The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

“I’m looking for you, Miss Black.” His voice was unusually calm, without his usual stutter, but it sounded even more eerie. “You seem to have forgotten yesterday’s agreement.”

Vera could only offer a slightly apologetic smile: "I'm so sorry, Professor. I didn't feel well after I got back yesterday, probably because I caught a chill, so I went to bed early."

She coughed lightly twice to show her sincerity, "I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting."

Quirrell's lips twitched, as if he was trying to force a smile, but it only formed a strange and distorted arc: "It's okay... It's not too late now."

He slowly approached, his voice coaxing, "It's about your father...it's very important. It's not convenient here, so...how about we find a quiet place to talk?"

His tone carried an undeniable sense of oppression, and deep within his eyes, Vera could almost see another pair of scarlet eyes, filled with greed and violence, staring back at her.

Vera's fingers gently caressed the hidden compartment, feeling the reassuring touch of the wand inside.

It's clear that Voldemort's patience has run out; soft tactics won't work, and he's preparing to use force.

This location, far from the main castle building and near the Forbidden Forest, was clearly the best place to begin.

But... isn't this also her choice?

Vera's heartbeat was steady, but a hint of hesitation and just the right amount of nervousness appeared on her face: "Now, Professor? But... it's getting late, and I promised Hagrid I'd go see him..."

“It won’t take you long.” Quirrell’s voice held a barely perceptible urgency. “Don’t you want to know about what your father left you?”

He threw out a carefully prepared bait, his eyes fixed on Vera, trying to catch a trace of desire or curiosity on her face.

Vera obediently lowered her eyes, her silver-gray eyelashes casting small shadows on her cheeks. Her fingers unconsciously tightened the thin blanket covering her legs, revealing her inner struggle.

“Father…he…” she murmured softly, her voice carrying just the right amount of confusion and vulnerability.

This appearance seemed to please the other party, and Quirrell took another step forward, getting so close that he could almost smell the mixture of garlic and some kind of rotten odor emanating from him.

“Come with me, Miss Black.” His tone carried a hint of command.

Vera remained silent for a few seconds, as if she were having a fierce internal struggle.

But in the end, she shook her head.

“No, Professor.” Vera looked up, her gaze clear and firm. “I think I’ll visit you another day. I really need to go see Hagrid now.”

As she spoke, her fingers subtly tightened their grip on the wand, and the wheelchair moved slightly backward.

Quirrell's fake smile froze instantly, and the last trace of feigned gentleness in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by a frenzied greed.

"That's not your choice, little girl." His voice suddenly turned shrill and piercing as he swiftly drew his wand, a pale blue light shooting towards the seemingly unsuspecting Vera. "Soul Astral Projection!"

But Vera just sat there without flinching, looking as if she hadn't reacted at all.

Almost at the same moment, a voice filled with shock and anger suddenly came from the direction of the castle: "Quirok, what are you doing!"

Just as the dazzling blue light was about to touch Vera, the ground beneath her feet rapidly rose up thanks to her superb shapeshifting ability, and a thick earthen wall instantly rose from the ground, narrowly blocking the Soul-Stealing Curse!

"boom!"

The light of the incantation exploded on the earthen wall, sending rubble flying.

Professor McGonagall appeared not far away, her face ashen, her wand pointed straight at Quirrell: "Quirock! Put down your wand right now! How dare you... how dare you use the Unforgivable Charm on a student!"

Under Voldemort's control, Quirrell's facial muscles twitched violently, and something seemed to be writhing violently under the turban at the back of his head.

“Minerva…I…” Quirrell’s consciousness seemed to struggle to regain control, his voice broken and filled with pain and fear, “No…this is a misunderstanding…”

"He collapsed!" Without the slightest hesitation, Professor McGonagall unleashed another sharp beam of light at Quirrell.

Voldemort was clearly unwilling to confront her directly at this moment, especially given the dire state of the puppet he was possessing.

Then, Vera saw Quirrell's body suddenly lunge to the side, dodging the spell in an extremely awkward manner.

Without looking back, he staggered into the dense shadows of the nearby forbidden forest in a contorted, almost crawling posture, and quickly disappeared.

Professor McGonagall rushed to Vera's side, knelt down, and anxiously checked on her: "Miss Black! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Vera looked rather pale, her fingers trembling slightly, and she seemed quite shaken: "No, Professor McGonagall, thank you... I'm so glad you came."

Yes, thank goodness she came.

Professor McGonagall's face remained ashen. Her sharp gaze swept across the direction of the Forbidden Forest where Quirrell had disappeared, then quickly returned to Vera, carrying an undeniable concern and sternness:

"If you're sure you're alright, you need to come with me to see Headmaster Dumbledore now, is that alright?"

As one of the witnesses, McGonagall believed there was absolutely no room for misunderstanding what had just happened.

It is an undeniable fact that Quirrell used the Unforgivable Curse on his students.

Vera nodded obediently, then lowered her head and murmured softly as if she had been startled: "Yes, Professor."

My fingertips unconsciously touched my chest, but my heart was still beating a little fast.

Fortunately, everything went as expected.

Even if Professor McGonagall didn't arrive in time as she expected, with her current strength, she should have no problem holding off Voldemort for a while.

If we can't win, we can just run away.

McGonagall first summoned a house-elf to deliver a message to Hagrid, and then carefully escorted Vera back to the castle.

Throughout the journey, she kept a tense expression, her steps were both hurried and steady, and she always held her wand tightly in her hand, showing no sign of relaxing.

Vera remained silent as she was led to the eighth floor of the castle, where they stopped in front of a gargoyle-shaped stone beast.

“Lemon Olaf,” Professor McGonagall said clearly to the gargoyle.

The monster came to life, leaping aside. The wall behind it split in two, revealing a spiral staircase slowly ascending behind it.

As they stepped onto the moving staircase, the wall gradually closed behind them.

As the stairs spiraled upwards, they were led to a large door with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.

Professor McGonagall knocked on the door, and after hearing a response from inside, she pushed the door open and entered.

This is a spacious and beautiful circular room, with various strange silverwares displayed on tables with long, slender legs.

Portraits of the former male and female principals hang on the wall, all of them seemingly asleep in their respective frames.

Fox, the phoenix that gave Vera her tears, now perched lazily on the gilded branch by the door, preening its feathers.

Professor Dumbledore was sitting behind his enormous desk. He looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his deep blue eyes.

Immediately, upon seeing Professor McGonagall's stern expression and Vera's pale face behind her, the initial surprise was quickly replaced by understanding and seriousness. "Miss Black? What happened?"

“Albus,” Professor McGonagall’s voice trembled slightly with anger and lingering fear, “Quirok just tried to use the Imperius Curse on Miss Black!”

In an instant, Dumbledore's expression turned astonished and grave.

Even the portraits of the former principals on the office wall stopped their nap and pricked up their ears with curiosity.

Dumbledore stood up, walked around the desk, and came to Vera.

Instead of asking immediately, he waved his wand, and a steaming cup of hot chocolate, exuding a sweet aroma, appeared in his hand.

“Have some of this first, my dear child,” he said in a gentle yet authoritative voice, “it will make you feel better.”

Then, if you'd like, would you like to tell me everything that just happened, exactly as it was? Don't be afraid, you're safe here.

Vera took the cup, and the warmth seeped through the cup to her slightly cool fingertips.

She glanced down at the dark, hot chocolate liquid. According to Gump's basic transmutation law, a wizard cannot conjure food out of thin air.

Dumbledore wouldn't know about the little trap she set today, so it's impossible for him to have prepared something like this in advance.

This is just a cup of hot chocolate that the house-elves temporarily made using the principal's authority; there won't be any dirty stuff added to it.

Moreover, she had also checked it using loop vision.

After a moment's hesitation, Vera began to sip her drink.

Dumbledore waited patiently to the side, while Professor McGonagall clenched her fists, her face still grim.

When Vera finally put down her cup, took a deep breath, and began to narrate, the office was so quiet that the only sound could be the occasional soft rustling of Fox preening his feathers.

She described Quirrell's unusual attention over the past week, mentioning his repeated invitations for extra tutoring and the strange invitation to Black Lake yesterday.

“He said…it was about my father, and I had to go to his office at 7 p.m. to talk to him alone.”

Vera's voice was soft, carrying just the right amount of confusion and lingering fear, "But I wasn't feeling well at the moment, so... I didn't go."

She paused at the right moment, her fingers tightening slightly as she gripped the warm cup.

"This afternoon, I went to ask Professor McGonagall some questions and was on my way to Hagrid's place when I ran into Professor Quirrell on the way."

He looked angry, saying I broke my promise, and then…and then suddenly he raised his wand at me…

Her voice trembled slightly with lingering fear, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the thin blanket on her knees.

“I saw that spell, Albus, it’s definitely the Imperius Curse!” Professor McGonagall placed a hand on Vera’s shoulder, her voice taut with anger. “If I had arrived a moment later, Miss Black would have—”

She didn't say anything more, but the meaning was already clear.

Even on the way here, she was still thinking that if Vera hadn't come to her today to ask her a question and casually mentioned that Hagrid had said the Forbidden Forest had been frequently invaded recently and hoped that more teachers could provide support for this matter.

If she hadn't agreed to Vera's request, and had left the castle almost simultaneously with her, intending to go to Hagrid to inquire about the recent events in the Forbidden Forest...

Did her student, whom she was always so proud of, really meet with such a cruel fate?

Dumbledore's gaze was fixed quietly on Vera through his half-moon spectacles, his eyes seeming to penetrate appearances and reach the depths of her heart.

But Vera only looked at him for a moment before looking away, still appearing vulnerable and shaken, without revealing any flaws.

“I understand.” After a long silence, Dumbledore spoke slowly, his voice low and serious. “Minerva, thank you for arriving in time. This is indeed a very serious matter.”

He turned to Vera, his tone becoming exceptionally gentle: "I'm very sorry, Miss Blake, that you've encountered this at school."

Regardless, every professor at Hogwarts has a responsibility to protect the safety of students, and I am deeply sorry that this happened.

Vera feigned ignorance and gently shook her head: "This is not your fault, Principal."

“But this is my responsibility.” Dumbledore sighed. “Professor Quirrell… has indeed been under a lot of pressure lately. But I didn’t expect it to develop to this point.”

He was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about something, and the portraits on the office wall also held their breath and stared at him.

“Miss Black,” Dumbledore looked at her again, “for your safety, until the matter is fully investigated, I would like you to refrain from acting alone for the time being and to keep this matter confidential, is that alright?”

Vera hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

Although it was all part of the normal procedure, she still had to show some of the struggle and lingering fear of being a victim.

“Very good.” Dumbledore gave a reassuring smile. “Now, let Minerva take you back to the Gryffindor tower. Get some rest and don’t let this affect you too much.”

If needed, Mrs. Pomfrey has excellent calming medicine.

“Thank you, Headmaster,” Vera said softly.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, her expression still serious, but her gaze towards Vera softened considerably: "Let's go, Miss Black."

Just as Vera was about to turn her wheelchair and leave, she seemed to remember something and said, "Headmaster, you'll catch him, won't you?"

Dumbledore's eyes flickered, and he quickly replied, "Of course, Hogwarts will never tolerate any behavior that harms students, and we will conduct a thorough investigation and arrest Quirrell as soon as possible."

Vera lowered her eyes and nodded gently: "I understand."

Escorted by Professor McGonagall, Vera left the principal's office.

The spiral staircase descended slowly, and Professor McGonagall remained silent until they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower, at which point she stopped.

“Miss Black,” her voice was much softer than usual, “if anyone else—including professors—makes you feel uncomfortable or tries to leave you alone, tell me immediately or to any professor you trust, understand?”

“I understand, Professor McGonagall,” Vera replied softly. “Thank you for saving me today.”

Professor McGonagall nodded solemnly. She watched Vera enter the common room after the portrait of the fat lady was unscrewed, then turned and left, her robes fluttering, clearly to continue dealing with the matter.

The common lounge was bustling with activity, filled with the relaxed atmosphere of a weekend evening.

Harley spotted Vera immediately and jumped up from the sofa to rush over.

"Vera! Where have you been?" She quickly grabbed Vera's hand, and was taken aback.

Even though it's almost summer, why are Vera's hands still so cold?

As Harley thought about it, she subconsciously cupped Vera's hand in her palm and rubbed it together.

Hermione quickly walked over. She had already noticed Vera's pale face and Professor McGonagall's unusually serious expression when she left. She immediately lowered her voice and asked, "Has something happened?"

Vera looked at the concerned faces of her two friends and knew that she couldn't hide this from them any longer.

Dumbledore asked her to keep it a secret, but he didn't expect her to keep it a secret from Harley either.

Furthermore, they have the right to know about this—after all, Voldemort's target may not be just her.

She took a deep breath and lowered her voice: "Let's find a quiet place to talk."