What would happen between the scammer and Voldemort, Tom had no idea. What the thoroughly duped Dark Lord might do to poor Mr. Gilderoy was probably something only the two of them would ever know.
By now, after confirming that Santa wouldn't pull any more unexpected stunts, everyone had said their goodbyes and headed back to their dorms.
Tom was just about to curl up and get some rest when someone knocked on his door.
"Tom, you in there?"
Hearing Newt's voice outside, Tom—who was already tucked into bed—stiffened. He hesitated for a second, then decided to pretend he was asleep.
At this hour, Newt showing up could only mean trouble.
His plan failed immediately. The door opened, and Newt's annoying face poked through the crack.
Seeing Tom lying stiffly in bed, Newt smiled in relief. "Perfect timing, Tom! Let's head to the Forbidden Forest and check on Norberta, Cosmia, and the others. It's Christmas—I'm sure they'd love to spend it with you."
"They don't know shit about Christmas! I want to sleep, damn it!"
Tom screamed the words internally, but remembering that these creatures were ones he had personally created—and were special—he swallowed the outburst.
Recalling the Christmases he used to spend with Jerry and Spike and the rest of the gang, he sighed and his expression softened.
[Fine. Give me a minute. I'll throw together a Christmas present for them too.]
"Oh, you're right! I should get them something as well."
Newt looked genuinely surprised. These creatures were far more intelligent than ordinary magical beasts. Of course they deserved proper gifts.
"But Tom, do you have any idea what they'd actually want?"
[No clue.]
Tom said it with complete confidence.
[Whatever I give them, they'll like it. I'm basically their old man.]
Newt stared at him in silence for a moment. So this was what it meant to be spoiled and fearless because of it. He kind of wanted to be on the receiving end of that kind of favoritism too.
[By the way, it's this late and you're still here. Won't Mrs. Tina be pissed?]
Tom looked at the old man thoughtfully preparing gifts for magical creatures, curiosity in his eyes.
[Don't tell me you're hoping Dumbledore will cover for you?]
He'd met Tina a few times by now. She was every bit the former Auror—fiery, decisive, and especially unimpressed with Dumbledore, who had dragged Newt into trouble more than once. And Newt? Completely whipped. Tina had him wrapped around her finger.
When she found out Newt had been roped back into Hogwarts by Dumbledore, she had immediately rushed over from Dorset. Even here, she kept finding creative ways to call Dumbledore a heartless old bastard who exploited senior labor.
In her opinion, that old man was just using Newt. There was no way he'd gone through all this trouble just to have him teach.
Honestly, if it weren't for Tom, Tina probably would've dragged Newt home by the ear already.
[Wait a second!]
Tom suddenly had a thought and gave Newt a strange look.
[You're not expecting me to explain things to Mrs. Tina, are you?!]
"Heh heh~"
Newt laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, eyes shifting. But Tom was Tom—he saw straight through the old man's little scheme.
[I knew it! You're exactly like that bastard Dumbledore!]
"Tom, don't say that. We're good friends, aren't we?"
Newt tried to sling an arm around Tom's shoulders, but Tom dodged.
[Hold it. I don't have friends like you.]
He really didn't get how this guy had become a Hufflepuff icon—even Luna's hero. Just because he was a Hufflepuff too? Because of his work with magical creatures?
If they saw this scene, they'd probably start questioning their entire worldview.
In the end, Tom couldn't win against Newt and got dragged along to the Forbidden Forest.
The forest at night was thick with mist, visibility terrible. Even Tom's lighting charm couldn't cut through the fog.
[Maybe we should—]
He was about to suggest heading back when a loud cry rang out. The next second, a massive head shot forward like a missile and slammed straight into Tom's arms.
The impact was brutal. Tom felt his spine crack ominously.
But looking down at the teary-eyed creature in his arms, he swallowed the curse that had been on the tip of his tongue.
[Norberta, can you go a little easier next time?!]
Tom felt helpless. As a baby she'd burned him to ash, and now that she was bigger she was giving him rocket headbutts. Was he cursed to clash with this dragon?
"Chirp—"
Watching Norberta lower her head like a wronged baby, Tom almost laughed in exasperation.
[Quit acting! You're way too old for this cute act. I'm telling you, it's not working!]
Even as he said it, looking into those big, pitiful, blinking eyes, Tom finally gave in and vigorously rubbed her huge head.
[Fine. Just be more careful next time.]
"Chirp!"
Norberta got excited and started nodding vigorously—completely forgetting her head was still in his arms. Tom sighed as he was lifted into the air for an impromptu roller coaster ride. He closed his eyes and comforted himself: Hold it together. This is the dragon you raised. She's just a bit dim. No malice.
After that mental pep talk, Tom barely managed to suppress the urge to find out what dragon tasted like.
"Whinny"
Once his feet were back on solid ground, before Tom could even open his eyes, he felt a warm little something appear in his arms.
Opening his eyes, he was met with the silver-white glow of a unicorn. Cosmia was looking enviously at his arms, where little Stellaris's golden body was nestled against him.
When she noticed Tom looking, the little golden unicorn nuzzled him happily, burrowed deeper into his arms, found a more comfortable position, and promptly fell asleep.
Looking at the two unicorns and the dragon wearing an "I know I messed up" expression, Tom lay back on the ground and gazed up at the stars that had appeared once Norberta cleared the mist.
In that moment, he suddenly thought… this didn't feel so bad.
Nearby, Newt watched the interaction with a mix of envy and deep contentment.
This was exactly why he loved magical creatures—why he preferred their company.
But his good mood didn't last long. When he saw them happily letting Tom put on completely unnecessary decorations while giving his carefully prepared "fur care kit" disdainful looks, Newt felt like he shouldn't even be here.
"Tom, you okay?"
The next day, sitting in the Great Hall enjoying Christmas treats, Ariana looked with concern at Tom, who appeared at the entrance looking completely drained.
He'd been fine when they parted last night. How had one night turned him into this?
[I'm fine, I gwrhrharb—]
Tom's head nodded drowsily. He wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying. All he felt was regret—regret for going with Newt to see Norberta and the others, regret for deciding to lie down and sleep even though it was already dawn when he got back.
After visiting the creatures last night, it had already been dawn. If he'd just stayed up, he might've felt a little better now.
But after convincing himself that "as a cat, missing a bit of sleep should be fine," he'd gone to bed—and now realized he'd been dead wrong. His current state was proof enough.
"Are you sure you're okay? You're starting to talk nonsense."
Looking at the gibberish on Tom's signboard, Ariana was still worried.
[Just a little tired. I'm fine. Probably. Ha—]
Tom patted his own cheeks, trying to force himself awake, and yawned.
"Ha—"
Ariana caught the yawn and looked puzzled. They'd all gone back together. Why was Tom this exhausted? Had he snuck off to do something on his own?
She glanced up at Professor Newt at the head table, who was also yawning nonstop, and suddenly had a thought.
"Don't tell me they spent Christmas working on the Obscurus problem too?!"
Thinking this, Ariana looked at Tom with a mix of heartache and gratitude.
That's so like Tom. Even though he's a total cheat, he still works this hard! She couldn't hold him back.
"Tom—"
[?]
Tom forced his head up and squinted at the suddenly fired-up girl in front of him.
"I won't hold you guys back. Once we're done eating, let's go work on the Obscurus research!"
[?!]
Hearing Ariana's determined words, Tom snapped awake instantly. Sis—fine, I'll call you sis! It's a holiday! Can we not talk about work right now? He really didn't want to work overtime on Christmas.
After Tom's repeated persuasion, Ariana finally dropped the idea.
Feeling the cold sweat on his body, Tom let out a breath of relief. Facing Voldemort had been less stressful than convincing Ariana just now.
"Tom!"
Just then, Harry's excited voice came from nearby. He jogged over. "You really came back?! I thought—"
[Didn't I say I'd stay at school and spend Christmas with you guys? What can I say—you're my friend now too.]
Tom yawned lazily and flopped onto the table, half-dead. He said it, but right now all he wanted was a good nap.
"Really? That's awesome! Thanks! I knew it—you're one of my best friends too!"
He'd almost said Tom was his best friend, but feeling Ron's gaze behind him, Harry quickly added "one of."
[Same here.]
Tom weakly held up his sign, while mentally adding: One of my most loyal ATMs.
Friends were friends, but business was business. Harry's wallet was way more charming than the boy himself.
"Hey, Merry Christmas!"
"Wanna try some Weasley crackers? George and I made these ourselves!"
From behind came Fred and George's voices. They were holding crackers they'd scrounged from all over the Great Hall.
Looking at their expressions, Ron shivered. He knew his brothers well enough—when they looked like that, they were definitely up to no good.
"I'll take one!"
Harry grabbed one, pulled it open, and with a loud bang a sailor hat flew out—along with several very lively white mice.
"I want one too!"
Ariana, excited by the novelty, snatched one from the twins. When she pulled it, out popped a badge shaped like Tom.
"Oh! Tom, look—it's a badge of you!"
Tom turned his head with effort and looked at the excited girl showing off the badge in her hands. He managed a weak smile.
[Yeah, congrats. There are only three cat badges in all these crackers—and I made them myself.]
"Really? Hehe, I'll treasure it!"
"Ron, want one too?"
After Harry and Ariana had pulled decent gifts, George noticed Ron's envious look and grinned as he pulled one out and offered it. "There are even some with Galleons inside~"
At the mention of Galleons, Ron's eyes lit up. He stared suspiciously at the cracker in George's hand, thought for a moment, then grabbed a different one from the pile. "Don't try to trick me. That one in your hand is definitely rigged, right? I'm not falling for it!"
With that, he pulled his own cracker. There was a loud bang, and when the smoke cleared, Ron's hair had exploded into a massive afro.
His face was completely blackened. His hands hung awkwardly in the air. After a long moment, he slowly opened his mouth and puffed out a cloud of white smoke.
"Haha! Look at you!"
Watching his little brother get blown up like that, George laughed loudly and pulled his own cracker. As the smoke cleared, a Galleon appeared in his hand. "I told you that one was the good one. You didn't believe me. Regret it now?"
"You did that on purpose."
Ron glared at his brother through gritted teeth.
"Little Ron, you can't just say things like that!"
"This feeling… isn't so bad."
Watching the twins bicker with Ron and feeling the lively Christmas atmosphere, the corner of Tom's mouth curved upward. Yeah… holidays were supposed to be like this—everyone together, loud and happy.