The marketplace buzzed with activity as Tom and his entourage officially entered Cinderella's kingdom around midday.
"Cinderella," of glass slipper fame. Harry and Hermione were convinced the enchanted footwear was their prize.
A Neuschwanstein-esque castle loomed. Harry and Malfoy, wands and magical containers at the ready, looked prepared to storm the castle and snatch Cinderella's slipper at Tom's command.
"Honestly, must you always leap to violence and theft?" Tom chided, striking a pose of moral outrage. "I wonder who filled your heads with such notions? That reprobate Severus Snape, no doubt! Hogwarts is failing its students! Albus Dumbledore is to blame!"
Hermione stared, speechless at Tom's display of righteous indignation.
Cassandra, on the other hand, was used to it. He's plotting something again.
She sensed eyes on her and turned to see Tom grinning. "My dear disciple, I think you need to transcribe my Transfiguration notes… twenty more times."
Cassandra's face fell. Employing the Snow White technique, she whimpered, "You're so cruel, Tom."
"And the potions notes," he added.
Silence at last. Tom began to scan the crowd, gathering intel on Cinderella's kingdom.
His gaze locked on a young woman dressed in conspicuously luxurious clothes. The average peasant is not going to have useful political information.
He beckoned Harry and instructed him to try and extract information from her.
The eager-to-please Harry hurried off, only to return moments later, crestfallen.
"Well? Did you learn anything?"
"No."
"She said nothing at all?"
"Just to get lost."
Tom sighed. Mistaken for a clumsy suitor.
Cassandra and the others stifled snickers.
Malfoy, Harry's frenemy, guffawed. "Scarhead, stop associating with Death Eaters! Go wash your face and audition for the circus clown! Hahahaha..."
Harry's face darkened. If not for the crowd and the need to avoid a scene… I'd obliterate him.
Malfoy finally composed himself. "Stand aside and observe! Watch as young Master Malfoy uses his irresistible charm to extract information!"
He slapped Harry on the shoulder and swaggered toward the young woman, who had noticed the commotion. Her eyes narrowed as she took in Malfoy's gleaming blond hair and recognized the robes he wore.
Another one, she thought, frowning.
The overconfident Malfoy didn't notice. "Ahem, excuse me..."
"You too," she snapped.
Malfoy froze, the laughter behind him turning his cheeks crimson.
"I'll hex you..."
Tom intervened with a smirk. "Apologies, madam, the boy had a fever last year; he fancies every woman he sees."
"And you are…?"
The young woman looked up, her eyes widening. Her mouth opened and closed, words failing her. Her eyes glazed over.
He is perfect. In her mind, she was already naming their children.
"Madam? Are you alright?"
"Ah! Yes! I'm fine!". Her attitude had undergone a dramatic transformation.
A chorus of grumbles rose from the crowd, especially from the self-proclaimed "Death Eater Number Two Handsome Man." Malfoy muttered, "I might be a tad less attractive than you, sir, but I'm still a top-tier heartthrob! You don't know what you're missing!"
But the woman was completely fixated on Tom.
The subsequent conversation was much easier. Tom learned that the woman was named Anastasia, one of Cinderella's stepsisters.
According to Anastasia, Cinderella's early life was similar to the fairy tale, but, she insisted, Cinderella was treated as one of the family.
Tom dismissed this as irrelevant.
Everything changed on the night of Cinderella's wedding. Cinderella murdered the prince and then, by some unknown means, seized the throne.
Anastasia was visibly shaken as she recounted this.
Then, she suddenly brightened. "Enough about her! Tell me about yourself! You're a foreigner, aren't you? You probably don't have a place to stay. Why not come back to my place for a while?"
Tom, judging that it was still early, saw no reason to decline.
While I could Transfigure a castle out of thin air, plus use Shapeshifter Charms and Muggle-Repelling Charms to keep it hidden… why bother when opportunity knocks? And I can certainly extract even more information.
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