Time slipped by, and before they knew it, the Quidditch World Cup was nearly upon them.
Number 12 Grimmauld Place, inside Harry's room.
"Ah!"
Harry shot upright in bed, jolted awake by a nightmare and groping for the bedside lamp.
The dim light banished the surrounding darkness, casting a warm glow on Harry's face and suppressing the lingering fear.
"Phew~"
He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping across the silent room, then out at the predawn sky. The sun had yet to rise.
He glanced at the clock beside him. "Three forty? Might as well get up."
Though it was early, sleep had abandoned him.
Unsurprising, really. Who wouldn't be haunted after dreaming of a noseless, ancient-looking "baby" charging at them?
Tom, of course, would be an exception. He'd probably burst into laughter at the sight of Voldemort's remnant soul doing that.
My master told me not to worry about that guy, but… coming into people's dreams every night to cause trouble is just too much!
Harry spat the words through gritted teeth, reaching up to touch his lightning bolt scar, which throbbed in response. Voldemort's remnant soul had struck again.
He wanted to warn his master straight away, but it was far too early.
He'd have to wait until they were on their way to the Dartmoor Stadium in Devon.
Even though Harry knew Voldemort's remnant soul posed no real threat to Tom, he couldn't simply stand by and do nothing.
...
After sitting on the edge of the bed for a while, Harry finally rose. He decided to make breakfast for himself and Sirius.
It was still early, so he had time to prepare something a bit more elaborate.
...
Around nine o'clock in the morning…
Tom led Cassandra and the others through the woods.
They appeared to be traveling light, each carrying backpacks or boxes enhanced with the Undetectable Extension Charm.
Aside from the one Nagini carried, the items hadn't been crafted by Tom, of course.
They were gifts from Fudge, desperate to curry favor.
"Sir, I dreamt about that guy again last night."
Harry glanced around, then quickly moved to Tom's side, whispering about the previous night's nightmare.
He was being cautious, afraid of being overheard and potentially disrupting Tom's plans.
But what he didn't expect was…
"Who? That guy without a nose? Oh, don't concern yourself with him."
Tom made no attempt to conceal his thoughts; everyone nearby could hear the disdain in his voice when he referred to "the guy without a nose."
"…"
Hearing Tom's words, Harry relaxed and dropped back a few steps to chat with Malfoy.
Along the way, they encountered others heading to the Quidditch World Cup.
The Weasleys, for instance, and Mr. Amos Diggory with his son, Cedric.
Upon seeing Tom and his group, they seemed a little awkward, but not wanting to pretend they hadn't noticed them, they came forward to offer greetings.
Tom, in turn, took note of the boy trailing behind Mr. Amos Diggory.
His attention was primarily drawn by the way Harry's eyes lit up at the sight of him.
Intrigued, Tom cast a mischievous glance at Malfoy, surprised to find him utterly un-"jealous"!
Could it be Harry has already started a 'harem' at Hogwarts?!
Though the "harem" was a bit unconventional, it was a "harem" nonetheless!
Thinking of it that way, it truly was...interesting.
With this thought in mind, Tom beckoned Malfoy over and inquired about it.
Malfoy, of course, held nothing back. It turned out that Cedric and Harry had first met on the Quidditch pitch.
Impressed with Cedric's Quidditch skills, which rivaled his own, Harry had immediately extended an invitation to join the Death Eaters.
Unfortunately, Cedric's father, Mr. Amos Diggory, held a dim view of the Death Eaters.
So, despite Cedric's great admiration for Tom, he had declined.
However, Harry dismissed these reasons as nonsense. If even Ron Weasley could join the Death Eaters, why not Cedric?
Thus, Harry had relentlessly tried to persuade Cedric to join, but without success so far.
"Sir, are you also interested in Cedric? Yes, he's quite good at his studies…"
Initially, Malfoy had assumed Tom was considering inviting Cedric to join the Death Eaters like Harry, but upon looking up, he noticed Tom had become rather disinterested.
"Why aren't you jealous…"
"Jealous of what?"
Seeing Malfoy's puzzled expression, Tom shook his head slightly. "Never mind… As for whether that boy joins the Death Eaters, it is up to Harry. If you so desire, you may mentor him."
If Cedric and Harry had a truly interesting "close relationship," then Tom might have considered extending a personal invitation.
But since they were merely boring "ordinary friends," he couldn't be bothered.
Cedric, walking behind, looked at Tom walking ahead and sighed softly. "Professor Tom is so aloof."
He'd only received a brief nod when he greeted Tom earlier, and the man hadn't shown any interest in further conversation.
"You'll get used to it."
Harry shrugged nonchalantly beside him. "That's just the professor's personality. Although he seems unapproachable, I think he's like the sun, making you want to get close, but unfortunately, getting too close will burn you…"
Not only did Harry feel this way, but it could even be said that, in the eyes of the Death Eaters, Tom was their sun.
They idolized him to the point that if Tom were to simply say, "You must use chopsticks to eat," they would be so excited they'd want to write it down for posterity.
Moreover, in the Death Eaters' eyes, Tom's somewhat unapproachable nature only enhanced his image as the "perfect Dark Lord."
"Hmm! Hmm!"
Cedric nodded in agreement. "Many people in Hufflepuff feel the same way."
Or rather, not just in Hufflepuff, but in the minds of most of the young wizards at Hogwarts, Tom was no less capable than Merlin.
They didn't know Merlin's full strength, but they knew Professor Tom was unmatched.
They didn't know how learned Merlin was, but they knew Professor Tom was virtually omniscient.
This was one of the key reasons why the Death Eaters thrived at Hogwarts.
Even though Tom sometimes treated them like trolls and often ignored them, it didn't diminish their admiration.
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