"You've already written to Tom? When did this happen?" Professor Sprout felt like she had missed a golden opportunity; she was speaking faster than usual.
After all, Tom had personally come to her and asked her to pick him up from Hermione's house.
Snape clasped his hands behind his back, his tone entirely unbothered. "The moment Albus noticed something was amiss. Right around the time he was planning to call us all together."
That bastard Snape. He moves fast!
Snape looked at her questioningly. "Professor Pomona, you wish to pick Tom up? I wrote and told him to go hide at the Weasley household with Hermione. If you leave now, you might still catch them."
"No need!" Professor Sprout curled her lip in annoyance.
"Alright, that is quite enough from both of you." Dumbledore felt a headache coming on. He truly couldn't understand why two professors from the same school were constantly at each other's throats.
"Professor Sprout, I would like you to go bring Tom back," Dumbledore instructed. "It is not suitable for Tom to stay at the Weasleys'. It would be much better for him to return to the school."
"Ah, and Tom should currently be with a child named Misha. Please bring her along as well."
As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore wasn't completely oblivious to the children's personal lives.
He knew a few things. For example... well, just thinking about the complicated dynamics between those specific kids made his head throb.
Like that "Hermione Fan Club," centered entirely around Tom and Hermione.
Even though Ron didn't have those kinds of feelings for Hermione... Ron had a best friend. A best friend named Harry Potter.
Dumbledore could virtually guarantee that if Hermione brought Tom to the Weasley house, young Ron would immediately tattle to Harry.
Furthermore, while the Weasley household was certainly safe, Hogwarts was hardly lacking in security. Plus, Tom would be staying with Professor Snape—that was arguably the safest place he could possibly be.
Even if something happened to Snape, Tom wouldn't suffer a single scratch.
"Off you go, Professor Sprout. Oh—and if it is on your way, you could drop Hermione off at the Weasley home."
"Of course, Albus."
Professor Sprout perked right back up. I'm the one who gets to pick up Tom!
Though, Tom might be a little heartbroken that he can't come back to the school with Hermione...
"Albus, can't we bring Hermione back to the school as well? I could look after her, too."
Dumbledore shook his head. "We are short-handed. And are you perhaps underestimating the Weasley family?"
The Weasleys were no minor family. They were a genuine, full-blooded pure-blood wizarding family!
Watching the professors file out, Dumbledore nodded.
"Filch, for the remainder of this period, you must ensure the safety of the students still here. Remember: under no circumstances can the Dark Lord be allowed to harm a child. If anything goes wrong, report to us immediately."
"I know, Headmaster," Filch replied, Mrs. Norris meowing in agreement beside him.
When it came to the Dark Lord, no one dared to lower their guard. One slip-up, and the outcome would very likely be death.
---
The Granger Household.
"Tom, what did Professor Snape say in his letter?"
Tom folded the letter and tucked it away, his expression serious. "The Sorcerer's Stone was almost compromised. In plain English: the Dark Lord almost resurrected."
Weird, Tom thought to himself, puzzled.
Is Voldemort an idiot? If he knew the Stone was in the Mirror of Erised, he definitely should have known he couldn't get it out.
The Sorcerer's Stone was an incredibly powerful magical artifact created by Nicolas Flamel. It turned any metal into pure gold and produced the Elixir of Life, which made the drinker immortal.
Simply put, if Voldemort got his hands on it, he could come back from the dead.
But the method to retrieve the Stone was insanely difficult—only someone who wanted to find the Stone, but not use it, would be able to get it.
Logically, Voldemort shouldn't have tried this right now. It would just expose his location and put all the Hogwarts professors on high alert.
I don't get it. Whatever, not my problem to figure out.
Hermione stared at Tom. It was the first time she had ever seen such a conflicted, genuinely troubled look on his face.
Clearly, he was distressed about something. Normally, if Hermione found out there was something in the world that could actually stress Tom out, she would have laughed at him. But after hearing that name, she couldn't find it in herself to laugh.
"Tom... is he... is he going to succeed?"
"Probably not." Tom shrugged. "If the Dark Lord actually pulled it off, I wouldn't be getting this warning letter. I'd be getting a notice about Professor Dumbledore's death."
And Harry Potter's death, Tom added silently in his head.
A massive Dark Lord who's been suppressed for a decade? The absolute first thing he'd do upon resurrecting is flex his power and go on a killing spree until he was satisfied.
Knowing Voldemort's personality... he'd probably need to murder at least a few dozen people just to take the edge off.
Hilarious. Someone should just isekai him into an Eastern fantasy world; he'd fit right in with the murder-hobos over there.
Tom coughed, clearing his throat. "Anyway, we have to split up. I'm heading back to Hogwarts, and you're going to stay at the Weasleys'. It works out perfectly—you can catch up with your little fangirl, Ginny."
"Will you be in danger at the school?"
"Relax, I won't." Tom took a couple of steps forward and ruffled Misha's hair. "Misha, where do you want to go? Back to the orphanage, or with me to Hogwarts? Or... if you want to go with Hermione, you can. If you go with her, you'll get to see how a real wizarding family lives."
Misha shook her head vigorously. "I'm not going! Tom, I'm going with you."
"Alright then, go pack your things."
Unlike Misha, who didn't overthink things, the shadow was starting to get genuinely scared.
Hogwarts... The shadow reached up and pressed a hand over her chest.
She knew exactly what kind of place that was. Hogwarts was packed full of wizards. Those wizards were noble, elegant, powerful, and above all... incredibly righteous!
Would those righteous wizards accept her? Accept a being born entirely out of magic?
The shadow took a deep breath, trying to tell herself not to worry. Tom would sort everything out... probably.
"The professor will be here to pick us up soon," Tom explained to them. His eyes drifted over to the incredibly tense expression on Isabelle's face.
Isabelle, with her tanned, wheat-colored skin, had her brows furrowed tight and her small hands gripping the hem of her shirt nervously.
Is she scared? Tom stepped up beside her and took her hand.
"Don't be scared," Tom whispered gently in her ear. "The professors at Hogwarts are good people. If anyone dares to touch you... even if the Dark Lord himself comes after you, I swear I will use Sectumsempra and slice his head clean off."
Isabelle didn't truly grasp how terrifying Voldemort was. She had only heard the legends; she had no real concept of him.
But she did know one thing for sure: Tom would genuinely protect her.