Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

Perhaps the word "lying down" is not quite appropriate, as his physique is somewhat overdeveloped, making it seem more like he was crammed into a hospital bed with his legs bent into an "O" shape.

His mouth was wide open, revealing huge, monstrous front teeth, as if he were groaning. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he had an expression of extreme pain.

Vizette recognized the boy. "It's Marcus Flint!"

Marcus Flint is the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team and, like Wizette, is the Chaser. He played against Wizette last year, so Wizette remembers him.

Dumbledore, dressed in a green robe, stood at one corner of the sickbed, seemingly waiting for something.

The real Dumbledore appeared beside Vizet and whispered a reminder: "Here they come!"

The next second, Snape appeared, dressed in a black robe, holding a steaming bottle of potion in his hand.

He placed the potion on the bedside table and waved his wand at Marcus Flint;

With a series of "click-clack" sounds, Marcus Flint's mouth slowly opened;

The steaming potion flew out of the bottle like a fountain and poured into Marcus Flint's mouth.

The potion worked quickly; the pain on Marcus Flint's face lessened considerably, but his complexion remained pale.

Snape put down his wand. "It's not a matter of antidote or poison; you should be able to tell."

Marcus Flint's mouth snapped shut immediately, his front teeth hitting his lip, drawing out a tiny trickle of dark blood.

“Oh?” Snape raised an eyebrow, walked around the sickbed to the end of the school infirmary, and took a bottle of energizing potion from the cabinet.

He did the same thing again, making Marcus Flint open his mouth and pouring all the stimulant into it.

The potions in the school hospital were almost all brewed by Snape, so they quickly took effect; Marcus Flint's face was no longer so pale and regained some color.

However, within minutes, the bloodstains disappeared, and Marcus Flint returned to his paper-white complexion.

“What an unexpected gain…” Dumbledore in his green robe sighed. “Now it’s clear that the biggest loss is in life force.”

“And it is a continuous drain on life force,” Snape added. “Pain and nightmares are caused by poison, while coma is a spontaneous form of protection.”

After listening to their conversation, Vizette realized, "Soul, blood, body... Could it be that there exists a soul that draws life force from blood?"

This was the blood magic that Salazar Slytherin had talked to him about when he was in the Mirror World; the body and soul could transform into each other and regenerate.

The soul takes the lead and affects the body through the blood. A pale complexion means that the blood is reduced, and reduced blood means that the vitality is weakened.

In this situation, the invigorating potion is usually sufficient. If the effect is not as expected, you can take some regular blood-replenishing magic potions.

If the invigorating potion were to work properly, the color in Marcus Flint's face should not have disappeared, and should at least have remained for a longer period of time.

However, the current situation is quite unusual. The invigorating potion did work, but it didn't stay in the body for long, leading to the conclusion mentioned by Vizet—

A soul that does not belong to Marcus Flint is drawing life force from Marcus Flint.

"You've already begun to explore blood magic?" A hint of surprise appeared on the real Dumbledore's face. "I remember that in the library, there was very little information about blood magic, and it was very dangerous."

Vizette did not deny it, and nodded very readily, "So I learned about bloodline magic through another channel."

"Guardians!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Let's go outside and discuss the rest!"

……

The two returned to the headmaster's office, and Vizette went back to the previous topic, "Headmaster Dumbledore, it must have been Lockhart who did it, right?"

"Today's Daily Prophet has reported that Lockhart has concocted an effective antidote and cured the student from the coma."

"Now it seems that it's simply because he stopped absorbing life force and even gave back some of it, which is why those students woke up."

“The deduction is correct,” Dumbledore nodded. “But I believe Lockhart was merely an accomplice. This series of events reminds me of Voldemort…”

“The former Voldemort?” Vizette repeated the phrase, as if pondering its meaning. “Headmaster Dumbledore, are you saying… there exists a second Voldemort’s soul?”

“Yes! Magic is so unpredictable…” Dumbledore smiled slightly. “Have I mentioned it to you? What was Voldemort’s real name back then?

“I think…” Vizette pondered for a moment, then gently shook her head, “No!”

“Then let’s learn about it!” Dumbledore raised his wand and drew a string of golden words in the air.

I am Voldemort.

He gently waved his wand, changing the order of the words.

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

“This…” Vizet looked at Dumbledore’s eyes and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

He now understood why Dumbledore and Snape had looked so strange when they were exploring the Chamber of Secrets.

“Yes, isn’t it amazing?” Dumbledore pulled a lemon Olaf from his pocket. “But we believe you. It’s just a funny little trick.”

Seeing Vizet accept Lemon Olaf, Dumbledore smiled with satisfaction and continued, "Let me tell you about Tom Riddle back in the day..."

"He's very goal-oriented. He proactively learns about the professors' preferences and actively develops interpersonal relationships, using his strengths to..."

As Dumbledore described it, Vezette's expression turned strange;

At least when he used Dobby's memories, he just suddenly felt a bit absurd, wondering how he could be similar to Voldemort.

Now, listening to Dumbledore's recounting of the past, he suddenly seemed to understand why Lucius Malfoy had mistaken him for Voldemort through a diary...

Chapter 32: It felt like being freed from shackles.

Dumbledore noticed the change in Vizet's expression, waved his hand, and said, "Do you remember what I told you before?"

"It is our own choice to express our true selves, and that is more important than the abilities we possess."

"The moment you chose to enter Ravenclaw, you were fundamentally different from Tom... who is Voldemort."

“It is important that we do not focus too much on the similarities, but rather on the differences.”

Vezel nodded, not dwelling on the issue, and following Dumbledore's words, tried to think about the differences between Voldemort and Tom Riddle.

He had a direct encounter with Voldemort at the end of the previous school year, and now he learns about Voldemort from Dumbledore's perspective—Tom Riddle—during his student days.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, why do I feel... his methods are more sophisticated? He seems to know how to package himself, and he seems adept at... plotting?"

"So all these events are orchestrated by Tom Riddle? Fifty years ago, he framed Hagrid to clear his name..."

“Now he wants to frame you, so that…” He frowned slightly, “what is his purpose… He got Hagrid fired before, and now…”

Vizette's expression turned strange. "Headmaster Dumbledore, he wants to expel you from the school? Isn't that a bit... um..."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore laughed. "A slightly naive, childish idea that he can do whatever he wants at Hogwarts after kicking me out."

"Unfortunately, the crisis in the secret room has been resolved... He actually realized this, which is why he turned to Miss Parkinson as a scapegoat and then tied her to the Parkinson family."

"He must have woven a great web, just like a spider, and those pure-blood families, the Daily Prophet, and the Ministry of Magic have all become part of the web, whether intentionally or unintentionally."

"If I'm not mistaken, after I leave Hogwarts, he will orchestrate an 'accident' to purge those so-called 'Muggle-born' students."

Vizette quickly pressed, "So...should we deal with Lockhart first to avoid such an accident?"

"But isn't it too late? If it were the Tom Riddle of the past, he might not be by Lockhart's side anymore."

“Yes, that is indeed a possibility, after all, he is a soul.” Dumbledore gave Vizet a deep look. “So I intend to… push this forward.”

Vizette blinked and asked tentatively, "Headmaster Dumbledore, are you going to leave Hogwarts voluntarily under their so-called coercion?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "They're happy to do it, and they've woven a huge web. I have to let them play a role, don't I?"

“Besides those complaint letters, my friends on the board of directors also sent me letters. There are people on the board of directors who are working together to force me to leave the school in a formal way.”

Wizette frowned slightly. "The Board of Trustees?"

“The Hogwarts Board of Governors,” Dumbledore explained. “The scholarships you received last year, and the normal operation of Hogwarts, are all thanks to the Board of Governors.”

"The members here are quite diverse... After several rounds of reshuffling, during the time when Voldemort was rampaging, pure-blood families occupied most of the spots... Now it's about half and half."

Upon hearing this, Vizette finally understood. "Headmaster Dumbledore, are you planning to further reduce the number of pure-blood families?"

“That’s one aspect of the purpose…” Dumbledore interlaced his fingers, a slight smile playing on his lips. “It won’t be easy to achieve this through ordinary means.”

"But luckily, Cornelius Fudge gave me this opportunity... He was just too impatient; he could have waited a little longer..."

"They were even too hasty. They could have waited a little longer... let the parents protest first, and then the Ministry of Magic would intervene..."

"It was this urgency that showed me the room for maneuver, the ability to solve three problems at once in a very time-efficient way."

For some reason, listening to this eloquent speech, he felt that Dumbledore seemed a bit arrogant... as if he had shed some kind of restraint and was showing off his sharpness.

He could sense that Dumbledore had a very good grasp of the overall situation, not only anticipating the other party's methods, but even using these methods to achieve his desired goals.

It should even be said that, for some time to come, the actions of the Ministry of Magic and the pure-blood families will develop in the direction that Dumbledore envisioned.

……

"Do you feel I'm a little unfamiliar?" Dumbledore asked with a smile. "Perhaps it's because of your presence that I feel... I can still shine a little longer."

“Guardians?” Vizet looked at Dumbledore, his tone becoming much lower. “After you voluntarily leave the school because of their coercion, what do I need to do?”

“Just as you said… to protect Hogwarts…” Dumbledore’s tone was light, “Your presence has allowed me to break free from some of those constraints…”

He let out a long breath, pulled a swarm of cockroaches from his pocket, and began chewing on them. "How can I describe this feeling?"

"It feels like taking off shackles, so much easier. It's quite interesting to use your brain like this once in a while."

Vizette wondered, "Will this affect Command Seals?"

"Of course not!" Dumbledore's tone became very gentle and kind, like an old grandfather sitting by the bedside, coaxing his children and grandchildren to sleep.