At that moment, Quirrell's gaze locked onto Char, and a cold light flashed in the depths of his eyes. He felt as if his luck had soured the very day he'd first met the boy at Hogwarts. This school year had offered him few peaceful days; his life had become utterly miserable. Although Char had never done anything directly to him, incident after incident had caused a deep well of resentment to accumulate within him.
After being transformed into a Quintaped by Voldemort, the last vestiges of Quirrell's humanity had long been annihilated. He had completely turned into a bloodthirsty, man-eating monster. Even the strangers who had cried out to him for mercy, Quirrell had devoured them all without a second thought. And this boy… this boy he had come to truly hate.
He stared at Char, and even as Voldemort's voice echoed in his mind—"Quirrell, now is not the time."—a dark malice continued to rise within him. Under the black cloak, something shifted, a subtle tension as if a coiled beast was beginning to stretch.
Char immediately sensed the powerful threat emanating from Quirrell. It was like watching a monster that was about to tear off the flimsy human skin it wore as a disguise, revealing its truly hideous face. He slowly drew back his wand. On his system panel, two abilities, [Legendary Life] and [Legendary Strength], began to pulse with a slow, steady light. A terrifying force, strong enough to wrestle with the Kraken, surged within his body, ready to be unleashed at the monster before him at any moment.
But unless it was a last resort, Char truly did not want to fight him. Quirrell's magic level was exceptionally high. In the original story, even a weakened Quirrell, at the final challenge for the Philosopher's Stone, could snap his fingers and use Transfiguration to create a rope. That wandless, spell-less display of magic, performed with such ease, contained a level of magical attainment that even Char could hardly reach now. Not to mention that at this moment, Quirrell had also undergone the Quintaped transformation. God only knew how strong he had become. But from the news, it seemed that elite Aurors had been killed silently. Quirrell's current strength was probably far beyond that of even the most powerful wizards in the magical world. Perhaps even Moody and Snape were no match for him at all. Char didn't want to take that risk.
And at this moment, Quirrell slowly parted his lips, a strange, chilling smile forming. "Char. It seems you haven't seen your professor for a long time. Why do you seem so unhappy to see me again? Is there something about me that you have a problem with?" While talking, Quirrell began to slowly walk towards him.
In Char's mind, a thought flashed like lightning. He said, "Professor. I'm feeling sorry for you."
Quirrell's eyes narrowed slightly. Feeling sorry for me? This silly little boy. Did he discover something? Under the cloak, something seemed to stir again. Quirrell was certain that in just a moment, he could make the boy in front of him disappear without a trace, to become another prisoner in the cages within his box. No one would ever find out where he went.
But at this moment, the words that came out of Char's mouth made him pause. The coldness and bestiality brewing in the depths of his eyes were temporarily interrupted. Because what Char said was, "Professor, I saw the troll paper you submitted in the library. It is, without a doubt, a work of genius. Those judges were fools, utterly blind to the vision and groundbreaking nature of your discovery. It's a true tragedy when such brilliant creativity is suppressed."
These words took Quirrell by surprise. He actually saw my old troll paper in the library? And he highly approves of it, calling it a genius idea? Quirrell hadn't expected that. This paper had once bothered him so much that it had even changed his worldview and life's trajectory. And now, he had actually gotten recognition from a little wizard whom he hated. In that moment, the malice surging in his mind faded a little. Under the cloak, the thing that had been ready to move became silent. A thought flashed through Quirrell's mind. This little upstart… he has good taste.
And it was in this moment of delay that a figure strode down the corridor. His hair and beard were snow-white, but he was tall and imposing. It was Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked at Quirrell, and a sharp light flashed in his blue pupils. But then, he greeted him with booming enthusiasm. "Quirinus! Why didn't you tell us in advance? If the Ministry of Magic hadn't sent me a letter, I wouldn't have known that you had solved the disappearance case and returned to Hogwarts. We should prepare a grand welcome dinner for you!" Dumbledore came up enthusiastically. Quirrell pulled the corners of his mouth hard, squeezing out a smile. He also completely gave up the idea of taking action against Char. Facing Dumbledore, he had to be extra careful.
And as Quirrell was dealing with Dumbledore, the feeling of a thorn in his back finally disappeared from Char. Dumbledore turned and said to him, "Char. Finals season is almost here. Now is not the time for you to be wandering around the castle. I think you should spend more time preparing for your exams and put your Herbology studies aside for a while. Stay in the common room."
Char nodded obediently and started to leave. It wasn't until he had turned the corner of the corridor, and the voices of Dumbledore and Quirrell talking had gradually faded away, that his tense nerves finally relaxed. Before he knew it, cold sweat had seeped out of his palms. This encounter with Quirrell had really caught him off guard. But a moment later, his mood gradually calmed down. Even if Dumbledore hadn't come in time, or if he hadn't thought of bringing up that paper to delay, if they had really started fighting, he wouldn't have been afraid. All the preparations he had made during this period gave him the confidence to hold Quirrell off for a long time. Nothing fatal could happen to him at Hogwarts.
However, having the confidence to deal with danger did not mean that he had to face it head-on. Sometimes the best way to deal with danger was to avoid it. Just as Dumbledore had just reminded him, he didn't plan to act alone again in the short term. He would even try not to go into his small greenhouse. Anyway, the Guardian Trees and Devil's Snares in there had reached the final stage of maturity. There was no need to be as cautious as when he had first planted them. During this period, he could now focus on sorting out his magic. After his magical perception had improved, many of his spells had not yet stabilized. After adapting to this change, the foundation that he had accumulated before could be gradually released, allowing him to improve his magical attainments again in a short period of time. In addition, how to cultivate the newly obtained Blue Star Flower seeds… he could also take this time to look at the literature and organize some preliminary ideas. All in all, staying away from the small greenhouse for now was for the best.
Immediately, he took advantage of the time when Quirrell was unable to get away and quickly returned to the small greenhouse, finally tidying it up. He took all the important items inside, such as Demeter's Silver Cup and Herpo's codex. After doing this, he closed the door, and carrying the box, he walked towards the library again. After borrowing a lot of books that he needed, he then carried the heavy, rattling box and walked down the corridor towards the Hufflepuff common room.
At this time, the young wizards at Hogwarts had also learned the news of Quirrell's return. This also meant that the disappearance incident that had terrified the wizarding world had been successfully resolved. The castle was filled with laughter and joy. The haze that had shrouded everyone's hearts for so long dissipated in an instant. Many young wizards hurried along the stairs as if they were chasing stars, wanting to see Quirrell first. What's more, many were holding autograph books and photos of Quirrell cut out of the Daily Prophet, hoping to get his autograph.
Harry and his two companions were also in the crowd. Quirrell's return made them feel like they had a backbone. It was as if with Quirrell back, Hogwarts was safe. With Quirrell back, the evil plot was about to fail. And at the entrance of a crisscrossing staircase, they passed by Char, who was standing on another flight of stairs, in mid-air. Ron looked at the heavy box in Char's hands and showed a gloating smile. He said loudly, "Professor Quirrell is back. Some people are probably too scared to bear it anymore. The truth about what you did will soon be revealed. It's only right to be packing now!"
Hermione motioned for Ron to be quiet, but his eyes were still provocative. Char didn't think much of it. He just looked at Ron, and his brows suddenly frowned. From Ron, he vaguely sensed a familiar smell. It was very weak, but it was indeed related to the Quintaped. To be precise, Ron had the smell of the temple on him. Was it because he had been contaminated by it when he had broken into his greenhouse that day? Thoughts flashed through his mind. A moment later, he fell into silence. The stairs he was on also diverged from the one where Harry and his group were. His eyes remained calm. He had no intention of reminding Ron. Firstly, given Ron's personality, would he believe it even if he was reminded? He might even think he was trying to scare him. Secondly… was he familiar with Ron? How Ron ended up was none of his business. He wasn't the babysitter for Harry and his trio. He even wished they would stay as far away from him as possible. Trouble.
Immediately, the stairs took him to his destination. The long-lost Hufflepuff common room appeared before him. The badgers were lazily nestling in the lounge, enjoying black tea and desserts. As for why they didn't go out and join in the fun, the reason was very simple. There were too many people. They were afraid of trouble. Instead of joining in the fun, why not drink tea and eat cake in the common room?
When they saw Char coming, the kids all showed expressions of surprise and joy. Especially after hearing that he would be staying in the common room for the rest of the time, a burst of cheers erupted in the lounge. Cedric took the lead and shouted, "You escaped the last few revelries. You are not allowed to run away this time. You must come up and dance!"
Char looked at the cheerful scene in the lounge, and the bad mood caused by meeting Quirrell was also swept away in an instant. An unprecedented sense of belonging flowed through his heart. Hufflepuff… it was indeed a magical house. A smile appeared on his face. All along, he had been working very hard on planting and magic research and had never had a chance to relax. At this moment, he completely relaxed in the aroma of black tea and cake. On the system panel, the sheen of his Occlumency suddenly became brighter.
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