Planning for the New Semester

Chapter 47 Planning for the New Semester

After the students had finished eating, the main course gradually disappeared from their plates, replaced by various desserts. And once the desserts were completely gone, the opening dinner for the new school term came to an end. Dumbledore stood up again. The Great Hall returned to silence.

"Oh, now that everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, I'd like to say a few more words. At the beginning of the semester, I'd like to remind everyone of a few things to keep in mind."

"Attention first-year students, no student is allowed to enter that wooded area on the school grounds. Some of our older students should also remember this." Dumbledore's bright eyes swept over the Weasley twins.

"Furthermore, Mr. Filch, the superintendent, also asked me to remind everyone not to cast spells in the hallways during breaks. The Quidditch player selection process will take place in the second week of this semester. Anyone interested in joining the college team should contact Ms. Hodge."

"Finally, I must tell everyone that anyone who does not wish to encounter an accident and die a painful death should not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor."

A few suppressed laughs came from among the students.

Avada nodded slightly: he intended to abide by the rule for the time being.

As for how long this "temporary" period will last, it depends on how long it takes him to complete his research and whether he can come up with a reason to persuade Dumbledore.

To be honest, he always thought Dumbledore's trap for Voldemort was ridiculously absurd: not only did he not carry the Philosopher's Stone, such an important thing, with him, but he also deliberately kept it out of his sight, and placed a bunch of obstacles in front of him that were all at the first-year level except for Cerberus—note, obstacles, not obstacles or traps, the kind that could be legally passed.

Most importantly, they proactively told all the teachers and students about the location and did not explicitly prohibit entry—people who didn't know better might think that the school had opened some kind of hidden dungeon and the magic stone was the final reward!

Avada was certain that countless Gryffindor alumni had paved the way for Harry and his friends before they even set foot in this challenge, and some might even have been able to clear it directly. However, what kind of punishment Dumbledore, who had been monitoring the challenge, would impose on them after they succeeded was anyone's guess.

Moreover, Dumbledore underestimated Voldemort's ability to escape in his ghostly state: in the original story, Voldemort was eventually cornered, yet he still managed to slip away from Dumbledore. This is probably why he was confident enough to try and break into the trap, even though he knew it was an obvious trap.

Surely we can't assume that the Dark Lord has really been so brainwashed that he can't even see through this kind of trap?

Avada Kedavra might, possibly, or even possibly possess the means to control Voldemort in his ghostly state. The feasibility of this depends on whether he can successfully analyze Voldemort's dark golden spiritual energy. If he succeeds, he'll fabricate a reason to recruit Dumbledore into his fishing plan; but if he fails… well, he'll just be a good student and live a quiet year.

Finally, after the chaotic school song performance, just like last year, the students followed their respective college teams to their common lounges.

After Tonks graduated and left, the Hufflepuff team was led by the newly appointed prefect, Gabriel Truman. He beckoned the first-years to follow him, and they walked to the pile of barrels next to the kitchen, where he once again explained how to enter the common room and the consequences of doing it wrong…

Unfortunately, this generation of Hufflepuffs lacked imagination; none of them were able to grasp the true uses of vinegar on their own.

Back in the familiar common room, the prefects led the freshmen to their dormitories and explained the uses of various facilities, while the upperclassmen sat around the fireplace in twos and threes, chatting animatedly about what they had seen and heard at the opening banquet that day.

"Harry Potter did go to Gryffindor after all. It's a shame he couldn't come to our house."

Someone lazily sighed, which immediately drew a rebuttal:

"Actually, there's no need to worry. Since the Sorting Hat sorted him into Gryffindor, it must mean that Gryffindor is the most suitable place for him. We should be happy that our savior has found his home..."

"Okay, you're right. But thankfully it wasn't Slytherin. I've vaguely heard those people talking about Harry, and if that were true... God, I can't even imagine."

"So that's just wishful thinking... Oh, by the way, what did you guys mean by Dumbledore's last sentence?"

"Anyone who does not wish to suffer an accident and die a painful death should not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor... In other words, if I want to suffer an accident and die a painful death, I can go in whenever I want?"

"hiss……"

Avada Kedavra, who was sitting with his legs crossed, quietly sipping his milk tea, pursed his lips: Even the most honest Hufflepuff noticed the anomaly in that sentence. I reckon there will be Gryffindors taking a night stroll tonight, and then charging in relentlessly.

Good luck to them. Cerberus is no ordinary dog, and its weaknesses are little known—Avada estimates that it will take at least a seventh-year prodigy who has chosen magical creatures and whose family has a secret lineage of knowledge to get involved before they can possibly overcome Fluffy. However, given the heavy workload of seventh-year students, this process will likely be delayed until very late, or it might not even happen at all.

As for the option of a direct assault, Avada never considered the possibility of success from the beginning—even someone as strong as Snape suffered a setback, so how could an ungraduated student be expected to handle Cerberus?

"Forget it, let's get back to research."

He shook his head, pretended to yawn, and left the common room to return to his dormitory, where he took out a notebook and started writing and drawing on it.

When he saw the Thestrals from the carriage, he was determined to break the seal on the Black Book first. But when he entered the Great Hall and observed Voldemort's mental power, he realized his previous impulsiveness—defeating Voldemort was the most important thing right now, and what he should do now was to analyze Voldemort's mutated mental power as soon as possible and then determine whether his ideas would work on him.

And don't forget, the professor knows his real name. So, as a Dark Lord who can use green light as a flashlight, wouldn't Voldemort be interested in him?

Then, since Avada needs to analyze Voldemort's mental power, he also needs to approach Professor Quirrell and make further contact with him and Voldemort on the back of his head... How should he face him?

Don't forget, Quirrell has a mission to complete; he certainly can't spend all his time answering students' questions. So how can he ensure that the student doesn't become wary without getting annoyed or avoiding him due to frequent inquiries? And how should he deal with Voldemort's potential interest and attention? These are all problems he needs to solve.

The only thing that comforted him was that he had mastered Occlumency quite well. Judging from the original work, Voldemort seemed to still retain the ability to use Legilimency, but even Voldemort in his prime could not see through Snape's Occlumency. Now he was so weak, and Avada Kedavra was a direct copy of Snape's Occlumency. In addition, his magical senses were constantly monitoring his mental changes. All these conditions greatly improved his own safety.

(End of this chapter)