Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 283 What kind of enemy am I facing?

Ms. Kaliman appeared very assertive and, without further ado, summoned the remaining board members, and the questioning of Dumbledore immediately began.

"From the very beginning, there's one point in this matter that I simply can't understand," Ms. Kaliman said. "And it's one of the key issues raised at this educational hearing. I want to know, is the Philosopher's Stone Hogwarts property? Is it the property of the students?"

"Ms. Kaliman, you can speak your mind," Rahim said.

"If the Philosopher's Stone isn't the property of the students, nor is it the property of Hogwarts, then I'd like to know, why is it necessary to protect the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts?"

"We can understand Professor Dumbledore accepting his friend Nicolas Flamel's request to protect the Philosopher's Stone from the mysterious man. But why keep the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts? Why ask the professors to set traps to protect it?"

"Based on the accounts of several young wizards and Professor Snape, we can see that the traps protecting the Philosopher's Stone include a three-headed hellhound, a devil's web, a troll, deformed chess pieces, and poison. Any one of these could cause the students' deaths."

"In fact, Mr. Ron was injured by the shapeshifting chess piece, while the troll nearly caused the deaths of several junior wizards and sparked a riot at the school."

"Protecting the Philosopher's Stone is Professor Dumbledore's personal commitment and responsibility, but isn't ordering the professors to assist somewhat of an abuse of the headmaster's authority? And isn't putting the students in danger a sign of disregarding their safety?!"

"Professor Murphy," Kaliman said, turning to Murphy, "I heard you warned Professor McGonagall about this before, is that right?"

“Yes,” Murphy said. “When Professor McGonagall asked me to participate in the mission to protect the Philosopher’s Stone, I mentioned this point. These risks are not something students should take.”

"Vice Principal McGonagall," Kaliman turned to McGonagall, "as the chair of the Board of Trustees, I would like to ask you, have you conveyed Professor Murphy's concerns to Headmaster Dumbledore?"

Professor McGonagall had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but she was an honest woman who had never lied, and she said, "Yes, I relayed it to Albus, but the headmaster has more to consider..."

"So, Professor Dumbledore, what are your so-called 'more considerations'? What is the reason that would make you risk the lives of your students by setting up those traps in the school?"

"Furthermore," Kaliman said, "there's another extremely important point, "have you already guessed that the one intending to steal the Philosopher's Stone is none other than the Mystic?"

"What I mean is, did you knowingly bring the Philosopher's Stone to Hogwarts, exposing the students to its threat, even though you knew the Manhunt might infiltrate Hogwarts because of it?"

This accusation is much more serious than the previous one.

After all, the danger of traps can exist if students are given enough warnings.

The dangerous things in Hogwarts aren't just the corridors; the Forbidden Forest is also dangerous.

But knowing that Voldemort wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, he still brought it to the school—and protecting the Philosopher's Stone was not Hogwarts' responsibility—which clearly showed that he disregarded the safety of the students for the sake of his personal promise.

Dumbledore remained silent.

He couldn't answer that question.

To answer this question, he had to admit that his purpose in doing so was to put Harry to that test, to teach Harry how to deal with Voldemort in advance.

But this is also a paradox; to others, his actions seem to be pushing a young wizard right in front of Voldemort.

To explain why he wanted Harry to confront Voldemort, we must mention the prophecy.

No, it's too early.

It was too early for Harry, and too early for Voldemort.

If Voldemort's minions knew about this prophecy now, when he returns, he might re-evaluate his relationship with Harry... which could be detrimental to Harry and the entire wizarding world.

Moreover, even if he explains his motives clearly at this moment, he still cannot clear himself of the charge of abusing his power.

This was a calculated move, one he had no way to resist.

Dumbledore now fully understood how things were unfolding. He looked at Murphy with a mixture of shock and deep confusion.

What shocked him was that when his opponent made a move, he had found his most vulnerable spot, and the method was so ingenious and the means so upright that it left him in awe.

The puzzle is that he still hasn't been able to figure out the whole picture.

What exactly happened with Lucas Bratson?

In fact, the tricks he left behind behind the trapdoor were not limited to the fake Philosopher's Stone.

The reason for using the Mirror of Erised was not only because of its ability to reflect desires, but also because it allowed him to see directly everything happening in that room.

Otherwise, how could he be sure of Harry's choice?

How did he ensure Harry's safety?

When he mentioned the Magic Mirror to Harry earlier, he explained that he was invisible in that room. In fact, did he wait for Harry by the Magic Mirror every day?

He had to keep everything under his control.

The traps set by the other professors were merely small tests of Harry's mind; he knew, of course, that they couldn't possibly stop Voldemort.

The only one who could truly stop Voldemort was him.

That mirror was his window to observe how things were developing. If things got out of control, he would appear immediately to prevent them from going in the worst possible way.

That day, when he saw Lucas suddenly appear through the Mirror of Erised, he had a bad feeling, but Snape taking the two away immediately relieved him and made him think that Harry was at least temporarily safe.

With Voldemort's absence ensuring Harry's safety, he had no further worries.

But what happened next was completely beyond his expectations.

Voldemort couldn't have devised a scheme of this caliber.

This should never have happened.

All the variables ultimately come down to Lucas Brettson.

To understand Lucas, one must first understand the diary that Quirrell mentioned.

When Quirrell mentioned the diary, Dumbledore felt it sounded very familiar. He subconsciously thought of the notebook he had seen in the courtroom of Visengam a few years ago, which was said to be the Dark Lord's diary.

That thing was fake; it was a prop Murphy used to frame Lucius.

But what if it has a prototype? Otherwise, why would Lucius be so flustered?

If Murphy told even a little truth during that trial, then that notebook might have been a tool and preparation for Voldemort's resurrection.

Dobby the house-elf said that Murphy took the notebook, and if Dobby is referring to the real notebook, then it should have been in Murphy's possession since then.

Following this line of thought, and considering the mysteries surrounding Lucas Brettson, such as how he was discovered by Murphy's confidant—Dumbledore felt as if he had grasped a clue.

Is it possible that Lucas Brettson was not under Voldemort's control, but rather under Murphy's control?

If that's the case, then Murphy Darkholm had already laid out this massive and intricate game even before the start of the school year.

Even now, he still doesn't understand how the other party managed to do it.

What kind of mindset is this?!

What kind of tactics are these!

What kind of enemy am I facing?!

Thank you California Orange Iced Tea for the donation, thank you Murloc for Elemental Soup for the 1000 coins, thank you Tathagata Doesn't Come for the 5000 coins, and thank you Kopcn for the many characters in Murphy's collection. Thank you everyone, I will continue to work hard~

(End of this chapter)