— — — — —
Among the girls Tom knew, Fleur and Gabrielle had Silvery-blonde hair, while Astoria's was silver.
It was a subtle difference, but the effect was completely different.
The Veela sisters' hair gleamed with a radiant silver, catching the eye even in the dark. Astoria's, after months of careful care, no longer looked dull and brittle from malnutrition. Instead, it had a softer, understated brilliance that suited her cool, pale tones.
The robe Tom picked out for her looked good in design, but the fabric and craftsmanship left much to be desired. Fortunately, the shop offered custom tailoring. He left Astoria's measurements and fabric preferences with the clerk—and while he was at it, he ordered something for Daphne too.
At this time of day, Daphne was probably still curled up in her dorm, blissfully asleep, completely unaware that Tom and Astoria were out enjoying themselves without her. Once she found out, she'd definitely be mad. Best to have a gift ready in advance—like fire insurance.
As for Daphne's size, both Tom and Astoria knew it by heart. There was no chance of getting it wrong.
And of course, he couldn't play favorites. Hermione needed one too.
Honestly, if you've got girls who genuinely love you, you don't even have the right to be a scumbag.
Tom could feel the real love and care from Fleur, Daphne, Hermione, and Astoria—and he felt the same toward them. They were mature enough to truly understand what those feelings meant.
As for the others who came up to him, like Cho, or the ones he just liked teasing, like Ginny, that was nothing more than friendship. Even Hannah was closer to him than those two, after all. He wasn't the type to collect girls, regardless.
---
Leaving the clothing shop, Astoria admitted she was hungry, so they skipped the other stores and went straight to the Three Broomsticks.
Madam Rosmerta, the landlady, was a beautiful, charming woman in her prime. For most Hogwarts students, she was half the reason to stop by. The other half was the famous butterbeer.
There were actually two versions of butterbeer: one non-alcoholic, boiled for a long time to burn away the alcohol and leave just the malty sweetness, and another with a touch of alcohol, though very weak.
Tom preferred the alcoholic version—it had a cleaner flavor. The student-safe version relied too much on syrup, cloyingly sweet after a few sips.
But Madam Rosmerta wasn't about to risk Ministry trouble by serving underage students alcohol, so Tom resigned himself to lime soda.
He never minded watching Astoria eat. She was elegant, cutting her sandwich into neat little squares, opening her mouth just enough for each bite, and chewing slowly with perfect grace. She could've been straight out of a royal etiquette class.
"Did Aunt make you eat like this?" Tom asked, curious.
"Not exactly." Astoria swallowed before answering. "Mother once hired a tutor. She taught me to eat this way. I just kept at it since eating slowly is easier to digest."
'...Because of the Blood Malediction (blood curse),' Tom thought with a quiet sigh.
He reached over and patted her head. "One day, I'll make sure you get to try eating meat the way it's meant to be—big bites."
Her face flushed bright pink, and she gave a shy but happy little hum of agreement.
After leaving the Three Broomsticks, they stopped by Zonko's Joke Shop. The shelves were packed with magical prank items. Tom was fascinated by Stink Pellets, Bewildering Cans of Mystery, Tempests in a Bottle, and Fanged Frisbee, while Astoria bought a rain umbrella and a few fluffy Puffskein dolls.
The rain umbrella, when opened, poured rain down on whoever was beneath it. Astoria even had Tom transfigure it to match Daphne's existing umbrella style, grinning at the thought.
They browsed a few more shops before heading toward the Hog's Head, taking Ariana along to see her brother.
Tom figured he'd shown up too early again and would end up arguing with Aberforth, who was notoriously cranky in the mornings.
Sure enough, even before Aberforth stepped out, Tom could hear a stream of foul-mouthed grumbling. But when Aberforth actually laid eyes on the little girl beside Tom, he choked back whatever insult he'd been about to spit.
After two meals and exploring nearly the whole village, Astoria had reached her limit.
Tom picked up a package of sweets from Honeydukes, planning to apparate them straight back to school, but Astoria tugged at his sleeve, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.
"Tom… I want to see the scenery on the way back. Can we walk?"
Tom hesitated. "I don't mind, but you—"
"Then will you carry me?" Astoria cut in, uncharacteristically coy.
She was so happy today she almost seemed tipsy, braver than usual. Normally she would never ask Tom for anything.
"All right," Tom said with a smile. "I'll carry you back."
He crouched down without complaint, and Astoria leaned onto his back. When he stood up, her light weight barely registered. He walked just as briskly as if he were carrying nothing.
"Tom, I want to visit more places in the future. Unlike you, I've never even been abroad," Astoria murmured, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. Her warm breath tickled his ear with every word.
Tom twitched his head slightly, the corner of his mouth softening. "Wherever you want to go, I'll take you."
Astoria tightened her arms around him, then asked slyly, "What about my sister and Hermione? And Fleur Delacour too? Can you really handle all of us at once?"
"Good point." Tom nodded seriously. "If you want me to take you out alone, I can do that. But time is limited. Maybe just a few days."
"Deal."
Astoria immediately stuck out her little finger. Tom thought the gesture childish, but she was so adorably insistent today that he almost felt Daphne's spirit had possessed her. With a helpless sigh, he hooked his finger around hers, sealing the promise.
---
Back at school, Tom managed to smooth over Daphne's inevitable sulking by offering her the new robe and promising another outing next time. Only then was he free to focus on his own work.
Earlier in Hogsmeade, a message from Vinda Rosier had caught his attention. Now, seated at his desk, he opened his Codex to reply.
『Tom Riddle』: You're saying those families were just pawns? That someone else is pulling the strings against me?
As the sender, he could see when messages were read but not answered. As the receiver, Vinda's slow reply time was not a good sign.
Fortunately, she didn't leave him waiting long. Less than a minute later, her handwriting appeared on the page.
『Vinda Rosier』:Yes, Master Riddle. Yesterday, Vogel captured a descendant of the Vernai family.
『Vinda Rosier』: Under both Veritaserum and the Imperius Curse, it was confirmed repeatedly—there is indeed a wizard behind all this, someone powerful enough to push these families into an alliance.
Tom's eyes narrowed, a flash of cold killing intent glinting there.
It had looked like nothing more than a routine attack, yet digging deeper turned up so much filth.
This was like pulling on a single thread and finding the whole rotten weave beneath.
.
.
.
A/N: A quick note about the worldbuilding.
I respect and admire J. K. Rowling, but she left way too many gaps and inconsistencies in the wizarding world. Forget Fantastic Beasts—just looking at the seven main books, you'd think the wizarding world begins and ends with Britain. Sure, other countries were mentioned, but never really explored. The focus stayed almost entirely on the UK.
Take Fudge, for example. He was able to push Dumbledore—the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards—out of office. Does that mean he had authority over every Ministry of Magic in the world? It doesn't make much sense.
So, I'll be expanding and adjusting things a bit. Otherwise, it really would feel like we're all Voldemort, with eyes only for Hogwarts and this little patch of England.