Maurise returned to his dormitory and enjoyed a spectacular night of sleep.
When morning came, he headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast right on time. At the Ravenclaw table, Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe were already deep in a heated debate over a Potions question. They were arguing about the exact moment one should add fire seeds when brewing a Pepperup Potion.
"You drop them in right before the cauldron boils," Maurise chimed in casually, overhearing their frantic whispering. "If you add them after it reaches a rolling boil, you will just end up with a bubbling pot of foul tasting sludge."
Marietta gave him a highly skeptical look. The Pepperup Potion was a rather advanced concoction. It was barely mentioned in their current textbooks, and the actual brewing process wouldn't be taught until their fifth year.
Maurise nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Feel free to test it out yourselves if you do not believe me."
"I still think you are just making things up to sound smart," Marietta muttered.
Maurise shrugged his shoulders playfully. "Trust me. If you write that down, Snape will definitely not deduct any points from you... unless your name happens to be Harry Potter, of course."
Cho Chang chuckled and nodded gently. "I believe you, Maurise. I am going to write that down for the exam."
"A very wise choice."
Perhaps due to the looming exams, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was remarkably tense. The students were eating much faster than usual. Everyone seemed distracted, hastily shoveling food into their mouths while glaring at their revision notes.
Maurise was the sole exception. He took his sweet time, leisurely eating his oatmeal and golden syrup spoon by spoon, looking completely utterly unbothered.
Soon enough, the Great Hall emptied out considerably. The moment Harry's familiar messy hair appeared at the Gryffindor table, Maurise wandered over.
Harry looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had massive dark circles under his eyes. Clearly, whatever happened last night had completely ruined his sleep. Ron and Hermione were not faring much better. Ron was yawning so widely his jaw looked ready to unhinge, and Hermione's usually bushy hair was now a frantic, tangled bird's nest.
Maurise stepped up behind them and leaned in. "You three look dreadful. Were you out causing trouble last night?"
Harry jumped in his seat. When he realized it was just Maurise, he quickly checked to make sure nobody else was listening and waved him closer. "Sit down, Maurise. I need to tell you something."
Harry felt a strong urge to confide in the older boy. Maurise was a good friend, he already knew about the Sorcerer's Stone, and he was one of the very few people who did not flinch at the mention of Voldemort. Plus, Maurise was always incredibly reliable. Maybe he could offer some actual practical advice.
Maurise leaned in closer, fully prepared to listen.
Just as he expected, Harry recounted the entire chaotic sequence of events in the Forbidden Forest. He talked about the terrifying cloaked figure drinking unicorn blood, how Firenze the centaur had swooped in to save him, and the horrifying revelation that the shadowy figure was actually Voldemort clinging to life.
However, Maurise noticed one glaring omission. He did not feature in Harry's story at all.
This left Maurise feeling profoundly disappointed. He had been genuinely curious to know how incredibly cool and mysterious he looked riding a skeletal horse in the moonlight. Harry's memory of the event had completely blanked him out!
"So now we know exactly why Snape is trying to steal the Stone," Harry whispered nervously. "Snape wants to resurrect him. He is definitely trying to use the Elixir of Life to restore Voldemort to full power."
"Please stop saying his name," Ron whimpered, looking genuinely terrified.
"Fine. I will just call him You Know Who." Harry glanced at Maurise, and seeing the Ravenclaw looking completely unfazed made him relax just a little bit.
Hermione stayed quiet. Being Muggleborn, she simply did not share the deeply ingrained wizarding terror of that particular name.
"So what is your grand plan then, Harry?" Maurise asked, resting his chin on his hand.
"I have no idea," Harry admitted, shaking his head miserably. "I was actually hoping you might have some brilliant advice for us, Maurise."
Seeking his advice?
Maurise blinked innocent eyes and immediately offered a suggestion. "Well, why don't you just figure out a way to get down there and grab the Stone yourselves? If you get it first, Snape will just be wandering around an empty room."
Harry sighed heavily. "We cannot even get past that giant three headed dog."
Ron and Hermione nodded in grim agreement.
"That is a shame. I am afraid I do not have any better ideas," Maurise said, patting Harry comfortingly on the shoulder with a fiercely determined expression. "But if you ever figure it out and need my help, you make sure to tell me immediately."
He had no idea exactly when Harry and his friends would make their move down the trapdoor. If he missed his window, his own chance to snatch the Sorcerer's Stone would vanish completely.
I am counting on you, Harry! Be the brave Gryffindor hero! Maurise cheered internally.
Harry looked at Maurise's sincere, earnest eyes and felt a rush of warmth in his chest. "Thank you, Maurise."
Maurise smiled softly. "What are friends for? I will gladly risk losing house points to help you out."
Those words moved Harry deeply, washing away a significant portion of his anxiety.
---
Finally, June arrived in full force, bringing exam week to Hogwarts.
For Maurise, the first year exams were so simple they bordered on tedious. Aside from History of Magic and Potions, he was absolutely certain he would score perfect marks across the board.
History of Magic was only a slight wild card because he simply had not bothered to study. As for Potions, he strongly suspected Snape had deliberately handed him a fifth year exam paper out of pure spite. Not that it mattered anyway. Maurise still knew the answers to all those advanced questions.
The day the exams finally ended was bright, sunny, and glorious.
Down by the edge of the Black Lake, Maurise was lounging on the grass with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. The twins were fiercely debating the mechanics of their prototype Skiving Snackboxes. Now that the exams were no longer a distraction, they could focus entirely on their joke shop ambitions. They were practically vibrating with excitement, talking a mile a minute.
Lee Jordan was wading in the shallows, lazily teasing the Giant Squid's tentacles.
Maurise watched the massive creature glide through the water and seriously wondered exactly how many barrels of garlic butter and flour it would take to turn that magnificent beast into a literal mountain of deep fried calamari rings.
Just then, Harry wandered over and collapsed onto the grass beside him. The boy was pressing one hand firmly against his forehead, looking paler than a ghost.
"My scar has been burning for two straight days," Harry confessed quietly to Maurise. "Do you happen to have any pain relieving potions on you?"
Maurise raised an eyebrow. "I do not exactly carry a full apothecary in my robes... but luckily for you, I do have a headache remedy right here."
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small glass vial, and handed it over.
Harry popped the cork. He hesitated for a split second, suddenly remembering basic potion safety. "Do I drink this straight or rub it on?"
"Drink it straight down," Maurise instructed.
Harry offered an apologetic smile and swallowed the potion in one gulp. Just as expected, Maurise was incredibly reliable. Although his scar was still throbbing with dark magic, the potion seemed to numb the edge of the pain just enough to make it bearable.
A moment later, Hermione and Ron arrived at the lake. Fred and George immediately ambushed their younger brother, laughing maniacally as they tried to force feed Ron a highly suspicious bright blue candy. Hermione, meanwhile, sat down and immediately started analyzing the Charms exam questions with Maurise.
It was a perfectly peaceful, idyllic afternoon.
Suddenly, Harry leaped to his feet. His pale face was now rigid with panic.
"I just realized something!" he gasped, staring wide eyed at Hermione. "We have to go see Hagrid. Right now."
"What is wrong?" Hermione asked instantly. She abandoned her exam debate with Maurise and looked at Harry with deep concern.
Ron finally managed to wrestle free from the twins. He had bright blue powder smeared all over his chin, but he too stopped to stare at his best friend.
"I will explain on the way," Harry said urgently.
Seeing the sheer panic in the boy's eyes, Maurise raised an eyebrow. "Remember what I said, Harry. If you need backup, come find me."
Maurise could feel it in the air. Today was the day everything would go down.
Harry gave him a firm, determined nod. Then, the Golden Trio sprinted away toward the gamekeeper's hut as fast as their legs could carry them.