"I saw a place in Tom's memories, a graveyard, where Voldemort was preparing for his resurrection ritual."
"The name of the place was in Tom's memory: Little Hangleton Village, the churchyard."
"I rushed there immediately, only to find Professor Quirrell in the process of brewing a resurrection potion for Voldemort. When Voldemort's soul emerged from Quirrell's body and sank into the cauldron, I knew I had to do something, or Voldemort would truly resurrect."
"So I burst out, using a Petrification Curse to immobilize Quirrell, then added various potions I had with me to the cauldron."
"Anyone with a basic knowledge of potions knows that adding different potions to a brewing potion can cause unpredictable reactions. I was hoping to disrupt Voldemort's resurrection this way."
"I poured about five or six different potions into the cauldron. Sure enough, they reacted violently with the resurrection potion. Voldemort turned into a mass of flesh; he could barely use magic, and I defeated him. Then I took Quirrell to my teacher's house to ask if he wanted revenge for Madame Perenelle, but my teacher was already heartbroken, so I took Quirrell back and contacted the Aurors."
"The Aurors then notified the Minister, the Board of Governors, Dumbledore, and all the professors at the school."
Murphy finished his account, and the Aurors were still taking notes. Someone asked, "So you're saying you prevented Voldemort's resurrection? Killed him?"
Murphy shook his head, "I'm not that optimistic. He didn't die back then, and I see no reason for him to die now. I think he will return."
The atmosphere grew even more oppressive.
"A few details, I need to clarify with you," a Watcher said.
"Ask away."
"According to you, Tom and Harry Potter appeared suddenly, and you immediately believed him and made assumptions," the Watcher asked, "Sorry, but from my perspective, your reasoning seems too smooth, as if you knew more information?"
"There are several reasons for this," Murphy said.
"First, I'm their teacher. I have a good relationship with Harry and Tom; they joined my research and completed experiments together. I trust them a lot; I know they are honest kids."
"Second, Tom was so severely injured at the time, it must have been a major incident. The appearance of the Philosopher's Stone and his memories confirmed this, and I had no reason to doubt."
"Third, in fact, Harry and the others had discussed the Philosopher's Stone with me before. At that time, I realized that whoever was after the Stone probably intended to resurrect Voldemort."
The Watcher nodded, "One more thing, you mentioned they were suddenly transported to you, but as far as I know, they are both first-year students and shouldn't know a spell like Apparition. How did they get to you?"
Murphy took out a coin, "This."
"This is a Ravenclaw coin. It was a reward in the trap I set. It's a Portkey. If you channel magic into it, it transports the person to me."
"Trap?"
"To protect the Philosopher's Stone, Professor Dumbledore asked each professor at the school to set traps under the trapdoor on the fourth floor of the castle. My trap, once successfully solved, would produce such a coin. If the intruder picked it up and tried to find out its function, they would be transported to me and then captured."
"It's just that I never expected it to be used in this situation."
The Watcher jotted down a few notes, "So, you don't know how Lucas Brightson died?"
"Obviously, he died resisting Voldemort, bringing the Philosopher's Stone to me. He also saved Harry Potter."
"But you are not clear about the details of his death," the Watcher said.
Murphy nodded, "Yes, I didn't have time to read those memories. But I think someone definitely knows."
Everyone looked towards Quirrell in the corner.
"Give him some Veritaserum and wake him up," Rasmus commanded.
No one objected; with such a suspect involved in Voldemort's resurrection attempt, there was no need for niceties about human rights.
Soon after drinking Veritaserum, Quirrell was revived.
"Quirinus Quirrell," Rasmus said, "are you a Death Eater?"
"I'm not yet... but my master promised me the best reward once I resurrected him..." Quirrell weakly responded.
"Who is your master?!"
"The Dark Lord, Voldemort."
The crowd gasped in shock. Hearing it from Murphy was one thing, but it was quite another to hear Voldemort's servant admit it. Now, it was certain that Voldemort was not yet dead.
Rasmus quickly asked the most crucial question, "Did the Dark Lord resurrect?"
"No, no, just a bit more... just a little more, and my master would have resurrected. It's all because of Tom and Murphy..."
Not resurrected, thwarted by Tom and Murphy, that was good news.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Rasmus included, and continued, "Start from the beginning, when did you start working for the Dark Lord?"
"Last year, when I became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, I wanted to travel to gain knowledge. In the forests of Albania, I met my master. I asked him for power, and I brought him back to Britain..."
"The Gringotts robbery, was that
you?" Rasmus suddenly asked.
"Yes, it was me. My master ordered me to get the Philosopher's Stone, but I was too late, and he was furious. He punished me..." Quirrell trembled with fear, "After that, my master closely monitored me..."
"Monitored? How?"
"He possessed me, on the back of my head... He spoke to me, saw what I saw, heard what I heard, and could even read my thoughts. He thought I was too weak..."
"Back of the head?" Rasmus removed Quirrell's turban, and a collective gasp echoed through the pub. On Quirrell's bald head, there was a patch of skin resembling a human face, but it was turning black, almost necrotic.
"My master left me, I'm going to, going to... save me..." Quirrell pleaded.
"It seems Voldemort drained a lot of his power and life. He's almost done for. Ask the important questions quickly!" Barty Crouch said.
"Tell us what you did tonight!" Rasmus demanded.
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