Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 404 Old Tom and Haierbo

403 Old Tom and Herbo

Hogwarts, Chamber of Secrets.

This time it took Old Tom an extra long time to regain his composure, and he was obviously still very angry because of Haierbo.

Toby had no choice but to break the silence and said: "What's next? After old Volo died, where did you go next?"

"There are many places." Old Tom said in a depressed voice, "enough for us to see each other's thoughts clearly. At that time, I already knew very well that it was impossible for me to learn magic, but neither I nor Merope could

We no longer care about this. At that time, we were not even worried that her brother would come looking for us. Merope told me that her brother's brain was even worse and he would not be able to find us even if it took him a lifetime.

And just like Merop, the two brothers and sisters are under the strict control of Old Volo. Unless Old Voro comes back to life, Morfin will not take the initiative to trouble us."

"The result was that while we were watching the sunset together, I proposed to Merope and she agreed."

Toby noticed that Old Tom didn't look happy at all when he said this.

"We found the nearest church and planned to hold a wedding. Although only the two of us would attend, no one thought there was any problem with it. At that time, we no longer needed a grand ceremony to prove anything."

"Then I saw Herbo again."

Old Tom's tone suddenly became much more depressed.

"He became a priest in the church. I didn't recognize him at first. Now I know that he must have the ability to change his appearance, but he didn't do it at the time. He just changed his appearance. I guess this is

It was some kind of bad taste on his part. Until the end, when he announced that I could kiss the bride, he said those words again."

【After I get married, I will definitely give birth to a child that everyone will envy.】

"I didn't really recognize him until this moment, but before I could figure it out, he went on to say the second half of the story -"

[Unless the bride is not a descendant of the Gaunt family, you will all die because of that child, and you will all die at the hands of your children.]

"I subconsciously wanted to refute him, because I knew that Merope was from the Gaunt family, and she told me about this during the journey. But it was too late, it was too late for everything."

"I saw with my own eyes that Herbo said something to Merope in Parseltongue. He probably repeated the words again. Then he disappeared completely, as if he had never appeared."

"I looked at Merope and wanted to tell her that none of this was worth thinking about, that it was all nonsense from Haierbo. But she held her belly and told me that she had known she was pregnant for a long time, and then told me

After I gave birth to the child alone and placed the child in a place where no one could find it, I would come to me again. Then I passed out. When I woke up again, there was only one person left in the church.

Myself."

Old Tom fell into silence again.

Toby looked at him and said: "It seems that you still underestimate the influence of the Gaunt family on Merope, but Haierbo knows that this influence is not so easy to completely eliminate. Even if he has pawned all the lockets and rings

, but Merop still hopes to stay away from everything in the Gaunt family, which even includes your bloodline."

"The most terrifying thing is that Helbo seems to know love, and he knows that love will make Merope decide to keep the child. From this point of view, he seems to have no weaknesses."

Old Tom closed his eyes in pain.

"She shouldn't have done that, she shouldn't have done it at all, but I can't do anything about it. She is a wizard, but I am just a Muggle. It was destined to happen one day from the beginning, because I have no way to resist the power of magic.

.”

"After that, I returned home alone, waiting for Merope to come back to find me. It's not that I didn't want to find her, but I also knew very well that it wouldn't be that easy. She could run away at any time. I could only do this

Do."

"While I was waiting, I saw with my own eyes that Morfin was also released from prison. Whenever I passed by Gaunt's old house, I could see Morfin constantly looking for something in the yard. I didn't tell him

The whereabouts of the ring and the locket were not mentioned, nor was it said that it was Old Volo's body that I had packed away in advance after I came back. This would make him live in fear of losing his family heirlooms for the rest of his life."

"I have been waiting in the manor for a long time, so long that my parents have passed away one after another, but I still haven't waited for Merop. In fact, I knew something was wrong with this matter even earlier, but I still don't want to give up hope.

, suddenly one day, Haierbo appeared for the third time."

Old Tom took a deep breath and continued:

"This time he changed his identity again. He only said that an old friend was coming to visit me. He was dressed like a businessman. Surprisingly, I was not as angry as I thought when I first met him, maybe because

I knew he must be a powerful wizard, or maybe it was because he pointed out the uselessness of the revolver I hid under my pillow when he first walked into my bedroom. I asked him where Merope was.

He refused to tell me and just asked me if I planned to meet our child."

"I refused. I'm not interested in that child at all. I just want to know the whereabouts of Merope."

"But the more I asked, the more Heerbo told me more things related to the child. Many of them obviously hadn't happened yet, but he acted like he knew it, and seemed to have planned it for a long time.

That’s all.”

"I also knew about Horcruxes from that time, and knew that I would also become a price for Horcruxes. But I didn't care. But then, when he talked about the moment of my death, he suddenly stopped.

Then talk about things related to that child, and start telling your own story."

"He told me that his real name was Haierbo, and he was a wizard who had lived for many years. In order to hide his identity, he also fabricated many facts that were inconsistent with the real history, making everyone think that Haierbo was a wizard.

A cunning, cunning man with an ugly face. But all the people who have really come into contact with him have long since died. Even the few who have had no way of knowing his true face, which naturally includes Muggles like me."

"He went on to say that he has been eyeing the Gaunt family for a long time, because they have the blood of a wizard named Slytherin flowing in their bodies, but their blood is still too pure, which is not conducive to his next plan. He must

It will take a Muggle to get involved. That person is me."

[Many wizards underestimate the potential of Muggles, but only I know that pure blood does not exist at all. Just like the law of conservation of magic, the same is true for blood. There is always a best time. Now I

Waiting for it.]

Toby sneered.

It seems a bit ironic that some of his ideas overlap with those of Haierbo.

"He also left after that." Old Tom said weakly: "I had no way to stop him. But in the end he still told me a piece of news. Merope is still alive. I don't know whether this news is true or not.

It’s fake, but I can only continue to wait—”

"Until the day that child appears."

When he said this, Old Tom's tone became extremely calm.

"I recognized him. I recognized him the first time I saw him. We look almost exactly the same, and I think he recognized me too."

"In the living room, I asked him a question. He acted a little surprised at the time, as if he didn't expect me to talk to him so calmly - until he heard his answer - according to some news from the orphanage, his

My mother has died a long time ago, and there is no chance of her surviving."

"Now that gun finally comes in handy, I feel like I hit him, but Muggles still can't defeat wizards alone, right?"

"It's really hard," Toby said.

Old Tom shook his head regretfully.

"That's all. I didn't win in that duel, and soon I couldn't feel my own existence until I came back to life in this body. That's all."

After hearing this, Toby rubbed his chin and stared at him with a very disappointed look on his face.

"Is that all? Then I still don't know where Lily learned the Horcrux. Of course, now it seems that it is very likely that she learned it from Merop, but if you think about it this way, Merop is still alive.

It’s been a while, so long that she’s still alive even after you were sent to the Castle of Death.”

"I'm sorry that I can't help." Old Tom replied: "Then what are you going to do with me? Now I have no ability to resist you at all, and I can't help you with the kerosene lamp -

-I have told you before, I only remember seeing that kerosene lamp——"

"The person holding the lamp is probably Merope." Toby suddenly interrupted.

"Then I don't remember anything - what?!" Old Tom was shocked: "What did you say?!"

"It's just a guess." Toby continued: "It could also be Lily Evans. This is what I guessed from part of its actions - after all, its current targets are only you and Harry - so

, now can you tell me the rest of your thoughts?"

Toby's eyes seemed to be able to see through Old Tom's soul. He stared directly at Old Tom's face and said: "Don't tell me that you are pretending to be comatose just because I don't look easy to mess with. There will always be a time when you have to do this."

It’s the right reason to do it and have to live.”

——

"Has the letter been sent away?"

"Send it off, Professor. I watched the owl fly away with my own eyes. I guess I will receive a reply from Dumbledore tomorrow morning."

"Very good, it's time for me to rest."

The faces on the wall gradually disappeared, and Lockhart lay back on the bed, but he couldn't fall asleep.

His mind was in a mess.

What should I do? Should I tell Toby the news?

It's not that he is so loyal to Toby, but because the unbreakable oath is still binding him, and if he guesses correctly, Dumbledore is very likely to continue to contact him because of this news.

Suddenly showing up at Hogwarts again

By then it will be too late.

He is now a little resentful of his procrastination. He should have taken the time to erase all his sister's memories of him, otherwise he would have become so entangled. Of course, it would be great if he could continue to live.

It would be a pity to die now.

Um.

He seemed to have no choice.

Taking advantage of the darkness, a tightly wrapped figure appeared by the black lake. Lockhart quietly came to the Hogwarts castle. He first skillfully cleared the mud under his feet, and then silently walked along

Go up the stairs.

For a spy, Lockhart's ability is pretty good. He has not been caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris at least once. He even predicted where Peeves would appear in advance and avoided being caught by him.

The crisis of discovery.

Bon Voyage.

Finally, Lockhart appeared in front of the door of the Ancient Magic Office.

"boom"

He only dared to knock lightly, and then whispered: "Toby? Are you in there? If there is no response, I will use the unlocking spell."

Lockhart originally wanted to be polite, but it was so late, how could Toby not fall asleep?

The door opened, and Toby, who had already changed into his pajamas, opened the door and stared at him.

Lockhart blinked, he could tell that Toby didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"So you haven't slept yet." He tried to show off his charming smile, showing his shiny teeth.

"come in."

Toby waved his hand casually and said.

After entering the office, Lockhart saw a rather strange sight - the reception sofa had been expanded a lot, with mattresses and pillows placed on it, and Al's little head was exposed on one of the small pillows.

Slept soundly.

Lockhart looked again at the closed bedroom door.

"No way?" He said in disbelief: "So this is how you have arranged your bedroom since Angela came back? I never imagined that you still have such a respectable side."

When Toby glanced at him, Lockhart changed his words in time and almost didn't say "shameful".

"anything?"

Toby asked as he sat behind his desk and poured himself a glass of wine. It seemed that he had no intention of inviting Lockhart to drink with him.

Lockhart was not in a hurry to report. He asked curiously: "What's wrong with you? Why do you look so worried? If you have any news, you'd better share it with me so that I can re-evaluate my situation."

"A little tricky question." Toby said casually: "By the way, do you believe it's unknown?"

"Of course I will," Lockhart affirmed.

"Then do you think there will be people who can't live without the unknown all their lives?" Toby sighed: "It's like a magnet, always attracting all kinds of unknown to them."

"Well," Lockhart frowned and thought for a moment, "Even if there was, he would have died long ago, right? Wait, are you talking about yourself?"

"Maybe I should work more on divination magic."

Toby shook his head and said: "Otherwise, why would I meet a Muggle who wants to turn himself into a Horcrux? He has got his wish now, but why is it always like this?"

Old Tom wants to turn himself into Merope's Horcrux.

It’s hard to imagine what kind of psychological process he has gone through. Maybe he wants to be with Merop forever? Yes, he has not given up the idea of ​​​​looking for Merop, and he also plans to leave here quietly without telling Toby after he recovers.

of.

But there is no doubt that Old Tom was devastated when he learned that he had become Voldemort's Horcrux. It is estimated that the psychological trauma will be even harder to heal.

Haierbo really did a lot of harm to their family.

"I'll forget it."

Lockhart simply gave up on the idea of ​​understanding Toby. This was simply not the scope that a normal wizard should explore.

"Grindelwald just asked me to write a letter to Dumbledore. He said that he had found Halbo's hiding place."

To Lockhart's surprise, Toby didn't have much reaction after hearing the news.

But he had already understood all the meaning from Toby's eyes.

[Look, this is another unknown. 】