the Gambler

The next time passed quickly, Harry carefully avoided everyone's eyes, but being in the same room with Tom made him have to bite the bullet and face the boy's teasing expression, Tom was right, Harry was indeed full now His mind is all about him.Whenever I caught a glimpse of Tom, that shameful memory jumped to the forefront of my mind.Harry couldn't explain what happened to his friend, and he couldn't request to change the room. The relationship between him and Tom was very delicate now, and Harry would become stiff even when he was sleeping with a handsome boy.

So Harry went downstairs with dark circles under his eyes on Christmas day. Grimmauld Place was decorated by Kerry to make it feel like Christmas. Gifts of various shapes were placed under the towering Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. Hermione and Ginny Sitting cross-legged on the ground unpacking, the other boys didn't get up, and they all greeted Harry happily when they noticed Harry's gaze.

Sirius was also very excited. He began to run around the house early in the morning. The creaking sound on the ceiling was an important reason for Harry to get up resolutely. Tom complained dissatisfiedly in his sleep, and Harry struggled for a while Still cast a Silencing Charm around.Maybe he shouldn't be so depressed, Harry thought silently, if Voldemort had possessed him, he would have known where the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was.Harry didn't want his gloomy mood to affect Sirius.

Harry sat down next to Ginny, hesitantly lowered his voice and asked the girl, "How did it feel when you were possessed by Tom the Diary?"

The blood on Ginny's face faded instantly, her hands kept shaking, Harry suddenly felt a little guilty, he should have thought more carefully, Ginny obviously hadn't fully recovered from that horrific accident.

Hermione turned serious: "Why do you ask that, Harry?"

"I just want to know what possession is like. I know Voldemort can't get into Hogwarts, but he was once possessed by Quirrell, wasn't he? I'm worried that he will use this method to sneak in again."

"What you said makes sense, why hasn't anyone considered this possibility?" Hermione was lost in thought, and she had stopped opening the package.

"My memory is all blank." Ginny's voice was still a little trembling, "When he was attached to me, I didn't know what I did or where I went. When I woke up, I could only face myself. The horrible things that happened."

That means I am not possessed, Harry let out a long breath, he suddenly realized another possibility, and hurriedly asked Hermione: "Then what if the student is taken out of the castle?"

"'Hogwarts, A School History', Harry. The book clearly states that the entire castle is protected by a magical barrier, and neither Apparation nor port keys can be used inside. We have to go outside the school." Hermione Condemning Harry with his eyes, it was like silently accusing the other party of not even reading the basic school history, Harry couldn't help but slander, not everyone would finish reading that thick, dictionary-like book like Hermione .

"Nor the Dark Lord?" Ginny asked in a low voice, and Hermione quickly turned her accusing eyes on the witch.

"Yes, and neither can Voldemort."

Hermione's words made Harry completely relaxed, and he felt his whole body lighten up.The holidays that followed were the best for Harry, he wasn't alone in an empty castle anymore, he was with the Weasleys and Hermione, especially when he finally had the chance to spend Christmas with Sirius !

The happy time is always short-lived. Everyone who just returned to Hogwarts was caught off guard by the large-scale escape from Azkaban.That report was published on the front page of the "Daily Prophet", Fudge blamed all the responsibility on Sirius, Harry knew that the godfather would never be happy, but Professor White's expression was very indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with him .

Harry had to notice that he was being pointed at again, only this time the animosity was gone and there was more curiosity and fear.Harry shrugged off the discomfort, he'd received Christmas presents from all the DA members over the holidays, and Ernie had even wished he'd rerun the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, which they seemed to see as a better opportunity to review.Harry, persuaded by Hermione, agreed, only to reduce the frequency to once a week.

"Maybe it's time for you to tell everyone the truth again." Hermione said suddenly during lunch, Harry almost choked on the ham he just swallowed, he asked the witch with puzzled eyes, Hermione continued to explain, "Tell everyone The return of the Dark Lord and the escape from Azkaban make this sound much more believable, doesn't it?"

"I don't think it makes any sense," said Harry indifferently. "Fudge would not allow such reports to go out."

"I still have Rita Skeeter, don't I? And Mr. Lovegood's The Quibbler, he'd love to run your scoop, in fact I've talked to Luna, she I plan to talk to my father tomorrow."

"Hermione." Harry clenched his fists, and the nameless anger suddenly burned his reason. Harry almost growled and reprimanded the witch, "Why do you always arrange my life without my consent? Look at Merlin For sake, I am a thinking human being!"

Hermione opened her mouth wide to defend herself, but no sound came out, startled by Harry's sudden outburst.

"I think Harry's right, actually," said Ron. "Occasionally you should ask his opinion first. We all know you're doing it for Harry's best, but being manipulated isn't a very pleasant life."

"I didn't intend to manipulate his life," Hermione's voice trailed off. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"I forgive you, Hermione." Harry knew his anger was wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to put up with any more personal manipulation, Dumbledore was enough.Harry looked away, Tom was obviously aware of the emotional upheaval just now, and the latter was looking at him with a puzzled expression.Harry turned his back. His relationship with Tom didn't need to be any more complicated.

Ron was sitting facing the direction of Slytherin. He obviously noticed Tom's focused gaze. He bumped Harry's arm and asked softly, "Why does Marvolo keep staring at you?"

"Who knows." Harry forked a second piece of ham and stuffed it into his mouth.

"He must be very happy to see that all his followers have escaped in the future." Ron said angrily, "Now is really a good time for him to leave the castle. I don't know what Principal Dumbledore thinks. He's tied to you."

"Who knows." Harry replied casually.He doesn't respect the old man so much now, especially after knowing that the other party designed him.

Pansy watched Potter come out of the Room of Requirement, followed by a large group of Gryffindors, a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, who seemed to be in a good mood, discussing happily How to cast a spell effectively.The group appeared to be larger than before.This annoyed Pansy, and Potter annoyed her no matter what he did.Seriously, she couldn't understand what Riddle saw in a boy worth wasting time, Potter, and she chewed the name in a tone of disgust, totally useless as 'The Boy Who Lived' The place.What's more, this name is now in shambles.

When the Gryffindor trio passed the corner where Panzin was hiding, she decided to make an appearance.The witch reached out to Potter's hood, and before he could touch the familiar fabric, Potter turned around quickly, and put his wand straight to her throat.The other two also put on a fighting posture.Pansy held out her hands in surrender, but Potter made no attempt to lower his wand.

"What are you trying to do, Parkinson?" Pansy was furious at Potter's harsh tone.

"Remind you to stay away from Riddle, you know you're just a dirty half-breed and don't deserve his attention at all." Pansy swallowed, she adjusted her posture, and Potter's wand poked her raw It hurts, "I don't even know what you mean by playing hard to get, he's just playing with you, just like a cat teasing a mouse, when he gets tired of it, he will leave you aside, what's worse, he may get angry swallowed you."

"Is this what he told you, or is it your own guess?" Harry sneered, seeing Pansy's sudden change of mood, he immediately got the answer, "It seems to be your guess. Let me answer your question, I He has no intention of playing hard to get, obviously compared to you, a useless piece of trash, he thinks I'm worth spending more time on."

"Don't think too highly of yourself! What do you think you are? Hanging around with pure-blood traitors and mudbloods all day only makes your value even lower. Tell me, from the savior admired by everyone to the one who is despised by bad people Crazy, how does that feel, Potter?"

Pansy was almost taken aback by the emotion in Potter's eyes, she hadn't really confronted him.Disgust, danger, and warning flashed through those emerald pupils, and she felt that sharp gaze pierced into the depths of her soul, as if trying to tear her apart.Potter approached her like a wild beast approaching its prey, and the beautiful muscle lines under the close-fitting T-shirt showed that the other party was waiting for a fierce confrontation.Pansy couldn't help but backed away until her body was pressed against the cold wall.

Potter's eyes were not as sinister as Riddle's, but they were also threatening.Pansy found it difficult to breathe.

"May I say that again, Miss Parkinson?" Potter repeated.

"Pure blood traitors and mudbloods—"

Before he could finish speaking, Potter grabbed Pansy by the throat so hard that she almost rolled her eyes.Granger took a step forward and put his hand on Potter's arm, who nodded and loosened the grip.Pansy leaned on the wall and coughed loudly, she almost thought she was going to be strangled to death.The witch raised her head to meet the unusually green eyes of the man above, and the firmness and stubbornness in them frightened her.

"I guess Flint didn't tell you about meeting me in Hogsmeade last term?" Noticing Pansy's puzzled expression, Potter moved his wand forward, poking the hard tip against the already inflamed Throat, "I don't want to hear that word again, thank Hermione for giving you a chance," the boy bent down to look at Pansy, who was sitting pitifully on the ground, with an uneasy smile on the corner of his mouth, "Listen, Parkinson .I might not be able to do what Marvolo did, it's okay to get close. You don't want to know the consequences of pissing me off."

Potter was obviously a blazing flame, no matter externally or internally, Pansy didn't want to get close to him at all. Playing with fire was not the result she wanted, and she was not sure that she would not be burned.Pansy nodded to Potter with a neutral expression, and quickly walked around the three of them on the road leading to the cellar.This doesn't mean that she gave up her plan to attack Potter. Even now that she and Riddle are avoiding communication, Potter still occupies most of the other party's mind.Pansy stomped her feet hard, trying so hard to get the attention of the powerful and handsome boy, and Potter did nothing, not only caught Riddle's eye, but easily cast it away, as if it was Something cheap like that.Terrible!

Pansy noticed the hem of the robe flitting around the corner, and Nott looked at the boy's back with the same resentment.

The witch smiled, yes, she knew who could help her.