The exams were fast approaching, and the students had been working incredibly hard recently.
The "messaging ritual" invented by the Weasley twins suddenly became popular, not because of the Messaging Notebook, but because it was used on draft papers - the students quickly realized that paper that could synchronize what another person was writing was an ideal tool for cheating.
Unfortunately, the professors also realized this issue and announced that draft papers, coins, and any magical communication tools were not allowed in the examination room - they would use the Summoning Charm to ensure this during the exams.
Harry and his friends had more worries than other students.
A few days ago, they finally managed to send Norbert away, but no matter how they prodded and poked, Hagrid refused to tell them how to get past Fluffy.
Even worse, their punishment for being out of bed finally arrived: they were ordered to patrol the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid at night.
The students were scared by this order. It seemed outrageous to send first and second-year students to patrol the Forbidden Forest at night. Did the professors think they could fight off bears or werewolves?
Harry received the letter from Professor McGonagall during lunch; Tom was not there at the time.
Lately, their friend had been increasingly mysterious, often disappearing and sometimes appearing with dark circles under his eyes, busy with unknown activities.
They tried to contact Tom with the leprechaun gold, but without success. Since Tom didn't attend the afternoon class with Slytherin, Harry decided to go to the Slytherin common room to inform him of the news.
If Tom didn't comply with the punishment, there was no telling what the consequences would be.
Murphy had once wanted to connect the common rooms of all four houses, but this was consistently opposed by the heads of houses and older students, so it was never implemented. However, he did issue an order to lift the ban on students entering other houses' common rooms and removed the requirement to say a password at the door.
Nevertheless, it was still rare for anyone to do this, especially between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Harry and Ron had been to the Slytherin common room during the winter break, but there were few students at school then. Now it was different. When Harry entered the Slytherin common room, several older students stared at him for a long time.
He went to Tom's dormitory and found no one there. Initially, Harry thought of waiting outside, but the gaze of those older students was too intimidating, so he decided to sit down by Tom's bed.
Harry glanced casually at Tom's desk, where Tom's History of Magic textbook lay. Tom would definitely come back to get it for his afternoon class.
In addition to textbooks, there were many difficult books on Tom's desk: "Basics of Alchemy," "Advanced Potion Making," "The Resurrected Wizard," "The Transfer of Souls," etc.
But soon, Harry's attention was caught by a black notebook on the desk.
Just as he looked at it, the notebook suddenly opened on its own, the pages flipping rapidly without any wind.
Harry was startled and leaned in curiously.
A few sentences emerged on the page.
"Main Quest: Obtain the Philosopher's Stone."
"Reward: Survive."
"You, have, died."
"Your pain threshold is far below average, you will not be affected by physical discomfort, you are immune to dizziness and fainting, even if you receive a nearly fatal blow, you will remain conscious."
"Don't you find it strange?"
"Do you want to know who you are?"
"Retrieve the Philosopher's Stone, and you will get your answer."
Just as Harry was reading, another line of text appeared: "Tom, your time is running out."
Harry was startled and realized that this was a "Messaging Notebook," someone was using it to communicate with Tom!
But why are they asking Tom to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone?
And what did they mean by saying Tom is already dead?
Most importantly, who is giving Tom these orders?
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. Someone was coming.
Harry quickly closed the notebook and grabbed a book, sitting on the bed and pretending to read.
The door opened.
"Harry?" Tom looked surprised to see Harry and the book he seemed to be holding upside down, "What are you doing here?"
Realizing his mistake, Harry quickly closed the book, stood up, and said, "I just received a letter from Professor McGonagall. She wants us to go to the Forbidden Forest tonight. It's our detention task. You weren't at lunch, so I came to tell you."
"We couldn't reach you with the leprechaun gold," he added.
"Ah, I was chatting with a senior, didn't have the gold on me," Tom said.
"Oh, okay."
There was a moment of silence, then Harry said, "I'll go ahead then."
"Okay."
After leaving the Slytherin common room, Harry frowned deeply.
Tom was lying!
He wasn't with a senior; his clothes were covered in dust and cobwebs. He must have been somewhere rarely frequented.
Like – the fourth-floor corridor.
No wonder Tom had previously suggested getting the Philosopher's Stone first because that was his task.
Who gave him this task?
Could it be that Tom is the one...
He dared not think further and almost ran to the Gryffindor Tower to tell Ron the news. He couldn't use the leprechaun gold, as Tom also had one and would hear what he said.
However, as he reached the Gryffindor common room, the blood-red, twisted text from the notebook haunted his mind.
"You, have, died."
What did that mean?
And the reward for the quest was "survive"?
Did Tom have to complete the task of retrieving the Philosopher's Stone to stay alive?
On the other hand, after Harry left, Tom, slightly puzzled, glanced at his desk, his gaze falling on the notebook.
It seemed to have... moved slightly.
With a mix of fear that his secret might be exposed and a hidden expectation of no longer needing to keep the secret, he opened the notebook. Harry's expression kept replaying in his mind.
He just wanted to know if Harry had seen this notebook.
...
During the afternoon Charms class, Harry was distracted.
They had class with Ravenclaw, and Hermione, sitting next to him, noticed him getting the wand movements wrong several times. "It's counterclockwise for a knot, not clockwise. What's wrong?" she asked.
Hesitating, Harry didn't reveal what he had seen today but asked instead, "If you were threatened with death and had to steal something, what would you do?"
"Oh, my God, who would do such a terrible thing? You mean, like Voldemort?"
"Let's say yes."
"I hope I never encounter such a thing. But if really threatened... I might do it. Sorry, I'm not Gryffindor; I might not have your courage."
Harry shook his head, "Maybe I don't either."
"Compared to dying, the guilt of stealing something might not be so great..." Hermione said, "Maybe it could be considered an emergency evasion? Or compulsion? I don't know, at least it might lighten the punishment a bit?"
Emergency evasion?
Harry felt relieved, his mind somewhat at ease.
...
Soon
, night fell, and five young wizards: Harry, Tom, Ron, Hermione, and Autumn Zhang, were led by Filch to Hagrid's hut. Filch kept telling them how dangerous the Forbidden Forest was and that they would definitely end up dead, scaring the young wizards.
Hagrid told them that a unicorn had been attacked, and they had to find it to end its suffering.
Soon, Hagrid suggested splitting into two groups, "As long as you're with me or Fang, nothing in the forest will harm you."
Harry and Tom glanced at each other, then averted their eyes. Harry said, "I'll go with you, Hagrid."
Tom: "I want Fang."
Hermione's eyes shifted back and forth between the two boys. When had they started arguing?
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT