Misha's shadow was even greedier than Misha herself.
She danced with him over and over, absolutely refusing to let go.
It wasn't until the first pale streaks of dawn lit up the horizon that the shadow finally, reluctantly, pulled away from Tom and retreated into her storage room.
Naturally, Tom turned to leave as well.
It was barely daybreak. If he headed back to Hogwarts now and caught some sleep, he'd be right on time for the evening ball.
But before he could even take a step, two figures blocked his path.
"Professor Snape? Professor Dumbledore?" Tom asked, stunned. "Did you two stay up all night with me?"
"Excellent work, Tom," Professor Dumbledore said, patting him on the shoulder and steering him forward. "However, you cannot return to the school just yet. It is far from time to rest. The Ministry of Magic has already contacted me three times. You need to pay them a visit."
Tom paused. "...I have to go too?"
"Of course. You must be the one to provide the Ministry with an explanation. If there are any issues with Misha's shadow in the future, you will have to handle them, or the Ministry will not give you another chance. When it comes to Dark Magic, the Ministry has absolutely zero tolerance."
Snape interjected from the side. "If the day comes when the Ministry decides to move against Misha and her shadow, what will you do?"
Tom looked between the two of them. "Professors, do you want the truth or a lie?"
"The truth will do perfectly, my boy. Do not worry," Dumbledore said, looking at Tom with expectant eyes.
"I'd become the worst Dark Wizard in Britain. I'd tear the entire Ministry to the ground, break the prisoners out of Azkaban, and whip them into hunting down those Ministry bastards for revenge."
Dumbledore pressed further. "Every single person at the Ministry?"
"Every single one. The moment they choose to stand by and stay silent, they've already chosen to stand against me."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Haha, you certainly sound like a Dark Wizard. However, I advise against saying that at the Ministry. You do not quite possess the power to tear them down just yet."
Tom hadn't expected to be stuck at the Ministry for so long. By the time he finally walked out, it was already night.
---
The Minister of Magic had been running his mouth endlessly, constantly throwing around words like "if" and "maybe."
Tom had been so pissed off he'd practically wanted to slap the guy across the face. They had made him stand right in the center of the Ministry like some common criminal.
In that moment, Tom had been furious. He wanted to point right at those bald old Ministry geezers and curse them out.
Just give me a few years! Wait until I graduate from Hogwarts. Wait until Hermione becomes Minister of Magic. I'll tear you all apart from the inside out, and even if I beat someone to death, Hermione will cover for me!
And so, Tom needed to go find Hermione.
It was late. Even though Professor Dumbledore had Apparated him back to the school, the lights in the Great Hall had already been turned off for the ball. Peeves had been floating nearby, jeering and causing a scene, until Tom beat the crap out of him. He ordered the poltergeist to turn the lights back on, threatening to skip all his classes for a week just to repeatedly flush Peeves' head down a toilet if he refused.
Leaping down from the stands, Tom had spotted the girl crying in the corner.
Little Hermione had looked so wronged and miserable that it physically ached to see her.
So, Tom walked over to her.
---
The next day.
Tom finally got a good, comfortable night's sleep.
The Hogwarts holidays had officially begun, making the castle incredibly lively that morning. But as the trains departed one after another, the school would soon become quiet and lonely.
Pitiful, really, like a child needing company.
Hogwarts is just a thousand-year-old kid, too...
"Tom, we're heading out! You sure you don't want to come over to our place to hang out?"
Terry and Li Su had packed their things. Shouldering their heavy bags, they smiled and waved goodbye.
"Nah, pass," Tom yawned. "Just leave the dorm to me. That way, if I bring a girl back, she'll have a place to sleep."
Li Su: "?"
Li Su's neck turned red as he started cursing. "You've crossed a line, Tom! Hermione has her own dorm! Why would she come stay here to keep you company? Plus, she can't even get into the boys' dormitory!"
Terry patted Li Su's shoulder. "Relax. Hermione is going home for the holidays anyway."
"Oh, so Tom's just bluffing again." Li Su sighed in relief. Good. For a second there, I thought Tom and Hermione had actually reached that stage.
"Which means the girl Tom brings back might be someone else entirely," Terry said deadpan. "Did you really think Tom was lying just now? Think about it. Tom never bluffs about stuff like this."
Makes sense!
Li Su hopped onto Tom's bed in three strides, pinning him down. "Spill! Who are you bringing back? Is it Cho Chang?!"
Tom sighed. "If you keep talking nonsense, I'm calling Peeves in here to trash your bed."
Li Su immediately did a kip-up and vaulted off the bed. You don't mess with Peeves.
"Ahem. So, Tom, are you heading home for the holidays?"
"Probably not..."
Li Su looked puzzled. "Didn't you say you had a little sister back home? Are you planning to bring her to the school? No way, the professors would never allow that."
Tom smiled faintly, muttering silently to himself.
You guys have no idea. Just yesterday, Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore were both at the Ministry defending that exact sister.
Even when I was ready to flip the table and start throwing punches, Dumbledore was there calming me down. Tom suspected that if he had actually flipped that table... Dumbledore might have held back, but Snape definitely would have jumped in and started swinging with him.
Sigh. Snape and I really are a pair of tragic... Tom shook his head.
What 'tragic star-crossed lovers'? To hell with that phrase.
Getting out of bed, Tom straightened up, washed his face, and headed out. He was wearing a brand-new scarf.
---
"Hey, Tom."
Hermione, who had been waiting outside for quite a while, patted his shoulder. Her eyes immediately landed on the red scarf wrapped around his neck.
"Looks pretty good on you. Oh, by the way—I'm going home this week, but next week I'm visiting Ron's house. Ron told me his little sister was thrilled to hear my name and really wants to meet me."
Tom nodded. "Alright, got it. Have a great time during the holidays."
Suddenly, Hermione started fidgeting. She avoided looking at Tom's face, coughed twice, and turned around.
Where Tom couldn't see, two bright blushes spread across her cheeks.
"Tom, are you going back to the orphanage for the holidays?"
"Not really sure yet. I've got plenty of time; I'll think about it a bit more."
If I can bring Misha over, maybe I won't have to go back at all...
"I wanted to ask you..." Hermione reached up, hooking a finger through the curly hair by her temple, nervously rubbing the ends.
"Um... do you want to come over to my house?" Her fingers twirled her hair even faster now.
She absolutely refused to look back, terrified Tom would see how embarrassing she was being.
Tom blinked. "...Go to your house?"