Tom didn't turn down Dumbledore's kindness. Even though his instincts told him the old man had something else in mind, so what?
He did bring Ariana back from that place called the Mirage Realm. Since he actually put in the work, asking for a little "thank-you gift" wasn't unreasonable at all~
As for whatever hidden agenda Dumbledore might have…
"Heh, who cares? I'll eat the candy coating and toss the cannonball back at him later. (ˉ▽￣～)
Besides, the old guy isn't a bad person at heart. Even if he does want something, it probably won't be too difficult for a cat like me.
And since he did help me a tiny bit, as long as his request isn't too ridiculous, I can grant him a little wish."
So the man and the cat walked down the quiet corridor, each secretly lost in their own thoughts.
"By the way, Tom…"
Once they reached the main hall on the first floor, Dumbledore finally couldn't hold back anymore.
(What is it?)
"Here it comes!"
Tom perked up instantly. Just as he suspected, the old bumblebee had been holding something in all along!
"Please don't let it be something super troublesome… like asking me to find his parents' souls and bring them back. Stuff like that? No way I can do it."
In Tom's mind, if Dumbledore—who was practically starved for family affection—was beating around the bush this long, it could only be something huge… and probably impossible for Tom to do.
Sure, he managed to find Ariana, but that was pure coincidence! He couldn't even explain why eating a piece of chocolate and dying for a moment threw him into the Mirage Realm where Ariana was.
It wasn't like he had been looking for her!
Fortunately, that wasn't what Dumbledore wanted. These days, though he still longed for family, the only regret that truly tormented him was Ariana's death.
As for his parents? After more than a century, the emotions had long faded.
After a moment of hesitation, Dumbledore looked at Tom seriously:
"I hope this isn't too presumptuous… but when you knocked the Sorting Hat's soul out and then put it back in, is that something you can repeat with other living beings? Especially the part where you put the soul back in."
(Huh?? (ﾟ⊿ﾟ)ﾂ)
Tom had already prepared himself to refuse—and even mentally drafted his speech—but Dumbledore's actual question caught him off guard.
"If that's all you wanted, why didn't you just ask earlier?! Why agonize over it?"
Tom didn't really get Dumbledore's thought process, but he still puffed out his chest proudly:
(Of course I can!)
As a comedic side-character with mystery powers he barely understood, he had no idea how many abilities he actually had. Compared to everything else, knocking a soul out or stuffing one back in was practically nothing.
If Voldemort had asked, Tom might've hidden the truth. But with Dumbledore, he didn't feel the need to lie over something so minor.
"Well then…"
Dumbledore continued:
"Does the soul need to have a connection to the body? For example, does it have to be the original body the soul once belonged to?"
Hearing this, Tom gave him a quick look and more or less figured out what Dumbledore was thinking.
He honestly never expected that the man who, in the original timeline, faced his own death so calmly—even planning around it—would make such a choice.
"(￣ω￣) Still, compared to that noseless power outlet, Dumbledore is much easier on the eyes. I guess helping him wouldn't be so bad~"
With that thought, Tom nodded… then shook his head:
(If the soul goes back to its original body, that's ideal. But even if they don't match, it's not a big problem.
As long as the difference isn't too extreme—like stuffing a human soul into an animal, or a male soul into a female body—there won't be major issues.
As for appearance? The soul will gradually reshape the body, making it more and more similar to its original form.)
This wasn't something Tom made up. He didn't know how this world worked specifically, but the knowledge came packaged with his abilities. Whenever he used them, the information surfaced naturally so he wouldn't be left clueless about how to operate them.
"I see…"
Dumbledore's emotions surged like a roller coaster.
When Tom nodded, his heart sank. But after hearing the explanation, it started pounding wildly again.
Not since his falling-out with Grindelwald—back when he locked him away in Nurmengard—had he felt his heart race like this.
Because now he saw hope.
Real hope.
Hope that Ariana could truly live again—not just exist as a ghost.
"But… where do I find a suitable human body…?"
The high faded, and Dumbledore once again sank into silence.
Family meant everything to him—he'd always lived by that principle—but his moral bottom line wasn't something he could break easily.
He couldn't bring himself to sacrifice an innocent person just to revive his sister. He refused.
And he knew that if he told Aberforth about this, Aberforth would track down some random Muggle without hesitation to use as a vessel for Ariana.
But Dumbledore couldn't allow that.
He wouldn't.
If it were possible, he would've gladly exchanged his own life to bring Ariana back. But Tom had already said clearly: Dumbledore's own body couldn't be used.
"Sigh…"
Dumbledore let out a deep breath.
(You're thinking about how to bring Ariana back to life, aren't you?)
Seeing him waver—already preparing to give up—Tom finally asked.
Dumbledore looked at him and didn't say a word. He simply nodded.
He knew full well that the moment he saw Ariana—and saw Tom push a soul into a body—his heart had been thrown into chaos.
The normally composed mind he took pride in had turned to mush. He wasn't thinking about consequences or principles, just how to bring Ariana back.
He hadn't even stopped to consider whether his questions made his intentions obvious.
Now, though he finally knew revival was possible, he also realized he couldn't cross that moral line.
His reason slowly returned, and he tried to push down his emotions:
"You're right. But unfortunately, I can't take someone else's life to bring Ariana back."
(What if you didn't have to take anyone's life?)
"!"
Dumbledore froze, struck as if by lightning. His recently restored calm shattered instantly:
"What do I need to do? Tell me anything."
The words burst out without a moment's hesitation.
(Well… I need materials. A lot of materials.)
Tom's solution was simple: cloning.
If he could create a soulless body for Ariana, she could inhabit it and live again.
Technically, cloning research already existed in this era—but only for animals. Human cloning was far beyond them.
But so what?
Just because the world's technology wasn't ready didn't mean Tom wasn't.
His inventing abilities weren't as insane as certain cartoon wolves, but as long as he understood the principles and knew the goal, building a cloning machine by hand wasn't hard.
Of course, there was a challenge: he didn't have the materials.
"But since I'm helping Dumbledore resurrect someone, he should be the one paying for the supplies!"
"I'll handle it."
As expected, the moment Tom mentioned materials, Dumbledore took the entire burden onto himself without hesitation.
But before Tom could list out the specifics, Dumbledore stopped walking:
"We'll discuss the details later. For now, let me show you how to get back to your dorm."
At some point, without noticing, they'd already reached the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.
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