"Dumbledore! Do you have any idea what exactly you are doing?!"
In the Headmaster's office, Snape pressed his hands against the desk, roaring furiously at the white-bearded old man opposite him.
However, Snape's rage failed to stir even the slightest ripple in the heart of a certain old bee.
Dumbledore held a straw in his mouth, noisily slurping the iced watermelon juice in his glass with a zzzz sound.
"You knew perfectly well that the Dark Lord is hunting unicorns in the Forbidden Forest to drink their blood. Why would you still send Potter into the forest!"
Dumbledore's voice remained calm. "Severus, this is a necessary test and a honing experience. The problems Harry will face in the future are far more severe than this."
Snape fixed his cold gaze upon Dumbledore.
"Headmaster, would you please shake your head?"
Dumbledore was slightly puzzled, but he did as asked.
"Did you hear the sound of water sloshing inside?" Snape's venomous tongue caused Dumbledore's face to darken slightly.
"Your test for Harry is to let a little wizard, who hasn't even mastered the Levitation Charm, face the Dark Lord directly?"
Dumbledore set down the glass in his hand. "You and I both know that he is the only one in the prophecy who can defeat Voldemort."
Snape slammed his fist hard onto the table in front of him. "But not now!"
Dumbledore sighed. "This time, it was a miscalculation on my part. Although I have been monitoring Quirrell, it is impossible to cover every aspect."
The events in the Forbidden Forest had indeed been outside his expectations.
Originally, according to his plan, Harry should have discovered Voldemort's abnormal condition in the Forbidden Forest last night—that he was in desperate need of replenishing his life force.
In this way, Harry would have further deduced the function of the Philosopher's Stone: that it happened to be the very thing that could restore Voldemort's body.
During this process, with the centaurs—who had accepted Dumbledore's commission—protecting Harry from the shadows, there should not have been any accidents.
But who could have guessed that the ones who ended up clashing with Voldemort would be Kyle and those troublemakers?
This forced Dumbledore to intervene personally.
Snape let out a sneer. "What do you intend to do next? Find an actor to accompany your savior in performing the final act?"
Quirrell was already dead. Having been decomposed into basic atoms, only Death himself could possibly bring him back.
As for Voldemort, after discovering that Dumbledore's power had not diminished with age, he would most likely choose to go into hiding.
So, in the short term, it was impossible for him to return to Hogwarts to cause trouble.
The obstacles that Dumbledore had specifically instructed the professors to set up in the forbidden corridor on the third floor were now mostly useless.
"That is actually quite a good solution," Dumbledore said, raising his eyebrows. "This way, we can ensure the situation remains under control."
With Dumbledore's level of Transfiguration, he could completely disguise another person as Quirrell, guaranteeing that Harry wouldn't see the difference.
Moreover, only a few people knew that Quirrell was dead.
Kyle and the other three had only told Penelope about this matter. Perhaps Cedric had also told Cho Chang, but that didn't matter.
The few students who were in the know were not loose-lipped people. As long as he issued a gag order to them, preventing Harry from knowing about the incident would be sufficient.
Snape said nothing more. After taking a deep look at Dumbledore, he turned to leave.
Before stepping out of the Headmaster's office, he stopped.
"Dumbledore, ten years ago, you failed to honor our agreement to protect Lily. This time, I hope you won't let Harry fall into such danger again before he has truly grown."
With that, Snape left without looking back.
Dumbledore sank his entire body into the soft armchair, rubbing his temples as his headache throbbed.
One week later, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
The injuries on Hagrid's body had completely healed, his skin showing no trace of those terrifying wounds from before.
"Kyle, do I really have to wear this?"
Hagrid, dressed in a green skin-tight jumpsuit, felt inexplicably ashamed, especially under the gaze of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Yes, the Savior trio had come as well.
"This suit has excellent breathability and moisture retention properties, providing a perfect fit. There is nothing more suitable for cultivating the Eight Gates," Kyle said as he handed a slightly lighter-colored green Jonin vest to Hagrid.
"Alright then." Hagrid accepted it somewhat reluctantly.
A moment later, a ready Hagrid stood in the clearing by the Forbidden Forest. Aside from Kyle, who stood beside him to prevent any mishaps, the other three had retreated ten meters away.
"Eight Gates! Gate of Opening! Open!" Hagrid roared, mobilizing the magic power within his body to instantly force open the first gate.
He didn't even feel any resistance.
It had to be said that the physique of a half-giant was truly enviable.
Of course, if Kyle had to choose, he would still choose a normal human body.
Between good looks and physique, he felt the former was a bit more appealing.
Physical strength could be built up through training later, but if one was born looking rough, neither technology nor magic could make Hagrid as handsome as him.
"Second Gate, Gate of Healing! Open!"
The Gate of Healing: releases the brain's limit on physical strength, overloads the body's energy to restore stamina, and offsets the fatigue caused by the energy consumption of opening the gates.
This time, Hagrid felt a little resistance, but it still wasn't difficult.
Kyle narrowed his eyes, observing Hagrid's state. Judging by Hagrid's appearance, opening up to the Fifth Gate shouldn't be a problem.
After a brief pause, Hagrid continued to mobilize the magic power in his body, charging toward the third gate.
"Third Gate, Gate of Life! Open!"
The Gate of Life can further increase the user's strength and speed. This is the final safety zone of the Eight Gates; once the Fourth Gate is opened, the body will begin to suffer damage.
After opening the Third Gate, Hagrid's exposed skin began to fill with blood, turning slightly red.
Fluorescent green steam enveloped him, and the magic fluctuations around his body were turbulent and intense.
Kyle could feel a thick sense of threat coming from Hagrid, as if he were facing a ferocious beast.
"Fourth Gate..."
"Hagrid, wait a moment," Kyle interrupted Hagrid's attempt to push through the Fourth Gate in one go.
He looked at a large tree in front of them, which was fully half a meter in diameter. "Test the power first."
"Oh, oh, okay."
Hagrid locked his gaze firmly on the tree in front of him. In the next instant...
Boom!
A roaring sound suddenly erupted from the ground. Hagrid's figure exploded forward instantly, leaving behind a shallow pit covered in spiderweb cracks where he had stood—stamped out by Hagrid's foot.
Hagrid smashed a heavy punch into the tree before him. A ring of milky-white airwaves erupted from the point of impact.
Accompanied by an explosive sound, the part of the tree Hagrid hit instantly disintegrated into countless wood fragments of varying sizes, splashing forward like buckshot.
The power of this single punch made Ron's eyes glow. Can a human body really exert such power?
Is this the power of the Eight Gates?
Hagrid also rubbed his fist excitedly and cast his gaze toward the numerous trees further ahead.
For the rest of the time, the trees in this area on the edge of the Forbidden Forest suffered a calamity.
Trees were lying everywhere in disorder. Judging by the splintered wood at their breaks, they had suffered terrifying attacks while they were still standing.
Ron looked with envy at Hagrid, who had entered "Hulk Smash" mode.
He suddenly had the idea of cultivating Taijutsu.
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