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After his brief battle with Voldemort, Aiden gained a clearer understanding of the Dark Lord's current level.
"I'm still too weak. Even a fragmented Voldemort forced me to use every trump card I have," Aiden sighed.
[Ding, that's the Dark Lord. Do you really hear yourself right now?]
"Heh, I know, I know," Aiden replied, grinning.
***
Meanwhile, in Quirrell's office, the atmosphere was tense and heavy.
"You've been exposed, you useless fool. A powerful wizard has discovered you and dragged us into the realm of distorted illusion," Voldemort's furious voice echoed, accompanied by a barrage of curses that tormented Quirrell.
"No… my master… Please… give me another chance…" Quirrell begged, his voice trembling with fear.
"We need to accelerate our plan. This battle has weakened us, and you will need some way to sustain your life. Now get moving. We must get the Philosopher's Stone before Dumbledore finds us. Then I will grant you eternal life," Voldemort commanded, his eyes closing slowly on the back of Quirrell's head.
"Yes, yes, my great master," Quirrell whispered, and silence fell over the office.
***
Back in the Great Hall, Aiden was enjoying a hearty meal with the Ravenclaw students while his roommates excitedly replayed the Quidditch match, their voices filling the table with energy.
After eating, Aiden made his way to the eighth floor alone, ready to practice magic in the Room of Requirement.
As he reached the tapestry, he heard an old, familiar voice behind him.
"Oh, this place is always interesting. Once, I was desperate for the loo in the middle of the night and found a room full of chamber pots while wandering here."
"You're wasting the real treasure Lady Ravenclaw left us, Professor Dumbledore," Aiden said, turning to see the Headmaster himself.
"I noticed our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor seems to be getting weaker. Do you have any idea why?" Dumbledore asked, giving Aiden a knowing wink.
"Maybe he couldn't find the room full of toilets and got sick," Aiden replied with a smirk.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Alright, Aiden, I wasn't spying on you, but I sensed the fluctuations of a distorted illusion. There are very few in this school who can duel in that realm."
"Like you and your old flame?" Aiden teased.
Dumbledore laughed, "That's a good one. I'll have to include it next time I write to him. But that's not what I wanted to ask. How strong is he, Aiden? Or rather, how much has he recovered?"
"You're still writing letters to each other? Never mind, that's not the point. He's probably at the level of an average adult wizard, used to the Unforgivable Curses, always prickly and defensive. Without a physical body and the coordination of magical organs, he couldn't muster enough power. That's why he was quickly defeated and forced to flee," Aiden explained.
Dumbledore's eyes flashed with sharp light. "So, how confident are you that a young wizard could handle him?"
"Are you planning to torment your saviour again?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"And maybe your cousin too. He's quite the celebrity in Gryffindor now," Dumbledore said with a playful smile.
"Oh, another prophecy? Why are you people always so obsessed with prophecies?" Aiden sighed, shaking his head.
"Because that is the power of the human heart, my boy. Maybe you have hope of surpassing it, but what about the rest of us? We are only human, swept up by fate, whether it's me, Gellert, or Tom," Dumbledore replied softly.
"Professor, Ron is my cousin, my friend, my brother," Aiden said, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. He knew the power of prophecy, but he also understood that Ron, no matter how dangerous his path seemed, would always be protected by it.
"So?" Dumbledore looked at him, a little confused.
"It'll cost you," Aiden said, rubbing his hands together.
"What do you want?"
"Alchemy."
"The Dumbledore family's alchemy books are open to you."
"Perfect," Aiden said, grinning.
Dumbledore looked at the shrewd young wizard and smiled helplessly.
"Aiden, I have a feeling my time may be running out. There are things I need to tell you now. From this point on, I'll do everything I can to increase Harry's influence."
"I get it. You want the world to focus its hope on Harry. Voldemort marked him personally. The more hope people place in Harry, the more miserable Voldemort's defeat will be."
After Dumbledore revealed a few more details, Aiden realised he had already figured out the Headmaster's whole plan.
Perhaps in terms of raw magical power, Voldemort had caught up to Dumbledore, but when it came to strategy and planning, he was still far behind. Hadn't the previous prophet ended up in prison because of Dumbledore's schemes?
"By the way, Professor, have you ever thought that stopping magical education at seventeen is a bit too early? Shouldn't there be some kind of advanced studies?" Aiden asked, his wit shining through.
Dumbledore was caught off guard by the question. "Go on, I'm listening."
"We could take a page from the Muggles. At fifteen, after passing O.W.L.s, students get a high school diploma. When they pass N.E.W.T.s at seventeen, they get a bachelor's degree. Then we could set up a master's programme in Azkaban, and after that, a doctoral programme in Nurmengard. Each level comes with its own degree certificate," Aiden suggested, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
Dumbledore rolled his eyes. "And what would you call this new education system, the path to cultivating highly educated Dark Lords?"
[Ding, impressive. You even managed to make Dumbledore complain.]
Dumbledore clearly had enough of Aiden's nonsense and left the eighth floor, shaking his head.
***
After practising magic, Aiden went to the Great Hall to enjoy dinner, but was intercepted by Harry and his two friends on the way.
"Aiden, we need your help. Snape is trying to steal something from Professor Dumbledore," Harry said urgently.
"And he tried to kill Harry," Ron added.
"Aiden, can you help Harry?" Hermione pleaded.
Aiden looked at the three of them, speechless. He sighed inwardly. Professor Snape, if only you would maintain your image a bit better, you wouldn't be misunderstood like this.
"Alright, alright, let's talk at Hagrid's hut," Aiden said, following the three towards the edge of the grounds.
"Oh, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Aiden. Welcome," Hagrid greeted them, stirring something in a steaming pot.
"Hagrid, I'm telling you, Snape is planning to kill Harry. He cursed Harry's broom," Ron said anxiously.
"Nonsense, why would Snape want to kill Harry?" Hagrid replied, looking baffled.
"Then why did Snape try to get past the three-headed dog?" Harry pressed.
"Who told you about Fluffy?" Hagrid blurted out.
"Fluffy? That thing has a name?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Of course, I got him from an Irishman and lent him to Dumbledore to guard Nicholas Flamel's… Oh, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have let it slip," Hagrid muttered, clearly annoyed with himself.
"This is top secret. Alright, no more questions," Hagrid said, shooing them out of the hut.
Aiden, who hadn't managed to say a single word the whole time, just stood there in silence.
"He seems angry," Aiden commented as they left.
"I guess so. We'll come back and apologise next time," Harry said.
"Maybe you should try trusting Professor Snape a little more. He's been at Hogwarts for years. And give Professor Dumbledore some trust too," Aiden advised.
The three of them didn't answer, leaving with worried looks on their faces.
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