Just as Professor McGonagall was losing her composure and cursing the instigator, the parents of the Muggle young Wizards, who had been watching the show for a long time, could no longer bear it and politely and apologetically requested to withdraw their children from Hogwarts.
Then, ignoring Professor McGonagall's pleas, they hastily left with their children.
At this moment, Lord Voldemort's long-cherished dream of purifying Hogwarts was inadvertently achieved by Tom.
What a joyous occasion.
Meanwhile, our instigator, Tom, appeared on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley.
When Tom truly stepped into Knockturn Alley, he genuinely felt how different it was from Diagon Alley.
Dirty, dark, dangerous, and disorderly, the dark side of the magic world was fully displayed here.
"Hehe, a young Wizard from Hogwarts. Child, why are you here alone?"
Tom hadn't walked many steps before an old witch with a missing front tooth 'kindly' blocked his way.
Tom blinked his innocent big eyes and looked at the old witch with a naive expression: "I got separated from my family, Grandma. Can you take me to find them?"
"Of course, of course, I'll take you to them right now." The old witch showed a 'benevolent' smile and led Tom deeper into Knockturn Alley.
Along the way, some Dark Wizards who saw Tom and the old witch quietly followed them.
It wasn't until the old witch led Tom into a dead-end alley that she stopped.
By then, Tom's retreat was blocked by four other Dark Wizards, and several more were observing from the alley entrance.
"Ursular, is this another good haul you've found? A Hogwarts student? Aren't you afraid of Dumbledore's retaliation?" One of the middle-aged male Wizards blocking the way asked the old witch named Ursular.
Ursular revealed a sinister smile: "Yes, a fine specimen. It's normal for a few young Wizards like him to disappear each year. Even if Dumbledore wants to investigate afterward, as long as we hide for a bit, he definitely won't have that much time to find us."
Another older male Wizard spoke up: "Heh heh, you make a lot of sense, but I want a share of this young Wizard too."
"That won't do. This is the prey I spotted first."
Tom watched coldly as they bargained amongst themselves in front of him, not putting him in their eyes at all, as if he were already a lamb to the slaughter.
Finally, after the few people settled on the final distribution plan, Ursular finally looked at Tom: "Young Wizard, do you have any last words? I'm kindly giving you this chance."
Tom's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this: "Please, please let me go, don't kill me."
"That won't do." A playful smile appeared on Ursular's face; she found Tom's desperate struggle before death truly amusing.
"Alright, child, your chance is gone, so go die…"
Before Ursular's words could even finish, a green light silently struck her. She, who had been treating herself as a hunter playing with her prey, died with her eyes wide open.
However, the green light of the Killing Curse did not disappear immediately after Ursular's death; instead, it bounced to one of the male Wizards blocking the way.
And after that male Wizard lost his breath, the green light bounced again, until the last Dark Wizard blocking the way fell, and then the green light disappeared.
The Wizards observing from the alley entrance saw this terrifying scene and were about to flee, but they were blocked by a Fiendfyre, and Tom's voice also came from the dead-end alley at that moment.
"Uncles and Aunties, I'm so scared, can you stay and keep me company for a while?"
It was clearly a weak and helpless tone, yet it sent shivers down the spines of those Dark Wizards.
"Run!!!"
Someone shouted, and the Dark Wizards, who had been stunned by fear, reacted and were about to Apparate to escape when a green light arrived as expected.
In an instant, their lives were reaped by the Grim Reaper's scythe; not a single one escaped.
Looking at the Dark Wizards fallen all over the ground, Tom condescended to bend down and rummage through their bodies. After a while, he stood up and cursed loudly: "Poor! All of them are poor! With this little money, they still have the nerve to call themselves Dark Wizards, it's simply too shameful."
Tom disdainfully threw the items into an extendable bag, and a Fiendfyre turned them into ash, scattering into the air.
Tom's routine was so practiced it was heartbreaking.
When Tom returned to the main road of Knockturn Alley again, this time no ignorant Dark Wizards jumped out, and Tom smoothly arrived at the largest shop in Knockturn Alley—Borgin and Burkes.
When Tom pushed the door open, Mr. Borgin was sorting goods in a pile of merchandise.
"Not open today. If you want to buy or sell something, come back another day."
Hearing the door open, Mr. Borgin didn't even lift his head and spoke directly to Tom.
"Excuse me, I'm not here to buy or sell anything. I'm here for a job interview."
Upon hearing Tom's reply, Mr. Borgin's hand movements suddenly paused.
This voice sounded so familiar, and these words also sounded so familiar, as if he had heard them decades ago.
Mr. Borgin stood up from the pile of goods, bent over, and came to the counter, pushing aside the greasy hair hanging over his face, carefully scrutinizing the newcomer.
"..."
Mr. Borgin rubbed his eyes uncertainly; he seemed to have seen an old acquaintance.
He looked at the calendar on the counter again. It was indeed 1992. Could it be that he was under a charm?
Still not giving up, he slapped himself hard, but nothing changed.
Mr. Borgin had no choice but to ask Tom in his greasy voice: "Excuse me, what is your name?"
Tom, who had been quietly smiling and watching Mr. Borgin's performance the whole time, politely replied: "You can still call me little Tom."
Upon hearing this expected answer, Mr. Borgin's hanging heart completely died.
Tom took a step forward and politely and appropriately asked again: "Mr. Borgin, what is the result of my job interview?"
"You know, decades ago, I worked here for over ten years, so I'm an old employee. I'm very familiar with the work procedures, and salary and benefits are all negotiable."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Borgin could no longer maintain his composure, falling to the ground and trembling: "Dark Lord!"
Seeing this, Tom quickly helped him up, even carefully dusting off his clothes.
"You were once my boss, you don't need to treat me like this. Do you think I can be re-hired?"
Mr. Borgin felt like his life was over when he heard Tom's words and dared not respond, as in his perception, the person appearing before him now was Lord Voldemort, not the fledgling Tom Riddle from back then.
And when he saw Tom pull out his yew wand and say the next sentence, a warm sensation surged in Mr. Borgin's trousers.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Borgin, can you settle the wages you owed and withheld from me back then now?"