Ron-Weasly book 1. V2

Yes, because of the constant clashes with Malfoy, Harry has a very biased attitude towards Slytherins. But they're from the same class. Even I have a better relationship with the wizarding world's nobility than Potter does.

Neville smiled faintly and unwrapped the "frog."

"Thank you, Harry," he said gratefully... "Yes, here's the card— you're collecting them, right?"

After watching Neville go, Harry looked down at the card he was holding in his hand.

"Here we go, Dumbledore again," he said. "He was on my very first ma...

Harry suddenly stopped talking, staring at the picture in shock. He stared at the card as if he couldn't take his eyes off it, and then he looked up at me and Hermione.

"I found it!" he whispered. "I found Flamel! I told you, I've seen that name before, so it was on the train when I was coming here. Listen up! `...Professor Dumbledore became famous, among other things, for his victory over the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, the discovery of twelve ways to use dragon's blood, and the work on alchemy carried out jointly with his partner Nicholas Flamel...'" Harry read it, holding the magic card with shaking hands. I stared at him in shock. Damn, we've been killing months on this Flamel.

Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked this excited since we'd received our grades for the very first homework, which Hermione had, of course, done Perfectly.

"Wait here!" she ordered and rushed to the stairs leading to the girls' bedroom. Harry and I barely had time to exchange intrigued glances, and Hermione was already returning to the table with a heavy ancient book in her hands.

"It never even occurred to me to look for him here!" She whispered excitedly. "But I took it from the library a few weeks ago! Especially to take my mind off my textbooks. For easy reading."

"A light one?" I asked again. Judging by the size of the book, it did not weigh lightly. Instead of answering, Hermione advised me to keep quiet until she found what she needed, and began feverishly turning the pages, muttering something under her breath.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"Can we talk now?" I asked irritably.

Hermione pretended she hadn't heard the question.

"Nicholas Flamel," she whispered, as if she were an actress performing a dramatic role. "Nicolas Flamel is the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone!"

Her words didn't have the effect she was hoping for on Harry and me.

"The creator of what?" we asked in one voice.

"So what about the stone?"

"Well, that's too much. Don't you read books? Okay, then at least read this piece...."

With my disabled wand, I don't feel like reading at all. I would have time to work out the movements. Yes, do the calculations for the potions.

Hermione pushed the book towards us.

"The ancient science of alchemy was engaged in the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance endowed with amazing powers. According to legend, the stone could turn any metal into pure gold. It could also be used to make the elixir of life, which made the one who drank this elixir immortal.

Over the centuries, there have been many rumors that the Philosopher's Stone has already been created, but the only stone in existence today belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, an outstanding alchemist and opera fan. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys peace and privacy in Devon with his wife Pernella (six hundred and fifty-eight years old)."

"Do you understand?" Hermione asked when Harry had finished reading with me. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I have no doubt that he asked Dumbledore about it because they are friends and also because Flamel knew that someone was hunting for his stone. That's why he wanted the stone taken away from Gringotts!"

"A stone that turns everything into gold and guarantees you immortality!" Harry exclaimed. "No wonder Snape wants to steal it. Anyone would want to have such a stone."

"And it's not surprising that we couldn't find Flamel's name in `New Directions in Modern Magical Science,'" I remarked. "You can't call him modern, because he's six hundred and sixty-five years old."

The next morning, in defense against the Dark Arts class, Harry and I were still discussing what we would do with the Philosopher's Stone if we got our hands on it. It was only when I said that I would buy myself a team of Pedl Cannons and change the seeker to another one, that Harry remembered about Snape and the upcoming match.

"I will definitely play" He stated firmly after the lesson, when we left PFDA's office. "If I don't show up on the field, everyone will think that I'm scared of Snape. I'll show them all... I'll wipe the smiles off their faces-if, of course, we win."

"Unless, of course, someone has to scrape what's left of you off the field." Hermione, who was very worried about Harry, remarked pessimistically.

* * *

The day of the match has arrived. I was sitting at the Gryffindor dinner table, stuffing myself with scrambled eggs and bacon and a salad with bacon and crackers. Hermione was gloomily drinking mint tea and munching on pumpkin biscuits. And Harry was slowly slurping chicken broth with croutons, saying that nothing else would fit into it right now.

The three of us were absolutely terrified for Harry's life. Yes, Snape saved him from a cauldron explosion several times in potions lessons, but in the first match he seriously tried to kill him. After eating, Hermione and I escorted Harry to the locker room and left, wishing him luck. We wondered if we would be able to see him alive after the match.

While Harry was changing, Hermione and I found empty seats on the podium and sat next to Neville. He couldn't understand why we looked so gloomy and preoccupied and why we brought our magic wands with us to the game. Harry didn't know that we were secretly practicing Decontamination every day, the same spell that Malfoy had cast on Neville. We came up with this wonderful idea at the same time, just the day Hermione broke Neville's spell. We were ready to cast a curse on Snape at the very moment when it seemed to us for even a moment that he wanted to harm Harry. Snape is an adult wizard and will be able to protect himself from falling, unlike Harry.

"So don't forget to say `Locomotor Mortis,'" Hermione whispered as I tucked my wand into my sleeve.

"I remember," I snapped. "Don't be a bore."

Snape looked annoyed when the teams entered the field. Even I noticed from the podium that Snape was beside himself.

"I've never seen him so angry," I whispered to Hermione. "Look, they're starting. Oh!"

Someone hit me on the back of the head from behind. I turned around. Of course, it turned out to be Malfoy.

"Oh, Weasley, I'm sorry, I didn't see you."

There was a mocking grin on Malfoy's face. Next to him, Goyle and Crabbe were grinning too.

"I wonder how long Potter will be able to stay on the broom this time?" Malfoy asked loudly, knowing that Hermione, Neville, and I could hear him perfectly. "Does anyone want to bet? How about you, Weasley? Although yes, you have nothing to argue about..."

I didn't answer, as I was staring intently at the field where Snape had just punished Gryffindor with a penalty point for George Weasley hitting a bludger in his direction. Hermione, who was sitting with her hands in her lap and all her fingers crossed, was staring at Harry. He circled above the rest of the players, looking around for his Ball.

"I think I've figured out what criteria Gryffindor uses to recruit a Quidditch team," Malfoy said loudly a few minutes later, when Snape punished Gryffindor with penalty points again, and for absolutely no reason. "Pity is what guides them there. Take Potter, he's an orphan. Take the Weasley twins — they are absolutely penniless and your grandfather Lord Pruitt bought them brooms. So it's strange that they didn't put you on the team, Longbot, because you don't have any brains at all. Otherwise, you wouldn't have steamed every potion in Professor Snape's class. Neville has a brain, he's just shy. And in potions, he is so afraid of Snape that he constantly gets everything out of his hands, and he gets the ingredients mixed up. It's me and Malfoy who are used to potions. Harry figured out the calculations and started brewing potions as well as Hermione.

Neville blushed deeply, but still found the strength to turn to Malfoy.

"I'm worth a dozen people like you, okay?" he stammered.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle roared with laughter. Neville looked at me uncertainly. I felt his gaze, but I just couldn't take my eyes off what was happening on the field.

"Deal with him yourself, Neville," I whispered.

"You know, Longbotom, if brains were made of gold, you'd still be poorer than Weasley, and that's an indicator," Malfoy persisted.

I was so worried about Harry that my nerves were strained to the limit.

"I'm warning you, Malfoy," I growled, turning away from the field for a second. "One more word..."

"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly. "Look at Harry!.."

Harry suddenly plunged down, beautifully entering a dive, to which the audience reacted with applause, enthusiastic screams and amazed screams. I noticed the Snitch next to Snape. Hermione jumped up from her seat, not understanding what was happening, and Harry was rushing towards the ground like a bullet.

"You're lucky, Weasley, Potter seems to have noticed a small coin on the field!" Malfoy drawled. I couldn't stand it.

And before Malfoy realized what was happening, I was already sitting on top of him, pinning him to the ground and punching him. Neville hesitated for a few moments, and then rushed to my aid.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed. We didn't pay attention to anything, but rolled around the podium, waving our fists. Malfoy punched me in the nose, but I've already punched him in the ribs a couple of times. I twisted around and punched Malfoy in the eye.

The stands exploded with cheers and applause: They had never seen a Snitch caught at the very beginning of a game. It looked like Harry had set a record.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you?! The game is over! Harry won! We won! Gryffindor came out on top!" Hermione yelled happily, jumping up and down in her seat. We continued to fight until the teachers separated us. Well, it's okay, even though my nose was smashed, Malfoy was hurt worse.

Hermione and I tried to make our way to Harry, but the crowd pushed us back. So we decided to wait for him at the entrance to the castle. Well, what about it? The weather is good, and it doesn't take long for a friend to wash up after Quidditch.

I took out a jug of pumpkin juice I'd grabbed from the great hall and handed it to Hermione, then reached for the chicken and cucumber sandwiches.

* * *

"Hermione, look, Harry's coming!"

"Well, finally, we've been waiting for him for the second hour."

We've already eaten all the sandwiches and buns we took from the great hall and drunk the juice.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione screamed, who was waiting for him at the entrance to the castle with me.

"Victory! You won, we won!" I yelled, slapping Harry on the back. "I gave Malfoy a black eye. And Neville single-handedly attacked Crabbe and Goyle, can you imagine?! He's in the hospital right now, but Madam Pomfrey says he's fine and that he keeps saying he'll show Malfoy and his friends. All of our people are in the tower now, waiting for you to start the celebration. Fred and George snuck into the kitchen and stole several cakes and a bunch of all kinds of food. Well, you know how the elves are happy when the students come for food.

"Forget it," Harry whispered almost soundlessly. "Let's find an empty room, I need to tell you something..."

He led us into one of the rooms and, after making sure that Peeves wasn't there, closed the door tightly and began his story.

"I went to the broom shed when I saw Snape leaving the castle. I wondered where he was going, and I followed him into the woods. By the time I found where he was, I had already missed the beginning of his conversation with Quirrell. Snape was bullying him. And we were not mistaken when we decided that we were talking about the Philosopher's stone", after some time, he summed it up. "And now Snape is trying to get Quirrell to help him get the stone. He asked Quirrell if he knew how to get past Fluffy. He also said something to Quirrell about his magic tricks. I think that the stone protects not only the Fluffy, but also a variety of spells. Perhaps Quirrell has cast some of his spells against the Dark Forces, and Snape needs to find out how to dispel these spells..."

"So you're saying that the stone will be safe as long as Quirrell doesn't break under Snape's pressure?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Then the stone will disappear in a week at most," I concluded gloomily.

Chapter 12 The Hunt for the Philosopher's Stone.