— — — — — —
It took Tom a full two hours to study every inch of the Marauder's Map, but by the end of it, he finally grasped the general idea behind how it worked.
The map's greatest strength was its ability to mark people's names and trace their movements in real time. The spells behind it were completely unfamiliar to Tom, so he had to summon Grindelwald to help decipher them.
"This is a very advanced form of human-tracking magic," Grindelwald explained, eyes narrowing with interest. "It marks and follows living targets—definitely something from the Potter family. They've always been quite good at running away."
Tom couldn't help but nod. The Potters were born runners.
Their legendary ancestor—the third Peverell brother—escaped Death himself. James Potter had slipped from Voldemort's grasp three times before his luck finally ran out.
"As for the name display..." Grindelwald rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That's true name magic. Not bad at all. Tom, if you can reverse-engineer this spell, you might unlock quite a few useful tricks."
"Like making people too afraid to say my name aloud?" Tom joked.
Andros, who had been listening nearby, couldn't resist a jab. "Tom, you're starting to sound a lot like Voldemort. What's wrong with people saying your name?"
Tom shrugged with a faint smirk. "Relax, I'm kidding. I just want to hide my true name so no one can curse me later."
It sounded similar to Voldemort's name change, but what Tom was talking about was much more abstract. He didn't want to replace the name "Tom Riddle" — he wanted to strip away the mystical essence tied to his true name.
Complicated in theory, and an absolute nightmare in practice.
For now, he simply wrapped his name in a basic magical safeguard — decent, but far from perfect.
Still, it made him realize something: pureblood families really did hoard some incredible knowledge.
True Name Magic was probably a closely guarded secret of the Black family. Lupin and Pettigrew had helped make the Marauder's Map, sure, but they were mostly errand boys. The real brains were Sirius Black and James Potter—two heirs from powerful lineages.
Even though Lady Greengrass had collected quite a few rare grimoires for him, families like those never gave up their core secrets.
A favor owed doesn't mean a life sold.
The Marauder's Map gave Tom more inspiration than he expected. His progress had been so smooth lately that he'd nearly forgotten there were treasures like this sitting right under his nose.
He'd have to "collect" a few someday.
"Tom! Tom! It's vacation, stop working so hard and come play already!"
Daphne's voice echoed from downstairs, breaking his train of thought. Smiling helplessly, Tom folded up the map and headed down to join her.
Lunch was ready when he got there—house-elf Pala had prepared a full feast.
Daphne reached out for a few extra cannoli rolls—her favorite—only to catch sight of her reflection in the silver platter, noticing her cheeks looked... rounder than she remembered. Her face fell instantly, and she reluctantly put the plate down.
Tom nearly burst out laughing but held it in for a moment. Then he said, "Daphne, eat as much as you want from now on. I guarantee you'll be able to keep whatever weight you like."
The words had barely left his mouth before three pairs of eyes turned toward him. Daphne's golden hair practically flew as she darted to his side.
"Tom—wait, you mean you've made a weight-loss potion?!"
Tom nodded casually. "Yup. I even tested it. Works perfectly."
He pulled out a small vial of potion he'd been saving. Originally, he'd planned to give it to Daphne as a birthday present in a month or so, but seeing her despair now... maybe he'd find another gift instead.
"...Jelly?" Hermione and Astoria leaned closer, surprised. The potion inside wasn't liquid—it was firm and wobbly like gelatin.
"Yeah," Tom said, amused. "It even tastes like it. I'm calling it... the Dark Diet Potion."
"Dark... Diet?" the three girls echoed in confusion.
Tom nodded. "See, the main function of this potion isn't actually weight loss—it's a temporary boost to magical power. It lets your spells hit a lot harder."
"Huh?" Daphne blinked, visibly deflated. "But... didn't you just say it was a diet potion?"
"I wasn't finished."
Tom took her hand gently, smiling. "What I mean is, I use the side effect of the potion for weight loss."
"In dark magic, there's a category called sacrificial magic—basically, you sacrifice flesh to temporarily boost magic power. Voldemort knew that spell, and he even taught it to a few Death Eaters."
Hermione, Astoria, and Daphne all turned pale, staring at the red jelly in horror.
Daphne swallowed hard. "Tom, I do want to lose weight, but... isn't that a little extreme?"
"Relax," Tom chuckled. "I optimized it. The body fat converts directly into energy. There's a mild numbing agent, so you won't feel any pain. Each vial burns about one kilogram. You'll just feel a little pressure in your body, and once you expend the excess magic, everything goes back to normal."
Tom's reputation in Daphne's eyes was rock solid, so she didn't question it for a second. Hugging the potion close, she said happily, "Then I'll finish lunch first and try it after!"
Hermione hesitated. "Tom... do you have any extra? I might want to try it too."
Honestly, what girl didn't dream of eating whatever she wanted without gaining weight? Even Hermione wasn't immune to that temptation.
Lunch vanished quickly after that—Daphne completely let loose, eating nearly three times her usual amount. Her belly was visibly round when she finally stopped, so she dragged Tom upstairs to weigh herself before heading to the backyard for the real test.
She ate the potion like jelly, and soon enough, her body began to heat up. No pain, just a rush of pent-up energy begging to be released.
Tom conjured a few targets in front of her. "Go on—start when you're ready."
"Stupefy!"
"Diffindo!"
"Confringo!"
"..."
Spell after spell burst from her wand, each one stronger than the last. The swelling energy inside her gradually subsided, and once it was completely spent, Daphne felt light again—her full-belly heaviness was gone too.
They checked her weight afterward.
Sure enough—down exactly one kilogram.
"That's amazing!"
Daphne cheered and threw herself at Tom, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "Now I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and never worry about getting fat again!"
"Daphne! A lady should mind her image!" Hermione scolded, tugging her away before she could cling any longer—but even she couldn't hide her grin.
Both girls insisted on getting some of the potion for themselves, but Tom hadn't brewed much yet. He promised he'd make enough during the week to keep them stocked for the rest of the holiday, which finally satisfied them.
Then, out of nowhere, Hermione darted in, gave Tom a quick peck on the other cheek—perfectly symmetrical with Daphne's—and bolted off before Daphne could react.
"...Sis? What's wrong?" Astoria asked. She was surprised—normally, her sister would've already tackled Hermione in mock outrage, but right now Daphne just stood there frowning, as if deep in thought.
"I was just wondering..." Daphne began instinctively, but caught herself halfway. She leaned in close to whisper in Tom's ear.
"Ah."
Tom's expression turned strange as he studied the flustered girl. "Technically speaking... the effect's averaged out. Controlling where it takes from is... tricky."
"Oh." Daphne lowered her head, her voice small as she stared at her shoes. She wished she had a bit more padding in certain places so she wouldn't look down and just see her shoes.
Astoria's face turned bright red in an instant. Clearly, she'd figured out what her sister had been asking, and before anyone could say more, she grabbed Daphne and dragged her back into the villa.
...
The diet potion's impact spread faster than Tom expected.
The next morning, Lady Greengrass (Seraphina Greengrass) herself showed up. They talked for nearly an hour without getting to the point, leaving Tom completely confused—he thought maybe she'd come to make sure he wasn't "bullying" her daughters.
Then, after a long and awkward silence, Seraphina finally blurted out her real purpose—she wanted a Diet Potion too.
Tom couldn't help but laugh, but he agreed anyway, staying up that night to brew an entire batch.
But the day after that, Lady Greengrass returned again—this time bringing a guest: Amelia Bones.
Once they were seated, Bones gave Tom a teasing smile. "Mr. Riddle, I thought students weren't allowed to leave Hogwarts during the Easter holidays. Did they change the rules?"
Tom shrugged. "Since when has the Department of Magical Law Enforcement started policing Hogwarts?"
Bones chuckled wryly. "I wouldn't dare."
Tom's brow rose slightly at her tone. "Funny. I thought you and Dumbledore were on good terms."
"Professional duty and personal relationships shouldn't be mixed," she said with a shake of her head. "Hogwarts holds an unusually high position. The Ministry's been trying to learn more about what goes on there—but with Dumbledore as Headmaster, that's... difficult."
Hogwarts had always stood apart from the Ministry, but never quite to this degree. Not every headmaster could command a generation's respect like Dumbledore.
"Alright, that's enough politics," Lady Greengrass interrupted smoothly. "Amelia's here for the potion too. Her salary's not low, Tom—name your price."
Bones lowered her head, visibly embarrassed. To the public, she was the model of composure—a tough, no-nonsense professional. If anyone found out she'd personally come to beg a student for a weight-loss potion, jaws would drop across the Ministry.
Tom didn't tease her. A snide comment now would only make things awkward, maybe even offend her. He also didn't play the magnanimous host; instead, he named a fair price—one Galleon per bottle.
Bones was delighted and immediately ordered twenty bottles. Then she shared some good news.
"About your First-Class Order of Merlin—it's practically confirmed. More than half of the council supports it, and several others are leaning that way too. Only a few are hesitating, saying you're too young and the award should wait until after you graduate."
A cold glint flashed in Tom's eyes, but it vanished quickly—neither woman noticed.
"Seems there are still plenty of old fossils in the wizarding world," he said lightly. "Which of these 'distinguished elders' were against it?"
Bones looked uncomfortable. "Tom…"
"I'm not going to take revenge," he said with an easy smile. "You know I'm not that petty. I just thought I'd send them a little gift—a few Galleons for some... health supplements. That's what Black used to do, isn't it?"
Bones sighed. "Those old relics can't be swayed by money."
"Then let me handle the donations," Lady Greengrass said gracefully, setting down her teacup. "Just donate directly to the Ministry itself. That's the final push we need, and no one will question it now."
"Then I'll leave it to you," Tom said, giving her a knowing look.
After a bit more conversation, Bones excused herself to return to work, but Lady Greengrass lingered behind.
"Something you didn't want to say in front of her?" she asked.
Tom rubbed his hands together sheepishly. "Auntie... could you tell me who exactly opposed it? And maybe... lend me their family trees while you're at it?"
Lady Greengrass just stared at him.
So this was his idea of not holding grudges? For a second, she actually believed Tom had changed—maybe he didn't sweat the small stuff anymore. Silly her. He was still a Riddle, through and through.
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Yo~
Thanks so much for getting the book into the top 10! I didn't expect it to shoot up there in just one day.
That must mean you really love this book! I'm so glad you're all enjoying your time reading it. Expect a mass release next Sunday — it'll have the same word count and quality as every other chapter!