— — — — — —
When Tom entered the study space again the next day, Jeanne was nowhere to be seen.
Both Jeanne and Jalter stayed hidden through the morning. It wasn't until evening that Jalter finally managed to suppress Jeanne for a bit and came running over, the two of them once again engaging in some very in-depth communication in bed.
By now, Tom had to admit he was addicted to this feeling. He wished his body outside could grow quickly, just to feel the difference.
...
Jalter wisely kept quiet about yesterday's embarrassing incident. No one understood Jeanne better than she did. If she actually told Tom about Jeanne fainting from pleasure, the sheer shame might drive the main personality to drag her down with her.
That said, Jalter sold Ariana out without the slightest hint of guilt.
The negative emotions and doubts in Jeanne's heart had been there for a long time already. Ariana's words were just the spark that pushed those doubts past the tipping point, giving Jalter her opening and allowing her to fully take shape.
Tom hadn't expected Ariana to be involved at all. Jalter's birth clearly hadn't been Ariana's intention, so what exactly had that girl been trying to do?
How was he supposed to know Ariana had been trying to find herself an ally, only to end up accidentally getting herself cuckolded in the process?
"Jeanne won't dare come see you anytime soon," Jalter said, snapping Tom out of his thoughts. She licked her lips and chuckled. "Give me some time. Once I finish training her properly, I'll let you play with something even more exciting."
Tom patted her on the head. "Don't bully Jeanne."
Even though Tom claimed he treated everyone equally, his heart still couldn't help but lean toward the girl in his arms.
Jalter wasn't born of the Holy Grail—she was also Jeanne. Just two personalities.
And he realized that Jalter was also incredibly easy to deal with. She might bare her teeth now because he favored Jeanne, but in reality, one smack on the butt was all it took for her to behave.
---
Over the next few days, Jeanne really did stay hidden, just as Jalter had said.
Tom found some time to call Ariana into the study space and gave her a spanking.
The girl wailed loudly, having no idea what she'd done wrong. When she found out Jeanne had ratted her out, she was so mad she cursed Jeanne for being disloyal.
"Don't just copy that old man's tricks of manipulating people," Tom scolded her half-heartedly before asking, "How are things on his side? You settling in okay?"
He chose not to mention Jeanne's split personality. Everyone would find out eventually, but when that happened should be decided by Jeanne and Jalter themselves. He wasn't going to interfere.
"Of course I'm used to it!" Ariana replied cheerfully.
She couldn't even be bothered to get up. "All the acolytes there are real talents. They talk nicely too. I love it."
"That's good," Tom said, nodding without surprise.
After all, Ariana was Grindelwald's disciple. Just think about how Grindelwald himself had been treated. Vinda Rosier, Vogel, and the rest practically worshipped him.
What Tom didn't know was that Ariana had been riding high lately. A major conflict had broken out in Istanbul just yesterday, and she'd been the one behind it.
For the Obscurus, one had to suppress its growth while also releasing its power. Its very existence was a contradiction: repression built strength, release satisfied its urge for destruction.
Not everyone could feed it with pure magic and vitality the way Tom did and maintain full control.
Even Ariana, who carried power derived from his blood, wasn't exempt. Still, there was no risk that the Obscurus would harm her—her training, plus the modifications Tom had made to her body, ensured that.
And that clash in Istanbul had been completely unreasonable, nothing more than a stage Grindelwald had built for her.
Still, because of her control over the Obscurus, along with her methods and strength, she earned a great deal of recognition.
"Uh, yes, Tom. I plan to join the next tournament as a Durmstrang student. It'll be fun."
When Tom heard Ariana's words, his mouth couldn't help but twitch. He also couldn't help but feel sorry for Dumbledore—or rather, both of the Dumbledore brothers.
...
After sending Ariana off, Tom returned to studying Antonidas's notes on the Arcane Circuits. It was his method for pushing the limits of magic.
Back then, Dalaran had been utterly overshadowed by Karazhan. Mention mages, and the first name that came up was Medivh. Even Tom himself wanted Medivh's legacy.
With that, becoming a legend—even surpassing the SSS tier—wouldn't be a dream.
Still, things weren't bad now. From just the notes, Tom could tell Antonidas had surpassed the level of a Legend. How far he'd gone above that was impossible to say.
Compared to ice and fire, Arcane Magic was far more complex, and also the hardest of the three circuits to inscribe.
So what exactly was Arcane Magic?
At its core, it wasn't mystical at all. It was an objective force of order that existed in reality itself, representing the universe's fundamental structure and laws.
You could think of it as a kind of equation or code, programming changes into the material world's rules and phenomena.
Did arcane magic exist in this world?
Of course it did.
The astral force Andros spoke of, and what modern wizards called ancient magic, were simply this world's expressions of arcane energy.
Because the world's rules were different, arcane magic manifested differently here than in Azeroth. It was like switching from Java to Python. You had to relearn the language, but the underlying logic stayed the same: write commands, output, take effect.
In Antonidas's vision, the three magical circuits centered on the arcane circuit. The three balanced and supported each other, increasing mana flow speed and output quality. In the end, they would fuse into one, forming the most dazzling and magnificent magical circuit.
Unfortunately…
Before that ambition could be realized, his dear "filial" student Arthas ran him through the chest with the infamous Frostmourne.
After skimming through the Arcane Circuit notes, Tom frowned deeply.
He'd completed the ice and fire circuits smoothly, but the arcane circuit was going to be trouble. He'd need to learn and modify at the same time, experimenting until he found a way to use the arcane energy that fit this world before he could even begin inscribing it.
There was no way he'd finish it anytime soon.
Still, there was no need to rush. Taking it slow was fine.
Tom set the notes aside and picked up a record about the Dalaran Mage Tower, reading it with growing interest.
— — —
"Tom, it's about to start!"
On a bright afternoon with clear skies and warm sunlight, Daphne's voice rang out from a third-floor window of the castle.
"I'm coming."
He answered without even looking up, continuing to brush the last stretch of Usaki's scales. Only after they were completely clean did he pat her on the head.
"Go have fun. Just be back tonight."
Roooar!
Usaki let out a cheerful cry. In the blink of an eye, her two-meter body expanded to over ten meters. She coiled upward and shot into the sky, vanishing almost instantly.
Only then did Tom step forward and enter the third-floor room.
A massive screen hung on the wall. Today was the Quidditch World Cup quarterfinals, the United States versus Japan.
The quarterfinals used a two-leg scoring system, with one match held in each country.
The first match had been in the United States. Today was Japan's home game, but there was no suspense at all. The United States was guaranteed to advance, considering the previous score was four hundred eighty to thirty.
Japan was completely outmatched.
Tom was only watching because he had nothing better to do and had agreed to keep Daphne company.
That said, Japan's Quidditch history actually had quite a bit to do with Hogwarts. Three hundred years ago, a few outrageously bold Hogwarts students, and without even thinking about it, definitely Gryffindors, decided to attempt a transoceanic journey on their beat-up broomsticks.
They ran into a hurricane, got blown off course, and were rescued by several professors from the local magic academy, Mahoutokoro School of Magic, who were observing planetary movements. The students stayed there for quite some time, and as thanks, they taught Mahoutokoro's students the rules of Quidditch.
From then on, Quidditch became a popular sport at Mahoutokoro, and they kept studying advanced tactics from the European side.
Even so, making it into the top eight was basically their limit.
Sure enough, the match ended in under half an hour.
What was amusing was the broadcast afterward. Japan's newly appointed female Minister of Magic didn't look disappointed at all. She was smiling like she'd won, practically glued to America's Magical Congress President, Quahog.
"That woman is so ugly."
Daphne, a devoted looks-first critic, wrinkled her nose in disgust and flicked her wand to turn off the screen. "Oh right, will Mahoutokoro send people to next year's duel tournament?"
Tom nodded around his straw. "Yes. We finalized it not long ago."
Astoria's big eyes sparkled with curiosity. "I heard their students aren't divided by age, but by clothing. Is that really true?"
"It is," Tom explained. "Their uniforms are woven with a special ring of thread. Pink marks beginners, while gold means a student has qualified to graduate and can take the final exams. There are other colors in between, of course."
"And if someone were to betray the Japanese wizarding code or practice the forbidden Dark Arts, their uniform would turn white. That was considered a massive disgrace, and the student would be expelled immediately."
Daphne blinked, gossip lighting up her eyes. "So if someone stayed in pink forever, even if they were forty or fifty, they still couldn't graduate?"
"Well… I don't know about forty or fifty," Tom said. "But this tournament has an age requirement."
"Ah… I see…"
Daphne drooped, visibly disappointed. Not getting to watch drama clearly hurt her soul.
Tom and Astoria exchanged a look and smiled helplessly.
It was like, in Daphne's world, absolutely everything could be turned into entertainment.
After the match, Tom left. He still had plans to go shopping with Penelope that afternoon. Astoria also got ready to head back to her room to read.
"I've decided!"
Just as Astoria stood up, Daphne suddenly shouted, startling her so badly she nearly jumped. The younger witch asked nervously, "Sister, what did you decide?"
Daphne pumped her little fists, her cute face set in a fierce expression that somehow still looked adorable. "I've decided. I'm going to enter the tournament!"
Astoria stared at her, dumbfounded.
What even was this?
If you can't watch the fun, then just become the fun yourself?
Oh no! My sister has lost her mind again!
.
.
.