Alas~
Andy sighed inwardly.
He had clearly just wanted to study magic in peace without any distractions, but why had he inexplicably agreed to this request?
He glanced at Dumbledore.
The old man was very skilled at the art of rhetoric.
He first mentioned Grindelwald to make Andy feel guilty and then casually brought up the request to help him take down Voldemort... In this way, Andy would find it hard to refuse.
After all, Andy was still a shy teenager.
Besides, personally, Andy also really wanted to get rid of Voldemort.
This guy threatens a lot of people and also affects public security and peace.
Even Andy's family are not daring to go out casually now.
"No problem."
Andy nodded and asked, "Professor, is there anything else?"
"Good night, Collins," Dumbledore said with a faint smile.
Andy shrugged at this.
"Hm..."
Andy didn't rush to leave; instead, he sorted out the things he needed to do tomorrow in his mind.
First, he needed to take Harry to the Hog's Head Inn.
Once Harry's memories had been linked with Voldemort's, he needed to use Legilimency to snoop through Voldemort's memories—which was equivalent to using Legilimency directly on Voldemort.
Fortunately for Andy, this wasn't difficult.
After finding the location of the Horcrux, Andy also needs to destroy it.
After doing all this, he will take Harry to the place where Dumbledore battles Voldemort and destroy the last two Horcruxes—Harry and the snake.
Next, he will join forces with Dumbledore to gang up on Voldemort.
Andy thought it over.
Well...not a big deal!
With Andy's current strength, this trivial matter is not even worthy of being considered an 'adventure'. Apart from the final battle with Voldemort, the rest of the things are simply novice missions for a high-level character.
Andy figured that he could even bring along a few low-level characters on a bus to level up.
"Right, Professor..."
Andy suddenly thought of something, "What if there are eight Horcruxes? The Death Eaters can split up and act separately, but I can't."
Once Dumbledore destroyed the locket in front of Voldemort, Voldemort, in a panic, would surely have his loyal Death Eaters relocate the Horcruxes.
In this case, even if Andy acted as quickly as possible, he could only destroy one Horcrux.
Because there would be no time.
As long as a single Horcrux remained, Voldemort could never be killed, and Dumbledore's plan would be rendered useless.
"Seven Horcruxes is the ideal number,"
Dumbledore continued slowly, "If there are eight Horcruxes, then the responsibility will fall to Snape."
Andy nodded slightly at this.
From the current situation, it seemed that Snape had already gained Voldemort's trust.
"OK!"
Andy decided there were no more questions and stood up, saying, "Goodnight, Professor."
After saying this, Andy turned around and prepared to pull open the portrait.
But it didn't budge...
Does it have to be opened from the other side?
Andy didn't give up and took out his wand and prepared to check it out.
Dumbledore can't help but feel a headache creeping up.
This little guy is really curious about everything.
He's clearly been told that the secret passage can only be opened from the Room of Requirement. But he still insists on trying it out personally, wanting to explore the magical structure inside.
"Collins..."
Dumbledore felt compelled to say, "This is a one-way secret passage; it cannot be opened from this side."
After saying this, Dumbledore then commanded the young girl in the portrait, "Ariana, please notify Hermione."
Ariana shook her head with a faint smile, then turned and left, quickly disappearing into the portrait.
Andy took out his wand and held it against the portrait, slowly feeling out with magic, carefully probing the magical structure inside.
Well, it is indeed a one-way secret passage.
If he insists on opening the secret passage from the Hog's Head Inn, the only result will be the complete destruction of the entire hidden passage.
As for this portrait...
"Professor, do portraits in the wizarding world all share a common world?" Andy asked curiously.
Back when he started studying alchemy, Andy had thought about creating a magical version of the online world.
If all portraits share a common world, then this 'portrait world' is no different from the Muggle internet.
"Yes!"
Dumbledore patiently explained, "The characters in the portraits can visit each other, and they have a world of their own."
"However, some people don't like to be disturbed, so they will cast spells on their portraits before painting them so that outsiders cannot enter their portraits."
"Of course, they can't leave their portraits, either."
Isn't this similar to the online and stand-alone software versions?
Andy looked curiously at the portrait in front of him, intending to study this technology in detail as soon as possible.
If possible, Andy planned to create a self-portrait of himself—complete with a castle, delicious food, and beautiful women.
If the 'Andy' in the portrait could travel to other portraits at will, 'it' could help Andy gather information and even communicate with other people.
This would come in very handy!
'Why have I never thought of this before?' Andy thought with some annoyance.
After chatting with Dumbledore for a while about magic and waiting for about twenty minutes, the portrait was pushed open from the inside.
"Andy!"
Hermione looked around, then exclaimed in surprise, "Professor Dumbledore…why are you here? Oh, I mean, aren't you supposed to be back tomorrow?"
"Good evening, Miss Granger," Dumbledore greeted her with a smile.
Andy quickly squeezed into the secret passage. "Hermione, let's talk about it when we get back."
"Hm!"
Hermione nodded slightly, then looked at Dumbledore and smiled, "Professor, then we'll head back."
They closed the passage door and walked towards the Room of Requirement.
"Professor Dumbledore is back, huh?"
Hermione frowned and asked, "Andy, is it serious?"
The young witch was a little worried.
If it wasn't serious, Dumbledore wouldn't have kept his whereabouts a secret.
"Er...it's nothing serious!"
Andy casually replied, "Professor Dumbledore is planning to handle Voldemort, and he'll act tomorrow. He wanted to brief me on some tasks... there are some things only I can help him with."
"Handle..."
Hermione was shocked to hear this. "You're going to take action against You-Know-Who?"
"Yes," Andy answered.
Hermione turned to Andy and looked him seriously in the eye. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
This...
Andy froze in his tracks and turned to look at Hermione.
Hermione also looked at Andy.
Her expression was serious and determined.
Andy blinked.
How should I tell her that you can't help at all without hurting her feelings?
Hermione's strength is indeed passable at the moment, and she can be considered a combatant if she were to fight against the Death Eaters.
But the battle tomorrow...
"Well...it depends on the situation."
Andy said with a serious face, "I have to cooperate with Professor Dumbledore's actions, and the specific plan is still unclear. But...if there is anything you can help with, then I'll leave it to you."
"Hm."
Hermione said solemnly, "Leave it to me!"
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