[HP Comprehensive UK and US] Platinum Stark

Holidays are always short, and the 9 1/3 station is once again filled with cordial reminders - as warm as the lights of Hogwarts.

If Crabbe were to say it, it would make him as happy as the honey chicken drumsticks on the Slytherin table.

Alicia sat upright on the chair and naturally picked up the strawberry cake closest to her. Others might not notice it, but Draco could tell at a glance that the cake was made by his elf.

He cast a puzzled look at his sister, but Alicia just winked her left eye playfully, without any intention of explaining. Instead, she gestured for him to look at the teacher's seat.

In the teaching booth, Dumbledore was introducing their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this semester—the Butterfly who was very popular in Flourish and Blotts bookstore.

To be honest, when Alicia received the second grade book list, her expression was like incomprehension written all over her face. She didn't hate geniuses, but she inexplicably hated this Gilderoy Lockhart.

Maybe it's because she already has a rebellious Muggle genius friend? I always feel that this Lockhart is a bit like Tony, but he doesn't have Tony's confident and flamboyant temperament.

Headmaster Dumbledore had not finished his speech yet. Alicia looked towards the teachers' seats politely. The next second, Lockhart's lightbulb-like smile flashed into her eyes.

The girls at Hogwarts all exclaimed in crazy admiration, while the boys glared at Lockhart with disdain, and then looked at the female classmates around them in horror as if they were choked.

Alicia didn't want to keep her eyes on Lockhart. She smiled sweetly at her godfather who looked suspicious, then turned around and started eating the cake. While holding the fork, she silently complained in her heart: Alas, it seems that you still haven't experienced the young Dark Lord's appearance.

By the way, could the godfather be so unhappy just now because his position was taken away? Well... her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor last semester was the Dark Lord himself.

The girl swallowed the strawberry, her thoughts already drifting to the luggage placed in the dormitory - which contained a diary.

It seemed that she could no longer be a carefree person in her second year at Hogwarts.

It’s really... sour and refreshing!

*

Hogwarts.

Twelve o'clock in the morning.

If Alicia had known at the start-of-term banquet that Riddle was going to surprise her like this, she would have definitely not felt that these years were any fun.

The girl stared at the basilisk in front of her in amazement, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Who could tell her why there was such a huge basilisk hidden in the reassuring Hogwarts?

"You're so stupid. Didn't Snape tell you to close your eyes when you encounter a basilisk?" Riddle first said something in Parseltongue, and then mentioned Snape in a cold tone.

Severus is a potion professor, why would he teach me this kind of thing? Forget it, I'd better listen to his advice, otherwise if I die here, no one will collect my body.

Alicia was choked and quickly closed her eyes. But after just a second, she opened her eyes again and looked at Riddle: "Then I can just look at you. So, it is part of our mission?"

"Not so stupid." Riddle didn't even glance at the girl beside him, staring at the basilisk in front of him, "Okay, stop staring at me, it's not opening its eyes."

Sure enough, the snake monster, which was coiled in several circles, turned around after hearing the call, but its eyes were closed.

The basilisk's sight could not pose a threat to its master, but it closed its eyes at this moment. It was self-evident why its master gave this order.

Alicia shook her head like a rattle: "No, what if it can't control itself?"

Strangely enough, even though she knew Riddle was the Dark Lord's Horcrux, she wasn't afraid.

"Heh, Malfoy." Riddle said sarcastically. Although he was vicious, he still took out a mirror from somewhere and threw it into the girl's hand. "If you are worried, use this. I am still bothering you to death."

Alicia had no intention of using the mirror. She was silent for a few seconds, then turned around with a smile and looked directly at the basilisk: "It's quite majestic, but how can it stay in Hogwarts without being discovered?"

Faced with such an open question, Riddle did not dislike it, but looked at Alicia meaningfully, not wanting to miss any of her facial expressions: "This is Salazar Slytherin's pet, and I am the only heir of Slytherin. Didn't you know that a long time ago?"

Alicia's expression froze, and a long-lost tension surged into her heart. She tightly grasped the mirror in her hand, as if she had some support, and shouted back: "You didn't refute it, how can you blame me for misunderstanding? And, and..."

Her voice became weaker as she went on, and she seemed to realize that this excuse was untenable.

There were only the two of them and the snake monster in the huge secret room. It was very empty. As the echo of the girl's voice disappeared, the whole secret room became silent. Except for the occasional strange sound of dripping water, there was no other sound.

Alicia's cold sweat had already run down the back of her neck into her collar. She understood that Reed... no, it was the Dark Lord who was waiting for her explanation.

Grandfather was right, he and the Dark Lord were essentially the same person.

They are just one person.

After realizing this, Alicia raised her eyes, but her voice was a little hoarse for some reason: "I was ignorant and offended the master. Slytherin, my loyalty and respect for you have never diminished in the slightest. I will use the successful completion of the task in exchange for your forgiveness."

He pointed this out at this moment, definitely not simply to express his dissatisfaction. Considering the situation of this snake monster, it is likely that he is going to order down that crucial task.

Riddle showed a satisfied smile, but he felt inexplicably annoyed in his heart. However, that didn't matter. He just needed to understand that people from the Malfoy family were always useful.

From Abraxas, to Lucius, to Alicia, he didn't need to put it too bluntly.

That's good.