Chapter 45: The Bystander
"Yes, about Voldemort," Dumbledore nodded. "Voldemort never died. For the past ten years, he has been lingering in the forests of Albania, surviving as a weak, wraith-like spirit. After he disappeared, I conducted some investigations into him. I didn't believe at the time that he had died so easily, so I found some clues."
"Six months ago, an unlucky child entered the forests of Albania to investigate the legends of monsters there. That person was Professor Quirrell. He is actually a very talented child. My intention in wanting him to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was not out of irresponsibility towards the students. He actually has the ability to do the job."
"He was lucky enough to find the truth behind the monster legends, but also unlucky enough to encounter the wraith of Voldemort. He was bewitched, or perhaps it was due to his own excessive thirst for knowledge—Ravenclaw students always have a curious heart for exploring the unknown. But no matter what, he made a terrible decision. Voldemort possessed him."
"By the time I discovered this, it was already too late. Although something terrible has happened, it doesn't mean we can't do anything. I discreetly released some information, news about the Philosopher's Stone. This made Voldemort, who had originally intended to leave with Quirrell's body, choose to risk returning to Hogwarts."
"The bait is salty and the hook is straight. Voldemort's mind must have been severely affected by the excessive splitting of his soul," Ezio said, somewhat speechless, though it was within his expectations.
"Indeed. That is why Horcruxes are classified as extremely evil. Behind these things that can bring great benefits, there is often a much heavier price to pay. Of all the wizards in history who have created Horcruxes, not a single one has achieved the immortality brought by them. On the contrary, they were more short-lived than ordinary wizards." Dumbledore sighed with some emotion. On the path to pursuing immortality, Voldemort seemed to have gone far, but in reality, he was recklessly charging towards his own death.
"I let Quirrell return to Hogwarts, actually, for Harry's sake. So that Harry would know that Voldemort was not truly dead. There is a very close connection between Harry and Voldemort. A fragment of Voldemort's soul was unintentionally attached to him. This is a disaster for Harry, but this problem cannot be solved by others. The only ones who can solve this problem are him and Voldemort."
"So Harry must learn to face Voldemort. There may truly be such a thing as fate and destiny in the world. And their two fates have been intertwined since ten years ago. This is an undeniable fact."
"The things in the third-floor corridor are the trials I have prepared for Harry. I will let Harry explore there at the appropriate time. I guess Harry might ask you to go with him."
"Voldemort cannot die, at least not now. Otherwise, his resurrection will begin in Harry's body. The resurrection order of the Horcruxes is determined by the order in which they were made. And if Voldemort is resurrected in Harry's body, Harry will inevitably die as a result."
"Do not use the Killing Curse. Quirrell can be killed, but we must let Voldemort escape from Hogwarts after Harry has witnessed his existence."
"As a reward, and also as a prize for your help in destroying Voldemort's Horcrux, after the matter is over, I will write to Nicolas Flamel and have him give the Philosopher's Stone to you."
"But don't have too many expectations for the Philosopher's Stone. Nicolas Flamel can no longer make a second one. And this one, its magic has been nearly depleted after hundreds of years of use. It can't even produce a single dose of the Elixir of Life. Although the remaining magic is very little, it is still a unique treasure in the world. I believe it will bring you some inspiration."
"Thank you for your generosity," Ezio said. He was a little surprised by this development, but it was not incomprehensible. The Philosopher's Stone was very precious, but as Dumbledore had said, the value of this particular stone had been greatly diminished. Although it was a treasure, its uses were extremely limited.
"Then I also promise you that, within my power, I will help Harry grow up, so that he has the courage and strength to face Voldemort. But I cannot guarantee that Harry will have the strength to defeat Voldemort. After all, he is the Dark Lord. Voldemort should be very strong."
"I hope you can keep these things a secret from Harry for the time being. Some things need to be experienced by him personally for him to understand."
Ezio nodded, then said his goodbyes to Dumbledore.
[New Contract Mission Triggered]
[The Bystander: Do not excessively interfere with the trials Dumbledore has prepared for Harry.]
[Difficulty: ★]
[Mission Hint: You don't actually have to do anything.]
[Mission Reward: Smoke Bombs X3]
Ezio pursed his lips. He had hundreds of smoke bombs stored away, but it was better than being rewarded with more time in the training space. After grinding out a million kills to unlock Ares' War Cry, he had no need to stay in there anymore.
"Maybe I should encourage Harry to go for a night stroll? After all, he's been given the Invisibility Cloak. But Harry has been cooped up in the common room every day lately. It seems that being a good, hardworking student is not always a good thing."
Mulling it over, Ezio walked towards the common room. On the matter of making Harry face Voldemort, his interests were aligned with Dumbledore's. Ezio also needed to kill Voldemort to complete his only current 5-star mission. Although he wouldn't refuse to kill Harry himself to destroy the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes, avoiding a manhunt by Dumbledore was, all in all, a good thing.
'We're roommates, after all. We have a certain camaraderie,' Ezio shook his head. 'Since there's a Plan B, then let's not choose Plan A.'
Harry, who was currently helping out in Snape's office, suddenly shivered, as if a certain fatal misfortune had just moved away from him at that moment.
"Are the dried and sliced Mandrakes weighed, Harry?" Snape's voice came from the lab bench to the side.
"Almost done!" Harry replied quickly, then double-checked the weight of the ingredients and brought them over to Snape.
"Wizards have no need for those Muggle gadgets," Snape muttered, fiddling with a crude alchemical machine he had basically built from scratch. "Next, we will grind the dried and sliced Mandrakes into a powder, dissolve it with a potion, and then extract its active components. Harry, you will record the experiment. The medicinal properties of the Mandrake are very complex; we need to separate them one by one."
"No problem, Professor Snape. I'm ready."
After hearing Harry's reply, Snape turned his head to look at him. In a daze, a certain shadow seemed to grow clearer.
"You have inherited your mother's talent, Harry," Snape murmured in a voice only he could hear, then refocused his attention. "The precision of a wizard is something Muggles can't even imagine! Can they perfectly separate every single medicinal property of an ingredient? They can't! What does that Muggle brat know?"
Snape, suddenly gritting his teeth and muttering to himself again, left Harry a little speechless. He thought to himself that Snape was truly petty. He had been hearing Snape grumbling about Ezio constantly lately. But... whatever. It wasn't like Ezio cared anyway. All he cared about was how to quickly learn more potion-making methods.
*****
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