NOVEL NEXT Chapter 131: The Well-Behaved Astoria
Two snow-white stallions came galloping in, pulling a splendid carriage behind them.
Daphne leaned out of the carriage window, her small hand waving excitedly toward them.
It was Tom's first time truly understanding what it meant for someone's family to be rich enough to keep horses—two of them, no less.
As soon as the carriage came to a halt, the girl couldn't wait a second longer. She hopped down, bounding over and throwing herself into Tom's arms, taking in a deep breath.
"Tom, you finally came."
The boy smiled, patting her head.
"Didn't we just see each other a few days ago? Why do you make it sound like it's been forever?"
Daphne wrinkled her little nose in a playful, adorable way.
"Because I missed you so, so much."
A direct confession like that was impossible to guard against. Seeing the upturned face, the bright eyes brimming with anticipation, Tom looked away a little too quickly, though his voice softened more than ever.
"All right… I missed you too."
Instantly, Daphne's smile lit up brighter than sunlight.
Only then did Mrs. Greengrass step down from the carriage, leading a silver-haired girl by the hand.
Mrs. Greengrass wore a smile that was equal parts helpless and amused—well, perhaps also tinged with the kind of "auntie grin" that all but begged these two to get married on the spot.
The silver-haired girl, however, stared at Daphne wide-eyed, as if seeing her anew.
"Oh!"
Daphne, who had been happily lost in her reunion, finally noticed her mother and sister. She quickly slipped from Tom's embrace, ran over to the silver-haired girl, grabbed her hand, and introduced her to Tom.
"This is my absolutely adorable little sister, Astoria Greengrass! She's been wanting to meet you for ages—asks me every single day when you'll be coming."
The sort of sisterly secrets usually kept between girls were blurted out with zero hesitation, making two bright blushes bloom across Astoria's pale cheeks.
"S-Sister! I… I only wanted to thank Mr. Riddle. Be clear about what you mean!"
After the hurried clarification, Astoria quickly dipped into a small curtsey toward Tom.
"Mr. Riddle, thank you for the potion you sent. I'm feeling much better now."
"You can just call me Tom," he reminded her. "Your mother and Daphne do, so no need to be formal."
"All right… Tom." Astoria nodded obediently.
Tom studied her. He'd heard Daphne brag countless times about how beautiful her sister was, claiming that no one in the entire school could compare. Now he finally saw for himself.
And while Daphne was certainly a shameless little sister-connoisseur, she wasn't wrong.
In terms of looks, Tom thought Daphne was the most beautiful girl at school—Hermione might come close, but Daphne carried a certain refined elegance Hermione lacked.
Astoria's features, however, were even more delicate and balanced than Daphne's. If we were judging purely by facial beauty, perhaps only Fleur Delacour and her sister Gabrielle could be considered on par.
But the Veela sisters' beauty was aggressive—radiant, almost to the point of attack—while Astoria, because of her frail health and the curse on her body, exuded a softness instead.
She was the perfect, well-behaved daughter many people imagined in their dreams.
After two or three seconds under Tom's gaze, the girl shyly lowered her head.
Fortunately for her, Tom's attention shifted—Daphne was already squabbling with Usagi.
The girl and the little dragon had never quite gotten along since their first meeting. Daphne liked to cling to Tom's arm, which often meant brushing against the pocket where Usagi slept. The tiny dragon was prone to morning crankiness.
Still, because Daphne carried Tom's scent even more strongly than Hermione did, Usagi never truly lashed out—just insisted on bickering with her for a while each time.
In the short two weeks since Tom had last checked, Usagi had grown from a slippery eel-like hatchling to over half a meter in length. Tom had to enchant all his clothing pockets with Extension Charms to let the little dragon come and go freely.
The trouble was… Usagi had become a picky eater.
Dragon meat no longer excited him. His new request? Meteorite-infused feed.
Rayquaza, being a legendary creature that lived in the upper atmosphere, could absorb the energy of meteorites to strengthen itself, and even store it in a special organ to trigger a Mega Evolution.
Helpless, Tom had been making "zero-galleon purchases"—slipping into museums and research labs to borrow a number of meteorite samples. But Usagi's appetite was growing faster than Tom could keep up, and it's not as though he could fly into space for food.
This was supposed to be a parent's job. Tom had somehow become the dragon mom.
"Ahhh! Usagi! That hair took me the whole morning to style!"
The crystalline tiara on Daphne's head had been yanked off, her perfect princess-poof hair now in disarray. Usagi, meanwhile, darted happily back into Tom's pocket, poking his head out to stick his tongue at her in triumph.
That's what you get for squeezing me earlier.
"All right, Daphne," Mrs. Greengrass called out helplessly.
"Tom's finally here and you're blocking him at the door? Get on the carriage already."
At her mother's word, Daphne instantly wilted and, with exaggerated obedience, led Tom up into the carriage.