The revelation of a connection between Tom and the Bloody Baron dropped like a bombshell, instantly seizing everyone's attention, especially Harry and those familiar with Tom's true identity.
"You scumbag! How dare you show your face here again!"
The reaction was immediate and explosive. Many young witches instinctively clutched their cutlery, their composure shattered.
The Bloody Baron roared, brandishing his longsword at Tom.
Nagini, roused to fury, reared her head, her blood-red maw gaping wide. How dare anyone threaten Tom in her presence? Absurd!
Tom calmly stroked the serpent's head with his left hand to soothe her rage. His right hand remained steady as he drew the Elder Wand, softly uttering the incantation, "Soul Shatter."
It was a spell of his own design, meticulously crafted to inflict grievous harm upon the soul.
A faint, blackish-grey light flickered. Before the Bloody Baron could even utter a scream, he vanished, his spectral color draining to a horrifying pallor, as if he had been utterly exsanguinated.
In truth, Tom had deliberately held back, not out of any vestige of compassion, but because a severely wounded Bloody Baron would serve as a far more effective deterrent. The Bloody Baron held considerable sway amongst the ghosts, inspiring fear in many.
Witnessing his pathetic state, the already pale-faced ghosts turned a sickly green. Peeves, the poltergeist, who had been gleefully peeking through the wall, was so terrified he felt his head might simply detach from his shoulders. He had initially planned to harass the new, youthful professor, Tom. But now, it seemed likely he would be obliterated the moment he opened his mouth, bereft of even the chance of spectral reincarnation.
Dumbledore and Severus Snape frowned at Tom's blatant display of power, acknowledging that Tom had indeed held back during their earlier confrontation.
After a few moments, Dumbledore resigned himself to the truth. Whatever. I can't win anyway.
"Holy crap, that's so cool!"
"Professor, I want to learn that!"
"Ghosts can be attacked? I've never heard of that before!"
Tom's effortless defeat of the Bloody Baron captivated the young wizards. Elegant movements, formidable power - this was the kind of wizard they aspired to become. As for those mundane spells that merely illuminated dark corners? Heresy! Fit only for burning at the stake.
Spurred by this, Harry, who considered fostering the next generation of Death Eaters to be his personal mission, promptly dragged Malfoy aside to persuade the other young wizards to join their cause. After careful observation, Harry knew the Death Eaters suffered from something of a poor reputation, but that was irrelevant. The key was to get them in first; once they were in, escape would prove infinitely more difficult.
Malfoy and Harry exchanged a knowing smile, their sly intent plain on their faces.
The pair accosted a nearby young wizard, launching into their persuasive tactics. One played the good cop, the other the bad cop, and their teamwork was honed to near perfection.
"Hey! You want to learn spells that are cool and powerful, right? Then hurry up and join us! Professor Tom is our leader. We respect him!"
"Joining us has so many benefits... you can..., and even... (censored)."
"Not joining?"
Smack! Malfoy arrogantly slapped the little wizard across the face.
"Damn it! Then all four houses will be ours, and if you don't join, we'll isolate you! We'll show you what a school bully really is!"
The young wizard was utterly unprepared for such an experience. He was visibly terrified, but still attempted resistance.
"What? Do we need to write you a formal invitation?"
Smack! Malfoy delivered another stinging slap.
"Join us, and Professor Tom will be yours!"
The young wizard's head was swimming from Malfoy's assault. He could only nod obediently.
Seeing this, Harry and Malfoy finally released him.
Observing the two thugs' brutal recruitment methods, Cassandra Vole rolled her eyes in silence but did not intervene. After all, these two buffoons were merely jumping the gun on what she would have done anyway.
Cassandra lifted a cup of tea, her gaze fixed on Tom as she sipped, lost in her thoughts.
"Tom Riddle! You scumbag! How dare you deceive The Grey Lady's feelings! Do you know how heartbroken she was after you left?!"
Even in his weakened state, the sycophantic Bloody Baron was determined to defend his goddess. Tom, that villainous cur who had callously used and discarded her, would pay, one way or another.
Hearing the Bloody Baron's words, a voice spoke up from the Ravenclaw table. "The Grey Lady? The ghost from Ravenclaw Tower?"
Hermione Granger swiftly questioned Penelope Clearwater beside her.
"That's right. The Grey Lady is indeed our Ravenclaw ghost."
Upon hearing this, Hermione glanced toward the Slytherin table, finding Cassandra returning her gaze.
The two exchanged a brief look...
You tricked her into coming down.
You killed her.
Cassandra nodded slightly, then took another sip of tea, considering what pretext she could use to persuade her teacher to impart the spell that targeted the soul.
A dead woman should not attempt to steal my man.
Tom was, of course, fully aware of his apprentice's thoughts concerning his former lover. He was hardly some perverted eavesdropper.
"So? You are not leaving, then?"
Tom rested his chin on his left hand, lightly tapping the table with his right, his gaze fixed indifferently on the weakened, blood-soaked Baron.
"That's right! Unless..."
"Then die."
What?
This is not how events were supposed to unfold, is it?
Tom's words left the Bloody Baron utterly dumbfounded.
"Wait..."
"Soul Shatter."
A dark grey glow struck the Baron, the ghost who so often haunted the heights of the Astronomy Tower, his eyes wide with resentment as he dissipated into motes of light.
Ending the Bloody Baron's existence was akin to crushing an ant for Tom. It did not stir even the faintest ripple of emotion within him.
"..."
A profound silence fell over the hall. Only Tom seemed unaffected, calmly resuming his meal of steak and feeding Nagini.
"Ahem, after dinner, prefects, please escort your students back to your house common rooms."
Sensing the increasingly taut atmosphere, Dumbledore swiftly rose to bring the disastrous dinner to a close.
Upon hearing this, the prefects consulted with their respective house heads, then rose, leading their students from the hall.
...
After the professors had departed, only Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall remained in the hall.
"Albus, why did you agree to Harry transferring houses?"
Minerva McGonagall frowned slightly as she regarded Dumbledore.
"Damn it all, that brat Tom! He poked me in the back with his wand!" Dumbledore clutched his back, looking pained. "And that bastard Severus! He threatened to add unspeakable things to my potions if I did not comply!"
"..."
Minerva McGonagall was rendered speechless.