Enough for a Fight

Albus Dumbledore never imagined that while he was still fretting over how to guide Tom, the person in question was currently stumped by a difficult problem.

Young lady, do you have any idea how lethal that sentence of yours was?

Tom had just finished his last piece of toast and intended to head to the lake to digest, but he was blocked by Daphne the moment he reached the entrance hall.

The moment the young girl opened her mouth, he was frozen in place by the shock; no matter how he listened to those lines, they sounded completely wrong.

Daphne was stunned the moment she finished speaking, her cheeks turning bright red instantly. She waved her hands in a panic, her voice turning shrill.

"No, no! That's not what I meant! I meant, could you teach me magic? I want to become as strong as you!"

Tom was frantically complaining in his mind: Good grief, those two requests are worlds apart; how did you manage to slip up and suggest keeping me as a kept man?

Daphne was wailing internally: It's over, I blurted out what was in my heart, how embarrassing!

Afraid she would be even more embarrassed, Tom quickly tried to smooth things over: "Is that all? I thought it was some difficult problem. Train with me this afternoon, and I'll make sure you learn it."

"I knew you were the best, Tom!" Daphne instantly came back to life, smiling as she handed over a small bag embroidered with silver patterns. "Here, this is for you."

"What is this?" Tom opened the bag and fell silent on the spot; the bag had been cast with an Undetectable Extension Charm, and it was filled with gold Galleons—at a rough count, there were at least a thousand.

He rubbed his chin and pondered, Am I really worth this much now?

Is she treating me like a tutor, or does she actually intend to keep me? If I grow up a bit more, will I be able to rely on my looks to make a living?

"This is tuition!" Daphne explained bluntly when she saw him staring blankly. "You're teaching me powerful magic, isn't it only right to pay tuition?"

This idea had come to her last night while she watched Tom beat up the prefect.

Tom was powerful and knew many spells, she loved to learn, he had the ability, and she had the money—it was a match made in heaven.

She had been so happy thinking of this plan last night that she hadn't slept for half the night.

"Why would I need tuition from you?" Tom was caught between laughter and tears as he tried to stuff the bag back. "Just practicing together is fine, keep the money yourself."

Since starting school, Daphne hadn't helped him resolve any trouble, but friendship was never measured by whether someone had "helped out."

She had never distanced herself from him because of his background and had clearly stood on his side; this sentiment was more precious than a thousand Galleons.

If it were anyone else, he would have weighed the offer regardless of how much money was given, but he truly couldn't accept it from Daphne.

Daphne grew anxious, shoved the bag back, and tugged on his sleeve, shaking it.

"How can you not accept it! I'm not here to learn the lousy spells from the textbooks, but the powerful magic you excel at! Knowledge is the most valuable thing; I can't learn it for free!"

Tom was shaken until he had no choice, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Fine, fine, I give up."

He could see it now; the young girl was just looking for an excuse to give him money, and refusing further would only hurt her feelings.

Damn it, I couldn't escape the fate of being a kept man after all.

However, he was indeed short on money right now.

Some of the potion ingredients Andros mentioned could be scrounged from Snape, but the rest had to be bought, which was no small expense.

He had been worrying about how to get money, and Daphne had delivered it right to his doorstep; she was a timely rain indeed.

Tom calculated secretly: I'll treat this money as a loan and will definitely pay her back a thousandfold in the future; that way, I won't be taking this kindness for nothing.

Seeing him accept it, Daphne's eyes crinkled into crescents, filled with a sense of accomplishment—she could help Tom too!

"Come on, I'll take you to a good place." Since he had taken the money, he had to deliver; Tom didn't wait for the afternoon, grabbed Daphne, and ran upstairs.

Daphne followed him dizzily to the eighth floor and watched as Tom paced back and forth in front of a blank wall, causing a wooden door to appear out of thin air.

"Where is this?" Daphne's eyes widened, her face full of shock.

"I call it the Room of Requirement." Tom pulled her inside and waved his wand.

"Walk past three times while thinking about the place you want, and it will appear. Just don't think of anything too outrageous."

"Magic isn't allowed to be used casually in the castle, and the grounds are too crowded, so I use this as a training room."

Daphne suddenly realized: "No wonder I could never find you; so you were hiding here to slack off!"

At least it wasn't to find Granger; she felt relieved, and her smile grew even brighter.

Tom didn't understand what she was so happy about, so he shrugged and summoned two dummies with a wave of his wand.

"Take out your wand. I'm not teaching you new spells today; cast every offensive spell you know on the dummies a hundred times, and we'll finish when you're done."

"That simple?" Daphne blinked. "I already know how to cast Stupefy!"

Tom gave a half-smile: "Do it first, don't brag too early."

"Hmph!" Daphne raised her wand defiantly: "Stupefy!"

The spell hit the dummy accurately; it wobbled and fell, only to bounce right back up.

Daphne's confidence surged, and she cast spell after spell, but after only a dozen or so, the magic suddenly dissipated. Her face turned pale, and her head felt as heavy as if she hadn't woken up.

"What's going on? I'm so sleepy..." She rubbed her temples, her voice growing weak.

"Your magic was drained too quickly." Tom transformed one of the dummies into a sofa, helped her sit down, and handed her a piece of chocolate.

"Eat this to replenish your energy; draining too much magic is bad for your body."

Daphne was indeed hungry, so she held the chocolate and nibbled on it. She felt much better after finishing it, though she still lacked strength.

Tom leaned against the wall, a faint, mocking smile on his lips as he counted, "Rest is over, let's continue. You succeeded twelve times just now; eighty-eight more to go."

Daphne's face fell, and she tugged at him, acting spoiled, "Tom, can't we do a little less? How about fifty?"

"You're even trying to haggle?" Tom tapped her between the brows.

"No, eighty is the minimum. That's your current limit. Draining your magic is good for your development; fifty won't do anything."

In truth, when he first suggested one hundred, he had estimated based on his own standards.

He had secretly connected to the Study Space just moments ago to have Andros assess Daphne's magical state before settling on eighty.

As for himself, his strength could no longer be measured by the number of spells; it had to be calculated by the duration of his full-power output.

From this alone, he knew just how terrifying Andros was. That guy's magic was absurd—no wonder he could summon a ten-meter Patronus; he might even be more formidable than Albus Dumbledore.

"Development?" Daphne looked down at her chest, her face flushing as she muttered to herself: Flat as a board, what development is there to speak of?

"Let's go!" Daphne stood up abruptly, raising her wand, "Eighty it is!"

Yet, she lasted even less time during this round, and her success rate with the spells grew lower and lower.

Taking advantage of her rest, Tom began his own training, and it was then that Daphne truly witnessed his strength.

He was practically a spell-casting Gatling gun, firing one after another without pause, each one more powerful than anything she could release at full strength.

Daphne clicked her tongue in secret: If he had been at this level during his duel with the prefect yesterday, let alone a gauntlet, even if they all attacked at once, he wouldn't have even broken a sweat.

A sense of urgency welled up in her heart: the gap between her and Tom was growing wider, and even if she couldn't match his talent, she couldn't just give up on herself.