Soft Rice from a Little Rich Woman

The next day.

The theft in the Potion Ingredients Storage shocked the entire school.

The Aurors who had left just a few days ago all came back.

This theft stunned not only the students but also every single Auror.

What audacious Death Eaters!

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 it had Dumbledore's protection.

Yet somehow, some Death Eater had dared to hide here and cause trouble.

Injuring Snape last time was bad enough, but just a few days later, they had stolen a large quantity of poison ingredients from the storage, clearly planning something big.

To be safe, Hogwarts called the Ministry of Magic for help again.

In the Great Hall.

Two Aurors whispered to each other while investigating the traces.

"Do you think that Death Eater has a grudge against Snape? Why do they keep targeting him alone?"

"Hmph! That old bat deserves it. He gave me no end of trouble when I was a student here."

"Shh, keep your voice down. Don't let the students around hear."

It was breakfast time, and students were trickling in to eat.

Tom had just pulled off a heist yesterday, but today he sat as calm as if nothing had happened.

He had great confidence in Voldemort's thieving skills.

The Gringotts theft had already made the Daily Prophet. As the richest goblins in the world, they had spent countless Galleons trying to salvage their reputation by cracking the case, yet so far they hadn't found a single clue.

That was enough to prove Voldemort was a very competent thief.

It made sense, really.

Back when Voldemort first rose to power, he had done plenty of murder and arson to raise funds, so he was naturally a seasoned expert in theft as well.

"Boss, I don't think Hogwarts is a safe place to stay either."

Harry had a chicken leg stuffed in his mouth while scanning his surroundings, his body tense, ready to fight at any moment.

He had thought he was coming to Hogwarts to learn, but in just a few days, all sorts of chaos kept happening, and now even safety was a concern.

"Don't worry." Tom patted him on the shoulder.

"What, you have a plan, boss?" Ron looked over curiously.

"No." Tom shook his head. "Your strength is still shallow. When danger comes, no amount of caution will help. Instead of worrying about this and that, focus on improving yourself."

"I see." Harry immediately relaxed, tore all the meat off the chicken leg in one bite, and ate in peace.

"What do you mean, 'no amount of caution will help'? If real danger comes, we just kick the bucket?" Ron's face fell. He couldn't be as thick-skinned as Harry.

"Mhm." Tom just nodded casually.

At this time, the biggest dangers in Hogwarts were only Quirrell and Voldemort, and he had already dealt with both of them.

So strictly speaking, the most dangerous person on campus right 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): Expert at the Locking Charm. Your exquisite thieving skills make it hard to leave traces behind.]

"?"

That worked too.

Tom was stunned.

Logically, his theft yesterday should have been extremely mysterious. He hadn't even left a silhouette behind the entire time. How could the [Master Thief] persona suddenly increase?

"It seems my understanding of the panel is still too shallow. I need to study it more."

As Tom pondered, a cute, petite figure appeared beside him.

It was Daphne.

"I brought you a gift."

A large package wrapped in oil paper was gently placed on the table. Judging by the shape of the wrapping, it was a broomstick.

"Isn't this gift a bit too generous?" Tom didn't accept it immediately.

He had Quirrell's vault, so while he wasn't filthy rich, he was well-off. A single broomstick was nothing to him now.

But that money couldn't be seen in public yet. For now, his outward persona was still an ordinary person with no family background, so he couldn't casually accept a broomstick that cost dozens of Galleons.

"This is my apology to you..." Daphne started, but the words "apologize" felt too presumptuous, so she quickly changed her tune.

"What this young lady gives out, she never takes back." Daphne crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, aren't you joining the Quidditch team? This young lady thinks you have real talent, so just take it."

"This..." Tom knew that since she'd put it that way, refusing would be rude. He could only nod and agree: "Alright then, I'll gratefully accept."

He tore open a corner of the oil paper, revealing half a bronze wooden handle coated in smooth wax.

Such sleek lines, very similar to the Nimbus 2000—definitely not cheap.

As the oil paper was peeled away bit by bit, a broomstick far more premium-looking than the Nimbus 2000 was fully exposed.

On one end of the broom, it clearly read "Nimbus 2001."

"This is..." Tom was startled.

Wasn't this the new broom the Nimbus Racing Broom Company was releasing next year? An upgrade to the Nimbus 2000.

"Never seen it, have you? I specially wrote to my mother to buy it. If it weren't for my Greengrass family pulling strings, you couldn't get this insider product." Daphne's face was full of barely contained glee.

Who wouldn't want the person they care about to be shocked by their gift?

"Thank you so much. I won't let this broom down, and I definitely won't let your efforts go to waste, Daphne."

Faced with such a grand gift, Tom didn't stand on ceremony. He stood up and bowed respectfully to her, his face written with genuine sincerity.

Perhaps because it was the first time she'd received such heartfelt thanks, Daphne's face suddenly flushed red.

"Hmph, whatever. It's yours now. How you use it is up to you."

With that, Daphne turned and left, walking quickly, not even staying to eat.

Watching the girl's retreating figure, Tom inexplicably felt like he was living off someone else's generosity.

Though he wasn't short on money anymore, compared to the Greengrass family, he was still a small fry next to a giant.

Tap tap tap—

No sooner had Daphne left than Professor McGonagall appeared.

In her hands, she also carried two broomsticks tightly wrapped in oil paper.

"Tom, Harry, these are what I promised to give you earlier..."

Before she could finish, McGonagall noticed the Nimbus 2001 in front of Tom.

"It seems our outstanding young wizard has already solved this problem himself."

That said, since the brooms were already bought and couldn't be returned, McGonagall still placed one in front of Tom and one in front of Harry.

"Tom, keep this broom as a spare."

She tore open the oil paper, revealing two Nimbus 2000s.

Truly worthy of Professor McGonagall—her generosity was nothing short of lavish.

Ron, watching from the side, was green with envy.

That was a Nimbus 2000, a top-tier luxury item costing 75 Galleons each—something his family couldn't afford even if they sold everything they owned. And now it was in his friend's hands.

Seeming to notice Ron's envious gaze, Tom didn't hesitate. He immediately pushed his own Nimbus 2000 over to Ron.

"Big brother! You..." Ron's eyes glazed over, and he was momentarily speechless.

"Th-thank you, big brother!" Ron suddenly clasped his fists tightly. "From now on, your third brother will serve you through thick and thin, through life and death!"

Having hung out with Harry, Ron had picked up some old-fashioned Chinese-style English.

McGonagall, though silent, was inwardly shaken.

She knew Tom's financial situation.

Poor, yet pure of heart, always thinking of others—such a good child was extremely rare in her decades of teaching.

["Selflessness" +100 progress, Impression Level reached Lv.2, Achievement Points +1]

["Kindness" +100 progress, Impression Level reached Lv.3, Achievement Points +1]

[Current Achievement Points: 11 (One lottery chance)]