While Quirrell's mind trembled because of the name Fire God Opens the Way, a path of flame swept toward him.
At first glance, it really had a bit of the bearing of a fire god opening the way.
But Quirrell quickly recovered.
"No!"
"This isn't the real Fire God Opens the Way!"
Hermione showed an expression as if that were only natural.
Of course it could not be the real Fire God Opens the Way.
Whether it was magic strength, will, the Patronus Charm, or Transfiguration, Hermione had not reached the standard required to cast the true Fire God Opens the Way.
But that did not stop her from imitating Theodore and finding another path.
Using the Celestial Master Method together with Blazing Fire Talismans, she had created her own Fire God Opens the Way!
Although its power was still far from the genuine version, it was already a strength unimaginable for a first-year young wizard.
"Theodore, the current me finally has a little strength to protect myself. I'm a little closer to you now."
As the Fire God Opens the Way swept forward, Quirrell, who had nearly been frightened, felt embarrassed and enraged.
He had almost been tricked by a little witch?!
With a wave of his wand, a silver-shining shield condensed in front of him.
Although he felt pressure and the shield turned bright red under the spreading flames, Quirrell still firmly blocked Hermione's Fire God Opens the Way.
At the same time, Quirrell's expression turned cold.
"Miss Granger, an unexpected spell."
"But since you are so good at playing with fire, you must know that dark wizards possess an extremely powerful dark magic called Fiendfyre."
"Let me show it to you."
The next moment, Quirrell waved his wand again.
Pitch-black Fiendfyre immediately spread out from in front of him, transforming into ferocious beasts that charged against Hermione's Fire God Opens the Way and began pushing back.
A trace of amazement appeared in Hermione's eyes.
Just facing the Fiendfyre, she could already feel the dense negative emotions it emitted. The intense impact made her face pale.
But soon, determination appeared in Hermione's eyes.
Fiendfyre.
This was something Theodore had faced long ago.
Back then, she could only watch Theodore enter the sea of flames alone, regretting her own helplessness.
This time, she would not retreat.
She wanted to prove that Hermione Granger had the ability to protect her friends under dark magic!
Hermione's Daoist robe fluttered. The peachwood sword in her hand swept out, and her left hand drew her wand.
Wand and sword moved together.
"Protego!"
A powerful barrier appeared, but it was not meant to block the Fiendfyre. Instead, it formed invisible channels in the air.
Like a wind tunnel!
Then came a clear chant.
Three Wind-Control Talismans were pierced by the peachwood sword at once.
"Heaven and Earth are boundless; Qian and Kun lend me their law."
"Celestial Master Method—"
"Wind Rush!"
The next second, violent wind roared out, almost forming a small tornado, surging forward through the wind tunnel formed by the Shield Charm.
The Fire God Opens the Way, which had already been forced back by the Fiendfyre, was filled by this rushing wind. Wind borrowed the fire's momentum, and fire assisted the wind's power. In an instant, it swelled into a prairie fire, even counterattacking to a position close to Quirrell!
Quirrell's eyebrows already carried the smell of burning, and his face felt the scorching heat rushing toward him.
This made his eyes turn savage.
Within that savagery, there was even a hint of jealousy.
How could a first-year little witch have this kind of power?
If she was already like this now, what level would she reach in the future?
Why?!
He had once been Ravenclaw's most outstanding genius student, Outstanding in all subjects. In terms of grades, he was even above this little witch.
But how much suffering had he endured to obtain power?!
Quirrell growled and waved his wand fiercely.
The Fiendfyre immediately began counterattacking, easily suppressing Hermione's Fire God Opens the Way.
After all, the gap between them was still too great.
This time, it was Hermione's turn to feel the flames rushing toward her.
However, she was in a better state than Quirrell. Since the Celestial Master robe could block ordinary water and fire, as long as she was not directly burned by the Fiendfyre, the rushing heat wave would be weakened by more than half.
Therefore, her thick hair was not burned.
But Hermione was already a little flustered.
This seemed to have gone beyond the scope of a private test.
"Professor Quirrell?"
"Shouldn't we stop now?"
A playful look flashed in Quirrell's eyes.
Stop?
Did this little witch really think he was here to guide her privately?
Still, this did not stop Quirrell from pretending to be a serious instructor.
"Stop?"
"Miss Granger, if you encounter dark wizards in the future, will you beg them like this?"
"Have I not told you? The essence of Defense Against the Dark Arts is a heart that dares to resist."
"Is this your limit? Even if it is your limit, why can't you break through it?"
"I believe in you. You can do it. You have not reached your limit yet!"
Hermione paused, moved by Quirrell's words.
She suddenly felt that her earlier belief that she no longer needed Professor Quirrell's guidance had been too arrogant.
She still had far too many shortcomings.
Indeed, had she truly reached her limit?
Why had she walked this path in the first place, following Theodore to cultivate this power called the immortal path?
Hermione slowly closed her eyes.
The image of Theodore standing in front of her again and again surfaced in her mind.
"I must…"
"Help him once."
"Catch up to him once."
Her Dao heart became clear in an instant!
The magical power within her body immediately became smoother and more integrated.
The Fire God Opens the Way, which had already scattered, stubbornly condensed in front of her again, resisting the Fiendfyre's impact.
"Thank you, Professor Quirrell. I understand now."
Hermione's whisper rang out, making Quirrell's eyes fill with confusion.
No?
What did you understand?
Hermione's voice was extremely firm.
"Professor pushed me to the very limit because you wanted me to face my true heart, right?"
"Now, I've seen it."
"Theodore has helped me too much. He has always been the goal I pursue. But I also hope that one day, I can walk ahead and clear away the thorns for Theodore."
"Professor, thank you. I also know how to obtain full marks from you now."
Quirrell's expression became even more confused.
No, no?
What the hell are you talking about?
Dao this, heart that—too philosophical. I don't understand!
Then his eyes turned fierce. He no longer intended to keep pretending.
Right now, while Hermione had consumed the most power, he would use the Imperius Curse to control her completely!
He raised his wand, expression vicious, about to shout the Unforgivable Curse.
Hermione saw Quirrell's expression reflected in her eyes, but a trace of emotion flashed through them.
"Professor, are you acting as a vicious dark wizard to make me show my will and Dao heart, to see if I will be soft-hearted?"
"I won't disappoint you."
"If this is what I must face to practice my Dao, then I will use my full strength, show no mercy, and completely annihilate it!"
"In battle, one must be prepared to kill and be killed. If it is a struggle of the Dao, then it is you or me."
"Please watch, Professor. This is my full-mark answer!"
The next moment, Hermione gently lifted the fire crab Huhu, her expression resolute.
"Evil must be uprooted. Thorns must be cleared."
"Huhu, help me!"
The fire crab Huhu looked at the rolling flames and Fiendfyre ahead, its eyes already filled with eagerness.
Its temper was extremely fiery.
Now that Hermione had actively asked it to help, it could not be happier.
A powerful flame began brewing within the fire crab Huhu's body.
These days, it had stayed on the Origin Sea Divine Mountain. Aside from its fire power becoming incomparably powerful, its control over flame was also entirely different from before.
After all, on the Origin Sea Divine Mountain, there was a Whomping Willow practicing swordsmanship every day.
Influenced by that, it had also tried to comprehend the vital energy surging within the Origin Sea, creating its own flame-breathing ability.
At the time, it had even excitedly asked Theodore to name this move.
But since creating it, it had never used it in actual combat. This could be considered the fire crab Huhu's first battle.
Since it had to use full strength, then so be it!
Within the fire crab Huhu's body, flames surged. In an instant, a spiraling flame shot out like a dragon's roar, sweeping forward with unimaginable heat.
Whether it was Hermione's Fire God Opens the Way or Quirrell's Fiendfyre, all were engulfed and incinerated by this breath.
The flame even pierced through the classroom, shot into the sky, and dyed the clouds above Hogwarts Castle into fiery sunset clouds!
Theodore had named this move—
One Roar of the Azure Dragon Breaks the Cloud Gate!
After using this move, the fire crab Huhu looked proud and smug.
See that? We fire crabs can have a badass day too.
What was that thing again? A dragon? Right, a Hungarian Horntail. Where is it? Hurry over here. Let's compare!
Hermione was also shocked by the power of the fire crab's roar.
The next moment, she suddenly thought of something.
Professor Quirrell's test had perfectly matched the scenario of a true life-and-death battle against an enemy.
The professor had truly spared no effort to improve his students' practical combat ability. His acting as a dark wizard was simply too realistic.
But Huhu's attack just now had been far too powerful. Could the professor be hurt?
Hermione hurried over and saw Quirrell covered in scorch marks, his body smoking black.
Hermione cried out in grief.
"Professor?"
"Are you all right?!"
At this moment, Professor McGonagall, alarmed by the commotion, hurried over.
Seeing this scene, her eyes widened.
"What happened here?"
Before Quirrell could even speak, Hermione said with guilt all over her face,
"It's all my fault, Professor McGonagall."
"Professor Quirrell wanted to improve our practical combat ability, so he privately guided us."
"To make us truly feel the cruelty of real combat, he even pretended to be a dark wizard and told us to fight him without hesitation, as though it were a life-and-death battle, so we could unleash all our potential."
"Then… then Professor Quirrell was injured…"
Hearing this, Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and looked at Quirrell with respect and admiration.
"Professor Quirrell, you…"
"Well done!"
"Although this is your first year as a professor, your care and protection for your students truly make even me feel ashamed."
Then, she could not help advising him,
"You have to control your own power while letting the students go all out. It's too hard on you, and the risk is too great. This injury is a warning."
"Professor Quirrell, perhaps we should pause this practical guidance for now?"
Quirrell came back to his senses and panicked.
"Pause?"
"No, we can't pause!"
"If this stops, Master's mission… I mean, the teaching mission in my heart won't be completed."
"Deputy Headmistress, for the safety of the children, so that they can have some self-protection when facing danger, I, Quirrell, fear neither hardship nor exhaustion, and I fear no injury."
"If I bleed a little more now, the children will bleed a little less when they face danger."
"I, Quirrell, have no regrets even if injured. Please don't stop me. This is my promise to the children!"
Professor McGonagall was deeply moved. She even took off her glasses and wiped her tears, her voice choking slightly.
"Professor Quirrell!"
"Since you've said this much, then as Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, I will fully support you."
"The children will remember you as a good professor. And rest assured, Hogwarts will never forget the contributions of any selfless professor. Quirrell, you will receive the honor you deserve."
After repeatedly reminding Quirrell to take care of his health and not suffer serious injuries, Professor McGonagall finally left with reddened eyes.
Hermione also wiped the corner of her eyes and looked at Quirrell with concern.
"Professor, are you all right?"
"Please don't be angry with Huhu. It's only a fire crab, after all. It doesn't know how to control its strength. I didn't expect the flames it spat to be so powerful either."
Quirrell took a deep breath and looked at the fire crab pendant hanging around Hermione's neck. His heart was filled with misery.
That fire breath just now was stronger than a dragon's, and you're telling me this is a fire crab?
Whose fire crab is this powerful?
What did it eat to grow up like this?!
At this moment, Quirrell suddenly understood something.
He had miscalculated.
With Theodore's personality, how could he not give his close friends some protection?
He could even create things like talismans. Making some unusual alchemical items was perfectly normal.
This fire crab pendant was clearly one of them.
But how many things like this could there be?
Hermione Granger had one probably because she was a little witch and her relationship with Theodore was unclear.
If it were someone else, they definitely would not have one.
Targeting Hermione Granger first had truly been an unwise decision.
But fortunately, he had now turned the corner.
Hermione Granger had the fire crab pendant protecting her, so she was not an ideal target.
The suitable target should be—
Ron Weasley!
Ron was close to Theodore, but he was not a girl, so the level of protection would certainly be much lower.
At least he would not have something like the fire crab pendant!
Thus, after gritting his teeth and giving Hermione a full score, Quirrell, wrapped in bandages and smeared with burn ointment, called Ron to the classroom the next day.
Ron had already heard from Hermione that Professor Quirrell's guidance was basically the same as a real life-and-death battle.
Professor Quirrell would even treat himself like a dark wizard and use dark magic.
All of this was to help them truly adapt to practical combat!
Ron looked solemnly at Professor Quirrell, who was covered in bandages, his eyes filled with respect.
"Professor, I'm ready."
"I won't let your efforts go to waste. I'll use my full strength!"
Just as Quirrell was about to draw his wand, he suddenly paused.
"Right, that fire crab pendant. Do you have one?"
Ron shook his head.
"No, Professor. Theodore gave that to Hermione. There's only one fire crab pendant."
Quirrell finally let out a breath of relief and revealed a savage smile.
"Is that so?"
"That's good. That's very good."
"Then, Ron, let us continue!"
"Yes, use your full strength. Full strength!"
"Struggle!"
"Despair!"
"…"
"!!!"
"Fuck!"
"Where did the Chomping Cabbages come from?"
"How the hell did you grow Chomping Cabbages like this?"
"These things could even bite a dragon to death! Are these Dragon-Biting Cabbages?!"
"Why is there an entire group of them?!"
A while later, Professor McGonagall arrived again and looked at Quirrell, who was covered in countless bite marks. She choked up.
"Professor Quirrell?!"
Ron was full of self-blame and guilt.
"It's all my fault, Professor McGonagall."
"Professor Quirrell really acted like a dark wizard, saying things like 'despair' and 'struggle.' I was frightened. I really was. So I used the Chomping Cabbage bracelet Theodore gave me."
"It's my fault Professor Quirrell was injured like this!"
Quirrell felt like vomiting blood.
Bracelet.
No fire crab pendant, but a Chomping Cabbage bracelet…
Damn it!
Professor McGonagall looked at his blue-and-white face with concern.
"Professor Quirrell, you seem to have lost too much blood?"
"Shouldn't this private guidance be stopped?"
Quirrell shook his head violently.
What kind of joke was that?
If they stopped now, not only would he fail to complete Voldemort's task, but all the suffering he had endured these past few times would be wasted.
But it was fine. He understood now. He had already understood!
Next time, he would absolutely succeed.
"Deputy Headmistress Minerva, this is all for the children…"
"I can still hold on!"
Quirrell gritted his teeth and stood up. Under Professor McGonagall and Ron's tearful gazes, he limped away.
On the third day,
Quirrell met Harry in the classroom.
His gaze first swept over Harry's neck, then circled around Harry's wrists.
He even crouched down and checked Harry's thighs and ankles, making sure there was nothing strange hanging there before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Nothing!
No pendant, no bracelet, no anklet. He had even checked near the upper thigh area. Hahaha, there was nothing except black stockings!
Quirrell laughed sinisterly again, his gaze toward Harry turning vicious.
"Come, Harry Potter, great savior. Let me see how much ability you have, and what right you have to receive so much attention!"
Harry's heart trembled.
"Here it comes!"
"This is the extremely realistic dark wizard acting method Hermione and Ron mentioned. If they hadn't reminded me, I might really think Professor Quirrell was a dark wizard."
"Professor… he sacrificed too much to make us fight without hesitation."
"I can't let him down!"
Then, a fierce battle erupted in the classroom.
This time, however, Quirrell did not give Harry many chances. From beginning to end, he suppressed him, venting the hostility and fury in his heart.
"That's it? That's all? This is the savior?"
"Trash! A lucky brat with a bit of luck!"
"I thought you truly had some great ability as a baby. But of course, if you were really that powerful, how could your parents have died in front of you?"
"They died protecting you, Potter!"
"What? Your eyes are red? You're angry? You have killing intent? Come on, let's see if you can do it!"
"Imperi—"
"…"
"Help! The Whomping Willow is killing people!"
A while later, Professor McGonagall, who had already made preparations, rushed over and saw Quirrell lying near death, his body pierced by sword energy and covered in more than a dozen bloody holes.
She covered her mouth, truly frightened.
"Quirrell!"
"I'll send you to the hospital wing right now!"
Harry stood beside them, dazed and lost.
"It was me…"
"I didn't control my emotions…"
"Professor Quirrell must have said those things to provoke me, to make me understand how important emotional control is…"
There was one more thing Harry did not say.
Because of Quirrell's provocation, killing intent had surged in his heart, and the scar on his forehead had almost gone out of control again.
It was because of that instant when he was on the verge of losing control that he had summoned the Whomping Willow branch, which severely injured Quirrell in the blink of an eye.
If he had not stopped it in time, Quirrell might already be a corpse.
This also made Harry realize even more clearly that he had to guard strictly against the scar on his forehead. He absolutely could not rely on any power that came from it!
…
Three full days had passed since Quirrell's "duel" with Harry.
Quirrell was still lying in St. Mungo's Hospital.
Although he had woken up, his body was still extremely weak.
Yet Quirrell had several times tried to drag his shaky body up, his face full of stubborn obsession, wanting to return to Hogwarts and continue his "teaching."
He could not accept it!
He had gone through so much effort to obtain powerful dark magic. How had it become so useless?
How could he fail to deal with a group of young wizards?
Quirrell's Dao heart was about to collapse!
But every attempt he made failed.
Professor McGonagall watched him almost constantly.
And today, Professor McGonagall received news from St. Mungo's Curse Department that nearly made her faint from tears.
"Professor Quirrell is actually suffering from an extremely strange curse? Curse experts across Britain are helpless against it, and they have even named it Quirrell Curse Syndrome?"
"His life is like a candle in the wind, and he may die at any moment from the next curse outbreak?"
"Could this be why Professor Quirrell endured such terrible injuries and still stubbornly insisted on giving students this kind of training?"
"Before he dies, he wants to use his final light to illuminate the young wizards?"
"Professor Quirrell… how great!"
"No. I must do something for Professor Quirrell before he leaves this world. His deeds should be passed down through the magical world generation after generation, becoming a model admired by all future students and professors."
With this thought, Professor McGonagall left St. Mungo's Hospital with determination written all over her face.
At this moment, Quirrell, who was still struggling to get up, suddenly sensed Voldemort's consciousness awakening from deep sleep.
"Master?"
"You're waking up?"
"Have you found a way to suppress Hogwarts' protective magic?"
Voldemort's tired but excited voice rang in his mind.
"I already have a clue. There is no need to enter deep sleep again."
"Hogwarts' supposedly impregnable protective magic will soon be broken by me!"
Then Voldemort asked Quirrell,
"How did the task I gave you go while I was asleep?"
"Did you cast the Imperius Curse or place curses on Theodore Snow's friends?"
"Quirrell, with your strength, and with the magic you learned from me, this should not have been a problem, correct?"
Very quickly, Voldemort sensed something was wrong.
"Wait…"
"Why are you so weak?"
"Where are you? St. Mungo's Hospital?!"
"Hm? How did you manage to get yourself sent to St. Mungo's over such a simple task?!"
Quirrell opened his mouth and was just about to explain when Professor McGonagall walked into the ward, full of excitement.
"Professor Quirrell, I have good news for you."
"Your deeds moved even Headmaster Dumbledore to tears. Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, Headmaster Dumbledore, and I have unanimously agreed that this year's Hogwarts Best Professor Award belongs to you."
"Not only that, Hogwarts will establish an award named after you in the future—the Quirrell Award."
"We will raise funds and promote this award throughout the magical world, allowing it to be passed down through the generations."
"Professor Quirrell, your spirit will remain forever in Hogwarts, inspiring those who come after you. You will be immortalized forever!"
Quirrell froze.
In his mind, Voldemort's icy voice sounded.
"???"
"Quirrell?"
"I taught you dark magic so you could use it like this?"
"Immortalized forever?"
"Explain to me—what the hell do you mean by immortalized forever?!"
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