HP Nocturne and Evening Bell

Chapter 38

The world stopped at the moment Hermione fell, and everything in front of her eyes disappeared, the ground with flowing water, the stained glass windows, the wind blowing from nowhere outside the door, the dim moonlight, everything disappeared.He only saw how the sharp teeth of the basilisk pierced Hermione's white skin, and cut a deep wound. He even saw how the venom of the basilisk flowed into the red blood vessels from between the teeth, and how it was connected with That bright red blood mixed together—that warm red blood that was as bright and beautiful as the others.

Hermione's eyes closed the moment she fell to the ground, before she spoke a thousand words, her brown eyes closed, like countless mornings or evenings, when she was tired and wanted to rest, when she was confused and wanted to think When she closed it gently, her falling body even drew a beautiful arc, which was as perfect as a parabola in Muggle mathematics. The arms and legs covered by her robe were firmly attached to the ground. , as if they were built for each other.Tom even saw the blush on Hermione's face, as lovely as a new rose, as precious as the light before sunrise.This precious blush can only be seen in the corner of his eye when he kisses the dimple at the corner of her mouth or he is panting on the top of her furry head. Every time he captures this emotional moment, his chest is full of pride and joy. Satisfying sweetness.And now, her face will be covered with this intoxicating blush forever.

There is no more music or sound in Tom's world. He just mechanically shakes the wrist holding the wand. A lot of green light and black mist surround the body of the basilisk. He numbly looks at the huge body of the basilisk in pain. Trembling convulsively, it knocked over the toilet sink and the colorful decorations on the wall with its scaly tail, its yellow eyes were closed tightly in pain, and two red bloodstains flowed out.He continued to cast all the painful spells of black magic and white magic he knew on the basilisk one by one without stopping, like a concentrated display of results, a wave of cold and focused attacks The waves hit the twisted and deformed body of the basilisk. After several struggles, the basilisk finally slipped into the bottomless hole. A tremor came from the ground, and the white stone platform automatically returned to its original position. Tom waved With a wave of his arm, everything returned to normal in an instant, except for Hermione lying on the ground and Myrtle in the corner, everything seemed to have never happened.

But nothing could have happened.Tom squatted down tremblingly, and stretched out his hand to touch Hermione's breath. He froze for a while, feeling every wave of airflow with a meticulousness that he had never experienced in his life, but no matter how careful he was, his pale and slender fingertips would never feel To that warm and trembling breath.Tom clenched his fingers, trying to grab something hard, the bones in his hands creaked, and finally fell down.

He simply sat down on the ground and took Hermione's hands that were hanging down. The hands were still so soft and warm, and the thin calluses between the fingers reminded Tom of how many pages and scrolls they had turned.He bowed his head and gently kissed her slender fingers, smelling the fragrance of green grass and the smell of parchment.With a sound of ding dong, as if it was an auditory hallucination, a small glass bottle fell from Hermione's hand and rolled to the corner of Tom's clothes.He picked up the bottle in surprise, and saw a large group of white flocculent mist slowly surging inside, turning into a faint smile.He couldn't help looking at Hermione's peaceful face, clenched the glass bottle in his hand, pressed his lips against Hermione's fingers, and sat for a long time without moving.

The sky is getting brighter, and the trees and grass are welcoming the next brilliant sunrise.The morning wind awakens the moss on the stone wall and the mist on the glass, and the ancient campus once again stretches its embrace and is full of vitality.

Abandoned toilets scatters colored beams, and golden dust floats in the air.Myrtle in the corner woke up slowly. She opened her heavy eyes and moved her sore limbs. A black shadow sat not far from the sink. There seemed to be someone in his stiff arms. The shadows overlapped, only subtle. silhouette.Myrtle approached curiously, and found that the figures were Slytherin prefect Tom Riddle and potions assistant Miss Granger.

"Tom? What happened?" Myrtle asked cautiously after noticing the gloomy atmosphere in front of her eyes.

Tom, who was sitting on the ground, raised his head slowly, and glanced at her with a look she had never seen before. With just one look, she felt that her blood was about to freeze, and in the dark pupils, there was a breathtaking coldness and emptiness. Showing unprecedented cruelty, her insensitive heart also felt a little pain.

"Do you need my help?" Myrtle still asked in a low voice.

Tom on the ground didn't answer any more, he just hugged Miss Granger tightly in his arms, rubbing his cheek against her hair, his intimacy seemed like whispers between a couple.Seeming to have seen the secret that she should not have seen, Myrtle jumped back in horror and left here quickly.

Not long after, Professor Dumbledore appeared at the door of the toilet. He looked in surprise at Tom who was still sitting on the ground and Granger in his arms, his blue eyes were full of shock and sadness.

Rubbing his palms together hesitantly, he bent slightly and tried to get closer to Tom: "What happened to Miss Granger? What happened?"

He touched Granger's arm. Surprisingly, her body was still very warm, as if she was alive. However, when he stroked the pale veins on her wrist, there was no longer a beat.Dumbledore waved his wand and examined Hermione's condition. Under the influence of the spell, Hermione's body was permeated with white light. This situation surprised Dumbledore. Under the normal definition, she was indeed dead. up.but.........

Turning his eyes to Hermione's hanging left hand, he saw a ring inlaid with black stones perfectly nested on Hermione's ring finger.This is a strange ring, the golden edge is shining, but the black stone used as the face of the ring has no luster—as if it has lost its life.Slowly approaching and observing the black stone carefully, Dumbledore couldn't help opening his eyes slightly, if he read correctly...

"Tom, I think Miss Granger may not be dead." Dumbledore hesitated and finally spit out this sentence.

Tom looked up at Dumbledore immediately, his black eyes turbulent.

"This ring is yours, right? You mentioned its ownership, and I also guessed the meaning of it that you put on Granger's left hand a few years ago. But you know? The black stone is not an ordinary decoration, if I read it correctly, it should be the resurrection stone of one of the Deathly Hallows." Dumbledore explained.

"The Resurrection Stone? You mean it's one of the Deathly Hallows? For so many years, I never thought it would be the Resurrection Stone. I just gave it to Hermione as a token of the Gaunt family."

"Do you know the legend of the Deathly Hallows? It is real, and the ring on Miss Granger's finger is the resurrection stone that the three brothers once had."

"But she's not breathing," murmured Tom.

"But her body is still warm. Under normal circumstances, she will gradually become cold."

Tom gently supported Hermione's body with both hands, and stood up. He lowered his head and straightened Hermione's messy hair, but his body froze for a moment: "Disappeared..."

"What disappeared?" Dumbledore looked up.

"Something that existed before." Tom looked in disbelief at the place where the tattoo should have been drawn, the skin that he used to secretly touch and caress while Hermione was asleep, now it was blank.

"Granger's state at this time should be between life and death. She is drifting in an unknown area, traveling between existence and nothingness. The disappearing thing you mentioned should also be the reason for her current state. one."

"Will she still come back alive? Will she drift like this forever? In a place that only Merlin knows."

"I don't think I know either. She can't say she's dead, but she can't say she's alive either. I've never seen anything like that. Whether she wakes up one day depends on how much she's suffered. The damage, how much magic works on her, depends on Merlin's will."

"Merlin's will? You make me believe in these illusory things?"

"Tom, the things we can't see in life don't mean they don't exist. The so-called illusory is just that you don't have the ability or willingness to perceive. Love is illusory, but I can feel it strongly from Granger. This, the way she looks at you, oh, I should have realized all this. The worldly routine blinded me. I regret that I never gave her a normal and equal opportunity to understand and communicate. This is my fault .Tom, please don't laugh at these things that make you weak and even painful. We have always pretended to see through, but we have never really understood its power and nature."

"So, my actions will affect everything in the dark, do you think so?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, Tom, you are a smart boy, you should know what kind of intention releases what kind of fruit, there are thousands of paths, and you are the one who chooses and writes."

"Don't you even ask me what happened? Why did Hermione die? You simply accepted all this? How do you explain it to the students and professors?" After a while of silence, Tom stared at the wizard in front of him , It is difficult to hide my puzzlement and doubts.

"Tom, I don't know if I should tell you, but in fact Miss Granger has come to see me before." Dumbledore paused, then continued, "She said something might happen to her, but if nothing else Casualties, threats to others, she asked me not to investigate, just explain to others that she left school and went to a distant place. I felt very strange, and asked her why she said these words, she told me that her Life is borrowed and does not belong to her. Sooner or later, she will have to return it. Therefore, her death is not anyone's responsibility or fault. It is just a natural ending that will come sooner or later. She said it was Merlin's will."

"So you're going to do it? What about fairness and justice you're after? What if it's murder? Don't you care?" Tom felt his hands shaking.

"Of course not. I thought a lot on the way to hear the news, but seeing such a scene, I don't know what to say. Tom, you know? Miss Granger's only request to me that night Just don't embarrass you, pursue you, and trust you." Dumbledore turned his head slightly and turned his back to Tom, not knowing why he should be sad.

"She has expected all this to happen?" Tom shook his head in disbelief, feeling the pain in his heart deepened, the anger of being deceived and the indescribable panic surrounded him again, he clenched his hands, the glass bottle in his hand was cold The hardness reminded him.

"Do you know what this is?" Tom held up the glass vial.

"It's a memory."

"Memory?" Tom narrowed his eyes, Hermione, have you finally decided to tell me the truth?After you die?

"You can use the Pensieve to look at it. It's in my office. I think Granger reserved this memory for you."

"Professor, I need to take a few days off."

"Okay, I will tell the other professors that you are sent by me to complete some tasks and need to go out for a few days."

"Thank you, Professor."

"I'm really sorry, I have caused many irreparable regrets because of prejudice and misunderstanding, Tom, I hope that starting today, I can not let this regret continue." After a long silence, Dumbledore sighed, "First put Gran Can Miss Jay's body be placed in her dormitory? If you want to see Miss Granger's memory right now."

"Ok."

Dumbledore and Tom walked towards the dungeon side by side. At this time, Hogwarts students were studying in the classroom, the corridors were empty, and redundant explanations and spells were dispensed with.After placing Hermione's body, protecting it with a spell and locking the door, Dumbledore led Tom towards his office. Before stepping into the office, Dumbledore's blue eyes flickered a few times, He looked at Tom meaningfully, "Tom, I hope you can really understand all this."

"I hope so too." Tom looked complicated.

"Then, go ahead, I won't bother you, you just need to pour the memory into the Pensieve and you will see it, I hope you will remain calm and strong when you come out."

"I wish. (howiwish)"

Walking into Dumbledore's office full of strange decorations, Tom closed the door and locked it with a magic spell. He came to a silver round basin, opened the glass bottle stopper, and slowly poured the silver memory into it. Taking a breath, he lowered his head.

The sky is spinning, Tom is standing on a busy street, and strange cars are speeding on the street, and scantily clad men and women are coming and going holding hands. He dodges to dodge, but finds that his hand has penetrated the white railing on the side of the road. The cheers that belonged exclusively to children came, and a family of three approached not far away. A curly-haired little girl with brown hair was sitting on the shoulders of a tall man with the same brown hair, while a woman with black hair was raising her hands The colorful balloons in it waved to the little girl: "Dear sweetheart, look, do you like it? Look, John, our little Hermione is so excited! She loves these balloons! Look at her flushed cheeks, I want to She took a picture, John, you get the balloon."

The tall man took the balloon, and the little Hermione on his shoulders had already opened his arms to embrace a red balloon, her curly hair rubbed against the surface of the balloon, her honey-colored eyes curved like crescent moons, and her small red mouth Babbling: "Balloon....Qi...Mom...."

"My dear little cake~" The black-haired woman put down the camera in her hand and kissed the little girl's cheek. The family of three hugged each other, with colorful balloons dancing above their heads.

Tom narrowed his eyes, flashing the familiar loving look on the woman's face, the kind of love he had never been able to reach and finally frozen. Hermione had a happy family.

Before Tom could think any more, the picture changed suddenly. In a blink of an eye, Tom found himself in the Hogwarts Express that was rumbling forward. The person walking in front of him was 11-year-old Hermione. wizard robes down to the ankles.

"Hello, have you seen a toad?"

The two little wizards in the box looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Tom watched Hermione clean the glasses of the little wizard with round glasses in a serious manner, and laughed at the red-haired little boy's bad spells. He realized that Hermione was really not very cute sometimes when she was a child.

The scene changed again, this time it was the women's toilet at night, Hermione was crying by the wooden door, a giant suddenly broke in, he saw how Hermione screamed in terror, and the two little wizards before were How bravely rushed in and rescued her from the hands of the troll, it seems that they should be the friends Hermione often misses.

The next few pictures flashed by, and he vaguely saw how the three of them moved together, studied together, cheered and complained about the professor's homework. Of course, Hermione couldn't complain about these, her mind was full of dense The pages of the text, during which the blond figure flashed past, and that familiar face reminded Tom reluctantly of Malfoy.

After another round of rotation, Tom found that the wizard wearing round glasses was leaning on Hermione's shoulders. The two sat in the corner of the Hogwarts corridor, their vision was a little dim, and only a small window cast a straight beam of light.Tom suppressed his jealousy and stood behind them, listening carefully to their conversation.

"Harry, are you having nightmares again?"

"No, they're not dreams, I know they all happened, you know? That demon, I saw with my own eyes how he killed my parents, I saw with my own eyes how the green light on the tip of his staff It penetrated my mother's body, and I was just there crying, like howling, and I couldn't do anything, I couldn't do anything."

"It's all over, Harry, it's all over." Hermione gently stroked the boy's trembling back.

"No, there is no past, he's back, he's back, I know the Ministry of Magic won't believe me, they just want to whitewash the peace, but Hermione, you should believe me, even if Ron doesn't believe me, you should believe me , I didn’t lie, what I said was true.”

"I believe you, Harry, we all know he was the murderer of Cedric, and I always thought so."

"Hermione, maybe you should stay away from me." The wizard named Harry suddenly raised his head leaning on Hermione's shoulder.

"Are you kidding Harry, I thought you should know what I am after all these years, and you're insulting me like this." Hermione crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I'm afraid, I'm afraid that one day you will fall to the ground, breathless, cold, I can't even imagine that this happened to Ron, Neville, Luna, Dean, George or On anyone else, they died because of me, I killed them, I will pull them into killing and death, I am the culprit." Harry held his head in pain.

"No, Harry, people say you are the savior, to me you are just Harry, my best friend. We stand by your side by our own will, and we thank you, thank you for standing bravely Come out and face it, thank you for giving us hope to win, though I know how heavy that hope is on you, Harry, you shouldn't and can't blame yourself for any death or injury, you know , all this is the fault of that Voldemort. Should a victim blame himself for the criminal and think it is his own fault?"

"Hermione, did you say his name?"

"Do you have the courage to say it, but I don't? Harry, I will fight you to the end."

The two held each other's hands tightly.

Tom is more interested in the wizard named Voldemort. The means of resurrection of that person, and the patience that has been hidden for more than ten years, amazed Tom. The child had lost his parents, and the hurt he had done to Hermione and her friends was unforgivable.But every time he heard the name "Voldemort", the strange feeling, this familiar thinking and method gradually made a terrible guess in Tom's heart. He didn't even want to stay in the memory, but the memory still held him He flocks to the next scene.

The empty hall, the towering dome, Tom stood in a strange place, which looked like the inside of Hogwarts, but he had never seen such a place.Waiting suspiciously for Hermione to appear in her memory, the wall in front of her twisted for a while, Hermione, who seemed to be about 15 years old, appeared in front of her eyes, and she was talking excitedly to a blond girl, and that The girl pushed her weird glasses on the bridge of her nose and gave Hermione a confused smile. Tom came closer and listened curiously.

"Luna, this is really the Room of Requirement. It's amazing. How did you find out?"

"There are so many polychils on this wall, I can hear their uneasy cries."

"Bo...Parisch? That's...Oh, Luna, is this your new discovery?"

"No, I introduced it in issue 126 of "The Quibbler". Hermione, you didn't read it carefully, did you, even though I put the magazine by your hand every time? Hermione, now the harassment gadfly next to you suddenly It has become so much, what are you worrying about?"

Facing the dreamy eyes of the blonde girl, Hermione in her memory was a little dazed. She raised her hand to stroke her disheveled curly hair, and quickly changed the subject: "Harry will be able to teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts here in the future, Ugh That old Mr. Mlich will never find out, it's so funny, it's always there, it's what you ask for."

"Old? I think her soul form is a red fly. Do you know that this kind of creature has become more and more common in Hogwarts with her arrival..."

The figures of the two people were far away, and the world was spinning. The surrounding scene changed dramatically. The bright sunshine disappeared, replaced by a black sky and blurred vision. The cold wind blew through the dry branches and made a shrill sound. You can even hear the rustling of dead leaves.

So is this scene a wild woods?It seemed that the scene in Hermione's memory was thousands of miles away from Hogwarts at this time. There was a loud bang, and several red and green lights penetrated the night, illuminating several running figures.

"See where you're going, young mudbloods, it's just right for dinner!" A tall werewolf was chasing the figure in front of him.

"Mudblood! I hate mudblood the most! My master will definitely appreciate me, for there will be one less mudblood and pure-blood traitor in this world!" Another crazy female voice followed.

A few beams of light flashed by, and one of the figures running ahead suddenly fell down.

"No! Seamus!" Hermione's sharp voice almost penetrated the thin skin and blood vessels.

"Go! They are going to catch up!"

"No! Seamus, he's only sixteen! Sixteen! They killed him!" Hermione fired a spell behind her as she ran.

"Hermione, please, let's go! Seamus is not the first hero sacrificed, nor will he be the last! But we will make them pay in the end!" Almost shouting the last sentence, a green light flashed It penetrated the body that was still running.

"Dennis! Oh, Merlin!" Hermione slowed down her running pace, unable to restrain her urge to keep turning her head.

"So that's the dirty little Mudblood left? Go, Greyback, your supper."

"Don't even think about it! Avada Kedavra!" A green light appeared on the tip of Hermione's wand.

A burst of strong green light penetrated the deep forest, and Tom had to squint his eyes and open them again. He was startled by the sight in front of him, and the broken scene in front of him almost made him choke up.The tall tower of Hogwarts is no longer tall, revealing the jagged ruins.Thick black smoke floated from the glass windows, and the sound of some explosions came from a certain corner of the castle from time to time.The green grass has turned into scorched earth, and the Whomping Willow by the lake seems to have lost its vitality. Tom looked up at the sky, and there were countless dementors hovering in the gray sky, their black robes were like a bottomless abyss, sucking All joy and happiness gone.

"Hogwarts is no longer safe, we must leave." Hermione's voice came from Tom's left.

"However, Hogwarts is my home. It has been my home since the day I stepped into the wizarding world at the age of 11. Now it has been destroyed by Death Eaters. Hermione, this is the only place I have. A place of belonging, but Voldemort ruined it too, he graduated from this school himself, didn't he?!"

Death Eaters?Tom was startled and frightened, but the memory pushed the facts forward again relentlessly, making him unable to deny or evade.

The scene in front of me changed again, it was also the wild woods, but this time the woods were covered with white snow, and there was a cold light under the night.

Tom approached the tent that suddenly appeared in the woods, and as expected, he saw Hermione and the figure named Harry again.

"Hermione, you've been wearing that for too long, let me do it." Harry pointed to the locket on Hermione's chest.

"No, Harry, you're more connected to him, and he can't let him use you anymore."

"Anthony is dead, it's all my fault, I made a mistake again, oh, I killed him, I also killed my only relative-Sirius."

"Harry, please don't say that. Your godfather loves you so much that he is willing to die for you. As for what happened last time, you didn't make the decision alone. We all have a part in it. Responsible."

"Ron is gone, Hermione, without you..."

"Ron just couldn't think about it for a while. He will come back. If he doesn't come back, oh, Ronald fool."

"I made him bear too much. Every one of his relatives is a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He is afraid to hear the news of the death of any of them."

"Yeah, I can understand him at this point. Luckily I've put an oblivious spell on my parents and they should be safe in Australia."

"Forget it all? Hermione, you never said..."

"Forget it, don't mention it anymore, rest well tonight, we will transfer to Wales tomorrow, this place is no longer safe."

"Good night, Hermione." Harry gave Hermione a big hug.

"Good night, Harry."

The night was getting darker. Tom leaned closer to the Hermione in his memory and carefully observed the locket on her chest. The golden surface shone with a strange light. Tom felt that there seemed to be some fragments of the soul inside.Not long after, he heard a familiar voice coming from the locket—it was his own voice.

It was equally deep and sweet, but there was a hint of charm in this voice, which managed to make Hermione frown in her sleep.

"What are you denying? You are very smart, you don't have to be Harry Potter's helper, living in the shadow of the savior forever." A bewitching voice surrounded Hermione's body.

"No, Harry is my friend, I'm not his shadow, I'm his friend." Hermione murmured in her sleep.

"So forget the way he laughed at you as a know-it-all? Forgot the time when he couldn't think of asking you when he didn't have a date?"

"He wasn't the only one who called me a jack-of-all-trades, in fact the professors did, so what? I'd rather take it as a compliment."

"Praise? Hermione, you really surprised me. Even if Ron left you all willfully and left, you wouldn't really blame him, would you? I'm moved by how broad-minded you are."

"That's not because of you! Voldemort, shut up!"

"How dare you use my name in vain, you dirty mudblood!"

"Mudblood? What are you yourself? A pure-blood supremacist half-blood wizard, how ironic, it's a pity you inherited your Muggle father's name!"

"How dare you? How dare you?!"

"How dare I? Do you want me to say it? The great Voldemort, the real name is so common, so you just abandoned it without hesitation, don't you think so? Tom, Tom Riddle!" Hermione opened her eyes for a moment. Eyes opened.

Tom was stunned. Although it was Hermione in his memory, her brown eyes still flashed with unforgettable hatred. Her sharp eyes shot straight over, and even traveled through memory and time, standing in front of Hermione. The Tom in his memory could barely breathe. He watched the locket emit a dazzling red light. In just a split second, Hermione's skin immediately flowed bright red blood.

Looking at Hermione's painful cry in his memory, Tom couldn't move an inch, and the most terrifying guess became a fact. All Hermione's concealment from him, the guard and uneasiness that she always couldn't let go of, even heard it when they first met The fear of his name has an explanation.Tom wants to laugh, Hermione is really stupid, instead of killing him, she fell in love with him, fell in love with her enemy, a witch with such a strong sense of justice, how much morality she has to endure in her heart every moment self-torture of condemnation.What's more ironic is that she didn't just fall in love with him and be confused by him, she actually loved him so deeply, she tolerated him, helped him, understood him, encouraged him, in order to prevent the killing he might commit, She even sacrificed her own life to save it all.

Tom laughed until he left Hermione's memory and returned to Dumbledore's office, and he couldn't stop laughing wildly and high-pitched.