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The three hurried back to the castle and arrived at Dumbledore's office.
"Chocolate frog," Hagrid spoke the password, leading the two into the headmaster's office.
Although it was close to midnight, Dumbledore hadn't gone to bed yet. Seeing Hagrid arrive at such a late hour, he knew it must be urgent. Without wasting time, Dumbledore directly asked Hagrid what had happened.
Hagrid recounted his encounter in the Forbidden Forest to Dumbledore. The headmaster's expression remained unchanged as he listened. He calmly asked Tom and Hermione to wait in the office and then went with Hagrid straight to the Forbidden Forest.
Tom and Hermione rested in Dumbledore's office. As Hermione began to calm down, she started exploring the sacred office. The portraits on the wall caught her attention, and she became interested in the names and terms of each headmaster beneath the portraits. She went from one to another, trying to connect her impressions of each headmaster with their appearance.
"Little girl, before you, stands one of the greatest headmasters of Hogwarts—well, one of the greatest, at least," a sly-looking old wizard with a goatee spoke as Hermione approached his portrait. He had intended to say "the greatest," but he didn't want the other portraits to gang up on him, so he added the "at least."
Startled, Hermione had her first direct interaction with a headmaster. Glancing at this "over-familiar" headmaster, she felt his name was somewhat familiar. She recalled: this headmaster seemed to be...
"Or one of the least popular headmasters, not the greatest!" Headmistress Dillys Derwent exposed his background without mercy.
Phineas Black blushed slightly. He seemed angry, but he dared not say much. He murmured, "Well, that's because I have strict standards..."
"Enough, little girl. It's an honor for you to be personally spoken to by the headmaster. This is Phineas Nigellus Black, one of the greatest headmasters of Hogwarts—at least," Phineas began to boast about his lineage, but as Hermione carefully remembered, this headmaster didn't seem to have any outstanding achievements.
However, beside her, Tom was very interested in the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black. He wished he could lie on it and look closely. This emotional state made Phineas uncomfortable, so he cleared his throat and said, "This student, I can understand your excitement at meeting the headmaster. However, please maintain social distance and show more respect for the portrait."
Tom stepped back a couple of steps. He continued to look at Phineas's portrait, and this emotional state made Phineas uncomfortable. He asked, "Headmaster Black, I heard that there is a treasure hidden behind your portrait. Is that true?"
Phineas Nigellus: ???
How would I know?!
The other portraits in the office looked at Tom with curious eyes. A chubby headmaster with a red nose shouted, "Kid, hurry up and move Phineas's portrait away so we can see!"
Phineas Nigellus was shocked and quickly shouted, "Stop! I don't know if there's any treasure behind my portrait! Besides, if there is something, my portrait won't hang flat, and it will be uneven! So, kid, what's behind my portrait?"
"According to legend, there's Hogwarts' deed behind your portrait. I want to see if it's true," Tom said.
Phineas: ...
Other headmasters: ...
Soon, laughter filled the office. The headmasters laughed heartily. Phineas Nigellus shouted, "There is no deed! Or rather, the castle itself is the deed! Only those recognized by the castle can become the headmaster and possess this piece of land during their term!"
...
Dumbledore arrived at the Forbidden Forest and went to the location where the unicorn's body lay. Seeing the bite marks on the unicorn's wound, he frowned. Hagrid, who followed him, also felt a chill. The curse on the unicorn was something Hagrid had heard of.
Dumbledore took out his wand. "Revelare!" He tried to trace the person who had drunk the unicorn's blood, but it was clear that the person was skilled and had erased their traces.
Shaking his head, Dumbledore, along with Hagrid, buried the unicorn and returned to the castle.
While Hermione and Tom were arguing with the portraits, Dumbledore and Hagrid were dealing with the unicorn's body. Meanwhile, the dark wizard Chilo was in the owlery. He watched as his wounds gradually healed, feeling the vitality brought by the unicorn's blood nourishing his body and his master.
Of course, the exhaustion in his heart couldn't be erased.
"Master, what should we do next? We might be exposed now. Returning to school might be walking into a trap..."
The hoarse voice sounded in Chilo's mind. "What's going on with that three-headed dog? Isn't it supposed to be in the fourth-floor corridor?"
"Master, I don't know..." Chilo trembled.
"Forget it, we must act quickly. You need to find a way to get the Philosopher's Stone—"
"Master..." Chilo howled. He felt that it was impossible to accomplish his master's task. He couldn't even deal with the three-headed dog, and the power his master used was limited...
Wait a minute, the three-headed dog...
Chilo felt like he had a vague idea.
He stood still for a while, suddenly clapping his hands, "I know what to do!"
He immediately picked up a piece of paper and a pen from the owlery, quickly wrote a letter, sealed the envelope, and wrote the Ministry of Magic's address on it. Then, he sent the letter away.
Chilo revealed a subtle smile. "I'm quite clever! Now, the three-headed dog won't be an obstacle anymore. That's why, when people are desperate, they can do anything!"
Voldemort, who possessed Chilo, didn't care what his servant was doing. As long as he got the Philosopher's Stone, Chilo could do anything, even if it meant selling himself.
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(End of this chapter)