"I guess that's the end of it," said the white-haired Dumbledore, who was standing beside Harry, and a few seconds later they were once again weightless through the darkness before heading straight back to their current office. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Sit down," Dumbledore landed beside Harry.

Harry did so, his mind still full of what he had just seen.

"He believed that much faster than I did, I mean, you told him he was a wizard," said Harry, "and when Hagrid told me, I didn't believe it at first. ”

"Yes, Riddle was more than happy to believe that he was 'special,'" Dumbledore said.

"Did you know at the time?" Harry asked.

"Did I know I was the most dangerous Dark Wizard I've ever seen?" Dumbledore said, "No, I didn't know he was going to be like this. However, he did pique my interest at the time. Since returning to Hogwarts, I have been keeping an eye on him, and now that I knew he was so lonely and helpless, I should have done something for him anyway, and now I have realized that I should be doing things not only for him, but for others as well.

"His powers, as you can hear, were already very powerful, and for such a young wizard, it was amazing, and he had discovered that he had a way to control them, and he was beginning to use them consciously. And as you can see, this is not just the casual experimentation of a typical young wizard: he has used magic on other people, to intimidate, to punish, to manipulate. The story of the hanged rabbit and the two boys and girls he lured into the cave are very thought-provoking......"

"And he's a parseltongue," Harry interjected.

"Yes, it does; A rare ability, and easily reminiscent of dark magic, but as we know, there is a parseltongue in great and good wizards. Actually, I was not disturbed by his ability to talk to snakes, but by his obvious instinct for cruelty, disguise, and control. ”

"Time is playing tricks on us again," Dumbledore pointed to the dark sky outside the window, "but before we part, I want to draw your attention to certain features of that scene that have a lot to do with the issues we'll be discussing in our next few meetings."

"First of all, I hope you've noticed Riddle's reaction when I mention that another person has the same name as him, 'Tom.'" Harry nodded.

"Anything that could make him relate to others, to make him ordinary, he was ashamed of it. Even then, he wanted to be different, unique, or even notorious from others. Within a few short years of that conversation, he ditched his name and, as you know, created the mask 'Voldemort', which he wore for so long.

"I'm sure you've noticed that Tom Riddle was already extremely complacent, secretive, and visibly isolated. He doesn't want to help and accompany him when he goes to Diagon Alley. He would rather act alone. The same is true of Voldemort as an adult. You'll hear many Death Eaters claim that they are his cronies and that only they can approach him and even know him. But they were deceived. Voldemort never had a friend, and I'm sure he never wanted to have one. ”

"And finally. I hope you're not too sleepy, pay attention to this, Harry, Tom Riddle loved to collect loot as a child. You see the box hidden in his room, dedicated to storing his stolen items, stolen from the children he bullied, souvenirs with a particularly unpleasant little magic. Remember this little hobby, because for a large part, this will become important in the future.

"So now, it's time to go to bed."

Dumbledore gave the order to evict the guest.

Harry stood up.

As he walked out of the office, his eyes fell on the small table where Marvolo Gunter's ring had been placed last time, but it was no longer there.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Seeing Harry stop there, Dumbledore asked.

"The ring is missing," Harry said, looking around, "but I think you might have a harmonica, or something. ”

Dumbledore smiled at him, staring at Harry from above his half-moon glasses.

"Very smart, Harry, but the harmonica has always been just a harmonica." Dumbledore finished the sentence in an unfathomable tone, then waved at him, and Harry knew it was time for him to go.

Harry's first lesson the next morning was a herb class. To avoid being heard, he didn't tell Ron and Hermione about Dumbledore's lesson yesterday at breakfast, but he did tell them as he walked through the vegetable patch to the greenhouse. The weekend's winds finally stopped; But the strange fog returned, and it took them a little more time to find the right greenhouse.

"Wow, it's scary to think about, young mystery," Ron whispered, as they began to put on protective gloves as they surrounded a lumped Nagalu stump. "But I still don't know why Dumbledore is telling you all this. I mean, it's all fun and extremely important, but what's the purpose? ”

"I don't know," Harry said, putting on a rubber face shield. "But he said it was a big deal, and it would help me survive."

"I think it's fascinating," Hermione said seriously. "It definitely makes sense to learn as much as you can about Voldemort. How else can you find out his weaknesses? ”

"How's that for Slahhorn's recent party?" Harry said in a deep voice through the rubber face shield.

"Oh, pretty funny, really," Hermione put her goggles on her head. "I mean, he's kind of a nagging about his former students, and he's definitely slapping McLagan on the back because he has so many dignitaries in his family, but he gave us a lot of really good stuff and introduced us to Gvenor Jones."

"Gvennow Jones?" Ron's eyes widened behind his goggles. "Is that Gvenor Jones? Captain of Holyhead Harpy? ”

"That's right," Hermione said. "Personally, I think she's a little arrogant, but—"

"Enough of the conversation here!" Professor Sprout hurried over with a stern expression on his face. "You're lagging behind, everyone else has already started, and Neville has already picked the first sac!"

They looked around; Sure enough, Neville, who was sitting there, had blood all over his lips and a few dirty scratches on his face, but he was clutching a green object the size of a grapefruit in his hand, still pulsating with disgust.

"Okay, Professor, let's get started!" Ron said, and as soon as she walked away, he added softly, "I knew I would have whispered, Harry." "No, we shouldn't!" Hermione said right away, and it looked like she was still fiercely opposing the half-blood prince and his spell as always. "Come on, then...... We'd better start doing ......"

She glanced at the two of them worriedly; They took a deep breath and threw themselves into the stump of the tree, which was full of lumps.

It suddenly came to life; Thin, thorny-looking rattans stretched out from the top of the stump, waving in the air.

One of them got tangled in Hermione's hair, and Ron beat it back with a large pair of tongs; Harry managed to trick a few rattans into tying them together; A notch appeared between the tentacle-like rattans; Hermione bravely reached in, but it pulled back like a trap and wrapped Hermione's elbow; Harry and Ron struggled to pull the rattans apart, causing Hermione to pull out her hand, which she was clutching a sack that looked like Neville's. The thorny cane was immediately retracted, and the stump full of lumps turned into a harmless, lifeless piece of wood.

"I said, I won't grow these things in the garden until I have a house," Ron pushed his goggles to his forehead and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Hand me a bowl," Hermione said, holding the throbbing sac in the distance; Harry handed over a bowl, and she tossed the sac into it with a disgusting expression.

"Don't be so nervous, squeeze out their juices, they're most useful when they're fresh!" Professor Sprout exclaimed.

"Anyway," Hermione continued their interrupted conversation, as if she hadn't been attacked by a piece of wood, "Slahhorn is going to have a Christmas party, Harry, you can't escape this time, because he asked me to check which night you're free, so he'll be sure to be able to arrange the party on a night when you're okay." ”

Harry groaned.

Ron, on the other hand, put both hands on the sac to try to break it, stood up and squeezed it with all his strength, and said angrily, "This is another party that only Slavhorn likes, isn't it?" ”

"Only the Slug Club guys, yes," Hermione said.

The sac flew between Ron's hands, slammed into the glass of the greenhouse, and bounced off the back of Professor Sprout's head, knocking off her patched old hat.

Harry ran over and picked up the sac; When he returned, he heard Hermione say, "I didn't come up with the name 'Slug Club'—"

"'Slug Club,'" Ron repeated, sneering like Malfoy. "It's pathetic. Well, I hope you have a great time at the party. If you try to hook up with McLagan, maybe Slahhorn will make you both the Slug King and the Slug Queen—"

"We can bring guests," Hermione's face turned a hot bright red, "I was going to invite you, but if you think that's stupid, I won't bother you!" ”

Harry suddenly wished the sac had been thrown farther so he wouldn't have to sit with them all at the moment. He stealthily pulled the bowl with the sac to his side, and began to try to break it open with the noisiest and hardest force he could think of; Unfortunately, he could still hear every word they spoke.

"You're going to invite me? What about Duten? Ron completely changed his tone.

"Yes," Hermione said angrily. "Duten is also a member of the club, so I can invite others to the party, but apparently if you'd rather let me go and talk to McLagan—" The two were silent for a moment, Harry still pounding the bouncy sac with a shovel.

Ron finally became speechless.

Harry didn't hit the sack all of a sudden, and the bowl shattered.

"Restored," he said, quickly pointing his wand at the shards, and the bowl was put back together.

"Hand me that, Harry," Hermione said with a blank face, "and the book says we should prick ...... with a sharp object"

Harry handed over the bowl with the sac, and both he and Ron put the goggles back on their eyes and pounced on the stump again.

They didn't mention the meeting again for the rest of the lesson.

But Horace's meeting was still going on as scheduled.

At the party, Harry wandered aimlessly, hoping to disappear himself. However, he wants to keep a low profile, but some people always like to hold on to him.

"Harry Potter!" Professor Trelawney said in a deep and trembling tone, as if she had noticed him for the first time.

"Oh, hello," Harry said coldly.

"My dear child!" She said in a voice that was small, but far away. "Those rumors! Those reports! That's the real thing! Of course, I knew this a long time ago...... It's never a good sign, Harry...... But why don't you continue to take a divination class? This course is the most important thing for you! ”

"Ah, Sybil, we all think that the subjects we teach are the most important!" A loud voice said that Slavhorn appeared on the other side of Professor Trelawney, his face was red, his velvet hat was a little crooked, a glass of mead in one hand, and a large piece of meat pie in the other. "But I don't think I've ever taught such a potions genius!"

Slahhorn looked at Harry with blood-filled but affectionate eyes.

"Talent, you know—just like his mother! I have only taught a few students who are useful for this ability. I can tell you, Sybil. Why even Severus-" To Harry's horror, Slahhorn stretched out his arm, as if digging Snape out of thin air.

"Stop hiding, come here, Severus!" Slavhorn hiccups happily. "I'm talking about Harry's extraordinary potions-making abilities! Of course, you also have to take some credit, you taught him for five years! ”

Snape was held by Slahhorn's shoulders and couldn't move, and he squinted at Harry from the hooked nose.

"It's funny, I don't remember teaching Potter anything."

"Oh, that's all talent!" Slavhorn shouted. "You should have seen what he gave me in the first lesson, life and death - I've never seen a student do that well on the first try, not even you, Severus-"

"Really?" Snape said calmly, his eyes still fixed on Harry, much to Harry's uneasiness. The last thing he wanted was for Snape to investigate how his new talent in potions had come about.

"Remind me what other classes you've taken, Harry?" Slavhorn asked.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts, Spells, Transfiguration, Herbology, ......"

"In short, all the subjects needed to be an Auror." Snape let out the slightest sneer.

"yes, well, that's what I volunteered for," Harry said challenged.

"And you too will be a great Auror!" Slahhorn said in a loud voice.