Harry felt his heart immersed in icy lake water, slowly draining the warmth from his body. His stomach clenched, his mouth tasted bitter, and he even felt a little nauseous.
"So... Quirrell is... is..."
"Voldemort," Wade reminded him. "To be precise, he's possessed by Voldemort."
A collective gasp echoed in the room. Michael, pale-faced, whispered, "Don't say that name again, Wade."
Wade sighed, "If you're afraid of even a name, how did you manage not to tremble in front of Professor Quirrell?"
"How can that be the same?" Michael retorted. "Professor Quirrell is a coward, but that person... that person, he..."
Michael shivered, silently shutting his mouth, seemingly struggling to breathe.
Wade looked at the others, seeing them all looking horrified, even Hermione appeared very scared.
—How strange.
Wade thought.
—They dare to face that person but are afraid to speak his name?
Harry, however, had no such reservations. He said bluntly, "So Voldemort wants to make a comeback, and he didn't just send two subordinates to steal the Philosopher's Stone... He came himself..."
"Yes—as a parasite, hidden behind Quirrell's head, he sneaked in," Wade said. "Constantly enveloped in the smell of garlic, and even having to endure certain mischievous students throwing snowballs at his face. Think about it, they thought they were ambushing the timid Quirrell, but they were actually hitting Vold... er... You-Know-Who's face..."
Considering the feelings of most of them, Wade avoided saying Voldemort's name directly. His words made everyone both frightened and amused, and even Harry couldn't help but crack a smile.
"But..." Harry said, troubled, "Why wouldn't Dumbledore let you tell me? I mean, I have a right to know the truth, right? Voldemort killed my parents!"
"Dumbledore was protecting you, Harry," Hermione explained. "He seemed worried that if you knew the truth, you'd... you'd go seek revenge on You-Know-Who, and that would be too dangerous."
Harry was a forgiving person. Hearing that the headmaster acted out of concern for him, his anger about being kept in the dark gradually dissipated. But he still didn't understand: "Then why don't they just capture him now? While he's unprepared, if everyone acts together, could Quirrell and Voldemort still escape?"
"I guess—well, it's just a guess—combining what Professor Dumbledore said..." Wade began, "Eleven years ago, that person did die, but for some reason, he didn't die completely. He's kind of in a ghost-like state, unable to be imprisoned or killed. If they act rashly, they'd probably only manage to leave Quirrell behind, and Voldemort would still escape—"
"Don't say that name, Wade," Michael whispered.
"—Alright," Wade continued. "You-Know-Who still has the ability to return a second, third time... you never know when he'll appear..."
Someone shivered silently.
"—It's like knowing there's a poisonous snake in your house, but you don't know where it is, and it can emerge from the shadows and bite you at any time... Compared to that, keeping the snake under your nose is more reassuring, right?"
"But... doesn't Dumbledore worry that Quirrell might actually steal the Philosopher's Stone, and then Voldemort would regain his former power and even become immortal?" Harry asked again.
"—I said, don't say that name," Michael grumbled. "Since Dumbledore knows everything, he must have set up an elaborate trap where the Philosopher's Stone is, just waiting for Quirrell to steal it! But that guy is too cautious; he's been procrastinating for so long and hasn't made a move."
"Maybe he also realized it's a trap?" Ryan suddenly said. "But the longing for immortality keeps him hovering near the bait, unable to give up... Maybe he's also waiting for a foolproof opportunity..."
"What kind of opportunity would be foolproof?" Theo asked.
"That would definitely be—" Harry clenched his fists. "When Dumbledore leaves the school! Because Dumbledore is the only person he fears!"
In the following days, the young wizards began to pay unprecedented attention to Dumbledore's schedule. If they saw the white-bearded wizard eating in the Great Hall, the rest of the day was peaceful; if they didn't, they immediately became anxious, trying every way to ask the professors if Dumbledore had gone out.
However, they soon had to divert most of their energy to another matter—exam week arrived.
For students, the terror of exams, in some sense, was equivalent to the Dark Lord, even for Hermione, whose grades were already excellent.
Most Hogwarts subjects' exams were divided into two parts: written and practical. The written exam took place in a large classroom that could accommodate all students of the same year, requiring the use of a new quill enchanted with anti-cheating spells. Practical exams varied greatly, with each professor setting their own tasks, such as Professor McGonagall requiring students to transform mice into exquisite snuffboxes.
For Wade, all the exam content was simple, and the practical exams felt more like a personal showcase. Judging by the professors' satisfied smiles, he was certainly on track for an excellent report card.
The last subject was History of Magic—ever since Wade had organized his History of Magic scrolls, he rarely spent time on this subject, only cramming the key points right before the exam. After finishing the paper, Wade confirmed his accuracy was above ninety percent, which was sufficient for him.
Today was also Thursday, the day Professor Moray taught him Alchemy. After the exam, students cheered, celebrating their newfound freedom, while Wade greeted Michael and headed towards the Astronomy Tower as usual.
Professor Moray was tinkering with a microscope. Seeing Wade enter, he exclaimed, "Look, how marvelous—Muggles use this machine to observe all sorts of tiny structures, including the tens of thousands of cells within the human body."
He enthusiastically taught Wade how to prepare microscope slides, how to adjust the light and focus. Wade didn't mention he had learned this before, following Professor Moray's steps to observe worm eggs and moth wing cross-sections, before finally bringing up his recent alchemy progress.
"I wanted to show you this—"
As Wade spoke, he took a box from his backpack. He then noticed his Friendship Ledger, lying nearby, was slightly warm. Wade paused briefly, then closed his backpack and placed the blue-gray box, about the size of a pencil case, on the table.
Professor Moray's eyes lit up: "You succeeded so quickly?"
"I've only achieved a preliminary result."
Wade reached out and opened the box. Inside, there were a few quills and ordinary pens, clearly visible to the bottom; this seemed to be everything. He then closed the lid, tapped it with his wand, and the pencil box seemed to flip like a page, expanding, extending, stretching...
A moment later, a wardrobe taller than a person stood in the center of the room.
Wade pulled open the door and smiled, "Professor, perhaps you'd like to step inside and have a look?"