Chapter 187: Making a Friend

Tom had been troubled for a long time about who he really was and what those lost memories meant.

He had asked the headmaster about it before but didn't get any useful information.

However, this was a world of magic, and with the power of the Guidebook, as long as he improved his magic quickly, he might find a way to restore his memories and figure out his identity.

As he was full of confidence, his notebook updated again.

"Side quest: Make a friend. On the road of life and magic, you don't want to be a loner, right? Go make some wizard friends to cure your antisocial habits."

"Quest objective: Make two friends. Current progress: 0/2."

"Quest reward: Love Potion recipe. (In case you want to go beyond just being friends, it might come in handy.)"

Tom frowned, what kind of ridiculous quest was this?

And a love potion?

That didn't sound like anything good.

He returned to the compartment and found everyone had changed into their school uniforms.

"Tom, we're almost at Hogwarts, you should change into your clothes too."

Hermione was the only girl present, so she stepped out for a moment. While Tom was changing his clothes from his trunk, he heard Ron say, "I'm definitely going to Gryffindor. All my brothers are there, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George and Fred. For some reason, our family always ends up in Gryffindor. What about you, Harry?"

"I don't know yet, Sirius didn't tell me much. He said all houses are good, but I also want to go to Gryffindor. Sirius used to be there, and he said my dad was in Gryffindor too. But Sirius didn't want to tell me how they sort us, I don't know if I can go."

"Anywhere is fine, as long as I'm not in Slytherin. That's where all the dark wizards are, even Voldemort was from Slytherin," Ron said.

Tom finished changing, "Who is this mysterious person you keep talking about? Doesn't he have a name?"

Now living with Sirius, the magical world was not as strange to Harry anymore, and Hermione had read a lot of books during the summer, while Tom, who had only been to Diagon Alley once, knew nothing about the wizarding world.

"The mysterious person is the dark wizard who nearly destroyed the British wizarding community," Ron said. Being raised in a wizarding family, he was like a walking encyclopedia of the magical world, "Very scary, he killed a lot of people, but in the end, Harry defeated him! That's why Harry is so famous."

Tom looked at Harry, "Sounds like a powerful wizard. How did you do it?"

Harry rubbed his forehead scar, "I don't know, I was only a year old at the time. Sirius said Voldemort, I mean the mysterious person, killed my parents, but something went wrong when he tried to kill me. I guess his wand misfired or something?"

"Voldemort? You know the name of the mysterious person? What's his name?" Tom asked.

For some reason, he was very curious about this dark lord.

"Don't say it," Ron looked scared.

"It's Voldemort," Hermione suddenly walked in, "His name is written in 'The Rise and Fall of Dark Magic.'"

"Oh! How could you just barge in!" Ron shouted.

"I saw Tom was done changing," Hermione ignored him, "I heard you discussing houses. I want to go to Gryffindor, it's said to be the best house, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad either..."

"Nobody asked for your opinion..." Ron muttered.

"Tom, what about you?"

Tom was a bit dazed, hearing the name Voldemort from Hermione had stirred a strange feeling in him, as if he was very familiar with the name.

But how could that be?

"I haven't decided yet..." Tom said.

He recalled the information about the four houses.

Impulsive Gryffindor, self-proclaimed smart Ravenclaw, unremarkable Hufflepuff, and glorious Slytherin.

Slytherin...

He felt a natural affinity for this house.

But then he thought of the Guidebook's task, would Gryffindor be better if he wanted to be friends with Harry and the others?

Suddenly, the compartment door was opened again, and three boys appeared at the door, one of them pale-faced, obviously the leader.

"Everyone on the train is talking about it, saying Harry Potter is in this compartment." He looked at Harry, "So, it's you then?"

"Yes, it's me." Harry nodded.

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," the boy said, glancing at the others in the compartment, "Who are these people? Potter, you should make some real friends, they all come from old families, all ready to go to Slytherin. Honestly, Potter, come on, let me introduce you to them."

He extended his hand in invitation.

But Harry ignored him, the boy's attitude was too arrogant, "I know who my real friends are, thank you."

Malfoy's pale face turned a shade redder, and he withdrew his hand, "You'd better be careful, Potter. If I were you, I wouldn't mix with riff-raff, you'll be influenced."

Ron stood up angrily, but Tom suddenly put a hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Draco Malfoy?" he said.

"Who are you?" Draco looked at him warily.

"Lucas Tom Bridgson. You can call me Tom." Tom extended a hand, and Malfoy hesitated for a moment before shaking it.

Suddenly, Tom pulled him closer and hugged him like an old friend, patting his back. Malfoy was stunned, his body stiffened. He tried to push Tom

away, but Tom was surprisingly strong and wouldn't let go.

"Let me teach you something, my friend," Tom whispered in Draco's ear. "Staying calm makes you look strong, while anger only makes you appear like a loser."

After saying this, the grip holding Draco released. Draco immediately pulled away, his heart pounding, a mix of shock and fear in his eyes as he looked at Tom.

"You, you…"

But Tom just smiled, "Goodbye, my friend, we'll meet again."

Then he closed the compartment door, leaving Draco outside.

"I don't know what you did, but you seem to have scared him," Ron said in surprise, looking at Tom. "But to think you would hug that guy, ugh, makes me sick just thinking about it."

"He just came to make a friend," Tom said. "I've decided which house I want to go to. I want to go to Slytherin."

"What?" Ron's mouth fell open. "You can't actually like that guy, can you?"

"It's not about liking him, but I don't particularly dislike him either," Tom replied. "People are always different from us, aren't they? Besides, I think simply following others' judgments is not my style. I find Slytherin interesting."

To Tom, people like Malfoy were just too naïve and seemed easy to manipulate.

Tom sensed a familiar smell on him, survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle. As long as he was powerful enough, he would do well in Slytherin.

Moreover, he was curious about Voldemort, why his name felt so familiar.

"You guys won't hate me for being a Slytherin, will you?" Tom asked.

Harry shook his head. He realized that his friend, who shared many similarities in magic and wands with him, seemed to have some significant differences.

But this made him feel relieved.

"If you go to Slytherin, I think I might dislike it a bit less."

On the other hand, Hermione Granger fell into deep thought.

Before, she hadn't really considered the houses seriously, just thinking Gryffindor seemed better.

But now, Tom, who she considered smarter than Harry and Ron, hadn't chosen Gryffindor, the best house, but Slytherin. This made her doubt her own decision.

When in doubt, read a book. She remembered she had a book "Famous Modern Wizards" in her trunk. She decided to flip through it and reconsider her choice of house before arriving at the school.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT