Chapter 582: Borrowing the Philosopher's Stone

Twenty minutes later, they returned to the deserted Common Room.

The Common Room was silent and semi-dark. The flames from the fireplace were the only source of light.

They sat in a soft armchair, feeling exhausted and helpless.

Nearby, on a table, the Support Cedric Diggory! badges that the Creevey's had been trying to improve were glowing in the firelight, and it seemed as if it had been a long time since they had been here looking at them trying to improve the badges.

The scene they saw tonight was very shocking. They still had images of roaring dragons in their minds.

"Karkaroff knows about the dragons. We should tell Cedric. It's only fair." After a while, Harry said quietly, "Surely he doesn't know about this. We can't leave him alone..."

"You're right, Harry!" said Hermione. "But let's think about how Ron can get through the first task and try to keep him alive until Tuesday night."

"I can't do that!" Ron said in a hollow voice. "I can't do it. I can't beat those monsters."

Ivan, Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Ron was not in good shape now.

They thought that after seeing the dragon's appearance tonight, he would be mentally prepared and play better in the tournament.

But seeing the way Ron looked, it was as if the terrible dragon had already taken him down before even facing him.

Ivan had helped him get back to Hogwarts, and it was obvious that Ron's legs were weak and he was staggering all the way.

Charlie was right, it would be too hard for Ron to face the dragon now!

"Be brave, Ron!" said Hermione, turning her head to look at Ron, who was pale. "Sirius said that by resorting to the Conjunctivitis Curse, you can render the dragon temporarily blind, and then you could get close and get what it's guarding."

"Easy to say, it's a dragon, not a big lizard!" exclaimed Ron, clenching his fist. "You just saw it. They can shoot fire at a distance of six meters, and the Hungarian Horntail can even do it at dozens of meters, which is longer than the distance of the spell. How could I get close to them and use the Conjunctivitis Curse? Moreover, even if I use it, it won't necessarily work. I am too weak, and the dragon will surely resist my spell."

There was a long period of silence, and Harry and Hermione couldn't think of any way to easily approach the fire-shooting dragon. It was scary enough looking at it from a distance.

Just as Ivan had hoped, Ron now needed courage, followed by the power to defeat the dragon.

"I can't do it, I don't want to die!" said Ron weakly. "I should quit the tournament, or run away from Hogwarts and go anywhere."

"Don't be silly, Ron!" said Harry quickly.

"That's impossible!" said Hermione, "Professor Moody said that once your name is spit out of the Goblet of Fire, you have a contract with the Triwizard Tournament and you have to enter the contest."

"Those people want to kill me. I can't just die!" cried Ron, looking like he was losing his mind. Then he slumped down on the couch, helpless.

There was another moment of silence, and Ron said quietly, "There's only one way... only one way... if..."

"If what?!"

Ivan realized that Ron was staring at him at that moment, and his eyes were shining.

"If Ivan would lend me the Philosopher's Stone, I could defeat the dragon with the help of its power!" said Ron quickly.

Ivan froze for a moment and looked at Ron's serious face to make sure he wasn't joking.

He hadn't expected Ron to ask him so much and try to borrow the Philosopher's Stone!

But in the end, would he lend it to him or not?

Ivan thought for a moment and then said simply and directly, "I know what you're thinking, but even if I lent you the Philosopher's Stone, you wouldn't be able to use it. The magic it contains cannot be absorbed directly by a wizard. The Philosopher's Stone is made by ancient sorcerers using alchemy to endow magical objects with powerful magic. It does not directly increase the power of magicians."

He briefly explained the principle of the Philosopher's Stone, hoping Ron would understand.

But seeing Ron's eyes, Ivan knew that what he had just said was in vain.

"Ivan already told me about this. The last time he used the Philosopher's Stone at the World Cup, he almost died," Hermione said quickly. "Don't think about that anymore, Ron, the Philosopher's Stone can't help you at all!".

"Really?!" said Ron, a stiff smile on his face, and he looked at Ivan and Hermione suspiciously. "But last term, Professor Lupin and Sirius clearly stated that the magic within the Philosopher's Stone greatly enhanced the power of wizards. With its help, a wizard could do many unimaginable things. Ivan, you said so too. That's why we went to the Centaur colony to look for the Philosopher's Stone, isn't it?"

"That's what I thought then, but that's clearly not the case." Ivan patiently explained, "I can't use the magic inside the Philosopher's Stone. It hasn't improved my strength as much as I thought."

"Then how do you explain that your magic has increased by leaps and bounds in the last two years?" asked Ron.

He didn't bother with Harry, pushing him away, and said all the doubts he had in his mind.

The atmosphere was very uncomfortable. Looking at Ron's face, Ivan felt a little annoyed. Ron's doubts and distrust were all too evident.

"I've already told you. My magic increased thanks to the potion Slytherin gave me a thousand years ago. It helped me improve my magic quickly." Ivan hesitated for a moment and continued, "The formula for this Potion was lost a long time ago, and it is impossible to configure it."

He did not say that his magic had improved rapidly with the help of the Slytherin's Locket.

The Locket was a very powerful magical item that saved Ivan many times, but it couldn't help Ron either. Besides, Dumbledore had once told Ivan not to tell anyone, not even those around him.

A magical object that could help wizards quickly increase their magical power was comparable to the power of the Deathly Hallows. If it was discovered, Ivan would certainly not be able to live in peace in the future.

On the other hand, Ivan was under no obligation to explain anything to Ron, let alone lend him the Philosopher's Stone.

He helped Ron for the sake of being just friends, and for the sake of Harry, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys. Ever since the last time Ron yelled at Hermione in the Common Room, Ivan had always had a bad impression of him.

Not that Ron was without merit, but sometimes he was really annoying, like now...

It wasn't clear whether he was asking for help or being jealous and skeptical.

If it hadn't been because he knew that Hermione would never leave Ron, Ivan wouldn't have bothered to deal with her life and death in front of the dragon.