After Tom finished shouting, he stared blankly as the passage closed, unsure when they would meet again.
"When did you become so emotional?"
Cassandra watched the passage close with Tom, then suddenly asked.
"Love is the greatest magic in the world, and witnessing this scene truly makes one unable to remain indifferent."
Listening to this Dumbledore-esque speech, Grindelwald had a bad feeling, and sure enough, the next second Tom asked him, "What do you think, Professor Lockhart?"
What does he think? With his eyes, of course. Tom Riddle truly is annoying.
Grindelwald suddenly wondered if his departure from Nurmengard was a mistake. Perhaps staying inside would have granted him some peace and quiet.
Grindelwald ignored Tom and prepared to leave directly, but he suddenly stopped when he passed by Cassandra.
"Cherish Ravenclaw's gift."
After speaking, he left the Ravenclaw common room directly.
"Huh? What does Professor Lockhart mean?"
Cassandra looked to Tom for help.
Unfortunately, facing Cassandra's pleading gaze, Tom transformed into a chatterbox this time: "Lady Ravenclaw is truly too much. I did everything, so why did you get all the benefits in the end?"
"Is it because you're pretty? But I'm also very handsome, so maybe she doesn't like my type."
"Or perhaps she thinks you're the weakest, and Professor Lockhart and I don't need it, so she gave you special treatment?"
Cassandra listened to Tom ramble on for a long time without a single point and grew anxious.
"So, what exactly is the gift bestowed by Lady Rowena Ravenclaw?"
"Perhaps you'll know when you wake up, but we need to leave now. The feast is almost over, and I don't want to be mistaken for a pervert who sneaks into the girls' dormitory by the Ravenclaw students."
With that, he took the diadem from the statue, threw it into his storage space, and then, without explanation, dragged the still-stunned Cassandra and fled quickly.
As compensation for missing the Halloween feast, Tom specifically took Cassandra to his favorite Hufflepuff—the kitchen next door—to enjoy a grand meal.
However, faced with the delicious food before her, Cassandra had no appetite, her mind consumed with what Ravenclaw's gift could be.
"I hate riddlers the most!"
That night, Cassandra had a rare bout of insomnia.
"Cassandra, are you alright? You and Tom didn't even attend the feast yesterday, and I heard something happened in Ravenclaw. Do you know what happened?"
The next morning, Pansy looked at the tired Cassandra and asked with concern.
"I'm fine, Pansy, I just didn't sleep well last night. As for Ravenclaw, The Grey Lady seems to have embarked on a new journey. I haven't figured out the specifics either, so you might as well ask Tom."
After bidding Pansy farewell, Cassandra washed, ate, and went to school as usual, everything so normal it couldn't be more normal, just like any ordinary day.
"So, what exactly is Lady Ravenclaw's gift?"
Still uneasy, she even went to the Hospital Wing to have Madam Pomfrey give her a thorough physical examination.
"Miss Warre, aside from some lack of sleep, your body is very healthy."
After Madam Pomfrey's examination gave a clear answer, Cassandra was almost frantic. The unknown always brings fear, and now, the two riddlers, Tom and Grindelwald, had left her completely devoid of any joy from Ravenclaw's gift; she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Professor Lockhart, what exactly is Ravenclaw's gift?"
When she encountered the Grindelwald-as-Lockhart version standing with Dumbledore in the corridor again, Cassandra stopped them immediately.
"Professor Lockhart, what was the Ravenclaw gift you mentioned yesterday?"
"Miss Warre, I believe there's a more suitable person to answer you. Why not ask Tom?"
"Ah, so the power on Miss Warre comes from Lady Ravenclaw. That's wonderful. I hope Miss Warre can make good use of it." Dumbledore looked at Cassandra for a while, then said with a smile.
"Also, how are you getting along with Tom?"
'Why are they all like this? Now even Principal Dumbledore is like this, and I never noticed Principal Dumbledore was so gossipy before. Are riddles and gossip standard for becoming a big shot?'
Cassandra's inner groundhog was roaring, and she was barely able to maintain her composure.
Just as Dumbledore wanted to continue gossiping, Cassandra quickly fled in a hurry.
Facing these powerful figures, her cultivation was truly too shallow.
If Tom were present, he might have said, "Oh, Principal, what new type of play are you doing in the corridor? There are many people here, so be mindful of your image, or if you get caught, it would greatly damage Hogwarts's reputation."
When Cassandra saw Tom again, before she could speak, she heard Tom preemptively say, "Oh, why are you still wandering around here?"
"?" Cassandra was full of questions. "Why can't I be here?"
"You should be reading in the library, asking Professors for guidance, practicing magic in the Room of Requirement, not wasting time here."
"I'm not Hermione!"
Cassandra was furious. What were they all doing?
"Don't you like it? Then why don't you go find out who the Hogwarts students like, who they dislike, who they have crushes on, who are friends with whom, and who are enemies with whom, as well as their hobbies and dislikes? When you know everyone's relationships and personal information in the Castle inside and out, then you will be the Queen of Hogwarts."
"What do you think of my suggestion?"
"Not good at all! I just want to know what Ravenclaw's gift is right now!"
Seeing signs of Cassandra's impending outburst, Tom simply replied, "The gift has already begun, didn't you know?" and then leisurely departed.
"What am I supposed to know?"
That night, Cassandra was once again kept awake by the riddlers.
"Cassandra, are you alright? You and Tom didn't even attend the feast yesterday, and I heard something happened in Ravenclaw. Do you know what happened?"
"I'm fine, Pansy, I just didn't sleep well last night. As for Ravenclaw, The Grey Lady seems to have embarked on a new journey. I haven't figured out the specifics either, so you might as well ask Tom."
The next morning, the sleep-deprived Cassandra mumbled a response to Pansy, but after she finished speaking, she suddenly became wide awake.
The same conversation, in the same place, with the same person, had happened once yesterday.
This time, Cassandra probably guessed what Ravenclaw's gift was.
The loop has begun!