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After chatting briefly with Dumbledore, Dracula's mood became somewhat gloomy.
He clearly remembered that he had originally come to the Headmaster's office to question him about the teaching standards. How had it happened that, under Dumbledore's expectant gaze, this concern had somehow transformed into a direction for him to strive for in the future?
Dracula silently placed a mental hat labelled 'Master Manipulator' squarely on Dumbledore's head.
After their brief conversation, the 2 of them used the automatic revolving staircase at the entrance of the Headmaster's office to reach the 4th floor. Together, they walked towards the forbidden corridor on the right.
'I still do not understand why you would arrange danger inside the school?' Looking at the empty corridor, Dracula turned to Dumbledore and asked. 'Just like that—putting the students in potential danger?'
'Professor Dracula, you yourself just said that Voldemort might make a comeback at any time,' Dumbledore said.
'Under such circumstances, I need to understand his specific state in advance. The school is the only place where I can always keep an eye on things.'
'So, this is actually a trap for Voldemort, is it not?' Dracula frowned slightly. 'If Voldemort can fall for such a simple trap, I am afraid I will have to worry about the current state of the magical world.'
'To let such an idiot become a great Dark Lord whose name people dare not even mention—you wizards are really something.'
'Now, now, Voldemort was very clever when he was young,' Dumbledore smiled.
'It is just that I will put treasures that he simply cannot refuse in these levels for safekeeping. I can guarantee that even if he knows it is a trap, Voldemort will definitely come and try to break through it.'
'Oh?' Dracula raised the corner of his mouth with interest. 'Is the bait very precious then? And you are bringing me here to set up the levels without any precautions—are you not afraid that I, this "evil vampire," will become covetous and steal it away?'
'Professor Dracula, there is no need for such words. I believe you are not that kind of person,' Dumbledore smiled kindly.
Afterwards, he added, 'What is more, you are very familiar with the thing I have put there, and you will not be interested in it at all. According to Nicolas, you would not even bother to take it away if it was placed right in front of you.'
Dracula was stunned for a moment. So Dumbledore's bait was something that Voldemort craved, but he would discard like worn-out shoes…
'Nicolas gave you the Philosopher's Stone?' He frowned.
Dumbledore smiled and nodded.
'To lure Voldemort out, the price is really high enough,' Dracula curled his lips. 'Nicolas said you were old friends, and at first, I did not believe it. Now that I think about it, that was an understatement.'
Dracula was indeed not very interested in the Philosopher's Stone.
The 2 most famous effects of the Philosopher's Stone—refining the elixir of immortality and turning stone into gold—were of no interest to Dracula.
He was already an immortal life form. In fact, he was already growing a little impatient with living. Finding amusement had become his only motivation to continue…
As for turning stone into gold, it was even more unnecessary. When wealth reaches a certain level, it is just a string of boring numbers. Dracula had no interest in money at all now.
There might be quite a few other strange effects, but Dracula had already grown tired of these functions during the hundreds of years he had known Nicolas Flamel.
Now, as Nicolas had said, the Philosopher's Stone was something he would not even bother to take if it was placed right in front of him.
'Alright, how you use it is your business. It has nothing to do with me,' Dracula said with disinterest.
'I just want to know now, how are you going to ensure that no daring students sneak in?'
'If you ask me, those Gryffindor twins are a big hidden danger. Obviously, the more you forbid something, the more they want to try it.'
'Ah, Professor Dracula, do not worry,' Dumbledore said with a smile. 'Hagrid's little darling will chase them away and will not cause them too much harm!'
'Hagrid's little darling?' Dracula looked at him questioningly.
'A big dog. With reasonable training, it will not cause harm to young wizards,' Dumbledore winked at him. 'Of course, I also contributed a little to its… disposition.'
Dracula scoffed inwardly at Dumbledore's words.
In his opinion, it was likely that Hagrid had raised a very fierce dog, and Dumbledore had placed this dog in the forbidden area to guard the way. It was possible this poor dog had also been given a spell—perhaps a Confundus Charm, perhaps a Memory Charm. In short, something to make it not too malicious towards the Hogwarts students, only responsible for chasing any naughty children out of the forbidden area.
The 2 chatted idly, and before they knew it, they walked to a door.
Pushing open this door, they entered the first level guarding the Philosopher's Stone.
'…So, this is Hagrid's "little darling"?' Dracula looked up at the huge dog sitting on the ground—it was taller than himself—and said speechlessly.
'Of course. That is indeed how Hagrid sees it,' Dumbledore said with a smile. 'Hagrid even gave it a name—Fluffy.'
Before them was a dog that filled the entire space between the ceiling and the floor.
It had 3 heads.
3 pairs of round, crazed eyes; 3 noses, twitching and sniffing in their direction; 3 drooling mouths, saliva hanging from yellow fangs, dripping slickly down.
Seeing Dracula and Dumbledore enter its territory, the 3-headed dog Fluffy immediately jumped up. Its 3 heads roared angrily at the same time:
'WOOF! WOOF! GRRRROWL!'
Dumbledore and Dracula did not pay much attention to this—in their view—unthreatening puppy and continued chatting.
'Did you know, Professor Dracula? Three-headed dogs have a rather magical trait,' Dumbledore said. 'This kind of animal will fall asleep when it hears music. So I think you could try singing a song for Fluffy.'
'So why do you not sing?' Dracula crossed his arms and glanced at him.
'Ah, you have to be considerate of an old man…'
Dumbledore's tone suddenly faltered. He looked helplessly at the vampire professor—who had such a young face—beside him. He suddenly remembered the true age of the person beside him.
Dracula looked at him with interest, waiting to hear the "young" old Headmaster sing.
Just as the old Headmaster wanted to change the subject, Fluffy—who could no longer endure the 2 men's dismissive attitude—finally could not sit still. It pounced on Dracula and Dumbledore with a mighty roar.
'ARRROOOOOF! WOOF! WOOF!'
Dracula, whose interest had been disturbed, glared at it fiercely.
Dracula's wine-red pupils crashed into the big dog's eyes. Fluffy immediately felt a kind of pressure that came from a superior dark creature, as well as a deep fear from the very depths of its bloodline.
Fluffy could not stop in time and stumbled, falling in front of Dracula.
'Woof… whimmmper…' It whined aggrievedly.
Dracula took a few steps forward, raised his hand, and rubbed one of Fluffy's massive heads.
'The fur is not bad—fluffy, but a little dirty.' He stroked the dog's ears and turned to Dumbledore. 'Do you want to try, Dumbledore?'
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