[HP] Dearest Enemy

"No, Harry, I'm a coward." Dumbledore shook his head. "I think he knows what I'm afraid of."

"He is afraid of you." Harry said calmly, "Grindelwald has always maintained a wait-and-see attitude towards Britain. Although he has also placed eyeliners on the island of Great Britain, they are all aimed at you. He cares about you very much."

Dumbledore looked up at Harry, but there was no hint of misery in Harry's eyes.

"Go and meet him, Albus." Harry said, "He will appear in the stands of the Quidditch World Cup, definitely not just to watch the game." Harry paused, looked away and sighed softly One sound.

He is also selfish.He didn't tell Dumbledore all this at the beginning, but chose to remain silent.Many people died because of this, and Dumbledore has always been affected by that disaster.He was too focused on Tom and his research to see more.

"You said I would have a duel with him next year?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded: "You'll beat him."

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a long moment in silence, then opened them again.

"Thanks for the reminder, Harry," he said, resuming the tucked-fingered posture. "I think we should talk about Tom now."

Harry's heart moved, and his eyes dimmed.Dumbledore obviously didn't intend to delve into the issue of Grindelwald anymore. He might have been prepared to deal with Grindelwald long ago, but he just didn't have the chance to finish the job.Harry pulled himself together, pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and summoned the house-elf to bring them tea.

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked as calmly as possible.

"You know Tom best," said Dumbledore. "How different is he from Voldemort?"

"I can't see them as the same person." Harry replied frankly, "Voldemort was sent to a Muggle orphanage after he was born, and he lived very hard there, which is what caused him to hate Muggles. He He doesn't know love, so he doesn't need love. Voldemort doesn't trust anyone. He just wants to be famous and live forever, but Tom is different. Tom lived with me among Muggles until he was six years old. Living with Muggles, he doesn't hate Muggles." Harry paused, "Tom knows what love is, and he knows how to love someone. No different from the other children. Albus, if you didn't know the future, would you think Tom was going to be a heinous man?"

"No, I probably don't think so." Dumbledore replied honestly, "Although Tom is not enthusiastic and sincere, he is indeed very charming, and his leadership qualities are obvious. He is a very good boy. To your credit, Harry."

Harry waved his hand. "I've made a lot of mistakes with Tom. What are you going to do with my godson, Albus?"

"Do what you did," Dumbledore replied simply and plainly. "Watch him."

"You think he's going to be Voldemort?" Harry tensed.

"No one can say exactly what will happen in the future," said Dumbledore. "If I remember correctly, Tom has come of age, which means that he is responsible for his actions. Slughorn once mentioned However, Tom yearns for power." Dumbledore stood up, "Power is the most easily lost temptation. Harry, I am really worried."

it is as expected.Harry's Adam's apple twitched: "So what would you do if he really went to the dark side?"

Dumbledore turned his head and stared into Harry's eyes: "Harry, you can guess the answer."

Harry was silent for a moment: "Then, at that point I beg you to give him another chance."

Dumbledore looked at Harry for a moment, then nodded: "I can do it. But once Tom really becomes Voldemort--"

"I will do my duty." Harry lowered his eyes, clenched his slightly trembling fists, "...kill him. Albus, I don't want to see this day."

"Neither do I," said Dumbledore. "Tom is not only your godson, he is also my pupil."

Harry nodded stiffly.

Dumbledore took a sip of tea slowly, then turned to look at Harry: "What did Tom do during the summer vacation?"

"He works in a pharmacy in Diagon Alley," Harry replied. "I owl him every day."

"If you agree, I'd like to see his work in person." Dumbledore looked at Harry, "in your place."

Harry's eyebrows twitched, but he nodded anyway.

"It's work."

During the day Tom was busy in the herbal shop.That store is not the largest in Diagon Alley, but it sells a wide range of medicines. Tom has basically worked in this store for several years, billed by the hour, and liquidated when he leaves every day.However, Tom usually finishes work about an hour earlier than others. After paying the wages of the day with the shopkeeper, he will eat something casually for dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, and then go straight to the place where he can really earn money: Knockturn Alley.

All wizards who claim to be decent will not easily enter this alley.Like the shadows off Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley is the place for lovers of the dark arts.Vampires, werewolves, dark wizards...all the people who are not welcome by the shopkeepers in Diagon Alley will not be looked at here.

During the five years that Tom and Harry lived in Diagon Alley, all they heard was that they could not go to Knockturn Alley, and he obediently did not step into that narrow alley, but this did not prevent him Be curious about it.It was also out of curiosity that he stepped into Knockturn Alley at first, but the current Tom is no longer comparable to the little boy who was cautious and tried his best to embolden himself at that time.Tom can always see a lot of familiar faces in Diagon Alley, but this situation is rare in Knockturn Alley.As long as you are familiar with the rules of survival here, the only thing you need to pay attention to is not to be discovered by acquaintances with a sense of justice when turning in here.

Borgin & Bock isn't exactly the biggest store in Knockturn Alley right now, but the stuff inside is pretty impressive.Tom looked around, opened a small door, and entered the shop.

The shop was quiet, and Tom walked past the bottles of skulls and the racks of blue and white candles in the shop, and walked around the room behind the counter with ease.

"The big black-spotted man-eating flower root you want." Tom took out a paper bag from the backpack behind him, put it on the table and opened it, revealing what looked like a dry, dead man's finger inside, "I want to get these nasty The stuff took two nights."

Borgin leaned down and inspected those branches carefully, and finally took off his monocle and raised his head: "It's too little, Tom, this amount is far from the price we agreed on, I can only pay you half."

Tom bent the corners of his mouth as expected, folded his arms on his chest, and said lazily: "Dear Mr. Bokin, you only give me half of the money, so how can I be willing to take the rest of the bag?" for you?"

Bojin glanced at Tom's backpack slung across his shoulders, and saw that Tom only took out about one-third of the weight to whet his appetite, indicating that this kid has gained a lot in the past two days.He had not been dealing with Tom for a short time, so a professional smile appeared on his face immediately.

"Then how about adding [-]% to the price we agreed on?" Bojin said.

Tom shook his head and spread his hands: "Mr. Bojin, I really can't do it any longer if you give me such a price."

"Twenty percent, then?" said Borgin, who knew Tom was very short of money.

Tom shook his head again.

"Thirty percent!" Bojin gritted his teeth, "It can't be higher, Tom, you don't want to see me go bankrupt, do you?"

"Dear Mr. Borgin," said Tom kindly, waving his palm, "if you can't even afford that, then I'll have to find another buyer. You know this thing has always been Tight, I asked in Diagon Alley, and someone was willing to pay three times the price for the part on the table. Of course, I can't bring prohibited items to Diagon Alley, but it is still easy to sell on the street, Isn't it?"

Borgin certainly wasn't willing to pay Tom the money he wanted, but there was no questioning Tom's ability.This kid is becoming more and more savvy. Once he starts working for others, his business will soon be squeezed out.

"Forty percent." Borgin said, "Tom, even a snake cannot eat something much bigger than itself."

"I understand, I understand." Tom nodded, took his backpack off his shoulders and put it on the table to take out something, "Then what treasure are you looking at?"

Half an hour later Tom came out of Borgin-Bock with his knapsack on his shoulders, cast a resentful glance at the shop's gray windows, and walked quickly on.

A stingy vampire, trying to get a Nat out of his fingers is harder than a dragon spitting water.However, the quality of the flower roots I got this time is not very good, and it can be regarded as a good result if Bojin can add [-]% of the basic amount.

Tom went into a tavern around the corner and ordered himself a cup of coffee.This is another place for reselling various prohibited items and exchanging information. Tom sat in his usual window seat, drinking coffee while observing the people in the store.In fact, in many cases, there is not much difference between Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley, just like the difference between black wizards and white wizards, people with blood on their hands may not necessarily be with darkness.

"Ah, isn't this our most capable Tom?" A short man with a horrible scar on his face sat across from Tom holding a glass of foamy liquid, "Has that hairless guy Bokin cheated on you again? "

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Pearl." Tom showed a smirk that would never appear in school, "The price Bojin gave today is very fair."

"Oh, you're still so stubborn." Pearl sighed exaggeratedly. "What the hell did he pour you into?"

"He doesn't," said Tom, stifling a laugh. "His store is more interesting than yours, as simple as that."

Pearl shrugged incredulously.

"Tell me, Pearl." Tom tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically, "What do you want me to do this time?"

"It's not a big deal." Pearl said flatteringly, "A few brats in old Edmund's shack stole things from my store a few days ago, and the old guy wouldn't give them up no matter what."

"Your things will be stolen too?" Tom put on an unbelievable expression.

Pearl showed an angry expression: "It's not that old thing's instructions! My pocket watch is inherited from my ancestors."

"The things in your store are all inherited from your ancestors." Tom said with a chuckle, "Why do you ask me for such a trivial matter? You can solve it with your own fingers, so what can I do for you?"

"The whole street knows that old things only talk to you well." Pearl shyly moved closer to Tom, "I won't let you do it for nothing."

"Not interested." Tom frowned slightly, avoiding the approach of the other party, and took a sip of coffee, "You know I can't stay here for too long."

"It won't take much of your time," said Pearl, "just a few words."

Tom glanced at him with a half-smile, stirred the liquid in the glass with a spoon, and didn't talk to him.

"The compass you saw last time." Pearl finally spit out, "I'll give it to you."

"Give it to me?" Tom almost laughed. "Pearl, is that pocket watch really yours?"

Pearl gritted his teeth and didn't answer.

"Okay, for the sake of the compass." Tom gently put down the coffee cup, "I'll help you once."

From the moment Tom walked into Knockturn Alley, Dumbledore had been watching the boy not far away.Tom's disguise was undoubtedly successful, but it still couldn't hide from Dumbledore's eyes.He watched him go into Borgin-Bock and come out again, talk to a guy who was clearly a Darth Vader in a suspicious tavern, and then turn down another darker, darker alley to find a man with a sinister face the elderly.He saw Tom haggling with the old man tactfully, intimidating two children who were obviously under the old man's protection, and finally almost pulling his stick at the old man.Dumbledore is not familiar with Knockturn Alley, but he also understands the rules of the game here.The old man was obviously a dark wizard, but Tom had no fear of him.He watched Tom mock, sarcasm, sarcasm and succeed in provoking the old man, and finally overpowering him with a spell.

It was dark magic, Dumbledore narrowed his eyes.Tom is quite skilled in casting spells, which is not something a teenager who has only been in Knockturn Alley for a few months can do.

Harry, it seems you don't fully understand your godson.

Tom finally succeeded in getting the pocket watch.This time I made old Edmund angry, and I will never have a chance to deal with him in the future.Old things are indeed difficult to deal with, but after all, this pocket watch is really a good thing. No wonder Pearl is so anxious. Compared with this, that compass is completely worthless.But it is not easy to get this pocket watch, remember this first, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Tom hadn't noticed that he had been followed all day.It wasn't until he closed the door that Dumbledore disapparated away.Instead of going back to school, he went to St. Mungo's.

The therapist had just finished a routine examination of Harry, and Dumbledore briefly asked about Harry's situation, then opened the door and went in.

"You're back, Albus." Harry was flipping through the "Daily Prophet" a few days ago, and put the paper aside when he saw Dumbledore's, "What did Tom do?"

"Harry, do you know that Tom works in Knockturn Alley?"

The author has something to say:

Tom is actually just a part-time job~ But working in the black street is not enough without two brushes...

It is said that someone gave a long comment yesterday, so today I will go to a small theater to reward the students who gave the comment~~~ Put it in the author's words, not just come out to start a side story~ (In Knockdown Alley, Tom is sitting by the window leisurely drinking coffee at the table, a short man with a long scar on his face came over)

Pearl: Hey, isn't this the best Mr. Tom we have here!Today, I was tossed and miserably by that dead money fan of Bo Jin, right?

Tom: Take a rest, you're just being tossed.I got a big blow from Bojin today, hahaha!

Pearl: Tsk tsk, you boy, just point to a tree and hang yourself, right?What good does a dead money fan give you, so you follow him so hard?

Tom (chuckles): Come on, you, it’s just the junk in your store that looks like something you picked up from a garbage dump, not to mention me, even dogs hate it.

(Pearl shrugs, as if she has something to say)

Tom (knocking on the table): Hey, hey, if you have something to say, you can fart, don't pretend to be serious in front of me.

Pearl: It's not a big deal, you can figure it out by sticking your finger.The little ghost from the old ghost's house in the alley next door stole something from my shop. The old ghost said that he would not admit anything, and said that he picked it up from the street.

TOM (surprised face): Whoops!I said uncle, that's not what I said when I was lying, right?Are you always making fun of me?

Pearl (seriously): No way, that old ghost Edmund is like a fox, and the little ghosts under his hands are not fuel-efficient lamps.My ancestral pocket watch has been missed by him for a long time, and it flew into his hands immediately this morning while I was away.

Tom: Come on, don't do this with me. Isn't the stuff in your store inherited from your ancestors?Who are you fooling?Besides, it's a big deal, do you need me?I am very expensive.

Pearl (laughing apologetically): Look at what you said, no one on the street knows that Tom is the most popular, and even that old ghost only talks to you.Besides, we won't let you do it for nothing, right?How can I let my brother suffer.

Tom: Take a rest, don't talk nice things to me, I don't have so much free time to spend with you.

Pearl: Hey, hey, just a few words, up to 5 minutes, and it will be resolved in 5 minutes.

(Tom stirs coffee absently)

Pearl: Oh!The compass you took a fancy to last time, I will give it to you!

Tom (with half a smile): Oh?How much?

Pearl: Are you serious?

Pearl: Seriously!

Tom: Do you think that watch of yours is really an heirloom?

Pearl (with a vague apology): See what you said, of course it's ancestral.

Tom: Yes, for the sake of the compass, I will help you make this trip.

Cough... I actually really want to write this paragraph like this, Bel feels~