Having returned to the normal course of life, Tom had finally gotten the result he wanted. Slytherin's wand was buried outside Ilvermorny School, beneath a snakewood tree whose leaves possessed miraculous healing properties. Ever since Gormlaith Gaunt had used Parseltongue to give the wand an order, it had remained unusable. His Parseltongue, however, would restore it.
Tapping on the table, Tom stared blankly at Mr. Scamander's reply. Somewhere deep inside, it felt as though a voice was guiding him to bring that wand back. Only then, it seemed, could he completely destroy the person in his dreams who called himself Tom's past, present, and future.
"Snakewood... healing properties... cannot be cut down or destroyed..."
Muttering softly to himself, Tom pressed his lips together. How was he supposed to get that wand? Prove his identity directly with Parseltongue? Or sneak over and dig it out? Shaking his head to rid himself of those impractical thoughts, Tom rubbed his eyes and put the letter away. There was no rush. He still had time. Before he possessed sufficient strength, no amount of thinking would accomplish anything.
Christmas had already passed. After this year's exams, that person would leave Hogwarts and marry the witch from the Greengrass family. Standing before the bookshelves, Tom suddenly lost all interest in reading. Lately, he kept thinking about it, unable to control his emotions. The feeling was simply awful.
Lowering his hands in frustration, Tom turned and left the library. As though beyond his control, his legs carried him to the Astronomy Tower. Standing in the same place by day and by night offered completely different sights. After silently standing there for a while, Tom curled his lips. "So ugly..."
Whether it was the all-too-familiar surroundings or himself, everything was unbearably ugly...
Keban had been hiding in a