Chapter 3004 - Ch: 60-63

Chapter 60 True and False Quirrell

"Have you ever thought... what if both of them are actually fake?" Neville suddenly asked in a low voice.

As the voice fell, the Great Hall instantly fell frighteningly silent.

Everyone stared blankly at Neville, which instead made the person who asked the question shrink his neck.

Immediately afterwards, wand after wand was drawn.

Many young Wizards raised their wands in doubt and uncertainty, aiming at Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape at the same time.

At this moment, there was nothing else left in the Great Hall, only suspicion filled the air.

Professor McGonagall's expression was solemn as she turned her head to look at Snape: "Severus, you once asked me a favor during the summer vacation, do you still remember?"

Snape's gaze flickered slightly.

He glanced at Harry first before slowly answering: "I remember. You refused me and told me that it was Dumbledore's decision."

Professor McGonagall nodded, her tightly gripped wand relaxing slightly.

"That is enough. Both Professor Snape and I are real." She raised her head and said in a deep voice to the students in the Great Hall.

But the students had already been tormented into frightened birds; even with McGonagall's personal guarantee, no one truly let down their guard.

Everything that happened before had long since turned their ability to distinguish between real and fake into a complete mess.

Watching this scene, Professor McGonagall only felt a relentless headache.

After sneaking into the school, the imposter had clearly made the entire situation a complete mess.

Next, she brought up some things that only she and the students knew.

After some confirmation, her identity was finally verified, and the students in the Great Hall reluctantly accepted the result.

However, their expressions were still somewhat odd.

Professor McGonagall took the opportunity to inquire about what had happened in the Great Hall, and Snapelistened from the side.

The two quickly figured out the course of events and understood why the students suspected them.

McGonagall and Snape looked at each other, both seeing a look of tricky difficulty in each other's eyes.

However, Professor McGonagall also noticed an important issue: although the imposter had been impersonating others all along, they had not truly harmed any students.

Compared to this imposter, the Troll was the trouble that needed to be dealt with right now.

The students said the Troll had been to the Great Hall, and there were indeed traces left on the ground where the Trollhad passed.

Yet McGonagall and Snape somehow failed to find a Trollwith such a huge target.

Just at this moment, footsteps came from outside the Great Hall.

The sound was neither fast nor slow, approaching here step by step.

Everyone turned to look at the doorway, no one knowing whether the next moment someone walking in would be the Troll or that elusive imposter.

After a while, a figure finally appeared at the edge of the Great Hall door.

Snape's eyes flickered slightly, and the hand hidden beneath his Wizard robes gripped his wand tightly again.

"Oh? Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, why are you both here?"

The person who came was none other than Professor Quirrell. Wrapped in that purple turban with a puzzled look on his face, he slowly walked into the Great Hall.

A look of astonishment surfaced in the students' eyes once more.

Clearly it was Quirrell who had run to inform Snape earlier, saying that a Troll had appeared in the school.

But now this Quirrell acted as if he completely didn't remember that matter, and instead wondered why they were gathered in the Great Hall.

This was simply too suspicious.

Ron subconsciously shrank his neck, reached out to touch his own arm, and felt goosebumps breaking out.

The other students thought much the same; everything that happened tonight was simply like being haunted.

They had successively encountered people who could speak and communicate normally, only to find out in the end that some of them were not themselves at all.

Just thinking about it made people's hearts crawl with fear.

Snape did not stop Quirrell from approaching further.

He was confident he could strike a step ahead before Quirrell made any abnormal moves.

Moreover, it had not yet been confirmed whether this Quirrell was real or fake, and rashly making a move was equally inappropriate.

As the distance shortened, Snape's nose suddenly twitched.

A scent that he loathed drilled into his nasal cavity, smelling like garlic.

Snape's brows instantly furrowed tightly, because the Quirrell who had just come to find him with the report had no such smell on him at all.

The answer was already very clear.

That Quirrell just now was fake.

It was just that the Troll matter was too urgent at the time, and he hadn't thought much about it, which was why he didn't discover this flaw.

"Professor Quirrell, where did you go earlier?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Quirrell showed an apologetic look and answered timidly: "Sorry, I went to Hogsmeade Village and had a glass of Butterbeer."

Snape approached McGonagall and spoke in a low voice for a few sentences, telling her the loophole he had discovered.

In this way, the Quirrell who appeared at the very beginning was indeed an imposter, but the Troll had also truly come to the school.

Could that Troll have been brought in by the imposter?

McGonagall and Snape thought of this point almost simultaneously.

Although the two still had doubts in their hearts, they did not continue to investigate deeply.

That Troll could actually be tied up by ropes turned from the Impediment Curse, which looked a bit odd no matter how one saw it, but Polyjuice Potion could surely not turn a person into a Troll.

Professor McGonagall then told Quirrell everything that had happened in the Great Hall.

After listening to the whole matter, fear immediately surfaced on Quirrell's face.

"This... this is simply too terrifying." He muttered in a daze.

"The Troll is still wandering in the school." Professor McGonagall did not delay any further and directly instructed, "Professor Quirrell, leave these students in your care. We will go out to look for the Troll."

Under the current circumstances, she and Snape had no choice but to leave the Great Hall.

Quirrell did not look like someone who could handle a Trollalone, even though he was indeed the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor.

Quirrell pointed at himself, completely stunned: "M—Me?"

His voice was full of surprise, and he was clearly still somewhat lacking in self-confidence.

"It's you." Professor McGonagall said solemnly, "If anyone comes in later, you must first verify their identity. Let's set a password: Lemon Drop. After confirming their identity is wrong, you can subdue them first."

She handed this arduous task to Quirrell, with not a shred of joke in her tone.

However, compared to looking for the Troll, this could already be considered the easiest arrangement.

Judging from the situation just now, that imposter had never shown aggressiveness.

"A—Alright then!" Quirrell was clearly somewhat reluctant, but under Professor McGonagall's arrangement, he could only agree.

Not long after, McGonagall and Snape left the Great Hallonce again, leaving only Quirrell and a group of students inside.

"Professor Quirrell, you aren't fake too, are you?" a Ravenclaw girl asked worriedly.

As soon as these words came out, everyone's gazes fell uniformly onto Quirrell.

Before Quirrell had time to speak, Malfoy first showed an expression of disgust and rushed to say: "Won't we know by smelling the scent on him?"

Quite a few students immediately nodded in agreement.

Other things might be faked, but the garlic smell on Professor Quirrell was definitely something just anyone could not forge.

Who would have thought that one day the smell they detested the most would actually make them feel at ease.

This transformation was simply incredible.

Quirrell did not get angry because of Malfoy's words; instead, he seemed to heave a sigh of relief and smiled as he said: "Mr. Malfoy, you are truly so clever."

But this peace of mind only lasted for a short while.

Footsteps sounded outside the Great Hall again very quickly. All the students looked towards the door instantly as if stimulated, even holding their breath.

Who knew whether the one coming this time was a person or a ghost?

Quirrell also stared at the entrance of the Great Hall, his brows slightly furrowed, a trace of an indescribable look flashing across the depths of his eyes.

The footsteps grew closer and closer, and the candlelight outside the door cast several shadows first. Those shadows were elongated and then crept into the Great Hall bit by bit.

When three figures appeared at the doorway, the students once again drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

Standing at the very front was Snape, whose expression was frighteningly gloomy and whose gaze was as sharp as a knife. Beside him was McGonagall with a dark face. Both of them were holding wands in their hands.

As for the third figure, also wearing a purple turban, it was Professor Quirrell.

"Oh my god!"

A chorus of exclamation instantly rang out in the Great Hall.

The students instinctively looked at the Quirrell closer to them, then pulled out their wands one after another, their bodies constantly squeezing backward. In the blink of an eye, they had huddled together into a group.

The Quirrell remaining on the students' side looked flusteredly at McGonagall and Snape at the doorway, and asked in astonishment: "Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, what is wrong with you two?"

"Who are you?" Snape shouted coldly.

He had been played with for an entire night, and his anger had long been suppressed to the limit, ready to strike almost at any moment.

Not long after McGonagall and Snape left the Great Hall, they ran into Quirrell returning from outside. Quirrell raised his wand at them, seemingly completely not understanding why the two did this.

But right at that moment, Snape smelled the garlic scent from Quirrell again, and his expression changed all at once.

Both Quirrells had the garlic smell!

This couldn't prove who was real at all.

Perhaps the one right in front of them was the real Quirrell, and the one inside the Great Hall was the imposter. Professor McGonagall also thought of this possibility, and her expression instantly turned gloomy.

If the Quirrell in the Great Hall was fake, then they had just been equivalent to leaving a dangerous person with completely clueless students. McGonagall didn't dare to continue thinking about what would happen next.

She immediately checked a few things that only the two of them knew with the Quirrell before her, and finally confirmed that the Quirrell in front of her was the real deal.

Afterwards, McGonagall and Snape hurried back to the Great Hall.

"The Quirrell standing close to the students looked at them in fear: 'You... are you all impostors?'"

The students' expressions changed abruptly.

It was not entirely impossible for three impostors to appear at the same time. Thus, they fearfully raised their wands, aiming them all at Snape, McGonagall, and Quirrell at the doorway.

Looking at the wands pointing at him, Snape's face darkened to the point of almost dripping water.

Did this group of young Wizards intend to rebel?

"Wait, the password!" Quirrell on the students' side asked hurriedly, as if suddenly thinking of something, "What is the password?"

The reason it suddenly asked was not because Hodu had thought of some brilliant scheme to verify identities, but because Snape's gritting-teeth appearance of being ready to strike at any moment was simply too terrifying.

Quirrell at this moment was, of course, disguised by Hodu.

Tonight's Best Actor award belonged to none other than Hodu. Having acted for an entire evening, and even having played Snape twice, seeing the students scared to this extent, winning Best Actor was definitely not going too far.

In truth, Hodu was not very willing to disguise as Quirrelland sneak in again. Especially after discovering through Treasure Perception that Snape had already returned to the Great Hall, it wanted to continue taking risks even less.

However, the progress of fusing with the Boggart was only lacking the final time, so it could only bite the bullet and carry on the act.

Unexpectedly, right before entering the door, it suddenly remembered the loopholes exposed when playing Quirrellfor the first time, and deliberately got some garlic. As a result, it was a lucky hit, and this smell instead helped it gain the students' trust.

To be honest, even Hodu itself was slightly startled by this outcome.

Originally, Hodu planned to wait until McGonagall and Snape left, then find some random excuse to leave, giving this performance a perfect ending. Who would have thought that the real Quirrell would happen to return at this time?

Quirrell might not necessarily have run into McGonagalland Snape originally, but things just happened to be that coincidental, and the three of them ended up bumping into each other.

One could only say that this was probably God's will.

Things having reached this step, Hodu still wanted to try whether it could continue acting out this play. As the Best Actor, one always had to have some professional ethics.

Thus, Hodu gave this performance a name.

"Can You Trust Me One More Time?"

Of course, it was also prepared to run away at any moment. If the act really couldn't go on, goodness knows what spell a Snape who was about to explode would hurl out.

Even with the Tough Skin trait, Hodu did not want to take Snape's attacks head-on.

Seeing that Snape was about to make a move, it could only speak up first, grasping the initiative back into its own hands.

"Ice-cold lemonade."

McGonagall frowned. She was unclear what this impostor was still persisting in, but to prevent accidents and to make the students believe her, she still reported the password.

Snape stared fixedly at Hodu, his wand not moving away by half an inch. He had already made up his mind: as long as this impostor dared to say the password was wrong, he would let the other party taste the flavor of a spell.

In fact, at that very moment just now, Hodu truly had entertained a thought.

As long as it said the password was wrong, Snape would definitely attack it immediately. At that time, it could completely take the opportunity to fake an injury, making the students mistakenly believe that the impostors had suddenly launched an attack on Snape and the others.

That scene would definitely be extremely wonderful, and might even become school history that later students would eagerly talk about.

As for the name, it had already thought of it.

"Snape's Judgment Day."

Unfortunately, this was ultimately just a thought.

If Professor McGonagall were not here, it might really give it a try. After all, one Snape, plus a Quirrell possessed by Lord Voldemort, even if it got slightly injured because of it, wouldn't be a bad thing, and was even somewhat anticipated.

"The password is correct! You are real." Hodu first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at McGonagall and Snape with a face full of surprise, "But why are you staying together with someone who is impersonating me?"

The students' nerves that had just relaxed tightened up again instantly.

Now at least it could be confirmed that Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were not fake. However, between the two Quirrells, exactly who was the real one?

"Because you are fake." Snape answered coldly, yet did not cast a spell immediately.

"What?" Hodu widened its eyes, "I am the real one! Didn't we already check this before?"

Though it spoke anxiously, in its heart it was very clear that its situation was already quite unfavorable. Being seen through was only a matter of time, and this time might be a few seconds away, or perhaps just the very next moment.

"No, you are fake." Professor McGonagall stepped forward, her tone extremely certain, "We have already confirmed it."

The real Quirrell hadn't even had time to speak yet before McGonagall and Snape had already confirmed his identity for him. They temporarily did not make a move simply because Hodu had not yet displayed obvious aggressive tendencies, so they were willing to listen to it continue its performance first.

"You must have gotten it wrong!" Hodu was so anxious that its face was covered in sweat and turned flushed red, saying earnestly, "Be careful! Standing next to him like that, you'll be ambushed by him!"

This performance had to be credited to the Self-Transformation trait.

Most of the time Hodu didn't mess up its act, it was all thanks to it. The sweat on its face and the flushed expression right now were entirely conjured out by Self-Transformation.

Watching this appearance of his, Professor McGonagallcouldn't help but add a bit of suspicion in her eyes.

This impostor opposite them performed far too much like the real thing. Could it be that they had actually gotten it wrong? Was the Quirrell beside them the fake one?

Hodu captured the change in McGonagall's expression, and its heart instantly rejoiced.

"If you don't believe me, I can confront him face-to-face," it said hurriedly, "I have a way to prove that I am real!"

Right now, it could only think of a way to forcibly drag the situation into the true and false Monkey King showdown.

McGonagall and Snape exchanged a glance.

For them, letting the two Quirrells confront each other face-to-face had no disadvantages. The two of them then looked at the Quirrell whose identity they had already confirmed, and the real Quirrell nodded, clearly also agreeing with this arrangement.

However, at McGonagall's request, Hodu had to stay a bit further away from the students first. It could only walk from the location near the Professor's table to the other side near the Great Hall's doors.

This path could not bypass Snape; it had to pass right by Snape's side. Fortunately, Snape did not seize the opportunity to cast a jinx on it.

Everyone's positions were quickly readjusted.

The students crowded behind the Professor's table, while McGonagall and Snape stood in front of the students, facing the Great Hall doors head-on. The two Quirrells arrived at the positions near the door, standing respectively on the left and right sides, confronting each other.

"How do you plan to prove it?" Snape stared at Hodu on the left, asking in a cold voice.

His wand was still pointing at Hodu, without the slightest intention of pulling it back.

A trace of a bizarre smile suddenly curled up the corners of Hodu's mouth. It did not answer Snape, instead looking at the Quirrell opposite it.

Being stared at like this by it, Quirrell's expression visibly grew uneasy.

"Haven't you always disliked the smell on my body?" Hodureached out to touch its purple turban, "In fact, I said it long ago, that's because I need to drive away Vampires, which is why I hid a few cloves of garlic inside the turban."

Before its words finished falling, it directly took off the turban.

A few cloves of garlic were exposed, firmly grasped in its hands. These things were of course not prepared in advance, but were secretly conjured out by Hodu using Galleons.

Looking at those cloves of garlic, the students all revealed expressions of shock.

The mystery of the smell that had plagued them for so long finally seemed to have an answer.

But the expression of the Quirrell opposite was ugly to the extreme. He stared fixedly at Hodu, his eyes full of disbelief, as if he had already realized that Hodu knew something.

This reaction naturally did not escape the eyes of McGonagall and Snape.

The two Professors furrowed their brows simultaneously; Quirrell's performance right now looked abnormal no matter how one looked at it.

Hodu proudly lifted its chin slightly, gesturing forward with the garlic.

"Your turn."

"No... no way!" Quirrell's expression turned exceptionally bizarre, mixed with a trace of resentment within the fear, "This is my privacy. You are fake, I won't take off my turban!"

Hodu's heart instantly grew more alert, and its body was also prepared to cast Apparition at any moment.

"Did you see that?" It stared closely at Quirrell, the corners of its mouth curving slightly upward, "He's already exposed himself."

This was the final play Hodu had prepared.

As long as it found a scapegoat to take the blame for everything on its behalf, once a larger commotion appeared, naturally no one would pay attention to its minor problems anymore.

"No!" Quirrell suddenly became agitated.

A flash of suspicion crossed Snape's eyes, and the wand in his hand also unconsciously changed direction, finally aiming at the real Quirrell.

"I think you have no choice." Snape stared at Quirrell, his voice terrifyingly cold.

Professor McGonagall also spoke to persuade: "Professor Quirrell, this matter is of great importance, you need to cooperate with us. If facts prove that what you said is true, I will apologize to you."

If Quirrell's expression and demeanor weren't exceptionally abnormal, McGonagall might not necessarily have requested him to take off his turban over this matter. After all, verifying identities had more than just this one method,

Chapter 61: The Green Phantom on Quirrell

"Who on earth are you? And how do you know all this?"

Quirrell's expression finally changed. No longer pretending to be timid and friendly, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes as he stared intently at Hodu.

Hodu, however, seemed oblivious to his hostility and replied casually, "Me? I'm Quirrell, of course."

It sounded like a joke, but both Snape and McGonagallknew that both Quirrells before them were suspicious. However, compared to the other, the one who had suddenly turned hostile was clearly far more dangerous.

The moment Quirrell's fingers twitched, Hodu smiled and warned, "Don't even think about reaching for your wand. They won't give you the chance to make a move."

He deliberately raised his voice, clearly prompting Snapeand McGonagall.

Hodu didn't believe Quirrell was all that formidable. Without a wand, he likely lacked the ability to cast any Unforgivable Curses. So, with things already at this point, what did he have to fear?

Seeing Quirrell looking so utterly stifled, Hodu felt rather pleased. If Quirrell was feeling frustrated, Lord Voldemort, who was parasitizing the back of his head, probably wasn't feeling any better.

Just the thought of making Lord Voldemort—the one who once terrified countless Wizards to the point where they dared not speak his name—suffer a setback was enough to make Hodu feel thoroughly satisfied.

As for the consequences of provoking Lord Voldemort, Hodu didn't care at all. The other party didn't even know who he was right now, and even if he did, so what? Today's Lord Voldemort was nothing more than a drowning dog who couldn't survive without his Horcruxes.

If he could actually find the locations of the Horcruxes, Hodu wouldn't mind destroying them one by one right in front of him.

Of course, Harry's situation was a different story. With Harry around, even if Lord Voldemort's physical body was destroyed, he still wouldn't truly die. This was also what gave Hodu the biggest headache at the moment.

"Professor Quirrell, hand over your wand to me for safekeeping, if you please?" McGonagall stared at Quirrell, her tone remaining stern. "I will take it myself. Until then, please do not make any movements, lest there be any misunderstanding."

Her gaze never left Quirrell.

In truth, McGonagall had already deduced who the real Quirrell was and recognized who the imposter was. But there was a much bigger issue at play here: the purple turban Quirrell always wore on his head.

There was definitely something wrong with that turban, and the issue was so severe that Quirrell would rather risk exposing his identity than take it off. Compared to someone pretending to be him, whatever was hidden beneath that turban was clearly far more serious.

Therefore, McGonagall decided to deal with the turban first.

"Very well," Quirrell said, as if completely giving up resistance, spreading his hands to McGonagall. "Just come and take it then."

Then, turning his words, he chin-gestured toward Hodu. "But this one is the fake. Aren't you worried he might suddenly cast a curse on you?"

This statement was not entirely without merit.

The students in the Great Hall, however, grew even more confused.

Was the one on the left the fake Quirrell, or was the one on the right the fake? Professor McGonagall clearly wanted to confiscate the wand of the person in front of her, and Snape's wand was also pointed right at him. Yet, the Professors' target seemed different from what they had guessed.

Everyone felt their minds turning into a jumbled mess, unable to even tell whom they should believe.

Hodu looked at Quirrell, smiling very relaxed. "I don't think you'll really hand over your wand. After all, you know very well in your heart that once you hand it over, you'll be locked up in Azkaban and never see the light of day again for the rest of your life."

He didn't explicitly state what crime Quirrell had committed, but he made the most crucial point clear.

Quirrell's eyes suddenly widened.

At this point, he was absolutely certain that the imposter wearing his face opposite him definitely knew some secrets, and deeply so.

McGonagall and Snape also grew solemn. What kind of crime would cause a person to be sent to Azkaban with absolutely no hope of ever getting out? That kind of punishment was perhaps even more tormenting than death itself.

With a single sentence, Hodu had backed Quirrell into a corner of no return.

He didn't even have the chance to raise his wand again. Snape was watching right beside him, and would absolutely not leave him any opening.

Quirrell didn't dare make any sudden moves, nor could he use Apparition to escape within Hogwarts. He lacked the leverage to fight desperately, and he couldn't even drag anyone down with him.

The feeling of being completely locked down made his face flush red. He wished he could tear Hodu to shreds right then and there, but in his line of sight, there was only a face identical to his own, wearing that persistently punchable smile.

Just as Quirrell was about to be driven mad by rage, Snapefinally made his move.

With a flick of his wand, a spell instantly flew toward Quirrell.

Quirrell had clearly been on guard for this moment. The instant the light of the spell appeared, he rolled violently to the side, narrowly evading the attack while whipping out his own wand.

But the moment he gripped his wand firmly, McGonagall's spell followed in rapid succession.

Hodu had no intention of staying behind to watch the fight. The instant the conflict erupted, he turned and ran toward the Great Hall doors.

This was the very opportunity he had been waiting for.

At this moment, Snape had to deal with Quirrell and had no spare energy to pursue him at the same time. As long as he widened the distance first, he would have a chance to escape.

McGonagall's spell struck Quirrell accurately. The wand in Quirrell's hand instantly spun out of his control, flying out of his grip and landing steadily in McGonagall's hand.

Snape coordinated extremely quickly, immediately following up with another spell. Quirrell didn't even have time to react before his body went limp and he collapsed unconscious to the ground.

On the other side, Hodu had already run to the entrance of the Great Hall.

He paused and looked back into the Great Hall.

Snape happened to notice this. With a cold snort, he raised his hand and shot a spell at him.

Hodu had already guessed that Snape wouldn't let him go easily. The moment Snape's wand turned, he dodged to the side a step ahead, and the spell whizzed past him.

Before Snape could launch a second attack, Hodu had already dashed out of the Great Hall.

If he could avoid exposing his Apparition, he would try his best not to. Fortunately, this plan was a success, and he had finally escaped.

Running around a corner and confirming he was out of Snape's line of sight, Hodu directly cast Apparition and returned to his dormitory.

By the time Snape rushed out of the Great Hall, there was already no trace of Hodu. He could only suppress his anger, snorting coldly as he returned to McGonagall's side.

Quirrell was still lying on the ground.

Snape reached out toward the purple turban, while McGonagall stood guard nearby to prevent Quirrell from suddenly waking up or any other accidents from occurring.

But just before his hand could touch the turban, a green shadow suddenly surged out of Quirrell's body.

It was so fast that McGonagall cast a spell almost on instinct. The spell seemed to hit the figure, yet it also seemed to pass right through it.

The green shadow did not linger, fleeing straight into the distance, and then actually passed directly through the wall, vanishing to the other side in the blink of an eye.

The students further away could only see a blurry green shadow and couldn't make out what it was at all. But McGonagall and Snape, who were standing closest, saw it with absolute clarity.

Both of them froze in place.

They stared at each other in disbelief, confirming the answer from each other's eyes. What the other saw was exactly the same as what they had seen.

How could they possibly fail to recognize that figure?

McGonagall's expression grew entirely grave.

She had never, in her wildest dreams, expected things to develop to this extent. Lord Voldemort had actually been hiding right under their noses, even lurking inside Hogwarts, which was packed with students.

If tonight's chaos hadn't occurred, they wouldn't have had any idea that Lord Voldemort was in the Castle. If things had dragged on, there was no telling how much longer he would have remained hidden, and all of them might have continued to be kept in the dark.

Snape was equally shocked.

He had originally thought that, at most, one of Lord Voldemort's subordinates had infiltrated Hogwarts; he never expected that the one who actually showed up would be Lord Voldemort himself. This outcome was completely beyond his expectations.

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Snape bent down and carefully searched Quirrell's body.

But he didn't find what he was looking for.

Snape's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

Was the Philosopher's Stone hidden somewhere else, or was it that the person who stole the Philosopher's Stonewasn't Lord Voldemort at all?

If the Philosopher's Stone had truly fallen into Lord Voldemort's hands, the most logical thing for him to do upon obtaining it would be to find a way to restore his physical body, rather than continuing to hide in Hogwarts.

Neither Snape nor McGonagall chased after that green phantom.

The Great Hall was full of students, and the most important thing right now was to ensure they weren't harmed. Moreover, with their experience, both of them could tell that it wasn't a normal living creature at all, but a soul.

A soul could even pass through walls; even if they chased after it, what could they possibly do to it?

McGonagall suddenly sighed.

Dumbledore had only been away from Hogwarts for a single day, yet the Castle had already seen a succession of troubles: a Troll, an imposter, Lord Voldemort, and Professor Quirrell. She had never felt Dumbledore was so irreplaceable before, but after just one day, she was already beginning to wish he would hurry back to clean up the mess.

In the end, Quirrell was left in Snape's custody, while McGonagall continued to search for the Troll in the Castle.

Hodu had already returned safely and soundly to his dormitory.

After returning, the first thing he did was wash off the smell of garlic on him. Having tossed and turned all night, he was indeed thoroughly exhausted.

As for how to explain things afterward, he had already thought it through.

He had been sleeping in his dormitory the whole time, so he knew absolutely nothing.

AI Model: gemini-3.5-flash-lite

This explanation made complete sense.

Who in their right mind would suspect a first-year student?

Unless they were a Troll, their brain wouldn't go down that path.

Thus, Hodu slept quite soundly.

After sleeping for only about an hour or two, the bed suddenly shook violently, and a series of shouts came ringing in his ears.

"Hodu! Hodu!"

Hodu opened his eyes, yawning as he sat up.

Standing by the bed were none other than Harry, Ron, and even Hermione was there.

It looked like they had already come out of the Great Hall.

"What's wrong?" Hodu stretched, pretending to know nothing about what was going on.

Harry immediately asked, "When did you get back to the dormitory?"

"Around dinnertime," Hodu replied very naturally. "When I came back, I didn't see you guys, and I was a bit tired, so I went to sleep first. What time is it now?"

This excuse had no flaws whatsoever.

Before dinner, he had indeed run back to his hometown for a trip, idling away some time watching TV.

That world was not the same as this one; although the historical trajectory was roughly the same, the people were different, so the TV programs still looked quite interesting.

When he returned to the dormitory, Harry and the others had already gone off to eat first.

Afterward, they remained trapped in the Great Hall, so naturally, they couldn't have come back and run into Hodu, nor could they possibly know he was lying.

"We worried about you all night!" Harry and Ron glared at him. "And it turns out you were just sleeping here in the dormitory?"

"What on earth happened?" Hodu continued to play dumb.

After that night in the Great Hall, he felt that his acting skills had clearly improved.

At least the few people in front of him didn't spot anything unusual.

Ron said with lingering fear, "Tonight's Great Hall was too terrifying. Two Quirrells were standing together, and no one could tell who was real at all."

"And Professor Quirrell was captured by Professor Snapeand the others." Hermione took over the conversation, still wearing a look of shock. "That one was the real Quirrell, oh god!"

Harry's face was a bit pale. "Later, there was also a green shadow that ran out of Professor Quirrell's body, looking like a ghost. Did any of you see what it looked like?"

When that green shadow appeared, the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead suddenly hurt fiercely.

Yet he hadn't seen the other party's appearance clearly.

Several of them shook their heads together.

"No, it ran too fast."

They were too far away; the only ones who could clearly see that shadow were probably the Professors who were close by.

Hermione, however, didn't relax because of this; instead, the more she thought about it, the more worried she became. "That impostor escaped. If it could disguise itself as a Professor this time, will it blend in among us next time? What if no one notices all along?"

As soon as this thought popped up, the few of them immediately imagined the scene of an impostor mixed in their midst.

It would be fine if it wasn't discovered, but once discovered, just thinking about it made one's scalp tingle.

Several of them shivered simultaneously, and even gave birth to the thought of simply dropping out of school.

Hogwarts was simply too terrifying.

"We can set a password," Harry thought for a moment. "Just like entering the Gryffindor Common Room, if anyone suspects someone, make them answer the password."

In the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall and the others used a similar method to confirm identities.

As long as the password wasn't leaked, at least a portion of the impostors could be filtered out first.

Ron and Hermione immediately expressed agreement.

Hermione said again, "We can also use magic pens to confirm. All five of us have one in our hands."

As she spoke, she glanced at Hodu.

Those magic pens were precisely what Hodu had given them.

"Alright." The other few had no objections either.

Yet right at this moment, Hodu swept his gaze over them and suddenly asked instinctively, "Then how do you prove that I'm real?"

The air suddenly fell silent.

The next moment, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the other person simultaneously turned their heads, staring in terror at Hodu.

The four of them sprang back almost simultaneously, huddling together with their backs against the wall, none daring to approach him.

They had always acted together and hadn't separated after coming out of the Great Hall, so their identities could mutually vouch for each other.

But Hodu was different.

When they returned to the dormitory, Hodu was already lying in bed.

Who could guarantee that the one on the bed was Hoduand not an impostor?

Thinking of this, a chill surged up in the hearts of several people.

Having a familiar person around you quietly replaced was even more terrifying than a Professor being impersonated.

They had just been discussing the password, only to realize in the blink of an eye that they might have already been staying in the same room with an impostor, and they almost broke down on the spot.

Hodu hadn't expected an offhand probe to have such a big effect, and could only awkwardly raise his hand to scratch his head.

He guaranteed that sentence was truly an instinctive reaction.

Probably because there were too many impostors seen this night, the aftereffects suddenly flared up.

Unfortunately, his friends clearly didn't think so.

This chaos did not immediately end the next day.

Everyone in the Castle felt endangered, and when meeting, there was almost no trust to speak of.

Students questioned each other's identities, tried every means to test each other, and even the Professors were no exception.

Professor McGonagall had a terrible headache because of this and could only hope that Dumbledore would return quickly.

After capturing Quirrell last night, Snape force-fed him Veritaserum overnight to interrogate him.

The result was much as he guessed; Quirrell confessed the process of being possessed by Lord Voldemort and also made clear what he had done during this period.

However, there was also news in the interrogation results that made Snape breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Lord Voldemort had not obtained the Philosopher's Stone.

Although no one knew who had stolen the Philosopher's Stone, as long as it hadn't fallen into Lord Voldemort's hands, it was something to be grateful for.

As for Lord Voldemort's current state, it was still extremely wretched, and he hadn't recovered a physical body at all.

After obtaining definite news, Snape sent out an owl overnight to deliver a letter to Dumbledore.

He requested Dumbledore to come back first to deal with Quirrell.

To prevent Quirrell from having any more issues, Snapecould only guard him personally, ensuring that the other party couldn't leave his sight for even a moment.

The Great Hall the next morning was still noisy.

As soon as someone raised a question, someone nearby immediately answered.

Last night's events became everyone's talking points, with everyone exchanging the parts they saw, trying to piece together the complete truth from the chaos.

Right at this moment, Malfoy, with his blond hair slicked back, walked into the Great Hall with two cronies.

Harry and Ron spotted him at the first instance.

The two exchanged glances, wicked smiles appearing on their faces simultaneously, and then shouted loudly at Malfoy, "Mr. Malfoy, you really are so smart!"

The voice was loud enough for the entire Great Hall to hear.

After a brief pause, laughter immediately erupted all around.

Everyone who had witnessed last night's impersonation incident firsthand understood what this sentence meant.

That was something the fake Quirrell had said personally, which could be considered a public endorsement of Malfoy.

Everyone was played around in circles last night, yet Malfoy had jumped out himself, becoming the most conspicuous joke.

Malfoy's face instantly turned flushed red, so angry as if he was about to explode immediately.

He glared fiercely at Harry and Ron, not even bothering to eat breakfast, and turned around to leave the Great Hall.

Harry and Ron watched his retreating figure, smiling exceptionally happily.

Malfoy, who usually always held his chin up and acted like a proud rooster, finally had a time when he got deflated.

Even better, anyone could guess that this phrase "You really are so smart" would probably follow him for a full seven years.

Yet no matter how pleasant the mood was, it would quickly vanish after classes started.

Not long after the History of Magic Class began, several of them had already experienced this point.

Professor Binns lectured on the course content in a flat, uninflected voice. After listening for a while, Hodu began to zone out, plotting his own affairs in his mind.

After all that tossing and turning last night, he had finally completed the full fusion of the Boggart.

Now, he still had two fusion slots left.

One of the slots must be reserved for an S-class lifeform.

Hodu temporarily decided to put the True Dragon in.

Even if it turned out in the end not to be the most suitable choice, he wouldn't lose out.

That was a True Dragon that only appeared in myth and legend, and placed in this world, it also belonged to an extremely rare existence.

The other slot had to be considered seriously.

After clashing with the Troll last night, Hodu even had the thought of fusing with a Troll.

That kind of creature might bring about characteristics related to strength.

But after much thought, he gave up this plan.

Find some time, he prepared to sneak into the Library of the United Academy to check first if there were suitable magical animals from his hometown for fusion.

Of course, there was no need to keep the scope restricted only to his hometown.

The magical creatures in this world were equally numerous, and there were still many objects that could be chosen.

For example, Cornish Pixies had already been included in Hodu's candidate list.

What he was considering of course wasn't a House-elf, but that small, iron-blue creature.

They loved playing pranks, and the most special thing was that they could fly without wings.

Most other magical creatures capable of flight had to rely on wings.

Yet Cornish Pixies didn't even need wings; this ability looked valuable no matter how you looked at it.

Only when thinking about the exclusive quests the system might issue, Hodu felt a bit uneasy again.

What if the quest content was still a prank...

Chapter 62: The Academy Dean in the Library

Nowadays, Hogwarts has almost become a place where you have to exchange passwords first thing upon meeting.

If this keeps up a few more times, the students might drop out in droves and return to the era of homeschooling.

The second option he was considering was the Demiguise.

That was an ape-like creature whose hair could be used to weave Invisibility Cloaks. Unfortunately, Demiguises were already rare, and even their hair was hard to find on the market.

However, the Demiguise was not entirely irreplaceable.

There was another creature that could also turn invisible, and it wasn't nearly as rare—the Demiguise. It was a crossbreed between the Demiguise and the Ghoul; although it inherited the ability to turn invisible, its hair couldn't be used to make Invisibility Cloaks. Perhaps because of this, they weren't as precious as the Demiguise.

Hodu was in no hurry to decide which one to fuse, planning to head to the Library first to look up some information.

No sooner said than done. As soon as the lunch break arrived, he appeared directly at the United Academy.

Near the Yujian Stone Tower, Huo Yunqi appeared as usual, still maintaining his previous appearance. Upon seeing Hodu, he immediately walked over, even proactively refusing to let several of his lackeys follow him.

The group stayed behind, peering over curiously. When one of them got a clear look at Hodu's face, his expression instantly changed.

He recognized this person.

It was the guy who had stopped him at the Yujian Stone Tower last time.

After being stopped that time, he had been inexplicably buried alive. Even after being rescued, he would have nightmares at night, with Hodu's transformed face repeatedly appearing in his dreams.

Although there was actually no connection between the two events, he instinctively believed that the person who buried him alive was that man. The problem was, no one would believe him if he said it out loud.

Now, seeing that Huo Yunqi actually knew the guy, he almost doubted his own eyes.

As soon as Huo Yunqi approached, he spoke impatiently, "The person who appeared here last time was you, right?"

His tone sounded like a question, but his attitude was as certain as could be.

He was naturally referring to what Hodu had done in the Yujian Stone Tower last time.

When that lackey had returned from the Hospital Wing, he found that many people along the way actually greeted him warmly, their expressions friendlier than the next, as if he had suddenly become some sort of celebrity. Even Huo Yunqi, as a member of the Huo Clan and part of the privileged class, had never enjoyed such treatment.

Faced with Huo Yunqi's questioning, the lackey's eyes widened, and he repeatedly denied it as if he had seen a ghost.

What kind of joke was this? Where would he get the money to buy a deluxe peach wood sword?

Only then did Huo Yunqi realize that the person who had won so much face for the Huo Clan was actually an imposter.

And the first person he thought of was his "dear uncle". The deluxe peach wood sword was originally bought by Hodu anyway, and combined with this disguise, it perfectly fit the other party's style no matter how one looked at it.

Hearing this, Hodu was stunned for a moment before remembering what Huo Yunqi was referring to. It had been a while, and he had almost forgotten about it.

"Haha, it was just a small scene," he laughed rather proudly. "Was your uncle cool back then?"

"How on earth did you do it?" Huo Yunqi immediately pressed. "You had just gotten the peach wood sword. Is there some trick to it?"

"What, you want to learn?"

Hodu raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Huo Yunqi to be so interested in this kind of thing.

"Of course I do," Huo Yunqi answered flatly. "Will you teach me?"

If he didn't want to learn, why would he run all the way here during his brief one- or two-hour lunch break? Wouldn't it be much more comfortable to just stay back and rest?

"You can't learn it," Hodu waved his hand with a grin. "This thing relies on talent. Never mind that you're just my nephew—even if you truly inherited my bloodline, you still might not be able to learn a single thing."

A flash of disappointment crossed Huo Yunqi's eyes, but he quickly masked it.

Hodu didn't tease him further and changed the subject, asking, "The matter I asked you to handle before—has the Yu Family researched any results yet?"

Hearing him mention this, the curiosity on Huo Yunqi's face grew even stronger: "Where on earth did you get that thing?"

At first, his friend from the Yu Family hadn't taken the matter seriously. It was only out of respect for Huo Yunqithat he reluctantly agreed to take the item back to let the family's Wizards study it.

Who would have thought that a few days later, the other party would constantly pester Huo Yunqi, asking over and over about the origin of that thing, saying he had never seen such blood before.

Huo Yunqi, of course, didn't answer. The Yu Family member didn't press too hard either, but before long, he actually offered to buy more of the same blood.

The price offered by the other party was several times higher than the deluxe peach wood sword he had bought for Hodu, which almost shocked Huo Yunqi. He hadn't expected that thing to be worth so much money.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any more of that blood in his hands either.

Since then, his friend had been pestering him almost every single day.

"You don't need to worry about this," Hodu replied very casually, looking at the figures shuttling back and forth inside the stone tower.

"The Yu Family has already offered a high price. You don't plan to sell?" Huo Yunqi continued to ask.

Hodu didn't answer the question directly. "Have they researched anything?"

"How could it be so fast?" Huo Yunqi shook his head. "There are no results yet."

"Then we'll wait until they figure something out before talking about it."

The Yu Family's reaction didn't surprise Hodu. That drop of blood was a product of stacked multiple system traits, so its value naturally couldn't be calculated like ordinary blood.

Moreover, when he drew that drop of blood back then, he hadn't yet stacked his "Treasure All Over" trait to the ten-thousand-fold level. If the Yu Family saw his current blood, they would probably go crazy on the spot.

Killing someone to seize such a treasure was not out of the question.

Hodu finally steered the topic back to what he really cared about: "Are there any restrictions on entering your Academy's Library?"

Hearing this, Huo Yunqi immediately understood his meaning. His expression changed slightly, and after glancing around to ensure no one was near, he lowered his voice and replied:

"If ordinary students want to go in, they have to exchange their merit points for a token first, and they're also subject to time limits. The Library is divided into several areas, and the merit points required for each area are different. Before entering, you must exchange for the corresponding token, otherwise you'll trigger the guardian magic inside."

Hodu's eyes flickered as he quickly calculated in his head.

As long as one got a token, it didn't sound that troublesome.

"What if they aren't ordinary students?" He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say you're a member of the Huo Clan? Aren't the books in the Library basically your family's?"

A bitter smile immediately appeared on Huo Yunqi's face.

Sure enough, he had asked about this.

"I never said such a thing," he quickly corrected. "The Huo Clan only provided a fifth of them at most. We do have special tokens, but giving that kind of token to you would be useless. Its creation involves bloodline magic, so only the owner can use it. Even if you use a Multiform Potion to turn into me, you can only mimic my appearance; you can't fool bloodline magic."

In the past, there had been no shortage of self-proclaimed clever Wizards who tried to sneak in, but they were almost always caught red-handed.

The consequences of sneaking into the Library without authorization are very severe. At best, one faces academic probation and disciplinary action; at worst, direct expulsion.

Of course, this kind of punishment is already considered lenient. In the old days, if someone sneaked into a clan school Library and got caught, it was hard to say if they would even make it out alive.

Speaking of this, Huo Yunqi suddenly thought of something else.

Hodu wasn't even an Academy student. Even if he got caught, he couldn't be expelled; at worst, he would be handed over to the Ministry of Justice.

Thus, he hastily began to advise him with earnest words: "Don't do anything rash. If this is really discovered, it will be extremely troublesome..."

Before he could finish, Hodu had already outstretched a hand toward him.

Huo Yunqi's face fell instantly.

Knowing he couldn't escape it, he had no choice but to reach into his robe and fish out a jade token. The jade token was engraved with the character "Huo", which was precisely the token used by members of the Huo Clan.

"Make sure you don't get caught," Huo Yunqi didn't forget to warn him as he handed over the jade token. "If you get caught, I'll be in trouble too."

"What does it have to do with you?" Hodu took the jade token and glared at him. "Can't you just say you lost your token?"

Huo Yunqi was stunned for a moment, then raised a hand to slap his own forehead.

Right, why did he suddenly become so stupid?

Hodu casually pocketed the jade token, turned, and walked away.

It wasn't until the other party had walked some distance away that Huo Yunqi suddenly snapped out of it.

"Wait, no! If he gets caught and sent to the Ministry of Justice, won't I still suffer?"

Under truth serum, anything could be pried out. If the clan found out he had willingly helped someone sneak into the Library, the consequences would definitely not be pretty.

Huo Yunqi immediately stood up, wanting to call Hoduback, but by then Hodu was already far away, with no sign of him to be seen.

After leaving the stone tower, Hodu immediately transformed into Huo Yunqi's appearance.

AI Model: gemini-3.5-flash-lite

Right now, his Self-Transformation already possessed a ten-thousand-fold trait.

After ten thousand folds of stacking, this change was so realistic that it was virtually flawless, even giving him a feeling: what Self-Transformation changed might not just be the body, but even the soul seemed to have changed along with it.

It was precisely because of this certainty that he dared to take Huo Yunqi's token and try to sneak into the Library.

Even if the worst-case scenario happened, there was no way he would be caught on the spot.

Hodu did not use Apparition to break in directly; instead, he walked all the way there, preparing to go in under the identity of Huo Yunqi.

Soon, an ancient-style building appeared before him.

At the entrance of the Library, two stone lions stood guard.

As soon as Hodu approached, the stone lions moved.

They opened their bloody maws, and one of them barked at him: "Show your token!"

The voice carried an unquestionable majesty.

Hodu said nothing and reached out to take out the jade tablet.

The moment the jade tablet appeared, the building doors burst open with a loud bang.

The two stone lions crawled back down, even lazily letting out a yawn.

Hodu's expression remained unchanged as he passed through the wooden door and walked into the building.

The next moment, the scene before his eyes changed abruptly.

The interior space, which didn't look very large originally, seemed to be instantly elongated by a force, and his vision stretched out at once.

Undetectable Extension Charm.

Hodu was certainly familiar with this magic.

On the surface, the Library had several floors, but books were actually only placed on the first floor.

The second floor was the Dean's office, and further inside, one could still see a staircase leading to the second floor, with its end connected to a wooden door.

The wooden door was tightly shut at the moment; it seemed the Dean was not in the office.

Hodu was not the only person in the building; there were also some students nearby.

Those people more or less recognized him transformed into Huo Yunqi, after all, privileged students of this kind were rare in the academy.

Yet not a single person proactively came over to greet him.

Speaking was forbidden inside the Library.

Whoever made a sound would be directly expelled by the protective magic, and even children of wealthy families received no special treatment.

Besides keeping silent, there were other rules here, such as not damaging books.

Hodu slowly searched among the rows of bookshelves, his target being books related to magical creatures.

The books collected here were extremely numerous, and their contents could be described as all-encompassing.

No wonder United Academy could regard the Library as a part of its family heritage.

As he lowered his head to search through them, a person suddenly appeared ahead.

To be precise, the other party wasn't blocking the way, just standing in front of a bookshelf, holding a book in his hands.

Hodu looked up and found that the person was not a student, but a middle-aged uncle.

The other party had grayish-white medium-long hair; this hairstyle could still be considered fashionable even twenty or thirty years later.

His facial features were very well-formed, giving off somewhat of a celebrity vibe.

When he smiled, his body carried a distinct masculine charm; when he put on a stern face, it revealed a sense of majesty.

Sparse beard was left around his lips and chin, which showed that it was trimmed frequently, and the sides of his cheeks were lean and well-shaped.

When Hodu looked over, that person happened to look at him as well.

Their gazes collided.

This guy really didn't look bad; it would be enough for him to become a star.

Hodu instinctively thought this while guessing the other person's identity.

Speaking was not allowed here, so the other person should be an academy Professor, otherwise he wouldn't even know how to address him.

He immediately wore a smile and nodded gently toward the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man also smiled.

As expected, this guy was even more charming when he smiled.

When he was young, he must have deceived quite a few young girls.

"I have an old friend who once evaluated me like this." The middle-aged man looked at him, smiled, and nodded as he spoke.

Hodu's first thought was that this person actually violated the rules of the Library and started speaking.

Immediately afterward, his expression changed drastically.

Legilimency!

This fellow had just used Legilimency on him!

"I actually didn't want to be so rude." The smile on the middle-aged uncle's face did not disappear, "I just sensed that you had quite a few thoughts about me, so I was a bit curious."

"Perhaps we can chat." The middle-aged man continued, "You've been here so many times, you should at least say hello to the owner of this place."

Just as Hodu was about to use Apparition to leave, upon hearing these words, his expression changed once again.

The next second, his figure vanished from the spot.

Upon returning to Hogwarts, Hodu was still somewhat apprehensive and uncertain.

His very first suspicion was that Huo Yunqi had told others about his affairs, making the other party wait for him in the Library in advance.

However, he really should have thought of this situation long ago.

In the past, it was always him proactively looking for Huo Yunqi, and as long as there were adult Wizards nearby, he wouldn't approach easily.

As for Huo Yunqi, he was just an underage young Wizard, to be honest, he had never truly taken him seriously.

When he first met Huo Yunqi, his Tough Skin had already shown initial results.

It was precisely relying on this ability that he dared to step into the Magical World back in his hometown, where even if the other party launched a sneak attack, it would be difficult to hurt him.

Later, when Tough Skin stacked to the ten-thousand-fold trait, he cared about Huo Yunqi even less, and his vigilance unconsciously relaxed.

He never expected that someone would be lying in wait for him this time.

Hodu even suspected that Huo Yunqi had already notified the people at the academy in advance, which was why someone was waiting for him in the Library.

Giving it a second thought, things weren't as terrible as all that.

Generally speaking, as long as it wasn't an Unforgivable Curse, even if he fell into danger, he wouldn't be completely devoid of room to fight back.

As for United Academy, no matter how one looked at it, nobody seemed like they would cast Unforgivable Cursescasually; after all, such spells were likewise banned back in his hometown.

Having figured it out, Hodu let out a breath of relief.

When all was said and done, this was just his first time encountering Legilimency; the feeling of having one's thoughts directly read by someone else was indeed frightening, but the magic itself didn't seem as terrifying as he had imagined just now.

Hodu transformed again and returned to United Academy.

As long as he didn't let adult Wizards get close to him, he wouldn't be in any danger.

After confirming this point, he began searching for Huo Yunqi's location.

The other party was no longer near the Imperial Sword Stone Pagoda.

After a while, Hodu found Huo Yunqi among the crowds of passing students.

At this moment, Huo Yunqi was holding a book in his arms, looking like he was getting ready to go to class.

Hodu blocked his way with a gloomy expression.

Seeing this, Huo Yunqi's few underlings immediately turned cold in expression, obviously treating Hodu as someone who had come specifically to make trouble.

One of them had just gripped his fan, preparing to do something, when Huo Yunqi hurriedly stopped him.

"He's one of us, don't act rashly."

Hodu directly put his arm around Huo Yunqi's shoulder and said in an unkind tone: "Let's go, find a quiet place to have a good chat."

Upon arriving at the place, he immediately questioned: "Who did you tell about my affairs?"

Seeing this expression of his, Huo Yunqi already had a guess in his heart.

Hodu usually always wore a smile, but today he was clearly abnormal. Coupled with this questioning sentence, the answer was already ready to come out.

He hurriedly raised his hand to swear: "Absolutely not! I haven't even told anyone in the family. I can swear by the reputation of the entire Huo Clan!"

Seeing him answer so firmly, Hodu's expression softened slightly.

"What on earth did you encounter?" Huo Yunqi asked carefully, "I even specifically instructed my girlfriend; she shouldn't tell either. That matter has no benefit to her, she has no reason to talk nonsense."

Only then did Hodu recount what he had encountered in the Library.

After listening, Huo Yunqi's expression also became ugly.

He had already guessed who the person Hodu ran into was.

"That is the Dean of the academy!"

When Huo Yunqi said these words, his tone was extremely heavy.

Hodu was not surprised.

From that middle-aged man's words, he had actually already guessed the other party's identity, but he just hadn't expected the Dean of the academy to look so young.

What he couldn't figure out was why the other party would know about his affairs.

Could the Dean have been waiting for him there all along?

Hodu pondered rapidly in his heart.

Could United Academy possess some kind of monitoring magic?

This was just like how he had snuck into the Chamber of Secrets to take the Philosopher's Stone back then, only to be discovered by Dumbledore in the end.

If Huo Yunqi truly hadn't leaked the secret, it could only mean that he had previously underestimated this Magical World.

Methods that Hogwarts didn't have did not mean United Academy didn't have them either.

When he usually used Apparition to appear at United Academy, he probably had been detected by some magiclong ago.

Since the Marauder's Map could even name people, United Academy could certainly possess something similar, and that thing was very likely controlled by the academy itself all along.

Thinking of this, Hodu realized that his previous judgment had been far too presumptuous.

However, taking a lesson now wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Hodu's gaze gradually returned to clarity, and his emotions also stabilized once again.

After all, he was just a first-grade elementary student, and didn't understand much about magic; that was completely normal to begin with

Chapter 63 Hodu Leaves Hogwarts After Realizing Identity Crisis

The more Hodu pondered, the more absurd it felt.

Judging by this, wouldn't United Academy be watching the entire Academy extremely closely?

The students' meager freedom was probably stripped away long ago.

Perhaps the first time it appeared there, it had already entered someone's sight.

It's just that the other party never came to settle accounts with it.

Since no one came knocking on the door, naturally it wouldn't foolishly run off to surrender.

That thing called Legilimency was truly overbearing.

As soon as its eyes met with the Dean, the other party grasped the thoughts swirling in its mind.

The last time Hodu had this feeling was when it sat on the Sorting Hat.

Yet the Sorting Hat wasn't a living Wizard, so it didn't feel anything was wrong at the time.

However, that Dean from United Academy was different.

Legilimency powerful to a certain degree could even dig things out from a person's memories.

That Dean was even too lazy to chant spells, and its methods were probably no less than Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort, practically unfathomably proficient.

A name suddenly popped into Hodu's mind.

Wampus Cat.

That was also one of the emblems of the four houses of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in North America.

This kind of magical creature was born knowing Legilimency, considered innate magic.

The problem was that Wampus Cat materials could not be seen on the market at all; they were even rarer and more valuable than things from a Dragon.

Hodu felt that it could first record it into the alternatives.

However, if it really wanted to fuse, the difficulty was probably not low anywhere either.

None of the representative creatures of the other three houses of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were to be trifled with either.

Especially Horned Serpent House and Thunderbird House, their abilities were both very exaggerated.

The Horned Serpent was astonishingly huge, with a gemstone embedded in its forehead.

It was said that it could fly and also conceal its traces.

Hodu had seen portraits before, and its first reaction was a scabby snake with Dragon horns on top, its appearance really not very majestic.

Ugly as it was, this thing rarely appeared and hid in rivers and oceans.

That kind of place was not an area where Wizards were good at operating.

The Thunderbird was not simple either; it could both summon storms and detect danger in advance.

The skills of these magical creatures were indeed covetable, but Hodu estimated that their fusion level was at least A-grade.

Fusing with the Dragon last time was already troublesome enough, and it temporarily didn't want to touch such hard-to-crack high-level targets.

Besides, if it really wanted to challenge that kind of difficulty, it might as well covet Dumbledore's pet Phoenix.

"Then is your identity discovered by someone?" Huo Yunqisuddenly spoke, his voice carrying a bit of panic, "Will I also get into trouble along with you?"

Hodu's train of thought was interrupted, and it raised a hand to pinch its chin: "Should... not be to that extent, right."

This statement was not spoken with much confidence.

If United Academy really had something similar to the Marauder's Map, then the few times it met with Huo Yunqiwould probably have been seen by people long ago.

However, this time it unauthorizedly broke into the Library, which was considered a serious violation of school rules in the eyes of the students.

The Dean clearly ran into it, yet didn't immediately take action, and its speech wasn't cold or hard either, instead possessing a bit of goodwill.

Viewed this way, Huo Yunqi might not necessarily be implicated.

Yet Huo Yunqi didn't feel at ease because of this; instead, his expression became even more chaotic.

Being expelled from United Academy was no child's play.

Whether he went to the academy or not actually didn't have much impact.

The Huo Clan's resources were sufficient to cultivate him.

But if he were truly driven out, he would become a laughingstock in others' mouths.

Not to mention he was still the direct lineage of the Huo Clan main branch; what would be lost wasn't just his own face, but also the face of the Huo Clan.

At least right now the head of the Huo Clan was still his grandfather, so his direct lineage identity could still be considered stable.

Precisely because of this, the consequences were even uglier.

Seeing that he couldn't keep his composure, Hodu casually patted his shoulder: "There's nothing much to being kicked out anyway. At worst, I'll compensate you and guarantee you will sit in the position of the Huo Clan head in the future."

After listening, Huo Yunqi didn't receive the slightest bit of comfort.

The matter had already blown up, and he had no way to change anything further, so he could only forcibly suppress the panic in his heart and make himself look a bit calmer.

"Right, there's something I've wanted to ask for a long time." Huo Yunqi stared at Hodu, "When I used the clan's jade pendant for sensing, why can I completely no longer sense your bloodline now?"

Hodu's gaze shifted slightly, and it immediately guessed the reason.

Its Self-Transformation had even replaced its own core.

It was completely normal for that jade pendant to fail.

"It's just a jade pendant, is it really that hard for me to dodge it?" Hodu's tone was casual, "There are so many people surnamed Huo in the academy; if I didn't even have this bit of means, my cover would have been blown long ago."

Huo Yunqi didn't pursue the questioning further.

Since the questions in Hodu's heart had already been solved, it directly waved its hand to shoo people away: "Alright, you go back first."

Waiting until Huo Yunqi walked far away, Hodu gazed at the other's back, its gaze slowly sinking.

Judging from the words the Dean said previously, the other party seemed to want to have a good talk with it.

But Hodu didn't have this interest at all.

Who would have nothing better to do than run over to chat with a Wizard who played extremely well with Legilimency?

Wasn't that delivering one's head over for others to rummage through?

Perhaps it should learn Occlumency.

This magic could not only guard against the academy Dean, but also provide an extra layer of protection when encountering other Legilimency experts in the future.

Yet Occlumency wasn't so easy to master.

To get started, it most likely needed someone to guide it.

Yet during teaching, the other party would very likely cast Legilimency on it, a point Hodu completely could not accept.

Fumbling around on its own? That would require sufficient talent.

Hodu thought about it and still gave up.

Rather than wasting time gambling on whether it could succeed in self-studying, it was better to search for whether there were any traits that could resist Legilimency.

With a turn of its thought, it thought of Snape again.

That fellow was equally proficient in this kind of magic.

Could its previous true identity have already been seen through by Snape?

Hodu's brows knitted tightly, and it began to recall the events of that night.

The time it truly interacted with Snape was when it turned into Quirrell and broke into the Great Hall.

At that time, Snape obviously didn't recognize its disguise and was directly fooled by it; otherwise, it wouldn't have been left together with those students.

This at least showed that Snape wouldn't use Legilimencyon everyone for no reason.

Before being suspicious, that fellow probably wouldn't randomly look at other people's thoughts.

And at that time, through a fluke, Snape smelled the temporarily added scent on its body, yet instead didn't suspect it.

Yet later, Quirrell met with Snape and McGonagall outside the Great Hall.

After Snape came back, it definitely used Legilimency on it, but Hodu simply wasn't aware of it at the time.

Hodu slowly let out a breath.

The situation was much more troublesome than it had anticipated.

When Snape stayed in the Great Hall, it was probably already clear that it was fake, yet still allowed it to confront Quirrell.

That person mostly saw something out of its thoughts.

Hodu raised a hand to press its temple.

What on earth was it thinking at that time?

The memories were somewhat blurry.

Nothing more than acting out the trick completely, finding an opportunity to exit, and then exposing Quirrell's identity before leaving.

In other words, Snape was just going along with the current.

That fellow clearly knew the truth from falsehood, yet kept its mouth shut, learned from Hodu that Quirrell had a problem, and then borrowed Hodu's hand to tear off Quirrell's true face.

Hodu didn't care much about these things.

What it cared about most was only one thing: whether Snape already knew who it was.

Logically speaking, at that time its attention was entirely focused on acting and Quirrell, and it hadn't gone to think about its own background.

As long as its thoughts didn't lean over there, it was impossible to expose its identity.

No matter how strong Legilimency was, it only captured a person's currently surfaced thoughts.

Even if it could bring out memories, the current thought had to evoke the relevant memories.

Sometimes, this magic still had to rely on language to guide it.

In other words, as long as it didn't think about it, Snapecouldn't discover its true identity.

Wasn't this precisely the principle of Occlumency?

Hodu relaxed slightly in its heart.

Legilimency really wasn't omnipotent.

The next second, its entire body suddenly froze.

After Snape came back, it seemed to have asked it a question: "Just what kind of person are you?"

Hodu's expression changed instantly, and it took a deep breath.

This time it was probably truly finished.

Its identity had mostly been dug out.

As to why there was nothing wrong until now, as if it had truly deceived everyone, the reason was probably only one.

Dumbledore was not at the school.

Snape had to watch Quirrell and couldn't spare a hand to deal with it.

Moreover, Snape knew that Hodu hadn't yet realized its identity was leaked, so naturally there was no need to rush into alerting the snake by beating the grass.

Hodu's pupils shrank violently, and cold sweat oozed out from its back.

If it hadn't bumped into the United Academy Dean today and personally suffered another instance of Legilimency, it might still have been kept completely in the dark.

By the time Albus Dumbledore returned, he probably would have been surrounded by people, still unaware of how he had fallen.

And just as Hodu was thinking things were getting worse and worse, Albus Dumbledore had already returned to Hogwarts, standing right inside the Principal's office.

"Severus, I have read your letter." Albus Dumbledorelooked serious as he gazed at Snape. "You could have waited for me to return before dealing with Quirrell."

"I only discovered that Quirrell was acting strange." Snape's face was expressionless. "I had no idea that person was hiding inside his body."

Albus Dumbledore stared at Snape for a moment, as if trying to discern how much truth there was to those words.

Afterwards, he did not continue dwelling on the matter of Quirrell.

Snape was very talented in Occlumency, and Albus Dumbledore couldn't easily see through his lies like he could with others.

"Can you be certain that it was that Gryffindor child who took the Philosopher's Stone?" Albus Dumbledore asked.

"I saw the memory of him holding the Philosopher's Stone." Snape replied coldly. "And Quirrell never touched the Philosopher's Stone at all. He couldn't even pass the three-headed dog obstacle."

By the end of it, a trace of sarcasm curled the corners of Snape's mouth.

In fact, Hodu had indeed had a fleeting thought back in the Great Hall.

He had considered whether to show off in front of Lord Voldemort that the Philosopher's Stone had actually been taken by himself.

In the end, he didn't say the words out loud, but the thought had already appeared, so Snape naturally saw the corresponding memory.

"I remember, he is Hannah's child..." Albus Dumbledoresighed softly. "Back then, her father sent her to the East with the intention of not letting her get involved in that storm. She did avoid it, but unfortunately..."

"How could he take the Philosopher's Stone right under your nose?" Snape frowned, clearly unable to understand.

A gleam flickered in Albus Dumbledore's eyes, but his tone carried a sense of emotion: "He left using Apparition right in front of me. That child is only eleven years old."

"Apparition cannot be used within Hogwarts." Snapeimmediately questioned.

"That is why it is surprising." Albus Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't know how he managed it either."

"I'll go bring him here." Snape's voice was icy.

Had Quirrell not delayed him, he should have long since caught that little fellow who had played them for fools over and over again.

Albus Dumbledore watched Snape turn and leave, making no sound to stop him. He believed that as a Professor, Snape would know how to exercise restraint when facing a first-year student.

He also believed that with Snape's strength, he could keep Hodu behind before he could use Apparition.

On the other hand, Hodu's state was no better than Huo Yunqi's earlier.

Since his identity was likely exposed, the most direct thought in his mind was to run.

If this place doesn't welcome me, there are other places that do.

Actually, disguising himself as a Professor was at most considered a prank. He hadn't really hurt anyone, and at worst, he would just receive some punishment.

But once he was brought before Albus Dumbledore and Legilimency was used, even the secret of the Philosopher's Stone wouldn't be safe.

In that case, it was better to retreat before things got out of control.

After figuring this out, Hodu used Treasure Sensing to check and discovered that Albus Dumbledore had actually returned to Hogwarts.

Who knew if that old man was already preparing to catch him.

However, he couldn't just ignore everything and disappear directly either.

Hodu immediately used Apparition to return to Hogwarts, hurrying all the way back to the dormitories. Harry and the others were using their lunch break to play wizards chess.

He pulled a piece of parchment from the table and had a magic fountain pen write rapidly.

When the pen stopped, Hodu didn't pack any luggage, nor did he say goodbye to Harry and the others. He turned around, left the dormitory, and once again cast Apparitionto leave the Castle.

Of course, before leaving, he made a trip to the dungeons of Hogwarts and took the Philosopher's Stone as well.

Afterwards, he returned to the Beijing villa, sat down on the living room sofa, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it wasn't like he had nowhere else to go.

It was just that the situation with Hannah was really a bit hard to explain.

He couldn't just directly tell her that he had fooled the entire school around and then ran away out of a guilty conscience, could he?

Needless to say, no matter what he said, he was bound to get a beating.

However, this wasn't much. Given the maternal bond, Hannah wouldn't actually do anything to him.

Hodu thought for a moment, took out some paper, and began to write a letter. After finishing, he nodded with satisfaction and folded the paper.

With a flash of Apparition, he appeared in his own upstairs room.

Movements came from downstairs from time to time, indicating that Hannah was right below.

Hodu immediately activated transformation, his body rapidly shrinking, and in the blink of an eye, he turned into an owl, exactly identical to his Gili.

The letter was held in his beak, and his wings were spread out.

Thud!

He took a leap, landing quite straight, and finally smashed heavily onto the floor.

Hodu quickly climbed back up and shook his head.

It was normal to run into a few hitches flying with wings for the first time.

He flapped his wings once more, struggling to control his direction. Flying was much more tiring than sword-riding; flapping his wings was laborious, and he estimated he wouldn't last long before losing strength.

Flying crookedly out of the room, he just wanted to head down the stairs when his body suddenly lost balance.

Hodu panicked and flapped his wings fiercely, but the more he flapped, the more chaotic it became, and the entire owl plummeted straight toward the first floor.

The hard floor he expected was not hit.

The landing spot was soft and carried warmth.

Hodu opened his eyes to look, only to find that he had landed right in Hannah's hands.

"...My son is actually sending me a letter?" Hannahrecognized Gili, and a hint of surprise appeared on her face.

She pulled the letter from Hodu's beak and placed this owl on the ground.

Hannah opened the letter and read it word by word.

Her expression became more and more colorful, her mouth slowly opening in sheer disbelief. By the time she reached the end, her face turned completely dark.

Catching sight of her expression, Hodu moved a little further away out of instinct.

He had already given up on normal flying, only flapping his wings lightly a few times to jump onto the stairs, then climbing up step by step.

At this moment, Hannah couldn't care less about that transformed owl.

Her expression changed constantly, and she almost cried out.

Her son had stolen the Philosopher's Stone?!

That was the Philosopher's Stone, which could be used to refine the Elixir of Life; there was only one such piece in the entire world!

The letter also said that because of this, Hodu had run off to the East to seek refuge with a relative and hide from the spotlight for a while.

He also stated clearly that he already knew about his father being disowned by the family. But a nephew was willing to temporarily support him, so Hannah didn't need to worry.

If Albus Dumbledore came knocking because of this matter, he hoped Hannah would cover for him a bit.

After finishing reading, Hannah's expression flickered between cloudy and clear.

Looking at this letter alone, she only felt it was a complete and utter farce.

Yet the owl delivering the letter happened to be Gili, and this point could not be fake. Owls were incomparably loyal, and it was impossible for anyone else to match its speed, let alone swap the letter it delivered midway.

Therefore, this must have been sent back by her son.

But the letter also mentioned the matter of Hodu's father, and she had never told Hodu about the situation over there...

Hannah stood in place, her face gloomy as she thought for a long while.

Finally, she tossed the letter into the air, quickly drew her wand, and aimed it at the piece of parchment.

"Incendio!"

The flames instantly engulfed the letter, leaving only a few wisps of ash drifting down.

Regardless of whether her son was playing a prank, this letter could not be kept. It mentioned the Philosopher's Stone, which was a treasure that all Wizards would turn red with envy over.

As for the owl that Hodu had turned into, who knew where it had flown off to long ago.

At this moment, in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harryand the others were still gathered around the wizards chess board.

Snape suddenly burst in, his face gloomy, gripping his wand in his hand, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the surroundings of the dormitory.

Hodu was not there.

Snape frowned immediately, turning to lock his gaze on Harry, and asked coldly, "Where is Hodu?"

"I don't know." Harry also glanced around and didn't see Hodu. "Maybe he went to the washroom."

Snape didn't stay any longer, walking outward without stopping his pace, clearly heading straight for the washroom.

"Oh no." Ron was a bit panicked. "Could it be that Hodu's trip to Hogsmeade Village has been discovered?"

Harry's expression darkened slightly, and he shook his head. "Let's follow and take a look."

Just at that moment, Neville suddenly shouted, "You guys come over quickly! This is something Hodu left behind!"

Harry and Ron turned their heads simultaneously, only to see Neville holding a piece of parchment in his hand.