“Harry, relax. Exam results won't be out for another week, which means we have a whole week to have fun and not worry about annoying things.”
“Hagrid wouldn't betray Dumbledore, and no one can easily get past Fluffy. Last time, he almost had his leg bitten off by Fluffy, so he definitely won't risk trying again before figuring out how to deal with Fluffy.”
“And as long as Dumbledore is at Hogwarts, the Philosopher's Stone won't be in any danger.”
Ron said, comforting Harry while wolfing down skewers.
Harry nodded, but still said with confusion, “I know all that you’ve said, but I still feel a bit uneasy. There’s a faint feeling in my heart that I seem to have forgotten to do something, something very important.”
“Maybe it’s just the stress of the exams playing tricks on you,” Hermione advised with a sympathetic tone. “I sometimes feel that way too. Last night, I woke up and immediately started reviewing my Transfiguration Class notes, then suddenly remembered we’d already taken that exam.”
However, Harry was certain that his feeling had nothing to do with the exams.
“Human intuition is a very mysterious and complex psychological phenomenon. Perhaps, Harry, you really have forgotten something important. Think about it, after Hagrid got hurt, besides headaches and nightmares, what else do you have to worry about?”
Chen Yu guided him patiently, hoping Harry could discover the problem himself.
“The thing I worry about most is Snape getting the Philosopher's Stone... the Philosopher's Stone... Hagrid... Fluffy... the dragon...”
Before Harry could finish speaking, he leaped up, his face instantly turning pale, and ran towards the castle.
Hermione, worried about Harry's mental state, immediately followed him.
Ron grabbed two skewers and held them in his hand, then immediately followed them.
Only Chen Yu was left to clean up the mess from the picnic.
Watching the three of them run off, Chen Yu couldn't help but roll his eyes.
It was like a picnic in the wild: everyone ate and drank their fill, then just got up and left, leaving him alone to clean up the food waste.
But luckily, with magic, he just used a Scouring Charm to clear away the trash, put the untouched food and other picnic items back into the Serenitea Pot, and finished everything in a flash.
Even if Harry and the other two had a thousand-meter head start, with Chen Yu's current physical fitness, he could easily catch up to them.
If nothing unexpected happened, after getting information from Hagrid and then hearing from McGonagall that Dumbledore wasn't at Hogwarts, Harry would likely decide to go to Fluffy's room tonight to find the Philosopher's Stone.
Chen Yu was also very curious about the Philosopher's Stone.
Who wouldn't be curious about something that can grant eternal life and create gold?
But if it's such a good thing, why didn't Nicolas Flamel make more of them?
If Chen Yu had the technology to make a Philosopher's Stone, he definitely wouldn't make just one.
So the answer is simple.
It's not that Nicolas Flamel didn't want to, but that he was no longer able to make another Philosopher's Stone.
Either Nicolas Flamel forgot the complicated manufacturing method of the Philosopher's Stone, or certain raw materials needed to make the Philosopher's Stone were not enough to support Nicolas Flamel in making a second Philosopher's Stone.
Chen Yu thought the latter possibility was more likely.
When reading books about Alchemy in the Hogwarts Library, he remembered that the most important principle of Alchemy was equivalent exchange.
Where did the life force contained in the Philosopher's Stone, which can grant people eternal life, come from?
It couldn't just appear out of thin air, could it?
He remembered that the book stated Nicolas Flamel was born in 1330.
And between 1347 and 1353, a plague called the Black Death swept across Europe, claiming the lives of 25 million Europeans.
This number accounted for one-third of Europe's total population at the time.
In 1349 alone, 50,000 people died in Paris, France, due to the plague, which was nearly half of Paris's total population at the time.
It's not to say that Nicolas Flamel caused the plague.
Rather, he felt that Nicolas Flamel used the lives lost in the plague to refine the Philosopher's Stone during that time.
This would explain why the Philosopher's Stone possessed such astonishing vitality, allowing Nicolas Flamel to live for 500 years with its power.
And after that, such large-scale deaths gradually decreased.
As for why Nicolas Flamel didn't harvest the life force of those who died in World War II?
Chen Yu also didn't know why, so he could only attribute it to the extremely dangerous situation on the World War II battlefields at the time, and Nicolas Flamel's unwillingness to intervene in that world-sweeping war.
Sure enough, when Chen Yu caught up with the trio, Harry was explaining his sudden realization to Hermione and Ron while climbing the stairs: “Don't you find it strange? Dragon eggs are Class A restricted trade items strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. Hagrid always wanted to raise a dragon, and someone just happened to be walking around with a dragon and conveniently lost it to Hagrid in a card game.”
“How can there be such a coincidence in the world? You know that's against wizarding law! Don't you think it's incredible that they could find Hagrid and then lose a dragon egg to him in a card game?!”
“I suspect this is a planned conspiracy. Lord Voldemort's minions were lurking in Hogsmeade, waiting for Hagrid to take the bait, and then used the dragon egg to trick Hagrid into revealing Fluffy's weakness. Otherwise... I really can't think of why such a coincidence would happen in the world!”
Hermione asked, panting, “So... so... we're going to the Hospital Wing to ask Hagrid about it now?”
“Yes!”
As they all traveled together, the differences in the three youngsters' physical fitness became apparent.
Harry led the way, with Hermione close behind, but already starting to pant.
Only Ron had the worst physical fitness, starting to gasp for breath and declare he couldn't go on after climbing just two flights of stairs.
To prevent Ron from falling behind, Chen Yu had to drag Ron by the arm.
The four rushed to the Hospital Wing, where Hagrid was sound asleep, lying on his side in his sickbed.
Madam Pomfrey was undoubtedly a very conscientious and responsible doctor, and she would absolutely not allow Hagrid to leave the Hospital Wing before his injuries had fully healed.
The other patients in the Hospital Wing were also not very keen on interacting with Hagrid.
Therefore, to pass the boring time, Hagrid could only rely on sleeping.
“Hagrid! Hagrid! Wake up!”
Harry pushed Hagrid several times, but couldn't wake him up.
It wasn't until he accidentally touched Hagrid's unhealed back that Hagrid cried out in pain and woke up.
Hagrid rubbed his eyes sleepily, his messy hair and beard almost covering his face.
“Harry, Chen Yu, Hermione, Ron, why are you here? Are the exams over?”