After personally escorting the four contented Little Lions back to their dormitory, Dumbledore and Snape both headed downstairs.
"Severus, this is an extremely dangerous form of Dark Magic."
"He's clever enough to know to use Fiendfyre to burn all the blood away."
Snape's tone was slightly sarcastic. "You didn't consider that he might be a dark wizard, did you? Even more powerful than some people."
"I certainly wouldn't have guessed." Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "Quirinus was perfectly fine until he came back from the holidays and started to carry the aura of Dark Magic."
He said he encountered a vampire, do you think I shouldn't believe him?
Snape did not answer the question. "Wayne hit him five times. Even if the wound has healed, it will still leave a mark."
Dumbledore stopped in front of an office on the third floor.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door. "Quirinus, are you asleep?"
"Ah—I haven't—I haven't slept yet—"
Snape squinted.
Although there is no evidence, the person inside is still the most suspicious.
"Bang—Clatter—Bang—"
After a long period of noise in the office, Quirrell timidly opened a crack in the door.
Good evening.
Snape, his face dark, forcefully pulled the door open.
Quirrell, wearing a purple-red striped pajama set and a long scarf that smelled of alcohol on his head, was so shocked that he fell to the ground.
"Severus — Severus, you, you, you..."
"Get up and take off your clothes!"
Seeing him awkwardly stand up, Snape ripped open his pajamas.
"Turn around!"
Quirrell shrank back and turned around shakily.
After his pajamas were removed, Snape pressed his entire face against them.
It was completely white, without any scars.
"Turn back!"
The shoulders were smooth, without even a wrinkle.
Snape looked at Dumbledore was staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Take your pants off!"
Quirrell squeezed his legs together, stiffened his neck, and took a step back. "This—this isn't a good idea."
Do you still want me to come in person?
He quickly bent down and put his hands on his waistband.
"Take it all off?"
"Up to the knees!"
As soon as Snape finished yelling, his matching purple-red striped pajama pants slipped down to his knees.
Dumbledore was still staring at the ceiling.
"Impossible!"
Snape stood up again and glared at Quirrell was only wearing his underwear.
There was no trace of gunshot wounds, only a few red marks that seemed to be from a recent fall.
The aura of Dark Magic was also very faint, not at all like it had just been used recently.
Sometimes, being too innocent can actually be the most suspicious point.
Quirrell bent over, arms crossed, and took another step back in fear.
With a "thud," he tripped over his pajama pants, which were pulled up to his knees.
Dumbledore glanced at it quickly, then continued looking at the ceiling as if nothing had happened.
"You—you stay away."
Quirrell moved all the way to the desk, saying, "I—I—I'll keep taking my clothes off."
Snape was so angry he laughed again.
He smiled sinisterly, "I have no interest in you."
"I see." Quirrell withdrew his hands from his underwear.
"Take off the scarf from your head."
"Okay—okay."
Dumbledore lowered his deep blue eyes.
The long scarf was slowly untied.
Snape, squinting, spotted a shiny bald head and immediately went behind him.
The back of his head was quite shiny, almost dazzling.
Now only one part remains.
But Snape had just finished saying he wasn't interested.
"Enough, Severus." Dumbledore held out his hand to Quirrell.
"I'm sorry, Quirinus."
A dark wizard has appeared in the Forbidden Forest. Can you tell me where you just went?
After getting up, Quirrell nervously picked up his pajamas.
"I actually—I actually have a habit of sleepwalking."
Snape squinted at his large buttocks. "Sleepwalking? What happened to Batman you were talking about last time?"
"That—that was actually me."
Quirrell blushed slightly as he put on his pants and then covered his lower body with his pajamas.
"You?" Snape met Dumbledore's gaze.
"In my dream about starting school—while sleepwalking—I encountered You-Know-Who."
"After I got injured, I remembered to go to your office to get some Potions."
The reason was valid, but Snape always felt that something was amiss.
His intuition told him that the guy who was supposedly dressed like a bat must be Vincent, who had been pretending to be stupid all along.
Sleepwalking?
Who sleepwalks and dresses like a bat?
Nighttime tours are more like it!
Where is your wand?
Quirrell glanced at the desk.
There lay quietly a nine-inch-long Alder Wand.
Snape picked it up and examined it.
There were no breaks or traces of Transfiguration.
More importantly, the entire wand was brand new, showing no signs of having been used with Dark Magic or Killing Curse.
As is well known, a destroyed wand cannot be repaired.
No matter how powerful one's magic is, it's all just a facade.
"Use your wand to cast a spell."
Under the gaze of two large eyes, one black and one blue, Quirrell slowly waved his wand toward the office.
"Scourgify— "
The books, which had been placed in a somewhat messy manner, flew up and automatically arranged themselves neatly on the bookshelf.
Snape's face darkened.
This Alder Wand doesn't seem to be damaged at all.
"I'm sorry, Quirinus."
We apologize for disturbing you so late at night and ask for your forgiveness.
"It's... it's okay."
After offering a polite apology, Dumbledore turned and walked out of the office.
Before leaving, Snape glanced at Quirrell, who was holding a nightgown that firmly covered his lower body.
To have healed his injuries to this extent and still be able to cast spells without a wand, as far as he knew, there were only two wizards in the entire British Isles.
One was Dumbledore, who was standing next to him, and the other was the person who had disappeared for eleven years and whose name could not even be revealed.
"Severus, is there anything you want to say?"
"I only have one sentence."
Snape tightened his robes. "Quickly abandon your the Chosen One -making plan."
Even if it wasn't that person who appeared in the Forbidden Forest tonight, Quirrell must still have a deep connection with him.
Dumbledore stopped in his tracks. "Indeed."
Quirinus appears innocent, but that's precisely why he's the prime suspect.
"You're not going to expose him?" Snape asked sarcastically. "Oh, yes."
You are Dumbledore, a great wizard who cannot make any decisions based on subjective assumptions.
"Don't be angry, Severus."
Dumbledore's deep blue eyes seemed to see right through him. "Everyone deserves a second chance. That's a belief I've held for many years."
Snape turned his head away. "I think Wayne is fine. The Disillusionment Charm isn't a spell that a first-year student can learn."
"Don't worry, I won't let Harry take any risks."
After saying this, Dumbledore went upstairs.
After hearing this, Snape, with a very complicated expression, turned around as if to say something more.
But he couldn't bring himself to say anything until the other person's figure completely disappeared.