[HP] Dearest Enemy

When Alfred returned to the manor, Tom had already gone out, and Nagini was not in the manor either. Only Mulciber, Lucius and the Lestrange brothers were talking in the small drawing room on the second floor.

Arafat did not want to speak to Mulciber, but nodded to the three young men.Lucius was fairly familiar with Alfred, and returned a slight salute, but the Lestrange brothers remained motionless as if they didn't see it.

"Alfate, why don't you come in and have a drink together?" Mulciber said maliciously.The three young men exchanged glances, and then looked at Alphat together.

"No, I still have to tidy up the study." Alfat said and left.

"Just leave that kind of work to the house elves." Mulciber stood in front of Arfart, "We haven't had a drink together for a long time."

"Please allow me to decline." Arafat said coldly.

"Reject? With your status in front of the master, are you qualified to say decline?" Mulciber sneered, glanced at the platinum nobleman who was watching the fun, and stretched out his hand to Alfat's cheek, "Let me see, Mr. You are not as beautiful as Lucius, and you don't even have the Dark Mark, how did you get the favor of the master and live in the manor."

Arafat waved Mulciber's hand away and stared at him in disgust: "Please watch your manners, Mulciber."

"Why, plan to tell the master what I did when he comes back?" Mulciber put his hand back, not paying any attention to the three young men whose expressions had changed.

"It's not necessary." Arfat said, "Master knows everything."

He turned and left after he finished speaking, leaving Mulciber to stare fiercely at his back.

Lucius gave Mulciber a displeased look, complaining in his heart why he met this guy.

"Is Black really the master's lover, Mr. Mulciber?" Rabstein asked curiously. "Everyone says so, but you must know."

"Since it's an open secret, there's no need to ask." Lucius glanced at Rabstein, and then said nothing.He could go home and ask his father for confirmation of such old things. Lucius was not in a hurry, although he was also curious about the veracity of the rumors.

"Are you defending him, Malfoy?" Mulciber said sternly, and Lucius raised his eyebrows indisputably, so the subject was over.

Tom returned shortly thereafter, and left Lucius to dine with him, with Alfred as company.This honor almost made the young platinum nobleman hear the sound of Mulciber grinding his teeth.Alfat remained expressionless, poking sullenly at the things on the plate.Mulciber never misses an opportunity to humiliate himself, and it has happened not once or twice like today.But Mulciber has never dared to be too presumptuous, and even pretended to be very friendly with himself in front of Tom, which was disgusting.

And what Dumbledore said made him very uneasy.What was Tom thinking?

"You didn't eat much today, Al." Tom broke the silence suddenly. "Is the food not to your liking?"

"No, today's food is as good as yesterday." Alfat whispered, "I'm sorry."

Lucius also put down his knife and fork, observing their every move.

"If you feel uncomfortable, go to bed earlier." Tom said and stood up, "Lucius, you wait here for a while."

Lucius nodded, calmly watching Alphard being dragged out of the table by Tom.

"I'm going out tonight," Tom said to Alfred after Lucius had left, "probably the morning after tomorrow. Have you seen Dumbledore yet?"

"Yes." Alfred replied.

"Then I'll talk to you about it when I get back," said Tom, throwing on the cloak the house-elf offered him, and turning his head suddenly, "why didn't you tell me about Mulciber's insult to you? "

"You knew it all along, didn't you?" Alphard replied looking away.

"No, I don't know everything," said Tom, a little ashamed. "I'm sorry, I was negligent."

Alphat shook his head, preparing to go back to his bedroom upstairs, but those black eyes were still looking at him.

"I can handle my affairs by myself." Alfat had to speak.

Tom snorted inexplicably, and patted Alfart's cheek: "Sleep well, your complexion is really bad today."

he's gone.Alphat stood in the hall for a while, then walked upstairs slowly.

I wish Tom hadn't carried Harry's diary with him.

It was already the afternoon of the second day when Alfat read the yellowed diary by Tom's bedside.Alphater carefully closed the diary and put it back in its original place, moved his stiff limbs, and walked out of Tom's bedroom.

After Tom left, Alfred went to his bedroom to find the diary.Tom seldom puts the diary in the study room, in his impression he always carries it with him, and Alfat did not think that the diary is on Tom's bedside table.Only Alphat knew which bedroom Tom usually slept in, and he rarely slept in the largest master bedroom on the second floor.Although Alfred knew the location of Tom's bedroom, he had never entered it.No one dared to walk around in Lord Dark Lord's mansion, not even Mulciber, who had been with Tom the longest.Even Alfat himself didn't know that he was actually half the owner of this manor.

There weren't many words in the diary, but Harry must have bewitched the diary in writing those terse sentences.Alphard could clearly feel Harry's mood when recalling those past events, his mood and thoughts when those events happened, because those pictures would clearly appear in his mind along with the words.Alfart suddenly realized that he didn't know Harry at all. The gentle and friendly professor he remembered was such a contradictory person.

Tom never shared the details of the night he brought Harry back, and the subsequent estrangement prevented Arafat from asking about the past.But the contents of the diary made him more confused, and the thick fog surrounding Tom's behavior seemed to become transparent, which made Alphat even more unclear about Tom's thoughts.The only thing that is certain is that Dumbledore did not lie to him.Everything he said to himself was true.

Tom, what on earth do you want to do?

It was almost noon when Tom returned to the manor, and the house elves were busy preparing lunch.Tom casually asked about Alphat's whereabouts, but the answer he got was that Mr. Black was still asleep.

Tom was a little surprised.Years of getting along with him made him understand Alphat's living habits very well. This friend would never lie in bed and sleep late at such a time.Is he really sick?Tom frowned, Alfred's health was not good.After changing, Tom told the house-elf who was serving him to leave his lunch in the dining room, and then went into Alphat's bedroom.

As expected, the man hadn't woken up yet, curled up in the soft mattress with the quilt in his arms, and he didn't seem to be sleeping comfortably.Tom smiled and sat down beside his bed. He hadn't seen Alphard's messy sleeping appearance since graduation.

"Al, wake up." Tom lowered his head and whispered in Alfred's ear, "It's already noon."

Alphat struggled a few times unwillingly, then turned his head habitually, his lips touched something warm and soft.

Wait, that sounded like Tom... Tom? ! ! !

Alfat opened his eyes immediately, and saw a face close at hand, with a smile that was not a smile on the familiar face.

"Even if you are my lover in name, you don't have to be so enthusiastic, dear Al?" Tom said softly, then stretched out a finger to wipe his lips, and curled the corner of his mouth, Alfart was suddenly annoyed.

"Tom!"

"So you still get angry, so I'm not sick." Tom said and patted his cheek, "Get up, it's already noon, and you're not a teenager. I'll wait for you in the restaurant, hurry up."

Alfart stared blankly at Tom closing the door, then shook his drowsy head and got out of bed to search for refreshments.The brain is quite clear, and Alphat is thinking about the scene that happened just now while washing his body.It seems that Tom is in a good mood, and he still makes such a joke with himself.

The inference that the Lord Dark Lord was in a good mood was borne out when the two had lunch together.Tom made a rare joke, and then looked at Alfred's tangled expression with some schadenfreude.

"Master, did something good happen?" Arafate couldn't help asking after lunch.

"Call me by name, Al."

"Voltage—"

"Tom," said Tom, "I want to hear you call me by that name."

Alfred blinked.

"Al." Tom urged softly while stroking Nagini's head.

"...Tom." The familiar name made Alphat feel very uncomfortable, but Tom curled his mouth in satisfaction.

"Dumbledore went to the Muggle's house in person according to the information you gave him." Tom said, "Almost the entire Order of the Phoenix was there."

Alfat stared at him in shock: "You went too?"

"Yes, I fought him." Tom replied softly, with a deeper smile on his lips, "It's really rare for him to have such skill at his age."

"so……"

"Attacking that Muggle is not the real purpose of this operation." Tom waved his hand, "Although Dumbledore is old, he is still a strong opponent that cannot be underestimated."

"Aren't you hurt?" Alfred asked.

"No, I said it was only a feint," said Tom. "It's not time for a showdown yet."

Alphard hesitated for a moment, but finally closed his mouth.

"You have something to say," said Tom, "about Dumbledore?"

Alpha nodded.

The smile on Tom's face was slightly restrained: "So, what did he tell you?"

Knowing that he couldn't hide from Tom, Alfred repeated the conversation between himself and Dumbledore in its entirety.When he finished the conversation between the two of them, Tom's face turned completely cold.

"So you found the diary?" asked Tom deadpan.

Alpha nodded.

"seen it already?"

"...Yes." Alfred felt Tom's anger, and his whole body began to tense, "I'm sorry."

Tom didn't speak, and stared straight at Arfart with those black eyes that couldn't see his emotions clearly. Arafat didn't dare to look at him and lowered his head.

"Look at me, Al." Tom ordered coldly.Alfat raised his head in spite of himself.

"There's a question that's been bugging me for years," Arfart said.

"What's the problem?" Tom's voice was equally deadpan.

"are we still friends?"

silence.

"I thought you knew I never thought of you as a servant." Tom sighed suddenly. "You're my only friend, Alfart. You've never been like them."

After being quiet for a while, Arafat said, "Then will you continue to answer my question?"

Tom nodded.

"It's true what Dumbledore said?" Alfred asked, "You know Harry doesn't want you to do this, and you also know what kind of you Harry wants to see, right?"

"Yes, I know that," Tom replied calmly, "but that's how history should be."

"But Harry changed history, and his greatest wish was that you wouldn't become Voldemort." Arfart said, "Why did you do that?"

"Before I killed Harry, I didn't know why he was so stubborn." Tom replied softly, "Harry intends to take these secrets into his grave, but it's a pity that he leaked them to Dumbledore. Otherwise, all this may have happened." will not happen."

"That's not the main reason." Alfred stood up unknowingly, "You read Harry's diary after that, you know exactly what he thinks and how he feels, you have a choice, but why did you go this way? way?"

"These reputations, fame, and people's admiration for me are what I want." Tom replied, "I like power, I like the feeling of being in control. It's just a means to gain power. Harry has already Using his memory to provide a template, I just need to correct some details. Don't you think that what we have done is approved by most wizards? Otherwise, according to Dumbledore's methods, I would not be alive now. So I Only then will he make public his idea of ​​killing me. Although he doesn't know all the contents of the diary, the information Harry revealed to him is enough to make him kill me a hundred times! And I just want to realize my ideals and ambitions .It's the only thing I have left after losing Harry."

Tom paused and continued: "It is true that Harry changed history, but that was an accident. History should not be changed." Harry has paid the price for this.

"Your ambition is not the only thing left of you, and I thought you'd figured it out over the years." Alfart walked up to Tom, put his hand on the armrest of his chair to support his body, and stared at him condescendingly, " You and me, Tom Riddle!"

Tom looked into those gray eyes, and there was a flash of sadness in them.