Quirrell, however, must be braver than they thought. In the weeks that followed he seems to be getting paler and thinner, but it doesn't look as though he's cracked yet.
Every time they pass the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, and Hermione will press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy is still growling inside. Snape is sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely means that the Stone is still safe. Whenever Harry passes Quirrell these days he gives him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron has started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter. Polaris meanwhile, would occasionally glare at him, much to the dismay of Harry and Ron.
Hermione, however, has more on her mind than the Philosopher's Stone. She has started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she keeps nagging them to do the same.
"Hermione, the exams are ages away," says Ron.
"Ten weeks," Hermione snaps. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."
"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminds her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."
"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me...."
Unfortunately, the teachers seem to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They pile so much homework on them that the Easter holidays aren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It's hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spend most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.
"I'll never remember this," Ron bursts out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It's the first really fine day they've had in months. The sky is a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there is a feeling in the air of summer coming.
Harry, who is looking up "Dittany" in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, doesn't look up until he hears Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"
Hagrid shuffles into view, hiding something behind his back. He looks very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
"Jus' lookin'," he says, in a shifty voice that gets their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looks suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," says Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St -"
"Shhhh!" Hagrid looks around quickly to see if anyone is listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"
"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," says Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"
"SHHHH!" says Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh -"
"See you later, then," says Harry.
Hagrid shuffles off.
YOU ARE READING
The Mysterious Heir
Fanfiction2 Years before Harry Potter is born, Voldemort conceives a son to take his place if he died before he reached immortality. After he is born, Voldemort enchants him to be more powerful than himself. This is the story of Polaris Cygnus Lestrange, The...
