Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 458, page 453. He spent at least sixty years studying me.

"So your father ordered you to use this necklace to assassinate Professor Dumbledore?"

Dudley looked at the two chubby boys standing side by side, who were staring at him tremblingly, and asked, "The opal necklace that Voldemort personally gave to old Crabbe is now in Dudley's hands."

"Yes, Brother D."

Crabbe answered, while Goyle nodded repeatedly, indicating, "That's right."

"I admit there's a strong curse on this, but any wizard with a bit of common sense can recognize it."

Dudley held the necklace, the curses on it shining like searchlights in the night.

"No one would be stupid enough to actually wear one of these, right?"

If we're talking about items that can kill if worn for a long time, Dudley could come up with a whole bunch. From lead that stunts growth if touched too much, to cesium chloride that can cause death, he'd make sure no wizard could detect it. And you don't even need to wear it; just place it where the target usually hangs out. It's truly deadly and highly secretive, far superior to any cursed item. Anyway, these wizards who don't understand science don't know what radioactive material is.

Therefore, Voldemort's actions were incredibly stupid.

Dudley listed the drawbacks of so-called cursed items and concluded that they were not as effective as high-intensity radioactive materials.

"No, Dudley."

Tom doesn't think this thing can kill me.

Dumbledore's voice came from behind him. He first gestured for Crabbe and Goyle to leave, but the two chubby boys immediately looked at Dudley. After receiving Dudley's nod, they both breathed a sigh of relief and ran away as if they had been granted a pardon.

Dumbledore shook his head helplessly. Dudley's prestige among the young wizards at Hogwarts had far surpassed his own.

"Professor, please continue."

Dudley Dumbledore pursed his lips, disliking riddle-makers who only said half of what they meant.

"His goal was to get this necklace to me."

Dumbledore took the necklace from Dudley, frowned slightly, and kept his gaze fixed on it the whole time. He lowered his head very low, his nose almost touching the necklace.

But he quickly relaxed, and his tone became cheerful: "That way I can use the clues above to find the place he wants me to go."

"A place where he once lived."

"Professor Tom truly is the one who understands you best."

"Of course. He spent at least sixty years studying me."

"You are also the person who knows him best."

Dumbledore said, "Yes, I also spent sixty years studying him."

"I hope Professor Grindelwald won't mind."

Dudley looked at Dumbledore, who was in high spirits, and said, "It seems like he knows you know, but actually you know he knows you know."

Decades ago it was Newt, now it's Tom; in any case, they've invested more time than this poor substitute teacher of dark magic.

Dumbledore shook his head, not taking up the subject, but the opal necklace in his hand had changed its appearance: "Look, Tom's patience is wearing thin."

"Tom is such an impatient senior. I thought he would at least wait until the end of this semester. It's only been a short time since the semester started."

"Actually, it's been a long time." Dumbledore stretched out his right hand, looking at the dark, shiny fingers on it, and said with a hint of helplessness, "You went too far. Anyone else would have thought I was too poisoned and could die at any moment. No wonder Tom was so anxious. He must have thought I had found a way to suppress this curse."

Dudley countered, "If we didn't exaggerate a bit, how could we have made him smile so happily when he left that day?"

Voldemort's chuckles still echoed in Dudley's ears.

"We've received Tom's message. So, what do you think we should do next?"

Dumbledore had already made his decision, but he still wanted to consult Dudley.

"One word: wait."

Dali said decisively.

"wait?"

"Senior Tom is in a hurry, but he's not that in a rush."

Dudley then took out a ring, a ring exactly like the Resurrection Stone, and handed it to Dumbledore, gesturing for him to put it on.

Dumbledore looked at the ring and couldn't help but exclaim, "Every time they see me, they're amazed. Even their aura is exactly the same. I just don't know if they're even the same person."

"No," Dudley said decisively. "My alchemy skills aren't advanced enough to create a real resurrection stone."

Theoretically, he could create a resurrection stone using the principle of equivalent exchange, but he has no need to create one.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore immediately showed a regretful expression.

"Crawb and Goyle are just a smokescreen; the real key is the other person he's arranged."

Dudley continued the topic he hadn't finished, for he wasn't a riddle-maker.

"Another person?"

Dumbledore asked with some curiosity, but quickly smiled knowingly, "It seems you know what Tom is planning to do?"

"Hogwarts doesn't allow Apparition, so what other ways do Death Eaters have to get in during periods when it's closed to the public?"

"We can use the secret passage," Dumbledore replied.

How many secret passages are there in Hogwarts? Even the castle's designers probably didn't know; many of them evolved slowly over the millennia.

However, most of the secret passages are only for exiting and not for entering; only a few can be connected to each other.

"Yes, but what you can think of, Voldemort can also guess."

Dudley continued, "If I were him, I would choose a method that has never been implemented before."

"Then what is it?"

Dumbledore's attention was already drawn to Dudley, and he was absolutely right; choosing a method that had never been used before would definitely catch them off guard.

You should know about the Room of Requirement, right?

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded.

"It's filled with items belonging to students who discovered the secrets of this room since the founding of Hogwarts, including quite a few professors' belongings as well."

Over the course of a thousand years, many young wizards have used it as a place to hide secrets, so it is filled with all sorts of items.

"Among them is a magical item vanishing cabinet with a very distinctive expression."

The Vanishing Cabinet is a very magical item. As long as it has two doors, it can be used to travel through the area like a portal, and is unaffected by the magic that prevents apparition.

"I know, but that cabinet is broken."

"What if it's fixed?"

Dudley said slowly, his tone becoming serious: "Then the Death Eaters can enter Hogwarts through another cabinet."

(End of this chapter)