[HP]Timepiece Countdown

An hour ago, Harry put down the silver hourglass in his hand.

It is an unadjustable time retrospective device, and the retrospective range is only one hour.But after the Ministry of Magic destroyed all the time-turners a few years ago, Hermione was pretty good at finding this spare.

The corridor outside had become empty, and Voldemort was still studying the Parseltongue counter-curse underground at this time.Harry pushed open the door of the broom cupboard softly and closed it behind his back, not wanting to disturb himself - although the other he should be asleep in the armchair by now, still having nightmares, it's always good to be careful.

Recalling the vivid images in the nightmare, Harry pursed his lips tightly.The abyss, the darkness, the falling, and the seemingly endless back and forth, don't seem like mere dreams.In a way, they were his subconscious, his projected images from reality—

The two of them are getting closer and closer to that dangerous line...

running out of time...

These two words rang in Harry's head like an alarm bell.That invisible line of danger is marked by Voldemort's possession of Slytherin's wand: after all, while an unexpected soul mate can hold the Dark Lord back, it's only temporary.

From discovery to tentative contact to final decision, this is the evolution of events, and it is all the time Harry can have—all the time that can reverse adversity and get a better future.If he can't make it to the end, then both of them, and everyone else, will have to face the worst ending.

He didn't want it, not at all.He wanted them all alive, just as he didn't believe that one of them had to kill the other.

The prophecy didn't say they were soul mates, Harry encouraged himself as he tiptoed down the corridor.The so-called destiny is all a cover and a lie, and the final outcome depends on the choices they make...

Then Harry stood in front of Voldemort's room.The Dark Lord's door obviously had a different lock than any other room in the castle, but the idea that Harry wouldn't be able to open it tonight was ludicrous.In fact, he just bent down and softly said "It's me" to the doorknob in Parseltongue, and then he heard a soft click of the deadbolt.

Harry dodged in quickly, relocking the door.Turning around again, he began to seriously look at the furnishings in the room - there were all kinds of keys hanging on one wall, and the shelves on the other side were full of various sundries.Those things were lackluster, and Harry was sure that Filch's confiscated items were richer and more interesting than they were.

It's also possible that the key keeper at Yvermony wasn't in charge of checking every student's bag...

Harry shuddered at the thought that this request might drive all the girls in the school crazy for all kinds of dangerous magic items.Forget it, as if the Dark Lord who just opened and closed doors wasn't popular enough...

He looked away from the shelf to the other side.There was a large wooden table in that place, and it was empty.Sparse candles were floating in mid-air, and the dim light combined with the lone high-backed chair made it seem quite deserted.

Obviously, the Dark Lord only regarded this place as a temporary residence, and didn't bother to arrange it at all...

In the last corner is a small door the same color as the dark gray wall.Harry walked over and opened it easily.He thought he might be able to see something different, but the truth was there was only a bed inside, not even a wardrobe.

Harry stood by the small door, looking back and forth at the apartment he was in.With the naked eye, he hadn't noticed a single iota of Voldemort's personal effects in the room, but Felix Elixir told him otherwise.There must be something hidden here that he wants, or something he doesn't want... Whether you want it or not depends on what the item is...

Harry raised his holly wand, trying to find the unknown thing.He originally wanted to use some incantations with little movement, such as the original form and so on.But Felicia once again told him in his head that he could do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't disturb himself next door; in fact, the messier the better.

Seriously, Harry didn't see the point in wreaking havoc in Voldemort's room, but he wouldn't be so foolish as not to do what Felicia told him to do, especially when he was better at the latter between caution and impulsiveness when.

shelf, smashed down;

Carpet, soaked;

key, incinerate...

To cover up all of the above from being noticed by himself next door, Harry only used a silent spell, so simple that he doubted his usual vigilance.While admonishing himself from the bottom of his heart that he must study hard in the reconnaissance class in the future, he walked towards the only dusty-looking bottle that survived the catastrophe.

It doesn't look like anything special on the outside, but as the only remaining complete object in the entire room, there must be an indestructible reason behind it.

Harry picked it up from the mess and shook it vigorously - there was liquid in it, almost full.In the blink of an eye, the biggest possibility appeared in his mind.To test this guess, he started cleaning the bottle.It took a long time before the ice white crystal, which was deliberately covered by impurities, was really revealed, dazzling and blossoming under the candlelight.

He had seen many bottles of the same style in Freya Duran's pharmacy.

If Voldemort didn't bring anything to conceal his identity, the crystal bottle he specially protected could only contain the isolation potion that Duran gave him the night before.

Harry understood now why he had been torn between wanting and not just now.Of course he wanted to find the isolation potion, and of course he didn't want to drink it; not only did he not want to, he was more than happy to destroy it, preferably all of it... It's really not feasible to destroy all the potions now, but he still has the last one thing to do...

Destroy the vial in Voldemort's presence.

And he did.

"I'm still wondering when you'll be back," Harry blinked, his expression and tone were very calm, "My hands are sore."

Voldemort's hand to untie his tie paused in mid-air.To Harry's surprise, the expression on the Dark Lord's face was not so much anger, but more surprise. "Why are you here?" The other party asked softly, stepped into the room, and quickly glanced outside when the door was closed.

This could be explained by the fact that the Dark Lord had just returned from outside the castle because he didn't want others to see him, but Harry realized that within a few steps, Voldemort already knew he was hiding in the broom cupboard.The Dark Lord just didn't say anything, just pretended not to notice—

Thanks for the help of Felix Elixir, otherwise Harry would be blown up right now. "Why can't I be here?" he asked back, in exactly the same tone as before, "In case you forgot—although we have to be honest, you were the only one talking."

One of Voldemort's eyebrows went up. "So you plan to continue the previous negotiations." He said plainly.The tie was finally ripped off by him, and he threw it aside. "It's really your right, although I don't see how it's going to help turn the situation around."

Harry's eyes followed the tie that had been hung on the back of the chair for a while - the Dark Lord had pieced the original chair out of the ruins in the blink of an eye. "Not necessarily," he retorted. "After all, in my opinion, your point of view is untenable."

Voldemort was about to walk to the edge of the chair, but he stopped short. "Is it my delusion or something else?" He looked Harry up and down, "Since I just saw you, your attitude has been very tough."

Harry didn't answer the question.Felicia told him to do it, and he realized he should have done it long ago. "Really?" He chuckled, "I'm learning from you."

Hearing the unspeakable irony in it, Voldemort finally frowned. "I thought you wanted to be honest and not try to piss me off again and again?"

Harry snorted coldly, thinking that's exactly what you did to me.But he changed the subject graciously: "I have three reasons to prove you wrong."

"Very well, I'm all ears." Voldemort smirked back.

It was a reaction that would have irritated the usual Harry too, but now he just watched him calmly.There was what could be called a polite talking distance between them, and the Dark Lord was facing his way - exactly what he wanted. "I guess you must have caught my fear." He cleared his throat.

Who starts with his own fears?Voldemort's eyebrows involuntarily went up even higher. "Yes, so what?"

"That's the key, of course. Because I'm almost sure you won't be able to guess why, or you'll be wrong," Harry went on, a little aggressively.

"You think I don't know? Really?" Voldemort asked amusedly. "I don't know because I don't want to know. As long as I want to—" He dragged his voice, and the arc of his lips widened, "I guess you are Afraid that I won't be able to fulfill my role as a savior, right?" The "savior" was emphasized by his clever tone, without any deliberate sound.

Harry didn't know how well the Dark Lord knew him, so that every word could be precisely on the point that made him angry.He also didn't know why his previous self ignored this and took the bait foolishly... But no matter what, he wouldn't be easily led away again.

"I do worry that I won't be able to complete my mission," Harry said flatly, quietly congratulating himself on having the best of luck for the next few hours, "but my mission is not to be the savior, but to catch you .”

"You... wait, what?" Voldemort was about to say something when he was knocked back.He opened his eyes wide, with a look of disbelief on his face, "Catch it? You said that I would fall to my death in a second."

Harry wasn't going to argue with the Dark Lord on this. "You said we'd better not connect," he said, trying to state the truth flatly, but not even Felicia could hide the bitterness in his words, "meaning I'd lose you."

The word "lost" clearly touched a sensitive nerve in Voldemort. "You have to gain to lose," he protested harshly, and his eyes turned to the other side, "There is a problem with your definition."

But they both knew where the difference was.The Dark Lord has always refused to admit that they were destined to be partners, but Harry has struggled to accept this reality.

"I guess you might as well say that this loss is a blessing," Harry continued, "but I'm going to make my case before that. I don't agree with that. A loss is a loss, good or bad. Taking a step back, no one can define good or bad before the real experience; let alone make decisions for others in advance.”

Voldemort opened his mouth, but found the logic difficult to overturn.The best way to do this is to directly question whether the words are true or false, but this can be left for the last time. "What about the second one?" he asked a little impatiently.

"This." Harry raised his hand and brushed his forehead hair, exposing the lightning-shaped scar to the air. "Sometimes when you stare at me, you're actually looking at it. You care about that, at least more than you claim to care."

Voldemort's expression became flat, and his fingers tightened involuntarily at his side. "Perhaps you're right," he admitted gruffly, not intending to waste his energy on denying Harry's level of observation, "but it's certainly not me who cares most about that."

"I don't deny it." Harry frankly acquiesced to the implication in the words, and also frankly met the gaze of the other person, "And I have to say it again-it is because of this that I have to stand opposite you to resist you."

"It's wonderful that you're willing to admit it," said Voldemort, hearing Harry's emphasis on "must," and hoping he'd done a good job of disguising the sudden rush of emotion in his throat.He has no position to accuse or complain about anything, in fact he has no such thoughts at all.There's no point in regretting; he's pretty sure that if he had to go back in time, he'd listen to the prophecy and do it again...

Wait, speaking of going back in time...

"The original question, about why you're here—" he asked firmly. "What did you use? A time-turner or something?"

Harry knew Voldemort would figure it out sooner or later, but he was surprised it was now. "How did you think of it? At this time?"

Voldemort was noncommittal.Harry must have gone back in time the moment he pushed the door open, and destroyed his house in a short period of time, and even smashed the isolation potion for him to see—

Really, Harry went out of his way to vent his emotions?

"I don't see how having to fight me can support your argument," the Dark Lord returned to the previous topic, almost sighing. "It should be mine."

Harry blinked. "No, I haven't finished—" he went on, thinking about the reason very fast in his mind, "you noticed what I said, what you did put me on the opposite side of you. And what I mean is , the reverse could also happen.”

Voldemort opened his eyes again.

——Can the Dark Lord pull the savior to his side?

——Is it impossible just from the name?

—if it were true, what would he have to do to make it happen?

— Confession?

"Look at yourself, Harry, do you know what nonsense you are talking about..." Although the Dark Lord had already come up with the correct answer, he had never felt that things were so unbelievable, "Or are you really so believe?"

Harry nodded firmly. "You can do it if you want to."

There is no difference between this theory and wishful thinking...

"Now I really doubt whether it was an extremely wrong decision for me to listen to you here." Voldemort couldn't help but raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let's go straight to the third point, don't waste time."

Harry gave the Dark Lord a disapproving look, but he went on: "I didn't know your connection side effect was a headache from my emotions. I apologize for that, and I think it's totally fixable. "

A weakness was the last thing Voldemort wanted to hear, let alone be pointed out to his face. "No, that's none of your business." He denies it immediately, almost rudely, "and of course I can fix it."

Harry narrowed his green eyes at him. "First, it must have something to do with me; second, your solution is definitely not as good as mine once and for all."

"Once and for all? Are you serious?" Voldemort couldn't hold back his ridicule.He is sure that their methods are completely opposite, after all, one is to connect and the other is to disconnect; he really wants to do it once and for all, but how can the connection be done once and for all?

Harry, however, pretended not to hear. "The two-way connection of soul mates can strengthen the relationship between the two parties. I have never heard that the growing love will cause harm to one of them... There are many examples to the contrary." When he said this, he looked into the other party without hesitation In the dark eyes, "If you don't feel good about this, you should probably reflect on yourself—for example, why you resist my feelings and resist my approach."

"I..." Voldemort opened his mouth, but soon found himself speechless.Because Harry was right: he didn't believe in love, he didn't believe in companionship; though he'd recruited many Death Eaters, deep down he still only believed in himself.

Then he finally thought of a counterexample. "Freya," he said, secretly relieved—it's damned that he's so close to failing Harry—"do you remember what happened to the Muggle she hooked up with?"

"Totally tragic," Harry commented, with obvious regret, "but if I ask you, the root cause of that tragedy may lie with Duran herself—she doesn't believe in soul mates between wizards and Muggles at all, This severely undercuts what connectivity is supposed to do."

Voldemort was surprised to find himself speechless again.He couldn't argue with that either, because Duran did have a sniff at Muggles - although he wasn't sure why Harry would know. "It seems that we can't convince each other today," he made a helpless look, intending to see off the guests, "then stop here..."

"No," Harry interrupted sharply, eyes burning, "I can prove I'm right."

Voldemort had an almost instinctive premonition that what was going to happen next must be something unexpected. "Oh?" he asked suspiciously, turning cautious.

"Just give me your hand," said Harry again, quite firmly.

Voldemort didn't react right away, wondering what Harry could do with his hands.Yes, the power of the two of them casting the spell at the same time is amazing, but it is more likely to be cut from the mark...

"What, are you afraid that your own opinion will be proven wrong?" Harry urged, his green eyes filled with "I'm just provocative what can you do with me".

Voldemort almost laughed angrily. "Okay," he said angrily, snapping off his white gloves, "I'd like to see how you prove—"

A pair of slender hands that were abnormally pale due to long-term exposure to light were exposed.Harry stared at Voldemort for a moment, until the latter raised his right hand towards him, and the words he had first spoken to the Dark Lord slowly emerged from the depths of the skin on his index finger—

Kill me if you can!

The irony of the situation made Voldemort want to sneer.As for Harry, he didn't take his eyes off the letters for a moment; after a pause of a few seconds, he flung off his jumper T-shirt so abruptly that he didn't mind his glasses slipping off.

"You..." Voldemort was taken aback by the naked man.But soon, he realized what Harry wanted to do—the bright red "Avada Kedavra" on the other's chest couldn't be more dazzling—"Wait..."

Before the Dark Lord could actually refuse, Harry grabbed the hand that was still in the air with lightning speed and pressed it firmly against his left chest.

Two pairs of markers are connected.

Something invisible emanated from the place where the two touched, rippling away like ripples on the surface of water.Where it passed, the wood pieces closed spontaneously, the stains quickly disappeared, and the metal twisted back into shape... The shelves and hooks reappeared, and the sundries and keys vacated in an orderly manner, and they all flew back to where they should be. Location.

When the surroundings automatically returned to their original state, the two stared at each other at an arm's length away.Magical resonance, none of them knew what happened; but this time it was more obvious than last time, so obvious that it was inevitable.

"Did you feel it?" Harry asked suddenly, almost out of breath.

Although the words were endless, Voldemort knew what the other party was asking.The magic was roaring in his body along with other things, and he swore that nothing could be more right; the blocking potion seemed to have lost its effect, because the familiar heat had returned, and it was more powerful than ever before. be violent-

There was a sudden noise at the door. "...I didn't see it...it's not normal...something happened..." An anxious and quick syllable came through the door, accompanied by the sound of the door lock turning, "Could it be..."

Without thinking, Voldemort squeezed Harry into his arms, turned his head and stared at him.

After seeing the messy neckline of the man in the room, the concealed posture, and the strange scene where all the keys were hanging in the air, the visitor was stunned. "There was a little vibration just now, the principal asked me to check everyone's situation..." His voice became weaker and weaker under the pressure that seemed to be real, and he realized that the violent shaking of the keys was preparing to attack him, an uninvited guest. "Sorry, I'm leaving now!"

The door was hurriedly closed.Voldemort's nerves relaxed before he noticed what he had just done without realizing it—

He blocked Harry tightly, and tried to deal with possible dangers for Harry.

He didn't want the boy to be seen by anyone else, and he was still protecting the boy from harm.

The desire to possess and protect is completely out of instinct.

Voldemort had never felt so unnatural.He quickly released the restraint on the person in his arms, searched his stomach, and tried to interrupt him to go to another place.But after meeting Harry's raised face—the emerald eyes were wet with water, and his lips were red from being bitten—

He froze there, unable to move, unable to take his eyes off the other person at all.The boy stared at him, opened his mouth, and licked his right index finger, which happened to be near his lower lip.

The imprint ignited in the blink of an eye, and quickly detonated a part of him that he never had, and thought he had abandoned forever—

With a bang, his mind was completely blank.By the time he realized it, he had already pinned Harry into the mattress.

[2500 words are deleted here, they are finally connected]