He'd originally planned to track down Ravenclaw to hash out the finer details of the Wizards' Guild, but he genuinely didn't have the mental energy for it today. Every conversation with that woman felt like a stress test for his intelligence, and if he wasn't careful, he'd end up on the receiving end of one of her favorite insults again.
Lately especially, Ravenclaw had been buried deep in research on the Horcrux diadem, and the whole ordeal had left her noticeably short-tempered, practically menopausal in her moods. Better to keep his distance for now.
The next morning, news of the negotiated peace between the wizarding world and Grindelwald hit the front page of every major newspaper. Reporters, apparently faster than hummingbirds and Golden Snitches combined, had already dug up most of the details overnight and rushed them into print.
"We Have Brought Peace for a Generation," read the headline in the Daily Prophet, and Tom very nearly choked on his morning milk reading it. Hermione, Muggle-born as she was, wore an expression of pure bewilderment.
Did the wizarding world genuinely know nothing of Muggle history, that they'd print a headline practically begging fate to prove them wrong?
Blaise read the article aloud:
"Grindelwald has signed a treaty with Dumbledore and representatives of multiple Ministries of Magic. An ancient magical blood pact now binds the two most powerful wizards of the age, forbidding either from acting against those weaker than themselves. Multiple Ministries, along with the International Confederation, have formally recognized Grindelwald's authority over Germany, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, and the surrounding region. Both sides are expected to pursue open and constructive dialogue going forward, and observers anticipate a decade of continued peace and prosperity ahead for the wizarding world."
"Witness to the Century's Reconciliation, Tom Riddle. At just thirteen years old, young Mr. Riddle stood as the official witness to both the unbreakable vow and the blood pact..."
Blaise couldn't finish. He looked up, stunned, and every other student at the table turned the same way, toward the boy calmly wiping a smudge of milk from Daphne's chin as though nothing at all were the matter.
"Tom... Tom, yesterday you..." Blaise stammered.
They'd all gotten used to not seeing Tom around for a full day here and there by now. Somehow he always managed to have been off doing something enormous the whole time, without a word to anyone.
Tucking away his handkerchief, Tom finally turned to Blaise, who still looked frozen in place, and nodded. "Yesterday I went along with the Headmaster to the negotiations. Ended up as a witness, that's all. Nothing worth making a fuss over."
"That's the Dark Lord we're talking about." Malfoy felt a shiver run straight up his spine. The title of Dark Lord had, somewhere along the way, drifted from a name no one dared even speak aloud, and settled squarely onto Grindelwald instead.
Malfoy lowered his voice. "Tom, what was it like, seeing Grindelwald face to face? Is he really different from other wizards?"
Tom considered the question for a moment. "He carries himself with more presence, certainly. His manner looks casual on the surface, but there's real elegance underneath it, a kind of personal magnetism all his own."
That last point mattered more than it sounded. Among yesterday's delegates, more than a few had already fallen under the spell of Grindelwald's apparent concern for the wizarding world's future, and had quietly begun reaching out to him since.
The younger students nearby had gone completely silent, hanging on every word of Tom's assessment, before a chorus of eager questions broke out all at once. Tom, uninterested in fielding any more of them, offered a deflecting answer instead.
"You could ask all day and it still wouldn't compare to seeing him yourselves. Durmstrang's entering the dueling tournament too, as it happens. Grindelwald's bringing the team himself."
The hall erupted.
The news spread through the school like wildfire, and before long every student and staff member knew: Grindelwald himself was coming to Hogwarts.
The last time he'd shown up, Dumbledore had turned him away at the door without a shred of courtesy. This time, he'd be walking in as an invited guest in full view of everyone.
"Albus, have you lost your mind? Why on earth would you agree to a demand as outrageous as this from Grindelwald?"
Professor McGonagall stormed into Dumbledore's office, furious. "Even if he can't lay a hand on the students directly, it wouldn't take him more than a few words to twist their minds."
"Minerva, this is simply the way things stand now." Weariness he couldn't quite mask crept into Dumbledore's voice. He'd stayed up talking with Grindelwald late into the previous night. "Coexisting with him going forward is no longer something we can avoid. There's no way for us to fully wall off his influence from spreading."
"The more we forbid it, the more curious the students will become. Better to let them meet the real Grindelwald openly, learn to counter him directly, and see for themselves that he's simply an ordinary wizard whose ideals don't hold up to scrutiny."
"Ordinary wizard..." McGonagall found herself at a loss for words at Dumbledore's choice of description. She'd meant to push him harder to reconsider, but seeing the exhaustion etched into his face, she found she didn't have the heart to press further.
She assumed, quietly, that Dumbledore's weariness came from wracking his brain over how to counter Grindelwald, and let out a soft sigh instead.
"Albus, so long as you know what you're doing. Just don't let this temporary peace lull you into dropping your guard."
"I won't, Minerva."
McGonagall left the office, and through the corridor's shuttered windows caught sight of students lounging on the grounds outside, enjoying their break without a care in the world. Privately, she resolved that whatever happened, she would not let Grindelwald disturb that peace.
Meanwhile, Tom had already left the school grounds again, making his way back to Newt's home in Dorset, a small gift tucked under his arm.