[HP] Comparative

Hermione was furious.

In fact, she would have dismissed the gibberish that Rita Skeeter had orchestrated herself.But within two days after the magazine was published, she received many letters from strangers, all of which were slanderous and insulting.Worst of all, she was caught off guard when she opened the first envelope, and was suddenly splashed all over her hands with the yellow-green pus of Babo Tuber.When she came back from the school hospital, the protection of magical creatures class was almost over.For the sake of the two hands that were wrapped into radishes, Hagrid also lightly stated what happened to him that he didn't want to talk about before, such as someone viciously telling him to die earlier.

He had intended to reassure Hermione that it was all right, but in Harry's view, the good intentions had unfortunately only had the opposite effect.

Hermione was so enraged that she swore at the lunch table that she would show Skeeter some color.The last time she said that, Ron was a little skeptical; this time, he was still not very interested in it, because he didn't really want to confront Skeeter head-on.

Harry could understand Ron's mentality of not wanting to cause trouble, and at the same time secretly reminded himself, don't make Hermione really angry——

He dares to say that if Rita Skeeter sneaked into the school to collect news, she would 100% regret it.

When this storm passes, the weekend will come.Early in the morning, Harry opened his eyes.After staring straight at the top of the crimson bed curtain for a while, he realized that he was nervous.

Tom had actually said yes to him, and it still seemed like a dream to him.This made him very suspicious that the other party might have some reason to be bad-knowing yourself, knowing yourself, winning all battles or something-but like Hermione said, it was always a good thing that Tom was willing to see Lily.

Harry encouraged himself repeatedly in his heart, and then tiptoed out of bed, trying not to wake up the sleeping roommates.He finished washing quickly, changed his clothes, and rushed down the stairs in three steps at a time.Although it was still early, there were already some sparse students in the common room.They all cast strange glances at Harry as he swept past, but Harry paid no attention.

The Saturday breakfast table was deserted.In previous Hogsmeade weekends, Harry usually didn't go downstairs for dinner until ninety o'clock, so he wasn't surprised to see Tom at the long Slytherin table now.However, not being surprised doesn't mean not being disappointed. His originally excited heart was inevitably going up and down——

Is Tom still up?Or does he skip breakfast?It's impossible to go back on your word, right?

With this mentality of worrying about gains and losses, Harry procrastinated to finish his portion of the meal.When he got up, he didn't see the tall and handsome boy entering the auditorium, so he had to leave resentfully.

Fortunately, the weather is not bad today.After a long and severe winter, the air was slowly warming up, and a silvery, faint sun shone on the venue.When registering with Filch at the school gate, Harry took the time to scan the short list in front of him and found that Tom's name was not on it.This made him a lot more patient when he continued to wait, even though the key administrator had been staring at him eeriely not far away, it didn't affect his mood.

Just as Harry was looking at his watch for the last time, Tom finally appeared.Regarding the fact that he was waiting for him, he didn't show any surprise, as if he had expected it. "You're early, Harry."

Having said that, Harry quickly covered the watch with his cloak, and put his hands behind his back. "It's not too early," he said in a secretive manner, "You're quite punctual."

"I thought you already knew." Tom replied lightly.

Harry was taken aback, then recalled going to the Forbidden Forest and the Astronomy Tower.It has to be said that the latter location made his ears turn crimson uncontrollably in an instant. "Uh, this..."

Fortunately, Tom didn't intend to continue this topic.He looked at the road outside the door, and then at Harry: "Where are we going today?"

This saved Harry's embarrassment a little. "How about the three broomsticks?" He suggested, with a little caution that he didn't realize, "It's still early, and there are not many people there."

When he heard the first sentence, Tom was noncommittal; when it came to the second sentence, he was slightly surprised and glanced at Harry again—he did say that he didn't like the limelight, did Harry remember it firmly?

In the end, Tom pursed his lips and made no comment. "Let's go then."

It was indeed too early, and the road to Hogsmeade could almost be described as empty.The two walked side by side, and neither of them spoke for a while.There was silence all around, except for the occasional breeze blowing through the cloak, and the sound of morning dew rolling on the leaves could be clearly heard.

Harry wanted to change this relative silence.But he opened his mouth a few times, but he didn't know what to talk about.

Thank you for agreeing to come?

how embarrassing...

Why don't you usually go to Hogsmeade?

Will it seem too nosy...

Can you please behave better in front of Lily later?

This is just nonsense...

Harry couldn't think of a good place to start, and he was almost discouraged.Just when he disliked his stupid mouth, a bright and round bird song suddenly came from the sky.He looked up instinctively, and only had time to catch two bright traces that quickly disappeared in the forest.

Tom followed the sound too. "Mockingbird," he said, flatly, "spring is coming."

Half of Harry thought of course he knew a mockingbird, and the other half was excited that Tom had finally spoken. "It's getting a little hot." He agreed, took off the cloak on his body, and put it on his shoulders.

Tom looked sideways at Harry. "So," he asked, his tone still steady, "is there anything you need to tell me right now?"

Hearing this, Harry was taken aback for a moment, almost suspecting that he had spoken out what was in his heart just now.Tom probably meant some kind of reminder or warning... "It's nothing," he waved his hands hastily, "I guess mom just wants to get to know you."

The words were so brief that Tom couldn't help raising his eyebrows slightly.He wanted to ask "really?", but after thinking about it, he asked, "Just your mother?"

Harry reckoned that Tom should have known that Lily and James often visited him together, since it wasn't much of a secret after all. "Well," he said, he nodded, "James...that's my dad, he's on duty today."

Hearing his change of words halfway, Tom couldn't help raising his eyebrows again. "Usually you call your dad by his name?"

"Uh..." Harry scratched his head embarrassingly, hesitated for a moment, and clarified for himself: "Only in private. I think it's closer this way. He doesn't mind, and neither does Sirius. Oh," he suddenly Thinking that Tom might not be the right number, he hurriedly added: "Sirius is my godfather."

Tom narrowed his eyes imperceptibly.He remembered the last time James Potter had called another man "Padfoot." "Is that the one who almost got into a fight with Lestrange?"

Harry's eyes widened, startled. "So you still remember?" He reacted, feeling embarrassed, "In fact, they are very close relatives, but they have never dealt with each other." He reluctantly explained, not wanting to purify the intricate relationship in the pure blood family - it is endless , smelly and long like a foot wrap.Then he thought of something else, something that had troubled him for some days. "That was the first time I saw you in Hogsmeade," he tried to ask, trying not to sound like a prying voice, "Did Professor Crouch ask you out?"

Tom keenly sniffed out the curiosity beneath.Gryffindor boys were interested in all things secret, especially him - from the Chamber of Secrets to the tavern, and that never changed.When he first found out, he flew into a rage and almost wanted to kill him; but by now, it was a completely predictable thing. "That's right."

"What's 'sort of'?" Harry was not satisfied with this ambiguous answer. "And speaking of Lestrange," he stared at the tall boy researchingly, "you don't know them, do you?"

"Why do you think that?" Tom asked back, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Just in case you forgot, let me remind you again - we're all Slytherins."

This is basically equivalent to the default.

Harry's eyes widened even further.He thought he would have to spend some time on clichés, but he didn't expect the other party to admit it so quickly. "No, they..."

He frowned, thinking that the Lestranges were radical pure-bloods, and then he thought of those students in Slytherin who followed Tom's lead, including Rodolphus Lestrange Jr.Then what came to mind was Tom's evaluation when he said that Hagrid was his friend, and Hagrid's affairs were very important to him, "I should have seen that you are really not picky about your friends"...

"Of course I know that," Harry reluctantly admitted, but still held some hope, "but I thought you were not exactly like them? After all, you once said that the only thing we have in common is mixed blood?"

Tom didn't look at Harry, and didn't answer right away.Of course he knew that mixed blood was nothing in the eyes of pure-bloods, but those people only knew that he was the heir of Slytherin.Only Crouch Jr. knows his bloodline, but it is impossible for Crouch Jr. to publicize it.Taking a step back, bloodlines can't really be an issue at all, when he has overwhelming power.

But it's normal for Harry not to see this. After all, the little lion grew up soaked in a honeypot...

"Actually, in terms of blood relationship, I have no definite evidence yet." Tom said quickly, knowing exactly what excuses should be used at this time, "After all, the only one left in the orphanage is myself, There's only one name."

The tone is flat, but the effect is immediate.Harry's nerves tensed at the news of the Orphanage; within a few seconds he had completely refrained from prying any further, and was almost ashamed. "Sorry!" He apologized hastily, "I didn't mean to mention this!"

Tom smiled.He didn't care about the orphanage, and Harry probably knew he didn't care about the orphanage, but Harry still couldn't turn a blind eye to it like he did. "It's okay. But I guess it's kind of a reminder—your mother doesn't like people like Lestrange, does she?"

In order to quickly leave the potentially dangerous waters just now, Harry grasped at the end of the sentence as if grasping at straws. "Indeed. Surely you know she's a Muggle-born wizard?"

"It's hard not to know." Tom nodded, his handsome face didn't show even a single bit of his inner thoughts, "because Slughorn always likes to talk about her."

Harry thought of this too, and suddenly felt all over again the familiar embarrassment he used to experience in Potions when he didn't do as well as Lily did. "Then you must know what happens to a wizard like her at school." He cautiously avoided some of the Slytherins. "In fact, she had a friend. They knew each other before school, but After he called her a 'mudblood', the two went their separate ways."

"That's really not a wise move." Tom frowned slightly, as if thinking, "I guess, she didn't tell you that?"

"It's really not." Harry admitted honestly, "James and Sirius secretly told me that they didn't want to mention that man in front of her."

"Because you don't want to upset her?"

"Almost," Harry recalled vigorously, "but the strange thing is, I think James' tone is a little bit grateful..." His voice lowered unconsciously, and he muttered, "I don't know why."

Tom had been looking at the fork in the road ahead, and just answered casually.Hearing this sentence, he couldn't help being a little funny.Lily Potter's former friend was obviously James Potter's rival in love, and Harry didn't notice it right away?In contrast, Harry was much more sensitive when dealing with him...

Walking through the intersection, the Three Broomsticks is just around the corner.Harry opened the door first and went in, not too surprised to find that there was only one customer inside. "Mom!" he exclaimed happily.

Lily Potter was sitting on the edge of the wooden table by the window, she was reading something that looked like a document with her head down and her brows were tightly furrowed.Hearing Harry's voice, she lifted her long red hair hanging by her ear, with a gentle smile on her face. "Harry."

Harry walked over and noticed that there were already three steaming cups of Butterbeer on the table.Seeing Lily wrapping up the parchment, he temporarily pushed back the question of "what are you looking at?" and introduced it to the two of them instead.

"Although it seems like an excuse to say that, I've heard your name many times before today." Lily said to Tom after Harry and Tom took their seats opposite each other.She eyed the tall boy with interest and admiration, clearly taken aback by his outstanding appearance. "Can I call you Tom?"

"Please feel free." Tom replied politely, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Harry's hand hanging by his side was slightly curled, as if he was a little belatedly nervous. "As for the name part, I'm afraid Professor Slughorn mentioned you more often."

Lily froze for a moment, then laughed out loud. "I guess it doesn't make a good impression on me." She shook her head and sighed while laughing, and then gave Harry a teasing glance, "Like, if Harry wasn't my son, he probably wouldn't talk to me a long time ago gone."

"—Mom!" The occasional thought was exposed in person, and Harry's face turned red.

Lily looked at him again, not lacking in humor. "Did I guess wrong, Harry?"

"I..." It was neither right nor wrong, Harry gaped, and instinctively cast a look at the third person—that is, Tom—for help.

Tom hadn't dealt with a situation like this before, and the beginning of the conversation had nothing to do with what he'd expected.However, this does not affect his on-the-spot performance. "Principal Dumbledore said that Professor Slughorn has a unique vision. What's more, there are not many people who can be talked about by Professor Slughorn frequently. So, I guess it's nothing bad thing."

"And I can already see that you are definitely Professor Slughorn's favorite student." Lily answered with a smile, and her eyes fell on the prefect badge on Tom's chest.

Harry was secretly relieved that her focus had shifted. "That's right."

Tom just smiled at that.He took a sip of butterbeer from his glass before continuing, "It's too early to say that. I mean, I haven't even graduated yet." At this point, he seemed to glance over the words that Lily had just received. Set the parchment roll aside.

It has a very prominent Ministry of Magic seal on it.

Lily followed his gaze and immediately understood the subtext. "Are you trying to say I work for the Ministry of Magic?" She smiled, then sighed, "Sounds all right, but something..."

The unfinished words immediately aroused the curiosity that Harry had just suppressed. "What's the matter, Mom?" he asked with concern, "Any tricky jobs?"

Lily looked at him and then at Tom, seeming to hesitate.But in the end, she still opened her mouth to explain: "Probably not entirely a work matter... Actually, it's about Hagrid."

Hearing the half-blood giant's name, Harry immediately straightened his shoulders and leaned forward. "What's the matter? Didn't the appeal go well?" There was no news about this matter for a while, so when Lily mentioned it, he was quite nervous.

Seeing this, Lily sighed again. "We didn't think it was easy at the beginning, so we could only prepare the materials according to the requirements and then enter the process after submission." She nodded to Harry with a heavy expression, "Two days ago, the appeal was accepted .”

"...isn't that nice?" Harry pursued wonderingly, not understanding what's wrong with it.

"It was indeed a good thing." Lily admitted, her delicate brows quickly became cloudy, "But I just received a reply. Although it is not the final version, it reminds that Hagrid will take it no matter whether the appeal is successful or not." Not returning his old wand."

"——Why?!" Harry's eyes widened to the maximum, shocked.If Lily hadn't pressed the back of his hand in advance, he might have jumped up.

There was a moment of silence.Lily seemed to be trying to organize her words, so as not to make her son react more violently. "You must know what the Minister's attitude is towards non-human magical beings, Harry," she said at last, dryly and rather awkwardly. "According to them, Hagrid's wand has been destroyed."

Hagrid's wand... destroyed?

Harry's lips were trembling with excessive anger, and he was too angry to utter a word.After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence between his teeth: "They...they did it on purpose!"

Lily knew it would turn out like this.She involuntarily held her son's hand tightly and looked at him worriedly. "Harry, you..."

"Harry is right," Tom, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "Hagrid's wand was probably destroyed as soon as it was taken away. Whether the Minister knows that someone wants to help Hagrid, he certainly doesn't want to." Seeing your authority challenged."

Hearing this, Lily was surprised. "How do you..." Now it seems that the famously ruthless Minister of Magic did not intend to give Hagrid a chance from the very beginning; but Harry guessed it, and why did Tom, who was born in a Muggle orphanage, also know?

Agitated by this matter, the atmosphere was extremely stiff, and it didn't take long for Tom to say goodbye.Harry was still furious, and he couldn't think of anything to say to save him.Lily's emotions were better controlled, and she said softly to Tom, "I'm sorry, I didn't plan to say it at this time."

Tom had already got up from his seat, and shook his head upon hearing this, expressing that it was okay.

Lily watched him intently for a little while longer. "You've been a great help to Harry, and James and I are very grateful to you. I was going to bring you some presents, but I was worried that you wouldn't need them. So, I want to ask, would you like to come over for the summer holidays? OK Let us show our friendship as a landlord?"

As soon as these words came out, let alone Tom, even Harry, who was still aggrieved, was taken aback. "Inviting Tom to Godric's Hollow? Are you serious, Mom?"

Lily shot Harry a slightly reproachful look. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"But..." Harry almost said "Tom definitely won't come", but suddenly realized that this was actually a brilliant idea-his home must be much better than an orphanage, and he would still Spend more time with Tom...

Tom didn't answer right away, but he did see Harry's expression of shock, then doubt, and finally anticipation.In fact, Harry guessed right, he really wanted to refuse; but to be on the safe side, it's better to save face... "Thank you for your kindness, ma'am," he said, with a proper mix of politeness and hesitation, "I Can you think about it first?"

"Of course no problem." Lily agreed, "After you make up your mind, just tell Harry." She stood up and gave Tom a very light but real hug, "We welcome you anytime."

Harry, who hadn't expected this at all, was dumbfounded again.Seeing that Tom was stiff for a moment, he was very worried that the other party would change his face.Fortunately, the tall boy pretended nothing happened, said goodbye to him and left.

The wooden door of the bar was pushed open and closed, and the copper bell above rang several times.Before the movement could completely dissipate in the air, Lily held Harry's arm and pushed him back into the seat.Just when Harry looked back in a daze, she opened her mouth, her expression and tone were quite serious: "You like him, Harry?"

The author has something to say:

Harry: Sensitive to Tom;

James: Sensitive to Snape;

Lily: Thank you, I am the most careful person in the whole family.

感谢在2020-01-2716:16:32~2020-02-2423:57:04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 the rocket launcher: Gods enter Valhalla, 2 for Ji; Ye Yize and Tang Chenxin for 1;

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: Mint Tea Grass, Maomu, Bird of Paradise, Ye Yize 1;

Thanks to the little angels who threw mines: Birdofparadise 6; Why don’t you update 3; Qiu Jin, Jiandenghua 2; Gine~, Yuxiyue, Aqing, Mystery, Yuxi, Yadao Shrine, and Yanyan;

感谢灌溉营养液的小天使：唐宸崭37瓶；一颗小桔子28瓶；Birdofparadise25瓶；KKayxitel、Littlee20瓶；初萦、君心明月、沐湲。10瓶；予兮7瓶；炽炎泪6瓶；地下室的床单、明天天气、一砚梨花雨5瓶；会有喵的、霜之咏叹调2瓶；一拳一个嘤嘤怪1瓶；

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!