[HP]Aluet

I went back to the orphanage and asked Mrs. Cole about this little girl, but unexpectedly I found out.

Mrs. Cole said she was put into the orphanage after I went to Hogwarts, but stayed for over a year before being adopted.

I thought, she was alone, she didn't have much money, she might come back when she was desperate...

The streets on weekends are full of people coming and going.

Suddenly there was a screeching sound of brakes from behind me, I was startled, turned around, and saw a figure running past my eyes quickly, and the car was about to hit it soon.

At the critical moment, I didn't have time to think about it, and took out my wand from my pocket.

The car came to a stop abruptly.I breathed a sigh of relief, and put the wand away quickly before people panicked and didn't notice.At this time, I saw the person's appearance clearly. It was a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes-it was exactly the same as the one in the photo.She also saw me, froze for a moment, then ran in the opposite direction.

"Wait a minute—" I wanted to call her to stop, but she didn't turn her head, and just squeezed through the crowd and ran into the alley.I hurried to follow, and finally stopped her at a corner.

Her tears suddenly started to fall unstoppably, I froze for a moment, not knowing what to do.

"Sorry, I just want to ask you something..." I explained, "There are too many people here, let's talk in another place."

I pulled her behind the wall, and she looked even more panicked as one apparated into a nearby empty space.

"Don't be afraid, I just want to ask you. You know what I mean, right? Was it you who was in the house that day?" I asked.

She didn't nod or shake her head, but I think she was probably acquiescing.

"Then you can tell me you... who is your 'grandfather'..." I felt a little hard to say, "Is it the person who went with me that day?"

She shook her head.

I calmly breathed a sigh of relief.She has been observing my reaction, her hands trembling nervously, wringing back and forth in front of her.

"Thank you." I said.But when I turned around, she grabbed my hand.

"You're not a bad person, are you, sister?" She sobbed and wiped away her tears. "You just saved me."

"Of course..." I pulled out a smile.

"Can you help me? I want him to get retribution." Her eyes contained hatred and determination that did not belong to an eight or nine-year-old child, "You are different from us - I don't know who else can help me."

"I..." I wanted to tell her that I might be powerless—wizards are not omnipotent, even if I knew who killed the shopkeeper, I couldn't convict him without evidence, but I Looking into her sad eyes, I couldn't bear to say it.

"I'll help you," I said, "but... I need to know who that person is... That is, would you like to let me take a look at your memory?"

She thought for a long time, and finally nodded.

"Legiliency." The surrounding scenes began to change slowly, and I saw her memory through her eyes.

The owner passed out on the ground, she ran out from the back room, and saw a person coming in from outside, so she hid under the cabinet in a hurry.

The man opened the door and walked in. I suddenly found that the hat covering half of his face looked very familiar.I finally recognized him when he stuck out his wand from his cuff.

Really Mulciber.

There is no room for too much time to surprise me. When the Imperius Curse was recited from his mouth, I felt like I was stunned there.

The shopkeeper stood up with blank eyes, took out a piece of paper and a pen, and began to write quickly.I can't see what he's writing.

The door creaked and opened again, but Mulciber did not look back indifferently.

"Ok?"

"Didn't you see it? I'm asking him to write it."

Avery... my heart sank bit by bit.

"He's the only one here?"

"Ah."

"Did you see the back room?"

"Someone has already discovered what someone said, don't worry about my business, just do your own business." Mulciber knocked impatiently on the glass cabinet in front of him.The little girl hiding in the dark shivered, not daring to breathe out.

"It's up to you." Avery said indifferently, "Do you think the Lin family will follow suit?"

"Who knows? Just follow what he said. Didn't he say that Horcruxes are not the best choice, and there are too many disadvantages."

"Once you start, you can only continue. I really don't understand what's the use of that thing."

"It has nothing to do with us."

"You said that we have been following him to do this, is it really useful?"

Mulciber frowned and glared at Avery: "We have been in contact with him for six years, and you still don't know what kind of person he is? You just wait, if he really does something big, it will be a must." Good for us. And no one can do it but him, he's the heir of Slytherin, don't you forget."

Mulciber read the letter written by the shopkeeper, and finally received it in his pocket: "Okay, let's go, post the letter."

"What about this person?" Avery raised his chin at the shopkeeper.

Mulciber glanced at the shopkeeper indifferently, and then the shopkeeper mechanically took out a small medicine bottle from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Look, this is a Muggle." He turned his head to indicate to Avery, and the corner of his mouth twitched mockingly.They walked out the door together, almost the moment they touched the door, they disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a loud bang—and before that, a dazzling green light lit up in the small shop for a moment.The owner fell down again, and this time, he slammed heavily on the glass cabinet and slid to the ground, his face was pale and expressionless, and he had already lost his vitality.

……

I took a few steps back.The surrounding scenery blurred into a cloud of smoke, and I came back from her memory.

"Do you know them?" Seeing my astonished look, the little girl quickly asked, "You can help me, right?"

"..." I took a deep breath, opened my mouth slightly and didn't know how to respond, and finally I nodded.

I remembered what Dumbledore had said to me.Either way, it really can't go on like this.I think it is necessary to talk to Professor Dumbledore, but it is not easy to write letters.

"Where have you been?" Riddle's tone was very casual, but I was still a little nervous and vague.

"Go out... just take a walk, let's breathe." I looked at him and replied, I had mixed feelings in my heart, and I wanted to say something to him, but I knew that he had never been moved by me until now , My words will not affect his choice, but will only make him irritable.

"What's the matter?" He noticed that I was hesitant to speak, and stopped all the actions at hand. It seemed to me that he was more vigilant than caring.

"It's okay." I hurried back to my room and closed the door.

If I stood at a fork in the road before, then maybe from this moment on, Riddle and I really walked on our own paths.

The heaviness oppressed me so much that I couldn't breathe.

The sudden determination that shocked even me made me feel that everything was a mistake. If I could be firm in myself and choose tolerance and trust, maybe I can turn a blind eye now.

I didn't find time to talk to Dumbledore about it until after school started.

"If you ask me, if you present your memory to the Ministry of Magic, maybe everything will be solved."

"No...I can't." I shook my head weakly, "I told you that I want you to help me with ideas, just like you did when you asked me last time. I just hope that I can stop it, but I don't want to hurt him ...sorry, I know it sounds hard to understand-"

"Neither can I." Dumbledore's deep voice suddenly drifted into my ears, "If I were you, Ashley, I couldn't either."

"Actually, I know each of you to a certain extent. I know it's difficult, but you came to me today and said this, which shows that you have your own concept of right and wrong and persistence. I am very grateful for your trust, Ai Sally. It's hard for someone to be selfless, and many things often require you to choose from the choices you are least willing to make-"

His divine eyes stared at me through the lens, as if he wanted to see through me, but the indescribable tranquility in it was enough to make one calm down and think slowly about every word he heard.

"I think you may have encountered a problem." He smiled suddenly, and when he straightened up, I seemed to see a moment of loss in his eyes, "If things are as you said, then go and fix the problem." Erase the things that should exist, such as the memory of that little girl."

He didn't pay attention to my expression, but patiently explained: "When she knew there was nothing she could do, this memory only constituted a pain and a threat at any time - and that pocket watch, she may never have It's not here."

"Why?" I said.

"How long do you think a memory containing important information can be protected on a Muggle?" When he said this sentence calmly, I immediately understood what he meant.

"Are you really going to do this..."

"There is no other way." He sighed, "There are two options before you, one is to provide the memory you saw to the Ministry of Magic, but in this way, the little girl is in a It's a dangerous situation. I think maybe you'd rather let her live in peace."

I listened in silence.

"I always have a feeling—" Dumbledore's eyes focused on a certain point, as if he was thinking, "It seems that something big will happen before the storm is over."

The air was silent for a while, and suddenly I felt an extremely strange feeling to myself, as if I had left my status as a Hogwarts student and needed to think about something much more serious.

"It's time for you to go to the night watch, Ashley." He glanced at the time.I just remembered, so I said goodbye to Dumbledore, went back to the lounge and put on the oil lamp.

Time flies too fast, and it will be the fifth grade in a blink of an eye.In fact, I didn't even think that I would be elected as the prefect. I don't think I can do this kind of job.

When I took the freshmen to the lounge at the beginning of school, I couldn't help thinking that when I first arrived in the first grade, I was as curious about everything as they were.

I still acted like I knew nothing, and Riddle hadn't suspected it.It's really hard for me to connect him in front of me with everything I know, especially in school, he is completely a three-good student who is excellent in all aspects.

Until one day, he suddenly told me about Gryffindor.

"This is something I only recently learned - did you know that there is a treasure in Gryffindor, aren't you curious?"

"Treasure?" I asked.

"Hmm. I heard that it was a sword bought from a goblin, but few people know about it because everyone has never seen it. Do you want to look for it?" He said half-jokingly.

"So what if you find it?"

"No, I want to see how it differs from ordinary swords."

"Okay." I smiled helplessly, "Then try your luck, it's not a good thing if you are discovered."

"So where do you think it will be placed?"

"I don't know, but this important thing will definitely be well protected by the professors." I shrugged.

For a long period of time, he would go around various places intentionally or unintentionally, or go in and take a look while the professor was not in the office wearing an invisibility cloak after the curfew.

I always feel that he is purposeful, so I decided to test out those who are close to him.But apart from Claire Lestrange, I don't dare to communicate with them.

Once at lunch, I deliberately moved my position towards Clare, and asked him in a low voice, "Did Riddle tell you about the sword of Gryffindor?"

Just as he picked up the fork, his eyes widened in surprise: "What... the sword?"

Unwillingly, I continued to add: "He also told me, I just want to ask if you have any new discoveries?"

He just frowned, then shook his head while eating, looking a bit puzzled: "We have a new member again? Riddle didn't say anything."

"Didn't you realize that we have a good relationship?" I quickly picked up the conversation.

He glanced at me silently, then at Riddle on the other side, and thought for a moment.

"Yes." He suddenly nodded.

"I've been to many places, but I can't find it—by the way, what is he doing with the sword of Gryffindor?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

I shook my head, clenched the fork tightly in my hands, and ate a few bites as if nothing had happened.

"He didn't tell us." His words made me secretly relieved, and then he moved closer and his voice became lower, "However, I think it probably has something to do with the Horcrux, after all, we have been asked to find it before. Some are there and some are not.”

"Horcrux?" I blurted out.

Claire became slightly alert: "You don't know?"

"I know, of course I know, he told me a long time ago." I quickly explained, then lowered my head and stopped talking to him.

really.Every time Riddle said these words, it was basically not just curiosity, otherwise he would not be so persistent.So... it's better not to let him find it.

One night during the night patrol, we walked into an empty classroom, the inside was pitch black, only the light reflected from something inside.Riddle suddenly stopped not far away.

I move closer.Before him stood a huge mirror.I suddenly remembered that he had brought me here when I was in my second year, and there was a secret passage to Hogsmeade hidden behind this mirror.

He stared fixedly at the mirror, with a strange light shining in his eyes.There seemed to be a distorted restlessness hidden under the calm expression.He raised his arm, touched the mirror involuntarily with his fingertips, and quickly put it down again.

I stood next to him and saw only the two of us in the mirror.I don't understand what's so special about it.

Apart from……

I turned to look at him next to me, and then turned my gaze to the mirror again.

Except for him in the mirror, there seems to be less gloom between his brows, and there is no suppressed greed and fanaticism in his eyes.

Why is he in the mirror so much more friendly than himself?

"What did you see?" I asked.

He shook his head, his eyes still fixed on the mirror with nostalgia: "I succeeded, Ashley. I got everything I wanted."

I looked in the mirror silently for a while, without speaking.

We left here, and he walked to the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, opened the door and walked in.Turning around, he found a hidden compartment at the bottom of the spherical glass sculpture, where a glass box was inserted.It's really hard to spot without looking closely—in fact, this was his second visit to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.

Lying quietly in the box was an exquisite sword with a ruby ​​inlaid on the hilt and Godric Gryffindor's name engraved on the blade.Riddle's hand gently touched the hilt of the sword.

"Riddle?" I called to him.He took his hand back, put the things back where they were, stood up and walked towards me.

"The treasures of Gryffindor are really extraordinary." He smiled, "Let's go."

Although he didn't do anything, I was a little worried that he would come again.I hesitated, and decided to remind the professor that someone had found this place, so they could remove the sword.

I didn't have time to think about it, and while Riddle was walking towards the door with his back turned to me, I secretly moved the glass case to the left, then quickly followed, and returned to the lounge after the night watch time passed.

Facts proved that my guess was right. After the night patrol ended the next day, I folded out of the dormitory and happened to see him walking out of the lounge.

By this time, everyone was already resting in the dormitory.

I cast the Disillusionment Charm on my robe, and slipped out, following him at a distance.

Sure enough, he headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.I watched him walk in, and I watched nervously at the door.He walked to that position and took out the glass box from the dark compartment.

The luster of the ruby ​​​​flickered.

It's still there, didn't I move it obviously enough yesterday?

I was a little panicked, but he didn't mean to take the sword away, he just opened the box and took out the wand, as if doing a ritual.

However, just as his hand touched the hilt, a flash of light flashed across the sword. Riddle took two steps back, and I saw a drop of blood dripping from his fisted hand.

"Clean it up!" He quickly chanted a spell, then put the sword back in place, turned around and disappeared.A second after he disappeared, Slughorn and Dumbledore appeared in the office.

I almost forgot that I was invisible, retracted my head, and hurried to the lounge.

I was so flustered that I got into the bed when I got back to the dormitory, my heart was pounding.

I only thought that they would transfer the sword, but I didn't expect to be defensive on the sword itself.If Riddle left one second later, he might be caught on the spot, and he still doesn't know how to deal with it.

But... I never knew if his illusion spell was strong enough to make him invisible...