Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

He saw himself in the mirror, but not the Weasley twins... He saw Padma.

The girl's wheat-colored skin looked healthy and vibrant, and her oval face wore a sweet smile that was captivating. She wore a dark blue sari, revealing her smooth, slender arms.

The girl hugged Michael's arm lovingly in the mirror; the two were close together, inseparable.

For a moment, Michael even began to feel jealous of himself in the mirror.

"What did you see?" Fred suddenly leaned to the side and looked at him, both surprised and teasing. "Your face is as red as if it's about to boil water!"

"No, no, no, it's nothing!" Michael hurriedly covered the mirror.

Wade came over, looked up at the words on the mirror, and read aloud: "What I'm reflecting isn't your face... but the desires in your heart..."

He looked at Michael meaningfully.

Michael, his face flushed, coughed lightly, secretly took a deep breath to cool down his face, and then stepped away from the mirror.

After calming down, he realized that when he looked at the mirror from the side, it was empty; there was nothing there.

“This is a magic mirror that lets you see your inner desires.” Fred stood in front of the mirror and laughed. “I see our prank is a huge success; the two of us are lying on top of Galleons.”

George laughed and said, "I even saw the Quidditch Cup!"

Seeing that Wade was standing to one side and didn't seem to be moving closer, Michael asked curiously, "Wade, don't you want to go and take a look?"

"……Um."

Wade paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "What you see in the mirror is just an illusion, right? So there's no need to look at it—"

Michael nodded.

His understanding was that Wade knew exactly what he wanted, so he didn't need to find satisfaction in a mirror.

But he wanted to take another look at Padma in the mirror.

After lingering in front of the mirror for a while, the group finally broke free from their illusory happiness and prepared to go home.

Before leaving, Wade looked back one last time—the magic mirror stood in the center of the empty room, as if making a silent call.

Wade lowered his eyes and hurried to catch up with the other three, as if escaping from a whirlpool.

……

Harry remained unconscious in the school hospital for three days before waking up. During those days, rumors spread like wildfire throughout the school, but Dumbledore neither revealed the truth nor stopped the students from discussing it.

The group that entered through the trapdoor were surrounded by people all day long, who kept begging them to tell the adventure story again.

Neville, having been eliminated early on, quickly escaped this predicament; while Theo, with the best temper, talked himself hoarse, and sometimes when he accidentally misspoke, someone would loudly retort, "No, that's not what you said last time!"

Soon, apart from Harry's solo experience, the students throughout the school knew all the other details of the story. They all knew that Professor Quirrell's attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone backfired, and he was defeated by Harry Potter and his friends.

Ron, who bravely made the sacrifice, became a hero of Gryffindor. On the day he woke up, several Gryffindor boys carried him on their shoulders from the infirmary all the way to the Great Hall. His unscrupulous brothers cheered him on, making Ron's face as red as his hair.

Meanwhile, an even more absurd theory was quietly circulating—Quillo wasn't actually Quirrell, but a puppet controlled by a mysterious figure… So Harry Potter once again defeated the one whose name couldn't even be mentioned…

Of course, this rumor was so outrageous that very few people actually believed it. But it was precisely because they didn't believe it that they were even more enthusiastic about telling everyone: "You know what? The truth is completely different from what you've heard..."

Rumors take flight and spread rapidly in all directions.

Dumbledore's attitude toward this was ambiguous. When someone asked him directly, he vaguely replied, "Well... the Philosopher's Stone... it certainly attracts a lot of people, especially those who want to escape death..."

The person who asked the question immediately understood – the name “Voldemort” means “flying away from death”.

"Yes, some of our students bravely confronted evil, demonstrating great courage and responsibility; they protected the Philosopher's Stone..."

Dumbledore changed the subject, smiling as he said, "But Nick and Perenaar have destroyed the stone, and they've decided to take care of some chores before embarking on their unknown journey... For old people who have lived long enough, death has a certain charm, doesn't it?"

Chapter 106 Going Home

The last week without classes went by quickly, and the last Quidditch match of the semester was held over the weekend.

Gryffindor, without a Seeker, were thoroughly outmatched by Ravenclaw. In particular, Ravenclaw's Seeker leisurely flew through the air for a long time, only catching the Golden Snitch after ensuring Ravenclaw had a complete advantage.

So that year, Ravenclaw finally lifted the Quidditch Cup, much to the dismay of Gryffindor, who were helpless to stop it.

But Slytherin still has the highest house grades—there's no way around it, Professor Snape made an outstanding contribution in this regard.

However, at the end-of-term dinner, Dumbledore finally gave extra points to everyone who had entered the Chamber of Secrets because of what had happened before: each person earned 20 points for their house, Harry Potter received an extra 50 points, Gryffindor jumped to first place, and Slytherin slipped to second place.

The excitement first belonged to Slytherin, and then to Gryphon, with Ravenclaw students clapping along—they were third before the bonus points and still third after, but even if they were last, it wouldn't really matter to Ravenclaw.

Whether the hanging ribbons overhead are red or green is not important; what's more interesting is the dramatic emotional shifts of the Gryphon and Slytherin students.

In the faculty section, the subtle changes in Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape's expressions seemed to convey a thousand words.

“I still can’t believe it,” Michael whispered to Wade, “Professor Snape isn’t Quirrell’s accomplice! He looks just like a Death Eater…don’t you think so?”

“It does look like him. But if he were, why would Dumbledore have let him stay at Hogwarts for so many years?” Wade said.

……

The day after the final dinner, the exam results were finally posted.

Wade ranked first overall in the entire year, but Hermione topped the class in both History of Magic and Astronomy. The other members of SSC also had very high scores, ranking at the top in almost every subject.

Of course, to those unfamiliar with SSC, it seems that this year's first-year students are all quite good, and the distribution across the houses is relatively even (Slytherin's Malfoy and Zabini also have very high grades). Unlike previous years, when most of the top ten were Ravenclaws.

The students signed the notice again, forbidding the use of magic during the holiday, packed their bags, and boarded the Hogwarts Express. Wade, Michael, Theo, and Ryan occupied one compartment, Hermione was with the Patil sisters, and Harry and Neville shared a compartment with their dorm roommates.

"How about coming to our house for summer vacation?" Michael said enthusiastically. "My house is by the sea, and we can take a boat to the nearby islands."

“Great!” Theo responded enthusiastically: “Let’s set a time to hang out together. Otherwise, staying at home for two whole months is just too boring.”

“Where’s Wade? Do you have time?” Ryan asked.

“I want to learn alchemy from Professor Mori, but I’ll definitely come if I can find the time!” Wade laughed. “Even I don’t want to spend the whole summer doing nothing but studying.”

“Then wait for my news—don’t forget to check the Book of Friends!” Michael instructed.

The train stopped at King's Cross station, and the students disembarked one by one. As soon as Vader stepped off the platform, he saw Ferdinand and Fiona standing side-by-side, happily waiting for him.

His mother gave him a hug as usual, while his father helped him lift his suitcase.

"Get in the car first, I've already reserved a table at the restaurant."

Ferdinand opened the trunk and stuffed the suitcase inside. Seeing how much effort he was putting in, Vader momentarily wanted to use the Levitation Charm, but then remembered that he had already left the school and had to suppress the urge.

“Wade, I heard some really outrageous rumors at the Leaky Cauldron—”

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Fiona couldn't wait to say, "That can't be true, right? I mean... about one of your professors being some kind of puppet of the Dark Lord... and your school hiding some kind of stone that can grant immortality or something..."

Vader looked up and saw Ferdinand silently watching him.

“The Philosopher’s Stone is real,” Wade said. “Mr. Nicolas Flamel and his wife have lived for six centuries thanks to the elixir of immortality!”

"My God!" Fiona exclaimed, lost in thought. "I've even read about him in fantasy novels! I never imagined he was actually alive... I wonder what it's like to be immortal..."

She seemed very eager to go.

“Actually, one can only live forever, not stay young forever. So…” Wade shrugged, letting his mother imagine for herself.

The image of an immortal, mysterious, and handsome wizard instantly crumbled, and Fiona conjured up a picture in her mind of a white-haired, wrinkled, toothless, and bald man.

But the oldest person she had ever seen was only a little over a hundred... What would a person over six hundred and sixty years old look like? Fiona didn't know... Her imagination began to gradually extend towards the image of Cthulhu.

Ferdinand noticed the part that Wied omitted, and his heart sank.

When they got home that evening, Fiona went to wash up, and Ferdinand gestured for her to come to the balcony with his son.

"So...that thing is true too?" Ferdinand fiddled with a lighter but didn't light a cigarette. Instead, he asked, "About...the rumors about the mysterious man?"

Wade hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should tell his father the truth.

Ferdinand noticed this and his mood turned somewhat heavy. He forced a smile and said, "Don't tell me... the truth is even stranger than the rumors?"

Wade finally made up his mind.

"That's right—it wasn't Voldemort...Vague's puppet that infiltrated Hogwarts, but Voldemort himself...He wasn't completely dead, but rather possessed Quirrell's body as a wandering spirit..."

Considering most people's fear of Voldemort's name, Wade consciously avoided mentioning it in front of others.

Ferdinand's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the lighter.

"He...isn't dead?"

He asked, his face pale.

"Yes. But that person's concealment skills were lacking, and Dumbledore discovered him from the start, so the situation remained under his control..."

Wade said in a light tone, "You've probably heard that Quirrell was ultimately defeated by Harry Potter in his first year. Actually, it wasn't Quirrell who lost again, but Vader."

Ferdinand remained silent for a long time, until he heard the sound of a bathroom door opening. He prepared to return to the living room, but as he pushed open the door, he suddenly turned back and said, "Wade—"

"Ok?"

“Now that you’ve learned magic… you can’t become the Obscurial anymore… Have you… have you ever thought about this…”

Ferdinand seemed to be having a particularly hard time speaking.

Wade waited quietly.

"—Do you want to go to America? Or Australia?" Ferdinand said, "I've heard there's a very good magic academy in America, maybe they'd accept transfer students..."

Wade paused for a moment before saying, "...I'm sorry, Dad."

“Well…” Ferdinand sighed, “I’m not surprised at all.”