"No." Daphne shook her head. Then, under Tom's puzzled gaze, she explained, "I want my Patronus to look like you. Wouldn't that mean you were protecting me?"
The more she spoke, the happier she became, already completely immersed in the image of some gigantic Tom-shaped Patronus wrapping around her from behind.
Tom, meanwhile, could only feel speechless at the little witch's train of thought.
Did she think a Patronus was some kind of handmade figurine, something you could mold into whatever shape you wanted? Even if it really were possible to customize one, Tom still thought it would feel extremely strange for someone's Patronus to look like him.
Above them, the dark clouds were beginning to gather once more.
Tom looked up and said, "Let's go back. It looks like the rain's going to keep falling."
"Mhm, Astoria, come on."
The Slytherins all parted respectfully to let the three of them walk down the stairs first, and only after that did the others follow them back toward the castle.
Every time Tom displayed his power, he refreshed people's understanding of him. This time, though, many felt pure disbelief.
It was not just his strength.
It was the fact that he could use a Patronus at all.
Nearly every Slytherin had always believed Tom was a brilliantly gifted dark wizard in the making, or rather, already a powerful dark wizard.
And yet now he had apparently betrayed the organization.
What kind of Slytherin used that sort of thing?
Still, not a single one of them dared say anything openly. At most, they muttered inwardly.
After being disciplined by Tom several times over the years, the little snakes of Slytherin had absolutely not submitted in spirit.
But in body, they had most definitely submitted.
...
Inside the Room of Requirement, all the girls had been brought over by Tom.
As they ate lunch, they discussed what had happened just now, each reacting differently.
"A Patronus over ten meters tall, that isn't magical at all... and it was even in human form." Hermione was still flipping through books while eating, with the feeling that she had somehow ended up with pirated reference material because nothing matched the descriptions.
"I'm so annoyed! Cedric actually caught the Snitch!" Ginny viciously cut into her steak with knife and fork, looking as if she were stabbing an enemy.
Cho looked deeply troubled. "Potter actually has a Firebolt..."
Daphne kept pestering Tom, asking him to teach her the Patronus Charm. Good little Astoria, meanwhile, was carefully removing the bones from Tom's ribs for him.
Only after Daphne had been dragged away by Astoria to fetch dessert did Penelope finally seize the chance to speak to Tom.
"How did things go with the Ministry today?"
A smile appeared on the boy's face. "Pretty well. Those people are in a hurry. They're terrified Grindelwald might attack their country one day, so they agreed very quickly."
Tom had gained quite a lot today.
Just as he had predicted, the Ministries that had shown up were the most anxious ones. Either their ancestors had once stood firmly against the acolytes, or their countries were relatively weak and feared being treated like soft targets. So they were willing to spend money for peace of mind.
Because of that, it had not taken long for them to compromise on the prices Tom proposed.
The total sales value of the orders signed today alone exceeded two million Galleons, and the profit margin was at least over half.
The only problem was that every single one of them demanded delivery within one month, and the sooner the better.
"That's good." Penelope gave him a sweet smile. "Teach me alchemy when you have time. I'm quite good at Ancient Runes, so I should be able to help you a little."
Big sisters really were considerate.
Tom smiled and nodded at Penelope, and the two of them quickly settled on a time for some private tutoring that evening.
After lunch ended, seeing that everyone was interested in the Patronus Charm, Tom simply began teaching it on the spot.
As one of the most notoriously advanced spells, the difficulty of the Patronus Charm went without saying. After an entire afternoon, progress was painfully slow. Even the white mist they managed to produce was thin and weak.
The best performance, surprisingly, came from Daphne.
But that was normal enough.
She spent every day bubbling over with joy, which meant she had a great many happy memories. She did not even need to think hard about them. All she had to do was focus, gather her magic, and cast the spell.
...
Meanwhile.
After Professor McGonagall brought Harry to the hospital wing and received Madam Pomfrey's assurance that he would be fine, she stormed back to her office and immediately used WhatsApp to complain to Dumbledore.
Today, the Dementors had not only violated the agreement, they had nearly killed a student. If Hogwarts failed to respond, then where would the school's dignity remain? Who would still believe they could properly protect the students?
This was supposed to be the safest place in the world.
Perhaps because of the time difference, or perhaps because he was occupied with other matters, McGonagall did not receive an immediate reply from Dumbledore.
But she did not sit there waiting.
Instead, she wrote an indignant and sharply worded complaint to the Ministry of Magic as well, then sent it off by owl.
...
New York.
Dumbledore had only just returned from MACUSA to Newt's house when he finally found time to check his messages.
The moment he finished reading McGonagall's furious complaint, his lips pressed tightly together, and his beard began to drift slightly upward. His expression became severe, exactly like it had when he first learned that Grindelwald had massacred the Picquery family.
Newt immediately sensed the change in his mood and asked cautiously, "Dumbledore?"
"Forgive me, Newt."
Only then did Dumbledore tear his sharp gaze away from the notebook and rein in his emotions a little.
"Please forgive that lapse. Something unpleasant has happened at Hogwarts."
"What happened at the school?"
Newt tensed at once.
It was not only his alma mater, after all. His grandson was there. So was Tom.
"A group of Dementors entered the Quidditch pitch during a match and nearly killed a student. Fortunately, Mr. Riddle intervened in time, so the student is now safe."
Newt let out a breath of relief. "That's good."
Dumbledore set down the notebook and said calmly, "But the matter cannot end there. They clearly did not take my warning to heart."
Professor McGonagall's complaint was only one of the reasons that had stirred Dumbledore's anger.
What truly made his temper flare was Tom's message.
Professor, it seems your promises don't carry much weight after all.