Exchanging Information with Snape

If it were Tom last year, living a frugal life where he didn't even have enough credits to go around...

Not to mention fooling Lockhart, Tom could fool Lockhart into handing over his entire fortune.

Lockhart stood there, watching Tom's retreating figure, trembling with anger. He snorted coldly, stomped his feet, and strode away.

At lunchtime, Tom looked through the semester's schedule and discovered that Slytherin and Gryffindor had very few opportunities to attend classes together.

He only encountered Transfiguration and Potions Class. There were more classes than last semester, but it was still very easy for him.

Seeing Snape sitting opposite him, Tom snapped his fingers, and a paper crane fluttered its wings and flew over, landing in front of Snape.

Snape, who was cutting his steak, was startled. He looked up and met Tom's gaze, instantly realizing who was behind it all.

He unfolded the origami crane, read the message inside, and frowned slightly.

Half an hour later, in the lounge on the other side of the Entrance Hall.

Snape pushed open the door and entered, radiating a low-pressure aura and speaking in an icy tone.

"Riddle, you've become more and more arrogant since the holiday, daring to have a professor come to see you?"

"Professor, don't get so worked up." Tom handed over a cup of black tea, looking completely calm.

"This is to save time. You have three classes this afternoon, and I have other things to do. We can't take up everyone's time."

"Speak plainly." Snape crossed his arms, scrutinizing him with his eyes, but inwardly he was thinking something.

Before school started, he even challenged Tom to a duel to see if the kid had wasted his magic during the summer vacation.

After watching the fight between Usachi and Fawkes, he immediately changed his mind. Who knew if that brat would be so unsportsmanlike as to send Usachi along?

Tom didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "Professor, give me half of the willow branches and leaves from the Whomping Willow '."

"Goodbye." Upon hearing this, Snape immediately turned to leave. That brat actually dared to covet his precious materials! No way!

"Don't rush off, I'm not taking this for nothing," Tom quickly called out to him.

He took a small, crystal-clear glass bottle out of his pocket and handed it to him.

Snape's gaze was instantly drawn to the contents of the bottle, and he stopped in his tracks.

"What's this?"

Snape's gaze was fixed on the crystal bottle in Tom's hand, the palm-sized bottle from which sky-blue liquid flowed slowly.

Every now and then, a few dazzling arcs of electricity would flash, making the viewer's heart tighten.

"This stuff, you know, it can be called Lightning Liquid, but it also has an even more intimidating name: Thunder Tribulation Liquid." Tom shook the bottle, his tone smug.

"But I doubt you'd understand all that fancy stuff, so let's just call it Lightning Liquid. It's a bit corny, but it's easy to remember."

Snape glared at him, cursing Tom a hundred times over in his mind: Did I ask for the name? I asked what this piece of junk is even good for!

"Don't underestimate this Thunder Tribulation Liquid, it has a very powerful background." Tom instantly put on a profound and unfathomable expression, exaggerating its effects.

"This is a highly concentrated essence of lightning, condensed when the Thunderbird summons it!"

"Mr. Scamander and I traveled through mountains and rivers, fought the Thunderbird for half a month, and barely escaped with our lives to get our hands on this treasure."

This statement was partly true and partly false; the Lightning Liquid was indeed condensed by him summoning wind and thunder.

But after working so hard for half a month, feeding those juvenile Thunderbird every day and almost fattening them up, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was "fraught with difficulties."

As for the effects of the Thunder Tribulation Liquid, he had already verified that it could purify the bloodlines of Fantastic Beasts.

When the Thunderbird first saw this thing, they fought over it like unicorns fighting over their Patronus.

It was only by his forceful order that the food was distributed evenly, and after drinking it, the weaker the Thunderbird, the more it benefited.

Newt Scamander is currently busy working on his bloodline purification paper and has said he'll release Tom as the first author.

That will be another credit and achievement point, just thinking about it makes me happy.

Snape stared at the pulsating plasma inside the bottle, half believing Tom's nonsense. He unscrewed the cap and brought it close to his nose to smell it.

A faint smell of ozone wafted out, mixed with a kind of indescribable sweetness.

He dipped the tip of his wand in the liquid, which danced on the tip, and arcs of electricity shot up the wand before disappearing.

This was a new material he had never seen before, Potions Master's instincts made him unable to look away.

He patiently pressed on, asking, "What can this thing be used for?"

Tom looked at him with a disappointed expression and sighed.

"Professor, you're the Potions Master! I'm just a second-year wizard, why do you have to ask me everything?"

"I won't give you any ideas, lest I interfere with your work; you'll have to figure everything out on your own."

Snape sneered, seeing right through him. "I get it. You're trying to fool me with some junk you haven't even figured out yourself?"

"Hey, you can't say that." Tom immediately turned his head, staring at the carvings on the ceiling with a look of fascination, as if it were some kind of masterpiece.

"Between teachers and students, this is called exchanging what you have, how can it be called deception? You see through it but don't expose it, understand?"

In his heart, he thought to himself, "Snape, that old bat, is so boring. He has no sense of humor at all. No wonder he has no friends."

He's so busy every day, he doesn't have time to study this damn material. It's a miracle he even managed to get it working.

"Class is about to start, give me a straight answer, are you going to switch or not?" Tom urged impatiently. If he kept delaying, he would be late for his Herbology.

"Change it." Snape gritted his teeth, unable to resist the temptation of the new materials even though he knew Tom was tricking him.

He paused, then added, "Give me some more Thunderbird feathers."

"Here, here, it's all for you!" Tom was very generous, casually pulling out a small bag of Thunderbird Feather and a small piece of bone.

"I'll give you the bones too, consider it a free gift, isn't that generous?"

Snape opened the bag and glanced inside.

The feathers were silvery-white with bluish edges, and the cut surface of the bone was very fresh, with faint scorch marks.

Seeing how readily he agreed, Snape instantly realized he'd gotten the short end of the stick!

That rascal must have gotten his hands on a lot of Thunderbird- related stuff. Why didn't he just be bolder and ask for a few more items?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became; his face was so dark it looked like it could drip water.

"Come with me." Snape turned and walked away with a dark face, cursing Tom's ancestors in his mind. He would remember this debt.

As the sun sets, its golden rays bathe Hogwarts Castle, gilding the meadows with a warm golden hue.

The smoke rising from Hagrid's Hut swayed and drifted into the air before being dispersed by a gentle breeze.

After Tom dispelled the Disillusionment Charm, he took out his name card holder and gently enlarged it. Immediately, three unicorns hopped and skipped out.

After returning to their hometown after two and a half months, the unicorns were overjoyed and circled around Tom twice.

They ran wildly through the forest, startling the birds that fluttered their wings and scattered in all directions.