After all, no matter how outstanding or extraordinary they were, they were still just seventeen or eighteen-year-old wizards, barely adults. Tom Riddle, on the other hand, was over seventy. That age wasn't considered old for a powerful wizard; in fact, it could be considered the prime of life, especially for someone of Tom's caliber. Who at their age could defeat someone standing at the pinnacle of wizarding?
How could this be… wait, Tom Riddle seemed to have single-handedly defeated Albus Dumbledore at that age. Hermione glanced at Tom again with an incredulous look, her expression impassive. Only when she truly put herself in his shoes did she truly understand how terrifying her Master was.
She sighed. But that was the Master, different from them, or rather, different from everyone else. Hermione considered herself a good wizard, and indeed she was; most Aurors her age were inferior to her. But undeniably, compared to Tom at the same age, even Miss Know-It-All couldn't bring herself to compare herself to him.
If Hermione knew that Tom had used the Elder Wand on Dumbledore, her expression would probably be even more amusing.
"Besides, we still have to go to class, don't we?"
Luna was a little confused. Did her Master want them to skip class? While it wasn't impossible, and she would do her best if Tom required it, she had never really been interested in these kinds of fighting and killing.
"No, it's not skipping class."
Tom's words immediately deflated Harry and Malfoy, who had been listening with great interest.
"It's that we don't need to go to class at all."
Harry and Malfoy's drooping heads perked up again.
"Huh?"
Even Cassandra hadn't expected Tom to have such a thought, and she unconsciously put down her book.
Nagini, however, wasn't surprised. "You should know that the seventh year is very special for Hogwarts students."
"Because of the N.E.W.T. exams?" Hermione looked up at Nagini.
"Yes, and another point is that Hogwarts actually teaches almost nothing new in the seventh year," Nagini picked up a cup of tea and stirred it gently. "Because the material has already been covered in the first six years, the seventh year is mostly review to prepare for the upcoming N.E.W.T. exams… So Tom's point is that, aside from exam time, as long as you can maintain your grades, you don't have to be at Hogwarts."
"Won't Dumbledore have any objections?" Harry suddenly thought of a certain diabetic old man.
Malfoy clearly didn't care much about that. "Hey~ Scarface, what are you afraid of? What can that old man Dumbledore say? If it really comes down to it, I'll find my father and have him retire."
Harry rolled his eyes at him. "Didn't you say you wouldn't bother your father?"
"I was born through skill, why can't I?" Malfoy looked completely matter-of-fact. He had tried bothering his mother, it wasn't that he hadn't, it's just… he wasn't used to it.
"Just like Nagini said," Tom interjected, picking up Nagini's tea and taking a sip. "You need not concern yourselves with that. Simply ensure you do not perform too poorly on your N.E.W.T. exams. Otherwise, I will be unable to explain it to your parents."
The last part was obviously a jest. Who would dare ask him for an explanation? Besides, if he really cleaned the sockets thoroughly, 50 million Galleons, even with the higher expenses, would last a lifetime. His parents would be overjoyed. Don't underestimate the purchasing power of Galleons in wizarding society, especially in the old-fashioned wizarding world where currency depreciation isn't so rapid. Even exchanging it for Muggle currency at Gringotts still has terrifying purchasing power in this era.
"Sure! Absolutely no problem!" Malfoy indicated he was included. Grades were secondary; the young master was a genius!
"Sir, you know that as the second-in-command, my grades have always been decent, at least I haven't embarrassed the Death Eaters." Harry raised his hand, his meaning clear: include him.
"But…" Luna was a little confused. "I'm still in sixth grade!" She wasn't a seventh grader who didn't have to learn new material.
"It's alright, little Luna, if you want to go, they can tutor you." Nagini patted Luna's head.
"Tutoring? It's not a bad idea. Master's Potions are pretty good, and Scarface's Defense Against the Dark Arts is alright too…" Malfoy seemed to be considering whether this was feasible.
Harry, standing to the side, was somewhat speechless. Although he wouldn't mind tutoring Luna, if she really went, it wouldn't be their turn to teach her, would it? Cassandra and Hermione, both top students in all subjects, were no joke.
"No, Luna, you should just stay at Hogwarts." Tom, sipping his tea, looked up. He could tell Luna's thoughts were elsewhere. Unlike his eager, foolish apprentice and Harry, Luna preferred spending more time with her two little pets rather than sparring with socket sprites.
"And what about you?" Cassandra asked, looking at Hermione who seemed to be still deep in thought.
"…" Feeling the gazes falling on her, Hermione sighed helplessly. "You can't do without me, right?"
Cassandra actually wanted to retort, but she was naturally willing to go along with Hermione… so she might as well go along with her this time.
"Very well, I'll talk to Dumbledore." Tom increasingly looked forward to the scene when the Voldemort remnant soul confronted them. The Voldemort remnant soul now considered himself on his side, so he definitely wouldn't kill Harry and the others; at most, he'd be a little rougher with Harry. Plus, with some means of protection from Tom, there was nothing to worry about.
Hermione nodded. She never had any objections to her master's arrangements; after all, he saw more and considered things more thoroughly than she did.
"But since that's the case…" Hermione quickly adapted and began to seriously consider how they could defeat a legendary wizard. "Shouldn't we start thinking about what to do? You don't really think we can defeat a legendary wizard head-on with just the few of us, do you?"
While Miss Know-It-All was confident, she was also quite rational. She knew that the chances of her defeating the Voldemort remnant soul by brute force alone were about the same as the chances of the Voldemort remnant soul defeating Tom—the only possibility being a plot device, like in Muggle novels. Even with Cassandra, who was practically an elite Auror, and Harry and Malfoy, these two heretical wizards, their chances of defeating the Voldemort remnant soul weren't much higher, at most improving from a plot device to "a tiny bit of a chance." Therefore, if they really wanted to take down a legendary wizard, they had to come up with some methods.
But clearly, these two fools, brimming with confidence in their strength, didn't think so.
"No need to think too much, Scarface and I will just rush in and kill him." Malfoy waved his hand dismissively.
Harry, while not as exaggerated, still betrayed his confidence with his arms crossed. "Although that guy is strong, my Holy Sword isn't necessarily a disadvantage."
"..." Miss Know-It-All fell silent again... Well, another pair of accessories.
Looking at Cassandra, who also seemed to be pondering, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Having a smart and capable teammate was great; she didn't have to work so hard, otherwise she felt she could just give up.
Ignoring the two idiots who were yelling about killing the Voldemort remnant soul, Hermione discussed with Cassandra how to devise a plan to eliminate it.
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