the Gambler

Ron walked ahead triumphantly, and Hermione wrapped her arms around his arms, which seemed to give the wizard more proud capital.This swaggering appearance attracted the attention of many people. Instead of restraining himself, he put on a bright smile.Ginny, who had fallen behind, covered her mouth and snickered, and Harry had no choice but to twitch the corners of his mouth, and shook his head helplessly.

The current Hogsmeade may be the most depressed time Harry has ever seen. There are not many people wandering on the road, and many shops have closed signs, but fortunately, the three broomsticks are still open.The four of them got into the warm room, which was bustling with people everywhere, he even suspected that the whole school was packed into this bar of less than [-] square meters.Harry watched as Ginny's petite form pushed its way through the crowd, until finally he found an empty table in a hidden corner.

"I'm going to get butter beer. I'm happy today. Don't let anyone stop me from treating me!" Ron said cheerfully, and he didn't forget to sneak a kiss to Hermione before leaving.Harry and Ginny clicked their tongues at the same time, and Hermione stared angrily. She sat down heavily on the seat near the window and turned her head to look out the window.Then, the witch narrowed her eyes slightly and looked back at Harry in surprise.

"It's Marvolo." Hermione reminded, pointing to the group of Slytherins coming this way, and Harry made her wrinkle her nose indifferently, "Why didn't you come with him, because the last time I talked to you Talking? Harry, you can just throw all that aside and just talk to yourself."

"That's not nonsense, you reminded me," Harry moved his fingertips along the lines on the table and shrugged nonchalantly, "He has to go back, the one left will only suffer, won't it?"

Ginny frowned, and her suspicious eyes glanced back and forth between the two, and finally couldn't help asking: "What are you talking about?"

"It's okay, Ginny." Harry stopped Hermione from continuing the topic, reached out to take the cold butterbeer and handed it to Ginny. Ron looked very happy, and he took the last vacant seat and sat down with Hermione. Min got unnecessarily close.

Ginny had a bad feeling that the presence of Tom and Harry always upset her.Not to mention that the parties concerned did not express anything about the turbulent scandal.She pursed her lips, still unyielding: "You can't hide everything from me! I have the best right to know about things related to Harry and Riddle!"

"What?" Ron asked.

"Both of them have a secret, and they're not going to tell me!" Ginny complained. "Do you know what it is, Ron?"

Ron turned his head to look at Hermione who was silent, and then turned his eyes to Harry without getting an answer.Harry threw his head back and gulped his butterbeer, ignoring him.Hating the feeling of being excluded, Ron cleared his throat and spoke in a slightly higher-than-usual voice: "You two have a secret to keep from me? I thought I was your best friend, Harry!" He glanced again Hermione, feeling betrayed in a flash, "And, I'm your boyfriend, Hermione."

"It's not a big deal, there's no need to be so dramatic." Harry put down the bottle and replied unhurriedly.

"I'm not being dramatic at all!" Ron yelled, and almost all the customers stopped talking and looked in their direction, ears pricked up trying to figure out what was going on.

"Don't make a scene, everyone is watching." Hermione lowered her voice.

"My best friend and favorite girl kept it from me on purpose, forgive me for not being able to calm down," Ron said angrily, and Ginny nodded in agreement.

Harry stroked his bangs, stretched out his hand and cast a Silencing Charm around him: "If you can promise to listen calmly, I will consider telling you." He turned his head and glanced at Ginny, "Maybe you will regret hearing it, Ginny , you may consider leaving for a while."

The determined look in the red-haired witch's eyes told Harry that no matter what he said, she had no intention of giving in.Harry sighed softly, looking up just in time to meet Hermione, who grasped Ron's arm knowingly.The angry wizard didn't seem to notice his girlfriend's vigilance at all, he just stared intently at Harry's face, threatening him to tell the truth with his eyes.

Harry turned to look at Ginny: "What was your impression of Tom before he took control of you?"

Ginny was so ashamed because of this question, her fingers rubbed the streamlined shell of the beer bottle uneasily, and the cold water dripped slowly on the table to blur the dark water stains.She seemed to be struggling in her heart for a long time, her voice was weak and uncertain: "He is handsome and charming, and he is also a gentleman," the girl said without looking away, "he listened patiently to my thoughts—about an ordinary girl's love for a famous man. The unattainable secret love of my boy. He is like a bosom brother, never laughing at my unrealistic fantasies."

It was as if his heart was being squeezed tightly by both hands. Harry didn't expect Ginny to choose to confess his feelings at this time. To be honest, he always knew that beautiful girls had unusual attachment and admiration for him. This happened after the Chamber of Secrets incident. It was more obvious that Ginny couldn't even be in the same room with him without blushing and heartbeat or stammering a complete sentence.Harry didn't want to hurt Ginny's feelings, the girl was more like his sister to him.

He turned to look at Ron and Hermione, they both had expressions of understanding on their faces, and Hermione even showed a little sympathy.

Harry swallowed the foreign object stuck in his throat, and he could see how awkward the whole situation would become.

"I can feel the attraction to Tom, both mentally and physically." After he finished speaking, he heard a suppressed exclamation. Harry focused his eyes on the pattern on the table, trying to avoid knowing the reactions of the other two. Not sure if he could stand his friend's condemning stare, the mere thought made him feel like he'd just swallowed some fat Flobberworms.

Ron stared blankly at Harry for a long while before trying bluntly to deny what he had heard: "That's not funny at all, Harry."

"Ron, accept reality." Hermione kept stroking her boyfriend's back, hoping that the other party would calm down.

"You know?" Ron asked in disbelief. "How do you know?"

Hermione's answer was interrupted by Ginny's sudden sobs, the witch's face was covered with tears, and the crying words hit everyone's hearts: "I should have known, you are attracted to each other, you look at Riddle the way it's like he's the only one left in the world and nothing else matters - I should have known, he's so good at deceiving people, damn it, I'd almost fall in love with him if I didn't already love you so much words." Ginny took out her handkerchief to wipe away the tears that kept falling, her blue eyes were brightened by the intense emotion, and Harry suddenly realized that the girl had grown into a beautiful, optimistic and strong woman, if it wasn't for Tom's If he intervenes suddenly, he will probably choose to hold Ginny's hand and spend the rest of his life together.

But Tom still showed up.Harry couldn't bear to continue to see Ginny's tears, so he could only cruelly turn his head away.

Ginny's sobbing slowly stopped, and her tone was full of condemnation: "How can you accept the feelings of an enemy? Merlin, he killed your parents and killed so many wizards," she paused, "And, almost killed me."

Harry gripped the bottle hard, and he began to wonder if the glass would burst.A hoarse voice came out of his throat, dry like himself: "He's not Voldemort yet."

"But he will be, you know better than anyone how cruel he is!" Ginny put her slightly smaller palm on top of Harry, and squeezed it hard, trying to convey all the firmness to Harry through this subtle movement, "Tom and Voldemort are one and the same, Harry."

"I—" Harry pursed his lips tightly, he still remembered Tom's gentle eyes when he spoke, which gave him the courage to continue, "He wants me to separate him from Voldemort and treat him as two different individuals .”

Ginny's eyes widened in astonishment.

There was a long, deathly silence that greeted them, Harry's agitation almost burning from the inside out, and he pretended to look around to avoid heavy embarrassment.Before the atmosphere became unbearable, Hermione broke the ice: "He really wants you, if you can get him to say something like that—"

"I don't know what to think," it was Ginny who answered, and the girl looked a little bewildered. "Is he cheating on you, like he cheated on me? If he really thinks so, he-maybe He really likes you, I don't know, hell, you know I can't be normal with Riddle, he - I can't recall that horrible experience, Harry, I don't know," Ginny's mood Getting emotional, "I can't possibly bless you both! God, how can I smile and watch the person I love the most fall in love with the person I hate the most? Sorry, Harry, I need to go back first."

As soon as the words fell, Ginny quickly got up and rushed out of the bar.

The atmosphere was too heavy to breathe.

Ron's words were interrupted by Hermione's elbow, and he closed his mouth and downed half a bottle of butterbeer.Harry was also disturbed by the situation in front of him. The wine bottle collided with the table and made a dull sound. He got up quickly, told the two that he was going to the bathroom, and fled in a hurry.

The boy turned on the faucet, scooped up a large amount of water and poured it on his face. In the mirror, he looked very haggard. The water dripped from his wet forehead hair, and slid down his full forehead to the dark circles under his eyes that even his wheat-colored skin couldn’t hide. .Harry took a few deep breaths, and the green eyes that had been described as brighter than emeralds were now dull and lifeless.

It's like the walking dead.Harry secretly taunted himself, he opened the door of the compartment and squatted on the ground, resting his head on the cold tile surface, the mixed emotions rushed towards him like waves, and he was like a drifting boat floating up and down , a huge wave can swallow it.If it weren't for the pride of being a Gryffindor, he would even give himself an Oblivion Curse.

No emotion has ever moved him so much.Even though he knew it was wrong from the beginning, he still threw himself into it like a moth to a flame.Harry didn't know how to correct a relationship that was already wrong. Fleeing would only make Tom press harder, and getting closer would inevitably cause him to be burned.To make matters worse, he was sure he was powerless to prevent Tom from slowly becoming the Voldemort he was now.He's not really a miracle worker, he's just an ordinary 16-year-old wizard, no matter what the outside world says.

It was so wrong.Not just the opposing positions, but that stupid prophecy.Two people cannot live at the same time, one must die at the hands of the other.

Harry didn't want to die, he had a smiling face that needed protection.He doesn't mind the responsibility placed on him by the wizarding world, if it's for someone he loves deeply, he is willing to accept his fate.But, Tom - can he really kill the person he likes?Can you really read Avada Kedavra while looking into the opponent's lake-blue pupils?Can you really watch Tom's lifeless body lying at your feet?

No, he couldn't, if he wanted to kill Tom, he hoped that Dumbledore could develop a way to send him back to the past sooner.

He needs to keep Tom at a distance, no matter what.

Choice is inevitable.If Tom went back in time, with the memory of falling in love with him, would he deviate from the path of becoming Voldemort, becoming an excellent official of the Ministry of Magic, or, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?If it was Dumbledore, he must be able to spot the change in Slytherin, he would be willing to give Tom a second chance, then the old Riddle family and Morfin Gaunt would not die, and neither would the Potter family , members of the Order of the Phoenix and others who fought Voldemort would not die—

This prospect is very tempting.

But the prophecy will still come, that is the result of fate.Tom will definitely find the young Harry without hesitation. Can he still remember his feelings for himself, remember the 16-year-old boy named Harry Potter?If Tom asked Harry to separate himself from Voldemort, he could also separate the current Harry from his baby form.With the wand he raised, could the tip of his tongue roll off the Killing Curse easily?

The answer is yes, even the current Harry can't stop Tom's fear of death.

The consequences of playing with time may also lead to another, more dire future.Harry knew that if the day came to make a choice, he would 'forget it all' Tom without hesitation.Dumbledore would understand too.

But the decision seemed to take all the life force out of him.