Draco listened to the playful noises drifting up from below.
He sneaked a quick peek—
Weird.
Another glance—
Even weirder.
One more—
Nope. Draco stopped looking.
Galo had clearly noticed him spying from above and was craning her massive neck, staring straight up at him.
Draco was terrified that if he stuck his head out again, the dragon would snap him up in one bite. He wisely abandoned the idea of peeking.
…Okay, just one more look.
This time, before he could even lean over, Galo launched herself upward. Her enormous dragon head filled his vision, ruby eyes locked on his.
"S-sorry—!"
"ROAR!"
"Don't eat me!!!!" Draco yelped, throwing his arms over his head and curling into a tight ball on the ground.
Everyone knew how vicious untamed dragons could be.
Piss one off and it would happily stuff you between its teeth like a snack.
Luckily, Galo ignored him completely. With a powerful flap of her wings, she flew off.
Thank Merlin. Thank Merlin—
Draco clutched his chest, heart still racing like it had stopped for a second.
Good thing the beast hadn't decided he looked tasty.
He hopped back on his broom and floated down into the crater, landing beside Tom.
"Hey, why didn't you come home last night?" Draco clapped Tom on the shoulder.
"Wherever there's food and a place to sleep, that's home to me," Tom answered casually.
Draco was momentarily speechless. "Did you even eat yesterday?"
He'd assumed Tom had spent the whole day starving up here.
"Of course I ate," Tom nodded. "What do you think Galo just flew off to do?"
Draco: "?"
Tom didn't elaborate. "You'll find out soon enough. And don't look at the stuff on the wall—I'm worried your brain can't handle it. If you drop dead here, I'll have to run from the Ministry for the rest of my life."
Draco was the definition of a curious cat. The moment Tom warned him, he became ten times more interested.
He had to look!
The second his eyes landed on the ancient runes covering the stone wall, the symbols seemed to come alive, staring right back at him.
"What the hell is this?"
Draco stumbled backward, tearing his gaze away.
"No idea," Tom shrugged. "Probably something some guy left behind. I haven't even deciphered the name yet—I just know it's a spell."
"What kind? Avada Kedavra?"
Tom let out a small laugh. "Would Avada Kedavra feel this terrifying? You only glanced at it and nearly lost it."
He muttered to himself, "I thought it might be some kind of summoning magic at first, but it doesn't feel like that. More like… a transportation spell. You know Apparition? Pretty similar—
Except Apparition only works inside the same world. This one seems to connect to other worlds."
Tom frowned at the ugly scribbles. "These symbols are seriously hideous. Can't make heads or tails of them."
Draco's mouth hung open.
A spell like Apparition… but for traveling between worlds?
Apparition was already insanely difficult. Only about twenty percent of wizards could even learn it. Doing what Dumbledore did—jumping straight from Hogwarts to another city—was a thousand times harder. Maybe one in a thousand masters of Apparition could pull that off.
But Tom was talking about crossing entire worlds?
"There's only one world, right?" Draco swallowed hard, throat tight. "It's not like those fairy tales where evil wizards come from other dimensions or magical beasts invade from outside…"
"What are you even on about?" Tom rolled his eyes. "Stop overthinking. Now get out of the way—you're distracting me."
His proficiency in Ancient Script ticked up slowly, but the weird symbols were starting to look almost cute.
At noon, Galo returned carrying an ordinary animal in her claws—a sheep.
"So we're having mutton today?"
Tom got to work with practiced ease: skinning, butchering, setting up a spit. He levitated the whole sheep over the fire.
"Incendio."
Magic made everything effortless. The sheep rotated slowly on its own, fat sizzling, meat turning perfectly golden and juicy.
Draco's stomach growled at the smell.
"If you want diarrhea, go ahead and eat it raw," Tom said without turning around, already knowing Draco was reaching for the meat.
"Uh… I was just looking. But wow, you don't even need a wand for that spell anymore?"
"Most of the time I don't. Sometimes I still use one."
When?
When he had to fight Voldemort for three hundred rounds, obviously.
The rest of the time? No need. Tom's mastery of magic was already high enough for everyday life.
Half an hour later, the two of them feasted. Once they were full, Draco reminded Tom to come home tonight and left first.
He felt completely out of place here.
Tom was ignoring him.
And Galo wasn't sleeping anymore—she kept shooting him hungry glances, like he was the next meal on the menu.
So Draco left.
He was genuinely worried the dragon would sneak a bite while Tom wasn't looking.
Big dragon… chomp chomp chomp—
Back at the empty Malfoy Manor, Draco wandered through the huge, silent villa with no one around to keep him company.
He felt lonely.
Should he go to the Weasleys' again today?
Draco thought about it, then firmly shook his head.
Going every single day would be way too obvious!
What if Hermione noticed? That would be bad!
He had to play it cool.
So… where to go?
Hogwarts?
It was still holiday break. The castle should be pretty empty.
Draco suddenly smacked his thigh.
That's right! How could he forget Professor Snape!
With Tom gone, he could go back to being the unchallenged king of Hogwarts!
As long as Tom wasn't there, he was invincible!
---
Hogwarts. Potions classroom.
"Isabelle, how many times do I have to tell you?!" Snape still wore that furious scowl he reserved for every student who messed up.
He hadn't had much reason to use it lately, though.
It was getting hard to even fake anger.
Tom's Potions skill had already reached the same level as his own. There was nothing left to nitpick.
Tom's technique and control of heat were textbook-perfect.
But Isabelle—Misha's shadow—let him relive the old days of scolding Tom.
Snape felt a tiny bit of joy inside.
"Sorry, Professor… I don't understand why this potion burned."
"Temperature control! I've said it a hundred times—precision is everything!
If you were just making some basic potion, you could lower the heat. But for this one, the ideal temperature is right on the edge! You went 0.37 degrees too high. Of course it scorched!
You should learn from Tom. He never makes that mistake."
The shadow pouted, clearly unconvinced.
"Now what are you waiting for? Dump it and start over!"
Snape's angry shouts filled the Potions lab.
The shadow had already cursed him out several times in her head.
But he was Tom's teacher, and she needed to learn from him—if she wanted to become as strong as Tom one day, she had to endure.
So she gritted her teeth and took it.
A true excellent witch is forged through patience!
The lab door suddenly swung open. Snape's gaze snapped toward it.
The shadow didn't move. If she lost focus for even a second, Snape's nonstop nagging would flood her ears again.
She had zero interest in being yelled at—
…Well, unless it was Tom doing the yelling. That… she could accept.
"Professor Snape. Long time no see."
Snape stared coldly at the newcomer. "Malfoy. What are you doing here at this hour?"
"Uh…" Draco scratched his head. "I didn't know you were busy, Professor. Who's this? I don't think I've seen her before."
"None of your business."
Draco felt a chill.
Was this how Professor Snape talked to him now? So cold—exactly like when Tom was around!
This wasn't right!
Who was this girl?
Up close, she was actually pretty cute.
Not the same kind of pretty as Hermione—this one had a different, softer charm.
"Malfoy!"
"Yes!" Draco straightened instantly, standing at attention like a guilty thief.
"Stop staring. Get out. Now. Or do you want to practice Potions too?"
Draco scratched his head again. "Can I?"
"Come here."
Good. At least Snape's affection for him hadn't changed.
That lasted about five minutes.
Because Draco quickly discovered that Snape was even harsher today.
"You idiot! Your intelligence belongs at the troll table!"
"Even Isabelle can learn this—why can't you? It's a simple motion! Do I have to repeat it? Clockwise! Stir clockwise!"
"Temperature control—forget it. You have no hope of becoming a Potions Master. Just lower the heat so you don't waste ingredients."
Draco: "?"
After enduring a solid round of Snape's insults, Draco realized he had come to the wrong place.
Thankfully, Snape eventually got tired and stepped out for water, leaving just the two of them in the lab.
Snape had called her Isabelle?
Draco straightened his collar, trying to look as noble as possible.
"Miss Isabelle, are you a first-year too?"
The shadow gave him a puzzled look.
How rude. Why was he talking to her? Couldn't he see she was busy?
"No," she answered with a nasal hum, not even glancing at him.
"Then… second-year? Weird. Besides Tom, I didn't think anyone else was that close with Professor Snape."
The moment she heard "Tom," the shadow's eyes lit up.
"I haven't started school yet. I'm just here early to study Potions theory with Professor Snape."
Theory?
This was clearly hands-on practice!
Draco's mouth twitched.
Still, the thought that this cute girl would soon be his underclassman—
He was excited!
"I'm Draco Malfoy, first-year. Once you start school, I'll be a second-year. If you need help with anything, you can ask me."
"That's not important," the shadow cut him off. "You know Tom? What's he like at school?"
Why was she so interested in Tom?
A question mark slowly appeared over Draco's head.
Had Tom's charm already reached this level?!
Even girls who hadn't started school yet knew his name.
So enviable!
Draco nearly ground his back teeth to dust.
Why did Tom have to exist?!
"Of course I know him. Tom's staying at my house right now. I see him every day."
"That's perfect!" The shadow wiped her hands. "If there's time, could I come see Tom? I mean—could I visit your house?"
She reached out her hand. "I'm Isabelle Riddle."
"Of course you can."
This was the first time Draco had ever properly shaken hands with such a pretty girl.
He decided he wasn't washing this hand tonight!
Suddenly, something clicked.
What name had she just said?
Isabelle… Riddle?
Riddle?!?!
"So you're Tom's—"
Draco meant: Are you Tom's sister?
"In a way, yes," the shadow answered.
She meant: I'm going to be Tom's future wife.
After all, wives and husbands share the same last name.
So that's how it is!
When did Tom get such a beautiful sister?!
Right—Tom was from the orphanage.
So Isabelle was from the orphanage too?
For the first time, Draco felt a lot less prejudice toward "Mudbloods" and orphanages.
Orphanage kids were great—hardworking, ambitious.
Especially the girls. Look at Isabelle—wearing cheap clothes.
That meant one thing:
Thrifty! Diligent! Good at managing a household!
Even if he couldn't marry someone as pretty as Hermione, Isabelle would be excellent.
Isabelle… what a lovely name.
Tonight he'd ask Tom everything about her—what she liked to eat, what her hobbies were.
Letting Tom stay at his house had been the best decision ever!
On this day, hope flooded back into Draco's life.
His future was bright again!
Isabelle was his light!!!
---