章節 97: 97- Dumbledore, here I come, where are you?!

Rhys opened the door in the fourth-floor corridor and found the three-headed dog Fluffy sleeping soundly.

"Not bad," Rhys nodded. Although they used the sleeping potion he droped behind, at least it proved that Daphne could identify the type of potion and use it correctly.

Continuing deeper, Rhys noticed something unusual about the Devil's Snare. Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but chuckle: Daphne had apparently had a bit of trouble here.

When he saw the dilapidated door behind the swarm of flying keys, Rhys's facial muscles twitched.

He felt he needed to be concerned about Daphne's mental state. For some reason, some of her actions seemed very Gryffindor-like, which worried Rhys. A carefully tended field sprouting a weed named Godric was unacceptable.

'Could it be from spending too much time with that Potter and Weasley?' Rhys's thoughts began to wander.

While absentmindedly thinking, he conjured a rope to capture the key, which had lost half its wing and could barely fly. He could forcefully open the door, but such behavior was too Gryffindor. Rhys chose to pass the test the correct way.

Along the way, besides observing the traces left by the three young wizards and deducing their methods, Rhys also carefully searched for signs of Dumbledore.

He believed Professor Dumbledore should be secretly watching over the young wizards during their adventure.

But the more he searched, the more puzzled he became: there were no traces of Dumbledore here at all. He couldn't sense Dumbledore's magic. The few mechanisms Rhys had set upon entering hadn't been triggered, indicating no one had entered after him.

This was extremely strange. With his insight, almost no one could escape his notice, not even his three companions. Had someone invented some advanced invisibility spell in the past millennium, making it impossible for him to detect them?

'Dumbledore, I'm here, but where are you?!'

A crazy thought flashed in Rhys's mind: Could it be that Dumbledore didn't come at all? This idea shocked Rhys when it crossed his mind.

When arranging a trial for young wizards of Harry and Daphne's age, two key points must be grasped: first, the participating young wizards must believe they are truly undergoing the trial alone; second, they must never actually be left to face the trial alone.

If they were truly left alone, even if wizarding families maintained the Weasley family's birth rate, it wouldn't be enough.

Rhys sincerely admired Dumbledore's courage. Perhaps Dumbledore already knew it was Daphne who repelled Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest, which wasn't hard to guess: it wasn't Harry, Hagrid wasn't there, and the centaurs arrived late. Using the process of elimination, one could deduce it.

But how did he know Harry would definitely bring Daphne along? What if Daphne refused? Also, wasn't he placing too much trust in Daphne's combat ability?

Of course, there's another possibility: Dumbledore knew Rhys would come, so he simply didn't show up. But that possibility was lower than the chance of Harry Potter tearing off his mask to reveal Godric Gryffindor's face.

Wait a minute...

It had nothing to do with what kind of teammates Harry brought along!

Pushing aside the absurd image of Harry tearing off his face to reveal Godric Gryffindor, Rhys suddenly felt a flash of understanding: with Dumbledore's design, there would never be anyone other than Harry entering the final chamber!

The final chamber could only be accessed by drinking a small dose of the fire protection potion, just enough for one person.

This was undoubtedly Dumbledore's design, intended to limit other young wizards and only allow Harry to enter the final chamber—given Harry's character and pitiful persuasion skills, that single dose of potion would inevitably end up in his mouth.

As for Quirrell, Rhys believed he wouldn't bother solving the logic puzzle; the fire door could simply be bypassed with a fireproofing charm. Quirrell wouldn't waste time on it.

Rhys's unnecessary actions had inadvertently disrupted Dumbledore's meticulous arrangements: he had emptied that small dose of the fire protection potion and hidden a set of potion-making tools along with ingredients for two doses of the fire protection potion in that small room—now even Daphne could enter the final chamber as well.

Through Dumbledore's design, Rhys drew a new conclusion: Dumbledore was confident that even if Harry faced Quirrell alone, he would not be harmed.

Was it because of that ancient magic on Harry?

That must be it!

Previously, when Rhys had the chance to observe Harry closely, he noticed something unusual about him: Harry's magical aura had a strange quality.

Unfortunately, lacking evidence and being unable to conduct in-depth research due to his unfamiliarity with Harry, Rhys couldn't reach a definitive conclusion.

He could only generally surmise that Harry was under a rare, almost forgotten spell—a spell that had a defensive nature but also felt like a curse, which puzzled Rhys greatly.

Rhys finally understood why Dumbledore truly dared to let a first-year student like Harry face a dangerous foe coveting the Philosopher's Stone—the spell on Harry would protect him.

This revelation opened Rhys's eyes and sparked his curiosity about the spell: what kind of spell could have such an effect?

He quickened his pace.

When Rhys arrived at the room with the chessboard, he saw the black and white pieces had returned to their original positions, ready to play, with Ron lying in the middle of the board, fast asleep.

"Young people do sleep well, falling asleep at the drop of a hat." Rhys chuckled as he moved Ron off the board, then took out his wand.

"If I had more time, I wouldn't mind playing a game with you, but unfortunately, I'm in a hurry," Rhys smiled at the chess pieces. "Besides, I'm not confident I can win against you. You're not like Daphne, willing to let me have a few pieces."

Looking at these chess pieces, memories of playing wizard's chess with Daphne came to his mind...

"Wait a minute, I just moved to the wrong spot!"

"You remembered wrong; this knight was black from the start!"

"Cheating?! What do you take me for?"

"Three pieces handicap?! Daphne, you're too much. Letting me have a knight and a bishop is enough... Add a pawn this time..."

Rhys couldn't help but laugh. After a moment of reminiscing, he had a clear understanding of his chess skills, so he chose to use an out-of-board trick to win, saving time.

A thin, long stream of water emerged from the tip of Rhys's wand.

He hadn't used water element magic for a long time. Now that he was using it, he felt really nostalgic.

"I guess not many people know now, but what I am best at is actually water element spells..." Rhys muttered to himself, then shook his wand, and an inconspicuous water line lightly crossed the entire chessboard.

The next second, all the chess pieces on the board, whether black or white, the king or the bishop, were cut into pieces by the waterline.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry. I'll use the water magic that I'm best at as compensation to you." Rhys shook off the water droplets on the tip of his wand and strode towards the room opposite.

______

Read 12 Chapters ahead of WN

Patreon.com/HornyFBI

評論 4條評論

投票

next chapter

章節 98: 98- That's a crystal ball made by Ravenclaw herself!!!

"Did the flames behind the door just flicker?" Harry squinted his eyes, asking uncertainly.

Embarrassingly, Daphne completely ignored him.

The preparation of the fire protection potion had reached the most critical moment. If there was any stray thought in Daphne's mind aside from making the potion, it was why she hadn't stuffed Harry's mouth shut before starting.

"Alright, maybe it was just my imagination."

"Sigh, I wonder what the next challenge will be—do you think the fire protection potion can really get us through that firewall?"

"How much longer until it's ready?"

"..."

Finally, Daphne's fire protection potion was successfully prepared.

"Awesome! Fantastic!" Harry didn't hold back on his words of praise.

Daphne squinted her eyes and gave a sweet smile, "It's nothing. But, Potter, I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead." Facing Daphne, who had just finished making the fire protection potion, Harry wished he could replace the portrait of the Virgin Mary in Devonshire Church with Daphne's photo.

Whatever Daphne requested, Harry was ready to comply.

"Next time you talk while I'm making a potion, even if it's just one word, I'll cut out your tongue and use it as an ingredient."

Harry: "..."

"Alright, drink the potion." Daphne divided the potion into two small bottles and handed one to Harry.

They both drank the fire protection potion together and shivered.

The potion felt like ice water, making them feel as if they had stepped outside in their pajamas on a winter's day.

As they passed through the fire door, the black flames actually brought a bit of warmth.

Beyond the black flames, they smoothly entered the final room.

A person who caused Harry's pupils to dilate in shock was standing in that room.

"Professor Quirrell, you?!" Harry was so stunned he could hardly breathe.

Daphne clapped her hands sharply. "Now you can finally believe in Professor Snape's innocence!"

Quirrell laughed, and now his face no longer twitched, and he spoke without stuttering.

"I have to thank Snape. He was like a giant target, attracting everyone's attention, allowing me to execute this great plan smoothly." Quirrell looked extremely pleased with himself.

He believed he had fooled everyone, including the great Dumbledore.

"Miss Greengrass, I've received a lot of care from your father while at school. For his sake, you can leave now. This has nothing to do with you. I swear by the Black Lake that you'll return to the castle unharmed." After mocking Harry a few times, Quirrell turned to Daphne, offering her a chance to leave.

Quirrell's magnanimity had nothing to do with Daphne's father. It was purely because she had left too deep an impression on him that night, and this time he decided to win with cunning.

Quirrell had already planned to use the Killing Curse on her as soon as she turned her back.

The girl seemed terrified and nodded numbly.

Seeing her fall into his trap, Quirrell was overjoyed, but before that joy could fully register, a powerful spell came hurtling toward him.

If Voldemort hadn't taken direct control of Quirrell's body, Daphne would have succeeded.

"You're courting death!" Quirrell, nearly split in half, was furious. He instinctively wanted to retaliate but found he had completely lost control of his body.

Voldemort finally stopped hiding. After all, after today, Quirrell's body would be discarded like a disposable utensil in a restaurant.

Quirrell's turban unwound layer by layer, and during this time, Daphne seized the opportunity to launch multiple attacks, all of which were effortlessly deflected. Translucent shields appeared just in time to block her spells, bouncing them all away.

With his eyes covered by the turban, Quirrell's vision seemed to improve.

When the last layer of the scarf was removed, both Daphne and Harry were stunned: on the back of Quirrell's head was a hideous and terrifying face. The face was chalk-white with red eyes and slit-like nostrils resembling those of a snake.

It was the very embodiment of "evil."

"Haha~ Excellent child, put down your wand, and I will forgive your sins," the face spoke to Daphne in a whispery voice.

"You are a talented child of the Greengrass family? How rare, pure blood. Wizard blood should not be wasted... Submit to me, and I will give you honors beyond your wildest dreams."

Daphne felt a wave of nausea in her stomach; the gaze from those eyes made her want to vomit.

She responded with wind blades, fireballs, and ice spikes, but these attacks couldn't even make the monster retreat a single step. For the first time since starting school, Daphne felt despair—worse than when she had almost been eaten by the troll.

"Tut. tut. What a pity..." Voldemort shook his head, no longer hiding the cruelty in his eyes.

The unwrapped turban moved like a snake, slithering towards Daphne.

Seeing Daphne in danger, Harry panicked. He wanted to do something, but Voldemort casually conjured a rope, binding him.

He didn't even bother to speak to Harry.

Voldemort felt both humiliated and amused: how could he have lost to such a person? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand.

Daphne flew into the air, attempting to avoid Voldemort's attacks.

"Oh?" Voldemort was even more surprised now.

He hadn't expected this little girl from the Greengrass family to have mastered flying magic.

He casually shot a few spells at Daphne, watching her dodge them awkwardly, feeling like a cat toying with a mouse it had caught.

Daphne had only one thought in her mind: she really wanted to blast that disgusting face with a spell, even just once!

While dodging, she saw herself in a mirror—her hair was disheveled, her face pale, looking like a lost dog.

A thought flashed in Daphne's mind: There was actually a mirror here? She hadn't noticed it at all before.

At that moment, she saw her reflection reach into a pocket, pull out a crystal ball, wink at her, and then put the crystal ball back into the pocket. Then, Daphne felt something heavy drop into the inner pocket of her robe.

She reached in and found that the crystal ball was indeed in her pocket.

A purple spell whizzed past her, nearly hitting her, and Voldemort's sinister laughter echoed from the ground. "Pay attention, you mustn't get distracted!"

Daphne ignored him. She took out the crystal ball and looked down at it, discovering a skeletal horse pacing in a forest.

A sense of clarity arose within her. The next moment, she smashed the crystal ball heavily against the ground, shattering it.

'What The..!!!' Rhys, who had been observing in the shadows, nearly blacked out: That was handcrafted by Rowena Ravenclaw, the only one of its kind in the world!

———

12 Advance Chapters—Patreon.com/HornyFBI