The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 56 Halloween Dinner

In order to maintain his own consciousness, Voldemort drained excessive life force and magical energy from Quirrell's body.

At this moment, Quirrell was even weaker than the little wizards in Lynch's class who had fainted. He moved his lips, but couldn't utter a single word.

He could only weakly plead in his mind, "Master... please spare... useless Quirrell... those... unicorns... they're hiding and won't come out... Quirrell can't... can't..."

Sensing the weakness of his current host, Voldemort had no choice but to stop draining life force; otherwise, he would have to find a new host.

Quirrell was only able to catch his breath after Voldemort stopped extracting his energy.

He breathed slowly, and the cold air in the room filled his lungs, making him realize that he was still alive.

Just now, when the Dark Lord ignored his cries and kept draining him until he collapsed weakly on the table, Quirrell really felt that his life was about to end.

He had a chance to catch his breath. Although he was still too weak to speak, his mind was already racing.

Quirrell needs a way to stop the Dark Lord from draining his life force.

Since we can't find a unicorn yet, then... the Philosopher's Stone!

Quirrell remembered Voldemort's and his own original purpose for coming to Hogwarts.

But the Philosopher's Stone is under Dumbledore's tight protection. How can we bypass the guards?

In a daze, he racked his brains and came up with a solution.

"Troll! Master! Troll!" Quirrell cried out in his mind.

"...What...troll?" Due to his weakness, Voldemort's thinking became sluggish, and his voice became even slower.

"The troll I prepared for Dumbledore's trap, Master." Under the pressure of death, Quirrell's words became fluent.

"I know it... but so what?" Voldemort remembered the troll that Quirrell had found to deal with the task assigned by Dumbledore. It was stupid but incredibly destructive, which perfectly matched Professor Quirrell's usual behavior of being useless but always trying to prove himself.

"Because Dumbledore said there was no space in the trap to put the troll yet, the troll has not been put in and is still locked in the dungeon."

The entire school's teachers and students will be attending the Halloween dinner, and I can secretly release the troll.

At that time, Dumbledore and the professors would focus their attention on reassuring the students and ensuring their safety.

"Then I can steal the magic stone for my master!"

Voldemort felt the plan was imperfect, but due to the prolonged lack of magical energy, his consciousness was becoming increasingly chaotic, relying solely on the small amount of energy and life force he extracted from Quirrell.

He could only ask the question that concerned him most: "How...are you...going to deal with...Dumbledore...and Lynch...?"

"They'll be busy taking care of the students and dealing with the trolls," Quirrell replied.

"If we fail... you know the consequences..." Voldemort finally couldn't hold on any longer, and his consciousness drifted into a deep sleep.

Sensing that Voldemort had fallen asleep, Quirrell's consciousness suddenly relaxed, and he fell into a coma.

Fortunately, this house had been reinforced with a spell...

This was Quirrell's last thought before he fell into a coma.

......

Days slip by quietly, like clouds drifting across the castle dome.

Thanks to Snape's constant supply of potions, Madam Pomfrey's work became visibly easier.

Although the treatment work following the "mass fainting" every Friday afternoon was an extra burden on her shoulders, the improved treatment efficiency finally eased her furrowed brows.

Lynch was well aware of Mrs. Pomfrey's hardships, and he specifically assured this hardworking school doctor that he would get Headmaster Dumbledore to give her a raise. If the headmaster disagreed, he would personally cover the cost.

With this solid promise in hand, Mrs. Pomfrey became even more meticulous and patient in dealing with the "wounded" students after class.

In the Forbidden Forest, Lin Qi carefully superimposed a warning spell. If any creature entered the stone path and stayed for more than five breaths, the spell would be triggered, and he would instantly know the creature's exact location in the stone path.

In order to be able to bypass the ancient Hogwarts magic's restriction on Apparition and arrive at the scene instantly the moment the alarm sounds, Lynch had to keep Thors by his side at all times.

House-Elves' ability to Apparate, which ignores the limitations of their surroundings, became the core of this plan.

Although Lynch internally assessed that the probability of actually needing to use this emergency plan was extremely low.

But Totz was overjoyed at being able to serve Mr. Lynch every step of the way.

In order to live up to this trust and to provide the best service under any circumstances, Totz was determined to do the preparation work to the extreme.

For some time afterward, all the teachers and students at Hogwarts would often witness a strange scene.

Professor Lynch, always impeccably dressed in a sharp three-piece suit, sometimes pauses in front of an old tapestry, and sometimes stands still, looking up at a portrait.

Just a step behind him, the house-elf Tots stood ramrod straight like the most loyal knight statue.

His small frame was dressed in a specially made, perfectly pressed black tailcoat, and he held a huge, gleaming silver platter high in his hands.

A delicate silver teapot and matching teacups were placed steadily in the center of the silver plate, with wisps of warm steam even rising from the spout.

Tea snacks are naturally indispensable, with several small and exquisite pastries that look so appetizing being displayed on the side.

A snow-white linen towel was neatly draped over Totz's shoulder, and behind him, a rather comfortable-looking high-backed chair seemed to float in mid-air—it was a mobile rest stop he had prepared for Mr. Lynch, where he could sit down at any time.

Thors watched Lynch's every move with rapt attention, his body tense, as if Mr. Lynch might need a cup of hot tea, a snack, or a comfortable seat to ponder the clues he had discovered at any moment.

Besides Professor Lynch, the Hogwarts faculty and students also noticed a change in another professor.

Professor Quirrell's face grew even paler, the strange, garlic-like odor emanating from beneath his purple turban intensified, and he moved with such weakness that he had to stop and catch his breath after every few steps.

On one occasion in the corridor, Madame Pomfrey offered to treat Professor Quirrell, but he refused, insisting that he was simply not well-rested.

So everyone said that the vampire Professor Quirrell encountered in Romania had come back to capture him, which was why Professor Quirrell couldn't sleep well at night.

So when Professor Quirrell rushed into the Great Hall in terror at the Halloween party, shouting that a troll was in the underground classroom, and then fainted, all the students panicked.

Because Professor Quirrell was such a timid and weak person, almost everyone immediately believed him.

Lynch looked at Dumbledore, the two exchanged a glance, and then Dumbledore gently shook his head.

"Quiet...!" Dumbledore stood up, his loud voice echoing throughout the Great Hall.

Everyone fell silent.

Dumbledore spoke, his voice low and calm: "Professors, cooperate with me and escort the students of each house back to their dormitories!"

Then he called out by name: "Professor Lynch."