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Hogwarts Castle, in the Headmaster's Office.
Rossi glanced at Grace, who was sitting quietly side by side on the sofa, and then turned his attention to Dumbledore and Snape, who were sitting on both sides of the desk.
At this time, Fox, the phoenix with dimmed wings, was dozing off on a perch behind the door. The portraits of the previous principals seemed to have noticed the unusual atmosphere, and they all looked at the four people in the room with wide eyes.
"Harry and the others are visiting Hagrid in the school doctor's office. McGonagall is waiting for the Ministry of Magic to send someone to take Quirrell away. Now there are only a few of us left here. Can we have a good talk? Headmaster."
It could be seen that Snape was trying to sound calm.
Dumbledore gently put his right arm on the table and supported his chin with his thumb and forefinger: "So, where should we start?"
"The traps you asked us to set up were not meant to trap the Dark Lord to death, right?"
"Not at all."
With sapphire eyes flashing, Dumbledore played with a small and exquisite silver jewelry in his left hand on his desk, "When I saw the scar on Harry's forehead, I guessed it might be There is a sign of a connection between Harry and Voldemort."
Upon hearing this, Snape silently pulled up his left sleeve, and saw a faintly visible skull mark on his left arm.
"It's not the Dark Mark, Severus." Dumbledore shook his head, "I kept guessing what it was until Miss Rossi showed up."
"Until I show up?" Rossi was stunned for a moment, and asked with suspicion in his voice, "You mean, I mentioned Voldemort and Horcruxes?"
"Not bad." Dumbledore nodded slightly, "After I learned about the Horcruxes, especially when I learned that Voldemort had made multiple Horcruxes, I have been thinking about some things..."
He did not elaborate on what he was thinking about, but pondered for a few seconds before changing the topic:
"Although Harry's mother gave him a lasting protection with her life, I have to confirm whether his mind has been controlled by Voldemort."
"So you set up a trap just to make Harry face the Dark Lord?"
Snape stood up from his chair, his whole body trembling slightly, "Aren't you worried that Harry will be killed by him?"
"As long as Harry calls the place where his mother's blood relatives live home, Voldemort cannot touch or harm him."
Snape obviously didn't believe Dumbledore's words: "Can't touch or hurt? But doesn't the Dark Lord still want to possess Harry and steal his body?"
"This was an accident, Severus. You should understand that no matter how well planned it is in advance, it will always change a little bit in one way or another when it happens."
Dumbledore tilted his head slightly, "Voldemort was able to get the Sorcerer's Stone. This was an omission in my plan, and it was also the reason why he was able to temporarily break through Lily's magic. But fortunately, I had already rushed back by then."
Hearing this, Snape put his hands on his desk and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he held back the words when they were about to come out.
Seeing Snape standing there without speaking for a long time, Rossi, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but ask:
"Professor Dumbledore, so everything that happened was actually part of your plan, including when did Voldemort show up?"
In fact, what she wanted to know most was whether Dumbledore was using the Book of Destiny to control all of this.
"That's not true. I just set up the fishing rod, put out the bait, and waited quietly for Voldemort to take the bait. As for whether or when he will come, I can't be sure."
After a pause, he added: "But after Grace's accident, I knew he couldn't wait to take action."
Okay, that sounds reasonable.
After muttering silently, Rossi turned around and asked, "By the way, where's Percy? And Voldemort's Horcrux, have you destroyed it?"
"I have removed the Imperius Curse from Percy. He was just a little tired after being controlled for a long time, but nothing else was serious. When I brought him back, I let him go back to rest.
As for Voldemort's Horcrux...since he made multiple Horcruxes, it would be far more meaningful for this Horcrux to be destroyed at a more important time than to be destroyed now. "
More important timing? Could it be during the battle with Voldemort?
Looking at Dumbledore who smiled and winked at him, Rossi suddenly felt that his guess was right.
…
When Quirrell was taken away by the Ministry of Magic, the system also sent a message that mission six had been completed.
However, looking at what was still displayed after mission six (current arrests: 2, minimum number of arrests: 2), Rossi knew that the more criminals captured in this mission, the more generous the reward would be.
Unfortunately, Lucius was too cunning. Not only did he escape with his wife, but the conversation that provided clues to Rossi was actually ambiguous, preventing the Ministry of Magic from arresting him for this.
In the following period, life seemed to return to normal.
As time went by, Rossi's Defense Against the Dark Arts class gradually became the favorite and most studied class among the students in the school.
On the day before Christmas, when Rosie woke up from a deep sleep, a thick layer of frost and snow had accumulated outside the window, and the black lake in the distance was even covered with a layer of ice.
However, although the weather is cold, for children, the joy of the holidays can withstand everything.
Of course, it’s not just children either, the lively festive atmosphere is highly contagious.
So when Rossi sat at the long table in the auditorium, facing various delicacies, and listening to the students' play, he couldn't help but have a happy smile on his face.
Just then, a group of owls flew from outside the auditorium, and one of them flew directly to Rosie and dropped a letter.
"Ms. Rossi,
Please forgive me for taking the liberty of writing to you.
In this morning's newspaper, I saw a message from the Ministry of Magic: The wanted criminal Quirinus Quirrell has been captured in Hogwarts.
For those of us who know some of the inside story, these few words contain too much information.
What happened? Did anyone at Hogwarts get hurt? Are you okay? Is Harry okay? Has the mysterious man been caught?
Please forgive me for taking the liberty of writing and asking you these lingering questions in my mind.
In addition, Black said that he recently accidentally saw a Death Eater who had died in Azkaban appearing in London, and he was sure that he was right. Hmm... I don't know what happened to the mysterious man in the end, so I don't know if this news is still useful. It's up to you to make the final judgment.
Finally, I wish you a Merry Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas!
Your loyal friend: Remus John Lupin. "
After Rossi read the contents of the letter, the system prompted:
"Clues: Escapees from Azkaban. Meet with Lupine and Black to confirm the identity of the escaped Death Eaters..."
(End of chapter)
