Chapter 221: Voldemort's Voice
Harry stood shivering outside the door, recalling a similar experience at the Astronomy Tower some time ago.
Help!
This is too scary!
What could an eleven-year-old Harry understand? Naturally, he couldn't read interpersonal relationships well, nor was he sensitive to atmospheres. He couldn't distinguish between the ambiguous warmth at the Astronomy Tower and the perfectly calibrated awkwardness Penelope felt in the hospital room.
The awkwardness lay in the fact that she had anticipated Ryan's actions, and nothing he did exceeded her expectations in the slightest—there were no surprises at all.
However, Harry just felt the two people in the room were sitting a bit too close...
But Harry's entrance hadn't been quiet. His noise had already alerted Penelope and Ryan.
Yet, the two remained in their positions without moving, showing no sign of panic.
Completely oblivious to the fact that being fed by a "good bro" might be considered unusual, Ryan even asked curiously, "What happened to Harry? Is he sick too?"
Penelope, who found being misunderstood quite nice, took a bite of the apple. "I don't know. We're not in the same year or the same House, and during your hospital stay, the Adventurers' Club hasn't held any meetings."
"The Adventurers' Club meets on average once every week or two. My hospitalization hasn't caused any missed meetings yet," Ryan protested.
"The next scheduled meeting is the day after tomorrow. Will you be able to attend?" Penelope rolled her eyes at him. "In your current condition, just lie there obediently. Madam Pomfrey will absolutely not allow you to go out now."
"Then I have to find a way out." Ryan tossed the crystal recording in his hand, looking smug. "I finally did something big, and the footage was delivered right to my door. Shouldn't I go out and show it off?"
"Oh, you!" Penelope lightly punched Ryan. Amidst Ryan's expression of heartbreak at being hit by a good friend, she called out to the door, "Harry, what are you doing standing there? Come in if you have something to say."
Harry poked his head in like a newly adopted kitten, afraid to move at the sight of anything.
He walked closer, seeing one person sitting on the bed and the other lying in it. He felt he shouldn't be there and genuinely hoped to say hello and leave immediately, but he couldn't ignore the matter at hand.
With a pained expression, he said, "I heard from George and Fred that Senior Ryan was injured and hospitalized, so I came to visit after class."
Ryan waved his hand. "Just a hospital stay, nothing major. Didn't they tell you I visit the hospital wing often? Coming here is like coming home."
He could even proudly claim that since his enrollment, he had contributed to thirty percent of the hospital wing's turnover.
While treatment for students was free, the potions and materials needed to be purchased by the school. That was the source of the financial turnover—though this turnover was purely expenditure, with no income.
Harry was stunned. He couldn't quite understand where the senior's inexplicable pride came from. "That... that's pretty impressive."
"Since you're here, have something to eat." Ryan pulled a Chocolate Frog from the pile of gifts at the head of the bed and tossed it to Harry. "How have you been?"
Harry caught the Chocolate Frog, unwrapped it with precision, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Everything is pretty normal. By the way, there's something I need to mention."
Unease appeared on his face, but instead of speaking, he frequently glanced at Penelope.
Penelope understood. She knew Harry had been frequenting the Headmaster's office for a while, often with Ryan and Dumbledore. Now, Harry likely wanted to discuss topics they often talked about together.
"You guys chat. I'll head back first."
Ryan saw the name "Voldemort" written all over Harry's face. Only matters involving Voldemort could make Harry so cautious, not wanting unrelated people present.
Moreover, if Harry were able to use Voldemort's power more deeply, he would speak with excitement and joy, not this tangled anxiety.
So, he didn't ask Penelope to stay. This wasn't about keeping secrets, but protecting the safety of those not involved.
Although Penelope and the others had used Polyjuice Potion to assist that day, they hadn't fully involved themselves in the core of the matter. Knowing too much might not be a good thing.
Especially since what Harry had to say was likely not good news. Letting Penelope know would only add to her worries.
After Penelope left, Ryan immediately asked, "Did you hear some strange noise from Voldemort? Is he whispering in your ear, or speaking in your mind?"
"How did you know?!" Harry was astonished. He didn't understand why Senior Ryan knew exactly what was happening to him.
"What exactly did Voldemort say?"
"Because I can borrow his power, I can hear him speak. Except I had never heard Voldemort's voice at all, until last night... he screamed."
Since accepting Voldemort's power, Harry, according to Mr. Gellert, was partially connected to Voldemort. Thus, he could glimpse Voldemort's thoughts and state. Due to various seals on him, Voldemort couldn't react to the outside world.
So Harry hadn't taken it seriously.
But last night, Voldemort suddenly shouted, scaring Harry awake directly from his dormitory bed. Gasping for breath, he jumped three feet in the air and crashed onto the floor.
This sudden act of "performance art" in the middle of the night was too strange and frightened his roommates, Seamus and Ron, badly. They hurriedly wanted to send the "hysterical" Harry to the hospital wing.
Harry knew he couldn't tell too many people about his condition, so he repeatedly reassured his roommates that he was fine. Then he spent a restless night until dawn.
"Last night, I heard Voldemort's voice, full of vigor. He said one word: 'You.' But I couldn't tell if the tone was questioning or affirmative."
Ryan tossed another Chocolate Frog to Harry. Chewing on the frog, Harry's uneasy mood improved significantly.
"Just that one word?"
"Yes, like it was cut off," Harry said.
"This might be because the connection is two-way... You can hear him, and he can hear you."
Ryan said, "What you need to learn now is Occlumency. That is the magic Voldemort is most likely using to block your prying."
"Occlumency?"
"A magical technique that uses powerful will and self-discipline to close off one's mind, preventing invasion by external consciousness and blocking others from reading your memories. If a wizard achieves sufficient proficiency in Occlumency, they can even fabricate false memories to deceive others, and going a step further..."
Ryan thought of the scene where a group of big shots held a tea party directly in his brain. "They can even imprint words they want to say directly into another person's mind."
"Voldemort himself is a master of Legilimency. He might be using Occlumency and Legilimency to block your prying into him. Yet, he could use this connection to pry into you in reverse."
~~~
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