— — — — — —
Last night, Tom had still been thinking about how to mess with Fudge. After sleeping on it, though, everything suddenly felt dull and pointless. The thought of having to rack his brains just to deal with a pig sitting in a high office filled him with irritation.
Today, Tom decided to learn from Voldemort.
Among Slytherin, some were genuinely loyal to him, others only supported him. But none of that really mattered. What mattered was efficacy.
He gives an order, and you carry it out. Obedient ones are good children who get a reward. Disobedient ones… well, he wouldn't really do anything to them, but they themselves will fear that tag.
"..."
That little speech scared Draco Malfoy senseless and left the rest of the snakes frozen in place.
Ever since Tom enrolled at Hogwarts, whether it was what he did in school or what he did outside, it all boiled down to one word: ruthless.
They were still practicing Lumos in the classroom, while he was already out there harvesting lives.
Who wouldn't be afraid of a kid like that?
One by one, they rushed to declare their loyalty. Genuine or fake, it didn't matter. No one dared to hesitate. They didn't even stop to eat, each of them pulling out their contact lists and calling home in tears.
Tom's dorm mates were the most enthusiastic of all. Zabini didn't just call his mother; he even reached out to relatives from several former stepfathers and every so-called friend he could think of.
A sixth-year student suddenly yelled, half-panicked, "Zabini! That's my dad, damn it! I don't need you telling him!"
Another student looked shocked. "What the hell? Zabini, how do you know my second uncle? Oh—wait. My third uncle was your fifth stepfather. I forgot."
"Blaise Zabini, hand over your damn codex. Now."
"…"
Even Tom couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth. He had a feeling Zabini might be the best-connected pureblood of the lot.
Parents all over the place received frantic, incoherent pleas from their children and were left completely baffled. Once they managed to piece together what was going on, many of them sucked in a sharp breath.
Those with good information channels dug deeper and came back even more shaken.
Too brutal. Not just murder, but displaying the bodies on pillars for everyone to see. It was a blatant challenge to the existing order of the wizarding world and to the authority of the Ministry itself.
To be honest, people dying in Knockturn Alley was nothing new. Wizards disappeared there every year. In quieter years, maybe a handful. In worse ones, dozens. Locals, foreigners, it made no difference.
But killing so openly, then announcing it to the world like Riddle had done? The only comparison they could think of was the Dark Lord back in his heyday.
Was the name Tom Riddle really cursed?
The more they learned, the heavier the fear in their hearts grew. And with their own children and descendants effectively in Tom's hands, there was little room for hesitation. Almost all of them made their choice.
Fudge had to suffer for a while.
People might wonder: just how terrifying was the influence of the pureblood families?
Well… the pureblood families, roughly ten percent of the population, controlled more than seventy percent of the wizarding world's wealth and resources.
So even if only a fraction of them acted together, the storm they could unleash was enough to make Fudge break out in a cold sweat.
...
After discussing matters with Narcissa, Lucius Malfoy left the manor at once to visit his old friends in the Wizengamot.
The Rosier family immediately contacted the newspapers and began steering public opinion.
Other families started making "adjustments" to their donations to the Ministry for the year, using money as leverage to apply pressure.
— — —
Hogwarts - The Headmaster's Office
Dumbledore had already received Fudge's complaint. His brows were drawn so tightly together they nearly formed a knot.
First Tom causes trouble, then Grindelwald. Once Grindelwald's done, Tom starts up again. What, did the two of you plan this together or what? Can't I have a bit of peace for once?
Complaining was one thing. Ignoring it was another. Dumbledore couldn't do that.
『Albus Dumbledore 』: Cornelius, there must be some misunderstanding here. Neither of us has a full picture of what really happened. I hope you'll uphold the impartiality expected of the Minister.
『Albus Dumbledore 』: Please give me some time. I will speak with Mr. Riddle immediately and clarify the situation.
When Fudge read it, his nose nearly twisted out of shape with anger. What did "uphold impartiality" mean? Was he being unfair right now?
Wait... was Dumbledore warning him?
"Lawless. Absolutely lawless! Tom Riddle deserves to rot in Azkaban, and Dumbledore too!" Fudge slammed his codex down. He was so furious that even Umbridge didn't dare approach him.
What he couldn't possibly understand was that this wasn't a warning at all. It was protection.
If the conflict kept escalating and the Ministry sent Aurors to make arrests, Dumbledore was absolutely certain Tom would smash them head-on.
There was no magic in the wizarding world that could accurately gauge someone's true strength. As long as Tom didn't show his hand, even Dumbledore had no idea how far the boy had gone in his magical research.
But he believed, deep down, that Tom was now only under him and Grindelwald. Even he couldn't defeat the boy in a short time, and if Tom wanted to, he wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Faw—"
The situation was urgent. Dumbledore instinctively wanted to have Fawkes fetch Tom, but when he looked at the empty phoenix perch, he remembered that Fawkes hadn't returned in a long time.
"…Phineas, please go and ask Mr. Riddle to come here," Dumbledore said wearily.
Phineas, on the other hand, was anything but tired. One look at Dumbledore's expression told him there was fresh gossip to be had. He vanished from his portrait the moment he heard Dumbledore's words.
When he reached the Slytherin common room, Tom hadn't left yet. Phineas hurried over and called out, "Riddle, you brat. Dumbledore's looking for you."
Tom wasn't surprised in the least. He nodded at Phineas calmly. "I'll go right away. Tell the headmaster to have breakfast prepared for me."
---
Half an hour later
Dumbledore waited until Tom finished the last bite of his scrambled eggs before asking helplessly, "Tom, can you tell me exactly what happened?"
"Headmaster, it's really very simple."
The boy dabbed his mouth elegantly with a napkin. "A group of criminals tried to break into my territory. Should I have spared them and invited them to stay for Christmas?"
Dumbledore tried to guide the child back toward something resembling normal reasoning. "You could have captured them and handed them over to the Ministry."
Tom paused and blinked at him. "You're joking, right?"
"The Ministry's efficiency. Surely you understand it. Even if they handled it, those people would just sit in Azkaban for a while. And then..."
Dumbledore frowned. "And then what?"
"And then more people would start eyeing my things," Tom said with a helpless sigh, tinged with pity for those fools. "Solving problems the 'proper' way doesn't deter anyone. It only convinces them that success is possible. The same thing will happen once, twice, maybe countless times."
"I'm not like you. I don't have the luxury of wasting endless time on clowns like them."
Dumbledore's eyes flickered. He had to admit Tom wasn't wrong. Greed had no limits, and only the harshest measures could scare most people away.
"You have your patience," Tom continued calmly. "I have my way of doing things."
"Headmaster," Tom filled both teacups without using magic and spoke at an unhurried pace. "Last time, I followed your rules. That's why the Graves family didn't suffer heavy losses. But what good did that do?"
"Werewolves, vampires, bottom-feeders like that all dared to make a move on my business. Oh, and goblins too. I'll be heading to Gringotts later to have a talk with them. So I'll be asking for leave. I won't be attending classes today."
"Anyway, if I hadn't killed anyone last night and had obediently waited for the Ministry to act, do you believe me when I say I'd end up killing even more people later?"
"Uh! And don't worry. I won't become a second Voldemort. He killed for pleasure, to satisfy his twisted desires. I don't like killing. I use it only because it results in fewer deaths overall and saves time."
Today, Tom laid all his cards on the table. He had the confidence to do so now.
He didn't want to be enemies with Dumbledore. Setting everything else aside, the old man had always treated him well. Aside from Newt and Nicolas, Dumbledore was the only one who had shown him genuine kindness from the very first day they met.
"..."
Dumbledore lifted his teacup and drank slowly. When he set it down, it was as if he had made a decision.
"Tom, I've said before that killing is an extremely unpleasant experience for a wizard. It can have unpredictable effects on your soul and your character. I've spent my life trying to avoid that path."
"I ask you, my child, if anything like this happens again, inform me beforehand. I will step in and clear the obstacles for you. You have a brilliant future ahead of you, but people's ingrained perceptions are hard to change. In the eyes of those greedy hyenas, this old man still carries more weight than you."
Tom stared at Dumbledore in shock.
He had imagined many possible directions this conversation could take. But this outcome, Dumbledore's willingness to personally intervene on his behalf just to reduce the blood on his hands, was something he had never anticipated.
---
At the same time, Crouch closed his Codex with a stunned expression.
He stood there in a daze for several minutes before striding out decisively, heading for Professor McGonagall's office to borrow her fireplace.
.
.
.