[HP] Flower of Eternal Life

The auditorium was filled with a silent and sad atmosphere, whether it was the few remaining students in the school who sat together in twos, the members of the Order of the Phoenix who occupied the corner of the Gryffindor table, or the teachers The teachers at the table were all silent, as if immersed in the terrible news they heard a moment ago and couldn't extricate themselves.

Finally, Albus Dumbledore, who was sitting at the head of the teacher's chair, raised the golden goblet in his hand, and said in a voice that was not loud enough for everyone to hear: "To Aaron and Marlene McGregor Kinnon."

The people answered his voice with murmurs and then raised their cups in honor of the brave young couple.Albus, Rose, and Will did the same, and they only saw the couple once at school, perhaps because they were on the front line against Voldemort all year round.

There was a moment of silence, until Rose suddenly pushed her plate out and murmured, "I don't have any appetite." Even her favorite gratin lost its appeal to the girl.

Ever since Albus heard the obituary of the Order member, he felt something lumped up in his stomach and began to writhe continuously and uncomfortably, which made him feel nauseous.

Will was the only child who still had an appetite. He took a bite of the kidney pie in his hand, and said vaguely: "Even if there is no such thing, you still have to live well. Sacrifice is inevitable. We I even feel that I will die in this world." He swallowed the food in his mouth and shrugged nonchalantly.

"William Dursley, don't talk nonsense!" Rose almost jumped up, with a mixed expression of anger and pain on her face, she raised her hand to beat Will's head, but finally gave up the action.

After putting the last bite of the pie into his mouth and swallowing it, Will stared straight at the food crumbs on his plate and said, "I'm not talking nonsense, I just have this hunch that we're no longer Maybe stay out of it, right? Unless the Order of the Phoenix defeats Voldemort, no matter whether we take the risk to act together with the Order of the Phoenix, the end result will be the same." He twitched the corners of his mouth, showing a weak smile, and said softly: " I miss Esther so much, and if she's here she might say something that surprises us, isn't she always the way she sees things?" Noticing the strange looks the two friends were giving him, Will A very exaggerated expression appeared on his face: "Hey! Hey! Why are you looking at me like that?"

It was the first time they had mentioned Esther in two weeks.For some reason, the three of them seemed to have tacitly decided not to touch this topic, and the girl's name almost became a taboo.

"I hope she's safe and well." A little tear welled up in Rose's eyes, but she wiped away the mist decisively.

"Tom Riddle likes her, but I don't know what Voldemort thinks of her now." Albus looked gloomy, poked the pudding on the plate with his fork, and said abruptly with A few words of resentment.

Will was the only one who was surprised by this. He looked at Rose next to him in shock, and found that the girl seemed unmoved, so he questioned in a panic: "Impossible, how do you know?" of?"

Rose shook her head and replied calmly: "Your observation skills are ridiculously low. Don't you notice that every time we meet in the Room of Requirement and under the beeches, Tom Riddle sits next to Esther?"

"Besides, he turned the crystal flower out of the camellia - the camellia is Esther's favorite flower." Albus dropped the fork in his hand, and it hit the marble table with a crisp sound .

"If it's like what you said, then he shouldn't hurt Esther, right?" Will blinked, although he was surprised by this fact that he hadn't noticed, he seemed to think that is good news.

However, Rose denied his point of view. She turned to look at Will, her chocolate-colored eyes were clouded, and said softly: "Love to hate is the most terrible emotion, I thought you knew that .”

-

"Insomnia!" He pointed his wand directly at her forehead, and Esther's vision was once again covered by numerous memory fragments—playing with Abby on the grass, sitting in her mother's arms and listening to her talk about magical creatures, Looking at the night sky with Albus and Rose on the Hill of Lovegood's house, the frozen lake of Hogwarts, and the gorgeous blooming camellias——

It was over, and those vague pictures disappeared like a dream when she opened her eyes.

Severus Snape withdrew his wand, nodded slightly to her, his voice was still a little stiff, but at the same time there was a hint of approval: "You did a good job, that's all for today. "

"Thank you, Professor." Esther felt very tired, she thanked the man softly, and threw herself on her bed immediately after he left the room.For a week, she had been practicing Occlumency for more than three hours a day, and she didn't even need to communicate with her young father, because he could directly peek into Esther's memory to learn about her future life.

Esther didn't like this way of communication, but at the same time she felt that her own thoughts were ridiculous. She shouldn't have poured as much emotion into this young Snape as she did to her real father. necessary.

Her desire to get out of here was stronger than ever.She has finished making all the potions that she finds interesting, and she is tired of eating the food and seeing the same scenery here. In any case, the next time Tom comes to see her again, she has to choose her words carefully, at least she has to know For what purpose did Voldemort bring her here.

-

Voldemort was in a good mood, for his servants had brought him good news today, which had given the Dark wizard enough leisure to meet his prisoner.The experience of breaking up last time was still deeply engraved in his mind, just thinking about the appearance of the girl that day, a kind of unhappiness rose from the bottom of his heart.

Voldemort didn't know what secrets were hidden in the girl and her friends, they suddenly appeared and disappeared, leaving nothing but a heavy injury to a boy who had just found hope in life .

He'd thought they were his friends too, a ridiculous notion he'd given up on when he entered his fifth year and discovered the secrets lurking in the castle.He had thought he would never recall that brief episode in his life again, until he met that Severus Snape, a graduate of Slytherin House.

At first he had no interest in half-blood wizards, but the young man's surname awakened his memories of the distant past, going back to school days, about the girl with eyes reminiscent of a frozen lake in winter, and her friends.

Of course, at first he thought it was just some kind of coincidence, but soon, he learned more information.The child chosen by the prophecy was named Harry Potter, and the Order of the Phoenix established by Albus Dumbledore also had a Potter couple and a Weasley couple.

Esther Snape, Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, Will Dursley, of course he will not forget these names.

— Voldemort will not forgive betrayal.

But it never occurred to him that he would see her again.

On that chaotic night, he crossed the noisy battle and the dust and smoke in half of the auditorium, and found the girl who was exactly the same as his memory at a glance.He subconsciously took her back to his manor.

Why did he do this?Voldemort himself was puzzled by his actions, and he was only strongly displeased when he noticed that the girl's gown cravat had changed from silver-green to gold-red.

It felt like someone had tampered with his belongings, and it made him very, very upset.

And this unhappiness deepened when he formally met Esther in that room. Her flippant attitude and frivolous tone were so arrogant, and he remembered that she would stare at the flowers peacefully, or The girl looking up at the sky is totally different.

Is he doing something wrong?Or had his memory deceived him?

But when he watched the petite girl who fell on the floor and curled up in a ball due to the pain of the Cruciatus Curse, but never let out a sound of pain or pleading, Voldemort-Tom Riddle finally recalled the girl's true identity. appearance.

She was so indifferent and ruthless, so innocent and arrogant, so displeased and afraid of her.

——I will not make such assumptions, and I think orphans should not assume that they have a normal family, because such assumptions and fantasies will only hurt themselves——

——Lying in front of you is 14-year-old Esther Snape, a fourth-year student at Hogwarts. What do you think you are facing, Tom Riddle? ——

Voldemort finally realized at this time that what he was afraid of was the past self who had suffered countless cruel treatments but still begged for the warmth of others, and as long as Esther Snape still existed in the world, he would never be able to Get rid of this weakness.

The conclusion was so simple that if there was one thing he had to do today, it was to kill Esther Snape and say goodbye to his old self forever.

There is no need to be weak on the road to becoming a king.

Voldemort stepped forward, and his destination was the room in the deepest part of the manor, where there was his last connection with that weak Tom Riddle.

☆、Chapter 16