Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle

Phineas Black wanted to speak, but was stopped by Headmaster Moore. Dumbledore pondered, and the group of headmaster portraits became nervous. Dumbledore looked up and asked Melvin:

"The magic power on the last rope is very different. What's the difference?"

"Very tricky, very evil, almost as malicious as the Unforgivable Curses."

"Oh..." The portrait of the principal on the wall exclaimed in a low voice.

Dumbledore looked at the young professor in front of him with deep eyes, and made a decision in his heart: "I think I know who he is."

Melvin feigned confusion: "Who?"

"An old friend, remember the dark wizard I mentioned to you last time?"

Dumbledore paused, a sigh in his voice: "Those things happened too long ago. I need to sort out the chaotic memories in my mind... It all started 54 years ago. At that time, I was the Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts. My job was the same as Minerva's now. Every year before school started, I had to visit students from Muggle families and guide them to school.

"One of the students is very special. He has no family and lives in the Wood Orphanage in London. His name is Tom Riddle..."

Melvin listened quietly, combining his memories of his past life with Dumbledore's narration to piece together the whole truth of the matter.

In the early autumn of 1938, Dumbledore met Riddle for the first time. He thought that Riddle was a poor and lonely child, but in fact, he made full use of his magical talent to steal, rob, and bully other children... Neither of them left a good impression on each other.

Riddle's behavior after school started further deepened Dumbledore's vigilance. After Hagrid was implicated in the Chamber of Secrets incident, he began to pay close attention to Riddle's behavior.

To counter the Transfiguration professor's defenses, Riddle acted like a good student throughout school, achieving excellent grades and uniting his classmates. After becoming a prefect, he also served as student president, and he left his name on the trophy display several times. Hogwarts thus ushered in several years of peace and stability.

However, outside of school, he is a completely different person.

Riddle found out about his own life experience and learned that his father was just an ordinary Muggle in Hangleton, and that his proud Slytherin blood came from his mother, Merope Gaunt.

The Gaunt family is a descendant of Slytherin. In order to ensure the purity of their bloodline, they have been marrying close relatives for generations. When Riddle found the Gaunt mansion, the only one left in this ancient family was Morfin Gaunt, a mad wizard with a violent temper, who was also his uncle.

In a conversation with Morfin Gaunt, Riddle learned the truth about his life experience. At that time, there were only three people left in the Gaunt family. Father Marvolo and son Morfin had abused their daughter Merope for many years and despised her magical talent. The long-term oppression in the family made Merope fall in love with the Muggle Riddle.

Morfin used magic to teach Riddle a lesson, so he summoned Ministry of Magic official Bob Ogden. A conflict arose during the negotiation, and the Gaunt father and son attacked Ogden, and both were imprisoned.

Without the oppression of the Gaunt father and son, Merope's magical talent was released. She used a love potion to deceive the Muggle Riddle and became pregnant after living together for a while. Perhaps Merope was negligent during her pregnancy, or perhaps she thought that many years of living together would make Riddle develop true love, so for some unknown reason, she stopped using the love potion.

The Muggle Riddle regained consciousness, was terrified, and left on the spot.

Merope was devastated and fell into complete despair. She shut herself off from the world and refused to communicate with anyone. Pregnant and helpless, she could only pawn the Gaunt family's belongings, including Slytherin's locket, to survive. This struggle lasted until the end of 1926, when she gave birth to Voldemort outside the Wood Orphanage.

Her long-term weak body could not support childbirth, and she was unwilling to use magic to fight for a chance of life. She died on the night she gave birth to the child.

According to her wishes, the orphanage let the child inherit his father's name, Tom Riddle.

Sixteen years later, Riddle learned the truth, but his uncle Morfin still despised his sister Merope's behavior and despised the Muggle blood in Riddle's body.

"…Riddle himself also despised the Muggle blood in his body and hated his Muggle father who abandoned his family. So he killed the Muggle Riddle family and put the blame on the last blood of the Gaunt family, his uncle Morfin."

Melvin listened quietly without saying anything.

Dumbledore didn't know at the moment that Voldemort not only killed those Muggles, but also used them to forge a Horcrux, the Gaunt family ring.

"After Riddle graduated, he lay dormant for a long time. He tried twice to return to Hogwarts to teach. The first time, I persuaded Headmaster Dippet to reject him. The second time, after I had taken over as Headmaster, I rejected him again..."

After leaving Hogwarts, Riddle began to use the name of Voldemort and recruited his former pure-blood supporters from his school days to establish the Death Eaters. Dumbledore began to secretly investigate his life experience, but there was no progress.

Around the time of the First Wizarding War, Slughorn, then Professor of Potions, suddenly retired. Before his departure, Dumbledore asked Riddle about his life, but Slughorn was vague and his memory was unclear.

After Voldemort's downfall, Dumbledore collected and compiled information, obtaining many useful clues, including the memories of Bob Ogden and the house-elf Hokey.

Dumbledore had known for years that Voldemort was not truly dead, and Quirrell's return from Albania confirmed his suspicions. Melvin found Ravenclaw's diadem, and it presented a phenomenon he had never seen before: a mere memory, yet it had its own actions and thoughts, a mere memory, yet it actually attempted to drain his magical power...

It is not just a memory, it is a soul.

Dumbledore was convinced that Slughorn was hiding something from his memory.

The snow outside the window has stopped, but the howling night wind continues.

"...I have every reason to believe that the dark wizard who attacked Hagrid tonight was Professor Quirrell, and that the final evil magic came from my old friend, Voldemort."

Dumbledore paused for a moment before reading out the name. The cold wind outside the window seemed to stagnate for a moment, and then became even more noisy.

Melvin sorted out all the connections in his mind, pondered for a moment, and asked softly, "Why did the principal tell me such a secret?"

"Well... there are many reasons." Dumbledore took a sip of his hot cocoa and began to list them. "You went to school at Ilvermorny and didn't experience that turbulent period. No one kept repeating his terrible deeds in your ears. You could call him by his name without hesitation, which was something even Minerva couldn't do."

Melvin shook his head: "Professor McGonagall is the head of Gryffindor. She will not be afraid of any dark wizard, not even the Dark Lord."

"I know……"

Dumbledore explained to himself, "Many wizards are reluctant to address that name, not out of fear. It's more of a habit left over from that period. Voldemort cast a spell on his own name, and every time it's called, it might trigger a reaction. With Voldemort's fall, this spell no longer has any deterrent effect. For over a decade, this name has been associated with too many bloody and tragic events. The mere mention of it evokes memories of those who have passed away."

"Many foreign wizards can call Voldemort by his name. This is not a reason for the headmaster to tell me these secret truths," Melvin said.

"Can't you find out if I don't tell you?" Dumbledore stared into his eyes.

Facing those azure eyes, Melvin subconsciously tried to activate the brain occlumency technique, but found that there was no magical fluctuation. The principal's eyes had no penetrating power or oppression, and he just looked at them gently.

Dumbledore averted his gaze and took a sip of his hot cocoa. "As a newly appointed professor of Muggle Studies, you have had almost no communication with your former professors. Less than two weeks into the semester, you seem to have seen through Quirrell's plans and deliberately used your so-called Muggle psychology to scare him away from you."

"As you said, this is a judgment based on psychological analysis."

"Can psychological analysis reveal the location of Ravenclaw's diadem?" Dumbledore looked at him with a smile.

"Uh……"

Feeling somewhat guilty, Melvin avoided the principal's gaze and silently tasted the cloyingly sweet hot cocoa.

I was in the Room of Requirement at the time, and to gain the Headmaster's trust, I had impulsively found Ravenclaw's Diadem. Looking back now, it was a bit hasty. Since everyone knew where it was, I should have held off for a couple of days and just said I stumbled upon it. That would have made sense.

Dumbledore was willing to respect the little secrets of wizards who had gained his trust and did not ask any further questions:

"Melvin, you may be wondering, since I know Professor Quirrell's identity and that he and Voldemort broke into the castle to seize the Philosopher's Stone, why don't I arrest them directly?"

No doubt, no doubt at all.

Melvin silently denied it in his heart, but still made a guess: "Is there a shortage of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors?"

"That is indeed a very important reason." Dumbledore suddenly laughed, "But there is an even more important reason, which I think you have already noticed."

Melvin nodded and whispered, "Harry Potter."

"Yes, Harry Potter..."

Dumbledore's smile faded, his eyes showing some sadness. "Harry's parents, James and Lily, were good friends at school. They got married soon after graduation, and happened to be in that turbulent period. They were hiding from their families while getting pregnant and having children. I still remember them now. They were a very optimistic young couple. Every time we gathered together to exchange information, we would learn about the bad news or the tragedy. When everyone was sad, they would always break the silence and let the meeting continue.

“Everyone felt that life was difficult at that time, but they could always manage to hold on.

"Until 1981, ten years ago, when Harry was one year old, their hiding place was revealed, and Voldemort found the young couple and brutally murdered them.

"Before she died, Lily left a blessing on little Harry, a powerful ancient magic. It was this magic that deflected the Killing Curse aimed at Harry and destroyed Voldemort's body.

"From that moment on, Harry's fate and Voldemort's were inextricably intertwined.

"For reasons that I cannot reveal yet, I am certain that Voldemort will return. It is foreseeable that the resurrected Voldemort will seek out Harry. Harry has little time left. He must quickly familiarize himself with the Dark Lord, or at least gain experience."

"..."

Chapter 58: The Magic Court Line

Eleven years had passed since the incident. Dumbledore had experienced too many separations and deaths in the past hundred years, so he was able to calmly deal with the sadness and nostalgia that emerged from his heart. However, every time he thought of the young mother who left a blessing on her child with her life, he was still moved.

After Dumbledore finished telling what happened that year, he stopped to sip the hot drink, allowing Melvin and himself to sort out their thoughts. At the same time, he secretly observed the young professor sitting opposite him, thinking about how he should brush off the questions if Melvin asked questions related to Voldemort's Horcruxes and that ancient magic.

With Scottish jokes or New York wizard jokes...

Unfortunately, Melvin didn't raise any questions. He just drank tea silently and sorted out his thoughts like him, with a calm expression.

"I am 111 years old. I am not sure how long I can live, nor can I be sure how many times Voldemort can be resurrected. Last time we paid a heavy price and narrowly defeated him. This time we may be able to defeat him with all our effort. What about the future?" Dumbledore asked softly.

The old headmaster's expression was so calm that he didn't seem to be discussing his own lifespan, but Melvin could detect a subtle worry in his words. He wasn't worried about himself, but about Voldemort's troublesome Horcruxes.

As the President of the International Confederation of Wizards and the Chief of the Wizengamot, his achievements are comparable to those of the founder, but a legendary wizard is still a wizard. Dumbledore is not omniscient and omnipotent. He does not care about his own life or death, and firmly believes that Voldemort's resurrection will be thwarted this time, but he is still worried that he cannot completely eliminate Voldemort, and that Voldemort will once again turn into a ghost and lie dormant, and be resurrected after ten or even dozens of years.

"The future needs young wizards like you to create it." Dumbledore glanced at the ring on his finger, then looked away and looked seriously at the young wizard sitting opposite him. "I need your help too, Melvin."

"That sounds like trouble."

"..."

Dumbledore heard that he had agreed, and smiled amiably, returning to the matter of Voldemort: "According to my original plan, Professor Quirrell would have taken action at the end of this school year and given Harry an introductory lesson on the Dark Lord."

"Professor Quirrell did his duty."

Melvin agreed.

Professor Quirrell is dedicated to his duties and devotes all his energy to the great cause of education.

In order to cultivate outstanding students, one is willing to burn oneself and even turn into ashes.

Dumbledore also approved of the professor he hired, but he had some opinions about the course progress: "Voldemort is in Quirrell's body, draining his life force every moment. Quirrell's claim of being seriously ill on the night of the Christmas party wasn't entirely a lie. That body has already begun to rot, and with the use of magic tonight, the situation will only get worse. Death has already found this master and servant. Before, they could lie dormant and wait for their opportunity, but after tonight, their patience may rot along with their flesh. Harry and the others need to speed up."

Melvin shook his head and reminded: "Not necessarily."

Dumbledore looked at him with a puzzled look.

Melvin reminded him based on a distant memory deep in his soul: "Voldemort and Quirrell are hiding because they are afraid of the chief wizard of the Wizengamot in the castle. As long as you are still in school, they can only continue to bide their time. They used herbs to delay the death attack before, but now the situation has worsened. They just need to switch to more effective potions."

There are only a few potions in the entire wizarding world that can delay the onset of death, and one of them happens to be in the school's Forbidden Forest.

Dumbledore frowned slightly, then quickly realized what was happening and murmured, "Unicorn blood."

……

When Hagrid woke up, his head hurt a bit and he was still dizzy. He didn't know if it was the effect of the alcohol or because he had slept too long. He sat up shakily, picked up the kettle on the bedside and poured half of the kettle of cold water into his mouth. He became more awake and the headache was much less severe.

I lifted the blanket and got out of bed, and saw Yaya lying on the edge of the bed. There was still half a pot of broth in the pot on the table.

Hagrid was stunned for a moment: "You did this?"

Then he realized that he was confused, covered his head and began to recall what happened last night.

He left the Three Broomsticks and invited them to the Hog's Head for a drink... Dumbledore and Flitwick declined, so Melvin and the tinkerer accompanied him into the bar... They ordered three bottles of Firewhisky, and as soon as they sat down, they started chatting about the tavern's mirror...

I went out to the bathroom and I can't remember what happened afterwards.

"A bottle of wine made me drunk?"

Hagrid couldn't accept it. He pounded his head and tried to recall, but he could only remember the names of various fire dragons and a picture of a dragon spewing flames.

"What kind of dragon is the Silver Flame?"

The more he thought about it, the more doubts he had, and the more doubts he had, the more headache he had. Hagrid racked his brains and could only deduce that it was Professor Lewinter who sent him back. He didn't know the rest.

"Wang Wang!"