[HP] Riddle's Spirit Behind

On Christmas Eve, the school obviously put a lot of thought into decorating the hall.The great fir-tree was covered with enchanted and glittering decorations, and the supper was extraordinarily sumptuous.Large plates of roast turkey are placed on the long table, exuding a tempting aroma.

Eleanor sighed to Tom that it was a wise choice for him not to go back to the orphanage for Christmas.

The next morning, two beautifully wrapped Christmas presents magically appeared next to Tom's bed.

The pet snake seemed to sense its owner's waking up.It crawled out from under the bed, spitting letters around the two packages, as if testing their scent.

Tom rubbed his eyes and yawned and sat up in bed.He glanced sleepily at the package beside the bed, frowned and said, "What is this?"

"Christmas presents. A house-elf brought them over at midnight last night—well, is that what they're called?" said Eleanor brightly.

"Christmas presents?" Tom said slowly, staring at them oddly, as if they were not presents but packages with time bombs in them.

He picked up the presents on the ground and opened them to find that one was a large bag of custard-filled chocolate balls from Avery, and the other was a book from Professor Slughorn.

He threw the gift aside and said dryly, "I didn't give them a gift."

"I don't think they'll mind," said Eleanor, "but you can give them something back at Easter. By the way, aren't you going to try that chocolate?"

"If you like, I can give you all." Tom sneered and jumped off the bed.

"You know I can't eat," said Eleanor, a little despondently.

Soon, the Christmas holidays are over.Avery returned to school on the last day of the holiday.The deserted Hogwarts was revived again because of the return of the students.

Not long after, the castle was finally freed from the cold wind, and the ice on the lake began to show signs of melting.The trees on the shore have taken out their tender green branches, and the blue tits (Note ①) are constantly shuttled among the trees and singing.The students began to walk in groups of three or four on the shore of the lake, or chased and played on the newly sprouted lawn.

Through the huge French windows of the library, Eleanor stared in a daze at a couple who were hiding in the shade of a tree by the lake and kissing.

She suddenly realized that she had never been in love before.She couldn't help feeling a little remorseful.If she had known that she would die, she wouldn't have refused Tony's confession the day before her birthday, even though the guy named Tony wasn't her type at all.

"I really want to fall in love once." She whispered.The couple outside the window were still kissing as if they were stuck together.

"What did you say?" Tom looked up at her, frowning.

"Nothing." Eleanor said quickly.

However, this sentimental sentiment is only temporary.Eleanor quickly put thoughts of love behind her.

Not long after Easter, the temperature has continued to rise.In May, the air in the castle becomes humid and dreary with continuous drizzle.Probably because the exam was coming soon, the homework of the students almost doubled suddenly.

Avery groans and writes his paper in the library, three inches short of the length he needs to meet.But he couldn't squeeze out any sentences that could make up the word count.

"Lend me your paper, Tom," he said at last.

Tom never refuses such a request.He tossed his metamorphosis paper across the table to Avery.

"I wanted to say it before," Eleanor whispered, "you can't always lend him papers to copy. He has to learn to do his homework, otherwise he will become more and more stupid."

"I heard what you said," Avery said, blushing. "I'm not stupid."

"Then prove it to me," said Eleanor.

Avery pursed his mouth and quickly pushed back the thesis, then bit the quill pen again and thought hard, until he bit off half of the feather on the pen, and finally made up the length required by the professor.

"Tom, I don't think I'll pass the Transfiguration exam," Avery said dejectedly on the way to the common room.

"Really?" said Tom casually.He didn't look like he was paying attention to what Avery was saying.

“My mom would be pissed if I didn’t get more than a good grade in any class,” Avery said with a look of horror on his face. “I’m definitely going to be grounded by her for the summer.”

"Now you finally know the consequences of plagiarism." Eleanor said with a shrug.

"Even if I didn't plagiarize, I wouldn't pass," he said. "I'm not that material at all."

"One must believe in oneself, this is the secret of success." Eleanor said, "There is still time, as long as you work hard within this month."

"Really?" Avery said dejectedly.

"Of course it is true." Eleanor encouraged, "You can let Tom teach you."

Avery looked at Tom expectantly.

"No," said Tom without hesitation. "I don't have time for that."

Avery turned to Eleanor in disappointment, with condemnation in his eyes, as if blaming her for a bad idea.

"But what have you been up to lately, Tom?" Eleanor couldn't help changing the subject and asked, "You've been in the library for the past few months, but I know you don't need to spend so much time reviewing .”

"It's none of your business," replied Tom impatiently.

"What are you looking up, aren't you?" Eleanor asked. "Well—if you'll help Avery with his homework, he'll help you look up what you want. What do you think?" Avery?"

"Of course," said Avery hastily, "but what do you want to know, Tom?"

Tom slowed down, raised his head and looked at Eleanor suspiciously.But soon he looked away.

"I don't need help." He dropped the words nonchalantly, then quickened his pace.

In the evening, when only Tom and Eleanor were left in the bedroom, Tom suddenly said to her, "Tell me, Muggle, what exactly do you want to do?"

Eleanor said in surprise, "I don't understand what you mean."

"Stop pretending," Tom said bluntly. "You've been trying to help Avery all this time—not only that, but you've always tried to force me to join. What's your purpose?"

"Purpose?" Eleanor looked at him in surprise, "God, I never thought of any purpose!"

"Then why do you want to help him so much?" said Tom coldly. "I never knew you got on so well."

"You don't like me helping him." Eleanor said sharply.

Tom seemed to choke a little at the words.

"Now I'm asking you," he said irritably.

"I just want to help my friend, isn't that okay?" Eleanor replied with her hands spread out.

"It seems that our definition of 'friend' is completely different." Tom replied with a sneer, "I don't see how you two look like friends."

"Then what do you think is a friend?" Eleanor asked back.

Tom frowned and said a little grumpily, "Don't change the subject! Tell me, what are you trying to do?"

Eleanor was silent for a moment, "Well, you want to know what my purpose is, right?"

Tom folded his arms noncommittally.

"You'll never know if you don't help Avery pass the test," Eleanor said quietly.

Tom stared at her suspiciously. "I think you're lying."

"I don't." Eleanor said in a rare serious tone, "as long as you help him get an E (good) or higher in the Transfiguration exam. It's not difficult for you at all, is it?"

"Of course," said Tom contemptuously, "unless he's really hopelessly stupid."

"Then you agreed?" Eleanor raised her eyebrows.

Tom hesitated for a moment, narrowing his eyes slightly and staring at Eleanor from above his eyes, as if he was weighing what to do.

"Yes, I promise."

Note ①: The blue tit (scientific name: Cyanistescaeruleus), also known as the blue tit, is not a migratory bird.Distributed in the woodlands of the temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, it is a very common bird in the UK.

The author has something to say: By the way, Tom is really not jealous~

I found out that there was an extra landmine after I realized it, thank you sayikoh sister paper~

I haven't had time to eat the codeword at noon, ⊙﹏⊙b sweat.

Do you mind if I try to be cute? =w=