[HP] Comparative

Tom didn't stop until he reached the covered bridge facing the lake outside the castle gate.Harry was so preoccupied with what he was being asked to come out that he didn't pay attention and almost bumped into the tall boy.When he reacted, he was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do, and hurriedly jumped back half a step.

There was a distance between the two of them immediately, which felt very deliberate.Tom glanced at it, then raised his eyes to look at Harry meaningfully.

Harry got even more nervous under his watch.To change the situation, he asked first, "What's the matter with you, Tom?"

"Me? It's nothing." Tom replied casually, with a much more comfortable attitude than Harry. "It just occurred to me that, anyway, I have to thank you for not throwing me at the bottom of the lake."

It bears little resemblance to the reason Harry had been speculating wildly all along.Moreover, if he would have believed such high-sounding rhetoric at the earliest, it is absolutely impossible now. "Why do you need to say that?" He couldn't help protesting, inevitably disgusted and annoyed, "I know I did something stupid, you don't need to remind me in another way."

"But you got good grades," Tom replied, without disobedience at all. "I can only assume from this that you didn't do that badly."

Harry fell silent, feeling increasingly depressed.Deriving the rationale for behavior in terms of results is indeed something Tom would do; but he is not at all happy about it.It is his game performance that is recognized, not himself.What's more, if he had done what Tom wanted—returned as soon as he found someone—he might have gotten a higher score.

But, Harry is that kind of person.He was suspicious, even if he regretted it, if he did it again, he would still do the same thing.

Tom probably read the stubborn subtext in Harry's silent gesture. "Don't get me wrong, I really didn't intend to waste time judging you." Having said that, Harry strongly suspected that the other party wanted to use "criticism" here, "Actually, Professor Slughorn asked me to ask, Are you sure about the third project. He appreciates your performance in the second project; if you need any help, just ask him."

"Really?" Harry looked back in surprise, temporarily forgetting what happened before.From what he knew of the Potions professor, if Slughorn really wanted to help, he would be more than happy to brag to Harry himself?

Tom smiled knowingly, obviously understanding what Harry was thinking. "In his eyes, you and I have a very good relationship."

Harry's eyes widened involuntarily.This is a very brief statement, but it is by no means literal.Slughorn might indeed think so, then the other party's purpose of asking Tom to ask him is obvious-to sell two favors at a time.

"It seems that you also understand this." Tom looked at Harry's face carefully, looking a little satisfied. "However, in my personal opinion, the part he can help is very limited."

This sounded tactful, but it was richer in meaning, and Harry couldn't help raising his eyebrows.He didn't know if Tom was implying that he didn't like being favored or that Lily James would be more helpful to him, or both...

"Thank him for his kindness for me, I can't think of anything that needs help at the moment." When he had to say this, Harry hated Tom's understanding of himself.

In this regard, Tom really did not show the slightest surprise. "There are still four months before the third project, I guess you do have a reason to say that." He said nonchalantly, "I see, I will reply to him."

With that said, the tall boy turned around and was about to leave.Harry's eyes followed the tall and thin figure, and when the other person passed by, he couldn't help shouting: "Wait..."

Tom stopped, still without any surprised reaction. "Do you have anything else to do?"

Meeting that calm look, the nervousness that Harry had lowered his head before emerged again. "I..." He began to stutter, his face flushed, and he was really embarrassed to say the following words——

"Why did you kiss me last night?"

Even if he really wanted to know, he couldn't ask so bluntly, right?

But the question was clearly written in Harry's eyes, and Tom had no trouble reading it.Actually, he thought it was a good question: because he wasn't sure why he did it then either.

True, it was in his interest to maintain a relatively good relationship with Harry; but there were many ways to a relatively good relationship, and he didn't have to choose the most ambiguous | kind.Like Christmas Eve, he just did it without thinking.And if he didn't have time to think the first time and it was just a stopgap measure, what about the second time?Is it right to be wrong?

Tom was dimly aware that there was some dangerous tendency in it, but he didn't quite know what it was.But in any case, one-way utilization is called manipulation and control; if more things need to be invested, it is not cost-effective, and it does not conform to his usual style.

All things considered, the best course of action was obviously to prevent Harry from actually asking.

"No……"

"Are you free next weekend?"

Tom was about to say "I'll go first if it's okay", but Harry interrupted him before he could finish.He blinked, wondering why Harry had suddenly switched to this direction.

In fact, Harry himself didn't understand.After the words came out of his mouth, he realized what he had said because he wanted to keep Tom, so he had to bite the bullet and continue: "You can go to Hogsmeade next weekend...I mean, my mother said thank you."

It was not entirely a lie that Lily was indeed interested in Tom.

Seeing this, Tom couldn't help raising his eyebrows. "You know what I mean, Harry," he reminded, with a slight warning.

Of course Harry knew, in order to observe the similarities between the users of the twin wands or something like that. "That's what you said," he said quickly, still insisting on his point of view, "but the fact is that you helped me—it makes sense with your thinking, doesn't it?"

Dare to use his logic to refute him, it is definitely against the general...

"Am I underestimating you, Harry?" Tom asked softly, narrowing his eyes.How courageous are you?

Harry mustered up his courage and stared back impartially.He could guess that if he asked Tom for an answer today, he probably wouldn't like it.Their relationship isn't that good yet, they need to get to know each other better.If there is no opportunity, he will create an opportunity!

The two stared at each other for a moment, and could see their reflection in each other's eyes.At last Tom smiled. "If you insist."

That sounds like tacit consent.Harry's tense nerves immediately relaxed, but he still didn't dare to take it lightly. "Then it's settled! Next Saturday at eight o'clock in the morning, I'll wait for you under the wild boar statue at the school gate!"

Tom nodded benignly, amused to see Harry visibly excited.After the Gryffindor boy happily ran away, he quickly returned to his usual deadpan.

It's just a Lily Potter, and it's easy to deal with; however, Harry's uplifted mood must have somehow infected him, otherwise he wouldn't feel bad...

That's it.He wasn't too upset about being offended by what Harry had said to him just now.It's not like he hasn't met other people's parents, but it's more like completing a mission, recruiting people or something.Facing Harry's unreasonable words, he not only agreed, but even looked forward to it...

Hell, could his reaction be described as positive?

Tom suspected for a while that this might also be classified as a dangerous tendency; but then he felt that it was just a short meeting and there was no need to make too much fuss.James, he'd seen it; if he knew what Lily was like, he'd be able to hold Harry better, and avoid any surprises with his many secrets.

**

As soon as Harry returned to the tower, he was pulled near the corner table by two friends who had been waiting for a long time.

"What did Riddle want you for, Harry?" Hermione asked impatiently, her round eyes full of worry.

"Tell me what Professor Slughorn said." Harry shrugged slightly, and then gave a general overview of the matter.

Hermione froze, her worry subsided a little. "You used gills, which is indeed a potion. In addition, although you are not a student of Slytherin, it is impossible for him to hope that other schools will win." She pondered, "But the third item has not yet been awarded." Announcing the content of the game, isn't it too early for him to ask?"

Since asking Slughorn for help hadn't been considered at all, Harry didn't care one bit. "Who knows."

Ron cared as little about the Potions professor as Harry did. "Only this, Harry?" He couldn't believe it, "I thought he was probably going to beat you up! If you returned from the bottom of the lake as soon as you found him, your total score might be No.1 right now !"

Harry guessed that both Ron and he were brooding over the missed high score.No wonder Ron just pulled Hermione away. He thought Tom was on the same side as him... "He really meant that. But he thought my final grades were okay, so he let the topic go."

Ron thought for a moment. "That's true." He reluctantly agreed, seeming to accept the explanation.

"So, is that all, Harry?" Hermione asked again with concern.

Harry hesitated for a moment.Although he didn't want to tell anyone what happened last night, he couldn't hide it from his friends over the weekend. "I have an appointment with him to go to Hogsmeade next Saturday."

Ron's eyes widened suddenly. "Really, Harry? What did you ask him for?"

Hermione was taken aback too, staring closely at Harry.

"Didn't Mom ask about him yesterday?" Harry glanced at Hermione, who was there at the time, and quickly turned his eyes away. "If I can't let her see Tom, she will be worried."

Compared with Lily's attitude, Hermione seemed to pay more attention to Tom's. "He agreed?"

Harry nodded.Because of his guilty conscience, he was even more afraid to look at her.

"So you're back together?" Ron asked with rare shrewdness, winking at Harry quietly. "You don't know, Hermione has muttered this a few times before."

"Uh..." Harry was even more embarrassed, and his eyes flickered, because he couldn't explain it at all.

It was Hermione who saved him in the end. "Forget it, it's a good thing that he agreed to meet your mother." She sighed, and patted Harry reassuringly. "She's more experienced, so it's better than me worrying about it."

Unexpectedly, it could be uncovered like this, and Harry secretly heaved a sigh of relief.He immediately wrote a note to Lily and had Hedwig post it the next morning.After returning to the dinner table from the owl hut, he was surprised to find that the atmosphere between the two friends had become weird and tense.

Wasn't it fine before...

"Why, what happened?" Harry didn't dare to provoke the stern-faced Hermione, so he could only ask Ron quietly.

Ron didn't even look at him, just shoved a balled-up page that looked like it had been ripped from some magazine.Suspiciously flattened, Harry saw a report on Rita Skeeter.

"Muggle-born Miss Granger is obviously proficient in attracting powerful and wealthy boys... I don't know what kind of shady methods she used to charm a lot of people... Not only did she work with Gryffindor warriors, parents Harry Potter, who are all Aurors, has maintained a good relationship and has hooked up another warrior, world-class Quidditch star Viktor Krum... Krum even invited her to his house during the summer vacation Being a guest makes one wonder if he made an irrational decision under the influence of the love potion..."

Harry understood immediately.Skeeter is always fanning the flames, twisting and exaggerating to the fullest.He swore the part about him was Skeeter bullshit, and Ron must have known that, so it could only be Krum.

"Is that true?" He asked the brunette girl in a low voice, trying not to hear Ron on the other side, "I mean, the part about Krum and the summer vacation?"

Hermione gave him an annoyed look. "Yes, he invited me as soon as we came up from the lake." Her voice was not loud, but she definitely didn't avoid Ron, "I just don't know, where did she hear it? There are only Viktor and me on the shore!"

Ron's face contorted for a moment, and he seemed about to be unable to bear to express his opinion on Hermione's address.Harry hurriedly pressed his friend down, but something flashed through his head.

There was indeed a beetle lying in Hermione's brown hair... The pattern on its body seemed to have been seen somewhere... It was so ugly, he must remember where he had seen it...

"She's that beetle!" Harry suddenly realized, "I said, why do I think its pattern looks familiar...that's her glasses!"

"What beetle, glasses?" Hermione asked in bewilderment, and then realized in a second: "You said the one in my hair... do you mean..." She was shocked immediately.

This unusual reaction caused Ron, who was not prepared to continue talking to them, to turn his head away. "What are you talking about?" He looked confused.

"Skeeter! She's an illegal Animagus!" Harry had to try to control his excitement as he recalled the previous events, "Do you remember the Christmas statue, Ron? Hagrid and Maxi The one under Mrs. M? That has a beetle on it too! It was Skeeter who revealed Hagrid's secret!"

The author has something to say:

It's updated, I wish you all a happy squatting at home~

感谢在2019-12-3121:47:18~2020-01-2716:16:32期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦~

Thanks to the little angels who cast rockets: 2 from KKayxitel; 1 from Xia Shuixiliu, Christa, and Tang Chenxin;

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 2 mint tea grass; 1 for me who likes this book very much;

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