Childhood friend of a Dark Lord (YS x HP)

[Simonbob]

Together they would find a way to save this miserable world from itself!



By any means necessary...

Click to shrink...

"For the Greater Good!"

 

[Monsterboy]

"For the Greater Good!"

Click to shrink...

And then Tanya and Tom was Greater Good!Dumbledore.

 

[J.I.M.S]

I didn't say now. I said eventually. Tom and Tanya aren't even in puberty yet, I'm thinking more fourth year and up here. Still, Tom has a bit of an obsessive yandere to him, and both eventually marrying even for partially practical reasons is IC, especially in this era where the pressure to do so is high, especially from a political perspective, and will mount ever the moreso post-war to replenish British mages' own depleted numbers. They're not even related by blood!

Click to shrink...

Tom: The bloodline must be kept pure.
Tanya: We're not related.
Tom: PURE!

 

[bugmenot]

Tom: The bloodline must be kept pure.
Tanya: We're not related.
Tom: PURE!

Click to shrink...

Tom was corrupted by those asian cartoons and their ideas of sibling relationships, it would seem!

 

[Dacraun]

Oh wow.
I didn't expect that the story from Tom's perspective could be so perfect.

You're doing an amazing job characterizing them both and showing their bond building.

 

[Abdi12345]

In my opinion I think they are going to have a falling out at some point in the future simply because of toms obsession and the methods he is willing to go to because I cannot see Tanya going on a wanton murder spree just for the heck of it because according to Tanyas personality it will be a waste of resources and now I do understand it is AU but Tom will always be Tom and if they get separated at hogwarts with Tanya in ravenclaw/griffindor depending on the sorting hats choices on tanyas experiences and Tom in slytherin with all his potential follows as Tom said "what is a king without a chess board"/"what is a ruler without subjects" let's be completely honest with ourselves Tanya will not use the horcrux spell because it will affect her mental state and touching her soul without fully understanding is not she will do but she might be interested in being master of death if it fcks with being X a little especially the cloak of invisibility if it is capable of hiding from being X.

 

[PachirisuXPikachu]

I love this new chapter!!! I hope to see you loosen up some restriction and bring something more dangerous and risky into their curriculum and any knowledge. Like none of those "Dark magic is forbidden, ritual is forbidden, anything that I don't like is forbidden" kind of nonsense. But instead "Dark magic is dangerous, be careful. Ritual is dangerous, ask for a combination and guideline for combination ritual that had been proven as working, anything involving soul is guideline and as long as you didn't touch others. " as guideline.

 

[bugmenot]

When they at long last arrived at Kings Cross it had taken them quite a while to figure out the trick to entering the secret railroad station for wizards...

'Platform Nine and Three Quarters' was, as its name suggested, positioned in the space between two regular train tracks. Pocket dimensions and solid illusions were consequently something that they would need to keep an eye out for in the future if they wanted to spot gatherings of magical people. It seemed that the casual violation of Euclidian geometry was a field that wizards simply delighted in.

Aside from its location, however, the train inside of the hidden realm appeared to be perfectly ordinary. Steam rose from its front and its wheels were greased with normal machine oil. Perhaps there wasn't much that could be improved on a steam engine, even with magic? Tom made a mental note to study steam engines more closely at some point.

Many children had gathered on the platform to say goodbye to their parents who tearfully hugged them or kissed them or otherwise wished them luck, which was quite honestly ruining his mood, so he quickly dragged his sister inside the first free cabin he found. After a while the train began moving and with a shrill blast of the locomotive's whistle they were finally off to Hogwarts.

He amused himself by trying to teach his pet new tricks, like having her fetch a ball…

The snake he bought was actually a female – contrary to what Tom had initially assumed – and her new name was Lucy. No, Tom did not care if she had some snake-specific title beforehand! She was now his pet and she would learn to obey!

Meanwhile, Tanya had immediately sunken into one of their Hogwarts textbooks upon sitting down and hadn't uttered a sound since. Were it not for the rhythmic noise of the pages turning, one could have mistaken her for a very lifelike statue.

To be fair, he probably should have been studying as well, but he had already finished the entire history book yesterday and it had not exactly been the most riveting material. Why should he care for the lives of people who not only were already long dead, but whose only contributions in life were inventing a few measly spells? His sister had done that when she was less than ten years old!!

The start of a large ruckus on the corridor outside had him turn his head, which Lucy shamelessly used to steal the fidgeting mouse from his hand and gulp it down straight away.

The door was soon pushed open and an unknown boy scurried inside before quickly closing the door and turning to face them.

"Hey guys, you don't mind if I hide in here for a few minutes, ey? My- Woah, what's up with your eyes!?"

Tanya looked up from her book and blinked until the telltale glow of her perception enhancing spell faded into her regular cerulean blue eyes.

"Nothing much. Who do we have the pleasure of conversing with?

"Ah, yes, ahem." He puffed up his chest and a cocky grin split his pudgy cheeks. "You stand in the presence of the illustrious, magnificent, formidable Alphard Black, soon to be the greatest sorcerer of the noble and most ancient house of Black, ho ho!"

This guy was certainly quite full of himself, but Tom could basically smell the several insecurities that lay underneath his false bravado.

"I'm here to begin my shining career as the grand successor of my dearest-"

A piercing, banshee-like cry ripped through the air, promising to inflict untold violence and misery: "AAAALPHAAAARD!!"

Suddenly the boy seemed far less confident, cowering away from the cabin door.

"Eh, that was my sister, Walburga..."

In what was probably supposed to be a whisper he added: "Maybe I went a little too far this time."

"She sounds like an absolute menace, yeah." Tom unhelpfully added, not bothering to fully suppress his smirk at the boy's suffering.

Watching this arrogant blowhard getting beaten black and blue should be mildly entertaining.

"Uh, eh... I'm sure it will be fine!"

"I'LL KIIILL YOUUUUUU!!"

By god, that girl had some lungs.

"You guys don't have an invisibility cloak by chance, so she won't see me leaving the train?" Alphard weakly grinned, all the while periodically glancing at the door.

It was obviously meant as a joke, but Tanya shut her book and decided to involve herself in this by producing her new wand from her sleeve and looking towards the arrogant child.

"We can offer you no invisibility, Mr. Black, but perhaps I can give you something better for now. Please hold still, I am still unfamiliar with the intricacies of wanded casting..."

Alphard looked at her in stupefied confusion for a moment before whatever formula Tom's brilliant sister had been compiling in her head shot out from her wand and splashed over the boy. Ripples of light settled over his features, transforming him from an unremarkable and boisterous eleven year old into the splitting image of a pretty girl that Tom recognized from one of those fashion posters near the entrance of Kings Cross.

Just in time too apparently, because not a second later their door flew open and a frazzled looking teenager stuck her head inside. Her face bore a strong similarity to Alphard's, but any comparison in that department became unnecessary the second that she opened her pinched mouth and started screeching again.

"FOUND YOU- wait."

Triumphant fury made way in her expression, only to then give way for frustration and a hint of jealousy.

"Ew, those curls look so muggle. And that shirt? Hideous! Why are you standing around here like this, tramp? You mudbloods truly get brasher every year, huh?"

Shaking her head in disgust, Walburga slammed the door to their compartment back shut.

Her brother, who had frozen in fear, was unable to form a single coherent sentence, stammering incomprehensible gibberish with his eyes frozen wide open. As amusing as that was at first, it quickly grew grating and so Tom hit him on the back of the head to shake him out of his little funk.

"What made her so spitting mad anyway?" he asked conversationally, pulling the shell-shocked wizard spawn onto the seat next to him, much to the annoyance of Lucy, who had to quickly slither out of the way in order to avoid getting crushed.

"Well, I kind of might have accidentally ruined her make-up set by knocking the expensive bottle of mermaid perfume over it... He he... She saved up for a whole year to buy that one."

"Ah, if that's all... Girls', am I right?"

He shot an apologetic glance at Tanya, but she just smiled blithely and subtly motioned for him to go on while putting her book away in her bags.

From the moment that she had offered to help this stranger for free, Tom knew what her plan was. This was their prime opportunity to form a meaningful connection to a member of the wizarding aristocracy or 'Purebloods' as they called themselves. By double teaming this fool with their amazing intellect they would have him under their thumb in no time and by extension, they would also have the favour of the house of Black.

o-TxT-o​

"Haha, I just can't believe that worked! You might be a mudblood, uh, a muggle-born I mean, but your glamour charm is truly top notch!"

After a few more applications of the illusion spell they had successfully entered the castle without Walburga ever catching wind of her transformed brother and so, they were now waiting to be sorted into their respective houses. Among the gathered students there was much talk of all the grizzly or extremely difficult trials they were surely about to face, even if Tom could only roll his eyes at all this drama.

How this whole tradition would play out was literally written in the very first chapter of 'Hogwarts – A History'. Couldn't any of these wizard brats read? They were supposed to be better than their 'muggle' counterparts!!

Finally, they were summoned inside the great hall and for a short moment the sight of it all took his breath away. If the castle itself had looked like something out of a fairy tale from the outside, then the inside put it to shame with its sheer amount of wonder! Thousands of candles danced in the air in long, neat rows, illuminating four giant tables, each lavishly decorated in their particular house colours, and above it all hung the night sky as clear and bright as he had never seen it before. Stars without number sparkled above their heads as if the very cosmos was watching them.

Looking sideways at his sister, he saw that even she seemed to be awed at the varied display of magic that was happening all around them!

In a way, it was very understandable why wizards had such high opinions of themselves if they could conjure up such majestic sights. Nonetheless, his attention was soon drawn back to earth by the stern voice of the headmaster who demanded them all to quiet down and then pointed his wand towards what was probably the single most worn-out, tattered looking hat of all time that was sitting innocuously upon an equally ratty looking stool.

Tom believed himself to be prepared for whatever was about to transpire, but when the thing suddenly grew a mouth and began to sing, he still had smother his laughter.

"Gather 'round, gather 'round,
the talking hat is speaking,
to tell a tale as grand as time,
or maybe not worth keeping.

For in your minds there lies,
the potential to decide,
your future or your destiny,
which your houses will now guide.

Ravenclaw is far renown,
for learning at their leisure,
where others see just dusty books,
the Eagle spots a treasure!

The mighty Lion roars with strength,
in the house Gryffindor,
they like to bravely roam the wild,
and calmness they abhor.

In Hufflepuff you surely find,
some friends and loyalty,
the Badger's hole has space for all,
they're a cuddly bunch, you'll see.

The Snake however, is far more solitary,
a Slytherin plays no one else's role,
instead prefers to slyly slither,
themselves into any goal.

Those are your four options,
for life at Hogwarts school,
don't be afraid to put me on,
and come sit upon this stool!"

Lukewarm cheering filled the hall for a few moments before the headmaster began reading off names from a gigantic scroll.

"Addams, Eudora!" he announced imperiously and one girl stumbled to the front of the hall only to be immediately sorted into Ravenclaw upon making contact with the talking hat. Many followed her example, their personalities easily analyzed by the magical piece of headwear. Even Alphard managed to complete the procedure without his shrew of a sister offing him!

At some point, however, his own name was called out:

"Riddle, Tom."

Tanya gave him an encouraging pat on the back and a smile, sending him on his way, but all he could think of was:

'Please send us to the same house- Please send us to the same house- Please send us to the same house...'

They had, of course, made plans for both the possible scenarios that they would get to stay together or that they would be separated. Both had their own lists of advantages and disadvantages, but Tom simply didn't want to leave his sister out of his sight in this strange and unfamiliar new place. Anything could happen and he did not want either of them to be alone when it did!

Nonetheless, he plopped that ancient pile of leather on top of his head and sat down.

"Hmm, what do we have here?" the hat said, disturbingly inside his own head.

"Oh, calm down, would ya? I'm not actually in here. Just projecting my words solely towards you for a bit of privacy."

Tom still did not find that very comforting if he was being honest.

"Well, well, well... Cunning, ambitious, ruthless... My, you are the quintessential Slytherin, aren't you my boy! And a Parselmouth to boot! You are going to make it far in..."

Out loud, it exclaimed: "Slytherin!"

Polite applause greeted him as he walked over to the green and silver table and numbly watched the proceeding ceremony, hoping for the best outcome.

"Smith, Tanya." proclaimed Dippet in his steely voice and Tom looked on with renewed dread.

Time elapsed with excruciating slowness as the hat writhed to and fro with indecision, its crude face crumpled up like it was almost in physical pain. By contrast, what he could see of Tanya's expression was stony throughout, even as some of the professors began pronouncing a 'hatstall' until she did something they had never planned for and simply took off the ugly thing herself and announced clearly for all to hear:

"I choose Slytherin."

Without waiting for further acknowledgment she strode over and took her place by his side.

Soon after, outraged mumbling erupted in the crowd and the incensed headmaster appeared ready to drag his sister back to the chair and force her back under that hat, but ultimately it was the possible secret government agent/professor Dumbledore who came to her rescue. As if he would've allowed him to reprimand his sister when she had done nothing wrong!

"Miss Smith has made her decision after the hat clearly failed to provide her with sufficient counsel. I remember that this is not entirely without precedent. One Albert Kachinsky was allegedly sorted by the professors themselves back in 1773, I believe."

"That boy was a bloody half-beast! Of course the hat wouldn't have been able to recognize his primitive thoughts! From the accounts we have, he had furred ears and webbed feet, for Morgana's sake!"

"Mr. Kachinsky was a valued student of our school and he still earned his OWLs like everybody else. Miss Smith deserves a similar chance, no?"

Dippet obviously wanted to try and argue the point; however the small admonishing cough of his assistant reminded him that there were still five students left. Sending one last glare at his sister's direction, the headmaster went back to reading out names. Meanwhile, Dumbledore shot them a sneaky wink, though maybe that was just his imagination playing a trick on him...

Relief settled in as the developments of his sister's sorting were not undone even after everybody had been allotted to their houses. Some announcements were made and a magnificent feast appeared on their tables, but through it all Tom luxuriated in the feeling of knowing that he would have his sister by his side during their stay in the castle.

Of course, it did not take long for snide remarks from the overconfident pureblood pricks to start hailing down on them.

"Mudblood, what gives you the right to sit at our table? Go back to Hufflepuff and be useless over there. After all, the badgers like getting dirt all over them!"

The snickering of the speaker's cronies reminded Tom of the useless bullies back at the orphanage. It seemed that not even the wondrous gift of magic could prevent humans from acting like brainless mongrels if left mostly unsupervised. His fingers slowly clenched around his wand as they continued to laugh, the embedded focus orb in its hilt humming with violent intent. It would be so easy to slaughter these whining fools in the blink of an eye...

"I thank you for your consideration, but I am quite content where I am. I heard that all the most elite geniuses go to Slytherin, so I couldn't help but want to catch a glimpse of such glory."

Not every student who was listening to her words was fooled by the cheap flattery, but Tom saw at least a few who puffed up their chests, probably mentally patting themselves on the back for merely existing, like the spineless peacocks they were!

"Yeah, Tanya is alright, guys! She can cast a seventh year glamour wordlessly!" Alphard, who was sitting further down the table near the rest of his family, tried to reassure the mob.

"Is that how you hid yourself, then, you little rat? By getting help from a mudblood?" Walburga hissed threateningly and the boy shrank away from her with an awkward laugh.

"A seventh year spell, eh? How about you give us a little demonstration after the feast? I could do with some one-on-one lessons..." leered one of the older teenagers, who then shared a nasty grin with one of his friends.

Tom made sure to remember his crooked nose in order to find him later and remove this moving blight on life itself, for even daring to insinuate what he had.

"I am afraid that Mr. Black has slightly overestimated my abilities. I am nowhere near proficient enough to be on your level." Tanya deflected modestly, turning her gaze downwards with faux shyness.

She was trying to appear meek and helpless to surprise them later on when they inevitably ambushed her to inflate their hollow egos. Yet he could see how she hid her face to hide her rage and gritted teeth from the others on the table.

Oh, Tom could hardly wait to see her tear into these maggots!

o-TxT-o​

Indeed, as soon as the prefect finished showing them their common room (which amazingly lay partially under a lake!) and prearranged dormitories, a group of boys tried to cut sister off from entering the girls' wing.

He had to force himself to hang in the back, blending in with some of the other curious onlookers and just keep himself to scanning the surroundings for any reinforcements or other possible traps. These people did not know their connection yet and he would not do them the favour of revealing it too quickly. The rest, Tanya would certainly be able to handle on her own.

Two second years, one third year and four fourth years encircled her, sneering or scowling in 'righteous anger'.

"Little mudblood thinks she can just choose our house."

"Was the hat not good enough for you? You think you're above it, unlike the rest of us!?"

"Maybe she's a squib... Can't do any magic and that's why the hat didn't recognize her!"

"Hehe, that must be it! Absolutely pathetic!"

"Well then little squib; consider this your first lesson on how things are going to go for you at Hogwarts. It's not too late to just quit school, you know?"

His sister was utterly unfazed by their immature insults, but kept up her facade of politeness by saying: "I would kindly beg you to reconsider this. There is no need for-"

"Too late, bitch!"

The leader of their pathetic group cast a red coloured spell at her that she nimbly dodged, followed by his fellows doing the same. She made a mockery of them when she easily spun in-between their attacks or dropped low to the ground to let their hexes and curses pass harmlessly above her.

Why were these idiots just standing there and yelling out their spells? It was as if the concept of closing the distance to physically restrain her or even just firing at point blank range was entirely foreign to their underdeveloped brains. Not that he wished for them to harm his sister, but simply to give her an actual workout instead of this sad display. It was no wonder that Dumbledore had been so sure to promise them that no wizard would ever be conscripted by the army! These moronic bottom feeders would only serve to give the Germans some free target practice!

Embodying the damsel in distress with an award-worthy amount of acting, Tanya sighed in despair as she leaned under yet another volley of black and blue lights splashing against a far off wall:

"Oh no, it seems I am under assault by vicious vagabonds! Nobody has called an authority figure yet, so I am all on my own! Good grief, I – the pitiful first year – will have to defend myself!"

If there was any confusion or unease on her attackers' faces at her words then it quickly morphed into full-blown panic when she finally began to retaliate.

A small foot smashed into the nearest shin and despite her petite build, it sent the boy to the floor howling in pain. One moment later her tiny fist lashed out, glimmering with magic, and crashed into the third year's stomach which forced him to regurgitate his dinner and sink to his knees.

After her small show of force any semblance of cohesion in their formation broke, as their survival instincts finally kicked in and they tried to get away from the little girl that was handily beating their asses 'with no use of magic'.

Alas, his sister was simply too fast for them, overwhelming them with quick and hard punches that notably were never aimed to cripple. Tom would know, seeing as she had shown him precisely where to aim in order to more permanently take somebody out of a fight. It was grating that their vaunted 'blood status' would protect these imbeciles from true retaliation, but there was a chance that they probably had influential parents, who could then pressure the school into harshly punishing Tanya for harming their beloved scions.

In the end, only the leader was left standing. He was a scrawny, pimply and now very scared teenager without an ounce of charisma left in his entire being.

"Ooops... Those must have been my violent muggle instincts overcoming me! Like a werewolf, only without the requirement for moonlight and thus much more dangerous. What do you say we solve this like proper mages, I mean, wizards then? Spell against spell, no trickery involved? You, the honourable voice for the entirety of house Slytherin wouldn't refuse something like that, right?"

She was making an example out of him, right here in the common room on her very first night. After crushing him through 'legitimate' means, nobody would be able to reasonably doubt her ability in the future! Furthermore, if this boy lost to a muggle-born first year in a duel, then he would essentially bring shame upon his entire house. No other battle in the future could undo that black mark on his social record, thus forever branding him as a weakling and an outcast.

For all her talk of peace and fairness, his sister could sometimes be even more devious than him...

"I..."

A dozen judging stares from his fellow students made the boy audibly swallow as he hesitantly nodded.

"I accept, m-mudblood!"

"How do wizards do this, then? Do we just count to three or-"

"Confringo!!"

For a single heartbeat Tom was worried that Tanya had underestimated her opponent, as the spell collided with her chest and shrouded her body in a blinding explosion of fire and heat. Loose papers were blown through the room and the gawkers covered their faces while shrieking in terror and moving further away from the fight.

Then, slowly, the smoke lifted and she stood there unscathed and undamaged, her protective shell fizzling out around her. The only sign that the explosion had affected her at all was the near invisible tremble in her hand as she stifled a cough. It was truly beautiful.

"Ah, so that is how purebloods do it!" his sister grinned, glowing eyes fixed on her frozen attacker, who gaped at her like a fish falling out of an aeroplane. "Don't mind if I return the favour then!"

In a flash, her slightly pink, cherry wood wand was in her hand and a concentrated beam of scorching light had already set the boy's robes aflame.

Screaming in pain and mortal terror, the boy stupidly dropped his own wand and began rolling around the floor to try and put out the fire licking at his skin.

Luckily for him, their head of house, professor Slughorn chose this moment to make his dramatic entry, obviously lured in by the fourth year's girly screams of fear.

"What is the meaning of this commotion!?"

Quickly taking control of the narrative, Tom pointed his fingers at the scene before him and declared: "These ruffians challenged her to a fight! They even tried to kill her at the end!"

Seeing how this event was going to play out now, the other Slytherins distanced themselves from the attack as well. Nobody wanted to be lumped in with those taking the blame and risk getting punished. Especially not when Tanya theatrically swayed on her feet and started coughing as if her lung was coming apart at the seams. Tom might have been fooled by his own sister's acting if not for the satisfied gleam in her eyes.

o-TxT-o​

They were left mostly alone after that night. Aside from the occasional attempt at 'pranking' them (which were mostly aimed at Tanya) their first two weeks at Hogwarts were relatively eventless, if not somewhat tiring mentally, considering that he had to cram new terms and concepts into his head at seven times the speed of what was expected of them.

Particularly the vague and often outright nonsensical descriptions of wizard spells threw him off in the beginning. Everything was just so... lazy? They had a highly sloppy approach to casting their magic that he absolutely could not get behind.

His sister had first taught him how to control his magic like one would when using a well-sharpened knife, to control and understand every aspect of his spells for he was the master of his own abilities. Nothing he did happened without his consent.

And yet, the teachers here expected him to just… wave his wand around and mumble a few words and somehow that would accomplish what he wanted! There was no way to modulate the effect of a spell except to simply force more magic into it and hope for the best. It took him only one class of charms to consider this casting style's implications and deem them utterly unacceptable.

Fortunately, he had a special wand to compensate. It was a gnarled, bone-like spike whose most prominent feature was the golden circle inlaid in its hilt. Thanks to his sister (and to a lesser extent, Ollivander) he could now cast magic in the logical and sensible way he was used to while still channelling it through a wand, no silly hand movements or vaguely Latin sounding names necessary!

That Tanya was able to stand the 'lessons' without that aid made him respect her even more.

"Sir, is it possible to transfigure one's own wand?"

Tom looked up from where he had been idly calculating a conversion for the rather useful levitation charm 'Wingardium Leviosa' and approvingly considered what his sister had just asked. It seemed that she also wouldn't be able to stand this madness for much longer…

"Why would you possibly want to do that, Miss Smith!?" asked their professor, flabbergasted by what he likely viewed as total sacrilege.

"A multitude of reasons really, professor. As you can see, my wand is somewhat bulky, so I'd appreciate it if I could somewhat shrink it if the need arises. Or maybe I would want to hide it and turn it into an ordinary object instead. The possibilities are basically limitless."

"I guess you could… But you would need a second wand to do the casting and that introduces a multitude of problems. First of all, a wand that is not your own would not operate optimally and as such the result of a botched transformation rises dramatically! Second of all, your wand could interpret the magic of another wand as an attack and retaliate, which while rare; I can assure you is very unpleasant to deal with. Thirdly, any sufficiently powerful wand could possibly undo the transformation on itself and return to normal regardless. In short, it would be a waste of time and effort, Miss Smith. So don't try it!"

Mocking laughter accompanied his admonishment as he made to turn away, only for Tanya to clarify:

"So the only problem is using a different wand?"

"For Merlin's sake, yes, Miss Smith! Are you muggle-born all this slow? Now stop bothering me or I will have to deduct points!" the professor exclaimed exasperatedly, shaking his head and going back to writing on the blackboard.

After sending a nasty glare towards the professor's back, Tom shared a smirk with his sister.

This required research!

o-TxT-o​

In their free periods or after classes had ended, they had free access to the library which naturally meant that they spent every waking moment they could spare in one of its corners. The first spell that Tanya had told him to master was the duplication spell, 'Geminio'. With just a few seconds of intense concentration he could near instantaneously copy an entire book to add to their growing collection! After all, perusing even a tenth of the utterly gigantic Hogwarts library would be a massive undertaking, so any literature that was too advanced for their current level of understanding wandered into their 'special storage bag'.

By putting his training to the test, Lucy had stolen an enchanted holding bag from the room of a seventh year student and he couldn't have been prouder of his pet when he saw that. That night, Tom even went through the trouble of personally seasoning a juicy rat before grilling it for her over an open flame, which had her wriggling in joy. Contrary to popular opinion, it appeared that Snakes could, at times, be kind of cute...

The disciplines that his sister and he both would grow to basically ignore in their entirety were: Astronomy, Divination, Art, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Music and Herbology; simply due to how unreliable or limited in usefulness they seemed. They still paid attention in class and adequately completed their assignments of course, but neither of them had any interest in mastering oil painting or nurturing a 'Bone-melting Fungus' to maturity. The less Tom said about the questionable accuracy of reading the future in tea leaves, the better.

Despite considering all of those other classes as a loss, that still left them with Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Alchemy and Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes, Dark Arts and Defence against the Dark Arts to focus on, which was more than enough material to make one's head spin!

Arithmancy came easy to him, even if it was more used for warding and other similarly static, long-term spells. It made for a nice bridge between his calculated magic and the slapdash 'wizard way' of doing things.

Alchemy and Potions was also something Tom found he had some talent for. Brewing and filtering some arcane concoction was downright relaxing for his mind after being forced to absorb dry texts about magical theory for hours on end. His creations were also better than those of his peers on average, though he would admit that might have also been Slughorn's bias which he always made sure to stoke through repeated brown-nosing. It also helped that Alphard Black was a… tolerable partner during class.

His other two stand-out subjects were Dark Arts and its counterpart, Defence against the Dark Arts, which were the most thrilling hours at school. To be able to curse somebody into only speaking backwards or having their teeth grow uncontrollably was highly amusing, but still only appetizers for the main course. Stunners, shield spells and other protective magics were Dumbledore's forte and Tom could honestly say that he was the best teacher at Hogwarts, though he was definitely not his favourite.

As engaging as the eccentric professor's antics and hands-on approach in their lessons might've been, he didn't miss how the man always paid special attention to him. Of all the staff members, he was the one that was hardest for Tom to analyze and he could never quite discern his motivations. That man was, without a doubt, hiding something behind that easy going smile of his!

When he switched the soap of the sixth year boy who had so disgustingly leered at his sister with a batch of skin remover, Dumbledore had stared right at him throughout the entire day. But how could he have known!? There was absolutely no evidence connecting him to the scene of the crime and technically that particular potion wasn't even in the curriculum for their year!

Lastly, a class that he only really cared about because Tanya unexpectedly loved it, was 'Broom Flight'. He was not much of a fan of dangling on some rickety piece of wood several dozen metres above the ground, but his sister seemed to live for it. She was an absolute angel in the air, pushing the outdated school brooms to their limits by turning and tumbling through the Scottish wind or performing heart-stopping somersaults that always teetered on the edge of going wrong spectacularly while laughing freely in a manner he had never heard before in the orphanage.

Madam Quinzley only seemed to encourage her insanity further, vicariously living through his sister and most likely imagining herself in her place in order to experience the Quidditch career that a hip injury had apparently robbed her off. Tom hated the danger that those stunts meant for Tanya, but he could never bring himself to complain about it when she just looked so damn happy doing it. He was a truly magnanimous brother like that.

All in all, everything was pretty good until the winter holidays began...

Spoiler

The wands in question! These were drawn by hand so excuse the rugged look. They are nice and elegant to our characters!

 

[DarkNacho]

To be honest I can see Tanya going on and supporting killing spread just to purge the idiocy of wizards mainly pureblood. Because for her standars this wizard are plain useless.

So if you change future Voldemort to be more logical and not totaly insane so not suporting pureblood idiocy and maybe more like Grindewald.

 

[Monsterboy]

To be honest I can see Tanya going on and supporting killing spread just to purge the idiocy of wizards mainly pureblood. Because for her standars this wizard are plain useless.

So if you change future Voldemort to be more logical and not totaly insane so not suporting pureblood idiocy and maybe more like Grindewald.

Click to shrink...

In truth, I see Tanya and Tom going more for the progressive approach. Intentionally get all the pureblood idiots holding back progress killed by acting as a magnet for their prejudices while actually playing both sides of the fence, play off insecurities and fears of the populace for years, and as it reaches a peak fervor, lure them into a trap. From there, Tanya can kill them alongside 'Voldemort' like shooting fish in a barrel. From there, they can use the amassed popularity to gain power, kind of like Dumbledore did with Grindlewald. Attain the reins of power, open up a lot of the knowledge in the DoM for the free flow of information, and force the backwards society, and magic itself to progress. Ultimately, they may be geniuses with unique ideas, but they're still only two people, it's inevitable that other wizards will come up with unique ideas, once the concept behind magitech and muggle science gains popularity, given time. That sort of thing I can see them doing.

 

[DarkNacho]

In truth, I see Tanya and Tom going more for the progressive approach. Intentionally get all the pureblood idiots holding back progress killed by acting as a magnet for their prejudices while actually playing both sides of the fence, play off insecurities and fears of the populace for years, and as it reaches a peak fervor, lure them into a trap. From there, Tanya can kill them alongside 'Voldemort' like shooting fish in a barrel. From there, they can use the amassed popularity to gain power, kind of like Dumbledore did with Grindlewald. Attain the reins of power, open up a lot of the knowledge in the DoM for the free flow of information, and force the backwards society, and magic itself to progress. Ultimately, they may be geniuses with unique ideas, but they're still only two people, it's inevitable that other wizards will come up with unique ideas, once the concept behind magitech and muggle science gains popularity, given time. That sort of thing I can see them doing.

Click to shrink...

Your idea is even better. copy Dumbledor style. But ofcourse also killing everybody. The only problem here is the economist fanatic of Tanya. We can asume the purebloods control all the market and economy and if they get killed ... you can get an idea.

 

[Monsterboy]

Your idea is even better. copy Dumbledor style. But ofcourse also killing everybody. The only problem here is the economist fanatic of Tanya. We can asume the purebloods control all the market and economy and if they get killed ... you can get an idea.

Click to shrink...

Eh, I never saw Tanya as an economic fanatic. Moreover, her views may or may not have changed slightly due to differing life experiences and not being in a constant crisis situation like in YS, and living in a shitty orphanage. Point being, magic, and other knowledge seems to have become her obsession of the day, and rightly so.

That said, a very common misconception is that Tanya is a sociopath. Tanya does have empathy for others, as odd as it sounds, and it shows even in the anime that, for instance, she isn't nearly as unaffected as she seems to be by Arene (e.g. giving away her food and not eating while shaking, obvious signs of nausea and rationalization). The thing is, she just hides her feelings under numerous layers of rationalizations to any act of kindness, or any emotion she might act on, and uses economics to understand people's behavior, due to struggling to comprehend people, including herself through any other lens. She's a high-functioning autist, vengeful, and a pragmaticist, in truth, not a sociopath. There's a good reason she trains her battalion to the bone, after all, and it's only partly for her own sake beyond the beginning, the other part is that it's better to bleed in training than to die on the battlefield, and she grew to care for them over time.

 

[Xintax]

Sounds like a net benefit to me, they seem to have monopolies set up and all but enforced by law, this stifles innovation since there is no motivation to better ones self nor offer a better product for people to purchase thus getting purebloods killed and forcing people in general to push themselves to a greater degree would break the cycle of stagnation. It would also force judicial reforms into place that would get rid of certain monopolies as the family in question went extinct and the people that flood into the market trying to snipe that spot would be forced to compete for market share lowering prices, and increasing quality for the consumer until somebody is stable enough with bribes and backing to get a new law implemented but even then they won't have the monopoly that existed before and people will hold them to a higher standard since they know the capability exists.
That and there will be a lot of either grandfathered in stores or concessions will have to be given to their competitors.

 

[Xodarap]

For some reason I can picture Tanya transfiguring hew wand into a whip she can use for a mage blade.

 

[Mentos]

I do like their "fuck off to America" plan. A damn good one if you know WW2's coming, though you have to time your trip right — great depression and all. Still better, especially with magic to cover your daily necessities, than getting bombed by Germans.
And who cares about purebloods when you're a super rich mover and shaker in the most powerful nation on the planet? Let them have their little backwards enclaves while you focus on trying to get humanity to not destroy itself. Sure, it didn't destroy itself the first time, but the first time it (probably) didn't have magic possibly throwing a wrench in things.

 

[Neh-Toth-Amon]

"Hi!" the blonde girl half-smiled at him, though the emotion did not reach her stark blue eyes.
...
That power …
That confidence …
Tom craved it like a man in the desert would a glass of water..

Click to shrink...

Well, hello, Mary! Glad you could make when Protectors of the Plot Continuum are still hunting for you. %)

 

[bugmenot]

Well, hello, Mary! Glad you could make when Protectors of the Plot Continuum are still hunting for you. %)

Click to shrink...

She might be a Mary Sue in some regards, but she is not THE Mary Sue!

 

[DragonWyrm]

I am really looking forward to Tanya and her disgust with divination.

Because scrying and scanning is technically part of divination. Which, with postcognition, is the stuff Tanya is interested in due to information control being extremely important. Meanwhile the class is all about the all but worthless precognition.

Additionally I predict Tanya will concentrate on arithmetics, runes and possibly potions. Mostly because these seem the most logical and methodical subjects.

 

[Xintax]

I am really looking forward to Tanya and her disgust with divination.

Because scrying and scanning is technically part of divination. Which, with postcognition, is the stuff Tanya is interested in due to information control being extremely important. Meanwhile the class is all about the all but worthless precognition.

Additionally I predict Tanya will concentrate on arithmetics, runes and possibly potions. Mostly because these seem the most logical and methodical subjects.

Click to shrink...

It seems people with firm world views do better in transfiguration as well so I could see her doing well in that class as well.

 

[DarkNacho]

It seems people with firm world views do better in transfiguration as well so I could see her doing well in that class as well.

Click to shrink...

Transfigurating the enviroment is perfect for battlefield, besides the control and how to turn everything into weapons.

 

[bugmenot]

"Are you sure this is necessary?"



"The only missing ingredient is there, I'm sure of it!" Tom vehemently argued.



"We'll likely get sent back to the orphanage if we get caught..." she reminded him unnecessarily, yet again.



"Then we simply won't get caught." he simply countered.



It wasn't like he necessarily wanted to trudge through some dark and dangerous forest either, but if he wanted to test his theory and impress Slughorn then he needed that damned mushroom. And buying it on the black market would ruin them both financially, even if they extorted some of the wealthy kids for extra funds.



"I'll trust that you thought this through, Tom." was all Tanya ultimately said about that before going back to reading.



He nodded determinedly, even though she couldn't see it. His sister had put her faith in him and he would never disappoint that trust. Exploring something like the 'Forbidden Forest' wasn't something he would be doing flippantly, but after listening to multiple fifth years about their experience of sneaking into the woods to fool around, he was confident that they would come to no harm. After all, if such morons could survive the supposedly 'deadly forest' then so could he and his sister.



And so, they waited for night to fall before stealthily leaving the common room through one of the secret passages that Lucy had discovered during her hunts. Apparently, the hidden door only opened when ordering it in 'Parseltongue', as the language of the snakes was called, which made some amount of sense considering that the Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin had allegedly been able to do so as well. Consequently, the tunnel also looked like nobody had used it in centuries, but neither of them was scared of some mould and a few annoyingly sticky cobwebs.



After walking for quite a while, they emerged near a shadowy outcropping by the lake shore and finally began their preparations. Multiple kinds of nasty predators were said to live in the Forbidden Forest, so he had prepared a scent-removing potion to hopefully keep them off their track.



It was hastily brewed, sure, but it should keep them relatively safe for a few hours nonetheless. Together they helped each other to apply the concoction over their entire bodies before casting a feather-light charm on their shoes in order to not be too loud when trudging through the snow and other forest debris...



Tanya took the rear position while he kept his eyes open for the 'Red-rimmed Centipede Cup', a mushroom that only grew on oak trees of four hundred forty four years of age or older. Why any fungus would be so extremely specific in its hosts' requirements eluded him, but he wasn't stupid enough to directly ask their Herbology teacher about it! It was an illegal ingredient after all.



The reason for it being outlawed was that not only could one use the mushroom to synthesize a nigh undetectable poison that caused the victim to, quite literally, rot away from the inside, but when used in exceedingly small doses it could also induce a suggestible state in its imbibers that was described as similar to the Imperius curse. If far less reliable and naturally less versatile...



Now, that had only been a smudged footnote in 'Taboo Contraband – Wizards Beware!', nothing more than the posturing of a retired auror who claimed to have experienced the 'deepest and darkest depravity of wizardingkind', but the more that Tom researched about what exactly those terms meant, the more he took a liking to the ideas they gave him.



Humans were inherently stupid. They were arrogant and didn't really listen to those they considered inferior. He would regrettably still be seen as a mere child for some years to come, however with the aid of a more direct method of influencing their decision making process, that wouldn't have to be so bad. Regardless, it would simply be a good option to have in their back pocket in case any stubborn politician tried to start another war or something.



And if the old book turned out to be complete rubbish?



Well then, he could still make some awesome poison to solve his problems in a far less elegant manner!



Despite many trees having lost their foliage during the harsh winter, it was still surprisingly dark in the Forbidden Forest. If he hadn't read up on what kind of creatures lived there, Tom would have been tempted to produce a bright light to properly see something. Alas, he had no intention of getting skewered by a centaur arrow from afar or jumped by a troll.



Still, even if he had nearly tripped over multiple gnarled roots hidden in the snow already, the sheer girth of the trees he was looking for made the ancient oaks rather easy to spot in the darkness. The 'Red-rimmed Centipede Cup' was equally distinctive, though rather ugly to look upon. Bulbous little legs sprouted from the gnarled wood, gripping onto their host's bark in the imitation of the large, poisonous insects it was named after.



The only problem left after finding it?



They were really high up from the ground. So as he slowly climbed up with the assistance of a charmed rope ladder, the icy winter wind bit into his skin, shaking him from side to side with each powerful gale. The jagged bark had also, somehow, managed to scratch him even through his thick clothes and he had to halt his progress multiple times because large black clouds would darken the sky too much to see even a hand in front of his eyes. To top it all off, it would seem that even his well sharpened knife had trouble sawing through the malodorous fungi when he finally got to them. Though that really only lasted until he reinforced the blade with magic... He just couldn't wait to be back inside the castle!



Unfortunately, it would seem that this forest wasn't done with its sabotage, since the branch he had been leaning on for support was far less solid than it looked and chose this very moment to give way under his miniscule weight. Noticing the crackling of the wood, Tom managed to lean back at the last second before the branch broke free and collided with a boulder far on the ground below only a heartbeat later. With a thundering crack the brittle branch splintered into countless pieces that dispersed in the snow. The entire forest seemed to hold its breath as Tom listened intently for any other suspicious noises that might come as a result of his little mishap.



At first, nothing was audible over the pounding of blood in his ears.



But then in the distance... A loud, animalistic howl pierced the cold night.



Other savage voices joined soon in, making a chill run down his spine, as each answering call only raised the thirst for blood that now seemed to pollute the entire forest around him.



Tom's first fearful thought was that a pack of werewolves had found them, but then he remembered that today had been specifically chosen because it wasn't the full moon yet. But still, one measly sound shouldn't be enough to lure some ravenous beasts towards them, right!? Branches must fall off from the older trees all the time! Their smells were completely masked, too!!



On the ground far below him, the unassuming silver ring on Tanya's hand morphed back into her wand and she began to methodically weave what he believed to be a concealment spell. Normally that would be more than enough to trick the base creatures of the forest into just running past them, but if he was right in his theory on what was now hunting them, that would not be enough by a mile...



"It's no use!" he half whispered, half yelled as he began hastily descending the oak, no longer caring for the noises he made. "Those are Gwyllgi!"



Probably Gwyllgi. Magical creatures just weren't his forte, damn it! Now he really regretted focusing on the bigger ones so much.



His sister seemed to mull his claim over for a second before giving him a sharp nod.



"They have magical eyes, yes?"



"Mm-hmm! Their hide is also special, but I can't remember how exactly. I think they're immune to fire or something..."



Thankfully, she didn't scold him for his shoddy memory. It wasn't his fault that that Newt Scamander guy wrote such boring books!



"Let's assume the worst and say that they are magic resistant like dragons." she added.



Tom's mind was running a mile a minute trying to come up with a good strategy. This was his true test! If he couldn't deal with a pack of creepy welsh dogs then how would he possibly survive the oncoming war?



"They know we're here and they have magical eyes, so we need a lot of light to offset our informational disadvantage. There's no time to lay elaborate traps, but maybe we can blind them? Wolves and dogs have sensitive noses, so targeting that should disorient them. Ehm... We can also choke them to death if we fill their mouths with sand, but they would need to stand still... Causing a tree to fall on them should definitely immobilize them... So maybe we can levitate one together and just drop it on them when the time is right?"



"Not a bad plan, but I am not good enough to cast two active spells at the same time. As long as I am supporting the Wingardium Leviosa I would also be helpless."



She was not giving herself nearly enough credit. Even with the aid of her orb it wasn't as if he could cast anything complicated simultaneously, either!



There was another howl in the distance, and this time it sounded worryingly close...



"Alright then, you stay up in the tree and bring a log in place and I will distract them with a few Bombarda Maximas. That will be sure to disrupt their footing, if nothing else!"



Tanya gave him a long calculating look, but thankfully didn't question his reckless plan. Tom was feeling a lot more scared than he wanted to admit. He had never been in a serious life or death fight before, so both the excitement and the worry were making him a little jittery.



As his sister quickly ascended the ladder behind him, he gathered all his rage, all his hope and pent up frustration inside his core and forced them to become reality in the way that wizards did it to achieve the greatest possible effect.



"Lumos Maxima!" he shouted and the night turned to day.



He had to shield his own eyes as a miniature sun exploded into being from the tip of his wand and scorched the nearly monochrome forest with its brilliant radiance.



It was a good thing he started with that, too, because a chorus of pained roars erupted from the thicket surrounding their position. A dozen black shadows started frantically moving away from the shining ball of pure light, yipping and shrieking in protest.



How had the monsters come so close!? Even if they were disgusting mutts, Tom would not underestimate them!



"Bombarda Maxima! Bombarda Maxima!"



Fiery devastation ripped their hiding places asunder as he let loose on them with all he had... It was really draining work despite his excellent stamina and great wand.



Soon, however, the beasts overcame their lingering fear of the bright light hovering in the air and tried to close the distance. They were large, ugly creatures with dark, furless skin as smooth as polished leather and bone spikes sticking up from their hunched spines. A foul mist wafted from their dripping maws as they circled around him, just waiting for a chance to jump and tear him into pieces, their red eyes glinting with malevolent hunger. Under their enraged attention Tom felt an unnatural weakness starting to creep into his limbs, but just as he was about to shout in alarm to try and warn his sister about this ability…



Tanya dropped the top half of the ancient oak tree on them. Jumping away from the wolves he barely saw an Engorgio spell hit the giant log mid-fall and enlarge it by several orders of magnitude just before it crashed against the earth, shaking it with colossal power. For a moment the ground rumbled as if the very world was ending, splattering snow and stones everywhere.



Recovering from his shock, Tom hastily scrambled back up to his feet and rubbed the dirt out of his eyes to spot one of the Gwyllgi who had survived the attack. The thing pawed at the ground in agony, trying to pull its lower half free from the weight trapping it. Tom was torn between letting it suffer for daring to attack him and his sister or removing it quickly before it became an actual problem...



The decision was made for him by another one of its surviving brethren leaping over the gigantic tree and trying to bite his head off. On pure instinct he unleashed his favourite spell at the monster, cranking the numbers in his calculation up as high as he knew they possibly could in the split-second he had.



A shimmering lance of magic shot out from his wand and skewered the black hound through its gaping maw. However, where normally he could cut through solid stone with how much energy he was expending in this one spell, he was now met with an unprecedented level of resistance. Impaled as the beast's brain now was, its massive bulk and fading murderous urges carried it forward while Tom's wand was stuck forward, aiming for it.



He quickly cancelled the spell to try and move away, but it was too late. A heavy, stinking carcass dropped onto his chest, sending him to the floor once again. Tom struggled to lift the sordid piece of meat off of his body, but in the end he had been forced to wait for Tanya to mop up the rest of their assailants until she could help him to throw off the disgusting thing.



They exchanged a sincere smile and a celebratory hug, uncaring of the fact that his coat had been ruined by Gwyllgi spittle and blood and finally made their way back to Hogwarts, carrying the mushroom that had given them so much trouble in a side pouch.



What he had not expected to find upon their return, however, was another pair of footprints near the edge of the forest. Someone had clearly attempted to follow them before turning around a short few metres into the woods...



Was this bastard's scent the reason why the wolves had been so quick to notice them?!



It seemed their work here wasn't quite done just yet...

o-TxT-o​

Sniffing out the rat who had dared to mess up their expedition took Lucy the entire rest of the winter break. She was not enthused about crawling through cold and slimy pipes in the walls to reach the other houses' common rooms and then report back. His first guess was that it had been a Ravenclaw; they were after all characterized by their unending inquisitiveness. Yet the only boy with matching boot prints had a rather good alibi in the form of his girlfriend.



Ultimately, it turned out to be a first year Gryffindor. Identifying his boots was unnecessary, because the dullard bragged freely about his visit to the Forbidden Forest... Apparently it had been a test of his bravery from his housemates, though from how few steps this Lyall Lupin had actually taken into the woods, he was mostly lying about his accomplishments. Tanya didn't much care for the boy, considering that he couldn't have seen them, but Tom wanted revenge. Spiking his tea with a laxative was easy enough, as was throttling his stupid pet owl and feeding it to Lucy.



In the following months he intensified his studies, if that was even possible at this point. His amazing sister had gotten him a recipe for an advanced memory enhancing potion for Christmas, which aided him greatly in cramming as much theory as possible into his head. There were some side effects like the inability to dream and persistent headaches when he overused it, but with time he got used to it. Their shared efforts had also rekindled the enthusiasm of the upper year Ravenclaws who didn't want to be outdone by some no-name first year Slytheryins. Their one-sided rivalry got so bad, in fact, that the librarian began closing the library two hours earlier every day to prevent people from sleeping in there.



That was fine by him, though. It left him more time for actual practice. After all, all the knowledge in the world about how the cutting hex worked would not make him a master duellist overnight. At first he only trained alone or with Tanya in one of the abandoned cellar rooms, but through his obligatory 'networking' - as his sister called it - Tom got invited into the 'Slytherin Study Club'.



It turned out that behind her bristly exterior, Walburga was shockingly easy to sweet-talk, especially when he demonstrated such 'dark' skills as talking to snakes. Being a Parselmouth was apparently enough to turn her opinion of him almost entirely around and with a select few compliments about her hideous visage, the shrew was basically ready to kiss him! As if he would want anything to do with her, Ew!



Having garnered the support of both Walburga and Alphard Black, his entry into the club was a foregone conclusion. The entire thing was mostly just a fighting competition to allow for some duelling away from prying eyes. There was an official duelling club, but that was seemingly not exclusive enough for the purebloods... Not to mention that the professors strictly prohibited any gambling and coarse language while in the ring.



So, at first, he watched the fights as a polite bystander, offering cheers and congratulations when appropriate, until he goaded one of the Thornbarrow twins into challenging him to a duel. Naturally, he won handily, but in the subsequent matches he made sure to struggle appropriately, as per his genius sister's instructions. She had explained that by strategically losing, he ironically got better fights, because more people became willing to challenge him. Sometimes he would be focused entirely on dodging or simulating a leg injury! It was all very educational...



But honestly, the only reason he put up with these fops was that they would make for good investors in the future. The Blacks and Gaunts and their ilk were all old money with barely enough common sense to not build their houses out of pure gold. Charis Black was an especially annoying girl, because she constantly demanded his help with studying for the final exams and tried to sit close to him. If nothing else, it was at least gratifying to see that all his studying had paid off, because she was a seventh year student asking him for private tutoring!



She even made him promise to send her letters from time to time when she left the school, though she clearly wasn't counting on him also leaving Hogwarts behind...

o-TxT-o​

Tom hid a smile underneath his palm as he pretended to scratch his nose.



"What do you mean you want to quit school!? You got an 'Outstanding' on every bloody subject!" yelled the headmaster, aghast with ignorant rage.



"While it is flattering to hear that you value us so highly, Mr. Dippet sir, please do understand that we no longer feel safe here in Great Britain with the escalating war on the European mainland. Therefore we would like to formally dissolve our contract with the school until we can feel safe again." his sister calmly explained



"What!? If that's supposed to be a prank then I won't stand for it! Your parents will hear of this, Miss Smith!"



"We don't have parents, sir. We're orphans." Tom gleefully chimed in.



Shooting him a dirty sneer, the aged man continued on without pause: "This is unprecedented! Completely unheard of! Nobody has ever just quit school after their first year!"



"But it is not illegal, right? Compulsory schooling lasts only until the twelfth year after birth and we have both exceeded that at this point. We are not required to attend Hogwarts or any similar institution, right?"



"By what law, huh? Some muggle paper!? No, proper witches and wizards have to attend all seven years of school! That's how it's always been and I'll be damned if I make an exception for the likes of you!"



He could basically hear the unspoken 'Mudbloods' hanging in the air. What a fool, to be so blinded by a single word to not recognize the two brightest minds of their generation were standing before him right now.



"Would you let us take part in the NEWTs to prove our competency, then?" Tanya asked diplomatically, though she really needn't have bothered.



"Absolutely not! Are you out of your mind, Miss Smith!? Do you think yourself the next Rowena Ravenclaw? And you, Riddle! Have you gone mad as well, boy?"



Did he think he would persuade his sister to reconsider now, of all times?



"Not particularly, no. I felt quite sane last time I checked, sir!"



"None of that sass, boy! Just for that I'll have you hanged upside down in the dungeons. Naked!"



Ah, so he was stooping to bodily threats now... How pathetic...



Tanya saw his questioningly raised eyebrow and from the fact that she didn't outright refuse his silent request for bloody escalation, he could tell that she was rather cross with the useless excuse for a wizard as well.



"Sir, please let us not make a mountain out of a molehill here. At the end of the day it was pure courtesy to your esteemed station that we even informed you of our plans beforehand. With us gone-"



"Hah! You are truly so arrogant that you think of that as a foregone conclusion now? The youth of today has become utterly deplorable... Blasted muggles think they can rule the world because they have electric light, but I still remember when the Frogs put their pansy monarch under the guillotine! I will hear no more of this farce. If I don't see you on time in the Great Hall come next year, may god have mercy on you, because I am going to damn well mobilize every auror that ever set foot in Hogwarts to hunt you down and drag you right before my chair! Nobody is going to just play truant on my watch because they feel like it! Report to the caretaker for your punishment, the both of you! He will think of something to discipline you with on your last day. Now get out!"



His sister's fists clenched in rage at that, but it was Tom who reacted first. The spell he had been silently preparing shot out of his wand, dozens of hours of quick draw training transforming his hand into a blur. To his minuscule credit, the elderly man behind the desk reacted by reaching for his own wand as well, but he was far too slow to stop the magical attack at point blank range...



The paralysis spell splashed over his robes and Dippet fell back down limply into his chair.



"There's no going back now." Tom remarked idly.



There would be no talking out of this one. Assaulting the headmaster was possibly the worst offense they could commit while in Hogwarts, short of killing another student.



"Now he is definitely going to send the aurors after us..." his sister mused, her voice tinged with disapproval.



"Nah, I reckon his pride will prevent him from spilling a single word about this. No way he would want people to know that he got done in by two first years. Not even purebloods at that! Who could possibly take him seriously after that?"



"True... You are a rather prideful man, aren't you, sir?" she asked the silently seething wizard while wearing a mocking smirk.



"Before anything though, we should probably relocate to a place with less... gawkers."



Tom meaningfully pointed to the multitude of animated paintings staring at them slack-jawed. It was kind of comical really, how a bunch of wizened old men all had that same facial expression of utter disbelief.

o-TxT-o​

Levitating the headmaster into his bedchamber and tying him to a chair had felt very satisfying. After a year of watching that man sit all high and mighty on his throne, presiding over the Great Hall and playing as a powerful king, he had lost all his grandeur in a matter of minutes.



"You can always lose."



His sister was truly wise beyond measure it would seem...



Tom had then forced the man to swallow his experimental obedience tonic that he made from the Red-rimmed Centipede Cup. It had taken quite a while to convince Tanya of the necessity of the act, but there really was no other way. They still were not entirely sure if their wands were being tracked by the Ministry and thus casting one of the 'unforgivable curses' was reserved for absolute emergencies. Yet they had also needed Dippet to follow their commands and strike them from the Hogwarts registry completely.



His potion was ninety-nine percent safe, he was sure of it! Tom had even tested it on several gnomes and a house elf beforehand and most of them survived!



And so, in the end, when she had finally allowed him to force feed the old man the entire thing it had worked. His eyes had gone glassy and he had started babbling for his mother, his brain apparently having reverted to that of an infant. Unsurprisingly, the headmaster's missing mental faculties had made getting concrete answers out of him or making him sign the proper documents a tedious affair, but they still managed it. Furthermore, before the effects of the potions ran out and they obliviated him - two times just to be safe - Tom had him open his secret drawer and ransacked the entire thing. Who knew what crazy powerful magical items the wizard had collected over the centuries?



Finding and then pouring his favourite Whisky over his clothes while spreading out a few pictures of his deceased family members was the cherry on top. If the headmaster acted strangely on the next day and stunk of alcohol then hopefully none of the faculty would be impertinent enough to ask further questions.



Yes, Tom could with all honesty say that he was all around pretty happy with his final day at Hogwarts!



One week later, he and his sister stepped foot in New York City.

 

[Raphiel]

Goodbye, American stock market monopolies! Hello, two random rich children with fake paper trails who regularly take excursions to learn more about different types of magic!

 

[DarkNacho]

Goodbye, American stock market monopolies! Hello, two random rich children with fake paper trails who regularly take excursions to learn more about different types of magic!

Click to shrink...

Lest not forget Divination, considering how important information gathering is, Tanya is going to learn it even if she has no talent, besides the branches as Clarividence, or any other just for info gathering and tracking . And if she can to see the future just to make correct desition and investment.

 

[Carcer]

Killed a pet owl?, despicable and rather pathetic on Tom's part.
So did their attempt to cover their tracks include obliviating the portraits as well?

 

[ArcanaVitae]

Honestly right move on Tanya's part since the London Blitz is going to happen so leaving is for the best. Best Dippet is an asshole and going to Hogwarts after that would've been unfeasible.

 

[Watters]

Wouldn't the portraits just tell Dippet what happened the next day?

Edit: Ninja'd

 

[DragonWyrm]

Wouldn't the portraits just tell Dippet what happened the next day?

Edit: Ninja'd

Click to shrink...

Personally I am going to assume they are going to keep sniggering at him until the correct question is asked.

 

[Jeffster64]

I was waiting for some strange shinangins in hog warts but this is even better.

 

[bugmenot]

Killed a pet owl?, despicable and rather pathetic on Tom's part.
So did their attempt to cover their tracks include obliviating the portraits as well?

Click to shrink...

Wouldn't the portraits just tell Dippet what happened the next day?
Edit: Ninja'd

Click to shrink...

The answer for that one is:

Personally I am going to assume they are going to keep sniggering at him until the correct question is asked.

Click to shrink...

Portraits are pretty much just shades of the person that came before. Which means, that these old wizards are the strongest traits of the previous headmasters.
The strongest traits of the old RACIST headmasters... If they don't forget what they learned after long enough has passed for the question to even be asked, I don't think they would tell someone that has been bested by first year 'mudbloods'!

 

[Watters]

The answer for that one is:
Portraits are pretty much just shades of the person that came before. Which means, that these old wizards are the strongest traits of the previous headmasters.
The strongest traits of the old RACIST headmasters... If they don't forget what they learned after long enough has passed for the question to even be asked, I don't think they would tell someone that has been bested by first year 'mudbloods'!

Click to shrink...

I can get Tom doing that, assuming he read up on how portraits work in this version of HP, but Tanya is a pretty paranoid person that it feels strange that she'd leave that up to chance.