The Old Man Who Could Command a Phoenix (Coming to Shelves on the 29th)

"Snape?"

Harry quickly explained, "We found out from Hagrid that the guardian of the Philosopher's Stone is a three-headed dog named Fluffy, and Hagrid accidentally revealed how to tame Fluffy to someone else."

"And I heard that Professor Dumbledore isn't in the castle today!" Harry looked at Sean with some urgency.

"So, you suspect Snape would help Riddle steal the Philosopher's Stone?"

"That's right." The three of them Qidian.

Sean sighed. "Guys, wouldn't it be better to tell the professors about this?"

"I told you!" Harry said, somewhat annoyed. "We couldn't get in touch with Professor Dumbledore, so we went to Professor McGonagall, but she told us to stay put and assured us that Snape wouldn't do such a thing!"

"And then you sneaked out in the middle of the night?"

"Yes," Harry's expression immediately turned serious. "That's the hope for curing my sister. I have to get my hands on the Philosopher's Stone before Snape."

Sean choked for a moment. Harry's intentions were good, but this was too reckless.

Just as he was about to continue speaking, Neville spoke up, "Sean, then why are you out in the middle of the night?"

"Same goal as you," he shrugged, then interrupted their excited expressions, "But I'm going to find Dumbledore. Want to come along?"

"Together? But Dumbledore isn't at the school."

That was a false rumor spread by Dumbledore to lure Riddle into a trap. Sean wanted to explain it that way, but then a question suddenly occurred to him.

Snape had told himself that Dumbledore wouldn't be there tonight, but he had received a note from Dumbledore...

At the time, he didn't think much of it; after all, within the castle, only Dumbledore could transmit information using golden-red flames. Even now, Sean wasn't worried that it was a false message from Riddle; the latter wasn't that powerful.

Moreover, Riddle must have been under surveillance.

But upon calming down and thinking about it, this seems somewhat contradictory. Snape knew the inside story, so his instructions should have come from Dumbledore's instructions...

From another perspective, could it be that Snape was impersonated?

Or perhaps the note I received wasn't from Dumbledore, but from someone else...

"Hiss, this feels so familiar..." Sean gasped, immediately recalling how he had been tricked into going to Newmontgard last time.

The note from the flames and a Phoenix Feather were still in Sean's bag, but he was now hesitant.

Was this really a message from Professor Dumbledore? Sean licked his lips; he really wasn't sure.

If not, then what is the other party's purpose? What could they possibly want me to do in the Headmaster's Office? Or, what do they want me to do on my way to the Seventh Floor?

But this doesn't make sense either, because it's a very simple principle. I come and go in the castle all the time, so there's always an opportunity for the other party to do whatever they want. There's no need to deliberately lure him out.

Why...?

Just as Sean was thinking, he suddenly felt his mind go blank, so blank that he seemed to have lost all his thoughts.

Immediately afterwards, a huge sense of happiness spread from the depths of Sean's heart. Within that happiness, it seemed as if a voice was speaking to him, making him unable to resist obeying it.

Harry, his two friends, and Sean looked at each other, puzzled as to why Sean had suddenly fallen silent.

"Sean?"

Harry asked in confusion, and then he saw Sean look up with a smile, "I have to go back. I suggest you don't go through that door either."

"Didn't you say you were going to see Professor Dumbledore?"

Sean shrugged. "Since you all say that Professor Dumbledore isn't in the castle, I've decided to abandon this idea."

After saying that, he lifted the Invisibility Cloak and went out.

"I suggest you all go back to sleep; this is not something we should get involved in."

Watching Sean's retreating figure without turning back, the three exchanged glances.

Ron swallowed hard and said softly, "I think he's right..."

Harry was annoyed. "But we can't let Snape have that Philosopher's Stone!"

Just as the trio was arguing, Sean turned the corner of the stone corridor. His face suddenly lost all expression, and then he smiled happily, with a sense of confusion in his eyes.

He wandered into a small corridor, then walked to the end and pushed open a door.

Upon entering the narrow room, Sean pulled a mechanism, causing the center of the room to gradually sink and transform into a stone staircase.

With a smile, Sean descended the stone steps, passed through a corridor adorned with torches, and arrived at a Stone Chamber.

In the empty Stone Chamber, an old man with white hair and beard stood there.

He was wearing a loose, plain robe and was constantly playing with a wand in his hand. The wand looked brand new and had obviously been well taken care of by its owner.

The old man seemed to have often hunched his neck in his youth, so he now appeared stooped and gave a similar immediate impression to Filch. Of course, he was well-dressed and had a much gentler appearance Filch.

He had dark eyes, his hands clasped in front of his waist, and he just looked at Sean quietly.

After a while, a look of struggle finally appeared on Sean's smiling face. His face gradually contorted, and the confusion in his eyes began to fade.

The old man's eyes showed surprise. He looked at Sean and his expression became more and more distorted. Finally, he clapped his hands as if in admiration, and then waved his wand.

"Ha—ha—" Sean's mind was once again filled with thoughts, and the happiness that he had been gradually suppressing immediately disappeared. He began to breathe heavily.

"Dave! Naja!"

Sean immediately gave the order, and the crimson-eyed, Swooping Evil leaped from his body, transforming into a gigantic, terrifying monster. Meanwhile, the Occamy Naja enlarged her body to surround Sean.

"Protego Diabolica"

The deep blue ring of fire immediately burst into flames.

The old man showed a look of nostalgia and sigh, then quietly looked at the Swooping Evil that was flying towards him.

Dave's eyes were bloodshot, and he opened his mouth wide towards the old man's head.

A strange sound rang out, and Sean, who was still panting, saw the old man instantly turn into a large mass of black, oily substance, Dave missed his target.

Obscurus! Sean's eyes widened.

Obscurus and gently wriggling, it then coalesced on the other side into the shape of the old man.

"I mean you no harm. Relax, child. I didn't immediately break the spell just now to give you some training," he said.

"Sir, does 'no malice' refer to the Imperius Curse?" Sean licked his lips. He had been brought here under the control of the Imperius Curse. Although the other party had not shown any intention to harm him, the Imperius Curse itself represented evil.

The Three Unforgivable Curses require immense malice to cast.

The old man suddenly smiled, and with a wave of his hand, a flash of fire appeared in mid-air. Immediately afterwards, a high-pitched Phoenix cry resounded throughout the Stone Chamber, and a fiery red feather appeared in his hand.

Sean's eyes widened in disbelief. Only members of Dumbledore family could summon the Phoenix!

The old man held up the feather and stepped directly into the blue ring of demonic flames; he was unharmed.

"First of all, I need to apologize to you, child, but I..." He looked troubled. "I'm not as good at thinking as Albus. In order to prevent you from ruining Albus's plans, I had no choice but to use this very impolite method."

Sean didn't let Dave continue his attack; he simply watched him.

"I understand your vigilance, but I have to stop you. Albus to train those kids, and you, as he said," he smiled, "Hate trouble."

"Then why did you pretend to be Dumbledore to let me out?" Sean finally asked.

"Oh, that's not me, it's Grindelwald." The old man shrugged.

It's him again... Sean's eye twitched. Imitating handwriting is one thing, but why can Grindelwald command Phoenix?

"What does he want to do? And what does Professor Dumbledore want to do?"

"I don't know about that, but Albus doesn't want you to see Grindelwald again, and only Albus can guess what Grindelwald is thinking."

He said with a hint of helplessness, "I'm not good at this kind of thing, and Albus and Grindelwald are far better than me when it comes to planning. So, my task is to complete Albus's instructions and, at the same time, keep an eye on the rascals who have infiltrated the castle."

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself yet," he turned around, the white-haired old man revealing a shy smile that didn't suit his demeanor, "Aurelius Dumbledore."