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Chapter 170 - Chapter 170: The Imperial Sword

"Compared to Professor Dumbledore, we have not truly been involved in teaching work. The difficulties and challenges it entails are not something we can casually speculate about."

"Perhaps we should gain a more comprehensive understanding before drawing conclusions."

"This… But, are we supposed to stay here for an entire year?"

Although Murphy was a newcomer, his influence had already surpassed Lucius and the former Runcorn, thanks to his gold coin offensive, so no one took his words lightly.

However, they were governors, not professors; it wasn't feasible to spend a year or two understanding and overseeing how these professors teach, right? "What is our goal, gentlemen?"

"Are we specifically here to punish a certain professor? Is it to blame past mistakes on someone?" Murphy shook his head, "No, what we want is to elevate Hogwarts' teaching quality to a higher level, to educate more powerful, useful wizards!"

"Therefore, identifying the problem, finding the responsible party, is secondary. The primary goal should be solving the problem, or helping deficient professors better educate students. That is what we should be doing!"

The governors nodded in agreement upon hearing this, finding it to be reasonable logic.

Initially, they indeed hadn't intended to target anyone specifically; they were simply shocked by the quality of Hogwarts' professors.

"Murphy, do you have any good ideas?" the female governor asked.

"I have a suggestion. We should give these professors a chance to prove themselves."

"We can appoint a governor to reside at Hogwarts, to understand and supervise the teaching situation in real-time, and to promptly identify and solve problems, guiding Hogwarts towards better development."

"I believe this is what the Ministry of Magic and all British wizards would like to see."

After some discussion, the governors found this to be very sensible, and even Dumbledore expressed his agreement.

Now, only one question remained.

Who would be the overseer? "Murphy, since you've proposed this idea, why not take responsibility for implementing it?"

...

After the review, Murphy returned to the Magic Research Institute.

The Ministry of Magic was set to hold a hearing tomorrow. Although there were still some formalities to go through, his position as a permanent governor at Hogwarts was already a done deal.

Entering Hogwarts with such effort was naturally for the Philosopher's Stone.

After finding the Philosopher's Stone had been taken from the Gringotts vault, Murphy had considered obtaining it through other means, such as being honest with Dumbledore about his illness and needing the Elixir of Life to save his life.

But firstly, the stone was not Dumbledore's but Flamel's to decide on. Secondly, given the need to guard against Voldemort's return, Dumbledore lending the Philosopher's Stone was highly unlikely.

Moreover, Murphy's reputation was not good to begin with. Even if Dumbledore wanted to help him out of altruism, he would surely face opposition. Some might even link him with Voldemort, thinking he wanted the Elixir of Life to resurrect Voldemort.

After much consideration, obtaining the Philosopher's Stone through official channels seemed almost impossible, likely exposing his weaknesses and raising unnecessary suspicions.

The only means he had left was similar to Voldemort in the original story—to steal it.

For the sake of survival, Murphy felt no moral burden; however, stealing the Philosopher's Stone inevitably meant entering Hogwarts first.

Originally, Murphy had considered applying for a professor's position, but then he thought, what about his status? Applying to be a professor, not to mention lowering his own status, being manipulated as a new hire wouldn't be fun, would it? What era was it to still play the pig eats tiger? If he was going to do it, he had to do it big.

Therefore, Murphy orchestrated this grand play of a teaching quality review, sending himself into the school legitimately.

From beginning to end, it was an open scheme. Even if Dumbledore suspected someone was behind this, there was little he could do. After all, Dumbledore was just a headmaster, and the school was still under the Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction.

Entering the school as a governor with the power to supervise and review all Hogwarts staff, holding the imperial sword, ready to strike at will, wasn't that much more comfortable than being any professor?

But entering the school was just the first step.

Murphy had to carefully consider what to do next.

First, as a permanent governor, he had a lot of power and freedom, allowing him to reasonably intervene in various school affairs without raising more suspicions.

But this role also had its downside: it easily positioned him against the entire staff. Look at Umbridge from the original story; although she was indeed annoying, the professors' dislike for her also stemmed from her role as an overseer.

Who would like someone high above, able to review their work, and even has the power to fire them at any moment? In such a case, every move he made would attract more attention.

Moreover, entering the school at this time, to say Dumbledore wouldn't suspect any connection with the Philosopher's Stone, Murphy wouldn't believe it; it would be underestimating the old man's intelligence.

Stealing the Philosopher's Stone under the watchful eyes of so many would not be easy.

After long consideration, a plan gradually formed in Murphy's mind.

First, he needed to secure a teaching position.

Merely acting as an overseer was very unpleasant, but if he also became a professor, he could level the playing field through this colleague status, better relate to the professors, and lower their guard.

Additionally, as a professor, he would have direct influence over the students, which would be beneficial for Murphy's subsequent plan.

Moreover, he might even directly involve himself in the protection of the Philosopher's Stone through his professorial role. After all, even Hagrid, the gamekeeper, was involved; as a legitimate professor and a governor holding the imperial sword, wouldn't it be unreasonable if he couldn't participate?

This would be easy to manage, just find a plausible reason to propose to the Board of Governors.

Currently, besides himself and Malfoy, there were three pure-blood nobles under his command in the Board of Governors.

With five people, they almost occupied half of the Board's power; as long as the reason was publicly acceptable, it would likely pass.

Next, he needed a proxy to avoid Dumbledore's scrutiny.

Directly attempting to take the Philosopher's Stone could easily draw Dumbledore's attention, and Murphy was still unsure of Dumbledore's arrangements for the stone.

Would he follow the original story? Was his true purpose to protect the stone, or was it a test and trial for Harry and Voldemort? If it was the former, perhaps taking the stone wouldn't provoke Dumbledore's hostility too much, after all, Murphy wasn't Voldemort; him having the stone would be better than Voldemort getting it.

But if it was the latter, taking the stone would be akin to disrupting Dumbledore's overall plan for Harry and Voldemort's fate; Murphy wasn't sure how Dumbledore would react.

Therefore, manipulating from the shadows without acting personally would be best.

But who should he choose as his proxy?

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