Harry settled into a seat next to Malfoy at a corner table in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Mmf... what do you want?... Mmf... order something for yourself…"
Tom was preoccupied with a rather charred, well-done steak, making it hard for Harry to understand him, but thankfully he got the gist.
He flagged down the young waiter he'd met the day before and casually ordered some fresh bread.
Once the waiter had left, Malfoy turned to Harry with blatant curiosity, "Scarhead, what electives did you choose this year?"
"Divination and Muggle Studies."
Harry scratched his head awkwardly. He'd chosen them for easy grades, but he had an excuse ready.
"I only took two because I'm swamped. I've already swayed a fifth of the Hufflepuffs, and I want to make Hufflepuff Death Eater territory by next year."
Harry implied that it was all for Tom Riddle and the Death Eaters.
To his surprise, the others didn't react much. Malfoy's response, however, was even more unexpected.
He'd been smiling when Harry first spoke, but instantly soured upon hearing the rest.
"You only chose two subjects? Good! I'm happy because I did too. We're both slackers, so let's be honest about it. But what was the point of your little speech afterward?"
Malfoy realized that Harry had come up with an 'excuse,' while he had foolishly offered none. This realization instantly annoyed him!
He felt that if this continued, he wouldn't even have a seat at Death Eater meetings, let alone be second-in-command!
Harry looked at Malfoy, whose face was a dramatic mask of mock-anguish. He was utterly confused.
Feeling he hadn't done enough for the Death Eaters, Harry remained blissfully unaware that he was driving Malfoy to despair.
Still, he was curious about Malfoy's own choices.
Seeing Malfoy's reluctant expression, Harry turned to Cassandra and Hermione. "What about you two? What did you choose? Care of Magical Creatures? Ancient Runes? Or…"
Finally, someone was asking her! Hermione smiled smugly, holding her head high. "I chose them all."
Just as Harry expected.
Cassandra simply replied, "Divination and Runes."
That was unexpected.
In his memory, Cassandra was a model student. How could she only choose two subjects like them?
As if sensing Harry's confusion, Cassandra took a sip of her coffee and explained, "The teacher said it didn't matter what I chose; he'd teach me everything anyway."
"..."
He'd almost forgotten about that.
Hearing Cassandra's words, Harry, Hermione, and Malfoy exchanged strange glances.
Envy? No! Damn it…
Seeing their silence, the 'kind' Cassandra decided to change the subject. "I remember some classes overlapping, right?" she asked.
Hermione smiled mysteriously in response to Cassandra's question. "Well, Dumbledore said it's best if we don't tell anybody."
"..."
Although she didn't get an answer from Hermione, Cassandra wasn't bothered. She turned her attention to her teacher.
"When faced with a young wizard who has selected all elective courses, professors send letter after letter to the Ministry of Magic, requesting the right to use a Time-Turner," Tom said, casually revealing secrets. "The Time-Turner is a very magical artifact. It allows the user to travel back in time, placing their present self in the same period as their past self."
"..."
Hearing Tom's words, Hermione pouted slightly, wanting to maintain the mystery.
Harry and Malfoy exchanged shocked glances. Wow! Something this amazing existed?
"Is it too late for me to change my course choices?" they asked in unison.
Both stared at Tom expectantly.
With the Time-Turner, Harry could fool two people at the same time! The Death Eaters' takeover of Hogwarts was just around the corner!
Malfoy, however, simply thought the Time-Turner was awesome and wanted one to play with.
Unfortunately, no matter their motives, reality was about to dash their hopes.
"What do you think?" Tom asked, looking at them teasingly.
Seeing his expression, they knew it was impossible.
Hermione sighed helplessly at the two idiots' expressions. How could one obtain a Time-Turner so easily?
Even if you selected all the subjects, you might not get one, since the number of Time-Turners was limited.
She'd only gotten one because Professor Flitwick had kept writing letters on her behalf.
Thinking of this, Hermione recalled Professor Flitwick's earnest advice when he handed her the Time-Turner.
Just then, another voice came from beside her, "Teacher, I want a Time-Turner too."
Turning around, she saw the usually haughty Cassandra acting coquettishly towards Tom.
As for this…
Although his apprentice's coaxing skills were terrible, Tom didn't care. "There's one in the second drawer of my office. You have the key; go get it yourself."
"…"
Hermione and the others were used to this preferential treatment.
After a brief moment of frustration, Malfoy plastered on an ingratiating grin. "Sir, what about my Time-Turner…"
"That's all. There is only one."
Tom cruelly rejected Malfoy.
Malfoy slumped once again into his corner, crestfallen, and seemed ready to burst into tears.
Seeing Malfoy like this, Harry's lips twitched involuntarily. Then, he seemed to remember something. "By the way, sir, didn't you just say that the Time-Turner was applied for by the professor from the Ministry of Magic?"
"That's right."
"Then who was the Time-Turner you have originally applied for?"
"Applied for? I asked Fudge for it, and he gave it to me."
Tom looked completely matter-of-fact.
He simply wanted to study it, so he asked Fudge for one. It was that simple.
"..."
Because he usually interacted with Tom, Harry almost forgot just how powerful his boss was in the eyes of others.
Ignoring the silent Harry, Tom turned to Cassandra and Hermione. "You two need to remember," he said, "that you shouldn't use the Time-Turner to go back more than five hours, meaning don't turn it more than five times."
Tom chuckled wryly. "After all, I ended up here because I tried to play with time and ended up being played by time itself."
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