Voldemort seemed eager to see Kael get caught by Dumbledore while making a Soul Artifact.
Or rather, in his view, as long as Kael dared to study Soul Artifacts at Hogwarts, he would inevitably be discovered.
"No need for you to worry about that, Professor." Kael carefully tucked away the small piece of parchment.
Voldemort's words can't be fully trusted; besides himself, no one knows if this information is true or false. It's only safe to assume most of it is real.
Before getting that book, Advanced Black Magic Unveiled, it is still useful as a reference.
"You just said... Professor?" Voldemort's expression was a bit strange.
"After all, you did teach me a few things..." Kael said matter-of-factly, "Anyway, I should call you Professor."
"Ha, ridiculous trick..."
Voldemort sneered, "Do you think I'll let you off because of that, smartass.
Enjoy every day you have left; I will return someday."
"I will find you, no matter how many Soul Artifacts you make, I will dig them all out, you... can't escape!"
"Then you better find them well, my dear Professor." Kael laughed.
Just then, the previously extinguished black flames ignited once more, clearly indicating someone else had entered the room.
"Just in time."
Kael took out another bottle of Magic Potion and grasped it in his hand, then pulled out his Invisibility Cloak.
"Tell me... how did you do it..." Voldemort looked weakly at Kael, his voice growing fainter, "Knowing it was me on Quirrell... and still waiting here beforehand..."
"It wasn't hard to guess, Professor." Kael quickly said, "Soul Artifact, Unicorn blood, Elixir of Life... put these together, the answer is obvious."
"As for how I got here in advance... that's thanks to Bella... ahem, Mr. Potter."
...
Soon, the black magic fire flickered suddenly, and a figure slowly walked out from within.
Harry expected to see Snape, or even Voldemort, but it was neither.
There was only one person lying on the ground in the room...
Nearby, a familiar scarf was scattered; it belonged to Professor Quirrell.
"Professor?" Harry cautiously approached, but after just a couple of steps, he was horrified to discover a grotesque face on the back of Quirrell's head.
Harry felt a chill down his spine and instinctively stepped back, wanting to retreat to the warm castle.
But the thought of Voldemort possibly obtaining the Philosopher's Stone made him stop.
He noticed that Quirrell seemed unconscious, the face on the back of his head had its eyes tightly shut, though its lips were slightly moving as if muttering something with no sound.
Harry, curious but cautious, dared not get closer.
He carefully skirted around Quirrell.
It was then he noticed something standing nearby—it was The Mirror of Erised he had seen before.
"So Headmaster Dumbledore hid it here." Harry muttered quietly.
Seeing the mirror again, Harry couldn't help but take a look.
"There's nothing around here, maybe the Philosopher's Stone is hidden inside..." thinking this, he approached the mirror.
This time there was no one else; he saw only himself in the mirror, initially pale and frightened, but moments later smiling.
In the mirror, Harry reached into his pocket, pulled something out, blinked, and placed it back in.
Harry was puzzled; he didn't understand what his reflection was doing... Asking him for money?
"Clang..."
Just then, a bright red stone suddenly fell from behind the mirror.
"The Philosopher's Stone!" Harry exclaimed, quickly bending down to pick it up.
However, Harry failed to notice that as he uttered "Philosopher's Stone," Quirrell behind him suddenly opened his eyes.
While he was examining the Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell was already wobbling to his feet.
"Philosopher's Stone... haha... Philosopher's Stone..." He murmured softly, head down.
Harry was startled, quickly turning around, hiding the Philosopher's Stone behind him.
"Don't even think about it, I'm not giving it to you!"
Yet, Quirrell showed no sign of taking it; he began to laugh wildly and stretched out his hand.
"Die... haha, all die!"
Small sparks started appearing around him, and in an instant, they erupted into a blaze, coalescing into a giant eagle made of flames.
The room's temperature kept rising; at this rate, it wouldn't take long for the fire to engulf the entire room.
"Stop it!"
Harry grabbed Quirrell's arm, trying to stop him from summoning more flames.
Blisters started to form on Quirrell's arm, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, seizing Harry and attempting to drag him into the flames.
"It's all because of you... because of you... let's die together..."
Harry felt an intense, splitting pain from the scar on his forehead; his head seemed like it was about to crack open... his vision went black... he could only hear Quirrell's hateful screams.
There were also other voices shouting, "Potter! Potter!"
Though, maybe this was just an illusion in his mind.
Harry's consciousness faded, vaguely seeing the Philosopher's Stone that was once in his hand falling to the ground, swiftly consumed by flames.
"No..." Harry murmured in despair, trying to break free from Quirrell's grasp.
To his surprise, he succeeded.
The pain in his forehead eased, and with his consciousness restored, Harry was about to rush into the flames to find the Philosopher's Stone when someone stopped him.
"That's Fiendfyre, you'll die!"
"Kai, Kael?" Harry stared in surprise at the newcomer, "How are you here!"
"No time to explain..." Kael frowned and said.
He admitted he had been somewhat negligent.
He had not stopped Quirrell upon seeing him awaken.
Initially thought Quirrell was just making a dying effort to find Harry but didn't expect him to unleash the Fiendfyre Curse without a wand despite being in such bad shape.
Tough life indeed!
Kael grabbed Harry's arm, and the tip of his wand gradually brightened with an orange glow.
But before he could proceed to the next step, the Fiendfyre in the room suddenly vanished.
"Seems like I arrived just in time."
Dumbledore appeared at the door, he didn't even have a wand, just moved his fingers to dispel the surrounding Fiendfyre.
"Professor Dumbledore... Quirrell... the Philosopher's Stone..." Harry struggled to speak.
Dumbledore shook his head and said, "We'll talk about that later, Harry, you need rest now."
As he spoke, his blue eyes stayed fixed on Kael, seemingly a bit surprised.