Draco's day was incredibly happy.
At least, that's what he told himself.
Even though Professor Snape kept exploding at him—yelling one second here, barking the next there.
But!
His light was right beside him!
And ever since he showed up, Snape had actually eased up on scolding the shadow quite a bit.
Draco felt like he was making a real difference.
If he hadn't been there, Isabelle's mood would've been terrible today.
All thanks to him!
He was sure his performance today had left a lasting impression on her.
In the future, they might very well walk down the aisle together!
That's how it always went in storybooks: the hero and heroine faced all kinds of trials, fell deeply in love, and then—
Draco was already daydreaming about their future life. They'd have an adorable pair of twins.
Just thinking about it made him feel warm and fuzzy.
There was only one small problem—
Draco wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but Isabelle seemed really focused on Tom.
In the twelve conversations they'd had in the Potions lab, every single one somehow circled back to Tom!
Draco figured it was just a little sister's admiration for her amazing big brother.
Totally normal! Perfectly normal!
After all, Isabelle had such an outstanding brother. It was only natural she'd care about him a little!
It was already past midnight by the time Draco finally got home.
He was exhausted when he walked through the door.
Lucius Malfoy was already back, sitting on the long sofa in the living room. The moment he saw Draco, Lucius tapped his cane sharply against the floor and gave a cold snort.
"Where have you been? Why are you back so late?"
"Father, I went to Hogwarts today to ask Professor Snape about Potions. I think I have real talent for it. Maybe one day I could become a Potions Master!"
Becoming a Potions Master wasn't just a fancy title.
A successful Potions Master never lacked for Galleons, fame, or status.
The wizarding world had plenty of talented people, but very few true masters.
If Draco could actually master Potions to the highest level—
Lucius's expression softened a little. He looked his son in the eyes, confirmed he wasn't lying, and gave a small nod.
"Good. You should spend more time on meaningful things like this instead of running around with your little followers. By the way, where's Tom?"
Tom was basically a living landmine for Lucius these days.
He really hoped the boy wouldn't cause any trouble. If anything happened to Tom, Lucius would be in deep water too.
"Tom? He hasn't come back yet?" Draco's heart skipped a beat.
He caught the brief flash of gentleness in his father's eyes—quickly replaced by pure menace.
Oh no. Bad!
Dad's about to blow!
Draco knew exactly how bad things got when his father got angry.
At best, he'd get a beating.
But this didn't feel like a "best case" situation.
The fury in those eyes made Draco's knees feel weak.
"I—I—"
Before Draco could finish, a knock sounded at the door.
Draco hurried over to open it.
Thank Merlin—it was none other than Lucius's biggest headache: Tom Riddle.
Tom stood in the doorway, looking slightly confused at the two of them.
"Draco, Mr. Lucius… you're both still up this late?"
Lucius studied Tom carefully, brows furrowing.
How long had it been since he last saw the boy? One day? Two?
Why did Tom suddenly carry this faint aura of mystery?
It was the kind of presence that only came from touching truly advanced magic.
How did Dumbledore know at a glance that this old man wasn't ordinary?
Because Dumbledore had spent decades crawling through the wizarding world. He'd probably studied more spells than most wizards had even heard of.
He wasn't some useless old codger. He had poured his entire life into magic and earned every bit of his power.
But Tom—last time Lucius saw him, he just seemed like a calm, gifted kid who didn't show off.
Today, there was a faint echo of Dumbledore about him.
"Draco, why can't you learn from Tom? He went somewhere today—why didn't you go with him? A proper noble wizard must learn to set aside his pride and study from those more talented than himself!" Lucius stood up, towering over Draco like a small mountain.
This idiot!
Draco had clearly changed since spending time with Tom—visible improvement.
But it still wasn't enough.
In Lucius's mind, his son needed to work harder, be more diligent, so he could properly inherit the Malfoy family.
He had the time. He had the opportunity. Yet he hadn't stuck with Tom.
If he had followed Tom and done whatever Tom did, today the Malfoy heir would have been exposed to advanced magic too.
Instead of just playing around at Hogwarts!
"Mr. Lucius, it's not Draco's fault. I told him to leave. That place would've been too much for him. He couldn't have stayed."
Lucius pointed straight at Draco's nose. "You need to learn persistence! Why can't you handle even a small difficulty?"
"There was an adult fire dragon right behind Draco. If he'd stayed, he probably would've been eaten," Tom said calmly.
What is this kid talking about?
A fire dragon? Why not say Voldemort was standing behind you forcing you to study, and if you didn't he'd kill you?
Lucius wiped away a bead of sweat, assuming it was just kids joking around so they wouldn't have to tell the truth.
But then he saw the genuine guilt on Draco's face.
Not guilt from lying—guilt from not being strong enough.
He wasn't lying?
There really had been a fire dragon watching them?
Lucius's mouth twitched.
What the hell has this kid been doing?!
"A fire dragon? You're sure? An adult one?"
Draco: "Yes, Father. Adult. Wild fire dragon."
"Then why could Tom stay?"
Tom: "I have plenty of experience handling magical creatures. I can build a good relationship with almost any of them very quickly—even fire dragons. By the way, high-intelligence creatures like dragons only recognize me as a friend. So… Young Master Draco really would've been in danger there."
Hearing Tom defend him, Draco wiped his eyes and sniffled.
Only Tom knows how hard it was for me!
That fire dragon wasn't some cute pet. She really wanted to eat me!
Thank you, Tom.
To repay you, I'll treat your sister really well in the future.
Lucius reached out and patted his son's shoulder firmly.
No need for many words between father and son. That single pat said everything.
You've worked hard.
Accompanying a genius on adventures—maybe it felt like danger to you, but it was probably just another Tuesday for him.
Anyway… you've worked hard.
"Get some rest," Lucius finally managed.
"Mr. Lucius, please wait a moment," Tom called out. "About what I just mentioned—could you please not tell anyone? That fire dragon doesn't like being disturbed. Since she chose to live in seclusion, I want to help protect her privacy.
I don't want anyone bothering her, especially not wizards—she hates them the most."
Lucius nodded. "Everyone has their secrets. I'll keep yours."
"That's great. On the way back I was worried what I'd do if her location ever got exposed. After all, we're friends."
Tom deliberately emphasized the word "friends," smiling faintly at Lucius with his eyes.
But Lucius felt zero warmth—only endless menace.
This kid is terrifying.
Lucius shivered inwardly and quickly headed upstairs.
"Alright, we should rest too." Tom yawned and walked toward the bathroom.
"Tom! Want me to scrub your back?"
Tom: "?"
Young Master Draco, please have some self-respect. How can you say something like that out loud?
"Thanks, but no need."
England is fucking scary.
In the bathroom, Tom stared at his reflection in the mirror.
Sure, he was pretty good-looking. If he had to say, maybe even the most handsome guy in Britain.
But still—Draco's tastes were supposed to be normal!
Didn't he start that whole Hermione Fan Club?
He should be into girls!
How did he end up targeting me?!
After his shower, Tom lay in bed, certain he wouldn't sleep well tonight.
He should probably lock the door.
Just as he started to get up, Draco knocked and pushed the door open after asking if Tom was there.
The light was a little harsh. Draco stood at a careful distance.
A distance that, for Draco, was still within flying-leap range.
Tom sat on the bed, slipping his hand under the covers and gripping his wand tightly.
He swore—if Draco made one wrong move, his wand would slam into the blond's head with a heavy strike.
"Tom!"
Draco really did lunge forward.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Draco froze instantly, completely immobilized.
"I know you can still hear me. Listen, Draco—you're a noble, a pure-blood wizard. When I lift the spell, stay right where you are. Say whatever you need to say, but if you take even one step closer, the next spell won't be this gentle."
Only then did Tom release the Body-Bind Curse.
"What the hell was that for?!" Draco snapped.
"I should be asking you the same thing!"
"I just came to ask about your sister!"
Sister?
Tom tilted his head, blinking at him. "Who?"
"You forgot your own sister? Isabelle! Isabelle Riddle! Isn't she your sister?!"
Oh. The shadow.
"Go ahead. What do you want to know?"
Seeing that Draco wasn't about to confess his undying love, Tom relaxed.
"I wanted to ask what Isabelle likes. What does she enjoy eating? What does she do for fun?
You two are from the same orphanage, right? I saw her at Hogwarts today. I swear, Isabelle is the cutest girl I've ever seen!"
"Not Hermione?"
"No. Hermione is the prettiest. Isabelle is the cutest."
Tom couldn't help but smile. "Isabelle…"
She should be similar to Misha, right? Then whatever Misha liked, Isabelle probably liked too.
"You could try bringing her some books. Isabelle should like reading—regular storybooks, not magic textbooks. Once magic gets involved, the charm changes.
As for food—she really likes sweets. There's a bakery near London King's Cross called Mrs. Sharon's. A young girl runs the counter. Their cakes are Isabelle's favorite."
"Why is it called Mrs. Sharon's if a young girl is running it?"
Tom: "Sharon is her grandmother. The girl is eighteen now. She actually confessed to me not long ago. Too bad I'm still too young. Oh, if you go buy cakes there, say hi for me."
Draco: "Tom, I seriously need to know—are you even human? You're not actually a succubus, are you?"
"What are you talking about?"
Tom ignored Draco's ridiculous comment.
Succubus? Succubi are supposed to be gorgeous, busty beauties. I'm a guy—where's the succubus part?
"As for what she does for fun—she doesn't really have anything specific. But if you have time, bring her a bouquet of flowers. She should really like roses."
Misha loved roses, especially the ones Tom gave her.
Every time she received roses from Tom, she'd put them in a vase and keep them even after they withered.
Thinking of Misha and Isabelle made Tom miss them again.
He wondered how they were doing.
"If you have time, you could stop by the greenhouse."
"No," Draco immediately refused. "I'm not like you. I don't particularly like Professor Sprout. She's a good person, but she's too old."
Tom: "…"
Fine. He'd go visit Misha himself when he had time.
For now, the priority was deciphering those ancient runes on the stone wall!
He was starting to make progress.
The magic carved there was definitely a transportation spell.
And the person who wrote it…
Was at least on the same level as Merlin.
Maybe… even stronger.
If he could master it, he wouldn't have to fear Voldemort anymore.