[HP] Similar but different

For the next two days, Harry adopted an even tighter man-marking tactic.But just as he expected, he didn't even see the hem of Voldemort's robe.It was said that everyone would attend the ball, but he purposely wandered outside the teacher's lounge a few times, and he heard the news that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor politely declined the ball invitation.

"Wouldn't it be better if he didn't come?" said Ron. "I doubt it. When he shows up, the girls will only see him!"

At this time, the three of them had just finished their lunch and walked out of the auditorium.Harry didn't know how to explain to the ignorant Ron, so he could only keep his mouth shut.

"Speaking of which, who did you date?" Ron inquired with interest, "Parvati or Padma? I think there are some very beautiful ones in the lower grades."

Hermione coughed forcefully. "At that time, everyone will wear masks." She emphasized bluntly.

Ron seemed to want to say that the thing could be taken off, but after seeing Hermione's expression clearly, he was a little embarrassed.

Hermione snorted coldly, turned around and strode away, looking in the direction to go to the library.Harry seized the opportunity and slinked Ron into a corner. "Go ask Hermione, Ron." He lowered his voice, "I know she hasn't said yes yet."

"What?" Ron almost jumped up, "Why should I ask her out, look at the way she looks at me!" But at the same time he was very nervous, "Who is the other, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "I just know that if you don't make up your mind, Lavender will come to ask you out." He pointed behind Ron seriously.

In the sixth grade, Ron and Lavender talked about a love that was as sticky as brown sugar, and Ron was terrified every time he mentioned it.Hearing Harry say that now, he didn't dare to look back. "No no no, I'm going right away! You help me drag Lavender! I'll appreciate you, buddy!"

Harry, who was pretending to be successful, almost laughed out loud.His two friends have been going around for too long, but this time it will work.It's kind of a good thing, he thought, and started walking toward the tower.As he climbed the marble stairs, he couldn't help but wonder if Voldemort could do it with feints too...but it was impossible, no wonder Hermione said he had taken the too difficult path.

The next day was Halloween.A swarm of live bats flies around the ceiling of the enchanted auditorium, while hundreds of pumpkin figures squint at everyone from every corner, and the whole castle is filled with sweet and tempting pumpkins. Pie aroma.

From early in the morning, the students were excited and chirping about the masquerade ball.Harry had heard Ernie MacMillan swear to the juniors that he could cast the Vanishing Charm on his head to bring himself to life as the Headless Horseman, while ghostly will-o'-the-wisps were already lit on the Slytherin table.

"I got two identical troll masks!" Before Hermione came down from the tower, Ron beamed and said to Harry, "And, when Fred and George heard that I had a date with Hermione, they were willing to give it away for free." Full costumes available! They'll send an owl over later!"

"Congratulations," said Harry, genuinely happy for them both, "be nice to her, you can."

"Yes, the wisest thing I've ever done in my life was to listen to your advice yesterday!" Ron blushed with joy, "I should have acted sooner..." He babbled for a while, Suddenly reacted: "Have you found a dance partner yet?"

Harry could only shake his head. "I don't want to dance."

Ron's excitement was extinguished by more than half. "Why?" He was puzzled. "This may be our last prom before graduation!"

"It's nothing," said Harry veiled, "it's just not very exciting."

Ron frowned and stared at Harry, suddenly realizing. "You're still mad, aren't you?" he asked, but there was no doubt in his tone, "You-Know-Who doesn't seem like a pleasant person to be around, and he's never going to apologize for what he did." He patted sympathetically. Patting Harry on the shoulder, "You still have to continue to learn Occlumency with him, really..."

Harry had nothing to say, because Ron was mostly right.

"Look out, buddy." Ron said in a tone of earnestness. "Leave him alone on a day like this. With Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix around, he won't do anything to you."

"Hmm." Harry didn't know how to explain that he wasn't worried about his own safety, so he just nodded carelessly.

Satisfied, Ron began to play with the two masks again.Harry started to eat his portion of pumpkin pie, which was tasteless.

In the spell and transfiguration class in the morning, almost everyone didn't care to study.By the time everyone reentered the auditorium later in the afternoon, it had completely changed inside.The four long college tables are gone; in addition to the bats, there are screaming and jumping Cornish elves on the ceiling; there are realistic tauren busts at the four corners, and paper spiders, big and small, are crawling all over the place. wall.

Ron groaned weakly from under the troll's mask. "...No one told me there are spiders!" His windpipe seemed to be choked, "There are still so many!"

Harry looked it over carefully. "They seem to only be able to climb walls."

"Then I definitely don't want to get close to any wall!" Ron said immediately, "If it weren't for the rare opportunity..."

"Oh, let's go, Ron." Hermione squeezed him into the door with a suppressed smile.

Before long, the auditorium was full of people.Dumbledore, seeing the time was about the same - he was wearing a fiery red phoenix mask, but completely hidden by his long gray hair and beard - announced the start of the ball.

Because of the existence of those paper spiders, Ron couldn't wait to pull Hermione into the first dance.Harry got himself a glass of pumpkin juice and watched them circle the dance floor from a distance.He could also find that some girls' eyes searched everywhere but didn't stay on him, and he couldn't help but feel lucky that he was dressed up enough to be scary.

"Nice make-up, Harry," said a low voice, a little cheerful.

Harry turned around and saw that Dumbledore had come behind him at some point. "The phoenix mask is very beautiful, sir," he said without thinking.

"I like it, too." Dumbledore agreed, winking at Harry behind the mask.

Harry laughed. "Won't you go down and dance, sir?"

"I thought young people would enjoy this kind of activity more." Dumbledore replied, with a meaningful tone, "Why are you here alone?"

"I... I'll go later." Harry had to lie.

Dumbledore's blue eyes were bright and sharp, as if he could see through Harry, but he didn't press further. "Remember what you told me last time?"

"What's the matter?" Harry took a sip of his drink in disguise.

"The one about Ms. Gray," said Dumbledore, nodding slightly, "I think you may not know that her real name was Helena Ravenclaw."

Harry was so startled that he almost spat out the pumpkin juice he had just put into his mouth. "Ahem," he put down the glass, and wiped the corners of his mouth frantically, "Ahem... What are you talking about? Ravenclaw? Is it the Ravenclaw I imagined?"

Dumbledore nodded. "The Ravenclaw we know is her mother, the true owner of the crown."

Harry stopped himself in surprise. "The real owner of the crown?" He looked around nervously, but no one paid attention to them. "Could it be that the mysterious person got the crown because of her daughter?"

Dumbledore nodded again. "There were twists and turns in the process, but it was basically the same. I suspected Ms. Gray at first, but she was reluctant to tell me. Until I told her, you saw her talking to Tom."

Harry wanted to say he didn't really see it, but that wasn't what mattered now. "If he cheats the crown away by unscrupulous means, she will indeed go to him!" He quickly thought about the joints, "What else did she say?"

"She hid the diadem in a hollow tree in the Albanian forest," Dumbledore replied. "The name of the place sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Albania... Harry understood the whole thing in an instant.When he was studying at school, Voldemort, who was still Tom Riddle, learned of the whereabouts of the crown from Ms. Gray. After graduation, he went to look for it and made it into his Horcrux; Hide it in the Room of Requirement until Harry was forced to bring it to him; and it was because of the careful search there that Voldemort chose Albania as his hiding place when he lost his body.

"But why is she crying?" Harry was still a little confused, "Does she think she did something wrong, or is there some other reason?"

"She thinks she's done her mother a disservice, because she stole the diadem," said Dumbledore, his tone a little heavy. "That's why she didn't want to tell me in the first place. It's disgraceful."

"Does Ms. Gray want the crown back?" Harry asked hastily.

Dumbledore eyed Harry approvingly. "She did. But Tom told her the diadem was still in the hollow tree."

"...what?" Harry was taken aback, "he wouldn't..." He wanted to say that there was no way Voldemort could have left his precious Horcrux in the dark woods, but suddenly he realized something. "Is that true?"

Dumbledore nodded. "In fifth grade, you talked to the diadem many times; but now, it's just a diadem—shortly after you mentioned it to me, I took it back at Ms Gray's request, and buried it in her mother's In the grave."

Harry's eyes widened, his heart beating faster and faster. "The crown is no longer a Horcrux...he did it? How..." His voice began to tremble.

"I'd love to know how Tom did it, too," sighed Dumbledore, "but in the Three Broomsticks, you saw it too - there's no way he could have told me."

Harry didn't think he could stay in the Great Hall any longer, not for a second. "Thank you for telling me, sir!" he cried, rushing through the crowd toward the gate.

Dumbledore looked at Harry's back with a complicated expression on his masked face. "Good luck, Harry," he whispered back.

The author has something to say:

Sure enough, no one guessed it~(*ˉ︶ˉ*)y~