[HP] Comparative

The festivities started on the grounds, moved on to the Great Hall as Harry moved, and ended up back in the Gryffindor common room.There were so many people trying to congratulate Harry that he couldn't tell whose hand was being clapped on him, or how much butterbeer he'd downed.

When he was finally able to sit down at the small table with Ron and Hermione, Harry's groggy head was basically only interested in Lily and James' newly promised reward—accompanying him to see his favorite overseas queen. The Diqi team played at home, and it was the VIP seat with the best view - I have a vague impression.

"That's great, Harry!" said Ron, his freckles flushed with excitement, "I didn't think you'd actually win! Oh, it's not that I don't believe you, but it's really - great! Didn't you see Malfoy's reaction: When he saw you holding up the trophy, his face was blue with anger! He turned his head and walked away, and didn't participate in the subsequent celebrations! You defeated Krum, I don't think he will dare to be small again I count on you!"

Harry thought that was not necessarily the case, and then noticed the other person in the conversation.The figure rushing out from the edge of his field of vision was Krum; as the No.2 who almost won the championship, he congratulated Harry with style.

It's a pity that Durmstrang's headmaster, Karkaroff, doesn't have the guts.He was going crazy, insisting that the whole game was a conspiracy by Dumbledore and even the British Ministry of Magic; he turned a blind eye to the participation of unqualified students like Harry in order to fool contestants from other countries and ensure that own victory.

In fact, right after the third project was over and Bagman was still making his concluding remarks, Karkaroff asked all Durmstrang students to board their boats and go home, vowing never to take part in the Triwizard Tournament again.

This is indeed a dissonant note, but fortunately, Beauxbaton's guests did not walk away so impolitely, but stayed to let the bewildered Fleur accept Madam Pomfrey's care - she was inadvertently killed by a stray dog. The flying Billywig stung before it even had time to send out the red sparks.Fortunately, the problem was not serious, and Madam Pomfrey gave her a potion, saying that she would wake up and fall back to the ground when she woke up.

As for Cedric, he had bad luck, having hit a dead end after escaping from a snail.After turning back again, he found that the original road was blocked by the swamp Harry conjured up, so he had to keep going backwards, which wasted time.

Hermione wrinkled her nose at Ron's remarks, obviously not too optimistic either.But instead of pouring cold water on the excitement, she just said, "Not just Malfoy, the Slytherins weren't at the celebration. I didn't see anything special about Riddle either—" She looked Harry up and down, Ask researchingly: "You haven't had a cold war with him lately, have you, Harry?"

Hearing what she said, Harry couldn't hold back a sigh of disappointment in his heart.He knew it was unrealistic to expect Tom to cheer him up. "That's not the case." He denied it outright, and then thought of his next plan, "I'm going to find him in a while."

"Huh?" Hermione was taken aback immediately: "Although there is no curfew today, it's already twelve o'clock now... Uh, Ron, what are you doing?"

Ron was also a little startled when Harry said he was going to find Tom, but he soon started winking at Hermione.At this time, he was asked with a bit of resentment: "Meetings, walks, or whatever, anything a young couple might do - are you really sure you want to take care of this, Hermione?"

Hermione glared at him, but she blushed suspiciously, as if remembering the "something else" reference. "Okay," she waved her hand curtly, which usually meant she let go of the previous subject, "before then, can I ask one more question, is your winnings deposited into your Gringotts account? "

Before Harry entered school, Lily and James set up a separate account for Harry at Gringotts, allowing him to learn to manage his pocket money.Because Harry didn't have many items that he needed to buy, now it has become a veritable small treasury, and all three of them know it.

"You're going too far, Hermione!" Ron couldn't help waving his hands in protest before Harry could react, "A thousand Galleons! Harry won it all by himself! Why did he have to save it all?" What about getting up? What’s wrong with squandering once in a while?”

Harry knew they both meant well.Before the two really quarreled, he quickly stretched out his hand and gestured for a stop. "I've thought about it a long time ago—" The two people who were staring at each other immediately turned to him together, "I plan to provide this money to Fred and George as the start-up capital for their joke shop."

This was completely unexpected, and both Ron and Hermione were stunned.

After a while, Hermione murmured in a low voice: "If Mrs. Weasley knew..." She unconsciously began to twist her fingers, which was a sign of her panic, "She will go crazy."

"Yeah, so I can pretend I don't know?" Ron answered immediately, looking as if he wanted to distance himself from this matter.

"She won't know if you two don't tell me," Harry shrugged amusedly, "I'm sure Fred and George won't tell easily either... I think it's better than them and Bagman tangling about blackmail." Isn't it against the law?"

The last sentence was not loud, and it was difficult to catch it in the noisy background. However, when the two friends who sat close heard it, their faces turned pale with fright. "……What did you say?!"

Neither Ron nor Hermione seemed to be able to accept this fact.But Harry believed that with Hermione's brain, it wouldn't take long to connect all the abnormal behaviors of the twin brothers this school year.So he waved his hand slightly and stood up. "I have to go upstairs and get ready."

This is what it means to go.Ron was still in shock, but he still asked reflexively, "When are you coming back?"

Hearing this, Harry thought for a moment.He found that he couldn't predict exactly when Tom would show up, so he shook his head. "Don't wait for me."

If Harry hadn't stunned the two friends with explosive news first, he would have received a double dose of kind teasing by now, and Hermione might have warned him that staying up all night was against school rules or something.Now, both of them were so full of questions about the twin brother that they didn't ask more about his next move.

This is exactly what Harry needs.He went back to the boys' dormitory and changed the clothes that were stained with broken leaves and dirt. During this process, he found that the hip bone where he hit the stone platform had begun to turn blue, and he felt a faint soreness.A piece of bruise was quite worth it in exchange for the Tri-Strong Cup, so he didn't pay much attention to it, and washed his face with cold water to clear his mind.Afterwards, he picked up the schoolbag he had prepared earlier, pushed the invisibility cloak outside, and left the Gryffindor tower against the wall.

It was nearly midnight, and the castle was very quiet, and there was no one there.Harry familiarly groped to the corner closest to the women's bathroom, took out the Marauder's Map from his schoolbag, and checked it.Except for the Gryffindors, most of them were in their beds.Except for Tom: as Harry had expected, his name was nowhere to be found on the map.

Harry rewound the parchment and stuffed it back in, then took out the bottle of butterfly-wing phosphor.He tiptoed to the women's bathroom, and instead of going in immediately, he threw a handful of phosphorous powder into the door.This time, before the colorful powder hit the ground, there was a vision—a series of new footprints emerged, pointing impartially in the direction of the sink.

So far, things have gone so well that they can only be explained by Tom's deliberate connivance...

While confirming his guess again, Harry couldn't help stretching out his foot and gestured to the nearest shoe print—it was bigger than him, so it couldn't be wrong.He took a deep breath and stepped in, feeling as if an invisible Tom was leading the way ahead, and he didn't know whether the news that would greet him next was good or bad.

But anyway, he wanted to know, he had to know...

After staring at the dark sewer hole for three seconds, Harry jumped down resolutely.

It was dark, damp, and sticky inside, and he regretted changing his clothes in an instant.But he was also right: there were pipes everywhere, but none as thick as the one he slid down; The outlet of the water pipe fell to the ground.

Harry stood up and stamped his foot tentatively.The voice was loud, with a deep echo, and it was like a new, dark tunnel before him.It's not a cesspool, and it's not a secret room. He still has to move on... He curtly cast a cleansing spell to himself, then lit his wand, and proceeded cautiously.

The tunnel was as silent as a grave.Harry could occasionally see bits of bone scattered on the ground that looked like rats or something.The further you go, the more bones there are, and the animal gets bigger and bigger.

Obviously, no matter what the monster is, the appetite is absolutely amazing...

As they turned the first corner, Harry couldn't help but think of that basilisk slough that was at least twenty feet long in the Forbidden Forest.If it was alive, it could take up the entire floor of a bedroom at least when coiled up.And it can easily kill people with just a stare...

The imagining made one of Harry's nerves twitch uncomfortably.But he looked at the heavy darkness ahead, and decided to move on.I don't know how long I've been walking, and finally there is a little change——

A stone wall appeared before him.It might not be accurate to say that it was a wall, because it had been split open in the middle, and on either side of the opening was a serpentine stone sculpture, with shiny emerald eyes that made them look like they were alive.

Someone arrived before him and opened the trap door...

Harry hesitated for a moment.He wasn't sure if he should look forward to what happened next.Or in other words, even if he could predict that Tom was the heir of Slytherin, he still couldn't predict Tom's purpose of letting him come down to the secret room.

But now it's too late to regret...

Harry pushed aside half of the stone wall and walked in.The wall closed silently behind him, and his attention was completely absorbed by the scene in front of him——

He was standing at one end of the room.The ceiling is so high that only darkness can be seen, and both sides are full of stone pillars carved with entangled snakes, extending straight to the other end.

There was no doubt that the place had deep ties to Slytherin.Because the room was too long, he couldn't see what was on the opposite side, so he had to hold his wand tightly and continue walking.

In the confined space, Harry's footsteps echoed louder than before.Surrounded by ghosts and shadows, eerie...

"Tom?"

The sound spread far away, hit the wall and rumbled back to his ears.

With no response at all, and seeing no one, Harry almost suspected that the whole thing was just his being suspicious.Going a little further, he encouraged himself in his heart.If there was still a stone wall on the opposite side, he would immediately go back home, pretending that he had never been here tonight.

But when Harry came parallel to the last pair of stone pillars, a tall statue loomed in front of him.He had to tilt his neck hard to see the head of the statue—an old man with a sparse beard that almost reached the hem of his robe, standing barefoot on the smooth ground.

The tall boy in the school uniform and black robe stood right between the two feet.With his back to Harry, he tilted his head slightly, as if looking at the statue of the old man.

It's Tom.

For some reason, Harry didn't feel a little of the fear that the dark claustrophobia had brought him now. "Since you are here, why don't you answer me?"

"Your first question is this?" Tom turned his head, with real surprise on his handsome face, "I thought you came here for something more important." Before Harry Answering, he went on self-consciously: "But it might be a good start too—because I hate the name."

"Why?" Harry asked in surprise, completely unaware of it before.

Tom frowned. "Don't you think it's too common? There are people called Tom everywhere."

Harry still didn't understand.There were a lot of people called Harry too, but he didn't think it was a problem at all.Before the words blurted out, something flashed through his head: "So you really don't like you and I using twin wands."

"Yes." To Harry's surprise, Tom admitted without hesitation. "Don't act like you're surprised—you figured it out, didn't you? I tried to destroy your wand as soon as I got it."

Although he knew that that moment had passed, Harry still couldn't help but clenched the holly wand tightly in his hand. "But you didn't."

"That's because it was on the train." Tom turned around completely, and walked slowly towards Harry. "I don't like to make things big, Harry, and you must know that. So, even if I was thinking the best Destroying people and wands together—" he had already flashed behind Harry when he said that, his cold voice hissing like a poisonous snake on the back of his neck, "doesn't really do anything."

Harry barely caught the last half of the sentence.Because when he heard "Destroy people and wands together", he was already trembling suddenly, with goose bumps all over his body——

Tom wasn't joking.

He is serious.

But Harry still controlled himself and didn't jump from the spot in fright.

Out of Harry's sight, Tom gave a small chuckle, seemingly satisfied with the forced self-possession. "It's only the first time, Harry. But I think, even if you didn't notice this time, you must have noticed the second time—"

"The prefect's bathroom, isn't it?" Harry interrupted abruptly. "Do you think I'm too in the way? Keep pestering you, trying to pry into your secrets?"

Tom didn't seem to notice Harry's harsh tone, and another chuckle escaped his throat. "Look, you still understand."

"So what do you mean by telling me now?" Harry asked holding his breath, the fright he had just received had begun to turn into anger, "Said you successfully tricked me, and now it's just you and me in the Chamber of Secrets, you kill me I won't be discovered by anyone?"

"I'm amazed that your brain can come up with such a brilliant idea, Harry." Judging by the teasing in his voice, Tom was thoroughly amused.

Harry turned sharply.Because of the high speed and the close distance between the two, he almost bumped into the other's tall nose.Why are you crazy, he wanted to curse back like this; but after meeting the eyes of the tall boy, he suddenly understood that if he started to get angry now, he would be completely led by the other party.

"You won't." Harry said firmly after a while. "According to the legend, the heir of Slytherin would use monsters to purge those who are not worthy of learning magic from the school, but you and I are both half-bloods—" he affirmed his voice, "you will not kill me."

Tom blinked in rare surprise.But it quickly disappeared, replaced by a typical Slytherin smirk. "Just blood, Harry?"

The words were slurred, but Harry reacted almost immediately—

Theoretically, they are now passionately in love, and there shouldn't be such an outrageous thing that one party wants to kill the other; Tom's failure to deny means that Harry guessed right, but at the same time he is definitely insinuating that Harry is not interested in this relationship. Show that confidence.

"You lured me down on purpose, you just wanted to fight and kill me, and now you're blaming me instead?"

For Harry, this was the highlight moment of sharp-tongued retaliation; but the person being questioned was not only not guilty at all, but also seemed very happy.

"It seems that you have indeed prepared for tonight." After laughing enough, the tall boy nodded. "Okay, let's get to the point. I know what you want to ask, and I can tell you right now—" He tilted his head slightly, as if curious about Harry's next reaction, "I was born to be a Parsel Cavity, that's right."

When Harry had many guesses, he only wanted to hear Tom's own confirmation; now that he really heard it, he found that his doubts had not disappeared. "So, the acromantula that disappeared for no reason in the Forbidden Forest - the long snake's slough in the root hole - and..."

Tom waved his hand lazily, stopping Harry from speaking further. "Stop talking nonsense that you and I both know. You know I did it, otherwise—" He draws his voice suddenly, with a half-smile on his face, "The patron saint who can't explain your change ,right?"

Harry's face suddenly became hot.He never thinks there is anything wrong with his straightforward personality, but he still feels uncontrollably embarrassed when his secret thoughts about others suddenly become obvious in front of the person involved.

After reorganizing his emotions as quickly as possible, Harry also found another new possible breakthrough: "Give me back the map, do you just want to prove to me that you are indeed the heir of Slytherin?"

"Part of it." Tom straightened up, shrugged, and began to pace in the direction of the statue, "This place will probably never come in again." He looked up at Slytherin, who was half hidden in the darkness. The stone-carved face, there is not much emotion in the tone. "I'm the last one."

Harry had no doubt that in the long history of Hogwarts there had been one student, and more than one, who had been Parseltongue.But it reminded him of another thing. "Where's the monster in the secret room?" After meeting the questioning eyes of the other party, he corrected his words: "I mean, is the basilisk here?"

Tom laughed again. "Don't ask stupid questions, Harry. Slytherins don't keep Basilisks just to be killed by the crowing of a rooster one day."

So the old man was indeed Slytherin himself, and Harry couldn't help taking another look at the statue.And then, suddenly, with real and horrifying realization, Hermione was right to worry—

If for some reason Tom hadn't done it to the legendary unfit to learn magic, releasing the basilisk from the ground might mean doing more harm to people.What's even more frightening is that Tom has acquiesced that half-blood wizards are not the target of the basilisk, and the only ones left are Muggle-born wizards...

To put it bluntly, Hermione is a potential victim... the Creevey brothers... and Justin Finch of Hufflepuff...

"What are you going to do with the basilisk?" Harry asked, his blood running cold with tension, his own voice sounding like it was thousands of miles away.

"Of course it's a pet." Tom replied casually, still facing the statue.

Hogwarts students were allowed to bring an owl, cat or toad as a pet from the moment they entered school, and Harry did not see Tom keeping any of them.But the problem is-

"You won't really..."

Tom finally caught Harry's eyes. "I suggest you think about what I just said, and then consider whether you want to look at me with that dead-like expression." There was a touch of sarcasm in his tone.

...Slytherin didn't keep the basilisk just to be killed by the crowing of a rooster one day?

Harry managed to calm down. "But the basilisk is dangerous..."

"In case you've forgotten, I happen to be a Parseltongue." Tom's reply was more understated.

Harry kept his mouth shut.He had to realize that there was a huge cognitive gap between him and Tom; the other party obviously thought that causing danger to others was not worth his own consideration.The good thing is that Tom almost made it clear that he wouldn't take the basilisk with him at school; but after graduation, it's hard to say...

Yes, that's what he'd promised to do long ago—to stop Tom before he actually did something bad.

This prospect is obviously not easy.

In retrospect, he was attracted by the mystery and darkness of Tom from the very beginning; it has not changed until now, and it has even become more and more muddy.He doesn't know if it's luck or misfortune, but he's sure he'll do his best.

Little did Harry know at the time that he had chosen the hardest path in the world for himself.

With this mentality of breaking the boat, he asked the last question. "Who the hell signed up for me? Now you can tell, right?"

Tom's expression suddenly became subtle.After a pause, he said, "Not yet."

Harry didn't expect such a blunt refusal, and his eyes widened angrily. "Why? I already got No.1!"

"Not yet," Tom answered quickly.After seeing Harry's more angry eyes, he added soothingly: "Trust me, similar incidents will not happen again. If you still want to know after I graduate, I will tell you."

Harry didn't know from what angle Tom was guaranteeing, and he didn't know why the timing of revealing the secret was arranged after the other party graduated. "It still has something to do with you, doesn't it?" he pressed aggressively.

"I swear I didn't let anyone do this," Tom replied quickly and smoothly.

It didn't seem like a lie, and Harry's anger calmed down a little.It sounds like someone signed him up to win Tom's favor; there are not many people in the school who have this ability, who is it...

"It's almost time," Tom interrupted Harry before he started to eliminate one by one, "it's time to go up."

Only then did Harry realize that he hadn't even thought about how to get up until he got down.Apparently, his subconscious mind decided that Tom would take him out, let alone the possibility of Tom killing him.

Even if Tom really wanted to kill him before, he has changed his mind now...

His changing Patronus must be one of the reasons, and Tom won't ignore the unfalsifiable evidence staring brightly before his eyes; he's proved himself to be trustworthy by accident, and Tom will ask him "Is it just because of blood?" "...

It turns out he was right, too; Tom did like him, though he never said that word, no matter how much...

Harry understood now why Tom had said he was cornering himself.He underestimated the danger of the tall boy too much, and jumped into the vortex of love without looking back.This kind of behavior can definitely be called reckless and blind, but fortunately, it seems that the effort is not in vain now.Although the mentality of wanting to kill at every turn and the existence of the basilisk are dangerous, he has time; Tom is two years away from graduating, and he is still three years away from graduating, and he can always think of a way...

"Well," Harry walked a few steps quickly, so as to keep up with the speed of the person in front of him leaving, "Since I have done what you asked for, can I also ask for some rewards?"

Tom glanced back at him in surprise. "Reward? I don't think I said that at the time."

"Don't be like this—" Harry deliberately softened his voice, "It's very simple, it must be easy for you."

Now, even if Tom was deaf, he could hear Harry's imperative. "Say it straight, what exactly do you want?" He stopped abruptly, a little annoyed.

Harry, who was directly behind him, pretended not to hold him, and staggered into the opponent's arms.

"I've got to say it's a bit over the top, Harry," commented Tom harshly, but he didn't look away.

Harry snickered inwardly, but his face was full of innocence. "Come to me during the summer vacation, okay?" he said, carefully studying the expression on the tall boy's face, "Or I can go to you!"

Tom looked down at the boy in his arms.Those green eyes were full of hope, and the rejection he was about to say stuck in his throat.The cunning little lion, he thought half annoyed, began to push forward as soon as he was sure that he was favored...

Worst of all, he found himself willing to indulge.

The more he thought about it, the more resentful he became, Tom suddenly lowered his head and bit the other person's lips—he couldn't help but exert a little force—then turned his head and strode out.

Harry froze, clutching his stinging lips.He hadn't expected this development. "Are you agreeing?"

"I just know that if you don't keep up, you'll have to climb out of the pipe yourself."

"...you stop for me!"

**

When Harry woke up the next morning, his mind was still full of the events of the night.Tom liked him, and it lifted his spirits more than winning the Triwizard Cup.He couldn't help rolling several times on the bed, buried his head in the pillow again, and screamed silently.

He could have done better: ask Tom what his Patronus is, for instance, to be fair...

But as soon as the thought came to him, Harry snuffed it out.He took it for granted that Tom could do everything, but the Patronus Charm was not a test of a wizard's magic power and spell-casting skills.If the number of positive emotions is used as an indicator, the tall boy will definitely fail...

Harry rolled over, and a carp sat up straight.

As a wizard, his growth experience in a Muggle orphanage must not be worth looking forward to; if he compares it with his own growth environment, he is completely unqualified to judge Tom's dark mentality.But people change, he thought optimistically.If he could create some happy memories for Tom, maybe there was hope...

Harry put this seriously on his to-do list, and suddenly thought of something else——

Tom also said in the Chamber of Secrets, "I'm the last one."

How did the tall boy know he was the last heir of Slytherin?Had he found the Slytherin family tree, with all the other relatives dead?

Harry thought hard.Is this not impossible?On the other hand, Tom clearly had no intention of marrying and having children.Of course, they are both men, and neither of them can have a child...

Digging deeper would only make him blush more and more, Harry hurriedly called a stop before things became unmanageable, planning to do something else to divert his attention.The prize bag was still on the bedside table, and he caught a glimpse of it, and he knew it was time to get up and go find his twin.Although Harry won in the end and Bagman won the bet, with that guy's usual behavior, he might not be able to pay back the money honestly...

Facts have proved that this guess is half right.After several evasions, Fred and George still accepted a thousand gold Galleons.But they also emphasized that it was Harry's share in the joke store, which would be distributed to him in the future.

Harry was okay with that.Also, he finally found the Gringotts bill he had crumpled up and tossed in the corner of the suitcase, and he was sure there was enough balance on it to fix three similar ladies' bathrooms.After returning to Godric's Hollow, he can use the post office to mail out the anonymous check.

Everything was on track, and Harry happily boarded the train home.After arriving at King's Cross Station, Hermione kept her promise and released the beetle that Skeeter had turned into from the car window—by the way, after eating leaves for two months, the fat beetle became much slimmer.

Ron joked that Skeeter should thank Hermione for helping her lose weight, to which the brunette girl just rolled her eyes. "In the future, if she is more honest, I will thank Merlin!"

Across the noisy two, Harry saw Mrs. Weasley and the others were already waiting on the platform.After getting out of the car, James took his suitcase and told him to say goodbye to his friends.He did as he was told, but his eyes flicked around disobediently.

It wasn't until the moment before Lily took his hand to apparate that Harry caught the familiar tall and thin figure in the crowd in the distance.The other party seemed to be able to receive his gaze with his back, and turned his head quickly.

Hope we will meet again soon...

The author has something to say:

Well, I finally finished writing the ending I thought about two years ago!The youngest daughter is also finished!

There is another extra episode, maybe 1-2 chapters

感谢在2022-05-0720:01:54~2022-05-1219:25:27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: 3 for Amu; 1 for Floating Life and Wuyu, and [-] for Tang Chenxin;

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 4 Amu;

Thanks to the little angels who threw mines: Amu, Eryao Chongzhi, euphy, FindthePassion, Fantuan, and 1 piece of Yanyan;

感谢灌溉营养液的小天使：唐宸崭68瓶；xjzhyy40瓶；君兮云阙、木且青、南枝信10瓶；叶5瓶；我是夜生动物喵2瓶；

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