Chapter 635 Encouragement for Tom Riddle
"Could it be a basilisk?" Ginny asked with a trembling voice.
"No, that thing has legs." Harry said affirmatively, and several people raised their wands to be on guard. The sound was getting closer and closer, and then suddenly stopped. Before Harry could figure out what was going on, they heard the sound of retching.
"Pooh!"
"Is it Valen?" Hermione said with wide eyes, and several people looked at each other. Luna asked with great interest: "Did anyone of you make an appointment with her?" Hermione trotted over, followed by Harry, Ron, Ginny and Luna.
Crossing the round iron gate, at the end of the long tunnel, Harry saw Valen holding the wet wall with one hand, shaking his head vigorously, and making a humming sound with his flat mouth, looking dizzy.
"The Niffler's nose is very sensitive, oh...it must have suffered a lot."
Hermione said sympathetically. She squatted on the ground and patted Valen's little shoulder, and then recited a head-bubbling spell to Valen. It was as if a glass fish tank was covering the head of the Niffler. The pink muzzle looked wider and a little funny.
Valen blinked his eyes. Fortunately, he finally survived. He was almost killed by the stink.
Hermione stretched out her arms and carefully picked up Valen (trying not to let his wet and dirty hands grab her), and returned to the hall of the Chamber of Secrets with everyone. The smell here was much less. Hermione lifted the bubble head spell and asked with concern: "How do you feel?" Valen jumped on the ground twice, put a hand close to his nose, and immediately moved it away with disgust.
"Ouch! You stink." Hermione laughed happily.
"Clear water is like a spring." She chanted the spell, and a stream of water gushed out from the tip of the wand. Valen obediently washed his hands and feet, then rummaged through his pockets, took out a pair of beautiful little shoes, and put them on himself.
Ginny and Luna came over and looked at him with interest. Ginny stretched out a hand and poked Valen's belly, "Chi!" Valen slapped her hand away. It put on its shoes and swaggered a few steps. The echo of its footsteps could be heard far away in the empty chamber.
Harry asked nervously, "Valen, is the professor following?" Ginny, who was about to say something, felt her throat dry.
Valen thought for a moment and shook his head at him.
"But the professor must know, right?" Ron said immediately, "He could come at any time - should we still look for him?" His last sentence was addressed to everyone. Seeing that Valen did not refute, Harry also guessed that the professor might know and might be waiting at the entrance of the chamber.
Realizing that they might be caught, several people lost interest in taking risks and prepared to leave. At this moment, Harry suddenly looked up at the Slytherin stone statue that was flush with the ceiling. Under the illumination of the white light ball above their heads, the old, monkey-like face and the sparse long beard lines were clearly visible.
"There is still one place I haven't been to." He said, suddenly feeling a special attraction.
"What?" Ron asked, staring at Ginny and Luna's stuffed pockets.
"When we fought the basilisk four years ago, the statue's mouth was open." Harry pointed to the statue with a closed mouth and said, "I guess the back is empty, there is a... lair-like room." Ron looked at Hermione uneasily, and Hermione looked at Valen, hesitated and said, "Harry, even if it is open, but since the professor closed it later, it means that he doesn't want people to go in, right, Valen?" Valen immediately
became stiff.
He looked at Harry and then at Hermione, not knowing whether he should tell them that the big devil had an evil plan... But thinking of the big devil saying "Don't destroy the laboratory", Valen puffed up his little chest, made up his mind, and stood in front of them firmly.
Harry was in a dilemma. He stared at the huge stone statue, and the inexplicable desire became stronger.
"Professor forbids us to go in?" He asked tentatively.
Valen thought about it, but there was no such thing. He shook his head and wrote a few words in the air with his special wand, "You can go in, but it may be dangerous." After writing, Valen felt that his expression was not accurate enough, so he quickly added: "It is related to that ugly bald guy."
"Who is that?" Luna asked curiously, "Is anyone under the hairless curse?"
But Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other deeply. The statue was related to Voldemort. But they also knew that Voldemort was now locked in classroom 7 and was not even aware of his consciousness.
Now the decision seemed to fall on Harry.
"We can go back and ask the professor." Hermione said slowly. She knew from Harry's eyes that he was moved.
"No, the professor gave me the decision," Harry said calmly, "Valen is here, which means he knows where we are, but he has not shown up until now. What does this mean? It means that he also feels embarrassed..."
Hermione opened her mouth and had to admit that what he said made sense.
Is that so? Valen thought.
Harry looked at the Slytherin stone statue carefully. He had a very happy time, but there was always a hidden worry - he didn't know how the professor and the headmaster were preparing, and what stage the plan had progressed. As time passed, he became more and more panicked. Now he had a chance to find out, and the professor acquiesced, so he didn't want to back down.
Harry walked to the statue and said in Parseltongue: "Open." The door didn't move at all. When he spoke, he could sense that Ron and Hermione were standing on his left and right. He took a deep breath and said nothing. But when Ginny came over, he couldn't help but protest.
"Go back, Ginny."
"You have learned to chase people away now?" Ginny snorted and said in a slightly harsh tone: "You don't think your life is still in danger in school?"
Harry was speechless. He could only try to say in Parseltongue: "Open to me, Slytherin." This time, Slytherin's huge stone face moved. Its mouth opened, getting bigger and bigger, and finally formed a huge black hole. The light of the illumination spell didn't seem to be able to shine inside, but something shiny could be seen flashing past.
"What kind of monster is that?" Ron whispered nervously.
"A Crumple-Horned Snorkeller." Luna's eyes lit up.
"Luna, don't make things worse at this time." Hermione said sharply.
"No, it must be a Crumple-Horned Snorkeller." Luna said confidently, "It's exactly the same as the reference picture I drew in my paper, except that the color is wrong...there is no difference."
Harry didn't want to admit that he and Luna saw the same illusion, but he still said, "I saw it too. The one with the long nose, right?"
"Yes." Luna said happily.
Hermione stared at the two of them, her expression as if they were both under a Confusion Charm. They climbed up to the statue's knees, approached its open mouth, and carefully observed the hole. Their vision did not become clearer as they got closer. It was still pitch black inside, but they did see some glowing, moving things.
"I think I saw a colorful doe," said Ginny.
"I saw a big wolfhound," said Ron.
Hermione pursed her lips and said, "Those are rune creatures."
"Rune... what?" Harry asked in confusion, still staring at the hole. The ESP charm allowed him to hear some noises, which seemed to be the sounds of multiple creatures mixed together.
"Rune creatures," Hermione explained, "You should remember what the professor showed in class, right?" Harry and Ron immediately thought of magic puppets and golden eagles made of dark golden smoke.
"In fact, the professor has always had this idea." She said: "When he first taught me a private lesson, he was very curious about the existence of the Sorting Hat. It is almost a completely different magical life."
"So - these are - alive?" Ron was dumbfounded, pointing at the various forms of strange creatures that flashed before their eyes.
"They should not be considered life - I mean - well, I don't know," Hermione said a little distressed, "At least last school year, the professor couldn't make them exist permanently. At the end of last semester, the professor combined ancient runes and memory magic to construct a very real Hogwarts corridor."
"Just a corridor?" Harry couldn't help asking, it didn't sound like a big deal.
"The professor can construct a corridor, and he can use the same principle to construct creatures that only exist in fantasy." Hermione deliberately emphasized the word "fantasy". She glanced at Luna with her eyes slanted, but Luna didn't notice at all. She couldn't wait to walk in.
Harry, Ron and Hermione followed into the mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
Then their eyes blurred and they found themselves in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by rows of bookshelves and dim lights. The three held their breath and pricked up their ears to listen to the movements around them.
"Library." Hermione lip-synced.
Harry suddenly realized, but then a new question arose: Why were they in the library? Shouldn't they be inside the statue?
"Tom, Tom. You shouldn't have followed me." A low and suppressed voice said, Harry felt that the voice was somewhat familiar, and Hermione frowned.
"Sir?" A timid voice spoke.
"You followed me because you want to know what I'm doing?" The voice asked softly, but the coldness revealed in the words became stronger and stronger. "Are you interested in the contents of the half-cut paper found in my office? You want to know... what is a Horcrux?"
Harry's eyes suddenly widened.
"Sir--"
"Sorry, Tom. This may be the last time I call your name. Fortunately, it's a holiday now. As long as I do it quickly and neatly, no one will find out. Principal Dippet trusts me very much. He is always willing to believe me--"
Holiday? Harry thought, does it mean the weekend? No, he realized the problem immediately. They should not be in 'reality' now.
"Armor!" the young student suddenly shouted.
What is he doing?
Ron's scream was drowned in his throat. Their vision was suddenly filled with golden flames. A black shadow flashed by, and the window was shattered into pieces. The flames that followed burned a large hole in the wall of the library, and another figure flew out of the hole.
Harry was stunned. The silent armor charm he subconsciously cast was in danger. The golden flames stuck to the magic barrier and sizzled. It was possible to break through the defense and burn them to ashes at any time. At this time, Hermione finally came to her senses. She stretched out her hand, and the magic symbols flashed on her fingertips. Then the golden flames were like tired birds returning to their nests, and they were all under her control.
The fire in the library went out.
Bright moonlight shone through the large hole. A firebird was suspended two or three feet above Hermione's head, chirping softly. Hermione controlled the firebird to land on her shoulder. The firebird had sharp eyes and was covered in flames, but it did not hurt her at all, showing super control.
"That's... Professor Happ?" Only then did Ron speak with difficulty, his eyes almost fell out, "But who is the other one?"
"Tom Riddle." Harry said with a complicated expression, "I think we fell into a period of-" He suddenly got stuck, fell into a period of what? Memory? When did Professor Happ deal with Voldemort in school?
"God, the mysterious man?" Ron was so surprised that he almost bit his tongue off.
"It's the young mysterious man," Hermione corrected, "I know what we should do, hurry up!" She ran out from behind the bookshelf, stood by the wall and looked into the distance. She could vaguely see the arc of spell flashing outside, and the two people fought one after the other.
"...What should we do?" Ron asked.
"Fight, and then ask the professor for clarification." Hermione said angrily.
They passed through the burning and sizzling wall, used spells to land lightly, and then ran towards the fire. Harry caught up with Hermione, panting: "Should we save young Tom Riddle?" He understood a little.
"I guess so." Hermione bit her lip and said.
The battlefield was in sight. Harry's mind flashed the image of Riddle, tall, pale, with shiny black hair and black eyes. He had seen this look in the Pensieve of Headmaster Dumbledore - through the memory provided by Professor Slughorn.
"Tom, I taught you all your magic."
Felix said in a low voice, and powerful spells silently plowed the ground into criss-crossing deep grooves. The bushes and kapok trees that were cut in half turned into countless sharp daggers with cold light, covering half of the sky. Tom Riddle watched this scene in awe.
He never thought that Dumbledore was hiding so deeply! He actually created a Horcrux! He had just found out about it by chance, but he couldn't find any detailed records after searching the library. Riddle gritted his teeth and thought that it must have been taken away by Dumbledore.
He wanted to delay time. There were other professors in the school, as well as Headmaster Dippet. As long as he could delay until they found out, he could survive. Riddle was very annoyed. Damn it, why did they start shouting for war right away? Couldn't they just talk?
He could have joined the professors.
But from that cold, murderous face, Riddle didn't dare to have any extravagant hopes. He held up a shield from thin air and barely blocked the impact of thousands of daggers, but the huge force threw him high into the air. His right wrist loosened and his wand flew out.
He lay on the ground, looking up at the man with a cold smile on his face.
"Avatar: Dumbledore—"
A firebird descended from the sky and blocked the killing curse with its body. The golden firebird uttered a whine, turned green, and then quickly disappeared into the air. Riddle gasped. He had never felt death so close to him. He didn't want to die. He had never realized this so clearly. Horcruxes... Damn it, he also wanted to make Horcruxes, not one, but many.
But did he still have a chance? Riddle felt a sense of despair for no reason. Dumbledore had obviously destroyed all this knowledge. At this time, Harry and the other two had surrounded Felix. "Professor, I'm angry." Hermione said with a puffed mouth.
Felix was slightly startled, then smiled politely, looking evil.
"Can you tell me about your origins? Judging from your age, you should be students of the school? But I have never seen you..."
"What about you, what's your name?" Harry asked. He felt that he must be crazy to ask such a stupid question.
"Albus Dumbledore." Felix said softly.
"Are you Dumbledore?" Ron's eyes bulged and he shouted loudly. Fortunately, he was facing away from Riddle at the moment, otherwise Riddle might have seen the flaw from his expression, but if he only listened to the voice, it would be like questioning.
Harry was also stunned. Professor Happ, does Headmaster Dumbledore know that you are using someone else's name like this? Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "We are looking for you! Tom, run!" She stammered.
Riddle was completely confused. He had just experienced a major turning point in his life and his mind was not as clear as usual. But he could see that these three people seemed to be here for him, or for Dumbledore?
What was going on?
No one explained it to him. The battle began. Harry, Ron and Hermione cooperated well, showing strength and fighting qualities far exceeding Voldemort of the same age. After all, he was only in the fifth grade. Although he was excellent, it was within a reasonable range. He had not experienced the baptism of war.
During the battle, Felix's lips moved slightly. Hermione looked at him and he nodded imperceptibly. Then Felix shouted as if he suddenly woke up: "Time Turner! You came from the future through the Time Turner!"
"That's right!" Hermione shouted righteously: "Your conspiracy will not succeed, Dumbledore! You can't kill Tom. He will become our leader in the future to resist your evil rule."
Harry felt that all this was too ridiculous, even if it was a dream - no, he didn't have such an alternative imagination.
"Harry, use the Patronus that Mr. Riddle taught you!" Hermione shouted again.
Ron almost fell down. He was completely numb, but he knew one thing. Hermione was the one who knew the situation best among the three. Harry only knew a little, and he... he should not interrupt.
Harry spent a long time thinking before suppressing the awkward feeling in his heart and chanting a spell that was so familiar that it couldn't be more familiar.
"Hu——Shen——Guard——"
A creature that seemed to be real walked out from the tip of the wand, and a huge silver beam of light rushed straight into the sky, brighter than the moon. Half of Hogwarts Castle was bathed in a silver-blue halo, like ripples in the sea spreading out layer by layer. Everyone, including Tom Riddle, felt extremely excited and full of fighting spirit.
Harry's patronus made such a loud noise that the lights in the castle lit up in every room.
Riddle, who was sitting on the ground, looked incredible. This is a patronus? How could there be such a powerful patronus? And——this is what his future self taught to others? For a moment, he suddenly developed a strong interest in this ancient magic.
"Who dares to hurt the students of Hogwarts?" A loud voice came out of the principal's office like thunder.
"Principal Dippet!" Riddle shouted in surprise. He was really surprised.
An old man with a white beard flew out of the tower window. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and then Felix, as if angry out of shame, said in a chilling voice, "You ruined my plan - Avatar!"
The dazzling green light froze the faces of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
In the next three days, major news came one after another -
Dumbledore, who was expected to inherit the position of headmaster, was confirmed to be a dark wizard and had fled the school, but he then swaggered into the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic and snatched away all the time converters. It was reported that his behavior was related to his experience in his youth, and he wanted to resurrect a person who had been dead for more than 40 years; this campaign affected four students, and only one was lucky enough to survive, but Headmaster Dippet refused to disclose more information to the public.
In someone's consciousness, the war began.
...
Harry opened his eyes suddenly, panting. In the sight, Luna was happily holding up a creature about one foot tall. The creature had a pair of curved horns on its head that took up one-third of its body. It had a long nose, a bit like an elephant's trunk, but much shorter, as if it had been cut in half. Its body was short and stocky, with silver-brown fur covering its back like a thick fur coat. It twisted and turned in a bad temper.
In classroom seven.
Felix opened his eyes and stood up slowly. "I almost forgot that I'm not actually a good person." He smacked his lips, as if recalling that experience. After spending some time adding some more magical restrictions to Voldemort, he slowly returned to his office.
As soon as he opened the bedroom door, he heard fierce knocks on the door outside the office.
"Professor - Professor - open the door quickly -"
Felix suddenly felt a headache.
Was he acting too realistically? Was his student worried that he was going astray?