44. Helbo

In the morning, a gray gloom filled Tom's room, the pale light barely penetrating the sky deep in the forest. He opened his eyes, rested and calm from sleep.

Yawning slightly, he rose from his bed, then quietly walked across the wooden floor and out of his room. The weathered floorboards creaked slightly, as if they felt his weight.

As he crossed the narrow hallway upstairs and reached the stairs, he heard a faint murmur from downstairs and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Tom's steps down the stairs were quiet and deliberate, as if he didn't want to disturb the morning peace. Once downstairs, he noticed that Helbo, sitting on the sofa in the living room, was awake and looking rather uncomfortable.

The old man had a tired look on his face, beads of sweat on his forehead, a sign of discomfort after a cold night. His eyes were slightly squinted, he had obviously not slept well on the sofa until the morning.

Helbo's voice finally broke Tom's silence with an impatient timbre, "Young man, you left me here like this, unable to move..." His words were interrupted by a gasp as he struggled to sit up. "A little help... Besides..." He waited a moment, but when he saw no change in Tom's expressionless face, he grumbled, "You don't understand what's wrong with an old man!"

Tom ignored the old man's irritated grunts and walked into the kitchen. He sat down at the old coffee maker in the far corner of the house and started grinding coffee beans.

The growling sound of the coffee machine filled the living room and Helbo's grumbling disappeared with it. For Tom, the sound of the coffee machine was a moment of relaxation; it took his mind away from Helbo's grumbling and into the silence of this morning.

As the pleasant smell of coffee filled the kitchen, Tom's face briefly settled into a peaceful expression.

Helbo, however, fidgeted restlessly on the sofa, as if to show that he was impatient and in a difficult situation. His eyes glared angrily behind Tom's back. "What, you're still after that old stone, aren't you? Or are you going to sacrifice me for that damn stone too?" he growled, his voice echoing in the silence of the morning.

But Tom was far from answering Helbo's questions; he quietly picked up his coffee cup, brought it up to his nose, inhaled deeply and sipped his coffee, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Helbo fidgeted, even more restless now that he had to go to the bathroom. "Do you hear me? You should have some understanding for an old man..." he said, his voice this time almost reproachful.

Tom could feel Helbo's insistent gaze on him, but he still insisted on not answering. Helbo's restlessness seemed to amuse him; Tom felt no desire to help the old man in his present state.

Helbo was filled with a feeling of rebellion, but he knew that his strength was exhausted and he had to realize that he was dependent on Tom after all. Tom took another sip of his coffee and looked coldly into Helbo's eyes.

Helbo, meanwhile, bowed his head with a slight sigh that betrayed his desperation and distress. He thought again how callous this young man could be, not even offering him a sip of water, but Tom's cold and distant demeanor seemed to be part of some vague plan inside him.

Tom spent the first few minutes of the morning concentrating on solving the mystery of the stone. Helbo's grunts, which broke the silence of the morning, did nothing to distract him from that plan.

As Tom settled back in his chair and took slow sips of his coffee, Helbo murmured a subtle reproach, this time not in a grumpy way, but in an almost haughty weariness. "Can't you remove the Mor'Belum Clamp? I've got the morning here. Isn't it cruel to leave an old man so immobilized?"

A slight, almost wry smile appeared on Tom's face as he raised his cup and inhaled the warmth of his coffee. His eyes still on Helbo, he replied softly over his coffee, "An old wizard like you cannot overcome a simple restriction?"

Silence fell over the room. But it was the silence of an agreement shrouded in a strange disagreement.

A vague darkness appeared in Tom's eyes. As Riddle's past swirled in the recesses of his mind, the Dark Lord's ruthlessness came to life before his eyes. The Dark Lord did not hesitate to punish even those loyal to him for the slightest mistake.

These thoughts deepened the cold and hard expression on Tom's face.

When Helbo noticed the darkness in Tom's eyes, he better understood the roots of this coldness and ruthlessness in him. The old man had calmed down a bit, but he was still uneasy and afraid. Tom's silence and dull gaze made Helbo even more alert.

Tom looked into Helbo's eyes, took a deep breath and then broke his silence. "My experience has taught me that you will not show weakness. You will remain strong against anyone and anything." His voice was cold and hard, as if it carried the

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