"Is that so?" Howl looked at him with a half-smile, "Lord Voldemort once came here, right, under your very nose.
He once held this Quill, entered the deeper magical structure of Hogwarts, and planted a Curse on Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Saying this, Howl spread his hand and looked at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore hesitated for a moment, then gently raised a fingertip, offering the Quill of Acceptance to Howl's hand.
Howl grasped the quill and faced the Book of Admittance. The moment he took hold of it, he understood the general way to use it.
The next moment, the Book of Admittance began to rapidly flip its pages. However, no matter how much it flipped, the old, yellowed parchment on both sides remained equal in quantity.
It seemed as if this book had infinite pages.
Then, the pages suddenly stopped, and a blank piece of parchment appeared on the page. Howl slowly put down his pen.
The moment the silver ink touched the yellowed paper, everything around seemed to be infinitely stretched and pulled away.
In another blink of an eye, he found himself in an infinite void, looking up at a sky full of dazzling stars.
Red, green, blue, and yellow, four star rivers intertwined, forming a beautiful painting.
He slightly raised his hand, aiming at the star river...
Inside the tower, the daylight from the window fell upon the two motionless figures. Howl slowly opened his eyes, and as he opened his hand, the Quill of Acceptance bounced back into the silver inkwell.
He shook his head, "Riddle used the power of his bloodline to plant a seed of the Curse deep within Hogwarts. Without the bloodline of the four founders, it's difficult to enter the Castle's deep magical logic loop to clear it."
Howl paused, "And this kind of Curse involving fate..."
"You don't believe in fate, I know," Dumbledore said with a smile.
Howl looked at him without a word, the discussion about fate that day still vivid in his memory.
"It seems there are things you can't handle either," Dumbledore said, turning away.
The two walked down the stairs.
"After all, this kind of troublesome work is very tiring, but I have other ways to solve it... it just depends on whether you mind."
Dumbledore looked a bit helpless, showing his age, "This Castle is an antique after all, so let's just forget it."
He actually still wasn't very clear about Howl's age. Why was his mindset always so... young!
...
Days later, Howl suddenly realized he seemed to have been tricked by Dumbledore again!
The news of him deciding to take up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor somehow spread.
This led to a serene and peaceful morning where Professor McGonagall rushed to visit, immediately silencing a pair of young lovers who were pretending to read below.
At this moment, Howl held the Quibbler, lazily leaning on the sofa, with his feet propped on a red footstool, completely at ease.
"Professor Jones, I'd like to ask you about the arrangements for the Defense Against the Dark Arts final exam," she said, walking closer.
??
Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, his cat face looked confused!
He was already... a Professor?!
"That... wasn't that Quirrell's matter?" Howl picked up a small dried fish and put it in his mouth.
"Why are you eating dried fish?" Professor McGonagall suddenly looked serious. "Jones, are the side effects of being an Animagus starting to show?!"
"Oh... no, I just think it tastes better." Howl looked embarrassed. "After all, Dumbledore isn't a real old honeybee, right."
"Pfft..."
Below, a girl sitting a little closer couldn't help but laugh.
Suddenly, the scene became somewhat silent.
...
"Alright, let's talk about the final exam. But I don't think there's much to test. How about everyone gets a passing grade for free? I don't even really understand what they learned from the stammering Quirrell."
Professor McGonagall looked helplessly at the surrounding students. She really wanted to say directly, "They learned nothing."
But there were too many children around, and she couldn't bring herself to say it.
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