The next day.
The theft of the Potion Ingredients Storage shocked the entire school.
The Aurors who had left a few days earlier all came back.
The students weren't the only ones shocked by the theft. All the Aurors were stunned, too.
What an audacious Death Eater!
After all, this was Hogwarts, the safest place in the entire wizarding world.
Strictly speaking, even Gringotts wasn't as secure as this place, because Hogwarts was protected by Dumbledore.
And yet some Death Eater had dared to hide here and cause trouble.
Injuring Snape before was one thing, but now, only a few days later, they'd stolen a large quantity of poisonous ingredients from the storage room. They were clearly planning something big.
To be safe, Hogwarts had once again called on the Ministry of Magic for help.
In the Great Hall.
Two Aurors investigated the traces as they whispered to each other.
"Do you think that Death Eater has a grudge against Snape? Why does he keep picking on Snape and no one else?"
"Hmph! The old bat deserves it. He gave me no end of trouble when I was a student."
"Shh, keep your voice down. The students around us might hear."
It was breakfast time, and the students were arriving one after another to eat.
Tom had been a master thief just yesterday, but today he seemed perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened.
He had complete confidence in Voldemort's thieving skills.
The Gringotts theft had made the Daily Prophet. The goblins, the richest beings in the world, had spent countless Galleons trying to solve the case and restore their reputation, but so far, they hadn't found the slightest clue.
That was proof enough that Voldemort was a very capable thief.
It made sense.
When Voldemort had first risen to power, he'd committed every manner of murder and arson to raise funds. Naturally, he'd become an old hand at stealing, too.
"Boss, I don't think Hogwarts is a safe place to stay, either."
Harry had a chicken leg stuffed in his mouth as he watched their surroundings, his body tense and ready to fight at a moment's notice.
He'd thought he was coming to Hogwarts to learn magic, but before many days had passed, all sorts of trouble had started cropping up. Now, even their safety was in question.
"Don't worry." Tom patted him on the shoulder.
"What, do you have a plan, boss?" Ron asked curiously.
"No." Tom shook his head. "You're still too weak. If you run into danger, being careful won't help you. Instead of worrying about this and that, you should focus on improving yourself."
"I see." Harry relaxed at once, stripped all the meat off his chicken leg, and resumed eating without a care.
"What do you mean, it won't help? If we run into danger, are we just supposed to die?" Ron's face fell. He couldn't be as carefree as Harry.
"Mhm." Tom merely nodded.
At this point, the only real dangers at Hogwarts were Quirrell and Voldemort, and Tom had already dealt with both of them.
So, strictly speaking, the most dangerous person on campus now was Tom himself.
Meanwhile.
["Master Thief" +10 progress... +5... +11... ["Master Thief" +10 progress, impression level reached Lv.1, Persona activated, achievement points +1] [Master Thief (Lv.1): A master of the Unlocking Charm. Your superb thieving skills make it difficult to leave any trace of your thefts]
"?"
That worked too?
Tom was dumbfounded.
By rights, his theft yesterday should have been shrouded in mystery. He hadn't even let anyone catch a glimpse of him from behind, so why had the [Master Thief] Persona suddenly gained progress?
"Looks like I still know too little about how the panel works. I'll have to keep studying it."
As Tom pondered, a petite, lovely figure appeared beside him.
It was Daphne.
"I brought you a gift."
She gently set a large parcel wrapped in oilpaper on the table. Judging by its shape, it was a broomstick.
"Isn't this gift a little too expensive?" Tom didn't accept it right away.
He had access to Quirrell's vault. He wasn't exactly rich, but he had money, and he could certainly afford a broomstick.
But that money couldn't be seen yet. As far as other people knew, he was still an ordinary boy with no family backing, so he couldn't just accept a broomstick worth dozens of Galleons.
"This is to make up for—" Daphne began, but then she realized that saying she was making amends sounded presumptuous, so she hurriedly changed her tune.
"I don't take back anything I've given, you know." Daphne crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, aren't you joining the Quidditch team? I think you've got a lot of talent, so just accept it."
"Well..." Tom knew that after she'd put it that way, refusing would be rude. He could only nod. "All right, then. I'll accept it."
He tore open one corner of the oilpaper, revealing half of a smooth, wax-polished, bronze-colored wooden handle.
What elegant lines. It looked a lot like the Nimbus 2000, so it definitely wasn't cheap.
As he peeled away the oilpaper bit by bit, a broomstick that looked even more sophisticated than the Nimbus 2000 was finally revealed.
The words "Nimbus 2001" were clearly printed on one end.
"This is..." Tom was startled.
Wasn't this the new broomstick the Nimbus Racing Broom Company wouldn't release until next year? It was an upgraded version of the Nimbus 2000.
"Surprised, aren't you? I specifically wrote to ask my mother to buy it. We wouldn't have been able to get one of these before the official release if the Greengrass Family hadn't stepped in." Daphne couldn't hide her smile.
Who wouldn't want someone they cared about to be amazed by their gift?
"Thank you so much. I won't let this broom down, and I'll make sure your kindness doesn't go to waste, Daphne."
Faced with such a lavish gift, Tom didn't hesitate. He stood up at once and bowed to her respectfully, his face utterly sincere.
Perhaps because this was the first time she'd received such sincere thanks, Daphne's cheeks suddenly turned red.
"Hmph, whatever. I've given it to you, so you can do what you like with it."
With that, Daphne turned and hurried off without even eating.
Watching the girl's retreating figure, Tom couldn't help feeling, for some reason, as if he were living off a rich girl.
He might not be short of money anymore, but compared to the Greengrass Family, he was still a small fry.
Footsteps sounded—
As soon as Daphne had left, Professor McGonagall appeared.
She was carrying two more broomsticks tightly wrapped in oilpaper.
"Tom, Harry, these are the ones I said I'd give you—"
Before she could finish, McGonagall noticed the Nimbus 2001 in front of Tom.
"It seems our excellent young wizard has already taken care of that problem himself."
Even so, she'd already bought the brooms and couldn't very well return them, so McGonagall set one down in front of Tom and the other in front of Harry.
"Tom, you can keep this broom as a spare."
He peeled back the oilpaper, revealing two Nimbus 2000s.
Professor McGonagall really was generous.
Ron, sitting nearby, was green with envy.
That was a Nimbus 2000, a top-of-the-line luxury item that cost 75 Galleons apiece. His family could sell everything they owned and still not afford one. Now one was sitting right there in his friend's hands.
Noticing Ron's envious look, Tom didn't hesitate. He immediately pushed his own Nimbus 2000 in front of Ron.
"Big brother! You..." Ron's eyes grew misty, and for a moment he couldn't speak.
"Th-thank you, big brother!" Ron suddenly clasped his fists. "From this day on, your third brother will serve you faithfully, through life and death!"
After spending time with Harry, Ron had picked up a bit of old-fashioned Chinese-style English, too.
McGonagall didn't say anything, but she was moved as well.
She knew about Tom's financial circumstances.
He was poor, but pure of heart and always considerate of others. In her decades as a professor, she'd rarely met such a good child.
["Selflessness" +100 progress, impression level reached Lv.2, achievement points +1] ["Friendliness" +100 progress, impression level reached Lv.3, achievement points +1] [Current achievement points: 11 (one draw available)]
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