A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 271 Killing someone isn't enough; you must also destroy their spirit!

From a psychological and physiological perspective, death is always the greatest fear of humankind.

A cold, lifeless corpse lying in front of you will amplify that fear to the extreme.

But it's particularly strange that the other side only chose to attack without killing Filch.

Especially according to what is said in "Hogwarts (A History of the School)":

"Slytherin built a secret room in the castle until his true heir came to the school."

Only that heir can open the secret chamber, release the terrifying thing inside, and let it purify the school, eliminating all those unworthy to learn magic.

If the person who opens the secret room believes this statement, then is Filch among those to be eliminated?

of course,

Because he was a dud!

They face even more discrimination against pure-blood wizards than Muggle-born wizards.

Therefore, choosing Filch as the target was probably also due to this consideration.

William didn't believe that the attacker, at the moment of the attack, would have a struggle between his inner demons and angels, ultimately letting his maternal instincts kick in and sparing Filch's life.

This is neither science nor magic.

"William, I'm glad you've noticed that," Dumbledore said softly.

"When I analyze a person's behavior patterns, I first judge their character, habits... and even intelligence by looking at what they have done."

William nodded in approval.

Different people think differently... Geniuses and idiots are different, and ordinary people and freaks are worlds apart.

Of course, to make an accurate judgment, one needs sufficient experience and a thorough understanding of human nature, and can easily put oneself into the role of a smart person, a fool, a reckless person, a cunning person, a pervert, or a gay person.

Dumbledore was always adept at playing his role, which gave him a knack for understanding people's hearts.

"The attackers knew that Filch hated the castle getting dirty, so they stole Nick's rotten food and deliberately lured him away."

"My first thought is that the attacker is a very intelligent person," Dumbledore said.

That's right, to be able to attack right under Dumbledore's nose and leave no evidence at all, one's intelligence is indeed impressive.

Dumbledore had sensed something was wrong with Tywin and Quirrell beforehand, but this time he was completely unaware.

"This was a clever attacker who deliberately left a message to remind us that the secret room was open."

He is very confident.

He was confident that even if we knew, he could still succeed in attacking next time.

Dumbledore quickly identified two labels for the attackers.

"Such a clever and confident attacker, he's clearly a pureblood, so why didn't he kill Filch?"

William thought for a moment and guessed, "It can only be that he can't be killed, or rather, the time hasn't come yet to kill him?"

"William, I prefer the second option." Dumbledore's gaze lingered on the window.

"A wizard who chooses to open a secret chamber will not hesitate to kill... If he does not kill, there must be a reason for not killing."

Everyone has a reason for doing anything, and all of these reasons serve the ultimate goal.

William nodded and asked, "So what is his goal?"

"It's not entirely clear yet," Dumbledore shook his head, "but we can be certain of one thing—"

"This won't be his last attack!" William said seriously.

"Yes, we can be sure of that!" Dumbledore said gravely.

"He will launch another attack, but for some same reason, he will not kill the next victim."

"But this kind of attack won't last forever... As we just said, instilling fear isn't his real purpose, otherwise he would have just killed Filch."

All his actions served a single goal, and I believe these attacks must have been carried out on a limited number of occasions.

William fell into deep thought. "Is there any evidence to support this view?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and whispered a reminder:

"I think you noticed the mark written in blood on Filch's right hand, didn't you?"

"Horned camel?"

"Yes, judging from the outline of the pattern, it is indeed a horned camel."

The Horned Beast is a magical creature with a large body and a bulging back. Its grayish-purple skin is even tougher than that of a fire dragon.

The horned camel has two very sharp, long golden horns on its head and its body shape resembles that of a saber-toothed tiger.

"Is he implying that we should send horned camels? I remember horned camels are extinct," William said doubtfully.

"That's not quite right. Decades ago, Newt found the last pair of horned beasts that were still capable of breeding."

He personally bred the animals, saving them from extinction.

I initially thought they were implying this, but after thinking it over, I'm more convinced that the horned camel is just a number.

"Two?" William raised an eyebrow.

In ancient magical texts, the horned beast symbolizes the number two.

"Yes, I think he's telling us that Filch was the second person he attacked."

A clever and confident attacker, and clearly a bit arrogant, who thought it would be boring if no one knew what he had done.

Therefore, this is how I am reminded.

Who will be the first one?

"A very good question, but we have no way of knowing." Dumbledore sighed.

"That's the tricky part. Don't forget, Filch's chest wound will heal quickly."

This means that even if the first person was attacked, we would have no way of knowing unless they came forward.

Dumbledore crossed his arms and continued, "You just asked me if I had any evidence, and this is the evidence. The fact that they left behind numbers shows that they had already decided on the number of attacks."

As for how many times...

William blurted out, "Seven times?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully, "Why do you think it's seven?"

"...Seven is the most magical number...Professor Victor did a number reading for me before, and she said that danger might come seven times."

William quickly recounted what he had discovered in the arithmetic and divination class.

After listening, Dumbledore said, "The Divination class is much more complicated than I imagined. I myself have never taken this class, but I think Professor Victor is right."

"Merlin!" cried Armando Dippert in the portrait, "Seven times! Wasn't attacking one person enough? Why did you have to attack... seven..."

The other principals were also discussing the matter animatedly, appearing extremely angry.

"Although this attack is evil, I believe we have plenty of time to deal with it," Dumbledore said softly.

"Everyone was safe until the seventh person was attacked."

"Harry?!" William suddenly exclaimed.

"That's right!" Dumbledore said approvingly. "I think the attacker's target from the beginning was Harry, but he didn't want to kill Harry directly. Instead, he was like a hunter, patiently toying with his prey."

William took a deep breath; he understood what Dumbledore meant.

There was a reason why the attackers controlled Filch to identify Harry.

In other words, all subsequent victims will identify Harry as the perpetrator.

What happens when all the students believe Harry is the attacker?

Leaving aside school violence, the seventh attack might not even require the person who opened the locked room to actually do it; a slight incitement of the students behind the scenes could easily trigger a mass attack.

First, they'll smear your reputation, making you the sole scapegoat, then they'll use public opinion to kill you.

To kill someone, you also need to... destroy their spirit!

……

……

(End of this chapter)