Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

Professor Quirrell slowly ascended a magnificent stage conjured by the combined talents of Minerva and Dumbledore; the core of the stage was solid wood, but on the surface, embedded in platinum The marble glistened with gemstones representing the colors of the various houses.Neither she nor the headmaster was as good as the founder of Hogwarts, but magic only lasted a few hours.Ordinarily Minerva relished the rare opportunity to wear herself out with large transfigurations; she should have enjoyed the many small opportunities for artistic display and visions of grandeur; There was a constant feeling of shit at work, like she was digging her own grave.

But now, Minerva is feeling better.For a brief moment it looked like the crowd was going to explode; but Dumbledore was already on his feet, applauding kindly, and no one was stupid enough to riot in front of the Headmaster.

Then the outburst of emotion faded quickly and turned into a collective emotion, which may be described in one sentence: What a joke!

Brace.Zabini shot himself in the name of the sun, and the final score became 254-254-254.

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At the back of the stage, three kids waiting to take the stage stare at each other with anger and frustration mixed in their eyes.They'd just been fished out of the lake, still damp, and the warming spells didn't seem to be enough against the cold, dry December air—it was all about adding insult to injury, or maybe it was just a matter of their emotions.

"Enough," said Granger, "I've had enough! No more traitors!"

"I totally agree with you, Miss Granger," Draco said dryly, "enough is enough."

"What do you two want to do, then?" said Harry Potter angrily. "Professor Quirrell has said he won't ban spies!"

"We'll ban him," Draco said grimly.When he said these words, he didn't even know what he wanted to express by saying these words, but the action itself seemed to have clearly defined a plan——

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The stage is really well done, at least as a temporary structure; the maker does not fall into the conventional trap of marveling at the illusion of wealth he has created, and has some knowledge of architecture and visual style.From where Draco stood—it was obvious to him that was where he should stand—students looking at him would find him surrounded by the shimmering emeralds; The place Raco had subtly mentioned to her earlier, she would be surrounded by a halo of Ravenclaw sapphires.As for Harry Potter, Draco wasn't looking at him just yet.

Professor Quirrell...was awake, or whatever; he was leaning on a platinum lectern with no jewels on it.With obvious acting skills, the professor of defense carefully stacked the three envelopes into a neat stack. Inside the envelopes were three pieces of parchment, on which were written the wishes of the three generals. At the same time, Hogwarts All of Ci's students watched and waited.

Finally Professor Quirrell looked up from the envelopes. "Well," said the Defense Professor, "it's not very convenient."

There was a chuckle from the crowd, with obvious overtones.

"I think you're all wondering what I'm going to do?" said Professor Quirrell. "There's no other way, I have to be fair. But first, I want to give a little speech, and before that, it seems Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger have something to say."

Draco blinked, then exchanged quick glances with Granger - can I come? - of course, go ahead - and Draco raised his voice.

"General Granger and I both want to say," Draco said in his most official voice, which he knew was amplified for all to hear, "that we will not accept any more traitors. And If, in any battle, we find Mr Potter accepting aid from traitors in our army, we will unite and crush him."

Then Draco gave the Boy Who Lived a nasty look.Take it up, General Chaos!

"I completely agree with General Malfoy," said Granger, who was standing beside him, her high-pitched voice clear and powerful. "Neither of us will use traitors, and if General Potter does, we'll clear him from the field."

There was a murmur of surprise from the students watching.

"Very well," their defense professor said with a smile, "it took you two long enough, but congratulations, you figured this out before all the other generals."

It took a little while to grasp the words—

"In the future, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger, before you come to my office with any request, consider whether there is any way you can complete it without my help. This time I will not withhold Quirrell is divided, but next time, you will lose a full fifty points." Professor Quirrell grinned amusedly. "And what have you to say about it, Mr. Potter?"

Harry Potter looked to Granger, then to Draco.His expression was calm; although Draco was sure, restrained would be a better word to describe it.

Finally Harry Potter spoke, his voice steady. "The Legion of Chaos is still happy to accept traitors. See you on the battlefield."

Draco knew he had the look of shock on his face; there was a murmur of astonishment from the watching students, and as Draco looked to the front row he saw that even Harry's Chaos army looked startled .

Granger looked angry, and the anger was still rising. "Mr Potter," she said sharply, as if she thought she was a teacher, "are you trying to be disgusting?"

"Of course not," said Harry Potter calmly. "I won't force you to join forces every time. Beat me once and I'll throw in the towel. But threats aren't always enough, General Sunshine. You didn't invite me to join you, you just tried to simply impose your will to me; and sometimes, you have to actually defeat the enemy before you can impose your will on him. You see, I doubt Hermione Granger, the brightest academic star at Hogwarts, and the German Racco, son of Lucius, heir to the noble and ancient Malfoy family, can cooperate to defeat their common enemy, Harry Potter." An amused smile flashed across Harry Potter's face. "Maybe I'll just do what Draco tried with Zabini, write a letter to Lucius Malfoy, and see what he thinks about it."

"Harry!" Granger gasped, looking completely taken aback, and the audience gasped too.

Draco held back the anger that rushed to his heart.As far as Harry was concerned, it was silly to speak out about it.If Harry had just done it, it might have worked, Draco didn't even think about it, but now, if his father showed up, it would look like he was being played by Harry into applause—

"If you thought my father, Lord Malfoy, could be so easily manipulated by you," Draco said dryly, "you will be pleasantly surprised, Harry Potter."

And then within a split second of those words coming out of his mouth, Draco realized that he had just cornered his own father, more or less inadvertently.Father probably wouldn't like it all, not at all, but there's no way he'd be saying it now... Draco would apologize for it, it was a real accident, but thinking he actually did it It still feels weird.

"Then defeat the evil General Chaos," said Harry, still looking amused. "I can't win both of your armies - if you really work together. But I'm thinking maybe I can drive a wedge between you before then."

"You can't, and we'll crush you!" said Draco Malfoy.

Beside him, Hermione Granger nodded firmly.

"Well," Professor Quirrell said after a horrified silence, "I didn't expect this conversation to go." The Defense Professor's face was full of curiosity, "Seriously, Mr. Potter , I also thought that you would immediately give in, smile, and announce that you understood my intentions for designing this class long ago, and just didn't want to reveal it to others in advance. Really, I planned my speech, Mr Potter."

Harry Potter just shrugged. "Sorry," he said, and said nothing more.

"Oh, don't worry," said Professor Quirrell, "that will help, too."

Then Professor Quirrell turned away from the three children, and stood upright in front of the pulpit, facing all the watching crowd; his characteristic, detached interest disappeared like a peeling mask, and then, when he spoke again , his voice was amplified even louder than before.

"If it weren't for Harry Potter," said Professor Quirrell, his voice dry and cold as the twelfth lunar month, "You-Know-Who would have won."

Silence instantly enveloped the audience.

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"Make no mistake," said Professor Quirrell, "the Dark Lord was on his way to victory. Fewer and fewer Aurors were daring to face him, and vigilantes who opposed him were being hunted down. A Dark Lord, plus almost Fifty Death Eaters, won against a nation of thousands. That's not outrageous enough to sum it up! Not even a low enough score to rate me on this incompetence!"

Headmaster Dumbledore frowned; the audience looked puzzled; utter silence continued.

"Do you understand now how it all happened? You have seen it today. I allowed the traitors and then gave the generals no means of restraint. You see the result. Clever planning and clever betrayal until being left in The last soldier on the field shot himself! It is impossible not to believe that any enemy from outside, united within himself, could have defeated all three of these armies."

Professor Quirrell leaned forward on the lectern, his voice now solemn.He stretched out his right hand, fingers spread. "Division is weakness," says the Defense Professor.His hands clenched into fists. "Unity is strength. No matter how ignorant he may be in other respects, the Dark Lord is well aware of this; and he has used this understanding to make a simple invention which has made him the most fearsome Dark Lord who ever lived. What your parents faced A Dark Lord. And fifty Death Eaters united perfectly, knowing that any infidelity is punished by death, any laxity and incompetence by pain. Once marked, no one can escape from the Dark Lord's grasp. And the Death Eaters agreed to accept this terrible mark because they knew that if they accepted this mark, they would stand united in facing this divided land. A Dark Lord and five Ten Death Eaters wielding the power of the Dark Mark, could defeat an entire nation."

Professor Quirrell's voice was cold and harsh, "Your parents could have fought back in the same way. They didn't. There was a man named Yemi Weber who called for a conscription in the country, although he didn't have the vision to propose it. British Mark. Yemi Webb knew what was going to happen to him, and he hoped his death would inspire others. So the Dark Lord took his entire family as an extra. Their flayed human skin only inspired fear, so no more No one dared to speak. And your parents would have faced the consequences of their despicable cowardice, were it not for a one-year-old boy who saved them." Professor Quirrell's face was full of contempt. As the saviors of the sky[1], they won their salvation without doing anything. The person who can't even mention his name may not deserve to win, but there is no doubt that your parents deserved to lose."

The defense professor's voice clanked like steel. "And then know: your parents learned nothing! The country is still broken and weak! Decades have passed between Grindelwald and You-Know-Who? You think you'll never meet another Threatened? Will you repeat the folly of your parents after seeing the consequences clearly before you today? For I can tell you what your parents will do when the dark day comes! I can Tell you what a lesson they've learned! They've learned to hide like cowards and do nothing but wait for Harry Potter to save them!"

A flash of surprise flashed in Dumbledore's eye; while the other students glared at their Defense Professor in confusion, anger, and awe.

Professor Quirrell's eyes became as cold as his voice. "Pay attention to this, and remember it well. The man who must not even be named wishes to rule this country, to hold it forever in his cruel hands. But at least he wishes to rule a living country, not a pile of ashes! Some dark lords are lunatics who just want to turn the world into one giant crematorium! There are wars where an entire country marches to another country! Your parents lost to fifty who wanted a living country Man! How quickly will they be crushed against an enemy that outnumbers them and only wants their destruction? Here's my prediction: When the next threat comes, Lucius Malfoy will declare You must follow him or perish, and your only hope is to believe in his cruelty and power. However, although Lucius Malfoy himself believed this, it was a lie. For at the time of the Dark Lord's demise, Lucius Malfoy Lucius Malfoy didn't unite the Death Eaters, they immediately fell apart and they ran away like beaten dogs, betraying each other! Lucius Malfoy wasn't strong enough to be a true king, whether or not dark."

Draco Malfoy's fists were clenched white, and his eyes filled with tears, anger, and unbearable shame.

"No," said Professor Quirrell, "I don't think Lucius Malfoy is going to save you. Just in case you think I'm saying this for my own benefit, time will soon prove otherwise. I will not recommend it to you, my students. But I will say that if a nation finds a leader as powerful as the Dark Lord, but noble and pure, and accepts his stamp; Any Dark Lord would be crushed like a worm, and all the divided wizarding worlds we have left cannot threaten them. And if some stronger enemy wants to wipe us all out, then only a unified wizarding world can survive."

There was a gasp, mostly Muggle-born; the students in their green-trimmed robes looked just confused.Now it was Harry Potter's turn to clenched his fists and tremble; beside him, Hermione Granger was angry and startled.

The Headmaster rose from his seat, his face now livid, and he had not yet spoken; yet the order was clear.

"I'm not going to say what threat is coming," Professor Quirrell said. "But you will not live in peace all your life, if past history is any guide to the future. And if in the future, you do what you see these three armies do, if you can't Put your petty quarrels aside, accept the mark of only one leader, and you'll wish the Dark Lord lived to rule over you, and regret the day Harry Potter was born—"

"Enough!" growled Albus Dumbledore.

A moment of silence.

Professor Quirrell slowly turned his head and looked at Albus Dumbledore, who was standing in the midst of the furious magic; their eyes met, and the silent pressure seemed to be on the heads of all the students, listening The students dare not move.

"You, too, have let the country down," said Professor Quirrell, "and you, like me, are well aware of the crisis."

"Such speeches should not come into the ears of students," said Albus Dumbledore, raising his voice dangerously, "nor from the mouths of professors!"

So, Professor Quirrell said coldly: "During the rise of the Dark Lord, there were many speeches for the ears of adults. These adults cheered and applauded, and regarded these speeches as their daily entertainment. Home. But I will obey you, Headmaster, and give no more speeches if you don't like it. My classes are easy. I will continue to let the traitors go, and we will see when the students stop waiting for the professor to save them , you can do something about it yourself.”

Then Professor Quirrell turned back to his student, curling up his mouth in a sarcastic grin, expelling the pressure of death like a god blowing away a cloud. "But so far, be gentle with the traitors," said Professor Quirrell. "They're just having fun."

There was a burst of laughter, anxious at first, but then there was laughter, and as Professor Quirrell stood there smiling dryly, the pressure partly lifted itself.

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Draco's mind was still swirling in a dizzy swirl of hundreds of questions and fears, while Professor Quirrell was about to open the envelope containing their wishes.

It had never occurred to Draco that Muggles capable of traveling to the moon were a greater threat than fading magic, or that his father had proved himself too weak to stop them.

And even stranger, the implication is obvious: Professor Quirrell believes Harry can.The Defense Professor had said he wouldn't recommend it, but he'd brought up Harry Potter again and again in his speech; everyone else was probably thinking about it as well as Draco.

This is ridiculous.The boy sprinkled sequins on the ottoman and called it a throne—

The boy confronted Snape, and won, whispered a treacherous voice, that boy could grow up to be a king strong enough to rule, strong enough to save us all—

Harry was raised by Muggles!He's technically a Mudblood himself, he's not going to fight his adoptive family—

He knows their techniques, their secrets and their methods; he can take all the Muggle science and use it against them, along with our powers as wizards.

But what if he refuses?What if he was too weak?

So, said the inner voice, that would be you, wouldn't it, Draco Malfoy?

Then the crowd fell silent again, and Professor Quirrell opened the first envelope.

"Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Quirrell, "your wish is...for Slytherin to win the House Cup." There was a pause, and the audience watching was somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, Professor," Draco said in a clear voice that he knew was being amplified again. "If you can't do it, do something else for Slytherin—"

"I'm not going to add credit unfairly," Professor Quirrell said.He nodded, looking thoughtful. "That would make your wish interestingly difficult. Can you explain why, Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy turned away from the Defense Professor, looking at the crowd against the platinum and emerald backdrop.Not all Slytherins were cheering Dragons, some anti-Malfoy expressed their disapproval in the form of supporting the Boy Who Lived, or even Granger; Zabini's actions would be a huge boost to those .He needed to remind them that Slytherin meant Malfoy, and Malfoy meant Slytherin—

"No," Draco said, "they're Slytherins, they'll understand."

There was a burst of laughter from the audience, especially in Slytherin, some even from students who had previously called themselves anti-Malfoy.

Flattery is a wonderful thing.

Draco turned his head again, looked at Professor Quirrell, and was surprised to see embarrassment appear on Granger's face.

"As for Miss Granger..." said Professor Quirrell.There was the sound of envelopes being torn. "Your wish is... that Ravenclaw win the House Cup?"

There was a burst of laughter from the audience, even Draco burst out laughing.He hadn't expected Granger to play such a move.

"Well, that," Granger said, sounding like she'd suddenly started stammering out a memorized speech, "I mean, that..." She took a deep breath , "I have soldiers from various academies in my army, and I'm not looking down on them. But academies are supposed to mean something, too. Students from the same academy are shooting spells at each other just because they're in different armies, which is too Sad. People should be able to rely on anyone in their own house. That's why Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff Odd created the four houses of Hogwarts in the first place. I was the general of the Sunshine Corps, but before that, I was Hermione Granger of Ravenclaw, and I am honored to be part of this 800-year-old house. part of the academy."

"Well said, Miss Granger!" Dumbledore said loudly.

Harry Potter frowned, and something stirred at the edge of Draco's perception.

"Interesting point, Miss Granger," said Professor Quirrell, "but sometimes it's nice that Slytherins have Ravenclaw friends, or Gryffindor have Hufflepuff friends. Of course, wouldn't it be nice to be able to rely on your friends in college and in the military at the same time?"

Granger cast a quick glance at the watching students and teachers, but said nothing.

Professor Quirrell nodded as if to himself, then turned back to the podium, picked up the last envelope and tore it open.Beside Draco, Harry Potter visibly tensed up as the Defense Professor pulled out the parchment. "And Mr. Potter wishes—"

Professor Quirrell looked at the parchment.There was a pause.

Afterwards, the expression on Professor Quirrell's face did not change at all. The parchment burned all of a sudden, and was burnt out by short and violent flames in a short while, leaving only a small amount of black embers falling from his hands.

"Please confine yourself to what is possible, Mr. Potter," said Professor Quirrell, sounding extremely cold.

There was a long pause; Harry stood beside Draco, looking very shocked.

For Merlin's sake, what did he ask for?

"I hope," said Professor Quirrell, "that you have another wish prepared, should I fail to grant this one."

Another pause.

Harry took a deep breath. "I haven't," he said, "but I've come up with another." Harry Potter turned to look at the audience, his voice hardening as he spoke. "People are afraid of traitors because of the direct harm they do, like the soldiers they shoot or the secrets they tell. But that's only part of the danger. What people do out of fear of traitors will also cost them. I used this tactic today against Sunshine Corps and Dragons. I didn't tell my traitors to do as much direct damage as possible. I told them to act in a way that would create the most suspicion and confusion, and then force the generals to pay the most The price, just to try and stop them from doing it again. If there are only a few traitors and the whole country is against them, then logically speaking, those few traitors will do more damage than the whole country trying to stop them The lesser the price to pay, the countermeasure may be worse than the ill—”

"Mr. Potter," said the Defense Professor, his voice suddenly sharp, "the lesson of history is that you were wrong. Your fathers did too little for their own unity, not too much! The whole country nearly Just fell down, Mr. Potter, although you weren't there to witness. I suggest you ask your Ravenclaw roommates how many of them have lost family members to the Dark Lord. Or you'd be wiser and don't Ask! Do you have any more wishes to grant, Mr. Potter?"

"If you don't mind," said Albus Dumbledore in a soft voice, "I would like to hear what the Boy Who Lived has to say. He has more experience in preventing wars than either of us."

Some people laughed, but not many.

Harry Potter's eyes moved to Dumbledore, and then seemed to consider it for a moment. "I didn't say you were wrong, Professor Quirrell. In the last war, the people were not united and the country was nearly lost to a few dozen attackers. Yes, it's very sad. And if we do it again next time Making the same mistake, yes, is more pathetic. But you can't fight the same battle twice. And the thing is, the enemy can be smart too. If divided, you'll be vulnerable in one area; but if you try If you stick together, then you face other risks, other costs, and the enemy tries to exploit those things. You can’t just think about one level of the game.”

"Simplicity has its benefits, Mr. Potter," said the Defense Professor in a nonchalant voice, "I very much hope you have learned some lessons this day, and learned that it is more complicated than rallying your men and attacking the enemy." The dangers of your tactics. And if all this has nothing to do with your wishes, I will be very angry."

"Yes," said Harry Potter, "it is quite difficult to come up with a wish that symbolizes the price of unity. But the problem of unity of action is not limited to war, it is something we all have to deal with in our daily lives Problem. If everyone coordinates with each other using the same rules, and those rules are stupid, then if only one person decides to do things differently, they are breaking the rules. But if everyone decides to do things differently Do things, and they can. It's the same issue that everyone needs to act in unison. But to the first person who speaks up, they seem to be against popular opinion. And if you think that people should always be united is the only thing that matters, then you can never change the game, no matter how stupid the rules are. So to symbolize what happens when people stick together in the wrong direction, my own wish is that we play inside Hogwarts You don't use the Snitch for Quidditch."

"What?" Hundreds of voices in the crowd screamed in unison, and Draco's jaw dropped.

"The Snitch ruined the whole game," said Harry Potter, "everything the other players do ends up being irrelevant. It makes a lot more sense to buy a clock. It's one of those ridiculously stupid thing, the reason you don't notice it is because it grew up with you, and people do it because other people are doing it—"

But at this point, no one can hear Harry Potter anymore, because the riots have started.

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The riot was over after 15 seconds.A gigantic pillar of fire erupted from the top of Hogwarts' tallest tower like the sound of a thousand thunderclaps.Draco didn't know that Dumbledore could do this.

The students sat down very carefully and very quietly.

Professor Quirrell was laughing nonstop. "That's it, Mr. Potter. Your wish will come true." The defense professor paused deliberately. "Of course, I only promised a clever plan. And that's what you three will get."

Draco had vaguely thought he would say that before, but at this moment, the words still startled him; Draco and Granger exchanged a quick glance, they were the most obvious allies, but their Desires collide directly——

"You mean," said Harry, "that we must unify our wishes?"

"Oh, that's asking too much," said Professor Quirrell. "You three don't have a common enemy, do you?"

For that brief moment, so fast that Draco thought he might be imagining it, the Defense Professor glanced in Dumbledore's direction.

"No," said Professor Quirrell, "I mean, I would use a single plan to fulfill all three wishes."

There was a confused silence.

"You can't do it," Harry said flatly from Draco's side, "even I can't. There are two incompatible wishes. It's a logical impossibility—" Then Harry let himself Shut up.

"You're too young to tell me there's nothing I can do, Mr. Potter," said Professor Quirrell with a cold smile.

Then the defense professor turned back to the watching students. "To be honest, I have no confidence in your ability to learn the lessons of the day. Go home and enjoy your time with your family, or the rest of your family while they're still alive. My own family long ago Died at the hands of the Dark Lord. See you after school starts."

In the wordless silence caused by these words, Professor Quirrell had turned and walked off the stage, and Draco heard the Defense Professor's voice, very soft and no longer amplified, "But you, Mr. Potter, I have something to tell you right now."

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1.天外救星：zh.wikipedia/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E5%A4%96%E6%95%91%E6%98%9F