In fact, the Boggart had transformed into more than just Voldemort.
James Potter's corpse, the pleading, blocking the Killing Curse, the fallen Lily Evans, telling Lily to leave, the cackling laughter, and Voldemort casting the Killing Curse were all part of the Boggart's transformation.
However, Basil had only allowed the Boggart to imprint one part—Voldemort (fake), capable of casting the Killing Curse.
For that, Basil had even given up on Lily Evans, who died casting the protective spell of love.
When he tried to imprint only part of it, he discovered that he could either have only one part or all of it.
He could not have both Lily and Voldemort.
Perhaps Snape could provide that.
But he would probably only get Lily's corpse.
And the Boggart's power probably could not penetrate the mind of Snape, who was highly skilled in Legilimency.
What frustrated Basil even more was that this was not all.
Although nearly everyone had heard Harry point at Quirrell, shout Voldemort's name, and then faint.
Everyone cried out in alarm, believing that there was something wrong with Quirrell.
Quirrell had been so frightened that he nearly fainted.
Snape directly pressed his wand against Quirrell's throat.
Yet Voldemort on the back of Quirrell's head showed no reaction at all.
Nor did Dumbledore seize him on the spot.
Instead, he overrode all objections and patted Quirrell's shoulder as if to reassure him.
Then he announced that the feast was over.
He had Hagrid take Harry to the school hospital wing.
Why was Dumbledore so calm?
He should have roared, "Harry, Harry Potter!"
He should have personally carried Harry to the school hospital wing!
And that was not even the worst of it. Because of this, Basil had only gained 500 additional gems.
He could only leave the Great Hall in frustration with the others, following Percy toward the Gryffindor common room.
Everyone was deeply unsettled.
Even Fred and George had not been in the mood to joke around.
Except Ron.
First, because when he saw Hagrid carry Harry to the doorway, Harry had already woken up and was struggling to get up. He was fine.
Second, in Ron's own words, "I can't stand seeing Professor Quirrell be misunderstood."
As a result, after Percy led them to the portrait of The Fat Lady on the Seventh Floor and gave the password, "Dragon's Head," the portrait swung aside to reveal a round hole.
Almost every young Gryffindor knew about Ron's theory of Voldemort's power resonance.
Percy, who was walking ahead, had only been focused on leading the way and dealing with Peeves, who had suddenly appeared along the route.
He had not noticed what Ron said at all.
He had only noticed that everyone had calmed down after Ron spoke.
He walked over to Ron and patted his shoulder. "Well done, Ron! You truly are a prefect's younger brother!"
Basil held back a laugh as he walked past Ron, whose face was full of confusion.
After crawling through the hole in the wall, they arrived at the Gryffindor common room.
He looked the room over.
Other than the first-years waiting to be taken to their dormitories and Percy, the prefect responsible for them, there was no one else there.
Since they had classes the next day, and everyone had been exhausted by the day's events, the older students had all voluntarily returned to their dormitories.
The room looked very comfortable. It was circular and filled with plush armchairs, while a huge fireplace occupied an entire wall.
The walls were decorated with scarlet tapestries depicting many witches and wizards, as well as numerous animals.
Near the exit stood a bare wooden board.
Then his gaze shifted to the other side of the room.
There were two doors there.
Percy was leading the girls toward the door on the right.
They all disappeared through it together.
Basil was stunned. He grabbed Ron. "Aren't boys forbidden from entering the girls' dormitories?"
He had heard Hermione explain this before. She had mentioned that the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories were enchanted.
If boys stepped onto them, they would fall back down after only a few steps.
He clearly remembered how smug Hermione had been at the time. "According to Hogwarts: A History, this was because Hogwarts' founders believed that girls were more trustworthy than boys."
Ron nodded. "That's true. Great Ravenclaw believed adolescent boys were too dangerous. Percy can enter because he's a prefect, and today is the first day of term. At this time, prefects are allowed into the girls' dormitories. The Head Boy and Head Girl are the same."
"I've decided!" Basil pumped his fist. "I'm going to become a prefect!"
"Excellent! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!" Percy came down from the door on the right after helping the girls find their dormitory, his face full of approval.
"Ron, you should learn from Basil."
Then he turned to the other first-years. "Everyone, follow me."
Five minutes later, Basil lay panting on a bed with four posts draped in dark crimson flannel curtains.
"Gryffindor Tower... now I finally understand why it's called a tower. That spiral staircase is so long. And why are our dormitories at the very top of the tower?!"
All his lofty ambitions from moments ago had vanished.
Now he only wanted a good night's sleep.
Inside the headmaster's office, the greatest White Wizard, Albus Dumbledore, sat upright in a high-backed chair.
His elbows rested on the desk, his chin supported by his clasped hands.
His bright blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles were utterly calm, like a steadily burning flame.
Across from him, Severus Snape paced back and forth before the desk without stopping.
"Dumbledore! What were you thinking?"
"McGonagall and the others didn't notice, but I did! The Dark Lord is on the back of Quirrell's head!"
"If it weren't for that boy, I wouldn't have known at all!"
"Do you remember what you told me a day ago? Keep an eye on Quirrell, something is wrong with him."
"You noticed something was wrong with him long ago!"
"And yet you did nothing!"
Dumbledore blinked and said calmly, "This is a wager between Tom and me. He knows that I know about him. I know that he knows that I know about him."
Snape flew into a rage. "A wager! Have you forgotten that you are Hogwarts' headmaster?!"
Then he sighed again.
He knew that once Dumbledore had made a decision, all he could do was obey it.
And Dumbledore's decisions were usually right—the best ones.
That was also why the portraits of former headmasters in the office clearly knew what Dumbledore was doing, yet not one of them spoke. They merely pretended to sleep.
"What is the stake?"
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "Quirinus Quirrell's life. And my chance to catch him once and for all."
Snape strode forward. "Why not now?!"
He was incomparably excited. In his cool eyes, flames of joy spilled forth, as though they could set the entire room ablaze.
Dumbledore shook his head. "Voldemort used an extremely evil, insane form of Dark Magic to ensure his continued immortality. Quirrell's body is not only his hostage now, but also a disposable vessel for him to escape this castle in an instant."
"My chance to catch him will last only an instant: the moment after he obtains the Philosopher's Stone, pours his soul into it, and forges a perfect body."
Snape took a step back. "Only catch him?"
Dumbledore said calmly, "Only catch him. Until certain conditions are met, I cannot kill him."
When the sun had just poked its head over the horizon and the air was still filled with early morning mist, Basil woke up.
Although his body was still that of an ordinary eleven-year-old boy before the Dragon Blood of Red Dragon was ignited.
It had nevertheless been optimized to some extent.
It was not only his bulging muscles. His energy was also more abundant, and he recovered more easily.
With only four or five hours of sleep, his body could shake off all fatigue and leave him feeling refreshed.
After briefly being surprised to find that his three plain black work robes had all been sewn with the Gryffindor crest.
He turned his attention to the entire dormitory.
Like the common room, the dormitory was circular.
The floor was decorated with a scarlet carpet, while the walls were draped in dark red fabric.
Five four-poster beds stood upright against the walls.
Their luggage was placed beside the beds.
Ron was to his left, Harry was to Ron's left, Neville was to Harry's left, Seamus was to Neville's left, and Basil was to Seamus's left.
The five beds formed a circle as well.
At the center of the circle stood a huge hexagonal table, surrounded by five high-backed chairs.
Beneath it lay a red carpet embroidered with golden lions.
The room had two doors. One was the entrance, while the other led to the washroom shared by the five of them.
He got dressed and climbed down from his bed.
Harry's bed was empty.
Last night, Harry had probably spent his first night at Hogwarts in the school hospital wing.
Thanks to God Loves His Classmates for the reward, Luo With the People for the monthly vote, and the other classmates for their recommendations!
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