Hogwarts on the Tip of the Tongue

The village of Little Hangerton in the northern fringe of Sussex, England.

On a hillside on the edge of the village, there is a dilapidated old house.

It used to be the most spacious and magnificent building within a few miles, but now it’s hard to find the original beautiful outline. The windows of the house were sealed, the tiles on the roof were incomplete, and the creeper was crawling with its teeth and claws. The whole house. Although the owner of this house has changed several times in the past few decades, the villagers of Little Hangleton are still accustomed to calling this house "Riddle House."

Because of the bizarre and terrifying thing that happened here half a century ago, except for the naughty boys in the village, most of the villagers would not take the initiative to approach this area. However, whenever night falls, a small wooden house in the courtyard of Riddle House still lights up.

Flac Bryce is the gardener of the Riddles, and he has been working for the Riddles since he returned from the battlefield.

Many people rumored that he was the murderer who killed the Riddles, but the police did not find evidence that the Riddles were murdered. The cause of death was determined to be sudden death. After a few days of interrogation, the police had no choice but to Let Frank out.

To the surprise of all the villagers, Frank did not leave Little Hangerton Village.

He stayed and took care of the garden for the next family in Riddle House. Perhaps it was because it was a murderous house, or because the lame and silent old Frank looked a little bit irritating, the two families who originally bought Riddle House did not live here for a long time.

With no one inhabited for many years, the house gradually fell into disrepair and dilapidated, looking like a haunted house standing on a hillside.

Afterwards, those rich people who owned Riddle's Mansion, no one chose to live in, and there were even several homeowners who had never been here.

The sheriff in the village said that those rich people kept it for "tax reasons", but more people don't know what's going on. However, those wealthy homeowners continued to hire Frank without exception, let him take care of this dilapidated house.

Frank once thought he would die here, just like those guys who banged the bell in the church for a lifetime.

This situation continued until a few weeks ago...

…………

"You are fired, Mr. Bryce. I hope you can move out as soon as possible."

The man calling himself Barty Crouch said indifferently, and the sheriff stood outside the cabin and looked at Frank coldly.

"The master doesn't want to smell the Muggle odor in Riddle's House. From now on, everything in that courtyard has nothing to do with you. I don't want to see you here next time... considering For your hard work over the years, the master generously gave you a settling-in allowance."

The roll of paper money tied with the old leather cord was thrown at Frank's feet, but the old man did not look at the beautiful bills with the queen's head printed on them.

He didn't even have time to ask what a Muggle was, although he knew from his tone that it was definitely not a good word.

"No, no, no Mr. Crouch. You don't understand the power of yard weeds, and those bastards"

Frank stood up excitedly, waving his arms, gesticulating awkwardly and excitedly.

"Please, sir, don't drive me out! Even if there is no salary..."

"One week."

The man with pale skin, slightly freckles, and light yellow tousled hair took a few steps back in disgust.

He ignored Frank, but turned his head to look at the sheriff of Hangleton who was standing in the cabin, "You will solve it? After this old guy leaves, we can spare our energy to fix the ruined house. Turn off the renovation. This place has to be useful."

"Don't worry, Mr. Crouch, we will take care of it." The sheriff said with a smile.

The expression on his face is slightly subtle, not so much to please, as it is some kind of faint anxiety.

"Better like this"

Batty Crouch snorted coldly, turned and left the cabin.

"Push it?! Wait, what do you want to do?!"

At this moment, Frank Bryce finally reacted. The old man’s eyes were rounded, one hand was pressing on the bad leg, and he limped forward and leaned hard, with the other hand straight. The ground stretched forward, seeming to want to grab the man by the collar.

"No, no, no, no, absolutely no. You can't just ruin the Riddle House like this! Let me talk to your master!"

"Calm down! Frank, they can do that."

The sheriff walked over quickly and stopped between Old Frank and Barty Crouch.

He leaned down and pushed the old man back into the chair so hard that he didn't rush at the suspicious guy from London who was the so-called housekeeper of the big family.

"No no, Rod, you don't understand"

"The man who bought this house is called Tom Riddle! Understand?!"

The voice of Sheriff Rhode was like a bullet, penetrating Frank's deaf ears. He felt as if he had been hit by a cannonball. The whole person was a little confused for an instant, and a certain buzzing sound began to emerge. The old man was stunned for a few seconds. After that, his lips trembled violently.

"Rod, this is not a funny thing. We all know that Tom Riddle was decades ago..."

"Yes! It's not funny at all. But..."

The sheriff Rod swallowed, and subconsciously turned his head to look at the man who was already walking away.

"Whether it is the same name or deliberately mischievous, we have contacted the London Police Department, and even found someone related to the real estate transaction to inquire about it. The new owner who bought the'Riddle House' is called this~ www.wuxiaspot.com~ Maybe they heard those legends from somewhere. You know that rich people always have weird ideas. And this Tom Riddle and the one you know should not be the same name."

"I have the impression that the signature on that document seems to be...Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"them……"

Frank's body seemed to be a deflated balloon, and instantly lost its strength.

"Just now he said, entrust you to help rebuild some...what do they want to change..."

"Some very weird requirements"

Rod frowned, trying to remember the construction request made by the generous Mr. Crouch.

"He hopes... we will clean up the fireplace in Riddle's Mansion, knock off some old walls and make a few more fireplaces, even if there is no chimney, just an empty fireplace trough. They gave a lot of money. , You know how rare it is these years."

In the economic depression environment, this kind of rich man with generous shots may disappear at any time.

As the sheriff of Little Hangleton Village, Rod came here today with only one purpose, to find a way to stabilize Old Frank.

After all, if this old guy insists on making trouble, it is still quite troublesome. He doesn't want to cause trouble, let alone know the relationship between Tom Riddle and the Riddle family. He just wants to secure the temporary commission and win. Make the bet in the tavern.

"Yes, but... the fireplace? What do they want to do?"

"Who knows? Anyway, they paid a large advance to the village."

Rod shrugged, looked at Old Frank who was gradually stabilizing, and said nonchalantly.

"Some mantelpieces that can't even be raised to light a fire, can they become Satan's gates to hell?"

Great!