[HP] Dearest Enemy

With less than a week until Christmas, the inside of the castle is already decorated.Twelve Christmas trees lined both sides of the auditorium, covered with ribbons and glittering decorations.Tom's mood was infected by the festive atmosphere in the castle. Although Harry's lack of letter made him a little restless, he couldn't help but ease his expression.

"Tom, are you going home for Christmas? Come to my house for Christmas."

Tom was somewhat flattered that Arafat and Obaser extended the same invitation to Tom the day before the Christmas holidays.During the four months he came to Hogwarts, Tom quickly adapted to the collective life of the school, and also understood the difference between Slytherin and other houses.Here, Tom has always been aware of the benefits of having a large and prominent family.In Tom's view, Arafat invited himself to celebrate Christmas because Tom was his friend; as for why Obather invited himself, it was probably an upfront investment in his future returns.It's just that the current Tom has some vague ideas about Obather's purpose, and it hasn't taken shape.

As for where to spend Christmas, Tom has his own plans.

"Harry says he'll be back at Christmas, and I'll try to get him to come with me," Tom said to Arffate. "We both live in London, so it's easy to see each other."

"Then I'll be waiting for you!" Al said happily, "I'll send you a formal invitation letter!"

Tom said goodbye to Al on the platform, and greeted many familiar or unfamiliar people, looking for Harry on the platform.He wasn't here, and Tom shook his head in frustration. Maybe Harry was at home waiting for him to go back. Besides, he was not a child anymore, and it would be easy to go back alone.

Tom dragged the suitcase through the wall and out of the station.After half a year, London was about to change. Tom looked at the familiar and unfamiliar streets, and walked slowly towards the apartment he and Harry rented. When he returned to the door of the apartment, it was almost dark.Tom looked up, the room was dark and there was no light, Tom frowned, dragged the box and strode upstairs.

Tom quickly took the key out of his pocket and put it in the lock, which clicked open.The uneasiness in his heart was getting stronger and stronger, Tom swallowed, pushed the door hard, and then was nailed in place as if someone had cast a petrification spell, unable to move.

There was no light in the room, no one was there, and it was as quiet as a cemetery.

After an unknown amount of time, Tom finally moved.He dragged the box in and flicked on the gas light switch.Dim light illuminated the room, and the living room was exactly as it had been when he and Harry had set out, minus Harry's suitcase.Tom dropped the suitcase and walked to the table. There was a thin layer of dust on the table. Tom put his finger on it lightly, and the dust immediately stuck to his fingertips.Tom felt that something seemed to be stuck in his chest. He turned on all the lights and opened the doors of all the rooms like crazy. Hedwig smacked her lips in dissatisfaction because of his abnormal behavior.At last Tom went back to the living room, disappointed, and sat down on the sofa.

Harry didn't come back, there was no sign of him in the whole house.He may be on his way and will be back soon.Thinking of this, Tom stood up and found a rag from the kitchen, and began to clean up the dust in the house.Tom still remembered that Cooper said that underage wizards could not perform magic outside of school, and had to clean the room by hand.Tom tidied everything up quickly, and found that there was nothing in the cupboard, so he took Harry's usual grocery shopping basket and planned to get something to eat.Today is Christmas Eve, Christmas dinner Tom can't make it, but simple food Tom is still a problem.There was Muggle currency in the pocket money Harry had left for him, so it shouldn't be a problem to buy something.

The market was closed, and Tom hurried to the grocery store to buy some canned food, bought a loaf of baguette from a bakery along the road, and trotted back to the apartment.Tom also bought some Christmas decorations in the grocery store, and when he got back to the apartment, he hung a Christmas wreath on the door, and then hung ribbons in the house.Every Christmas, Harry and Tom do some decorations together, and Harry also gets a Christmas tree, but this year he can't get it.Harry would love the decorations, Tom thought as he bustled about the room, trying to ignore the growing restlessness in him.

It was very dark, and Tom saw the warm lights on the street outside the window, and he didn't know who was singing Christmas carols.Tom felt a strange irritability, and drew the curtains with a jerk.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.Tom jumped to his feet, rushed quickly and opened the door.

"Ha... good evening, Mrs. Gore."

The person standing at the door was not Harry, but the landlady, Mrs. Gore, a slightly fat Muggle old lady.

"Dear Tom, I see you're back," said the old woman kindly. "Is school out?"

"Yes." Tom let her in.

"I won't go in, my dear." The old woman looked around the room and handed Tom the basket on her arm. "I've come to ask you to go downstairs for dinner."

"Thank you, Mrs. Gore." Tom was not in the mood to eat with those Muggles, "I want to ask you something."

"Speak, child."

"Has Harry been back these months?" Tom stared intently at Mrs. Gore's face.

"Oh." Mrs. Gore looked surprised, "Didn't he come back?"

Tom felt his heart stop beating and shook his head reflexively.

"So he's still traveling? Tom..."

"I think so." Tom collected himself and interrupted Mrs. Gore decisively. "I want to go to bed. Merry Christmas, ma'am."

Tom closed the door, leaned behind it and closed his eyes.Harry, where have you been?Why hasn't it appeared yet?You said you would come back for Christmas, today is Christmas Eve, are you still on your way?

Just wait, Tom told himself, perhaps Harry will be back tomorrow.

Tom opened the case, took out a book, and sat down in Harry's easy chair to pass the hard time.Tom stared at the printed words and began to dream.where is harry nowWhat are you doing?I don't know what happened to his research... Is he still in Germany?He should still be on the British side, and he is rushing here... Could it be that he has encountered some danger?Tom felt as if his heart was being grasped and squeezed by a hand, and he shook his head hastily.No, Harry is not a little wizard in the first year. He has a lot of ways to deal with those dangers. He even fought a dragon... But why hasn't he come back?Is it really not coming back until Christmas?Or is he not coming back... Tom turned the pages of the book irritably, trying not to think about Harry.

At 10:30, Tom's stomach growled loudly.Tom left his books and went into the kitchen, made a few sandwiches out of tins and bread, made a cup of tea, brought it to the living room, lit the fireplace, and settled into Harry's easy chair.

When the clock struck midnight Tom looked out of the window. There was no one in the street.Tom tried his best to suppress the urge to cry, took a shower and changed his clothes, fed some owl food to Hedwig in the cage, and then sat back to the old place to read the book "War of Giants".

At 43:[-] in the morning, Tom rubbed his sore eyes, put down his book, picked up the cold tea on the table, made a new pot, added coals to the fireplace, and sat back down.

At [-]:[-] in the morning, Tom finally couldn't restrain the tiredness stuck to his eyelids and closed his eyes. The "Giant War" in his hand fell to the ground with a snap, but the boy didn't pick it up. Fell asleep.

At ten twenty-nine in the morning Tom awoke with a start, sprang from his easy chair and rushed to the door.He heard someone knock on the door just now, and after opening the door, he found that the corridor outside the door was empty, and there was no one there.Tom was stunned for a moment, only to realize that the muscles all over his body were a little sore, and he also felt a very uncomfortable feeling of fatigue, and his head was a little dizzy and unable to control.

"It's daylight," muttered Tom, slamming the door and drawing the curtains.Not too harsh light came in from outside, and Tom stared at the gloomy sky outside the window for a few seconds before realizing that it was snowing outside.Goose-feather-like snowflakes swirled down from the sky, covering the entire street in silvery white, and the roofs not far away were also covered with snow.It was already Christmas, Tom rubbed his eyes, opened the window and reached out.The cold air mixed with snowflakes flew into the house, but it made Tom wake up a lot.

Harry isn't back yet.

Tom closed the window and washed, then lit the fire.The room warmed up quickly, and Tom ate a few mouthfuls of cold sandwiches with the hot tea, and took a new copy of "The Theory and Making of Potions for Beginners" to read.

It snowed all day, and Tom waited all day.When the clock struck midnight, Tom finally couldn't bear to tie a rolled parchment around Hedwig's leg, and threw the owl out of the window.This is the only way Tom can reach Harry.

Could it be that something really happened to Harry? Tom watched worriedly as the little white dot flew farther and farther away, and finally disappeared into the thick darkness, and slowly closed the window.

This night was more difficult than the previous day.Tom soon gave up his studies and went into Harry's room.Harry's room was furnished very simply: a bed, a bedside table, a writing desk, a wooden chair, a row of shelves filled with various things, a chest of drawers, and no other furniture.Tom had slipped in once.Harry had obviously packed his things before he left, and Tom still remembered seeing papers piled up on the desk and shelves, and the walls were densely covered with papers with various symbols drawn on them, extending all the way to the bedside table On the side, these things are gone now.The balances used to weigh medicines, large and small test tubes, beakers, and flasks are neatly arranged on the shelves. The books on alchemy and ancient runes were nothing else, and the papers seemed to have been received by Harry on the shelf.Tom went to the shelf and wanted to take down an iron box that was on it, but he felt something invisible preventing him from touching the shelf. It felt like pushing an invisible wall.Tom frowned. Harry had obviously cast a spell on the shelf, and now Tom couldn't crack it at all.

Tom turned around angrily and walked out. He stopped at the door and glanced at Harry's single bed.Harry probably wouldn't be back in the middle of the night, Tom slumped down on Harry's bed with the sad thought, and lay on his back.He was tired, Tom was worn out by the wild thoughts and speculations that had been going on since Christmas Eve.Anxiety and panic returned, and Tom buried his face in Harry's pillow. The sporadic smell left by the man on the pillow aggravated Tom's fear.A place in his heart collapsed and fell into the unknown darkness. The irreparable void gnawed at the boy's internal organs bit by bit, and Tom began to tremble.

"Harry really doesn't want you anymore, he just lied to you when he said he would come back." The sarcastic voice that gloated at other people's misfortune sounded in the dim light, making a sharp and piercing mockery.

"Are you going to go on fooling yourself, Tom Riddle?"

There was no other voice of disapproval, and Tom curled up in despair on Harry's sheets, whimpering softly like a wounded animal.

Tom was awakened by a knock on the door.He blinked his red and swollen eyes hard, and then realized that the knock on the door was not his hallucination, and immediately jumped out of bed.Is Harry back?Is he back?Tom's heart was beating like a drum, and his hand was shaking on the doorknob.He jerked and the door swung open.

"Professor Dumbledore?!" Tom stared at the middle-aged man standing in front of his house in astonishment, "Why you?"