— — — — — —
Aberforth didn't just curse Dumbledore. He cursed Grindelwald too, and even harder.
Roughly at a ratio of one to one and a half.
Sadly, Dumbledore couldn't hear a word of it, but that didn't matter. Tom was considerate enough to invite the other party involved, letting Grindelwald personally enjoy Aberforth's heartfelt verbal broadcast.
Inside the study space, Grindelwald's face was pitch-black. He looked like he wanted to fly straight over from Durmstrang and hand out a hundred Unforgivables each. Yes, not just to Aberforth. Tom was definitely on the list as well.
As Aberforth laid into him, Tom sat there smiling, nodding along in agreement. Every now and then he even tossed in a curse of his own, righteous outrage written all over his face. It left Aberforth deeply satisfied, as if he'd finally found someone who truly understood him.
This kid was rotten to the core.
"Tom," Aberforth said at last, "tell me something. Why did you have to wade into this mess?"
Aberforth had his own sources. He knew Tom wasn't just the witness to the final contract, but also the bridge between the parties, the one who suggested easing tensions between Grindelwald and multiple Ministries of Magic.
"You can't really blame me," the boy replied with a sigh, draining his glass in one go. "I know the headmaster's always wanted peace. If I hadn't stepped in and given everyone a way out, who knows how far that 'war' would've gone."
Peace, my ass. That was just an argument between lovers.
Aberforth's expression darkened, but in the end he still gave his brother a little face-saving and kept those old scandals to himself.
"Tom, I've only got one piece of advice. Stay away from Grindelwald. If you don't, he'll sell you out and you won't even realize it. Same goes for my brother. Keep your distance and focus on your own path."
"Yeah," Tom said with feeling. "Dealing with people like Grindelwald and the headmaster is exhausting. They... sigh~"
"Bullshit!"
Grindelwald finally snapped. "Tom, I'm basically signing up to work for you for life, and you still slander me like this? Do you have any conscience at all?"
Con-what? My vocabulary doesn't have this word, sorry.
Tom curled his lip, cut off the connection to the space, and went back to clinking glasses with Aberforth.
After a whole jug of wine, Aberforth had figured out that Tom was really just hiding out here with his girlfriends for some peace and quiet. He slapped a "Closed" sign on the door with grand bravado, then headed into the kitchen to make dinner.
Aberforth had always been good at taking care of people. His emotional intelligence was leagues above Dumbledore's. Otherwise, Ariana wouldn't have relied on him so deeply back then.
...
It wasn't until the last permitted hour to return to school that Tom finally left the Hog's Head with the two sisters. They'd had a great time gossiping today and heard more than a few of Dumbledore's darker secrets.
But you think Tom's day ended there?
Of course not. He still had to accompany Hermione to the Astronomy Tower to stargaze. Even Ariana in the study space needed his company.
It was a blessing that Fleur wasn't at Hogwarts. Otherwise, there was no way he'd have survived the day.
---
Lying on his bed later, Tom let out a long sigh. The energy he'd spent today easily dwarfed what it took to actually study all day.
As expected, women were the most troublesome magic in the world.
That was just his private thought, though. After all, only a handful of people were qualified to enjoy problems like Tom's.
---
A new day dawned, and with it came the Study of Ancient Runes class.
If Hogwarts students were asked to vote on the hardest class in school, most would pick Potions or Transfiguration. The subject matter played a role, sure, but the professors were a major factor too.
But at the same time, a small number of students would choose Ancient Runes.
Not because they were special, but because only that small group had even taken the course in the first place.
"Class," said Professor Bathsheda Babbling from the podium, "today we'll be studying the final word among the foundational runes."
She wrote, or rather drew, a rune on the blackboard. The few students in the classroom widened their eyes, carefully copying it into their notebooks, desperate not to make a single mistake.
Only after giving them a full five minutes did Babbling begin explaining the meaning of "world."
"The rune for 'world' is one of the most conceptually vast in all of ancient runes. Its function varies greatly depending on context. Broadly speaking, it describes space and time. For example, the Extension Charm you're all familiar with contains the power of the 'world' rune, though modern magic has simplified it so it can be cast with an incantation."
"However, if you want to create a truly large space, you still need a proper understanding of this rune. At the same time, 'world' also carries the meaning of stillness. It represents stability, permanence…"
Babbling did her best to explain the rune using the simplest language possible, but even for her it was difficult. One careless phrasing could distort or overlook its true meaning.
It was just as hard for the students. Every rune behaved differently in different contexts, and when you added the brutally strict writing requirements, it felt like listening to some incomprehensible scripture. Many were already planning to drop the elective next year.
Babbling knew that too. There weren't many students to begin with, and by fourth year the number would drop by half again. But there was nothing she could do about it. Some knowledge simply wasn't meant for everyone.
That was also one of the key reasons why wizards struggled to reach higher levels. When magic was treated purely as a tool to be used, rather than a truth worth digging into, it naturally stagnated at the most superficial level of application.
As the end of class approached, Babbling paused and summarized.
"I've already introduced all of the foundational runes in previous lessons. By now, you should have a basic understanding of Ancient Runes."
"How to properly and skillfully apply them isn't part of this term's content. Over the remaining months, we'll be reviewing what we've already learned to solidify your foundations. Any questions?"
She asked out of habit, fully expecting the usual dead silence.
Instead, a hand went up.
"Miss Granger?"
"Um, Professor," Hermione said carefully. "You just mentioned that we've finished all the foundational material. I wanted to ask… do you know about the 'communication runes' mentioned in the newspapers recently?"
"Aren't those also basic runes? When would we get a chance to learn them?"
"Communication runes…"
Babbling hadn't expected that question. As both a professor and an expert in the field, of course she had been following the news.
Not only did she know about them, she'd been thoroughly shaken. She hadn't slept well for days.
The other students remembered the article too. More importantly, it had been written by Tom.
"So, how should I put this…" Babbling hesitated for a long moment before answering. "Miss Granger, what we're currently studying are the foundational runes of Ancient Runic Script. They are the most widely used and the closest to the magical language systems we use today."
"Beyond that, there are at least ten other known magical rune systems in the world."
"As for Mr. Riddle's communication runes, they don't belong to any existing system. They are entirely his own creation."
The classroom erupted.
Tom publishing articles wasn't exactly news. He'd been doing it since first year, so everyone was used to that by now.
But creating an entirely new rune system sounded absurd.
The runes they were learning, after all, were said to have been created by Odin himself after receiving the gifts of Wisdom and Inspiration. Did that mean Tom had already reached a level comparable to a god from legend?
"Surprised?" Babbling shrugged. "You're not the only ones. I was shocked too, and so were my colleagues. My Codex hasn't stopped overflowing these past few days. To be honest, Miss Granger, I was actually hoping you could pass along a message to Mr. Riddle for me."
"Ask him whether he'd be willing to join the Ancient Runes Association and give a few public lectures."
"The runes he's revealed are extremely profound. They use multi-layered, spiral composite structures, and each 'word' is a highly complex construct. You can't possibly master them just from newspapers or academic papers."
"As for the difficulty, well… if you graduate with Outstanding results in runes, you'd probably be qualified to start learning them."
Hermione froze.
She'd only asked because she'd previously tried to learn the communication runes from Tom and had been turned down. He'd told her to solidify her basics first and come back later.
Feeling a little resentful, she'd gone to the professor to find out more. Instead, she was told that only students who graduated with Outstanding marks in runes would even be qualified.
When the bell rang, Hermione nodded dazedly and carefully memorized Professor Babbling's message for Tom.
Later, after the final class of the day, she went to find him to pass it on, only to unexpectedly spot Tom in the entrance hall, deep in conversation with a white-haired, hunched elderly witch.
Dumbledore was there too, along with McGonagall and several other elderly wizards she didn't recognize.
Tom noticed her and waved.
Hermione jogged over. Tom took her hand and said to the old witch, "Professor Marchbanks, let's forget about me setting the exam questions. I've already got too much on my plate, and I really can't spare the extra energy."
"Besides, it wouldn't be appropriate for a student to write exam questions anyway. Aren't you worried I'd leak them?"
"No, not at all," said the stooped Griselda Marchbanks.
She didn't seem to catch the teasing note in Tom's voice and remained utterly serious. "Even if you did leak them, it wouldn't be a problem. Rune exams use almost the same material every year anyway. At most, you'd just be defining the scope of the test."
Marchbanks…
Hermione repeated the name in her head, her eyes widening.
That age. Talking about exams.
Could this be Griselda Marchbanks, the Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, the woman who had overseen the OWL and NEWT examinations for over a century?
And what had she just implied?
Was she really asking Tom to help write questions for those two major exams?
.
.
.