— — — — — —
"Huh?" Tom blinked in surprise.
"You're not letting me through? Fine, then I won't."
He didn't argue or waste time. Instead, he simply brushed past the others and walked straight over to the injured unicorn.
The poor creature had managed to recover a bit of strength after resting for a while, but it was still in pretty rough shape. Its wounds hadn't shown any signs of healing.
Those injuries weren't ordinary—they were caused by dark magic. If they weren't treated soon, the unicorn would likely die from blood loss.
Yeah... this was definitely Grindelwald's area of expertise.
One glance was all it took for Grindelwald to identify the proper counter-curse.
Having an old grandpa like him in your pocket was already basically cheating—so what would you call carrying around a whole bunch of grandpas? Let's just say... if this wasn't considered cheating, then what was?
Following Grindelwald's instructions, Tom cast the counter-curse to dispel the dark magic's lingering effects. The black mist surrounding the wounds gradually dissipated. Only then did Tom take out a potion made from dittany and begin applying it to the unicorn's injuries while muttering:
"I told you, didn't I? This world's dangerous as hell. What would you have done if I hadn't been around? Good thing I left that mark on you last time—otherwise, you would've ended up like that unicorn back there."
The once-proud unicorn stayed quiet now, no longer acting aloof. The bond they'd built before was finally starting to bear fruit. In the system, a radiant light burst forth—it felt like success was just within reach.
While Tom was treating the unicorn, Hagrid and the others stood nearby watching silently. Eventually, it was Harry who broke the awkward silence— he had the strongest ability to process weirdness, after all.
"Tom... what exactly is going on here?"
Tom shrugged casually. "Isn't it obvious? Someone attacked my unicorn, so I fought them off. That's all."
"Your unicorn?" Hagrid couldn't help but blurt out, "That's a Forbidden Forest unicorn!"
Tom raised an eyebrow. "Tell them, are you mine or not?" He never missed a chance to manipulate others. But the unicorn didn't reply. It just looked at Tom with those big, innocent eyes.
"See? She didn't deny it." Tom smiled at the three of them, subtly pressing a bit harder on the injury as he spoke.
"And the other people—who was he?" Hagrid wisely decided to change the subject. He had a feeling if he pushed the ownership issue any further, he'd probably get punched.
"No clue."
Suddenly, Tom looked up and stared into the darkness. "Still hiding? Planning a sneak attack or something?"
A voice responded from the shadows. "No—we mean no harm."
Three centaurs stepped out of the forest, smartly lowering their bows.
"Firenze!" Hagrid called out to the lead centaur, then turned to Harry and Ron to explain, "They're centaurs—locals in the Forbidden Forest."
"Tom, no need to worry. They don't attack young wizards."
Tom chuckled. "Can't be too sure."
That made all three centaurs scowl. Good thing it was dark and no one could see their expressions.
"I just noticed something strange about Mars tonight," Firenze said calmly.
"Not my problem. Just stay out of my way," Tom replied.
Hagrid watched them go back and forth, feeling like something wasn't quite right—but he couldn't put his finger on it.
When he saw Tom preparing to leave with the unicorn, Hagrid quickly stepped forward. "Tom, you can't go yet. Someone dangerous has gotten into the forest. We need to report this to Dumbledore immediately."
"But I still need to reunite her with her daughter," Tom said as he gently stroked the unicorn's smooth hair.
"I'll take care of that," Firenze offered. "I know her family. The centaurs will make sure she gets proper treatment."
Tom hesitated for a moment… then shook his head.
He needed the little one to know exactly WHO had saved her mother.
No one dared argue with him. They just followed quietly as Tom led the way—until they found the unicorn's daughter, along with another adult unicorn. The moment the foal saw her mother injured, she ran up, circling her anxiously.
The unicorn gently nuzzled her daughter, and the whole scene was heartwarming enough to ease even Harry and Ron's shaken nerves.
After hugging the baby unicorn, Tom finally led everyone back.
Yes—led.
The three cowards followed silently behind him.
---
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived outside the Headmaster's office.
The stone gargoyle guarding the entrance came to life and gave them a suspicious look. "Slytherin brat—what are you doing here at this hour?"
"I'm not the one who wanted to come," Tom pointed at Hagrid. "He did."
"Fine, whatever." The gargoyle lazily hopped aside, revealing the staircase.
Hagrid looked stunned. "No password?"
"You need a password. He doesn't," the gargoyle said with a huge yawn, no longer interested in talking to Hagrid.
---
Inside the office, the room was empty. Tom plopped himself down into a cozy armchair without hesitation, while Hagrid and the others remained standing—awkward and stiff in contrast.
Footsteps sounded above, and soon Dumbledore appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in pajamas and rubbing his eyes.
"Do try to respect an old man's precious sleep," he said with a sigh. "Don't tell me you're here because you think your House has too many points?"
"Professor—your eye gunk," Tom pointed out helpfully.
"Ah, thank you, Mr. Riddle," Dumbledore chuckled as he wiped his eye. "But just so you know, I still won't go easy on your punishment."
"Sorry to bother you so late…" Hagrid quickly summarized the night's events.
Dumbledore's expression turned grim. "Hooded attackers… a unicorn dead from dark magic… Hagrid, you should've come to me sooner. This is serious."
"Unicorns are sacred creatures. Drinking their blood can heal, but it also places a terrible curse on you—one worse than death itself… though some may not care about that."
"I'm sorry, Professor," Hagrid said, full of guilt. He'd dropped out of school—how could he be expected to know this kind of advanced stuff?
Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes turned to Tom. "Mr. Riddle, would you mind telling me what happened—from your point of view?"
Tom didn't object. "Lately, I've been feeling kinda lonely, so I figured I'd follow your advice from before term started—and get a pet."
"You picked a unicorn?" Dumbledore's eye twitched. The others looked equally shocked.
Unicorns might not be super aggressive, but they were still powerful magical creatures. Not exactly the kind of thing you'd keep as a pet.
"You truly are wise, Professor."
"Stick to the point," Dumbledore said, trying not to roll his eyes.
"Alright, alright. I was worried other magical creatures in the forest might hurt my pet, so I cast some reactive warning spells on her. Tonight, just as I was falling asleep, the magic went off. I rushed over and found some hooded guy chasing my pet."
"So… we fought."
Tom suddenly went quiet.
Dumbledore raised a brow. "Please continue, Mr. Riddle."
Tom spread his hands. "That's it. I'm done."
"…What about the fight itself?" Dumbledore rubbed his temples. He was definitely wide awake now.
Finally, Tom gave a half-hearted summary.
He beat the hooded man down. The guy went berserk. So Tom went berserk right back. Then the guy lost.
Dumbledore's eyes flickered with a sharp gleam. "Mr. Riddle, are you certain the difference before and after was that drastic?"
"Absolutely." Tom nodded seriously. "At first, it felt like I was up against some average wizard. Easy to handle. But then… it was like he turned into the Grim Reaper."
Dumbledore nodded slowly, murmuring under his breath. "So bold… Tom."
But the Tom he referred to clearly wasn't the one sitting in front of him.
"Anything you three want to add?" Dumbledore turned to Harry and the others.
"He was… like a snake, Professor," Harry said, shivering a little at the memory. "When he escaped, he slithered off like his bones had vanished—his whole body just… flowed."
"That's extremely useful information." Dumbledore nodded. "You've all had quite the night. Go on now—get some rest."
"You too, Professor," Hagrid added, waving at Harry and Ron to follow him out.
"Wait a moment, Mr. Riddle."
Just as Tom was about to step out the door, Dumbledore—already halfway up the stairs—suddenly stopped him.
"If I recall correctly, I said during the Welcome Feast that students aren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest. Seems like you broke that rule tonight, didn't you?"
"Come on, Professor," Tom sighed. "This was an emergency. My pet was in danger. You can understand that, right?"
Dumbledore smiled, nodding. "Of course I do. I completely understand… personally. But the Headmaster doesn't. So—Slytherin, minus one hundred points. Good night, Mr. Riddle."
And with that, Dumbledore cheerfully hummed a tune and vanished into his quarters.
Tom rolled his eyes as he stepped out the door.
"Ugh, old bee."
Clearly, the guy just couldn't stand Slytherin being too far ahead. Even if he gave Gryffindor more points, it still wouldn't catch up—so he had to cut points instead. What a weak excuse.
Let's see who gets the last laugh, Dumbledore.
— — —
The next morning, in the Entrance Hall…
Slytherin students were staring at the hourglasses in disbelief.
They'd had a solid 150-point lead over Ravenclaw the night before. But after one night's sleep, that lead had magically shrunk by 100 points—they were now barely 50 points ahead.
"Stop staring. I went out for a walk last night and the Headmaster caught me. He's the one who docked the points."
The moment they recognized who spoke, the furious glares vanished.
"Oh—it's Tom. Never mind then." xN
"No worries," someone mumbled awkwardly. "Just be more careful next time. Actually, I know a few secret paths into the forest—I'll draw you a map later. Totally safe."
Harry, who had just walked by and overheard all this, was stunned.
Wow... Slytherin is actually kind of... united.
When he'd lost a hundred points, Gryffindor practically wanted to throw him out of the common room. Even the Quidditch team stopped calling him by name—they just shouted "Seeker" like he was a tool.
And yet Tom loses points and nobody bats an eye?
For the first time ever, Harry kind of regretted not listening to the Sorting Hat and going to Slytherin.
Sure, there were some jerks there, but… weren't most of them actually pretty decent?
As Tom entered the Great Hall, the first thing he did was glance toward the staff table.
Just as expected—Quirrell's seat was empty.
He didn't pay it much mind and casually sat next to Daphne to start breakfast.
Snape, meanwhile, was glaring at Tom like his eyes were throwing daggers—but unfortunately, not even that could pierce Tom's thick skin.
...
Before class began, Snape stopped him in the corridor.
"What exactly did you do?" Snape demanded, voice low but sharp. "There's no way you were caught by accident. You let yourself get found out, didn't you?"
"I went for a stroll in the forest," Tom replied flatly. "Blame the hooded guy. I already explained everything last night—if you want more details, go ask Professor Dumbledore yourself."
Snape narrowed his eyes at Tom, then turned and left—heading straight to Dumbledore's office.
Unfortunately, his timing was awful.
The whole incident with the dragon had already reached the Ministry of Magic. A group of officials had come to question Dumbledore.
Thankfully, the current Minister—Cornelius Fudge—was still in his "honeymoon phase" with Dumbledore. He respected the old man deeply, and the so-called questioning was more of a formality. Besides, the dragon had already been taken away. No big deal.
Only after the Ministry people left did Snape finally enter the office.
"You're just in time, Severus," Dumbledore said, holding up a letter. "Quirinus has resigned."
"What?" Snape looked like he'd been struck by lightning. "Quirrell resigned?"
"Indeed. The letter came this morning," Dumbledore said calmly. Then he gave a quick summary of what had happened the night before.
"That hooded man… it had to be Quirrell," Snape said firmly.
Dumbledore nodded. "We agree. But he's already gone. Left in the middle of the night."
"He'll be back," Snape muttered, pacing the room. "That man—he won't let Quirrell run. Not in the middle of everything. I know his type. This is a ploy, to lull us into letting our guard down."
"Then we'll give him a reason to come back," Dumbledore said, following Snape's train of thought. "If he thinks there's still hope, he won't just sit around and do nothing."
---
After Transfiguration class, Tom—still under a Disillusionment Charm—snuck back into the Forbidden Forest to check on the unicorn's condition.
Thanks to his naturally strong body and the healing herbs he'd used, the unicorn's wounds had finally begun to close.
The results were promising. With no more dark magic interfering, the healing process had started. Only shallow scars remained, and once her fur grew back, even those would vanish.
Tom was nearly done.
All that remained was to complete the final step of the second trial—and he was ready to press the advantage while things were fresh.
"Alright, this is your last chance," Tom said seriously, straightening the unicorn's head so she was looking right at him.
"Follow me—and I'll protect you and your daughter from now on. But if you say no... next time you're in danger, I won't be coming to save you."
The unicorn held his gaze, sensing his resolve with an almost human understanding.
Finally, she lowered her head, slowly, solemnly—bringing her horn to rest in front of the boy.
Tom reached out and wrapped his hand around it—the horn she had never allowed him to touch.
Second Trial, complete.
.
.
.