bioinnovel Chapter 370 Riddle Mansion
Chapter 370 Riddle Mansion
Chapter 370 Riddle Mansion
Riddle House was once the widest and most imposing building within miles of Little Hangleton.
Today, the mansion has become desolate and damp due to years of being uninhabited, with ivy covering the entire building in a ferocious manner.
Everything changed at dawn on a clear summer day in 1943 when a maid entered the grand living room and found the Riddle family of three dead.
Soon, the mysterious deaths of the Riddle family became the biggest news in Little Hangleton. Everyone wanted to know the cause of death of the three men, how could three people who had always been healthy suddenly die at the same time.
The police officers in charge of the investigation took away the Riddle family's gardener, a bachelor named Frank Bryce, a veteran who had returned from the battlefield.
Therefore, the people of Little Hangerton believed that this one-legged veteran was the murderer who killed the Riddle family.
Frank Bryce was eccentric, disliked socializing, and was extremely averse to noise; he gave off the perfect image of a murderer.
More importantly, Frank had a spare key to the Riddle house, which gave him the means to commit the crime, and that's why the police took him away.
Just when almost everyone in Little Hangleton believed Frank Bryce was the murderer, the autopsy report exonerated the veteran.
Although the Riddle family of three were all dead, they had not suffered any harm before their deaths, they were all healthy, and apart from their terrified expressions, there was nothing wrong with their bodies.
Fortunately, the terrible mistake didn't befall veteran Frank Bryce; the police in Big Hangleton released him without charge.
However, the people of Little Hangleton stubbornly believed that Frank, with his eccentric temper and strange behavior, was the murderer who killed the Riddle family.
In another world unknown and unknown to the people of Little Hangleton, the murderer who killed the Riddle family has been brought to justice. The murderer is Morfin Gaunt, the last male member of the Gaunt family.
According to the Ministry of Magic's old case files, Morfin Gaunt was a rude and arrogant man, far from elegant.
Not only was her personality terrible, but Mofen's appearance was also appalling. Her thick hair was covered with a thick layer of grime, she had lost several teeth, and her small, dark eyes stared in opposite directions.
More than a decade before the murder, Morfin Gaunt had been summoned by the Ministry of Magic for attacking Muggles.
However, Morfin not only refused to be summoned, but also joined forces with his father, Marvolo Gaunt, to attack the Ministry of Magic officials who came to investigate.
Later, Wizengamo convicted the Gaunt father and son, sentenced Mahoro to six months in prison, and Mofen to serve three years in Azkaban.
After serving his sentence, Moffin returned to the old Gaunt house in Little Hangleton, where he lived alone until the summer of 1943 when the Riddle family died under mysterious circumstances.
After the murder, the Ministry of Magic immediately knew that it was the work of a wizard and quickly identified the murderer as Morfin Gaunt.
Because the Muggle that Morfin attacked more than ten years ago was Tom Riddle, one of the victims in this case.
The Ministry of Magic immediately located Morphin Gaunt, and surprisingly, Morphin neither resisted nor tried to deny it. He confessed to his crimes and admitted that he had murdered the Riddle family.
The murder case was thus solved. Morfin's testimony, along with the magic wand used as the murder weapon, were strong pieces of evidence in the case, and Morfin was imprisoned again.
This time, Morfin Gaunt did not escape Azkaban; he died in the dark and hopeless wizarding prison, and the ancient pure-blood wizarding family of Gaunt became extinct.
Now, in the spring of 1995, Belvina Black, also from a pure-blood wizarding family, arrives in Little Hangleton, ready to visit Riddle House, which has been abandoned for many years.
As she entered Little Hangleton, Belvina slowed her pace and became more vigilant.
Although she thought it unlikely that Voldemort was hiding in Riddle House, she was still extremely cautious.
As she walked, Belvina suddenly stopped and looked to her right: behind a tall yew tree was a small church, and below it was a cemetery overgrown with weeds.
Then she looked to her left: there was a gentle hill with a dilapidated old house on it. The windows of the house were sealed off, the roof tiles were broken, and the tendrils of ivy were everywhere.
Belvina knew that this dilapidated mansion was her destination—Riddle House.
"It really is—" she muttered to herself, "completely dilapidated."
Compared to the Riddle Palace on the hill, the shabby and dilapidated Grimmauld Place could be considered a top-tier luxury residence.
Belvina slowly ascended the gentle hillside, taking each step with extreme caution, as if Voldemort might emerge from the overgrown weeds.
Before long, Belvina arrived at the gate of the Riddle Palace.
It was springtime, and the gardens of Riddell House were overgrown with weeds, looking as if no one had tended to them for a long time.
Looking at the wildly growing weeds, Belvina was filled with doubts, along with an ominous premonition.
She had just inquired around the village and learned from some naughty children that an old cripple was in charge of everything at Riddle House.
If I'm not mistaken, the "father" and "murderer" these kids are talking about should be Frank Bryce, the gardener from back then, a veteran whom Muggles considered a murderer.
But the garden was overgrown with weeds and didn't look like it had been taken care of at all. Plus, the kids hadn't seen old Frank for a long time. Had something happened to this World War II veteran?
Belvina raised her left hand and placed it on her heart. She could feel her heart beating strongly in her chest and the phoenix tail feathers in her arms.
After hesitating for a while, she still didn't ignite the tail feathers. She didn't want to interfere with the other two's judgment until she was absolutely certain.
Belvina slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. Instead of rushing into the garden to investigate the dilapidated Riddle Mansion, she walked around the desolate garden for a while.
Soon, she found a dilapidated old house in the garden.
Although the old house was very simple and covered in dust, traces of someone having lived there could still be vaguely discerned.
In addition, some old men's clothing and an old cane could be found in the old house, suggesting that the owner of the old house should be old Frank.
Everything in the old house strongly supported Belvina's ominous premonition; Frank Bryce hadn't been back for a long time, and he had most likely met with an accident.
Belvina turned sharply and looked through the door frame of the old house at Riddle's mansion.
The spring sun was warm and gentle, its rays pouring down and warming Belvina's body, but it could not dispel the chill in her heart.
Belvina took out the phoenix tail feather from her bosom. She glanced at it first, then tucked the entire feather into the sleeve of her left arm before carefully walking toward the dilapidated old mansion.
Belvina tiptoed into the mansion through the back door, which was almost completely covered by ivy.
Before me was a large, dark kitchen, like a cave. Even though the sun was shining brightly outside, the light inside was still very dim, and the smell of decay was overwhelming.
Instead of lighting her wand, Belvina pricked up her ears, carefully listening to every sound around her, trying to discern whether there were footsteps or voices in the old house.
No sound.
There was no sound at all.
All the sounds that could be captured came from herself.
The slow, subtle breathing sounds, the creaking of soft-soled leather boots on the old floor, the pounding of a heart—
It seemed as if Belvina was the only living being in the entire mansion, as if all her previous worries and doubts were just her own self-inflicted fears.
Gradually, Belvina groped her way forward and came to the corridor, where the light was a little brighter. She saw the stairs leading upstairs, the steps covered with a thick layer of dust.
Just as Belvina was about to step onto the stairs, a loud, echoing explosion suddenly rang out in the old house.
The sound came from above, from upstairs!
That's the sound of Apparition being activated. Sure enough, there are people at Riddle Manor!
Now, Belvina is absolutely certain that she's in deep trouble, really deep trouble!
Voldemort is very likely hiding in the desolate and dilapidated Riddle House, in the old house of his Muggle father whom he vehemently despises!
Just then, a blinding green light suddenly shone, accompanied by a jumble of noises, as if the unseen Grim Reaper was wielding his scythe.