Dumbledore lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong.
"You are right, Charlie," he admitted.
"Thanks to you, otherwise, I dare not imagine the consequences tonight."
Just as Harry and Hermione felt a pang of pity, Charlie suddenly changed the subject.
"In that case."
"Can the Principal do me a favor?"
"Consider it my reward."
Hermione glanced at Charlie, and being clever, she instantly realized that Charlie was just putting on an act to get something.
However, Charlie had done a great service tonight, so he deserved a reward.
So she quickly played along with Charlie.
She whimpered, "Professor, I feel so scared; Professor Quirrell almost killed us."
As she spoke, she deliberately nudged Harry and Ron with her elbow.
Ron was confused: "Why did you poke me?"
Hermione wished she could poke him to death.
This blockhead, couldn't he cooperate?
Harry vaguely touched his forehead.
"Yes... yes, my head hurts so much, I don't know if it's an after-effect."
Ron finally reacted and quickly said, "Yes, yes, it was too scary just now, my legs are still shaking."
Dumbledore could easily see through their clumsy acting.
However, he was going to reward Charlie anyway.
Quirrell's matter was indeed his mishandling, and Charlie had saved everyone tonight, so he deserved a reward.
"Of course, no problem, Charlie."
Dumbledore smiled kindly.
"Hufflepuff gets 100 points, and whatever else you want, just ask."
Charlie's eyes lit up.
Here it comes, bonus time.
"Actually, it's nothing big, I just want to expand the space in my box."
"And I want to make the environment inside the box more realistic."
Dumbledore became alert; many years ago, there was also a Hufflepuff who had such a box.
"Mr. White, you're not thinking of raising small animals in this box, are you?"
"How could I, Professor? Wouldn't that violate school rules?"
"I am the most disciplined person."
Charlie flashed a bright, wide smile.
Despite some reservations, Dumbledore nodded in agreement.
"Principal, one more question."
Dumbledore put down his honey tea, signaling him to continue.
"Quirrell suddenly erupted during the battle; his entire aura completely changed," Charlie recalled, frowning.
"Before, he was no match for me, but suddenly he became incredibly strong."
Harry subconsciously touched the scar on his forehead, which was still throbbing faintly.
"That's right, my scar started hurting then."
Hermione and Ron exchanged glances, both recalling the suffocatingly terrifying aura at that time.
Dumbledore's expression became serious, his eyes gleaming with thought.
He probably knew what was going on in his heart; it must have been Lord Voldemort's doing, but he didn't directly state it.
"Charlie, can you extract this memory for me to see?"
"Extract memory?" Charlie was taken aback.
"How do I extract it?"
Dumbledore stood up and walked to a silver basin beside his desk.
"This is called a Pensieve; it can store and view memories," he picked up his wand.
"I'll teach you a Spell."
"Memory Recall."
Charlie's Charms talent was displayed vividly at this moment.
Almost as soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, he mastered the technique.
His wand lightly touched his temple, and a shimmering silver thread was slowly drawn out.
Charlie handed the silver thread to Dumbledore, who placed it into the Pensieve.
Dumbledore waved his wand, and a transparent water screen appeared in mid-air.
The scene from the Pensieve began to play on the water screen.
In the image, Charlie was relentlessly attacking Quirrell.
"Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra!"
Dumbledore watched Charlie's casting speed, a look of shock in his eyes.
This casting frequency was simply outrageous.
While casting is a Wizard's instinct, there is always a slight pause after each Spell.
It's like a blacksmith hammering iron; if he rushes the next hammer before recovering from the last, the result is a strain.
But Charlie's pauses were frighteningly short, and every Spell was cast with full power.
Even Dumbledore himself would find it difficult to achieve this frequency when casting with full power.
This boy's talent was truly unprecedented.
What Dumbledore didn't know was that this was the result of Charlie's max-level talent combined with the system's extremely short Spell pauses.
It was like a blacksmith's hammer being replaced by a pneumatic forging hammer, manual replaced by fully automatic; of course, it would be fast.
The scene continued to play, with Quirrell being beaten to a pulp, only able to continuously cast shields.
Then the crucial moment arrived.
Black smoke billowed out from Quirrell's body, obscuring the sky.
Dumbledore's expression grew solemn.
Then Charlie summoned a thick fog, and the scene ended there.
Charlie was very clever; he didn't include the part where he transformed into a Dragon.
He knew his Animagus was unusual, and it was better to be careful with such an unprecedented matter.
Dumbledore closed the water screen, and the entire office fell silent.
"Principal?" Harry asked cautiously.
"What was that black smoke?"
Dumbledore sighed deeply, the wrinkles on his face appearing deeper in the firelight.
"Children, I must tell you a cruel truth."
"Lord Voldemort has returned."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"