Chapter 641: Chapter 641: Blue Sky's Lightning (Edited)
Upon hearing those words, Tom furrowed his brow.
Professor Trelawney used to say unpleasant things, and before, Tom used to ignore them with a smile, but this time, he felt genuinely offended by Professor Trelawney.
"You must be joking," Tom said, lowering his gaze and suppressing his inner displeasure. He tried to maintain control and avoid a direct conflict with Professor Trelawney.
Although he had tried to control his emotions, anyone who wasn't blind or suffering from some emotional disorder could notice his dissatisfaction.
"This time, the old fraudster's cunning has found a weak point in Tom," Ron remarked, looking at Harry and relishing his misfortune.
In response to Ron's words, Harry didn't reply. He remembered a vision he had seen from Voldemort's perspective.
He could be almost certain that Hermione had been hit by Voldemort's curse. If combined with Trelawney's prophecy, then...
But this professor was a charlatan, right? Could it be just a coincidence that she mentioned it?
Professor Trelawney also noticed Tom's displeasure.
Being misunderstood or ignored was the fate of a diviner. Generally, when a wizard didn't believe in their predictions, Trelawney couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't defend herself or prove the truth of her predictions; she could only let time speak for her.
That was one of the reasons it was difficult to distinguish a true diviner from a charlatan.
A famous diviner must be good at predicting upcoming events. If a prediction had too wide a time span, even if it was correct, it wouldn't get the prophecy reward. For example, a young layabout who in the future becomes a brave general. One day, he meets a diviner who predicts that he will become a general. At that time, the penniless young vagabond thought the diviner was mocking him and punched him. However, he did become a general in the future! The diviner was unjustly punched.
However, Professor Trelawney was the kind of diviner who "casts a long line to catch a big fish." Therefore, many people considered her a fraudster and she couldn't prove her innocence.
So, although Professor Trelawney didn't say anything on the surface, in her heart, she was extremely dissatisfied.
But today, she had gained an opportunity to prove her worth.
In scientific experiments, there's a very important parameter called "reproducibility." If an experiment, even though its results sound spectacular, can't be reproduced by other labs, it remains suspect. But once other labs can arrive at similar conclusions, the results are considered reliable.
Professor Trelawney wanted Tom to "reproduce" her prediction. In her view, Tom could also be considered a diviner. If he had doubts, why not predict something for himself? With her guidance, his "vision" wouldn't be hidden, and he could reach a correct conclusion.
"Yodel, if you don't believe, why not calculate it yourself? You're the most gifted diviner I've ever met," Professor Trelawney said, smiling and speaking with a less ethereal tone. At this moment, she seemed more like an ordinary witch.
Tom scratched his head, took his birth chart, and began to calculate seriously. He couldn't think of a reason to refuse; after all, there was still some time left before the class ended.
"Professor Trelawney, if the results don't match, please don't blame me," Tom thought.
In Tom's eyes, Professor Trelawney was moving a stone to hit her own foot. Her reputation would no longer be high, and she feared it would weaken even further.
The students in the divination class closed their mouths and silently watched Tom perform his calculations.
As he calculated, Tom's expression began to change.
Does the astrological interpretation seem a bit ominous?
His face grew somber.
After several calculations, Tom had to admit that Professor Trelawney's prophecy was theoretically correct. According to the astrological interpretation, his natal star had no anomalies, but his secondary star was shrouded in a layer of death, and its position was inauspicious.
According to the interpretation, people close to him would face "misfortunes" or "calamities."
Tom pressed his lips together and frowned. He wasn't sure what was happening.
Seeing Tom's troubled expression, Professor Trelawney could barely contain her joy. To her, the most important thing was that the prediction was accurate; what happened afterward wasn't something a diviner should be concerned about.
Luckily, she knew that laughing at this moment would be dangerous, so she made an effort to suppress her smile. With a serious tone, she said to Tom, "My child, I believe the stars have already revealed a glimpse of your future. Although the prophecy is painful, as a professional diviner, I must remind you that what we see is always just a glimpse of the future, and the future is always changing."
To support her words, Professor Trelawney even took out her wand and transformed a five-pointed star-shaped cup on the table. When viewed from the side, it looked like a five-pointed star, but from the front, it had the shape of a five-pointed star.
Professor Trelawney's speech relieved Tom a little. Yes, it was only a part of the future; things weren't irrevocably irreparable.
Losing someone dear...
Tom would never accept that!
The conversation between Tom and Professor Trelawney surprised the students who were listening. Because in what they were saying, it seemed that Tom had come to the same conclusion as Professor Trelawney.
That was astonishing.
Even young wizards who were sure that Trelawney was a complete charlatan began to mutter in their minds; after all, Tom was a very reliable person, he didn't joke about such matters. If he arrived at the same conclusion, then it must be true.
Some witches looked at Tom with eyes full of compassion. Poor Tom, he was about to lose someone very dear, he must be suffering a lot... Perhaps they should console him and heal his emotional wounds! Some people began to consider this possibility.
Ron was a bit undecided and surprised. He was someone whose opinion changed easily depending on the circumstances. He remembered that in his third year, he used to believe a lot in the "premonitions" Trelawney spoke of.
"Why do I feel like this time the charlatan is telling the truth? But if it's true, then..." He whispered to Harry's ear as he moved away a bit.
Harry responded casually as his mind was filled with turbulent thoughts. The prophecy, combined with what he had seen that day, seemed to confirm many things from different perspectives. He decided to talk to Tom after class.
"Well, that's it for today." Seeing that the atmosphere was set, Professor Trelawney ended the class with great satisfaction and allowed the young wizards to leave. As for today's assignment, they had to chart their own destiny for the month of December based on their birth charts.
After class, the young wizards left the classroom one by one.
Watching Tom gradually disappear from his sight at the foot of the stairs, Harry made a firm decision.
"Ron, see you in Potions class." He quickly gathered his books and hurried toward the sliding door of the Divination classroom. "You go ahead, I'll catch up in a moment."
Ron was astonished. "But that's Snape's Potions class; you'll be late!"
"Don't worry, it's not a problem."
Ron: ???
Looking at Harry running toward Tom, he could only sigh at how intoxicating love could be. Harry wasn't afraid of anything for Cho Chang, not even Snape.
Tom felt very complicated at that moment. The prophecy was like a heavy stone weighing on his heart, leaving him breathless.
Is Hermione in mortal danger?
He didn't know. All he could do was be with her for the next few days, and the only thing he could guarantee was that before Hermione faced mortal danger, he would already be a corpse.
What bothered him was that many girls clustered around him, talking incessantly and driving him crazy.
At that moment, he felt something, his wand slid up his sleeve, but in the next instant, Tom had a thought and stopped his action, letting the spell coming from behind hit his backpack.
"Diffindo!"
The spell attacking Tom was cast by Harry. He didn't want unrelated people to overhear his conversation with Tom, so he stayed behind and used a cutting spell to open Tom's backpack.
Tom's quills, parchment, and books scattered on the floor. Luckily, Tom never used ink, or it would have been worse.
"Oh, it looks like I'll have to get a new backpack," Tom said with feigned indifference, while at the same time urging the classmates surrounding him to go to class first.
Finally, the group of chatty girls left reluctantly.
Tom also stopped pretending and began to gather his things. He stood up and looked in the direction of the spell that had just arrived and said, "That curse was close to hitting me."
Harry, hidden in the shadows, felt a bit uncomfortable, but fortunately, Tom didn't press the matter further.
"Is there something you need?" Tom said.
"Eh... actually, I hope you can ask Cho Chang if... if she has a partner," Harry hesitated for a moment, saying something a bit unusual.
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted it.
And as expected, Tom's expression became quite interesting.
"Ruining my backpack just to ask that?" he said, half laughing and half crying, "Won't it cause misunderstandings to ask that way? Can I mention your name?"
"Of course, but that's not important," Harry regained some composure and tried to remedy the situation, "Actually... it's like this..."
Then, he told Tom what he had seen that day.
"I feel like sometimes I can see through Voldemort's eyes," Harry said seriously.
Tom subtly shifted his body, avoiding direct eye contact with Harry.
"Have you told Dumbledore about this?" Tom asked.
"No," Harry replied.
"Then you should."
"Yes."
Both fell into silence, as if they had exhausted all their words.
"Do you have anything else to say?" Tom asked.
Harry clenched his teeth. "I saw in Voldemort's memories that Hermione was hit by a spell from Voldemort..."
"I know," Tom said expressionless. "Hurry up and go to class, or you'll be late."
With that, he took out his wand and pointed it at the scattered items on the floor. The objects, along with the broken backpack, floated in the air and were gathered by Tom.
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Tom had already walked away.
The curse, the death omen, Voldemort... The fragments of information in Tom's mind began to connect, and the plot of events became clearer.
Instead of reacting as expected, Tom gradually became calmer.
He felt in his most serene and rational state, as if he were in sage mode.
So he went straight back to the Common Room, and without hesitation, decided to skip the next classes. He stacked his damaged backpack and all his belongings on a table in the Common Room, then sat in a chair, lost in thought.
Tom's unusual behavior caught Hermione's attention.
His strange behavior made her realize something. So, while everyone was heading to the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione rushed back alone to the Ravenclaw Common Room.
"There you are after all," Hermione panted. "Why didn't you go to Charms class? Flitwick surely noticed, you better give him an explanation... and also, here are my notes..."
While she spoke, she suddenly stopped because she saw that in her guy's eyes, there was no longer any light. At that moment, Tom looked like a lifeless piece of meat, sitting in the chair.
"Reparo!" First, Hermione fixed Tom's backpack and then sat down next to him, took his hand, and asked gently, "What's wrong? You seem... not okay."
Tom withdrew his hand. This worried Hermione even more, who touched Tom's cheek and forcibly turned his head to make him look at her.
"What's wrong? If there's something, you can tell me. Maybe I can help."
"Do you understand that too?" Tom finally spoke. His tone was extremely calm, enough to send shivers down Hermione's heart.
His face gradually turned pale, and he felt an unsettling premonition.
"Is it true that you were hit by Voldemort's spell?"
Faced with this question, Hermione hesitated for a moment.
Finally, she nodded slowly.
"But... but it's not that serious, Professor Dumbledore is already looking for a solution for me..."
"Hermione, do you know what? Every time you lie, you slightly raise your eyebrows."
"I raised my eyebrows?"
"Do you admit that you're lying?"
Hermione: ...
Curse, how is it that Tom is getting so cunning here?
"Please, be honest, I beg you..." Tom took the initiative to hold Hermione's hands, his eyes pleading.
Seeing Tom's sad look, Hermione couldn't hide the truth and told him her situation.
"Seventeen years..." Tom's body swayed, and he felt a lump in his throat. Two clear tears fell from his eyes.
Seeing Tom's appearance, Hermione became nervous and quickly hugged him, allowing her chest to gradually get wet with his tears.
Chapter 642: Chapter 642: Medicine (Edited)
Hermione hugged her big guy, feeling the warmth of his body. Tom's silent tears soaked the front of Hermione's tunic and also shattered her heart.
She regretted it a little, wishing she had told him the truth.
But if she kept hiding it all the time, how much would he suffer when he found out the truth? And looking at his expression, he already seemed to know some things.
Who could have revealed the news? While gently consoling Tom, Hermione also thought about how he had come to know about it. Only Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Madam Pomfrey knew about this matter. Could it be Dumbledore? Or maybe...?
Hermione didn't have the energy to think about who might have told Tom the news; Tom's tears infected her, and her eyes also moistened.
Why cry... couldn't we enjoy our remaining days together happily? Hermione fought to hold back her tears and felt a lump in her throat.
Tom's tears had almost run dry.
When he lifted his head from Hermione's chest, his eyes were swollen from crying.
"It's okay, don't worry so much. Look, we still have several years to live together." Hermione raised her hand and wiped Tom's tears away.
When he heard Hermione say that, Tom started crying again.
Hermione stopped thinking and kissed him directly. His lips were cold and a bit salty.
For a long time, their lips parted, and both looked at each other in silence.
"Don't overthink it, alright?" Hermione extended her hand and tapped Tom's forehead with her index finger.
Tom remained silent. He was thinking seriously.
"Is there really no cure for this curse?" Suddenly, he realized something.
If Voldemort's curse was that Hermione would die on her seventeenth birthday, then Tom would be completely desperate because that was a curse that not even Dumbledore could solve. But if the curse was just steadily consuming her life force, then Tom might find a solution...
"Of course there's a cure," Hermione smiled, her eyes forming two crescent moons, "Professor Snape can come up with a potion to extend my life as long as possible, who knows, maybe even indefinitely~"
She exaggerated the effects of Snape's potion; in reality, the limit was seventeen years.
Hearing Hermione say that, Tom felt relieved: then maybe it's not the end...
"If only we had the Philosopher's Stone," Tom thought aloud, "The Philosopher's Stone can keep people young forever, it would definitely provide a vigorous life force."
Hermione sighed, "It's not that simple, only Nicolas Flamel can create the Philosopher's Stone, but he's probably no longer in this world, and the last Philosopher's Stone he left behind was also destroyed..."
Hermione stopped at that moment because she noticed that Tom's eyes suddenly lit up.
"I'll be right back!" she shouted as she was already out of the Common Room.
She ran at full speed, with unimaginable speed, until she reached the Slytherin head of house's office deep within the castle.
Staring at the wooden door at the end of the cold underground corridor, Tom took a deep breath and knocked forcefully.
The door swung open, and Snape's somber face appeared behind it. Seeing who it was, he immediately said, "I don't have time."
He then tried to close the door, but Tom was faster and grabbed the edge of the door, preventing Snape from closing it.
Snape: ...
Though he wanted to forcefully close the door, he knew he couldn't catch Tom's fingers, so he was forced to open the door and look at Tom coldly.
"Fifteen points deducted from Ravenclaw, Yodel, if you can't provide a reasonable explanation, I will assign you detention." His voice lacked any warmth.
"Professor, I have remnants of the Philosopher's Stone; I don't know if they could help with the potion you're preparing-" Tom took Snape by surprise with his words, but Snape knew his formula didn't include "remnants of the Philosopher's Stone"; that wasn't a catalyst, it couldn't be added arbitrarily. If added carelessly, it would not only fail to strengthen the vitality recovery effect but most likely reduce the potion's effectiveness due to interference with the composition.
He was about to refuse, but Tom added something more.
"It was Dumbledore's fault; she should have never gone through this. She's only fourteen; this isn't fair." Tom's words moved Snape and changed his mind.
"I don't know where you heard this information, but I am indeed preparing a new potion... besides, it's not just Miss Granger who has suffered because of Dumbledore, come in." Snape stepped back slightly, allowing Tom to enter his office.
Snape's office was very dark, shelves along the walls held many large glass bottles with unpleasant-looking things floating in them. The only source of light was the fire burning in the fireplace, which kept the office warm and allowed people to see something.
Upon entering the office, Tom saw the clutter on Snape's desk, with numerous potion books stacked like mountains. Tom glanced at the book titles and saw that they were all about potions. By the looks of the books, Snape had reviewed them extensively.
Next to the desk was a chalkboard with scribbles written in messy handwriting that appeared to be alchemical symbols.
"I'm considering the formula; I have some ideas," explained Snape from behind.
"Thank you for your hard work," Tom sincerely thanked Snape and then pulled out a small leather pouch.
"These are remnants of the Philosopher's Stone. After defeating Quirrell, Dumbledore gave them to me. I haven't found the right way to use them, so I've kept them until now." Tom sighed. If only Dumbledore hadn't destroyed the Philosopher's Stone back then...
Tom stopped that thought, assuming it was pointless.
Seeing the small leather package Tom held in his hands, Snape also showed some interest.
"Let me see." Tom handed the leather pouch to Snape, who took only a bit of the Philosopher's Stone remnants and then returned it.
"This is enough for my research, keep the rest. Who knows, maybe, driven by love, you might discover how to restore the Philosopher's Stone formula," Snape's words had a certain ironic and inscrutable tone.
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