Like My Mum

As soon as the seven minutes were up, Andros returned to the Study Space, and Tom regained control of his body.

A wave of weakness swept over him. He staggered and braced himself against the wall, then forced himself to raise his wand despite his exhaustion. Transcendental State was still active—he couldn't waste it.

Recalling how Andros had cast his spells, he waved his wand. A beam of white light struck Dummy Number One dead on. "Not bad. It really works."

Tom grinned smugly and fired off spell after spell. He still couldn't match Andros, but he'd improved by leaps and bounds.

Three minutes later, Transcendental State ended. Tom sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.

He'd certainly gained a lot. Though his magic had nearly run dry toward the end and his spells had lost power, his control had improved dramatically. He'd hit only two of the wrong dummies; he'd taken down all the rest in order. His aim was rock-steady.

Physical Practice combined with transcendental insight was a killer combination. The progress he'd made in those ten minutes was beyond what others could achieve in a lifetime.

In the Study Space, Andros sighed softly. With Tom's absurd talent—really, the system's boost—he was bound to become a top wizard someday, unmatched by anyone.

Tom rested for half an hour before he finally recovered. The dizziness and weakness gradually faded, and his magic began to replenish.

He was still a little tired, but he had no desire to stop. His longing for power was carved into his bones; physical comfort came second.

Having lived two lives, he knew better than anyone that only absolute power let you live well and enjoy life.

In his previous life, power had meant money and influence. He'd given everything he had, yet never managed to hold on to either. Now, power meant magic—something that could truly protect him.

In that light, the Sorting Hat had been absolutely right to put him in Slytherin.

Tom always insisted that he practiced magic for self-preservation and a comfortable life, but he couldn't hide the ambition in his bones.

Ambition, talent, and the half-blood connections he'd shamelessly latched on to—when it came to being a true Slytherin, no one was more qualified than him.

Whoosh—a red beam cut through the air, neatly dodging the obstacles before striking a dummy.

But Tom still wasn't satisfied. He could still picture Andros casting spells: using the same spell, his flew faster and hit harder. If Tom's spell had a power of one, Andros's had to be three or four times stronger. The gap stung.

Tom didn't get discouraged. He muttered, a little self-consciously, "What's the hurry? Life's short, and you have to take it one step at a time. You have to practice one spell at a time. Trying to swallow the whole thing in one bite is so tacky."

First, he'd work on speed while keeping his accuracy steady. If he managed those two things, he'd be at the top of his age group.

For the next two days, aside from sleeping and eating, Tom spent all his time in the Room of Requirement, turning into a training fanatic.

He even made the Room of Requirement more challenging. He replaced the dummies with Knight Puppets swinging blunted greatswords, and they attacked him as soon as he entered.

The moment Physical Practice came off cooldown, Tom activated it, pairing it with Supernatural Mode and wasting not a second.

This time, he didn't rush Andros. He let him do as he pleased while Tom memorized every step of his fighting style and every trick for casting spells on the move, like a little thief stealing his knowledge.

When Physical Practice ended, Andros returned to the Study Space and complained, "Tom, you're too weak. You're like a Muggle kid. Hurry up and gather ingredients to brew some Potions and build up your strength. Otherwise, no matter how quickly your magic improves, your body won't be able to keep up. You'll only hold yourself back."

Tom sprawled on the floor and rolled his eyes, drawling, "What's the hurry? The worst thing you can do when you're planning something big is get impatient. One slipup, and you won't even know what killed you."

He paused, leaving Andros speechless with his retort. "Besides, do you really think I'm good enough to brew advanced Potions right now?"

"Even if I had the ingredients, I'd just be standing there staring at them, or I'd ruin the batch and waste everything. Do you think I can pull off another free shopping spree and steal ingredients from Diagon Alley?"

Andros was at a loss for words. He'd been focused on gathering ingredients and had forgotten Tom had only attended one Potions Class. Even with his guidance, Tom would probably mess it up.

"Fine, you have a point," Andros said sourly. "Pay attention in Potions next week. You can't learn this stuff just by reading books. You need to practice and figure things out for yourself."

"Got it." Tom waved a hand as he got up and brushed the dust off himself. "I'm planning to look for ingredients in the Forbidden Forest. If I can't find any, I'll buy them. That's better than just sitting around doing nothing."

Andros had no objections. Tom knew what he was doing.

Meanwhile, in a luxurious Pure-blood manor in Yorkshire, Elise Greengrass, a beautiful, middle-aged blonde woman and Daphne's mother as well as head of the Greengrass Family, was reading a letter delivered by owl. The corners of her mouth twitched.

After reading it, Elise was both amused and exasperated.

Daphne had started off by sweetly telling her how much she missed her, which warmed Elise's heart. But the farther she read, the more ridiculous the letter became. Daphne started complaining about being broke, then came right out and asked for five hundred Galleons.

Elise pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. It had only been a week since term started. Had Daphne already spent all the pocket money she'd been given?

She knew what things cost at Hogwarts. She'd graduated from there herself, and no one needed that much money. Had her daughter gone from little princess to money-devouring monster?

At first, Elise had worried Daphne was being bullied at school and needed the money in a hurry. But the sheer delight that shone through the letter, right down to the way the words were written, put her mind at ease.

But if everything was going so well, why did Daphne need so much money?

As Elise pondered this, a soft voice called from outside the door, "Mum, has my sister's letter arrived?"

Elise turned and beckoned her over. "Astoria, come take a look. Your sister's complaining that she's broke and asking me for five hundred Galleons."

A little girl in a white dress walked in. Her features were delicate, but her face was frighteningly pale.

Her golden hair had faded to a dull silver-white because of her poor health. The veins stood out on her thin arms, and she looked as if a gust of wind could knock her over.

A flicker of pity passed through Elise's eyes, then quickly vanished.

Astoria came up to the desk and read the letter. Then she asked curiously, "Mum, does it really cost that much to go to Hogwarts?"

"Of course not." Elise ruffled her hair. "Your sister spends money like water. She's probably got her eye on some jewelry or clothes again."

As she spoke, Elise picked up her quill to write a reply. She'd give Daphne the money, but she had to make her explain what she needed it for. Otherwise, it would be hard to get any pocket money next term.

Astoria blinked, said goodbye to her mother, and returned to her bedroom. She took a small box out of her cabinet. Inside were the thousand Galleons she'd saved.

Her sister was short on money, so she'd give her savings to her. It wasn't as if she could use it herself anyway.

At the start of the new week, on Monday morning, Daphne received the packages she'd been longing for—not one, but two.

One was from her mother. It contained five hundred Galleons and a letter telling her to spend carefully. The other was from her younger sister, Astoria. It held a thousand Galleons and a letter written in crooked handwriting.

It said, "You don't have to be careful with your money, big sister. I'll send more if you run out." Tears welled in Daphne's eyes as she read it.

As expected, her little sister was the cutest angel in the world!

But when she thought of Astoria's frail body, Daphne couldn't stop the tears from falling. Her dormmates were startled.