The Scene Revealed Before Everyone

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Headmaster's Office on the Seventh Floor was extremely tense.

Even though all the professors understood and believed in Dumbledore, allowing underage wizards to confront Voldemort directly crossed their line.

As for Quirrell's head, it was Voldemort; he was there during class, so they just ignored it.

After all, Dumbledore must have taken precautions to avoid such dangers by appointing Voldemort and Quirrell as teachers together.

Moreover, the path that young wizards walk when they enroll signifies that they have signed a contract with Hogwarts.

With the power of the contract, the other professors weren't too worried about safety in the classroom and in the castle.

To be honest, even when Troll broke into Hogwarts, they weren't worried that the Troll would kill the young wizards; the worst that could happen was that they would break a few ribs.

This is why McGonagall's first reaction was to cause trouble for Harry and his friends; she was worried, but not too much.

However, the Forbidden Forest and the restricted area on the fourth floor are places that no professor or Hogwarts contract power can reach.

So they all stared intently at Dumbledore, waiting for his explanation.

"Their trip to the Astronomy Tower was indeed related to me, specifically to another person's reputation, but I won't go into details... The reason the Unicorn was killed was because I was always following behind Harry and the others to protect them, and I couldn't be in two places at once... In the forbidden area on the fourth floor, I was also always following behind them," Dumbledore said.

"Okay, I can barely accept this. As long as you're by my side, even if Harry and the others face the You-Know-Who at his peak, I'm not too worried."

"However, you didn't call us here today because of our conversation just now, did you?"

"The main character today is clearly this stone that you said isn't Philosopher's Stone."

"What do you want to say?" Professor McGonagall quickly came up with these thoughts after regaining her composure.

"As expected of you, Minerva."

"The Philosopher's Stone is missing; it's a fake," Dumbledore said, feigning profundity.

"Come on, Albus."

"You're trying to scare us again. If the Philosopher's Stone really was taken by the You-Know-Who, would you have given us all that nonsense first?" Professor McGonagall waved her hand, indicating that she would not fall for it this time.

"Dumbledore wouldn't lie; this is probably just a word game," Professor Flitwick guessed.

"Perhaps the Philosopher's Stone is missing because it was destroyed by Dumbledore, so it is gone."

"And this stone is very likely used to deceive the You-Know-Who. Perhaps it has other functions—to record information about the surrounding area?" Professor Snape said, glancing at Dumbledore.

"Oh, congratulations, Severus, you guessed right."

"But not entirely." Dumbledore winked at Snape, then drew his wand and pointed it at the red stone on the table. The professors and the headmasters in the picture frame all stared wide-eyed with curiosity.

An image appeared before everyone, but this time they all held their breath and remained silent.

He was a young man who seemed to emerge from the moonlight; his handsome appearance and the way he appeared astonished all the professors.

However, in the video, when the mysterious young man walked to the defensive line set up by Professor McGonagall finally couldn't help but speak.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore had almost figured out the stone. He tapped it with his wand, and the image floating in mid-air stopped at the moment when the mysterious young man entered the chessboard room.

"If I'm not mistaken, your defenses are quite simple."

"Especially you, Pomona."

"As long as you are a wizard and can Lumos, you can pass through safely."

"Could it be that I'm the only one who took it seriously?" Professor McGonagall's nostrils twitched slightly, and her brows furrowed.

"Although we don't know the defenses set up by others, or to what extent they should be set up, Dumbledore clearly isn't taking it seriously, and the front lines are likely to be made up of students—like Fred and George from your house."

"And as long as Dumbledore's defenses are in place, do we need to take it seriously? If he let me pass, there must be a reason." Professor Sprout, facing Professor McGonagall's reprimand, uttered the essence of slacking off in the workplace.

"Also, you're focusing on the wrong thing. Didn't you see his magic?"

"Without a wand, the Devil's Snare healed itself, and with a single word, he put Three-Headed Dog to sleep. He didn't even seem like a wizard; he cut all the keys with a single blade," Professor Sprout continued.

Professor Flitwick defenses were equally simple, nodded, which greatly annoyed Professor McGonagall.

"I won't go into how amazing he is right now, but the way he made his entrance shows that he's no ordinary person. Dumbledore will discuss these things with us later."

"Filius, your defenses are nothing short of a joke. Any Freezing Charm that doesn't damage the keys and controls them, or Quidditch wizard like me, could get through them." Professor McGonagall made a grasping motion with her hands, as if an invisible flying broom was beneath her.

"Minerva, I agree with one of Pomona's statements."

"Dumbledore let my defenses through, then he really did."

"As I understand it, our defenses are merely a delaying tactic, meant to hold out until Dumbledore or the other professors arrive," Filius Flitwick explained.

"Don't look at me, Professor McGonagall. My defenses are quite dangerous. You can check behind me," Snape quickly said, gesturing for Dumbledore to continue.

Then, the video continued to play in mid-air.

Upon hearing the mysterious young man's complaints about her, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but mutter under her breath things like "nothing can be accomplished without rules."

Soon after, they arrived at the room that Snape had arranged.

What does it mean to produce a boring work that's just a perfunctory response to superiors?

"My poisons and magical flames are deadly!"

"Much more dangerous than Professor McGonagall and the others!" Snape was furious when he heard the mysterious young man's complaint.

"Professor Snape, don't be angry, we're all the same," Filius Flitwick comforted him.

"No, we are different."

"Yours is just as simple."

"But Sprout was praised for his gentleness, you were commended for your imagination, Professor McGonagall only gave you a word of advice, and what about me?" Snape paced around angrily.

"Is the boy Quirrell any better?" Dumbledore couldn't help but interject.

"Yes, at least I'm not tasteless," Snape said, half-sarcastically and half-angrily.

"Severus, this isn't like you. If it were the normal you, you wouldn't care at all and would just treat it like a breeze," Dumbledore said curiously.

Indeed, Snape never cared about other people's opinions. If he were the headmaster, he could even beat Phineas Nigellus to become the most hated headmaster.

Meanwhile, Ryan, living in Ravenclaw dormitory, kept his achievements hidden.

With Snape's annoyed voice, the scene in mid-air had already played the part where he placed the fake Philosopher's Stone, and it finally seemed to be over.

"Besides his assessment, what else have you gleaned?" Dumbledore asked the four professors.

I would like to thank Taishi Yumi Xu for the monthly pass and other students for their recommendations and subscriptions.