Finally, under Tom's coercion, Rita Skeeter had no choice but to sign an unequal treaty with him, filled with indignation.
The events surrounding Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black had concluded, Rita Skeeter had been 'persuaded,' and as for the Azkaban matter, whether due to Dumbledore or not, there was no further development; at this point, Tom suddenly found himself lacking motivation.
Thinking about it carefully, ever since Dumbledore showed up last summer, he had barely rested for a moment.
Tom had no particular fondness for a plot that went: first day, transmigrate; second day, eliminate Lord Voldemort; third day, deal with Grindelwald; fourth day, defeat Dumbledore; fifth day, GG and grand finale.
Come on, even a corporate drone isn't worked like this; having finished years' worth of work for other world protagonists in just half a year, that's enough.
At this moment, Tom was tired, weary, and ready to lie flat.
For the next few days, Tom automatically entered a senior health preservation mode, as nothing major could happen at Hogwarts during this period.
The 'Savior's Growth Plan' proceeded as scheduled; Dumbledore was keeping a close eye on it anyway, and given Lord Voldemort's current state, there was no way he could escape Dumbledore's grasp. As for STARGAZER, Tom stated that it was something Cassandra and Hermione had set up, he was just a figurehead, and for specific matters, they should be contacted.
Instead of constantly thinking about causing trouble, wasn't it much better to fulfill a student's primary duty—study diligently, participate in club activities daily, and transform into a fishing enthusiast on weekends?
Rotten! Rotten! Rotten!
Until—
"Tom, it's not good, something's happened!"
Early in the morning, Tom, still rolling in his bed, heard Draco's wailing.
"Young master, mind your image, don't let your persona collapse. Seriously, you won't even let a person sleep in on the weekend." Tom groggily poked his head out from under the covers, showing no intention of getting up, as if his whole body wanted to merge with the bed.
Draco ignored Tom's words, ruthlessly pulled off his blanket, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him vigorously: "Help me, Tom, you're the only one I can think of who can help me."
Tom, dizzy from being shaken, slapped away his claws and burrowed back into the covers: "Speak, what is it?"
"Harry told me that Hagrid, that big oaf, he... he got a dragon egg," Draco said excitedly.
Tom was puzzled: "And then?"
"That dragon egg is about to hatch, and I want to raise a dragon. Tom, help me think of a way." As Draco said this, the longing little stars in his eyes almost spilled out.
"That's it? Goodbye, take care, not seeing you off." Tom ignored Draco and immediately pulled the covers over his head to catch up on sleep.
Regarding Draco's dragon obsession, Tom respected and understood it, but couldn't empathize at all.
He thought the matter was over, but one morning, Tom was stopped by Draco in the common room again.
"What's wrong now? Why the long face?" Tom sat down beside him helplessly and asked.
Draco was a bit depressed and confided in Tom: "Yesterday, Norbert was sent away, given to the second Weasley brother."
"Who's Norbert?" Tom couldn't recall who it was for a moment.
"Uh... Norbert, that Norwegian Ridgeback that hatched from the dragon egg that big oaf Hagrid got, the one I told you about a while ago. When it was born, I was right there, so small, so cute!"
Remembering that day, Draco's heart was about to melt.
Tom quickly interrupted: "Stop, get to the point."
Draco said with a wronged expression: "The point is, it was sent away, and I was also docked 50 points and given detention. Can't you comfort me?"
"Wait, what's with the points deduction and detention?" Tom was very curious about what big thing Draco had done this time.
When asked about this, Draco immediately gritted his teeth: "It's all that idiot Weasley's fault for leaving Harry's invisibility cloak on the rooftop, otherwise Professor McGonagall wouldn't have caught us directly."
Tom listened with an incredulous expression: "How is Weasley involved? Don't you two dislike each other? How did you end up together again?"
"No choice, who told Charlie Weasley to be Ron Weasley's brother? For Norbert, I endured it." Draco sighed, "If Dad hadn't forbidden me from raising a dragon at the manor, it wouldn't have benefited Charlie Weasley."
Tom really didn't get Draco's point: "To be honest, I really don't understand why you're so fond of dragons?"
"It started with my name, and then when I was little, I read a lot of books about dragons, and I gradually fell in love with them. Don't you think it would be very impressive to have a dragon as a pet?"
After hearing Draco's words, especially the last sentence, Tom suddenly felt it made a lot of sense. Looking at Miss Lord Voldemort in the birdcage in the room, and then comparing her to a majestic giant dragon, the difference was too stark. Thinking this way, Tom also began to consider whether to get a new pet from somewhere.
Wait, a majestic pet! Tom suddenly remembered that he seemed to have forgotten there was already one in Hogwarts.
For Tom Riddle not to go into the Chamber of Secrets and eat hotpot and sing songs with the Basilisk, that would be truly inexcusable, it's just a pity that Harry would completely lose his monster-slaying and leveling-up material in his second year.
Thinking of this, Tom sighed about his impending loss of his leisurely senior life, while patting Draco's shoulder and asking: "Don't sigh here anymore, do you want to come with me to catch a majestic and adorable pet?"
"What adorable pet?" A pleasant female voice interrupted their conversation.
"Cassandra, you've come at a good time. Yesterday, Draco sent away his beloved, and to fill the emptiness in his heart, I've decided to take him to catch an adorable pet. Want to come along?"
Cassandra frowned slightly: "How did you get influenced by those novels written by girls too? Speak properly. By the way, you still haven't said what pet you're going to catch?"
"A Basilisk!"
On a Saturday morning, as the trio stood outside Myrtle's bathroom, Draco, holding a rooster, repeatedly scrutinized the entrance, looking at Tom with a disgusted expression as if he were a pervert: "Are you sure this is where you said we'd find a Basilisk, a girls' bathroom? And according to the 'Prohibition on the Domestication of Animals for Experimentation,' isn't Basilisk breeding illegal? Is this really okay?"
"Come on, a Basilisk bred by Slytherin, what does that have to do with me, Tom Riddle? And I'm sure the Chamber of Secrets entrance is right here. Honestly, Slytherin probably wouldn't have imagined that the pipe renovations back then would make him seem like a pervert?"
Cassandra and Draco were greatly shocked, silently beginning to sympathize with Salazar Slytherin.
"It's you, Tom Riddle!" Just as Tom stepped into the bathroom, Myrtle inside immediately stopped crying and shrieked in shock!
Tom asked knowingly: "You know me?"
Myrtle didn't speak, only murmured: "Impossible, how are you still in Hogwarts?" As she spoke, she floated away and disappeared.
Draco, who followed behind, looked bewildered, while Cassandra seemed to understand.
Ignoring this brief interlude, Tom searched for a moment and then found the brass faucet with the coiled snake carving.
"Hiss hiss (Open)!" Tom whispered to the coiled snake carving on the faucet.
The faucet, along with the sink, spun and transformed rapidly. Moments later, the sink disappeared from view, revealing a thick pipe large enough for one person to pass through.