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The next morning.
Dumbledore entrusted the matter of Quirinus Quirrell to his most 'trusted' Severus Snape to handle.
The Ministry of Magic would easily detect traces of dark magic on Quirinus Quirrell's corpse once they examined it.
Dumbledore's Headmaster's Office.
Under the watchful eyes of previous headmasters, Dumbledore looked at Yang Tao, who was sitting opposite him, and asked, "Mr. Yang, are you interested in becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"
The cursed Dark Arts class?
Any wizard who took on that position could be described as having met their end through death, escape, or injury; the former Professor Quirinus Quirrell's body was not yet cold.
Although he wasn't afraid of any damn curse, he disliked being constrained.
Wouldn't it be better to be a carefree tourist in every world?
"I'm sorry, but I'm used to being free and undisciplined."
"Now that Voldemort's main remnant soul has been eliminated, only some Horcruxes remain, and those can be left for Harry to deal with…"
Dumbledore's gaze deepened; he became increasingly curious about Yang Tao, who spoke of Voldemort's affairs as if he knew them like the back of his hand.
"Horcruxes… has Tom, this child, really reached this point?"
Regarding Tom… well, Voldemort, Dumbledore actually felt more regret and self-blame, believing that he himself had failed to guide Voldemort onto the right path.
Yang Tao stood up and said with a smile, "Headmaster, you don't need to think so much; that was Voldemort's own choice."
"Striving for one's own desires and ideals, I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
He picked up Patamon, who was glaring at the phoenix, and said with a smile, "Let's go, let's see which stage Harry and the others have reached."
The teaching levels meticulously designed by Dumbledore, all the house heads, and Hagrid couldn't be wasted.
Such levels were like a joke.
They were useless to Voldemort, but for Harry and the others, they could provide excellent training.
For Harry's sake, Dumbledore had truly gone to great lengths.
Arriving at the secret chamber on the fourth floor.
Accompanied by a melodious music, the three-headed dog was sleeping like a dead pig.
Yang Tao turned to look at Dumbledore and said, "Are you sure you didn't deliberately tell Hagrid about Fluffy's weakness?"
Dumbledore said nothing, merely giving him a deep look, and instantly Yang Tao understood the meaning in Dumbledore's eyes.
There was no need to instruct Hagrid.
With the current intelligence of the three kids, it would be effortless to coax Fluffy's weakness out of Hagrid; Yang Tao could even imagine Hagrid inadvertently revealing the secret.
"Alright, let's pretend I didn't ask."
The two continued to advance through the levels below: Devil's Snare, a sky full of flying keys, a giant chessboard, potions, and Fiendfyre…
These levels were all clearly designed with specific targeting in mind.
Looking at Ron 'dead' on the chessboard, a smile appeared on Yang Tao's face; this child was too immersed, even knowing it was a trial this time, he still chose self-sacrifice.
Dumbledore gently waved his wand, waking Ron from the ground; after all, this was just a test for the three little ones, and it was impossible for anyone to truly die here; Ron had only feigned death.
After Ron woke up and saw Dumbledore and Yang Tao, an embarrassed expression appeared on his face as he said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Mr. Yang…"
"You did very well, Ron; you showed me a brilliant match."
"Let's go ahead and see Harry and the others…"
Ron, after being praised, was clearly ecstatic, his slightly freckled cheeks turning red.
Arriving at the final level.
Surging green Fiendfyre blocked the last path, and on a stone table nearby, several bottles of potions were placed.
However, those potions had not been touched, and the figures of Harry and Hermione had disappeared.
Seeing this, Yang Tao slapped his forehead and said somewhat annoyed, "I forgot to ask Harry for the fire-resistant potion back…"
This level was completely wasted.
Dumbledore didn't show much reaction; he waved his wand, and the originally surging Fiendfyre rapidly shrunk, eventually extinguishing completely, revealing the path to the final secret chamber.
Hermione was staring at the mirror with a happy expression, not knowing what she was seeing.
Harry, meanwhile, was exploring the secret chamber, searching for the Philosopher's Stone; hearing footsteps, he instinctively raised his wand, and only after seeing that it was Yang Tao and the other two did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Yang, I… I didn't find the Philosopher's Stone."
Yang Tao walked forward, patted Harry's head, and said with a smile, "The Philosopher's Stone is in the Mirror of Erised; of course, you won't find it outside."
"Only those who wish to find the Philosopher's Stone, but not use it, will truly find it."
Of course, there was also the method of simply taking the Mirror of Erised with him.
After speaking, Yang Tao looked at the Mirror of Erised, and as he expected, the Mirror of Erised was just an ordinary mirror in front of him; even after he exited datafication mode, there was no change.
To be honest, Yang Tao really wanted to see his most urgent wish deep down.
Harry heard Yang Tao's words and looked at the mirror; soon, a surprised expression appeared on his face, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a red stone.
"Mr. Yang, I found it!"
Saying that, he handed the dark red Philosopher's Stone to Yang Tao.
Yang Tao was very surprised by this.
'Does Harry wanting to give me the Philosopher's Stone not count as wanting to use it?'
[Philosopher's Stone]
[Accessory]
[Regeneration III]
...
To be honest, the effect of the Philosopher's Stone was somewhat disappointing to Yang Tao; Health Regeneration III certainly sounded impressive.
But the enemies he encountered now were either effortless or inflicted massive damage.
With his 180 health points, if he were hit by a missile from the 'Neighborhood Watch' or the Decepticons, he would be at least half-crippled, if not dead.
Health Regeneration III, when viewed this way, truly wasn't much use.
He might as well drink a few more instant healing potions.
The Philosopher's Stone spun twice in his hand, and then he handed the stone back to Harry.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, I wonder what I can offer to exchange for the Philosopher's Stone and the Mirror of Erised?"
The Mirror of Erised had no effect on him, but that didn't stop him from taking the mirror back as a decoration; at the very least, it could serve as an ordinary mirror.
A smile appeared on Dumbledore's face as he looked at the Philosopher's Stone in Harry's hand and said, "This item was entrusted to me by a good friend of mine for safekeeping."
"I do not have the right to dispose of it."
Yang Tao nodded lightly and looked at Dumbledore, saying confidently, "Let's put the matter of the Philosopher's Stone aside for now…"
"I will exchange some secrets that you cannot refuse for the Mirror of Erised…"
"I imagine Headmaster, you wouldn't want the children in the school to be harmed, would you?"
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