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Hogwarts : Black family bloodline...
Hogwarts, my partner is Tom…
Hogwarts : He Starts by Deconstructing Avada Kedavra...
Hogwarts: Charlie's Chocolate Factory
In the dead of night, Tom had finally gotten Misha to bed.
He absolutely refused to let her stay up late.
Sitting by the bed, keeping watch, he felt Misha grip his hand tight under the covers. She refused to let go, no matter what.
It took a while, but she finally drifted off to sleep. The shadow beneath her quieted down, too.
Tom shifted his weight and gently pulled his hand free from Misha's grasp.
Looking at her closely, Misha really was adorable. She and Hermione were two completely different types of people. Hermione was determined and fierce—the kind of badass girl who, when she grew up, would probably throw Tom on the back of a motorcycle and drag race through the streets.
Misha, on the other hand, was more like a sweet, obedient little sister. If she ever got married, she'd probably be the type to keep the house perfect, greeting her husband at the door wearing nothing but an apron, asking if he wanted to take a bath first, eat dinner first, or maybe...
If a guy could marry both—one to handle the outside world and one to manage the home—wouldn't that be—
Fuck, what am I thinking?
Tom rubbed the bridge of his nose.
How could I only marry two? Does the shadow not count as a person? It'd obviously be marrying three at once! Wait, no!
He slapped himself on the cheek, forcing his wandering thoughts back to reality.
Hermione is a friend, and Misha is a sister. I practically raised them both!
The room was dead silent. Tom rolled his wrist; there were clear red marks on the back of his hand from where Misha had gripped him so tightly. If he brought it up to his nose, he could catch a faint, sweet, milky scent—stronger and sweeter than the scent on Hermione.
Good thing it's me. If Harry had been the one looking after Misha, he probably wouldn't wash his hands for a week.
Tom crouched down on the floor. He made sure not to step on the shadow, simply watching her from the side.
"..." The shadow shifted, putting some distance between herself and Tom.
Tom leaned in closer.
The shadow retreated.
Tom followed.
Soon, the shadow had nowhere left to run!
Reaching both hands straight into the ground, Tom scooped the shadow right up. Moving faster than she could react, he carried her straight out of the cramped storage room.
"Hmph!" Knowing exactly how powerful this guy's magic was, the shadow simply gave up struggling.
Humans are all the same, and wizards are no different! The moment they find a species unlike their own, they only have two options in mind: capture or kill!
But... to be killed by him? The shadow let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
To her absolute surprise, Tom didn't attack her. Instead, he gently set her down.
"What's your name?"
The shadow: "...??"
"I'm just an unwanted kid. I don't have a name! Let go, let go of me! Who gave you permission to hold me?!" The shadow started thrashing in Tom's arms. "If you hadn't had a few extra months of magic lessons, I'd beat the crap out of you!"
Tom raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to kill me."
Kill Tom? The shadow bit her lip and stubbornly turned her head away, muttering under her breath.
"So why won't you listen?" Tom scolded. "Haven't I told you both that kids need to act like kids? Look at the time! Why aren't you sleeping?"
"None of your business," the shadow snapped. "You think a filthy human can tell me what to do?"
"Turn around." Tom bit out the words, taking a deep breath.
Smack! Tom delivered a swift spank to the shadow's backside.
The shadow yelped in pain, jumping up from the ground. Back in the day, whenever Misha misbehaved, Tom used to spank her exactly like this.
"You crossed the line!"
"Hmph," Tom scoffed coldly. "If I catch you staying up past your bedtime again, I'll do it again."
The shadow glared back, her stubborn streak flaring up. "Who's afraid of you?!"
They stood in a standoff. Tom stared mercilessly into the shadow's eyes, but after a long, tense moment, she didn't make a single move to attack.
"Pick a name for yourself," Tom said.
The shadow tilted her chin up, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh? Worried I'll steal Misha's name? Makes sense. Anyone would be on edge with a monster lurking around their little sister. If you're just going to lock me up anyway, what's the point of a name?"
The shadow didn't dare dwell on it, but saying those words left a hollow, aching feeling in her chest.
"Lock you up?" Tom frowned in genuine confusion. "Why would I lock you up? You should have your own name. Your own life. You aren't Misha. You are you, understand? Seriously, I feed you guys so many motivational speeches, and none of it ever sinks in."
Tom sighed, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "If you want to stay by Misha's side, I'll fight for that. If you want to go to Hogwarts and live under a new name, I can help you apply. I don't give a damn what anyone else says. You are my sister, just like Misha."
"When you do something right, I'll reward you. Whether you want a cupcake or the stars in the sky, I'll get it for you. But if you mess up, I'm going to spank you. That's how it is now, and that's how it'll be in the future!"
"Even if you turn into a full-blown Dark Lord one day, waving a wand around and screaming the Killing Curse at people, I'll still march right up and spank you."
Tom took a deep breath and gently pulled the shadow into a hug. "You are you, and Misha is Misha. To me, you're both just the little sisters I grew up with, finally getting older."
"You..." The shadow stared at Tom in utter disbelief. "I'm just a piece of magic. Magic created me."
"Does that mean you aren't human?"
"I'm not human!" the shadow yelled.
She wanted to shove him away, but as her hands pressed against his chest, she couldn't bring herself to use any force. Instead, her arms slipped around his back, tentatively hugging him in return.
"To me, you're human," Tom smiled softly. "Thank you for looking after Misha. The day her magic awakened, she probably felt like her entire world had collapsed. It must have been terrifying for her, surrounded by ordinary people. If she didn't have you, she would have been miserable. And the same goes for you..."
Tom mused for a moment. "I've met a lot of people who do what you do—quietly hiding all their burdens inside. Luckily, you've got an incredibly understanding older brother. Misha didn't know how to dance. You're the one who spent all that time learning it just to teach her, right? So, care for a dance? It's Christmas night, after all."
The shadow froze, staring at Tom in sheer disbelief.
She had absolutely no idea that this was how he truly saw things.
From the moment Tom had shown up, the shadow had already accepted her fate. She had been absolutely certain she wouldn't survive the night.
"Hogwarts is a pretty great place," Tom continued. "You could go there to study. The professors are good people; they won't look down on you just because you're a shadow."
The shadow sniffled. "What about the other students?"
"I can't guarantee anything about them. But if anyone dares to talk crap behind your back or gives you grief, I'll personally shove their head into a toilet in the girls' bathroom. Nobody talks trash about Tom's sister and gets away with it."
"You'll get expelled."
"Nah, I won't. I'm on great terms with every professor at Hogwarts. They've definitely got my back."
"The students will hate you."
"If they're bullying my sister, why the hell should I forgive them?" Tom chuckled. "If they actually wanted to be my friends, they wouldn't do it in the first place."
Taking the shadow's hand, Tom smiled. "You have plenty of time to figure out a name for yourself. But right now, we should just enjoy the night."
He paused, his expression suddenly turning serious again. "But just for tonight. Starting tomorrow, you're going to eat properly, sleep properly, and absolutely no staying up late."
"Oh," the shadow nodded.
"And no using magic on other people. If you do, they'll take you away, and I'll be really sad."
"Oh," the shadow nodded again. Her fingers curled inward, gripping Tom's hand tightly in return.
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