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The next morning, Tom woke up with a yawn.
He hadn't slept well at all. He'd been splitting his attention in two—researching in the meditation room while also telling Astoria a bedtime story.
Both Greengrass sisters had trouble sleeping. Astoria had even complained that Daphne tossed and turned too much, making it impossible for her to rest. And yet, she wasn't much better herself—she'd clung to him and dragged the story out for half the night.
After washing up, Tom got dressed and stepped out of his pocket world, shrinking it into a card and slipping it into his pocket before leaving the Room of Requirement.
Trelawney's prophecy really didn't bother him in the slightest.
Whatever Voldemort wanted to do was a problem for the future.
Right now, there were far too many people in the world who could stop him. With Voldemort's current strength, shaking the entire world was out of the question—he'd be lucky to even stir up all of Europe.
So instead of worrying, Tom actually felt a flicker of anticipation.
He hoped Voldemort would exceed expectations. That would make things interesting—and maybe drag a few more secrets out into the open.
"Mr. Riddle, I've been waiting for you for quite a while."
A faintly aggrieved female voice broke his train of thought.
Hozumi Kamio stood quietly at the entrance to the Great Hall.
Her simple kimono was embroidered with delicate cherry blossoms, the hem falling softly and outlining her slender waist. Passing boys couldn't help sneaking glances at her elegant profile.
Tom glanced at her, then casually pointed to a secluded classroom behind him and walked in first.
A flash of delight passed through Hozumi's eyes as she hurried after him.
"Let's get one thing straight—today, you are not touching my tail!"
She stepped inside, locked the door in one smooth motion, then immediately backed away, arms crossed tightly over her chest. She refused to take even half a step forward, staring at Tom warily like a startled little animal.
Tom couldn't help but laugh.
This little fox—locking the door and still acting like she was ready to bolt at any moment. She was so clumsy she barely seemed like a fox at all.
If you're planning to run, why bother locking the door?
"Hozumi-chan, if you don't want to talk, you can leave right now."
Tom walked toward her step by step. With nowhere left to retreat, she pressed herself against the door, watching helplessly as he drew closer.
Pop~
Three fluffy, golden tails burst out behind her, completely out of her control.
"Heh..." The teasing smile on Tom's face deepened. He hadn't even activated any of his bloodline power just now.
This was entirely her own reaction.
"What… did you just trigger it?"
Hozumi's face instantly flushed bright red, her cheeks turning pink, the tips of her ears burning hot—so embarrassed she looked like she might start bleeding.
She hurriedly reached back to push her tails down, but they refused to listen, stubbornly refusing to disappear.
She had no idea what was going on!
She used to have perfect control over them. Now they simply wouldn't obey—she couldn't hide them no matter how hard she tried.
"D-don't touch…" The little fox's eyes grew watery as she pleaded, her voice trembling. "Even if I can't get away… at least let me finish what I came to say, okay?"
"Tsk… now you're making me feel a little bad."
He said that, but there wasn't a trace of guilt on his face. Instead, he reached out and tilted up her perfect chin.
This fox really was exactly his type—there was a natural allure in her features, especially now, on the verge of tears. It made her all the more irresistible.
He should definitely make her cry more often.
"Fine. There's still an hour before class. Go on—start your performance."
Tom sat down on the sofa and snapped his fingers. Several delicate silver plates appeared on the table, neatly arranged with his breakfast.
He had a feeling Hozumi was about to tell a story that would pair very nicely with a meal.
"Couldn't you make me some too?" Hozumi steadied her emotions and shot him a resentful look. She'd been waiting in the entrance hall since early morning—of course she hadn't eaten yet.
"You want food?" Tom calmly spread blueberry jam over a slice of bread. "Then talk faster. You might still make it to the Great Hall while it's hot."
She rolled her eyes hard and picked the sofa farthest from him before sitting down.
"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Hozumi Kamio. I come from the Tamamo-no-Mae lineage. I'm also the only Tamamo-no-Mae left in the world right now. So… calling me by my true name, Tamamo-no-Mae, wouldn't be wrong. But Hozumi Kamio is the name I gave myself."
Tom pulled out the Marauder's Map. She hadn't shown up on it before, but now she did. Just as she said, she was labeled as Tamamo-no-Mae.
"So what exactly is Tamamo-no-Mae? A magical race like Veela, or a magical creature like dragons?"
"Don't compare me to those things." Disdain flickered across Hozumi's face. "Tamamo-no-Mae are part of the divine. Those things—"
She couldn't finish her sentence.
Tom was staring at her with half-lidded eyes, the contempt on his face completely undisguised.
"You? Divine? That's a bit much."
"If we're talking bloodlines, you'd barely count as a mongrel in front of me. I ask, you answer. Don't waste time with nonsense."
Hozumi froze, her eyes stinging with grievance.
She never imagined there'd be a day she'd be called a mongrel. But the one saying it was Tom Riddle—a terrifying boy whose mere aura could force her back into her true form.
In front of him… she really didn't have much ground to stand on.
"Are you going to talk or not?" Tom urged impatiently.
"O-okay…" She snapped back to her senses and lowered her voice.
"Tamamo-no-Mae… by your standards, I guess we'd count as a magical being here. But far superior to Veela. We're known as yokai in Japan...Sigh~ In our era, every Tamamo had their own shrine, with people serving and worshipping them."
(A Magical being was one of the three classifications used by the British Ministry of Magic to catalogue the various magical creatures that inhabited the wizarding world. The others being beast and spirit.)
"Your era?" Tom's eyes sharpened. "Explain that. Kamio Hozumi, don't tell me you're some old monster who's lived for countless ages."
His interest spiked instantly. He'd always felt her magic was strange, subtly different from both wizards and magical creatures.
It wasn't until he met the Quetzalcoatl in New York that he noticed something. Her magic felt far closer to that creature's than anything else.
He'd assumed she came from some ancient lineage.
But this… this was even more surprising.
She wasn't from this era at all?
"You're the old one!" Hozumi snapped back without thinking.
Whether human, yokai, or beast, females were always sensitive about age.
Her tails puffed up immediately as she protested, momentarily forgetting just how dangerous he was.
"I'm still a baby among Tamamo-no-Mae! I'm not even an adult yet. Just look at my tails!"
Her three and a half tails swayed behind her as if to emphasize the point.
She held up five slender fingers. "See? Five tails means adulthood. I only have three!"
"Enough. Stop wasting time and tell me about your era. How long ago was it?" Tom cut her off, uninterested in the rest.
But his expectations were quickly dampened.
Hozumi didn't know much. She was a mess when it came to her own past. Not long after she was born, her race sealed her away to escape some unknown catastrophe.
When she woke up, she absorbed the information left behind and learned that her era had already been destroyed. All her family had vanished into the river of time, leaving her completely alone.
"When did you wake up?" Tom asked, unwilling to give up.
"Three years ago," she replied. "Some kind of presence triggered the seal and woke me. About half a month later, I fully broke free."
Three years ago… a mysterious presence.
Tom frowned, wondering if it had something to do with the Quetzalcoatl.
After all, those were the only two beings he'd encountered who clearly didn't belong to this era. It was the only connection he could make for now.
"Wait…" Tom suddenly caught something off. "You broke the seal three years ago. So how did you end up blending into the wizarding world so easily? And judging by the way things look, your status isn't low either. Even the headmaster doesn't seem to interfere with you."
At that, Hozumi smiled smugly. "Obviously because my descendants are amazing."
"Your descendants?" Tom's expression shifted.
.
.
.