Chapter 99 — Deliberate Collision with the Professor

Chapter 99: Chapter 99 — Deliberate Collision with the Professor

Chapter 99 — Deliberate Collision with the Professor

Harry and the others quickly turned around and saw Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall looked at them and asked again with a smile, "What are you doing here? It’s sunny outside. You should go bask in the sun!"

Vesey quickly said, "Professor, we’re looking for Professor Dumbledore. Do you know where he is?"

Professor McGonagall was stunned.

She asked curiously, "What do you want to see him about?"

Harry was worried that Vesey would reveal everything, so he blurted out, "Can’t tell you!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had said the wrong thing.

The smile disappeared from Professor McGonagall’s face. She looked at Harry sternly.

"Dumbledore left the school ten minutes ago. There’s an emergency at the Ministry of Magic."

"He’s gone? He’s gone at a time like this?"

Ron was so disbelieving that he shouted.

Professor McGonagall was even more speechless.

"Dumbledore is a great wizard. He has many things to deal with..."

"Our business is important too!" Harry said excitedly.

"More important than a Ministry of Magic emergency?"

Professor McGonagall clearly didn’t believe him.

This time, they had no intention of hiding it anymore.

"It’s very important, Professor. It’s about the Philosopher’s Stone. We need to talk to Dumbledore..."

Before Harry could finish, all the books in Professor McGonagall’s arms fell to the floor.

Vesey quickly bent down and picked them up for her.

Professor McGonagall rubbed her forehead and looked at Harry. Her eyes were filled with surprise and suspicion.

"Dumbledore won’t be back until tomorrow morning. You can talk to him then.

"Although I don’t know how you know about the Philosopher’s Stone, rest assured that it is under the most thorough protection.

"If you have nothing better to do, go and rest. Don’t keep concerning yourselves with every little problem!"

She said it rather bluntly.

Vesey almost laughed.

Professor McGonagall was talking nonsense.

As for the giant chessboard she had created, not to mention Quirrell and Voldemort—even Harry and the others hadn’t been trapped by it.

Professor McGonagall left.

Harry and the others did not.

Harry said seriously, "Tonight, of all nights, it’s obvious that Dumbledore was called away by an urgent letter from the Ministry of Magic. The school exams are over too. Snape must be planning to..."

Vesey immediately interrupted him.

"Brother, it’s definitely not Professor Snape. I can guarantee that he’s the best person!"

Harry and the others shook their heads helplessly.

But they already knew what Vesey was like, so Harry immediately changed what he was saying.

"Well, then, it’s some bad guy. That bad guy will definitely steal the Philosopher’s Stone tonight, and we have to stop him.

"He must be trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone and give it to Voldemort. We can’t let them succeed!"

Vesey nodded vigorously.

"That’s right! What can I do? Why don’t we go there and guard it now, so no one can get in?"

Harry nodded.

But that wasn’t the task he had in mind for Vesey.

"Vesey, you and Hermione go and watch outside the staff room. If any professor comes out, write it down!"

It was a good plan.

Vesey had no problem staying around the staff room. The professors would only invite her in for tea or bring her something delicious to eat.

Hermione and Vesey left.

Harry and Ron were going to watch the corridor on the fourth floor. If they saw Snape, they planned to keep an eye on him.

But before they could get there, they saw Snape.

He was looking at them with a sinister smile.

"Good afternoon," he said softly.

Harry and Ron nearly jumped out of their skin.

"How can you stay out here in weather like this?" Snape asked with a smile.

Harry and Ron stared at him blankly, not knowing what to say.

Snape had no intention of letting them off so easily.

"You should be careful. If someone sees you sneaking around like this, they’ll definitely suspect that you’re planning something bad. Gryffindor shouldn’t be able to withstand another deduction of points, should it?"

He sneered.

Harry and Ron clenched their fists.

Snape still wasn’t satisfied.

As he passed Harry, he deliberately bumped into him hard.

Then he said coldly, "Intentionally bumping into a professor and failing to apologize. Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

With that, he headed toward the staff room, leaving in an excellent mood.

Harry and Ron stared at Snape’s retreating back in stunned silence, cursing him like a dog in their hearts.

If looks could kill, Snape would have been beaten to death long ago.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t.

And they received another heavy blow soon afterward.

As soon as they reached the door at the end of the fourth-floor corridor, Professor McGonagall came out.

She angrily scolded Harry and Ron, warning them that if she saw the two of them lingering there again, she would deduct more points from Gryffindor.

The two of them returned to the common room dejectedly.

They consoled themselves with the thought that at least Hermione and Vesey were still keeping watch in the staff room.

And they were right.

Vesey and Hermione had done an excellent job keeping track of things.

Thanks to Vesey, Hermione was warmly received by Professor McGonagall and several other professors for the first time.

She even saw Snape smile.

It almost made her doubt what she was seeing.

But that night, Hermione still pulled Vesey away in a hurry.

Because she had discovered that, at some point, Quirrell had disappeared.

Because of the diary, Hermione had always believed that Snape wasn’t a bad person. At the very least, he had never done anything truly terrible.

So she had long since turned her suspicions toward Quirrell.

Although Quirrell didn’t look like a bad person, the large scarf he always wore and the strange smell coming from him—as though he were deliberately covering something up—had always made Hermione suspect that he was the one with evil intentions.

So Hermione had brought Vesey to the staff room mainly to keep an eye on Quirrell.

Who would have thought that because the professors were so friendly to them, she had accidentally overlooked Quirrell.

The two of them returned to the Gryffindor common room together.

When they saw Harry and Ron sitting there, they weren’t surprised at all.

"I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep watch over that door!" Hermione sighed.

Harry and Ron looked at them dejectedly.

"Did Professor McGonagall tell you anything?"

Of course, they didn’t mention anything.

Vesey shook her head vigorously.

She said a little sheepishly, "It was Professor Snape. As soon as he came in, he told Professor McGonagall that you and Ron were hanging around the end of the fourth-floor corridor looking suspicious. Then Professor McGonagall rushed out."

Both Harry and Ron’s faces twisted in anger.

"He’s such a terrible person! When we parted ways with him, we hadn’t even reached the fourth-floor corridor yet!"

But those were only minor details.

What Harry and the others really wanted to know was where Snape had gone.

"The professor hasn’t gone anywhere. I think the professor definitely won’t steal the Philosopher’s Stone. I’d even bet on the professor. If the professor steals the Philosopher’s Stone, I’ll drop out of Hogwarts!"