Hogwarts: Who made her a professor?

Chapter 72 Patronus

Now, it's all over, and it's time to end it all.

Voldemort's plans to make a comeback and Quirrell's desire for power and status both vanished with the appearance of the long, thin chains.

"Save me... Master, save me..." Quiro murmured, bound to the ground, banging his head against the ground in agony, his forehead covered in blood.

The thin, long magical chains looked flimsy, but Quirrell couldn't break free no matter what he did. Every time he struggled, the chains would flash with silver light and make a crackling sound as they contracted.

The more Quirrell struggled, the tighter the chains tightened, and the burning pain in his body became unbearable.

"Master, save me, please... save me, let's leave together, we still have a chance..." Quirrell's pleading grew softer and softer, and the crimson mark on his forehead became somewhat frightening.

Even now, bound to the ground, Quirinas Quillo remains unrepentant. Perhaps he never considered his actions to be wrong; he simply believed he had failed.

Dumbledore's expectation of a change of heart and a return to the right path turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of the white-haired old man.

"Help me...help me..." Quirrell's pleas continued, his voice growing weaker, his face contorting, this time without any acting involved.

Bound by chains, Quirrell was as insignificant as an ant or dust. His master, Voldemort, remained unresponsive, offering neither commands nor taking any action, as if he had abandoned his plot for the Philosopher's Stone and, in doing so, his loyal servant.

No one knows what the most dangerous dark wizard in history is thinking. Maybe he's blaming Quirrell for his incompetence, maybe he's resentful of Belvina's obstruction, or maybe he's plotting a new conspiracy. Who knows?

Belvina watched Quirrell torment himself from afar. She showed no sympathy, offered no words of advice, did not approach to comfort him, and did not even put away her wand.

"Quirinas, believe it or not, I have never mocked your dreams," Belvina said softly. "Not even once."

Just like I told Remus Lupin, what you see is what I am, and I won't refute it, good or bad.

Belvina never liked to explain herself based on how others perceived her, but tonight she surprisingly offered a defense of herself.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this, maybe it's because you're about to die!" Belvina's voice remained gentle, like a thin mist on a stream. "Just think of me as crazy."

With that, Belvina ignored Quirrell's agonizing struggle. She had done what she had to do; the rest was up to Dumbledore, who was nowhere to be seen.

Speaking of Dumbledore, Belvina pulled a golden phoenix tail feather from her skirt pocket, watching the divine bird's tail feather burn in her palm until it turned to ashes.

Before nightfall, Belvina was brought here by Phoenix Fox.

Now, Belvina used the phoenix tail feather to send a signal to Dumbledore, who was late, telling the headmaster to stop dawdling.

Not long after the phoenix tail feathers turned to ashes, someone else crossed the flames and arrived at the room deep beneath Hogwarts.

Belvina turned around, but the person who came was not Dumbledore, nor even that annoying Snape. It was none other than Harry Potter, the boy who had miraculously survived!

Speechless, utterly speechless!

After a brief moment of confusion, Belvina finally realized why Dumbledore had told her to stall for time as much as possible!

What does that mean?

Instead of confiding in an old man, why not accompany a boy as he grows up?

Or is it better to give the old man a break than to accompany the boy as he grows up?

No wonder all those conspiracy theories from my past life said Dumbledore was an old silver coin; you really deserve it!

At this moment, how could Belvina not understand Dumbledore's scheme?

She was absolutely right. Those seemingly useless traps outside weren't meant to protect Quirrell at all; they were a test the headmaster had prepared for Harry Potter!

Belvina finally realized what was happening, but Harry Potter was still in a daze. The fledgling savior was bewildered by the scene before him.

For the past six months, Harry has been suspicious of Snape.

He believed Snape wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone hidden in the school, he believed Snape wanted to kill him in the Quidditch match, and he believed that the person he would see after passing through the flames would be Snape!

Harry could never have imagined that the people waiting for him in the final challenge would be a composed Belvina and a utterly disheveled Quirrell.

"you!"

Harry was so shocked he could hardly breathe; he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"I thought—Snape—"

The words were unfinished, nor did they need to be finished. Belvina knew what he was going to say, and Quirrell, who was tied up like a dumpling, knew it too.

Even from the perspective of any Hogwarts student, Snape was not a good person. He was like a giant bat flying around everywhere, and was arguably the most hated professor among students.

Snape's mere presence made even the villains seem like heroes, let alone the stuttering, pitiful Quirrell.

A bewildered Harry looked blankly at Belvina. He had a good impression of this elective professor, who had once saved his life from the troll's staff.

Then, Harry looked blankly at Quirrell. He also had a good impression of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; the other was a brave but pitiful man.

At that moment, Quirrell struggled a few times, then laboriously raised his head to look at Harry, whose mind had gone blank. His lifeless eyes regained their light, and he clung to Harry like a drowning man grasping at a straw.

In desperation, Quirrell couldn't think of any other way to deal with the skilled young witch. He could only pin his hopes on Harry Potter, the Harry Potter who defeated Voldemort.

Like some Slytherins, they once saw Harry Potter, who defeated Voldemort, as the new Dark Lord.

"Mr. Potter,"

But Belvina spoke first. She didn't want to play any werewolf games with Harry; she had a natural distrust of Gryffindor's mind.

Of course, Albus Dumbledore is an exception.

"You should be in your own bed at this time. If you really can't sleep, you should stay in the Gryffindor common room instead of wandering around the castle, and you certainly shouldn't be here."

"But—but I—"

"No buts." Belvina interrupted Harry. "At the beginning of the school year, Professor Dumbledore emphasized that students were not allowed to approach the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor."

"But I thought Snape was going to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"

"It's Professor Snape, Mr. Potter." Belvina seemed to be possessed by Professor McGonagall at this moment. "Professor Snape had no intention of stealing the Philosopher's Stone. The one who really wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone was Quirinus Quirrell."

As she spoke, Belvina pointed to Quiro on the ground and became even more vigilant.

Belvina didn't believe that Voldemort inside Quirrell would continue to play dead. Harry Potter was right in front of him; how could he possibly hold back?

"In that Quidditch match against Slytherin, it wasn't Professor Snape who wanted to kill you," Belvina continued. "It was Quirrell who wanted to kill you; he was the one who was watching you and casting spells. Professor Snape was the one casting counter-spells to protect you."

At this point, Belvina's lips curled into a mischievous smile. She continued, "I really have to thank Miss Granger. Although she went to the wrong person, her actions did prevent Quirrell from staring at you. Most importantly, she did a fantastic job!"

Belvina felt incredibly relieved and satisfied just thinking about how furious Snape had been back then!

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about the Halloween troll," Belvina said. "That clumsy troll was also Quirrell's doing."

Belvina spoke at length, concisely pointing out Quirrell as the villain hiding among the crowd, thus both silencing Harry's questions and disrupting Quirrell's confusing behavior.

"If you want to ask Professor Snape why he protected you, I can't answer that question," Belvina said as she walked forward, adjusting her position to protect Harry Potter from potential attack.

Belvina didn't want to be there for the boy as he grew up—she wasn't a house-elf of the Potters—but she also wouldn't stand by and watch Harry get into trouble in front of her.

First of all, Harry will defeat Voldemort in the future, so the Voldemort artifacts can't be compromised.

Secondly, Belvina is now a professor, and she is considered a responsible person.

To give a simple example, since Belvina became a professor, her clothing has become much more conservative, and her former generosity has turned into her current stinginess.

After all, she was a teacher at Hogwarts, not one who liked to do the splits.

Finally, and most importantly, aside from his honesty and recklessness, Belvina has not yet found any redeeming qualities in Harry, especially his talent in magic, which is far from that of a true genius.

Of course, it's also possible that Harry is only a first-year student and his talents and abilities haven't been fully revealed yet.

For the three reasons mentioned above, Belvina had to stand up and protect Harry Potter.

However, after tonight, Belvina will definitely find Dumbledore and make things clear – protecting Harry Potter comes at a different price!

Sure enough, just as Belvina took her place, Voldemort's weak voice came from Quirrell's body.

He whispered, "Harry Potter... Harry Potter."

Harry, a first-year student, looked horrified, staring at Quirrell in disbelief and listening to the sounds coming from Quirrell's body.

"Voldemort, you've finally come out," Belvina said calmly. "I was wondering how long you could hold out, but I didn't expect you to be so impatient."

Upon hearing the name Voldemort, Harry suddenly took a few steps forward, but instead of recklessly approaching Quirrell, he widened his emerald green eyes and repeatedly checked what was happening before him.

Harry was no longer the boy trapped on Privet Drive. He knew that his parents had not died in the car accident, and that they had died at Voldemort's hands while protecting him.

"Heh," Voldemort scoffed at the mockery, "I've been looking forward to our meeting, Harry Potter..."

When Harry Potter appeared in the room, Voldemort's entire attention was focused on him, and Belvina, standing to the side, seemed like a faded flower, utterly worthless.

"I've always wanted to understand what happened that night... I killed your father; he was brave enough to die rather than submit... Then I killed your mother; that Mudblood didn't actually have to die..."

Voldemort was like an old man on his deathbed, rambling on about his past glories; he was also like the most ruthless executioner, indifferently recounting the terrible murder that happened ten years ago.

"Reminiscing about the past is not something Voldemort should do," Belvina suddenly said. "Someone can tell Mr. Potter about your past glories at their own pace; there's no need to rush."

Belvina interrupted Voldemort because she noticed something strange behind her.

Harry frowned and clenched his fists, his young and inexperienced face filled with pain. The reason for his pain was not only the deep-seated hatred, but also the lightning bolt scar left by Voldemort.

The lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead throbbed with pain, and Harry felt as if his head was about to split in two. He wanted to shout, to yell at Voldemort, but no sound came out.

"Heh heh, Belvina Black..." Voldemort said slowly, "I almost forgot about you... Come on, take off this fool's hood. Haven't you always wanted to see me...?"

Upon hearing this, Belvina raised her wand while remaining alert.

With a whoosh, Quirrell's ugly headscarf was untied, revealing his unusually small head.

But on the back of Quirrell's head was a face, a hideous and terrifying face, as white as chalk, with bright red eyes and two long, thin nostrils like snakes.

"Look what I've become!" said Voldemort. "Just a shadow and steam... I can only have a physical form when I share a body with someone else..."

Voldemort spoke slowly, his scarlet eyes particularly chilling, as if a single glance could take someone's life.

Harry, his head throbbing, staggered back two steps. The unbearable headache made him clutch his head in pain, but he still bravely stared at Voldemort, gazing into those captivating scarlet eyes.

In those scarlet eyes, Harry saw his parents disappear again and again in a sudden flash of green light, accompanied by a loud, grating laugh.

Belvina silently moved a step to the side, shielding the agonizing Harry behind her.

Although there is no such thing as true empathy in the world, Belvina could still understand how much pain Harry was going through, because she had recently gone through something similar.

However, Belvina is still unsure whether what happened to Harry is similar to her situation or completely different.

"The Philosopher's Stone... Once I obtained the elixir of immortality, I could have recreated a body of my own..." Voldemort continued, "But this fool ruined it all! And you, Belvina Black, of course..."

Voldemort said viciously, "You must preserve your lives...until the day I return...until I personally take the debt you owe me..."

Suddenly, a dark, misty, or shadowy thing emerged from Quirrell's body, and Quirrell, who was bound, immediately went limp and became motionless.

Through that thick black mist, Voldemort's hideous and terrifying face, with its scarlet eyes and snake-like, long nostrils, was clearly visible!

Immediately afterward, Voldemort charged toward Belvina—no, his real target was Harry Potter behind Belvina!

Belvina immediately cast a spell, her acacia wand spewing out a silvery, holy mist, and summoned the Guardian Angel!

The silvery-white mist of the Patronus Charm instantly unfolded into a barrier, a holy barrier that blocked the filthy remnant soul, preventing Voldemort from getting even a step closer to Harry Potter!

Two completely opposite clouds of mist collided and entangled in mid-air. As the oldest and most powerful defensive spell, the Patronus Charm successfully protected its master. Voldemort's remnant soul dared not and was unwilling to touch this sacred power.

However, the unicorn's blood restored some of Voldemort's power, and his remnant soul moved with incredible speed, gradually outpacing the misty Patronus Charm.

Fortunately, Belvina's mastery of the Patronus Charm went beyond that. She cast the Patronus Charm again, not as an intangible mist, but as a dazzling silver-white creature—a cat.

The silver-white tabby cat arched its back, wagged its tail, and stared intently at the ever-changing and shifting black mist through its narrowed eyes.

Immediately afterwards, the tabby cat flew away silently, nimbly rushing towards the black mist that exuded a dangerous aura... It clung to the black mist, biting with its sharp teeth and pouncing with its claws.

Unable to withstand the Patronus's attacks, the filthy remnant soul could only retreat and dodge. It was also unable to shake off the fully formed Patronus again and was forced further and further away from Harry Potter.

Finally, Voldemort disappeared.

He didn't even get to say, "I'll be back."