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Ian had no doubts about Riddle's expertise. This was someone who had worked in Knockturn Alley. Forget just appraising the value of things, he probably had forgery down to an art as well.
"Exactly, that's it! I'm useful," Riddle stressed several times, though in his heart he muttered: 'Unbelievable, this guy is already a living Legend, yet he is still this greedy…'
Aside from dragons, the only creatures he knew that liked shiny trinkets were crows.
So this guy's future Animagus form would definitely be some kind of bird.
"Find the dark wizards who have a Time-Turner, then you do the dirty work." Ian was still a young wizard with moral standards. He firmly believed that dark wizards in this era would be easy to come by.
Maybe they'd bump into a few just by stepping out the door.
"Of course." Riddle was exasperated.
He felt like he'd been reduced to some sort of filthy glove.
He strongly suspected that this kid would brand any wizard who owned a Time-Turner as a dark wizard. Honestly, only after his recent experiences had he realized that he himself wasn't truly "dark" enough.
"That's settled then. We need to hurry back. Who knows if this is the era of the Black Death outbreak?" Ian first dug out a pigsty, using magic to give himself a good cleaning.
When he saw Riddle dragging Malfoy out, he quickly cast a Cleaning Charm on both Riddle and Malfoy as well. Just to be safe, he even pulled out some alcohol for a bit of physical disinfection.
"What are you eating?" Riddle noticed Ian shoving something into his mouth.
"Antibiotics." Ian believed in grabbing both magic and science with both hands.
Though clearly, he didn't have much understanding of modern medicine.
Luckily, Riddle didn't know much either.
"You're too cautious," Riddle sighed, not sure how to evaluate Ian's behavior. It was hard to connect this overly-cautious little wizard with that godlike, demonic figure he had seen before.
They said people had many sides, but this gap was far too extreme.
"Better safe than sorry. You probably don't know, but I once had a teacher who got killed off by a trap." Ian spoke matter-of-factly, just as he was about to start telling Riddle the story,
"Wait, it actually worked?"
Suddenly, a slightly light, childish voice rang out nearby.
The voice carried a note of surprised delight.
Ian snapped his head around, eyes searching for the source. Riddle also quickly adjusted his stance, gritting through the pain as he yanked his wand out of his nostril, scanning the surroundings warily.
Right now, he was like a startled bird at the twang of a bowstring, and the appearance of a green melon-eater was practically inevitable.
"Who's there?"
Since he hadn't undergone any magical modification yet, Riddle had no night vision. Fortunately, for Ian, night was no different from day, and Ian quickly locked onto the source of the sound.
Before them stood a young girl, looking even younger than Cassandra, not far away. At her side were two Knights clad in ornate armor.
The Knights' gleaming suits of armor bore intricate family crests carved into the metal. With their longswords in hand, their eyes were sharp and wary, like loyal guardians standing watch over the little girl.
The girl herself clearly had an extraordinary status.
She wore a luxurious white dress with layers upon layers of fabric, embroidered all over with delicate golden patterns. The designs coiled and intertwined like ancient, mysterious runes, silently speaking of her house's glory. At her collar was pinned a dazzling ruby brooch, its glow reflecting against the golden threads of her gown.
It only heightened her air of nobility.
At the girl's signal, the two Knights did not act immediately.
"Careful, Your Highness," One of them warned, eyes fixed on Riddle's glowing wand.
"I think my experiment must have been a success?" The girl ignored the Knight's reminder, stepped forward, and brushed aside Riddle's wand that had been aimed at her, instead turning her gaze toward the pigsty.
Her eyes settled on the gutted boar lying there.
"Are you all Pigwidgeons born from it?" The girl asked, turning her head toward Ian, Riddle, and Malfoy, who had been thrown to the ground. Her gaze finally rested on Ian.
Her face was round and lovely, skin pale as snow with a faint rosy glow, as if carved from the finest porcelain. Her curly hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall.
Even under the dim moonlight, her radiance could not be concealed.
"Do you really think pigs can give birth to humans?" Ian rolled his eyes. He wasn't the kind of little wizard to be bewitched by a cute girl, his interests lay only in big elder sisters types.
The girl tilted her head slightly, as though unsatisfied with his answer.
Still, she gave him a smile.
"Isn't that exactly what I'm experimenting on?" Her eyes were as clear and bright as emeralds, curving into crescent moons when she smiled.
It was just that her adorable looks clashed oddly with her calm, matter-of-fact tone.
"That's a boar!" Riddle couldn't help but retort.
"I know." The girl glanced at Riddle again.
"That's why it makes for a more interesting experiment, isn't it?" Her features were delicate as a painting, her lips curling into a faint smile that exuded natural grace and confidence.
"..."
For a moment, Riddle didn't even know how to argue back.
Once again, he realized Hogwarts truly was Heaven. Compared to ancient people like this, he himself was far too innocent, on the starting line of turning dark, the future Dark Lord had already lost badly by birth.
"This person's insane." Riddle muttered to Ian.
"I think so too." Ian nodded in full agreement.
The little girl, however, wasn't the least bit offended by their opinion.
"Looks like you're not the Pigwidgeon brats I was hoping to see." Her tone carried a trace of regret and disappointment as her eyes shifted toward the pigpen, where no living pigs remained.
"You'll have to compensate me for my losses… and for wasting my time." She raised her hand and lightly pointed at the dead pigs on the ground, her voice still childish.
And yet, it carried a lofty, condescending air.
"Heh."
Before Ian could respond, Riddle let out a cold, mocking laugh.
His voice was low and icy, laced with a chilling authority: "Little girl, you've got quite the nerve. You'd best step aside now, or else--"
The unspoken threat in his sneer was clear enough.
"Or else what?" The girl tilted her head, showing a curious, almost playful expression.
That simple gesture directly enraged the Dark Lord.
"Should we kill her?" Riddle suggested to Ian.
"She'll grow up to be nothing but a rotten seed!" He even offered Ian an excuse for the deed.
"You idiot, can't you see those two--" Ian had just begun to rebuke Riddle, when his words were cut off.
Riddle suddenly let out a scream of pain.
In the very next instant, he saw that one of the two Knights had appeared before him, slamming him down into the ground with such force it seemed intent on crushing him into the soil itself.
(To Be Continued…)