— — — — — —
Tom patiently explained the Marauder's Map to Ginny—how it worked, what it could do. The girl's eyes widened in amazement… then narrowed in outrage.
"Fred and George had something this fun all along? And they never told me?"
"That's normal," Tom replied, clearly understanding her frustration. "You should have figured it out by now. George and Fred are practically Siamese twins. If you see one, the other shows up right away. They hide away in their shed doing who-knows-what. It's not that they're unkind to the others, they just aren't as open with them as they are with each other.
"You and Percy… might as well be distant cousins to them."
Ginny's mouth snapped shut.
It was true in a way: Fred and George were practically conjoined—where one went, the other was sure to follow. At home, they'd hole up together in their room, working on Merlin-knows-what, not that they were bad brothers, but they never let anyone else into their little world.
And at school, they spent most of their time goofing off with their own crowd, as though they didn't have younger siblings at all. Dammit, it was true.
"And how do you even know about the Marauder's Map ?" Ginny asked, squinting at him suspiciously.
"One night I was out wandering and saw them use the map," Tom said casually. "It looked fun, so I figured why not get my hands on it too?"
"Hold up. If it shows names and locations, and you were close enough to see them, how did they not notice you?" Ginny rested her chin in her hand, frowning in thought.
Since shaking off Voldemort's influence, Ginny had gotten much sharper. Anyone else would have been taken in by Tom's easy tone, but she had spotted the hole in his story immediately.
"Because I cast a charm on my name," Tom said without batting an eye. "A wizard's name can be used as the perfect vessel for curses. Naturally, I take precautions—no tracking or revealing spell can display my existence."
Ginny couldn't help but mutter, "What kind of second-year even thinks about this stuff? You're ridiculously paranoid."
Charming your name? That sounded like advanced magic to her.
But what she didn't know was: this was standard practice for Tom Riddle. If he wasn't playing games with his own name, could he even call himself Tom Riddle?
"If you don't believe me, wait until you get your hands on the map and see for yourself," he said.
"Well, that's going to take some work." Ginny was already plotting. "Just asking for it won't work—those two never give me anything good. I'll have to get some dirt on them and blackmail them with it."
Tom's eyebrow twitched.
If he didn't have the diary in his possession, he'd have wondered if Ginny was once again under Voldy's influence. She was talking about blackmailing her own brothers without a shred of hesitation.
"And if I do get it, what do I get in return?" Ginny tilted her head, looking at him expectantly.
Tom considered for a moment. "How about a Nimbus 2001?"
In America before, Newt's broom had been meant to be returned after the end of the journey, but the kind old man was so absurdly generous that he'd told Tom to keep it.
Plus Tom still had the Nimbus Malfoy had given him, so he decided he might as well hand this one over to Ginny.
"YA—"
Ginny, a die-hard Quidditch fan, nearly screamed out loud at the offer—Tom barely managed to clap a hand over her mouth in time.
"Don't yell. Save the excitement for when you actually get it."
Ginny's eyes gleamed mischievously. She suddenly stuck out her tongue and licked his palm with a hiss.
Tom yanked his hand back like he'd been burned and stared at her, utterly speechless. "You really were meant to be in Slytherin."
"Just wait for my good news." Ginny tossed her braid over her shoulder and skipped off toward the Great Hall.
Tom wiped his hand with a look of disgust. All saliva.
Just then, Laos appeared, grinning from ear to ear. Spotting Tom by the entrance, he walked straight over.
"Mr. Riddle, what are you doing out here? Come on, today is the big day!"
Tom lowered his hand, eyeing him curiously. "Already settled? That fast?"
Laos nodded, still smiling. "Everyone loved the idea. Once people get excited, things move quickly."
"Let's go, then."
When dinner was nearly over, Dumbledore—who rarely came to the Great Hall at this hour—rose from the staff table and raised his voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you've finished your meal, I'd like to ask for a moment of your attention. I have an announcement to make."
Students who had been on their way out immediately returned to their seats. Those still eating started shoveling food faster.
Ten minutes later, the silver plates gleamed clean. Every eye turned toward the headmaster, waiting.
Smiling warmly, Dumbledore spoke, "Hogwarts has always prided itself on an open and inclusive education, seeking to bring out the best in every student. We always wanted the best for you."
"But Professor Wilkinson's visit made me realize how much we can learn from our colleagues at other schools. During the break Professor Wilkinson worked tirelessly to contact a lot of people, and together we have organized a special event."
He gestured toward Laos, who stood and gave a theatrical wave to the students at all four tables. For a moment, some of them could swear they were looking at Gilderoy Lockhart.
"What's the special event? Are students from other schools coming here?" Fred Weasley couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"Ah, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye, "you really should have been in Ravenclaw."
The Ravenclaws all groaned in unison. The thought of the Weasley twins being their problem was enough to make their skin crawl.
"Yes," Dumbledore continued, clearly delighted someone had asked. "I am honored to announce that next year, Hogwarts will host the very first Underage Wizarding Duel Championship!"
"So far, five schools have confirmed participation: Ilvermorny from North America, Castelobruxo from South America, Beauxbatons from France, Durmstrang from Northern Europe—and of course, our very own Hogwarts."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"At that time, each school will send their most outstanding young wizards and witches to showcase their magic and their dueling skill."
He paused again before adding, "I hope all of you will spend this coming year training hard and bringing honor to Hogwarts."
When he finished speaking, the Great Hall went quiet for a heartbeat—then erupted into noise, everyone talking at once.
Five schools, all competing? Maybe even more? This was the biggest thing to hit Hogwarts in years. If they won the championship, Hogwarts would have the undisputed claim to being the best wizarding school in the world.
This wasn't just an exchange program—it was practically a ranking tournament!
Of course, not everyone was thrilled.
"Bloody hell! Why next year? Why does it have to be next year? I'm graduating in June!" someone wailed.
"I have never met any students from other schools!"
"Oh, oh! I heard Durmstrang has the best-looking girls!"
"Seriously? Maybe I can find my true love from another school then."
"Tsk, all you care about is looks? Castelobruxo has the best girls, hands down!"
"When we beat Ilvermorny, will Professor Laos be happy or sad?"
"You idiots, that's not the point! We're finding out way too early! Such a cliffhanger."
"Yeah, I agree!"
"Awwww, now I don't even want to graduate…"
Most complained that it was way too early to be told about something so far away.
"Why announce it now? All this does is make us think about it for a whole year!"
After everyone had vented for a while, Dumbledore raised his hand, and the room gradually fell silent. His voice carried clearly through the hall.
"I understand your eagerness to meet students from other schools," he said, "but this is the very first event of its kind. There's a great deal of preparation to be done.
"That said, the reason I'm telling you now is because, after Easter break, both Ilvermorny and Castelobruxo will be sending representatives here to Hogwarts for a cultural exchange."
The hall exploded again, louder than before.
So that's what this was leading up to.
Dumbledore had to raise his voice even higher to be heard over the din. "That's all I have to say for now. I hope you'll use this time to improve yourselves. Those who wish to compete are encouraged to seek guidance from your professors—they'll be more than happy to help."
"Indeed we will!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, practically bouncing on his chair. He waved enthusiastically to the students. "Any of you are welcome to come see me—any House, anytime!"
Professor McGonagall quickly reached over and tugged him back down. "Filius, please. Dignity. The students are watching."
"Nah~ That's the spirit, Filius." Laos kept encouraging him.
---
Back in the Slytherin common room, the discussion was just as lively. Everyone was buzzing about the news, full of curiosity about the other schools—especially Ilvermorny.
Laos kept them entertained with stories of Ilvermorny's strange traditions and rules, some strikingly similar to Hogwarts, others bizarrely different.
By the end, the room was filled with excitement.
"So, who's signing up for the dueling championship?" someone asked, and all eyes turned to Tom.
Tom shook his head. "I'm—"
[Ding!]
[System detected that the host is about to face his first official competition after class transfer.]
[New mission issued: "Peers at War."]
[Mission Objective: Win the Wizarding Duel Championship.]
[Reward: 200 Achievement Points, 2000 Credits.]
Tom's expression didn't even twitch as he changed his answer mid-sentence. "—definitely signing up. For Slytherin's honor, no matter how tough it gets, I'll see it through. As long as no one says I'm bullying people, that is."
That got a round of laughter. Considering Tom's ability, putting him up against students his own age—or even a few years older—wasn't much of a fair fight.
But who cared what the other schools thought? As long as Slytherin was the one to bring home the trophy for Hogwarts, that was all that mattered.
And if Tom somehow didn't win?
Well, then the only explanation would be that one of the other schools had a professor using Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the competition.
Rosier smirked. "Shame we won't get to fight students from our own school. I'd pay to see Tom thrash those stupid Gryffindors."
A girl shook her head. "Who knows what the exact rules will be. Dumbledore didn't give us much detail. Maybe we can try asking Professor Wilkinson to spill some secrets."
"What's wrong, Daphne? You okay?" someone asked.
Tom glanced over at Daphne, who was sitting off to the side, clearly sulking. He shot a questioning look at Astoria.
Astoria leaned closer and whispered, "Beauxbatons."
"Humph."
Daphne turned away, puffing her cheeks out like an angry squirrel. "You must be thrilled. That little veela vixen's coming to see you."
Tom blinked, then remembered he'd once mentioned to Daphne that Fleur's grades were top-notch and that with her Veela charm and impressive skills, she'd almost certainly be chosen to come.
And now Fleur was coming. To her Hogwarts. Her domain.
"Oh, right," Tom said slowly, realization dawning. "That means Fleur's actually coming here."
The corners of his mouth curled up despite himself.
"Ahhh! Tom, you are NOT allowed to think about her!" Daphne shrieked, launching herself at him.
.
.
.