— — — — — —
Tom was starting to realize his popularity had gotten a little out of hand.
He had only just received Dumbledore's invitation and hadn't even gone to meet him yet when after class, a beautiful ghost dropped in.
"Midnight. The observatory. I'll be waiting."
Leaving only that line, Grey Lady drifted straight through Tom's body and glided off.
Daphne's expression turned instantly strange. She'd heard it too: midnight, rooftop, one boy, one girl...
"Tom… you and Grey Lady …?" Daphne hesitated, but still asked.
To avoid being mistaken, Tom decided to give her a little context. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, "I inherited Lady Ravenclaw's legacy. Sort of like becoming her disciple. Grey Lady is…"
Daphne's big eyes widened into perfect circles. She looked adorable like that.
The news had completely shocked her.
Tom, however, was confused. "Didn't I tell you about Helena's story before?"
Daphne answered naturally, "I have to remember so many things every day. Forgetting one or two is totally reasonable."
Tom was speechless… but he had to admit, she had a point.
"So… can I come with you tonight?" The little stars sparkling in her eyes said everything. She clearly wanted the gossip.
Tom shook his head. "If it were just me, I'd say yes. But this involves Helena's privacy, so… better not."
"Oh." The little witch pouted, though her mood bounced back quickly when Tom promised to take her boating on the Black Lake that weekend.
---
After Herbology, Tom dropped off his shovel and bucket by the classroom door, then split from the other students and took a shortcut. A quick ride on the moving staircase brought him to the seventh floor.
"Hi, Riddle kid." Gargoyle brightened immediately at the sight of Tom.
Instead of stepping aside to let him in, it started chatting. "How was your holiday?"
Tom thought for a moment. "Pretty exciting. I went to pick a fight. And I won."
"A fight?" Gargoyle perked up, then grumbled, "Why didn't you take me? Dumbledore says I only get time off during summer, but this wouldn't be a vacation. I'd be protecting a student of Hogwarts. He'd definitely approve."
"You're overthinking it." Tom couldn't help laughing. "Professor wasn't exactly thrilled about what I did. He didn't find out until everything was over. Otherwise, I doubt I'd have been allowed to leave Britain at all."
"Sigh. Dumbledore is still too soft. He's nothing like Godric… Wait."
The stone gargoyle narrowed its eyes. "Riddle kid, I didn't notice at first, but now there's this… Ravenclaw scent on you."
Tom blinked. "You can smell things?"
"Of course not." The gargoyle rolled its eyes. "It's something I learned from you humans. What do you call it… a figure of speech. A metaphor. You get that, right?"
"Sure." Tom lifted his shoulders in defeat. "You're smarter than I thought. As for this Ravenclaw aura, I don't quite get it. I did think I'd be a good fit for Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat apparently disagreed."
He really hadn't expected the gargoyle to notice such subtle changes.
Then again, it made sense. The creature was one of the few things in the school that had actually interacted with the four Founders.
"You can forget about it." Gargoyle snorted. "Even if you smell like Ravenclaw, you're still a greedy raven stuffed full of Slytherin ambition. Slytherin suits you better."
Tom flipped it off and motioned for the guardian to move aside.
Climbing the rotating stair, he reached the headmaster's office. The door opened on its own. A table full of food was already laid out.
"Tom..."
The old headmaster smiled as Tom took a seat across from him, though his mind was still mulling over what he had overheard between Tom and the gargoyle.
Ever since Grey Lady had begun treating Tom with unusual respect, he'd wondered whether the boy had some hidden connection to Ravenclaw. If Slytherin could leave a Chamber behind, the other Founders surely had their own ways of leaving legacies.
Now, with even the gargoyle remarking on it, his vague suspicion felt much closer to certainty.
But Dumbledore said nothing, keeping the thought to himself.
Tom grinned and teased, "Professor, this is quite the feast."
A single glance told him the dishes were specially prepared, not the usual fare brought straight from the kitchen. The fancier the setup, the more cautious Tom became. The last thing he wanted was to walk into a trap disguised as a dinner invitation.
"As headmaster, I do enjoy a few privileges."
Dumbledore brushed off the teasing and shared a small secret: the headmaster had a personal house-elf who handled his meals and daily needs. Not even McGonagall had that sort of perk.
Tom supposed this was his chance to enjoy a taste of the headmaster's life.
He was already here. Whatever Dumbledore wanted to talk about later, skipping a free meal would only make things worse. So he picked up what he called a sausage pie and took a hearty bite.
"Sausage pie" was just his own name for it. The dish was officially called "Toad in the Hole," which really just meant a sausage baked inside Yorkshire pudding. It sounded crude, but tasted pretty good, even by Tom's picky standards.
"...Hmm." Compared to his straightforward approach, Dumbledore ate with careful grace, slowly cutting his roast as if he had invited Tom simply to share a quiet meal.
But when Tom reached the little dish of olives served as a finishing fruit, Dumbledore finally broke.
"Tom… I still have the Slytherin locket. It hasn't been destroyed."
Ah. Here it was.
Tom popped the last olive into his mouth, leaned back slightly, and showed just the right amount of confusion. "Not destroyed? Did something go wrong?"
Then, helpfully, he added, "Want me to try? I'm decent with Fiendfyre."
"Thank you, Tom."
Dumbledore shook his head. He brushed his fingers across a silver device at his side, releasing a steady stream of silvery mist that quickly erased the lingering smell of food.
"The truth is… I've been considering other options. Ways to eliminate Voldemort's soul fragment without damaging the artifact itself. Every relic of the Founders carries deep significance. I can't let one man's wickedness taint them."
"Oh, that's what this is." Tom nodded with a look of realization, though inwardly he snorted, 'So it's not about preserving the locket… it's about protecting Harry.'
Dumbledore had already suspected Harry and Voldemort were connected. At first, when he couldn't understand how Voldemort had survived the Killing Curse, he hadn't taken that thought far. But after obtaining the diary and confirming Voldemort had used Horcruxes to achieve pseudo-immortality, everything clicked into place.
Tom was almost certain Dumbledore had begun to suspect Harry was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and was quietly searching for a way to remove the fragment without harming the boy.
"So… why tell me all this?" Tom asked.
"According to Nicolas," Dumbledore said openly, "you possess a method of extracting spiritual essence. I'm very interested in that concept. If spirituality can be separated… what about the soul itself? I'd like to ask you about the process. And in return, you may ask me for anything."
"Can I be the headmaster?" Tom asked, testing him.
Dumbledore's warm smile froze. After a strained moment, he managed a weak laugh. "Tom… isn't that a bit early? Though I'm glad you care so much about Hogwarts."
No, Tom just wanted to be headmaster so he could overhaul everything and rake in academic credits.
Dumbledore felt a pang of misery. He had expected Tom to ask for something outrageous. The boy wasn't a normal student, so his demands probably wouldn't be small.
But this outrageous?
'I'm not even dead yet. Do you really need to start planning a coup already?'
"Tom… maybe choose something I can actually grant," Dumbledore said helplessly.
"Then I'll save it for later."
Tom decided Dumbledore didn't really have anything he needed right now. Better to keep the favor as leverage and let the old man stew in discomfort.
Dumbledore knew the feeling of owing someone was unpleasant, but there was nothing he could do. Just like Snape, he had fallen into the same situation. The upper hand was in Tom's pocket.
Tom cheerfully wrote down the extraction method without holding anything back.
He had never been one to hide useful knowledge. If Dumbledore could develop something interesting from it, he'd benefit too.
Dumbledore smiled with real relief as he read the parchment.
Things had gone even more smoothly than he had imagined.
Tom really was a good kid, trusting him so readily.
His gaze on the boy softened even more. Compared to Voldemort's polished, fake perfection as a student, Tom was a far better version. Yes, Tom caused trouble now and then… and each time it was big trouble… but still.
"Professor, if there's nothing else, I'll get going."
Seeing he was almost late for class, Tom stood, excused himself, conjured a toothpick, and casually walked out of the office cleaning his teeth.
Since Dumbledore had begun serious research into Horcruxes, it was time for Tom to make his move too.
If he delayed any longer, Ravenclaw would definitely complain. And he wanted to use the diadem to push his approval value to fifty.
Being possessed by a legendary witch would definitely be an unforgettable experience.
.
.
.