[HP] Similar but different

This question continued to haunt Harry.He hadn't been able to find a clue until the day of the finals, when everyone else had arrived at the camp.But he summed up what Nagini had revealed—the serpent didn't think he deserved Voldemort's connivance because he didn't notice Voldemort's plight; The dilemma may also have something to do with him.

So what exactly is Voldemort facing?

Seriously, Harry couldn't think of it.Dumbledore said, and he has personally verified that Voldemort's personal ability is obviously outstanding to the point of no doubt; so what can trap the Dark Lord?

……emotion?

It was indeed a hindrance, and Voldemort didn't seem to have dealt with it very well.But Harry thought they had spent too much time and circled too many circles on the issue, and there was no point in hiding it.Must be some new place, something he hadn't noticed...

Prophecies, blood, wands, Horcruxes...

For the umpteenth time, Harry thought about their connection.A prophecy can only come true if they both believe it, and they are now tacitly pretending that it doesn't exist; the same blood makes them have a deeper bond, and if he is Voldemort's last remaining Horcrux, they will They live and die together; they use wands with the same core, and when they are used together, they can more than double the power of the spell; as for the Horcruxes, Voldemort should have recovered all the Horcruxes, except him and the diary that had been destroyed Book……

Hell, what's in it here that could be a factor in creating trouble?

With a hunch that the truth was there, but no trace of it, Harry was in a very gloomy mood.Had he not been in the Weasleys' tent, he might have been more obviously irritable.When the big guy invited him out to buy souvenirs, he excused himself by saying that he had a headache and stayed in the room alone.

But after a while of silence, Harry heard a sound at the entrance of the tent.

"...It's so beautiful, Hermione!" This was Ron's excited voice, "It's completely different from the ones in the Black Lake! Do they really look like models?"

"You don't think mermaids all over the world look the same, do you?" Hermione replied, her tone impatient, "It is said in the book that in warm waters, Muggles often see beautiful mermaids, but so what ?”

Ron seemed to want to sigh something, but he should have noticed Hermione's attitude, so he stopped.

By this time, Harry could already see them from the door of the room. "Why did you come back so early?" He braced himself and got up from the bed.

Hermione strode across the room and huddled with him on the tiny cot. "Come on, Harry," she said rather straight to the point, "what about You-Know-Who this time?"

There was not even the slightest doubt in the words, and Harry couldn't help but smile wryly. "I knew I couldn't hide it from you," he said in a low voice, giving a general account of what happened the day before yesterday.But he left out Nagini's part because he felt he could prove Orochi wrong by figuring out the problem himself.

"...You said that the mysterious man helped the Dutch team persuade those mermaids to do a pre-match performance?" Ron looked more surprised than ever, he had completely forgotten that he was still admiring the beauty of the mermaids just now, "How did they get in touch? together?"

Hermione frowned, surprised but not disbelieving. "You should have heard what I said just now, Harry." She explained patiently, "Mermaids can be found all over the world, and they have different shapes. The mermaids in our school are similar to Selki in Scotland and Mellow in Ireland. Not very good-looking. If You-Know-Who only wears suits when you see them, then I guess those mermaids are probably close relatives of Greek Sirens—

"Sirens are usually young and beautiful. They like to come and go at night, and use their songs to lure sailors passing by. Compared with difficult wizards, strong and handsome muggles are more attractive to them. Considering that they are the auspicious of the Dutch team You-Know-Who may not be hiding that he's a wizard, but..."

She didn't go on, but Harry knew what she wanted to say.To achieve his goals, Voldemort took full advantage of his looks; this is normal for the Dark Lord. "I see," he said, trying to pretend he hadn't thought of it. "Is there anything special about them?"

Hermione's brows furrowed even tighter, as if she was trying to think hard. "Can their singing bewitch the mind?" She was not sure.

Harry said nothing, because he knew Hermione knew as well as he did, that Voldemort would never have cared about that.But there must be something useful in the mermaid, what exactly is it...

"Maybe you're all thinking too much," Ron said abruptly, "Didn't Dumbledore say that the mysterious man planned to use this World Cup to gather those ghost knights? He probably just created a new image for himself when he came into contact with the mermaid? And I heard from Bill that because they didn't expect to enter the finals, the preparation time for the Dutch team was very hasty, and they really needed a wizard who could solve problems in a short time..." He spread his hands slightly, "Mysterious people do have this ability, Is it right?"

Although Harry wanted to keep things simple, Ron's statement was too optimistic for him to agree with at all. "Forget it, don't mention this." He avoided possible answers and got off the bed at the same time, "I also want to buy something, let's go."

For various reasons, Harry bought souvenirs related to the Bulgaria team this time, such as hats decorated with red roses.But no Krum villain, because it's kind of weird to buy a model after getting to know a real person.It was Ron, who was obviously obsessed with the tank containing the miniature mermaid, but the high price and Hermione's cold gaze managed to stop him.

After nightfall, the group headed to the stadium.The twins paid big, and they bought everyone first class, including the Delacours.It's a good thing, because Harry is in it, and a bad thing, because Fleur's sister, Gabriel, is still obsessed with Harry.

Ron hesitated the whole time, and Harry knew what he wanted to say.Three or four years have passed since the Triwizard Tournament, and Gabriel has grown up to be slim; standing together, the two sisters can almost attract everyone's attention.Given that Fleur was married to Bill, Gabriel was now the object of many boys' courtship.

When they went upstairs to the top box, the girls walked ahead, and Ron finally got his chance. "Look at her, Harry!" he whispered, "and then you'll find her looking at you!"

"No," Harry refused bluntly, "I don't want to cause trouble for myself, and I don't want to cause trouble for her."

Ron was tongue-tied for a while, as if he hadn't expected Harry to be so determined.

"Do me a favor later, Ron," said Harry again, "I want to sit as far away from her as possible...you block her for me, will you?"

"This..." Ron wanted to nod helplessly, but suddenly thought of something, and shook his head like a rattle: "No, I have to sit farther away, or Hermione will kill me!"

The situation was so similar, the two looked at each other, and finally Ron had to ask Fred and George.

Thanks to the twin brothers, Harry got his wish to sit on the side seat of their row.Ron sat next to him, and beyond that were Hermione and Ginny.As if satisfied with Ron's self-consciousness, Hermione had a faint smile on her face, and even the Malfoy family sitting in the row behind them didn't affect her mood.

Of course, this may also be because Malfoy did not speak provocatively.Harry guessed that the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes business was booming, and they couldn't laugh at the Weasleys for money now; plus his relationship with Voldemort...

Harry's heart sank.After going out with Ron and Hermione, he had avoided thinking of the Dark Lord; because he knew it would be enough to make him preoccupied enough to take away all interest in watching the game.Now, he barely noticed the opening speech from the President of the French Magical Council until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Although the game is about to start, can I take a few minutes of your time, Harry?"

It's Dumbledore.Harry hasn't seen the other party for two days, guessing that the other party may be busy. "Of course." He got up and followed the principal out of the box.

Dumbledore has some news for Harry.After many verifications, he determined that the meeting of the Ghost Knights had ended as early as the night they arrived.Although the content of the meeting is unknown, at least those people will not have new actions in the World Cup game.

This relieved Harry, and confirmed that when he bumped into Crouch Jr. and Bellatrix at Voldemort's it was indeed the end of the meeting.

"They are Tom's most valued subordinates." Dumbledore's expression was as expected after hearing Harry's words.

Harry felt a little pissed in his heart.But instead of showing it, he asked, "Do you know anything about mermaids, sir?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry knowingly. "Of course." He nodded, "Historically, mermaids have always resisted wizards. Like the centaurs, they rejected the status of 'human' and demanded to retain the status of 'animal'. It is a very good idea to approach them in Muggle disguise." Smart move, I must say."

Truth be told, Harry isn't too keen on animal treatment. "Hermione told me that those mermaids might be close relatives of the Greek sirens, and also listed some differences between them and the Black Lake mermaids. But I didn't see how special they are..."

Dumbledore's expression became clearer. "Indeed," he agreed softly, "they must be a little different, otherwise..." He didn't go on, but started another topic: "Not only for sirens—about mermaids, there is an unverified Legend, Harry."

"What is it?" Harry asked immediately.

"We all know that humans have souls. Werewolves have them too. Whether centaurs have them is open to debate," Dumbledore said softly, "but according to legend, mermaids don't have souls."

Harry froze, he couldn't think of this at all. "They didn't..."

But as soon as he spoke, his words were overwhelmed by the sudden burst of cheers in the stadium.Knowing that a team had entered the field, Dumbledore gestured to talk about it next time, then turned and left.

Harry walked back to his seat, a mess in his head.During the period, huge fluorescent patterns of red roses and blue tulips appeared one after another in the sky above the arena, but he didn't pay attention at all——

Mermaids have no souls?Is this where Voldemort is concerned?

Of course ordinary people can't verify it, but as long as there is a soul-returning stone, isn't the answer obvious?After all, the function of the soul-returning stone is to recall the soul of any dead person...

Wait, do destroyed diaries count as dead?

Harry suddenly had a terrible surmise, as if lightning had struck the sky.He jumped up and ran out, ignoring the startled cries behind him.He rushed into the bathroom, locked the door, and took the thick gold ring from the inside pocket of his robes.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, he thought, turning the ring three times.

Nothing happened.

He was a little panicked, and couldn't help holding the ring in front of his eyes for a closer look.It was exactly the same as when Voldemort handed it to him, without any damage, and there was no possibility of sudden failure.Maybe the name is wrong, he said to himself in his heart, with a little luck, he can try something else...

Voldemort, useless;

Mysterious Man, useless;

The Dark Lord is also useless...

Harry tried them one by one, and finally used the diary Horcruxes and the Death Eaters' title for Voldemort.But no matter how determined he was, there was no sign in the bathroom that the student body president he had seen was about to show up.

He dropped his arms dejectedly.Despair flooded over his head like a tidal wave, almost suffocating him.Nagini was right: he was only concerned with whether Voldemort took back the remaining Horcruxes, and never thought of finding the whereabouts of the Horcruxes in the diary; Voldemort's part was destroyed, permanently damaged, irreparable, and it was he destroyed...

The author has something to say:

After reading the comments in the previous chapter... No one can guess it, so let's do something simple, and then weibo will draw a lottery_(:з)∠)_

The finale of the next chapter, the number of explosive words is doomed, so the update time is to be determined~