After Tom fled the Headmaster's Office in shame, his attempt to get paid also came to nothing.
The next day, Tom went to Professor McGonagall to demand his salary, and Professor McGonagall pulled out a parchment and argued with him point by point.
The conclusion was surprisingly: "Mr. Riddle, in view of the mental damage you have caused to Hogwarts students, after deducting compensation from your remuneration, you can get... hmm... let me see, you owe the school 10 Galleons."
"…"
What kind of capitalist behavior is this? Paying to work, huh? Not putting the workers in their eyes, huh?
Tom immediately rolled up his sleeves and reasoned with Professor McGonagall: "Professor McGonagall, the money is from the Ministry of Magic and the school board.
Why should a worker make things difficult for another worker? Why do you have to save money for them?"
Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and said to Tom: "What you said makes a lot of sense, so the 10 Galleons debt will be waived."
"...Why?" Tom asked dryly.
Professor McGonagall replied with a serious face: "Because I am the Deputy Principal of Hogwarts."
Tom immediately offered his most sincere wish: "Then I wish you, Professor, to be Deputy Principal for seventy years."
Under Professor McGonagall's displeased gaze, Tom hurriedly left, his mind already calculating the grand idea of taking over the Principal's position and increasing employee benefits.
After resigning as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Assistant, Tom's life returned to the four-point line of the common room, Great Hall, library, and Room of Requirement, with personal tutoring from Snape every Saturday.
"It's so boring! I really miss the days with internet, mobile phones, and tablets."
"Tom, what are you muttering about? Let's go." Draco patted Tom, who was lounging on the sofa in the common room.
"Go? Where?" Tom asked in confusion.
"You don't remember? Today is the Quidditch match, Slytherin against Gryffindor." Draco raised his voice, looking incredulous.
Tom waved his hand and continued to slump on the sofa: "You go, I'm not interested in Quidditch."
Draco couldn't believe that someone wouldn't like Quidditch, so he dragged Tom to the stadium without further ado.
Cassandra had already reserved seats for them and complained: "Why are you so late? The game has already started."
Tom apologized and sat next to her.
"I really envy Harry!" Looking at Harry flying on the field, the envy in Draco's eyes couldn't be hidden.
"Then you can sign up for the team next year.
With your family's financial power, the Seeker's position will definitely be yours," Tom said lazily with a yawn.
As the game became more intense, Tom's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, almost unable to open.
Just as Tom was about to fall asleep, a sudden change occurred.
Harry gripped his out-of-control broom tightly, being flung back and forth in mid-air, looking like he was about to fall.
Tom vaguely saw Harry's situation, but he really couldn't open his eyes.
Anyway, Hermione was there, so he wouldn't die.
'Hermione... Hermione...' He muttered the name twice in his heart, and Tom suddenly woke up.
He had forgotten that Hermione was in Ravenclaw now, so where would Hermione be in today's game?
Glancing at Quirrell, who was casting a spell, Tom found this matter interesting.
"Hey, look over there, what is Weasley trying to do again?" Draco nudged Tom, pointing at Ron, who thought he was well hidden but was actually as dazzling as the sun among the Slytherin little snakes, asking with a puzzled expression.
'Without Hermione, Weasley could actually find his way on his own.
Does he have that kind of intelligence? Or is his intuition really that sharp?' Tom didn't answer Draco and quietly watched the situation unfold.
In fact, not only Draco, almost all the Slytherin students noticed Ron, and a few older students had already blocked him.
"Gryffindor fellow, what are you doing in our Slytherin territory? Looking for trouble?"
Seeing himself blocked, Ron didn't waste any words, took off his shoe, and threw it hard at Snape.
"Clang!"
Before everyone could react, Ron's smelly shoe hit Snape squarely on the back of his head.
Unprepared, Snape fell straight forward under the impact of the huge force, and unfortunately, he tripped over a step, his entire face making intimate contact with the stands' ground.
"The Dean was attacked by a Gryffindor scoundrel!"
"Scoundrel, don't run!"
"Quick, catch this scoundrel!"
Snape's attack directly maxed out the Slytherin students' anger, and they rushed at Ron, howling.
Ron had already taken off running the moment he threw his shoe.
As he fled past Quirrell, Ron, in his haste, accidentally gave Quirrell a big slap to the back of his head, directly knocking Quirrell down.
But Ron showed no intention of stopping, not even glancing at the fallen Quirrell, and rushed straight towards the Gryffindor stands.
The pursuing Slytherins also ignored Quirrell, and even stepped on the back of his head to save time.
Tom watched this good show and silently lit a candle for Quirrell.
If he didn't die from this trampling, then he truly admired his cockroach-like vitality.
He also wondered what Voldemort, who had always held his head high, would feel now that he was being stepped on by so many people, even Slytherin students.
Seeing that he was getting closer to the Gryffindor stands, Ron yelled at the top of his lungs: "Help! The Slytherin scoundrels are going to beat people up!"
This shout immediately attracted the attention of the Gryffindor students.
Seeing Ron being chased by a large group of Slytherins alone, the little lions' hot tempers flared up, and they went to intercept while helping Ron.
Seeing Ron being met by the Gryffindor little lions, Hollis Carow, among the pursuing Slytherin little snakes, finally remembered that he seemed to be a Wizard, and pulled out his wand, ready to cast a spell.
Ron, realizing he was safe, suddenly made an unexpected turn and stepped forward, punching Hollis Carow in the eye.
This punch not only made Hollis Carow interrupt his spellcasting in pain but also acted like a 'Dumbness Aura', making him forget again that he was a Wizard, and he met Ron's punches.
The 'Dumbness Aura' not only affected Hollis Carow, but it spread like a plague, affecting every student present.
So many Wizards, yet not one thought of casting a spell; even the wands that were pulled out were used as melee weapons, staging a hand-to-hand combat.
Even Harry, who was playing on the field, was not spared.
After Quirrell interrupted his spellcasting, Harry had recovered and found the Golden Snitch.
Just as Harry accelerated and sprinted, he slightly stood up from his broom, leaning forward with his butt sticking out to catch the Golden Snitch.
Just as victory was in sight, a wand, thrown by who knows whom, seemed to be blessed by the goddess of luck and, at the worst possible moment, gave him a 'Thousand Years of Pain' attack.
The pain from a certain indescribable part made him lose control of his broom, experiencing the thrill of going from heaven to hell, and he fell straight to the ground.
Tom then pulled out a handful of melon seeds from somewhere and shared them with Cassandra and Draco, tasting them together, and even commented with relish: "Look, Senior Selwyn's straight punch is really beautiful... Senior Yaxley's hook is also good... Eh, why did Harry fall down... Well, I can't bear to look..."
Just as Tom was enjoying the show, a massive magical pressure enveloped everyone, making it hard to breathe, and Dumbledore's angry voice rang out on the Quidditch field.
"Stop!"