Daily News: The Prophet of Hogwarts

Chapter 23 Quirrell and Confinement

"Oh no! I only planned to sleep for two hours, and now it's already dark when I wake up!"

Suddenly, the Room of Requirement opened, and Ryan rushed out, only to bump into a dean and a principal.

Ryan: Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ

Dumbledore and Flitwick: •᷄ࡇ•᷅

"The intruder from the prophecy has appeared?" An awkward silence fell for a moment, but Ryan quickly realized why the headmaster and dean were there. He couldn't think of anything else that would make them squat outside the Room of Requirement.

"It appeared. But it disappeared before Felix and I arrived. You've been in the Room of Requirement the whole time, did you notice anything?" Dumbledore didn't say much, only asking if Ryan had any news.

"I'm sorry, I can only detect if someone wants to enter the Room of Requirement if an outsider tries to open the door to my room," Ryan said. "He didn't try to enter my room, and I don't know what happened."

Professor Flitwick recounted what had just happened.

After listening to Professor Flitwick recount the whole story, Lane offered a different perspective: "Headmaster, Professor, special magical creatures like house-elves are born with the ability to Apparate within Hogwarts."

"You think that the intruder just now brought a house-elf?" Flitwick said.

Ryan nodded, though he secretly thought the intruders might be carrying items made by magical creatures like house-elves.

But Dumbledore shook his head: "I don't think this intruder will care about the magic of the house-elves."

"He wouldn't think of magical creatures."

Lane and Flitwick exchanged a glance, thinking that Dumbledore seemed to know a lot about this intruder.

"Do you know who it is?" Professor Flitwick asked.

Ryan pricked up his ears, wanting to know what Dumbledore had to say.

Dumbledore, however, gave an irrelevant answer: "I thought he would make a rational judgment... but unfortunately, I was wrong."

"Huh?" Flitwick and Lane both looked confused, not understanding what Dumbledore was saying.

"Felius, I think we should go back and enjoy dinner." Dumbledore offered no further explanation.

"And of course, Ryan, you missed Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class without prior notice. For this, you will be confined to Professor Quirrell's office for a week."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, not out of dissatisfaction with Dumbledore's handling of the matter.

In Hogwarts, solitary confinement is more accurately described as "detention after class" under a professor, or more seriously, "probation," which involves spending an extended period of time alone with a professor.

However, the meaning of this sentence changes when it appears at this moment.

The play shifts from Ryan's accidental violation of school rules and Dumbledore's impartiality to Ryan's unexcused absence and punishment, with the headmaster cleverly setting up solitary confinement to test Quirrell.

But he really didn't think Quirrell had that ability, so he asked, "Is it really him? That can't be right, he wouldn't have that kind of ability."

During their several meetings, Quirrell did not give him the impression of being a master magician like the other deans; he was probably only equivalent to an ordinary Auror.

How could an ordinary Auror escape Hogwarts before Dumbledore?

Voldemort would be laughing his head off if he knew about this; he would definitely throw a party right away to celebrate Dumbledore's many years of aging and declining health.

Professor Flitwick stared wide-eyed, but because it concerned his student, he didn't initially think in that direction until he heard what Ryan said, at which point he seemed to wake up from a dream.

“Impossible, Quirinus? He has no reason to,” he said. “Dumbledore, could there be a mistake?”

Dumbledore neither answered Lane's question nor directly addressed Professor Flitwick's inquiry.

He simply repeated Ryan's prophecy: "Today, the treasure hunter once again stands at the entrance, hesitant, unsure whether he should allow an incompetent man to access his deepest secrets."

"Felius, I think Quirinus may simply have been bewitched, becoming the incompetent one that Ryan prophesied." He took off his glasses, looking somewhat disappointed.

Professor Flitwick staggered backward, his body swaying precariously.

Ryan stepped forward and used his hand to protect Professor Flitwick's head, preventing him from bumping into the reliefs on the stone railing of the corridor in his excitement.

"Quirinas was a good student; he graduated seventh grade with eleven O's," Professor Flitwick said softly, as if talking to himself. "Such a good student is rarely swayed by others."

"Dumbledore, he's been cursed with the Imperius Curse!"

"Right?"

Ryan looked down at Professor Flitwick, and felt a different sense of reliability from when he used to turn to Professor Flitwick for everything.

This was the first time in years that he felt Professor Flitwick's body was somewhat thin and frail.

"Professor," he lowered his voice, "Senior Quirrell may have just made a mistake temporarily. When I go to put him in solitary confinement, I will talk to him. There should still be a chance to make amends."

"No, Ryan, what you can think of, I can think of too." Professor Flitwick sighed: "The Philosopher's Stone came to Hogwarts, and on the very day Hagrid retrieved it, Gringotts was robbed. The treasury that was robbed was the same one that Mr. Nicolas Flamel used to keep the Philosopher's Stone. On that day, Ryan and Hagrid both met Quirinus at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Quirinas was absent from the banquet. And there was an intruder here."

"This is too much of a coincidence." He looked up. "I can't convince myself that this is a coincidence."

"Therefore, Quirinas was bewitched by the mysterious man."

This sentence was spoken much softer than what he had just said, but it was very clear.

He continued, "Many wizards crave immortality, but few have the ability and means to break through Gringotts' defenses, and perhaps only one is willing to rob Gringotts."

"The Mysterious Man"

Dumbledore also looked very sad and disappointed, but he still comforted him, saying, "Many far better wizards have been bewitched by Voldemort, and besides, didn't I send Lane to Quirinas for solitary confinement?"

Ryan, standing beside the two, was initially at a loss for words to comfort these two failed educators, until the last sentence came out, and he was somewhat helpless: Dumbledore has truly learned the essence of "making the best use of resources and talents".

"Undeniably, Voldemort was adept at manipulating people's minds; few could rival him in this area," Dumbledore said. "Fortunately, we have one right in front of us."

Before Ryan could speak, he continued with a smile, "Take Miss Penelope, for example. Even if someone cast an Imperius on her, I don't think she would obey the Imperius's commands as much as she trusts Ryan."

Upon hearing this, Lane immediately objected: "Impossible! At Hogwarts, who would cast an Imperius Curse on her? Even outside, those dark wizards wouldn't want to offend Hogwarts, or even you, Headmaster!"

After explaining his reasons, he concluded, "Principal, you're making things up about me. How could I possibly be inciting people?"

Dumbledore was speechless.

Flitwick was also speechless.

The atmosphere that had enveloped the two, the atmosphere of "failure educators," vanished instantly, along with their disappointment and self-blame for the wayward student.

Although Ryan couldn't quite understand the atmosphere that had taken its place, he believed it must be because the principal had a change of heart and felt guilty for maliciously framing the students.