With the permission slip, Tom found the books on Legilimency and sat in a corner to read. "To master this profound magic, one must cast aside all emotions, empty the mind, and restrain oneself..."
Muttering the words from the book, Tom raised his left eyebrow. It seemed rather simple to him. After all, he did not have many emotions—or rather, he had no excess emotions. Friendship, family affection, love—he had none of those, did he?
His expression blanked for a moment before the loss on Tom's face quickly faded. Somewhat coldly, he closed the book and returned it to its place. Last night's conversation suddenly resurfaced in his mind. "Transcend death... follow instinct... what is it that I truly desire?"
Memories churned endlessly in his mind. Tom thought of the Old Headmaster sitting in his chair, of the small mound of earth where his first "friend" had been buried, and of the mother who had never again appeared in his dreams. All the people he had once liked had left him behind, leaving him alone.
"Someone who transcends death..."
"Hey, Tom! What are you muttering about?" Ian threw an arm around his friend's neck, flashed the librarian a placating smile, and dragged him outside.
After quietly freeing himself, Tom pressed his lips together lightly. He did not like that sort of contact, and the fact that he had managed to resist pulling out his wand and flinging Ian away was already quite remarkable. "Ian, do you need something? Exams are only a few months away... How is your preparation going?"
Ian let out a pained wail, his little face scrunching into a ball. Damn exams! Couldn't they implement happy education? All seven years could be happy—education could wait! "Why do exams even exist? I hate exams!"
Tom smiled politely and shook his head, not quite agreeing with that idea. Those classes were not difficult. In fact, he had already begun studying more advanced material, especially in Charms and Transfiguration spells. These unknown spells fascinated him. "Exams aren't that difficult. You just need to face them calmly..."
Ian clenched his slightly itchy fists and rolled his eyes fiercely. He was certain his friend was showing off! So what if he was a top student! Sob... In his next life, he wanted to be a top student too. He truly wanted a clever brain. "That's true for you. To me, exams are nothing but torture... Enough of this depressing topic, Tom~ Are you staying at school for the Easter holiday?"
Thinking of the upcoming two-week break, Tom nodded as if it were only natural. He had no intention of returning to that cold orphanage. In fact, he did not even want to go back during summer vacation. "What about you? Are you going home or staying at school?"
Ian chuckled, rubbing his hands together with a sly look. He leaned close to his friend and whispered, "Of course I'm staying at school. How about we go exploring then? I heard Hogwarts has quite a few secret passages. Let's go look for them~"
Tom blinked, somewhat doubtful. How had the Sorting Hat placed this guy, whose curiosity was so unusually intense, in Hufflepuff? Shouldn't he have been thrown into the Gryffindor pile...? Still, Tom had seen mention of a Chamber of Secrets belonging to Slytherin while researching Salazar. "All right. We'll go together then..."
"That's great!" Ian cheered and bounced happily a few times. "Let's go! Mickey's waiting for us by the Black Lake~"
Unable to think of a reason to refuse, Tom sighed and slowly followed behind, still pondering how he could accomplish what he wanted.
Before you continue