the Gambler

When Harry stood in the principal's office again, it was already mid-November, and the whole room was silent. Fox, which had regrown its beautiful feathers, let out a long whistle and flapped its wings on the stand a few times.Dumbledore sat behind the desk and flipped through an old book, which was densely written, but it was the scorched black and withered arm that caught Harry's attention.Unable to bear to continue watching, Harry turned away and waited for Dumbledore to speak first.

"Tom seems to be very close to you these days, and I have to notice his persistence," Dumbledore pushed back the glasses that had slid down the bridge of his curved nose, and said calmly facing Harry, "But you Dodging him, why?"

"Nothing, sir." Harry lowered his head and played with the hem of his robes.

The boy's actions did not escape the keen observation of the old man. Dumbledore closed the book and pushed it aside, and said in a gentle tone like a grandfather treating a child: "You remind me of my past self, Harry."

"Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean." Harry frowned. He looked like a young Dumbledore?This is too ridiculous, the man in front of him is the greatest white wizard of this era, he never thought that he had comparable strength - wait, maybe that's not what the headmaster meant?

"You are very similar to me, in every way." Dumbledore's blue eyes flashed behind his glasses, "You need to be confident, Harry, you are a powerful wizard with great potential. Tom's presence makes you Discover your own strength more deeply, don't you?" He smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes looked kindly, "It made me realize that my decision was right."

"You want to train me through him?" Harry asked in disbelief. "He's dangerous."

"I know, Harry, I know." Dumbledore showed a guilty expression, and he looked a lot older in an instant, which Harry had never seen before, "More than once I regret putting you in danger, especially The accident at St. Mungo's. But Tom is the best person I can think of, and you will all be subtle because of the communication-I know you have always wanted me to give you special training to achieve the power against Voldemort, maybe you will want to ask me , why didn't you start fighting earlier? My answer has not changed, Harry, I hope to give you a relaxed and happy childhood, the responsibility on your shoulders is unreasonable, no one should force a boy to stand in front of them .”

"But I'm the one chosen by the prophecy." Harry said sullenly.

"I was one of those who heard the prophecy," said Dumbledore. "You were destined to stand against Voldemort, and the Order and I did our best to protect you and support you. You are not alone, Harry. So no matter what is bothering you, don't give up easily because of responsibility, you don't know what kind of future your choice will bring."

"What if it's terribly wrong?"

"No one can decide for you whether you are wrong, only time will tell." Dumbledore said, "As I have always said, love is the most powerful magic."

Dumbledore's penetrating gaze gave Harry a feeling of being seen through. Those blue eyes seemed to look into the depths of his soul. If he hadn't been sure that his Occlumency was okay, he would even have doubted the old man. Legilimency was used.Dumbledore's hint made him slowly relax, and then a sudden realization hit his head.

— Dumbledore never married.

Harry spoke boldly: "Sir, have you ever encountered such a situation? Difficult to choose between responsibility and love?"

"I didn't expect you to come to such a conclusion." Dumbledore half-closed his eyelids, his eyes were deep, and seemed to be immersed in distant memories.

It's definitely not a good memory, Harry pursed his lips, maybe he should restrain himself.

"I'm sorry, sir. You don't have to answer that question."

"Oh, it doesn't matter, it's just that no one has asked for a long time, I'm a little surprised." Dumbledore smiled again, "Your guess is correct, I did have this experience. No, I don't think that The relationship itself is wrong, and everyone has the right to love and be loved—but I failed to realize the consequences of this relationship, and it made me regret it for the rest of my life. My real regret is that I can't become the wrong person Stop him in time before it gets worse," the old man blinked briskly at Harry's shocked expression, but Harry could still see the pain in the Headmaster's eyes, "Yes, he."

"It didn't occur to me that you were gay." Harry said hesitantly, still unable to hide his curiosity.Who was the man who made Dumbledore fall in love with him?According to the headmaster, he is definitely not a figure worth showing off, and it seems that their relationship is also very complicated, perhaps not much different from his own and Tom's.

"He was an equally good boy, maybe a man would be more appropriate. I was inevitably attracted to him when I was young, and even went on a path I hated at one point. A lot of things happened later - but this is not what we are going to talk about today. Dumbledore quickly changed the subject, "I know you are very concerned about the issue of time travel, and the Reticents from the Department of Mysteries are also involved. I believe there will be an answer soon."

When the relationship finally eased, it returned to the original point.Tom gritted his teeth in annoyance, he hated Harry's mood swings so much, hey, there's nothing wrong with not being able to do whatever you want.People live for themselves, and those noble sentiments have nothing to do with ideals!Harry is too stupid. Since they have feelings for each other, being together should be taken for granted.Salazar, he really wanted to slice open that loyal Gryffindor's brain to see the weird anatomy inside, or slam Harry's head hard against the floor, at least it would clear the boy up a bit.

Tom kicked himself mentally, feeling like a lovesick dog desperately trying to get Harry's attention, but the latter was determined not to respond to his attentions, He has been close to himself and distant, and he can switch between the two attitudes freely, which is worse than in the past.

Now he has been divided into friends.

But the last thing Tom needs are friends.He needs a deputy, a follower, and a shield on his back. There is no place for that poor creature.friend?It was funny how many people thought they were his friends, but Tom knew how pathetic it was.Obedience is rewarded, disobedience is punished.Friends are just a weakness.

Support your strength?Harry's view is ridiculous, if you are strong enough you don't need to rely on others.

Lick each other's wounds when hurt?That's the act of the weak, and Tom would just cut other people's bodies.

Riddle got up suddenly and silenced the whole lounge, Draco clenched his fists nervously, the other party's inspecting eyes swept over everyone and finally stopped on himself.Sweat began to trickle down his brow, and if it was anything like these days, Riddle was looking for someone to vent his anger on, and this time it was his turn.Draco suppressed the fear that was welling up in his heart, and barely looked directly at the dark-haired Slytherin, who had a cruel smile on his lips.

"A little nervous, Draco?" Riddle said briskly, a flash of scarlet in his eyes.

That's not the eye color that a human should have, something was wrong, Draco knew that Riddle was not an ordinary wizard, and his power even made his father feel intimidated, but these eyes—the eyes that flashed red light from time to time, it was too much. It's weird.Draco's whole heart was hanging, and Riddle never called him by his given name, except when he was in a particularly bad mood and needed to torture someone.

"A little bit." Draco admitted carefully, no one could fool Riddle, and it's best to be honest with him, "Mr. Riddle."

"Sir?" Riddle's tone was a bit mocking, his whole body relaxed and stretched out, showing his perfect appearance without caring about other people's eyes, "I didn't know you respected me so much."

"I have always had great respect for you."

"So you call me Mr. Riddle, but Harry by his Christian name?"

Then everything can be explained, Draco can't help but slump, Riddle is really jealous of him, are you kidding?

"Potter is a stubborn person, he doesn't like my original address." Draco explained cautiously, "I have no doubts about him at all, neither the past nor the present nor the future. He is obviously attracted to you, He is your property, sir."

"You think too much. I know better than anyone that you are not qualified to be in his eyes." Tom waved his hand lazily. It was an undoubted fact that Harry liked himself.He just didn't like that Malfoy and Zabini could share the boy's smile, he could only bloom for Tom.

"Then—may I know why you chose me?" Riddle seemed to be in a much better mood. Perhaps the other party was really a little jealous, but he just didn't want to admit it.Draco was very glad that he had put aside his ties a long time ago. The problem now is that he still doesn't know why he was named. The fear of the unknown is the most terrifying.

"I need the gold coins you used to contact Harry."