[HP] The Dark Duke's Candy

Candice returned the key to Mrs. Cole at dawn and returned to her home.

She climbed the window lightly and entered the house, put away the broom, put on her pajamas, and stuck to the door to listen to the movement outside. She could vaguely hear her father's deliberately light footsteps.

It looked like he hadn't noticed anything, and Candice breathed a sigh of relief.

After calming down her shortness of breath a little, Candice scratched her hair, yawned and walked out of the bedroom.

"Dad." She rubbed her eyes and greeted her father.

Mr. Bell was making breakfast in the kitchen. He glanced at his daughter and said, "Good morning Candy, breakfast will be ready soon, let's go wash up first."

Candice nodded and left. She thought that everything she did was unconscious, until her father asked her during the meal: "Did you get up to eat bread last night?"

The breakfast in Candice's mouth almost spewed out. She covered her mouth, swallowed it hard, and said with a blushing face, "Ah... yes, I was hungry, so I ate two pieces of bread."

Mr. Bell looked at his daughter for a while, and said after a while: "Indeed, you are growing up, maybe I made a mistake in judging your appetite."

Candice lowered her head in embarrassment and spread peanut butter on the toast. Mr. Bell continued: "I will prepare more food for you starting today. If you still think it is not enough, you must tell me in time. Carrie is gone, and I have to go to work , you have to learn to take care of yourself."

It was the first time that Candice lied to her father, she just nodded while touching her hot face, Mr. Bell was embarrassed just as a daughter, and didn't ask any more questions.

When her father finally left, Candice slowly raised her head.

She looked at the extra fried egg on her plate, which was carefully wrapped in parchment paper and ready to be brought to Riddle.

If she didn't know what her friend was suffering, she probably wouldn't do these things, but she saw it with her own eyes last night, seeing the boy who was a year older than herself and even thinner than herself, she couldn't be indifferent anymore .

She decided that starting today, she would deliver meals to Riddle every day, rain or shine.

But she can't keep using Fremont's invisibility cloak, so she has to find another way as soon as possible.

That night, when Mr. Bell returned home from the Ministry of Magic, he found his daughter staring at him brightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked strangely.

Candice said enthusiastically, "Dad, I want to learn magic spells from you."

Mr. Bell was stunned and said: "Aren't you not interested in learning in advance? I persuaded you for a long time before you were willing to learn a floating spell, but it didn't work."

Candice said embarrassingly: "I was young and ignorant at that time. I want to learn now. I will go to Hogwarts to study in less than two years. I don't want to embarrass my father."

Mr. Bell has a certain reputation in the magic world, and he is very pleased that his daughter thinks so.

"Then after dinner, I'll teach you in the study."

Candice hugged her father happily and praised him as the best dad in the world.

Mr. Bell raised his lips slightly, smiling gracefully and gently.

But when his daughter started to learn the spells, he couldn't laugh a little.

"You want to learn the lockpicking spell?" He hesitated, "That's not a spell that the first graders will be exposed to, you don't need to..."

"But I want to learn, Dad, isn't it very practical?" Candice tried not to look so guilty.

"But that's too early, Candice. With your foundation, not to mention the unlocking spell, the simple floating spell still needs to be practiced." Mr. Bell said seriously, "You can't want to start walking before you learn to walk." go fly."

Candice lowered her head in disappointment, and said after a while: "Then after I have learned all the spells I need to learn in the first grade, will you teach me the lock-picking spell?"

Mr. Bell frowned slightly and said, "Why are you so obsessed with the unlocking spell, Candice?" He looked at the door behind him, "I've never locked any door in my house, have I?"

Candice lowered her eyes and said, "Of course, of course Dad. I just want to learn, nothing else."

Mr. Bell frowned for a long time before he reluctantly said: "Well, as long as you can master all the spells you need to learn in the first year of Hogwarts, I will teach you the lock-picking spell."

Candice cheered happily, but Mr. Bell still frowned, slightly suspicious of his daughter.

For the next period of time, Candice was studying spells seriously. When her father left, she used the textbooks left by her father to practice. Occasionally, she would try to learn the lock-picking spell by herself, but she didn’t know whether it was a problem of movement or pronunciation. , the effect is not always good enough.

At the beginning of October, Candice finally got her father's permission to learn the unlocking spell.

"Listen to how I pronounce it, Candice." Mr. Bell stood in front of a door with his daughter, and said solemnly, "You always mispronounce, that's why you fail."

Candice stared at her father's black wand seriously, and listened to her father read: "——Alahho, move."

With a click, the lock on the door opened automatically without leaving any traces. Even though she was born in a family of wizards, Candice couldn't help feeling that magic was amazing at this moment.

"You have a try." Mr. Bell said to the lock and it was back to normal. Candice took her toy wand and followed her father's tone and movements seriously. The door lock moved, but there was no movement. Open.

"The final sound is higher." Mr. Bell held his daughter's hand and asked her to follow him one by one. He taught her this spell for nearly two hours before she barely succeeded once.

"Rest, it's time." Mr. Bell put away his wand, looked at his pocket watch, and ordered her to go back to the bedroom, "You can wake up tomorrow and continue studying, Candy. In fact, your current level is enough, you are only nine years old , don’t be so eager to learn these things, there will be professional professors to teach you when you arrive at school, your current progress is far ahead of your future classmates.”

Candice pursed her lips and said, "But some people can use the perfect floating spell without being taught." The brackets were still silent and wandless.Candice didn't say the last words, afraid that her father would ask the bottom line.

But Mr. Bell still had doubts: "Who is it? Fremont?"

Candice shook her head, and Mr. Bell asked, "Who is that? Kaisha? Alpha?"

Candice put away her toy wand, presumed that she was sleepy, and ran away.

Mr. Bell didn't object to his daughter having little secrets. She wasn't too young either. She would be ten years old after her birthday at the end of this year, and it was time to go to Hogwarts in more than a year.

Hogwarts...the place where he and his wife met.

Thinking of his dead wife, Mr. Bell's handsome face was filled with pain, and he no longer had the heart to think about his daughter's little secret.

As November was approaching, Candice sent the Invisibility Cloak back to Fremont, and enclosed a letter of candy she made herself as a thank you.

She was already able to use the Unlocking Charm with perfect accuracy, and she was also very familiar with the terrain of the orphanage building. As long as she went late enough, she didn't need to worry about being discovered.

Fremont was so happy after receiving the invisibility cloak and candies, he begged his mother to take him to Bell's house as a guest, but his mother refused mercilessly.

"Now is not the time, Fremont." Mrs. Potter insisted. "We have to wait until Mr. Bell turns on the fireplace on his own initiative. We all know why they moved out. You shouldn't disturb them now."

Freemont was a little sad, but he didn't mention it again.

Candice showed Riddle the first time she had fully mastered the Unlocking Curse.

He had come out of confinement, and Mrs. Cole was shocked that he was still alive, even a little fatter than when he was locked up.But no matter how much she asked, she couldn't get the reason out of the boy's mouth, and was even ridiculed by his expression.

Resisting the urge to throw him back into the confinement room again, she drove him back to his room.

"We need to find another doctor for him." Martha said to Mrs. Cole beside her. "He's getting weirder."

Mrs. Cole answered in a distant voice, they should be leaving, Riddle leaned against the door and heard her say: "We don't have any money to pay him a doctor! Just send him to a mental hospital, so It also reduces the burden on orphanages.”

Hiding inside the door, Riddle showed an aloof and indifferent smile on his face. He turned his head and looked at his hut. Thinking of Hogwarts, which he would be able to enter next year, slightly calmed down the surging hatred in his heart.

Tom Riddle was sitting on the edge of the bed thinking about something when Candice entered with an opening spell.He heard her chanting a spell, and saw the small wooden stick in her hand.

He already knew what it was called.

That's the wand.

There was a hint of excitement in Riddle's eyes, and he stared at Candice's wand closely. Candice looked at him and then at the toy wand in her hand, and gave it to him generously.

"I'll give you this if you like it, and I can ask my father to buy me another one when I go to Diagon Alley next time." Candice said while picking out something to eat.

Riddle took over the toy wand that was still warm from the girl's hand. He felt the power in his body pouring into the wand, and then, a burst of black smoke came out from the top of the wand, accompanied by a little bit of starlight. Dark, yet uncannily beautiful.

Candice was stunned, and it took a long time before she said, "It's so beautiful."

Riddle pursed his lips, glanced at her and said, "You gave it to me, how will you explain to your father?"

In the orphanage, if a child lost something, he was punished extremely severely. He had tasted it.

But Candice didn't seem to be bothered by this. She smiled indifferently and said, "It's okay, I just said I lost it. Anyway, it's just a toy wand, not a real wand. We will all be 11 years old. Go to Diagon Alley to buy our own wand, and as for toys, it’s okay to throw away a few.”

It's okay to drop a few.

She is really a pampered young lady.

It can be seen that Candice's father loves her very much. It is estimated that even if it is a star in the sky, as long as she asks, Mr. Bell will try his best to pick it off for her.

The corner of Riddle's mouth curled up in a self-deprecating arc, he didn't speak any more, and quietly ate the food Candice brought him.

At that time, he didn't even think that he would become a member of Star Picking in the future.

After getting to know Candice, Riddle's standard of living improved linearly, to a level that even Mrs. Cole couldn't match.

His sunken cheeks began to plump, he was even taller, and his skin was getting better.

Not only these physical changes, Candice also brought her father's first-grade Charms textbook, and the two practiced the above spells together.

He was exposed to real magic in the winter when he was about to turn 11.

He even tried another fresher thing - potion.

Candice would often bring him potions to drink. It was said that she brewed them under the guidance of her father. Although the taste was weird, after drinking it, his cold would heal quickly, and minor wounds would heal quickly. Heal quickly.

The world of wizards unfolded in front of him little by little. He entered that brand new world and mastered skills that ordinary people could not master. The other children in the orphanage were even more afraid of him, but he had no time to talk to him anymore. They are generally knowledgeable.

It's too late for him to learn new magic, how can he have the energy to take care of those Muggle children?

Even Mrs. Cole has been wondering recently, why did Riddle suddenly become honest?

He stopped causing trouble, but she was not used to it.

Will there be a problem here?

But whether there was a problem or not, she was unlikely to find out.

In this way, Candice and Tom Riddle became each other's secret friends.

She secretly brought him food every day, and they studied, played, chatted and read together.As the only two young wizards around, they were practically inseparable.They probably wouldn't have parted at night if Candice hadn't had to go home that night.

The time will soon be December 31st.

Candice has been preparing for today, because this day is no longer just her birthday this year, but also her good friend Tom Riddle's birthday.

The orphanage probably never gave him a birthday, so even if it was his birthday, he still looked like he hadn't remembered it.

Candice wanted to surprise him, but she didn't take the initiative to mention it. When her father celebrated her birthday in the evening, she rode a broom to the orphanage as usual.

"I want to show you to my house, Tom." Candice looked at Riddle eagerly, "Would you like to?"

This was the first time she had invited him to her house as a guest.

Riddle hesitated for a while, and did not answer quickly. Candice said directly: "I will be very careful. I stole my father's broom on purpose today. It is a normal standard broom. It is absolutely no problem to bring someone along." She pointed Said outside the window, "And the distance is not far at all, it will be there in the blink of an eye, very safe."

He wasn't worried about safety, but he hadn't decided whether to go or not.

He calculated in his mind, and originally wanted to refuse, but when he raised his eyes and looked over, he unconsciously said, "Okay."

He froze for a moment, slowly clenched his hand hanging by his side into a fist, and frowned.

Why did you agree to come down.

It's strange, isn't it, to be a guest at someone's house today, on a day like December 31st.

Still sneaky.

Candice didn't know what he was contradicting. As soon as he agreed to her, she happily took out her broom and prepared to take him there. She rode in front and waved to him. Riddle stood aside and hesitated for a long time before walking slowly. past.

"You have to hold me tight, Tom, or you will fall." Candice looked back and warned.

Riddle's dark eyes drooped slightly, watching the intimate distance between them, and after a while, he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist.

Candice froze, although it was her own request, this was the first time she was so intimate with a boy.

Her entire face was flushed, and she could only turn her head quickly to avoid his sight, secretly hoping that he would not notice her embarrassment.

But in fact, this scene has already fallen into Riddle's eyes. He watched the girl's flushed cheeks with great interest, the corners of his mouth curled into a half-smile, and he flew out of the window in the middle of the night with her, and went straight to a dilapidated building opposite. Dilapidated houses.

The house was really dilapidated, even worse than an orphanage. It looked like a collapsed two-storey house from a distance, but when they approached, Candice rode a broom and led him close to the cobweb hanging When I opened the window, everything suddenly changed.

"There is a Muggle-repelling spell here. From a distance, it looks like a collapsed old house. Only wizards can see it when they get close." Candice explained to him in the wind, her long blond hair was blown by the wind, and there were a few strands The hair hit Riddle's face, and it hurt slightly, but he just frowned and didn't brush it away.

His arms were still around her waist, her hair was wrapped around his moist lips, his black jade-like eyes looked at the girl's porcelain-like nape, and his breathing rate became very slow.

When they finally landed in Candice's bedroom, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Candice put the broom away, closed the window, drew the curtains, lit the candles, and said with a smile, "Welcome, Tom!"

Riddle slightly turned his head to observe this bedroom that obviously belonged to a girl. In fact, Candice's room didn't have many characteristics of a girl. Except for the bedding and the hanging wizard robe, the other tables and chairs were very ordinary.

But it looks very homely here.The whole house was filled to the brim.In stark contrast to his empty, unadorned hut.In his so-called room, there was only an old wardrobe and an iron bed. The bed was used to keep out the cold, but a worn gray blanket.

A slight red light slowly flashed in Riddle's black eyes. Candice was looking for something in the cabinet, but she didn't find it.

Of course, he didn't find out what she was looking for either.

Until she came to him holding a small cake.

"Happy birthday, Tom!" Candice stared at the boy in front of her with a smile in her blue eyes. His handsome eyes showed surprise and rare bewilderment. She was very satisfied with this scene and said to him, "This It's the birthday cake I personally made for you, to celebrate your 11th birthday, and you will be able to study at Hogwarts next year."

She put the cake on the table between the two of them, lit the candles on the cake, pulled the boy who was standing stiffly, and said, "Make a wish, Tom, blow out the candle after you make a wish, and your wish will come true quickly." It's almost there."

...that's all just kidding.Riddle numbly stared at the small and exquisite birthday cake, which was made for him by a girl who was only ten years old, and his name was awkwardly written in chocolate on it.

Tom Riddle... Good thing he doesn't have that damn middle name.

"Make a wish, Tom." Candice urged anxiously, "It will be past twelve o'clock if you wait any longer."

Although he really didn't want to do that kind of stupid thing, in order to avoid Candice's nagging afterwards, Riddle closed his eyes reluctantly and pretended that he had made a wish.

In fact, he didn't promise anything, just closed his eyes and waited for a few seconds, then opened his eyes and blew out the candle.

He thought the matter would end here, but it was much more than that.

Candice stared at him excitedly and said, "What wish did you make?"

...he didn't make a wish at all.

So there is no way to answer this question.

But he won't be speechless because of her question, he said without changing his face: "If you say your wish, it won't come true."

Candice was stunned for a while, and then said after a while: "...So, is it because I express my wish every year that it hasn't come true?"

Riddle couldn't help but twitched the corners of his mouth mockingly, but when he heard what Candice said next, he couldn't laugh.

"The birthday wish I make every year is to hope that my parents are healthy-is it because I said it that my mother died of illness?"

This was the first time Riddle had shown a heartbroken expression since she knew Candice.

He suddenly felt that he had done an extremely stupid thing.

His breath condensed, and he said after a long while: "No, I am teasing you."

Candice froze, speechless, and Riddle said speechlessly: "Well, my wish is... I hope your birthday wish this year can come true."

Candice stared at the boy in front of her with wide eyes, red began to spread on her face, and she quickly took out the gift she had prepared for him before the atmosphere between the two became weird.

"This is a birthday present for you!" Candice said in a panic.

Riddle frowned at the ceramic owl that was stuffed into his bosom. The owl's mouth was open with a small opening, and there was a switch on the owl's tail.

He pursed his lips at Candice, obviously he didn't understand why she gave him an owl... Ornament?

Candice cupped her face and explained, "That's my piggy bank." She took a breath, "You're going to school next year, since you're destined to go to Slytherin, I hope you can have one Decent school robes and fresh textbooks so you won't be looked down upon by the Slytherin house. Hogwarts actually has a relief fund for little wizards, but it's not much...I don't think it's enough for you to buy I don’t want to buy new textbooks until I wear a new school robe, so I want to give you my savings.”

Candice looked at the piggy bank seriously and said, "My dad helped me put an expansion spell on the piggy bank. It's not as small as you can see. It can hold a lot of money..."

Just as she was speaking, Riddle had opened the piggy bank, and gold, silver and copper coins slid out of it and landed in his palm. Although he could feel the coins were cold, his My frozen heart seemed to warm up.

"That's all the money I've saved over the years." Candice looked at Riddle and said, "I hope it can help you."

Her sincere tone and warm look are impossible to ignore.

Riddle looked at her incredulously, and after a long time, he changed the subject and said, "I have never seen this kind of currency."

Candice immediately explained to him: "The gold ones are Gold Galleons, the silver ones are Silver Sickles, and the copper ones are Copper Knuts. This is the special currency for wizards. Muggle wizards will be in Diagon Alley's ancient The Lingerie trades Muggle currency for wizard currency."

Gringotts should be the Wizarding Bank.

Riddle is very smart, and there are many things that Candice doesn't need to explain too much, he can draw inferences from one instance and understand everything.

He slowly stuffed the coins back into the piggy bank, and after a rough estimate, the amount was quite a lot.

It seems that this girl has really saved a lot of money over the years.

"..." He stared at Candice for a while, then pursed his lips slightly, his black eyes dimmed, and said, "Thank you."

It was the first time he said thank you to Candice.

He didn't refuse her gift, and just took it away.

Candice didn't know why her eyes were hot and she almost cried.

She happily stepped forward and hugged him, and the boy was passively held by her. Although he frowned tightly, as if he was very resistant, he didn't really push her away.

Candice smells good.

It's the group of Muggle children in the orphanage that can't be compared.

Fascinated, Riddle moved his face slightly closer to her blond hair. He thought that maybe it was the expensive and sweet smell of blood.

Riddle got a lot of things and feelings from Candice that he never thought he would have before.

He also unilaterally met two people from her.

They are Fremont Potter, and - Albus Dumbledore.

He is not interested in Candice's good friend Potter, he is more interested in Dumbledore.

The Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts - the great white wizard who defeated the Dark Lord Grindelwald in the book.

In Candice's description, he was an extremely gentle and easy-going middle-aged man, but if he was really as kind and harmless as Candice described, how did he defeat Grindelwald?

Tom Riddle was very much looking forward to meeting Dumbledore.

And Candice told him that a wizard like him would have a professor to guide him before going to Hogwarts.

He desperately wished his guiding professor was Dumbledore.

And he got his wish.

It was a day in the middle of 1938.

Dumbledore, then 57, appeared across from the orphanage.

He was wearing an elegant fuchsia velvet suit, standing on the side of the road, his blue eyes staring at the orphanage opposite, attracting many curious eyes.

He was about to walk along the sidewalk to the big iron gate of the orphanage when he was attracted by a voice.

"Mister Dumbledore!"

Candice stared excitedly at Dumbledore who hadn't seen him for several months, stood up and patted her skirt and ran towards him.

She was just playing with stones in front of her house.

Dumbledore looked at the girl running towards him in surprise. He hadn't seen him for more than half a year. The girl had grown a lot taller and gained a little weight, not as thin as before.

She ran towards him, with blue eyes and long golden hair, she was very much like his younger sister Arianna who died young.

But Ariana would never face herself with such enthusiasm, let alone throw herself into his arms with confidence.

Dumbledore had already squatted down, his eyes were heavy, he slowly opened the distance between him and Candice, and called softly: "Candy?" He looked at the Muggles behind her who couldn't see house, said softly, "Mr. Bell told you about my itinerary?"

Candice nodded sharply: "Yes, Dad told me that you will come to my house as a guest this afternoon. I guess you will not come to see me specially." She was still a little unhappy when she said this, but the haze soon cleared away Said, "I think you must have come to be Tom's guide, so I will wait for you at the door."

Dumbledore looked at her unexpectedly: "You know Tom?—the little wizard I'm going to guide today."

Candice smiled and nodded: "Yes, I know, we are good friends." She leaned on Dumbledore's shoulder and said, "Tom is very good, Mr. Dumbledore, you will definitely like him when you see him his."

Dumbledore said with a smile: "I think so, the child who can be praised by my Candy must be very good."

Candice was a little embarrassed and said: "I haven't seen you for a long time, Mr. Dumbledore, I miss you very much. Have you received my Christmas present?"

Dumbledore nodded and said, "Of course, I've used it." He rolled up the cuffs of his suit and said dotingly, "It's really useful, Candy, every time I have a craving for sweets and can't get it, I just Just smelling it will satisfy your hunger."

Candice said proudly: "Of course, that's my invention, because I always have the same troubles as you." She stretched out her arm, revealing her own bracelet that was the same as Dumbledore's, "Our two are the same Yes, Mister Dumbledore."

Dumbledore looked at the girl's slender wrist, and Candice could be said to have grown up with him.She was born in Bell's family, a friendly Gryffindor family who lived not far from his house.Since Candice was born, a lot of funny things happened, and as a neighbor, he certainly heard about it.

When he met Candice for the first time, she was only two or three years old. At that time, Candice was a little snow-white dumpling, and she knew she would run away from home to fight for her rights—she wanted candy, and her mother didn’t want it. allow.

So, Candice, who met the kind Mr. Dumbledore, ate her fill at his home.

Since then, Candice has formed an indissoluble bond with Dumbledore.

The frequent exchanges between them made Mr. Bell slightly dissatisfied. He felt that Candice shouldn't cause Dumbledore trouble, but Dumbledore told Mr. Bell that she brought only happiness and never trouble.

She always reminded him of Ariana.

She was so like her, with the same innocence, blond hair and blue eyes that Ariana had when she was a child.

He was fascinated by this almost substitutive relationship, until Candice grew up day by day, he gradually could distinguish their differences, and really fell in love with this lovely and sincere child.

She is like a homonym of her name, a veritable honey. Dumbledore sometimes calls her Tangtang directly. The greatest joy of returning home from Hogwarts every year is to eat sweets with Candice.

He missed Candice very much after not seeing her for so long.

He stroked the girl's blond hair affectionately and asked her, "Why don't you call me Albus, Candy?"

Candice pursed her lips and said, "My dad doesn't allow me to call you that, he says it's disrespectful to you."

"Why," said Dumbledore, "I like it very much when you call me that."

Candice said aggrievedly: "I also told Dad that you allowed me to call me that, but Dad still thinks I should respect you more, you are a very great wizard."

Dumbledore laughed: "From now on, when no one is around, we will call secretly."

Candice smiled immediately: "Okay, Albus."

Dumbledore stroked the girl's head affectionately, stood up and said, "It's time for you to go home now, Candy, don't worry Mr. Bell. I will visit your house after I have met Mr. Riddle and dealt with the matter." .”

In fact, he originally arranged this way. He knew the new address of Bell's house. When he learned that the orphanage where Tom Riddle was located was opposite Bell's house, he thought about going to visit Candice after completing the guidance.

Since Bell's family moved away, they haven't seen each other for a long time except for correspondence.

It made him very happy to see her in advance.

Candice returned home obediently. Dumbledore watched her enter the door, then straightened his face and walked towards the orphanage opposite.

He went up the few steps to the front door and knocked.

A moment later a scruffy girl in an apron opened the door.

Dumbledore raised his eyes slightly, and said in a calm tone: "Good afternoon, I have an appointment with Mrs. Cole, I think, she is the manager here?"