Hogwarts: Oh no, I've become Voldemort!

This is his second transformation form; it's not a magical creature, but a real Animagus.

That wondrous spell not only enabled Cyrus to accomplish an unprecedented feat, but also allowed him to transform into an Animagus. At that moment, what resonated in his chest was not just a second heartbeat, but a third.

In fact, he was able to pass through the iron bars of the cell only because of his Animagus form, which is why Dumbledore didn't notice anything unusual.

He swooped down quickly, transforming back into human form just before landing.

His slender body rolled on the ground, and when he stood up, his prison uniform had vanished, replaced by a long green robe, exactly as it had been on the night he planned his escape. The only difference was that Cyrus's appearance had changed slightly—

The ends of his hair were tinged with gold, and his pupils resembled those of an eagle, his gaze reaching very far.

This is probably a side effect of Imagomagus.

Just as the Animagus retains some of the shapeshifter's characteristics after transforming, the situation is reversed with the Imagomagus. The Thunderbird's characteristics are reflected in Cyrus's original form.

However, this actually made him look even more handsome than before.

"Finally—finally free!" Cyrus let out a heavy sigh. No one knew the immense pressure he felt that night when he saw Dumbledore. That was the most powerful wizard in the world!

But now, he has successfully deceived them and escaped from Azkaban. And with the Ministry of Magic busy hunting Sirius Black, the Dementors probably won't care about the disappearance of a "food" they can't handle. It will likely be a long time before Dumbledore discovers he's gone.

He could have simply gone into hiding, living in America or another country, researching magic, and never had to get involved in British affairs again.

The "resurrection" and "freedom" that had been weighing on his mind had been completely realized, and all the joy burst forth at once.

The Soul Eater, which had originally intended to escape, seemed to have sensed this exuberant mood. It noticed that the terrifying giant bird had vanished in an instant, and the person who had appeared in this desolate wilderness was now radiating an alluring joy.

Without hesitation, it lunged down at Cyrus, but as its body drew near, the sudden drop in temperature served as a wake-up call for Cyrus.

Cyrus looked up, raising his yew wand high toward the Soul Eater.

"Call the gods to protect you!"

A giant silver bird, crackling with bright lightning, flew out from his wand.

The giant bird's claws pierced through the Soul Eater's body, and silver lightning exploded instantly, blasting the Soul Eater to ashes.

After mastering Imagomagus, even his guardian spirit changed. Normally, the guardian spirit could only drive away Soul Eaters, but when the silver thunderbird unleashed its lightning, the Soul Eaters, which even real lightning could not kill, perished.

Watching the black smoke fall like ashes, Cyrus felt a surge of pride.

He succeeded in transforming into magical creatures, something no one else had ever done before; he even killed the seemingly unkillable Dementor.

Is there anything he can't do?

The vast world is now at his feet!

(Volume 1, end)

Chapter 93 comes from Riddell

"...The public is reminded that Blake is armed and extremely dangerous. A dedicated hotline has been opened, and anyone who sees Blake should report it immediately."

The man on TV had a gaunt, haggard face surrounded by a head of long, dirty, messy, and tangled hair. Compared to that man, Harry felt he was quite neat.

The wanted criminal Sirius Black has been featured on television for weeks. It's been in the newspapers since the very first day back at Privet Drive from Hogwarts this summer.

His uncle, Mr. Dursley, was always furious and wanted to know which prison the other person had escaped from, so he could make a phone call and complain to the warden of that prison.

However, today's news seemed different. After the television once again reported on Sirius Black, it surprisingly didn't switch to boring programs about agriculture and fisheries, but instead talked about another escaped convict.

"It is understood that another criminal, Riddle, has also escaped from prison. Based on speculation, Black and Riddle are suspected to be accomplices, and both are suspected of possessing lethal weapons..."

Harry, who was frying eggs, immediately froze.

Hearing the name "Riddle" again made him feel as if he had suddenly returned from this quagmire of the Muggle world to the wizarding world, but the emotion surging in his heart at this moment was not happiness, but surprise.

Tom Riddle, who thought the other was a friend and spent almost half a semester with him, but what was the reality?

This is the man who killed his parents one night twelve years ago, and even tried to kill him too!

In the previous school year, he also controlled a giant basilisk and carried out terrorist attacks at Hogwarts with impunity, petrifying several people!

Fortunately, Dumbledore—who is said to be the greatest wizard—later captured him and sent him to Azkaban, a prison specifically for wizards.

Hearing the name "Tom Riddle" again, especially with news of his escape, filled Harry with a profound sense of confusion. He didn't know how to face it.

Logically, he should have been angry about the escape of the enemy who killed his parents, but he wasn't.

On the contrary, he was somewhat pleased for the other man. He always found it difficult to reconcile the image of Riddle, with whom he had spent so much time, with that of Voldemort, even though Dumbledore repeatedly emphasized that the man's greatest skill was manipulating people.

But how did "Riddle" get involved with a criminal in the Muggle world?

Or perhaps it's just a coincidence of people sharing the same name?

He looked up and secretly glanced at the television.

The Dursleys had had a color television for a long time. On the screen, handsome Tom Riddle smiled slightly, every strand of his hair neatly combed, a small tuft of slightly wavy black hair falling down his forehead—it was indeed the Riddle Harry knew. Harry had seen Riddle's appearance in the other's memories before.

Tom Riddle looked completely different from his "accomplice," Sirius Black. Despite wearing prison clothes, he seemed utterly unconcerned. His hair and clothes were clean and neat. He didn't look like a prisoner at all; he looked more like someone about to take up a post in prison.

Perhaps he foresaw this day the moment he went to prison?

Harry wasn't sure, but at least one thing he was sure of—if Sirius Black was an accomplice of Tom Riddle, it meant that the prisoner who had been on the run for weeks was actually a wizard.

But in any case, he guessed he might understand what had happened tonight.

His good friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger weren't as cut off from news of the wizarding world as he was, and since they had spent a long time with Tom Riddle, Harry was sure they would write to him if they had any news.

Not to mention, his birthday is just after midnight tonight.

For the past twelve years, he had never looked forward to his birthday, and even last year, he had a terrible one. But this year, if no more house-elves come to rescue him, perhaps he might receive some letters from friends.

Harry placed the slightly burnt fried egg on a plate and then counted down the days until the day was over.

Time passed slowly until nightfall, followed by midnight.

He glanced expectantly out the window, but there was nothing there. For a moment, Harry thought he wouldn't receive any letters on his birthday again. But an hour after he turned thirteen, against the backdrop of the golden moon, a large, living creature, strangely tilted and flapping its wings, flew toward Harry, growing larger and larger. Harry stood motionless, watching it slowly descend.

Then three more owls flew into his not-so-big room.

Harry was so glad he had moved from the stairwell storage room to this little house last year, otherwise he would never have imagined that he would receive so many letters one night.

But—of the four owls, two belong to Ron and Hermione, what about the other two?

He soon found out where the third owl came from—Hogwarts!

The owl from the school brought two letters, one from his friend Rupert Hagrid, and the other from the school itself. And the fourth owl—

Harry didn't recognize who sent it. The letter looked very plain, unsigned, and sealed with a badge of a majestic eagle. He had intended to read Ron's letter first, but this unsigned letter seemed to have a magical pull, drawing him in and making him tear open the seal.

If someone familiar with magic were by his side, they might have immediately stopped him from opening a letter of unknown origin, lest he be cursed. But he never imagined such an accident would occur.

He tore open the envelope, and a greeting card fell out, featuring a picture of a Quidditch player in flight.

This was the first greeting card he had ever received, and it was even from his favorite Quidditch game!

Harry was overwhelmed with joy and was eager to know who knew him so well.

Dear Harry,

Life is good!

I bet you're wondering who sent you this letter, Harry; and I bet you've already heard about Tom Riddle's escape.

Yes, I am "Riddle".

Chapter 94 What Happened After That

This letter is from "Tom Riddle"!

Harry only read the first few sentences before standing there dumbfounded. He never dreamed that he would receive a letter from that person, and that he would receive a greeting card filled with birthday wishes and a spell he had never heard of before.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to continue reading, but surprisingly, Harry felt no grief or indignation, and even a little happy.

After learning some things about Tom Riddle, Harry realized how similar his own experiences were to that man's. He should have felt anger, disgust, or even fear at these similarities. Voldemort was a terrible man who had killed countless people, including his own parents. His current predicament of living under someone else's roof was entirely his fault.

But actually, he felt a little fortunate that there was someone who was very similar to him, almost like a brother. That feeling was very wonderful, just like the Weasley twins he knew, who were always inseparable.

Harry felt that Hogwarts was his home, and Mr. Riddle felt the same way; they shared a strong connection.

Another reason Harry couldn't hate "Mr. Riddle" was that he had met Voldemort at the end of his first year. Therefore, he found it difficult to equate Voldemort with "Mr. Riddle".

The man was extremely weak, yet still terrifying. He possessed a teacher and nearly killed Harry. Fortunately, Harry had a protective spell left by his mother before her death, which prevented Voldemort from harming him. Quirrell merely touched him, and he instantly vanished into dust.

But throughout the two semesters, Harry had many encounters with "Mr. Riddle," yet the spell was never triggered. Perhaps the spell malfunctioned, but Harry preferred to believe that "Mr. Riddle" never intended to harm him.

In fact, he didn't hurt anyone. According to Hermione, the Basilisk could have killed everyone easily, and even if he couldn't, Mr. Riddle could have done it himself; it wouldn't have been difficult for him. But everyone who was attacked was eventually rescued.

Harry continued reading:

"Yes, I am 'Riddle'. But I actually prefer you to call me Cyrus. Riddle or Voldemort, they are all in the past to me, not in the present, and certainly not in the future. As for everything else, it's pretty much the same as what's been said in the news."

"It was indeed Sirius Black who helped me leave Azkaban, but calling us accomplices is a bit of a stretch. We just made a deal; our goals weren't the same. As for you, you're going to be in trouble again next semester—"

Harry looked slightly embarrassed; he had indeed been in trouble for the past two school years.

He could already picture the mocking expression on Mr. Riddle's face as he wrote those words.

However, Harry was quite puzzled by the "trouble" Mr. Riddle mentioned. He couldn't understand what could possibly be related to him. He continued reading, hoping to glean some information from the rest of the letter. But Cyrus abruptly changed the subject.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm writing to you now. Besides the fact that it happens to be your birthday, I also want you to apologize to Ginny on my behalf. Deceiving you was a last resort."

Harry noticed that the letter seemed to pause for a long time at this point, the ink spreading across the paper, as if "Mr. Riddle" had more to say, but ultimately ended the conversation and continued: