HP: Hogwarts Snake

When Della left, Riddle Manor was not yet completed; now that she has returned, it is perfect.

Under Maggie's humble guidance, she walked through the carved gate, past a row of oak trees of uniform height, saw the tall spruce tree in the center of the roundabout adorned with Christmas decorations, and entered the castle hall where the fireplace was burning brightly.

"Della!"

"Della!"

Two small, flesh-colored figures rushed over first, Quasi and Nera hugging Della's legs on either side, looking up at her with teary eyes.

Kwasi said first, "You're finally back."

"How's it going out there?" Nera asked, becoming even more persistent. "Are you eating well? Sleeping well? I think you've lost weight..."

Della knelt down and gently hugged them. "Don't worry, I'm doing very well out there. I've traveled to many new places, made many new friends, and had many interesting experiences."

“That’s wonderful!” Quasi said sincerely. “I’m so happy for you, Della!”

Della smiled and hugged them again. They chatted by the fireplace for a while longer before Della persuaded Quasi and Nera to continue their trip before ending the conversation.

Maggie waited patiently, watching until the girl's smile faded. Only after the two small figures had walked away did he ask, "To your room, or—"

His drawn-out tone was one option, and when Della looked at him, she had already regained her indifferent expression. "Where is Sadorine's room?"

“In my drawing room,” Maggie smiled slightly, “is exactly where I talk most.”

“Disgusting.” Della retorted, but did not refute the point about ‘discussing’. They tacitly began their necessary but unlikely to be pleasant conversation about sharing information.

Outside the castle, snowflakes formed a white blanket, while inside the jar, Sadorin was covered in an unusually thick layer of frost. Her expression remained serene, and one could even glimpse a hint of joy and trust within it.

Her last moment of lucidity was in her lover's arms.

Della walked over and saw the red ring glittering on Sadolin's finger. She turned to Maggie, who was making tea nearby, and asked, "You know, right?"

“Yes, I know. Basilisk isn’t that fragile. Anyway, a killing curse won’t kill her,” Maggie rinsed her teacup with hot water and then casually poured the used tea aside. “But for a Slytherin connected to Riddle, only death can bring her relief.”

“You know what I want to do,” Della continued, “Why not continue?”

“Because I’m jealous, Della,” Maggie put the teacup on the table and poured tea for Della. “You left, leaving so many messages, but not one for me.”

“You should know this is what you deserve,” Della said, sitting across from Maggie, the steamy heat blurring her vision. “Even if we take a step back, you can’t really expect anything from someone who has a mental breakdown and silently accepts everything.”

Yes, compromises on matters of the heart, like Draco's, are minor. Although Maggie always hints that she wants Della to fully understand his good intentions, if Della really follows his ideal ending, he will inevitably get bored with her constant compromises.

After all, there are as many toys as you want.

Even the most precious toy is still just a toy.

“…” Maggie narrowed his eyes, not refuting the statement. He looked at Della and his eyes brightened. “If that’s what you think, then you should also know why I didn’t do it the way I wanted.”

As he spoke, he curled his lips into a smile, "Without someone I truly admire by my side, it's really hard for me to spare even a little kindness to make others feel better."

Without Della by his side to restrain him, it meant that Maggie's fragment of humanity was constantly on the verge of collapse.

This fact, in fact, was more likely to keep Della there than any sweet words or tearful confessions.

Della stared intently at Maggie, who was adopting a negotiating stance, and sneered, "I don't believe you can stoop so low as to become a complete madwoman."

"That's what's on the surface, but what about behind the scenes?" Maggie countered.

Della shook her head and sighed softly, "Wasn't this society already rotten to the core before you came along?"

“That depends on your level of acceptance.” Maggie smiled, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

Della also picked up her teacup, tacitly ending the conversation with Maggie, a topic that was unlikely to reach any agreement. Her gaze shifted to Sadorine, "Does Voldemort remember Sadorine?"

“Unfortunately, yes, when explaining how I went from being a person in the body of your little snake to a person in the diary, I brought Sadorine to corroborate that memory.” Maggie continued, repeating what she had said to Voldemort.

"Now, regarding your departure, I will also explain it from the perspective of the 'original Maggie.' I told him that I was forced to take over the body of your most beloved snake, devour its soul, and deceive you into believing that it could come back. After you became an adult, I even used a fake to deceive you, and in the end, I accidentally got caught."

Della frowned slightly. "Does Voldemort believe I'm such a 'naive' child?"

“He believes that everyone has a weakness, and that a Riddle is always very persuasive,” Maggie shrugged. “That’s enough.”

“If I could, I would hope he would pay more attention to me, at least acknowledge someone capable of building an organization.” Della put down her teacup, somewhat indignant.

“But I must say,” Maggie added, “your romantic history with Draco adds credibility to my story.”

Della glanced at him sideways and noticed that Maggie's aggression had increased after the pretense of civility. She coldly steered the conversation back to Sadorine, "In your opinion, can Sadorine leave here?"

“I’m afraid I can’t. Voldemort suffered a great loss at Harry’s hands on the day of his resurrection, and he’s been very impressed with everything,” Maggie said, taking out his new wand. “Sadorne’s death has also been on display here for many days. A sudden disappearance would inevitably arouse suspicion, and I don’t recommend faking a body either. Voldemort would be exposed as soon as he examines it.”

“Then we’ll just have to let someone else take her away in front of everyone,” Della suggested, glancing at the wand Maggie was holding, which she was deliberately trying to get her attention. “A new wand? I heard you also encountered some wand-related problems that day.”

“This one is twelve and three-quarters inches long, made of fir wood, with the core made of Thestral tail hair,” Maggie introduced her new wand slowly. “I personally selected the materials and sent them to Mr. Ollivander to have it made, and I made sure to destroy all the materials of the same origin, just to prevent what happened that day from happening again.”

"Can wands of the same origin not attack each other?" Della asked.

“Not only that, there was even a backlash,” Maggie said. “But I don’t understand the rules of the backlash. Voldemort and Harry have the same phoenix feather core, and their quality is similar, so they were locked in a stalemate. But when my basilisk bone wand, which has a basilisk nerve core, struck a small basilisk tooth, I was bounced away.”

Della paused for a moment, then explained, "Although the basilisk's teeth are small, theoretically, the density of the small basilisk tooth that Isaev possesses is higher than that of the wand in your hand."

“Ah—” Maggie understood. “The spine and nerves that fit those tiny teeth would be even smaller, but the wand would be too small. So you enlarged the bone, which also made it less dense. Now it makes sense.”

"You think this can..." Della looked at Maggie, not finishing her sentence, but the two had already exchanged a scheming message in their eye contact.

“In that moment, I felt the shadow of death,” Maggie put away her wand and smiled slightly, “so I think it’s okay.”

Upon hearing this, Della also took out her new wand and introduced it, "This one is exactly twelve inches long, made of golden nanmu wood, and the core is Frost Abyss Dragon nerve soaked in basilisk nerve."

"Frost Abyss Dragon?" Maggie raised an eyebrow. "The extinct one?"

“The wood is old enough,” Della didn’t answer, but continued to describe it, her fingers slowly sliding across the antique wand, revealing subtle golden patterns, “and it’s special enough.”

Maggie clapped his hands and said admiringly, "A year has passed, and you've already surpassed me as soon as you came back. That's amazing, Della."