The shadow had only one feeling.
She had nothing in this world except Tom.
But could Tom please fix that one shameless habit of his?!
The shadow turned her head away, her wheat-tanned cheeks flushing a soft pink from Tom's last teasing words.
How can this shameless man say anything that comes into his head?
She cupped her face with both hands.
Her face used to be like a neat little chocolate cake. Now someone had slathered strawberry jam all over it.
Is he this gentle with every girl?
The question popped into her head out of nowhere.
No way. Tom is only this gentle with me… right?
She patted her cheeks, forcing herself to calm down.
Deep breath—
"You two can head back to the dormitories," Snape said, glancing at them. He completely ignored the shadow's flustered state. "And I hope you don't sneak out tonight, Tom. Do not pass your bad habits on to a student who hasn't even started school yet."
Tom nodded. "Sweet dreams, Professor."
Of course Snape didn't answer.
Not even Lily had ever coaxed a "sweet dreams" out of him. Tom had zero chance.
"Isabelle, can you slip into my shadow?"
"Of course! Of course I can!"
The shadow stepped onto Tom's shadow and melted straight in, smooth as water.
Tom felt nothing unusual.
If he had to describe it, it was just the constant, warm gaze watching him from inside his own shadow.
Not the creepy subway-stalker kind of stare. This one felt… fond. Protective.
Curfew was still a long way off. Instead of heading straight back, Tom took Isabelle on a little tour of Hogwarts.
"That thing? Stay away from it. That's the Whomping Willow. Get too close and it'll leave you with a very memorable bruise."
"That's the Gryffindor girls' dormitory. Boys are never allowed inside."
(Though Hermione had used his body to sneak in once. The Weasley twins paid for it with weeks of detention.)
"Over there are the greenhouses. Misha's probably staying with Professor Sprout. If you want to see her, just go in. Professor Sprout is the kindest person alive—she won't mind you at all."
As he introduced everything, Tom spotted a familiar face.
"Senior."
Cho Chang had been mid-yawn. At Tom's voice she looked over, smiled, and waved.
Shadow: ALERT MODE ACTIVATED.jpg
How are there still this many pretty girls at Hogwarts?!
The shadow's wariness shot straight to maximum.
She slowly poked her head out of the ground, staring at Cho's face.
"Tom, you're back—oh my god, what's that in your shadow?"
Cho took a quick step back, arms hugging herself protectively. "Tom, careful!"
"It's fine," Tom said with a laugh, seeing her shocked expression. "Isabelle, this is Cho Chang, second-year Ravenclaw. She's incredibly smart and talented."
Isabelle?
Cho looked down at the shadow. The head rose fully, and a small hand reached out to shake hers.
"Tom, this is—"
"My sister, Isabelle Riddle," Tom introduced her with the name she'd chosen for herself. "Pretty cool, right? She can hide inside shadows."
Cho nodded, studying the shadow thoughtfully. "That's… incredible. I've never heard of a witch who can do that."
Unheard of.
But if she's Tom's sister, it makes sense.
Tom's already this strong. Of course his sister would be extraordinary too.
You could tell her Tom's ancestor was Merlin and she'd believe it. It would actually fit.
"Senior, why are you still out so late?"
Cho's shoulders slumped. "Ugh. I got the letter out of nowhere. Before I could even process it, Professor McGonagall had already brought me here."
She sighed. "I barely slept last night, and today I was supposed to go shopping with my Muggle friends. Guess that plan's ruined."
Holidays were supposed to be the best part of school life.
But because of that wretched Dark Lord, the entire break had been wrecked.
"You could just rest in the dorm," Tom offered.
Cho shrugged. "The dorm's completely empty. No one to talk to. Oh, right—where's Hermione?"
Cho suddenly realized. Hermione and Tom were usually glued together. She hadn't seen her at all.
Did she go rest already?
"Hermione didn't come back. She's staying at the Weasleys' for a while."
"What a shame."
"It's fine. If you get bored, you can always come find me. I'll keep you company."
The shadow underground instantly went on full alert again!
Why is Tom so nice to everyone?!
Can't he just tell unimportant people to go away?!
"Um… I will. I definitely will." Cho scratched her head. "By the way, is the Great Hall still serving food? I'm kind of hungry."
"Sandwiches, burgers, unlimited lemon tea. Grab whatever you want, Senior. I still need to get Isabelle settled in the dorm. See you later."
"See you."
Cho watched Tom's back as he walked away, a little puzzled.
Isn't Isabelle a girl? Taking her to the dorm?
Maybe he's bringing her to the girls' side?
As she walked, she kept thinking about Isabelle's face.
Isabelle really is beautiful.
She could easily stand next to Hermione and not lose at all.
But they're siblings? They don't look alike at all…
Ravenclaw dormitory.
Tom led the shadow inside without any trouble.
Sue Li really was a good guy. He'd already tidied his bed and left a note.
Tom unfolded it.
Dear Tom,
If you bring your sister back to the dorm, she can sleep in my bed. The sheets are brand new—I've never used them. Terry and I also left new toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Have a wonderful Christmas break.
Your sincere friend, Sue Li.
"Isabelle, my bed's over there." Tom pointed, then flopped onto Sue's bed.
He grabbed a quill and wrote a quick reply.
Sorry, Sue. The person sleeping in your bed tonight is this rough guy, not some delicate little sister. My bad.
But the shadow probably wouldn't want to sleep in a stranger's bed anyway. They weren't that close.
"Tom! Where's the bathroom?" The shadow's energetic voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
He pointed. "Want me to cast a cleaning charm on your clothes?"
"No need. I can do simple spells like that myself. Back at the orphanage I thought the Scouring Charm would be useful, so I practiced it twice and got it. It's easy, right?"
Yeah. Easy.
Harry had apparently needed weeks.
Tom watched Isabelle head into the bathroom, then sat at the long table like a little old man, sipping red tea.
"Tom, want to help me wash?" Suddenly the shadow's head popped out beside the doorframe. Her long hair was twisted into a cute bun at the back of her head, and her smile stretched all the way to the sky.
"No. You're already grown up."
"But technically I'm still less than a year old~"
Heh.
Tom smiled without looking at her and kept sipping his tea.
The fireplace felt nice and warm. He cradled the cup with both hands.
Only downside was that it was just red tea. Would've been perfect with a couple of hot meads and butterbeers.
Wonder what Hermione's doing right now.
Meanwhile…
At the Burrow, most of the Weasley kids were already heading to bed.
Hermione had just stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her damp hair so water wouldn't drip everywhere.
She was sharing Ginny's room tonight.
Hermione wasn't embarrassed about it. She was just wondering one thing:
How many nights would she actually have to sleep in Ginny's bed?
This week was fine—she was still herself. Girl sleeping next to girl, no problem.
But next week?
If that bastard Tom woke up and found a pretty girl like Ginny lying right beside him, what would he do?
Ugh, what a jerk.
The day before the body-swap, she absolutely had to climb out of Ginny's bed!
The Weasleys had so many kids that there weren't any spare rooms for guests.
Ginny sat on the bed with her legs neatly together, looking like a bride waiting for her wedding night. When Hermione came out of the bath, Ginny's eyes went wide.
There was something about Hermione—an invisible aura. The soft steam around her gave her this faint, mysterious glow.
Plus her incredible power… Ginny could only feel pure admiration.
At least, she told herself it was only admiration.
"Hermione, maybe Mum can help dry your hair?"
Hermione shook her head. "It's okay. Drying it with magic is convenient, but I've gotten used to doing things the normal way. If I rely on magic for everything, it just feels… off."
When she wasn't busy, Hermione still washed her own clothes and did chores by hand.
Magic made everything faster, but that wasn't the life she wanted.
Magic should only be a tool.
Doing things with your own two hands—that's what made you feel alive.
She leaned against the windowsill, sipping water and gazing toward the distant, invisible Hogwarts.
Wonder what Tom's doing right now.
Probably still in Professor Snape's lab, she figured.
"Hermione?" Ginny asked, confused. "You seem distracted."
"Hm? No, why?"
Hermione sat up straight, unwrapped the towel, and let her long hair spill over her shoulders. The warm room air slowly dried it.
"Hermione, what do you think of wizard family life?"
This time Hermione didn't know how to answer.
She could only say it was different from what she'd imagined.
Not as interesting as she thought.
Actually, thinking about it… her life at Hogwarts wasn't all that exciting either.
Same classes every day, occasional adventures with Harry and Ron, and the occasional run-in with a certain annoying jerk.
That "occasional" just happened to be every single week.
The weekly body-swap always left her with this weird, annoying feeling.
But if she was honest… it wasn't that bad.
Sometimes she even looked forward to it.
If you took Tom out of her Hogwarts life… the whole thing would suddenly feel completely boring.
Oh no.
Does that mean Tom is really important to me?
That Tom Riddle—the guy who flirts with every pretty girl he sees—is actually important to me?
Tom… is this your trap? Make us depend on you, then ditch us when the time is right?
You absolute scoundrel.
"Alright, it's getting really late." Hermione patted the bed. "We should sleep. If you don't get proper rest at our age, you won't grow."
She touched her hair—it was already dry. The room was perfectly warm.
She slipped under the covers.
The bed was small. She and Ginny lay close together, sharing warmth. It didn't feel awkward at all. She fell asleep almost immediately.
At the same time…
Deep in the bowels of Hogwarts.
Professor Quirrell knelt on the cold stone floor, eyes full of reverence.
"Master, I've scouted the targets. Hogwarts' defenses are tight, but I can lure Harry Potter here. That foolish boy still thinks we want the Sorcerer's Stone. He'll bring it to us himself."
The voice from the back of his head gave a low, muffled sound.
"Not yet."
"Before we take the Stone, I have a new idea. There is something very interesting at Hogwarts. I originally planned to visit the orphanage for her, but she came here on her own."
Quirrell's eyes widened in understanding. "Master, you mean—"
"That foolish creature. It's nothing but Dark Magic, yet it gave itself a name. Does it really think it can live like a human among wizards? Pathetic."
"But if used properly… she will become my strongest left hand in the future."
Isabelle Riddle?
Tom Riddle?
He had been watching those two for a long time. The boy called Tom seemed exceptionally talented… but only talented.
Unfortunately Hermione wasn't at the castle. Sending Quirrell to cause trouble at the Weasleys would be too risky.
He would have to see if this shadow called Isabelle could help him solve his current problem.
"Master, I'll bring her right now."
"No!" Voldemort cut him off sharply. "We cannot bring her here. I fear she would be noticed. Perhaps… I should find a way to approach her myself."
The two fell silent.
A moment later, soft footsteps echoed through the dark chamber, and Quirrell vanished into the shadows.
---