<h4>Chapter 34: Antecedents to the duel</h4>


    Twenty minutes ago, in the Headmaster''s office on the eighth floor of the main tower:


    "Severus, are you suspecting that Professor Drac instructed Quirrell to steal the Philosopher''s Stone?" Dumbledore asked with interest, chewing on a piece of honeyduke''s soft candy.


    "Yes, among all the professors at Hogwarts, only Drac is new here, and even Quirrell has taught Muggle Studies at Hogwarts for quite some time. So we know nothing about his background," Snape said seriously. "Moreover, just before the school term began, I had a brief mental sh with Drac at the entrance to the Great Hall, and I could sense his power. Therefore, I am certain he has the ability to steal the Philosopher''s Stone!"


    "You observe things very carefully, Severus," Dumbledore said with a smile, nodding and handing a candy to Snape.


    "No, you keep those for yourself," Snape said coldly.


    Dumbledore, unperturbed, popped the candy back into his mouth and said vaguely:


    "Severus, I can only tell you one thing about Professor Drac—he has no motive to steal the Philosopher''s Stone and is someone we can absolutely trust. Rest assured."


    "But I saw Quirrell enter the fourth-floor forbidden corridor with my own eyes!" Snape said reluctantly. "If it wasn''t Drac''s orders, could it be that Quirrell, who can''t even speak properly, wanted to steal the Philosopher''s Stone right under the nose of the most powerful wizard?"


    Dumbledore stood up, walked around the desk, and approached Snape.


    "Sometimes we cannot only look at the surface of things, Severus," he said to Snape. "What if Quirrell''s primary purpose ining to Hogwarts was indeed to get the Philosopher''s Stone? He could have been pretending to be a coward from start to finish to make everyone lower their guard."


    Snape frowned deeply and turned to Dumbledore, asking:


    "Have you confirmed that Quirrell is the one coveting the Philosopher''s Stone? If so, why not expel him from the school directly?"


    Dumbledore shook his head, sighed deeply, and said, "There''s no such thing as a thousand days of being a thief with a thousand days of being a guard. The best approach is not to expel Quirrell but topletely eliminate this hidden danger."


    "Severus, you know I''ve told you—The Dark Lord will return, and when he does, Harry Potter will face terrible danger."


    Hearing Dumbledore''s words, Snape''s pupils widened, and his face turned pale.


    "You mean..."


    "Yes, Quirrell has been controlled by the Dark Lord. He came to Hogwarts to help his master steal the Philosopher''s Stone."


    Dumbledore''s gaze was sharp, fixed on Snape.


    "Shouldn''t we expel Quirrell then? The Dark Lord will bring danger to this school!" Snape questioned. Then his eyes widened, "Do you n to use the Philosopher''s Stone as bait to lure the Dark Lord? So you made the defenses so easy to allow someone to stop him? Is it Potter, right?!"


    Snape stepped forward, ring intensely at the sharp eyes behind Dumbledore''s sses.


    "Are you worried about that boy?" Dumbledore asked.


    "I''m not!" Snape roared. "He''s as mediocre and arrogant as his father, loves breaking rules, showing off, attracting attention, and being insolent! How could I worry about such a vile little brat?"


    "What you see is only what you expect to see, Severus," Dumbledore said with a lightugh. "And you did very well before, didn''t you? Reciting the counter-curse during the Quidditch match."


    A momentary look of embarrassment crossed Snape''s face, then his expression became indifferent.


    "Tell me, what should I do?"


    "Have a fight with Professor Drac, using your suspicions about him as an excuse," Dumbledore said softly.


    "Professor Drac has already made an enemy of the Dark Lord. The worse your rtionship with him, the easier it will be to gain the Dark Lord''s trust when you return to his side as an undercover agent..."


    ---


    As Snape walked toward the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts ssroom, he reyed the events in the headmaster''s office in his mind.


    The door creaked open before him.


    An older, tall, and thin witch appeared at the door, followed by arge group of professors from various subjects.


    "Well, well! I never expected that two professors would fight privately in our ssroom!" Professor McGonagall said with tightly pursed lips and a rapidly rising chest, clearly very angry. "Do you know that the noise from your fight was heard throughout the entire castle?! What kind of example are you setting for the students? Are you encouraging them to duel privately?!"


    She seemed to vent her anger by waving her wand heavily, lighting up the oilmps and candles in the Defense Against the Dark Arts ssroom, which instantly became brightly lit.


    The next moment, Professor McGonagall saw the ssroom''s desks and chairs smashed into pieces. Her anger intensified, and she almost became ill from it.


    "You two will be given a disciplinary warning!" Professor McGonagall said with clenched fists, angrily scolding Drac and Snape. "If there is no improvement within a year, I will expel you, even if you are a head of house!"


    Snape shrugged indifferently, seemingly unconcerned about the warning.


    He just nced sideways at Quirrell, who was huddled among the group of professors. Seeing that Quirrell was indeed looking in this direction, Snape feigned anger and cast a resentful nce at Drac, as if there was a deep-seated hatred between the two.


    Drac sensed Snape''s malicious gaze and felt somewhat confused but was not one to back down easily, so he red back fiercely.


    Seeing the mutual res between the two, Quirrell secretly took out a nk diary and wrote:


    "Professor Drac and Professor Snape have a very poor rtionship!"


    After ring back at Snape, Drac said calmly to Professor McGonagall, "Sorry, Professor McGonagall. I have objections to the disciplinary warning and need to appeal to the headmaster."


    Professor McGonagall and Drac went to the headmaster''s office together.


    Dumbledore was reading a book titled "Transfiguration Today" and listened to Professor McGonagall recount Drac''s "offenses" without looking up.


    "Well... Minerva, considering it''s Professor Drac''s first offense, maybe we should not impose a punishment for now?" Dumbledore said with some resignation as he heard Drac''s name.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t respect Professor McGonagall''s opinion, but simply because Drac was holding Hogwarts'' deeds!