Ever since Sirius received the 'gift' meticulously prepared by Tom that day, he had been withdrawn, feeling that he would be pointed at and gossiped about, with people shipping him with James and Snape, the moment he showed his face.
Heaven knows, he and James were truly just good friends. And Snape? That was a mortal enemy, alright? Did they not understand the meaning of a mortal enemy?
The same day he received the book, Sirius wrote to the publishing house to protest. The next day, the reply he received informed him of a cruel fact: "This story is purely fictional; any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental." In short, complaints and protests were fine, but if it hindered the publishing house from making money, he should quickly get lost.
Thus, Sirius locked himself at home, squatting in a corner and drawing circles, not leaving the house again. Even his daily errands were handled by Harry.
But Tom had no time for the foolish Gryffindor dog; his mind was now entirely focused on the Black Old Residence.
The day after moving into Sirius's apartment, Tom secretly Apparated to Grimmauld Place in the middle of the night.
Finding houses number 11 and 13, Tom took out his wand and pointed it between them. The more he probed, the uglier his expression became, just as he had expected.
Powerful protective spells, even without a Fidelius Charm currently, the ancient protective spells cast on the Old Residence by generations of the House of Black were enough to prevent outsiders from intruding.
Tom didn't have that much time to spend slowly dispelling the curses here, so he immediately left to find another way.
The next morning, Tom went to Malfoy Manor.
"Ah—"
Lucius and Narcissa had just woken up when they found a person standing by their bed, staring intently at them, as if catching them in the act.
Narcissa shrieked loudly, completely losing her aristocratic demeanor, and grabbed the quilt to wrap herself up.
"Father, Mother, are you in there? What happened?" Draco heard his mother's scream and quickly ran over to ask.
"Draco, it's nothing, just a cockroach. You go back first; Mother and Father need to change clothes."
After sending Draco away, Narcissa and Lucius finally got a clear look at the person, and their nerves immediately tensed up.
"Ma… Master, you've come?"
Tom greeted them with a line of Black sweat: "Good morning, Lucius, Narcissa."
Perhaps Tom's recent actions were too misleading, and Narcissa suddenly thought of her sister, Bella, a blush appearing on her face.
Fortunately, Tom didn't know what Narcissa was thinking, or he would certainly have cried foul; he had no such predilections as the Cao 賊.
At this moment, Tom was even less inclined to heed their feelings, getting straight to the point: "Narcissa, take me into the Black Old Residence."
Narcissa looked at Tom with difficulty: "Master, I'm sorry, I cannot do that. The ownership of the Old Residence is currently with my cousin, Sirius. Only with his permission can anyone outside the House of Black enter the Old Residence."
"Understood, Narcissa, I hope you are not deceiving me."
Seeing that he couldn't get the desired result from Narcissa, Tom unhesitatingly Apparated away.
Tom, who had left Malfoy Manor and returned to Sirius's apartment, slowly pondered what to do next.
Tom, who had carefully observed Narcissa throughout, knew she wasn't lying. Therefore, there was no need for him to risk sneaking into Azkaban again to find Bella or to seek out Andromeda Tonks, whom he didn't even know.
"So, next, should I go find Regulus's body, or…"
Just as Tom was deep in thought, Harry's voice came from outside the door.
"Sirius, Tom, I'm going out for groceries. I might be back late today."
Hearing the sound of the front door closing, Tom walked out of the room and saw Sirius still withdrawn in the living room, and suddenly thought of a simpler, more direct method.
He secretly walked behind Sirius, raised his wand, and aimed it at his back.
"Imperio!"
The unprepared Sirius's mind went blank, and a voice rang in his ears, commanding him: "Take me into the Black Old Residence at 12 Grimmauld Place."
Tom and Sirius Apparated together to Grimmauld Place. Approaching houses 11 and 13 again, this time with Sirius, the houses immediately changed.
Houses 11 and 13 shifted sideways, revealing 12 Grimmauld Place in the middle.
Sirius personally opened the door to welcome Tom inside.
With Sirius's permission, Tom easily entered the house.
Then—
"Stupefy!"
"Obliviate!"
Tom kindly and smoothly cast spells on Sirius as he entered, then threw him out of the still-open front door, thoughtfully adding a Banishing Charm for good measure.
Kreacher, sensing the commotion, came out and witnessed this scene.
"Tongue-Tying Curse!"
"Incarcerous!"
"Imperio!"
"Take me to get the locket left by Regulus."
Before Kreacher could react, he was met with Tom's fluid series of actions. Under the Imperio, Kreacher immediately led Tom up the stairs.
Along the way, Tom remained cautious, especially when passing the portrait of Walburga Black, where he was even more careful, and even pulled the Black curtain over her in advance.
Without waking the sleeping portraits along the way, Tom quickly and smoothly arrived on the fifth floor.
"No Admittance Without Permission From The Owner. Regulus Arcturus Black."
Looking at the sign hanging on the room door, Tom felt this was more like it.
Following Kreacher into the room, and seeing the yellowed newspaper clippings about Lord Voldemort, Tom felt an inexplicable awkwardness.
Soon, Kreacher found the Slytherin locket from Regulus's drawer and handed it to Tom.
Tom's mood immediately became joyful upon receiving the locket, as he had been coveting this item since last year and only now got his hands on it.
"Obliviate!"
In a great mood, Tom cast a Memory Charm directly on Kreacher, who was still under the Imperio, then dropped a Riddle-customized Slytherin locket before quickly leaving the Black Old Residence.
Outside the door, Sirius was still lying prone. Tom added a Stupefy and then carried him back to the apartment.
Upon returning to the apartment, Tom found that Harry hadn't returned yet, so he stripped Sirius naked and threw him onto the bed.
Then Tom went to a nightclub, found the most beautiful female model, cast a Stupefy on her, packed her up and brought her back to the apartment, also stripped her naked, threw her next to Sirius, and after casually modifying their memories, thoughtfully covered them with a blanket to prevent them from catching a cold, and then took precious commemorative photos of them.
Finally, Tom left Harry a note, telling him that Sirius was contributing to human propagation, and that he had left first so as not to disturb them, also instructing Harry not to disturb them.
See how hard and thoughtful he, Tom Riddle, was working to help Sirius shed his bad reputation and get back on his feet.
After doing all this, Tom Apparated away, found a deserted place, took out the locket, and then followed the familiar procedure.
In the midst of the light, Tom once again witnessed the mournful screams and the obliteration of Lord Voldemort's soul fragment.
Once everything settled, Tom picked up the locket and, familiar with the process, absorbed the pure white substance that remained.
After a jolt of pain, Tom felt some barrier had been broken, and the entire world began to feel different. His magic and spell levels had broken through Lv.9, and all his talents were Lv.10 or above, except for Divination at 2 points.
Before Tom could examine it closely, the Combat Crystal abruptly appeared out of thin air once again, emitting an orange glow.