Chapter 65 Unknown letters

"Harry, if you're observant enough, you might recognize this handwriting—yes, that Invisibility Cloak was sent to you by me."

Seeing these lines, Harry's eyes widened, and he quickly continued reading. He wanted to find out who had sent such a valuable item as a Christmas gift.

"I know, you might think that an Invisibility Cloak is meant for doing something against the rules. But it's used for much more important things!"

"I recently received information: the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching assistant, Quirinius Quirrell, has been tempted by the Dark Lord and is trying to help him steal something from the castle's restricted area, and he already has enough power to bypass the protective enchantments. Therefore, I hope you can use the Invisibility Cloak to enter the restricted area first, retrieve it, and prevent Quirrell and the Dark Lord from achieving their goals!"

Harry stared at the letter in his hand, growing more alarmed with each line, his heart racing uncontrollably.

"Are you going to make your move, Harry? Or are you conceding?" Ron's voice came from behind.

"Now's not the time for chess!" Harry's emotions got the better of him, shouting, "Quirrell could steal the Philosopher's Stone at any moment!"

"What? Quirrell, that stammering fool, wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone?" Ron placed his hand on Harry's forehead, "Harry, are you upset because you lost at chess or is it the pressure of the upcoming exams? Maybe we should go out and relax a bit."

"I'm fine! But someone did write to me about this." Harry countered.

"Ron, that creep Quirrell's stammering and weakness are definitely just an act!" Hermione suddenly stood up from the pile of books, angrily taking the letter from Harry's hands and reading it, "If he can disguise his perverted, creepy nature as a weak and timid appearance, then he can surely pretend to be weak and get the professors to underestimate and ignore him!"

Ron and Harry were startled by Hermione's passionate reaction, exchanging nervous glances. As a modern, self-reliant young witch, Hermione had a strong aversion to Quirrell's perverted behavior and quickly believed the contents of the letter.

"But this letter has no signature; could it be a prank?" Ron also moved closer to Hermione, glancing at the letter, "And why didn't the person just tell Dumbledore directly instead of sending it to a first-year student like you?"

"But if it were a prank, why would they send me such an expensive Invisibility Cloak?" Harry asked, "Maybe the sender also thought I defeated Voldemort before and believes I can defeat him again..."

At this point, Harry's mood sank, "But they don't know that I'm just a mediocre student who can't even pass a first-year final exam..."

"Don't be discouraged, Harry." Hermione comforted, "Anyway, this matter isn't our responsibility. If we give the letter to Dumbledore, he'll handle the Dark Lord's issue."

Harry thought for a moment and then nodded heavily.

...

Having made up their minds, the three of them faced another problem—

No one had ever told them where Dumbledore lived, and they didn't know anyone who had been taken to see the headmaster.

So, Hermione suggested they should go find Professor McGonagall.

"What are you three doing here?" 

Professor McGonagall was in her office, marking a large stack of papers.

Harry and Ron gulped, looking at the thick stack of papers, hoping McGonagall wouldn't notice theirs.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said calmly.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, seeming very suspicious of their request, "Is there something that can't be discussed with me, that requires seeing Dumbledore?"

Harry was taken aback, unsure of how to respond.

"It's a secret." As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately wished he hadn't said them. McGonagall's nostrils flared slightly in irritation.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly, "He received an urgent letter from the Ministry of Magic and flew to London immediately."

"He left?" Harry said anxiously, "Just at this moment?"

"Professor Dumbledore is an extraordinary wizard, extremely busy, and his time is precious…" Professor McGonagall's words were interrupted by Harry.

"But this is very important!" Harry said.

"Is what you have to say more important than the Ministry of Magic, Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked in a chilly tone.

"Well," Harry quickly explained, discarding the word "cautiously" from his mind, "Professor, it's about the Philosopher's Stone..."

Professor McGonagall paused her smooth, flowing pen movements.

"How do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?" she asked, astonished.

"Professor, someone wrote to Harry saying that Quirrell is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. We need to inform Professor Dumbledore." Hermione cleverly took over, speaking to Professor McGonagall.

She subtly omitted the details about Harry and Ron connecting with Nicolas Flamel remotely and gestured for Harry to pass the letter over.

Professor McGonagall looked at the three of them with a mixture of shock and skepticism, then lowered her head to read the letter.

None of the four noticed that when the letter was passed to Professor McGonagall, the handwriting suddenly changed, almost instantly transforming into a different script and content—

The letter removed any mention of the Invisibility Cloak and only briefly mentioned Quirrell and the Dark Lord.

"Professor Dumbledore will return tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said, not recognizing the handwriting and doubting its authenticity, "I don't know how you learned about the Philosopher's Stone, but rest assured, no one can steal it; it is under strict protection and completely safe."

"But Professor…" Harry tried to say more.

"Potter, don't let yourself be fooled by these prank contents," she said, turning her gaze back to the stack of papers, "I know there are many bad rumors about Professor Quirrell. Of course, I don't like his actions, but that's no reason for us to believe this letter."

The three stood their ground, unwilling to leave.

Seeing that they had no intention of leaving, Professor McGonagall reluctantly raised her head again, "Once Dumbledore returns, I will inform him of this matter, alright?"

Seeing McGonagall's growing impatience, the trio realized they wouldn't be able to contact Dumbledore today. They could only nod in resignation and leave the Deputy Headmistress's office.

"Quirrell might act today!" As soon as they left the office, Hermione immediately said to Harry and Ron, "Otherwise, it's hard to explain why Dumbledore happened to leave Hogwarts at such a crucial time!"

"But, Dumbledore isn't here, and Professor McGonagall doesn't believe us. What can we do?" Ron asked.

Harry paused for a moment, then grabbed Ron and Hermione, moving quickly in another direction.

"Let's go find Professor Dracula!"