As soon as the words fell, Dumbledore actually left the ward in a pitiful manner. It's hard to imagine that this is the old man who is used to being in control of everything, that there would be such a performance. Char looked at his back and felt a strong sense of desolation. He also sighed slightly in his heart.
It is true that this old man likes to arrange people as chess pieces and control the overall situation. But in the original work, when Neville had not yet revealed his potential to be a late bloomer, it was also Dumbledore who did not overlook what he had done. Neville's ten points became the winning factor for Gryffindor to win the House Cup in their first year. This may also have been the key event that built Neville's confidence in the original work and enabled him to realize his potential. Even at the last moment of arranging his own death, Dumbledore still felt deep sympathy for Draco Malfoy. He even made special arrangements to have Snape end his life at the critical moment, so that such a burden would not fall on a child of Malfoy's age. To say that Dumbledore had no feelings for Hogwarts, that he had no feelings for the young wizards and only used them as pawns, that is also a pure conspiracy theory.
In this incident, the young wizards almost suffered a large number of casualties. A large part of the blame lay with Dumbledore thinking he was in control of the situation, thinking he could use Two-Face as a whetstone to hone his savior. This should have been a huge blow to him.
Professor Sprout was also somewhat taken aback. She had never seen Dumbledore look like this before. After hesitating for a moment, the anger in her heart and the rage on her face gradually subsided. She sighed, let Char stay in the ward to have a good rest, and pushed open the door to walk out.
Dumbledore was leaning weakly against the wall. In the mottled light and shadow, Professor Sprout could clearly see the twinkling of crystals in those blue eyes that always seemed to be full of wisdom. She opened her mouth with some apology. "Albus... maybe what I said just now was a bit too much."
Dumbledore smiled wryly and shook his head. "No. I deserve this. I think each of us has experienced a lot of the pain of losing a loved one. This time, because of my stupidity, countless parents almost lost their children. I was truly mistaken. This crime is more notorious than any Death Eater's. It's enough to get me locked up in Azkaban to rot there."
While talking, Dumbledore, who was leaning against the wall, slowly squatted down, pain in his eyes. In his mind, the words engraved on Nurmengard Prison flashed unconsciously. That was a sentence that he and his best friends and lovers all agreed with. "For the greater good—"
He thought it had been changed. After all, there were such painful lessons. But now it seemed that this sentence was still deeply engraved in his bones. It was hard to change one's nature. Since Harry was about to start school, he had already arranged training for the Savior. In his imagination, the first grade was just the beginning. In every subsequent school year, he would cleverly arrange some levels and conspiracies for the Savior, ensuring that he would receive adequate training and become the destined opponent of Voldemort as predicted in the prophecy. But in the first year, when he thought he had arranged everything, this Forbidden Forest trial dealt him a heavy blow. If it weren't for Char, when he arrived, he might have seen broken limbs all over the ground, death everywhere. Whenever Dumbledore had this thought, he would also unconsciously recall the grief that ran through his body and soul when his sister Ariana died. After so many years, when the pain seemed to fade away, this time, he almost tasted it ten times over.
This also made Dumbledore completely dispel the ideas of so-called cultivation and tempering in his mind. It made him feel it too. Perhaps it's not just the position of Minister of Magic that is not suitable for him. Even the position of Hogwarts Headmaster, a position that allows him to control others and come into contact with power, is not suitable for him. "Neither the Dark Lord nor the White Lord should exist in the wizarding world. The latter may be even worse than the former. The magic world doesn't need a demon king."
All kinds of thoughts echoed fiercely in his mind. Until a moment later, he supported his body and slowly stood up. His Occlumency erased those churning, distracting thoughts, and his azure pupils became sharp again. The future of the wizarding world belonged to these children. But first, he had to complete his final mission.
Then, he addressed Professor Sprout. "Pomona, that man refused to speak. He insisted on meeting Char before he was willing to reveal the truth. His body can no longer withstand the ravages of Legilimency or Veritaserum, and what he knows is too important. It is directly related to whether Voldemort can be completely destroyed. Can I go talk to Char?"
Professor Sprout blushed again. "He just woke up! I don't even know if he's been having nightmares. Now you want him to meet the man who orchestrated all this?"
Dumbledore looked apologetic, but he continued. "Pomona, now we all know that Voldemort has not been completely destroyed. When he escaped, I had already hit him with several spells. Even if he was a soul or a ghost, he should have perished. But he didn't. He can still come back. You also heard the sound he made when he ran away. He hated Char. If Char hadn't ruined a crucial step in his plan, perhaps he would have succeeded. If Voldemort were to come back one day, given his vengeful nature, it would be a real danger to Char. I'm getting older, Pomona. I don't want to leave this scourge to the children to deal with."
Professor Sprout's eyes suddenly widened. In the mottled light and shadow, the wrinkles on Dumbledore's face did seem much more profound than when she had first met him. No matter how angry she was about what he had done, feeling the meaning behind his words, a deep sadness couldn't help but spread in her heart.
Then, Dumbledore whispered again. "Don't worry, I will never let Char get hurt in this process. And there's also a talent-enhancing potion that's crucial to him. Before I die, I will do everything I can to help you collect those materials."
This made Professor Sprout take a deep breath. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded slightly. Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief. He cautiously opened the door of the ward again.
And just now, while Professor Sprout and Dumbledore were arguing fiercely, Char, who had just woken up, finally had time to look at his system panel. There was anticipation in his eyes. After all, Demeter's ritual magic had produced such a change in him. He didn't know what the situation would be now. And just as his eyes fell on the system panel, a strange feeling appeared in them. The shimmering sheen on the magical words of Demeter's ritual was indeed still the clear diamond light. It seemed that even with the slightest bit of power of faith provided by Dumbledore, it was not enough to elevate the ritual magic to epic or even legendary levels. This was not unexpected by him. What was really shocking was that in the diamond light on the ritual magic words, it was actually still faintly gleaming with a mythical glimmer similar to that of his own Patronus Charm. And after his eyes fell on it, he also found a line of prompts appearing on the system panel.
[Your Demeter ritual magic has been affected by mythical power, causing unknown changes.]
His eyes showed a thoughtful look. The influence of mythical power. Could it be the emerald green light that appeared in the temple in the illusion? It can also trigger the "oracle" and cause such changes in Demeter's ritual magic. Could it be that the god of fertility, Demeter, really is in the temple? But wasn't the Olympian era already broken? Demeter still exists in the world. And it even feels like she's locked up in a prison. What about the other Olympian gods? Is it the same? Is the temple on the island of Delia a similar situation?
Countless questions arose in his mind. A moment later, he shook his head. There was no use thinking about these things. Let's see how much real benefit Demeter's ritual magic could bring him. And the next moment, lines of handwriting came into view. Originally, under the words of Demeter's Ritual Magic, [Blessing of Demeter] was extended. This ability could be used to bless some seeds, improving their quality. Although the blessing effect was very limited given the current state of damage of Demeter's silver cup, it was also a channel that allowed him to obtain high-quality seeds stably. And now, in addition to [Demeter's Blessing], several additional abilities had been extended. The most eye-catching one was [Oracle of Demeter]. This was obviously an ability that could only be obtained after the ritual magic reached the diamond level. But now the words were in the midst of illusion. It seemed that he had already triggered it last time, and it would take some time or certain conditions to be met before he could receive the oracle again.
He felt a little regretful at first. A diamond-level qualitative change was more drastic than all previous qualitative changes. Did it turn out that the ability to receive oracles was simply derived from ritual magic? But a moment later, he thought again. The gap between diamond level and mythical level was so huge that it couldn't be described as the gap between heaven and earth. The characteristics derived from a diamond-level ability could be connected to a mythical existence. It could even receive gifts of power from some mythical beings. This in itself was perverted enough. At least the sublimation characteristics of legendary abilities probably didn't have this effect. This oracle did not have much impact on him. The main reason was that he was too "illiterate." He didn't understand at all. Otherwise, he might have gotten some unimaginable benefits. Thinking of this, he silently made up his mind. Next, maybe he needed to make up for his cultural studies, especially those ancient, magical languages.
Immediately, he then looked at the characteristics derived from the advancement of this ritual magic, in addition to the oracle. This made his eyes first confirm, and then flash with ecstasy.
[Skills of Demeter]
[As a priest of Demeter, you will receive a certain degree of blessing in your planting-related abilities.]
[....]
[Due to the influence of mythical power, the blessing effect is greatly improved.]
[Your planting ability is improved to a higher level.]
He never expected this. Demeter's advancement in ritual magic would bring him such rewards. Simple and crude, but extremely powerful. Planting-related abilities were directly upgraded to a higher level. He then turned his head suddenly and looked at the system panel. Sure enough, he saw it. The original platinum-level Loosening Soil Spell and Pruning Spell... at this moment, the platinum light, under the blessing, had turned into a clear diamond light. Two planting spells directly jumped to the diamond level.
This made him take a deep breath. After all, he had a lot of research topics related to ancient plants. But his knowledge of herbology was undoubtedly too immature compared to these difficult subjects. Take the example of the previous grafting of willow branches. If it weren't for the help of the Shadow Thorn, even if he had used all his accumulated knowledge, he would still have failed. But now, with two planting spells improved, it would undoubtedly make his foundation in herbology more solid. Relying solely on basic abilities, he could complete plant cultivation that was more difficult than before. Moreover, the power of this blessing effect would become more apparent as time went by. If his attainments in these spells reached the legendary level, was it possible, with the blessing, to cross over to the mythical level?
Taking a deep breath, he finally calmed his agitated emotions. Even if we didn't count that mysterious oracle, just the [Skills of Demeter] was a huge profit. There was also a fiery look in his eyes. The crisis of Two-Face should have been completely resolved. This meant that he would have a period of worry-free farming life in Hogwarts. Thinking back to this period of time, a lot of planting progress had been delayed because of Two-Face. His hands felt a little itchy. He really wanted to go back and loosen the soil and farm. He was addicted to farming.
Just at this moment, Dumbledore pushed the door open and came in. His heart skipped a beat. It seemed that farming had to be put aside for now. The old man had something to ask him. The aunt who had been so angry just now had actually let Dumbledore in again. This matter should be quite troublesome. Unfortunately, he hadn't really experienced what he had gained this time.
Indeed, after a brief greeting, Dumbledore told him the purpose of his visit. "Char, there's something I must ask of you. There's a man who doesn't have much time left, but he's only willing to tell you some very important things after seeing you."
He was a little confused. "Who?"
Dumbledore uttered a name that surprised him. "Quirinus Quirrell."
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