The Boy Who Almost Met His Doom (Two-in-One)

Elegant.

When seeing Ezio use the Killing Curse, this was the only adjective that appeared in Dumbledore's mind.

There was no hysteria or madness, only absolute silence and a calm without a single ripple. Elegant death was like art; it was a heart-stopping beauty that demanded one to pause and admire it.

Yet at the same time, Dumbledore felt a deep sense of unease. Ezio's extraordinary mastery of the Killing Curse, along with those hallucinations that felt like real scenes, told him that behind that beauty lay a cold death that no one was willing to face. This power itself possessed extreme danger.

In a trance, he felt as if Hogwarts were shrouded in a cloud of death. A monster never seen before had been born in this school. The only thing he could be glad about was that everything Ezio had shown so far was "controlled." He followed the rules; as long as those rules did not interfere with something he wanted to do, he was willing to abide by them to maintain a stable external environment.

Ezio's behavioral goals were very clear. All his transgressions were built on a premise that was generally beneficial. He perfectly fit the image of a Slytherin who only sought final victory, belonging to the Lawful Evil alignment.

Dumbledore could not guarantee whether Ezio's promise to "keep his word" was truly credible, but given the current situation, unless he chose to destroy this gifted yet terrifying child, he had no choice but to believe him.

If it were Grindelwald, when faced with an unknown risk like Ezio, he would choose to win him over, stand him on the same front, and ideally instill his own agenda into him, making him a trusted confidant. Assuming all that failed, Grindelwald would not hesitate to destroy him, erasing his existence completely before he could grow up and pose a real threat.

But Dumbledore was different from Grindelwald. He was not an excellent leader; he was not keen on controlling others or wielding power. He lacked the decisiveness to destroy what he could not obtain or to nip threats in the bud. Just as in the past, he had long sensed Tom Riddle's greedy, possessive, and selfishly cold nature. He also knew he had outstanding magical talent and possessed the ability of Parseltongue, which had a notorious reputation in the wizarding world.

Dumbledore even knew that the mastermind behind the Chamber of Secrets murders was Tom Riddle, not Hagrid. Yet he allowed Voldemort to grow. His refusal to let him teach at Hogwarts later was the only time he said "no" to Tom, because if Tom had come to Hogwarts, it would have infringed upon his interests and caused him trouble.

His "if it doesn't concern me, I won't stop it" way of acting was weak and powerless, which was also the fundamental reason he could not be an excellent leader. Perhaps deep down, the only things Dumbledore cared about were himself and a few scattered things he valued. People all have a selfish side; no one is exempt from it. If not for this, the noun "saint" would not exist in the world.

Would Ezio bring him disadvantages now? Perhaps there was trouble; after all, he did cause a stir in Slytherin. But overall, everything Ezio had done so far was beneficial to the general environment. While striving for what he needed, he also let others benefit. The spirit of Slytherin was changing, and the evaluations from the other three houses were turning around. Because they saw with their own eyes Slytherin's current efforts to strive for the top, students from the other three houses were also quietly being spurred on.

If this positive atmosphere could be maintained, Hogwarts would achieve greater success in the future than it did now, securing its position as the strongest of the three major European schools. And those who were abandoned, those who were sacrificed—they were essentially just dead weight to the current Hogwarts.

Elimination and competition: these were laws that had existed since ancient times.

So, should I continue? Dumbledore thought silently to himself. Soon, he had a decision.

Since things were currently moving in a good direction, he would just maintain this stability when he sensed a bad situation arising. Among all the students, the only one Dumbledore cared about was Harry, who, under Snape's guidance, was moving in the direction he wanted him to go. Dumbledore had to admit that Ezio bringing Harry into Slytherin and having him maintain a friendly relationship with Snape had helped him a great deal. After all, at the beginning, Dumbledore did not think Snape would speak kindly to Harry.

"Since the matter of the Horcrux is resolved, I shall take my leave, Professor Dumbledore."

Ezio spoke softly. Although coming here this time did not get him everything he wanted, the harvest was still good, and there were even some small surprises. Ezio was not a greedy person; he knew when to stop.

"Wait a moment." Dumbledore spoke to keep Ezio, signaling him to sit for a while longer.

"Would you like a cup of tea? Or some other beverage?"

"Warm water will do." Ezio sat opposite Dumbledore as requested and asked for a cup of water.

The kettle summoned by Dumbledore poured water and some kind of drink that smelled very sweet and cloying for the two of them respectively. A glimmer of contemplation flickered in the azure eyes behind Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles. After a moment, Dumbledore spoke.

"There is one thing I think I should inform you about in advance."

To prevent certain unexpected situations from occurring, Dumbledore chose to explain it to this child who possessed a mature mind far beyond his years.

"Since you discovered the Horcrux and destroyed it, there is something you should know."

"About Voldemort?" Ezio was not surprised by this.

"Yes, about Voldemort." Dumbledore nodded. "Voldemort never died. For the past ten years, he has been lingering in the forests of Albania, surviving in a weak, wraith-like state. After he disappeared, I conducted some investigations into him. I didn't believe he had died so easily back then, so I found some clues."

"Half a year ago, an unlucky child entered the forests of Albania to investigate the monster legends occurring there. That person was Professor Quirrell. He was actually a very talented child. I wanted him to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, not out of irresponsibility toward the students; he actually had the ability to do it."

"He was lucky enough to find the truth behind the monster legends, but unfortunately, he also encountered Voldemort in his wraith state. He was bewitched—or perhaps it was because of his own excessive thirst for knowledge; Ravenclaw students always have a heart for curious exploration of the unknown. But regardless, he made a terrible decision, and Voldemort possessed his body."

"By the time I discovered this, it was already too late. Although the terrible thing had happened, it didn't mean we couldn't do something. I subtly released a piece of information, the information about the Philosopher's Stone, which made Voldemort, who originally wanted to leave using Quirrell's body, choose to take the risk of returning to Hogwarts."

"The hook is salty and the bait is straight; Voldemort's mind must have been severely affected by the excessive splitting of his soul." Ezio was a bit speechless about this, although it was within his expectations.

"Indeed, this is why Horcruxes are classified as extremely evil. Behind such things that can bring huge benefits, one often needs to pay an even heavier price. None of the wizards in history who created Horcruxes achieved the immortality they brought; on the contrary, they were shorter-lived than the average wizard."

Dumbledore sighed slightly. On the road to pursuing immortality, Voldemort seemed to have gone very far, but in reality, he was charging headlong toward a dead end.

"I let Quirrell return to Hogwarts, actually to let Harry know about this, to know that Voldemort had not truly died. There is a very close connection between Harry and Voldemort. A fragment of Voldemort unintentionally attached itself to him. This is a disaster for Harry, but others cannot solve this problem for him. The only people who can untie this knot are him and Voldemort."

"So Harry must learn to face Voldemort. There may really be such a thing as destiny and fate in the world, and their fates have been intertwined since ten years ago. This is an undeniable fact."

"The thing in the fourth-floor corridor is a trial I prepared for Harry. I will let Harry explore it at the appropriate time. I guess Harry might ask you to go with him."

"Voldemort cannot die, at least not now, otherwise his resurrection will begin on Harry. The order of resurrection for Horcruxes is determined by the order in which they were created. And if Voldemort resurrects on Harry, Harry will inevitably die because of it."

"Do not use the Killing Curse. Quirrell can be killed, but we must let him escape Hogwarts after Harry witnesses Voldemort's existence with his own eyes."

"As a reward, and as a reward for your help in destroying Voldemort's Horcrux, after the matter is over, I will write to Nicolas Flamel and ask him to give you the Philosopher's Stone."

"However, do not have too many expectations for the Philosopher's Stone. Nicolas Flamel can no longer make a second one, and this one, its magic has been nearly exhausted after hundreds of years of use. It cannot even make a single dose of the Elixir of Life. Although the remaining magic is very little, it is still a unique treasure in the world. I believe it will bring you some inspiration."

"Thank you for your generosity." Ezio was a bit surprised by this, but it was not incomprehensible. The Philosopher's Stone was very precious, but as Dumbledore said, the value of this stone had been extremely reduced. Although it was a treasure, its uses were extremely limited.

"Then I also promise you that within my power, I will help Harry grow up and give him the courage and strength to face Voldemort. However, I cannot guarantee that Harry has the strength to defeat Voldemort. After all, he is the Dark Lord; Voldemort should be very strong."

"I hope you can keep these things secret from Harry for the time being. Some things need to be experienced and understood by him personally."

Ezio nodded, then bid farewell to Dumbledore.

[New contract mission triggered]

[Bystander: Do not interfere too much in the trial Dumbledore prepared for Harry.]

[Difficulty: ★]

[Mission Hint: You can actually do nothing.]

[Mission Reward: Specialized Interference Smoke Bomb X3]

Ezio curled his lips. He had already stored hundreds of smoke bombs, but it was still better than rewarding him with time in the trial space. After grinding a million kills to unlock the Ares War Cry, he no longer needed to stay in there.

"Perhaps I should encourage Harry to go on a night stroll? After all, I already gave him the Invisibility Cloak, but Harry has been staying in the common room every day lately. It seems being a diligent, good student isn't always a good thing."

Mulling this over, Ezio walked toward the common room. When it came to getting Harry to proactively face Voldemort, his interests aligned with Dumbledore's. Ezio also needed to kill Voldemort to complete his only current 5★ mission. Although he wouldn't refuse to kill Harry himself to destroy the final Horcrux, avoiding Dumbledore's retaliation and pursuit would be a good thing, all things considered.

We've been roommates, after all, so we can count as having some schoolmate camaraderie. Ezio shook his head. Since there is an option 2, I won't choose option 1.

Harry, who was busy helping out in Snape's office, suddenly shivered, as if some ominous sense of impending doom had just drifted away from him.

"Have you finished weighing the dried Mandrake slices, Harry?" Snape's voice drifted over from the laboratory bench nearby.

"Almost done!" Harry replied quickly, then double-checked the weight of the ingredients before bringing them over to Snape.

"Wizards have absolutely no need for those Muggle contraptions." Snape muttered under his breath, tinkering with a crude alchemical machine that he had essentially built by hand. "Next, we need to turn the dried Mandrake slices into powder, dissolve them in potion, and extract the active ingredients. Harry, keep the experimental records. The medicinal properties of Mandrake are very complex; we need to isolate them one by one."

"No problem, Professor Snape, I'm ready."

Upon hearing Harry's reply, Snape turned his head to glance at him. In a daze, a shadow seemed to become increasingly clear. Someone had once been able to blend fragrances with their own hands; although he hadn't been able to experience that himself, right now, it seemed pretty good too.

"You inherited your mother's talent, Harry." Snape murmured in a voice only he could hear, then pulled his focus back.

"The precision of a wizard is something Muggles could never imagine! Can they manage to perfectly isolate every medicinal property of an herb? No! What does that Muggle brat know?"

Snape, who had suddenly begun gritting his teeth and talking to himself again, left Harry speechless. Harry secretly thought that Snape was truly petty; he had been hearing Snape badmouth Ezio constantly lately, but... let him be. Anyway, Ezio didn't care; he only cared about how to quickly learn more potion-making methods.