[HP]Timepiece Countdown

Ten o'clock in the evening can only be regarded as the prologue on the big stage of Paris nightlife.Voldemort had no trouble finding a small bar with low beams and dim lighting, and the green-painted wooden shutters were still tightly closed.The two sat down in the corner, and the waiter quickly brought two default drinks, said "Please take your time" and left.

No one spoke first, and for a while, only the hoarse and low voice of the resident singer of the bar could be heard faintly penetrating through the large green plants used for separation.Voldemort, who had made the proposal earlier, was now only concentrating on shaking the goblet, as if Harry, who was sitting across from him, did not exist.

Actually, Harry didn't know what to say.It had been almost three years since they had last seen each other, and that ending, by no means, was happy: Voldemort knocked him out unexpectedly as they kissed; Dumbledore cast the Death Curse, and the Dark Lord was so enraged that he passed out with a headache.

Harry admitted that his unsolicited kiss did not mean that he was in love with each other, and that Voldemort would find it normal for him to take advantage of him and then refuse; but in terms of preventing Voldemort from hurting Dumbledore, he has no regrets at all.

Finally, and most importantly, now he is fully aware of the ins and outs of the matter.Because he was a Horcrux created by Voldemort by accident, the two still had the same blood, so the Dark Lord could not kill him; coupled with the relationship of soul mates, it is impossible for them to have a weak connection of.In fact, he almost doubted that it was Link who led him here by accident, and easily found the man he was worried that he might have left...

"So I should congratulate you," Voldemort said at last, in a rather relaxed tone, "you always wanted to be an Auror, and you succeeded."

Harry stared back. "What capacity are you going to use to congratulate me?" he asked, his words full of bitter sarcasm.

Voldemort was not provoked. "Anything you can think of," he smiled comfortably, "pick one you like, eh?"

Harry wondered why the Dark Lord could still laugh.Not that he thought Voldemort's wrath could last nearly three years, but he shouldn't have been so good-tempered anyway. "What if I say I don't like either?" he pressed aggressively.

"Then I can only say that I'm sorry." Voldemort's tone was still very soft, and his patience was so good that it was hard to imagine that he was the Dark Lord. "At least you're willing to drink this glass for the sake of your face," he raised his glass to Harry, and then drank it down. "The fruit brandy here is delicious, and I sincerely suggest you not to waste it."

After saying this, Voldemort planned to get up.Harry didn't expect the other party to leave suddenly, and was taken aback immediately. "Wait!" He stood up, his movements preceded his words, and he tightly held the hand that was closer to him.

The change was so sudden that both of them lowered their heads and stared at the place where they touched.Just a little special feeling, so rare that it can be completely ignored-this is not normal between soul mates, and both parties are obviously using Occlumency.

Upon realizing this, Hareton felt uncomfortable, and quickly let go of his hand.

Voldemort also did not comment on what could be called a rash move. "Whatever you think, I really don't intend to confront you, at least not in person." The Dark Lord raised his slender palms—a very polite stop gesture—"Actually, I think we'd better Don't meet. But you saw me after all, so basic etiquette is still required."

Harry was a little embarrassed at first, but it all turned into anger when he heard the second sentence. "Can you explain what 'we'd better not meet'?" he asked sharply.

"I thought I had made it very clear." Voldemort spread his hands, as if helpless. "Don't meet is a literal understanding. I believe you must know why."

Harry did know.He and Voldemort were mortal enemies and soul mates, and the impasse was so great that even death could not resolve it-accurately speaking, if they were really going to die, they would probably die together. "The Death Eaters have been operating under your command. Do you really think I'll just sit back and watch?"

"Of course you don't." Voldemort laughed again—hell, he was surprisingly relaxed—"I know that Dumbledore did his best to raise you against me, and I know that the Order of the Phoenix is ​​trying to hunt down the Death Eaters by uniting the multinational Aurors." , I also know that you regard it as your own responsibility to stop me from doing evil—" He draws his voice slightly, "But what does that have to do with meeting? You do what you want, I do what I want, this Isn't it great?"

"You..." Harry's heart throbbed suddenly.He shouldn't have felt uncomfortable; similar to the feeling of being stiff and cold before, this is most likely the instinct of a soul mate. "No," he said, not wanting to show weakness at all, "you can't do something like that, hurt innocent people—"

Voldemort was genuinely amused. "Whatever you think." He said indifferently, turning his head to look in the direction of the door, "If you have no other questions..."

"Well, what's 'basic etiquette'?" Harry cut him off sharply.Pretty rude, I have to say.

Voldemort was slightly taken aback, but returned his gaze to Harry. "Look, even though you and I don't want it, the soul connection does exist. When it works for you and me, it's better to make us as happy as possible than the other way around?"

Harry's lips pursed tightly.He couldn't deny it, any more than he'd had those uncomfortable feelings just now.The other party might have a little too, but it would be a piece of cake for the Dark Lord to conceal this level of reaction from others.

It wasn't a good look, and Voldemort took Harry's reaction for granted. "But don't bother too much. Maybe I can find some way. After all, the pain of losing a soul mate can be solved, there is no reason why it can't be simpler..."

"Is the method you're talking about Freya Duran?" Harry interrupted him rudely again.

Voldemort didn't mind, and instead gave him a small look of satisfaction. "She does know a few tricks that others don't, and it never hurts to try."

Again, Harry was stung by that tiny reaction.His Occlumency certainly wasn't good enough to completely cut off the connection when he got too close to Voldemort... "Is she also in your 'basic etiquette' range?"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Harry knew something was wrong.He couldn't hold back his emotions, he was out of words, and the Dark Lord would surely find out why...

Voldemort raised an eyebrow as expected. "No," he said, choosing his words carefully, "she's different."

Vagueness might be a sign that the Dark Lord didn't want to go into details, but Harry found himself annoyed even more. "New choice for a mate, huh?" he said wryly.

The meaning of these words could not be more obvious, Voldemort's other eyebrow did not control the raised arc. "No," he denied again, "Although she doesn't mind talking about physical relationships, I don't mind either..."

"...You!" Unexpectedly hearing such an answer, Harry was about to explode.

"Stop, Harry," Voldemort said decisively, before the matter developed in a completely irreversible direction, "I know you don't mean that - in fact we don't mean that to each other -" He leaned over slightly, crossed the not-so-wide wooden platform between the two of them, and held Harry's shoulders half-strength, "Excuse me, just do me a favor—no, it's a favor for both of us— — don’t pretend we’re not enemies and don’t want to kill each other, okay?”

Eyes met, Harry saw nothing in Voldemort's dark eyes.This, together with the solid touch on his shoulder, made him calm down slowly.The other party may be telling the truth, or he may be perfunctory, but he is not unable to give an answer——

"you are wrong."

"Wow," Voldemort pretended to be surprised, and made a gesture of surrender when he straightened up. "Your tone is exactly like Dumbledore."

Harry ignored the obvious sarcasm in the other's words. "We are enemies," he admits with difficulty, "and you do want to kill me. You just...can't, you can't."

When this was pointed out bluntly, Voldemort's handsome face contorted for a moment. "Really?" He didn't bother to hide his impatience. "I've heard your 'but'. Seriously, you don't want to kill me, who are you going to lie to?"

Harry just shook his head firmly. "I've always wanted to stop you, yes; but I never said I'd kill you to do it."

Voldemort was glaring at Harry as if a Ukrainian iron belly had suddenly appeared in the room.After a long while, he shook his head lightly. "You are too weak, Harry. Dumbledore will be quite disappointed in you."

Harry wanted to refute that Dumbledore didn't think death would solve everything either, but Voldemort had already started heading towards the tall potted plant at the exit.According to the trend of today's conversation, it is impossible for him to "encounter" the Dark Lord again next time.

"Locket." Harry took a deep breath before uttering the word.

The Dark Lord stopped abruptly.He turned his head, his pupils constricted violently, and his irises quickly turned red. "--What did you say?!"

"The locket," Harry repeated, closing and opening his eyes, "I have your locket. I persuaded the house-elf to give it to me."

For a moment, Voldemort looked as if he was about to draw his wand and cast a jinx on Harry.But he finally restrained his impulse, and the red light in his eyes faded. "What's the matter?" He sneered, "Are you still planning to return the dead thing to me?"

Harry looked back calmly. "If you call the destruction of a Horcrux death, it is still alive."

Voldemort's response was to narrow his eyes suspiciously. "You're kidding me," he didn't believe a word, "I can't find out even if you destroy it, so you dare to lie like this..."

The latter words died away abruptly, as Harry drew out his wand, and the mist from the tip condensed into a small moving image—a silver Harry in it, carefully hiding the locket.

Voldemort stared at the other Harry until the fog cleared away.After another moment of silence, he asked dryly, "Could it be that you want to make a deal?"

Harry could tell Voldemort still didn't believe him.The other party just had a little luck and hoped to get the locket back, even if there was only a one in ten thousand possibility. "Mostly," he said of his request, "I want the whereabouts of that mouse. He's too good at hiding."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed even more. "It's a little too cheap," he said, staring at Harry for a moment. "Is this a trap?"

"For you, a servant who has been useless for a piece of your soul is indeed too cheap." Harry said, "But for me, it means that my godfather can be cleared of crimes that do not belong to him, and regain his life." Free|free."

"But it's still not worth it," Voldemort pointed out immediately. "Does Dumbledore know that you plan to trade my Horcrux for your godfather?"

"He knows," Harry admitted. "He doesn't think it's a good idea, but he thinks I have a right to do with what I find."

Voldemort stared at Harry for another moment, as if that would allow him to discover that Harry was lying to him. "You do know that I still have several horcruxes, you can't use a locket as a trump card, can you?"

"Because of this, I want it to play the best role." Because he was prepared, Harry answered fluently.

For the next minute, the two stared blankly at each other.Finally, Voldemort said coldly: "Deal."