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.
Chapter 643: Chapter 643: Leave School and Go to Egypt? (Edited)
With the remnants in his hand, Snape sat in his office chair and began to seriously study the properties of the Philosopher's Stone fragments.
Tom wasn't in a hurry to leave; he found a chair and sat quietly, observing Snape's investigation. Snape didn't shoo him away, allowing him to watch from the side.
For a while, the only sound in the office was that of pages being turned in books and the noise of Snape moving various laboratory instruments. It wasn't clear how much time had passed, but Snape finally raised his head, with a hint of fatigue in his eyes.
"The remnants of the Philosopher's Stone can no longer provide any vitality." Snape began with bad news and then added even worse news, "To my knowledge, they cannot be incorporated into my formula. The only thing these remnants could do is reverse-engineer the Philosopher's Stone's creation."
Perhaps Tom could offer these remnants to alchemists worldwide and hope they would discover how to create the Philosopher's Stone before Hermione came of age. But doing that would involve too much uncertainty; if the alchemists changed their minds after deducing the formula, what would he do?
Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, Tom wouldn't use that method.
Seeing that the remnants of the Philosopher's Stone wouldn't assist Snape, Tom felt a bit disappointed. He got up and thanked Snape again before leaving his office.
Once outside, Tom sighed and then reassured himself. At least there was good news: Snape's magical potion recipe already had clues, and Hermione would soon be able to drink it.
The next place he had to go to... a spark of determination shone in Tom's eyes.
The headmaster's office!
There were certain matters that needed to be properly discussed.
With a determined attitude, Tom walked out of the narrow stone stairs from the underground classroom, but soon his enthusiasm faded. He saw Hermione standing in the empty hallway, looking at him with a mocking smile.
"Does your 'right away' mean five hours? It's almost curfew time!" Hermione said irritably. "If we don't return to the common room, we'll break the rules!"
Tom couldn't help but laugh.
That's exactly what Hermione would say!
As for the rules, Tom thought that even if he violated hundreds of school rules, Dumbledore probably wouldn't dare to punish him; how could the old man have the audacity to show up in front of him?
"Now that you're here, accompany me to a place. Without you, I'm afraid I might end up fighting with him." Tom decided to take Hermione to see Dumbledore.
The reason is quite simple too; if he were alone with Dumbledore, the situation could become very intense.
He really doesn't want to say much, the legendary most powerful wizard in the magical world, holding the Elder Wand, unable to defeat Voldemort head-on, what does that mean if he can't even protect Hermione? Interpret it for me? He really let down the trust Hermione had in him!
When people face problems, they tend to instinctively blame others. At this moment, Tom fully blamed Dumbledore for Hermione's injury.
Hermione understood Tom's words, and now she couldn't refuse his request.
"Stay calm; the situation was very complicated at that time-"
"First, listen to how Dumbledore tries to justify himself." Tom interrupted Hermione and led her by the hand toward the headmaster's office.
In no time, Dumbledore found himself facing the combination he least wanted to see.
Seeing Tom and Hermione approaching together, Dumbledore felt a slight tightness in his chest.
Tom walked straight into Dumbledore's office and took a rather brusque seat in the chair in front of the desk, and Hermione, feeling a bit uncomfortable, sat behind him.
"From what I see, you already know everything, Yodel." Dumbledore looked and immediately understood the situation.
"I'm so sorry." Before Tom could say a word, Dumbledore sincerely apologized, "I couldn't properly protect Miss Granger."
"It's not true, Professor!" Seeing Dumbledore speak like this, Hermione quickly stood up to explain, "Tom, it was my voluntary decision!"
Dumbledore sighed again at Hermione's actions. He pointed his wand at his temple and extracted a silvery-white memory, which he then placed in the Pensieve.
After doing all this, Dumbledore looked at Tom and said, "Tom, this is what happened that day, regardless of what you desire, I hope you see this memory in its entirety."
Seeing how much Hermione was defending Dumbledore and considering how guilty Dumbledore felt, Tom finally sighed and accepted Dumbledore's request, diving into the Pensieve.
After witnessing the events of the duel, the anger in Tom's heart dissipated somewhat. He recognized that he also bore some responsibility; if the magical artifacts he had created had been more powerful, Hermione wouldn't have been injured.
"Blaming and seeking culprits no longer make sense." Tom looked at Dumbledore with a complicated gaze. He knew that blaming this remorseful old man wouldn't help Hermione's condition at all. Frankly, even if he killed Dumbledore, it wouldn't bring Hermione back to life.
Furthermore, ultimately, wasn't Voldemort the true culprit? What was the point of venting on Dumbledore?
In his mind, Tom mentally noted a blood debt to Voldemort. In the past, Voldemort hadn't provoked him, but he had gotten himself into trouble to protect himself. But from now on, things would be different; now, he had a blood debt to Voldemort.
Seeing Tom's more understanding attitude, Dumbledore also felt relieved. What he had feared the most hadn't happened, and he thought that Miss Granger probably had to work hard to calm Tom down.
A sense of relief passed through Dumbledore's heart.
"Professor Dumbledore, we need to find a solution. I just spoke with Professor Snape, and he has some leads on a potion." Tom stopped assigning blame and began discussing the treatment plan for Hermione with Dumbledore.
Before going to Dumbledore's office, Tom already had a plan in mind. He thought there was someone who could help him. When modern wizards couldn't solve a problem, it was better to seek the assistance of great figures from the past. Pharaoh Menes might provide help.
"Professor Dumbledore, Hermione and I will probably take a break from our studies. I want to take her for a walk." Tom leaned back in his chair and spoke with absolute certainty.
To Dumbledore, this sounded more like Tom was planning to spend the last moments of his life with Hermione.
Dumbledore accepted without hesitation. In his view, he should give them as much private space as possible.
Hermione, who was sitting beside them, suddenly understood what Tom meant and opened her eyes in surprise: how had she not thought of this before?
Tom cast a sidelong glance at her.
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