HP Nocturne and Evening Bell

Chapter 18

The ghost of Seslak lingered in the hearts of both of them, dispelling the hot summer air.Hermione went to Diagon Alley more frequently, and under Tom's staring eyes, she finally didn't wear the legendary shorts that exposed her thighs.The two of them secretly investigated the notorious family, and Tom found more things that attracted his attention.

"Is my mother's last name Gaunt?" asked Tom in the autumn leaves.

"Yes."

"Is it that pure-blood family named Gaunt?" Tom seemed to know the answer.

"I think so, but your mother never demonstrated magical abilities in front of me," Hermione replied.

Tom didn't speak for a long time, his expression was unfathomable, his eyelashes drooped, and his mouth was drawn into a straight line.Hermione was disturbed and conflicted in her heart. She didn't know how long her clumsy lies could last, and would Tom get any comfort after discovering his true life experience?Hermione wasn't sure if being half-blood would surprise him, but maybe it was time to face it.

"Tom, do you want to see your mother's former residence? We agreed before that I will take you back to see it. I also want to go there. The autumn in Little Hangleton is very beautiful." Hermione did tell her My parents have been to Little Hangleton, where the mountains and fields are green and the quiet river meanders, like an aged oil painting, outlining the red roofs.

"I..." Tom hesitated.

"I thought, of course this is only hypothetical, maybe you still have relatives there."

"But they never found me."

"Maybe they don't know you exist."

"Do you think I have relatives alive in this world?"

"Actually, I know that your mother has an older brother, but I have never seen him. Now that many years have passed, I don't know if he is still alive and living there."

"I see." Tom was still more silent, and his face returned to the blank expression of the first meeting.

Hermione wanted to say something more, but ended up saying nothing.One lie meant more lies, and she tormented her soul, but found that in front of Tom, no matter what, it was difficult for her to make up another word.For the first time, she regretted that she knew so much information about Tom, because the next trip to Little Hangleton would surely erase more of the light in Tom's eyes, but this time the day would come sooner or later.

Tom finally agreed to this destined difficult itinerary. Before departure, he said to Hermione meaningfully: "You don't have to worry, and you don't have to explain anything more, I believe you."

Hermione thought about this sentence all the way, did he already know something?Yeah, how flimsy is the lie of pretending to be his mother's friend, and there are such holes in her words, and when he goes to Hogwarts in the future, he will surely understand that her knowledge of Hogwarts cannot be learned from books. Can he come on, can he still say "I believe in you" at that time?In a situation where almost half of what she said to him was a lie.

The wilderness outside the car window is falling rapidly, leaving some thick and faint shadows on the glass window. In the distance, the red, orange, yellow and green leaves are intertwined, and the undulating mountains disappear in the depths of the dense forest.Holly berries showed their first redness in life, and purple bushes adorned the sharp edges of the woodland.The gentle wind blows layers of waves, extending from both sides of the road to the depths of the deep forest, like waves in the clouds.

Under a sycamore tree burning with golden flames, Tom stomped on the first dry leaves of Little Hangleton.This is a quiet town, with several neat rows of houses and the half-high hills not far away, it seems that the end can be seen at a glance.This is his "hometown", but it is not even his birthplace. Although the scenery here is picturesque, there is no trace of familiarity.The purpose of his trip is to completely cut off those unnecessary connections, to cut off the concerns and conflicts in his heart, but it is undeniable that he still has a trace of expectation in his heart, that kind of growth in the bones, densely packed, to Father's expectations.

But he would never admit it.

"How? This is Little Hangleton, as beautiful as I remember." Hermione recalled her happy picnic with the old Granger couple by the river outside the village, and her father weaving colorful leaves for her. "Princess Necklace".

"And now our Princess Hermione wears her crown"—a wreath of wild roses, with old Mr. Granger carefully removing the spikes.And her mother, sitting on the checkered picnic cloth with bent legs, patiently spread slices of toasted bread with blueberry jam: "My dear, come quickly, Her Royal Highness also wants to eat."

Not daring to let her mind wander too far, Hermione needed to cherish the wonderful memories of this quiet town.She lowered her head and asked Tom, "Shall we go for a walk first?"

The blue tits couldn't wait to sing the carols of autumn, and the breeze occasionally stirred the rolling treetops for embellishment.There were a few scattered people walking in the small town, perhaps because of the large number of tourists, they didn't show anything unusual when they saw strange faces.A turbaned tenant even gave them a friendly smile.

However, a low voice broke the tranquility.There were a few people standing not far from the road. Three people dressed as peasants were bowing their heads and talking to a man dressed as a squire, and the man waved his hands impatiently, his attitude seemed very tough.He was wearing an elegant black suit, his black hair was neatly combed back, and he was holding a delicate cane in his hand. His figure and demeanor reminded Hermione of Lucius Malfoy.She was about to avoid the suspected dispute scene, but she was stopped by a sentence: "Please give me a few more days, Master Riddle."

Tom beside him also stiffened.

Merlin's pants!Hermione didn't intend to encounter these annoying things when she first arrived here, but now, she and Tom have just walked in this beautiful town for less than 10 minutes, and they encountered the most likely Tom's biological father.

After tidying up her clothes a little, she took Tom's hand and walked forward gently: "Hello, may I know your name?"

The man who was waving impatiently was a little surprised, then turned his head: "What?"

Hermione saw a face that was very similar to Tom's when he was young, with the same black eyes, a high nose bridge, and charming thin lips just right, but this face added a lot of violence and sharpness, which matched the current situation. The very impatient expression formed two completely different temperaments from the gentle and bewitching face of the young Dark Lord.

"I would like to ask if you could tell me your name?" Hermione bit the bullet and asked.

"I wonder what this has to do with you? To keep you from pestering me, well, Tom Riddle." The man finally replied.

Hearing this answer, Tom's hand began to tremble in his palm. Hermione squeezed Tom's hand comfortingly, and then lowered her voice: "Mr. Riddle, can we take a step to talk?"

"Why?" Old Riddle looked disdainful, "Didn't you see that I have something to deal with? It's not the right time to flatter me."

"No, I have something to ask you a few questions." Hermione continued patiently.

"Ask a few questions? I seem to be so kind to answer your questions? Tell me, what's wrong with you that you insist on pestering me here?"

"Because the child next to me is also named Tom Riddle." Seeing that old Riddle refused to communicate, Hermione had no choice but to directly ask the question.

"So what?" Old Riddle still looked impatient, he stared down at Tom's face, then looked up at Hermione's stern face, looked carefully for a while, and finally changed his expression: "Could it be you? ! Come this way."

Old Riddle twirled the silver cane in his hand, and impatiently drove away the tenants around him. He walked towards a magnificent mansion not far away: "Go over there, there are too many people here."

Hermione pulled the silent Tom to follow behind old Riddle.

The three of them stopped in front of the magnificent mansion.Hermione guessed that this might be old Riddle's home.There was no one around, and Hermione felt a little comforted, but Tom still held her hand tightly, without saying a word, just watching every move of old Riddle with those bottomless black eyes.

"Is she dead?" Old Riddle asked impatiently before the two of them paused to say something.

"What?" Hermione and Tom were surprised.

"I said Gaunt, that bitch, is she dead?" Old Riddle looked around mysteriously.

"Can you say that again?" Hermione hoped her ears were the problem.

"Looks like she's finally dead. She's finally stopped pestering me all these years. So she's dead. God knows I almost moved out of Little Hangleton because of her. This is where I grew up. For a bitch It would be ridiculous to leave here."

"Do you know you're talking about your wife?"

"Wife? I've never admitted this. I don't have a wife, and I can never be her. She doesn't deserve it." Old Riddle raised his voice.

Hermione tried her best to suppress her anger, she pointed to Tom and said word by word: "Then, you, know, know, this, is, who?"

"Of course, he looks exactly like me when I was a child. Gaunt was still pregnant when he left. I thought, this is her bastard. He survived tenaciously and shamelessly named me the same name. .” Old Riddle even rolled his eyes.

"So you know he's your son! You always knew you had a child!" Hermione wanted to rush forward, but Tom was pale and clutched her hand tightly, almost breaking her bones.

"In terms of blood, yes. But I don't admit that he was born under coercion and deception by me. I never thought that my child would have such a lowly and stupid mother."

Hermione threw a punch.