Tver was well aware that his students now felt both love and hate toward him. In truth, they only complained a little—yet when it came time for the Light Orb Game, they still joined in enthusiastically.
Besides, he had far bigger concerns at the moment.
From what had happened that night, it was clear that either Snape or Dumbledore—perhaps both—possessed some special ability to detect disturbances on the fourth floor. If he actually managed to steal the Philosopher's Stone, there was a good chance the entire castle would be crawling with Dumbledores by the time he got out.
Fortunately, he still had Quirrell.
...
When night fell, the castle settled once more into silence.
"All things are illusory."
Tver folded up the Map of Precise Locations. According to his agreement with Quirrell, he slipped quietly into the Forbidden Forest under the cover of darkness.
It was technically his "second" visit there, yet he couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity—as though the magic Helga had left him resonated faintly with the forest itself. That same magic also allowed him to clearly sense where Quirrell was.
Following the trail, he soon found Quirrell hunting a unicorn.
The poor creature was staggering through the trees, blood dripping from its wounds, while Quirrell seemed to toy with it, casting spells to block every possible escape route.
When every path was sealed, the unicorn realized it had nowhere left to flee. It stopped, locking eyes with Quirrell, tears glistening with sorrow.
"Pitiful little creature. In your next life, remember to stay far away from me," Quirrell murmured, flipping his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
A flash of green light shot forth. The unicorn closed its eyes in despair—but seconds passed, and nothing happened.
When it opened them again, a faint golden barrier shimmered before fading away.
"Don't be so hasty. Didn't we agree to act together tonight?" Tver stepped out from the shadows, smiling. "I've heard that killing before an operation brings misfortune."
The unicorn froze, confused by the strange turn of events. But realizing it had survived, it quickly darted away into the pitch-black depths of the forest.
"So, before we even begin, you're already trying to weaken me?"
Quirrell's pale face twisted, his eyes flashing coldly. His wand never lowered for even a second.
Tver ignored it completely. Acting as though he hadn't noticed the hostility, he calmly raised his hand and cast a concealment ward around them, like a true partner covering their tracks.
Once finished, he smiled and walked up to Quirrell.
"Looks like your master's quite harsh—forcing you to drink unicorn blood every day just to keep yourself alive," he said mildly, hands clasped before him in a gesture of peace. "No need to rush. Why don't we go over tonight's plan?"
Quirrell's eye twitched. After meeting Tver's gaze for several seconds, he finally muttered, "Ten minutes ago, Dumbledore received a letter from the Ministry. He's left Hogwarts."
"Excellent. And the other professors in the castle?"
"Isn't that your responsibility?!"
"My apologies," Tver replied with a smirk. "Occupational habit. Professors do like asking questions."
"I'll stay here and create a distraction—pretend to attack Harry Potter during his detention tonight. That should make enough noise to draw everyone's attention to the forest."
This time, Quirrell nodded approvingly.
"Good. Once we have the Philosopher's Stone, we'll take the secret passage to Hogsmeade and get far, far away from here."
"Yes," Tver agreed smoothly. "Far, far away."
The two exchanged hollow smiles.
But just beyond a nearby tree, Harry and Ron stood frozen, faces pale as ghosts.
They trembled violently, mouths opening and closing without sound. Only after the two men had disappeared did they dare to exhale.
"Hurt... hurt us?" Ron's teeth chattered so hard that his words came out in jerky bursts. "Professor Fawley wouldn't do something like that, would he?"
"Didn't you hear? It's an act! The professor's only pretending to hurt us to distract the other teachers—so Snape can steal the Philosopher's Stone!"
Harry was frightened too, but he forced himself to stay calm, refusing to show it.
"Then we need to warn the professors right now!" Ron said urgently.
The thought flickered in Harry's mind for a second before he shook his head.
"No. Professor Fawley's watching. If we go running around trying to tell the professors and bump into him, whatever we say won't be as convincing as his! We'll only end up exposing ourselves."
He clenched his fists. "Think, what should we do? If only Hermione were here—she'd know what to do!"
He paced in circles, tapping his forehead as if he could knock a good idea loose.
Ironically, Ron was the one who calmed down first. He gave Harry a firm pat on the shoulder. "Then why don't we just go find Hermione?"
The two froze for a moment.
"..."
After a brief pause, they exchanged a look—and bolted back the way they'd come.
Not long after they left the forest, a thunderous boom echoed behind them, like a crack of lightning tearing through the night.
There were no flames, yet both boys felt their hearts quake.
"The professor's started his plan. We've got to hurry!" The more intense things got, the steadier Harry's voice became.
Ron, catching that resolve, nodded sharply.
Strangely, they didn't see anyone on the way back—no curious students, no patrolling professors.
But there was no time to question it.
When they finally burst into the common room, another explosion thundered from the direction of the Forbidden Forest, shaking the entire castle.
Through the window, Harry saw flocks of birds take to the sky in panic, scattering wildly in every direction—just like the turmoil churning inside him.
The few students in the common room jumped up, pressing to the windows in alarm. Some even tried to rush outside to see what was happening.
Percy immediately planted himself in front of the doorway, arms spread to block them—especially his overexcited twin brothers.
"It's curfew! None of you are going anywhere!"
Harry and Ron exchanged a quick glance. The professor's distraction was clearly working. They couldn't waste another second.
They darted toward Hermione, who was watching them with a worried expression.
"Did something happen?" she asked. One look at their faces told the clever witch that something was very wrong.
"Our detention was in the Forbidden Forest—we were sent to look for an injured unicorn," Harry said quickly, keeping his voice low as he told her everything they'd just witnessed.
When Hermione heard that Professor Fawley and Snape were planning to steal the Philosopher's Stone that very night, she trembled.
"But... but the Philosopher's Stone is guarded by the three-headed dog!"
"I know you hate Snape," Harry said helplessly, "but you've got to admit—he's got a thousand ways to make that beast as tame as a puppy."
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened.
"Headmaster Dumbledore's not here," Hermione said after a moment's hesitation. "We should tell the other professors. If they're there, Snape won't stand a chance."
Ron shook his head at once.
"I bet every professor's in the forest right now. By the time we find them, Snape will already have turned the Stone into a pile of gold!"
Harry suddenly felt his nerves settle. His gaze sharpened, his voice firm.
"Then we'll stop Snape ourselves."