[HP]Aluet

I brought Potter the sprigs of lavender and morning dew I had bought.

"You look like today..." He took the bag in my hand and looked at me suspiciously, "You're in a particularly good mood."

"Really?" I smiled slightly, "Maybe. I brought you something, so I'll go first."

"You've become so lazy, haven't you?"

I spread my hands: "Obviously, your store doesn't need me anymore." I walked to the door and turned around as if I suddenly remembered something, "Oh yes—" I said, "If you would like to send your formula Tell me, and I might be able to help you a bit.”

I walked back to his desk: "Of course, it's still three or seven." I blinked, "Oh—no, four or six."

"You—" he widened his eyes, "this is too much?"

"That's a lot of work, and it's more labor-intensive than helping you sell your ideas." The most important thing is that he has made a lot of money now, and it's really uneasy not to take the opportunity to blackmail him, "Similarly, I I can assure you that the formula will not be leaked."

On the way back, it really started to drizzle, and the petals of the daisy were covered with fine drops of water. I hesitated and carefully protected it in my arms.

Summer is drawing to a close.

Nagini often came to talk to me, and I would always cover the letter with my arm so she wouldn't see it.I've got so many things I want to share with Orion, it's just that Riddle has never been mentioned.I know that I am deliberately trying to remove his shadow from my mind.And whenever I sit at the desk and write a letter, I will forget all the dullness for a moment. The ordinary letter paper and pen and ink can make me feel the vitality that I have not seen for a long time. Only at this time can I truly experience the soul A moment of freedom.

I was surprised to find that I began to feel eager anticipation for the development of anything, like being in a deep and cold cave, where the extinguished candle had cooled down from the body to the wick, and now it was miraculously re-lit up.

I guess Nagini has little interest in that.

She also has her own worries, like complaining to me about her blood spell all autumn.

"Its symptoms are becoming more and more obvious. I often feel headaches, memory fragments, and it is difficult to concentrate on thinking about something... Sometimes I forget what I did one second later."

"I will help you find a way, Nagini," I put the letter in the inner pocket of the windbreaker jacket and put on the hat, "I will send a letter." I touched Nagini's cold and hard skin with my hand. overhead.

"Really, Ashley?" It stared at me packing my things and going out hurriedly.

"Of course." I replied in the affirmative.Nagini sat on the back of the chair and remained silent.

In fact, I did keep an eye out for any books that might help her break the Blood Curse, and I've been doing that ever since I found out she was under the Blood Curse.The Blood Curse is inherited from the matrilineal line of the family, and it can be regarded as a genetic curse. This alone is enough to cause headaches.Although they can switch between human and animal forms, but unlike the Beastmaster, people under the blood curse will eventually become animals and lose their memories of being human.

I found the record of the Blood Curse from a book, and I got an address through the publishing house, so I went to visit this old gentleman named Diman.

Judging from the color of the bricks and tiles of the old house, it is quite old, even a little peeled off. There are densely packed holes near the ground. The weathering marks are very serious all the year round. The walls are covered with vines, and dead branches and leaves are scattered all over the place. .However, when I was allowed to enter the living room, I found that the interior was quite different from the exterior.

The room was very clean, there were many paintings on the walls, and there was a large open space in the hall, where various objects were placed, as well as wooden tables, stools, easels and cloth.

I carefully looked at the paintings on the wall and on the ground, and saw that the styles of the paintings were all made by this old gentleman, most of them were the same dignified and harmonious women, and the costumes and makeup were more like the style of the last century , and on the easel is an unfinished painting that has just been laid with large blocks of color. Judging from the outline, it is probably this woman.

"She is?"

"My wife." He replied, "Compared with reality and intuition, the feeling made by imagination is still much inferior, what do you think?" He took a sip of the cigarette he just lit in his hand, and the smoke ring dispersed with a sigh In the air in front of him, making his features somewhat blurred.

"Imagined colors are always more dreamy." I thought about it and responded.A cat jumped down from the cabinet and stepped on the palette. Its white fur also stained the wet painting and became colorful. Naturally, the painting suffered, and the ground also suffered.

"Oh no," Diman scratched his hair, looking a little annoyed, but it seemed that this kind of thing happened more than once, so he picked up the palette and sat down again, letting the cat stick to it. Paint's feet stamped in all sorts of places, "My dear Tammy, please stop messing around."

"I saw a description of the Blood Curse in your book." I said bluntly, "I just want to ask, do you know anyone who has been under the Blood Curse?"

He frowned, obviously reluctant to bring up the question, but he answered my question anyway: "Yes, that's my wife. It's been many years." He pointed to another The stool beckoned me to sit down.

"I saw that you also mentioned the words about suppressing the blood curse. Do you have any specific methods?"

His slack eyelids twitched and those eyes looked at me from behind the smoke.

"There is no way, this thing is unsolvable." He said, "Its source comes from the ancestors, not the person who is cursed. This blood curse is fused with the blood, it is not harm, but offering ——Just like another special natural growth law. Even if there is a way to break it, the disappearance of the blood curse also means the end of life.

The so-called suppression...is just to delay the effective period of the blood curse, and it involves black magic. I don't recommend you to do this, because the result is still the same, and it doesn't cure the symptoms. "

"So where did the Blood Curse come from?" I asked.

"I don't know." Diman turned his head, the white cat jumped onto the dining table, and he yelled loudly, "Oh! Merlin! Don't get the paint everywhere!" He strode over and picked up the white cat. A white cat sat back again, and the paint on the cat also stained his clothes, but it was obviously much better than getting it on the dinner plate.

"So the blood curse is doomed to be unbreakable?" I asked the last question without giving up.

"Didn't you see the result? This cat in front of you." He said.

"Sorry." I opened my mouth, "Is she your wife?"

"It used to be, but now it's just a cat."

I was silent for a while.

"It's still hard for you to accept her like this, is it?"

Diman gently touched the back of the white cat's neck, raised his head, his eyes wandered, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"No." He shook his head, "It's not my wife, I named it after my wife's nickname, it can only be regarded as a souvenir." He bit "it" very hard, "I miss it very much She, but from the moment she completely became like this, she left me forever."

I didn't know what to say, so I got up and bowed to say goodbye to him.

"Excuse me, thank you."

I walked back with a sad face, and finally didn't tell Nagini about it.After thinking about it for a long time, I struggled to read some books related to black magic, but I didn't practice it because I was still hesitating.

If the result is doomed to be unchangeable, am I really going to study black magic just to continue the existence of Nagini's sanity and memory as a human being?

It's really hard for me to make this decision.I also hope that Nagini can always be there, after all, she is by Riddle's side, and only she can talk to me.But even if the blood curse is delayed, she will not turn back into a human, and this time is very short, it is only a psychological comfort.Besides, I really don't want to touch black magic.

Maybe I'm just making excuses for my selfishness.I thought dejectedly.

In early spring, I received a wedding invitation from Abraxas Malfoy.

With my knees, I knew that he didn't want to invite me—I wished he would let me go, but Riddle would let me go with him no matter what, in front of so many people, I didn't dare to have any objections.As far as I know, Malfoy invited all the Slytherin classmates he knew who had studied at Hogwarts—whether they were friends or those who hadn’t talked much, as long as they had a little relationship, he would invite them all. After reading it again, plus a few more familiar Death Eaters - there are about a dozen or twenty people in these alone, and it is estimated that other families who have good friends with the Malfoy family will also be invited.This was much more grand than Krell's time - Malfoy always likes to bluff, so I'm not surprised.

Their time was set at four o'clock in the afternoon, and it lasted until the evening dance and dinner. The Malfoy Manor was huge, and he showed it off to the guests without restraint. He seemed to be very receptive to other people's compliments. very rich.After the wedding ceremony, he began to appear at various tables, his golden head shining brightly in the brightly lit hall.

Riddle was reminiscing with his old classmates, and except for the few people who were in his same class at that time and have been following him from the relationship of "friends" to the present, the others didn't know that Riddle was the one who spread his love for black people everywhere. The "Voldemort" of magical insights and achievements, also regarded him as the smartest and most lovable student at Hogwarts.

I have no acquaintances who can talk - I can't help but be thankful that I didn't make any Slytherin friends at Hogwarts, and everyone has changed somewhat over the years, plus makeup allows me to Avoid being recognized - I don't think anyone will pay attention to me even if they look familiar.

The dance party started with melodious music, and many people began to dance in the middle of the venue, of course there were some exceptions, such as me, Riddle, the three or two people who are talking to him now, and Irina——

Oh no.She was talking to Alphard.

They don't know when they got so close. Thinking about it, it seems that it can be traced back a long time ago, but maybe because of the last time, she is not so enthusiastic about Riddle now, so I suddenly realized that the two of them are often together. Staying together, no matter when doing tasks or in ordinary times, as long as I see them, they can always have something to say.

And that strange atmosphere is always more obvious in Alphard.To be honest, if Alphard really has some different feelings for her, I really don't understand-maybe she is different from what she showed in front of me?In my eyes, she is a typical representative of blindly worshiping Riddle and finally being stupid and killing herself, and often against me, ruining my business, and dying-yes, this is enough for me to remember for a lifetime , maybe I'm a very vengeful person in my bones, but I don't often take revenge.

Of course, she and Riddle are of a different nature.I subconsciously glanced at Riddle over there. On that pale, thin but still handsome face was the gentle smile that I was most familiar with when I was at Hogwarts. Whether it is two different people, but I know the answer.

That polite and gentle senior is him, that murderous cold-blooded demon is also him, he has always been Tom Riddle, and he is also Voldemort—I hate him so much that he took my words when I was full of ignorant love for him as Another name, which always makes me have to recall the memory that makes me feel cold when I recall it. They are intertwined with the hatred that has already flourished in my heart and attack my defense line. I tense my nerves all the time to prevent myself from falling into this kind of emotion.

I don't know what Irina thinks about Riddle now.I think.She better wake up in time.

I drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, and the warm liquid poured into my stomach, and I felt much better.

I glanced around and saw a familiar face in the corner at the end of the hall. I was stunned for a while, and prompted by an imperceptible sense of excitement, I poked my head and looked over there.Orion was sitting in the crowd, and behind him sat a couple, probably his parents, and a few members of the Black family, who were talking to the people at the next table, and he was the only one standing there silently, looking at the ballroom In the middle, he finally turned his head and said something to his father, got up and went up the stairs.

He didn't see me.

I glanced at Riddle in a hurry, he didn't pay attention to me, I lifted the hem of my skirt and stood up, it was a bit difficult for me to walk because I hardly wore high heels - this is why I don't like to participate in this kind of competition One of the reasons for the prom.The last time Claire's wedding was not so troublesome, he had a meal at noon and left after a while in the afternoon.

I walked through the crowd, leaned against the wall, and ran upstairs stumbling.

I think I'm somewhat overheated now.

I went up to the top floor and walked in along the railing, and there was a spiral staircase inside.I stood below and looked up. There was a vast platform outside. From this angle, I could only see the starry night sky.

I carefully walked up the handle, and saw Orion standing on the edge of the roof. He heard footsteps and turned his head, just in time to bump into my sight.

"Orion!"

He was a little surprised, so he came over to help me, and I breathed a sigh of relief, and stood with him on the platform where the evening wind was blowing.

The nights in early spring are still a bit chilly—at least not friendly to women in dresses for the prom, and my coat is still on the chair.But I don't care about this at all, because the drink I just drank still has some alcohol left, so only the skin exposed to the air feels cold, while the internal organs and blood are warm.

"You're invited, too," he said.

I'm noncommittal, and I've gotten to the point where I don't want to mention anything about Riddle at all.

"It suddenly occurred to me—Why didn't I see you at Krell's wedding before? Didn't he invite you?" I asked.

"The last time we had something to do with our family, we were pushed." He lowered his head and fiddled with his sleeves idly, "My cousin, you should know, Alphard, he is with you. My cousin and uncle also went , but you don’t know him. There are too many people invited by Malfoy this time, and many prominent families are present, so if we don’t come, we will lose face to Malfoy.”

"Too."

I put my weight on one leg, relieved my sore foot, and finally sat on the blanket.

Orion watched me sit down, stood there for a while, and sat down with me.

There is a transparent glass in the middle of the platform, from which you can see the downstairs, and the light comes from the room. I overlook the dance hall, and the music can be heard here, but it is much smaller.

"You—" we spoke at the same time, and stopped at the same time.

"You go first." I said.

"It's nothing." His smile looked very gentle under the warm light, "You are very suitable for white."

I looked down at the white skirt on my body and was a little happy.

"Really?" I said briskly, "I think it's better than black, too, isn't it?"

He hummed and put his coat lightly on me.

I felt my cheeks "swipe" hot, I shrunk my neck and buried my face in his coat, the light fragrance lingered in my nostrils and went straight to the top of my skull.

"Aren't you cold?" I blinked and looked at him.Orion smiled, and touched the back of my hand with his fingertips, it was warm.

"You don't like this kind of dance too, do you?" I looked at the noisy crowd in the ballroom.

"do not like."

I smuggled a few pieces of candy with the Flying Charm, and I peeled off one of the hard yellow candies, it looked similar to Dumbledore's favorite lemon sherbet, but I regretted it as soon as I put it in my mouth up.It is much more sour than lemon sherbet, I squinted my eyes in pain as if swallowing a piece of fresh lemon pulp, "Why, there is this kind of candy in the banquet?"

Orion laughed at the way my features huddled together, but I knew he would stop laughing soon because he took another identical candy from me.Under my surprised and admiring eyes, he put the sugar into his mouth without hesitation.

"Pfft." I watched him froze in satisfaction, then opened my mouth slightly as if he had been scalded.I patted him on the shoulder, couldn't stop laughing, and leaned my head against his body, and then I heard that he couldn't hold back his smile when he was on top of my head.

I straightened up and recovered, and now even the muscles in my face are a little sore, and I can't even tell if it's the sugar or the laughing.

"Actually, the sandwich is sweet." I quickly chewed the sugar, "—maybe it's too sour outside, and it will get better after getting over it."

He just smiled and didn't speak.

The music of the banquet was put on the story of the Vienna Woods. I was very surprised: "It turns out that they will also play the music of Muggle musicians."

"Most people usually don't pay attention to the author when they appreciate works of art. When they listen to this piece of music, they are dancing gracefully. When they leave this environment, Muggles are still discriminated against." Orion said, "It may also be because many Muggle wizards and half-blood wizard groups are calling for this matter-including a small number of pure-blood wizards, so that some Muggle culture can spread into the wizarding world. But their voices are still too small , at least in today's era, the forces are severely divided, and the interests of the family will polish away the enthusiasm and edges of many people. Any family with a little face is unwilling to be isolated, and will only choose to follow the trend or remain silent. The suppression is too severe , so it will eventually be submerged.”

I find it ironic.But I don't have any prominent family background behind me, so naturally I don't need to take these into consideration.

I stood up.

The wind blew my hair and the corners of my skirt, I wrapped my coat tighter, took a deep breath of the fresh night air, and every cell in my body was jumping happily.

So I bowed, imitating the appearance of a gentleman, and stretched out my hand.

"A dance, Orion?—Oh no," I corrected, "I should be more polite. May I ask you a dance, Mr. Black?"

His dark eyes stared at me, the corner of his mouth raised a slight arc, he took my hand and stood up.Feeling the momentary weight on my hand, I suddenly burst out laughing.

"... a bit heavy."

He supported my forearm, but I bent over, smiling a little weakly.Until he finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Are you overexcited today?" He looked helpless, but I'm sure he was holding back a smile and pretending to be reserved, "Maybe we should do it all over again."

"What again?"

Orion sat me back on my shoulders, and I looked up at him.He stood in front of me, adjusted his collar a little, and made the most standard and best-looking etiquette gestures I have ever seen.

"May I ask you to dance, Miss Field?"

I kept staring into his eyes until he took the initiative to avoid his sight, and the base of his ear was blushing, and I took his hand.

The moon and starlight swayed on the wide platform, and the brilliant lights shone from the glass. Of course, I couldn’t do any serious dance in high heels. We just walked around slowly and casually twice, but this kind of dance doesn’t need to follow the rules. The feeling is really comfortable.

Until he raised his index finger on his lips, made a "shh" gesture, and pulled me to hide behind the wall on the right.

"Someone is coming," he whispered.

"Who?" I mouthed.

"I don't know, I don't know." He said so.

I turned my head and took a look at myself.

Rambusi.I frowned, as if a bucket of cold water had completely extinguished me.I calmly glanced at the time, nine thirty-seven.

"he's gone."

"I should go back too." I quickly picked up the words.He froze for a moment, the light in his eyes dimmed a bit, and he didn't say anything.I took off my coat and put it back on Orion.

I looked down and shrank my head the moment I saw Riddle.I was suddenly a little scared.

I went downstairs, and suddenly someone grabbed my arm and dragged me to the corner.

I took a closer look: "Irina."

"Where have you been?"

"I don't like dances, so I just went upstairs."

She gave me a deep look.

"You're done, Ashley."

"What's wrong?" My heart started beating faster.

"The master asked where you were once after eight o'clock, but I couldn't find you after searching around."

"He—he's looking for me?" I looked over there suspiciously, and Riddle was still talking leisurely with others, as if there was nothing important.I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It should be fine." I said.

"I don't know." Irina snorted, "You can ask yourself, try to speak well."

"You..." Before I could speak again, she turned around and went back. I had to go back to my seat as quietly as possible.

I hope he's better off just asking casually.