[HP] Riddle's Spirit Behind

The Bourne house is not too far from the orphanage, and looks no different from an ordinary Muggle house.

Tom and Eleanor arrived at their destination after half an hour's carriage ride.It was Mr. Byrne who opened the door for them. He was a middle-aged man who looked very mature and steady.

"Oh, you must be Mr. Tom Riddle. I'm Avery's father, Joseph Byrne—come in quickly," he said to Tom, with a forced smile for some reason, as if With a little tired look.

Tom greeted Mr. Bourne very politely.

"And me." Eleanor murmured softly.

"Of course, there is also Miss Phantom." Mr. Bourne quickly added, "The sun was too dazzling just now, so I didn't pay attention to you, I'm sorry."

At this moment, Avery walked into the hall. He was still wearing a light gray nightgown, and he looked much more haggard than before the holiday.

"Tom, Eleanor." He greeted the two of them hoarsely, and the circles of his eyes turned red instantly.

It seemed to Eleanor that he was on the verge of tears.

"What happened?" She drifted over to carefully observe Avery's expression, and said jokingly, "It's just a month since we last met, do you miss us that much?"

"It's not like that." Avery squeezed out a forced smile, "something happened at home..."

They sat down on the sofa in the living room, and Mr. Bourne served them tea in a hurry, and then almost burned his thumb.

"I'm so sorry," said Mr. Byrne again apologetically.He looked a little dazed, as if he was worried about something.

"What happened, Mr. Bourne?" Eleanor couldn't help asking.

Mr. Byrne said somewhat awkwardly, "Oh...my wife has been ill lately."

"Sick?" Eleanor looked at Avery in surprise.

Later, they learned that Avery's mother had been seriously ill last month.The disease was so violent that even the therapists at St. Mungo's Hospital were helpless.

Avery originally planned to cancel this birthday party, but Mr. Byrne felt that it was time for Avery to be accompanied by friends.

"I'm glad you're here." Mr. Byrne smiled wearily, turning his eyes to Tom. "I've heard Avery mention you—you look like a nice kid. I'm glad he got you Such a friend."

Tom gave a quiet, slightly shy smile.

"Can we go and see Mrs. Bourne?" said Eleanor.

"Oh, of course. She's upstairs," replied Mr. Byrne.

They went up the stairs to the largest bedroom.Mrs. Bourne was lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Her face was sallow, and she could tell that she was seriously ill.

She seemed to feel footsteps, so she opened her eyes suddenly.Her blue eyes stared blankly at the side of the bed, and after seeing her son clearly, her gaze instantly became focused.

"Please, I'm not dying yet." She said in a stern tone, "What are you all doing all of a sudden?"

Eleanor could feel that Mrs. Bourne was not really angry, she just wanted to break the solemn atmosphere.

"Come here, Avery," said Mrs. Byrne hoarsely.

"I'm here, Mom." Avery hurried over and grabbed her hand.

"Don't cry," said Mrs. Bourne. "I've told you many times not to shed tears. You're a boy, Avery..." She said, stopping suddenly to catch her breath.

"Yes, Mom," Avery said in a teary voice.

Mrs. Bourne turned her head with difficulty and looked at Tom standing by the bed.

At this moment, Tom looked at them expressionlessly, without any emotional fluctuations on his face.

After noticing Mrs. Bourne's gaze, Tom frowned slightly.

"You are Tom Riddle, my son's friend," said Mrs. Bourne, looking firmly at Tom.

Eleanor, who was floating behind Tom, could clearly feel Mrs. Bourne's sharp eyes.She seemed to want to see through Tom.

"Yes, ma'am," answered Tom succinctly, as if he didn't want to say anything else.

Mrs. Bourne scrutinized Tom for a moment, then turned her head and gave a cold snort.

"I want to have a few words with my son alone now." She said coldly, "Go out first, and close the door by the way."

After leaving Mrs. Bourne's room, Tom and Eleanor went straight back to the living room.

Mr. Byrne left the house, saying he was going to buy some supper supplies.

"Lady Bourne looks very ill," said Eleanor with a sigh.

Tom picked up a cherry from the table, leaned lazily on the sofa and said: "That old woman doesn't like me. That's why I said that I hate visiting other people's houses. They will always stare at you critically." look."

"She didn't say she doesn't like you." Eleanor frowned and said, "Didn't Mr. Bourne just say that he liked you very much?"

"Really?" Tom threw the cherry into his mouth, not seeming to take Eleanor's words seriously.

After an unknown amount of time, Avery came down the stairs rubbing his red eyes.

"What did you talk about?" Tom asked casually.

Avery said with some dodge eyes: "Oh...it's nothing." He grabbed a handful of cherries and began to stuff them into his mouth.

When dinner was approaching, Abraxas finally arrived in a hurry.He had come in the Malfoys' carriage.

After hearing about Mrs. Bourne, he expressed great astonishment, "Oh, God—I remember I saw Mrs. Bourne once last year, and she looked very healthy at that time."

"We didn't expect this to happen," Avery said dejectedly.

Abraxas stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to pat Avery on the shoulder to comfort him, but he hesitated for a long time before retracting it.He cleared his throat, "Don't think so much, Mrs. Bourne will be fine."

Eleanor also took the opportunity to comfort him, "Yes, I believe her illness will recover soon."

Avery rubbed his eyes and forced a forced smile, "I hope so."

Eleanor turned her head to look at Tom, reminding him to say something to comfort Avery with her eyes.

But Tom propped his forehead on one hand, and said without raising his eyes, "When is supper?"

Eleanor immediately poked his back with her hand, the cold touch made Tom almost jump from the sofa.

He glared at Eleanor, who rolled her eyes at him.

The other two boys who didn't know the truth looked at each other in confusion.

That evening, Mr. Byrne cooked them a big meal.Of course, it's not as rich as Hogwarts' Christmas dinner, but it's enough to make the children move their index fingers.

All three boys had a good meal.Both Abraxas and Avery dozed off after helping Mr. Bourne put away the dishes.The two of them huddled on the sofa and chatted, and fell asleep without knowing it.

Mr. Bourne hugged them back to the room one by one, dumbfounded.

"You should go to bed early, too." Mr. Bourne said to Tom gently, "Your room is the first room on the left on the second floor."

"Thank you, sir," said Tom softly.He looked like a very sensible and quiet kid, which made Mr. Byrne smile again.

"Good night, Tom," he said, and carried his son up the stairs.

The author has something to say: Tomorrow is Qixi Festival!

Happy Tanabata~