Chapter 34: Chapter 34
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Cassia sat in the library with Hermione and Sofia, while Harry, Neville and Ron sat at a nearby table, everyone skimming through books in the search of Nicolas Flamel.
Their group had grown quite big, but it had happened naturally over time. Cassia and Harry were twins, and pretty much inseparable, while Neville had always been a childhood friend. Then, Cassia had met Hermione earlier on, and although the bushy haired girl could be a bit intense at times, Cassia considered her as a great friend, and so did the others.
Then, Sofia had joined their group after an incident with Malfoy and… Grindelwald. As for Ron, although they hadn't been close at first, Harry and him had gotten closer over the winter vacation as they were among the only ones still there.
Moreover, they shared a dorm room, and through magical chess they had become quick friends. Besides, although Ron could be short tempered at times, he also had a quick wit about him, and he was quite funny as well.
Sighing as she buried her face in her book, Cassia inwardly groaned as she failed to concentrate on the task at hand, her thoughts inadvertently going back to Grindelwald, or Ethan.
They had never been friends, by any stretch of the imagination, so Cassia shouldn't have been feeling as she did, but she still felt bad for what she did. She wasn't even sure why, either.
The plan had been good. When Harry discovered what they discovered later was called the Mirror of Erised through Dumbledore, and saw that one could peer into another's heart's desires through it, she had immediately thought of using it on one of their main suspects for the package's attempted thief.
Things had not gone according to plan, however. Not only did Cassia not see anything related to the package, but Ethan had also shown her he somehow knew about their research as he spoke about Nicolas Flamel. Moreover, in the way he talked about it, Cassia was sure he knew who Flamel was.
But even though she knew that, Cassia couldn't find it in herself to go ask him. Not after what happened. It frustrated her to no end not to know why he had been so hurt by what she did, but she had seen it in his eyes. Whatever had been so bad about what she did, he hadn't taken it well.
"Are you okay?"
Cassia glanced at Sophia through her strands of deep red hair, groaning, "I'm fine. Just frustrated we can't find him."
She hadn't told anyone what had happened that night, and she wasn't intending on doing so.
Hearing her, Ron proposed with a whisper, "We still could go with the original plan. Harry and Cassia could use the cloak to follow Grindelwald. That would probably lead up to something."
Cassia clenched her fists under the table at the idea, and as her gaze met Harry's, he spoke, "Grindelwald isn't evil, he probably has nothing to do with the package."
She hadn't told Harry either, but she knew that he knew there was something amiss. He had known about her plan to use the mirror, since they had made that plan together, and although she stopped at telling him Ethan hadn't seen the package in the mirror, he could still glimpse that something else had happened between them.
Ron shrugged, "If that's the case, then he has nothing to fear. Besides, he wouldn't ever know about it."
At his words, something clicked in Cassia's mind. That's right, if he doesn't know about it, then it won't hurt him.
Raising her head, Cassia said, "Fine, I'll do it."
Ron grinned, but Sophia pouted, arguing, "Can't you guys ever let it go? I told you it wasn't him. I'm sure that if I asked him nicely, he could even tell me who Nicolas Flamel is. He always knows a ton of stuff."
Cassia was about to say something to defend herself, when Hermione gasped, "Is that Professor Quirrell?"
They all looked in the same direction, and indeed, there was Professor Quirrell, walking deeper in the library, presumably towards the forbidden section. They instantly saw what shocked Hermione as well as they spotted the bruise on the side of his face.
"What do you think happened to him?" They all shrugged at Hermione's question, and Ron asked, "Have you managed to learn that spell he gave us?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at that, and replied, "He gave it to us a week ago, how do you expect me to have learned it already? Moreover, it is a very complex spell. I don't see anyone learning it in our year."
Neville, who had been silent until now, muttered, "Maybe Grindelwald will."
The name seemed to be a trigger word for Hermione as she clenched her fists, and said through clenched teeth, "Maybe."
Cassia couldn't help but smile seeing this. There was no doubt that Hermione was a bright witch. Despite being a Muggleborn and having never come in contact with magic before Hogwarts, she picked up everything magic related at an astonishing speed. She was probably the student with the best grades through their year.
However, for all her wits and excellent written results, she struggled a bit more in the practical part of things. Of course, she remained better than the vast majority of First Years, but Hermione did not settle for that.
Stretching her arms, Sophia took out a Chocolate Frog, sheepishly looking at her two girl friends as she asked, "Do you want it?"
Cassia smiled at the innocent girl, shaking her head while Hermione scoffed, "You should slow down on these, or you will get tooth decay."
Sophia grinned sweetly, unwrapping the chocolate, and as she munched on it she said, "Oh, I got a Dumbledore card."
Leaning on her elbow, Cassia tilted her head and said, "I wonder what they put on his card, the old man did so many things."
Sophia turned the card around, and said, "Oh, they speak about Grindelwald, and… Nicolas Flamel?"
The six Gryffindors suddenly froze at her words, before Ron exclaimed, "What?!"
Rapidly swallowing the chocolate, Sophia read out loud, "Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel."
There was a moment of silence, before Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "I knew I had heard of him! He is the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone!"
Cassia's and Harry's eyes widened, but Sophia, Neville and Ron only looked at her in confusion, "The what?"
Hermione looked at them scandalised, "Even muggles know about this! The Philosopher's Stone is said to be capable of turning any metal into pure gold, and to produce the Elixir of Life, turning immortal anyone who drinks it. That's what that three-headed dog must be guarding!"
Earlier in the year, they had stumbled on the forbidden third floor, and came across the giant Cerberus guarding a trap door, which was what had started their whole investigation.
Harry shared a glance with his sister, and said, "The stone is immensely powerful. I don't want to be throwing stones, but if Grindelwald actually is behind all this, and manages to get his hand on the stone…"
Although some in the group did not want to believe it, they all couldn't help but nod at the grim possibility. Seeing her opportunity, Cassia reaffirmed herself, "I will follow him with the cloak. Meanwhile, you guys should also keep an eye on Snape. Anyone could want a stone of such power."
They all nodded, agreeing with her as they set off to observe their suspects.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SlyOW
SlyOW Shoutout to zain Sad and Alan Rosochatius!
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