Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 284 Utopia

At that moment, Dumbledore suddenly realized that Voldemort might not be a very big threat; he was too naive, simple in his actions, and easy to predict.

But Murphy...

"Professor," Murphy looked at him with concern, "if you have any difficulties, you can tell us. We will all understand you. We have always believed in you."

"Do you believe...?" Dumbledore even sensed a hint of fear.

Murphy Darkholm, what do you really believe in?

Finally, he sighed. "Because of my mistake, a student died, and I should take responsibility for that. I will resign as headmaster and leave Hogwarts."

After saying that, he prepared to leave, as he had too many things to investigate.

"Wait, Headmaster," Murphy called out to him, "The Philosopher's Stone... it was a gift from my teacher, you must be...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Murphy." Dumbledore looked at him, "Not yet. I need to investigate these matters first. I can't yet confirm the authenticity of that will..."

"Professor Dumbledore," Winston Robinson said, quite displeased, "we have confirmed it. Please return the Philosopher's Stone to Mr. Murphy."

"I'm afraid I can't, gentlemen," said Dumbledore.

He didn't yet know why Murphy needed the Philosopher's Stone, but he already considered Murphy an enemy. What an enemy wants, one cannot easily give to him.

"Professor," Murphy's expression turned cold, "you can investigate, but at the very least, the Philosopher's Stone, as evidence, should be kept by the Aurors or the Watchmen. You cannot take it away!"

As he spoke, several Watchmen blocked Dumbledore's path.

"I'm afraid I won't surrender," Dumbledore said.

"Are you defying the law, Professor?"

Dumbledore looked at him. "You're not the law yet, Murphy."

Murphy frowned, drew his wand, and pointed it at the ground. "Spatial Anchor!"

However, the next instant, a high-pitched bird cry appeared out of nowhere above everyone's heads, followed by a loud bang.

In a blinding flash, Dumbledore vanished.

……

Murphy had anticipated that Dumbledore would not surrender easily.

Moreover, killing him in front of so many professors is unrealistic—and probably impossible anyway.

Let him go; it's good enough that he's not in the way.

It's a pity about the Philosopher's Stone, but fortunately he has already obtained Nicolas Flamel's notes, so he can study them and make his own later.

However, Dumbledore's sudden disappearance still surprised many wizards. After all, this could be considered Dumbledore interfering with law enforcement. Although it was not enough to warrant an arrest warrant for him, it made the Board of Governors dismiss him without any hesitation.

Thus, Albus Dumbledore officially became the "former headmaster" of Hogwarts. As for the new headmaster, the Board of Governors has not yet reached a conclusion, but with Murphy's support, Professor Flitwick has temporarily taken over as headmaster.

As for Tom's death, since the facts were clear and the main culprit Quirrell was already dead, the Aurors and Watchmen unanimously agreed to close the case and would no longer pursue the other professors and students involved in the incident.

A few days later, the Daily Prophet published a report titled "Voldemort's Plot to Resurrect," revealing to the public that Voldemort was not dead and was still lurking in the shadows, ready to strike.

The Ministry of Magic also issued a statement, deciding to expand its law enforcement capabilities in response to the situation, increase the recruitment of Aurors and Watchmen, and absorb a large number of current and past graduates into the Ministry of Magic for training.

At the same time, the Ministry of Magic will conduct an internal investigation, drawing a team of wizards from the Watchmen to form an "inspection force" to conduct a comprehensive screening of all Ministry employees in order to prevent Death Eater infiltration.

That's what they say, but in reality, this was Murphy's method of purging the Ministry of Magic and turning it into his puppet government.

He will reshuffle all the powerful departments in the Ministry of Magic, promoting those who are obedient to important positions, and throwing all the dissidents, including members of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix, into places like the Centaur Liaison Office.

After a year, Barty Crouch and Murphy's two major violent forces—the Auror Command and the Watchmen—have established themselves firmly enough to carry out this purge operation.

As for Murphy, after taking the elixir of immortality, his physical symptoms were greatly relieved again. According to the doctors, one bottle of the elixir of immortality should extend his life by about a year, and he still had four bottles of the elixir of immortality. At least for the next few years, he didn't have to worry too much about suddenly dying.

Although the problem of genetic disorders still exists, with some breathing room, these issues can be gradually resolved.

Therefore, Murphy ended his mission as "Hogwarts Investigator" and left the school.

……

One day in July, a funeral was being held in a cemetery.

Murphy watched the coffin being lowered into the ground and placed a final bouquet of flowers at the grave.

After the crowd dispersed, Murphy looked at a tree behind him and said, "Now that you're here, aren't you going to say goodbye?"

A figure gradually emerged from the shade of the tree. The white-haired wizard slowly walked out. "I don't want to disrupt Flamel's funeral."

“You won’t,” Murphy said. “Now that everyone’s gone and I haven’t prepared any traps here, I’m not confident I can kill you right now.”

"Is that so?" Dumbledore smiled. "That's an honor."

He stepped forward and placed a small bouquet of flowers in front of the grave. "I thought this day would come a little later. I know he left himself enough elixir of immortality. Perhaps he had made preparations himself, but for the living, there is still a sense of regret."

"Yes, that's why I don't want to die," Murphy said. "I don't know if that so-called afterlife really exists, so I'll cling to life desperately, and I'll stop at nothing to achieve it. Honestly, I'd be very grateful if you returned the Philosopher's Stone to me."

"I'm sorry, Murphy, although I know the will is genuine, I can't be sure under what circumstances LeMay made that decision. I'd rather be a robber who steals someone else's inheritance than hand it over to you. Perhaps you could tell me what you intend to do with it?"

"To do some experiments, like I used to, to explore the uses of the Philosopher's Stone, and then use it to become stronger, something like that."

"Power, is that what you want?" Dumbledore asked.

"I guess so," Murphy said. "But power is only one part of it. I want to live a more comfortable life and find more like-minded people to explore interesting things with me."

"Even if doing so would expose the wizarding world? Even if it could cause the wizards enormous trouble?"

"Utopia is a fairy tale, Professor. Must we live in a fairy tale forever?"

(End of this chapter)