The three quickly made their way back to the castle and arrived at Dumbledore's office.
"Chocolate frog!" shouted Hagrid, leading the two into the headmaster's office.
Although it was almost midnight, Dumbledore still hadn't rested, so after Hagrid entered, he saw Dumbledore directly. Dumbledore saw that Hagrid was here at this late hour and knew it must be urgent, so he asked Hagrid what was going on straight away.
Hagrid then told Dumbledore what had happened to him in the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore's expression did not change as he listened, he calmly asked Tom and Hermione to stay in his office for a while and then went straight to the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid.
Tom and Hermione rested for a while in Dumbledore's office. It wasn't until they entered Dumbledore's office that Hermione's fear and nervousness subsided. First, the mysterious monster attacked, then her best friend pulled out a gun and shot the black-robed wizard, and finally she witnessed the death of an innocent and pure being.
It was too much for a twelve-year-old witch.
But Dumbledore's office seemed to have magic, calming her anxious mind with ease. When she calmed down, she began to look around the most sacred office in the magical world.
The first thing that caught her eye was the wall of portraits, and she became very interested in the names and tenure of the headmasters beneath them, looking at them one by one, trying to relate her impressions of each to their appearance.
"Little girl, you have before you one of the greatest Headmasters at Hogwarts - one of the greatest, Phineas Nigellus Black!" As Hermione approached an old wizard with a sly face and goatee. When he suddenly spoke, he had meant to say "the greatest Headmaster" but was afraid of being mobbed by the portraits around him, so he added "great."
Hermione was startled, it was the first time a headmaster had greeted her, and she looked at the "known" headmaster and felt his name ring a bell. She remembered: this headmaster, I think, was ...
"One of the best directors of all time? The most unpopular director of all time! " said Dilys Derwent. Principal Derwent exposed him mercilessly.
Phineas Black's face reddened slightly, he looked angry, but he dared not say anything, only muttered under his breath, "That's because I'm strict..."
"Well, young lady, it is an honor for you to be spoken to personally by this principal." Phineas began to brag about his life, and Hermione thoughtfully remembered that the headmistress had no accomplishments to brag about.
However, Tom, next to her, was also very interested in Phineas' portrait of the headmaster, couldn't wait to tease him, and this feeling made Phineas uncomfortable, so he cleared his throat and asked, "Fellow, I can understand your excitement about meeting the headmaster, but please keep a social distance and treat my portrait with more respect."
Tom took a couple of steps back, looked at Phineas' portrait and finally asked, "Principal Black, I hear there is a treasure hidden behind your portrait, is it true?"
Phineas Black: "???"
Why didn't he know that?
The other portraits in the office also cast curious glances, and a somewhat obese, red-nosed headmaster shouted directly, "Move Phineas' portrait, then, my boy, and let us see it too!"
Phineas was startled and quickly shouted, "Stop! Why didn't I know there was treasure under my portrait? Besides, if there was anything, my portrait wouldn't be hanging evenly, so what's hiding behind my portrait, boy?"
He was really scared, he was afraid that if that boy really took it off the wall, he would be the first headmaster in history to be taken off the wall at Hogwarts,
He would be laughed at for centuries.
"It is said that the writings of Hogwarts are hidden behind your portrait, I'd like to see if it's true" Tom said.
Phineas: "..."
Other Headmasters: "..."
Soon, the office was filled with laughter and guffaws as the principals burst out laughing.
Phineas shouted, "There is no title deed at all! In other words, the castle itself is the title deed! Only those who are recognized by the castle can become headmasters of Hogwarts and own this land during their tenure!"
...
Dumbledore ran to the Forbidden Forest, to the place where the unicorn's body had been. He frowned as he saw the teeth marks in the unicorn's wound, and Hagrid, who followed him, winced at the sight: Hagrid had heard of the unicorn curse.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and cast a tracking spell, "(Appare vestigium)" He tried to find the man who had drunk the unicorn blood here earlier, but it was clear that the man was also a professional, and had simply wiped away his own tracks.
Dumbledore shook his head, buried the unicorn with Hagrid, and headed back to the castle.
While Hermione and Tom were in the office, talking to the portrait, and Dumbledore and Hagrid were picking up the corpse, the black-robed wizard, Quirrell, was in the owlery. He watched his wounds heal and felt the vibrant life of the unicorn's blood nourishing his body and his master.
Of course, there was still a weariness in his mind that could not be erased.
"Master, what should we do now? We may be exposed now, and going back to school may be a trap for us..." Quirrell said.
A hoarse voice sounded in the back of his head, "What about that three-headed dog? shouldn't he be in the hallway on the third floor?"
"Master, I don't know..." Quirrell shuddered.
"Never mind, we have to move faster, you have to find a way to get the Philosopher's Stone right away-" Said the voice.
"Master-" Quirrell lamented, his master's request was impossible for him. If he could steal it, wouldn't he have done it already? Quirrell thought he wouldn't be able to complete his master's task: he couldn't even handle the three-headed dog alone, and his master had limited power to use....
Wait a minute, the three-headed dog....
Quirrell felt he had a vague idea.
He was speechless for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I know what to do!"
He immediately took the paper and pencil from the owlery and wrote a letter by hand. He sealed the envelope, wrote the address of the Ministry of Magic and sent it off.
Quirrell gave a subtle smile: I'm such a clever little man! Now, the three-headed dog would no longer be an obstacle. So what can a man do when he is pushed?
Voldemort, who was parasitizing Quirrell, didn't care what his servant was doing, as long as he could get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone, he would have no problem even if Quirrell had to sell his ass.