"..."
Though Tom hadn't directly attacked him, Salazar Slytherin felt this was worse.
Baldness was his lifelong torment, one that had even followed him into death, perpetually renewing his suffering.
And now, Godric Gryffindor beside him was mocking him because of Tom's words, adding insult to injury!
"And that other one! Ravenclaw's daughter, wasn't it? I just saw you laugh! How dare you laugh? I was being mocked for being 'bald' because of you!"
Frustrated and with nowhere to vent his anger, Salazar Slytherin could only let out a resigned howl before storming off.
Gryffindor, still chuckling, didn't bother chasing after him, knowing the old man would return soon enough.
Meanwhile, Tom had already extracted the remnant soul from the diadem's spirit.
Ignoring the bewildered spirit, Tom produced a small purple crystal bottle.
He uncorked it, and a tiny, ethereal black snake, no thicker than a child's arm, slithered out. Its blood-red eyes instantly locked onto the remnant soul.
Ignoring the spirit's terror and foul language, the snake opened its massive maw and swallowed it whole.
After devouring the spirit's soul, the snake's previously ethereal form became more solid.
Tom appeared pleased. This snake was something he had cultivated using numerous soul remnants as its core, along with other components.
The Blood-Bind Curse suppressed the spirit's consciousness, allowing the newly conceived beast soul to take over.
Furthermore, having devoured the Dementor, this snake also possessed the ability to directly devour souls.
Tom was curious to see how far it could grow.
However, simply having enough mounts and pets was no longer his goal. Tom's current plan was to use the little snake as a spirit, combining Gryffindor's forging skills with Nicolas Flamel's alchemy to create a powerful magical artifact.
However, that would likely only be possible after collecting the remnants of all the Horcrux spirits; the little snake still needed to grow.
But according to Tom's estimation, absorbing the remnants of souls within all the Horcruxes should be enough to allow it to reach the desired strength.
He banished these thoughts from his mind and used the small purple bottle to retrieve the little snake.
Tom picked up the restored Ravenclaw diadem and examined it. Its quality was decent, but it wasn't of much use to him.
He casually tossed it to Helena Ravenclaw, "Here."
Helena was still immersed in Tom's "snake-raising" operation and didn't react immediately.
Seeing the diadem tossed her way, she found it unbelievable that Tom would return it, and hurriedly reached out to catch it.
Unfortunately, she forgot that she was now a ghost.
As expected, the Ravenclaw tiara passed right through Helena's body and thudded onto the floor.
"..."
Helena silently glanced at the fallen tiara, suddenly feeling foolish.
"Alright, you can continue playing with your precious tiara then."
Tom turned to leave, "My business is concluded, so I shall take my leave."
"..."
Watching Tom's departing figure, Helena's expression looked somewhat resentful.
She glanced at the diadem on the ground, her brow furrowing slightly. Then, as if making a decision, she turned to Tom. "I can't lift it. You take it."
Rather than have some random person take the Ravenclaw diadem, it was better to let Tom, who clearly had no interest in it now, take it.
"Oh?"
Hearing Helena's words, Tom stopped in surprise, turning back to look at her questioningly, trying to discern her motives from her pale face.
But Helena turned away, avoiding his gaze.
Tom didn't care. He simply walked back and picked up the Ravenclaw diadem.
It wasn't very useful to him; after all, he was able to master magic almost instantly.
But it would be very useful to Cassandra Volle and the others. Wearing the diadem while learning magic would definitely make things much easier.
So… why not take what's free?
As Tom turned to leave, he suddenly noticed Helena had followed him. "..."
No way, a third ghost is coming with me?
What if some Hufflepuff's son or grandson appears later and follows me too?
What can four ghosts even do? Summon Merlin?
As if sensing Tom's bewilderment, Helena said matter-of-factly, "Wherever the Ravenclaw tiara is, that is where I shall be. Do not worry, I shall not bother you."
Hearing this, Tom immediately stopped worrying. Let his students deal with it.
Besides, a ghost that had existed for thousands of years might unexpectedly assist with their magical studies.
...
The next morning, despite the ongoing Triwizard Tournament, classes still had to be attended.
And the first class of the morning was Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Moody" limped into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and glanced down to find all the students already present. This class was being taught jointly to fourth-year Ravenclaw and Slytherin students.
He placed his prepared teaching "materials" on the table—a collection of strangely shaped insects.
"Moody" planned to teach these sheltered young wizards something special today.
Looking at the young wizards below, "Moody's" lips curled into a slight smile. "Can anyone tell me what the three Unforgivable Curses are?"
Before he even finished speaking, every student in the classroom raised their right hand. Seriously, even Tom Riddle would have been surprised by that.
They were more familiar with the Unforgivable Curses than their own names, though, of course, they didn't know how to use them.
"Moody" was somewhat bewildered by this scene. "..."
But that's fine too; knowing something should make teaching easier. With that thought, "Moody" randomly pointed to a student and asked them to stand up and answer.
"Professor, they are the Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius Curse, and the Avada Kedavra!"
"Hmph, not bad."
"Moody" smiled somewhat grimly. "So... have you seen the three Unforgivable Curses in action?"
"Yes."
"..."
No?
Is the teaching style at Hogwarts this brutal now?
Every student has seen the Unforgivable Curses?
"What nonsense!"
"Moody" secretly thought that if he were to ask a student, "Do you know the Unforgivable Curse?", they would probably answer "Yes."
But, of course, he was overthinking it. How many students in a magic school actually knew the Unforgivable Curse?
Only a few who regularly follow Tom knew it to some extent.
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