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    Chapter 97: I’ve Waited So Long, Finally This Day Has Arrived

    Night fell, and the silvery moonlight draped a cold hue over Hogwarts Castle. From a distance, the ancient castle stood tall in the darkness, the bright full moon hanging in the sky. Under the twinkling stars, Hogwarts, a millennium-old fortress, exuded an air of mystery.

    “Beautiful, isn’t it!”

    At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Quirrell, cloaked in black, gazed at Hogwarts Castle. His lips didn’t move, yet a voice strangely emanated from him.

    “Y-yes, master,” Quirrell stammered.

    “Dumbledore has gone to the Ministry of Magic. We have the whole night to act,” the voice echoed again.

    “B-but…”

    Quirrell said nervously, “Master, would Dumbledore fall for such a simple trick?”

    The voice said, “Of course not, but he will pretend to be fooled. If you know Dumbledore well, you’ll realize he’s inherently a very hypocritical person.”

    Seeing Quirrell’s silence, the voice sneered, “Do you think Dumbledore hasn’t discovered me? …No! He’s known I’ve been possessing you for a long time, but he has other plans, so he hasn’t made a move.”

    “Other plans?” Quirrell questioned.

    These past few days hadn’t been easy for Quirrell. Voldemort, needing to regain his strength, had been mostly asleep for months, only awakening to drink unicorn blood and then issue new orders to Quirrell.

    His encounter with Professor Trelawney was purely coincidental. Professor Trelawney had entered the Forbidden Forest to gather material for her lectures, only to stumble upon Quirrell attacking a unicorn. Their opposing stances naturally led to a battle.

    Since Voldemort was awake at the time, Professor Trelawney was no match for him. The professor was defeated in moments.

    Having already attacked the professor, Voldemort naturally didn’t want to wait any longer. He used the Cruciatus Curse and Legilimency to obtain a lot of useful information, but the most crucial piece of information remained elusive.

    The Philosopher’s Stone… was it still in the Restricted Section on the fourth floor?

    Thus, Voldemort activated Malfoy as his pawn.

    Altering Malfoy’s memories wasn’t difficult. His father, Lucius Malfoy, was a Death Eater, and given Malfoy’s upbringing, he actually harbored a degree of admiration for Voldemort. All it took was to exploit this point to make Malfoy his tool.

    Malfoy’s investigation was successful. Although Dumbledore arrived in time, Voldemort had already obtained the information he desired—the Philosopher’s Stone was hidden in the Restricted Section on the fourth floor.

    The next task, therefore, was to lure Dumbledore away from Hogwarts.

    To return to the main point.

    “If Dumbledore didn’t have other plans, do you think he would ignore what happened in the Forbidden Forest?”

    Voldemort’s tone was laced with sarcasm, “What does he think that little brat can do? Harry Potter…the boy who lived… it’s just pure luck.”

    Harry Potter was just an ordinary infant, but that woman…

    Even to this day, Voldemort still couldn’t comprehend what happened that night. His Killing Curse, was simply repelled.

    “Harry Potter?” Quirrell was puzzled. This was the first time Voldemort had spoken to him at such length in days.

    “If it weren’t for Harry Potter, Dumbledore would have already dealt with you.”

    Voldemort didn’t want to recall that night, so he abruptly changed the subject, “Go, my loyal servant! With the Philosopher’s Stone, I will grant you everything, including eternal life and the secret to conquering death.”

    In these past days, Voldemort had been secretly plotting and maneuvering against Dumbledore, naturally becoming aware of Dumbledore’s thoughts. He was exceptionally pleased. The more Dumbledore valued Harry Potter, the more it proved his own powerlessness.

    Dumbledore was truly old. Voldemort clearly realized this. As long as he could resurrect…he could have everything.

    Resurrection didn’t necessarily require the Philosopher’s Stone; the Stone was merely the optimal solution at the moment. There was another method…

    His father’s bone, his enemy’s blood, and his servant’s flesh… the combination of the three to reconstruct his body, could naturally achieve resurrection as well.

    Voldemort had decided that if this attempt to steal the Philosopher’s Stone failed, he would use that method to resurrect. He couldn’t wait any longer.

    “Y-yes, master!” Quirrell shivered.

    Quirrell looked up at Hogwarts Castle, then shakily walked towards the castle.

    Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.

    At the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, Harry, cloaked in his Invisibility Cloak, tiptoed silently forward. After a few dozen steps, Ron suddenly pulled Harry back, nearly causing him to split his legs.

    “What’s wrong?” Harry asked, turning around.

    Ron was trembling, his hand pointing shakily at a corner of the wall, his mouth opening and closing, unable to utter a word.

    “Harry…Potter…!”

    A low murmur, seeming to carry a hint of unrestrained glee. Snape stood against the wall like a dark shadow. How Ron had spotted him was a mystery.

    “Snape!” Harry exclaimed.

    Snape’s face held an unmistakable disgust. “You’re just like your father, arrogant and stupid…”

    “My father isn’t arrogant,” Harry retorted, his face flushed.

    Snape raised his wand, a brilliant flash of light erupting from the wand tip. He used his wand to lift Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, sneering, “So there’s Weasley…our renowned savior, and his sidekick, preparing to save the world again?”

    Ron’s face flushed crimson. He wanted nothing more than to shove his wand into Snape’s face.

    Harry looked at Snape, “Someone’s trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone, you should know that, right?”

    Though Harry had always suspected Snape, Dumbledore had vouched for him, and even if Harry was reluctant, he had chosen to believe. Especially in a situation like tonight—he couldn’t fight back.

    A smirk played on Snape’s lips. “So our savior wants to protect the Philosopher’s Stone?”

    To wait for this day, Snape had pulled several consecutive all-nighters. If not for potions, he wouldn’t have been able to hold out. After encountering Andy on the fourth floor of the castle that night, Snape realized something. An attack had occurred at the school, and given Harry’s personality, he might, like his father, try to be a hero, attempting to capture the attacker alone.

    So, after talking with Dumbledore that night, Snape had come to the Gryffindor common room entrance and started waiting. Two days had passed, and Harry had finally been caught.

    “The Philosopher’s Stone is in danger!” Harry insisted.

    Snape sneered, “Dumbledore will personally handle this. Compared to the Philosopher’s Stone, I think you two are far more dangerous.”

    (End of Chapter)

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