Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 232 I, Murphy, am a blatant robber.

"So, did you agree to his proposal?"

"In the principal's office," Professor McGonagall asked.

"No." Dumbledore was standing in front of a stone basin, using his wand to draw strands of silver thread from his mind and drop them into the basin.

The silvery memory dissolved in the meditation basin, revealing the face of a young and handsome wizard.

"I can't take that risk."

Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement. "Murphy has a bad reputation. He's involved with the Muggle world, and the rumors about him selling potions to Muggles are quite detailed. It's probably not all just hearsay. If he gets his hands on the Philosopher's Stone, he might be planning to open his own Gringotts."

"If the fees could be lowered a bit, maybe it wouldn't be so bad," Dumbledore said.

"..."

"What frightens me is not his ambition," Dumbledore said. "He is still very young. Wizards of this age always want to change the world, but mostly out of ignorance."

"But Murphy is a little different."

“He is different from us,” Dumbledore said. “He is very intelligent, even wise. This intelligence is not just about quick wit and sharp thinking, but about a profound understanding that seems to come from a deep contemplation and a sifting of time beyond his years. He is even more ‘mature’ than wizards much older than him.”

"He must have been born into a wizarding family, right, Minerva?"

"Of course, he's the child of Sanders Darkholm and Natalie Darkholm. I taught both of them."

"Did they show any curiosity about Muggle things?"

"To my knowledge, no."

"But Murphy is very adept at using Muggle knowledge. His understanding of Muggle 'science' is perhaps far superior to all of ours." Dumbledore recalled the paper he had read. "Moreover, he seems to have received very rigorous training in Muggle science... His logic, even his choice of words, is so... extraordinary."

"Even those real Muggle-born wizards don't have this level of skill."

"He entered Hogwarts at eleven and left at eighteen, spending the most important period of his life there. He should have been just an ordinary little wizard."

"But it's as if he's lived in Muggle society for many years. His knowledge is far from superficial. Where did he get those ideas that are so deeply ingrained in his mind?"

"What do you mean?" Professor McGonagall was stunned. "Are you saying he's an imposter?"

"No. I don't know," Dumbledore said, his brow furrowed deeply. "I can't see what he looks like. Murphy is more of a mystery to me than Tom."

The old man sighed, seemingly with some regret: "He's right, I really can't trust him."

"Trust is something you gain after spending a long time together and walking a long road together, isn't it, Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall said. "You've already been burned by Riddle once; how can you unconditionally trust someone you don't know anything about?"

Dumbledore nodded slightly, but then added, "However, Murphy was very frank."

"At least, he didn't hide his desires."

Dumbledore recalled Murphy's appearance then, those dark eyes fixed and clear, without any scheming or deception, he directly stated what he wanted.

That dignified and upright demeanor almost moved him.

"He's different from Tom," Dumbledore said. "Very different."

"Minerva, tell me, if I had unconditionally trusted Tom, or given him more guidance instead of monitoring and observing, wouldn't he have turned out differently?"

“I didn’t teach Tom Riddle,” Professor McGonagall said, “but we can’t change a wizard’s character. You can’t be too hard on yourself.”

However, Dumbledore remained silent, Murphy's words still echoing in his mind.

"You don't even trust yourself. How can you trust anyone else?"

Yes.

Perhaps my suspicion of others stems from my own excessive self-understanding.

Thinking of this, Dumbledore sighed.

Once again, he felt a deep sense of exhaustion.

……

Dumbledore's refusal was not unexpected.

But Murphy still went to ask.

Taking something without asking is stealing, but since I told you and you wouldn't give it to me, I had no choice but to rob you to save my life, which can be considered an emergency measure.

This logic is obviously flawed, but at least for Murphy, it was enough to make him feel at ease about his next plan.

The whereabouts of the magic stone are still unknown, and since there is still time, let's continue according to the original plan.

But there is another problem that must be solved as soon as possible.

That is the formula for the elixir of immortality.

It would be best if we could find a way to reshape the body using an elixir of immortality.

He had been searching for the recipe in the library for a long time, but had no definite clues.

Voldemort certainly knew, and also knew how to reshape the body through the elixir of immortality; otherwise, the Philosopher's Stone would be useless to him. However, there were too many uncertainties in contacting him, so it was best to consider it as a last resort.

So, Snape?

Perhaps.

Isn't this guy supposed to be able to teach students how to "prevent death"?

Given his expertise in potions and his experience following Voldemort, he might venture into research in this area.

……

The day after Tom spoke with Dumbledore, the quest in Tom's Guidebook was suddenly updated.

Main Quest: Uncover the secrets of the fourth-floor corridor.

"Mission objective: Find out what's hidden in the fourth-floor corridor."

"Mission Description: You now know that the secret hidden in the fourth-floor corridor is related to Nicolas Flamel. Perhaps finding clues about him will reveal the answer. Go and find clues about Nicolas Flamel."

"Quest Rewards: Magic Power Boost. Flight Charm. Legilimency."

He was having dinner with Harry and the others when Hermione complained about how many books she had read but hadn't found any clues about Nicolas Flamel, and then the quest was updated.

"Leech from the Mind?!" Tom was overjoyed to see the extra items in the reward.

Lately, he's been spending a lot of time in the library, partly to help Harry and his friends find clues about Nicolas Flamel, and partly to search for more legends about Salazar Slytherin.

He was very curious about Hagrid's talk of "Slytherin's successor" and the so-called "Chamber of Secrets".

Deep down, without even realizing it, he desperately wanted to prove that he was Slytherin's heir.

Besides that, he also learned a lot about "capturing the mind" and sometimes he would even secretly practice this spell on small animals.

His desire to regain his memories never ceased.

However, the Mind Control Technique is an extremely profound spell, and he has only just begun practicing it and does not dare to use it on himself yet.

However, he is very proficient in the spells he obtained through the Book of Guidance, and may be able to use them on himself immediately. In that case, he may not be far from regaining his memories.

This immediately motivated him to complete this "main quest".

(End of this chapter)