Hogwarts: Oh no, I've become Voldemort!

Riddle House sits on a hillside overlooking Little Hangerton, offering views of the entire town. However, despite its name, it's practically a village. Modern technology seems to have left this remote town largely untouched; it looks much the same as it did decades ago, except for the occasional dilapidated truck trudging along the muddy roads.

Aside from Riddle House, the oldest buildings in the town are the Hanged Manor and a nearby cemetery.

Four or five miles further on lies Great Hangletonshire, Cyrus's true destination—Gunter's Old House. But before heading to the old house, Cyrus intends to find a place to stay.

"Hello, sir."

When Cyrus got out of a dilapidated car, an old man seemed to have been waiting there for a long time. He had white hair, a hunched back, and a limp, and his voice trembled as he spoke.

Not far away, the men and women who were about to do farm work stopped and stared at the old man in astonishment, as if he were a ghost that had appeared out of nowhere.

“Frank Bryce?” Cyrus gripped his gentleman’s cane in one hand, his suit jacket draped over his arm, and lifted his hat with the other as he looked at the old man before him.

“It’s me, sir…” Frank said tremblingly. He probably wanted to reach out and help Cyrus up, but after noticing Cyrus’s unusually expensive suit, he immediately withdrew his hand in fear.

“I think you’ve already heard that I bought Riddle Mansion. The government should have informed you.” Cyrus didn’t pay attention to the road, his shiny leather shoes crunching on the dirt.

“Yes, sir, yes.” Frank nodded hastily, his heart filled with confusion once again. He had been a gardener at Riddle House for fifty years, and now, even though the owner of the house had died mysteriously fifty years ago, he still lived obediently in that dilapidated shed in the mansion’s garden.

Now that the mansion has a new owner, he has no idea what fate awaits him.

He has never been cleared of suspicion regarding the mysterious deaths of the Riddle family. Would this man continue to employ him? Even putting that aside, he is quite old.

If he gets fired, where can he go?

Under the watchful eyes of the townspeople, Cyrus followed Frank toward the mansion on the distant hillside. Unlike London, the weather here was bright and clear, and Riddle House, covered in vegetation, looked lush and green from afar.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the mansion is completely dilapidated.

Wild weeds sprouted from every crack, and ivy from the walls invaded the house. The house's windows were all broken, and the wooden doors and beams were in disrepair, covered in mold, and some had even been gnawed by insects.

He doubted how long the mansion could hold out before collapsing.

“Sir, I…” Cyrus gestured to him, indicating that he didn’t need to say anything more. Frank could only awkwardly shut his mouth, his aged face concealing a multitude of emotions.

Perhaps he was thinking that dying this way would be easier.

For decades, he had lived in this small mansion, where time had long since stood still. Leaving here would mean becoming a man abandoned by the times, with no chance of survival.

He sighed, his slumped and stiff face twitching, and finally decided to say something. But as soon as he raised his head, his already cloudy eyes saw that the gentleman had actually picked up a delicate little wooden stick.

Then, the stubborn weeds disappeared, the overgrown ivy became docile, the broken glass and other things were miraculously repaired before Frank's eyes, and the collapsed sculpture seemed to come alive, leaping up lightly and striking a beautiful pose.

It's as if time has reversed on them, and in the blink of an eye, they've returned to their brand-new appearance from fifty years ago.

The messy yard was suddenly clean and tidy, and looked much more spacious. The fountain and pool in the yard, which had been blocked and abandoned, were also brought back to life, and the clear water sparkled in the sunlight.

Frank thought he was dreaming and rubbed his eyes hard with his fingers, which were rougher than dry twigs.

"Sir, this..."

He was filled with questions, but before he could ask them, Cyrus had already pointed his wand at him.

"Everything is forgotten."

Frank's mind was suddenly jumbled up as if cut off, then pieced together with other jumbled images. In an instant, the image of Cyrus waving his wand completely disappeared from his memory, replaced by a series of indistinct maintenance workers constantly repairing the manor.

"Frank Bryce!"

Old Frank was jolted back from his delusions by Cyrus's shouts. When he came to his senses, he found himself no longer standing in the manor, but sitting in a beautiful chair. And the gentleman was sitting opposite him.

He suddenly became flustered and hurriedly tried to stand up so as not to annoy others.

“Please sit down, Bryce, there’s no need to be so formal,” Cyrus reassured him, reaching out to press him back into the chair. The old man seemed uneasy, glancing around the room nervously.

Although he had been a gardener here for over fifty years, he actually entered the mansion very rarely. Apart from cleaning and repairing the windows that had been smashed by the town's children, he almost never dared to set foot inside the house.

Even so, he clearly remembered the layout and location of all the furnishings in the house, but now everything had changed. The new owner of the mansion had obviously made significant alterations to it.

The entire mansion now looks very exquisite and is no longer so dark. Sunlight shines in through the huge French windows, giving it a sense of renewed vitality.

“Bryce, I’ve heard you’ve been here all these years. I think you can continue to live here in the future,” Cyrus said generously.

"Sir, are you telling the truth?" Old Frank almost burst into tears. His eyes were brimming with tears, and if he hadn't been sitting in a chair, he probably would have immediately knelt down in front of Cyrus.

But even so, he still said:

"Sir, you are a good man, willing to take in an old, good-for-nothing like me who has no one to rely on. However, you may not have heard some rumors..."

"You mean you were once considered the murderer of the Riddle family?"

"Sir, since you know this, why did you still..."

“I think people need to have a certain degree of ability to discern unfounded rumors.” Cyrus naturally knew the truth; the person who killed the Riddle family had nothing to do with this poor old man. “Since the police have no evidence to arrest you, and you have been so diligent all these years, I believe you cannot be the murderer.”

Old Frank had probably never experienced such unwavering trust before, and was eager to do anything for Cyrus. However, an old man like him couldn't really help Cyrus in any way.

Cyrus only took pity on him, so he kept him.

“I won’t be staying here often, so someone still needs to look after it. Also—” Cyrus stood up and slowly walked to the entrance of the mansion.

Just then, old Frank saw a huge python emerge from nowhere. He shuddered and was about to shout a warning when he saw the python obediently nestled at Cyrus's feet, its flat head rubbing against his trouser leg, just like a little dog.

Cyrus reached out and gently stroked the giant python, as if greeting an old friend.

“Also, Bryce, if any other ‘guests’ come here, you should leave. There’s an old house in town where you can stay. Don’t bother them.” After saying that, Cyrus left with the python, ignoring any reaction or questions from Frank Bryce.

"gentlemen!"

Bryce shouted:

"How should I address you?"

“You can call me Cyrus, or if you prefer, you can continue to call me Riddle.”

Old Frank stood there, stunned. The bright sunlight shone on him, but for some reason, it made him feel a chill.

People say he's like a ghost guarding Riddle House, guarding that horrific and bizarre murder story, but today, he seems to have actually seen a Riddle ghost.

Now that I think about it, this gentleman does look very familiar.

He remembered that he had seen a similarly handsome young man one night.

Chapter 99 The Resurrection Stone and Nagini

"Let's go, Nagini."

Meeting Nagini was an unexpected surprise.

According to Riddle's memory, he had indeed met Nagini a long time ago, back when Nagini was still living in an orphanage. However, Cyrus never imagined that he would come to visit Riddle's "historical site" and unexpectedly find Nagini lying quietly in the lush ivy.

She mistook Cyrus for Riddle.

Surprisingly, Nagini had almost forgotten everything about her past as a person, but she remembered the boy she had met fifty years ago who could talk to her so clearly, as if she had only taken a nap during those fifty years and when she woke up again, time had not moved forward much.

Meeting is always a pleasure, even though Cyrus has explained that he is not actually Riddle. However, given Nagini's current mental capacity, it is probably difficult for him to understand.

She will never be able to distinguish between good and evil, nor will she know that the child she once knew later became a dark lord more terrifying than Grindelwald.

But no matter what, she could still feel that she was different from the other "people of her kind," and this time, she chose to leave with Cyrus.

Leaving Little Hangletonshire, a few miles further on, you'll find Gaunt's old house.

Compared to Riddle House, this place looked like a dilapidated livestock shed. The only decoration was probably a dead S-shaped snake nailed to the gate.

The walls were covered in moss, and many of the roof tiles had fallen off, exposing the rafters here and there. Thick nettles grew around the house, reaching all the way to the small windows, which were thick with years of accumulated grime.

The entire house had become the domain of rats and spiders, with dead moths entangled in the dense spiderwebs everywhere.

Cyrus didn't rush in; he knew Voldemort had left a curse here. However, he also happened to know how to break it. The Gauntlet ring and the diary, both Horcruxes, were created very close in time.

Many people believe that Voldemort created the diary when he murdered Myrtle, but this is not the case. Myrtle's death was merely an accident; Voldemort's first real act of murder was when he killed the Riddle family and caused the deaths of the rest of the Gaunt family.

Both of these Horcruxes were made during that time.

Of course, the ring came later than the diary.

However, there is actually a connection between the Horcruxes and even to Voldemort himself. Harry and Voldemort can invade each other's minds, and Harry's perspective can even overlap with Nagini's.

Therefore, although the diary does not contain many memories, it still resonates with Voldemort when he experiences strong emotions.

Cyrus thus witnessed the moment before Voldemort's "death".

It was at that moment that Voldemort's connection to the Horcruxes he had created was severed. Whether it was the diary, the pendant, the golden cup... Voldemort was completely unaware that these Horcruxes were destroyed.

But Voldemort was severely affected when Nagini was killed. Not to mention, he himself was also knocked down when he struck Harry with the Killing Curse.

Even so, the curse is extremely complex.

It took him almost the entire night to get his hands on the ring. Of course, the ring itself wasn't important; what mattered was the black, faceted stone on it. It looked like a piece of black crystal, with the Peverell coat of arms engraved inside.

The Resurrection Stone, one of the three Deathly Hallows!

However, people resurrected through the Resurrection Stone do not find happiness; they are more like soulless shells.

Of course, if the story of Death and the three brothers is true, then rather than saying that those resurrected by the Resurrection Stone have no soul, it would be more accurate to say that they have lost their emotions. Those who have lost joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, even if alive, will eventually descend into madness.

Regardless, this cannot overshadow the power of the Resurrection Stone.

Because it broke a fundamental rule of the magical world. As Dumbledore said, no spell or potion can bring the dead back to life, not even the Philosopher's Stone.

Cyrus created a body using the Philosopher's Stone, but this is fundamentally different from resurrecting a person.

The Philosopher's Stone merely created a "living" and "vital" body; ultimately, it was still a material transformation. However, compared to other forms of alchemy, the magic of the Philosopher's Stone had reached the limit of the alchemical discipline.

However, the Resurrection Stone does more than just create a body; it also summons the souls of the dead. Normally, the souls of the dead who don't become ghosts would simply dissipate, but the Resurrection Stone can bring them back to the world of the living.