— — — — — —
The gift Tom brought with him was a German newspaper: Die Silberne Fledermaus.
Taking into account that old man Newt wasn't exactly fluent in German, and that his eyesight wasn't what it used to be either, Tom very thoughtfully read the paper out loud for him, projecting his voice as he went:
"Grindelwald stated that seventy years ago, he and Dumbledore had formed a Blood Pact concerning the future of the wizarding world. However, the despicable Newt Scamander shamelessly stole this Blood Pact in Paris and used underhanded methods to destroy it."
"All subsequent conflicts and wars in the wizarding world can ultimately be traced back to this rash and discourteous act. Scamander should be held responsible for it."
"Mr. Grindelwald says he finds it hard to believe that honest, kind Hufflepuff House could produce such a shameless individual…"
"Good news. This time, the Blood Pact token remains firmly in Mr. Grindelwald's possession. And through our newspaper, he wishes to pass a message to Scamander: he is waiting at Durmstrang, Scamander is welcome to steal it again."
Tom didn't even make it to the end before he was laughing so hard he was practically doubled over.
Newt, on the other hand, was beet red, while Tina was so angry her chest heaved with every breath.
"That damned Dark Wizard," Tina snapped. "What nonsense is he spouting now?"
"Honestly, it's understandable," Tom said, waving a hand. "After all, Newt basically stole their marriage certificate. Holding a grudge over that seems pretty normal."
Marriage certificate?
Everyone present knew about the complicated relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Hearing Tom's strange but painfully accurate analogy, they froze for a moment, then burst out laughing together.
"A marriage certificate… yeah. That's actually spot on."
Even Tina felt a good chunk of her anger drain away. Putting herself in Grindelwald's shoes, if someone had stolen the token of love between her and Newt…
She'd probably hold an even bigger grudge than Grindelwald did.
But wait. What exactly was the token of love between her and Newt?
As she laughed, Tina gradually stopped smiling.
Because when she really thought about it, from the day they met until now, Newt had never given her a single proper gift. The only memorable thing was his line about her eyes being "as beautiful as salamanders," and even that had later been completely overshadowed by Grindelwald's sapphire-blue eyes that "shine like jewels."
Tina shot an unfriendly look at Newt, who was still smiling shyly.
Danger.
Years of finely honed survival instincts kicked in. Newt jolted, turned his head, and sure enough, met Tina's dangerous gaze.
Even though he had no idea what he'd done wrong this time, every fiber of his being screamed that he needed to change the subject immediately.
"Tom," Newt said quickly, "you came back today for Inferi Lake, didn't you?"
"Nope." Tom shook his head. "I came specifically to read you the newspaper."
Newt: "..."
You little menace.
"Stop wasting time," Newt said, standing up at last. "Since you're already here, let's get the important stuff done first. That way everything stays on track."
He went back inside and brought out his suitcase. "We'll move Inferi Lake into the small world first. I still need time to refine the ecosystem, and Nicolas has to prepare the magical constructs. We can't keep dragging this out forever, can we?"
"Those are golden apples," Newt added pointedly. "Your Aunt Tina and Madame Perenelle are counting on them to regain their youth."
For once, Newt was being clever. He knew exactly whose names to bring up.
Women might not care much about lifespan, but they absolutely cared about their appearance.
Once they'd learned what the golden apples could do, Tina and Perenelle had immediately locked onto the promise of eternal youth. They hounded Nicolas and Newt every single day, urging them to hurry up and prepare the plantation so the seeds could take root and sprout as soon as possible.
This time was no exception. Tina immediately forgot why she'd been angry and started urging Tom not to delay any longer.
Tom rubbed his stomach helplessly. "I haven't even had lunch yet, and you're already making me work?"
Then, after lunch, the three men were promptly kicked out.
They returned to the familiar cliff. By now, entering the cave was second nature. Newt took out the fresh dragon blood he'd prepared in advance and opened the passage. The three of them arrived once again at the shore of Inferi Lake.
Although nearly all the Inferi had been removed and the magic-gathering array dismantled, years upon years of accumulation had fixed the lake's nature in place.
"So, how are you planning to take the whole lake away?" Tom asked, looking at Newt's calm expression with curiosity.
One of the basic laws of magic was this: the more powerful a magical object was, the harder it was to affect with spells.
Hogwarts Castle was the clearest example. Even if Tom did his best, he couldn't affect the entire castle. At best, he could influence a small area, and only for a much shorter time than usual.
Inferi Lake could now be considered a powerful magical object in its own right. Trying to control its water with simple spells like the Levitation Charm or water-manipulation magic was anything but easy.
Newt smiled faintly and said nothing, choosing instead to demonstrate.
He took out two suitcases, dug into the ground nearby, and placed them back to back before burying them. Then the suitcase facing the lake suddenly expanded dozens of times, bursting out of the pit.
"Tom, just shape a slope and a channel," Newt said. "Let the lake water flow in on its own."
Following Newt's idea, Tom began reshaping the terrain.
Because the internal interface was stable, the entrance to the plantation's small world couldn't be expanded at will.
However, Newt had specially constructed a conversion space and opened multiple inlets into the plantation world, diverting the flow and then merging it into the prepared basin for the lake.
The suitcase simply grew larger, but at first it didn't connect to the same location. Newt then adjusted it, aligning the entrances so they led to the same place from different angles.
Once Tom understood the principle, he nodded repeatedly.
The older generation really did have their own tricks. Just the technique of opening multiple spatial entrances at a single coordinate was worth learning.
Tom immediately started asking questions. Newt, naturally, held nothing back. After a lifetime spent working with portable worlds, his mastery of the Extension Charm and spatial conversion was second to none in this era, far beyond even Grindelwald or Dumbledore.
...
By the time the Inferi Lake drained dry, the riverbed was exposed, revealing piles of bleached white bones. There were even two enormous skeletons. Newt recognized them at a glance.
Dragon bones, and from Ukrainian Ironbelly dragons, the largest of the dragon species in the world.
"They were probably sacrifices used to provide the initial energy for the array," Nicolas said after a brief analysis.
Tom said casually. "Leaving them here would just be a waste. Take them back and use them as fertilizer."
He moved without hesitation, sweeping the skeletons away.
Nicolas looked at the now-empty lakebed and couldn't help asking, "Now that Inferi Lake is gone, if Voldemort ever comes back and sees this, won't all the traps you set on the locket be wasted?"
"They won't," Tom said, shaking his head. "Voldemort is deeply insecure, and at the same time, extremely arrogant."
"If he sees that one of his Horcruxes has been tampered with, he'll want to know who did it. He won't let go of a single clue, so he'll definitely investigate the fake locket."
"Even if he knows there's a trap, he won't care. Do you really think someone who made multiple Horcruxes is still afraid of danger?"
Seeing how confident Tom was, Nicolas said no more.
After wringing the last bit of value out of the Cave, the three of them returned to the estate.
Although the rest of the preparations weren't complete yet, the presence of Inferi Lake meant the golden apple tree finally had suitable soil.
Tom buried the seed in the mud along the lake's shore, and the change was immediate. The previously still water rippled gently. A breeze sprang up from nowhere within the space. The seed rapidly took root, its fragile tendrils firmly piercing the earth, drawing on the energy of Inferi Lake through the veins of the land.
Viewing it through magical sight, Tom checked the absorption rate and couldn't help but gape.
This thing was a total energy leech.
"You two better pick up the pace," Tom said. "This little guy is soaks up energy fast. Once it grows a bit more, it could drain the entire lake."
At first, the two of them had no real sense of what Tom meant by "fast." But when they came back the next day, they were stunned.
A tender shoot had already emerged where the seed had been planted, and Inferi Lake had not been calm for a single moment, its surface constantly churning.
That put an end to any hesitation. The two old men set off immediately. One headed to Africa to restart the triangular trade, while the other went north to the lands of the great bears to gather the dark creatures on their list.
Tom, meanwhile, dusted off his hands and returned to school to start a new week of classes.
The entire school was still buzzing about the newly signed peace treaty and Tom's role as a witness. Many students were intensely curious about the details and tried to corner Tom for gossip, but they were all turned away by the Slytherins.
Did the Slytherins themselves not feel curious?
Of course they did. But Tom didn't want to talk, and who would dare force him?
Compared to the other houses, the snakes understood Tom's ruthless side best. They believed in the rule of the strong, and many had received warnings from their families.
...
At Monday's feast, Dumbledore awarded Tom a Special Contribution Award on the grounds of his "tremendous contribution to peace in the wizarding world," and added another two hundred points to Slytherin.
Combined with all the previous bonuses, the five hundred points that had been agreed upon were credited in less than a week, and the house point display was nearly maxed out.
What really made Tom happy was that he'd finally scraped together enough Achievement Points.
That evening, he entered the study space, ready to summon a new teacher.
.
.
.