Chapter 387: Chapter 387: Tom's Plan (Edited)
The sky outside was already dark.
Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed his tired forehead. Behind him was a chalkboard he had conjured, filled with writings.
His eyes moved from one arrow to another, from one word to another, from one diagram to another, and then he let out a sigh from the depths of his being. "Today's youth!" Is this how ambitious young people are? Am I too old? Looking at Tom, whose face displayed the same indelible weariness, Dumbledore seemed to see the golden youth of a hundred years ago.
The same exceptional talent, the same energetic demeanor, the same overflowing ambition. However, there was one fundamental difference between him and that individual.
That individual was driven by a thirst for power and ambition, but what seemed to drive this boy, Tom, was something quite absurd: laziness. If a more modern word were to be used, it would be "relaxed" or "inactive."
After such a long conversation, Dumbledore was sure of one thing: Tom was a pragmatic being; he only wanted to protect his little territory and live a peaceful life with his girlfriend. Tom Riddle would be a disturbance to his peaceful life, so he was determined to erase Riddle from the world.
He had no grand ideals; this boy was very realistic. Dumbledore even believed that if the situation became unsustainable, he would completely abandon the wizarding world and hide as an ordinary Muggle.
But for now, he was still considering the well-being of the magical world. Observing Tom's plans, Dumbledore felt a sense of respect on his elderly face. He was truly bold in his thinking. If his assumption turned out to be true, he could provide a safe haven for all the wizards in the world. It would be a great achievement. All wizards would owe him a debt of gratitude.
Right now, Tom had just fully exposed his plans to eliminate Voldemort and his followers, his infiltration into the Ministry of Magic and the non-magical world, his use of Dementors, and more.
Through this chalkboard, Dumbledore seemed to see an entirely new future. This boy seemed to be weaving a web to catch all the unstable elements, dark creatures, the Dark Lord, the Minister of Magic, and the Prime Minister. No one would be able to cause trouble. Dumbledore believed that, even after his death, if he wished, he could easily control Hogwarts.
"The time for change has come... It's the time for the beginning of change, right after Voldemort's disappearance." Tom's voice sounded a bit hoarse, his hair a bit disheveled, but his eyes shone. This was the first time since he arrived here that he fully exposed his plans, and he was also a little nervous.
The more complex the plan, the greater the likelihood of errors. But fortunately, Tom's plan was divided into stages that could be carried out one by one. He would start with the resurrection of the noseless one.
Now he was waiting for Dumbledore's response, really hoping to receive some help from the old wizard, even if it was just recognition.
Dumbledore looked into those bright eyes and sighed. This boy's ideas were good, but unfortunately, the magical world couldn't bear more revolutions.
During the time when Grindelwald wreaked havoc, he practically exhausted all the magical energy in the world. To this day, wizards have not fully recovered from that devastation. If it were to happen again, no one knew what the future of wizards would be like.
But Dumbledore also didn't want to completely dismiss Tom's plan; at least the part about eliminating Voldemort seemed very tempting.
"Have you considered what you would do if your assumptions turn out to be incorrect or if the magical community does not support your plan?" Dumbledore averted his gaze from the chalkboard and asked seriously. At that moment, he even considered the idea of imprisoning Tom if his answers were unsatisfactory. The reason was simple: the magical world couldn't endure more disturbances.
Tom thought for a moment. "If my assumptions turn out to be incorrect, then all my subsequent plans will have to be abandoned. In that case, I would spend the rest of my life guarding the New Azkaban, or rather, the White Dolphin Prison. At the same time, I would closely oversee the government and the Ministry of Magic, although I'm sure I wouldn't bother with any reform. So, I would live a quiet life, being a simple decorator craftsman would be fine."
Tom himself was very aware that for a declining collective, poor reform was worse than no reform. Many times, such reform was like stepping on the accelerator on a downhill slope. So once his assumption was refuted, he wouldn't hesitate to choose a conservative path and reject any radical reform.
And that assumption was the Other World.
As a concept within Celtic mythology, even most wizards considered the "Other World" an illusory existence, but Tom was thinking: if he could find that "Other World," couldn't he allow wizards to take root in it? As for why he dared to believe in the existence of the "Other World," it was due to the strange missions and beings clearly not belonging to this world that he had encountered in the course of those missions, which had infused him with a glimmer of hope.
In this way, developing in the current world while leaving a seed in the "Other World" for wizards might be the best option for them.
However, all of this depended on proving and finding that legendary place.
When Dumbledore heard Tom say this, he finally felt relieved. Luckily, this boy still had consideration, and besides, he had plenty of time to live. If he kept a close watch on him, there shouldn't be major problems.
So, he applauded softly to express his approval towards Tom. While watching the happy smile on the young man's face in front of him due to his applause, Dumbledore suddenly felt his own mood improving.
"I believe you can start preparing for the first stage. As for the part involving Hagrid, you can handle it yourself..."
...
Tom finished his conversation with Dumbledore and left his office feeling exhausted. As he stood up, he could clearly feel that the clothes on his back were soaked with sweat. The past few hours had given him a strange feeling of participating in a thesis presentation and a job interview at the same time.
Just as he was walking out of the office, something soft fell onto his thighs.
"Umm... huh?" That something emitted a soft groan, and Tom recognized it was Hermione. It turns out that while he was talking to Dumbledore, she had been leaning against the door and had fallen asleep!
Tom quickly crouched down and took Hermione's hands, which were as cold as ice. "What's wrong with you? If you catch a cold, what will we do!"
Tom complained, half compassionate and half scolding.
At that moment, Hermione also woke up.
Chapter 388: Chapter 388: The Bride Looks Like a Cat (Edited)
"You've been chatting for a long time..." After waking up, Hermione didn't get up on her own. Instead, she cuddled in Tom's arms like a little koala, hugging him. Then, she gently rubbed her head against Tom's chest, like a spoiled kitten, constantly seeking his attention.
Tom wasn't in a hurry to leave; he held Hermione and blew his breath into his palm, then gently rubbed her small, cold hands, trying to warm them up. Soon, Hermione's fingers stopped feeling so cold and transmitted a faint sense of warmth when touched.
After doing all this, Tom quietly enjoyed Hermione's "massage." The scent of shampoo emanated from the tips of her hair, at the same time, it tickled his chin.
After a while, Hermione raised her head, and her eyes sparkled in the dark corridor.
"Can you tell me what you and Dumbledore talked about?" The expression on the girl's face was full of curiosity. She was very intrigued by Tom's plan, so much so that she even used her charms to get information.
Hermione looked at Tom, smiled gently, revealing a row of delicate white teeth. Her little face was full of a thirst for knowledge.
Tom smoothed out Hermione's slightly unruly hair, then lightly touched the tip of her nose with his finger.
"We were discussing how to make you become the Minister of Magic."
"Be serious!" Hermione scolded Tom with her eyes. "Humph, if I become the Minister of Magic, I'll appoint you as my secretary, and you'll work overtime every day."
"That also means working overtime with the Minister."
Hermione didn't know what he was recalling; her face suddenly turned red.
"Don't say that... you two, what exactly did you discuss?" Her voice sounded like a mosquito's buzz.
Tom's hands became restless. He pulled Hermione's nose tip and said, "Dumbledore gave me permission to overthrow Fudge."
Tom's voice wasn't loud, but to Hermione, it sounded like an incredible shock. She couldn't help but shudder, feeling a tingling sensation running through her body.
"Dumbledore agreed to let you overthrow... Fudge, the Minister of Magic? And let go of me!" Hermione was startled. She didn't expect Dumbledore to actually agree to let Tom do that! Such things were supposed to be strictly prohibited, weren't they?
"Let's give it a try," Tom said as he released the tip of Hermione's nose.
"And if we're not successful? Fudge will surely seek revenge, right?" Hermione was thinking long-term. The thought of being hated by a Minister of Magic worried her.
Tom blinked. "I don't think Fudge will blame us immediately."
Hermione looked at him, surprised. "You mean...?"
"Exactly!" Of course, he would do it in Dumbledore's name.
Hermione felt relieved.
But after a while, she started feeling uneasy. She had hoped to be afraid or concerned after hearing this news and persuade Tom to abandon this idea. But in the end, she realized she didn't have those emotions at all. On the contrary, she felt a slight excitement deep down.
But Hermione would never admit it.
It's all Tom's fault! Hermione internally complained about Tom.
"How long are you going to keep hugging me? Let me go!" Hermione's tone turned cold, and she pushed him away forcefully, attempting to stand up. She was so energetic that she almost stumbled a bit. At the same time, she turned abruptly, avoiding Tom's mischievous face.
He definitely acts like a cat! Tom got up helplessly and straightened out Hermione's clothing. At the same time, he patted her on the backside.
When his hand made contact, there was a muffled sound. It was like he was patting a cushion, with a soft and slightly elastic sensation. A cloud of dust rose from the impact.
Hermione was surprised by that pat, and her expression was filled with surprise and anger as she turned back to Tom. But she heard Tom say, "Your pants are dirty; let me dust them off."
Hermione's face turned as red as a tomato. She dodged Tom's second pat and said, "Don't you know magic? There must be a suitable spell for this!"
"Tergeo!" Hermione waved her wand and removed all the dust from her pants. She watched Tom for a while but ultimately didn't say anything. However, when Tom got up from the ground, she gathered all her strength and gave him a slap on the backside.
Bang!
Ouch!
Tom felt his rear go numb.
"Hmph~" Hermione, satisfied with her revenge, happily descended the stairs, closely followed by Tom, who was grimacing.
...
When Fudge returned to the Ministry of Magic, the sun had already set, but he immediately summoned his trusted subordinates, Umbridge, Dawlish, and Kingsley.
"Is Sirius Black innocent?" The three were surprised by this news upon arrival.
"Minister, could you please explain in detail?" Kingsley asked cautiously. As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he had worked with Sirius for a while, so he was very interested in the fate of his former war companion.
For him, it would be great if Sirius was really innocent.
"Of course, but we still have some things to do. Dolores, please go to the archive and retrieve Black's file from that year. Kingsley, Dawlish, come with me to Hogwarts. We'll arrest Peter together. We can talk as we go." Fudge had regained his composure and was giving orders with determination.
Now, he wanted to have Peter under his control as soon as possible to gain an advantage and catch Crouch off guard, blaming him for everything. Of course, he also needed to obtain the file from the case that year to prevent any unfavorable contents from being revealed. The Ministry of Magic didn't have a tradition of keeping files closed for fifty years.
"Yes, Minister." Umbridge curtsied to Fudge and left. Although Kingsley and Dawlish were a bit confused, they obediently followed Fudge to Hogwarts.
The news of the summons for Fudge's loyalists, of course, reached Dumbledore's ears, and several owls and the Phoenix Patronus flew in all directions from the headmaster's office.
...
Umbridge arrived at the Ministry of Magic's archive. Here, thousands of files were piled up, spanning several centuries.
Fortunately, all the files were sorted by date, so Umbridge remembered when the Sirius case happened and easily found the thin file.
Looking at that thin file, Umbridge was left speechless. Apart from the cover, it seemed like there wasn't much more to it compared to the neighboring files that had hundreds of pages.
If it weren't for the intact seal at the top, she would have thought someone had beaten her to it and removed content from inside.
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