— — — — — —
The Graves family's defense system wasn't exactly brilliant. The entire attack had been classified as a natural weather phenomenon, so the wards didn't sound any sort of warning at all.
Only when the protective barrier finally shattered did the people in the manor receive an alert. One after another, they rushed outside.
The moment they stepped out, everyone shivered, then sucked in a sharp breath. A few nearly froze their teeth off.
Why was it so cold?
Only after finishing that entire sequence of "standard novel reactions" did they finally see the figure standing in the swirling snowstorm.
"Who are you!"
A wizard drew his wand, watching the stranger with suspicion. He had originally thought the family's magic array was malfunctioning, but the unnatural weather and this sudden intruder made it clear things weren't that simple.
Tom walked out of the storm. Only then did the Graves family members realize that the one who'd broken into their manor… was just a teenager.
"..."
Tom swept his gaze over them. There were only a bit more than ten people present, and none of them were his main target. So he asked, "Where's Robert Graves?"
"I'm Benjamin Graves, Robert's brother," said the wizard who'd spoken earlier. "Who are you? If you don't identify yourself right now, I'll act."
"I know him... He's Tom Riddle!"
An angry voice came from the back of the crowd. Frank pushed his way to Benjamin's side, gritting his teeth. "He's the one who hit me and attacked my uncle!"
Tom Riddle?
In an instant, every Graves family member looked at Tom with hostility.
"Riddle, Robert's out on assignment. If you want to see him, leave a way to contact you. When he gets back, I'll let him know immediately."
Benjamin held back his impatient family members. He wasn't stupid. On the contrary, he was the sharpest mind in the Graves family. And he knew Tom wasn't stupid either. If someone dared to swagger straight into their manor, he had to have something solid to rely on.
Either overwhelming personal power, or someone dangerous waiting in the shadows.
Benjamin scanned the surroundings, hoping to find some trace of accomplices, but the ground was covered in pristine snow. Nothing looked unusual.
"It's fine," Tom said, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter if Robert's not here. You all will do."
With that, he flicked his hand. The wooden sign stuck at the gate suddenly expanded in size until everyone could clearly see the words written on it.
"What?!"
"How dare he!"
"The bastard's insulting the Graves family!"
The Graves family exploded with fury. Every wand was drawn, and the moment Benjamin gave the order, they were ready to hurl the nastiest curses they knew straight at Tom.
"Yeah, I came here today to cause trouble. So... you can fight me one at a time or all at once, I don't mind."
Tom opened the case in his hand and flung handfuls of white gloves at the gathered wizards. With his magic control, each slap of fabric landing on someone's face stung like a smack.
The Graves family froze. What the hell just happened? And why did he have so many white gloves on him?
A flash of viciousness passed through Benjamin's eyes. The calm he'd been desperately maintaining was almost completely gone thanks to Tom's bare-faced provocation.
"Riddle, you used magic just now, didn't you? You violated the Statute of Secrecy. Even if you're a British wizard, this is American territory. I'll have you tried by the MACUSA."
"Stupefy!"
Once he decided to act, he didn't bother with fairness or decorum. No warnings, no hesitation. The spell he'd been quietly building up shot forward at top speed.
Tom lifted a hand and caught the spell's red arc in his palm. He closed his fingers, and the spell dissipated instantly.
"That's impossible!" Benjamin stared, eyes wide. He wondered whether he'd somehow botched the casting, but it was just a Stunning Spell. A third-year student couldn't mess that up.
"Uncle, what are you doing? Let me!"
Frank shot Benjamin a look full of disappointment. Couldn't even cast a proper Stunner. Brains were probably the only useful thing this uncle had.
"B'm—BAH—da… MAKSMA—!"(Bombarda Maxima)
Frank roared out something that barely qualified as a spell, a furious jumble of syllables that sounded more like he was cursing than casting.
No one in the Graves family hated Tom more than Frank. He had once been the family prodigy, the model elite wizard, but that reputation had been utterly destroyed the day Tom pinned him to a wall. Back at Hogwarts, with Dumbledore and the professors around, he hadn't dared to do anything, no matter how badly he wanted to kill Tom.
But now he had finally found his chance.
He didn't really need to kill Tom, just capture him and hand him to the authorities. After that, Tom could disappear from the world without a sound.
"Frank… I'm really amazed you managed to… launch the spell." Tom smiled, looking a little curious.
In front of the Graves family, the same scene played out again. The same hand. The same casual gesture, grinding the spell like it was nothing.
This time, the Graves finally realized something was wrong.
But Tom had already made his move. With a light tap of his foot, he vanished from where he stood.
A long afterimage trailed behind him as he shot toward Benjamin.
And somehow, a brick appeared in his hand, which Tom smashed straight into Benjamin's skull.
Crack.
The brick shattered. Blood ran down Benjamin's face as his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
"Uncle!" Frank's expression twisted in horror. Tom turned and kicked him. Hard.
Craaack
Frank's leg bent at an impossible angle. He fell to the ground screaming as his wand flew from his hand.
Tom caught the wand, snapped it cleanly in two with a light squeeze, and tossed the pieces aside.
"All of us, together! Attack this kid!"
An elderly witch finally snapped everyone out of their panic. The remaining Graves wizards hurried to aim their wands at Tom, and spells filled the air in a chaotic barrage. Tom didn't dodge a single one. He walked straight through the rain of magic toward the nearest wizard.
Among the twelve trials Tom had completed, the "Freak Body*" trait he gained from the three-headed dog, Fluffy, looked plain and unimpressive at first. In truth, it was terrifyingly powerful. Not only did it give him passive resistance, it could actively boost his defense with magic. It had quietly become one of his trump cards. (* from Ch 110.)
Tom had tested his body limits in his study space. With full magical reinforcement, normal spells didn't even sting unless they were extremely dark magic or the Killing Curse itself.
Grindelwald had tested him several times before finally shaking his head in disbelief.
He and Dumbledore could reshape landscapes and alter the skies, yet they were still made of flesh and bone. Meanwhile, Tom had somehow become a walking tank.
How did this kid end up with every blessing the universe had to offer?
---
Now, as for the Graves family…
Screams rang out one after another. Tom moved methodically, taking opponents down one by one, knocking them unconscious or breaking limbs with effortless precision.
But the finishing touch never changed. He broke their wands.
A wizard's wand was practically an external organ. The longer they'd bonded with it, the better it fit them. Many who were forced to replace a wand saw their magic fall apart, some never recovering.
Tom wasn't killing them. He was cutting into their very core.
That idea came from Grindelwald.
...
After losing half their people, the remaining Graves wizards finally panicked. They tried to Apparate to the nearest MACUSA outpost for help.
"Usaki."
Tom stomped lightly, crushing the old witch's hand, and called to the sky.
A piercing roar split the air. A massive black Rayquaza tore through the clouds, then unleashed a blast of dragonfire at the ground. Two wizards attempting to Apparate were knocked out of their spell mid-cast, tumbling helplessly into the snow.
"Didn't you see the sign? Wait… I need to change it... something more insulting."
The massive wooden sign changed to:
{Graves are worse than pigs, worthless, and not allowed to leave.}
{P.S.: Sorry, pigs—didn't mean to insult you by putting your names next to the Graves.}
...
Tom kept beating the Graves.
With Rayquaza suppressing the skies, the Graves had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. They could only watch helplessly as Tom waded through their attacks, taking them down and snapping their wands one by one.
"Riddle! Robert will never let this go! MACUSA won't let you go either!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
The last wizard still standing finally snapped. He hurled the Killing Curse at Tom. For the first time, Tom sidestepped instead of tanking it. The green light streaked past him and struck another Graves family member.
The caster's eyes went wide with horror.
"Noooo!"
His mind collapsed. Not only had he failed to kill Tom, he had killed his own aunt.
Tom sighed. "You're having a rough day. Let me put you out of your misery."
He walked up to the man, grabbed him by the throat, and squeezed.
Crack
Tom did have principles. As long as no one used an Unforgivable Curse, he didn't kill. But the moment someone dared to cast one, he didn't hold back.
He tossed the man's corpse aside like a piece of trash. Then he looked up at the fourth floor of the manor. An elderly man with silver hair stood there, staring back at him.
Their eyes met across the distance.
Tom smiled, then walked into the castle, all the way to a large bedroom door. He pushed it open.
The room was huge, easily over two hundred square meters. Inside were the white-haired elder and three trembling young wizards.
Tom glanced at the trio hiding behind a side door, then focused on the old man. He smiled politely and said, "Hello. I'm Tom. Tom Riddle."
The old man's expression didn't shift, not even after losing two family members moments ago. When Tom introduced himself, the man nodded lightly.
"I am Percival Graves."
Tom's smile widened.
Well now. A familiar name.
.
.
.