[HP] Dearest Enemy

The arrival of June means exams and holidays are approaching.Everyone is studying nervously, and so is Tom.Harry tutored Tom alone in Defense Against the Dark Arts twice a week, and Tom got the top grade in the exam.

Harry's boggart didn't come in handy after all.When word got out from someone that Tom wasn't good at the Patronus Charm, the entire fifth year Slytherins said the spell was too advanced for them to master.Harry guessed they were doing it for Tom's sake, and didn't protest, letting the fourth year skip the spell.Harry imitated Lupine and set up a field obstacle course for them. There are not many people who can pass the exam perfectly, and Tom is one of them.When Tom finished all the projects, he raised the corners of his mouth to Harry haughtily, but he couldn't hide the smiles in the corners of his eyes.Harry smiled mildly at Tom, too, and wrote an O on his report card.

The cold war that lasted nearly a year, as if it didn't exist at all, evaporated under the scorching sun of June without a trace.

On the train back, Alfred and Tom chatted while playing wizard chess.

"Harry won't go back with you this time?" Alphard asked.He had expected Harry to take the train back too, but he didn't see him on the platform.

"He's sorting out some things and will Apparate directly to London later." Tom pushed his knight in front of the bishop of Al.

"So I can visit you during the holidays?" Alphard happily killed Tom's knight with his queen.

"Harry will not refuse your visit, but we are moving, and I will owl you when everything is sorted out." Tom commanded his horse calmly and jumped in front of the king of Alphat, "I won , dear Al."

Tom didn't completely forgive Harry, but he had voluntarily given up on the Cold War and never mentioned it again.Harry breathed a sigh of relief, Tom finally showed signs of forgiving himself, and this protracted cold war was finally over.But thanks to Tom's tough attitude, Harry finally realized what fatal mistakes he had made in raising this extremely gifted child, and now it was too late to correct them.

Moving was Tom's proposal. He thought that there would not be too many things to take away in the apartment, but when he was sorting out various items, he realized that moving was actually a very troublesome thing.Tom helped Harry organize various items, remembering that when he was a child, Harry took his young self and moved every few months, and he didn't settle down until he met Alex.Harry obviously remembered those things, and talked about Tom's childhood at dinner. The atmosphere at the dinner table was unbelievably good, which made Tom feel tranceless and unreal. Tom felt that this might be his entry into Hogwarts. Best vacation ever.

The new house is in the suburbs of London, a little far from the urban area, but the place is very remote.It was a two-story house with a garden. It looked old, and it was said to be a haunted house, very haunted.Harry bought the house from the Muggle at a very cheap price, and solved the haunting problem very easily.

"The last owner of the house was an old wizard who lived alone, and he left a lot of protective spells for the house, which will naturally scare Muggles." Harry explained to Tom, "I've cleaned the inside, and the new The furniture has also been added and we can move in as soon as we pack our things."

Tom didn't raise any objections, he knew Harry didn't have much money.Although the Hogwarts professor's salary is generous, there is not much left after Harry bought the house and furniture.Tom would have liked to continue working at Knockturn Alley over the holidays, but Harry certainly didn't want to know who and what kind of work he was doing for.Hooper had gone to Ireland for retirement two years ago. Tom only told Harry that he was helping in a grocery store dealing with second-hand goods in Diagon Alley. more than three times as much as the clerk in Diagon Alley.Fortunately, Harry supported Tom's idea of ​​gaining some work experience during the summer vacation, which was much better than wandering around all day with nothing to do.

The house was very comfortable, and Tom found that his room was much larger than the original one.It took Harry less than half an hour to magically arrange everything into its proper place.Tom watched with a little admiration at Harry's deft tidying of the room, something he'd never done as well as his godfather.

"Your room is up to you," Harry said to Tom, "and then we can think about what to grow in the garden."

Tom obediently carried his carton and went upstairs.Most of his things are in the school, and some important letters and other items are not here, so Harry helped him organize the things in the box.In fact, many of them are no longer needed. Tom opened the carton and placed the contents one by one on the desk and the shelf next to it, and found a wooden box inside the box that he had never seen before.

The box was the size of a palm, and Tom had seen similar things in Muggle shops.He recalled it carefully, confirmed that he had never found this box in the room before, and slowly opened it curiously.There was only a locket in the box, and Tom took out the heavy thing with some surprise, and the gold chain flowed out of his hand, dangling in the air.

It was an oval gold locket the size of an egg. On the lid was a gorgeous letter S composed of green gemstones, revealing a thick and dull color due to age.Tom opened the box. The smooth glass was lined with colorful silk lining, which was obviously not a modern handicraft.Tom instinctively determined that it was an ancient magic item, and although he hadn't worked at Borgin-Bock for long, he still had an eye for it.

Why is such a precious cultural relic packed in such an ordinary box?Tom thought, and went downstairs with the box and locket.

"Harry." Tom called the green-eyed man who was about to enter the living room, and raised the locket in his hand, "Is this your thing?"

Something flashed across the green eyes at the moment when they saw the locket, and Tom keenly caught that strange look, but before he could ask, Harry had already answered: "It's your thing, it should be kept by you." You keep it."

"My stuff?" Tom looked at him in astonishment.

"Yes. Come here, Tom." Harry said as he walked into the living room, and Tom followed and sat down on the armchair.

"It's something from your mother." Harry answered the question in Tom's eyes. "I kept the locket for you after she passed away. I think it's up to you to keep it now."

Tom looked at Harry in surprise for a moment, then at the locket in his hand.It was obviously a valuable artifact, but Harry never mentioned it.It was something left by his mother, and if Harry gave it to himself, did it mean that he could finally ask the question he had asked so many times and searched for so long but couldn't find anything?

"Harry, you're my mother's friend, aren't you?" asked Tom.

Harry nodded: "I have only met your father once, but I don't know him. Your mother died of dystocia and hemorrhage."

"Then this locket is hers?"

"Yes. This is Slytherin's locket. Your mother is of Slytherin descent." Harry sat down opposite Tom.He had already made a decision while sorting things out.Sooner or later, Tom will find out about his own life experience. Instead of letting him find out the truth and get hurt, it is better to tell him those facts by himself. At least Tom will not kill his biological father out of anger.

Tom's face changed, and he looked at the green-eyed man solemnly: "Harry, tell me those things. My parents, my life experience, I ask you to tell me right now."

Harry looked at Tom silently, and nodded slowly: "Tom, I can tell you, but I ask you to keep calm after listening to my story, and don't rush to find them, okay?"

Tom nodded, clutching the locket.Harry took a deep breath and began to speak slowly: "On Christmas Eve 15 years ago, ragged Merope stumbled into the Leaky Cauldron. I was working as a bartender in the Leaky Cauldron. She Give me the locket, and ask me to find her a place to rest. I put her near the room I rented. I was too late on the day of your birth to save her life."

"How could she..." Tom said after a minute. "Where's my father? Why isn't he with her?"

Harry sighed: "Your mother Merope Gaunt is a descendant of Slytherin. Sixteen years ago, she fell in love with a handsome local Muggle Tom Riddle, but her father Marvo Ro always thought she was a Squib - yes, Marvolo Gunter is your grandfather - Merope was mentally oppressed by her father for many years. Then there was an accident... maybe at some In the hot afternoon, Merope persuaded Riddle, who rode past the house alone, to drink a glass of water, and then they eloped to London... Probably Merope didn't want to continue using potions to control her husband, so Riddle left She was pregnant and left her alone in London."

Tom stared blankly at the locket in his hand, unable to say anything.No wonder Harry never told himself this past, it was better than the worst he could have imagined, but it was still unbelievable.Harry stood up and walked over to Tom, putting his hand lightly on Tom's shoulder.The boy's body trembled, but he didn't avoid the hand, nor did he raise his head.Harry knelt down in front of Tom, and the boy appeared in front of the man with his head lowered and his bangs covering his face.Tom raised his head slightly, his pure black pupils were full of confusion and grief, mixed with obvious anger.

"Is it true what you say?" asked Tom tremblingly.He knew what Harry said was true, but he wanted to hear Harry confirm the facts he had just stated.

Harry nodded.Tom shuddered again, clutching the locket tightly.

"Sorry, Tom, I shouldn't have told you this so early," Harry said apologetically.

Tom squeezed his trembling lips together.His mother lied to his father, was abandoned by him, and died in despair; Harry had nothing to do with him, and he would raise himself only out of kindness.It turned out that I was a superfluous person, from the very beginning!How pathetic and how ridiculous.How could a poor fellow like himself be a descendant of Slytherin?The locket was so heavy that Tom could barely hold it, and the emerald S on the lid seemed to mock his years of naive fantasy about his own life, and the emerald green was more dazzling than any light.

"Tom." The man held the boy's hand, his tone was gentle like some kind of secret temptation.But Tom didn't want anyone to see his gaffe, he stood up suddenly, and Harry's hand on his shoulder slipped away.

"Sorry, Harry. I need some silence," said Tom oppressively. "Give me a moment, please."

"Tom, don't think about it." Harry held the boy's arm worriedly, "Don't take these past things as a burden."

Tom turned his head to look at the man with green eyes, and Harry was surprised to find that the boy's hurt eyes were almost pleading.

"Leave me alone, Harry," said Tom weakly. "I don't want to talk to anybody."

"Okay." Harry let go of Tom's arm, "You can come to me anytime, I'm always downstairs."

Tom nodded stiffly, turned and strode up the stairs.Harry looked at the black-haired boy running upstairs as if he was running away, feeling slightly panicked and feeling a little distressed.It's too early to say this.