Neville, the Pride of Gryffindor

"Quirrell, clear your mind, hurry up!" Voldemort snapped, his voice filled with urgency.

Almost all the young wizards from Hogwarts are here, more than a thousand in total. No matter Old Voldy Voldemort is at fighting, he can't beat them all.

If he were at his peak right now, he would just go on a rampage, slaughtering those little wizards until they were crying for their parents.

However, his current condition is extremely poor, and he has almost no magic left in his body, making him no match for these young wizards.

Quirrell panicked and hurriedly followed Voldemort's instructions, forcibly emptying his mind.

A few seconds later, Voldemort's speed suddenly increased, like a runaway train, smashing through the glass window at the corner of the fourth floor and flying out.

The young wizards, still seething with anger, stood by the window, relentlessly chasing Voldemort until Voldemort completely disappeared from their sight. Only then did they leisurely return to the fourth-floor hall to greet their hero.

In the lobby on the fourth floor, Lester, Malfoy, Neville were surrounded by a crowd of admirers.

"Brother Lai is awesome! Brother Lai, you're the best!"

"Malfoy, so handsome!"

Some Gryffindor students excitedly surrounded Neville, shouting, "Neville, you're our pride!"

The little beauty from Ravenclaw House, Cho Chang, blushed deeply, glancing at Neville every now and then, her eyes curving into crescents.

Some sycophants, thinking themselves clever, came to Cho Chang's side and said, "Cho Chang, don't be sad. Neville was so rude, I'll teach him a lesson for you!"

Neville had previously led the bullying of Cho Chang Cho Chang, preventing him from participating in the competition, which angered many Ravenclaw House students.

Neville became Ravenclaw House's number one enemy, with a level of hatred comparable to that of Marcus, the Slytherin psychopath.

Cho Chang curled his lip. "Can you beat him? Even Quirrell isn't a match for him."

The sycophant was extremely embarrassed and could only silently retreat, secretly heartbroken.

Seventh Floor, Headmaster's Office.

Dumbledore lay calmly in his chair, a steaming cup of coffee resting on the octagonal table.

Fawkes lay comfortably in the straw nest, snoring softly.

On the wall, the successive headmasters of Hogwarts are diligently teaching the Sorting Hat.

Phineas, the Sorting Hat's most unpopular headmaster in Hogwarts history, is patiently educating the Sorting Hat.

"The Sorting Hat, be good, learn from me, Slytherin!"

The Sorting Hat remained completely still, mechanically repeating, "Lester!"

"It's Slytherin, Slytherin!" Phineas exclaimed in exasperation. That stupid Sorting Hat had taught him hundreds of times, and he still got it wrong.

"Linther, Trinity, Slater," the Sorting Hat repeated listlessly, saying one word three times, each one different.

The other headmasters looked at Phineas with disdain. "Phineas, give up your clever tricks. The Sorting Hat can't sort everyone into Slytherin."

Phineas, his inner thoughts exposed, was extremely embarrassed. "I just wanted to teach him how to sort his houses, otherwise if he's still acting like this when the new students arrive tomorrow, we at Hogwarts will lose all face."

Upon hearing this, all the portraits of the headmasters fell silent. Yes, the Sorting Hat had become mentally challenged; what were they going to do about tomorrow's Sorting Ceremony?

Former principal, Armando Dippet, spoke up, "Albus, think of something!"

Hearing the question from the old headmaster Armando, Dumbledore calmly stood up, took a small sip of his coffee, and said, "It's bitter. I should have added more sugar."

He took out his wand and gently tapped it on the teacup. Several pieces of rock candy danced and jumped into Dumbledore's teacup one after another.

After taking a sip, Dumbledore relaxed and said calmly, "Don't worry, I'll find a memory master to restore the Sorting Hat's memories during my vacation."

"Believe me, based on my understanding of him, that person can definitely restore the Sorting Hat's memories."

Dumbledore winked playfully and sat down again.

However, not long after he sat down, a small, silvery-white stone on the octagonal table began to shake violently.

A flicker of joy crossed Dumbledore's eyes. He knew what this meant: Voldemort's student had indeed not escaped his fate and had been defeated by the Chosen One once again.

Bang bang bang!

Soon, there was a rapid knock at the door. Dumbledore had anticipated this and said gently, "Come in!"

After the door was opened, Professor McGonagall strode in, looked at Dumbledore was lying calmly in his chair, and felt a little dissatisfied, her tone carrying a hint of resentment.

This old bee does nothing but eat and sleep all day; she, as the vice-headmaster, manages everything at Hogwarts.

With such a major incident occurring in the academy, Dumbledore is still leisurely sipping his coffee in his chair.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, something terrible has happened! Quirrell is actually a dark wizard! He infiltrated Hogwarts to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"

"Relax, Minerva, sit down and talk slowly." Dumbledore smiled, raised his right hand slightly, and a chair flew up and landed under McGonagall's bottom.

McGonagall was somewhat exasperated, but she obeyed Dumbledore's instructions, sat down, and said urgently, "Harry and Ron Weasley..."

"And so Neville used a family heirloom spell to defeat Quirrell and successfully obtain the Philosopher's Stone."

Dumbledore: "..."

The expression of complete control that had been on Dumbledore's face slowly faded, and as McGonagall began to narrate, Dumbledore's expressions gradually became more varied.

Neville defeated Quirrell and successfully retrieved the Philosopher's Stone, all of which was witnessed by all the young wizards in the school.

Wait a minute, according to his design, Quirrell was supposed to be Harry's welcome gift, so why did he end up benefiting Neville?

Dumbledore unconsciously rubbed his right hand together a couple of times and asked, "So, this has absolutely nothing to do with Harry Potter?"

"Of course!" Professor McGonagall replied without hesitation. "However, some people say that Harry actually went in too, but he was almost killed by Quirrell, and Neville saved him."

Dumbledore: "..."

Harry was saved by Neville, what a rip-off! Didn't they mix up the princes?

In Dumbledore's eyes, no matter how outstanding Neville is now, he can only be an asset to Harry in the future, not Harry replacement.

Just like Hermione, even though she is excellent, in Dumbledore's training game, she is still Harry's assistant, used to assist Harry.

But now, Neville, who isn't even qualified to be Harry's assistant, has stolen the opportunity that should have belonged to Harry, which is giving Dumbledore a huge headache.