"Half-Blood Prince" Property, Phineas's Crucial Intelligence

Under the envious gazes of everyone, Slughorn handed a small bottle of Felix Felicis to Clea.

She readily accepted it and placed the bottle in front of Aaron after class.

"You prepared the Draught of Living Death' before me, so you should keep this reward for yourself!"

"I don't need you to give me any leeway," Clea said irritably. "Do you think I don't know what others might not know? Modifying the formula isn't difficult for you either."

"It's just that you don't want to be too famous, and you're simply lazy."

"Well, you won, didn't you?" Aaron shrugged, then stopped Harry Potter, who was about to leave the classroom. "This book is good."

Harry instinctively gripped the book "Advanced Potion-Making" tightly in his hand, but then he thought that with Aaron's Potions, there was no need for him to fight over the book.

"I don't know who its previous owner was, but it must have been a Potions master," Harry said with great certainty. He had defeated Hermione simply by following the instructions in the book, which was enough to prove the book's owner's abilities.

"May I take a look?"

"It is possible."

Aaron took the textbook, glanced through it briefly, and his expression immediately became incredibly interesting.

Damn it! I knew this wasn't a coincidence.

The book is filled with dense annotations, which almost lowers the difficulty of making high-level Potions by half a level. What's more, the handwriting is exactly the same as Severus Snape's.

"Interesting, this is really interesting." Aaron gave Harry Potter a meaningful look. If he knew that the owner of this book was his most hated Professor Snape, I wonder if he would still be happy about finding a bargain.

Seeing Aaron looking at him with a half-smile, Harry's heart skipped a beat, and he asked nervously, "Is there something wrong with this book?"

"No problem, not a single problem."

I happen to know the owner of this book; you're incredibly lucky to have gotten it (it's definitely not some old fogey's doing).

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and excitedly left with his textbooks.

He had already made up his mind that once the new book arrived, he would change its cover and return it to the closet, while keeping the old book for himself.

By trading in the old for the new, the school probably doesn't lose out at all!

"If I'm not mistaken, he should also know the owner of that book, right?" Clea asked.

"We're more than just acquaintances! We're practically inseparable."

But this has nothing to do with us, and you shouldn't talk nonsense.

"I know, I'm not a child anymore."

A few days later, Harry often carried the book with him and would read it whenever he had a spare moment. He finally learned from the back cover that the original owner of the book was named ' Half-Blood Prince '.

He became extremely interested in the ' Half-Blood Prince ' because the book not only contained Potions knowledge that could make his grades improve by leaps and bounds, but also some spells that Professor Flitwick had never taught, which must have been made up by the ' Half-Blood Prince ' himself.

Saturday evening, in the Headmaster's Office.

Deng Buli sat in front of his desk, staring intently at the two items.

It was also a black Diary, but with several holes in it, rotten beyond repair. It was also a ring, but the black gemstone on it had a deep crack.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

There was a knock on the door. Dumbledore put the ring and the Diary in the drawer. "Harry, you received the letter. Come in!"

Good evening, sir.

"Sit down first!" Dumbledore smile. "How have you been lately?"

"Very good, Professor."

"Did you enjoy the class? I know Professor Horace Slughorn especially likes you."

"I think he overestimated my abilities," Harry said somewhat guiltily.

He had been relying on the Half-Blood Prince's notes to achieve his best results in Potions Class this week, as Hermione and Ron both knew. Professor Horace Slughorn simply assumed that he had inherited his parents' talents.

"You really think so?" Dumbledore asked playfully.

"Absolutely true."

"Hahaha!" Dumbledore laughed. "How's Aaron doing lately? I've noticed he's been getting quite close to Clea."

"Hmm...I don't think their relationship has reached that point yet," Harry said Harry. "Aaron doesn't seem to want to waste time on this."

"Yes! I can sense that he's under a lot of pressure."

And what about Miss Granger? As far as I know, she seems to be interested in Gaius as well.

"Professor, is it appropriate for you to ask this?" Harry asked in surprise.

"After all, he's the headmaster. It's normal for him to care about the students' lives!" Dumbledore said unhurriedly, then met Harry's suspicious gaze.

"Okay, I'm just curious. Aaron's parents also asked me to keep an eye on this matter."

Harry's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't doubt it much. "Hermione was a little frustrated at first, but her condition wasn't affected much, and she quickly adjusted."

Surprisingly, however, her relationship with Clea grew increasingly closer, and the two often bumped into each other at the library.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "I think you must be wondering why I asked you to come over tonight."

"It's related to that Prophecy, isn't it?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Yes, the answer is right here." Dumbledore stood up from his seat, walked around the table, and passed by Harry.

He took the Pensieve from the cabinet and placed it on the table, then led Harry to a storage shelf filled with crystal bottles containing swirling, floating silvery substances.

"What you see are all memories, all of them related to Voldemort."

"All of them?" Harry asked in astonishment.

"It's all, from the moment his parents fell in love."

"I spent a lot of time finding the relevant people to collect these items, and it's not easy to find them after so many years." Dumbledore took out a small bottle. "If you want to be the one who is Prophecy to live, you have to know your opponent well enough."

You need to see all of these, but tonight we're going to see this one, the scene from when I first met him.

Harry swallowed hard, opened the bottle, and poured the silvery substance inside into the Pensieve.

He took a deep breath and plunged headfirst into the basin.

After a dizzying spin, he continued to fall until his feet touched the ground. He saw Dumbledore holding an umbrella and opening the door to an orphanage.

Here he met the young Voldemort, or rather, Tom Riddle.

"Are you a doctor?" Tom Riddle looked at Dumbledore sitting on the bed with a blank expression, his tone full of impatience.

"No, I'm a professor."

"I don't believe it. She wants me to see a doctor because they think I'm different from other people."

"They might actually be right."

"I'm not crazy."

"Hogwarts is not an asylum," Dumbledore said. "Hogwarts is a school, a school that teaches magic."

You can do some things, can't you, Tom?

Things that other children can't do.

"I can make things move without touching them, I can make animals listen to me without teaching them, and if anyone is unkind to me, I can make them suffer."

"I can hurt them, if I want to." Tom Riddle said calmly, "Who are you?"

"I'm just like you, Tom."

Unique and distinctive.

"Show me the proof."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, a hint of helplessness on his face.

He could tell that the child was very wary; no matter how eloquently he spoke, the child wouldn't believe a word unless he verified the story.

The next moment, the wardrobe in the room burst into flames, but it was not damaged in the slightest.

Upon seeing this, Tom Riddle finally managed a slight smile.

Now he was certain that the old man wasn't talking nonsense; they were the same kind of people, magicians unlike ordinary people.

"It looks like something's trying to pop out of your closet, Tom," Dumbledore said meaningfully.

Tom Riddle opened the cabinet door, and an iron box jumped out and landed in his hands.

There weren't any valuable items inside, just a few small toys.

"Hogwarts does not tolerate theft," Dumbledore said patiently. "At Hogwarts, you will not only learn how to use magic, but also how to control it. Do you understand what I mean?"

Upon hearing this, Tom Riddle nodded silently.

He only spoke up when Dumbledore left the room, "I can still talk to snakes. They found me and whispered to me."

Is this normal for someone like me?

With that memory ending, Harry slowly removed his head from the Pensieve.

His face was grave, and his breathing was slightly rapid. "Did you know about this back then, Professor?"

"I had no idea that he would become the most evil Dark Wizard in history. At the time, I just thought Tom was a deep thinker, and all I could do was pay attention and guide him, but in the end, I did not succeed."

"Even if I knew, I... I couldn't possibly harm a child," Dumbledore said, then changed the subject, "He's been very close to one teacher during his years at Hogwarts. Guess who that teacher is?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, "Is this why you persuaded Professor Horace Slughorn to come back?"

"Professor Horace Slughorn has something I desperately need, and he certainly won't give it up easily."

"He likes talented students and wants to take them under his wing." Harry said thoughtfully, "You want me to agree, right?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Aaron won't help us, and he won't let Clea get involved."

In short, this is something only you can do, and the sooner the better.

Harry clenched his fist and nodded seriously.

Neither of them noticed that a portrait on the wall had overheard their conversation, nor did they notice that the portrait had quietly stepped out of the frame.

Meanwhile, at the Divine Thunder Hall.

Phineas's portrait rushed to the blank frame. "Is anyone there?"

A Shadow Ninja emerged from the ground, took the portrait off the wall, and delivered it to the Thought Form in the Potions -making Potions Room.

"What's up?"

"Important intelligence, extremely important: Dumbledore arranged to meet with Harry Potter tonight."

"Tell me what they talked about?"

"My great-grandson..." Phineas hesitated, "How is his recovery?"

"He can be resurrected at any time," the Thought Form said confidently. "After several months of continuous treatment, he only needs his Soul Stone to be inserted into his body for half an hour to adapt before he can be fully recovered."

However, there's still a long time until the two-year mark, so reviving him early wouldn't do me any good. After all, Sirius Black isn't someone who can stay idle, is he?

"Thanks."

Phineas breathed a sigh of relief and then told the Thought Form about Dumbledore and Harry's conversation.

"That's all I heard; I can't see the specific details."

"Voldemort's childhood memories are not important at all. He hadn't even set foot in the Magic World back then, so no matter how much he wanted to do something, he couldn't do anything." The Thought Form didn't care, then changed the subject, "But Dumbledore and Harry's conversation is different. It was a summary and the key point."

More importantly, Dumbledore finally showed some self-awareness this time and didn't try to harm me and Clea.

I am very satisfied with the intelligence this time. Let's continue next time.

Phineas hesitated for a moment, then nodded and turned away from the photo frame.

"What do you think?" The Thought Form looked at Aaron was practicing Magic Array on the back of the picture frame, and asked.

"Phineas is more pragmatic than I thought. The contract we signed with him is very simple, and he didn't need to tell us this information."

"He's worried we'll sabotage Sirius Black's resurrection; he's being a bit petty," the Thought Form said dismissively. "But it's understandable, since it concerns the Black family's legacy. The more satisfied we are, the less his great-grandson will have to worry."

Moreover, the information he provided was both extremely important and, in a way, not very valuable, since it wasn't really our concern.

"I think so too." Aaron nodded. "How's the Potions -making going?"

"It's not impossible for you to make more cost-effective portable pills, but..." the Thought Form said somewhat dejectedly, "Some Potions, like Truth Serum, can make a week's worth from a small bottle, while others, like Potions Felix Felicis, can only make a few pills from a small bottle. And some, like Polyjuice Potion, require adding the hair or nails of the opponent to make it. How am I supposed to do that?"

"Do what you can do first, and as for what you can't do, just leave it on the Potions as is."

"The life of a working-class person is so arduous!" The Thought Form remained silent.

Aaron shrugged sheepishly and continued practicing his Magic Array.

Just then, a system notification sounded in his ear, "Attention, Master, the system panel is about to update."

"Open the task panel," Aaron said impatiently.

[Slughorn's Secret (Find out what Dumbledore needs);]

The reward for completing the task is 800 Magic Points; there is no penalty for failure. Do you accept?

"Oh ho! Finally, a job has come."

Aaron decisively accepted; the eight Magic Points reward was enough to save him more than two months of hard work, so he had no reason to give up.

As for the difficulty of this task... it's negligible. Once Harry becomes an adult, he'll have to report to Dumbledore anyway, so he can just get it for free.