HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

“But he tried to kill me, didn’t he?” Harry said, pursing his lips. “Although he didn’t succeed…”

“Indeed.” Sagres nodded in agreement. “If you ask him whether he did it, he did, but his inner resistance led to clumsy methods.”

He casually restored the Mirror of Eris to its original state and continued calmly, "Not everyone can choose to fight to the end when facing the Dark Lord... so Quirrell gave in, but perhaps he didn't really want to kill you in the first place."

"Professor, I don't quite understand..."

Seeing the puzzled young wizards, Sagres unusually explained to them, "If he really wanted to kill you, why would he choose the competition field? Wouldn't it be better to do it privately? Under the watchful eyes of the entire school, even if you did fall off the broom, you wouldn't be in any danger, Mr. Potter."

Seeing the trio hesitate, Sagres took out his wand and pointed it at a rock. "For a powerful wizard, killing a newcomer to the magical world is a piece of cake—simple enough to just wave a wand!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the stone turned into dust.

“But Professor, like Professor Quirrell… Quirrell said that not everyone is as powerful as you.” Hermione was clearly still somewhat unconvinced.

“Thank you for the compliment, Miss Granger…” Sagres bowed slightly and said with a smile, “But you must not underestimate your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. After all, someone who can break into Gringotts alone and come out unscathed is no ordinary person.”

“But he…” Ron pointed to the small mound.

“Yes, he died after all…” Sagres looked at the small mound and sighed, “He was ruthlessly abandoned by Voldemort.”

He spoke slowly and softly: "It seems that Voldemort is not only as ruthless to his enemies as the rumors suggest, but he is also equally cold-blooded to his followers."

The young wizards nodded emphatically, and Sagrais led them slowly back. The journey was slow, and Sagrais even had time to restore anything that had been damaged to its original state.

“By the way, Professor, where is Headmaster Dumbledore?” Harry asked. “Doesn’t he know what happened here tonight?”

The other two young wizards also looked at Sagrais.

"He received a last-minute notice from the Ministry of Magic and went to London." Sagres had no intention of keeping the old headmaster's secret.

“Alright…” Harry nodded, then tentatively spoke again after a moment, “Professor Greengrass…”

"What's wrong, Potter?"

Can I ask you some questions?

"Of course, as I said before, answering your questions is one of the professor's responsibilities."

"It's like this... Voldemort said he killed my mother because she desperately tried to protect me. But then again, why did he want to kill me? And how did I manage to escape from him? Why does he say that I'm the one who caused his suffering?"

Harry asked a series of questions, and Hermione and Ron listened attentively.

“I’m sorry, Potter…” Sagres shook his head and said as he walked away, “I don’t know much about this. After all, I was just a ten-year-old child back then and I’ve never even been to Hogwarts… But maybe you could try asking Dumbledore, since he always knows a lot of secrets.”

“Alright…” Harry nodded. “So, what about the Invisibility Cloak? Do you know who gave it to me?”

“Ah, I still don’t know, Mr. Potter…” Sagres said somewhat awkwardly, “but I guess it was probably a gift from Dumbledore, because I saw an identical one in his office.”

"Really, Professor? You think it was Dumbledore who gave Harry the Invisibility Cloak?" Ron suddenly asked.

“Yes, Mr. Weasley…” he recalled for a moment, then said, “It was a very rare invisibility cloak, perfect in every way… Of course, it could just be a coincidence, or maybe they just happened to have two identical ones… After all, I said from the beginning that this was just my speculation, wasn’t it?”

"Could Dumbledore have intentionally asked you to do this?" Ron suddenly turned to Harry, his tone a mix of probing and doubt. "All of this?"

“No way!” Hermione exclaimed. “If that’s really the case… I mean—that would be terrible… because Harry could very well be killed.”

They both looked at Harry, who was momentarily at a loss for words.

“I believe in Dumbledore, I believe in him, he must have his reasons for doing this…” Harry muttered to himself, as if trying to convince himself, “Just like Professor Greengrass said, we are all just newcomers to the wizarding world, and Dumbledore, as the greatest wizard in the world today, if he really wanted to do something to us, he could just wave his wand, there’s no need for all this roundabout methods!”

“What do you think, Professor?” Hermione asked Sargeras after hearing Harry’s words.

The professor in black smiled first, then said thoughtfully, "Dumbledore is a very interesting person... I think he knows more or less about what's happening here, and he's also very clear about what you're planning to do... He's not stopping you, perhaps because he believes you have the right to confront Voldemort..."

In Sagres's view, Dumbledore was a good man, but not a saint.

The old professor was a complex and multifaceted man; there was no doubt that he was a good person. He was kind, gentle, and extremely insightful, the greatest headmaster in Hogwarts' history, and made tremendous efforts to protect the wizarding world.

But he was not a saint, because he also had human weaknesses.

For example, his desire for power led him astray in his youth; his decisions were sometimes overly idealistic, even arrogant; and his "big picture" sometimes made him ignore his personal feelings, making him seem somewhat indifferent.

This is also why Sagres never liked the old headmaster, because he himself had a deep understanding of this—if you are weak enough, Dumbledore will be very tolerant of you, even if you have made a mistake; but if you are strong enough, even if you do nothing, the old professor will still subconsciously doubt you and scrutinize you.

However, he still held this titan of the magical world in high esteem, even though they were not the same kind of people.

“No wonder, these levels look like a test, a trial…” Hermione murmured, “It’s a pity that in the end… I mean, the Mystic, he still managed to escape.”

“You can call him by his name, Miss Granger…” Sagres said calmly, regaining her composure. “The fear of a name amplifies the fear of the thing itself. And with Voldemort’s current strength, casting name magic is just wishful thinking. So you can call him by his name—Voldemort.”

Seeing the three nod, he continued, "Of course, regarding the punishment for your violation this time..."

“Professor…” Ron’s eyes widened in disbelief. “We successfully stopped Quirrell and Voldemort from getting the Philosopher’s Stone. Are you really going to deduct points from our record for this?”

“Mr. Weasley, and of course the two of you…” Sagres pointed at the three of them, “To be precise, you helped Voldemort obtain the Philosopher’s Stone, and almost caused it to be stolen.”

He raised his hand to stop the three people from speaking, and explained his reasoning to their surprised gazes:

"The last mirror spell was personally arranged by Dumbledore. It was a very ingenious method that combined the effects of the Mirror of Erised to peer into people's inner thoughts."

He looked at Harry and said seriously, "Under this magic, only those who truly want it but have no intention of using it can take it out of the mirror. So if Quirrell were alone, he wouldn't be able to get the Philosopher's Stone no matter how hard he tried, and the same applies to Voldemort."

The three young wizards were dumbfounded.

“Of course, some of your performances during this period were indeed commendable…” Sagrais changed the subject, “For example, Mr. Weasley…”

Ron immediately listened attentively.

"Your performance on the chessboard was outstanding, especially the last few moves; the courage you displayed was truly admirable..."

Ron's face flushed red, but it was clear he was very happy.

“However, considering your violation of school rules, I have to deduct one point from you… Believe me, other professors would only deduct more, I have been quite lenient.”

"How much? One cent?" Ron almost didn't react.

"Do you think the deduction is a bit too little, Mr. Weasley?"

“Of course not, Professor! Your decision is absolutely brilliant!” Ron quickly replied, no longer sad at all, and even quite happy.

“Miss Granger…”

“Yes, Professor.” Hermione also perked up her ears.

"Your reasoning ability is quite outstanding, and you have also learned many advanced magic spells ahead of time. Although you may panic a bit when faced with some crises, I have seen your progress—for example, when facing a troll, you had a very good grasp of the timing of your spell casting."

The little witch was a little embarrassed and pursed her lips tightly.

"However, considering your violation of school rules, I need to deduct two more points from your score, and I can approve your participation in my practical course next semester. Of course, you can also refuse."

“Really, Professor?” Hermione’s eyes lit up immediately. She was originally only allowed to audit theoretical courses, so Sagrais’s decision made her overjoyed.

"Of course it's true, are you going to refuse?"

“Of course not, Professor…” Hermione quickly waved her hand, “I mean I’m willing to participate, I feel honored.”

“That’s good…” Sagles nodded and continued, “Mr. Potter—”

“I am here, Professor,” Harry replied quickly.

“Hmm… Potter,” he thought for a moment, then said with a complicated expression, “to be honest, I think the best thing you did was the lies you told Voldemort…”

Harry immediately looked embarrassed, thinking that Sagrais was teasing him because he had fabricated stories about many people, including Professor Greengrass in front of him.

“Please don’t misunderstand, Potter… I’m telling the truth.” He noticed the young wizard’s embarrassed expression and explained with a smile, “It takes a very quick mind and courage to face danger. I’m surprised you were able to do it. Although you didn’t fool Voldemort, that was only because he could Legilimency.”

"What do you mean by 'capture thoughts'?" Harry asked, bewildered.

“Leech from the mind,” Sagras repeated. “You may learn about it later.”

Harry's reaction was indeed quick-witted. His ability to disguise himself and use lies to buy time when facing Quirrell was quite impressive. After all, at that time, Quirrell represented death.

Sagles even felt that Harry had some Slytherin qualities, though he didn't say it aloud.

"Therefore, Mr. Potter, aside from the points you'll lose for violating school rules, you can still earn Gryffindor about... three points."

“So, when you calculate it, it comes down to…” Ron suddenly interrupted.

“No extra charge, no deduction!” Hermione said.

"Alright, before dawn, you three should go back to sleep..."

Sagrass used a levitation charm to move the young wizards from the burrow to the corridor, and while doing so, he also managed to lull the three-headed dog, Luwei, to sleep.

"The results will be out in a few days. I wish you all a happy holiday."

He escorted the group to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room and said goodbye to them.

“Oh, right, Professor…” Hermione called out to Sagrais, who was turning to leave, and pulled a red stone from her pocket. “I forgot about this, the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Sagrais pondered for a few seconds: "Just keep it with you, Miss Granger..."

“What? But…” Hermione and her two companions were very surprised to hear this.

“Dumbledore will be back tomorrow, and then you can return it to him…” He winked, a hint of slyness in his voice, “Besides, don’t you have a lot of questions to ask him? This is a good excuse.”

“But this is… a Philosopher’s Stone!” the little witch repeated.

“Of course I know, Miss Granger, of course I know it’s the Philosopher’s Stone. Not only can it turn stones into gold, but it can also grant immortality, and perhaps even some other magical powers…”

"But actually," Sagres said with a laugh, "if you think about it carefully, you'll find that it's not so wonderful... at least in some ways, it's not wonderful..."

Looking at the three incredulous young wizards, he continued, "With it, no matter how much wealth you desire or how long you want to live, you can have it! Inexhaustible wealth and an everlasting life—these are precisely the things that humans desire most... But how can human desires ever end? Having one mountain of gold, one wants another; living for a thousand years, one wants to live for another thousand years... It forcibly breaks the cycle of life and death, infinitely amplifying the desires in people's hearts. This is a transgression against the laws of nature!"

The young wizards remained silent for a moment, until finally Sagrais slowly spoke up: "That's why I said, it's not as wonderful as you imagine..."

After saying that, he left amidst the thoughtful gazes of the three men.

“I always have a feeling… Professor Greengrass is trying every possible way to cause trouble for Professor Dumbledore…” Ron said, somewhat puzzled.

“I think so too!” Harry chimed in.

Chapter 47 The Ownership of the Philosopher's Stone

Sagres returned to the library to continue studying the manuscript, and this time no one bothered him. He ended up spending the afternoon in the restricted section of the library without realizing it.

Only when he was really feeling exhausted did he take out his wand and cast two spells on himself—Sobering and Sleep-Free.

Over the years, these two spells have freed up a lot of his time, serving as his "secret weapon" for studying magic "day and night."

"Awakening and Soothing" is like a brief "spiritual rest," which can replace physical sleep. It allows the caster's mind and body to enter a restful state similar to sleep, without actually closing their eyes or ceasing activity.

"Sleep Evaporation" can dispel the need for sleep, temporarily suppress physical fatigue, enhance the recovery efficiency of magic and physical strength, and allow the caster to remain awake and act efficiently.