Chapter 86 — Giving Up Immortality?

Chapter 86: Chapter 86 — Giving Up Immortality?

Chapter 86 — Giving Up Immortality?

"Harry, where have you been?"

Hermione yelled angrily when Harry returned.

"Vesey thought something had happened to you and was so worried!"

She looked so stern that Harry almost thought he was looking at Professor McGonagall.

He was also a little embarrassed. He quickly went over to Vesey, who was looking at him with worried eyes.

"Brother, what happened?"

Her eyes were slightly red. It was obvious that she had imagined all sorts of terrible things while waiting for him. Yet she didn’t get angry with Harry. Instead, she simply looked at him worriedly.

Harry’s heart immediately softened.

He reached out and rubbed Vesey’s head.

Vesey heard the system’s prompt in her mind.

[Ding, Energy +10.]

A slight smile appeared on her lips.

Just now, she had pretended to be worried about Harry and had spent nearly a hundred Energy Points manipulating the emotions of Hermione and the others. Now she was personally harvesting Energy from Harry.

Harry really was her little Energy dispenser.

"Brother, are you okay now?"

Vesey asked, pretending to be worried.

Harry immediately got down to business.

"Come on, I have something to tell you. Let’s—"

Ron interrupted him.

"I’ll tell her later. First, I have to tell you that Neville and I beat Malfoy today. If Vesey hadn’t pulled Malfoy away at the end, I could have beaten him until he cried!"

Ron said proudly.

In reality, his nose had been broken.

"Let’s go to the common room first. Fred and the others brought a lot of food. We can have a celebration there. They must have already started drinking!"

Harry shook his head.

With a solemn expression, he said, "Those are just small matters. I have to tell you about Snape... cough, Quirrell!"

He glanced at Vesey and quickly corrected himself.

Vesey put on a confused expression, as though she had no idea what Harry had overheard. Instead, she looked like she was waiting for him to explain.

They found an empty classroom, and Harry told them everything he had just heard.

Vesey was the first to show an expression of shock and disbelief.

Harry and the others thought she couldn’t accept Snape’s deception, but who would have expected Vesey to say firmly,

"Brother, I believe Professor Snape. I don’t know what happened, but I think the professor must have his own reasons. He’s really nice to me!"

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

Vesey was secretly delighted, then continued,

"Brother, I’m not doubting what you heard. I just don’t think Professor Snape is a bad person. He and Professor Quirrell are both very nice people. They’re probably pretending to lie to some bad person..."

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

The anxious way she tried to explain herself left Harry helpless.

In fact, Harry had known from the beginning that Vesey wouldn’t believe that Snape was a liar or a bad person.

After all, it had taken Vesey until now to realize that Snape could be biased.

It would probably be even harder for her to believe that Snape was deliberately deceiving her.

She wouldn’t believe it until she was hurt by him herself.

But Harry knew that wasn’t Vesey’s fault.

She was simply too innocent and kind.

Although she had experienced so much malice, she always tried to look at everyone in the best possible light.

With Vesey being like this, Harry couldn’t—and couldn’t bear to—make her sad.

Harry sighed and looked at Ron.

Ron trusted his good friend Harry.

He said thoughtfully, "It seems our analysis is correct. Snape wants to get the Philosopher’s Stone through the trapdoor guarded by Fluffy. He’s threatening Quirrell right now and forcing him to find a way through."

Harry nodded.

Then he turned toward Hermione.

He hoped to get her support as well.

But Hermione had a different opinion.

She had read the diary and had always thought Snape was a good person.

At least, he hadn’t done anything particularly bad. It was entirely possible that he really was trying to deceive Quirrell, just as Vesey thought.

"Maybe Quirrell is the bad guy, and Snape is trying to gain Quirrell’s trust?"

Hermione said hesitantly.

But Vesey still shook her head.

"How could that be? Although Professor Quirrell always reads from books and wears that huge scarf, he’s also a very responsible professor. How could he possibly be a bad person?"

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

Hermione sighed.

She looked at Vesey with sympathy and pity.

No wonder Vesey would have such a miserable future. She must have been deceived countless times.

Hermione hugged her gently, looking a little sad.

She choked back her emotions and said, "Vesey, there are good people and bad people in this world. You can’t assume that everyone is a good person!"

Harry and Ron nodded in agreement, but it did nothing to change Vesey’s mind.

She looked at them disapprovingly.

"How can you call someone a bad person before they’ve actually done anything bad?"

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

[Ding, Energy +10.]

Harry and the others laughed helplessly.

Vesey wasn’t wrong. A person couldn’t be called a bad person simply because someone suspected they might do something bad.

The problem was that Vesey thought too highly of everyone.

Although those people hadn’t done anything bad yet, they were already preparing to do so.

They would most likely follow through.

If Vesey didn’t learn to protect herself from people like that, she might get hurt in the future.

But no matter how much they tried to explain it, Vesey couldn’t bring herself to become suspicious of others.

In the end, seemingly just to reassure them, she agreed.

But whether agreeing meant she would actually remain vigilant was another matter entirely.

They sighed and stopped discussing it, instead pulling Vesey along to the Gryffindor common room to celebrate.

That night, after they escorted Vesey back to Slytherin, Harry said sadly,

"Regardless of whether it’s Snape or Quirrell, they obviously want to steal the Philosopher’s Stone. Is there any way we can stop them?"

Of course, there wasn’t.

After all, they were only three first-year students.

"Don’t worry. I heard from Fred and the others that the Philosopher’s Stone will be moved next semester."

Ron tried to reassure him.

But Harry and Hermione weren’t comforted at all.

The Philosopher’s Stone would be moved next semester, when they were in their second year?

What a joke.

By then, would the Philosopher’s Stone even still exist?

"Snape is at school every day, and he’ll definitely find a way to steal the Philosopher’s Stone.

"If Dumbledore doesn’t move it before then, Nicolas Flamel could lose his Philosopher’s Stone and his immortality."

Harry sounded anxious.

Hermione hesitated before asking,

"Is it possible that when Nicolas Flamel lent Dumbledore the Philosopher’s Stone, he had already decided to give up immortality?"