[HP Doujin] 1943

Volume [-]: The Snow Falls to the Wilderness

Volume Two. Bleak Moors in the Snow

1944 ~ 1947

Sowe beaton, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

—Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.

So we sail against the current and push forward until we return to the past.

— Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby [13]

【13】Excerpt from "The Great Gatsby Chinese-English Bilingual Translation", Francis Scott Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Fitsgerald), World Book Publishing House, 2010.

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On the first day of sixth grade, we were all sitting at the breakfast table morosely discussing our classes for the year.In my OWLs, I got "favors" in Charms, Herbalism, Potions, Transfiguration and Astronomy, "passed" in Divination, Protection of Magical Creatures and History of Magic, and failed Defense Against the Dark Arts and Arithmancy.

Ada was holding a handful of pamphlets on various career prospects printed by the Department of Education of the Ministry of Magic, and complained non-stop with Chris.

The dean of each college walks down from the staff table to determine the class schedule for the students.The dean of Ravenclaw is the astronomy teacher Professor Andrews, who is talking to Carl who is sitting on my right: "Very satisfactory grades, Mr. Adams... I certainly welcome you back to my astronomy class .Transfiguration, Potions, and Herbalism are all excellent, and you can continue to take them. However, Carl, your Defense Against the Dark Arts is good, and Professor Mellors requires students to achieve 'excellent' to continue this course..."

I glanced over to the Slytherins and saw Professor Slughorn.The chubby, walrus-whiskered Potions master was talking to Tom Riddle with a wide smile, lighting his timetable with his wand.Tom scored twelve "Outstanding" in his OWLs.In his exam subjects, the advanced classes of all courses are open to him.

Tom sat in a chair, in his black school robe, with a cup of coffee in his hand.To his right, half a dozen junior Slytherin girls were huddling together, giggling and pointing at Tom.Some girls from other colleges also deliberately passed behind him in twos and threes, and greeted him in a casual tone: "Hello, Tom!"

Every time a girl talks to him, he will show a handsome smile, and calmly reply with a humble and polite voice: "Hello."

Tony sat not far from me, eating fried eggs, his new school robe with the Boys' President badge pinned to the chest.In fact, no one was surprised that Tony was the new Head of Boys. Besides him, which seventh grade boy was so popular with the whole school?

As Prefect of Slytherin House, Tom Riddle will undoubtedly be the next Head Boy when Tony graduates next year.A few years ago, Slytherin had constant internal conflicts, and students from major families formed different internal small groups to compete with each other, making Slytherin the school with the most accidents in the school.But by the sixth grade, these conflicts gradually disappeared.No one knows why, everyone just knows that Abraxas Malfoy and Orion Black, who were once at odds with Riddle, have silently joined Riddle's camp.Tony Randall, while not explicitly siding with Riddle, has stopped speaking out against him.

After last year's ups and downs, this year's Hogwarts has been peaceful and harmonious - at least on the surface, that's what it looks like.

Professor Andrews walked up to me, smiled and said, "Well, Miss Bradley, if I remember correctly, your ambition is to be a therapist?"

I turned around and nodded without hesitation.

Unlike Ida, Carl, and Chris who are uncertain, I never hesitated about what I wanted to do.I wanted to be a healer, and the idea was firmly ingrained in me before I even went to Hogwarts.Ever since I was a carefree kid, I've longed to be like my dad—not what my dad is now (an unemployed alcoholic), of course, but who he was back then. The personable master therapist John Bradley.

"So...your OWLs results show that your dream is completely achievable. You have passed all the courses required by St. Mungo...let me see..." Professor Andrews looked at my report card and looked at me. Moving down, "You need to continue taking Charms, it's a must. Herbalism, Astronomy and Potions... and Transfiguration and Protection of Magical Creatures."

He took out his wand and clicked on my class schedule, and the small squares with different colors appeared, showing all my class time in a week.

Ten minutes later, I stuffed my timetable into my schoolbag, left the auditorium, and walked across the sunny meadow to herbal medicine class.I still remember how I walked across that meadow—full of hope, faith, and visions of everything good in the world—because I felt like my childhood dream had finally had a chance to come true.

Ravenclaw's herbal class is still with Slytherin. On the way to the herbal class, Tom caught up with me.

"Hey," he said, "how was your vacation?"

I nodded, meeting his gaze with a slightly nervous smile, the first time we had seen each other since last term.He strode towards me, put one hand on my waist naturally, bent slightly and kissed my cheek.

I blushed.

"It's okay," I said in a rambling voice. "In July I stayed with my mother at Mr. Randall's house, and in August I went back to Leicester Street and finished all my homework."

"Mr. Randall is still mad at you, isn't he?" said Tom, laughing. "It's his own daughter, that old fool."

I don't like the disdain in Tom's tone when he talks about Mr. Randall and Margaret. Anyway, he is also responsible for Margaret's imprisonment.

But I just smiled calmly and said nothing.

I haven't seen him throughout the summer vacation, and he just told me lightly that he "traveled to the north with some friends", but he didn't say a word about the purpose and experience of this so-called "travel".I know that as long as it's something he doesn't want to say, it's useless for me to ask more.So I didn't mention the word "summer vacation" to him at all, and just asked casually: "Your courses should be the same as Tony's, I guess? To prepare for working in the Ministry of Magic?"

He nodded: "Yes."

To be honest, when he nodded and admitted, I was greatly relieved in my heart.No matter what he is doing now, as long as he can enter the Ministry of Magic after graduation, then our lives will gradually return to normal.Who hasn't pursued some unrealistic goals when they were young?

"We're doing herbal medicine and astronomy together this term," I said, picking a very safe topic.

"En." He nodded.

I don't like this kind of myself very much. In the past, I would never speak after thinking so carefully, and I would never keep my doubts in my stomach.Although we get along peacefully and friendlyly, I feel a kind of silent oppression in my heart all the time.

"What's the matter with you?" he said, leaning slightly towards me.

Only then did I realize that my mind was distracted. I looked away from the forest in the distance, shook my head clumsily, smiled and said, "It's nothing."

He must have seen that I was lying, but he didn't expose me, but walked with me to Greenhouse No. [-] in silence.The greenhouse door was open, and a warm smell of dragon dung came out.

He followed me into the greenhouse and walked towards the group of Slytherins.

******

Until October, everything was going well with us, nothing happened, Tom and I didn't even have a quarrel.Compared with the tension between the two of us that was always on the verge of breaking out, the calm between us was a bit too much.

But as experienced sailors once said, the sea is always calm before the storm, and Tom had an accident at the end of October.

The Friday before Halloween is a game between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and the winning team will play Ravenclaw in the semifinals after Christmas.We don't want to face Gryffindor in the semi-finals, who have been very strong this term, so every time Gryffindor wins, we will boo hugely.

Hufflepuff was beaten by Gryffindor in the last game. Out of revenge, they also joined the team booing Gryffindor. For a while, all the students except Gryffindor turned to support Slytherin is gone.This scene is really funny.

It was a cold winter afternoon, the weather was cold iron gray, and the cold wind was as sharp as a knife on his face.I was standing on the top tier of the stands, with Ada and Carl standing on either side of me, wearing thick hats and scarves, waving Slytherin flags.At this time, Gryffindor scored a goal, and the whole stands began to roar angrily.Just as I was yelling loudly, someone pulled my clothes hard from behind, causing me to almost fall from behind.

I turned around angrily, and just as I was about to curse, I saw Sylvia's face in great surprise.What was she doing looking for me when she wasn't watching the game from the Slytherin stands?

"When did you start deigning to talk to me?" I said sharply.

A thick dark green scarf was wrapped around her neck, she was not wearing a hat, her long black hair was messed up by the wind, her face was bloodless, and she looked in shock, as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Lizzie, hurry up and follow me." She ignored my ridicule and said in my ear with difficulty while being pushed by the students watching the game.

"Why?" I said angrily, my eyes still following the Gryffindor suitors, "I'm watching the game!"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" She looked angry and anxious, almost crying. I've never seen her calm like this before, so I couldn't help being surprised.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the stands without any explanation: "It's Tom!"

"What?" I said out loud, my heart skipping a beat.I slipped, and Sylvia grabbed my arm, and I was able to stabilize myself without falling into the mud.

"What's the matter, Lizzie?" Carl asked behind me.

"Nick Wadley scored again!" Tony and Chris yelled together, angry in their voices.

I ignored them, followed Sylvia quickly through the crowd, left the extremely noisy Quidditch field, and rushed towards the castle.By the time we ran up the castle steps, I was out of breath and as pale as Sylvia.

"What happened?" I finally asked.

Sylvia ignored me.She led me into the oak gate, looked around, made sure no one was looking at us, and then rushed upstairs.I followed her all the way to a deserted corridor on the fifth floor.

It seemed it took Sylvia a few seconds for her legs to stop shaking.She stood in front of the blank wall, murmured words, and walked back and forth a few times. After a while, a beautiful and tall door suddenly appeared on the blank stone wall.

Sylvia took a quick look down the corridor, grabbed my robe and pushed me in.

When the door closed behind us, Sylvia leaned against it, shaking violently.

I asked her, "Where is this?"

"The Room of Requirement." She said briefly, "Only people who know what this place is for can enter." She threw the scarf on the ground, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked forward.

I turned around, and was surprised to see a room like a medical tent, with thick blankets on the floor, and a strong flame burning in the fireplace, making the air extremely warm.The room is rectangular. To my left is a golden washbasin. The shelf next to the pool is covered with snow-white towels. On the right is a shelf full of bottles and jars.At the other end of the room, the light is slightly dim, and there is a camp bed with bunk beds.

A figure wrapped in a black cloak was lying on the bed, and bright red blood stained a large sheet.

As if I had been petrified, I stood stiffly in place, unable to move or speak for a while.

"What did you bring her here for?" Although his voice was so weak it was almost a whisper, I could still hear the anger in Tom's voice.

Sylvia's legs softened, and she knelt down beside his bed: "I have no other way, you can't let Malfoy and the others know that you are injured! I'm going to London immediately to hide those things. For Merlin's sake, if someone finds out that you are the one who caused the trouble, it will be enough to put you in Azkaban for the rest of your life!"

"How is that possible," said Tom weakly, "we're not using Class I contraband."

"There is black thorn powder in the explosion residue," Sylvia spoke quickly, her voice trembling slightly, "That's why the explosion happened."

"But I didn't—"

"I know, I know..." Sylvia grabbed Tom's hand and said with red eyes, "I know you don't."

"So who the hell—" Tom's voice was full of dark anger, but Sylvia cut him off again.

"Now is not the time to find out the reason. The Ministry of Magic has received the news, and the contraband smuggling and anti-smuggling team has already set off. If they find what we left behind, they will immediately track you down." Sylvia's voice became more and more Urgently, "You stay here well, Lizzie will accompany you, I must go back and clean up the scene immediately."

"As I said, she is absolutely not allowed to be involved!"

"Tom!" Sylvia cried out in despair. Desperation seemed to give her great strength. She stood up suddenly, and her voice no longer trembled. "Principle! You're still thinking about her at this point? You either wait to die, or let her treat the wound for you!" She spoke faster and faster, as if determined not to let Tom interrupt She, "It's a big deal, it's over, you give her another damn forgetting curse!"

After she finished speaking, she turned around, every inch of her body exuded extreme anger and fear.When she passed by me, she turned around and said quickly, "Don't stand here, you idiot! Hurry up and find a hot towel and white moss essence to stop Tom's bleeding, do you want to watch him die here?!"

Seeing that I was still stunned in place, she slapped me with her hands, grabbed my shoulder, stared straight at me with dark eyes, and said viciously: "Take care of Tom. If he dies, I'll come back The first thing after that is to kill you. I will do it!"

Sylvia rushed out the door, and I was woken up by her scolding, and I realized that they must be in big trouble.As much as Sylvia hated me, the last thing she wanted was for me to stay with Tom, but at Hogwarts Castle she couldn't trust anyone but me to take care of Tom.It was at that moment that I realized for the first time an odd fact: Sylvia and I were not friends, but we were by no means enemies either.

I jumped up and went to find the white moss essence on the shelf.My hands shook so much that I smashed several glass bottles to the ground.The dark blue liquid in a bottle ignited as soon as it touched the carpet, and I hurriedly pulled out my wand and shouted, "Clear water is like a spring!"

A jet of clear water spouted from the tip of the wand, dousing the blue flames.I took the white moss essence, pulled several white towels, and ran to the camp bed.

Tom lay on the bed with his eyes closed, motionless, his face as pale as a flimsy piece of paper, and his thick black eyelashes cast a shadow on the underside of his eyelids.He wore a raincloak over his black robes, which was scorched and smelled bad, and his robe was torn at the waist, where blood was streaming.

With trembling hands I undid his cloak and robe, then unbuttoned his shirt.When I was unbuttoning his clothes, I could clearly feel his violent heartbeat and scorching body temperature.

The shirt had already clotted with his wound, I closed my eyes, and with a shuddering heart, I tore off the shirt, a stream of warm blood gushing on my hands.I felt his body shake violently, how painful should this be?

His eyes were still closed, his expression twitched slightly, but he just didn't make any sound.On the contrary, it was me, and the tears flowed down, as if the wound was on my body.

I covered his left waist with a white hot towel, temporarily stopped the bleeding, and then applied the white moss essence on it.But every time the hideous black wound healed, red blood would spurt out again, and the wound would burst again.

I knew it was a wound left by black magic.When I was at a loss and was about to collapse, he said in a low voice: "Greenland ice ribs."

My hand stopped in mid-air, staring at him.His face was pale, his eyes were closed, his lips were dry and bloodless, and his voice was hoarse and weak: "...with Icelandic volcanic ash and unicorn horn powder."

Without waiting for him to say it again, I rushed to the cabinet full of medicines. After searching for a while, I ran back with the medicines he was looking for, and poured the dark blue, cold Greenland cyanobacteria solution In a cup, You sprinkled a packet of lime powder-like Icelandic volcanic ash and pearly white unicorn horn powder into it, stirred it, poured it on a towel, and covered his wound with the towel.

His expression looked like he was slightly relieved, as if the potion had relieved some pain.I pressed the wound tightly for him, and the bleeding gradually stopped. After 5 minutes, I changed another towel, prepared a cup of medicine, poured it on the towel, and pressed it on the wound again.After repeating it five or six times, the wound on his waist finally stopped bleeding and condensed into a hideous black scar.

He was very weak from blood loss, and after a while I heard his slow, even breathing, and he fell asleep.

I sat on the edge of the bed staring blankly at him.His robe was torn, his shirt was unbuttoned, his chest was heaving with his breath, and he was burning hot.

I sat beside him, and the room was silent except for the crackling of the fire.

I hesitated for a moment, held his hand, lay on the head of the bed, and gently closed my eyes.

Fear, unknown and loss filled my heart.I was so scared that he would leave me.I was so afraid that when I woke up, the Ministry of Magic would be waiting at the school gates and take him away for endless interrogation.

The silence oppressed my eardrums. In order to dispel the great fear in my heart, I hummed a tune softly.This is the song my mother used to sing me every night before bed when she lived with me a long time ago—

I can hold out my arms, say I love you this much.

I can stretch out my arms and tell you how much I love you.

I could tell you how long I will long for your touch.

I'll tell you how long I've longed for your touch.

How much and how far would Igotoprove,

what do i have to prove

The depth and the breadth of my love for you?

How deep and how far do I love you? 【14】

Tom moved.I looked up, with tears in my eyes, in a trance, I saw his black eyelashes tremble, and opened his eyes slightly.

"This song is really nice." He looked at me, with a very shallow smile on the corner of his mouth, and said in a flat voice, "Don't stop, keep singing to me, okay?"

I put his palm on my face, lay down beside him, and continued to sing softly——

From here to the moon and back,

from the earth to the moon

who else would love you like that?

Who can love you like I do?

Love everlasting, I promise you that,

Love is forever, I promise you,

From here to the moon and back...

From the earth all the way to the moon...

Tom fell into a deep sleep amidst my intermittent, sometimes out-of-key singing.

Many years later, when I write my memoir, I still think of the long night waiting for Sylvia's return, and Tom's bloody, pale and fragile face.That was the first time in my life, and also the only time I saw this kind of cold despair and helplessness on his face.Yes, many years later, I still feel that the most heartbreaking scene in the world is the slight tenderness on his stern face, and the thin layer of fragility in his dark eyes.

However, when I was 16 years old, how could I know that from now on, such a Tom will disappear in the monstrous waves of the long river of time, and will never be found again.

It was almost midnight before Sylvia came back.

"Is Tom awake?" she asked hastily before she could take off her cloak, and running to me, stooped over Tom.

A thin bloody gash had been drawn across her face, her hair was disheveled, and a thin layer of snow had accumulated on the shoulders and hood of her black cloak.

"He's asleep," I said.Sylvia's eyes fell on my tightly clasped hand with his.I pulled my hand out automatically, but Tom's grip was too tight for me to succeed.Sylvia noticed my movement, snorted coldly, turned around and took off her cloak and scarf.

"What happened?" I asked.

Sylvia dropped her cloak on the ground, went to the fireplace, and stretched out her hands for warmth.

"None of your business." She said flatly.

"Hey," I said angrily, "I guess I have a right to know."

She shot me a cold look: "If I tell you, I'm afraid Tom will have to give you another forgetting curse when he wakes up."

"Bastard!" I blurted out, turning my head angrily and meeting Tom's black eyes.He did not know when he had woken up, his eyes were slightly open, and the thick black eyelashes cast a shadow under his pale eyelids.He looked at me with a tired look.

I looked at him with my mouth half open, and after a while, I said, "Sylvia is here."

Sylvia hurried over, looking so thin and pale, looking at Tom with a weary but determined light in her dark eyes.

"It's all settled," she said quickly, "don't worry, take care of your injuries."

Tom stared at her for three seconds, his eyes were dark and dark, and there was no expression on his face.He nodded slightly, and said hoarsely, "Got it."

"Dumbledore is already getting suspicious. I just met John Lipton, Prefect of Gryffindor, and he said he heard Dumbledore and Professor Mellors mention the accident in London in the staff room. Dumbledore suggested that the deans check their respective colleges to see if there are any students who behave abnormally."

"What did old Melissa say?"

"Of course I object. Both he and Principal Dippet think Dumbledore is ridiculous, and he would suspect Hogwarts students." Sylvia said quickly, "I have to go back to the common room quickly , can you go to class normally tomorrow?"

Tom nodded.

"Okay," Sylvia said, "I'll hold Malfoy. Lizzie," she turned to me suddenly, her eyes sparkling, "I can't trust Tony completely, and if he asks, tell him You and I went to the library to write a paper for herbal medicine class. Last week, Professor Elliott assigned a group assignment, saying that I was in a group with you."

I kept a straight face and said nothing.

"Lizzie?" she asked again.

"Why should I do what you say?"

Sylvia said impatiently: "I said it's none of your business!"

I was about to open my mouth to retort when I heard Tom say quietly behind me, "Elizabeth, do as Sylvia says."

I turned my head and met his cold and powerful eyes.All my anger was blocked back at once.He was no joke when he was angry.No one can withstand his wrath and disobey his orders.

I stood up numbly and left the Room of Requirement without a word.

【14】取自WillieNelson2013年专辑“ToAlltheGirls”中与乡村音乐天后DollyParton（1946~今）合唱的曲目“FromHeretotheMoonandBack”.WillieNelson,1933~今，美国乡村摇滚乐大师，2000年获格莱美终身成就奖。