"You only need to take one look to know. You've seen that deformed face, caused by the erosion of Dark Arts and magic deformation," Dumbledore said calmly.
"You… You-Know-Who died eleven years ago, in Godric's Hollow, killed by that boy, defeated by Harry Potter. This is just an ordinary Dark Wizard, and this Dark Wizard, Quirrell, as a Dark Wizard, he should be given the Avada Kedavra…"
Fudge swallowed, pausing for a moment: "I won't kill him with the Avada Kedavra, nor will it be a Dementor's Kiss. He's just an ordinary Dark Wizard, Azkaban can hold him, he won't escape."
"He's not You-Know-Who, he's just an ordinary Dark Wizard, a bold Dark Wizard, one who dared to act right under your nose, an ordinary… Dark Wizard!"
Dumbledore sighed, feeling an inexpressible disappointment in Fudge at this moment. If Fudge could truly have an Auror cast Avada Kedavra on Lord Voldemort, he wouldn't be like this, because that would mean that even though Fudge feared Lord Voldemort, he at least still believed in his survival deep down.
But at this very moment, Dumbledore could see from Fudge's trembling expression that although Fudge believed in Lord Voldemort's resurrection, for the sake of his position as Minister for Magic, he chose to turn a blind eye, sending Lord Voldemort to Azkaban.
That was only one or two steps away from directly releasing him.
"You can take a look at his face," Dumbledore asked, still holding onto a sliver of hope.
"…I've seen it. I know this face, this is Quirinus Quirrell, Dumbledore… You old fool…" Fudge quickly shook his head, turning to have the two Aurors behind him drag Quirrell away.
Kaisen frowned, looking at Dumbledore, who nodded helplessly.
The next moment, a Decay Skull flew directly towards Quirrell, but this time it didn't explode. Instead, it merged into Quirrell's flesh, and rapidly, Quirrell's body began to collapse.
Like a piece of charcoal carbonized from head to toe, it turned into shattered fragments with a light touch.
Immediately after, a wisp of black smoke floated out from Quirrell's corpse, slowly dissipating into the air.
"…Kaisen Heath… Heath… No, Professor Kaisen, seeing as you killed a Dark Wizard this time, the Ministry of Magic won't pursue the matter," Fudge said with a hint of relief on his face, but still stubbornly.
"You'd better call me Mr. Heath."
Fudge's expression darkened, but he said nothing, leading the two Aurors away from Hogwarts quickly.
"…This Fudge…" Kaisen looked out the window at the three people from the Ministry of Magic leaving Hogwarts's territory and asked.
"Many years ago, he wasn't like this. Although he couldn't be called brave, at least… never mind." Dumbledore sat in his chair: "You did well. Even if you hadn't acted, I would have arranged for someone to finish Quirrell in Azkaban."
"Letting an enemy escape right under your nose is something only a fool would do, let alone two," Kaisen said faintly.
"Hmm…"
"Oh, right, last time I went to France, I met Nicolas Flamel."
Dumbledore still nodded, but in reality, he had already thought of an excuse to leave soon.
"He said that after you're done using the Philosopher's Stone, you should give it to me."
"Oh… Did he say anything else?"
"He also said… *cough cough*… What does Dumbledore know about Alchemy? What use would the Philosopher's Stone be in his hands?"
Dumbledore couldn't help but blush, somewhat awkwardly taking off his glasses and wiping them with a velvet cloth.
"…Wait until the end of this term."
"You still owe me… Let me calculate, oh, the annual salary of the previous Alchemy Professor was…"
"It's here, take it." Dumbledore pulled an irregular red gem from his pocket and placed it on the desk.
Kaisen picked up the Philosopher's Stone, and unlike last time, he somehow felt the Philosopher's Stone's magic beginning to flow towards him.
"Hmm? Can you feel this magic fluctuation?"
Dumbledore looked over, pushing up his glasses on his nose.
"There's no harm in it, let it be."
"Looks like I'll have to study this so-called Philosopher's Stone thoroughly," Kaisen murmured.
"That's for later. What you need most now is something else. Did you forget about the final exams?" Dumbledore reminded him.
"I will… I'll go to the Medical Wing first to see those four mischievous kids."
Upon arriving at the Medical Wing, Kaisen found Madam Pomfrey and was relieved to learn that Ron had already woken up.
It was a pity he came in a hurry and didn't bring a fruit basket, but he did have carnations.
He rubbed his fingers together, conjuring four carnations, and walked in.
"Congratulations to the four of you. You successfully survived under a Dark Wizard's wand."
Harry smiled, seemingly unaffected by the physical injuries Quirrell had inflicted on him.
"By the way, Professor, that thing on the back of Quirrell's head…"
"You guessed right, it was that person," Kaisen nodded.
Harry and Neville's previously calm faces instantly fell.
"But now he's dead, though not necessarily completely dead."
"Not necessarily completely dead, huh…"
"Wait, Harry, what are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"Hmm… Tell them, though others might not believe it," Kaisen shrugged, addressing Harry.
Harry took a deep breath: "Lord Voldemort isn't dead. He was growing on the back of Quirrell's head."
The ward was silent for a moment.
"Really?" Ron and Hermione both looked at Kaisen.
"Indeed. Although he died this time, it doesn't necessarily mean he's completely dead. It might be like what happened eleven years ago. But don't spread this information, it could cause panic."
"But Professor, why? Such a great Dark Lord is still alive…"
"If you were the Minister for Magic, or a high-ranking official, I would be very happy for you to publicize it. But unfortunately, you are not. In fact, Dumbledore wanted to tell Fudge that Lord Voldemort was not dead, not to cause panic in the magic world, but to organize people to kill him."
"Then did Fudge agree?" Ron asked.
"…Uh-huh." Kaisen gave him a speechless expression.
"Alright." The four young Wizards all hung their heads, somewhat dejected.
"Oh, by the way, one more thing. You didn't take my words to heart. Between one Philosopher's Stone and four living lives, you didn't choose correctly, so Gryffindor loses… forty points. If you can, you'll make it back in two classes." Kaisen hastily poked his head back in to add as he was about to leave the Medical Wing.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ
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