After receiving information about the golden apples from the Tree of Wisdom, Adrian let out a long breath.
The original effect of this ritual was described as enhancing the power of a magical item, but Adrian had never tried it before and didn't know the specific effects.
What Adrian performed was a modified version.
With the help of the Tree of Wisdom, this ritual had been modified very smoothly.
Even more fortunately, Adrian succeeded in transforming ordinary apples into golden apples in just one attempt, greatly enhancing their purification effect.
Remus looked at the now golden apples on the table, his eyes flashing with surprise.
He couldn't help asking, "Did it work?"
Adrian nodded, "Good luck."
Remus stepped forward, carefully examining the golden apples while saying, "What's the use of this? Turning an apple into gold? If you ask me, the gold powder you consumed is worth much more than an apple made of gold."
Adrian shook his head and said, "It's not that simple."
With that, Adrian picked up a golden apple and handed it to Remus.
"?"
Remus took it with a puzzled expression, weighed it in his hand, and then said, "It doesn't seem to be made of gold."
"Of course not, but you'll find a use for it," Adrian winked mysteriously, "perhaps very soon."
Now, the golden apples might truly have some effect on Remus's lycanthropy.
Afterward, Adrian transformed the remaining apples into golden apples.
Unfortunately, at the very end, his cauldron suddenly exploded for unknown reasons. As a result, he only obtained three golden apples, plus the one given to Remus, making a total of just four.
After finishing making the golden apples, Adrian returned to Hogwarts.
Walking in the corridor, he suddenly realized that the atmosphere at Hogwarts seemed off today—everyone appeared overly excited.
So, Adrian casually stopped a student in the corridor, a girl with thick, bushy brown hair.
"What can I do for you, Professor Westeros?"
Hermione, clutching a book, stopped and looked at Adrian with confusion. She hadn't expected Adrian to initiate a conversation with her.
Regarding Adrian, although she knew his name, she wasn't familiar with him.
After all, she wasn't yet old enough to take Care of Magical Creatures classes, so naturally had few opportunities to see Adrian, having only seen him at the opening feast, and heard about him from other students.
"Ah, nothing," Adrian waved his hand and asked, "I just wanted to know if something happened today? Everyone seems... rather excited."
Hermione adjusted her hair, then quickly composed her expression and answered properly, "Probably because of the Quidditch match, Professor. Today is the first Quidditch match of this term."
Adrian raised an eyebrow, suddenly understanding.
'Quidditch, that surely explained it.'
When he was a student, everyone had been excited about the annual inter-house Quidditch matches too.
Adrian didn't dislike this sport; after all, Quidditch required high levels of strength, energy, and reflexes from a wizard.
Wizards skilled in Quidditch wouldn't be weak in other areas either.
Once, Adrian had also joined the Hufflepuff Quidditch team—though he only stayed for half of the term.
Since training consumed a lot of time, he eventually chose to quit.
"Thank you for letting me know, Miss Granger," Adrian nodded.
"You know my name?" Hermione opened her mouth in surprise.
Adrian smiled and said in a gentle tone, "Of course I do. Professor Flitwick mentions you often, saying you're one of the most outstanding students he has ever taught. He even says you're more exceptional than many upper-year students."
"Just call me Hermione, Professor."
Hermione's face turned slightly red, obviously a bit embarrassed.
"Alright then, off you go, Hermione."
Halfway through walking away, Adrian turned his head again to ask, "By the way, when is the Quidditch match?"
"Eleven o'clock."
In the afternoon, Adrian arrived punctually at the Quidditch match venue.
He had even specially brought a camera.
In fact, almost all the teachers and students had arrived. Adrian saw many familiar faces in the professors' section.
Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor McGonagall, Snape...
The heads of all four houses were present. It seemed everyone was very invested in this Quidditch match. After all, it was a competition between the four houses.
Upon reaching the spectator stands, Adrian's eyes lit up, and he casually sat down next to Quirrell.
At that moment, Quirrell didn't react much to someone sitting beside him. Because he was worrying about other matters.
Just earlier, the person at the back of his head had given him an order. That was to curse the broomstick of Harry Potter during the Quidditch match, causing him to fall off.
He had thought this task would be very simple—Voldemort's possession had strengthened his dark magic considerably, so casting a spell on a broomstick shouldn't be a problem.
However, the issue was...
Quirrell scanned the area; the field was packed with people, and even the professors were sitting near him.
Casting a spell under the watchful eyes of so many people—honestly, he wasn't confident about not being discovered.
But Voldemort wouldn't listen to his explanations. Any command issued by Voldemort, he dared not disobey a single punctuation mark.
After all—he had tasted the consequences before, and he didn't want to endure that pain comparable to the Cruciatus Curse again.
Voldemort had ten thousand ways to torture him. Even at the risk of being discovered, he had no choice but to proceed.
Just as Quirrell was making up his mind, cheers surged like a tidal wave, and the entire Quidditch field instantly boiled over with excitement.
With the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle, the match began.
Adrian immediately locked his gaze on Harry in the field. Undeniably, Harry had remarkable talent in flying. Harry rode his broomstick like a bolt of lightning, darting across the field.
As soon as the match started, the Gryffindor and Slytherin team members engaged in fierce competition.
Halfway through the match, Adrian noticed that Quirrell's gaze would occasionally flicker toward Harry, his expression was somewhat uneasy.
Obviously, he was waiting for an opportunity to curse Harry's broomstick.
"Angelina's got the Quaffle! Oh, she passes, what a graceful posture from that girl. She's such an outstanding Chaser, and quite charming too..."
Lee Jordan, sitting at the commentary booth, kept talking without a pause.
However, Adrian felt that "Angelina" appeared in his commentary too frequently, making it hard not to suspect something.
As Quirrell made small movements...
At the most intense point of the match, Harry's Nimbus 2000 suddenly began to shake violently, as if it had lost control.
He gripped the broomstick handle tightly, trying to stabilize himself, but the broom behaved like a wild stallion, twisting frantically as if trying to throw him off.
A wave of gasps rose from the spectator stands.
Adrian's gaze quickly swept toward Quirrell, finding his lips moving slightly, evidently muttering a spell.
So then...
"Professor Quirrell!" Adrian suddenly called out.
________________
You can read more chapters on:
patreon.com/IamLuis