Lying listlessly in the empty common room, Tom felt that life was so wonderful.
He could have the common room all to himself, freely go to the kitchen for food, and quietly read in the library without disturbance.
The library?
Tom sprang up from the sofa with a carp-like jump; he finally remembered something he had forgotten due to his recent busyness.
He dug out a crumpled Restricted Section pass from a corner of his storage space and rushed to the library impatiently.
Madam Pince checked the pass repeatedly several times before reluctantly letting Tom in.
Stepping into the Restricted Section, Tom felt like he had entered a treasure vault, dazzled by the riches within.
"'The Most Poisonous magic'—what a good book... This 'Potent Potions' isn't bad either... Oh, 'Curses and Counter-Curses'—take it..."
Tom wanted almost every book; he spent a long time picking and choosing before finally selecting a few and running to Madam Pince to register them.
"Mr. Riddle, these books involve a lot of Dark Arts and are not suitable for a first-year student," Madam Pince said with a complicated expression as she counted the books Tom wanted to borrow, trying to dissuade him.
Tom patted his chest and confidently guaranteed, "Madam Pince, rest assured, my Dark Arts skills are so good that even Professor Dumbledore praises them. These books are no problem."
Madam Pince felt like she was witnessing the birth of a new Dark Lord. She tried to persuade him a few more times, but seeing Tom unmoved, she reluctantly processed his book loan.
Tom, who was overjoyed and walked away with the books, felt that he had missed out on a fortune by coming so late, and he couldn't help but complain, "It's all that noseless Tom's fault! If I hadn't been dueling him every day, how could I have missed out on such a huge treasure?"
It was another day for noseless Tom to take the blame. Lord Voldemort, behind Quirrell's head, felt an inexplicable chill.
When Tom entered the Room of Requirement STARGAZER gathering place with his books, he expected the room to be empty, but to his surprise, there were people there at this hour.
"Hi, Tom," Harry greeted Tom warmly.
Tom's eyes immediately lit up, and he responded enthusiastically, "Hi, Harry, I didn't expect you to be here?"
Harry replied with a somewhat downcast tone, "Seamus and the others all went home. Ron originally said he'd stay with me, but his family called him back with a letter. There are only two or three people left in all of Gryffindor, so I thought I'd come here to see if I might run into you."
"It's okay, I'll keep you company," Tom walked to the table, blocked Harry's view with his body, and poured him a glass of water that he had secretly spiked.
"Here, drink some water, relax your mood. Don't be gloomy during the holiday."
"Thank you," Harry unsuspectingly took the glass Tom offered and drank it all.
"Bang!"
After drinking the water, Harry felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. His hand dropped limply, and the glass fell to the ground, shattering.
Tom quickly supported the unconscious Harry and laid him flat on the ground.
After waiting for several months, he finally had this moment alone with Harry, and Tom would absolutely not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Sorry!" Tom whispered to the unconscious Harry, then unhesitatingly unleashed Soul Furnace upon him.
A soft golden light covered Harry's lightning scar. Wisps of black mist seeped out from his scar, gradually converging into a snake-like face.
The intense pain caused the unconscious Harry's face to begin to contort. Fearing that Harry would wake up from the pain, Tom quickly cast Stupefy on him.
Entanglement, envelopment, annihilation—following a familiar process, Lord Voldemort's soul fragment was completely worn away.
Tom, familiar with the routine, picked up the remaining pure white substance and absorbed it.
A moment later, Tom, having finished absorbing, checked his panel.
His mastered magic had reached Lv.8+, but nothing else had changed.
However, Tom vaguely felt that his Level 8+ magic and magic had reached a bottleneck; with just one more push, both could break through to Level 9.
Harry felt like he had a very long dream. The dream was blurry, but he seemed to have lost something.
Opening his eyes, Harry found himself still in the Room of Requirement, with Tom sitting nearby, engrossed in a book.
"What happened to me?" Harry rubbed his still groggy head, asking in confusion.
Tom closed the book in his hand and replied earnestly, "You suddenly fell asleep. I checked on you, and your body is fine. Perhaps it's because you've been under too much stress lately, so I didn't wake you, letting you get some good rest."
Harry didn't doubt him and instead expressed sincere gratitude to Tom, "Thank you, Tom."
For a moment, a sense of guilt rose in Tom's heart.
'My skin isn't thick enough, my skin isn't thick enough...'
Just as Tom was continuously chanting and hypnotizing himself, Harry hesitantly spoke, "Actually, there's something I haven't told you. These past few nights, I've seen my mom and dad every night."
Seeing Tom's puzzled expression, Harry explained, "It's a mirror. I saw my mom and dad in the mirror."
"The Mirror of Erised," Tom directly told Harry the answer.
Harry looked at Tom in surprise, "You know?"
"A magic mirror that shows people their heart's desires. If you become too engrossed in it, you will be swallowed by desire," Tom said, tapping his finger on the book, enunciating each word.
"I see, but..." Harry's brows furrowed. He knew Tom was right, but he couldn't bring himself to give up the chance to see his parents.
Tom noticed Harry's dilemma and mysteriously told him, "If you tell me how to find this magic mirror, then for Christmas, I'll give you a gift—a gift you desire most."
Harry asked curiously, "What is it?"
"It's a secret. It wouldn't work if I told you," he said, then gave Harry the choice.
Harry thought for a moment, then explained in detail, "It's in the second to last room on the right corridor of the third floor. Ron and I accidentally discovered it a few days ago. Oh, and don't go into the room at the end of the corridor; Cerberus is locked in there."
Tom couldn't help but marvel at the powerful inertia of Dumbledore's Savior growth plan.
That night, in the second to last room on the right corridor of the third floor, Tom stood quietly before the mirror.
"What do you see, Tom?" Dumbledore's gentle voice sounded in his ear.
Tom turned to Dumbledore with a gentle smile, "I see my grown-up self marrying a woman who's neither beautiful nor ugly and having two children, a girl and a boy. Once the children are independent, I'll find a place to live in seclusion with my wife, and finally die before her."
Dumbledore looked at Tom in surprise, clearly not expecting this answer.
Tom said no more, bid Dumbledore "Good night," and turned to leave without a trace of reluctance.
In the quiet room, only the image of Tom sitting on a throne, self-coronating, was clearly visible in the hazy moonlight within the magic mirror.