Exposed

The Sorting Hat did not seem to make any more mistakes that embarrassed Josh. To prove that there was nothing wrong with his memory, Josh specifically picked out a few familiar faces and predicted with Garen which Houses they would be sorted into. This time, Garen was left dumbfounded, because every single one of Josh's predictions was correct.

Hermione coming to Ravenclaw was merely an accident—or perhaps she had come here because she knew him and knew that he did not seem to belong to this world. Josh could not be bothered to care about the truth. He had no idea what that curious girl was thinking anyway. All he knew was that Ron and Harry had still gone to Gryffindor, while Malfoy and his two lackeys had gone to Slytherin.

Naturally, Harry Potter being assigned to Gryffindor still drew cheers from the students, though only from the Gryffindor students. The professors' reactions were fairly subdued, except for Dumbledore, who was genuinely rather pleased.

After more than an hour, the Sorting Hat had finally assigned every student. That was already quite fast. After all, even if each student only took thirty seconds, it would still take two hours. They had to thank some particularly distinctive students for that; the moment they stepped up, the Sorting Hat assigned them directly.

This year was the same as usual: Gryffindor had the most students, with nearly sixty joining. Next came Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, each with around forty or fifty students. Slytherin naturally had the fewest, mainly because they only accepted pure-blood students.

"Before the feast begins, I have a few words to say to you all: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

At last, the feast began with Dumbledore's completely incomprehensible words. Still, everyone gave enthusiastic applause. Ravenclaw students made up the largest part of it; perhaps only they, along with a small number of students from the other Houses, could understand what Dumbledore meant?

"What's that guy talking about?" Garen asked Josh as he cut up a steak with his knife and fork.

"How would I know?" Josh took a small sip of his drink and glanced at Garen. "My grasp of this world's language isn't that good either. Who knows what he means?"

"Didn't you say you knew everything? Look at your students. They seem to understand."

"So what? That only proves that my students are of high individual quality and worth cultivating." Josh shrugged indifferently, then suddenly thought of something. "Rather than paying attention to what Dumbledore said, I think we should consider how to deal with that professor."

"What is there to consider? I think you can just tell Dumbledore directly. Better yet, there's no need to say anything at all—just make a move. According to what you said, they may have once been teacher and student, but now they're mortal enemies, aren't they?"

Josh thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I should still tell him, so he doesn't think we've gone too far afterward. I plan to stay here until your Battle Qi reaches the third tier before leaving, and we might even be able to obtain something here. There's no need to make the relationship so hostile."

"Suit yourself. It's a good thing, anyway. He probably won't refuse."

Josh nodded and said he understood. Then he dipped his finger into the red wine in his glass and wrote directly on the wooden table:

"Professor Dumbledore, have you noticed that Professor Quirrell seems somewhat unusual?"

Dumbledore had been holding a goblet and savoring his wine when a line of words suddenly appeared on his table, nearly making him spray it out. But after reading the contents, he immediately took it seriously. He looked around and saw Josh watching him while tapping the table with his fingers, and he understood at once.

This spell was simple. It belonged to this world in the first place, so naturally Dumbledore knew it as well. Without changing his expression, he immediately wrote:

"He has indeed been somewhat unusual. Ever since he returned from the Dark Forest, he has become more sensitive and neurotic."

"Haven't you noticed that there are two souls inside his body?"

"What?"

Dumbledore was greatly startled, which also surprised Josh somewhat. But after thinking about it, Josh understood. If Dumbledore had known from the very beginning that there was another soul inside Professor Quirrell's body, he would never have allowed Professor Quirrell to return to Hogwarts and continue teaching. In this world, the only person who had truly split his own soul and remained alive was Voldemort.

Josh guessed that in the original story, Dumbledore knew Voldemort wanted to seize the Philosopher's Stone, but he did not know exactly how he intended to do it. Only after Quirrell controlled Harry Potter's broom in an attempt to kill him, only to be interfered with by Snape, did Dumbledore confirm it. Then he and Snape set up a series of so-called trials to train Harry Potter.

But now that Josh was here, he did not care at all about how the plot would unfold afterward. He wrote directly:

"I looked into your magical history. It should be Voldemort, right? That sinister power—low in quality, but utterly disgusting."

"It does seem to be him," Dumbledore quickly wrote back.

"Let me handle it. It will let the students see what I'm capable of, and I can also tell everyone what course I'll be teaching them. At the same time, it will serve as a warning to certain students. Consider it establishing authority for Hogwarts."

"That's fine, but are you planning to do it now?"

"Yes, right now. Oh, and one more thing—you may need to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Dumbledore wore a bitter smile. He had just wanted to say something when Josh stood up and clapped his hands, instantly silencing the previously boisterous hall. Many ghosts who had emerged from every corner also watched the young man seated at the professors' table with curious expressions.

Many professors looked at Dumbledore in confusion, but Dumbledore gestured for them not to speak and simply watch what Josh would do. Of course, he also secretly notified the three Heads of House and Professor Flitwick, telling them that if anything happened, they must protect the students immediately.

"My apologies, everyone. I may have to interrupt your meal for a moment. However, I will not take much of your time."

Josh looked down at the students, now quiet beneath him, in satisfaction before speaking. "I have two things to say. First: everyone knows that I will be the Head of Ravenclaw, but you may not know what courses I will be responsible for. I will be teaching two."

"The first is practical combat. Don't cheer just yet. This is not something as boring as the Dueling Club. What I will teach you is real combat. The second is called meditation. Perhaps you do not yet understand the importance of meditation to a mage, and may never even have heard the name before, but that is fine. You will understand later."

"The second matter is this: Professor Quirrell, I heard that you were once a Ravenclaw student as well. Then please explain why there are two souls inside your body!"

"What?"

Professor Quirrell had originally been sitting beside Snape, chatting casually with him. He believed Snape was also a Death Eater. Though he did not dare reveal his identity, he at least felt that he could find someone similar to himself to talk to. But before he could say much, Josh's question gave him a fright.

Suddenly, he realized it! Two souls—did that mean this young man had discovered his secret? But Professor Quirrell quickly forced himself to calm down. He slowly rose to his feet and walked toward Josh with a tremble, asking in confusion:

"Professor Augustus, what are you talking about?"

"Take off your turban, Professor Quirrell."

Quirrell froze. He keenly sensed that Josh should already know his identity. At the same time, he began calculating whether he should simply attack Josh directly. If he did, he might be able to take this young professor—who was also the Head of his former House—hostage and escape.

"Wasn't your purpose in approaching me to attack when you could no longer explain yourself, making it easier for you to leave?" Josh saw through Professor Quirrell's thoughts and spoke directly. He did not care in the slightest whether an apprentice mage who had not even reached the first tier would attack him.

Professor Quirrell's face immediately turned deathly pale. He swiftly drew his wand and pointed it at Josh. Magic power surged within him, and soon a white light appeared at the tip of his wand before striking Josh directly!

All the students present froze. They had never expected that one professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and the Head of Ravenclaw would confront each other, much less launch an attack outright. Some students even screamed!

"Professor Flitwick, deduct five points from every House that has students screaming. Remember, five points per student! I will now tell you the first important lesson of practical combat: always remain calm!"

As his words fell, the students were all stunned to discover that young Professor Josh was completely unharmed. Even more astonishingly, a silver, translucent mass of energy had appeared around him, flowing with light. Every student, including the professors who did not know Josh, had the same thought appear in their minds—What the hell is that, a Magic Shield?

There was no such thing as a Magic Shield in this world. There were only those few protective spells. One could imagine just how shocked they were!

"Let me out. Since we've been exposed, there's no need to keep hiding."

Professor Quirrell was also drenched in cold sweat. He had never dreamed that something like a Magic Shield truly existed in this world. Wasn't that supposed to exist only in novels or stories? Just as he was about to attack again, another voice emerged from his body.

"Yes, my master."

This time, Professor Quirrell did not freeze. Without the slightest hesitation, he removed his turban. Very soon, most people present felt fear. As the turban was slowly pulled away, they saw in horror that there was another person on the back of Professor Quirrell's head!

And they all knew that person—he was the infamous Voldemort!