— — — — — —
There was no denying Kamio's looks. Tom wouldn't argue with that. She was absolutely his type.
But as a seasoned appreciator, he wasn't some drooling idiot who lost his head every time he saw a pretty face.
What caught him off guard today was the contrast. The little fox had changed her outfit, and the difference hit hard enough to throw him off.
Normally, Kamio wore the standard Mahoutokoro school robes. The bright white robe was fastened neatly at the collar, and behind her hung a large bow made from braided straw shimenawa, with a few small paper streamers dangling from the ends. She looked like a lively shrine maiden.
The outfit suited her well, but after seeing it every day, you got used to it.
Today was different.
She'd changed clothes.
She wore a fluffy off-white down jacket that made her look small and bundled up, along with a matching fuzzy hat. Two round pom-poms decorated the hat, swaying gently with her movements. Her bright eyes looked even clearer, and she wore a cheerful smile she couldn't hide.
Most importantly… those expressive eyes reflected nothing but him.
Who could resist that?
Tom had never refused Daphne's requests for exactly this reason. In the heiress's eyes, there was only him. Now there was another one. Kamio.
When Tom stayed silent for a long moment, Kamio's smile widened. Her eyes curved into crescents, the corners crinkling with amusement.
"Do I look prettier today?"
Tom nodded, perfectly honest. "You do. Why the sudden urge to wear makeup?"
Of the so-called three great Asian sorceries, plastic surgery and photo editing hadn't really developed yet, but makeup was already quite advanced.
(A/N: I've wasted years of my life on TikTok because of these three sorceries. Beware.)
"..."
"My people arrived from Japan. One of them's a makeup artist, so I tried her skills." Kamio flicked one of the pom-poms on her hat, her tone tinged with smugness.
After explaining, she wrinkled her small nose. "I'm naturally beautiful. The makeup just tones down my world-shaking looks. It didn't make me prettier."
"Sure. I was thinking the same."
Tom nodded. Since the materials he wanted were still in her hands, he didn't dare tease her.
"I'm heading home soon. Wanna come with me?"
"Pass."
The refusal caught Tom off guard.
Seeing his stunned expression, the girl flashed a sly smile. She rose slightly on her toes, looped her arm through his, and leaned against his shoulder with a soft huff.
"That young lady and the Veela will be going with you too, right? Even if I came, how much time would you actually spend with me?"
"If that's the case, I'd rather not make myself unwelcome. You can make it up to me when you're back at school."
With that, she pulled a wooden box from her coat and handed it to him. "The materials you wanted are all inside. My people are still gathering more."
At this point, Tom had to admit the little fox was remarkably good at reading people.
Then again, foxes understood human hearts well.
The two lingered for a bit longer. After satisfying his urge to hold her, Tom went to pick up the Delacour sisters and Cassandra, then returned to his estate.
The Nicolas couple were delighted. The house was lively this holiday. Not only had Tom brought people back, but Newt and his wife were also spending the festivities with them.
Everyone gathered at Tom's manor. Tina clicked her tongue as she watched the girls clustered around him, feeling a hint of concern.
Not that she was worried Tom might get torn apart.
She was worried about her own grandson.
She pulled her husband aside and whispered, "Newt, I'm a little worried about Rolf."
Newt blinked. "Rolf? Isn't he at school? Hogwarts is very safe."
Tina rolled her eyes. "Who's talking about safety? I mean… don't you think Rolf is a lot like you? Doesn't that worry you?"
Newt: "..."
That sounded… odd.
What was wrong with a grandson resembling his grandfather? Why did Tina look like the sky was falling just because Rolf took after him?
Seeing he still didn't get it, Tina pinched him irritably. "Look how popular Tom is. Now look at Rolf. Have you ever seen him close with any girl in his year?"
"What if he can't find a wife later? What happens to the Scamander family then?"
Hearing the real reason, Newt didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Tina, Rolf's only in third year. Aren't you thinking a bit far ahead?"
"What do you know." Tina grew more agitated the more she spoke. "He's already a quiet little blockhead. He might end up just like you. I was blind enough to pick you back then. Do you think the Scamanders will run into another blind woman?"
Newt opened his mouth. He really wanted to point out that he'd had a female assistant back then.
But his survival instincts screamed at him. If he said that, the problem wouldn't be Rolf anymore. It would be his own death sentence.
In the end, Newt could only nod stiffly.
"Y… you're right."
Tom watched the scene speechless. He felt he understood why Rolf had chosen to stay at Hogwarts even after being invited. One reason was that leaving the school wasn't allowed right now, but Tina was definitely another.
...
After the relaxed dinner, Tom took the energetic Gabrielle out to ride the small ponies kept at the estate.
He ran a few laps with the little girl until she started yawning nonstop, her eyelids drooping. Only then did he carry her back to Fleur, finally freeing himself.
Returning to the lab, he took out the wooden box Kamio had given him and checked the contents.
The box had compartments separating two kinds of materials. There wasn't much of each, but it was enough for two practice runs, plus the creation of the physical vessels.
To be safe, Tom returned to the study space and went over the process again with Morgan, refining overlooked details and steps that might cause problems.
...
Over the next few days, Tom spent the daytime showing the girls around. Occasionally Nicolas Flamel would drag him off to help.
Hufflepuff's cup had already been purified. The old man's methods were superb. The cup itself hadn't been damaged at all.
But making a Horcrux was, by nature, corrosive. Even after the soul fragment was erased, black smoke still seeped out from time to time. The old man often cursed Voldemort for ruining a priceless artifact.
Now the remaining dark magic had to be slowly cleansed. Even Tom found it troublesome to watch.
But what he was doing wasn't any easier.
Whenever he worked during these days, Tom entered turbo mode, striving to make every step perfect.
Creating a flawless physical vessel was anything but simple.
Finally, Saturday, December 31, the last day of 1994, the boy stood before two enormous glass tanks, letting out a breath of relief.
The vessels were filled with thick green solution. No human shape had formed yet. Only fine networks of blood vessels writhed slowly in the liquid, fresh red blood flowing through them, brimming with life.
"How much longer?" Andros asked, barely hiding his impatience.
Tom rubbed his chin and thought. "About half a month. They should take shape by then."
Jeanne didn't speak, but her large eyes sparkled with anticipation.
She wanted to truly live. To have flesh and blood of her own, and then… to hug Tom and feel real warmth.
Suddenly, the boy chuckled, mischief coloring his tone.
"I guess I'm basically creating you two piece by piece. By that logic… calling me Dad wouldn't be out of line, right?"
Jeanne's face flushed red. Andros chuckled. After all these years, he knew the boy's personality well. The more you followed Tom's train of thought, the more he'd indulge his mischief.
You had to go the opposite way.
"Tom, Hogwarts really needs a biology class. How could that make you Dad? If anything, you should be called Mom."
The smooth glass surface reflected the boy's frozen smile perfectly.
Andros burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. Even Jeanne couldn't help curling her lips slightly, a faint smile flickering in her eyes.
"..."
Human joys and sorrows rarely aligned. While Andros and Jeanne were immersed in the excitement of soon being revived and gaining physical bodies, Ravenclaw was holed up in her room, sighing nonstop.
She'd been summoned for quite a while now, yet she still hadn't met the conditions for resurrection.
According to Tom, she only needed to reach a certain level of recognition toward him.
But she already fully acknowledged the boy. His temper, personality, talent, and brilliance. She couldn't think of a student more satisfying than Tom.
So why wasn't it enough?
She was a homebody anyway. Whether she revived or not didn't matter much. The study space actually suited her research better. Even if she came back to life, she'd probably spend twenty hours a day here.
Still… people were contradictory.
She might not need it, but she didn't want to be without it.
Once Andros and Jeanne revived, the vast study space would only have her and Morgan as permanent residents. Just thinking about it made Ravenclaw sigh again.
What would that make her?
An empty-nest old woman?
The more she thought about it, the gloomier she felt. With a frustrated huff, Ravenclaw snapped her book shut, grabbed a bottle, and went next door to drink with Morgan.
As for the body creation process, Tom no longer needed to do much. He only had to check progress each day to make sure nothing went wrong.
Originally, he planned to spend the remaining days searching for divine creatures. After thinking it over, he gave up. The opportunity of finding any divine creature was so small it could almost be considered zero—practically zero, if not for Quetzalcoatl's existence.
So searching would just be a waste of time.
.
.
.