warren, thanks for the tip. Now we know what Dumbledore is hiding in the castle."
He leaned in and whispered, "It is the Philosopher's Stone."
When Warren did not react at all, Ron stared at him in disbelief. "Are not you surprised? The Philosopher's Stone? We grew up hearing stories about it."
"I know exactly what it is." Warren waved a hand, dismissing the thought. "The moment you mentioned Nicolas Flamel, I knew it had to be the Philosopher's Stone. It is his masterpiece, after all."
"Is that it? But it can turn anything into gold." To Ron, that was the stone's most miraculous quality.
Warren looked his brother up and down with a smile. "Ronald Weasley, my dear brother. Do you know what the difference is between selling potions and turning things into gold?"
Ron turned pale. He did not want to say another word.
Harry quickly stepped in front of Ron before he could be flattened. "Warren, Hagrid wants to meet you."
Hermione added apologetically, "I am sorry. Hagrid asked who else knew about Nicolas Flamel. We had to tell him."
Warren blinked. "Sure. When?"
He suddenly realized he had been at Hogwarts this whole time without ever visiting the Forbidden Forest. It was a significant oversight.
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