Adelaide was currently tailing Quirrell to the underground classroom. It must be said that her use of the Disillusionment Charm had reached a masterful level. She was less than three meters away from Lord Voldemort, who was wrapped in a turban on the back of Quirrell's head, yet he hadn't noticed her.
Ever since Adelaide successfully destroyed the Horcrux Diadem last year, Merlin had stopped appearing in her dreams. Her prophetic abilities also became intermittent, only occasionally flashing fragments of what she already knew from her previous life, which left her feeling very confused and uneasy.
Adelaide knew there must be something fishy going on. After much deliberation, Adelaide's suspicions gradually focused on two specific targets: one was Lord Voldemort's main soul, and the other was the escaped cockroach soul.
Lord Voldemort's main soul was currently attached to Quirrell, saving her the trouble of searching for it. As for the whereabouts of the cockroach soul, Adelaide could only rely on her own conjectures to determine.
According to her guess, the cockroach soul would likely attach itself to other Horcruxes.
Nagini had been captured by Dumbledore and had not yet become a true Horcrux; Lord Voldemort's main soul had not yet fully revived, so he naturally couldn't create new Horcruxes; and the ravenclaw diadem had already been personally destroyed by Adelaide.
Thus, only four Horcruxes remained: the diary, the Ring, the goblet, and the locket.
Among them, the Ring had already been moved by the Death Eaters in advance, which undoubtedly added some difficulty to Adelaide's plan. However, she was not disheartened by this. Since the Ring was unobtainable, she decided to shift her target to the diary.
This Christmas, returning home, she could obtain the diary through Lucius Malfoy. If she was lucky, she might even find Bellatrix Lestrange through Narcissa Malfoy. If she could coerce or entice Bellatrix into retrieving the small golden goblet from her vault, Adelaide could further weaken Lord Voldemort's power—
"Roar!"
A coarse and wild roar pierced the silence, abruptly interrupting Adelaide's thoughts.
Adelaide looked up just in time to see Quirrell release the teaching aid he had brought into Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor—a massive, muscular Troll!
The Troll clearly hadn't recovered from the shock of being suddenly released. It stared with wide eyes, looking around blankly, occasionally emitting low growls.
Quirrell was indifferent to the Troll's reaction; it was merely cannon fodder to buy him time.
Quirrell turned and quickly left the underground classroom. Time was pressing tonight. If he didn't find the Philosopher's Stone amidst the chaos, the next opportunity would have to wait until Christmas.
Adelaide stood quietly at the classroom door, watching Quirrell disappear from her sight. Then she softly chanted a spell, and her wand glowed with a dazzling blue light. Blazing flames, like a fire Dragon, soared into the air, tightly engulfing the Troll.
The Troll struggled painfully in the fierce flames, emitting a series of shrill howls. The power of the Fiendfyre Curse was too immense, and the Troll was quickly burned to ashes.
Adelaide watched the scene before her with satisfaction, then waved her wand to collect the Troll's nutrient-rich ashes.
She secretly mused that these ashes could be sent to Iceland for recycling, and those few unburnt bones might even be used to create some interesting things.
Thanks for the gift, Lord Voldemort!
After dealing with the Troll, Adelaide didn't return directly to the Great Hall but headed straight for the fourth floor.
Just as she reached the depths of the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor, she saw Snape following Quirrell and opening the room where the Cerberus was kept.
"Woof~ Woof woof woof!"
The Cerberus's roar was deafening. It opened its gaping maw and lunged straight at Quirrell by the door. Quirrell reacted quickly, easily dodging the Cerberus's attack with a swift movement.
However, Snape, who was standing behind him, wasn't so lucky. He hadn't anticipated the Cerberus's sudden attack and was caught off guard, one of its heads biting him fiercely on the leg.
"Merlin's pigtails!"
Snape cursed with a dark expression, then began to struggle with the Cerberus. Quirrell ignored Snape and, seizing the opportunity while the Cerberus was distracted, reached out to pull the trapdoor on the floor.
In a flash of lightning, Adelaide made her move.
She ducked past the struggling Snape and the Cerberus, and with a swift move, grabbed the tip of Quirrell's wand.
Quirrell was still very alert. The moment he felt his wand being grabbed, he tightened his grip and pulled back—but Adelaide wasn't trying to take his wand.
Behold my new move, Expelliarmus physical edition—Breaking Your wand!
"No!"
Accompanied by Quirrell's deafening roar, his wand was cleverly snapped in two by Adelaide, using his own force against him, instantly breaking it!
At this moment, Adelaide adhered to the principle of "strike while the iron is hot!" While Quirrell was still reeling from shock, she lunged forward, slamming into him. The unprepared Quirrell staggered backward from the violent impact, suddenly losing his footing, and his body involuntarily tilted backward.
With a "thud," Quirrell fell straight into the deep pit.
Without his wand, Quirrell was like a helpless Muggle, screaming in terror as he watched himself plummet rapidly towards the ground. Falling from such a height, and without Devil's Snare to cushion his fall, Quirrell was sure to die!
With things escalating to this point, Lord Voldemort had no choice but to act. He couldn't just watch his foolish servant perish, as Quirrell still had some use.
And the moment the black mist surged and Lord Voldemort revealed himself, Adelaide seized this opportune moment, unhesitatingly casting Legilimency on him.
A series of images flashed through Adelaide's mind: a dense forest, trees towering into the clouds, sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting dappled shadows; Quirrell stood in the forest, looking somewhat timid, seemingly filled with fear and reverence for his "other self"... Lord Voldemort's memories from recent years flashed like a movie before Adelaide's eyes. Perhaps because Lord Voldemort was currently in a peculiar state, neither fully dead nor fully revived, Adelaide could only access his vague memories.
Nevertheless, these memory fragments still provided Adelaide with some important clues.
By carefully observing these memory fragments, Adelaide discovered that Lord Voldemort's main soul seemed to have had no contact with the cockroach soul—meaning Lord Voldemort should be completely unaware of the cockroach soul's existence.
This discovery made Adelaide feel a little relieved.
At least for now, Lord Voldemort's main soul hasn't detected the presence of the cockroach soul or Merlin. She can let him live a bit longer, allowing him to hone Harry's courage.
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