Harry Potter: Shadow Eminence

Chapter 10

After much deliberation, Brian's expression became indifferent as he organized the items he was carrying and got up to leave the classroom.

He did not return to the Slytherin common room but instead turned and walked toward the fourth floor.

He arrived at the far right corridor on the fourth floor, which was blocked by a door. Brian leaned against the door and listened for a while; inside, he could only hear the heavy breathing of a large dog.

Clearly, Professor Quirrell had not yet arrived. He had used the troll to divert the professor's attention while he came here to try to access the trapdoor.

He heard rustling footsteps behind him, and Brian pressed his lips together, pretending to be flustered as he left the door, secretly placing his wand behind him and turning to look at the hurriedly approaching Quirrell.

"You... you're a student from the house slytherin? Why did you run... run here?" Quirrell gasped, stuttering.

"Sorry, Professor, I was just a bit curious about what's inside." Brian looked at Quirrell and his ridiculous large scarf, mimicking Malfoy's posture as he said,

"I'm Brian Walker. My dad is Albert Walker, a member of the school's board."

Quirrell stared at him for a moment and waved his hand, saying, "Quick... quick, leave here, this... this is off-limits." He seemed somewhat anxious.

"Professor Quirrell, are you trying to sneak in to steal something?" Brian suddenly said loudly.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Quirrell glared at him. Brian noticed that the wand in his hand had slightly risen.

"I know there's a three-headed dog inside, and underneath it is a trapdoor, definitely guarding something." Brian spoke quickly, "You released the troll, didn't you? Because you were clearly unconscious in the Great Hall and shouldn't have come here."

"You're right, so you arrogantly came over to catch me? Can't your pathetic little brain think of what I might do to you?" Quirrell dropped the pretense, sneering coldly as he raised his wand.

"I... I've already notified Professor Dumbledore! He will be here soon to catch you!" Brian pretended to panic as he pointed his wand at him, "And I have alchemical gear given by my dad, so I'm not afraid of you, you despicable thief!"

"My dad is a member of the board; he will definitely kick you out and throw you into Azkaban." Brian mimicked Malfoy's smug expression.

Quirrell huffed angrily through his nostrils, and just as he raised his wand with a fierce expression to teach this annoying brat a lesson, he suddenly paused, as if listening to something.

"Very well, Mr. Walker?" He forced a stiff smile, slowly lowering his wand. "I am not a thief; on the contrary, what's inside already belongs to the master. I am simply retrieving it for him."

"Your master? Do you have another master behind you?" Brian said aggressively.

"Yes, the great master, the Dark Lord!" Quirrell's face twisted for a moment, then he spoke with fervor.

"The Dark Lord? You're lying!" Brian was taken aback, then replied incredulously, "He has fallen."

"He has only temporarily left." Quirrell sneered, "But he will return soon!"

"Really?" Hearing Quirrell's words, Brian displayed a mix of surprise and worry, with a hint of skepticism.

"Indeed, and what is inside this door is the last bargaining chip for his return. I know your father; he is a loyal supporter of the Dark Lord, but everything he did after the Dark Lord left displeased the master greatly," Quirrell ominously threatened.

Brian showed a look of terror.

"Of course, you can atone for him, Walker." Quirrell's tone softened, "As long as you help me contribute to the return of the Dark Lord, you will be the greatest hero!"

"At that time, you will be the one the Dark Lord trusts and relies on the most, and everyone will be crawling at your feet."

Brian's eyes lit up, seemingly caught in a beautiful fantasy, revealing a look of delight.

"Really? The Dark Lord is coming back?" Brian whispered, "What can I do? Shall we go in together to get the stuff?"

"Right now, you need to go back first." Quirrell frowned, "The defenses inside cannot be broken through in one go; time is of the essence, and I need to go in first to scout the situation."

"Okay! I'll come find you later." Brian nodded, turned, and ran outside, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Wait." Quirrell suddenly called out to him.

"Is there anything else?" Brian asked, breaking into a cold sweat, surprised.

"Someone's coming." Quirrell said coldly, pointing his wand at Brian, and wisps of rippling magic shot from the tip of his wand and landed on Brian.

Brian raised his hands to look, realizing they had turned transparent.

"Disillusionment Charm." Brian understood.

Quirrell also cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, then used the Unlocking Charm to open the door, casting a spell at the three-headed dog, causing it to yelp in pain and growl angrily.

The three heads glared with fierce eyes, whining and howling as they poked their drooling mouths out the door, but were held back by ropes around their necks.

A shadow appeared at the other end of the corridor, swiftly gliding over like a giant black bat.

Professor Snape.

He cautiously scanned the surroundings, then cast a spell at the large dog, attempting to drive it back.

The dog took another spell, becoming even angrier, transferring all its hatred towards Snape.

Quirrell silently cast a spell from the side, loosening the ropes around the dog's neck.

Snape's sharp gaze turned towards Quirrell, but he quickly had other concerns. The dog was fully unleashed, and the assault from the three dog heads left Snape somewhat overwhelmed.

The dog was very powerful, clearly resistant to spells; even the strong Stunning Spell could only daze one of the heads, while the other two became more aggressive and quickly revived the dazed one.

"Only Hagrid is really good at dealing with such big creatures and thinks they're cute," Brian silently lamented.

As the battle between one person and one dog raged on, Quirrell pulled Brian's arm, silently leading him further away.

Before turning the corner, Brian glanced back.

Snape struggled to pull his leg out from the dog's fierce bite, successfully pressing all three heads back and "slamming" the door shut.

Only Snape remained, leaning against the door with his bloodied and bruised thigh, murmuring the Incantation for the Revealing Charm with his wand pointed in front of him.

"Ding—"

[Witness Snape stopping Quirrell, Witness Points +0.5]

After leading him far away, Quirrell told him to go back first. Clearly, tonight wasn't the time for conversation.

Brian returned to the Slytherin common room, which was now packed with people, all discussing the giant creature incident, the buzzing noise nearly lifting the ceiling.

Malfoy was loudly boasting to a group of girls, claiming that when he was ten, he had been chased by several giants along with his father, and that he had set fire to scare one of them away.

Brian found a place to sit down and quietly listened to Malfoy's words.

He had gone to meet Quirrell not on a whim.

He had never intended to get involved with Voldemort at this time, but the giant incident tonight had changed his mind.

Since he couldn't drastically alter the plot, he could only choose to maintain it as much as possible and witness it.

But how to do that?

He couldn't always follow Harry Potter, but he needed witness points, that was undeniable.

Not wanting to miss the plot, he could only try to control it, letting it unfold at the right time and place for him to participate or observe.

If he couldn't be on Harry Potter's side, then he would be on the opposite side.

The situation on Harry's side was easy to control; as long as Brian revealed some information to them in some way, he could effectively manage the actions of the Savior Squad.

Of course, he just had to avoid Dumbledore.

But controlling things on Voldemort's side was much more difficult, filled with unpredictability and uncertainty; even a seemingly insignificant action could trigger a butterfly effect that would completely alter the plot.

So, it was better to join him, infiltrate, and let the plot proceed according to Brian's ideas.

He needed Voldemort to be resurrected and fall as per the original plot.

Voldemort needed to live, but he also had to die. That was Brian's view.

The wizarding world did not need Voldemort.

And going to see Quirrell tonight was somewhat impulsive, but he had also made sufficient preparations.

Since he would eventually have to encounter and follow Voldemort, why not start now? Making an impression on Voldemort from this point would make it easier to gain his trust later. This would help a lot.

Of course, it's just a precaution; it may not be useful in the future, but it adds another option to choose from.