After exchanging half-baked dragon-training and dragon-breeding techniques, Ivan changed his tune and even ventured a wild guess that raising the temperature might hasten the hatching of the eggs.
As soon as Ivan finished speaking, he tried to fill the boiler with firewood and fire it up, but Hagrid stopped him.
What a joke. Any hotter and this dragon egg would be cooked…
"Ivan, we're not here to discuss dragon breeding…" Harry interrupted when he saw that the conversation was getting heated.
I'm here to raise a dragon, thought Ivan, but he noticed Hermione looking at him strangely and changed the subject.
"Hagrid, how did you get this dragon egg?"
"I won it, o' course. I got it a while back when I was playing cards with a stranger in a pub, and frankly, he was probably dying to get rid of it." Hagrid's large face was full of pride; how many people won a dragon's egg at a card game?
"What did he look like? Was he interested in your three-headed dog, Norway?" Hermione asked, realizing that something was amiss.
"Seems so… but anyone would be interested, wouldn't they? It's not often you get a dog with three heads." Hagrid tried to remember.
"I had a bit o' wine, an' I told him how much Fluffy liked to listen to music, an' as long as he could sleep," Hagrid said triumphantly.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Hagrid realised that something was wrong. He seemed to have revealed something very important.
"Who's that!" Harry demanded.
Hagrid realised the urgency of the situation and tried to remember. "I don't know. The man was wearing a black cloak, so I couldn't see his face, and I had a bit o' wine, so all I remember was that his voice was hoarse, and he didn't sound like a normal person."
"Then it's definitely Snape, or possibly Chino, and they're up to something." Ron was now more certain than ever that their suspicions in the corridor had been right, and his blood, which had been extinguished by Snape, began to boil again.
"Something to do with the last time you mentioned Nicolas Flamel?" Harry wondered, and then asked, "Hagrid, can you tell us exactly what's under the trapdoor?"
Hermione stared at Hagrid curiously. She had been searching the Hogwarts Library for the past few days, searching for famous people in the last two hundred years, but she could not find anything about Nicolas Flamel.
Hagrid was determined not to divulge any information other than that it was none of their business and that he would tell Dumbledore about his mistake, even if he had to be punished for it.
"It's the Philosopher's Stone!" Ivan exclaimed.
"How d'ye know it's the Philosopher's Stone?" Hagrid asked, shocked, this time because he hadn't said anything.
Unbeknownst to Hagrid, however, his words confirmed the truth of Ivan's claims.
"The Philosopher's Stone? What's that? What does it do? And how do you know about it, Ivan?" Harry asked hastily.
"I saw it by chance when I was making the Wizard's Flag and looking through the professor's information.
"Harry, do you remember what was written in the last line of the card you received regarding Professor Dumbledore? He and his partner, Nicolas Flamel, were very effective in the field of Alchemy, and the Philosopher's Stone was created by the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel," Ivan explained.
Now that Harry and the others had managed to get information out of Hagrid about the passage of the three-headed dog to Norway, Ivan felt he had nothing to hide from them about the Philosopher's Stone.
"As for its effects, the Philosopher's Stone turns any metal to pure gold and produces the Elixir of Life, which allows the drinker to live forever. Its creator, Nicolas Flamel, is over six hundred years old."
Ivan was a little envious. This was something that could grant eternal life. It was hard to say what had caused Nicolas Flamel to destroy it.
Ivan would have tried to steal the stone if he hadn't known that it was under Dumbledore's constant supervision.
Even Ivan was impressed, let alone Harry and the others, who were hearing about the Philosopher's Stone for the first time.
Stone-to-gold represented endless wealth, and the Elixir of Life allowed one to live forever. It could be said that getting the Philosopher's Stone was getting everything they wanted!
"No wonder Snape or Professor Chino were willing to take the risk of trying to get their hands on it. Who could resist a stone that could make gold?" Ron couldn't help but remark.
Fortunately, Harry Potter, Ron Granger, and Hermione Granger were only eleven or twelve years old, so immortality did not appeal to them very much, and apart from Ron, who briefly fantasised about how he would make a fortune using the stone, neither Harry Potter nor Hermione cared much about it.
"Look, it's none o' yer business, Dumbledore'll see to it," Hagrid cautioned, having to interrupt their discussion.
Ivan nodded in agreement, despite the fact that the obstacles the various professors in the book had set up seemed like child's play to him. They might be able to stop Hogwarts students, but they would not be able to stop powerful adult wizards.
However, the spell Dumbledore placed on the Mirror was very powerful, and only those who wanted the stone and did not intend to use it would be able to get their hands on it.
This meant that Chino and Voldemort would never have gotten what they wanted, even if they had stayed there for days and nights and blown up the Mirror.
Unfortunately, Ivan knew better than anyone that Harry and Ron didn't know about this, and that they had to do something about the fact that the Philosopher's Stone was hidden under the trapdoor and could be taken at any moment.
In the end, the sensible Hermione proposed to go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him the whole story, leaving the decision to Dumbledore.
Ivan wanted nothing more than to sit quietly and listen to their discussion, but the more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong…
Find Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office?
No, no, no… he was not going!
"I think there's something wrong with the cake we had for lunch…" Ivan's expression changed as he clutched his stomach with his right hand.
Unfortunately, she was pulled away by a hot-blooded Harry and Ron before she could perform.
This was a matter concerning the Philosopher's Stone, and it could affect the entire school. A small matter like eating something bad could be put aside for now…