[HP] Dearest Enemy

Harry opened his eyes suddenly in the darkness, as if someone had just shouted in his ear.He habitually reached out and fumbled a few times on the bedside table to find his glasses, put them on, and sat up on the bed.

The ward was very quiet, and the candles suspended in the air bubbles were faintly lit, barely allowing people to see the surrounding things clearly, like little fireflies.It was still dark, so Harry checked the time by the dim light of the candle, it was 33:[-] in the morning.Alex was not in the ward, he was alone in the room.Harry thought of the mark his friend found on his back the night before, and his uneasiness surged up like a tide.He suppressed the fear welling up in his throat and snapped his fingers.Immediately the house-elf materialized in the air.

"What is Professor Potter's order?" The elf bowed to him, and the candle became brighter in an instant.

"Where's Aaron?" Harry asked.

"Professor Palampion went to Palampion Manor four ten minutes ago," replied the elf. "He said he would be back by five o'clock."

"Did he say what he was doing?" Harry asked again.

"Professor Palampion said he was going to the library to look up some information. Shall I inform him?"

"No need." Harry shook his head.He knew that Alex must have checked the thing on his back. There were many books that were not available in the market in Palampion's library, and there were not a few books related to black magic.So it would be a while before Alex returned, and Harry could have slept a little longer, but he didn't want to sleep at all.

"I'd like a hot cup of coffee," Harry said to the elf, "no sugar."

The elf bowed and stepped back, and two seconds later placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of Harry.

"Thank you, Kaka." Harry said gently to the elf, "I want to be alone for a while, and I will call you when I need it."

"Yes, Kaka will never let anyone disturb you." The elf bowed deeply to Harry excitedly, and then disappeared.

Harry warmed his fingers with a coffee mug, staring at the dark liquid in it.He was supposed to wake up at five o'clock, but for some reason it was half an hour earlier.Maybe it was because of the mark on his back, when Harry thought of that weird image, he felt as if a piece of ice had slipped into his stomach, which gave him a chill from the bottom of his heart.This is the second time he has been marked, but unlike the scar, no one knows when the mark on his back appeared and why it appeared.It was undoubtedly a mark of a black magic curse, but no one could tell where it came from.

The taste of waiting was tormenting. Harry drank his coffee slowly, looking out the window at the night sky that seemed to have not changed at all.Alex had been a great help during his time in the hospital, especially yesterday, and Harry felt he might have collapsed without him by his side.After coming to this time and space for so long, only Alex is the closest to him.They trust each other and can give their lives to each other.He has too many secrets, and he can't trust anyone easily, and trust requires years of observation and communication.Harry doesn't trust Dumbledore, because Dumbledore will sacrifice a lot of things for the overall situation, including himself; The man who would become Voldemort.The only person he can trust completely is Alex, but he can't cause him too much trouble.Alex is the only heir of the Palampion family. Although he has been unwilling to formally take over the family affairs and become the new head of the family, everything he has done is for the family with the unicorn badge embellished by roses. For the surname Palampion.

The glass was quickly emptied, but Alex still didn't come back.Very restless, Harry got out of bed, took out a pipe from a side drawer and filled it with tobacco, then lit the pipe and used his wand to extinguish the candles on the ceiling, and stood in front of the window.The Muggle streets outside the hospital could be seen from here, but the Muggles couldn't see them.There was no one on the street, and Harry imagined the busy traffic he saw during the day, to distract himself from slipping to his back if he wasn't paying attention.A person who will not be born in half a century is recalling the scene on the street 50 years ago, remembering that he followed Tonks and Moody through the glass of cold water to visit Ron's father in St. Mungo .The memory is far away like a black-and-white movie from his previous life, but Harry still remembers that when everyone suspected that he was possessed by Voldemort, the feeling of disgust and fear was very similar to his current mood.

It's just that even if I feel panic in my heart now, I won't express those emotions clearly on my face anymore.Harry knew all too well what the Dark Arts curse would bring, but it couldn't have been worse than death.He is not even afraid of death, so what is there to be afraid of?

The green-eyed man laughed silently in the darkness.

The room was pitch black when Alex entered the door, but his sight did not fall on Harry's hospital bed as usual, but was attracted by the flickering red fire light by the window.Harry was half hidden in the shadow by the window, only the profile of his face was outlined by the faint light from the window, and the expression on his face could not be seen clearly.

"You're back." Harry turned his head, and the room began to brighten.

"Harry, when did you wake up?" Alex closed the door and looked at his watch.

"Half an hour ago." Harry said gently, Alex was in a trance for a moment, and felt that he was back in the office of his friend in Hogwarts. The only difference was that his friend was now wearing pajamas and holding a With a burning pipe.

Alex walked around the hospital bed, put the stack of books in his arms on the table, and walked over to Harry.Harry took his last puff of cigarette and knocked the ashes by the window.Alex stared at him intently until Harry felt uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Don't look at me like that, Aaron," said Harry.

"Are you... okay?" Alex opened his mouth without thinking.

"Not good." Harry shook his head and said lightly, "That thing on my back keeps me from falling asleep, and I always feel like it's going to get up on me the next second."

"Sorry, I didn't expect you to wake up early." Alex said, "The books brought by the house elves were useless at all, so I had to go back myself."

Harry shook his head: "Have you been looking up information all night?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders: "Anyway, I can't sleep, so I just do something useful. Why, are you so moved that tears are about to flow?"

Harry laughed. "Thank you, Alex."

Alex froze for a moment, then held out his hand to Harry.Thinking turned a corner at this moment, Alex's hand stopped abruptly on Harry's shoulder.

"You don't have to thank me, Harry. I'd do it for you."

I would do anything for you.

Alex paused for a moment and then repeated the question: "Are you really okay?"

"Do I look weak?" Harry raised an eyebrow, "Although I can't say that nothing is wrong, but I can handle it."

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he just squeezed his friend's shoulder, showing his usual slightly lazy smile: "Dude, don't you think you should rely on me at a time like this?"

"You've already given it, Aaron dear," said Harry gently. "I appreciate it."

Alex seemed to be choking on something, coughed and took his hand back: "My pleasure."

The two laughed together.

"You can't see the sunrise in this ward." Harry spread his hands in regret, "Do you want to have breakfast now?"

"Okay." Alex nodded, "I'm really hungry too."

Harry called Kaka to serve breakfast for the two, and then Alex began to look through the dark magic books he had brought.

"The blood magic has been cast on these books, and it cannot be opened by descendants of Palampion." Alex explained, "One of my ancestors wanted to cast this spell on all the books in the library. Magic, luckily he didn't do that."

Harry sighed in disappointment and could only watch helplessly as Alex turned the pages of what appeared to be human skin.The magic was undoubtedly working, and Harry couldn't see anything in the book at all.

Since the mark on Harry was discovered, Dumbledore has come to St. Mungo and Alex every day to exchange their progress.The books on the table were changed one after another, but there was still no information related to that imprint.Dumbledore rejected Harry's proposal to help him search the books in the restricted area of ​​Hogwarts. He thought that Harry had better not touch anything related to black magic in this case, so as to avoid any further problems.

Dumbledore asked in detail where Harry had been during those three years on the European continent, trying to find a clue from Harry's past experiences.Harry put all his experience in those three years in a flask and handed it to Dumbledore, but there were too many dangerous and dangerous situations, and Dumbledore couldn't find out what went wrong .

Time passed day by day, and the mark on Harry's back didn't disappear, but it didn't change in any way; Alex searched all the Palampion books he thought were possible, but found nothing; while Dumbledore was busy with various While looking for information in the library, the business wrote to famous scholars asking about this rare mark.Halfway through the holidays, Harry was a little concerned about whether he would be able to leave the hospital before school started.Although his health was fine (Harry put on a lot of weight under Alex's supervision), the therapist insisted that he stay in St. Mungo's for a full month.

One afternoon in mid-August, Alex decided to try his luck elsewhere in London.He went to Knockturn Alley.

Alex didn't like the narrow and dark streets of Knockturn Alley. He rarely came here, but he knew a boss who sold magic books in the alley.The old man looked very sinister and had a rather bad temper, but he had an extremely rich knowledge of the dark arts.

Alex spent a whole afternoon in that small bookstore, and finally borrowed one of the books he only flipped through a few pages and left the bookstore.Alex checked the time on the way out and realized he was past his appointment with Harry.

Alex immediately walked to a remote alley, he needed to find a place to apparate.People standing on the side of the street looked at him maliciously, which made him frown displeased.However, at this moment, he noticed a very familiar figure flashing past another street corner.

Tom?Alex narrowed his eyes, and after thinking about it for a moment, he quickly followed in the direction the boy left.

Alex was sure he was right, that the man was indeed Tom Riddle.He was dressed in Knockturn Alley clothes and a hat, but Alex recognized him from the back.The child has grown a lot taller during the holidays, and his figure has become more and more slender.Alex knew that Headmaster Dippet had sent the Boys' Badge along with the bibliography to the young man, so what was he going to do in such a hurry in Knockturn Alley?

Tom stopped before a dark door, and Alex ducked into the nearest corner.Tom looked round warily, then reached out and knocked seven times on the door.Alex cast a spell over his ear and ventured a glance over there.

"Tom?" A huge hooked nose protruded from the door. "What are you trying to do to poor old me, you bastard?"

"You're no poor old man," said Tom, lowering his voice viciously. "If you don't want me to curse you just shut your ugly mouth and listen. I'm just running errands for Boggin today."

"Are you still working for that bastard?" another said, "Come on in, don't expect me to buy you a cup of tea or anything."

"Hmph." Tom walked in with a sneer, and the hook-nosed guy slammed the door shut.

Alex's frown deepened. He knew that Borgin-Bock was the largest black magic supply store in Knockturn Alley, and there was no shortage of certain prohibited items in it. Alex had only entered it once.It sounded like Tom was working for that Borgin, and had been for a while, which wasn't a good sign.Alex looked around and was considering whether to go to the door to check it out, when the door suddenly opened.

"Don't let me fall for you, you vicious bastard!" Hooked Nose roared viciously.

"I won't come to discuss business with you again, you dirty old ghost!" Tom roared back not to be outdone.Hooked Nose pulled out his wand angrily, and Tom cast a contemptuous glance at the stubby wand, then made a very obscene gesture to him and turned away without a second glance.Hooked Nose trembled all over, and finally put away his wand angrily and closed the door with a deafening thud.Alex watched Tom walk into Borgin-Bock with a livid face, and came out not long after.He saw the dark-eyed young man show a half-smile expression on a gold Galleon in his hand, and then slammed the gold coin into his pocket.Alex followed him all the way back to Diagon Alley, watching Tom buy some food at a shop before apparating in the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron.

Alex suddenly felt very uncomfortable, but Harry was still waiting for him to go back to have dinner with him, so he left quickly.