— — — — — —
Tom was still sleeping when Andros’s angry voice ca through, but priorities were priorities, so he simply muted the study space.
It wasn’t until half an hour later that he finally strolled in.
"Tom, I want to kill soone."
Andros’s face was livid, his voice cold enough to freeze the air. If anything, the half-hour wait had only made his anger worse.
He couldn’t help it. It was suffocating.
Voldemort had blatantly set his sights on Ariana, and there was nothing he could do about it. Of course he was furious. He treated her like his own daughter.
On top of that, the long wait had been wearing him down. Being unable to grow stronger until his revival had frustrated him for far too long—and today, it all finally boiled over.
"Yeah... that snake-faced bastard really is sothing else." Grindelwald chid in as he walked past, nodding in agreent. "Still... relax, Andros. Tom already had that fox contact a great yokai in Japan. The last ingredients should turn up soon."
The missing materials were the red spider lilies, Higanbana and Manjushage. They could only be found in Japan or other Asian countries.
The problem was that many of these countries were flooded with fakes, and he had no interest in getting tangled up with officials. So that left only one option.
Japan. It might be the only Eastern country where its people were honest, not obsessed with making fakes, scamming, or taking bribes.
"Awoo..."
"Tom, you’ve got to avenge ..."
Ariana’s eyes reddened as she squeezed out a few tears and threw herself into his arms, shoulders trembling as she let out pitiful little sobs.
It would’ve been heartbreaking... if anyone had believed it.
Everyone present twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Voldemort had only targeted you, not killed you. Was this level of acting really necessary?
Tom couldn’t help but laugh as he patted her head. "Drop the act. You? Scared? More like you’re worried he won’t co after you so you can’t watch a righteous group beatdown, right?"
"Heh heh."
Caught red-handed, Ariana instantly wiped her tears, scratching her head with a sly grin. No more pretending.
"I think it’s a great plan," she said bluntly. "I’ll be the bait. Draw Voldemort out, then we all jump him together and finish him off. One clean sweep."
"Excellent idea." Grindelwald smiled approvingly, looking at her like a teacher finally satisfied with a student ready to graduate.
"But you’ve overlooked sothing."
His tone shifted, turning serious. "No one can guarantee Voldemort hasn’t made new Horcruxes. Even if he hasn’t... Harry Potter is still alive."
From everything he’d observed—and the information he’d gathered from Dumbledore—Grindelwald was certain.
Harry himself was effectively one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.
Not a complete one, perhaps, but enough to keep him anchored to life.
"So before we lure Voldemort out, we’ll need to deal with Potter first."
"Gellert."
Andros frowned deeply, cutting him off, clearly displeased. "Potter is just a child. And besides... he’s contributed to this world. At the very least, he kept Voldemort quiet for over a decade. We can’t be cruel to him."
Grindelwald let out a cold laugh, about to launch into sothing along the lines of for the greater good, when Andros continued. "So... let’s leave an heir for the Potter family. Get the kid married as soon as possible, have him pass on the bloodline. After that, Tom can look after his descendants. That way, Potter can go to his death with peace of mind."
Silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
You could’ve heard a pin drop.
Ravenclaw stared at Andros like she was seeing him for the first ti. Jeanne visibly shrank back, quietly sneaking behind Tom and peeking out with a nervous little face.
Even Tom was speechless.
What kind of hellhole was this? Why did none of them sound remotely human?
So the plan was to have Harry reenact his father’s life—leave behind a child, then die?
And yet...
He couldn’t deny it. Brutal as it was, the thod was simple and effective. Way more straightforward than Dumbledore’s drawn-out sche.
"Forget Harry for now," Tom waved it off, cutting through the tension. "Within a month, I guarantee you’ll all be successfully revived."
He turned to Grindelwald.
"Old G, have Barty shift focus to Herpo’s legacy. See if there are more useful leads."
Grindelwald nodded slightly in agreent.
After calming Andros down—and promising repeatedly that once he revived, he’d personally get to beat Voldemort to a pulp—Tom finally withdrew from the study space.
---
Back in the real world, Tom went to check on the sleeping Astoria, but Herpo’s na kept surfacing in his thoughts.
A figure no history of dark magic could avoid ntioning... yet sohow, far more mysterious than the legends made him out to be.
Take Horcruxes, for example.
Morgan had once told him that even in the previous era, Horcruxes already existed. Plenty of greedy dark wizards had relied on them to stretch their lifespans, all for the sake of gaining more ti to delve deeper into forbidden magic.
But there was a catch.
The mont they chose to split their souls, they had already cut themselves off from any chance of becoming sothing greater. Not just the mysterious God of Magic tier. Even the possibility of rising to Wizard King dropped sharply.
Because the higher one climbed, the more essential a complete "self" beca.
Your sense of self, will, and intent had to keep evolving, rising in rank until it could influence the world itself and its magic... or even control it.
If your "self" was already fractured, and you had to rely on external objects just to cling to immortality, what gave you the right to affect the magic of the world, let alone stand at the top?
Which made things interesting.
Had Herpo discovered records of Horcruxes in so ancient ruin and simply copied the forbidden technique?
Or had his thinking coincidentally aligned with those dark wizards from the previous era, leading him to invent Horcruxes on his own?
No one knew.
Maybe only Voldemort, who inherited Herpo’s legacy, held the answer.
...
..
Monday morning in the Hogwarts Great Hall, the Slytherin table was unusually noisy.
Voices overlapped, everyone practically shouting to be heard, as if speaking any quieter would make their words disappear.
They had followed Tom’s suggestion and searched the library for clues, but they hadn’t abandoned the old thod either. Yesterday, they’d spent the entire day bombarding their own ears with it in shifts.
Slytherin, united for once.
And for sothing this ridiculous.
Tom almost laughed just thinking about it.
"Tom, you sll amazing~"
Daphne leaned against him, burying her face in the crook of his neck and taking a deep breath, utterly intoxicated.
"What kind of body wash are you using? That scent is incredible. I want it too. I want to sll this good."
"It’s not body wash, it’s... never mind. I’ll tell you tonight."
Tom sighed. He’d heard versions of that question more tis than he could count over the past couple of days. He hadn’t answered because he didn’t want to disappoint them, but at this rate, if he didn’t explain, he’d never get any peace.
...
Classes ended, and the mont he stepped out of the classroom, he was surrounded.
Everyone had gathered around him, including even Kamio, all of them staring with shining expectant eyes.
Clearly, they were here to pry his "secret" for better skin and that alluring scent.
"You too?" Tom glanced around. "Who brought that fox along?"
"My bestie said you’ve got a brand-new perfu." Kamio smiled sweetly as she hooked her arm around Daphne’s. They didn’t look alike, but the closeness between them felt more genuine than most sisters.
Tom pointed at her. He didn’t say anything, but the warning in his eyes was unmistakable.
The girl stiffened slightly, then quickly leaned closer to Daphne, resting her head lightly on her shoulder, putting on an innocent expression.
She had considered using Daphne before, back when she needed a way to get close to Tom. But now that she’d already achieved that goal, continuing to sche would just be rude.
So she’d genuinely been treating Daphne well, sharing any good opportunities with her. Today, Daphne had brought her along as a gesture of thanks.
If she still got misunderstood after all that... she wouldn’t be able to clear her na even if she jumped into the ocean.
Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Tom finally looked away and let it go.
The group ford a circle. Tom took Hermione and Daphne’s hands and activated Apparition, bringing everyone at once into his pocket world.
After two days, the Kanathos Sacred Spring, which had been drained by nearly half before, had recovered quite a bit.
The water was crystal clear, glowing faintly with a golden hue. It still wasn’t full, but it was getting there.
Tom estimated that if it were completely drained, it would take about seven days to refill the stone basin.
The mont they heard about the spring’s effects, the girls went wild. If Tom hadn’t blocked them with a repelling charm, they would’ve already dived in like a pack of eager swimrs.
"Tom, you can’t keep this all to yourself!" Daphne protested, practically bouncing in place. "I want to be fragrant too. And when I am, you’re the one who benefits, right?"
"She’s right."
Fleur wasted no ti, swiftly tying up her hair. With a flick of her wand, her gloves transford into a hair tie.
"If this keeps up, how am I supposed to go back to Beauxbatons? Next ti I co over, am I going to be the only ugly one left?"
Kamio stared at the spring with unwavering determination. "I’m transferring. I’m becoming a Hogwarts student."
Tom didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He took Astoria’s small hand and held it just above the surface of the spring.
Almost imdiately, the little witch frowned. She could feel pressure closing in on her arm from all directions, an uncomfortable, crushing force.
She tried lowering her hand, inching closer to the water.
But the lower she went, the stronger the pressure beca.
In the end, she couldn’t bear it any longer. With a small, pained expression, she pulled her hand back, her fingertips flushed red.
"Does it hurt?" Tom asked.
Astoria nodded pitifully and let out a soft "Mm."
Her delicate hand and arm were already reddened. A faint green glow lit up Tom’s palm as he used a healing spell to ease the strain.
"See?"
"The magical density in the Kanathos Spring is extrely high. If your magic isn’t strong enough, you won’t be able to withstand it. And if you want to enjoy it without restrictions, your physical condition has to et a certain level too."
"Then how strong do we have to be?" Daphne asked anxiously. Treasure was right in front of her, and she could only stare at it. It was torture.
"At the very least, you’d need to surpass the heads of house. Otherwise, don’t even think about it."
Heads of house?
Everyone froze for a mont.
Ginny instinctively thought of Professor McGonagall and the overwhelming strength she’d displayed during the advanced wizarding assessnts. The thought made her hesitate... but only for a second.
Because the desire for the sacred spring quickly took over, her eyes turning resolute.
"I’m going to surpass Professor McGonagall and soak in that spring!"
Hermione nodded just as firmly, "Get stronger. Then soak in the spring."
.
.
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