Watching his friends drift off into their own daydreams, Tom munched on his fried fish, his tail swaying gently. He knew exactly how tempting the Sorcerer's Stone was to these young wizards—especially Harry and Ron, who both had strong reasons to desire its power. But he also trusted them. He believed they could resist the temptation and stay true to themselves.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Hannah to snap out of it first.
"But... why would they keep something that powerful inside a school?"
"Dumbledore probably knows someone is after the Stone, so he brought it here to keep it safe," Ariana said softly.
"That has to be it!" Ron shook himself awake from his dreams of gold and glory. "Otherwise, why bother with the three-headed dog and the trapdoor? And there are probably other defenses down there, too! I mean, we're talking about the Sorcerer's Stone here!"
Harry clenched his fist. "That means we have to be even more careful. If Quirrell is still teaching here, it means the Headmaster doesn't know who he really is yet. We have to stop him. We can't let him succeed!"
Especially since the person backing Quirrell is likely Voldemort... Harry thought. But without any hard proof, he kept that last part to himself.
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you guys hearing yourselves right now?! Shouldn't we go straight to Professor Dumbledore with this?!"
Hermione couldn't understand how the conversation had spiraled to this point.
They were just a bunch of first-years who had only been at school for a few months. Going toe-to-toe with a Dark Wizard capable of controlling a professor? Wasn't that jumping into the deep end a little too fast?
"No!"
Harry and Ron shot the idea down in unison.
"We don't have any evidence," Harry said, his hand unconsciously brushing the scar on his forehead. "What if the Headmaster asks where we got our information? We can't exactly tell him we were eavesdropping! And if we tip Quirrell off, he might get spooked and run for it."
"Plus, the professors will just think we're making up stories," Ron added. "Fred and George pull stunts like that all the time."
"But..." Hermione opened her mouth to argue. It felt wrong, but seeing the steely determination in Harry's eyes, she struggled with herself for a moment before finally nodding reluctantly.
"Fine. But we have to be careful! The second it looks like we're in over our heads, I'm telling a professor, no matter what you two say!"
"Deal," Harry said, exchanging a grin with Ron now that Hermione was on board.
Hannah didn't voice an opinion. As a typical Hufflepuff, she was happy to go with the flow; if Harry and the others needed help, she wouldn't mind lending a hand.
Ariana, being a true Gryffindor, definitely had no objections. Besides, she had her own agenda regarding this whole situation.
As for Tom...
[Are you guys sure you don't want to run this by a professor?]
Tom was surprised they had reached a consensus so quickly. In his hazy memories of the original story, were they really this reckless? Where did a bunch of first-years get the nerve to face off against an unknown Dark Wizard alone?
"See? Even Tom thinks we should tell a professor!" Hermione exclaimed, instantly flipping sides now that she had an ally. "I still think this is too dangerous!"
"But we really don't have proof!"
Harry wanted to tell Dumbledore—he really did—but Quirrell was a professor hired by the Headmaster himself. Without solid evidence, would the Headmaster really believe a few eleven-year-olds?
"Don't worry, I'm not going to take unnecessary risks. As soon as we find more proof, I'll go straight to Professor Dumbledore!"
Harry had his personal reasons, but he knew the stakes. He knew what the right thing to do was, especially if Voldemort was involved.
Seeing that Hermione was still worried, Harry hesitated before offering a compromise.
"How about this: we tell Hagrid first. We'll see if he suspects Quirrell, and then decide whether to go to the Headmaster. How does that sound?"
As a staff member at Hogwarts, Hagrid's attitude would likely reflect the other professors' stance. Plus, as a friend, Harry trusted Hagrid to keep a secret...
Probably?
Thinking back to how easily he had accidentally charmed information out of Hagrid before, Harry suddenly felt a little less sure.
But having already suggested it, he had to roll with it.
"Besides, we need to know how to get past Fluffy. If Quirrell actually manages to get in, we need to be able to at least stall him until the Headmaster arrives!"
"Alright..." Since Harry put it that way, Hermione conceded. "But if Hagrid agrees with us, then we have to tell the Headmaster. Understood?"
"Of course!"
And so, the group reached an agreement: the next time they were all free, they would pay Hagrid a visit and get his take on the situation.
---
After lunch, with their plan roughly set, the group left the Great Hall to take a break before their afternoon classes.
[Hey,] Tom nudged Ariana gently. [Do you think Dumbledore really hasn't noticed anything off about Quirrell?]
Ariana fell silent for a moment before shaking her head slightly.
"I don't know. My brother... he always sees further than the rest of us. Whether he knows or not, he has his reasons. We just have to trust him."
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Besides, maybe he's waiting for something."
Waiting?
Tom shook his head. It felt less like waiting and more like expecting.
Expecting Harry, the Savior, and his friends to demonstrate courage and wisdom worthy of their reputation.
But surely he didn't guess that Voldemort is literally sticking out of the back of Quirrell's head? Maybe he noticed Quirrell acting weird but just assumes he's a Death Eater being manipulated by Voldemort?
Otherwise, Tom couldn't understand why Dumbledore wouldn't just take Voldemort out immediately. Even if he couldn't kill him permanently, surely buying Harry more time to grow up would be better than this?
[But why don't you just ask Dumbledore directly?] Tom looked at Ariana curiously. [If you asked, he'd probably lay out his entire plan for you, right?]
"I just don't want to be a burden to my brother anymore," Ariana said, smiling as she shook her head.
"I want him to know that I'm not that little girl who needs to hide under his wings anymore."
She wanted to prove to Dumbledore that she could share his burdens, rather than just be someone he had to protect forever.
[Is that so?]
Tom didn't quite get it, but he respected it.
[If that's the case, it's your call. But personally? I think you should tell the Headmaster. At the very least, you could set up a safety net for these reckless kids.]
Tom motioned toward Harry and the others, who were walking ahead, deep in discussion.
"I'll think about it," Ariana nodded. "But, I think you're perfectly capable of being that safety net too, aren't you?"