Knock knock knock!
After retrieving the gargoyle from the entrance of the Headmaster's office and personally witnessing Dumbledore conjure a shabby wooden door to block the passage, Tom took advantage of the remaining time and hurried off to harass Snape.
With the Marauder's Map, he intercepted him precisely in the courtyard garden.
"Riddle, what do you want this time?" Snape took two guarded steps back.
He was genuinely afraid of Tom now. Every time Tom actively sought him out, there was a ninety percent chance it meant trouble, and the remaining ten percent was "good news" that somehow still managed to disgust him.
Either way, it never ended well.
Snape frantically stacked defensive charms on himself.
"It's the holidays. I'm not obligated to answer your questions. I've already given you the potions you wanted. Now leave. If you miss the train, how are you supposed to get home? See you next term."
Tom did not care in the slightest about Snape's cold resistance. He took two quick steps forward, cutting off Snape's retreat, his expression warm and friendly.
"Severus, since it's the holidays, let's talk as friends."
Snape twitched.
This brat really knew how to push boundaries.
"Are you satisfied?"
Before Snape could think of a way to drive him off, Tom asked a question straight to the point.
"Satisfied with what?" Snape frowned.
Tom stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"Peter Pettigrew will soon be sent to Azkaban. Do you think that's a just punishment?"
"He's an Animagus, and he knows advanced Dark Magic taught by Voldemort himself. Can you guarantee he won't escape?"
Snape's face hardened, hatred flashing in his eyes, but he kept his composure.
"What are you suggesting? Cutting the weeds at the root? Pettigrew is under Ministry custody. What exactly can I do?"
"Lily…" Tom sighed softly. "Thinking about how Harry's mother died at Voldemort's hands, and yet no one avenged her, it really breaks my heart."
"I heard from Professor McGonagall that Lily was her favorite student. Gentle. Kind. Just like my Hermione…"
"Enough!"
A furious roar cut him off.
Snape's face flushed red, muscles twitching as he ground out each word.
"Riddle. What. Do. You. Want?"
"Professor, I'm just offering you a chance to take revenge with your own hands. To finally release the hatred you've carried all these years."
Tom's smile was dazzling.
"After Pettigrew is sentenced, when the Ministry transfers him to Azkaban."
"You even have the perfect scapegoats. Those Death Eaters still at large will hate him to the bone. After all, he's the one responsible for Voldemort's downfall."
"The only thing missing…"
Tom paused.
"Is strength."
He pulled out a copy of WhatsApp and shoved it into Snape's chest.
"Ordinary criminals are escorted by a full Auror squad. But Pettigrew is different. He's a major offender. At least two squads, possibly even Dementors."
"Facing that alone would already be difficult for you. If you also can't expose your identity, your success rate drops sharply. There's even the risk of Pettigrew escaping in the chaos."
"So…"
"You need a partner."
Snape narrowed his eyes.
"And that partner is you?"
Tom spread his hands and countered calmly.
"Looking at all of Britain… no, the entire world. Can you find a better candidate than me?"
Snape did not answer immediately. He lowered his head, thinking.
Tom was right.
Going alone was too risky. And Snape's greatest flaw was that he had no friends.
Finding someone strong enough, trustworthy enough, and willing was practically impossible.
The best option really was Riddle.
Not because they were close.
But because this kid was rotten to the core.
Snape knew it well. Riddle was indifferent to most things unless there was something to gain.
So what did he want this time?
"What do you want?" Snape finally asked, looking up. "You've gone to all this trouble to push me into killing Pettigrew. What do you want from me?"
Tom smiled faintly.
"Relax, Professor. I just want to earn some pocket money. Just a tiny bit of Galleons."
"Galleons?"
Snape stared at him as if he'd heard a joke.
"You? Short on money? Did the Greengrasses go bankrupt?"
Now it was Tom's turn to darken.
"Professor, I'm not living off anyone. You have a serious misunderstanding about me."
You're not living off anyone?
Snape's mouth twitched.
He admitted Tom was capable and would do fine on his own, but that had nothing to do with whether he was living lavishly or not.
Even Snape knew that the Greengrass sisters bought Tom things every other day. And Granger too.
From head to toe, there probably wasn't a single thing Tom wore that he'd bought himself.
"Fine." Afraid Tom would change his mind, Snape quickly agreed. "How much?"
"A mere thirty thousand Galleons."
Snape nearly jumped.
"Riddle, why don't you just rob a bank!"
"Robbery's too troublesome," Tom grinned. "Professor, isn't the chance to avenge Lily Evans worth thirty thousand Galleons?"
Tom was not asking for more because he knew Snape was not poor, but he was not rich either.
What he lacked was money, not the ability to make it.
With the trial approaching during the summer, thirty thousand Galleons was just about Snape's limit in the short term. Any more and there would be nothing left to squeeze.
"You're ruthless, Riddle," Snape snarled, but clearly agreed.
Even knowing Tom was using Lily as an excuse for extortion, he still could not refuse.
As long as Pettigrew died, he would accept the cut.
Tom pointed at WhatsApp.
"The instructions are inside. Contact me anytime you need me."
With that, Tom released Rayquaza, jumped onto its back, and flew toward Hogsmeade Station.
The train let out a low hum and departed on schedule.
As usual, Tom occupied a compartment with Daphne and the others. This time, Ginny also brought Luna along.
Inside the compartment, the girls chatted and laughed freely, topics bouncing endlessly. Tom stared out the window, lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Around noon, seeing him still spaced out, Daphne finally could not help asking.
"Me?" Tom snapped back. "Nothing much. Just set myself a goal and I'm figuring out how to achieve it."
"What goal?" Hermione asked casually, chewing on scrambled eggs.
"How to make five million Galleons as fast as possible."