Riddle Manor in Little Hangleton was once the most magnificent residence in the area, situated on a small hill overlooking the entire village.
The old building was surrounded by high stone walls, and its gardens were once meticulously maintained, filled with beautiful scenery and vibrant flowers.
However, the passage of time and the decline of the Riddle family gradually transformed this once magnificent mansion into a desolate place.
Now the walls are crumbling, ivy and weeds have invaded the exterior, the windows haven't been cleaned in years, and the courtyard is a mess, overgrown with bushes.
The inhabitants of Little Hangleton village found the place eerie and, consciously or unconsciously, kept their distance. Only mischievous children occasionally came here to cause trouble.
Now the only caretaker of the place was the old gardener, Frank .
He was the only one still connected to the manor; although the Riddle family had long since disappeared, he had faithfully guarded these derelict lands for years.
Frank was not a talkative man and did not socialize with the villagers. He lived alone in a small cottage next to the manor house, and his main job was to prevent the village's mischievous children from damaging the yard.
One August night, Frank noticed a dim light coming from an upper floor of Riddle Manor , which immediately alarmed him.
Riddle Manor had been abandoned for years, and he was certain no one should be there.
His initial reaction was to assume that some village children had sneaked in again to play a prank.
This angered him greatly, and without saying a word, he picked up his cane and headed towards the main gate of Riddle Manor .
As the senior gardener here, he had to fulfill his duties properly.
Confident in his familiarity with the mansion , Frank quickly reached the second floor.
He stood silently in the dark corridor, leaning against the cold wall and staring nervously at the slightly ajar door.
In the silence of the night, the sounds coming from the crack in the door were unusually clear. Although he couldn't understand every word, he could clearly make out two people speaking in hushed tones.
One of the voices was deep and muffled, filled with cold authority and suppressed anger.
This situation gave Frank a dangerous feeling ; it was as if every word spoken was an unquestioning command.
The other voice, on the contrary, was shy and humble, filled with fear and resignation.
Frank sensed that this person was trying to get on the cold-voiced individual's good side, trying to explain something or make a request, acting as if they were excessively afraid of the other's displeasure.
The conversation between these two people was very strange, and Frank couldn't understand anything they were saying.
However, from words like "plan," "power," and "death," he clearly understood that the two people inside were not simple intruders, but violent thugs ready to kill.
They seemed to be hatching a terrible plan to kill someone named Potter .
Even worse, both of them had previously murdered a woman named Bertha Jorkins .
Furthermore, they had gleaned incredible information from the woman's memoirs.
Frank was an ordinary Muggle anddidn't know that the two people in the room were Lord Voldemort , famous in the Wizarding World , and the infamous fugitive Peter Pettigrew .
They didn't even know how important a person the woman they killed was.
Firstly, Lord Voldemort used his death to create his final Horcrux , the serpent Nagini .
Secondly, although Bertha was an unknown entity in the Wizarding World , the knowledge she possessed was extremely important.
To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, the turning point of World War II was Li Yunlong's attack on Ping An County.
The turning pointthat transformed the Wizarding World from peace to chaos occurred when Lord Voldemort obtained information from Bertha's mind that his most loyal servant, Barty Crouch Jr., was still alive.
Only after learning of this news was Lord Voldemort able to carry out his resurrection plan without any problems.
Of course, none of this concerned Frank ; after all, he was just an ordinary Muggle .
Frank knew he had overheard secrets he shouldn't have, andquickly escape Riddle Manor, call the police from the phone booth in the village, and tell the young officers everything that had happened.
He was a very old man, and even if he wanted to do something, he didn't have the strength to stand up to those two young hooligans.
Frank swallowed nervously, his feet involuntarily recoiling. Just as he was about to quietly turn around and run away, he heard a slight scuffing sound under his feet.
Looking down, he saw a huge snake slithering slowly beside him; its cold scales scraped against the ground, making a chilling sound.
Frank's body froze as if nailed to the spot; he dared not utter a single sound, fearing the great snake would bite and kill him instantly.
Fortunately, the large snake paid no attention to Frank and instead entered the room where the two bandits were.
Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he heard that those inside had noticed him, then the door opened and a short, bald man called him in.
Frank was trembling with fear, but he still tried to act tough.
But when she clearly saw the inhuman, ghostly thing sitting in the chair, she couldn't bear it any longer and let out a high-pitched scream.
Then came a flashing green light and an endless, cold darkness.
The moment Frank died, Harry , who wasfar away at Swan Manor , suddenly awoke from his sleep.
He lay breathless in bed, his pajamas soaked with cold sweat.
The lightning-shaped scar on his forehead was excruciatingly painful, as if someone had branded his forehead with a hot iron.
Harry searched for his glasses, went to the mirror in the room, and carefully examined the scar on his forehead, but he looked at it for a long time and found nothing unusual.
The pain was acutely familiar, instantly reminding him of how much his wound had hurt when he encountered Lord Voldemort in first grade .
Harry suspected Lord Voldemort might be nearby, but the quiet Swan Manor reminded him that everything was alright here.
He tried to recall the scenes from his dream, but most were unclear; he could only remember Peter, an old man . The dream also featured a large snake named Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort .
Who was that old man?
Why did Lord Voldemort kill that old man?
Perhaps it was just a nightmare.
After thinking for a long time and finding no clues, Harry calmed down and went back to bed.
"Never mind, I'm going to sleep for now. Tomorrow I need to go to camp near the Quidditch World Cup stadium. The finals are approaching and I've heard it's particularly busy there."
"As for the scar, I'll tell Aunt Mia and Professor Swan about it when I wake up tomorrow ; they'll surely understand what happened."
...