"How could that be? I'm just an old man trapped inside a seal."
The shadow was startled by Ron Weasley's sudden reaction, but quickly recovered and went on, "What are you worried about? Don't forget, you're at Hogwarts right now. Dumbledore is here. If I try to harm you, you can hand me over to Dumbledore at any time."
Ron Weasley hesitated. At that moment, it never occurred to him to wonder why an "ancient" wizard would know a modern wizard like Dumbledore. His mind was completely occupied with one question, whether he could get revenge on Filch without any danger to himself.
In the end, he convinced himself.
"Then it's settled. If I catch you trying anything, I'll hand you over to Headmaster Dumbledore immediately," Ron Weasley said, sounding relieved.
Right. With the strongest wizard, Dumbledore, right there at Hogwarts, how could someone sealed inside a pumpkin possibly hurt him?
With that thought, Ron Weasley walked over to the jack-o'-lantern and picked it up in his arms. At the same time, he made up his mind. After using it to get revenge on Filch, he would hand it over to Headmaster Dumbledore.
Next, all he had to do was find Filch.
Filch had just gone in the direction of the school greenhouses. If he headed that way, he should be able to find him.
Ron Weasley carried the large jack-o'-lantern down the corridor with great care, glancing left and right like a thief.
Luckily, there was hardly anyone in the corridor. Otherwise, someone would definitely have wondered what Ron Weasley was up to.
There was really nothing strange about seeing a student carrying a jack-o'-lantern on Halloween Eve. But because Ron Weasley himself felt guilty, he acted like a thief and made himself look suspicious.
Inside the jack-o'-lantern, the shadow was practically cursing this dimwitted Gryffindor bloody in its heart.
Fortunately, luck was on their side. No one paid any attention to the suspicious student along the way.
Before long, Ron Weasley reached the greenhouses, and very quickly spotted Filch's aged back.
There shouldn't have been anyone in the greenhouses at this hour. What was Filch doing here?
Ron Weasley carefully hid himself, watched Filch muttering curses as he headed for the greenhouse, then quietly followed after him.
"That little brat is such a pain. I actually had to come fetch him. If it weren't for the professor's instructions, I'd hang you up and beat you senseless." Filch's vicious voice made Ron Weasley even more curious. Just who was still in the greenhouse at this hour, to the point that Filch had to come looking for him?
Filch went alone to the innermost greenhouse. He did not knock, but shoved the door open with great irritation.
"Leonard William!" he shouted.
Leonard William? That Hufflepuff?
Ron Weasley froze for a moment. That seemed to be the student everyone called a genius. Last school year, he had ranked first in the entire year, and aside from practical Potions work, he had gotten nearly perfect marks in everything.
But Ron Weasley did not have a good impression of him, because this person seemed to be pretty close with Harry Potter. Even though Ron Weasley rarely saw the two of them together, that annoying Harry Potter brought him up all the time in the dormitory, so whether Ron Weasley wanted to listen or not, he had ended up hearing plenty about him.
Ron Weasley remembered Harry Potter saying that this person seemed to have a very good relationship with Professor Sprout, to the point that she was even thinking of taking him on as a student.
What an infuriatingly enviable person.
For some reason, a burst of nameless anger suddenly rose in Ron Weasley's chest, and that anger inexplicably turned toward Leonard William, the one he envied.
"Heh heh heh..." The flames inside the jack-o'-lantern flickered as the shadow quietly smiled, watching Ron Weasley be ruled by his own negative emotions.
The shadow was obviously no good person. Of course it had no intention of helping Ron Weasley. Everything it did was for itself.
It planned to slowly erode Ron Weasley's soul and let itself grow from a damaged soul into the true Voldemort.
Right now, it was only a remnant, a fragment of Voldemort's soul. Only by devouring the soul of a living person could it truly become him.
Ron Weasley was the prey it had chosen. As long as he borrowed its power, it would be able to slowly consume him.
To bring that moment closer, the shadow began stirring up Ron Weasley's negative emotions even more forcefully.
Now Ron Weasley found Leonard even more hateful.
"Hey..." he said, his eyes reddening. "I... I want to get revenge on one more person. Is that okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" The shadow's voice was full of temptation. "You've done nothing wrong. You're only doing this because they bullied you. You're innocent..."
As it spoke, thread after thread of soul power invisible to ordinary people drifted out of Ron Weasley's mouth and nose and poured into the jack-o'-lantern.
Ron Weasley's face turned pale, but he did not notice. The turmoil in his emotions kept him from noticing his own condition.
The dark blue flames flickered, absorbing all of that soul power without leaving a trace.
At the same time, the silver threads that seemed etched into the surface of the jack-o'-lantern began to flash, while black points of light started to eat away at the seal trapping the shadow.
Bzzz...
With a soft sound, a crack opened on the jack-o'-lantern, and the shadow poured out and settled into Ron Weasley's shadow.
By feeding on Ron Weasley's soul power, the shadow had strengthened itself. It had even broken a small part of the seal, allowing it to release greater power.
"Come on, let's see how we're going to get revenge on them." Having recovered part of its strength, the shadow whispered excitedly into Ron Weasley's ear.
"Okay." Ron Weasley nodded hard.
He quietly moved up to the greenhouse door and overheard the conversation between Filch and Leonard.
"I'm here to pass on a message. Professor Sprout asked me to tell you not to get too absorbed in your research. Don't be late for tonight's Halloween feast," Filch said.
"All right, I know," Leonard's voice came from inside. "Don't touch anything. The plants in here are all dangerous."
Dangerous plants?
Ron Weasley poked his head in for a look, and his face changed in shock.
In the middle of the greenhouse floor was a pile of bloody flesh. Rising from the center of it was a wooden stake, around which a blood-red plant had grown. Crimson light flickered among its branches and leaves, brightening and dimming as though it were breathing. Every time it breathed, a piece of the flesh on the ground vanished into nothing.
Ron Weasley jumped in fright. He had never seen such a sinister plant before.
"It's actually a blood grape. That's rare," the shadow said. "Look, now you've found your method of revenge. Let this plant take revenge for you."