Chapter 22 A Chance to Solve the Problem Once and
For All In fact, the Boggart wasn't just transforming Voldemort.
James Potter's corpse, pleading, stopping the Killing Curse, the fallen Lily Evans, telling Lily to leave, laughing hysterically, and releasing the Killing Curse—all were part of the Boggart's transformation.
However, Basil only allowed the Boggart to imprint a part—a Voldemort capable of casting the Killing Curse (a pseudo-Voldemort).
For this, Basil even sacrificed Lily Evans, who died after casting the Love Protection Charm.
When he wanted to imprint only a part, he discovered it was either one part or both.
Lily and Voldemort were mutually exclusive.
Snape might be an option,
but he'd likely only get Lily's corpse.
Moreover, the Boggart's power probably couldn't penetrate Snape's mind, given his superior Occlumency.
What frustrated Basil even more was that,
although almost everyone heard Harry point at Quirrell and shout "Voldemort!" before fainting,
everyone gasped, thinking something was wrong with Quirrell.
Quirrell nearly fainted from fright.
Snape pressed his wand against Quirrell's throat.
But Voldemort, at the back of Quirrell's head, didn't move.
Dumbledore didn't subdue him there either.
Instead, defying the crowd's objections, he patted Quirrell's shoulder reassuringly
and announced the end of the banquet.
He then instructed Hagrid to take Harry to the infirmary.
How could Dumbledore be so calm?
He should have roared, "Harry, Harry Potter!"
and personally carried Harry to the infirmary!
And that wasn't all; because of this, Basil only gained 500 gems.
He could only dejectedly follow the group out of the Great Hall, led by Percy to the Gryffindor common room.
Everyone was in a panic.
Fred and George didn't even have time to joke.
Except for Ron.
Firstly, because he saw Harry already awake when Hagrid brought him to the door, struggling to get up. He was alright now.
Secondly, in his own words, "I can't see Professor Quirrell misunderstood."
As a result, after Percy led them to the portrait of the fat lady on the eighth floor and said the password 'Dragon Head,' the portrait automatically moved aside, revealing a circular opening.
Almost all the young Gryffindor wizards knew about Ron's Voldemort power resonance theory.
Percy, focused on leading the way and dealing with Peeves who suddenly appeared along the way,
didn't pay attention to what Ron was saying.
He only noticed that everyone's emotions had calmed down after Ron spoke.
He approached Ron, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Well done, Ron! You're worthy of being the supervisor's brother!"
Basil suppressed a laugh as he walked past the bewildered Ron.
After climbing through the hole in the wall, they reached the Gryffindor common room.
He looked the room up and down.
Besides the new students waiting to be taken to their dormitories and Percy, the supervisor in charge of the new students, there was hardly anyone else in the room.
Because they had classes tomorrow and were exhausted from today, the upperclassmen had all gone back to their dormitories.
The room looked very comfortable; it was round, filled with soft armchairs, and a large fireplace occupied one wall.
The walls were decorated with scarlet tapestries depicting many wizards and witches, as well as many animals.
Near the exit was a bare wooden plank.
Then his gaze shifted to the other side of the room.
There were two doors there.
Percy was leading the girls to the right door. They
disappeared through the doorway.
Basil was stunned. He grabbed Ron. "Aren't boys not allowed in the girls' dormitory?"
He remembered Hermione explaining that the stairs to the girls' dormitory were enchanted.
Boys who went up would fall after a few steps.
He clearly remembered Hermione's smugness at the time. "According to 'Hogwarts, A History,' it's because the founder of Hogwarts found girls more trustworthy than boys."
Ron nodded. "That's true. The great Ravenclaws considered teenage boys too dangerous. Percy can enter because he's a superintendent, and today is the first day of school. Superintendents are allowed in the girls' dormitory at this time. The student council president is the same."
"I've decided!" Basil pumped his fist. "I'm going to be a superintendent!"
"Excellent! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!" Percy, leading the girls to their dormitories, emerged from the right-hand door with a beaming smile.
"Ron, you should learn from Basil."
Then, he turned to the other freshmen, "Everyone, follow me."
Five minutes later, Basil lay panting on his bed, supported by four curtain pillars and draped with deep red flannel canopies.
"Gryffindor Tower, I finally know where the tower comes from. This spiral staircase is so long. And how come our dormitories are at the top of the tower!"
All his previous ambition had vanished.
Now, all he wanted was a good night's sleep.
In the Headmaster's office, the greatest white wizard, Albus Dumbledore, sat upright in his high-backed chair.
Elbows rested on the desk, chin on his clasped hands.
His deep blue eyes, through his half-moon lenses, were utterly calm, like a steadily burning fire.
Opposite him, Severus Snape paced back and forth across the desk.
"Dumbledore! What are you thinking?"
"McGrimm and the others don't know, but I can see it! The Dark Lord is in Quirrell's back of the head!"
"If it weren't for that boy, I wouldn't have known!"
"Remember what you told me a day ago? Keep an eye on Quirrell, something's wrong with him."
"You noticed something was wrong with him a long time ago!"
"And you did nothing!"
Dumbledore blinked and said calmly, "This is a bet between Tom and me. He knows I know him. I know he knows I know him."
Snape was furious. "A bet! Have you forgotten you're the Headmaster of Hogwarts!"
Then he sighed.
He knew he had to obey Dumbledore's decisions.
And Dumbledore's decisions were often right, the best.
That's why none of the portraits of the Headmasters in the office, even though they knew what Dumbledore was doing, spoke up; they pretended to be asleep.
"What's the stake?"
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "Quirinus Quirrell's life. And my chance to capture him once and for all."
Snape stepped forward. "Now?!"
He was incredibly excited, his usually cold eyes overflowing with a joy that seemed to set the entire room ablaze.
Dumbledore shook his head. "Voldemort used an extremely evil and insane dark magic to prolong his life. Quirrell's current body is not only his hostage, but also a consumable for his instantaneous escape from this castle."
"My chance to capture him is only for a moment. The instant he infuses his soul into the Philosopher's Stone, forging a perfect body."
Snape took a step back. "Just capture him?"
Dumbledore said calmly, "Just capture him. I cannot kill him until certain conditions are met."
Basil awoke as the sun peeked over the horizon, the air still thick with the morning mist.
Although before the [Red Dragon Blood] was ignited, his body was still that of a normal 11-year-old boy,
it had been optimized in some way.
Not only were his muscles bulging, but his energy was also more abundant, and he recovered more easily.
Just four or five hours of sleep were enough to rid him of all fatigue, leaving him refreshed and full of energy.
He was briefly surprised that all three of his plain black work robes had been sewn with the Gryffindor crest.
Then, he looked around the entire dormitory.
Like the common room, the dormitory was circular.
The floor was carpeted in scarlet, and the walls were decorated with dark red strips of cloth.
Five four-poster beds stood against the walls.
Their luggage was placed beside the beds.
To his left was Ron, to Ron's left was Harry, to Harry's left was Neville, to Neville's left was Seamus, and to Seamus's left was himself.
These five beds also formed a circle.
In the center of the circle was a large hexagonal table with five high-backed chairs.
A red carpet embroidered with golden lions covered the area.
The room had two doors: one was the entrance, and the other led to their shared bathroom.
He changed his clothes and got out of bed.
Harry's bed was empty.
Last night, Harry must have spent his first night at Hogwarts in the infirmary.
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(End of Chapter)