the Gambler

The barren cemetery, the overgrown weeds, the boiling cauldron, Voldemort in the flesh, the green light past the ears——

Harry opened his eyes in a daze, and all he could see was a vast expanse of whiteness.White ceilings, white walls and white linens.He recognized the decor of the room, yes, the hospital wing, and he was lying on a familiar bed that was almost labeled 'Harry's Only'.Harry struggled to stand up, and there was a lot of noise around him. A mass of brown objects almost squeezed the air out of Harry's chest cavity. Hermione spoke intermittently, and Harry's confused head still sorted out the concerns of his friends.

"I'm fine now, Hermione, why did I show up in the hospital wing. Ah, don't tell me, it must have been a potion accident or something."

Snape raised an eyebrow.

Hermione let out a sob, and looked at Harry with frightened eyes. The boy asked uncertainly, "Maybe it was a Quidditch accident?"

"Oh, Harry! You've lost your memory, haven't you? I know it hit you hard, but I didn't expect it to go this far! Oh, poor Harry."

"what--"

"Actually, I, the other character you are discussing indignantly," Tom came out from the corner and stood in front of Harry, his slender and beautiful fingers still pointing to his chest, "I'm still here." The handsome wizard looked at him. Harry, who was stunned, continued, "I hope you won't faint again, sweetheart."

"Damn it wasn't a nightmare!" Harry wailed, burying his head in the sheets, and he could hear Tom chuckling.Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry's arm and pulled her hard into the boy's body. He was grateful for the witch's help, and he was much more conscious now.

"Dear Tom, I hope you can calm down. Harry is still in shock. Maybe you should slow down and start as a friend?" Headmaster Dumbledore stood in front of Tom and offered relatively constructive suggestions. Unfortunately, Tom didn't accept it.

"Start as a friend, are you kidding me?"

"What? No! Friends first, of course!" Harry roared.

"Impossible, for Salazar's sake, Harry, you are my soul mate! If you start with a friend—" Tom looked at Harry eagerly nodding and frowning, "Who knows about such things as long-term love?" Is it true or false, if you regard friendship as love, it will be too late to regret it when we contract marriage and you give me your soul. I have no intention of comforting a crying partner, this is not what I am good at."

"Hell, what kind of crooked reason is that?" Harry stared at Tom in horror, who seemed to be serious, and Harry could still see the fine lines in the corners of his eyes when he was thinking, "Also, when did I say I was going to marry you?" ?”

"We are soul mates, Harry, and magic dictates that we will stay together for life. I don't mind if you don't want to get married, I don't really care about marriage." Tom walked gracefully to Harry, and he pointed the tip of his wand I glanced at the vase on the bedside table, and the vessel quickly transformed into a silver-green leather chair.Tom sat down on it, never taking his eyes off the boy in front of him.

Getting closer to the instigator of his coma only made Harry's brain ache. He habitually reached out to rub the lightning-shaped scar, and there was a tingling sensation on it. It seemed that he hadn't lost consciousness for too long.Harry studied the stitches on the sheets carefully. He was very distressed now, and Tom was the best person to vent.

"Shut up, Tom, I need to calm down, Merlin's socks, can you stop talking to yourself like that?"

"But it's true." Tom's frown deepened.Harry sighed, and Tom acted like he hadn't really been in a relationship at all, and yes, Harry already guessed that he had a good private life before coming here, which Tom would probably call getting what he wanted.Seriously, this man in front of him was not what Harry had imagined, he was a damn Dark Lord!

"Why are you so sure that Harry is your soul mate?" Ron couldn't help asking. Now that they had a lot of adult wizards around them, it made him feel more secure, although one of them was a greasy old bat.

The idea that Harry is Voldemort's soul mate is horrific!The damn Dark Lord is going to sleep with his best friend!God, Ron can't imagine Harry getting into bed with the snakefaced man, luckily he hasn't had dinner yet, and he's stroking his heart with lingering fear, it's so scary!Speaking of which, it's past dinner time, no wonder my stomach is protesting, wait, now is not the time to think about these!Ron glanced at Tom, who was with the old god out of the corner of his eye. Well, the young Dark Lord looked better, but he wanted to sleep Harry!oh!God!

Seeing that Ron was about to faint again after the intense inner struggle, Hermione hastily twisted the red-haired boy's arm.Yes, Ron had also just woken up from the bed next to Harry's, and he was obviously a little bit less shocked than Harry.He wasn't the one to befriend a young Voldemort, after all.

Hermione also turned her gaze to Tom, she was no less curious about this question than Ron.Tom rested his chin on his handsome wrist, and surveyed the drama that had just taken place.

Harry looked up at Tom, coughing lightly to get his attention.

"Actually, I want to know too."

"This afternoon, or today in 1943, I got an interesting ancient book in the library. Anyway, I found an empty classroom to hold an ancient ceremony when I had nothing to do," Tom noticed several adults present Looking suspiciously at him, Ron muttered, "Not everyone will perform the ceremony they read in the book casually." Tom brushed it off indifferently, and continued, "It's a ceremony to find your soul mate. In fact, I've always thought of this stuff as something out of a silly romance novel - and then Harry's name was in the air, and I felt like I was pulled by a force, and by the time it happened again I was in Riddle's Cemetery. " Tom said the name Riddle viciously, and Harry could hear the disgust in the other's tone.

"Could something be wrong with the ritual? I mean, this kind of stuff is very old, and it's possible to be wrong." Harry hurriedly objected, heck, he wouldn't believe that he was Voldemort's soul mate, If this was true, that madman wouldn't be chasing him to kill him!But this explains Tom's eccentric attitude very well.

"Are you doubting my ability or the ceremony itself, green-eyed kitten?" Harry's weak reason made Tom grin happily. If he didn't clearly feel the oppression emanating from the tall boy, Harry would You may also be deceived by the other person's expression.He has now forgotten even the idea of ​​asking the other party to change his name.

Everyone present was stunned by the fact that no one noticed the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes behind his glasses as their eyes swung back and forth between Harry and Tom.

"That explanation doesn't seem to be a problem." The headmaster interrupted everyone's discussion and looked into Tom's eyes again, who reinforced the Occlumency wall.Dumbledore smiled knowingly.

"Then we must do something to ensure that you spend time together. I believe you really want to develop a relationship with Harry." The old man's words dealt a huge blow to Harry, and even Snape stared at Dumbledore suspiciously, The disbelief in the eyes is obvious.

"I don't think it's a good idea, Albus. It's not that I question your decision. Harry is only 14 years old, and he's still a child. He's too young." Professor McGonagall showed a tangled expression, and the creases on his face Together, she was very protective of Harry.As a student studying with Tom at school, she knew how deceptive his appearance was, and she was worried about leaving Harry with the cunning boy.Even though Dumbledore made it clear that Harry's presence was necessary to Tom, the Witch would have preferred to find other grown, experienced wizards to watch over the young Dark Lord.

"I have already decided on this matter." The firmness in Dumbledore's tone was unquestionable.McGonagall and Snape Nunu backed away.

"I'm sorry to tell you, dear Tom, the time paradox does not allow you to exist in the same time and space as another self at the same time. Maybe this will lead to confusion in the timeline. After all, no one travels through nearly half a century to the future." Deng Bullido showed a thoughtful expression, and the old man stroked his braided beard and said hesitantly, "Actually, I'm surprised why the ceremony didn't bring Harry to you, but you to Harry."

"It's not a big deal."

"But Tom, your existence in this time and space itself is a problem. You will eventually go back to the past, so I suggest that you better not try to understand it in the future. This will change the past and change the future. It may affect other people's lives, and I don't want to see a friend who was talking just now disappear into thin air the next moment."

Tom raised his eyebrows. Although Dumbledore's views were very realistic, he had a vague hunch that this was not the main purpose of the old man's words.Tom decided not to blatantly figure out the identity of his future self in this time and space. He believed that slowly, those stupid students would spit out all the information like pouring beans.It didn't matter to him who existed or who disappeared, he only cared about himself, and maybe Harry now.

"That makes sense." Tom nodded.

"Since young Tom is only sixteen here, I hope you will study with Slytherin now, and the schedule will be the same as you used to?" said Dumbledore cheerfully.

"I have no objection to this arrangement, but you won't throw me into the snake's den so easily." Tom sneered, his obvious hostility didn't dim the old man's smile even an iota, which made the boy even more upset, "You You keep watching me, how can you rest assured that I will spoil your precious students? Oh, sorry, Slytherin is not under your wing."

"You know I care about Slytherin too, Tom, I'm just worried about your actions." Dumbledore's generous acknowledgment made Tom's smile even colder.

"Then open the skylight and tell the truth, who is the person you plan to put in to monitor me?"

Dumbledore spread his left hand and pointed in the direction of the hospital bed.

"Harry will be the best choice. I hope you treat him as companionship rather than surveillance. Hogwarts Castle has prepared a special suite, Harry will live with you, and he will adjust the class schedule Cooperate with you, and stay with you in the Slytherin lounge when needed. You had better not be separated for more than half an hour, and don't make things difficult for him." The smile on Dumbledore's face disappeared, and the old man changed into a serious one. Harry could feel a powerful magic lingering in the whole room. He knew why so many people thought Voldemort was afraid of Dumbledore. The current headmaster looked like a burning flame. This was Harry Never seen before.Dumbledore looked at Tom with sharp eyes, and the latter clenched his palms indistinctly. The old man's strength was a bit difficult for him now.

"Don't hurt him, Harry is a gentle boy."

"I promise I won't hurt him directly."

"Harry is a powerful wizard, he won't let you have this chance." Dumbledore looked at the stunned Harry kindly and said, "You are equal, whether it is magic or fate, they all admit it .”

Tom smiled proudly at Harry: "That's natural. Only equal people are qualified to stand by my side. I'm looking forward to his growth. When he matures, no one can stop me from getting sweet fruits."

Harry felt heavy in his stomach. Principal Dumbledore knew better than anyone else the difference in strength between him and Voldemort. Why did he still firmly believe that he was equal to that powerful dark wizard?Damn it, he, Harry Potter, has no power against Voldemort at all, no matter what the prophecy says, he doesn't even know how he made Voldemort fall when he was a baby!For Merlin's sake, Harry would have died countless times if luck hadn't been on his side!

Harry sighed and looked at Tom's interested expression. It seemed that the young Dark Lord had accepted this setting, and he felt sorry for his impending tragic future.He has no other choice, he is the damn Boy Who Lived, so he must endure the tricks of fate!

Harry nodded under the Headmaster's expectant gaze.It was all so wonderful that he had just signed a deal to sell himself to the nemesis, well, the nemesis young.Harry added silently, though he didn't see any difference.He's about to live with Tom Riddle, who's interested in him, and not only needs to protect his life, but his virginity as well!Oh, this is simply wonderful.