Return of Salazar Slytherin

98- That’s a crystal ball made by Ravenclaw herself!!!

"Did the flames behind the door just flicker?" Harry squinted his eyes, asking uncertainly.

Embarrassingly, Daphne completely ignored him.

The preparation of the fire protection potion had reached the most critical moment. If there was any stray thought in Daphne's mind aside from making the potion, it was why she hadn't stuffed Harry's mouth shut before starting.

"Alright, maybe it was just my imagination."

"Sigh, I wonder what the next challenge will be—do you think the fire protection potion can really get us through that firewall?"

"How much longer until it's ready?"

"..."

Finally, Daphne's fire protection potion was successfully prepared.

"Awesome! Fantastic!" Harry didn't hold back on his words of praise.

Daphne squinted her eyes and gave a sweet smile, "It's nothing. But, Potter, I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead." Facing Daphne, who had just finished making the fire protection potion, Harry wished he could replace the portrait of the Virgin Mary in Devonshire Church with Daphne's photo.

Whatever Daphne requested, Harry was ready to comply.

"Next time you talk while I'm making a potion, even if it's just one word, I'll cut out your tongue and use it as an ingredient."

Harry: "..."

"Alright, drink the potion." Daphne divided the potion into two small bottles and handed one to Harry.

They both drank the fire protection potion together and shivered.

The potion felt like ice water, making them feel as if they had stepped outside in their pajamas on a winter's day.

As they passed through the fire door, the black flames actually brought a bit of warmth.

Beyond the black flames, they smoothly entered the final room.

A person who caused Harry's pupils to dilate in shock was standing in that room.

"Professor Quirrell, you?!" Harry was so stunned he could hardly breathe.

Daphne clapped her hands sharply. "Now you can finally believe in Professor Snape's innocence!"

Quirrell laughed, and now his face no longer twitched, and he spoke without stuttering.

"I have to thank Snape. He was like a giant target, attracting everyone's attention, allowing me to execute this great plan smoothly." Quirrell looked extremely pleased with himself.

He believed he had fooled everyone, including the great Dumbledore.

"Miss Greengrass, I've received a lot of care from your father while at school. For his sake, you can leave now. This has nothing to do with you. I swear by the Black Lake that you'll return to the castle unharmed." After mocking Harry a few times, Quirrell turned to Daphne, offering her a chance to leave.

Quirrell's magnanimity had nothing to do with Daphne's father. It was purely because she had left too deep an impression on him that night, and this time he decided to win with cunning.

Quirrell had already planned to use the Killing Curse on her as soon as she turned her back.

The girl seemed terrified and nodded numbly.

Seeing her fall into his trap, Quirrell was overjoyed, but before that joy could fully register, a powerful spell came hurtling toward him.

If Voldemort hadn't taken direct control of Quirrell's body, Daphne would have succeeded.

"You're courting death!" Quirrell, nearly split in half, was furious. He instinctively wanted to retaliate but found he had completely lost control of his body.

Voldemort finally stopped hiding. After all, after today, Quirrell's body would be discarded like a disposable utensil in a restaurant.

Quirrell's turban unwound layer by layer, and during this time, Daphne seized the opportunity to launch multiple attacks, all of which were effortlessly deflected. Translucent shields appeared just in time to block her spells, bouncing them all away.

With his eyes covered by the turban, Quirrell's vision seemed to improve.

When the last layer of the scarf was removed, both Daphne and Harry were stunned: on the back of Quirrell's head was a hideous and terrifying face. The face was chalk-white with red eyes and slit-like nostrils resembling those of a snake.

It was the very embodiment of "evil."

"Haha~ Excellent child, put down your wand, and I will forgive your sins," the face spoke to Daphne in a whispery voice.

"You are a talented child of the Greengrass family? How rare, pure blood. Wizard blood should not be wasted... Submit to me, and I will give you honors beyond your wildest dreams."

Daphne felt a wave of nausea in her stomach; the gaze from those eyes made her want to vomit.

She responded with wind blades, fireballs, and ice spikes, but these attacks couldn't even make the monster retreat a single step. For the first time since starting school, Daphne felt despair—worse than when she had almost been eaten by the troll.

"Tut. tut. What a pity..." Voldemort shook his head, no longer hiding the cruelty in his eyes.

The unwrapped turban moved like a snake, slithering towards Daphne.

Seeing Daphne in danger, Harry panicked. He wanted to do something, but Voldemort casually conjured a rope, binding him.

He didn't even bother to speak to Harry.

Voldemort felt both humiliated and amused: how could he have lost to such a person? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand.

Daphne flew into the air, attempting to avoid Voldemort's attacks.

"Oh?" Voldemort was even more surprised now.

He hadn't expected this little girl from the Greengrass family to have mastered flying magic.

He casually shot a few spells at Daphne, watching her dodge them awkwardly, feeling like a cat toying with a mouse it had caught.

Daphne had only one thought in her mind: she really wanted to blast that disgusting face with a spell, even just once!

While dodging, she saw herself in a mirror—her hair was disheveled, her face pale, looking like a lost dog.

A thought flashed in Daphne's mind: There was actually a mirror here? She hadn't noticed it at all before.

At that moment, she saw her reflection reach into a pocket, pull out a crystal ball, wink at her, and then put the crystal ball back into the pocket. Then, Daphne felt something heavy drop into the inner pocket of her robe.

She reached in and found that the crystal ball was indeed in her pocket.

A purple spell whizzed past her, nearly hitting her, and Voldemort's sinister laughter echoed from the ground. "Pay attention, you mustn't get distracted!"

Daphne ignored him. She took out the crystal ball and looked down at it, discovering a skeletal horse pacing in a forest.

A sense of clarity arose within her. The next moment, she smashed the crystal ball heavily against the ground, shattering it.

'What The..!!!' Rhys, who had been observing in the shadows, nearly blacked out: That was handcrafted by Rowena Ravenclaw, the only one of its kind in the world!

———

12 Advance Chapters—