— — — — — —
"Ah!"
Tom was just heading out for a post-meal walk by the lake when Daphne suddenly stopped him in the entrance hall—and the first thing out of her mouth nearly gave him a heart attack.
Girl, do you even realize how dangerous that sounded?
Daphne froze as soon as the words left her mouth, her face turning red like a kettle about to boil over. She frantically waved her hands.
"No! That's not what I meant! I just meant... could you teach me magic too? I want to get stronger! Money's not a problem!"
Daphne:Dammit! I actually said what I was thinking!
Tom:Those two things aren't even remotely the same! How did it come out that wrong?! ...Wait. So this is the legendary sugar mommy.
Two very different inner monologues echoed in their heads.
Tom gave a small laugh. "That's an easy request. Of course I'll help. Come train with me this afternoon."
He agreed quickly, mostly to save her from drowning in embarrassment.
"I knew it! You're the best, Tom!" Daphne beamed, then pulled out a small pouch and held it out to him. "Here. This is for you."
Tom took the pouch and peeked inside—and immediately fell silent.
Daphne... you're really trying to mommy me.
It was just a small pouch, but clearly enchanted with an Extension Charm. Inside were piles of Galleons—he eyeballed at least a thousand.
Was he worth that much now?
"It's tuition," Daphne explained matter-of-factly, cutting off his thoughts. "You're going to be tutoring me, so it's only fair I pay you for it."
It was an idea that popped into her head last night while watching Tom duel the prefects.
Tom was strong, knew loads of spells, and she—being a diligent, knowledge-loving student—had money to spare. It was the perfect arrangement.
She'd been so pleased with her plan that she didn't fall asleep until late.
"I don't need tuition money from you," Tom said with a helpless smile, putting the pouch back in her hands. "This isn't anything big. We're just studying together. I don't need to be paid for that."
Honestly, Daphne hadn't helped him much since term started. He'd handled all his problems himself.
But not everything was about results.
From the very beginning, Daphne never distanced herself from him because of his background or house reputation. She openly supported him, without hesitation—and that meant more than money ever could.
That's why Tom wouldn't take her money.
But Daphne wouldn't back down. "You have to take it!"
"I'm not just asking you to teach me some simple spell from a textbook! I want to learn what you specialize in—powerful, advanced magic. That kind of knowledge is priceless. You have to let me pay you!"
Tom couldn't help but chuckle.
That sounded like something a Ravenclaw would say.
After some persistent convincing, he finally gave in and accepted the pouch.
He realized Daphne just wanted an excuse to give him money. If he kept refusing, it would only strain things between them.
"Damn it… looks like I couldn't escape being a kept man after all."
Still, the timing wasn't bad. He actually was low on funds.
Some of the potion ingredients Andros mentioned could be "borrowed" from Snape's stores, but not all. He'd need to buy the rest, and in large quantities—meaning it wouldn't be cheap.
He'd been wondering how to get some extra gold when Daphne suddenly appeared, purse in hand.
He'd treat it like a loan—for now. One day, he'd repay her and the Greengrass family a hundred times over. It was the least he could do.
Daphne, meanwhile, was over the moon. She was thrilled to finally be of help to Tom.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
Tom didn't waste any time. Since he'd taken her money, it was only right to get to work. He grabbed her hand and headed upstairs.
Still a bit dazed, Daphne followed him all the way to the Seventh floor and into the Room of Requirement.
"Wait—what is this place?" she asked, eyes wide as they stepped into a hidden training room.
"I call it the Room of Requirement," Tom explained. "If you walk past the door three times while focusing on what you need, it creates the perfect space for that purpose. As long as it's not something too outrageous, it'll work."
"No magic allowed in the common areas, and the lawns are usually full of students, so I've been using this place as my personal training ground."
Daphne suddenly understood. "No wonder I couldn't find you sometimes—you were hiding in here."
So no Granger...
That last thought made her smile even brighter.
Tom looked at her curiously, wondering why she was grinning like that. He waved his wand, summoning two training dummies.
"Alright, wands out," he said. "I'm not teaching you any new spells today. Your task is to cast any attack spell you know—doesn't matter which one—a hundred times on those dummies. That's it. Once you hit a hundred, we're done."
"That's it?" Daphne blinked. "Isn't that a bit too easy?"
Tom chuckled. "Let's see if you still think that after trying."
"Hmph."
Feeling underestimated, Daphne didn't argue. She was determined to prove him wrong.
"Stupefy!"
She hit one of the dummies with a solid Stunning Spell, knocking it down. But it quickly bounced back like a Weeble toy.
"Stupefy!" "Stupefy!" "Stupefy!"
She kept going without pause. At first, everything was fine—but around the tenth cast, the spell suddenly fizzled.
Her face turned pale.
She felt lightheaded, like she'd gotten out of bed without enough sleep. Her brain felt foggy, her vision a little blurry...
"…What the heck? Why do I feel so tired…?"
"That's what it feels like when your magic's been drained too quickly," Tom explained calmly. He waved his wand, turning one of the dummies into a single-seat couch, then helped her sit down. A moment later, he pulled out a bar of chocolate he'd prepared ahead of time.
"Eat this. When your magical energy runs low, your body gets affected too. You'll need something to recharge."
Daphne's stomach growled in agreement—even though they'd only had breakfast not long ago. She muttered a quick thanks and nibbled at the chocolate like a hamster, slowly munching through the whole bar. As the sugar kicked in, she started to feel a bit better, though nowhere near as lively as before.
Tom gave her a look that was equal parts amused and exasperated. "If you're feeling better, we can pick it up again. I've been keeping count—so far, you've managed twelve successful spells."
Her face instantly scrunched up like she'd bitten a lemon. With a pitiful voice, she asked, "I was just being too loud before… can we lower the target a bit? Maybe… fifty?"
"That's just cheating," Tom said, poking her on the forehead. "So nope. The bare minimum is eighty. That's the limit I think you can safely push to today. Draining your magic to the edge is actually really helpful for your growth. But fifty? That's not gonna cut it."
To be honest, Tom didn't have such a sharp eye for this kind of thing on his own. The original "one hundred spells" estimate was just based on his first training.
Then he'd linked up with the Study Space and had Andros monitor Daphne's condition. The final number—eighty—was his suggestion.
As for Tom himself…He'd long since moved past being measured by spell count. His performance was better measured in terms of how long he could sustain full-power casting.
That alone helped him understand just how terrifying Andros really was. The guy's magic reserves were massive—no wonder he could summon a like Susanoo Patronus.
"Growth, huh…"
Daphne lowered her head and looked down at her chest. "I see..."
Flat as a pancake. She could practically see her toes.
And just like this, she was motivated.
"Let's go!" she said, suddenly full of energy again. She jumped up and threw out another Stunning Charm with determination.
But this time, she didn't last as long as before. Her success rate was starting to dip.
While she was catching her breath, Tom started his own training.
For the first time, Daphne got a real sense of just how powerful Tom really was.
He was like a walking spell-gatling gun—nonstop casting, no fluff or wasted movement. And it wasn't just light shows; every spell he fired was stronger than her own best efforts.
If he'd gone all out like this during the duel with the prefects yesterday, none of them would've stood a chance even if they'd attacked all at once.
A new sense of urgency settled in her chest.
The gap between her and Tom was growing by the day. Sure, she might not be able to match his talent, but that didn't mean she was going to give up.
If she didn't push herself now, they'd soon have nothing in common. And if that happened… how could they even stay friends?
So when it was Tom's turn to rest, Daphne didn't slack off. She forced herself to keep going, draining every last bit of her magic.
The two of them took turns training, from ten in the morning all the way until two in the afternoon. Only then did Daphne finally hit her target—eighty spells.
By that point, her legs were jelly. She could barely walk straight and just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.
Tom had to practically carry her from the Seventh floor back to the common room, where he handed her off to an older Slytherin girl to help her back to the girls' dorm.
The girl shot Tom a very strange look.
If the two of them weren't still so young, she probably would've started imagining all kinds of restricted scenarios.
What the hell kind of "training" leaves you that exhausted…?
.
.
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