After talking to Dumbledore, it definitely strengthened Andy's heart to pursue magic.
Those conversations, though seemingly unrelated to magic, pointed Andy in a direction.
We learn magic, we use magic, we utilize magic. But we ultimately return to the very essence of all magic - magic.
Wizards age and die, but as long as they want to live, magic can make their bodies 'look' healthy and have the ability to move around freely.
This is certainly another proof that mind power can influence magic.
Coupled with the fact that Obscurus - the product of a fusion of dark emotions and magical power.
All of this seemed to prove to Andy that the fusion of mind power and magic power would be the ultimate answer to magic.
But...
"What do I have to do?"
Andy's magic power had become more and more stable, and the experience of two lifetimes had made it so that Andy's emotions rarely went up and down.
"Whew..."
Andy went to sleep as soon as he pulled the covers over his head!
This problem was unsolvable in a short period.
But the wisdom of magic inherited for thousands of years at Hogwarts, and the systems Andy himself possessed, there would always be one that could help Andy solve this problem.
***
The next day, September 16th, Monday.
Right after arriving at the Great Hall, Andy saw that the faculty table was already full of people, even Dumbledore had already come to the great hall early.
The great hall was quiet, and the young wizards were absent-mindedly eating their breakfast and glancing over to the faculty table from time to time.
At Hogwarts, except for some major holidays, and the opening banquet, professors usually would not come to the great hall to eat.
The house elves would thoughtfully deliver the professors' three meals a day to their offices.
Today is just another ordinary day, but the professors and the Headmaster of Hogwarts are all gathered in the Great Hall, which obviously means that something big is about to be announced.
The young wizards had already guessed the answer.
And Quirrell, who had also guessed the answer, was currently sitting in a corner sprawled out, silently waiting to die.
"Let's eat first." Hermione seemed to sense the atmosphere in the Great Hall as well and spoke in a thin voice.
Walking over to the Ravenclaw long table, Andy realized that many of the younger wizards had already finished their meals, but were still reluctant to leave.
Apparently, they didn't want to miss this final scene either.
This was the result of the joint efforts of all the young wizards in the whole school.
When all the young wizards finished their breakfast, Dumbledore got up and walked to the dais, he looked around the room and all the young wizards also focused their eyes on Dumbledore.
The great hall became silent at this moment.
"Regrettably!"
Dumbledore announced, "Our Professor Quirrell is about to leave us for some personal reasons, and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor will arrive at the beginning of October..."
"Ohhhhhh!!!"
"We made it! Bravo!"
"This is a victory for all of us!"
"..."
Cheers erupted in the Great Hall, and all the young wizards were thrilled. Especially on the Slytherin side, this matter was led by their Slytherins, this was their victory.
Andy saw that Malfoy had been surrounded by Slytherin students and thrown into the air to cheer.
No one would care about Quirrell, the one cowering in the corner, quietly waiting to die.
"Quiet!"
The young wizards cheered for a while before Dumbledore used a sound-amplifying charm to stop the noise.
He continued, "Until your new professor arrives, the first to third-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class will be taught by - Professor Severus Snape, substituting."
"..."
The Great Hall quieted instantly.
"Give us back, Professor Quirrell!" An angry growl came from the Gryffindor side, which sounded like Fred, or maybe George.
"We can have Professor McGonagall, or maybe Professor Flitwick, as a substitute!" It was Harry's voice.
Andy felt that a few of them weren't going to have a very good week.
The young Gryffindor wizard adamantly opposed the matter, and the great hall was noisy again.
Andy looked around, pulled Hermione to cover himself, cleared his throat again to change his voice, moved slightly toward the Gryffindor side and then shouted, "Make Professor McGonagall a Headmistress!"
Wow...
At these words, the great hall first erupted in an uproar, then instantly fell silent.
The young wizards of the three houses all looked in Gryffindor's direction as if they wanted to see which young wizard was actually so brave as to dare to rebel in front of Dumbledore.
Professor McGonagall's face was also dark as she glared fiercely at George and Fred - although she hadn't seen who had shouted those words, she highly suspected George and Fred.
Hermione grabbed Andy's waist hard.
The young witch pursed her lips and glared at Andy as she contemplated whether or not to hand Andy over and forget about it.
"Quiet!"
Dumbledore used the amplifying charm again as he made arrangements for substitutions for the other years before saying, "Alright boys, it's time for you to get to class."
Snape's substitutions were clearly a done deal, and it was then that the Gryffindors reacted - what on earth had they just done?
George and Fred were as devastated as they could be, and Harry was so pale that it seemed like he might not live to see the end of the day.
There was another man, who was now equally devastated, so pale that he couldn't even stand up anymore.
Quirinus Quirrell!
He was leaning against the corner, his head lowered in resignation and snivelling, his body couldn't stop trembling, as if he sensed some kind of great fear, as if he was going to die in the next second.
Hermione was a little uncomfortable, "Shall we go comfort Professor Quirrell?"
"No!"
Andy quickly stopped, "Professor Dumbledore will comfort him, we don't need to do anything."
Hermione glared at Andy, "It's not all because of you?"
"There are so many poor people in this world, we can't help everyone."
Andy comforted, "We have to trust Headmaster Dumbledore, he's probably already found a job for Quirrell."
The name Dumbledore was very calming, and hearing Andy say that, Hermione stopped worrying unnecessarily.
"Let's go!"
Andy shrugged, "We're going to have two Potions classes in a row with Hufflepuff in the morning, and I think Professor Snape might not be in a good mood as well, why don't we go comfort Professor Snape?"
Upon hearing this, Hermione was also indignant, "The Gryffindors have gone too far! Professor Snape may be a bit harsh, but he's very knowledgeable and takes his classes very seriously, how can they speak like that!"
"That's right!" Andy nodded his head repeatedly in agreement.
Today's Snape had clearly transformed into Super Snape, and Andy didn't think the day would be over until he brought the Gryffindor's points into the negative.
But in Hermione's eyes, today's Snape was probably just more strictly responsible!
During the boiling of the potion, Snape was covered in a black aura, running around non-stop for two consecutive classes and pointing out the young wizard's wrong manoeuvres in a harsh tone.
It was close to spitting in their faces and calling them troll-brained.
----
Thanks for all your love and support.
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Thanks for all your love and support.
Read advance chapters on P@treon. If you have some extra pocket money, Support me at P@treon: www.p@treon.com/Crazy_Cat.
Happy Reading!!!
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.
----
#Renee Bruffett, Thanks for all your love and support.
Read advance chapters on P@treon. If you have some extra pocket money, Support me at P@treon: www.p@treon.com/Crazy_Cat.
Happy Reading!!!
#Renee Bruffett, Thanks for all your love and support.
Read advance chapters on P@treon. If you have some extra pocket money, Support me at P@treon: www.p@treon.com/Crazy_Cat.
Happy Reading!!!