Hogwarts: Chill, I'm Not That Riddle

Only now did Albus Dumbledore fully understand why Tom hadn’t shared this information with the Ministry officials from the other countries.

Corvinus Gaunt was too sensitive a figure.

Sure, he’d graduated from Hogwarts centuries ago, but would outsiders see it that way? That was impossible to say.

And now that Corvinus Gaunt was mixed up with Herpo the Foul, what if people started suspecting Herpo had been released by Hogwarts too, all as part of some hidden scheme?

If that happened, Hogwarts would become the first target of public outrage, even before the two masterminds behind everything.

Tom gave Nicolas a quick rundown of what had happened in New York. When they learned that the dark wizard Herpo was the real ancient Herpo the Foul, and had even appeared in person, the room fell deathly silent in shock.

Tom left out the part about Jeanne d’Arc fighting Herpo.

Not because he wanted to hide it, but because he’d barely gone home lately. He’d been staying at Hogwarts the entire time.

"That Herpo," Nicolas asked, "just how strong is he? You said he hasn’t fully recovered yet. Couldn’t we use this chance to... finish him for good?"

Tom rubbed his chin. "How strong is he? Honestly... hard to say."

"I thought about wiping him out completely too. Tried tracing his real body through his magical signature. But old monsters like him always have tricks up their sleeve. He’s hidden himself too well."

"If he doesn’t want to show himself, nobody can find him."

Nicolas looked disappointed. A decapitation strike was the fastest and cleanest solution. The problem was always the same: you had to find the target first.

"To be honest," Tom continued, his face growing more serious, "I don’t think Herpo is the biggest problem. Corvinus Gaunt is."

That made everyone focus.

"Before Herpo’s avatar died, he deliberately leaked a lot of information. He wanted me to be wary of Gaunt."

"And Gaunt letting Herpo cast magic in front of the entire world like that wasn’t some impulsive move. Exposing the wizarding world was part of the plan from the start."

"I still don’t know the exact goal, but it definitely has something to do with the Quetzalcoatl. I think this whole thing might help it recover."

Tom wasn’t guessing blindly.

Morgan le Fay had once told him that the so-called gods were real, but their existence still depended on humanity’s acknowledgment. The relationship between the two was subtle and deeply intertwined.

As for how exactly it worked, even Morgan hadn’t known. The ancient records she’d studied all danced around the subject, and in her era, the gods were already gone.

She had also said that not all gods were truly worthy of that title. Most of them, in fact, were far weaker than the myths made them out to be.

"So..." Dumbledore muttered, piecing it together. "What we’re facing isn’t just two ancient, unfathomable dark wizards. Possibly a recovering Quetzalcoatl as well... and maybe even other unkown beings?"

Tom nodded, "Headmaster, that sums it up perfectly."

"Thanks, Tom. Though I would very much prefer it if my understanding were wrong." Dumbledore gave a bitter smile.

Seeing that Dumbledore was finally starting to unravel, Nicolas chuckled. "Albus, back when you fought Grindelwald, you survived chaos no less terrifying than this. Even now, when I walk through the streets of Paris, I still remember that catastrophe. Have some confidence."

"But the Muggle world has changed, Nicolas," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "The way they spread information... and the ways they kill... both have surpassed anything from our time."

That reminded Tom of his own frustrations.

He might have gone a little overboard when using force.

But the Muggle world had countless ways to kill without leaving any chance of survival. Compared to that, what he’d done in New York was practically nothing.

One day, when he was strong enough, he swore he would drag out whatever it was that had filled him with that sense of rejection and tear it apart.

And if there was nothing there to tear, then he’d make something, just so he could rip it to pieces. He needed to tear something.

"Don’t overthink it."

Nicolas casually played with a strange device in his hand. "If you lose your composure too, are we supposed to trust this reckless brat to carry the world on his shoulders?"

Dumbledore blinked. And suddenly, his eyes cleared.

He looked at Nicolas with genuine admiration.

As expected of someone who’d lived this long. One sentence, and he’d pulled him back together.

Because if everything were left to Tom’s judgment... the world would probably end up in the biggest war in history.

No, he had to pull himself together.

"Nicolas, thank you for the reminder," Dumbledore said, this time his tone filled with renewed resolve.

Tom looked at the exchange with an odd expression. "I... I feel like I was insulted somehow."

Dumbledore laughed, "Not at all. I’m simply doing what a Headmaster should. I can’t put too much burden on a student."

Tom opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Fine. There was no winning against Dumbledore when he talked like that.

"I’ll help too," Nicolas said with a smile, though there was something chilling in it. "I still don’t know why Gaunt decided to provoke me, but now that he’s made himself my enemy, I have every reason to ruin whatever he’s planning."

"Albus, if you need anything, come find me in Dorset. Or you can go through Tom."

Then Nicolas looked at the boy, "Tom, you’ll help me with this, won’t you?"

"Of course." Tom nodded without hesitation. "Don’t worry, Professor. I’ll capture Corvinus Gaunt alive and make sure he becomes your most valuable alchemical material."

Nicolas burst into hearty laughter.

Even Newt and Tina laughed, and the tension in the room eased at last.

But they couldn’t keep the people outside waiting much longer, so the emergency meeting ended there.

Fawkes sent Nicolas and Tina back first, while Newt stayed behind.

..

When they returned to the Dream Arena, even with the professors trying to maintain order, panic and chaos still hung thick in the air.

Officials from various Ministries of Magic had already started taking their people and leaving.

A lot of the audience members from the tournament had left too.

Only the young wizards remained, their faces pale with fear and uncertainty.

"Headmaster," Tom said, turning to Dumbledore, "we should bring everyone back to Hogwarts first. This place is too spread out. Hard to keep things under control."

After saying that, Tom flew toward the formation from Ilvermorny.

Since the incident had happened in America, many of the students were desperately trying to contact family and friends back home.

Tom landed in front of Cassandra Vole.

Before she could speak, he cut in first, "I’ve already brought your parents here. Don’t worry. They’re safe."

His voice softened, "I’ll explain everything after we get back."

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