Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 56 55. Hermione's Hug and Voldemort's State

For Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Snape, the scene before them was like hell. It was obvious that a life-and-death battle was taking place.

The most eye-catching things were the two fallen giant monster corpses. One of them was headless, with a mass of cooled and solidified stone next to it, and faint electric arcs were still jumping on it. The other giant monster's head was still there, but it was separated from the body. Half of the spine was still connected under the small head, and a large amount of blood was gushing out from the neck without a stopper.

The corpses of the two trolls almost blocked the entire corridor, and the flowing blood had dyed the water accumulated at the feet red. When Professor Snape anxiously waved his wand to move the corpses of the trolls away, he saw Hermione sitting softly in the blood, even the black robe on the lower body was stained with a layer of red, and her face was full of tear marks.

To be honest, Professor McGonagall became anxious on the spot, and only after casting several checking spells on Hermione did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

When the corpses of the two giant monsters no longer blocked the road, several people were finally able to see the scene on the other side - to be honest, it would have been better if they had not seen it.

It was like the demolition of Hogwarts Castle. The bathroom door and the walls on both sides disappeared without a trace, revealing a large hole. All the visible water pipes in the bathroom burst, and even now they were still gushing out water from the Black Lake.

Well, not to mention the exposed water pipes, even the water pipes buried in the walls on both sides of the corridor burst. All that could be seen were broken fragments and... fish, aquatic plants and the like that were washed into the corridor.

They were all fresh catches from the Black Lake. The fish were even flapping their feet on the ground, splashing water.

In the corridor that had become a swamp, several people could only see Harry's back as he stood alone, his wand in his left hand and his warhammer in his right hand. Further away was the tall water element that had been reshaped.

"Is it him, Harry?" Dumbledore looked at the traces of dark magic on the wall and the scorch marks left by the Fiendfyre and asked a question that had no beginning or end.

But he knew Harry understood what he was actually asking.

"Yes, Headmaster," Harry turned around and gave the answer Dumbledore wanted, "It's just as you thought. He set a trap here."

“—Voldemort.”

"Harry!" Snape suddenly lowered his voice and roared, but in an instant his face became expressionless, "Arrogant and do whatever you want - you think you are very capable, right?"

He looked like he wanted to rush to Harry's side, but he forced himself to hold back.

To be honest, Harry had never heard Snape say such things to him before. Usually, such words were reserved for Ron.

"Oh my God!" Quirrell also rushed down the stairs quickly. When he saw the scene in the corridor, he let out a wail, and then sat directly on the troll's corpse that Dumbledore had moved to the side. He covered his face and sobbed softly, looking frightened.

After looking at Quirrell, Harry looked back at Dumbledore.

"We sent Professor Quirrell to the school infirmary after he fainted, and we have been together all this time." Meeting Harry's gaze, Dumbledore shook his head slightly.

"I think we need to have a private talk," Harry said expressionlessly.

"Of course, I think so too," Dumbledore affirmed.

"I'm safe, Professor Snape," Harry looked at Snape and said, "If you're worried about me, I want to say thank you - and there should be some wizards alive on the ground, could you please check them?"

"Worried?" Snape's lips were like blades. "I don't think Mr. Potter needs to be so narcissistic. No one would worry about a giant monster... reckless! impulsive! brainless! It's just like..."

Snape had to take several deep breaths to resist the urge to continue. He looked back at Quirrell who was still crying, and suddenly became even more annoyed.

There was a big splash of water, and Snape followed Harry's suggestion to check on the dark wizards who had fallen to the ground.

Putting away the warhammer and wand, Harry raised his hand and waved, and the totem embedded in the floor was pulled out. The next second, the pipes that were just gushing out the water of the Black Lake became quiet. Although water was still flowing, it was just natural flow of water, not a continuous flow.

Even the huge water element disappeared. It exploded into a ball of water and completely merged into the water flow on the ground.

"How dare you, Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall held her wand tightly, her lips pale, her voice filled with cold anger, "This is not a danger you kids should be in at all - why can't you leave it to the professor like Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom did?!"

"You should be in the warm common room, chatting by the fire, instead of in this - this kind of hellhole!"

Professor McGonagall was extremely worried and furious. Harry had never seen the old professor so angry.

"This is a trap, Professor McGonagall," Harry repeated, "a trap set by Voldemort for me - I think I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to check Hermione again, because when I saw her, she was under Voldemort's control, and I'm not sure if this magic will leave hidden dangers."

"What?" Professor McGonagall was too busy lecturing to say anything. She quickly pointed her wand at Hermione.

In the previous few spells, Professor McGonagall only roughly checked whether Hermione was injured or harmed by dark magic. This time, the examination focused more on her spirit and memory.

"Her memory was tampered with," Professor McGonagall said, almost gritting her teeth. "There is no missing memory, but the idea of hiding in the bathroom in the dungeon was forced upon her by someone. As for the rest, I can't tell. Professor Dumbledore, you know that it is basically impossible to find traces of the Imperius Curse."

"It's okay, Minerva," Dumbledore said gently, "We just need to observe for a while. If no one continues to cast the Imperius Curse on her, the effect of the spell will not last forever."

"That's all we can do," Professor McGonagall sighed.

When it comes to the spells of this world, Harry still trusts the judgment of Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. At this time, the water in the corridor is enough to submerge shoes. Harry waded through the water and came to Hermione's side.

"How do you feel, Hermione? Do your bones hurt?" Harry half-knelt down beside Hermione. What he actually wanted to ask about was Hermione's ribs - after all, she had just been bitten by the ghost wolf after his transformation.

Although Harry felt that he did not use much force, the situation was very urgent after all, and he was not sure whether he had bitten Hermione unconsciously.

After all, wolf fangs are quite sharp.

Everything that happened today seemed like a dream to an eleven-year-old child. Hermione had a fight with Pansy from Slytherin in the Charms class in the morning and left angrily with the punishment from Professor McGonagall.

She was indeed irritated by Pansy's words, and was very sad, even to the point of panic, but no matter what, she was not so sad that she had to hide in the bathroom in the dungeon for the whole day. After all, Hermione felt that she still had a few friends who could speak up for her.

Then she woke up in a daze amidst a disgusting stench. When Hermione walked out of the bathroom in fear, she was greeted by two trolls that exuded a foul odor.

The terrifying wizard in black robes, Harry who was confronting the terrifying wizard, the exploding and ruptured pipes and the gushing water, the huge water monster, the terrifying flame that seemed to burn everything, the giant wolf biting at him, and the tragic death of the giant monster...

To be honest, everything that happened today was beyond what Hermione's brain could accept. It was not until Harry, a familiar figure, came to her side that Hermione seemed to suddenly regain her ability to speak.

“Harry!!” Hermione cried out in a completely broken voice, hugged Harry tightly, and cried, “Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you for saving me!!!”

It was hard to imagine where Hermione got so much strength. She hugged Harry's neck tightly, buried her face in his shoulder and cried loudly. Harry also relaxed after tensing up all over, patting Hermione's back to comfort her. Watching this scene, Dumbledore looked happy, and even Professor McGonagall's worry faded a little.

At this moment, Snape seemed to have finished checking those dark wizards, and when he walked back and saw Hermione and Harry hugging each other, his eyes softened for a moment - only for a moment, followed by anger.

"It's a werewolf, Professor Dumbledore," Snape said with uncontrollable anger, "Fortunately the full moon night has passed, otherwise there would be three out-of-control werewolves in the castle tonight!"

"Are they also under the Imperius Curse?" asked Dumbledore.

"Although I really want to say no, it is true," Snape said with a dark face, "I have read their memories. These people are werewolves who hate wizards."

"Someone sent them a message saying they could make a fortune, but when they reunited, they found out they were asked to attack Hogwarts." Snape snorted, "Even werewolves wouldn't be so stupid. They wanted to run but it was too late. As for what happened next, you all know."

"Really?" Dumbledore nodded. "Then at least in this matter, they are innocent... Let's put them in the school infirmary and control them. Let Madam Pomfrey pay more attention to them."

"I don't think it's necessary, Professor Dumbledore." Snape's voice suddenly became cheerful. "Thanks to the actions of our great Harry Potter, I don't think there is any need to rescue these werewolves."

"I have to make it clear that I only knocked one out at the beginning. The rest should actually be considered as killed by Voldemort," Harry said helplessly while comforting Hermione.

Judging from the sarcastic tone, Snape was probably still angry with him - otherwise he would only say such words to Ron.

Just now, when Voldemort released the Fiendfyre, he burned one person to death on the spot. The Fiendfyre burned so quickly that there was not even a scream.

"Anyway, you defeated four dark wizards and two trolls who invaded the castle, and protected your classmates from them," Dumbledore said, raising his voice. "For your righteous act and fearless courage, Gryffindor will give you 50 points, Harry."

"As for now..." Dumbledore looked at Professor McGonagall and said, "Could you please take Hermione to the infirmary? Minerva, and you guys, I think the castle needs a major checkup."

"Of course not, Professor Dumbledore."

When Dumbledore got serious, no professor could refuse his ideas, and soon, Harry and Dumbledore were the only ones left in the corridor.

When there were only two of them left, the atmosphere in the corridor was no longer as harmonious as before, and could even be described as... hostile.

Hostility from Harry.

"I think I have to congratulate you, Harry, you defeated Voldemort and protected your friends," Dumbledore said softly, "Your father and mother will be proud of you."

"Maybe." Harry turned around and looked at Dumbledore, and said seriously: "You broke your promise to me, Headmaster Dumbledore, and you also failed in your duty. If I hadn't shown up here tonight, I can't imagine what fate Hermione would have suffered."

"Voldemort doesn't care about her life, does he?"

"I'm not making excuses for myself, Harry," Dumbledore explained, "In fact, there are only two people that Voldemort is waiting for here tonight, one is you and the other is me - I think no matter which of us is here, Hermione will not be harmed."

"But I'm just a student at Hogwarts. I'm not the headmaster, nor the lord here." Harry took a deep breath, "So why don't you kill Quirrell? He should succeed tonight, right? You also got the information you wanted."

"Not really, Harry. I know you're angry, but please don't mention the word 'kill'. It's a bit too heavy." Dumbledore's expression became a little subtle. "Anyway, one of my professors seemed a little too conscientious. He stopped Quirrell and prevented him from succeeding."

"Who?"

"Professor Snape," Dumbledore said bluntly, "but I think I really need to apologize to you and Hermione for this - but please don't worry, Hermione will not be harmed in school."

"Do you remember what you experienced on your first day of school?" Dumbledore explained, "From the time you took a boat along the Black Lake to the castle, until the Sorting Hat sorted you into four schools, the whole process was a great magical ritual. Its effect was to protect the young wizards from being fatally harmed during their seven years at school - even if it was manifested in the form of coincidence."

"Really?" Harry gave a mocking smile. "Since young wizards will not be fatally injured in school, then where does the ghost in the women's bathroom on the second floor of the castle come from? She is also a student of Hogwarts, right? At her age, she should not have graduated when she died."

"Myrtle?" Dumbledore nodded. "That is indeed a good question, Harry. I don't know the answer to that question either."

Dumbledore was surprisingly candid.

"Myrtle's death is related to a case from decades ago. I seriously thought about it and looked for the answer to this question at the time, but I never got it," Dumbledore recalled. "I still remember the guess I made at the time. There are only two possibilities for Myrtle's death. One is that the castle was attacked or destroyed, and a large number of students were attacked, so the magic power of the ritual was insufficient."

"Obviously the castle was not attacked decades ago, so I thought of another possibility," Dumbledore shrugged and said, "There are loopholes in the ritual. Is there any way to bypass the ritual and attack the students? These are just my guesses."

"Just a guess," Harry repeated.

"Oh, Harry, I have been the headmaster of Hogwarts for decades," Dumbledore said humorously, "You will never be able to imagine what kind of trouble underage wizards can cause every year. I can assure you very responsibly that the ceremony is indeed functioning normally - otherwise Hogwarts would have been closed down long ago due to protests from parents."

Dumbledore's argument was too convincing for Harry to argue with.

Harry had personally witnessed the power and destructive force of magic in this world, whether it was the miraculous Transfiguration or other spells large and small. The students of Hogwarts were at an impulsive age, and there were conflicts or fights inside and outside several colleges.

If there is no real protection, it is hard to say what trouble these students can cause in the next few decades.

"So, Quirrell has to be kept?" Harry's murderous intention was already moving again and again.

"I'd rather hear your opinion on Voldemort than on Quirrell, Harry," Dumbledore asked. "You've faced him tonight, haven't you?"

"He only has a fragment of his soul left," Harry said with certainty, "Is this the price he paid for not dying after taking the rebounded killing curse eleven years ago?"

"Soul fragments?" Dumbledore was obviously surprised.

"Yes, his soul is almost only left in the head, and everything else is gone." Harry added: "And I just hurt his soul. Voldemort should be even weaker now."

Dumbledore's expression grew more serious.

"You seem to have the answer?" Harry raised his eyebrows, "Should we kill Quirrell?"

"It's just a guess, Harry, but I'm not sure." Dumbledore shook his head slightly and said, "I think I need to look up some books to be sure. I'll tell you when I get a definite result."

(End of this chapter)