Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

"Who are the others?" Tom pressed on.

"It's none of your business who I give it to, it's definitely not for you." Hermione huffed. "So, where have you been all day? Do you know I've been looking for you all day, the whole day!"

I asked many people, and Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore must know, but they wouldn't tell me!

Tom repeated the same phrase, casually: "Save the world."

"Oh? Our Tom must be a very busy man, so busy that he even needs to save the world. So, who did you save?"

Tom smiled, not answering Hermione directly, but instead taking out the prepared gift: "Merry Christmas, sweet dreams tonight, and I hope you won't be too lonely for the month I won't see you after I go home tomorrow."

"You're delusional, shameless, I won't do that!"

Tom placed the gift box in Hermione's hand, waved, and left.

As Tom left, he counted down in his mind.

3…2…1.

"Tom."

really.

Tom turned around, his face beaming.

"Christmas is almost over, and the person I was going to give it to is probably already asleep. So I'll reluctantly give it to you as a gift."

Tom accepted the gift with both hands respectfully: "Thank you, Lady Hermione. I will cherish it and pray to you twice every night before I go to sleep, so that I will have good luck tomorrow."

"Smooth-talking!"

Hermione returned to her dormitory, and Tom followed the same route back.

Lying in bed, Hermione reflected on the day's events.

A lot has indeed happened.

……

Let's go back to midnight on Christmas Day.

Tom regained his body.

He was planning to get a good night's sleep in preparation for tomorrow's dance.

However, a dark figure appeared beside his bed.

Severus Snape.

Professor Snape glanced at Tom and nodded slightly: "Come out with me."

Once outside the dormitory, Professor Snape handed Tom a letter.

"An owl gave me a letter that should have been sent to you, or at least she hoped you would be the one to handle it."

Albus and I will stay with you, but if you can't handle it, we will step in. Albus will be here later; he's at the Ministry of Magic right now.

Ministry of Magic?

How did we end up talking about that place?

Tom was completely baffled, so he opened the envelope that Professor Snape had handed him.

The sender is a familiar name.

Misha.

Misha sent a letter to Professor Snape?

She can finally write letters...

Wait a minute.

Did the owl deliver the letter to Professor Snape?

Where did Misha get the owl?

Tom quickly scanned the contents of the letter, his face visibly furrowing.

Putting the envelope away, Tom asked, "How is she doing now?"

“Nobody knows,” Snape replied. “I went to check on things a long time ago, and the situation wasn’t good. What are you planning to do?”

Tom sighed, "I only found out when I got there. Professor Snape, could you take me there?"

"The train service has resumed; you can take it there, but I can't see you off."

Snape wanted to give it to Tom; he felt the situation was very serious.

However, Professor Dumbledore would not allow it.

"In short, if you don't handle this matter well, we probably won't be able to resolve it either. You should know what awaits Misha then."

Azkaban!

Snape nodded.

Tom was quite surprised to learn that the Hogwarts Express was still running even after he left the school.

The entire train seemed to have been prepared just for him.

It took Tom quite a while to arrive at the Saint Redia Welfare Home.

The entrance to the welfare home was eerie, which is understandable, given that it was the middle of the night.

The lights flickered, emitting an uncomfortable glow.

London remained shrouded in thick fog, as always.

Tom walked into the orphanage.

The children should all be asleep by now, but the kerosene lamp is still lit in the warehouse where I used to live.

"Creak—" Tom pushed open the door, and the rotten wooden door chain made a decaying sound.

Misha and the shadowy figure next to her in the room suddenly raised their heads at the same time.

Is this what Professor Snape meant by Dark Magic?

"Tom... Tom? You, how did you get here? You shouldn't be on holiday yet. You... no, don't look at her. She's just... just my shadow."

Shadow gave Tom a cold glance.

"Tom Riddle, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Shadow puffed out its proud little chest, its eyes so fierce it seemed it wanted nothing more than to devour Tom.

Chapter 68 Exciting Things

I boil!

Tom stood there, stunned.

My Misha has split into two. Is this mitosis or meiosis?

"Tom, don't pay attention to her." Misha stepped forward, took Tom's hand, and led him outside.

"Tom, I'll handle these things. You should enjoy Christmas at school. Don't worry about me."

Young Misha seemed to have a touch of arrogance on her face.

Her personality was no longer the gentle one Tom knew; instead, she had the air of a mature older sister.

—This is what a mature older sister is like: she only wants to comfort her disobedient younger brother at home, and when she feels depressed, she hides away and drinks alone.

"Why didn't you tell me I could use magic?" Tom ruffled Misha's hair, messing up her carefully styled locks. "Want to show off? Take responsibility for it yourself."

Misha pursed her lips: "I'm all grown up now, don't touch my head anymore."

She pressed down on Tom's arms with both hands and took them off: "Tom, you should go back now. You're so lucky to be able to get into Hogwarts. It wouldn't be good if you were punished for such a small thing."

I will really handle it, you don't need to worry about me.

Generally speaking, the more someone says "don't worry," the more they need to worry.

Especially for little kids like Misha who want to grow up.

"Oh?" Tom changed his tone. "Speaking of which, it's Christmas now. You haven't been out for a long time, have you? How about we go out for a stroll together, something we haven't done in ages?"

Misha hesitated for a moment, then shook her head: "No."

"When I came back, I saw that Ms. Cheryl's shop was full of decorations. The Christmas tree was very tall and had little stars on it. There were many people strolling around outside."

Misha swallowed, paused, and then shook her head.

Tom continued to tempt Misha: "Remember the pastry shop next to the station? They're having a buy-one-get-one-free deal right now. Our Misha is so cute, maybe we can even get two free."

Misha became conflicted.

She loves the flower cakes from that shop the most.

But the thought that Tom had skipped class to be with her made Misha shake her head firmly.

No matter what Tom says today, she's not going!

Tom must go back to school. He should stay there, not make mistakes, not cause trouble, and become a great and intelligent wizard.

That's what Tom should be doing...

"Sigh." Tom sighed deeply and looked up at the moon in the sky. "I didn't expect that Misha would dislike me so much after I was away for such a short time. I came back after a long time and hadn't even had dinner yet, and Miss Misha wouldn't do me the honor of going out to eat with me."

Misha immediately became anxious: "The one I like..."

Her voice suddenly became softer: "Okay, then this once, I'll go with you to get something to eat. You should eat properly in the future, otherwise it's not good for your health."

Tom's gloomy expression vanished in an instant, as if he had been waiting specifically for Misha's reply.

Tom took Misha's little hand and said, "Let's go."

Under the starry sky, the two strolled hand in hand.

The fog in London was so thick that you couldn't see your surroundings clearly, except for the streetlights overhead that flickered on and off, like ambient lighting.

For the first time, Tom felt that the air in London wasn't so bad after all.

The shadow seemed to snort in dissatisfaction, and then she burrowed into the shadow beneath Misha's feet.