— — — — — —
Disguised as Michael, Tom arrived at the investment firm.
The investment manager greeted him warmly. The £40,000 Tom had invested after Christmas—leveraged, of course—had now grown into a principal of £600,000.
A small portion of that came from the U.S. stock market, but the majority was from currency trading. Ever since the ruble crash, its value had plummeted. The window of opportunity had been short, but Tom had made the most of it.
After revising his investment plan, Tom subtly used a spell on the manager—just a little insurance. It would keep him from pulling any tricks and ensure he followed Tom's instructions to the letter.
With a £200,000 check in hand, Tom left the firm.
...
If the wizarding world were ever exposed and an all-out war broke out between wizards and Muggles… it'd be hard to say who'd win. But when it came to using little tricks like these to gain an advantage, the Muggle world really didn't stand a chance.
Anyway, now that he had the money, Tom planned to buy a place of his own.
London's housing market was pretty reasonable at the moment. In ordinary neighborhoods, £200,000 could get you a nice detached house, or a townhome in a more central location.
Even in upscale areas like Westminster, Chelsea, or Richmond, it was enough for a down payment. Fast-forward twenty or thirty years, and the price would probably increase six- or sevenfold.
He planned to use the money for a down payment on a place in central London—somewhere to finally call home.
And thanks to the clean financial records from his investment firm, getting a mortgage wouldn't be difficult.
But today, there wasn't enough time. He had a lunch date with Hermione, followed by a visit to her dad's dental clinic.
At 11:15, Tom arrived at the meeting spot—a little bookstore right next to the Leaky Cauldron.
Hermione was already there, flipping through a thin book titled The Great British Food Guide. Today she wore a pink t-shirt with jeans and sneakers, topped off with a round straw hat.
If you didn't know better, you'd never guess this pretty, youthful girl was a witch.
"Hermione."
Tom stepped up behind her and softly called her name.
She turned around with a radiant smile. "Tom! You are early."
Tom grinned. "Someone's treating me to lunch after all—I'm extra motivated."
Hermione gave a playful little huff and lifted her chin. "I may be broke in the wizarding world, but in this world… I could afford to buy you lunch a few hundred times over."
Daughter of a dentist = Rich.
Without missing a beat, Tom grabbed onto her smooth, pale thigh and clung to it dramatically. "Rich lady, I'm starving. Feed me!"
Ten minutes later, Tom stood staring at the massive golden "M" in front of him, speechless.
Then he slowly turned his betrayed gaze to Hermione. "This is the fancy meal you promised me? McDonald's?"
Her cheeks flushed pink—definitely not from the heat. "I… I couldn't think of anything more interesting. We get steaks and ribs all the time at school, but… no burgers at Hogwarts."
Tom rubbed his forehead.
So that's why she'd been reading that bizarre food guide when he arrived—she was trying to get ideas?
But to be fair, she wasn't wrong. Hogwarts didn't serve burgers.
Thinking it over, Tom gently took Hermione's soft little hand. "Ok, let's enter. But you're still paying."
He took his role as a shameless freeloader very seriously.
...
After the happy meal...
Hermione was still thinking about Hogwarts food. "Honestly, Hogwarts really needs to improve the food. It's not bad, but we eat the same things year-round. No matter how good it is, it gets boring."
Tom wholeheartedly agreed and even encouraged her to write a letter to Dumbledore. He promised to sign it himself.
After some time, they finally arrived at the clinic.
"Welcome, Tom!"
Mr. Granger's dental clinic was located in a three-story townhouse just one street away from their home. He greeted them warmly at the door and led them inside.
Hermione, clearly right at home, went to pour water while her dad led Tom into the exam room.
Tom handed him a 'small gift' he'd prepared.
"Wait… what animal has teeth like this?" Mr. Granger gasped.
The gift was a single tooth—longer than Tom's entire arm and twice as thick—gleaming and sharp.
"It's a dragon's tooth, sir. I hope you like it."
"A dragon's tooth? I love it. This is incredible!"
Mr. Granger stroked the massive fang like it was a priceless treasure. When Hermione walked in, she found her dad holding a giant tooth with a blissful expression on his face. The whole scene was… a little surreal.
"Are you sure this won't get Dad in trouble?" she whispered nervously to Tom. "The Ministry has rules about magical items…"
Tom casually bent the rules. "It's not a magical item—it's just a material."
That was enough to ease her worries.
After admiring it for a while, Mr. Granger solemnly placed the tooth in the center of his display cabinet, then went to wash his hands before starting Tom's dental check-up.
Tom didn't like sweets, so his teeth were in excellent shape. Mr. Granger even took the opportunity to scold Hermione a bit—something Tom found very satisfying. For once, he got to experience what it was like to be compared to someone else's 'perfect child.'
Hermione pouted.
"RAWR!!"
Just as Mr. Granger was focused on checking Tom's teeth, Usaki suddenly woke up and popped her head out of Tom's pocket.
The sudden screech made Mr. Granger jump—and Tom too, especially since he still had a dental tool in his mouth. If Mr. Granger had flinched any harder, Tom might've ended up choking on it.
Thankfully, Mr. Granger was a seasoned professional. He held the tool steady like a champ, took a calming breath, and carefully removed it from Tom's mouth before glancing at the unexpected interruption.
Usaki poked her little head out and curiously looked around.
Hermione was immediately intrigued. "Where did this little guy come from? Is it your pet? I don't remember seeing it before."
Tom sat up, grabbed a nearby paper cup, rinsed his mouth, and spat before answering, "Her name's Usaki. I found an egg in the park last night, and before I even made it home—it hatched."
The time, place, and general story checked out… except for one small but conveniently ignored detail.
Usaki climbed fully out of his pocket. She looked kind of like a snake, but with horns and little arms—definitely odd-looking.
Hermione racked her brain, trying to match her to any known magical creature, but came up blank.
Mr. Granger leaned in too, clearly intrigued. But then, Usaki's eyes suddenly narrowed—and an invisible wave of pressure burst from her, forcing both Hermione and her dad to stumble backward in shock, their hearts pounding.
"She might be small, but she's got a fierce temper," Tom chuckled, scooping Usaki into his arms and signaling her to calm down. Then he looked back at Hermione. "Don't bother trying to identify her. She's a Rayquaza—one of a kind. Totally undocumented magical creature."
Hermione squinted suspiciously. "Then how do you know what species she is?"
Tom answered without hesitation. "We've got a special telepathic bond. She told me herself."
"That's incredible…"
Now Hermione was even more fascinated by Usaki.
Mr. Granger cleared his throat. "You two can chat later—Tom's check-up isn't finished."
Tom obediently lay back down.
Because Hermione carried traces of Tom's magical energy, Usaki didn't seem to mind her. She gracefully flew up to perch on Hermione's shoulder, watching her master get poked and prodded with mild resentment.
If Tom hadn't warned her through their psychic link to behave, she probably would've busted out Dragon Dance and tried to teach Mr. Granger a lesson right then and there.
An hour later, the exam was finally over.
Mr. Granger wrote a few prescriptions for toothpaste and handed Tom some dental care items. Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him back to her house.
That evening, after dinner with the Grangers, Tom was planning to head home—but Hermione insisted he stay. She even took him on a little tour of the guest room she'd personally cleaned and prepared. Everything inside was brand new, untouched.
Her little scheme couldn't have been more obvious.
Daphne wanted Tom to move in with her, and now Hermione was making her move too.
The difference? Hermione didn't ask—she just did it.
Unlike Daphne, who pulled out the puppy-dog eyes on a near-daily basis, Hermione rarely acted clingy. And that's exactly why it worked so well on Tom.
Besides, he figured it didn't really matter where he stayed. Plus, the Grangers knew about magic, which actually made things here even more convenient.
So, he agreed.
And just like that, Tom temporarily moved in with the Grangers.
Mornings were spent doing homework with Hermione, afternoons were dedicated to meditation training in his Study space, and evenings were for relaxation. Sometimes they'd wander around Diagon Alley, other times they'd explore Muggle malls together.
When Daphne found out Tom was living with Hermione, she was so furious she stormed all the way from the Greengrass estate to Diagon Alley and got into a heated argument with Hermione.
"She totally snuck in and stole a lead—so unfair!"
From that point on, Daphne began pestering Tom non-stop, begging him to come stay with her instead. But at the time, Tom was busy house hunting, and Mr. Granger had introduced him to a trustworthy estate agent.
When Hermione found out Tom was looking to buy a house, she strongly recommended he find one nearby.
Tom agreed it was a great area—Chelsea, near the harbor, and not far from King's Cross Station. Quiet, clean, and filled with upper-middle-class professionals and small business owners. No homeless people or troublemakers around.
After all, police tended to keep a close watch on neighborhoods full of reliable taxpayers.
Eventually, Tom found a detached villa just one kilometer away from the Grangers' house. The total cost? One and a half million pounds. The two hundred thousand pounds he had wasn't even enough for the down payment.
So, he resorted to alchemy.
Back in time, on his third day living with the Grangers, Tom received a letter from Dumbledore—Nicolas Flamel had written back. The letter included detailed instructions for crafting the Elixir of Life… and even how to transmute gold.
Flamel also invited Tom to visit Paris in August so they could discuss the curse on the Greengrass family in person.
According to Flamel, the remaining power in the Philosopher's Stone could either produce enough elixir to last twenty years—or about a metric ton of gold.
Tom used one-tenth of its power to transmute a hundred kilograms of gold, added it to his cash on hand, and paid for the house in full.
That's when Hermione realized: the priceless treasure Dumbledore once mentioned… was the Philosopher's Stone itself.
Though Tom now owned the place, renovations and furnishing would take time. He definitely wouldn't be able to move in before the end of summer.
---
On the last day of June, while Tom was packing in his room, a snowy owl flew in with a letter from Newt.
{I'll be back in New York after July 10th. Looking forward to seeing you, Mr. Riddle.—Your faithful friend, Newt Scamander}
"July 10th, huh?"
Tom did a quick mental calculation. That meant he could spend about two weeks at Daphne's before heading to New York… and then Paris.
Just then, a signal came through from Grindelwald requesting a connection. Tom's expression shifted, and he entered the study space.
Inside, Andros and Grindelwald came over, clearly excited.
"Tom! The flight magic you wanted—it's finally ready!"
.
.
.