[HP Doujin] 1943
Chapter 41 1938
The summer of 1938 changed everything.
The first summer after Francis turned 17, he and his family were invited to Mr. Randall's wedding.Their family was distantly related to the Randalls.Tony Randall was six years younger than him, a sunny and handsome blond kid.Dressed in a fitted dark blue gown, he and his sister Margaret greeted guests at the garden gate where the wedding tent had been set up.
"Margaret is not happy." Tony winked at Francis. "She doesn't like her stepmother."
"And you?" Francis said with a smile.
"Madeleine is just like Julia," Tony said. "I can guarantee that within two years, my dad will find another beautiful woman."
A child who is only 11 years old can say such a thing, Francis thought, it really is a child of this kind of family.Before he could speak, he was surprised to see a chestnut-haired girl walking over and looking at Tony and Margaret with an angry and dismissive expression.
Lizzie's thoughts are always clearly written on her face, making it easy to see.Francis looked at her in surprise, not understanding why she appeared here. At this time, Mr. Randall came over and said enthusiastically: "Tony, Margot, come and meet Madeleine's daughter. From today , Lizzie is your sister."
Margaret snorted disdainfully.Tony stepped forward and extended a friendly hand to Lizzie, but Lizzie raised her hand quickly and smashed a stone on his forehead.
It's not hard to imagine the chaos that ensued, with the adults taking Tony to bandage the wound, Lizzie being scolded, and her mother no longer letting her be a flower girl.She looked indifferent, and in the afternoon, probably to show off, Margaret took Lizzie to see her Spanish purebred foal. Somehow, Margaret fell into the stable. , the new skirt was cut by the fence, covered with horse manure and feed, and completely ruined.
This little girl is really getting more and more rebellious, she must be on the verge of puberty, Francis thought, amused at the same time.During the dinner, he found Lizzie who was locked in the living room by Madeleine, brought her a stack of finger cakes and hot tea, and jokingly said, "Little girl is doing very badly today."
Lizzie glanced at him angrily, her face was gloomy, and she didn't speak.
"What's the matter?" he said, sitting down beside her. "Aren't you happy that you've done Tony and Margaret all over again?"
He patted her hand, but she blushed and moved aside.She used to jump on him when she saw him, but now she has become shy, it seems that she has really grown up.Francis looked at her amusedly and said, "Tell me about your sadness."
Lizzie was quite reserved at the beginning, and then she started talking.She said she hadn't been happy at all for the past year, and a black-haired boy in the orphanage was always bullying her and every kid on the street.The court awarded custody of her to her dad, and she will never see her mom again.She felt it was all the fault of the Randalls, and she hated them.
Said that at the end she burst into tears: "Mom doesn't want me anymore, my mother doesn't want me anymore. Rich people are bad people. Francis, why are you here? If you are also rich, then I won't follow You played."
Regardless of her blushing and embarrassment, Francis held her in his arms and said, "Of course I am not. I don't have such a beautiful new robe as Tony's. Don't worry, I will never bully you."
He kissed her hair and saw her blushing even more. "Which boy in the orphanage bullied you?" he said, "I'll beat him for you."
"No need," she said proudly, raising her small chin, "I can beat him by myself."
Frances laughed, reaching out and ruffling her hair.
After Lizzie left, he found Tony and forced him to swear not to bully Lizzie in the future.He muttered: "She smashed my head in a big bag as soon as we met!"
"Her mother abandoned her to marry your father, of course she hates your family." Francis said, "Margaret will definitely play tricks on Lizzie, you promise me, as long as you are in Hogwarts , you have to protect her everywhere and treat her as your own sister!"
Of course, it took years for Francis to discover the deeper secrets of the Randall family.After Tony learned from Riddle that his biological mother was actually Lizzie's mother, he almost rushed home and beat up old Randall.In the end it was Francis who dragged him to the Leaky Cauldron for an evening of drinking.
After looking for Tony, he found an assistant under his father and asked him to find someone to go to the orphanage to inquire about the situation.Sitting in the broomstick management office, he received his first report on Tom Riddle.
The paper knife opened the brown paper envelope, and two black and white photos fell to the floor.He picked up the photo and froze in place.
The photo was taken secretly at night, and it was not clear, but he still recognized the Thames and the soft and dim lights on the other side of the river.Boys and girls of similar ages sat side by side in the bridge hole by the river, talking and laughing.
The second picture shows the boy standing alone on Leicester Street.Wearing ripped jeans and his hands in his jacket pockets, he walks down the gray stone steps of a tenement building.Even though there was only one side face, Francis gasped.
He had never seen such a handsome boy.
That year, he was 17 years old and Tom was 10 years old.From the moment he held Tom's photo in his hand, the war of a lifetime between the two men began.
Malfoy's and Tony's bullying of Tom was petty at best.In the summer vacation of the first grade, when Tom came out of King's Cross Station and was walking towards the bus station with his luggage, two men in black jumped out from nowhere, stunned him, and dragged him into a car.
After an unknown amount of time, a bucket of cold water was poured on his head. Tom had a splitting headache and opened his eyes in a daze. The chilly wind blows in from all directions.Tom blinked and saw a pair of cold, stern gray-blue eyes staring at him with a hint of curiosity and disdain.
Tom tried to move, but his hands were tied tightly to the back of the chair and he couldn't move at all.He tried to move his body, and with a bang, a leather whip suspended in the air hit his body, leaving a shocking bloodstain.
"Jonathan, don't do it!" Francis waved to the assistant behind him.
Standing in front of an 11-year-old boy, 18-year-old Francis looks extraordinarily tall.Wearing a black robe, cloak, and sheepskin gloves, he squatted down in front of Tom, with a playful smile on his lips: "Hello, Mr. Riddle."
Tom stared at him not to be outdone, and asked fiercely, "Who are you?"
Francis took a silk handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the spit from Tom's face.
"I'm not interested in telling you my name," said Francis, putting the handkerchief back into his pocket and drawing his wand. "But don't you want to know why you're here?"
"Tell me if you're interested," said Tom darkly.
Francis sneered: "I have checked your background clearly. Threatening other children in the orphanage? Hanging other children's rabbits and taking them to the cave? These are all childish and ridiculous tricks, and they are quite inferior .”
Tom's dark eyes looked at him coldly: "Go on. I know you haven't gotten to the point yet."
"Sure enough," said Francis. "Say, what's your relationship with Elizabeth Bradley?"
Tom was visibly taken aback. Elizabeth?That stupid girl with no brains flashed through his mind, what does he have to do with her?They had only had a few fights in Leicester Street over the past few years, and hardly ever talked at school.
But he quickly turned the corner, and his dark eyes gradually gathered thick mockery: "What does the matter between me and Elizabeth have to do with you?"
"Listen, you little mouse," Francis pressed his wand against his chest, "stay away from her. Understood? Otherwise, I'll make you die worse than your mother."
Tom's eyes gradually filled with cold anger: "No matter how bad Elizabeth's vision is, I'm afraid she wouldn't choose you as her boyfriend."
Francis stood up abruptly, swung his wand, and the whip that stayed in mid-air lashed viciously on Tom's neck.
"You swear you'll never touch Elizabeth again!" he roared.
Tom stared at him without saying a word, with a grim sneer on his lips.
The whip came down so violently that Tom's lip was bitten, but he remained obstinately silent the whole time.Francis originally thought that the 11-year-old would cry and beg for mercy as long as he was frightened. His silence, stubbornness and mockery in his eyes made him feel more and more angry. His assistant winked and stopped torturing.
He had no intention of hurting or maiming the child.But he would think of another way.
Francis walked out of the abandoned factory, got into his car, and planned to go to Hyde Park to find Elizabeth.
At that time, it never occurred to him that if he didn't threaten Tom, perhaps Tom would never notice Elizabeth in his life.
******
In July, Stuart Manor is shrouded in a light mist, filled with the fragrance of hyacinth and rhododendron.Francis returned to the manor early, greeted Mr. Claude, the housekeeper, and went upstairs to his father's study.
As his father sat reading a letter at the huge mahogany desk, Francis tapped on the door frame and said politely, "Father, may I have a word with you?"
"Certainly," said Charles Stuart, taking off his eyes, picking up his cigar, and leaning back comfortably in the great arm-chair, "I saw Mr. Greengrass at the Ministry today. We discussed it and decided to hold a traditional wedding at the Stuart Manor at the end of this year. What do you think?"
Francis stepped forward and said, "Father, I don't want to marry Laura. I don't love her."
Old Mr. Stuart took a puff of smoke, put the cigar on the table casually, and stood up: "In a few days, you can bring your Stuart family's ancestral wedding ring to Laura."
Francis said angrily: "Did you hear what I said? I don't want to marry her!"
"Oh?"
"I fell in love with a girl. I fell in love with her in the summer when I was 16. She is much younger than me, but I will wait for her to grow up and marry her as my wife. If you don't agree It doesn't matter, I don't want the position in the Ministry of Magic you arranged for me, and I don't want the manor and your money, I just want Elizabeth."
"Finished?" said old Mr. Stuart, tapping the ring on his finger on the desk. "Do you hear yourself? Do you know who you are?"
Francis looked at his stern and unkind father with red eyes, feeling that the temperature in his heart had cooled a little bit.There are layers of thick curtains behind his father, and portraits of his grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather are hung on the dark solid wood wainscoting carved with complicated scroll patterns and family emblems. Most of their life trajectories are similar. Growing up, marrying the wife he had arranged for a long time ago, and successfully becoming a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic.They were all listening, some shaking their heads, some snickering.
His grandfather sighed and said with a sneer, "Charles, before you married Stephanie, you had a big fight with me in the study. Seeing the scene now really makes me feel like I've gone back in time." Woolen cloth."
"Shut up." Old Mr. Stuart said angrily, then turned to look at Francis, and said in a word, "You will marry Laura, inherit my estate, and others, you want Don't even think about it."
Francis blurted out: "Okay, then I will marry Laura first, and when you die, I will divorce and marry Elizabeth!"
A circle of portraits of the Stuart family in the study gasped and hissed dissatisfiedly. Charles Stuart slammed his fist on the desk and knocked Francis to the ground with a wave of his wand: "Don't you dare?" Say it again! You expect me to die, okay, I can also find someone to get rid of your lover before I die! Do you think I don't know the asshole you did behind your back? Jacqueline's thing I I don’t care about it. You actually kidnapped Elizabeth’s boyfriend last week. Is this something an official of the Ministry of Magic should do? If someone finds out, your own face, as well as that of the Stuart family Your face is completely ruined!"
Francis got up from the ground, took two steps back in surprise, and roared angrily: "Tom Riddle is not Elizabeth's boyfriend! He is a villain who bullies her all day long!"
"What do you think you know?" Old Mr. Stuart roared, propping his hands on the desk, "It's a good thing someone has a clearer brain than you!"
Before Francis could figure out what was going on, the curtain behind the desk was lifted with a bang, and a woman in a wine-red robe came out. She was about 30 years old, with a thin build, a pale face, and a Stuart stain on her chin and the corners of her mouth. Tejia's unique stern lines, long black hair completed a tight bun behind the head.
Francis was shocked. He opened his mouth and looked at his sister. It took a while before he said, "Victoria?"
He has been particularly afraid of Victoria since he was a child.After his mother died when he was in the third grade, as the eldest lady of the Stuart family, Victoria took on the role of the hostess of the Stuart manor early on.Victoria is an indifferent and beautiful woman. Her long black hair and cold gray-blue eyes can always give people a sense of suffocation and oppression.Clarissa was not like her.Clarissa is not as pretty as Victoria, and she has a weaker personality, and she listens to everything.Francis knew that it was all Victoria's idea that his two sisters bullied him and Jacqueline when they were young.After his father died, he and Laura inherited the estate, and Victoria, who was not in good health, went to live with her husband in the South.Both he and Victoria had extremely tough personalities, so they never got along.After Laura's death, Victoria never came to Stuart Manor except for Christmas.
At that moment, Victoria walked around the curtain, walked past her father's desk to Francis, and said to Francis in a tone of rare calm and relief: "Francis, there is news I must tell you. It is not yours. wrong."
Francis looked at her fair and beautiful face and cold eyes, and subconsciously took a step back.Seeing his movements, Victoria smiled and said to him calmly: "A few days ago, I learned that you kidnapped that poor little boy—"
"Jonathan told you?" Francis almost jumped up angrily. He couldn't believe that his father and sister had bribed his closest assistant.
"So," Victoria went on quietly without pausing, as if she had not heard him, "to express the apologies of the Stuart family on your behalf, I took Mr. Riddle to St. Mungo's for his Paid for all medical bills, and he also agreed not to tell anyone else about your bad deeds."
"Not every crime of yours can be covered up, young man!" Francis' great-grandfather bellowed deliriously in his portrait. "Watch what you say and do!"
Francis stared into his sister's icy blue eyes, stepped forward, and asked, "What else did you promise Tom Riddle?"
A smile appeared on Victoria's exquisite face: "Mr. Riddle told me everything between you. In fact, in my opinion, these are just children's squabbles. I especially don't understand why you A 17-year-old would be entangled with two 10-year-olds. Mr. Riddle told me about his childhood feelings for Miss Bradley, and he spoke with such sincerity that even I was touched. And you It is really disgusting to take advantage of one's own wealth and power to win people's love. It is also an insult to the entire Stuart family. Therefore, on behalf of you, I apologize to Mr. Riddle, and Found Miss Bradley and permanently erased your memory from her mind. Oh, don't look at me like that, Frances, you know it's best for everyone. My Amnesiac is powerful No one can decipher the degree and complexity. You are going to marry Laura soon, so, do you want to let go of your childishness at this time and apologize to my father and me?"
"I'm sorry, Father." Francis gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. "I'm sorry, Victoria."
Victoria's mouth curled into a happy smile: "That's right, our family shouldn't quarrel, let alone for a worthless little girl. I hope you won't visit Brad for me again. Miss Leigh's reasons."
After returning to London, he came to the side of Leicester Street in a black cloak to wait for Tom Riddle.
A boy in a black shirt came out, a sternness flashed in his dark eyes, and there was sarcasm and disdain at the corners of his mouth.
"How is your wound healing?" Francis asked him.
"St. Mungo's therapist cured me quickly, thank you for your concern, Mr. Stuart." Tom said politely, "Elizabeth is also fine." He smiled and glanced at the pale Francis, added.
"Why are you lying to Victoria?" Francis asked, crackling his knuckles.
Tom shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Because I want to make you miserable." Then he gave him a sombre look that shocked Francis-is this really the look of a 10-year-old boy?
"Damn whoever I want to be." Tom stepped forward, staring at him, and said in a half-threatening, half-sarcastic tone, "Oh, and, as yet, I haven't I have met a girl who is unwilling to be my girlfriend. Although Elizabeth is not my girlfriend yet, don't worry, she will be soon."
Francis suppressed the raging anger in his heart and said, "Maybe this is just a prank for you, but you don't even know what losing Elizabeth means to me."
"Oh, did you?" said Tom, with interest. "I'm really interested in her now. But you've always had bad taste, Stuart."
Francis swung his fist angrily, and Tom ducked away.He patted his shirt collar, frowned and said, "Don't be so rude, Stuart."
With that, Tom whistled, walked away with his hands in his trouser pockets, and deliberately bumped Francis on the shoulder hard.
Every night that summer, Francis waited for Elizabeth in Hyde Park, but she just passed him without looking away.He really wanted to go up and talk to her, but Victoria's cold voice would ring in his ears: "I hope you won't give me another reason to visit Miss Bradley in the future."
In the month before the wedding, he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown several times.During the day he had to work in a normal manner, deal with all kinds of people at various banquets, and show a harmonious relationship with his family and fiancee.He lived alone on the Strand in London during those terrible days.The housekeeper's daughter, Jacqueline Pierre, worked in Diagon Alley and so lived in the Strand house.She and he have known each other for many years.Jacqueline was well aware of what Victoria Stuart was like, so it wasn't surprising that Francis never wanted to go back and see her.
He was so drunk that night that when he returned to the Strand Jacqueline was the only one waiting for him in the kitchen with supper for him.He staggered through the door, threw his cloak and robes on the floor, and nearly fell headfirst into the fireplace.Jacqueline supported him, and he spit all on the apron Jacqueline was wearing. He apologized and helped her take off the apron. For some reason, she had deftly untied his tie and kissed him. his lips.
There is no man in the world who will refuse a beautiful woman who takes the initiative to send him into his arms, especially when he is so drunk that he is unconscious and his heart is broken.He needs to vent, and he needs a woman to listen.She thought he loved her, that he was suffering because he had to marry Laura, but as they merged in the bedroom, what Francis, deliriously drunk, called out was the name "" Elizabeth."
At that moment, Jacqueline knew everything.
The first summer after Francis turned 17, he and his family were invited to Mr. Randall's wedding.Their family was distantly related to the Randalls.Tony Randall was six years younger than him, a sunny and handsome blond kid.Dressed in a fitted dark blue gown, he and his sister Margaret greeted guests at the garden gate where the wedding tent had been set up.
"Margaret is not happy." Tony winked at Francis. "She doesn't like her stepmother."
"And you?" Francis said with a smile.
"Madeleine is just like Julia," Tony said. "I can guarantee that within two years, my dad will find another beautiful woman."
A child who is only 11 years old can say such a thing, Francis thought, it really is a child of this kind of family.Before he could speak, he was surprised to see a chestnut-haired girl walking over and looking at Tony and Margaret with an angry and dismissive expression.
Lizzie's thoughts are always clearly written on her face, making it easy to see.Francis looked at her in surprise, not understanding why she appeared here. At this time, Mr. Randall came over and said enthusiastically: "Tony, Margot, come and meet Madeleine's daughter. From today , Lizzie is your sister."
Margaret snorted disdainfully.Tony stepped forward and extended a friendly hand to Lizzie, but Lizzie raised her hand quickly and smashed a stone on his forehead.
It's not hard to imagine the chaos that ensued, with the adults taking Tony to bandage the wound, Lizzie being scolded, and her mother no longer letting her be a flower girl.She looked indifferent, and in the afternoon, probably to show off, Margaret took Lizzie to see her Spanish purebred foal. Somehow, Margaret fell into the stable. , the new skirt was cut by the fence, covered with horse manure and feed, and completely ruined.
This little girl is really getting more and more rebellious, she must be on the verge of puberty, Francis thought, amused at the same time.During the dinner, he found Lizzie who was locked in the living room by Madeleine, brought her a stack of finger cakes and hot tea, and jokingly said, "Little girl is doing very badly today."
Lizzie glanced at him angrily, her face was gloomy, and she didn't speak.
"What's the matter?" he said, sitting down beside her. "Aren't you happy that you've done Tony and Margaret all over again?"
He patted her hand, but she blushed and moved aside.She used to jump on him when she saw him, but now she has become shy, it seems that she has really grown up.Francis looked at her amusedly and said, "Tell me about your sadness."
Lizzie was quite reserved at the beginning, and then she started talking.She said she hadn't been happy at all for the past year, and a black-haired boy in the orphanage was always bullying her and every kid on the street.The court awarded custody of her to her dad, and she will never see her mom again.She felt it was all the fault of the Randalls, and she hated them.
Said that at the end she burst into tears: "Mom doesn't want me anymore, my mother doesn't want me anymore. Rich people are bad people. Francis, why are you here? If you are also rich, then I won't follow You played."
Regardless of her blushing and embarrassment, Francis held her in his arms and said, "Of course I am not. I don't have such a beautiful new robe as Tony's. Don't worry, I will never bully you."
He kissed her hair and saw her blushing even more. "Which boy in the orphanage bullied you?" he said, "I'll beat him for you."
"No need," she said proudly, raising her small chin, "I can beat him by myself."
Frances laughed, reaching out and ruffling her hair.
After Lizzie left, he found Tony and forced him to swear not to bully Lizzie in the future.He muttered: "She smashed my head in a big bag as soon as we met!"
"Her mother abandoned her to marry your father, of course she hates your family." Francis said, "Margaret will definitely play tricks on Lizzie, you promise me, as long as you are in Hogwarts , you have to protect her everywhere and treat her as your own sister!"
Of course, it took years for Francis to discover the deeper secrets of the Randall family.After Tony learned from Riddle that his biological mother was actually Lizzie's mother, he almost rushed home and beat up old Randall.In the end it was Francis who dragged him to the Leaky Cauldron for an evening of drinking.
After looking for Tony, he found an assistant under his father and asked him to find someone to go to the orphanage to inquire about the situation.Sitting in the broomstick management office, he received his first report on Tom Riddle.
The paper knife opened the brown paper envelope, and two black and white photos fell to the floor.He picked up the photo and froze in place.
The photo was taken secretly at night, and it was not clear, but he still recognized the Thames and the soft and dim lights on the other side of the river.Boys and girls of similar ages sat side by side in the bridge hole by the river, talking and laughing.
The second picture shows the boy standing alone on Leicester Street.Wearing ripped jeans and his hands in his jacket pockets, he walks down the gray stone steps of a tenement building.Even though there was only one side face, Francis gasped.
He had never seen such a handsome boy.
That year, he was 17 years old and Tom was 10 years old.From the moment he held Tom's photo in his hand, the war of a lifetime between the two men began.
Malfoy's and Tony's bullying of Tom was petty at best.In the summer vacation of the first grade, when Tom came out of King's Cross Station and was walking towards the bus station with his luggage, two men in black jumped out from nowhere, stunned him, and dragged him into a car.
After an unknown amount of time, a bucket of cold water was poured on his head. Tom had a splitting headache and opened his eyes in a daze. The chilly wind blows in from all directions.Tom blinked and saw a pair of cold, stern gray-blue eyes staring at him with a hint of curiosity and disdain.
Tom tried to move, but his hands were tied tightly to the back of the chair and he couldn't move at all.He tried to move his body, and with a bang, a leather whip suspended in the air hit his body, leaving a shocking bloodstain.
"Jonathan, don't do it!" Francis waved to the assistant behind him.
Standing in front of an 11-year-old boy, 18-year-old Francis looks extraordinarily tall.Wearing a black robe, cloak, and sheepskin gloves, he squatted down in front of Tom, with a playful smile on his lips: "Hello, Mr. Riddle."
Tom stared at him not to be outdone, and asked fiercely, "Who are you?"
Francis took a silk handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the spit from Tom's face.
"I'm not interested in telling you my name," said Francis, putting the handkerchief back into his pocket and drawing his wand. "But don't you want to know why you're here?"
"Tell me if you're interested," said Tom darkly.
Francis sneered: "I have checked your background clearly. Threatening other children in the orphanage? Hanging other children's rabbits and taking them to the cave? These are all childish and ridiculous tricks, and they are quite inferior .”
Tom's dark eyes looked at him coldly: "Go on. I know you haven't gotten to the point yet."
"Sure enough," said Francis. "Say, what's your relationship with Elizabeth Bradley?"
Tom was visibly taken aback. Elizabeth?That stupid girl with no brains flashed through his mind, what does he have to do with her?They had only had a few fights in Leicester Street over the past few years, and hardly ever talked at school.
But he quickly turned the corner, and his dark eyes gradually gathered thick mockery: "What does the matter between me and Elizabeth have to do with you?"
"Listen, you little mouse," Francis pressed his wand against his chest, "stay away from her. Understood? Otherwise, I'll make you die worse than your mother."
Tom's eyes gradually filled with cold anger: "No matter how bad Elizabeth's vision is, I'm afraid she wouldn't choose you as her boyfriend."
Francis stood up abruptly, swung his wand, and the whip that stayed in mid-air lashed viciously on Tom's neck.
"You swear you'll never touch Elizabeth again!" he roared.
Tom stared at him without saying a word, with a grim sneer on his lips.
The whip came down so violently that Tom's lip was bitten, but he remained obstinately silent the whole time.Francis originally thought that the 11-year-old would cry and beg for mercy as long as he was frightened. His silence, stubbornness and mockery in his eyes made him feel more and more angry. His assistant winked and stopped torturing.
He had no intention of hurting or maiming the child.But he would think of another way.
Francis walked out of the abandoned factory, got into his car, and planned to go to Hyde Park to find Elizabeth.
At that time, it never occurred to him that if he didn't threaten Tom, perhaps Tom would never notice Elizabeth in his life.
******
In July, Stuart Manor is shrouded in a light mist, filled with the fragrance of hyacinth and rhododendron.Francis returned to the manor early, greeted Mr. Claude, the housekeeper, and went upstairs to his father's study.
As his father sat reading a letter at the huge mahogany desk, Francis tapped on the door frame and said politely, "Father, may I have a word with you?"
"Certainly," said Charles Stuart, taking off his eyes, picking up his cigar, and leaning back comfortably in the great arm-chair, "I saw Mr. Greengrass at the Ministry today. We discussed it and decided to hold a traditional wedding at the Stuart Manor at the end of this year. What do you think?"
Francis stepped forward and said, "Father, I don't want to marry Laura. I don't love her."
Old Mr. Stuart took a puff of smoke, put the cigar on the table casually, and stood up: "In a few days, you can bring your Stuart family's ancestral wedding ring to Laura."
Francis said angrily: "Did you hear what I said? I don't want to marry her!"
"Oh?"
"I fell in love with a girl. I fell in love with her in the summer when I was 16. She is much younger than me, but I will wait for her to grow up and marry her as my wife. If you don't agree It doesn't matter, I don't want the position in the Ministry of Magic you arranged for me, and I don't want the manor and your money, I just want Elizabeth."
"Finished?" said old Mr. Stuart, tapping the ring on his finger on the desk. "Do you hear yourself? Do you know who you are?"
Francis looked at his stern and unkind father with red eyes, feeling that the temperature in his heart had cooled a little bit.There are layers of thick curtains behind his father, and portraits of his grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather are hung on the dark solid wood wainscoting carved with complicated scroll patterns and family emblems. Most of their life trajectories are similar. Growing up, marrying the wife he had arranged for a long time ago, and successfully becoming a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic.They were all listening, some shaking their heads, some snickering.
His grandfather sighed and said with a sneer, "Charles, before you married Stephanie, you had a big fight with me in the study. Seeing the scene now really makes me feel like I've gone back in time." Woolen cloth."
"Shut up." Old Mr. Stuart said angrily, then turned to look at Francis, and said in a word, "You will marry Laura, inherit my estate, and others, you want Don't even think about it."
Francis blurted out: "Okay, then I will marry Laura first, and when you die, I will divorce and marry Elizabeth!"
A circle of portraits of the Stuart family in the study gasped and hissed dissatisfiedly. Charles Stuart slammed his fist on the desk and knocked Francis to the ground with a wave of his wand: "Don't you dare?" Say it again! You expect me to die, okay, I can also find someone to get rid of your lover before I die! Do you think I don't know the asshole you did behind your back? Jacqueline's thing I I don’t care about it. You actually kidnapped Elizabeth’s boyfriend last week. Is this something an official of the Ministry of Magic should do? If someone finds out, your own face, as well as that of the Stuart family Your face is completely ruined!"
Francis got up from the ground, took two steps back in surprise, and roared angrily: "Tom Riddle is not Elizabeth's boyfriend! He is a villain who bullies her all day long!"
"What do you think you know?" Old Mr. Stuart roared, propping his hands on the desk, "It's a good thing someone has a clearer brain than you!"
Before Francis could figure out what was going on, the curtain behind the desk was lifted with a bang, and a woman in a wine-red robe came out. She was about 30 years old, with a thin build, a pale face, and a Stuart stain on her chin and the corners of her mouth. Tejia's unique stern lines, long black hair completed a tight bun behind the head.
Francis was shocked. He opened his mouth and looked at his sister. It took a while before he said, "Victoria?"
He has been particularly afraid of Victoria since he was a child.After his mother died when he was in the third grade, as the eldest lady of the Stuart family, Victoria took on the role of the hostess of the Stuart manor early on.Victoria is an indifferent and beautiful woman. Her long black hair and cold gray-blue eyes can always give people a sense of suffocation and oppression.Clarissa was not like her.Clarissa is not as pretty as Victoria, and she has a weaker personality, and she listens to everything.Francis knew that it was all Victoria's idea that his two sisters bullied him and Jacqueline when they were young.After his father died, he and Laura inherited the estate, and Victoria, who was not in good health, went to live with her husband in the South.Both he and Victoria had extremely tough personalities, so they never got along.After Laura's death, Victoria never came to Stuart Manor except for Christmas.
At that moment, Victoria walked around the curtain, walked past her father's desk to Francis, and said to Francis in a tone of rare calm and relief: "Francis, there is news I must tell you. It is not yours. wrong."
Francis looked at her fair and beautiful face and cold eyes, and subconsciously took a step back.Seeing his movements, Victoria smiled and said to him calmly: "A few days ago, I learned that you kidnapped that poor little boy—"
"Jonathan told you?" Francis almost jumped up angrily. He couldn't believe that his father and sister had bribed his closest assistant.
"So," Victoria went on quietly without pausing, as if she had not heard him, "to express the apologies of the Stuart family on your behalf, I took Mr. Riddle to St. Mungo's for his Paid for all medical bills, and he also agreed not to tell anyone else about your bad deeds."
"Not every crime of yours can be covered up, young man!" Francis' great-grandfather bellowed deliriously in his portrait. "Watch what you say and do!"
Francis stared into his sister's icy blue eyes, stepped forward, and asked, "What else did you promise Tom Riddle?"
A smile appeared on Victoria's exquisite face: "Mr. Riddle told me everything between you. In fact, in my opinion, these are just children's squabbles. I especially don't understand why you A 17-year-old would be entangled with two 10-year-olds. Mr. Riddle told me about his childhood feelings for Miss Bradley, and he spoke with such sincerity that even I was touched. And you It is really disgusting to take advantage of one's own wealth and power to win people's love. It is also an insult to the entire Stuart family. Therefore, on behalf of you, I apologize to Mr. Riddle, and Found Miss Bradley and permanently erased your memory from her mind. Oh, don't look at me like that, Frances, you know it's best for everyone. My Amnesiac is powerful No one can decipher the degree and complexity. You are going to marry Laura soon, so, do you want to let go of your childishness at this time and apologize to my father and me?"
"I'm sorry, Father." Francis gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. "I'm sorry, Victoria."
Victoria's mouth curled into a happy smile: "That's right, our family shouldn't quarrel, let alone for a worthless little girl. I hope you won't visit Brad for me again. Miss Leigh's reasons."
After returning to London, he came to the side of Leicester Street in a black cloak to wait for Tom Riddle.
A boy in a black shirt came out, a sternness flashed in his dark eyes, and there was sarcasm and disdain at the corners of his mouth.
"How is your wound healing?" Francis asked him.
"St. Mungo's therapist cured me quickly, thank you for your concern, Mr. Stuart." Tom said politely, "Elizabeth is also fine." He smiled and glanced at the pale Francis, added.
"Why are you lying to Victoria?" Francis asked, crackling his knuckles.
Tom shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Because I want to make you miserable." Then he gave him a sombre look that shocked Francis-is this really the look of a 10-year-old boy?
"Damn whoever I want to be." Tom stepped forward, staring at him, and said in a half-threatening, half-sarcastic tone, "Oh, and, as yet, I haven't I have met a girl who is unwilling to be my girlfriend. Although Elizabeth is not my girlfriend yet, don't worry, she will be soon."
Francis suppressed the raging anger in his heart and said, "Maybe this is just a prank for you, but you don't even know what losing Elizabeth means to me."
"Oh, did you?" said Tom, with interest. "I'm really interested in her now. But you've always had bad taste, Stuart."
Francis swung his fist angrily, and Tom ducked away.He patted his shirt collar, frowned and said, "Don't be so rude, Stuart."
With that, Tom whistled, walked away with his hands in his trouser pockets, and deliberately bumped Francis on the shoulder hard.
Every night that summer, Francis waited for Elizabeth in Hyde Park, but she just passed him without looking away.He really wanted to go up and talk to her, but Victoria's cold voice would ring in his ears: "I hope you won't give me another reason to visit Miss Bradley in the future."
In the month before the wedding, he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown several times.During the day he had to work in a normal manner, deal with all kinds of people at various banquets, and show a harmonious relationship with his family and fiancee.He lived alone on the Strand in London during those terrible days.The housekeeper's daughter, Jacqueline Pierre, worked in Diagon Alley and so lived in the Strand house.She and he have known each other for many years.Jacqueline was well aware of what Victoria Stuart was like, so it wasn't surprising that Francis never wanted to go back and see her.
He was so drunk that night that when he returned to the Strand Jacqueline was the only one waiting for him in the kitchen with supper for him.He staggered through the door, threw his cloak and robes on the floor, and nearly fell headfirst into the fireplace.Jacqueline supported him, and he spit all on the apron Jacqueline was wearing. He apologized and helped her take off the apron. For some reason, she had deftly untied his tie and kissed him. his lips.
There is no man in the world who will refuse a beautiful woman who takes the initiative to send him into his arms, especially when he is so drunk that he is unconscious and his heart is broken.He needs to vent, and he needs a woman to listen.She thought he loved her, that he was suffering because he had to marry Laura, but as they merged in the bedroom, what Francis, deliriously drunk, called out was the name "" Elizabeth."
At that moment, Jacqueline knew everything.
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