In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

Chapter 362: Be an ordinary professor?

"That's right, we knew before the tournament began that he was definitely in an unstable state, after you ripped up that soul contract, there was no way for the two souls in Riddle's body to come to a peaceful way of coexisting with each other."

Dumbledore said softly.

"The strength of his soul is important to him, the reason he suddenly became incredibly strong sometimes was because of that. But now if two different souls in his body clash, then this must have made a great impact on him, even if the impact is small, it would at least knock him back to his original form and cause him to lose that power that is not originally his."

"It's just that Riddle obviously used some special means again to temporarily reconcile the souls in his body, but it is obviously not a long-lasting means, and he is bound to find other ways to stabilise this change in his soul. It was also why he showed up in France within the Ministry of Magic to organise this Triwizard Tournament by taking a blood pact with me, this tournament must be something he needed to do right at the moment."

Jon had certainly not forgotten any of this, and he knew that Voldemort's current state was definitely not normal; that soul pact in Sir Stoker's Tower was a very crucial thing for the dark lord, and after he had torn it up, there was no way that Voldemort could have just fixed all his soul problems that easily.

"But Professor, at the time, we also analysed that apart from such purposes, the purpose of him holding this tournament is related to his need to repair his soul, and there is a bigger possibility that he wants to delay time by organising the Triwizard Tournament; it will take at least a year when the tournament is over, and he can perfectly use this time to find a solution to his soul problem. "

Dumbledore said with a nod.

"That is indeed a great possibility as well, and if that is indeed the case, we can't afford to refrain from winning this tournament even if we find out what he is really up to, which would be equivalent to falling for his conspiracy."

Jon mused.

"Well, it doesn't matter if it's a conspiracy or a plot, we're going to win this Triwizard Tournament anyway, and about your arrangement inside the castle, Professor, I think Cedric can be of great help to us."

Dumbledore blinked.

"Is that boy you mentioned with the name Cedric Diggory?"

"Yes, he's brave and courageous, and I can tell he's not brainwashed by the Dark Lord's pureblood education, and has a distaste for the present Hogwarts castle, so I think he should be of some help to us."

Dumbledore didn't look like he wanted to deny Jon's suggestion, he simply said.

"We certainly can't miss the opportunity, but we can't ignore his own ideas either, even if we do want him to help, we need to make it clear that he is going to be in danger and let him make that decision for himself."

Jon certainly strongly agreed with this, and then Jon did not remain in the Headmaster's office to talk any further with Dumbledore.

It was late, and he hadn't had a good rest for basically the last three days in the Forbidden Forest. He had to go to the Hog's Head Inn in the morning to see Hoss, and he would definitely have to tag along to help with certain matters regarding the Centaurs.

So Jon and Hermione left the Headmaster's office together after saying goodbye and went back to their own dormitory.

And in the Headmaster's office, where Dumbledore has left alone, a conversation was going on between the successive Headmasters of Hogwarts.

"I trust my instincts." Salazar said gruffly, "I have dealt with Riddle, and even if it was a deceptive exchange, it has provided me with some insight into his character and persona. Since he has already embarked on a plan to kill the castle, he must also have a follow-up preparation when he has eliminated the magic force of Hogwarts Castle, otherwise, like you people said, if it was just to destroy Hogwarts Castle, he wouldn't have to waste so much effort, it wouldn't be difficult for him to make this school disappear from the world completely with his ability."

"Besides, when Jon guided those dragons today and planned for them to wreak havoc on the castle, he ended up rushing back to defend the place, which shows that at least he doesn't want this school to be destroyed, or at least not on the physical side."

Dumbledore crossed his fingers, there was an inscrutable calmness to his face.

"But if his aim really is to truly become Headmaster of Hogwarts and be the master of this castle not only in name, then what exactly would that benefit him in the end?"

His question was one that the entire wall of Headmasters couldn't answer, they really couldn't think of what he would gain even if he was acknowledged by the castle.

Dumbledore pondered for a long moment and suddenly there was a somewhat dumbfounded smile appeared on his face.

"It can't actually just be what he told me when he made the wager, right? About his earliest wish of becoming just a normal Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle?"

Hearing this speculation from him, the Headmasters looked at each other, and then a slight snicker rang out.

Clearly, most of them thought that Dumbledore was just telling a cold joke that wasn't really that funny.

***

The results of the first Task of the Triwizard Tournament hit the headlines of almost every magical newspaper across Europe early the next morning.

It is no exaggeration to say that more than two-thirds of all the wizards in Europe were following this tournament, which had the fate of the French magical community at stake, and the news in the newspapers was overwhelmingly unbelievable.

It was certainly not the final score of the first task that was unbelievable, as Jon had some of the best chances of winning on several betting markets.

With the record he has shown and the power he has shown, most believed he would shine in this tournament and almost no one was betting on Draco.

The result of the tournament was exactly the same, with no surprises, which left some wizards who wanted to bet against the high odds tumbling out of their homes and already ready to fly on their flying broomsticks and jump off at heights of over 100 metres.

What really shocked them was the story about Hogwarts Castle being attacked by dragons, and there were several newspapers that stated outright and implicitly that Jon himself should have had nothing to do with the situation that happened.

At the same time, the story about Jon accusing Voldemort's side of cheating by pulling some tricks on the golden snitch, causing the dragons to riot and nearly besiege and kill him, was similarly publicised.

It looked like a drama in which Voldemort's side failed to gain the upper hand even after cheating, and it raised the heat about the tournament even more.

More wizards are looking forward to the second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, which is scheduled to begin after Christmas, on the first day of the following year, January 1.

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