Chapter Fifty: The Rescue and the Truth
I don't know how long I waited. Before Harry and George returned, Professor Dumbledore came in first. He didn't bring Ron along; he entered the room alone. Luckily, it wasn't long before Dumbledore returned, this time accompanied by George and Harry.
Ron was overjoyed and eager to know what had happened, but it was already too late. By the time they came out, it was already morning. Harry and George quickly told him that Quirrell was dead, Voldemort had failed, and the Philosopher's Stone was safe. Then they all went back to sleep, and Ron, exhausted, followed suit.
By midday, everyone had woken up. Professor Dumbledore called Harry and George aside. By dinner time, Ron finally had a chance to ask what had really happened.
Harry slowly recounted the whole story to Ron and Hermione.
"Voldemort is extremely weak now—he's nothing more than a shadow and vapor. He can't harm anyone, yet his followers are still assisting him."
Yesterday's encounter with George had made Harry aware of Voldemort's current vulnerability. He despised those villains who conspired under the influence of this ghostly presence. Without their support, Voldemort could not survive.
"More dangerous than Voldemort himself are his minions. They're plotting, entirely focused on resurrecting him." After yesterday, George no longer feared Voldemort. Only then did he realize that the real threat was the remnants of Voldemort's power.
Yesterday's events also proved that evil inevitably dies under its own machinations—but Voldemort's unique weakness lies in his ability to reach into the hearts and minds of others with just a single breath, something George deeply envied.
Moreover, this sort of immortality is far more compelling than that of ordinary defeated villains. People often say that death is like a candle being snuffed out, a tree falling, or hunger dissipating. If so many loyal followers exist, even Voldemort's failure can be considered honorable.
"After George and I defeated Voldemort, Dumbledore didn't arrive immediately. Luckily, George wasn't like him; otherwise, I would've been burned alive," Harry recalled, thinking of George attacking Voldemort while cloaked. "The timing couldn't have been more perfect."
"What surprised me was that it wasn't Snape who tried to steal the Stone—it was the seemingly timid Quirrell," Ron said, astonished by the turn of events. Quirrell had truly been ruthless.
"Snape's a strange one. He was my father's classmate, but they didn't get along—like Malfoy and me," Harry said, touching his head. Snape's situation embarrassed him greatly. "My father saved his life, and Snape hated him for it. He hated the very person he despised for saving him, and now he hates me too."
"You're really unlucky!" Hermione said. Harry was innocent, yet the strange legacy of Snape's relationship with his father had unfairly passed on to him.
"Let him hate me; I hate him too. At least then I don't have to worry about him trying to kill me," Harry decided. Since there was no way to deal with Snape, he might as well ignore him.
"But if it weren't for George helping, I could have done almost nothing. As George said, Dumbledore's protection of the Stone was the only safeguard. He hid it inside a mirror. Only those who truly sought the Stone without relying on him could retrieve it. If I hadn't gone in, Quirrell would never have found it."
To Harry, yesterday's adventure had been nearly perfect. He had learned many things he had wanted to know. But what frustrated him most was that he had nearly been useless.
"This isn't blaming you—it's Dumbledore's design. He seems to have deliberately guided you into doing many things, including facing Voldemort himself, if he truly intended to hide the Stone. I'd bet it was either you or Voldemort. You didn't even know where the Stone was, let alone how to find it."
George had confirmed that Dumbledore had intentionally orchestrated everything in the previous adventures, Harry Potter and the Mirror of Enchantment and The Final Mirror, all to ensure Harry could obtain the Philosopher's Stone. But had he not arrived in time, according to the story, Harry might have failed to stop Voldemort and instead would have been burned alive due to the butterfly effect.
"Why? It's terrifying. How could Dumbledore let Harry face such danger? If it weren't for George, he'd be dead already," Hermione said, horrified. She couldn't believe Dumbledore had involved first-year students in such peril.
"Looking back, we discovered so much information early in the morning. Dumbledore knew exactly what we were doing. He knew but didn't plan to stop us. Perhaps he thought I had the right to face Voldemort," Harry said, still thinking highly of Dumbledore and attempting to defend him.
"Quirrell's dark spirit was obvious—Voldemort was possessing him, roaming the school. Dumbledore knew everything early in the morning. It was like a thrilling game, and the outcome depended on luck," George said confidently, gazing squarely at Dumbledore. Naturally, he didn't feel Dumbledore's arrangements deserved any praise.
If it had relied solely on Harry, the game might have been interesting, but the risks far outweighed any rewards. Dumbledore never intended to draw him fully into his plan. They were too old, too set in their ways, incapable of progress or change, and incapable of treating others as part of the game.
"I still can't believe Nicolas Flamel actually destroyed the Philosopher's Stone, and died so tragically," Ron said, changing the topic. Dumbledore had been aware of the adventure and had even guided events deliberately. Ron felt uneasy. He didn't want to accuse Dumbledore, but neither could he defend him.
Nicolas Flamel's decision made him feel that his idol had become an utterly irrational madman.
Since learning of the Stone's existence, Ron had idolized Nicolas Flamel. Countless gold coins, immortality, the greatest alchemical achievements—all attached to one person. What could be greater or more perfect?
Yet, such a perfect man, with a perfect life, had chosen death merely because of Voldemort's ghost. It was utterly incomprehensible.
"This is shocking. The greatest alchemist, alive for over six hundred years, died like this?" Hermione groaned, struggling to process it. Nicolas Flamel had chosen to die at this moment…
The greatest alchemist, holder of the Philosopher's Stone, had been frightened to death by Voldemort. And yet Voldemort was so weak that even George and Harry could defeat him!
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