"Expelliarmus."
Suddenly, a voice came from the corridor behind the dark-robed figure.
A red beam of light shot out, heading straight for the dark-robed figure.
Whoosh.
The dark-robed figure reacted quickly, swiftly dodging the incoming red light. He glanced back, knowing the situation had turned against him, and directly transformed into a mass of black smoke, bursting through a nearby skylight with a bang and escaping from Hogwarts Castle.
Soon, a figure flew over. It was Snape.
He first looked at the escaping dark-robed figure, found that he could no longer trace him, and then turned his gaze toward Dudley's direction.
"Dudley Dursley! Why are you everywhere?" Snape looked at Dudley with a dark expression.
"Professor, I'd also like to know why I keep encountering these things. I just happened to be passing by here," Dudley said with a pale face. This time he really was just passing by.
"Passing by? You're not returning to Gryffindor Tower, you appear here, and you tell me you're passing by? Besides, this isn't the path to Gryffindor Tower either. Tell me, why did you appear here? What's your relationship with that dark-robed figure just now?" Snape pressed aggressively.
"Isn't it obvious enough for you to see?" Dudley was annoyed. "He cast the Killing Curse at me. What do you think our relationship is?"
Snape's face was dark, coldly staring at Dudley. Dudley was also not backing down. Since they had already torn off the pretense, Dudley simply decided to go all out.
"You're just like your mother, arrogant, rude, selfish..." Snape stared at Dudley, speaking word by word.
Dudley's eyebrows raised slightly. Snape actually knew his mother? This was something he hadn't expected. After all, his mother wasn't a wizard and shouldn't have had contact with Snape.
"If you say so, then isn't my aunt the same? We're family, after all! The same blood flows through our bodies." Dudley stared coldly at Snape. He clearly saw anger surge in Snape's eyes.
"I don't care what happened between your generation, but please don't bring your grudges into our younger generation, thank you." Dudley spoke again.
"You..." Snape wanted to speak.
Bang.
Suddenly, a golden-red firelight blazed up, and a brilliant flame appeared out of nowhere. When the firelight faded, a white-haired old man appeared between Dudley and Snape. Behind his half-moon glasses, a pair of deep eyes swept around the surroundings, finally settling on the troll's corpse and Dudley's body.
"Excellent Levitation Charm," Dumbledore commented.
Dudley's eye twitched slightly, and the troll's corpse fell back to the ground with a thud, stirring up a thick stench.
"Professor Dumbledore, Dudley, he..."
"The smell here is really unpleasant. I think we need to change places to chat." Professor Dumbledore interrupted Snape's words.
Snape said nothing more, but his gaze toward Dudley was full of malice.
"Follow me," Dumbledore said, floating toward one side of the corridor.
"Oh, by the way, Dudley, you should be able to make yourself levitate, right?" Dumbledore glanced at Dudley.
"Of course, Professor." He had just been able to levitate the troll's corpse, so levitating himself was no problem.
"That's good." Dumbledore said nothing more and flew toward the first floor.
In the Great Hall, besides the three of them, there was no one else.
"Well, now we can have a proper chat." Dumbledore landed on the ground, his deep gaze looking toward Dudley and Snape.
"Professor, I don't know what happened in the castle, but just walking in the corridors results in punishment. I was just injured," Dudley immediately said. Seizing the initiative in conversation was very important.
Seeing this, Snape said nothing. The problem Dudley mentioned was also what everyone wanted to ask now, including Snape himself.
"Some situations have occurred in the castle. Someone may have triggered ancient magic, causing such prohibitions to appear. However, as far as I know, this influence should be eliminated soon," Dumbledore said seriously.
"Really? That's great." Dudley appeared relieved.
In his heart, Dudley was somewhat surprised. Dumbledore seemed to have discovered that the Brass Book's influence was fading. Could this powerful wizard perceive changes in the rules?
"Episkey." Dumbledore drew his wand and chanted a spell toward the wounds on Dudley's back. The next moment, a tingling sensation came, and Dudley felt the wounds on his back healing rapidly.
"My healing spells are quite good." Dumbledore winked at Dudley.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Dudley said gratefully.
"So, Dudley, what's the situation with that troll?" Dumbledore changed the subject and asked.
"This matter has to start from this morning's Charms class..." Dudley briefly described the situation with Hermione and Ron.
"So we went to the dungeons to find Hermione, and then..."
"Lies!" Snape glared at Dudley and spoke coldly. "You didn't go to find Miss Granger first, but went to the fourth-floor corridor. It was only after I stopped you that you went to the dungeons."
"That's right." Dudley nodded directly. "That's because I discovered Professor Quirrell had problems, so I wanted to follow and check the situation. Later I met Professor Snape, told him about this, and then went to find Hermione."
"Professor Quirrell?" Dumbledore's gaze focused slightly as he looked at Dudley.
"That's right. Recently, I've felt something wrong about Professor Quirrell. Inside his body, there seems to be something special, a very weak aura. I wasn't very certain, so I didn't tell you immediately. I wanted to observe the situation and confirm it," Dudley said immediately.
He wasn't prepared to hide Quirrell's problem anymore. This guy was becoming increasingly dangerous, and just now, he had actually wanted to kill him. Then he could only sell him out.
Moreover, Dudley's role-playing was nearing its end, and he could advance soon. Even if Dumbledore revoked his position, he didn't care anymore. The urgent matter now was to deal with Quirrell, this major threat. Fortunately, this didn't require Dudley to act himself. He just needed to report Quirrell to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore glanced at Dudley, then looked meaningfully at Snape. Snape nodded almost imperceptibly. He had also sensed that Quirrell had problems, but he wasn't clear about exactly what Quirrell's problem was.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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