Fantasy or reality? #11 (Harry/Fleur/Daphne) (Patreon)

All characters are adults

Chapter #1 (Preview): Fantasy or reality? #1

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Chapter #11: A cursed town.

Harry couldn’t believe that he would be visiting this place; he couldn’t help but feel awed at the state of the place.

“Little Hangleton… Let’s see how the story of this place turned out to be without the existence of Lord Voldemort,” Harry said with a serious expression.

Right now, he just looked like a regular tourist, and this place really looked as if it had been taken from the Middle Ages. According to his memories, the Harry of this universe was a fan of a show called Game of Thrones, so he couldn’t help but think about the architecture in that show.

He walked around the town, and mostly elderly people were walking down the streets. They were minding their own business; they didn’t interact with him, and that was fine. He wasn’t here to make friends; he was here for answers.

It took him a while, but he finally reached one of the places he was looking for, the Riddle state.

“Can I help you with something, young man?” Harry heard a voice say.

His eyes widened as he saw the person whose voice belonged to; it was the old man from his memories. Back then, when he was just starting his fourth year at Hogwarts, this man was the one killed by Voldemort after hearing his plans. It seems like the timeline moved. This was the year 2026, so it seems all the things that took place in the 90s moved to this era.

“Oh, I see, you’re coming here to investigate the Riddle family, right? One of the most prestigious in the country with their contributions to tech,” the old man said with a soft smile.

Now that was an interesting piece of information.

“Oh… Right, yes, that's why I'm here!” Harry said with a calm tone.

“Yes, ever since the documentary was released, the Riddle family has become an interesting topic in the country. Sadly, the family doesn’t visit this place usually, especially since the death of Tom last year,” the old man told him with a sad tone.

Harry couldn’t help but feel surprised. It seems like Tom Riddle Sr. managed to live a long, fulfilling life.

“I’m sorry, sir, I came here because I read some comments on the internet about the Riddle family. They were claiming to come from a family that lived here, the Gaunts; it seems like one of the descendants said really awful things about the Riddle family… Something about Tom being an arrogant, selfish womanizer and all that kind of stuff,” Harry said with a neutral tone.

The old man couldn’t help but sigh.

“The Gaunts… Yes, I remember them, they didn’t like anyone, especially the Riddle family, but the girl, the sister, she was crushing on the young master, who, I must admit, most of the things you heard were true, but to be fair, in the end, he changed after he and Merope Gaunt fell in love,” the old man told Harry.

His eyes widened; it seems like there was a twist in their story; however, he needs to know more.

“But as you know, that’s not something the public knows because the marriage lasted only a year, Merope, she died alongside the baby she was carrying,” the old man added.

That was the answer he was looking, now he knew why Voldemort didn’t exist, he died alongside his mother.

“Sir… Do you think they were in love? Didn’t you notice something weird about their relationship?” Asked Harry with a curious tone.

“Yes, they were very much in love, after all, he fought hard to get her heart, she was very beautiful and smart… Most men were interested in the girl, but it wasn’t until a strange event took place in her home, a fire took place and killed her brother and father, their deaths were so mysterious, it was like magic, you know?” The old man laughed.

So, there was a twist in their love story; now he wasn't sure if the witch used a love potion or not. However, it was surprising to know that the Merope of this universe wasn’t the same weak-willed girl that Dumbledore told him she was; instead, she was a true cunning Slytherin, he was sure she killed her family because they didn’t serve her purposes, and then married the handsome and rich muggle Tom Riddle and they were going to have a happy family.

However, in the end, luck wasn’t on her side; she couldn’t surpass the barrier that she was carrying from the previous life because she still wasn’t suitable to give birth, but instead of giving birth to a monster, the two of them died.

“Sir… You gave me a lot of important information I need for my investigation. I’m grateful,” Harry smiled at the man who smiled back.

“It’s alright, lad, it’s always good to talk about the good old days, especially with young people who are interested in the real stories, not the glamourized versions that you see on the telly,” the man laughed.

“Well, I'd better stop distracting you from your work, sir. Thank you so much for speaking with me,” Harry thanked the man for the last time.

They shared a handshake, but before leaving this cursed town, there was a place he needed to visit first. It took him a while because the place was hidden from non-magical people, but luckily, he still remembered the location.

“Gaunt Shack… It looks just like I remember from Dumbledore’s memories. This is still a depressing place,” he couldn’t help but feel unease at the decaying state of this place.

Here, Voldemort hid a Horcrux in his original universe, the ring that slowly killed Dumbledore. He was nervous; that was something he couldn’t deny. Even if Voldemort never existed in this universe, he still felt uneasy thinking of the possibility of this place having traps or something. While most of the Gaunt family were idiots, Merope wasn’t in this universe; he needed to be careful.

He tried to open the main door, but of course, that wasn't something easy to do with normal methods. Harry knew he needed to do something special to open it, and when he saw the snake carvings on the door, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“I hope I still know how to use,” he said with a serious tone. “OPEN!” He said in Parseltongue.

Nothing happened for a while, which frustrated him, but then, the door started to glow, and slowly, the door opened, and finally, he was greeted by a very luxurious place, which looked very clean.

“Well, look at this, it seems like the decaying state was nothing but a façade. I don’t know why many wizards and witches don’t do the same thing with their homes,” Harry said with a smirk.

This was really interesting, for being the descendant of such a bigoted family, Merope seemed to have bigger dreams.

“Who the fuck are you?!” He was startled by a voice.

Then he looked at a painting, which was a beautiful woman with blonde hair, and when Harry saw the name of the painting, he knew it.

“Merope Gaunt… Well, it seems like it’s my lucky day, I have a lot of questions, and you’re the only one who can provide the answers,” Harry said to the moving portrait.

“I don’t think that’s going to be possible, sugar,” she smirked at him.

“What do—” Harry was about to say.

However, he saw a spell fly close to his face until it hit a wall.

“What the fuck!” He said, now back to his senses.

In front of him, ready to attack him again, there was a masked figure dressed completely in black; it was clear he wasn’t supposed to be here.