The Christmas holidays were over.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on their way to Hagrid's hut.
Tata followed closely by Harry's side, his tail wagging rapidly.
"Harry is here!"
Hagrid warmly welcomed the three into the hut. Fang rushed up with a "Woof!" but suddenly slammed on the brakes and shrunk back, for Tata was baring his teeth and making a threatening "Grrr" at him.
"Tata, don't do that. Fang is a good friend; he won't hurt us."
Tata sat down "obediently," prompting a gasp of amazement from Hagrid.
"Oh, Harry, your dog is so well-behaved!"
"Hagrid, Tata saved me before!"
"He's a good dog," Hagrid turned and brought out a plate, placing it in front of Tata. "These are rock cakes I made. Fang loves them!"
Tata: ...
Ron said anxiously, "Hagrid! My pet, my pet!"
He had long noticed a cage placed on a high stand by Hagrid. He assumed this was the new pet Harry had asked Hagrid to buy for him—Ron Weasley's new pet!
Hagrid chuckled and took the cage down.
"Here, Ron," Hagrid placed the cage in front of Ron. "A Georgian Long-haired Lizard! Look at it, so fluffy and cute!"
"Wow, really," Hermione's eyes were shining. "This really is too cute!"
Ron blinked.
How should he put it? This lizard was covered in burgundy fur all over its body. It certainly looked much more pleasant and cuter than a toad or a snake, but that couldn't change the fact that it was a lizard!
"Hermione has as good a taste as I do!" Hagrid laughed heartily. "This little cutie is the most gentle little animal I've ever seen. I looked for it according to the criteria Harry mentioned—one you 'can hold in your arms while sleeping'!"
Whenever magical animals were mentioned, Hagrid became talkative.
"Cats are too unstable; they aren't suitable for sleeping with. Birds often can't control their sphincters. Others are either too big or have fierce personalities—only the Georgian Long-haired Lizard is both cute and gentle. If you use it as a pillow, it won't resist even a bit!"
Hagrid took the lizard out of the cage and handed it to Ron.
Just because Hagrid could pick up the lizard with one hand didn't mean Ron could. He took the lizard with both hands and held it in his arms, trembling slightly—
It was a bit heavy, but the texture of that red fur was actually quite nice!
Although lizards are cold-blooded animals, the body of the Georgian Long-haired Lizard felt warm to the touch.
"Forgot to mention, the body temperature of the Georgian Long-haired Lizard is warm in winter and cool in summer. It's a very suitable pet for holding!"
Ron grinned and hugged it tighter. The dislike he felt for the lizard just now had long been cast to the back of his mind. Regardless, this comfortable big lizard was much better than a rat!
The lizard stuck out its long tongue and licked Ron's face. The tickling made Ron laugh out loud.
"I'll call him Licky! Look at him, he loves licking me so much!"
Hermione covered her eyes.
Lizards also need salt; wild lizards often lick the soil to obtain salt.
Therefore, Hermione had every reason to believe that classmate Ron Weasley hadn't washed his face this morning!
Hagrid said, "Now that you're inside, can't you take off those sunglasses? Although they do look quite good, can you really see things clearly?"
Ron held the lizard and said proudly, "Hagrid, these were given to us by Audrey! The trendiest sunglasses!"
Hagrid smacked his lips. "Well, it's been a while since Audrey visited. I know she's a professor now and very busy..."
Harry smiled. "I think if you just ask, Audrey will definitely prepare a pair of sunglasses for you too!"
"Of course, of course," Hagrid said with a smile. "Audrey has always been a good girl!"
...
...
Leaving Hagrid's hut, the group walked toward the castle.
Ron kept holding Licky in his arms, not minding the weight.
Harry allowed Tata to circle around him, but the dog's state was a bit off. He kept baring his teeth as if he were a human whose teeth had been chipped.
Hermione remained silent, probably thinking about whether she should get a pet too.
Hermione thought a lot. She remembered that when Audrey first debuted, she always had a cat by her side. At that time, Hermione also wanted to have a cat like Audrey's.
As time passed, she had forgotten about it, but seeing how much Ron cherished Licky now gave Hermione the urge to buy a cat again.
A Slytherin upperclassman suddenly flashed from behind a stone pillar and walked toward the three of them.
This upperclassman was a very unfamiliar face, but his appearance and temperament were impeccable.
"Hello, Harry Potter!"
The senior greeted them as he approached.
"This is the first time we've spoken face-to-face like this!"
Harry was a bit dazed. "Hello, you are...?"
"Woof!" Tata roared fiercely, blocking Harry's front.
Hermione saw Tata's abnormality and quickly pulled out her wand. "I haven't seen you in school. Who are you?"
"My name?"
The senior smiled brilliantly.
"Tom Riddle. It's normal that you haven't seen me, because for certain reasons, I left Hogwarts for many years."
"Tom Riddle!" Ron cried out. "The diary that bewitched Ginny belonged to Tom Riddle!"
Tom smiled faintly, completely unconcerned about the three kids pointing their wands at him. He said to Ron:
"You're a Weasley, aren't you? As a member of a pure-blood family, how can you degrade yourself by associating with a Mudblood?"
"Don't you dare call her a Mudblood!" Ron roared. "She's the most brilliant young witch in our year!"
Tom shook his head. "That's not important. Originally, I only wanted to take Harry Potter's life today, but now that I've seen this Mudblood, there's naturally no reason to let her go."
He leisurely brushed his hair and suddenly glared at Hermione.
His black pupils suddenly turned into waxy yellow vertical slits. Hermione, caught off guard, looked directly into them and was instantly petrified.
Thank goodness for Audrey's sunglasses!
"Woof!"
Tata lunged forward, aiming for Tom's throat.
However, Tom's magical skills were extraordinary. With a flick of his wand to the right, Tata was sent flying sideways, crashing into a stone pillar with a pained yelp.
"Tsk, was it blocked?"
Tom was very dissatisfied that the Basilisk's gaze hadn't taken Hermione's life. The tip of his wand began to glow with green light, determined to finish off this eyesore of a Mudblood first.
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and pointed their wands at Tom. Tom had already put a Shield Charm on himself; he didn't think two second-year young wizards could penetrate his protection, so he chose to ignore them.
But in the next moment—
"LUMOS MAXIMA!"
The light was blinding. Harry and Ron, wearing sunglasses, were naturally unaffected, but the unprepared Tom was caught out. His vision went white, and the Killing Curse directly hit the air.
"Curse it!"
Tom cursed and closed his eyes. If Harry and Ron hadn't lacked offensive means, he would have suffered a great loss from that!
"STUPEFY!"
This was the rough voice of an adult male.
The spell whistled through the air and hit Tom. This strike was heavy and powerful; while it shattered his Shield Charm, it also sent him flying two or three meters back, slamming into the ground.
Harry and Ron looked in the direction of the spell and saw a lean, middle-aged man holding a wand with a serious expression.
He was standing where Tata had been knocked down, and Tata was now nowhere to be seen.
"Sirius Black!"
Harry recognized him instantly.
"Harry, run! Run!" Sirius shouted. "It's dangerous here!"
"But haven't you already knocked Tom Riddle down?"
Seeing their slowness, Sirius grew extremely anxious: "Tom Riddle is Voldemort! Even though this is only Voldemort at sixteen!! He isn't that easily defeated!!"
Harry and Ron were horrified. Looking back at the fallen Tom Riddle, their hearts sank.
"That's right, Tom Riddle is Voldemort," Tom slowly floated up. "That you could make the great Voldemort suffer a small loss is enough for you to boast about for a lifetime."
A sinister smile appeared on Tom's face. "I'll tell you quite responsibly,"
"Tom is very angry, and the consequences will be very serious!"
Sirius roared: "Dumbledore will be here soon. You won't have a chance!"
Tom laughed loudly: "Before coming here, I set a Fiendfyre in the Great Hall and petrified two Mudbloods with the Basilisk's eyes. Dumbledore is currently busy cleaning up the mess and won't be coming to support you!"
Tom suddenly glared at Sirius.
Sirius, having learned his lesson, quickly closed his eyes.
But closing one's eyes in such a situation was undoubtedly like drinking poison to quench thirst. Tom's wand flashed with green light again.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]