Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 239 You are already dead

Early Christmas morning, Harry and Ron were sorting through their gifts when they discovered that Harry had received an invisibility cloak.

But soon, Fred and George came looking for them and took them to a party.

However, Tom did not appear at the banquet.

He was awake, but it was as if he was still asleep. Just now, he tried to use Legilimency on the Book of Guidance again, but it had no effect. It was as if the memories of yesterday were just illusions.

However, he knew it wasn't.

Those memories still lingered in his mind, leaving him feeling dazed and confused.

He also received several gifts, some from other members of the Hero group, and some from Murphy and Hagrid. They were all small trinkets. In addition, there were a few gifts from unknown sources, including flowers, chocolates, and a love letter.

Tom mechanically unwrapped the gifts, but his mind remained stuck in those memories.

Finally, he took out the book of guidance once again.

"What exactly are you?"

The Book of Guidance is not responding.

"Why do you have those memories? Those are Tom Riddle's memories, aren't they? What is his relationship with me?"

"Answer me, or I will destroy you!"

But the Book of Guidance remained silent.

Tom was furious. He drew his wand and shouted, "Crush into pieces!"

The spell sent the notebook flying, but it didn't harm it in the slightest.

"I shouldn't have trusted you. I should have seen it coming sooner. You were using me..." Tom suddenly recalled a fragment of memory he had obtained yesterday, and a flash of insight seemed to appear in his mind. "I know... you are... you are that thing!"

"Tom Riddle asked a professor about that thing. 'You possess a soul, don't you?'"

Unfortunately, in his memory at the time, the word seemed to have been censored, and he had no idea of ​​its specific name.

"That's why you were able to deceive me... You possess a soul, which is why I was able to use Legilimency on you..."

As Tom spoke, he suddenly recalled the professor's description from that memory.

[...hide a part of your soul inside an object outside your body. This way, even if your body is attacked or destroyed, you will not die, because a part of your soul remains unharmed in the world.]

He took a half-step back in shock. "You're someone's resurrection tool? You want to use me to resurrect him? Who is he? Whose soul fragment do you possess?"

But then, his eyes widened suddenly. "Tom Riddle!"

"You possess Tom Riddle's memories!"

"You are Tom Riddle!"

"That's right! The Philosopher's Stone..."

"No wonder you wanted me to investigate the secrets behind the trapdoor, no wonder you wanted me to find out Nicolas Flamel's identity, you wanted me to know about the Philosopher's Stone, no, you wanted me to find it!"

"The Philosopher's Stone can be used to create elixirs of immortality... and it seems it could also serve as a potion for reshaping the body..."

"You must resurrect Tom Riddle."

But then, he became confused again.

Why...?

"But why do I feel so familiar with him...?"

"Why that face..."

He recalled that face from his memories, which was completely different from his current appearance, yet he instinctively felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity, as if that was what he should have looked like originally, while his current appearance was the one that felt strange.

Could it be because of the influence of Tom Riddle's memories?

Because he gained his memories, he began to see himself as him?

No, it's not.

He seemed to hear some kind of intuition screaming wildly in his heart, the answer seemed to be right on his lips, yet he just couldn't believe it.

But at that moment, he suddenly sensed something in his heart: the Book of Guidance had been updated.

He walked over and saw that a line of text had reappeared on the guidebook.

Main Quest: Steal the Magic Stone.

"Mission Reward: Survive."

Tom clenched his fingers suddenly. "What do you mean? What does 'survive' mean?"

"You mean you're going to kill me if I don't go and take the Philosopher's Stone?!"

This time, the Book of Guidance did not turn a deaf ear.

A line of blood-red, twisted text appeared below.

You are already dead.

What?

Tom was startled. What do you mean I'm already dead?

The guiding book states: "Your pain sensitivity is far lower than that of ordinary people. You are not affected by physical discomfort. You are immune to dizziness and coma. Even if you suffer a near-fatal blow, you will remain conscious."

"Don't you find it strange?"

Tom was stunned. He remembered the time he encountered the troll and was hit by its club. Although he used the Armor Charm, his body was still greatly injured. His leg was broken, and the bone was almost protruding. Yet, he didn't feel much pain.

When Professor Murphy Apparated him, he didn't experience any particular discomfort, but Granger would vomit violently.

But this... doesn't necessarily mean...

Another line of text appeared on the Book of Guidance.

"You want to know who you are?"

"Retrieve the magic stone, and you will get the answer."

Tom stared at the Book of Guidance, and suddenly it dawned on him: "It was you who stole my memories!"

"Give it back to me!"

The Book of Guidance: "Retrieve the magic stone, and you will get what you want."

"fraud!"

Tom was furious. He raised his wand and shouted, "Give it back! Or I swear I'll destroy you!"

The Book of Guidance: "You intend to use the power I've given you to defeat me?"

"Whose spell do you think you're using?"

"Who do you think those memories of using spells came from?!"

Tom froze, and then a terrible thought came to mind.

Why did I never think of that before!

How could those skillful techniques, which seem to have been practiced a million times, come from nothing?

They must have come from some wizard.

Now it seems that they all came from Tom Riddle's memories!

He suddenly collapsed to the ground, stammering, "Why...why did I do this?"

"Tom Riddle...why did you give me the same name as you?!"

"I thought you were mine..."

The guiding book: "Tom Riddle. I haven't used that name in a long time."

Then, a line of large, blood-red characters filled the entire page.

"Now, I am Voldemort."

Voldemort.

That... the Dark Lord who was defeated by Harry?

Is Tom Riddle the Dark Lord?

Tom felt confused; he had received far too much information today. But he didn't care who Tom Riddle was; he just wanted to figure out one thing.

"Who am I? Who is Lucas? Why me?"

But all the words on the Book of Guidance had disappeared. It didn't respond at all, lying open on the ground, as if it really was just an ordinary notebook.

Tom sat on the ground for a long time before finally standing up; he didn't want to stay there any longer.

However, as soon as the door opened, "Bang! Bang!"

Two Christmas firecrackers with colorful stripes exploded in front of him, sending up a large cloud of blue smoke.

Suddenly, a navy hat appeared in mid-air and landed on his head. Several white mice crawled out of the hat and ran along his body to the ground.

Merry Christmas, Tom!

Harry and Ron were standing outside the door. They had somehow slipped into the Slytherin common room, and were carrying a lot of things in their arms.

"We thought you weren't up yet. Come on, Tom, everyone's here, we're just waiting for you."

Tom stared at the two men in shock, momentarily dazed. "Tom...you...are you calling me?"

"What else can you do? You can't have another Tom sharing a dorm room with you, can you?" Ron said. "What's wrong, buddy?"

"Ha, ha..." Tom suddenly chuckled dryly, then laughed a few times before two tears streamed down his face. "I don't know, I might..."

"I...I'm a fake..."

"I am a doll..."

"A tool..."

"My life is utterly meaningless..."

"No, haha, I don't even have a life..."

"I……"

Suddenly, he felt himself being hugged.

Ron wasn't even as tall as him, but he stood on tiptoe, reached over his shoulder, and hugged him.

"Oh, man. You must have experienced the worst thing in the world."

(End of this chapter)