[HP] Comparative

Harry wasn't cocky enough to think he was cute, but it was a bit of a shock to Harry to hope that he might be hated by someone else, since it didn't make sense for Tom to avoid him.For the rest of the time, he sat unhappy in the corner of the car, listening to the others happily discussing the Quidditch World Cup.

It was finally lunch time, and the weather outside the car window had changed from gloomy to sunny.Everyone was hungry, waiting eagerly for the food delivery truck to arrive.But before that, a third-grade girl suddenly knocked on their car. "I'm here to give these to Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter," she said quickly, looking out of the corridor frequently, as if she wanted to make a quick decision, " It's an invitation from Professor Slughorn."

There was a moment of silence in the carriage, because only Hermione had been invited to dinner by Slughorn before.

Neville was stunned, and Harry didn't react, so Hermione unwrapped all the scrolls tied with purple ribbons for the three of them. "That's right, lunch, compartment C." She was a little annoyed at first, but after confirming one by one, she showed a triumphant expression, "Finally, I'm not the only one who has to face him often."

Harry could understand her, since Hermione had put up with it long enough when the Gryffindors called Slughorn's private gatherings mockingly the Slug Club. "But I thought he..." He had just begun, caught a glimpse of Ron's unsmiling face, and immediately swallowed the rest of the words——

He had discussed this with Ron before, and concluded that Professor Slughorn might not like them very much; but judging from the current situation, the Potions professor just felt that it was not time to win over him and Neville.

Hermione was already on her feet. "Come on," she said, looking at Harry and Neville in turn. "The Slytherins won't give us a good place if we don't go sooner."

Harry didn't know which positions were good and which were bad, but Slytherin made him think of one thing - as Slughorn's favorite student, Tom would definitely be there too.It's kind of embarrassing...

No matter how much Harry resisted, 10 minutes later, he walked into carriage C with Hermione and Neville.Three senior students were already inside, and they turned their heads casually after hearing the sound.After seeing clearly that it was Harry and the three of them, they secretly exchanged disgusted looks.

"Ah, I just thought it was time for you to come!" Slughorn in the main seat saw them and stood up happily. "Welcome, especially the new two!" He winked at them Blinking, "Pick any position you like!"

Harry followed Hermione and sat beside her, trying not to look across the table.As soon as he entered the door, he found that this carriage had been cast with a traceless expansion spell, and the students who came first were all Slytherins.To be precise, they all belonged to Tom's small group.Avery, Wilkes, Lestrange...all pure-bloods, he couldn't help feeling a deep admiration for Hermione who had endured until now.

Neville took a seat on the other side of Hermione, his movements were a little cramped, as if he had also sensed the hidden hostile atmosphere.

Slughorn was probably the only one in the whole car who didn't notice, or he didn't care. "Everyone is almost here," he rubbed his hands happily, and placed a plate containing orange candied fruit in front of the three of them, "Eat some of this first... Tom is still on duty, we will share it when he comes back." Turkey, huh?"

Harry looked at the roast turkey on a shiny silver tray, wondering how Slughorn had managed to get it on the Hogwarts Express.Not to mention that he had no appetite in the first place, hearing Tom's name made him even worse.

What happened next didn't get any better.Not long after, Malfoy came too.Without hesitation, he chose the vacant seat next to Lestrange, directly opposite Neville.

As Hermione had told Harry, the students Slughorn invited all seemed to have strengths in some way.Excellent grades, needless to say; good family background, can also be added points; there are other weird "talents", such as mother remarried seven times, and each time she quickly received a huge inheritance from the man...

In a word, everything is available.

Harry was distraught to realize that he could fall into the second category - his grandfather left a fortune that would last three lifetimes; his father was a famous Chaser, retired to join the Auror team, and his mother became a child. colleague.Then he soon realized that Slughorn had also noticed his talent at Quidditch and praised his skills as a Seeker.

Although Harry would love to hear that, it didn't stop him from getting the impression that Slughorn was just a web-spinning spider.Just when he was thinking hard about how to refuse the other party's invitation in the future, an apologetic voice came from the door: "Sorry, sir, I'm late."

Not to mention reproach, Slughorn's countenance immediately brightened at the sight of the approaching person. "It's okay, it's okay!" He waved his hands again and again, "Come on, Tom, sit here!"

Harry had noticed the empty chair on Slughorn's right before, and quickly looked away.Only now did he really understand what Hermione meant when he said there was no good position—

There were four chairs on both sides of the long table. When they entered, three seats were already occupied on the left, and the three of them naturally chose the opposite side.Malfoy, who arrived later, obviously knew something, and he didn't even look at the seat closer to the main seat.It seemed that it was probably Tom's fixed seat; in other words, they were next to each other.

Hearing the sound of the chair beside him being pulled away, Harry's whole body tensed up secretly.He instinctively glanced over, only to see the other side's handsome profile.

Tom didn't show any sign of their previous conversation. "I've noticed new faces," he said, smiling at the three fourth-grade boys. "It's really exciting."

As far as Harry could tell, Slughorn was the only one cheering up, since he was sure Avery had forced a sneer at Wilkes from an angle that their head couldn't see.

"Yes," said the Potions professor cheerfully, "let me give you a brief introduction - Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, their parents are famous Aurors! Before you come I'm still talking to them about the latest Ministry operation against giants!" Then he turned the other way and winked at Malfoy, "Draco! Only a year behind you, I think You must have known each other, right?"

Tom nodded slightly back. "Yeah, I just spoke to Draco today." He nodded at Malfoy - who half stood up as if flattered - and then turned to Neville and Harry. "Longbottom and Potter? Mind if I call you by first name?"

"No, of course not!" Neville replied immediately.He leaned forward so that he wouldn't be blocked by Hermione and Harry in the middle, excitement written all over his round face. "I've heard about you since I first entered school! In the first grade, I learned a spell that even the seventh grader didn't know!"

"Oh, I can't guarantee that. They may be exaggerating." Tom replied softly, not looking at Avery and the others who completely disagreed.

"Even if it's only partially, you're amazing!" Neville's excitement was completely unaffected, "I heard from them that you may be the best student Hogwarts has ever seen!"

Slughorn had been listening to them with a smile on his face, and couldn't help but say, "I don't think it's 'possible', Mr. Longbottom." He deliberately made a serious look, "Tom is indeed Hogwarts." Best student ever, and as critical as Albus admits."

All the students widened their eyes when they heard Dumbledore's name.

"Is it true that the Headmaster thinks so, sir?" asked Neville, his voice cracking in shock.

"Oh, of course." Slughorn was obviously satisfied with the effect of his words, "In all the years I've known Albus, I've never seen him pay so much attention to a student—" His gaze was suddenly caught by the topic The protagonist was attracted, and his walrus-like silver beard flicked, "Why, Tom, don't you believe it?"

Harry followed.Because the distance was very close, he noticed that the corner of the other party's mouth twitched imperceptibly.

"No, sir, of course I don't doubt the authenticity of what you said." The black-haired and black-eyed boy replied politely, "It's just that I didn't notice the kind of attention you said, after all Deng Professor Bullido didn't teach me..."

Slughorn waved his fat hand vigorously, as if to shake off some annoying thing that didn't exist. "That's another matter, Tom. You're so brilliant, unless Albus is blind to notice—"

Avery and the others snickered and kept nodding.

"And Albus obviously isn't." Slughorn continued unaffected, his tone firm. "I assure you, Albus knew Tom was different from the first time he saw him!"

The tittering grew louder at the left-hand side of the table, in which Rodolphus Lestrange Jr. looked like he was about to applaud. "Well said, sir!" he exclaimed.

Tom frowned, not seeming quite comfortable with it.He opened his mouth, but Slughorn shook his head before he could speak, regret written all over his face. "It's a pity that you are still underage, otherwise the trophy of this year's Triwizard Tournament would be Hogwarts!"

As soon as these words came out, the smiles on the faces of the Slytherins sitting opposite Harry disappeared, replaced by frustration and anger. "Isn't it?" Wilkes couldn't help complaining, "I think they should provide another way to participate, such as a professor's guarantee. Why can't our best students fight for honor for the college?"

Avery, Lestrange and Malfoy all strongly agreed.Slughorn cast a reassuring look at them, "Yes, at least I am willing to be the guarantor." He looked at Tom lovingly, "But it is very dangerous to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, because once dead It has been closed for more than 100 years..."

"Have people ever died?" Hermione, who had been silent all this time, screamed in horror, "What kind of game is this?"

The interrupted Slughorn raised an eyebrow at her, and then noticed the blank looks on Harry's and Neville's faces. "Haven't you heard of it?" He became a little interested, "It seems that your parents don't want to see their children take risks."

Harry guessed that Malfoy didn't dare to ridicule Slughorn's ignorance in front of Slughorn, so he immediately asked, "Can you tell us more about it, sir?"

Slughorn was clearly willing to explain the problem for him. "The Triwizard Tournament is a competition between the three oldest magic schools in Europe..."

It didn't take long for Harry to figure out that the Triwizard Tournament was the show-stopper that Malfoy had hinted at earlier.He is very curious about the other two magic schools, and winning the Triwizard Cup is indeed very attractive...

He successfully fooled the referee and signed up for the competition...

He was chosen as a Hogwarts Champion...

He stood on the podium, raised his hands, and everyone was cheering for him...

Among them is autumn, but also...

"...But due to the lessons learned from the past, this year's competition has an age limit." Slughorn concluded with a little disappointment, knocking out many images in Harry's mind, "Only students who have already grown up can sign up."

The look on Hermione's face showed she was in complete agreement, but Harry suspected he was as disappointed as the sighing Slytherins across the way.The difference was that he was disappointed that he didn't qualify and they were disappointed that Tom didn't.But Tom himself doesn't seem to be sighing...

He couldn't help turning his head, but he happened to meet a pair of dark eyes.I don't know why, but there is a thoughtful look in there.

Harry froze, he didn't know when Tom started looking at him.

The other party had no intention of explaining. "I think we may be digressing," the tall boy turned to Slughorn, politely reminding, "Shouldn't today's protagonist be a rookie?"

"Well, Tom, you've always been so humble," said Slughorn with affection, and brought Tom another plate of roast ham. "But you're right, Mr. Potter," he said, turning to Harry. , opened his arms quite dramatically, "Come and meet our star student, Tom Riddle!"

Tom turned back as promised, and held out his right hand to Harry. "Hello, Harry."

Harry almost stared at the handsome face in front of him—every curve was just right, every detail was perfect, as if they had really just met. "Hello, Tom."

The two held hands.Only when he realized that the opponent's hands were cold, Harry realized that he had unconsciously used too much strength, and immediately wanted to let go; although Tom didn't look motionless, he exerted more force and held him firmly. , until a qualified handshake is completed.

It has to be said that Tom covered it up pretty well.No one noticed their dark tide, at least not Slughorn. "Okay, if you don't eat anymore, you may be starving—" he tapped the silver fork on the plate, and said happily in the crisp echo, "Let's enjoy the food, everyone!"

The author has something to say:

As the name suggests, Rodolphus Lestrange Jr. is the son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus, so it should be easy to guess~

↑Due to the adjustment of Tom's date of birth, the settings of some characters will be adjusted accordingly, hereby explain. ↑

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