This arrogant letter enraged Lord Voldemort.
He couldn't wait until August 1st; the same day he received the letter, he furiously stormed Hogwarts, intending to take down Dumbledore.
In his opinion, only Dumbledore in the Wizarding World could possess enough courage to write such a rebellious letter.
Dumbledore vehemently denied it.
Lord Voldemort was confused because he didn't think Dumbledore needed to hide his identity—Dumbledore's strength was sufficient to openly challenge him.
After extensive reconnaissance and divination, Lord Voldemort had to accept a fact he found hard to believe: the letter was indeed not from Dumbledore's hand.
A mysterious and anonymous Wizard challenged Lord Voldemort to a duel on August 1st!
At the end of June, Hogwarts welcomed the summer holiday, and both students and Professors left the school. Only Dumbledore remained there.
Lord Voldemort was allowed temporary entry into Hogwarts to complete the duel proposed by the mysterious sender.
On August 1st, only Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort were alive at Hogwarts.
"Dumbledore did not engage with You-Know-Who," was the eyewitness account from the Hogwarts ghost, Nearly Headless Nick. "On the day of the duel, You-Know-Who, like a phantom, repeatedly paced the long corridors of Hogwarts. Suddenly, he seemed to hear some unknown summons and rushed towards the girls' lavatory on the second floor."
"I heard that madman laughing!"
Myrtle, the ghost hiding in the girls' lavatory on the second floor, crying, continued Nick's eyewitness account:
"He said he heard it; his opponent wasn't Dumbledore, but another Wizard, who was currently waiting for him in the Chamber of Secrets."
"So he hissed like a snake and opened the hidden passage in the lavatory. After he entered the passage, the entrance returned to its original state."
The Fat Friar, The Grey Lady, and The Bloody Baron testified together:
"Yes, until his head was discovered, the Chamber of Secrets entrance never opened again. In fact, to this day, that entrance has never opened again."
Peeves, wandering about, was also happy to recount his experience that day:
"I guessed that fiend was going to the Principal's office, so I set up a prank outside the Principal's office in advance."
"I was hoisting that bucket of water! Suddenly, I heard a 'thud' from the Principal's office, like something being roughly thrown onto a wooden surface."
Armando Dippet, one of the portraits in the Principal's office, truthfully explained:
"At the time, I didn't notice what happened; I was dozing off. I thought that fiend's duel wouldn't affect the Principal's office..."
"The other Principal portraits had left; they went visiting other portraits to get first-hand news of the duel... Merlin's beard, who would have thought the focus would shift to the Principal's office?"
"Suddenly, a 'thud' woke me up, and then I saw something smash onto that desk with claw-shaped legs."
"I didn't see how it appeared... I said I was dozing off then, and that sound startled me awake. Then I saw a human head trembling slightly on the Principal's desk. And from the severed neck of the head, blood was still spurting out!"
"I squinted and looked closely—that ugly, noseless appearance, wasn't that the fiend's head? It was actually cut off!"
"I panicked; I knew this was a major event that would soon shake the Wizarding World. I was about to turn and leave to spread the news when I heard another clatter."
"I swear I didn't expect anything else to smash out then. As I turned, I again missed the moment those things smashed out—I didn't see how they appeared either."
"But I can tell you completely what those things included."
"There were five items in total: a burnt diary, a cracked ring, a shattered diadem, a damaged locket, and a dented golden cup."
Dumbledore, having received the news, quickly returned to his office. When his gaze swept over the head and the pile of junk beside it, shock fleetingly crossed his face.
He told Armando Dippet's portrait:
"History will forever remember this day, August 1st, 1980. Lord Voldemort is completely dead, and the Wizarding World is about to usher in long-awaited light..."
At the end of the story, facing the reporter from The Daily Prophet, Dumbledore calmly stated:
"Although this is an inconceivable murder in the Chamber of Secrets, there is no doubt that the perpetrator is a hero worthy of everyone's respect."
"We don't know his name, we don't know his appearance, and we don't know his origin. He completed this seemingly impossible murder with his cunning wisdom."
"But there is no doubt that his Merit will be remembered throughout History of Magic. The dark clouds that have hung over the Wizarding World for ten years are gone forever, and Muggle-born and half-blood Wizards no longer need to live in fear..."
Boom—
Outside the train window, thunder roared, and lightning pierced the dark clouds, instantly illuminating the dim, lightless sky.
Weilan stared at the "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4" in his hand, finding his recent naive thought ridiculous.
He had actually tried to find the spells involved in Lord Voldemort's death in the Chamber of Secrets within this book.
At noon, the lunch trolley rolled down the aisle.
If Harry were here, he would definitely buy a stack of cauldron cakes to share with his friends.
In his past experiences on the Hogwarts Express, without Harry, poor Weilan might have had to starve until the start-of-term feast to eat delicious food.
Alas, Harry...
"Three Chocolate Frogs, please!"
Hermione's voice interrupted Weilan's melancholic thoughts. She paid for three Chocolate Frogs and shared the other two with Weilan and Ron.
"Thank you, Hermione." Weilan unwrapped a Chocolate Frog and took a big bite.
After enjoying the sweetness and pleasure the chocolate brought, Weilan contentedly examined the Wizard card included in the packaging:
The card showed an elderly Wizard with a long beard reaching his chest, deep-set eyes, wearing a robe adorned with stars and moons, and holding an oak wand. Below, his introduction was written:
Merlin, "Prince of Wizards," King Arthur's advisor, founder of the Knights of Merlin, creator of the Code of magic, and a legendary Wizard of the Middle Ages.
Weilan treasured the card, flipping it over and over in his palm. He seemed to remember that this was a very rare Wizard card.
"Oh, it's Queen Maeve! This is my third card of her!"
Ron happily shared this card with Weilan.
On this card, Weilan saw a majestic Witch wearing a golden crown. Below was an introduction to her life's contributions:
"Queen Maeve, pioneer of magic education, trained Wizards in Ireland before the founding of Hogwarts. She laid the foundation for the Wizarding education system."
Ron cleaned the chocolate residue off the Queen Maeve card and turned to look at the card in Weilan's hand:
"Oh my goodness, it's Merlin! You actually got a Merlin card! You might not get his card even if you eat hundreds of Chocolate Frogs—"
Ron's mouth formed an "O" shape.
"It's indeed very rare; maybe I can sell it for a good price."
Weilan thought this, but Ron's burning gaze made him feel uneasy, so he could only sigh and hand the card to Ron:
"It's for you."
Weilan had already decided that from this year on, he would stop reselling and switch to running a detective agency.
He hoped the detective agency members would be united and friendly, just as Hermione said: "It doesn't matter if there are few people; it's most important that the members are trustworthy!"
Ron's eyes sparkled as he reverently held the card with both hands:
"Merlin's socks, I'm going to cherish this card."
In the afternoon, several friends came to visit them: Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. They burst in, chattering excitedly:
"Hey, do you know? Malfoy has taken a leave of absence for some reason, and Goyle and Crabbe are sad about it! We might not have to see that annoying guy all year."
"Yes! And you won't see Harry either."
Weilan responded dejectedly.
Then, he told his friends about what happened after the Quidditch match.
"We're so sorry, we had no idea about this," Seamus apologized repeatedly.
"Yes," Neville echoed, "The Daily Prophet only said there was a murder during the World Cup, and Mum was still glad that she and Dad were too busy with work to take me."
The compartment atmosphere immediately became suffocating.
Weilan had to change the subject, trying to lighten the mood:
"I gave Ron a rare Chocolate Frog Merlin card, do you want to see it?"
"A Merlin card?!" Dean exclaimed, "I've eaten so many Chocolate Frogs and never seen a Merlin card; I thought it was just a gimmick—"
Weilan propped his chin with one hand, watching as the small card was passed around like a rare treasure.
Suddenly, a question arose in his mind.
"Hermione, I have a History of Magic question I want to ask you."
Weilan softly interrupted Hermione, who was reading opposite him, and asked her:
"If I remember correctly, Merlin's main achievements were established during King Arthur's time, which is the 6th century AD, right?"
"That's right, it is."
"And then, Hogwarts was founded around 990 AD, which is the late 10th century—"
"Correct."
"But where does the claim that Merlin attended Hogwarts come from? There's a difference of over four hundred years. Even if Merlin lived until Hogwarts was founded, with his knowledge, experience, and status, he should at least be on equal footing with the four founders, right? He'd even be more than qualified to be the Principal of Hogwarts!"
"How could he condescend to become a little first-year student studying in Slytherin?"
Weilan's question did not stump Hermione. Hermione articulately gave her answer:
"Professor Binns mentioned related issues. Much of the history from over a thousand years ago is untraceable, but the most authoritative explanation currently should be the 'honorary alumnus' theory."
"This theory infers, through many clues, that Merlin and Slytherin were once good friends. In the early years of Hogwarts' founding, many Wizarding families were unwilling to send their children to board at such a remote, unfamiliar place."
"To attract more students, Slytherin invited Merlin to be one of the first students of Slytherin House. But Merlin was only a nominal student; this doesn't mean he actually had to study the simplest Levitation Charm in first year at Hogwarts."
Weilan subtly clicked his tongue, skillfully masking his "disbelief."
If it was truly for the need to attract students, wouldn't it be more appealing to simply list Merlin as a Hogwarts Professor?"
Which Wizard wouldn't want to learn Merlin's skills?