Vote for Snape

He was just about to discuss learning a few concealment spells with Andros when the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open.

Zabini and his two companions poked their heads in, and seeing the room was empty, they were immediately overjoyed.

"Riddle isn't here!"

"He must have been punished by Professor Snape and is in detention right now!"

"Bullshit!" Rosier snapped, "Why would it be detention? Maybe he's already been expelled!"

"Right!" Nott quickly chimed in, "Lawless on the first day, he deserves to be expelled!"

As the three of them spoke, they burst into laughter.

Tom smiled as well, silently exiting the Study Space.

The next second, the three laughing wildly were suddenly lifted into the air against their will, their hands bound behind their backs by invisible ropes, and their knees buckled, hitting the floor with a loud "thud" as they were forced to kneel.

The Disillusionment Charm lifted, and Zabini, Rosier, and Nott stared at the suddenly appearing Tom in terror, their minds filled with questions: What the hell? How is he here? Snape didn't deal with him? He just let him come back like that?

Tom ignored their shock, savoring the feeling of the spell he had just cast; he hadn't chanted a single word, using only his wand to release a Non-verbal Spell, and the precision of his control was nearly identical to when he chanted.

Was this what Andros meant by the power of will and emotion?

The sensation was contradictory; if he pushed too hard, his emotions would spiral out of control, but if he held back, the magic wouldn't manifest.

He tried flicking his wand, and the three kneeling boys were slammed against the wall by a massive force, though Tom shook his head: "No, no, that was a mistake; I meant to hang you on the wall."

He walked toward the three of them step by step, and Zabini's eyes widened in fear, shaking his head frantically, but there was nowhere left to retreat: "Y-you, don't come over here!" They had all seen it; Tom's wand had turned back into a whip.

"Didn't we agree on this yesterday?" Tom tilted his head, his tone infuriating, "You have the right to seek revenge, but you must also accept the price of failure."

"Tattling to the teacher, you really knew how to pick your moves." Tom clicked his tongue, "Too bad, Professor Snape felt this was just a minor friction between roommates and didn't punish me."

The hearts of the three turned cold instantly. Snape had been so angry this morning, how did it become just a minor friction?

Nott begged for mercy with a mournful face: "Riddle, I know I was wrong, can you please not hit me?"

"Of course not." Tom shook his head, his smile innocent, "None of you three are getting away today. Come on, I'll give each of you a guaranteed ten-pull, all you can handle!"

After a round of wailing and howling, Zabini and his two friends obediently finished their "daily welfare."

Their eyes were filled with tears, yet their gazes were unusually clear; they kept their heads low and eyes submissive, not daring to even breathe loudly.

They thought it was over, not realizing that this was only the beginning.

Tom toyed with his wand, which had returned to its original form, and spoke nonchalantly: "Who can tell me whose idea it was to tattle? We have internal conflicts in our dorm, and you actually took it to the Head of House; I'm so heartbroken."

"Snitching to the Head of House? Is this the honor and tradition purebloods are so proud of? To put it bluntly, it's just being ill-mannered."

The three were flushed with shame and anger. They were all doted upon by their families, and no one had ever dared to speak to them so ruthlessly.

But even so, Nott and Zabini kept their mouths shut, refusing to betray Rosier.

"Not talking?" Tom raised an eyebrow, slowly pointing his wand at them, "Perfect, I just learned a few new hexes; thank you for being my practice targets."

Zabini's face turned pale instantly. Being beaten was just painful, but who knew how well Tom had practiced his hexes? If he failed the spell, it might be even more terrifying than if he succeeded!

"It was Rosier!" Zabini immediately caved, decisively selling out his teammate under the incredulous stares of Rosier and Nott.

"It was his idea! He even said Professor Snape was close with his parents and would definitely favor us, but he lied to us about everything!"

"Zabini! You traitor!" Rosier was so angry he wanted to pounce on him, and Nott glared at him with utter disgust; traitors were always the most despicable.

This was exactly what Tom wanted. He released Zabini's bindings, smiled, helped him up, and patted his shoulder: "Blaise, turning back from the wrong path is worthy of praise."

Zabini was too ashamed to look up, but the next second, he only felt relief; Tom hung Nott and Rosier up, making him watch from the side as he whipped them fifty times each.

This time, the blows were much heavier than before, and the shrill screams made Zabini's scalp tingle and his whole body tremble.

Even more absurdly, Tom healed them as he whipped them; after a hundred lashes, there wasn't even a red mark on their bodies, leaving them with no evidence even if they wanted to tattle.

"Will you dare to tell the teacher again in the future?" Tom's tone was gentle, but his eyes were sharp with ruthlessness.

The two shook their heads frantically, looking at Tom as if they were looking at a demon.

"Then, how do we account for the losses you caused me?" Tom asked again.

Rosier sobbed, snot and tears streaming down his face: "Y-you weren't punished, where did these losses come from?"

"You wasted my time." Tom sighed, spouting nonsense with a straight face.

"I spent half an hour arguing with Professor Snape to convince him, plus the travel time and dealing with you lot, you've wasted an entire afternoon of my precious time. As the saying goes, an inch of time is an inch of gold; shouldn't you give me some compensation?"

The three nodded subconsciously, feeling that what he said made sense, yet feeling like something was wrong.

"Riddle, are you asking for money?" Zabini's mind was still relatively clear, and he was the first to react.

Tom's face darkened, feigning displeasure: "What do you mean asking for money? This is mental distress compensation that you are voluntarily lending me! I'm a kind person, so I'll treat it as a loan; I've even prepared the IOUs for you."

Three slips of paper floated into their hands, each for ten Galleons, with the repayment date—after graduation?!

The three were speechless. Although Gringotts paid no interest on savings, a seven-year loan meant the money was as good as gone; they weren't even sure if they would remember it by then.

They cursed Tom to high heaven in their hearts, but still handed over the money with pained expressions.

Don't assume all purebloods are wealthy; not every family gave their children ample pocket money.

Zabini had the most, only fifty Galleons a semester, while Nott and Rosier only had twenty, meaning half of their funds were gone in an instant.

It was only the second day of school, and the two of them were utterly despairing.

The IOUs had been signed; even if they went to report Tom for extortion, they had no evidence.

Furthermore, the fact that Tom had returned unscathed today and still dared to continue putting them in their place proved that Snape couldn't do a thing to him.

The three of them could only chant silently in their hearts: Endure, whatever you do, don't provoke Riddle again.

Tom tucked the money away, feeling quite pleased with himself. He secretly rejoiced: coming to Slytherin wasn't so bad after all. The other houses didn't have such foolish students, and he would have felt too embarrassed to initiate the extortion himself.

Thirty Galleons per person—if he expanded his business to the entire Slytherin house, wouldn't he be making a fortune?