Chapter 643: Leave School and Go to Egypt? (Edited)

With the remnants in his hand, Snape sat in his office chair and began to seriously study the properties of the Philosopher's Stone fragments.

Tom wasn't in a hurry to leave; he found a chair and sat quietly, observing Snape's investigation. Snape didn't shoo him away, allowing him to watch from the side.

For a while, the only sound in the office was that of pages being turned in books and the noise of Snape moving various laboratory instruments. It wasn't clear how much time had passed, but Snape finally raised his head, with a hint of fatigue in his eyes.

"The remnants of the Philosopher's Stone can no longer provide any vitality." Snape began with bad news and then added even worse news, "To my knowledge, they cannot be incorporated into my formula. The only thing these remnants could do is reverse-engineer the Philosopher's Stone's creation."

Perhaps Tom could offer these remnants to alchemists worldwide and hope they would discover how to create the Philosopher's Stone before Hermione came of age. But doing that would involve too much uncertainty; if the alchemists changed their minds after deducing the formula, what would he do?

Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, Tom wouldn't use that method.

Seeing that the remnants of the Philosopher's Stone wouldn't assist Snape, Tom felt a bit disappointed. He got up and thanked Snape again before leaving his office.

Once outside, Tom sighed and then reassured himself. At least there was good news: Snape's magical potion recipe already had clues, and Hermione would soon be able to drink it.

The next place he had to go to... a spark of determination shone in Tom's eyes.

The headmaster's office!

There were certain matters that needed to be properly discussed.

With a determined attitude, Tom walked out of the narrow stone stairs from the underground classroom, but soon his enthusiasm faded. He saw Hermione standing in the empty hallway, looking at him with a mocking smile.

"Does your 'right away' mean five hours? It's almost curfew time!" Hermione said irritably. "If we don't return to the common room, we'll break the rules!"

Tom couldn't help but laugh.

That's exactly what Hermione would say!

As for the rules, Tom thought that even if he violated hundreds of school rules, Dumbledore probably wouldn't dare to punish him; how could the old man have the audacity to show up in front of him?

"Now that you're here, accompany me to a place. Without you, I'm afraid I might end up fighting with him." Tom decided to take Hermione to see Dumbledore.

The reason is quite simple too; if he were alone with Dumbledore, the situation could become very intense.

He really doesn't want to say much, the legendary most powerful wizard in the magical world, holding the Elder Wand, unable to defeat Voldemort head-on, what does that mean if he can't even protect Hermione? Interpret it for me? He really let down the trust Hermione had in him!

When people face problems, they tend to instinctively blame others. At this moment, Tom fully blamed Dumbledore for Hermione's injury.

Hermione understood Tom's words, and now she couldn't refuse his request.

"Stay calm; the situation was very complicated at that time-"

"First, listen to how Dumbledore tries to justify himself." Tom interrupted Hermione and led her by the hand toward the headmaster's office.

In no time, Dumbledore found himself facing the combination he least wanted to see.

Seeing Tom and Hermione approaching together, Dumbledore felt a slight tightness in his chest.

Tom walked straight into Dumbledore's office and took a rather brusque seat in the chair in front of the desk, and Hermione, feeling a bit uncomfortable, sat behind him.

"From what I see, you already know everything, Yodel." Dumbledore looked and immediately understood the situation.

"I'm so sorry." Before Tom could say a word, Dumbledore sincerely apologized, "I couldn't properly protect Miss Granger."

"It's not true, Professor!" Seeing Dumbledore speak like this, Hermione quickly stood up to explain, "Tom, it was my voluntary decision!"

Dumbledore sighed again at Hermione's actions. He pointed his wand at his temple and extracted a silvery-white memory, which he then placed in the Pensieve.

After doing all this, Dumbledore looked at Tom and said, "Tom, this is what happened that day, regardless of what you desire, I hope you see this memory in its entirety."

Seeing how much Hermione was defending Dumbledore and considering how guilty Dumbledore felt, Tom finally sighed and accepted Dumbledore's request, diving into the Pensieve.

After witnessing the events of the duel, the anger in Tom's heart dissipated somewhat. He recognized that he also bore some responsibility; if the magical artifacts he had created had been more powerful, Hermione wouldn't have been injured.

"Blaming and seeking culprits no longer make sense." Tom looked at Dumbledore with a complicated gaze. He knew that blaming this remorseful old man wouldn't help Hermione's condition at all. Frankly, even if he killed Dumbledore, it wouldn't bring Hermione back to life.

Furthermore, ultimately, wasn't Voldemort the true culprit? What was the point of venting on Dumbledore?

In his mind, Tom mentally noted a blood debt to Voldemort. In the past, Voldemort hadn't provoked him, but he had gotten himself into trouble to protect himself. But from now on, things would be different; now, he had a blood debt to Voldemort.

Seeing Tom's more understanding attitude, Dumbledore also felt relieved. What he had feared the most hadn't happened, and he thought that Miss Granger probably had to work hard to calm Tom down.

A sense of relief passed through Dumbledore's heart.

"Professor Dumbledore, we need to find a solution. I just spoke with Professor Snape, and he has some leads on a potion." Tom stopped assigning blame and began discussing the treatment plan for Hermione with Dumbledore.

Before going to Dumbledore's office, Tom already had a plan in mind. He thought there was someone who could help him. When modern wizards couldn't solve a problem, it was better to seek the assistance of great figures from the past. Pharaoh Menes might provide help.

"Professor Dumbledore, Hermione and I will probably take a break from our studies. I want to take her for a walk." Tom leaned back in his chair and spoke with absolute certainty.

To Dumbledore, this sounded more like Tom was planning to spend the last moments of his life with Hermione.

Dumbledore accepted without hesitation. In his view, he should give them as much private space as possible.

Hermione, who was sitting beside them, suddenly understood what Tom meant and opened her eyes in surprise: how had she not thought of this before?

Tom cast a sidelong glance at her.