"It actually worked?!"
Harry's jaw dropped in disbelief as he looked around the familiar corridor and the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was currently dozing off.
Even though he hadn't said anything when Ron questioned Tom earlier, if he were being honest, he had silently sided with Ron.
But now, here they were, standing right in front of the Gryffindor common room entrance. Tom looked completely relaxed, as if that wild teleportation stunt was just a casual evening stroll.
"Ron, you gotta see this... wait, where's Ron? And where did Hannah go?"
Harry turned around, ready to say something to his best friend, but saw only Hermione, Ariana, and Tom.
Ron and Hannah were gone.
[I sent Hannah back to her dorm. As for Ron...]
Tom flicked his tail and held up a sign, his expression leisurely.
[Didn't I say? Everyone except Ron.]
Harry froze. He remembered Tom saying exactly that. Panic instantly set in.
"Tom, quit joking around. This isn't funny. We can't just leave Ron out there alone! Look, I know he was the one who didn't trust you first, but we can't actually abandon him!"
Harry knew this wasn't really Tom's fault, but he couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Ron was his best friend.
Sure, Ron was on the Hogwarts grounds—the safest place they knew—and right next to Hagrid's hut. He wasn't in mortal danger. At worst, he was afraid of the dark and might run into a few spiders.
But the thought of his friend being left behind in the cold made Harry feel terrible.
"Please, Tom. Go bring him back. I'll apologize for him. Or if you won't do that, can you just send me back so I can wait with him?"
If Harry had known it would end up like this, he never would have suggested the idea. He would rather freeze in the wind with Ron and get detention together than let his friend feel abandoned.
Tom, however, acted like he didn't hear a thing. He stood there nonchalantly, completely unresponsive.
He was a cat of principle. He said he wouldn't take Ron, so he didn't.
Besides, it wasn't a long walk from Hagrid's. Being a Gryffindor, surely Ron could figure out a way back. As for getting caught by Filch? Well, that was just up to luck.
Seeing Harry pacing in circles, Hermione thought for a moment and chimed in.
"Harry, don't panic. Ron is right at Hagrid's door. He can just knock and ask Hagrid to walk him back."
Harry had considered that, but his mind was racing with what-ifs. What if Ron didn't go back? What if Hagrid was out? What if something from the Forbidden Forest attacked him on the way? What if a professor caught him and dragged him to Filch?
Just thinking about the possibilities made Harry's stomach turn. Maybe I should send Hedwig with a letter to Hagrid?
"Harry," Ariana spoke up, interrupting his spiraling thoughts.
She looked at Harry, seeing how worried he was for Ron. It reminded her a bit of her brother and Grindelwald. She glanced at Tom, hesitated for a second, then walked over to Harry and whispered:
"Look at Tom. Is he actually mad?"
"Huh?"
Harry paused and instinctively looked at the cat. Tom was yawning, stretching out in a lazy pose. It was too dim in the corridor to read his expression clearly.
"If Tom was really angry and planned to leave Ron for good, why would he still be hanging around here? Wouldn't he just head back to the Hufflepuff dorms?" Ariana pointed out.
"So he's waiting for..."
"Well," Ariana blinked mischievously, "that depends on how you want to handle it."
She had a pretty good guess about what the cat wanted, knowing Tom, but she didn't spell it out. Harry needed to figure some things out for himself. She didn't want to become his external brain.
Hearing Ariana's hint, Harry remembered the time Tom helped him with his Herbology homework. An idea clicked. He patted his pocket—his remaining allowance was in there.
He turned to Tom.
"Um, Tom? Could you please bring Ron back? I... I can pay for the transport. How about one silver Sickle?"
Tom's ear twitched barely perceptibly. He glanced at Harry's pocket, clearly intrigued.
Truthfully, Tom hadn't planned on punishing Ron that severely; he just wanted to let him sweat for a bit. Walking alone at night wasn't the end of the world, and if Ron was lucky, he wouldn't even get caught.
But since Harry was offering... why not make a little extra cash?
Tom was about to agree, but Harry mistook his silence for a refusal. Harry gritted his teeth and upped the offer.
"Okay, look, I have five Sickles on me. Is that enough to get Ron back?"
Tom swallowed the 'yes' that was on the tip of his tongue. Holy cow, he thought. I just stayed quiet for two seconds and the price went up five times? Is there any business better than this?
So, he continued to stare silently at Harry, curious to see how high the bidding would go.
Harry, desperate not to let everyone down, steeled himself and went all in.
"One gold Galleon. That has to be enough!"
[Deal!]
Tom felt like Harry might have even gone higher, but the target here was Ron, not Harry's bank account. Besides, a whole Galleon! Hannah hadn't even spent that much buying a table full of snacks on the train.
Seeing Tom agree, Harry let out a breath of relief and placed the gold coin into Tom's paw.
Tom took the shiny coin, saw the pained look on Harry's face, and flashed a cunning grin.
[Actually, I was totally on board when you said one Sickle. But since you're so generous, Harry, I'll happily accept this Galleon!]
With a wave of his paw, Tom vanished into thin air.
Harry stared at the empty spot, feeling a mix of anxiety and regret. He felt like he'd just been hustled. A one-Sickle job had cost him a Galleon.
Ariana patted him on the back sympathetically, while Hermione opened her mouth to say something, then decided it was better to stay quiet.
The wait wasn't long, but every second felt like torture to Harry. His brain cycled through worst-case scenarios: Tom couldn't find Ron, Tom changed his mind, or Ron had already been caught...
Just as Harry was about to run off and search for them himself, his vision blurred for a split second. Tom reappeared right in front of him, holding a pale, dizzy-looking Ron by the collar.
Tom let go, and Ron stumbled, falling to his knees. Clearly, the travel experience wasn't exactly first-class.
After a moment, Ron regained his senses. Seeing the familiar corridor and his friends, his pale face flushed red with anger.
"You guys... you actually..."
He was sputtering, too mad to form a complete sentence.
"You actually left me there! Do you know how terrifying that was? I was looking for you guys for ages, freezing cold, thinking you'd abandoned me!"
There was anger in his voice, but mostly hurt and lingering fear. Being left alone in the dark wasn't exactly a fun time for an eleven-year-old.
"I'm sorry, Ron," Harry rushed forward to help him up. "We were figuring out a way to get you back."
"Figuring out a way? What way? Wait... how did you get this stingy... cough, I mean, this magnanimous cat to agree to come get me?" Ron shot a glare at Tom before looking at Harry.
"...One gold Galleon," Harry admitted honestly. It hurt his wallet, but compared to Ron's safety, it was nothing.
"Oh, Merlin's beard! A Galleon? Just to taxi me back? Harry, are you insane? I could have walked!" Ron's eyes went wide.
Despite his words, his anger evaporated, replaced by gratitude and a bit of guilt.
"And get caught by Filch?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "This is partly your fault, you know. If you hadn't doubted Tom, Harry wouldn't have had to pay up."
Ron choked on his retort and muttered, "I was just using common sense. How was I supposed to know?"
He looked at Harry, his tone turning sincere. "Harry, thanks. Really. I'll figure out a way to pay you back."
Then, hesitantly and awkwardly, he turned to Tom. "...And, uh, anyway... sorry."
Tom flicked his tail, looking unbothered.
[Just business. You paid the tuition, so make sure you learn the lesson for next time.]
Tom waved a paw, ready to leave, but paused and turned back around.
[Since your apology wasn't terrible, I'll only charge one Sickle for the transport. The other sixteen Sickles... let's just consider that a deposit for future homework services.]
Before anyone could react, Tom vanished.
"I guess he's not that bad..." Ron mumbled. "But he holds a grudge like crazy. I only questioned him a couple of times!"
"That's just the pride of a genius," Harry said, patting Ron on the shoulder. "I mean, this is the cat that got Professor Binns to change his teaching style. Come on, let's get inside before Filch actually shows up."
Harry woke the Fat Lady, gave the password, and the portrait swung open.
Ron rubbed his queasy stomach and followed them into the empty common room. It was late; the night-wanderers were already out, and the sensible students were in bed. Safe in the warm, red-and-gold room, Ron finally relaxed.
"I still can't believe it," he said, collapsing into the nearest armchair. "Charlie was so sure. You can't Apparate inside Hogwarts."
"Maybe Tom isn't using Apparition?" Hermione mused. "Professor McGonagall side-along Apparated me once. It felt like being squeezed through a rubber tube. Tom's transport didn't feel like that at all. It was seamless."
"Seamless?!" Ron stared at her. "I nearly died! It was way worse than Apparition!"
He didn't dwell on it, though. After catching his breath, he grinned. "But hey, now I actually believe he can get Snape to change his attitude in Potions."
If the ancient magic of Hogwarts couldn't stop that cat, Snape didn't stand a chance.
Harry sat down, exhausted. It had been a long night. He was out a Galleon—or maybe just a Sickle?—and Ron had been traumatized. But they were back, safe and sound.
"At least we're all okay," Harry said.
"Yeah," Ron muttered. "Just an expensive lesson. A whole Galleon..."
"Technically one Sickle," Harry corrected.
"Wait, you two aren't seriously going to let him do your homework, are you?!" Hermione suddenly looked up, eyes narrowing. She had let it slide last time, but if this was going to be a habit, they were getting a lecture.
"Hermione, I'm tired. Let's just go to sleep. We have class in the morning," Ariana cut in.
Saved by the bell—or rather, by Ariana. Hermione hesitated, realized they did have early classes, and nodded. She looked at the boys sternly.
"She's right. We have class. Ariana and I are going to bed. And I'll make sure Tom gives you your change."
Ariana gave the boys a cheeky wink as she led Hermione toward the girls' dormitories.
"Whew. Bless Ariana," Ron exhaled. "I couldn't handle a Hermione lecture right now."
"She's right though. We should sleep," Harry said.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow... I thought it'd be cool, but Quirrell is such a letdown," Ron complained as they headed up the stairs.
"Don't worry. We have that class with Hufflepuff. Maybe Tom can fix Quirrell like he fixed Binns and Snape."
"I don't think even the cat is that powerful."
Harry smiled at Ron's stubbornness. They changed into their pajamas, the tension of the night fading away. This was Gryffindor friendship: quick to fight, quick to forgive. Or maybe their friendship was just built on bickering.
Listening to Neville's steady snoring, Harry and Ron quickly drifted off. The night's drama seemed to be over.
But they didn't know Tom.
As a "magnanimous" cat, Tom believed in immediate justice. He didn't hold grudges overnight—because he settled them that night.
Unnoticed by anyone, a white bedsheet had silently floated into the common room behind them, stalking them all the way to their dormitory.
Once Ron was fast asleep, the sheet-ghost—Tom—tiptoed to the side of Ron's bed. He grinned, revealing sharp little teeth.
Above Ron's head floated a dream bubble. Inside, a slightly older, cooler version of Ron was wearing a Head Boy badge, holding both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup.
Tom snickered quietly. He rubbed his paws together, bent his knees, and did a graceful swan dive straight into the dream bubble.
They say you dream about what you desire. But after such a "crazy" night, it didn't seem right for Ron to be having such a sweet dream.
As a good friend, Tom felt obligated to fix this error. It was time for Ron to experience a much more... exciting dream.
It was for his own good, really. Definitely not revenge. Definitely not.