The ripples caused by the tea party had not faded with the hot summer winds. Instead, they had settled into an invisible tension within Serene Residence. Tom had become more silent than before. He still studied magic with Ares and planned for the new school year, but that complete, almost instinctive trust seemed to have been cast in shadow. His gaze often fell upon the golden pattern beneath Ares's left eye, carrying a deep, calculating scrutiny.
Ares could clearly sense the change. He knew that emotional bonds and vague promises alone could not truly dispel Tom's doubts. What Tom Riddle needed was control, understanding, and the sense of security that came from bringing every unknown within the bounds of his comprehension. The secret of the blood pact and the system were precisely what he could not give him.
[Host, target character's trust level is fluctuating downward! (;′д｀)ゞ Reinforcement measures are required!]
[Crisis response mission triggered: A Shared Secret]
[Mission requirement: Discover and keep a new, somewhat risky secret relevant to both the host and the target character, shifting his excessive focus away from the host's personal secrets.]
[Mission reward: Permanent minor increase in joint spellcasting compatibility.]
The system's prompt had come at just the right time. Ares realized that he needed to create a "new" secret, something that belonged to the two of them alone and required them to protect it together, in order to reinforce their relationship as accomplices and redirect Tom's attention.
The opportunity arrived on an overcast afternoon. They put on the Invisibility Cloak once more and ventured deep into the outskirts of Hogsmeade Village, toward the Forbidden Forest. In the corner of an abandoned stone house almost completely covered in vines, Tom keenly sensed a faint but unusually pure magical fluctuation.
He pulled aside the thick vines and discovered a narrow descending stairway hidden beneath the rotting floorboards of the stone house. A scent of moss, ancient metal, and the remnants of some powerful magic rushed toward them.
"There's something down there." Treasure-hunting excitement gleamed in Tom's dark eyes, temporarily replacing his earlier gloom.
The two carefully descended the slick stone steps and entered a small, circular basement. At its center stood a shattered stone platform, covered in the markings of ancient magical arrays that had long since failed. Yet what drew their attention was a dust-covered object in the corner of the platform that still emitted a faint blue glow—a Sneakoscope.
This was no ordinary Sneakoscope. It was larger than the ones sold in shops, made of neither metal nor wood, with silver patterns like the paths of stars carved across its surface. It was rotating at an extremely slow pace, emitting an almost inaudible hum.
After cautiously checking the surrounding area with his wand and confirming there were no traps, Tom reached out and picked up the Sneakoscope. The instant his fingers touched it, it jolted violently. Its rotation abruptly accelerated, its blue light turned blinding, and it pointed toward... Ares.
Tom suddenly looked at Ares, his eyes sharpening in an instant.
Ares was startled as well, but he quickly calmed himself. He realized that this might be the opportunity for the "shared secret" mentioned by the system. He stepped forward without avoiding the Sneakoscope pointed at him. Instead, he reached out and lightly touched it.
The Sneakoscope stopped trembling. Its blue glow softened, even conveying a faint intimacy, as though it were confirming something.
"It... knows you?" Tom's voice carried disbelief and deeper curiosity.
"Not exactly." Ares thought quickly, weaving together a plausible explanation based on the system's possible influence and the ancient magic lingering here. "The ancient magical arrays here may retain some kind of... ability to recognize the essence of magic. My magic may have some sort of... resonance with what it once protected, or with the magical system that created it." He pointed at the star-like patterns on the Sneakoscope, then meaningfully glanced at the chain pattern beneath his own eye. "These ancient magical creations can always sense things that ordinary objects cannot."
The explanation was half true and half false. It mentioned the unusual nature of Ares's magic while attributing the cause to the external environment, neatly avoiding any direct revelation of his core secret.
Tom stared at the Sneakoscope, now calm again as though it acknowledged Ares, then looked at Ares's composed face. The scrutiny in his eyes gradually gave way to a new gleam, one mixed with excitement and possessiveness.
An ancient, powerful magical object that seemed to resonate with Ares's magic. It was undoubtedly an immensely valuable discovery. More importantly, they had discovered it together. Its existence and properties had themselves become a secret they needed to keep and investigate together.
"What can it sense?" Tom handed the Sneakoscope to Ares. His tone returned to its usual scholarly manner, but there was less distance in it than before.
Ares took the Sneakoscope and focused his mind on sensing it. "Not exactly malice... more like... intense magical intent, or... hidden truths?" He described the vague feeling. "It seems especially sensitive to certain specific, powerful traces of magic."
Tom looked thoughtful. "An ancient truth detector? Interesting." He surveyed the secret basement. "Who did this place once belong to? What was it originally meant to protect?" Countless questions formed in his mind, and all of them would require him and Ares to find the answers together.
They concealed the basement again and returned to Serene Residence with the ancient Sneakoscope. Their shared discovery acted like an adhesive, temporarily mending the crack created by the tea party. Tom's attention had been successfully redirected to this new secret. He began frantically consulting books, trying to uncover the Sneakoscope's origins and the basement's past.
Ares cooperated with his research while secretly using the system's assistance to gradually "unlock" some of the Sneakoscope's functions—though they were actually effects simulated by the system according to the situation—keeping Tom deeply interested at all times.
Yet Ares knew clearly that this was only a temporary measure. Professor Peverell's words were like a thorn, not only lodged in Tom's heart but also reminding Ares that the mysteries surrounding him could draw even more dangerous attention at any time. Tom's temporary satisfaction rested on the foundation of "jointly possessing" a new secret. Once he grew satisfied with it, or once the secret had been fully exhausted, his gaze would inevitably turn sharply back to the deeper, unspeakable secrets within Ares himself.
Summer's end approached amid this fragile balance and new exploration. The Hogwarts Express was about to depart once more, and their second year was destined to become even more turbulent because of what they had experienced that summer—Slughorn's tea party, the ancient Sneakoscope, and the suspicion and secrets lurking beneath the calm surface. The crack might have been temporarily reinforced, but the undercurrents beneath the foundation had never ceased to surge.
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