the Gambler

The scene outside the car window quickly reversed, and the train had passed through a large golden wheat field, and was heading for a dark cave visible to the naked eye.The changing light and shadow made Tom frowned, and he looked around the empty box, (Granger and Weasley need to go to the prefect's box to gather and listen to the instructions of the student council president for the new year) unexpectedly a little restless.Maybe it's a persecution delusion?Tom pursed his mouth and moved the strange feeling aside, and continued to read the book in his hand.

He couldn't imagine how everything went so smoothly.Before the attack of the Order of the Phoenix, Tom and Dumbledore made an agreement to take on the responsibility of protecting Harry on behalf of each other.Tom was sure that Dumbledore knew that he wanted to kill someone with a knife, but he still underestimated Harry's status in the headmaster's heart. Dumbledore accepted the proposal almost without hesitation, using his own death to force Harry to grow up, and at the same time pushed the plan to the end. A new height - to completely gain Voldemort's trust.

And he couldn't tell Harry the truth. No matter how much he hoped that the other party would truly understand the cruelty of war and the complexity of people's hearts, and grow into an arm supporting him to rule the world, Tom still wanted Harry to keep the part in his heart that he never had. of purity.Harry doesn't need to be completely black, he just needs to be Tom's boy.

The Harry Potter who would open his arms and hug him.

Then, he will take care of the long-lost softness carefully.

Tom turned the pages distractedly, his eyes flicking to the closed compartment door now and then.It shouldn't have taken Harry that long, he was pretty sure the intimacy hadn't caused any tantalizing reactions, and he wasn't feeling the pleasure on the other side of the connection, just peace.Wait, it's too peaceful.Tom closed the book and got up quickly. He needed to go to the bathroom to check Harry's condition.

The compartment door was pushed open vigorously, and Draco and Blaise were chatting and laughing about the situation of the Quidditch match. They didn't quiet down until they realized the strange atmosphere, and focused their eyes on the inside of the box.The other party obviously didn't expect to meet Tom here, and the two of them were silent for a while.Bryce tugged on his brand new college robes, glanced around, and greeted cheerfully: "Marvolo, isn't Harry here?"

"This has nothing to do with you, Zabini." Tom nodded slightly. He noticed that the two had already changed their clothes, and then raised his eyebrows, "You just passed the bathroom?"

Draco's pale cheeks were slightly red, he pursed his lips uneasily, and answered uncertainly: "Yes?"

"Relax, I just wondered if Harry was in there, he's been away for a long time."

"Harry isn't in the bathroom," Draco frowned, "there's no one there."

"Say it again." Tom scowled, and the other two Slytherins shuddered involuntarily.

"There's no one there all the time. Usually, changing clothes is at the time when we get to school." Draco explained cautiously, he could see the anger in Tom's eyes, and he didn't want to be the one to be punished.No matter what Harry did, Draco hoped that he would come back quickly, the golden boy of Gryffindor was the only one who could restrain the man in front of him!For Salazar's sake, Draco didn't want to try Cruciatus at all.Especially now that there is no protection from anyone on the train!

Draco shot a quick glance at Bryce, who took up the subject knowingly: "Maybe Weasley and Granger know? They're almost inseparable from Harry, after all. Maybe Harry went after them both?" Stared fiercely by Tom, Bryce swallowed, "I also don't think that's very likely, he's not the type to leave you alone." This is a fact, and Harry knows the beast better than anyone else. The dangers of stocking, of course, these thoughts are all he can mutter to himself, thank you.

"He needs to learn basic etiquette and tell his partner where he is going." Tom said as he turned the ring on his hand, the little snake swam around, and the golden light went out again.He tensed his face, the temperature dropped completely to freezing point, Draco and Bryce's hairs stood on end.Tom spit out the answer word by word: "Harry turned off the soul link, completely."

Draco was so nervous that his stomach was churning, the chocolate frog he ate just now seemed to come back to life, jumping up and down, trying to get out of his throat.He struggled to turn his short-lived brain, caught a glimpse of Granger's flying brown curly hair from the corner of his eye, and quickly shifted Tom's focus: "I think Granger might know!"

Tom shoved Draco away, strutting or a little aggressively towards the place where the witch disappeared, completely ignoring the students waving to him in the aisle.Draco and Blaise followed the striding Tom knowingly, feeling very restless.

It seemed that Hermione and Ron had managed to dodge the Slytherin trio in a clever way, passing through the boxes without finding their target.Tom grunted as he pulled out his wand, which rose into the air and spun a few times, pointing in the direction of their left.Tom directly opened the door of the box, pointed inside and said, "The truth is revealed!"

Hermione and Ron slowly appeared in the originally empty box, their expressions were very stiff, and they looked at the three of them with a little trepidation.Draco took a step forward, narrowed his eyes and asked sharply, "What are you doing?"

Hermione quickly pulled Ron down for a kiss.Draco twitched the corner of his mouth, Bryce simulated the sound of nausea in his throat, Tom remained unmoved, and his cold expression finally made Hermione give up acting and face him seriously.Tom raised his wand and pointed it directly at the witch's forehead, his tone was cold: "Where is Harry?"

"I don't know—" Hermione's words were interrupted by the sudden sound of the siren, and everyone looked out of the window at the same time. At some point, the train had already pulled over, and the magnificent Hogwarts castle appeared in front of them.Hermione took Ron's hand and squeezed away from Tom, and as she passed, she heard the assurance that the dark-haired Slytherin would 'keep talking'.Hermione's heart trembled violently, and Ron was not much better, the palms of the two holding each other were all sticky and sweaty.Tom watched intently as they disappeared into the crowd.

All returning students and first-year freshmen came to the stone steps of the castle together. The old students swarmed in from the side door. Tom caught the shadows of Hermione and Ron. He easily grabbed the witch's shoulders and pressed her against the wall. At the same time, the wand in her hand was pointed directly at Hermione's throat.The body that Ron wanted to pounce on was suppressed by Draco and Bryce at the same time, and many people onlookers were startled. This is a rare sight since Harry and Marvolo started dating. The former would never allow such a thing. The emergence of bullying also made them discover an important problem.

Harry Potter wasn't in it.

"Where's Harry?" Tom demanded.

"Harry's gone?" said a Ravenclaw girl in a high-pitched voice, her voice attracting a lot of attention.Hermione didn't show the slightest panic, she puffed out her chest and looked directly into Tom's blood red eyes.Ron flung himself free from the restraints of the two, keeping Hermione behind him.

"Where's Harry, Granger?" Tom repeated.

"I don't know," said Hermione quietly, and she and Ron held hands tightly.

"I know it's a lie," said Tom coldly. "Harry wouldn't want me tormenting his mudbloods and pure-blood traitors. Now I'll give you the right to live, and if something happens to him, you two One will be a funeral object."

Hermione raised her chin.

Determined that he could not get useful information from the two, Tom quickly turned around and looked at the crowd, and gave instructions loudly: "All Slytherins must stand in front of me within 5 minutes, and if you exceed one second, you will know that Cruciatus The taste of bone."

"You can't do something like this! The professors won't allow such madness!" Hermione yelled. "Harry doesn't want to see you torture them either!"

"He's not here now!" roared Tom, Harry being the only one who could keep him sane.

"You can't," Hermione repeated like a record on a cassette, "You can't."

"Let Harry say that to me," said Tom angrily, his heart throbbing dully.What if Harry was also the only one who could make him lose his mind?

"We can't let you ruin Harry's plan," snapped Hermione, "at least not until he tells us it's successful!"

"Damn stupid Gryffindors!" Tom cursed viciously, and the surrounding windows trembled violently. After half a minute, they all seemed to be held by invisible pressure, and the whole glass exploded, and the fragments fell on the head. Professor McGonagall quickly transformed into a huge shield, blocking all the students below.

Seeing that the tables and chairs were about to be completely destroyed, McGonagall finally couldn't help shouting loudly: "Tom! Control yourself! If Mr. Potter convinces Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley that this plan must be completed, We should just wait patiently!" She turned to look at Hermione with a serious expression, "How long do we have to wait?"

"Three days," said Ron.

"Three hours." Tom said firmly. "I need you to give Harry a possible position."

It was crazy, Tom had no idea that Harry's disappearance would affect him that much.

All Slytherins writhed restlessly in the oppressive atmosphere.Draco stepped out of the line, swallowed, took a few deep breaths, and kept his pale eyes fixed on Tom's face.

"Malfoy Manor."

"Is he telling the truth, Granger?" Tom said without looking up.

"I don't know." Hermione replied in a low voice. Tom's performance made her doubt her decision again. Maybe she really shouldn't let Harry take the risk?However, planning sounds necessary, and Harry doing it alone is the best way to go.Professor McGonagall glanced at Hermione in disbelief, which made the girl feel even more guilty.

"How did he tell you?" Tom paused, "The ring, he moved his hands and feet on the ring. You and Harry worked together to develop a rune that can be selected directionally. Is my guess right?"

Hermione nodded weakly.

"A very wonderful work, but not at the right time." Tom commented indifferently. He looked at McGonagall and explained, "Harry is with Voldemort now."

There was a choking sound in the auditorium.Mag quickly turned pale.

"Draco Malfoy." Tom stood up from his seat, leaned over the long table and looked into Draco's blue-gray eyes. Magic barrier?"

"Sorry, I can't, only a father has that right."

"Can apparation be used inside the barrier of your house?" Tom frowned. If he needs to dismantle the defense system of Malfoy Manor, it will take a lot of time, and the time to rescue Harry will be greatly reduced. Space movement was the fastest way to escape, and he wasn't sure if the ample time in between would be enough for Lucius Malfoy to raise the barrier again.What if he could keep Lucius under control?

Suddenly there was a crackling sound in the air, Dobby's thin body appeared in front of everyone, his eyes were round, and his voice was very sharp: "Dobby can enter the manor! Dobby can take Mr. Gaunt to rescue Harry Mister Potter!"

"I must admit that I underestimated the power of the house-elves." Tom said thoughtfully. "Please take Winky with you and show up in front of the auditorium on time at seven o'clock tonight."

Dobby bowed deeply and disappeared.

All seems to be going well.Tom sneered, his cold eyes resting on the stiff blond wizard:

"I want you to stay with me, Draco."