"Where did you hear about the Sorcerer's Stone?!"
Outside Hagrid's hut under the cover of night, Harry finished laying out all his suspicions regarding Quirrell. Hagrid didn't answer his questions; instead, he stared at the boy in sheer panic.
Even though he knew he had let slip a lot of sensitive information, Hagrid was absolutely certain he had never mentioned the words "Sorcerer's Stone"!
But then again... if they had managed to track down Nicolas Flamel, it probably wasn't a stretch for them to discover the Stone...
Thinking of this, Hagrid's mood noticeably deflated.
"We heard it from Quirrell!"
"Professor Quirrell!" Hagrid corrected out of habit, though he instantly let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Merlin. Good to know I didn't spill the beans."
Actually, giving us the name Nicolas Flamel was already a massive clue, Harry thought to himself. But to spare Hagrid's feelings, he bit his tongue and didn't say it out loud.
[Even if Quirrell hadn't tipped his hand, we would have traced the Sorcerer's Stone back to the name Nicolas Flamel eventually.]
Of course, while Harry was considerate of Hagrid's feelings, Tom had absolutely no such reservations.
"Urgh..." Reading Tom's sign, Hagrid instantly wilted again.
"It's okay, Hagrid, don't worry about it." Harry shot Tom an exasperated look and stepped forward to pat Hagrid's massive hand. "At least we didn't find out about the Stone directly from you, right?"
"I suppose... as long as I wasn't the one who said it." Hagrid sighed, finally remembering Harry's earlier question. "So, you lot really think Professor Quirrell wants to steal the Stone?"
"We don't just think it, we know it!" Harry corrected firmly. "After Defense Against the Dark Arts on Friday, we heard him talking to someone in the classroom! We heard him say he was going to offer the Stone to his 'master'!"
"Right, okay, so you 'heard' him." Hagrid scratched his head, his face a portrait of skepticism. "But you're just a bunch of first-years who barely know any magic. Why should I believe you managed to eavesdrop on a professor—a Ravenclaw graduate, no less—without him noticing?"
"Because of this!" Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak he had brought with him. "We hid under this."
Technically, Dumbledore hadn't given the cloak back to him yet when they spied on Quirrell, but the principle was the same. They had hidden their presence, just not with the cloak. For the sake of explaining it to Hagrid, this was a much simpler story.
"An Invisibility Cloak, eh..." Hagrid frowned, still reluctant to believe it. Dumbledore himself had hired Quirrell. How could the man possibly be the mastermind trying to steal the Stone?!
"I just don't think it's likely..." Hagrid hedged. "Dumbledore trusts him. He even asked Professor Quirrell to help protect the Stone..."
Hearing Hagrid's defense, Harry turned to look at the others behind him, specifically Hermione, and gave a helpless shrug. See? I told you, his expression said.
Hermione's face darkened. If what Hagrid was saying was true, didn't that mean Quirrell had managed to pull the wool over even Dumbledore's eyes? If the Headmaster could be fooled, who could they even trust?
[Alright, Hagrid, let's put that aside for a second.] Tom suddenly interrupted, his gaze shifting past the giant to the hut. The doors and windows were shut tight, and the windows now had thick curtains drawn over them.
[Aren't you going to invite us in? Besides, the Headmaster must have told you why Harry and I are here tonight.]
"Oh, right, of course I know. Patrolling the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore gave me the assignment." Hagrid's expression suddenly grew strained, and he started to stammer. "But... isn't the forest a bit too dangerous for you lot? How about I go talk to the Headmaster and see if we can change your detention to his office, or—"
Suspicious. Highly, incredibly suspicious!
Looking at the giant's shifty behavior, everyone except Ron immediately realized something was off.
Of course, Ron wasn't here to notice anything, and for good reason: the psychological trauma inflicted by Hagrid's casual mention of Acromantulas was simply too much. Upon hearing they were going to the Forbidden Forest, Ron had flat-out refused to leave the castle.
As for why he didn't at least walk down with Harry and wait in Hagrid's hut while they patrolled? Ron's logic was simple: staying behind was one thing, but if he actually came down here, how could he just stand by and watch his best friend walk into a death trap alone? Better to just embrace the "out of sight, out of mind" approach.
"Hagrid, did something happen? Tell us, we can help," Harry said earnestly.
"No, really, nothing's wrong. It's just... I'm a bit tied up with something right now, so it's not a good time for me to go patrolling... The centaurs will help keep an eye on the forest for a bit." Hagrid avoided Harry's gaze, looking everywhere but at the boy.
"In that case, Hagrid, could you tell me what that giant thing burning in your fireplace is?"
Taking full advantage of her ghost form, Ariana had sneakily popped her head through the wall of the hut while Hagrid was distracted. Right in the center of the roaring fire, she had spotted a massive, pitch-black egg.
"How did you know?!" Hagrid blurted out reflexively. "I'm not raising a dragon!"
"Oh, so it's a dragon egg," Ariana smiled knowingly.
"Wait, Hagrid, don't you know that breeding dragons is completely illegal? And need I remind you, you live in a wooden house!" Hermione was practically jumping up and down. She could not fathom how this seemingly honest, gentle giant could do something so reckless!
"Well, I—" Hagrid's eyes darted around. Of course he knew it was illegal. But to him, it didn't seem like a big deal. Just like with Aragog, he genuinely believed that if he raised a creature from birth, it would grow up perfectly tame and obedient.
Seeing the stubborn look in Hagrid's eyes, Hermione sighed helplessly. "Fine... just be careful."
Her knowledge of dragons was still too shallow, limited entirely to what she had read in books. If Ron were here, he definitely would have been able to articulate exactly why raising a dragon in secret was a catastrophic idea.
"Hagrid, can we see it?!" Harry practically plastered himself against the window, trying to peek inside with unbridled excitement. This was a dragon! He hadn't even known they were real until a few months ago!
Unfortunately, the heavy curtains perfectly blocked his view.
"Course you can, long as you promise to keep it a secret." Seeing their enthusiasm, Hagrid finally relented. He pushed the door open, ushered everyone inside, and quickly slammed it shut behind them.
In the fireplace, a jet-black dragon egg sat quietly amidst the flames.
Looking at the massive egg, everyone's faces lit up with thrill and awe. After all, this was a dragon!
Everyone except Tom, that is.
He yawned and shot the group a side-eye. It's just a dragon. It's not like I haven't dealt with them before. What's the big deal?
Knock, knock, knock.
Right at that moment, a sudden knocking echoed from the door.
Hagrid and the kids exchanged panicked looks.
"Is it Ron?"
Definitely not, Tom thought to himself, using his ghostly senses to observe the figure standing outside—a figure whose face currently held a mix of nervousness and anticipation.