At this moment, Andy's thoughts were incredibly clear.
The Fat Cat Patronus, born from Andy's deepest emotions, could create an impenetrable defence structure for Andy through self-sacrifice by using his mind as a link.
Something like the protection Lily left in Harry's blood.
A defence carried via the bloodline.
In Andy's case, it would be a defence carried via the mind.
In a way, it could be considered near-perfect.
'There is no doubt that this is feasible!'
Andy's eyes sparkled.
Currently, there are two ways to make use of the Fat Cat.
First, it can fight alongside Andy.
Second, it can sacrifice to set up an impenetrable defence on Andy.
As for which is better.
If the [Mind] attribute... oh, now it's the [Magic] attribute... if there is a qualitative change in the Fat Cat Patronus when the [Magic] attribute reaches level 8, then he will choose the first option.
Otherwise, he will choose the second option.
Because magic defence is so important.
Even a wizard of Andy and Dumbledore's level will only end up dead if they get hit by a killing curse.
This is something Andy cannot accept.
As the saying goes, it's easier to catch a thief than to guard against one for a thousand days.
Andy didn't want to die from a moment of carelessness.
So for him, the best way to avoid this was by making up for his shortcomings in magical defence and becoming more perfect.
Reflecting on this, Andy felt a great sense of relief.
The most daunting thing in the study of magic is not having a direction. But once you have a direction, then you have choices for everything that follows.
The first thing to do is to add points.
Originally, Andy had decided to focus on Alchemy.
This would allow him to learn another magical skill and also provide an additional channel to gain potential points.
But now it was different.
With the Fat Cat, the Magic attribute had become the top priority!
Let's not talk about the improvement in strength for now.
Andy would not be fighting for a while.
And his current strength is more than enough.
But this is about Andy's precious life!
Nothing is more important than staying alive.
Only by staying alive can Andy carry out more magic research.
He opened the system panel.
[Magic: 6]
[Will: 7]
Since mind and magic have become one, the [Will] attribute has become an important force in containing the 'Obscurus'.
If he wishes to increase [Magic], he must first increase [Will].
Andy did some calculations.
To increase the [Magic] attribute to level 7, he needs seven [Potential Points]. To increase it to level 8, according to Andy's guess, he would need about sixteen [Potential Points].
Plus the [Will] attribute...
That's thirty-nine [Potential Points].
Even if he gains one [Potential Point] every ten days, that would take 390 days, more than a year.
But the thing is.
During these years, Andy has already learned most of the spells he needs to learn, and it will be difficult for him to make much progress in a short period of time.
If progress is slow, the rate of [Potential Point] accumulation will also be slow.
In a vicious downward cycle, the time required will likely become even longer!
This is also the main reason why Andy was so determined to focus on [Alchemy] in the first place.
So, a new question arises.
What other options are there to quickly accumulate [Potential Points]?
Dark magic is one option.
Alchemy can also be learned at a basic level.
Divination depends on talent.
The progress of Charms and Transfiguration is too slow.
"Then... that's it!"
At this point, a learning plan that focuses on dark magic with alchemy as a second priority is undoubtedly the best fit for Andy.
Level 7 [Will] is enough to neutralise the corrupting influence of dark magic on the mind. What's more, Andy will also increase the [Will] attribute to level 8.
Thinking like this, it seems like there is no problem.
Andy scratched his head.
***
It was nearing noon when Andy left the Room of Requirement.
"It seems like you're in a good mood?" In the Great Hall, Hermione quickly noticed the change in Andy's mood.
"Is it obvious?" Andy touched his face.
The young witch waved her wand, and a dinner plate turned into a mirror and levitated in front of Andy. "Take a look for yourself!"
"Er..."
Andy waved his hand to make the mirror return to its original state and said with a raised eyebrow, "It seems quite obvious... Well, I have made new progress in my study."
"Congrats!" Hermione sincerely congratulated him.
"Thank you." Andy smiled.
While they were talking, dozens of owls unexpectedly fluttered into the Great Hall.
"Why are the owls here at this time?" Hermione was a little surprised.
Normally, except for personal letters and deliveries, owls only come in the morning to deliver the Daily Prophet.
"It's the Daily Prophet."
A newspaper fell in front of Andy, who said as he leafed through it, "Looks like it was rush-printed. Maybe something big has happened in the wizarding world again."
"I bet it has something to do with Grindelwald."
"In the wizarding world right now, there's no bigger news than his."
Hermione leaned over with a sombre expression.
On the front page of the newspaper, there was a wanted notice for Grindelwald.
"Wanted notice?"
Hermione asked in surprise. "I remember even Voldemort not being wanted by the Ministry when he was resurrected, right?"
"He was wanted in Europe," Andy said with a dismissive shrug.
Hermione: "…"
"So…?" Hermione's expression had a hint of complexity.
"It's just what you think."
Andy shrugged, "Grindelwald isn't likely to come here anyway, so it doesn't matter if the wanted notice is posted here or not."
As he spoke, Andy quickly skimmed through the newspaper.
Hmm...there's nothing new in the content.
It's all about Grindelwald escaping from prison, and then there's a detailed report on Grindelwald's past 'glorious feats', as well as the key battle in which he lost to Dumbledore.
There's not much new content.
At most, there were some speculations about how many illegal gatherings Grindelwald had held and how many subordinates he managed to gather. There was no value to these speculations.
As for things Andy was most eager to read about, such as the exciting encounters between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, there was nothing like that in the newspaper at all.
"It seems that the Ministry of Magic is about to announce Voldemort's death," Andy suddenly said.
Hermione nodded in response.
Voldemort was dead, and it didn't matter if his death was announced or not.
But Grindelwald...
Hermione frowned and asked, "Andy, Grindelwald hid well before, and the Ministries of Magic in Europe only tried to arrest him secretly. Why is it suddenly being reported now?"
"Because they can't hide it anymore," Andy said casually.
Basically, what Grindelwald needed most right now was time.
The only reason for this report is to cause a little trouble for Dumbledore.
Unfortunately, Andy does not have any intelligence sources in Europe.
The good news is that Lucius Malfoy has secretly gone to Europe, so Andy believes that he will soon get some updates.
In addition, the books that Grindelwald sent to Andy should be arriving soon. The old man might have smuggled in some personal items and taken the opportunity to send Andy a personal letter.
After all... he and Andy were 'close friends' despite the age difference.
----
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