— — — — — —
When he heard it had something to do with Horcruxes, Tom actually relaxed.
As long as this woman wasn't picking a fight with him again, he could handle it.
More than once, Tom had wanted to drag out all those historians who praised Ravenclaw as dignified, graceful, and elegant, and whip them posthumously.
Did your consciences not hurt when you wrote that stuff? This woman was nothing but a fraud!
In Tom's mind, Ravenclaw was a witch through and through, and a petty one at that. Last time they sparred, she took a small loss, and ever since then she'd been looking for a chance to get even.
She even went on about how relying too much on external tools would affect one's mindset and hinder growth, and outright banned him from using wands.
Sounded noble enough, but wasn't it really because using the Hakuna Matata made him harder to deal with?
"No problem. I'll come find you later," Tom agreed without hesitation.
...
Finally, all the Lume-Lenses in Hogwarts lit up, and the students perked up instantly.
The Lume-Lens wasn't just for Livestreaming. With a few tweaks and a control array, it could record and broadcast as well, all without needing any understanding of communication runes.
After a round of advertisements, the first match began—Kenmare Kestrels vs Puddlemere United.
The young wizards eagerly contributed their snacks, and some even had their house-elves bring back drinks from the Three Broomsticks, turning the common rooms into a full-blown bar.
Even people who weren't that into Quidditch found themselves caught up in the mood, their emotions rising and falling with the flow of the match. Supporters from both sides started arguing, which made Tom nod in quiet approval.
In a magical world starved for entertainment, you barely needed to put on a show to keep wizards satisfied.
He didn't make content. He made platforms and devices. As for how far he'd need to push things to complete his mission, even he wasn't sure.
...
The match ended when the Puddlemere United Seeker caught the Golden Snitch. In the Gryffindor common room, Wood went wild, jumping and hooting like a chimpanzee. He'd already received an offer from Puddlemere United, and after graduating this year, he'd be joining them.
"I wonder how much a Lume-Lens costs," Harry said as he snapped out of the excitement. "If we could get one at home, watching matches with Sirius would be amazing."
Ron squinted and didn't answer.
Of course he wanted one too, but the Weasley family's finances made it painfully clear that it just wasn't going to happen.
"The next match is the Chudley Cannons, my favourite team," Ron said excitedly. "I've dreamed of seeing one of their games in person."
"You'd better not, Ronnie."
Fred, who'd overheard him, laughed. "They've only won two games this season. Watching them lose in person would just make you feel worse."
"Are they really my brothers?" Ron asked Harry in disbelief.
Harry gave an awkward smile. "Uh… watch the game, watch the game."
Fred didn't press it further and went back to whispering with George, plotting how they could convince Tom to give them an advertising slot.
If they could run ads during a match like this, their products would sell like crazy.
Tom didn't bother watching the second game. He'd just wanted to soak in the atmosphere. Quidditch itself wasn't that entertaining. He'd rather watch Muggle sports.
So with Ravenclaw's request still on his mind, Tom left and went to his pocket world. His consciousness slipped into the study space, where he found Ravenclaw waiting.
"I've got a few ideas," she said. "But I need to test them on the real thing. Can you lend me your body for a bit?"
Horcruxes were a special case. They could be considered parts of Voldemort himself. Tom could manifest other objects, even magical ones, inside the study space, but Horcruxes were an exception.
After hearing her out, Tom agreed readily.
He took out the diadem, then granted Ravenclaw control of his body.
He hadn't used this method in a really long time.
Before long, Ravenclaw took over his body.
A smile appeared on Tom's handsome face. It was still attractive enough to leave countless girls dizzy, but there was something… a little feminine about it.
"What an incredible technique. There's no sense of dissonance at all. It feels like this was my body to begin with. Oh, that level of magic is absurd. Sigh~ Tom, are you even human anymore?"
Instead of immediately working on the Horcrux, Ravenclaw started examining Tom himself.
She didn't even need to focus. The vitality packed into this body hit her soul head-on. That restless, overflowing magic made even her feel a twinge of inferiority.
Whether in quality or sheer volume, even at her peak in life she'd never been this absurd.
'I need to take advantage of this little monster while I still can,' Ravenclaw thought, a rare sense of urgency creeping in. 'If he gets any stronger, I won't get another chance.'
With talent like this… even without that terrifying wand of his, once Tom reached legendary rank she wouldn't stand a chance. Neither would Helga. Maybe Godric or Salazar could manage.
But give him time to adjust to the new level, though, and he'd probably be untouchable.
Ravenclaw never pretended her combat strength was stronger than the other founders. She was a scholar at heart, focused on understanding magic, not on perfecting ways to send people straight to hell.
"Hey! Bloody hell, Rowena! Where exactly are you grabbing?!"
Tom jolted so hard he nearly wrested control back by force.
"I've never been a man before. I was just curious about that extra part," Ravenclaw said, clicking her tongue. She was using Tom's body when she said it, but even so, her hand did finally move away.
"I'm still a kid!" Tom snapped. "It'll grow in the future!"
"Rowena! Hands off, seriously," he warned furiously. "The Horcrux. Focus on the Horcrux!"
"Tch, so stingy. Hm? Where's your wand?"
Ravenclaw sighed, suddenly noticing that the wand Tom had been holding was gone. No, it had vanished the instant she took over.
"Don't bother looking. Only I can use that wand. Use my old one instead. I set it out for you."
Only then did Ravenclaw notice the wand lying beside the diadem. Her curiosity about the so-called Hakuna Matata deepened. The Elder Wand abandoned the weak and flocked to the strong, but Tom's wand was loyal to an almost ridiculous degree.
Still, this was about researching the Horcrux. She put her curiosity aside, picked up the wand, and murmured an incantation at the diadem.
By now, Tom was practically a master of ancient languages. After studying with Ravenclaw for so long, he immediately recognized the chant as Ogham inscriptions from Celtic magic.
As Ravenclaw recited the spell, Tom's own magic surged in response, rising like a tide and breaking into countless points of starlight. The light gathered in midair, forming an icy blue ribbon that repeatedly washed over the diadem.
The crown soon lifted from the table, shaking violently. Green mist poured out, twisting into a hideous, snarling skull.
"How did you do that?" Tom couldn't help asking.
The scene was unbelievable. He knew better than anyone how troublesome Horcruxes were. Only a handful of spells could damage them at all, and extracting the soul fragment inside was a hundred times harder than destroying the vessel outright.
Dumbledore still hadn't destroyed Slytherin's locket precisely because he was trying, and failing, to find a way to separate the two.
But Ravenclaw had just done it.
Tom had listened to every word of her incantation and it was his own magic powering the spell, yet he still couldn't figure out what method she'd used.
"Mm… don't let how easy this looks fool you. Completely separating them is still a pain," Ravenclaw said as she kept the magic flowing over the diadem. "Think of it as cuckooing the nest. I use the intent carried in my magic to create the illusion of a new Horcrux being formed. When a massive amount of foreign intent floods in, Voldemort's soul fragment instinctively fights back."
"If you want to erase this fragment right now, you can. There'll be some residue left in the diadem, but repeat the process a few times and it'll be completely clean, without damaging the crown itself."
She went on to explain the hidden principles buried in the spell. Tom listened intently, asking questions whenever he didn't understand something. Even when Ravenclaw had to explain the same point several times, he showed not the slightest embarrassment.
Ravenclaw never grew impatient. She calmly rephrased things again and again from different angles.
"All right," Ravenclaw said at last, her movements coming to a sudden stop. The wash of magic ceased.
She pointed the tip of her wand at the floating green skull. A strange ripple passed through the air. The skull twisted slightly, and Tom hesitated before asking, uncertain, "A Confundus Charm?"
"Correct," Ravenclaw said with a pleased smile. "It's a Confundus Charm. My modified Confundus Charm."
"I'm scrambling this fragment's sense of self. It shall believe it's your Horcrux."
"That… sounds incredibly unreliable," Tom said.
Even with his flexible, unconventional thinking, he couldn't help doubting her. You could twist a soul's perception, sure, but that didn't mean you could change its very nature.
.
.
.