The Demon King, the Revolutionary, the New Star, and the Prophecy

Snape picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Occlumency?"

"This is the Sorting Hat, after all." Dumbledore added sugar to his own tea, cube after cube. "For Wizet, Occlumency is extremely important."

"If he can freely control his emotions, draw in and release extreme feelings at will, then so-called Obscurus rampages will become controllable..."

Before he could finish, Snape refused outright. "Don't come to me."

"I wasn't planning to come to you for this." Dumbledore seemed to have expected it and shook his head with a smile. "I have a more suitable candidate."

"Who was that intruder?" Snape abruptly changed the subject, his gaze sharpening. "What's in the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor? Could it be... the Dark Lord has returned?"

"We still can't be certain." Dumbledore gave a soft sigh. "We've only received some rumors and found a few clues. We still need evidence."

"Evidence?" Snape's eyes flickered, as if he were thinking about something. "Does it have to do with the thief who broke into Gringotts? What was in that vault?"

"An alchemical creation tempting enough to attract Voldemort, worth the risk of putting himself in danger, even at the cost of causing such a commotion."

"It's the Philosopher's Stone! Only that could attract the Dark Lord's attention!"

"Severus, you are far too perceptive... That makes it very hard for me to continue communicating with you and sharing more information."

"That's your freedom, but I have to restate my earlier point. Hogwarts truly is 'safe'!"

Dumbledore laughed and followed Snape's words. "This safety is something we maintain together, and it needs your help all the more."

His smile was like that of a hunter who had captured a wild beast. "Aside from you, I'll also be asking the other professors to help increase Hogwarts's safety."

"Perhaps I came at the wrong time." Snape's expression turned very unpleasant. "From the moment I knocked on the door, it was the wrong decision!"

"You came at exactly the right time." Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Even if you hadn't come to me, I would have paid you a visit and made my request with utmost sincerity."

"I feel as if there's something behind your words..." Snape grew wary. "What else are you planning to do? Has the intruder been identified?"

"We can't be certain for now, but there will come a moment when he gives himself away." Dumbledore gently shook his head. "It's getting late. The new school year has already begun. Let's all do our best!"

Late at night, a female portrait in the headmaster's office suddenly spoke. "As you predicted, someone did go to that room."

Dumbledore, who was still working, lifted his head. "Lady Wilkins, who was it?"

Wilkins said, "Quirinus Quirrell. He didn't open the door directly. Instead, he kept probing it with magic."

"As expected of a Ravenclaw. A rather clever approach." Though Dumbledore spoke words of praise, his tone revealed an indescribable disappointment.

"This isn't his style. Things are developing in an even worse direction... The final candidate can already be confirmed." He picked up his quill and filled in the last name on the list.

The list contained not only the newly written Quirinus Quirrell, but also names such as Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and Rubeus Hagrid.

At dawn, when the first ray of sunlight passed through the window and shone into the dormitory, Wizet happened to open his eyes. Snores and sleep-mutterings rose and fell around his ears.

He felt as if his mind were empty, like the feeling of having received too much information and, in the end, being unable to remember anything at all.

"One, two, three... Yesterday, I maintained the Guardian Meditation Method for at least five hours."

This was the longest he had ever maintained the Guardian Meditation Method.

With the help of the meditation method, he had passed a wondrous magical night, wholeheartedly sensing everything that happened here.

Internally, the Guardian Meditation Method could restrain emotions and control the Obscurus within its core;

externally, it could enhance perception and even increase spellcasting speed, giving it the feeling of both offense and defense.

For now, he only needed to pay attention to how long he used it. He could not enhance his perception all day yet.

An extra piece of parchment lay on his desk, with all his classes written into a grid.

Wizet picked up the timetable and glanced over it. Both classes this morning were Potions Class, and in the afternoon there was one A History of Magic class.

Wizet first made a round through the dormitory, absorbing the ancient magical power contained there, and only then headed to the washroom.

After washing up, Wizet arrived at the common room, intending to preview his textbooks again. This was a habit he had formed in his previous life.

It was not even seven o'clock yet, but there were already quite a few people in the common room. They held all sorts of reading materials in their hands and read with great relish.

"Morning! Did you sleep well?" Cho Chang sat in a corner of the common room, her voice very soft. "Are you getting used to things?"

"Pretty well." Wizet nodded. "I'm really looking forward to today's Potions Class and A History of Magic. They both sound very interesting."

"Looks like I'll have to dampen your enthusiasm." Cho Chang teased, "As for those two classes... you'd better be mentally prepared."

"Professor Snape will appear silently behind you, so don't get startled. As for A History of Magic, if you see someone sleeping, that's completely normal."

Wizet asked curiously, "A History of Magic? Why is that?"

Cho Chang explained, "Professor Binns is the oldest professor here. He's a ghost, and supposedly the school's only ever A History of Magic professor."

"When he talks, he drags everything out, and on top of that, that classroom... is especially comfortable. Even I fall asleep there occasionally."

Wizet smiled, unconcerned. "That's still quite magical."

Wizet sat in the common room for a while longer, until his stomach growled with hunger, and only then did he decide to go have breakfast.

He had not gone far from the common room when a sudden hiccup sounded by his ear, and he immediately bumped into a woman reeking of alcohol.

The woman was as thin as a bamboo pole, wearing a pair of thick, oversized black-rimmed glasses that magnified her eyes many times over.

She had many ornaments on her. Countless strings of beads and chains hung around her slender neck, and all kinds of bracelets and rings covered her skin-and-bones arms. She looked exactly like a typical charlatan.

But that was a judgment based on his previous life. After all, magic truly existed in this world.

The sky had only just turned bright, and Wizet was certain that this corridor had been completely empty. The woman had appeared out of thin air.

He stood up first and said calmly, "Sorry, ma'am. I didn't notice you appear."

"Hic!" The woman let out a drunken burp, and a nauseating stink of alcohol spread through the air. "It's fine... This is the guidance of fate."

Her voice was weak and feeble, and somewhat slurred. "Yes, I knew it long ago. This morning I would run into someone. I saw it in my crystal ball."

Wizet was a little speechless. He had no idea what this strange, mystical woman had come to the school for.

"If you're all right, then I'll take my leave." Wizet gave a brief word of acknowledgment and did not plan to keep bothering with this woman.

However, the woman widened her eyes, and her two eyeballs began spinning rapidly.

Her mouth gaped wide, looking as if she were having some kind of attack.

Wizet instinctively took two steps back, but the woman followed at extreme speed, her spider-leg-like fingers clamping around his arm.

The woman let out a grating voice like a saw being dragged back and forth. "O Demon King who wears the hero's armor and defeats the revolutionary... he has found the new star... the new star makes him recall the past..."

"He will pass down the armor and the treasured sword... the Demon King of old will make his comeback, and the disguised Demon King must defeat the Demon King of old... the new star gives the disguised Demon King a reason to remove his shackles..."

"Will it be the Demon King of old who brings down the old fear... or the disguised Demon King who brings a new disaster... the future is yet unknown... the rising of the new star... will illuminate the road ahead..."