Galo was feeling pretty lonely today.
But it wasn't the invincible kind of lonely—it was the "no one's here to play with me" kind.
After all, Galo was just a dragon. A perfectly ordinary fire dragon—maybe a little special, since the guy who'd brought her here and kept her was—
Anyway, Galo waited at the mouth of the cave.
One hour. Two hours.
A whole damn day!
When the sky finally darkened, Galo knew Tom wasn't coming today.
The grumpy fire dragon swished her massive tail back and forth across the cave floor.
Hmph!
Fine, don't come then!
If you've got the guts, don't come tomorrow either. Or the day after!
Never come again!
---
Meanwhile, at the Burrow.
Tom sat alone in the room while everyone else was downstairs chatting and laughing.
Molly shot Ron a sharp look as she tidied up. "Look at Hermione—she's the same age as you, a first-year just like you, and she's studying right after dinner. And what about you? All you want to do is sleep and play!"
Ron sulked on the couch, unable to argue back.
Hermione really was a study machine.
He could only say that no normal kid studied during the holidays—except Tom and Hermione.
And one of them was currently staying right there in his house.
Ron slumped deeper into the cushions until Molly finished cleaning and stopped lecturing him.
Once she left to do her own thing, Ron tossed his apple aside. "Ginny, maybe you should tell Hermione to ease up on the studying a bit?
You—ugh, you saw it. The harder she works, the more Mum yells at me. I don't want to get yelled at."
Ginny lifted her nose, ignoring the sad look on Ron's face. "Why don't you just study harder yourself? Why stop Hermione from studying just because you're lazy?
Is there something wrong with Hermione liking to study? When I get to Hogwarts, I'm going to be just like her—using every spare minute to learn so I can become a Potions Master one day!"
Ron: "You might want to remember how hard Potions is first. Plus, the Potions professor at Hogwarts is Snape. You don't know how bad it is yet, but you will once you're there."
Anyone who could still love Potions after knowing what kind of person Professor Snape was had to be crazy!
Ron felt like Ginny had caught Hermione's bug, and it was a bad case.
He kept tossing the apple, then noticed Ginny was wearing a different outfit.
Instead of her usual patched-up dress, she had on a beautiful red-and-white silk gown that made her look like a little princess.
"Ginny, that dress—you bought it when you went out today? It doesn't look cheap. How much money did Mum give you?"
"It wasn't from Mum. Hermione bought it for me." Ginny's voice was light.
Hermione?
Ron jumped up. "Wait—Hermione bought you a dress too? Didn't she already buy you books? How does she have that much money? This dress couldn't have been cheap!"
"Hermione's a Potions Master. She said this much money is nothing to her.
But I'm keeping track of how much it cost. One day when I'm a Potions Master too, I'll pay her back—or take her shopping and buy her something pretty."
Ron stayed quiet for a second.
He figured that did sound exactly like something Hermione would do.
Better not crush Ginny's dreams. Let her stay excited—until Snape hits her with reality later.
"So why are you still here?" Ginny sounded a little annoyed. "Maybe you should go find somewhere to study. Look at Hermione—she played all day and she's already back to studying. Can't you be more like her?
It's because you're so lazy that Mum gets so mad."
"Why do you have to be so harsh too?" Ron whined, dragging himself away. A moment later he came back. "Want to play some wizard's chess, Ginny?"
"With you?"
"Yeah."
"No thanks." Ginny turned him down without hesitation.
"What about with Hermione?"
"Sure."
Ron wasn't happy. "Why won't you play with me but you'll play with her?!"
Some people really had no self-awareness.
Ginny pouted and didn't answer directly. She just sat on the other end of the couch, picked up her book, and started reading.
Ginny wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but the book Hermione gave her seemed to have a faint sweet scent—like citrus, fresh and nice.
It had to be because of Hermione.
She was going to read this book cover to cover—at least five times!
Ron tried talking to Ginny a few more times, but when she kept ignoring him, he gave up and left in boredom.
Who could he hang out with now?
Hermione?
Ron crept upstairs and knocked on the door.
"Come in—" He heard the girl's voice and pushed the door open.
"Hermione, want to play an exciting game of wizard's chess!" Ron held up the chessboard.
Tom looked up and shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm pretty busy right now. Maybe next time—we'll have plenty of chances later."
"Okay…" Ron lowered the board. He stepped closer. "Let me see what you're reading—What is this? The History of the Momo Mountain Range? Hermione, you're into stuff like that?"
"A little," Tom said, closing the book and resting his hands on his knees. From this angle he looked like some proper young lady who had come to the countryside for a visit.
"Legends?"
Ron repeated the word, closing his eyes to think.
The Momo Mountain Range—that was the Alps, right? There used to be some story about it.
"Let me think… I probably heard something when I was little."
"You're still pretty little now," Tom teased.
"Yeah… actually, there is one. Merlin! Merlin left the Sword in the Stone at the top of the mountain."
Tom's expression shifted slightly. "The Sword in the Stone?"
"Yeah, the Sword in the Stone. There's supposed to be a lake at the top, and right in the middle is a sealed stone with the sword stuck in it. They say only a brave knight with a pure heart can pull it out.
Anyway, it's just a story. There's no lake at the top of the Momo Mountain Range, right?" Ron shrugged. "When I was really little—four or five maybe—this story was super popular."
Tom nodded, thanked Ron, and fell silent again.
Sword in the Stone… Merlin…
Sometimes Tom believed in legends.
They might not be completely accurate, but they gave him directions to think in.
Like the part about a lake at the top of the Momo Mountain Range—that definitely wasn't true.
After all, he'd been up there. It was a volcanic crater.
And there was no Sword in the Stone. Just a fire dragon.
Tom turned his attention back to the book in front of him.
This one was useless too. It really only talked about the history of the Momo Mountain Range!
As for the ancient runes, it mentioned them in passing—saying the Momo Mountain Range might have been home to some ancient giant beasts that had their own language, which was why they left marks on the walls.
That was supposedly the origin of "ancient script."
Tom felt like he'd hit another dead end. He sighed and looked out the window.
"Hermione, are you really that interested in the Momo Mountain Range?"
"Mmm—" Tom drew out the sound. "Not really. Just a little curious. I get curious about a lot of things. If I can't find it in books, oh well."
If I can't find it in books, I'll figure it out myself! Then I'll write my own book!
"I really admire your determination," Ron sighed. "Need any help with anything?"
"Just close the door on your way out."
Ron: "…"
He decided not to bother Tom anymore and shut the door behind him.
Downstairs—or rather, before he even reached the bottom of the stairs—Mrs. Weasley caught him.
"Ron, why did you just come out of Ginny's room?" Molly looked worked up, eyebrows raised. "You weren't bothering Hermione again, were you? You shouldn't interrupt her studies. I hope that doesn't happen again."
"Mom—listen, let me explain."
"Before you explain, you should probably hide that wizard's chess set in your hands. You shouldn't have let me see it."
Ron: "…"
He'd forgotten.
Watching his mom carry a plate of fruit up to Ginny's room and chat happily with Hermione, Ron's face fell.
Mom played favorites with Hermione way too much.
Still, it made sense. A girl like Hermione would make any parent happy.
After thinking it over, Ron felt better.
Just then George and Fred came over, excitedly inviting him to go out and have fun. Ron immediately forgot all his troubles.
His brothers really understood what guys needed!
Only guys understood guys!
"Ron, try this. We got it from Mrs. Venus's place."
"Why is it a green candy?" Ron was a little wary, but seeing no mischievous looks on his brothers' faces, he popped it in his mouth.
"Ugh—why is it so sour?! What the hell did you two give me?!"
George and Fred high-fived. "Prank successful!"
---
Nighttime at Malfoy Manor was quite atmospheric too.
Even though the Malfoy villa didn't have as many people as the Burrow—there were only two of them, Draco and "Tom."
"Tom—" Draco took a swig of wine and clutched his chest. "My heart… it hurts—"
I warned you, man—
Hermione sighed. "Maybe you were just too aggressive. It's not your fault."
"No, you don't get it." Draco shook his head and took another big gulp. "I'm not heartbroken because she rejected me."
Hermione: "Then—"
"I watched the cutest girl in the world grab your hand and walk away right after turning me down. In that moment I felt like an abandoned pet.
Tom, you'll never understand how I felt. But right then… I really felt like the sky was falling. You know?
Isabelle is so adorable. She's the cutest girl I've ever met. But she rejected me!"
"Please calm down. You've had too much to drink, Draco."
"I'm a Malfoy man! There's no way I'd get drunk off this much wine!"
Hermione: "What do you think Mr. Lucius will say if he comes home and sees you like this?"
That stopped Draco cold.
She was right. If his father saw him drunk, he wouldn't get any sleep tonight.
"I need to put this wine away. Tom, please—don't tell my father I was drinking. I'm going to take a shower and wash the smell off."
Draco hurriedly hid the bottle and rushed to the bathroom.
Now Hermione was alone in the empty villa.
She stepped outside, letting the cold night air hit her face.
The wind was freezing. Hermione shivered and quickly went back inside to warm up by the fireplace.
She was just trying to copy Tom's usual habits.
Tom was a weird guy. Whenever he had free time, he'd go stand in the cold wind or stare out the window at nothing special.
Right now, Hermione thought Tom was kind of an idiot.
Why go outside in this freezing weather?
Less than half an hour later, Draco came out of the bathroom. He sniffed himself carefully to make sure there was no alcohol smell before relaxing.
"Draco, do you have paper and a quill? I want to write a letter."
"Of course. Wait here, I'll get some for you."
Back in the room, Hermione sat at the desk. She thought for a long time before she started writing.
Halfway through, Draco walked in without knocking.
The sudden sound made Hermione's hand jerk, leaving a big ink blot on the paper.
She quickly hid the letter behind her back.
"Sorry, sorry. I probably should've knocked."
"You do realize you should knock?!" Hermione hissed through gritted teeth.
"But it's rare to see you this flustered," Draco coughed, changing the subject. "Were you writing a letter? To… a lover?"
Hermione: "No!"
"Oh, my bad. Next time I'll knock. Here's some fruit. Tom, please don't tell my father I was drinking."
"I know!"
Only after Draco left did he pause outside the door, looking back curiously.
That look on Tom's face just now… it had to be a lover.
Even if not a lover, definitely the one in his heart!
Draco was dying to know who Tom was writing to.