Some of the surrounding portraits had their eyes closed, as if they were asleep, some got up and left the portraits, some exchanged ears, and only Phineas looked at the two absentmindedly. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info When night came, Phoenix asked the house-elves to bring dinner, and they continued as they ate.

"Of course, but our road is not smooth yet, he still has a lot of Horcruxes, and losing one or two is not a big problem. ”

"Let's talk about them one by one," Phoenix took back the ring and put it in his pocket, "the ring and the diary are destroyed, so let's not talk about it." The locket was found by Riddle while following his footsteps in the orphanage. As you can imagine, a child who grew up in an orphanage, who hardly had any opportunity to see the outside world except when he traveled, must have something to remember about him - first love, broken love, etc., and revisit the old place after many years and leave a part of himself there. ”

"Will he be in love?" said Harry skeptically.

"I used to think he was like Grindelwald, so -- why not, it's an instinct that lurks deep inside. Phoenix's mouth was stuffed with food, "the discovery of the gold cup, which can also be said to be luck." I didn't realize what I had discovered at the time, and it took me many years to realize. ”

Harry stole a suspicious look. Years ago, what was he doing in the second or third grade, he would accidentally find a Horcrux. He didn't ask, and continued to listen.

Voldemort gave the gold cup to Bella and put her in Lestrange's vault. You know, Gringotts is the best security measures, from the moment they started in the banking industry, no one can take something that doesn't belong to them without knowing it. ”

"However, let's not celebrate too early. You wiped out the diary, I wiped out the ring. Dumbledore guessed that Voldemort had made seven Horcruxes, and we needed to try to see if he actually did that. ”

"So, what do we do?" Harry was concerned about what they were talking about, and only hurriedly padd his stomach, his eyes not taking off Phoenix's face for a moment.

Phoenix glanced up at the portrait of Dumbledore, who was not in the frame, probably on his way to visit the portrait elsewhere.

"He guessed that Slughorn had given Voldemort some knowledge about Horcruxes - or confirmation - or rather," Phoenix said as he ate french fries and pointed his greasy finger at Harry, "and you see that Professor Slughorn is always very fond of his wonderful students." Voldemort was undoubtedly his protégé when he was in school, and if he had any questions, asking Slughorn was the best option, he was very knowledgeable and powerful, and he did not belong to Professor Dumbledore in many things. ”

Phoenix actually had the same doubts as Harry, and that wasn't a reason why Dumbledore should be suspicious of Slughorn. It just so happened that Dumbledore was back in the frame.

"Well, Professor, tell us how you got suspicious of Slughorn. Phoenix exclaimed, and the other portraits did not show any attention.

"Well—" Dumbledore sat down and groaned for a moment.

"He wouldn't have told you, would he?" said Phoenix.

"Soon after I told Slughorn that Voldemort was once and his beloved student Tom Riddle, he quickly became seriously ill. Then, when Slughorn heard that Voldemort had been defeated, he was so relaxed that he almost lost control of his joy, and it was this reaction and his unintentional words that made me feel alert for the first time. My cautious questioning ended with Slughorn's refusal. A few days later, Slughorn handed in his resignation. ”

Harry and Phoenix listened in silence to Dumbledore's story.

"I know that Voldemort will rush to his house as quickly as he can when he returns, but it is empty, and there are obvious signs of the house that someone has arrived before me, but I think Slughorn was not caught, but fled. Combined with the previous signs, I judged that it was very likely that Slughorn had shared some dark secret with Tom Riddle. He felt guilty and frightened, which would explain why Voldemort suddenly fell ill after learning his true identity, and why he fled in a hurry when Voldemort's resurrection was still just a rumor. He must have had some connection to Voldemort's Horcruxes, or even the person he had personally imparted this knowledge to Voldemort. ”

"What do you think we should do?"

After a moment, Harry asked.

"He's just a painting, I don't think Dumbledore even thought about it and told it. Phoenix scratched his chin and sarcastically responded to Harry's question.

"He's right, Harry. That's something you need to think about. Dumbledore smiled wryly at them.

"So, our priority right now is to find out if Voldemort asked him about Horcruxes, and if so, we're going to get our hands on that memory. It's likely that we'll find out what he did - how many Horcruxes he wanted to make - and you'll have to try to get Professor Slughorn to reveal his true memories, which will undoubtedly be our most critical information. ”

Harry stared at him with round eyes.

"But," he said, his tone full of doubt, "you don't need me—you can use the Receptive—or the Elixir—"

"Professor Slughorn is a very capable wizard and will be able to guard against both of these moves. His brain-occluding skills are a world of difference compared to yours. I don't want to try to force the truth from Professor Slughorn to do more harm than good. I don't want him to leave Hogwarts. However, he has his own weaknesses like all of us. ”

"What's your plan?" said Harry, calmly.

To Phoenix, who is almost equal to zero levels of Occlumency, there is no indication of anything.

"No, I don't know the truth, I can't think of any way other than to come hard. Phoenix said bluntly, "We don't know much about the professor yet, and I suggest that it would be useful to keep your potions talent up anyway." I'll find a way to look up the details of Slughorn, and then we'll figure it out. ”

"If—we can try to ask him directly, if I don't think he'll be disgusted with getting rid of Voldemort. Tell him honestly, 'We need some part of your memory, and it's essential to defeat Voldemort, the Mystery. What do you think?" Harry mimicked a respectful, eager tone.

"Not good," Phoenix gave him a roll of the eye, "if he's really ashamed of it, he should do everything he can to hide it." He's a Slytherin, and he's not going to risk his life to help us. ”

"At least not yet. Phoenix added.

"Yes, Horace is a good Slytherin. Principal Phineas said.

"But aren't you taking great risks against Voldemort?" said Harry, slightly irritated.

"Oh, maybe it's because I'm not a great Slytherin. The Sorting Hat thinks I can go to Ravenclaw, but I think I can meet the standards of all four houses. Phoenix looked at the Sorting Hat on the shelf, "But, considering that most of the people I know have gone to Slytherin, I'm determined to go to Slytherin. ”