Likes Small Ones

Malfoy instantly became alert, his face full of disbelief. "You're really that kind?"

The two have never gotten along; they can't stand each other. Zabini's offer to help was definitely not out of kindness.

Zabini gave a deliberate snort and said seriously, "I'm doing this for Slytherin's sake, so you don't lose to the Weasley and drag our whole house down."

He then immediately revealed his true intentions, smiling broadly, "I can help, but I have to be your personal sparring partner."

That bastard just wants to use training as an excuse to beat me up!

Malfoy internally ranted, but dared not refuse outright.

Zabini's Potions skills are undeniable; not only is he recognized by Tom, but even Snape has praised him publicly on multiple occasions, making him the most reliable choice.

After a brief period of internal struggle, Malfoy calmed himself down.

They'd either get beaten up by Zabini in private for a few days, or be publicly humiliated by Ron and become the laughingstock of the whole school.

There's no need to choose at all!

Hesitating for even a second is disrespectful to Harry Potter!

"Fine!" Malfoy gritted his teeth and nodded, uttering a harsh threat.

"But if you dare to deliberately use underhanded tactics, I'll immediately tell my father, and this isn't over!"

After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the lounge first.

Seeing this, the other snakes also teamed up in pairs, planning to take advantage of this week of intense training through fierce battles to prepare for the Duelling Club.

To provide more space for everyone, Tom casually waved his hand and used magic to expand the lounge area four times its original size.

Half of the area was reserved as a rest area, while the other half was converted into a dedicated training ground. The magic was reinforced once a day, making it stable and effective.

Tom knew that the facilities left behind by the Four Founders were a solid foundation, and with his current strength, he couldn't permanently expand them; he could only make do with them for the time being.

Back in his dorm room, Tom took out his personal chat notebook and looked through the messages sent by Phoebe.

During the day, Gabrielle drew a picture that was praised by her teacher, and she ran to him excitedly to show it off.

Unfortunately, the current chat notes can only transmit text, not images or videos, so the little girl's proud artwork couldn't be shared.

Tom had already begun working on optimizing this problem, but he was always meticulous and prioritized cost control, not rushing things.

In addition, he plans to deliberately limit the storage capacity of each chat notebook.

Once the notebook is full, it becomes completely unusable and you must get a new one to continue using it.

It can both generate profits by continuously selling new products and indirectly monopolize traffic.

He wants it all: academic credits, achievement points, gold coins, and industry influence.

A single notebook can last a lifetime, but it's not as profitable as constantly updating and iterating it, nor can it continuously expand one's influence.

My gaze returned to the paper, where Phoebe's message lay quietly.

[Silver Hair, No Red Eyes (Phoebe): What are your plans for Christmas?]

Tom chuckled and replied casually.

[Tom: It's only been a short time since school started, and you're already looking forward to vacation?]

[Silver Hair, No Red Eyes: Of course we need to plan ahead! France winters are cold and gloomy, how about we go to Australia to escape the cold?]

[Tom: If it's not cold in winter, what kind of winter is it? It just feels like something's missing.]

[Silver hair, no red eyes: Let's go skiing in Austria! I'm an amazing skier, I'll take you skiing.]

Austria.

Tom's eyes flickered, and he instantly formed another plan in his mind.

It would be worthwhile to find an opportunity to go there and, while we're at it, visit that Grindelwald who's been imprisoned.

[Tom: It's too early now, I can't confirm the itinerary. What if I agree to go in advance, but then something comes up and I can't make it? Wouldn't that be breaking my promise?]

Phoebe was clearly dissatisfied with this ambiguous answer, but she understood his temperament and could only compromise.

[Silver hair, no red eyes: Okay... Make sure you tell me your itinerary as soon as possible!]

[Tom: Don't worry, I'll tell you the second one.]

[Silver hair, no red eyes: Who's the first one?!]

[Tom: Gabrielle.]

[Silver hair, no red eyes: Goodbye!!]

In Beauxbatons ' luxurious dorm room, Phoebe looked at the chat history, then angrily slammed her laptop shut, the loud noise startling her two roommates.

"Delacour, what's wrong?"

"Fine."

Phoebe grabbed her notebook, turned around, and left without even glancing at her roommate.

You, Riddle, so you just have a soft spot for younger kids, huh?

Just wait, I'm going to pinch Gabrielle's little face until it's swollen, then we'll see if you still spoil her!

The two roommates left in the dormitory not only dared not complain, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Phoebe is exceptionally beautiful and popular among boys, but this also attracts jealousy and exclusion from countless girls.

The former Phoebe was proud and aloof, doing things her own way, and she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the slander and isolation of others.

But I don't know when it started, her temperament changed a lot, most likely she was influenced by someone.

If someone doesn't offend me, I'll ignore them; if they do, I'll confront them head-on.

These two roommates became exceptionally well-behaved because they had learned their lesson.

Tom had no idea that his casual joke would lead to a "face attack" for the adorable Gabrielle.

After seeing Phoebe off, he glanced at the time and remembered that he should go and keep Ariana.

These days, he had Greengrass gather a huge collection of Muggle psychology books.

After a quick and thorough reading and study, I completely understood the crux of Ariana's problem.

Simply put, it's post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, caused by long-term bullying by Muggle in childhood.

To cure it completely, a three-step approach is needed.

The first step, which he has been doing all along, is to build trust to an unlimited extent.

Make Ariana feel absolutely safe by his side, so that she subconsciously believes in all his words and actions.

The second step is to correct her perception of magic by using desensitization therapy and psychological suggestion to gradually reverse her fear of magic.

However, this approach is extremely risky. If the force is not controlled properly, it will only backfire and worsen her psychological trauma.

The final and most crucial step is self-identity.

He wanted Ariana to accept her wizarding identity, to confront the Obscurus, and to stop running away and being afraid.

As a fellow Obscurial, Tom had been nurturing his own Obscurus and had already figured out its patterns.

Even if Obscurus possesses independent consciousness, it is not indelible; he is fully capable of completely erasing this self-awareness.

Don't forget his exclusive Study Space, which can crush even the most powerful beings of the century; dealing with a nobody Obscurus is naturally a piece of cake.

The reason he hesitated to take action was that he wanted to lay the groundwork for all psychological treatments first, to eradicate the underlying problems in one go, and to achieve the best possible cure.

"Tom!"

Inside the enclosed villa, Ariana was watching "Tom and Jerry." When she saw him appear, her eyes lit up instantly, and she greeted him sweetly.

Tom walked over and sat down next to her on the sofa, smiling helplessly, "I remember you've seen this episode twice already."

"Yes, but it really looks beautiful." Ariana lowered her head shyly, her cheeks slightly flushed.