"Professor Dumbledore, will you investigate Professor Quirrell?" Dudley asked.
"Yes, I will investigate. Thank you for your help," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Then I'm relieved." Dudley nodded.
Quirrell was hiding well, but Dudley believed that as long as Dumbledore investigated, he would definitely find some clues. Now Dudley had a preliminary understanding of the wizarding world. He was very clear about Dumbledore's position and strength in the magical world. Saying he was currently the greatest wizard alive, probably not many people would object.
"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot. Did you kill that troll?" Dumbledore asked with interest.
"Yes." Dudley roughly described his battle with the troll, omitting the use of his Beyonder powers and only mentioning the use of magic and physical force.
"What a barbarian!" Hearing Dudley describe the battle process, Snape suddenly commented coldly.
Wizards all elegantly waved their wands. Who would be like Dudley, actually choosing to fight a troll with bare fists? Although Dudley spoke vividly, from what Snape could tell, what caused the most damage to the troll were still the spells Dudley cast, while those fists were basically just annoying the troll.
"Finally, I used the Levitation Charm to float the wooden club in the troll's hand and smashed it on its head, killing it." Dudley concluded.
"What an exhilarating battle." Dumbledore couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"Thank you," Dudley responded.
"However, Dudley, I still want to remind you that even though you have good magical talent, at this stage, fighting a troll alone is still an extremely dangerous thing. Do you understand?" Dumbledore's tone changed as he spoke seriously.
"I know, but in that situation, if I didn't act, Harry, Hermione, and Ron could all be in danger. I had no choice. I originally thought Professors would come quickly, but in the end, I didn't see a single Professor," Dudley said somewhat defensively.
"This was our oversight. It won't happen again. I will strengthen Hogwarts' security." Dumbledore patted Dudley's shoulder and said.
"Alright, Dudley, go rest over there for a while." Dudley nodded and walked to sit on a chair nearby.
Dumbledore waved his wand and created a privacy barrier around himself and Snape.
"What did you discover?" Dumbledore asked straightforwardly.
"Nothing particularly special, but Quirrell definitely has problems. I suspect that troll was released by him to attract our attention so he could enter the third-floor corridor. However, something unexpected happened during this incident. The castle suddenly had a prohibition against moving in the corridors, which obviously disrupted his plan. Later I kept chasing that dark figure until I encountered Dudley. When I met them, they seemed to be fighting. I heard the dark-robed figure cast the Killing Curse. Of course, all this is just my suspicion. I haven't confirmed that the dark-robed figure was Professor Quirrell." Snape told him all the problems he had discovered.
"So it really is him?" Dumbledore murmured softly.
"What should we do next?" Snape asked.
To confirm whether that person was Quirrell wasn't actually difficult. They just needed to capture Quirrell and interrogate him. They could also use the Prior Incantato spell to check Quirrell's wand. As long as they confirmed he had previously cast the Killing Curse, they could directly convict him.
"Don't act rashly for now. You continue to watch Quirrell," Dumbledore said after pondering for a moment.
Snape frowned. "Won't we take proactive measures?"
"Not for now," Dumbledore said.
"Since we've confirmed he might be related to... that person, then Harry isn't safe in the castle. If necessary, I think we should immediately eliminate the threat," Snape said.
"I understand your thinking, Severus, but it's not time yet. Please trust me," Dumbledore said.
"I trusted you before, but what was the result?" Snape remained unmoved, his gaze cold.
"This time is different. The development of events has somewhat exceeded my expectations. We're in the open, they're in the shadows. This is very disadvantageous for us," Dumbledore said slowly.
"You've also seen that this incident involves not just Quirrell, but very likely another person—that Night Emperor. Do you remember?"
Snape frowned. "What does it have to do with that Night Emperor?"
"Just now, I lied." Dumbledore said calmly, not feeling sorry at all for lying. "Actually, what happened in the castle wasn't because someone triggered ancient magic, but because someone cast an extremely powerful force. Let's call it magic for now. I tried various methods but couldn't restore Hogwarts to normal. I could even feel that power continuously strengthening. The reason I didn't show up was because I was dealing with this matter. You might not know how terrifying this force really is. Let me put it this way: if we let it continue developing, we would all die, including you and including me. No one could leave Hogwarts alive."
Snape's expression clearly changed. He hadn't expected this power to be so terrifying that even Dumbledore was helpless against it.
"How are you certain this was the Night Emperor's doing?" Snape asked.
"Over a month ago, he appeared above Hogwarts. I confronted him. This person is very terrifying, extremely terrifying," Dumbledore said solemnly.
"And just now, I vaguely sensed his presence appearing. Unfortunately, I didn't discover what he did. After his presence disappeared, I felt the strange force shrouding Hogwarts Castle begin to weaken."
Hearing this, Snape's face showed a trace of shock.
"That Night Emperor, what does he want to do?"
Dumbledore shook his head. This was the most troublesome part, because no one knew what the Night Emperor's purpose was. And the unknown was the most terrifying. Because you couldn't predict his actions and thus couldn't prepare countermeasures.
"He stopped that dark-robed figure at Gringotts, so he shouldn't be a bad person..." When Snape said this, even he lacked confidence.
"We can't determine whether he's good or bad, or even whether he's human. I don't know either," Dumbledore said meaningfully.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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