One crisp morning, Tom showed up in the Transfiguration classroom right on schedule at 8:45, like some kind of reliably respawning NPC.
"Tom, you seem to be in a really good mood today," Li Su commented.
Of course Tom was in a good mood—he was about to get a "vacation" real soon.
Just thinking about someone else handling his mountain of piled-up homework made him grin inside.
"Huh, does Professor McGonagall look a little off today?" Tom noticed something weird. He glanced over at the Gryffindor hourglass and saw a ton of rubies missing. "Whoa, what did Gryffindor do to lose that many points?"
Li Su cleared his throat and leaned in to whisper in Tom's ear. "You didn't hear this from me, okay? Word is, last night Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Malfoy all got caught wandering the school after hours.
"You know how serious it is to get busted for being out at night. Apparently, tonight they're heading into the Forbidden Forest to look for unicorns—as punishment."
Tom froze. "The Forbidden Forest? What time tonight?"
Li Su shook his head. "Not sure on the exact time—probably around midnight or so."
Midnight had always been the switching point.
If they crossed midnight out there... wouldn't that mean Hermione might end up collapsing in the forest and not waking up?
"Tom, don't worry too much about Hermione. Look at you—your face just went pale. Relax, your friend's got Hagrid with them. They won't run into any real danger."
Yeah, no real danger... except for running into a noseless Voldemort.
Tom swallowed hard. "They really know how to keep things exciting."
Why couldn't they just behave—like him?
(Of course, Tom didn't mean following the school rules. If anyone actually tallied up his infractions, he'd have deducted a fortune from Ravenclaw by now.
The thing is, Tom had way too many big shots covering for him!
Even if the sky fell, Professor Snape would hold it up for him. That man was basically godfather material!
Hermione, on the other hand, had picked Professor McGonagall as her backup.
Everybody knew McGonagall was the ultimate stickler for rules—the tallest mountain in the rulebook world!
If Hermione wanted to bend the rules under McGonagall's watch, she'd have to wait a long, long time.)
...
"Severus." Dumbledore took the unusual step of seeking out Snape first. "What are your thoughts?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Dumbledore smiled gently. "Yesterday, you and Tom visited the St. Radia Orphanage together, didn't you? What did you see there?"
Snape sneered. "A bunch of stupid Muggles. Nothing worth mentioning."
(101 Book—For books, head to 101 Book Net, 101kks.com—super complete, all hand-typed, no errors site.)
But one Muggle had stuck in his mind... no, she wasn't a Muggle.
Misha.
A young girl with no last name, dressed in ridiculous hand-me-downs, playfully begging Tom for Halloween candy but too shy to ask Snape himself.
It seemed like the only name in Misha's world was Tom Riddle.
She gave Tom her best-baked cookies, slipped the biggest piece of fish into his bowl, and kept only the tiniest bit for herself.
"We've always believed Harry is the savior of this era—that the Dark Lord will one day return, and only Harry can set things right... Severus, you know why.
"A prophecy. We've been chained by a single prophecy. Even I made that mistake. Perhaps—just perhaps—there are many children in this world we've overlooked.
"Tom has 'love' too. The love Misha gives him—is it any less? She hands him the very best of everything, smiles as she says goodbye and promises 'see you next time,' then cries alone in her room for three hours.
"Maybe Tom is another card up our sleeve. If Harry is the open ace, then Tom is the hidden one. What do you think, Severus?"
Snape stayed silent, gripping his quill so tightly his knuckles went white. "Albus, you're the headmaster of Hogwarts. You're the greatest and most powerful white wizard in the world. You already know the answer."
"I'm not." Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm old. I'm just an old man now, you understand? One day I'll leave these children behind—I can't walk the whole road with them.
"The Dark Lord is powerful and ambitious. None of us can guarantee Harry and the others will be ready before he returns. I need you, Severus. You understand how Tom feels.
"Be his godfather, Severus."
Crack!
Snape snapped the quill clean in half. He looked up, genuinely baffled. "Albus, that's not like you at all. And I am not becoming godfather to some foolish boy!"
"Tom likes you, doesn't he? Don't you think he's a good kid? Becoming his godfather could be a kind of redemption for you. You're the most suitable person."
"Absolutely not!" Snape bit out each word. "You're the one who should be his godfather. You could guide him—Tom would master all your magic in a single week!"
Dumbledore said nothing, just kept smiling at Snape.
"Albus!"
"Severus, listen. One day the Dark Lord will return. What do you think will happen then? He'll definitely go after Tom. Do you believe Tom... could survive that?"
"That's none of my concern!" Snape snapped—rarely ever losing his temper like this.
"Oh? Then imagine this: Tom dies right in front of you, and you, Severus—you somehow survive. Could you live with that? Watching it happen again, just like with Lily—could you accept it a second time?!?"
"Albus, you're going too far..."
"Severus, look me in the eye and answer me! Don't run from it!
"If you watched Tom die right there in front of you—could you still act like today, pretending his life or death has nothing to do with you?!?"
Snape fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally spoke. "He won't die."
...
Tom couldn't shake the feeling that Snape had something he wanted to say today.
Tom decided to take a risk—he quietly tried Legilimency on Professor Snape.
The result was predictable: Tom got kicked across the room.
The old Tom never would've dared, but the current Tom figured his relationship with Snape was solid enough now.
That night, Tom drank the magical energy potion Snape had given him and lay in bed waiting for sleep.
...
Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Forest.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and Hagrid had already been waiting for a while.
The forest at night was creepy as ever. Hermione kept flashing back to bad memories.
She kept checking her pocket watch, the hands creeping forward, and all she could do was silently pray this punishment would end quickly.
"Hermione, that's the fourth time you've checked your watch tonight," Ron whispered curiously. "You got somewhere else to be?"
"Um..." Hermione mumbled vaguely. "I just hate this place."
"Cheer up, kids," Hagrid said, steady as a rock. "This is just a little punishment. You'll face way tougher stuff on the wizarding path ahead.
"No real danger tonight—we're just looking for unicorns."
"We should split up. Uh... Hermione, you're with Malfoy. Ron, you're with Harry. Remember the signal spark colors?"
"Got it."
The clock kept ticking. In the blink of an eye, only five minutes remained until midnight.
And they hadn't even started moving yet.
"Granger, try not to scream and faint in a minute," Malfoy taunted.
"Maybe the one who wets himself will be you. You were just begging Hagrid to bring Fang along. A coward like you wandering the forest alone should probably pack an extra pair of pants—no spares if you soil yourself."
"Shut it, you—!"
Hermione and Malfoy had only just split off from Hagrid when something rustled in the shadows nearby—like they were being watched.
"Ahh—!" Malfoy let out a high-pitched shriek, his voice cracking from pure terror.
Hermione's reaction was even more dramatic...
Thud!
Without warning, she face-planted straight into the dirt.
"Granger! Hey, Granger!" Malfoy froze, not sure whether to run forward or back.
Should he bolt?
He hesitated for a second, then reached down to haul Hermione up so they could escape together—but the girl on the ground suddenly snapped her eyes open.
Any trace of fear was gone, replaced by calm confidence.
"Hermione" stood up, rubbing her temple.
"Hermione, what happened to you?"
Draco?
Tom took a second to process—he was paired with Malfoy tonight?
He cleared his throat and waved it off. "Nothing, just low blood sugar."
He looked up. The shadowy figure had stepped right in front of them.
...
Back in the Ravenclaw dormitory.
Hermione bolted upright in bed, finding two people standing beside her.
One was Professor Snape, the other Professor Dumbledore.
"Tom, get up," Snape said curtly—he never wasted words.
"Professor Snape..."
Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Easy now. You're safe, child. Come with us—but tonight's events stay secret between us, all right?"
Where were they going?
Hermione followed them out.
They headed to... the other restricted area!
The Restricted Section of the library!
In a secluded room, she saw a mirror on the floor, draped in black cloth.
"This is the Mirror of Erised, child. It shows you your heart's deepest desire. Severus, let's give Tom some space.
"Oh, and Tom—tomorrow you can bring Hermione here to look in the mirror too. If you're willing to share what you see, that would be wonderful."
"I will, Professor," Hermione replied.
Once the two professors left, Hermione stepped forward and pulled the black cloth away with trembling hands.