chapter 58 thief catching a thief

"Watching Sasuke stroll away, Hermione exhaled softly. 'He's so indifferent,' she mused, as if the prospect of Voldemort stealing the philosopher's stone was less pressing than a mundane exam."

Harry nodded. "I get the feeling like he already knows everything."

Ron looked troubled. "It's probably prophecy; I heard my brother talking about how Sasuke can predict anything and make as much money as he wants."

Hermione glanced at Ron. "It doesn't matter. It's better if we started to look for ourselves and continue what we are doing."

Harry agreed. "Yeah, let's keep our eyes open. We'll be cautious but ready to act if needed."

As they continued talking, and secretly planning what they would do next, after a half hour, they noticed a commotion at the entrance of the Great Hall. A large number of Slytherin students were being escorted to the hospital wing, nursing various injuries and bruises.

"What happened to them?" Ron asked, eyes wide.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "It must have been something serious. Look at all of them."

As they watched, Gemma Farley, a seventh-year Slytherin prefect, levitated some of the injured students, her expression unreadable but her eyes sharp.

"This is the best thing I've seen this year," Ron said, his voice tinged with quiet happiness as he watched the injured Slytherins.

In the next moment, Ron's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Hermione approach Gemma Farley. Her small face tilted up towards Gemma, and she asked, "Was there an accident?" Her expression was so filled with concern for the boys' injuries that, had someone not noticed her Gryffindor uniform, they might have mistaken her for a Slytherin.

"No accident, I just beat them up so they will stop fighting Sasuke; it's better for me to finish them in one time instead of letting them cause trouble every day."

Listening to Gemma's cheerful tone, Hermione Granger's eyes were full of surprise. There were at least 50 students, some of them in their final year, and Gemma beat everyone.

Then her mind had an idea, and Hermione called out, "Could you come with us?"

At this time, Harry and Ron didn't understand anything but still trusted Hermione, and even if the trust was little, they decided to let her do whatever she wanted.

After going to the empty classroom again, Hermione Granger asks, "Can you help us catch a thief?"

Gemma looked intrigued as she closed the classroom door behind her. "A thief, huh?"

Hermione took a deep breath and began, "We suspect that someone is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone."

Harry added, "We've been doing some research, but we haven't been able to figure out who's behind it."

Gemma's expression grew serious. "The Philosopher's Stone? That's really a desirable item."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Exactly, but it will be bad if someone steals the Philosopher's Stone and gives it to the Dark Lord."

Hearing the Dark Lord, Gemma's face grew serious. "You know what you are saying is quite serious. We never talk about him. You should understand this."

"It's Sasuke; he told me that the person who wants to get the philosopher's stone is Vold," as Hermione Granger was about to pronounce the name, Gemma put a finger on her lips.

She said in a low and very serious tone, "You should never say his name."

Watching this, Harry added, "Sasuke, he also pronounced his name, and nothing bad happened, so you shouldn't worry."

With a smile playing on her lips, Gemma remembered Sasuke's strength when they first encountered each other. Speaking in her characteristic manner, she remarked, "Sasuke is strong enough to utter the Dark Lord's name at Hogwarts, but you three should refrain from doing so."

Ron chimed in, "His face was also serious, Hermione; you should never say the Dark Lord's name."

As the atmosphere turned serious, Hermione also agreed and shifted the topic. Pulling out a notebook, she began to explain. "We know that the stone has the power to grant immortality and turn any metal into gold. It's been hidden at Hogwarts to keep it safe."

Harry added, "But lately, we've been hearing rumors of someone trying to steal it."

Ron chimed in, "We've been keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, but so far, we haven't found any solid leads."

Gemma nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, do you have any ideas on how we can catch them?"

Hermione's eyes lit up. "We could set up surveillance around the areas where the stone is kept. If someone tries to access it, we'll catch them in the act."

"A very bad idea," Gemma disagreed. "This will alert the thief." Gemma smirked, "It's better to steal it ourselves so nobody else can take away the philosopher's stone."

The trio nodded in agreement, feeling this was the best plan to protect the philosopher's stone from falling into the wrong hands. With Gemma by their side, as they left the classroom, Hermione couldn't help but feel a sense of confusion as Gemma was too easy to convince.