"Well, that was interesting, all together," he said. "There are a few things I want to know, though. First, is it always that action packed at the school?"
"Actually, no," Cedric said. "In fact, compared to what was written, it's kind of boring."
"What I want to know is what Dumbledore was thinking, bringing the Stone into the school, and how did he miss Quirrell sharing his body with Voldemort," said Hermione. "And how is it that the Dursleys have been able to get away with so much? I mean, wouldn't Dumbledore have someone checking up on Harry?"
"I think, for your first question, Harry was close to the reason," said Luna. "I think it was brought to the school to test Harry."
The other three looked at her.
"So, Dumbledore was basically testing me with the Stone, and you and Ron by extension," Harry said. 'Well, it explains why the traps were so easy." He had a sudden thought. "Do you think he suspected Neville would be with us as well?"
Hermione thought about it. "Why do you say that?" she asked.
"Well, it did say that Neville got a pretty good grade in Herbology, and he was with us when we discovered Fluffy," Harry reasoned. "And three of the tasks seemed to be good for each of us. I mean, think about it: the keys, perfect for someone who was able to become Seeker in his first year, a feat that hadn't been achieved in a century; chess, perfect for someone who's obviously good at such a thing, aka, Ron; and then the riddle, which was perfect for someone like you, Hermione. The first trap would have been good for Neville, and the troll, well, either someone would take care of it, or it was suspected that we could do it ourselves, since we were able to take out one already. In fact, only Dumbledore's trap was designed to be harder than the others."
"Which makes it seem as if the other teachers are incompetent in the fact that their traps were easy compared to his," said Hermione.
"Harry's right," said Cedric. "I have to admit, that kind of bothered me, how easy they seemed to be, especially since I would have thought they would have actually been designed not to allow someone through."
"And I think Hermione's right in the fact that the other teachers look incompetent compared to Dumbledore," said Luna.
"Now, how did Dumbledore miss Quirrellmort?" said Hermione.
"I don't know. I mean, I would have thought the wards of the school would have told him someone dangerous was in the building," Cedric said.
"I know. That's what I thought as well," Hermione said. "And yet, Quirrell managed to last almost the whole year there, with pretty much little to no suspicion from others. How did Dumbledore miss that, especially if he's supposed to be such a great wizard?"
They all pondered this, but didn't come to any conclusions. Cedric did, however, have a little idea about the wards around the school.
"I wonder if Dumbledore messed with them," he said. "I mean the wards. I wonder if Dumbledore messed with the wards. As the Headmaster, he does have that ability. He could have done something to them to exclusively focus on Harry. Or to allow Snape into the castle; there were some rather unpleasant rumors about Snape's position during the war."
He didn't mention exactly what those rumors were, which he had mostly heard about from his mother.
"What about the Dursleys?" asked Hermione. "I mean, how are they able to get away with what they've done to Harry? Wouldn't someone had noticed it before?" She wanted to know this because, not only did her friend have to go back there after they were done, but he had to go back there for the summer as well…and would most likely have to go back every summer as well.
"I don't know," said Harry. "I mean, a few teachers said something about it, but nothing ever happened, so I figured they believed the rumors, though there was one teacher who disappeared not long after she asked questions about me."
"I don't think any of us can do anything, because of Dumbledore's standing in the magical world," said Luna.
"You know, I have to wonder if…if Dumbledore didn't allow them to abuse you," said Hermione. "I mean, it would make it easier for you to trust him if he seems to be a savior from them, despite the fact that he is the reason you have to go there, or were even there in the first place."
"So you think Dumbledore put Harry there so that you would think of him a savior and listen to him during his school years," said Cedric, shaking his head. He didn't want to believe that, but it made a whole lot of sense when he really thought about it. Still, he didn't think that Dumbledore would put someone somewhere to be abused. It really didn't make sense, especially when one thought about the fact that he was so for students.
"Maybe he didn't know or didn't believe the abuse. I mean, like I said earlier, it's not something that happens in the magical world all that much, at least, not something we hear about," said Cedric.
Hermione sighed, knowing that he was right – for all that they'd just read about, Dumbledore did seem to be the type to care about his students. She started trying to organize her mind a bit better.
"I really wish I had something to write down the questions and observations we've had," she said, sighing. It would definitely help in figuring out and remembering things, and she could think of plenty of things to write. Then, she yawned.
"What time is it?" she asked, looking at the clock. She blinked in surprise as she realized that it was pretty late.
"I think we should head to bed," Cedric said, having caught the time as well. "We can start the second book tomorrow."
They all nodded, standing up to head to the bed room. Had they stayed a bit longer, they would have noticed the four notebooks that had appeared, with four Muggle pens and pencils respectively. The first book was moved from the top of the pile to right next to it. It glowed bright blue for a second, then settled. The second book also glowed, a green color, for about a minute, barely seeable from underneath the four notebooks, before the glow left. The paper with the bets straightened itself as well, resting on the first book. It also shows a small change: at the bottom, the four reader's name showed, with their winnings so far underneath, collected all together, with the differences from those bets they lost taken as well.
In the hallway, they realized that they had absolutely no idea of where they were going to sleep, and were about to return to the living room when a creaking sound of a door opening, which had them cautiously walking forward. They discovered that the two doors that had been previously locked were now open, bearing the legends 'Girls' and 'Boys' on each of them respectively. Saying good night, Hermione and Luna walked through the door bearing 'Girls' on it.
It was dark in the room, and Hermione's hand stretched along the wall to see if there was a switch somewhere, which she found rather quickly. She gasped once she turned it on, gasping like Luna did as the room was revealed.
It was like a mini apartment, with a separate sitting room, a very small kitchen – sink, fridge, and counter that separated it from the rest of the room, which was a small sitting room; holding two comfortable looking chairs with a small table between them. Hermione noticed that the table held two identical books, which bore resemblance to the one they'd just read. Two doors, on the opposite side of the kitchen, led to what Hermione and Luna guessed to be bedrooms. There was no third door, making them wonder where a bathroom was.
They had taken two steps into the room when the door they'd entered through closed. Spinning around, Hermione tried to open it, but it was locked. It was then that she noticed the note on the door.
Dear Hermione and Luna,
I know that your probably wondering why I've locked you in the room, and it is a simple question to answer. I do not want anyone tempted to read ahead of the others. I know that there is no proof you would do so, but I believe it would be better to play it safe rather than sorry.
As you will have noticed, there is a miniature kitchen. The fridge is filled with fruits and vegetables, as well as some bottled water and juice. Through the two doors is your bedrooms; each bedroom has a bed, dresser with some clothes that will immediately shape to your sizes and change color should you wish them too, and a connected bathroom each. There is an alarm clock on the dressers, which is set to go off at around nine.
The door will open at nine thirty, unless everyone is awake and you've already eaten and are ready to read.
T.C.H.
"Well, that's nice," Hermione said, giving up on the door; there was probably no chance of it opening for her. She walked around, looking in the fridge to see that the note was correct in the food and drinks in there. She then walked over to the table, looking at the books which were exact copies of the one they just read, only these bore an actual title of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, along with a table of contents. She also notice another note from T.C.H. in the one copy she held.
Dear Hermione or Luna,
I don't know which one of you two will pick which copy of the book, but these are your personal books to look through, so that you can take better notes in your heads about what happened in Harry's first year. You will get a copy of each book once you finish reading them.
T.C.H.
"Well, that's nice as well," said Hermione, while Luna picked up the other book and read the same note. "Now, if we could just get a notebook to write notes in, since that would definitely make it easier to remember things with." She sighed, almost setting the book down, but decided that she might as well take it with her to bed, just in case she had some trouble sleeping.
"I guess we should go to bed, then," Luna said her own book copy in her hand as she headed for one of the doors. "Which one do you want?" Hermione pointed to the one farther from the main door. "All right, then. Good night." She walked into the room.
Hermione followed her in a way, going through the other door, after turning off the light. Opening that door, turning on that light, she found the room to be exactly what it said it was. Heading into the bathroom, she saw that it was rather simple looking: sink, toilet, and shower. An unopened toothbrush and toothpaste sat waiting to be used, which she did.
Then, once dressed, she turned off the light and crawled into bed. Though it took her awhile, she managed to fall asleep, thoughts of what waited tomorrow running through her mind.
In the next room, Luna also went through the motions of getting ready for bed. As she did so, she thought about what they'd learned, and wondered if she would be in the next book at all. She was set to start her own first year at the time. However, according to the note, neither she nor Cedric would be mentioned until the third book by the latest, and even then, whoever it is that is mentioned in the third book would only be a small mention with them being mentioned in the fourth more before seemingly disappearing. At least, that was the feeling she was getting, and she couldn't shake it off. Whoever that person was, she had the feeling that there was a terrible reason for the lack of mention of them afterwards.
In the boys 'apartment', which was a mirror of the girls, the same thing happened, only both boys were rather sheepish; both had been wanting to read ahead, which meant that the locking them in was rather needed. Once it became certain that they wouldn't be able to get out, they both separated – after noticing the books, which, when they picked them up, they realized were the one they just read.
Harry chose the room closest to the door, going through the motions of getting ready for bed himself. His mind, however, was torn between the fact that this would be the first time he slept in an actual bed, and the book they'd just read. Of course, the bed won out. As he crawled on it, he noticed that it felt soft, nice, like floating on a cloud. Crawling between the sheets, he happily went to sleep, resting wonderfully for the first time in his life.
Cedric was also falling asleep, but he was having a harder time than the others. He was so curious as to what the next book would hold that he wished desperately that it was morning already. Also, like Luna, he was wondering what he would turn up; also, he was feeling slightly ashamed of himself, as he had the feeling that he had done the same as the other Hufflepuffs had to Harry, Hermione, and Neville. None of them deserved to be treated the way that had been in the book.
He was also thinking about what Hermione had said about it, which was the last thoughts that floated through his mind as he finally succumbed to sleep.