Chapter 54: After the Battle

Arthur felt the urge to blow up the school at this moment.

'Damn it, after going through all the troubles and fighting Voldemort, the Philosopher's Stone, he finally got turned out to be fake? Isn't Dumbledore just lured me here?'

Just as Arthur was fiercely criticizing Professor Dumbledore, a pleasant song echoed as if comforting the heart and bringing endless courage.

Professor Dumbledore and his phoenix Fawkes came to the door as the song played.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

'You couldn't have come at a better time, Professor Dumbledore.'

"Arthur!"

Hermione's urgent voice came, and she pushed past Professor Dumbledore at the door and threw herself into Arthur's arms, crying.

Looking at the crying young witch, Arthur was touched, even though he wasn't injured. Arthur slowly reassured Hermione that he was perfectly fine, which made her feel better.

Voldemort and his plans were nothing more than temporary training.

Hermione stubbornly raised her head and looked at Arthur.

"Promise me, don't take such risks in the future, okay?"

Seeing Hermione's serious expression and the deep affection in her eyes, Arthur's heart was deeply moved by this.

He bent down and gently kissed Hermione to show her how he felt. Even though Hermione was shy, she was also eager to respond back.

After a while, their lips parted.

Arthur silently thought, 'It's not that I'm a loli person, it's just that Cupid, who helped him shoot the arrows, was hit by Hermione's heart."

After making a small excuse for himself, Arthur quickly let go of his guilt toward Cho.

Professor Dumbledore, who had been observing silently, didn't interrupt and simply smiled as he noticed the scene in front of him.

Once he saw the two of them separate, he finally spoke.

"Youth is truly a wonderful thing. Seeing the two of you reminds me of my younger days..."

As he spoke, Professor Dumbledore started to reminisce about the past.

Seeing Arthur's silence, Professor Dumbledore was not uncomfortable either. He glanced at the Philosopher's Stone in Arthur's hand and then looked towards Professor Quirrell on the ground.

Approaching and examining Professor Quirrell's condition, Professor Dumbledore saw that he had turned into a lifeless corpse, aged and distorted.

Dumbledore knew that Voldemort was using his magic to do this.

As Professor Dumbledore looked at the area around him, he realized that this battle was much more intense than he had expected.

Hermione's eyes observed Professor Dumbledore's actions. Arthur quickly covered the young witch's eyes, not wanting her to witness this horrible scene.

Ron and Harry, standing nearby, were already feeling sick, starting to vomit.

Seeing the state of the young wizards, Professor Dumbledore knew that this was not the place for conversation.

"Well, let's go to my office and have a talk. There are some matters I need to ask about from Harry and Mr. Gaunt."

...

In the Headmaster's office, Hermione and Ron have already left, leaving only Harry and Arthur sitting across from Professor Dumbledore.

"Would you like something to eat?" Professor Dumbledore asked, looking at the two young wizards in front of him.

Harry felt a bit hesitant and didn't say anything, but Arthur was not shy at all.

Having just come out of the Room of Requirement, where his every work was completed, Hermione pulled him away, and he had only had a small dessert the whole day.

His stomach was empty and growling.

"I'll have a roasted chicken and a bowl of onion soup," Arthur said without hesitation.

"Oh, and also give me a beef pasty," he added.

Listening to Arthur listing his requests, Professor Dumbledore fell silent for a moment.

'This kid really doesn't consider himself an outsider.'

Anyway, he waved his wand and summoned the food that Arthur had requested.

Watching Arthur enjoy his meal, Harry quietly swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Seeing how delicious Arthur's food looked, Harry, who wasn't particularly hungry before, now felt slightly hungry.

But it was already late, and Professor Dumbledore had already begun speaking.

"So, Harry, can you tell me how you discovered Professor Quirrell's plan?" he asked.

Harry then began telling the events and mentioned his misunderstanding of Professor Snape as a treacherous person.

When hearing this, Dumbledore explains the history of hostility between Professor Snape and Harry's father.

At that moment, Harry finally realized why Professor Snape had been targeting him.

It was a matter of paying off a father's debt with a son.

However, he still didn't think Professor Snape was a good person.

Finally, Harry finished telling the day's events and scratched his head, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"To be honest, it was all thanks to Arthur that we were able to successfully protect the Philosopher's Stone."

"You don't have to say that, Harry. When you had the courage to go and stop someone from stealing the Philosopher's Stone, that was already a show of a true Gryffindor," Professor Dumbledore praised.

After all, Harry was his favorite student. How could he not motivate him?

When Harry heard this, he was a little embarrassed, but it also gave him motivation.

After discussing Harry's matters, Professor Dumbledore turned his attention to Arthur, who was still eating passionately.

His expression paused for a moment. 'Why hadn't this kid finished eating yet?'

"Harry, you can go back now. I'll talk to Mr. Gaunt about the remaining matters," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Oh, alright!"

Harry quickly nodded, glanced at Arthur who was still eating, and left the Headmaster's office.

...

Finally, Arthur finished eating and wiped his mouth with a summoned handkerchief.

Professor Dumbledore saw that Arthur had finished eating and waved his wand, immediately clearing the table.

"It seems you enjoyed your meal, Mr. Gaunt," Dumbledore said.

"Headmaster, the food here is much better than what we have," Arthur responded with a smile.

"Yes, having a house-elf with great cooking skills as the headmaster isn't too much, is it?" Dumbledore said mischievously, winking at Arthur like an old prankster.

Arthur could only think this was the best kind of privilege. He couldn't help but love it here. After exchanging a couple of jokes, they finally got down to business.

"Mr. Gaunt, your performance today was amazing, and I thank you for stopping Voldemort from protecting the Philosopher's Stone," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Now, could you return the Philosopher's Stone in your pocket to me? After all, it belongs to Nicolas Flamel."

...

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