great-warnovel Chapter 66 Night Talk by the Stone
Chapter 66 Night Talk by the Stone
As night fell, bathed in the soft light from the top of Hogwarts Tower, the newly selected Quidditch players were still training hard.
Harry was selected thanks to his exceptional flying talent, while Ron was outmaneuvered by his twin brothers and could only vow to try again next year.
Each house managed to assemble its own team with great difficulty. With a limited number of students, and after excluding those like Hermione who had no interest or poor flying skills, they didn't even have much room to choose the best among the worst. Fortunately, the competition was not affected.
Dumbledore's return greatly reduced Professor McGonagall's pressure, allowing her to focus more on her passions, such as urging Oliver Wood to train the Gryffindor boys properly, ensuring that the first Quidditch Cup after the resumption of play would belong to Gryffindor!
This senior student comes from an air cavalry family; his father served in the Irish Air Force and was an experienced bombing wizard.
Hermione had no interest in Quidditch. After dinner, she went straight through Hagrid's house and arrived at the restored Glorious Stone Hall.
Although the Brilliant Stone has stabilized and performed well in the battle against Lucius, this does not mean we can let our guard down.
The ritual of binding Dumbledore with his soul consumed an enormous amount of energy. If a wizard had paid for it, it would have probably drained all the wizards present that day. Therefore, Hermione has been frequently checking on the condition of the Brilliant Stone and making minor adjustments to the magic within it as needed.
Dumbledore appeared silently beside her at some point, observing the brilliance stone with her: "What a beautiful yet dangerous power."
"Professor, you can't speak ill of him right after you've just enjoyed his help." Hermione carefully manipulated the energy, constructing complex runes and modifying the structure of the pyroxene bit by bit.
"Oh, sorry, I meant, thank you." Dumbledore exaggeratedly removed his hat and bowed to the Brilliant Stone, making Hermione almost burst out laughing.
"But I'm still very curious, why do you have so much magical power in your head?" The old man looked at Hermione with bright eyes, but did not try to use Legilimency to pry. He trusted Hermione, ever since he chose to give up his life, and there was no need to break that trust for some curiosity.
"It was in my dream. I saw countless magnificent spells, but they were different from what I learned at school. They seemed to be their own kind, always appearing at my fingertips when I needed them. The Radiant Stone was like that, and so was the Soul Pact," Hermione replied calmly. She had long known that her unique magic could not be regarded as an innate talent forever. No one has so many talents.
"Ah, the Heavenly Eye, how enviable!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Every holder of the Heavenly Eye is a darling of the world. They always display amazing talents in different ways, and among wizards of the same age, they are always the most outstanding."
Perhaps thinking of Grindelwald, he attributed Hermione's magic to the hidden secrets of heaven that she had glimpsed through her divine eye.
"Perhaps it's the world's self-salvation. It used your hand to allow wizards to tame the radiation, bringing a turning point for the world's rebirth." At this moment, Dumbledore was like a charlatan, speculating with great interest.
"Yes, it also used my hand to allow you, the greatest white wizard, to die peacefully." Hermione shrugged, not believing that this ravaged world had the ability to bring her from the border; that would probably be something only an supreme will could accomplish.
Dumbledore chuckled: "Yes, theoretically I am already dead. In terms of the contract, the position of Headmistress of Hogwarts belongs to Minerva. However, she is unwilling to expose this lie and still grants me, as a ghost, the highest Hogwarts authority, while she still considers herself the Vice-Headmistress and sits beside me."
"But I know I can't stay in this position forever. I will eventually have to face death. The future of Hogwarts and the wizarding world rests on your shoulders."
Hermione looked annoyed: "At least help us get rid of Grindelwald. You can't leave this big trouble for us."
He patted Hermione's head, his hand warm and strong: "That day will come."
"I have a favor to ask, Professor," Hermione said, looking up.
"I would like to ask you to leave Voldemort to me. I want to settle my score with him myself." Revenge is not something that brings joy when it is done by someone else.
Now that Dumbledore has returned in his prime, no one can rival him except Grindelwald. If he's ever in a bad mood, he can easily take down Voldemort.
There was another consideration: Hermione hadn't forgotten the Great Rune she'd seen in Dumbledore's soul that day. If, like the Borderlands, the most powerful person in the world might possess it, then Voldemort was probably the weakest one she could think of who possessed the Great Rune. If she had the chance to cut him open and take a look, she might gain something from it.
Dumbledore was surprised by this request. He chuckled and said, "Voldemort is not so easy to kill. I have fought him before. Because of his fear of death, he has prepared too many escape routes. Even if I could defeat him, I would not be able to kill him completely."
"I'm too old. With all this stolen time left, Grindelwald alone is enough of a headache. I'm afraid one day you'll have to end his pathetic life."
As if suddenly remembering something, he said to Hermione, "I also have a favor to ask, child."
The girl met Dumbledore's eyes.
"I hope you will not spread the Soul Pact ritual. It can force the souls of others to submit, which will lead to a new form of enslavement. Those who crave domination, power, and violence will abuse it."
"Of course, Professor, there will only be one Soul Bell in the world, and I will only use the ashes of those who have voluntarily donated," Hermione solemnly promised.
"You've helped me with so much trouble, child. It makes an old man ashamed."
"Ha, Professor, instead of worrying about these problems that are still far off, let's focus on finding a suitable Head of Slytherin and Defense Strategy Professor first," Hermione said, mercilessly poking at Dumbledore's sore spot.
"I've heard Professor Flitwick complain several times that his course schedule is so outrageous that just looking at it gives me trypophobia."
Dumbledore immediately rubbed his head, looking exasperated. "Spare me, child. Finding a qualified Defense Strategy professor is difficult, but not impossible. However, finding a qualified Headmaster of Slytherin is much harder than killing Grindelwald."
The head of each house must be a member of that house, and due to recent traditions, Slytherin's head is usually a leader of a pure-blood family, or rather, a representative of Malfoy Castle—a tacit understanding.
Malfoy Castle supplies everything Hogwarts needs, and Malfoy Castle's voice must be heard within Hogwarts.
This position was previously held by Lucius, who was a highly respected Potions Master in Malfoy Castle, a graduate of Slytherin before the war, and who resigned for reasons unknown. Lucius then took over his position.
Now, the master has no intention of returning to teach, and Lily is doing a good job as the Potions professor. Dumbledore is unlikely to let either of them teach Defense Against Wizardry. Therefore, in the best-case scenario, the new Headmaster should be someone with ample combat and adventure experience and who comes from Slytherin.
However, there is a problem here. The nobles of Malfoyburg argued back and forth and could not even elect a person who could truly represent their voice. The chain reaction triggered by Lucius's downfall was that Malfoyburg fell into a long-term family reshuffle, and for a long time, they probably would not be able to reach a consensus.
Not to mention that if the person chosen in the end is not up to the job of a Defense Strategy professor, Dumbledore will not give those nobles any face. Hogwarts is now more confident than ever before.