Hogwarts: Chill, I’m Not That Tom Riddle

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"What's this?"

Inside the crystal bottle—no bigger than half a palm—flowed a liquid the color of a summer sky, every so often flickering with dazzling arcs of lightning.

"I can call it… lightning elixir. Technically I should call it—Thunder Tribulation elixir—but I doubt you'd understand the reference. So yeah, let's keep it lightning elixir."

Snape shot him a sideways glance.

Was I asking for the name? And, like, the hell I don't know about the so-called Thunder Tribulation those cringy eastern wizards rave about

"Riddle, I was asking what the hell this is."

"Ahem.... this isn't something you just find lying around," Tom said, slipping into a deliberately mysterious tone.

"It's the concentrated energy from a Thunderbird's lightning call, distilled into pure form. Mr Scamander and I went through hell to get it—fought a running battle with Thunderbirds for half a month before finally winning."

In truth, Tom had created it himself, summoning storms and compressing their power over two exhausting weeks—mostly for feeding every baby Thunderbird in Arizona until they were plump and content.

As for what it could do… the theory that high-tier energy could purify magical creature bloodlines had already been proven.

Thunderbirds reacted to the elixir much like unicorns did to Tom's Patronus—borderline worship. When Tom left, he'd given them some as a parting gift, which almost caused a full-blown brawl.

And the effects? Every Thunderbird benefited, but the weaker ones gained the most.

Newt was already drafting a paper on bloodline purification—with both him and Tom as authors. That meant a nice fat payout in academic credits and achievement points.

"Hmm..."

Snape studied the swirling electric plasma inside the bottle, clearly skeptical, but also certain he'd never seen anything like it.

Concentrated lightning… what could it be used for?

Tom sighed in mock disappointment. "Professor, you're the Potions Master here. I'm just an ordinary second-year student—why are you asking me?"

"I'm not giving you a single hint," he added, hands up. "It'd interfere with your creative process. This one's all on you."

Snape's mouth curled in a thin smile. "I see. You're handing me something you haven't even researched yourself, hoping to trick me into doing the work."

"How could it be called 'tricking' between teacher and student?" Tom tilted his head.

Honestly, Snape was no fun at all. Couldn't even pretend not to see through it. No wonder the man had no friends.

"Class is about to start, Professor. Are we trading or not?" Tom pressed.

"We are." Snape knew full well the boy was baiting him, but the lure of a new ingredient was too strong. "And throw in some Thunderbird feathers."

"Sure, sure. Here—take some Thunderbird bones too. Free bonus."

Snape's eyes narrowed. If Tom was giving them up this easily, he must have a lot more Thunderbird materials stashed away.

Fuck, why hadn't he demanded more?

Damn it.

"Come with me," Snape said, face dark, leading Tom to fetch his payment.

---

After some time...

Deep in the Forbidden Forest, Tom dropped his Disillusionment Charm and pulled out his enchanted card case, enlarging it. Three unicorns pranced out, furs glinting like silver thread.

They'd been away for two and a half months, and their excitement was obvious—they bounded through the forest, sending startled birds into the air.

After driving off the magical creatures that had moved into their absence, the unicorns trotted back to Tom's side.

He patted Nova's head. "You three better stay here most of the time. I'll take you with me during holidays thou."

With Newt's help, Tom had redesigned his personal dimension—splitting it into twenty-five separate zones, each expanded individually. Combined, they were already a third the size of the Forbidden Forest.

He could make it bigger, sure—but size wasn't everything. To sustain a real ecosystem, you needed the full chain: climate, terrain, plants, animals. Newt had been building his for decades and still worked on it daily.

Tom wasn't about to sink that much time into it. Smaller magical creatures could keep living there, but unicorns were better off roaming the Forbidden Forest.

"Wuuu~" x2

Blaze and Storm pressed their foreheads against him—not to say goodbye, but to remind their caretaker to keep up with feedings.

"You little gluttons," Tom said, laughing. "If I come back and find you've gotten fat, I'm sending you to Newt."

"Wuuu!" x3

"Nope—pouting won't save you."

Hoofbeats rustled through the undergrowth. Tom looked up just as a centaur stepped into view.

"You're… Firenze," Tom said, raising an eyebrow.

He wasn't great at faces—half the centaurs looked the same to him—but the name clicked.

"Hello, Tom Riddle." Firenze inclined his head to Tom, then dipped it slightly to the unicorns.

In the centaur worldview, unicorns were symbols of purity and divinity, deserving of respect.

"I was patrolling nearby," Firenze explained. "Felt something unusual in our territory and came to investigate."

"You're more polite than most of your kin," Tom said with a faint smile.

Firenze fell silent—there was no arguing that. Centaurs believed themselves more intelligent than humans, while humans saw them as talking magical beasts. That gap wasn't one you could bridge.

"Well, since nothing's happening here, I'll be going," Firenze said, not eager to deal with Tom any longer. This guy was far too domineering and nowhere near as reasonable as Dumbledore.

"Don't go. You've come at just the right time," Tom called after him. "Even if you hadn't shown up today, I was going to pay your herd a visit."

Firenze instinctively took two steps back. "Mr Riddle, the centaurs haven't provoked you again."

"You're imagining things." Tom curled his lip. "I just need the centaurs' help with something."

"I've heard centaurs are masters of Herbology, with knowledge very different from ours. I want to hire one of you to be my personal tutor in the subject."

"That's impossible." Firenze rejected the idea without a second's thought. "Centaurs never share their knowledge with humans, nor do we make deals with them."

"Don't be so quick to refuse." The smile on Tom's face faded a little. "This isn't a deal—it's collecting a debt."

"You've lived in the Forbidden Forest all these years without ever paying rent, haven't you?"

"???"

"If rent is to be paid, it's a matter for Dumbledore, not you, Riddle."

The smile vanished from Tom's face entirely.

Sensing her master's mood shift, Usaki swooped out from wherever she'd been lurking. The glare in her draconic eyes, combined with the oppressive aura of dragonkind, made Firenze stumble back in shock.

A roar split the air. The sound shook the forest for miles, sending magical creatures and mundane beasts alike scattering in every direction, desperate to get beyond the reach of that presence.

Tom spoke with calm precision. "Nature's law is the survival of the fittest, Firenze. As Dumbledore's student, I can't yet challenge him directly. But even he can't stop magical creatures from preying on each other."

"Riddle—are you threatening me?"

Veins stood out on Firenze's neck. Even as one of the centaurs most inclined toward peace with humans, his temper was now blazing.

"That's right. I'm threatening you." Tom's eyes were cold. "Not just you—every centaur in the Forbidden Forest could end up as Usaki's dinner."

"Usaki," he said, turning to his dragon, "you've been eating meteorites for so long—wouldn't it be nice to change things up once in a while?"

Usaki answered with another resonant roar. Centaurs didn't look all that appetizing, but if her master called it dessert, so be it.

In her mouth, a sphere of annihilating energy began to gather. One word from Tom, and Firenze would be on the ground in the next heartbeat.

Under the crushing weight of dragon fear, the thought of resisting never even arose in Firenze's mind. No matter how centaurs denied being mere creatures, under a dragon's gaze they were no different from the rest.

"Easy, Usaki." Tom lifted a hand, and the violet glow in her mouth dissipated.

"I'll give the centaurs one day. Tomorrow, same time, same place—I want your answer."

"Usaki, you follow him. If the time's up and I haven't called you back, you know what to do."

Another roar from Usaki sealed the ultimatum. Tom didn't give Firenze a chance to argue; he simply took off, flying out of the Forbidden Forest.

Left behind, Firenze's expression shifted from dark to uncertain and back again—while Usaki's unblinking stare followed his every move.

— — —

"Pureblood."

The password opened the common room door. Tom stepped inside and was greeted by a roar of voices. As he descended the stone steps, he saw that nearly half the house had gathered, with Malfoy and a few Quidditch players in the middle of the crowd.

The moment they spotted Tom, the students parted to let him through.

Each of the Quidditch players was holding a brand-new broom, caressing it like a prized treasure.

Malfoy, glowing with pride, was in full lecture mode. "The Nimbus 2001's top speed is ten percent higher than the 2000, and its acceleration's up by—well, let's just say a solid twenty percent. As for Cleansweeps and Comets? Please. They don't even compare."

"This year's Quidditch Cup is ours for sure!"

"That's brilliant, Draco!" Marcus Flint boomed, clapping Malfoy on the shoulder hard enough to make him stagger. "Thanks for what you've done for the team. A talent like yours really shouldn't be wasted off the pitch."

"Draco, I'm officially inviting you to join the Quidditch team. Our Seeker graduated last year—interested?"

"Of course!" Malfoy nodded eagerly.

He'd spent the entire summer pestering his father for this. Landing the Seeker position meant he'd finally get to face off against Potter himself.

The scene gave Tom a sense of déjà vu.

"Tom, perfect timing!" Malfoy spotted him and hurried over, grabbing an extra Nimbus 2001 from the table.

"This is from my father—a late birthday gift. The shop didn't have stock at the time, so it's only arrived today. I hope you don't mind."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. A Nimbus 2001 as a birthday present? Lucius Malfoy was being downright extravagant.

And wasn't he supposed to despise half-bloods and Muggle-borns? Why would he give Tom a gift?

Lucius Malfoy, somewhere far away: "You fools. This is the art of survival. I've dodged two wizarding wars without so much as a scratch."

Sucking up was Malfoy's art

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