Ambition

After spending the entire night alone atop the Astronomy Tower, Tom returned to the dormitory at sunrise and carried his textbooks to class. He had figured it out. What he wanted from the beginning was never these things. He would become the king of this world. By then, no matter what it was, he could take it through his own strength, even if he still did not know what those things were.

"Hey, my dear friend!" The moment class ended, Ian shook off his companions and ran straight to Tom. Just as he was about to sling an arm around his friend's neck, he saw Tom's cold, indifferent expression and awkwardly withdrew his arm. "Tom... what's wrong?"

With a fake smile on his face, Tom lightly shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking about what books I should read later..." The smile did not reach his eyes. Tom closed his eyes to compose himself, and when he opened them again, he had returned to his friendly, model-student appearance. "Ian, do you want to go to the library with me?"

Ian awkwardly scratched his head, feeling something strange in his heart. His best friend seemed to be drifting farther and farther away from him. Not knowing how to say it, Ian's lips moved. "Tom, we're friends... right?"

Still wearing that gentle smile, Tom nodded as though it were only natural. "Of course we're friends. Don't you think so?"

Ian breathed a sigh of relief and dramatically patted his chest. He pulled a wrapped pastry from his pocket. "Here, my mom made these. They're really tasty cookies! You always forget to eat when you're studying, so remember to have some when you get hungry. I'll be going now!"

Tom waved Ian goodbye. Watching his retreating figure disappear into the crowd, he instantly dropped the smile from his face. As he turned, his wrist flicked, and the pastry vanished. Friends? He did not need them. Compared to a bond that would betray him sooner or later, he would rather never have had one in the first place.

Standing in the shadows at the corner, Dumbledore watched everything with a grim expression. It seemed he needed to make another decision. "Tom... you really do know how to give me difficult problems."

The days that followed became dull and uneventful. Tom poured all his energy into studying and mastered more and more spells. As for the idiots clamoring to call him their "boss," he accepted every one of them under his command.

Looking at the worshipful gazes of those in his year, Tom felt ambition for the first time. He wanted to train an army of his own, just like Grindelwald, the one in Germany. As long as he had strength, he could seize power and grind those nobles beneath his feet.

"By then... I won't have to do nothing but watch from afar..."

Olivia shifted her position with a stern face. She could not say she hated her current "fiancé," but she certainly did not like him. She was not some blind idiot. Whenever that half-blood brat appeared, Malfoy's body would stiffen. This game of pretending they were in love was unbearably boring to her.

"Abraxas, can't you let me enjoy life in peace? A marriage alliance between families doesn't require love, especially not for me. I'll fulfill our agreement, so... can you stay farther away from me?"

Rejected once again, Abraxas helplessly rubbed his forehead. Why did every last one of them dislike him so much? "That really hurts my feelings. No matter what, you are my future wife..." Glancing at the witch whose anger was about to explode, Abraxas wisely put away his frivolous expression. "All right, all right. I won't bother you anymore, my lady..."