Chapter 46: A sincere heart that went to waste

The Headmaster's office.

"I'm sorry, Quirinus."

Dumbledore said in a softer tone, "I've tried to persuade the governors as much as I could, but they insisted that it was the common sentiment of all the students at Hogwarts, and we can't go against everyone's will."

"And you do have some health problems, so more time to recuperate would be a good thing for you."

"Of course, if you need it, I can also help you introduce a job."

Dumbledore was like a kind old man guiding an ignorant youth who was confused about the future.

"Ah! No...no need."

Quirrell was slightly startled, and he said with a wince, "I do want to recuperate for a while, thank you...Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore's gaze under his lenses looked straight into Quirrell's eyes, which seemed to be filled with power, "If you're in trouble, I can help you. I mean - in any difficulty."

"I...I..." Quirrell opened his mouth.

He had screwed up the task the Dark Lord had given him, and he still didn't know how the Dark Lord would punish him.

But Voldemort is parasitizing him at the moment, and once he betrays, Voldemort can immediately take his life.

"Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."

Quirrell whispered, "I...I'm not in any difficulty."

"Alright!"

Dumbledore sighed and said, "Good luck then, Quirinus."

"Thanks!" Quirrell shuddered and walked out of the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore sat quietly in his chair, his gaze calm, but ripples had already formed in his mind.

He had almost made a move just now.

Dumbledore is highly well-versed in Legilimency, and while he would almost never use this magic normally, the matter related to Voldemort was an exception.

Since Quirrell dared to come to Hogwarts as an undercover agent, he naturally had already mastered the Occlumency, which could slightly counter Dumbledore's Legilimency.

But just now, under the mental breakdown, Quirrell finally revealed a crack.

Voldemort had actually possessed Quirrell's body.

Dumbledore had thought about the possibility, but he didn't think Voldemort would be so bold as to come to Hogwarts to steal the Philosopher's Stone while he had lost his powers.

And Quirrell was too obvious.

The first time Dumbledore had seen Quirrell at the beginning of the academic year, he had noticed something was wrong with Quirrell.

But he didn't realize that Voldemort was playing a trick on him by standing under the lamp.

Dumbledore almost couldn't help but make a move just now, but he held back in the end.

Before cracking the secret of Voldemort's immortality, Dumbledore couldn't kill Voldemort - even if he was just a remnant soul.

"Harry..."

That prophecy had been fulfilled; Harry Potter is Voldemort's destined nemesis.

But Dumbledore was a bit hesitant at the moment.

Because the prophecy didn't say that Harry would defeat Voldemort, but rather - either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.

And Harry didn't look like he could defeat Voldemort, no matter how he looked at it.

Aside from the protective magic that Lily had left behind, the difference between the two was nothing short of a mountain of difference.

That protective magic, however, happened to be a power that Voldemort didn't know about.

Dumbledore knew deep down that trying to defeat Voldemort was not an easy task.

The first thing was to crack the secret of Voldemort's immortality.

Some dark magics in the wizarding world can do this, Dumbledore has some guesses but has never been able to pinpoint one.

Secondly, a duelling location that would prevent Voldemort from escaping.

Since Dumbledore was a wizard of that calibre, he knew very well that no one could kill Voldemort without restricting Apparition.   

What's more, even if you restrict Apparition, if you don't have enough power, no one can do anything to Voldemort.

Lastly, Voldemort was surrounded by powerful Death Eaters.

And by Harry's side...there is only one Ron.

"Collins...and Granger..."

Dumbledore mused quietly, there were still quite a few good young wizards in Harry's year.

But ever since talking to Andy that night, Dumbledore knew that it was almost impossible for Andy and Harry to be friends.

Andy was too mature for an eleven-year-old wizard, and even though he was occasionally a little out of tune, it was merely entertainment in between pursuing his magical path.

Harry, on the other hand... is simply a naughty kid.

Ever since witnessing how Tom Riddle turned into Voldemort, Dumbledore had become much more cautious with some of the gifted young wizards.

Teenagers who were building up their three views were likely to have some extreme emotions brewing because of some of the adults' missteps.

This might have been the case with Voldemort back in the day - Dumbledore had used magic to intimidate Voldemort when he was a child into returning the toys he had snatched and made him apologize to those children.

"Hmm..."

Dumbledore thought, 'Maybe...I just need to go with the flow.'

Talented young wizards would always be unwilling to be quiet, especially those like Andy Collins, who are extremely fanatical about magic.

They could need more than just magical knowledge, and sometimes, they would also need some opponents.

***

Andy didn't know that he had already been set up by Dumbledore, if he knew, Andy would probably leave with tears of relief!

You old man have already been one hundred and ten years old this year, not only do you insist on going to work every day, but you also worry about the future of the wizarding world all by yourself.

In the end, you don't even have a person to take care of you in your old age.

This is really touching.

With Quirrell gone, if there was anything new at Hogwarts, it was probably Professor Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class!

Andy kind of liked taking Snape's class.

Not only did Snape teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class in depth, he even gave the young wizards a practical session where they could use their magic to deal with some Dark creatures.

A world where only Gryffindors suffered appeared, as the young wizards of all three houses were satisfied.

They had to take Snape's Potions class and Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

It was double the pain.

Especially since many of the Gryffindor classes were scheduled in the evening to accommodate schedule adjustments.

Well...triple the pain!

If there was anything else Andy wasn't happy about, it was probably the fact that Snape was basically ignoring him and Hermione now.

When Snape asked a question, if Hermione was the only one who raised her hand, he pretended that no one did.

It was the same with Andy.

When Snape asked, who else didn't understand something. He would also pretend that Andy wasn't in the classroom.

This made the little witch very upset.

She had even privately comforted Snape after class on Monday, but she had really fed her sincerity to the dog!

Andy did not dare to say anything.

The little witch said that day, as long as Snape cared more about the Gryffindor students and cared more about Harry, they would definitely like Professor Snape.

She told Snape not to be sad and not to give up...

In short, Snape almost killed them both that day.

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