But the issue now is that the one who went through this is Harry Potter.
Harry's abilities are well-acknowledged, and there's no need to fabricate a mysterious figure to create that aura for himself.
Moreover, he indeed has defeated You-Know-Who, which is an undeniable fact.
Even with the deepest skepticism, they have to wonder — has You-Know-Who really returned?
The more they think about it, the more it seems possible. As the strongest Dark Wizard of the century, how could he not have a backup plan?
"Actually, this year's petrification incident was also orchestrated by a remnant of Voldemort's soul," Harry told them, "Voldemort's remnant controlled a Slytherin girl whom I feel must be avoided, opened the Secret Chamber of Slytherin, and unleashed the basilisk that was placed there when Slytherin founded the school."
"But isn't the basilisk's power supposed to kill anyone who directly looks at it?" Megan asked in confusion.
"You're right," Harry grinned at her, "but the problem is, if you don't look directly at the basilisk, but rather use some indirect method..."
"That's it, I remember now!" Cedric exclaimed, "When we found Gryffindor's Colin Creevey, he was trying to take a picture with his camera. I believe he survived because he looked at the basilisk through the camera's viewfinder, so he was only petrified."
"What about Fitch's cat?" Megan asked.
"Of course, it saw the reflection on the floor from a puddle," Hermione replied, "We all know water can reflect just like a mirror, I believe Fitch's cat was petrified for this reason."
"I think Voldemort really has no bottom line," Harry sighed, "As far as I know, he essentially has two souls, one stuck on the back of Quirrell's head, while the other, younger one, is attached to a notebook."
"Last year, the younger Voldemort disguised as a woman and swindled in the Slytherin dormitory, siphoning others' life force and soul energy," Harry sighed, "While his other soul clung to the back of Quirrell's head, like a pathetic parasite."
"As for this year, his deeds are even more outrageous. I thought last year's cross-dressing con in the Slytherin boys' dorm was daring enough, but turns out he went further by sneaking into the Slytherin girls' dormitory this year... I'm really curious how those loyal Death Eaters feel knowing the wizard they follow is like this."
"If it were me, I'd quit the Death Eater group immediately," Megan said without hesitation, her face full of disdain.
Oh my, I always thought You-Know-Who, at least, as the century's strongest Dark Wizard, would have some prestige.
Never expected him to be this... a creepy uncle sneaking around to trick and ambush second-year young wizards?
Suddenly, it felt a bit disgusting.
"If it were me, I'd rather follow Grindelwald," Ron said lightly, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder, "At least Grindelwald isn't a madman."
"You mean Grindelwald who staged a dead Qilin bowing? I don't think following a leader with such repeated blunders is a wise choice."
Vivi's voice emerged from beside Harry.
"When did she get here?" Ron asked in shock, "My goodness, Miss Grindelwald, when did you arrive?"
"I've been here all along."
Vivi laughed and reached out to pinch Harry's cheek, pulling out two magical watches from her pocket.
"Here you go, yours, little bunny's, Harry... and yours, little squirrel — Hermione."
Saying this, Vivi winked at Hermione.
Her gaze fell upon Hermione's large buck teeth; she hadn't thought much when choosing the watch, but now the cartoon little squirrel increasingly resembled Hermione.
"The watches fixed?" Harry opened the watch case, seeing the time displayed anew.
Vivi laughed and said, "Mr. Leme helped modify these watches, he claimed they can now function properly at Hogwarts — but you need to frequently inject magic into the batteries."
"Using magic, can they still be called batteries?" Hermione frowned, her little face questioning.
"You might as well call them magic wands," Ron chimed in from behind.
Harry fiddled with his watch; he hadn't anticipated that Vivi would actually find Mr. Leme to modify them.
"What are you thinking?" Vivi asked softly.
Harry opened his mouth.
"I was thinking, for such a trivial matter bothering Mr. Leme, would he mind?"
Vivi thought for a moment, remembering the "Are you freaking kidding me?" expression on Mr. Leme's face when handed these watches.
But Vivi didn't think anything of it, was 3.99 British pounds not money?
Yes, it wasn't much, but still, money matters, doesn't it?
In a few minutes, Mr. Leme modified the watches and advised Vivi on their upkeep before returning to computer modifications.
"He didn't mind," Vivi grinned and said.
Harry felt Mr. Leme actually minded a lot, just reluctant to voice it.
Recently, Vivi often vanished without a trace, but compared to before, she noticeably increased her visits to Hogwarts to recharge Harry's magic.
Maybe because of Cassandra's will, or something else.
What Vivi hadn't told Harry was her encounter with Otto didn't go too smoothly.
Otto showed the young lady great respect but declined some of her "dangerous ideas."
Of course, Vivi didn't argue but asked why he didn't return to Austria.
She knew Otto's meaning: She wasn't the Minister of Magic in Austria, not even an ordinary official, merely a student at Hogwarts.
With no power at hand, as a veteran politician, Otto wouldn't reveal his thoughts based on a young wizard's words.
In essence, Vivi planned to return to Austria starting from the grassroots as a Ministry of Magic employee after graduation.
Meanwhile, Cedric and Megan's departure from the Pig Head Bar prompted Abufosi to clear out the guests.
Given Abufosi's status and strength, the guests dared not protest, leaving one by one.
After shutting the bar, Abufosi didn't exit through the front but uncovered a girl's portrait nearby and slipped into the cavity behind.
It was a secret passage leading to Hogwarts.
He navigated through, reaching the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle.
Why the passage leads directly to Hogwarts's eighth floor, Muggles should inquire less about magical matters.
In principle, the passage should lead to the Room of Requirement, but only those aware of its existence can access it, people like Abufosi could only emerge suddenly from a storage room.
"Cough cough cough..."
Abufosi coughed twice, cursed a bit, and kicked at the items stacked in the storage room.
It's freaking inconvenient, he cursed while kicking open the door, striding toward Dumbledore's office.
Since the Headmaster's Office was on the eighth floor, Abufosi didn't exert much effort, standing before the Dripping Stone Beast by the door.
"Password," the Dripping Stone Beast asked unemotionally.
Abufosi clenched his fists.
(Apologies for this brief chapter, crafting Sister Ka's return storyline took too much time...)