A match in the fireplace burned through and snapped with a hollow pop, breaking the silence.
"Then what should I do?"
Harry's voice was strained. During the silence just now, he had even imagined Voldemort controlling his thoughts and body in the dead of night, making him point his wand at his family and friends and commit an irreparable wrong.
In that brief stretch of time, he had even considered dropping out and leaving Hogwarts.
But where could he go if he left Hogwarts? Stay here? But Sirius was here. Stay with the Dursley family? Although the Dursleys treated him badly, it was not bad enough to warrant drawing his wand and killing them, even if he sometimes wished they would all drop dead...
So that would not work either. Did that leave only wandering? All alone.
Su Er watched Harry's face turn very pale, unable to understand what he had thought of to make him this worried.
"For now, you need to take Occlumency seriously. It can resist any intrusion into the mind," Su Er said softly.
"But it's so difficult..." Harry said bitterly.
"I've practiced this magic, and it is indeed difficult." Su Er nodded. "But that is no excuse for rejecting it."
"I'll give it a try." Harry nodded with difficulty. Remembering everything he had experienced in Snape's office, he shuddered. Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him, and his eyes brightened.
"If I manage to learn this magic, does that mean I can resist his intrusion, or even control him instead?"
Su Er's gaze immediately turned odd, and he could not help shaking his head.
If Voldemort could be controlled as easily as Harry suggested, Dumbledore would not need to be so busy...
Admittedly, Harry's idea did have some potential, but it was far too naive.
"Here's