Chapter 146 "Earning Ones Desire"

It all came to an end...

In just a few hours, this harrowing ordeal of the past year would finally reach its conclusion.s harrowing ordeal of the past year would finally reach its conclusion.

No more enduring that wretched Pig's Head Bar or suffering under the influence of that old man named Percival.

No more worrying about his true identity being discovered.

And Grindelwald, the bastard who haunted his dreams night after night...

As long as he could harness the power within that book and delve into its true mysteries, one day, he, Tom Riddle, would have the chance to defeat him!

After all, he was aging slowly but growing in power.

...

Tom Riddle couldn't contain his excitement.

He had spent an entire year in Hogsmeade, growing increasingly desperate...

But all for that book.

He could only bide his time, waiting for the thief to emerge!

He dared to remain in Hogsmeade only because he couldn't bring himself to enter Hogwarts... couldn't dare to tread into the territory of the one he feared most... even though he knew the book was there...

At Christmas last year, he had been waiting for an opportunity.

A highly fortunate chance had arisen in the Pig's Head Bar... where he had accidentally sensed the book's presence within a young boy...

So, he had trailed him.

To be safe, he hadn't allowed the boy to notice him while they wandered the streets of Hogsmeade...

He waited, expecting the boy to eventually return to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade...

At that secluded path, he'd spring his assault, control the boy, retrieve the book, eliminate the boy, and make his escape...

But it hadn't gone as planned.

He had lost the boy—somehow, in Honeyduke candy store.

This failure had hit Tom hard.

In desperation, he had to "apply for a job" at the Pig's Head Bar...

Hoping to gather more information about the boy there.

Unfortunately, he had waited for over nine months.

Fortunately, Tom had his own sources of information, which eventually led him to the boy's name and identity.

However, that alone wasn't sufficient.

The boy was nothing but a lowly Muggle-born... Mudblood...

As such, Tom had been unable to track down his family, let alone locate the boy, who hadn't returned to Hogsmeade in a long while.

Until today...

Tom Riddle had finally had his wish granted.

He hadn't lost track of the boy again and, in the Shrieking Shack, had captured him.

Surprisingly, the seemingly frail boy had attempted to flee...

Tom wouldn't grant him that chance!

It was incredibly easy to overpower such an inept excuse for a wizard.

However, new problems have arisen.

For some reason, Tom couldn't access the boy's memories.

Nor could he use the Imperio to control his thoughts.

Somewhere beneath the boy's weak soul, a powerful one lay hidden...

Perhaps it was due to that book, a fact that thrilled Tom even more.

However it also complicated matters. Originally, Tom had planned to use the Imperio to command the boy to return to Hogwarts, retrieve the book, surrender it to him, and then eliminate him before fleeing...

Now, he had to risk breaking into Hogwarts.

But first, he had to extract the book's whereabouts from the boy.

Once that was done, he could assume the boy's identity and infiltrate Hogwarts.

Tom was confident it wouldn't be difficult.

Hardly anyone could withstand the Curse.

Especially this feeble, lowly mudblood wizard!

...

Tom Riddle's shadowy cohorts exited the Shrieking Shack, making their way through the streets of Hogsmeade until they reached the entrance of the Pig's Head Bar.

The Pig's Head Bar had become Tom's new base.

Business was abysmal here, and few patrons frequented the establishment. The owner remained an irascible old man who couldn't be bothered with much.

In Tom's estimation, there was no safer place in Hogsmeade.

He returned to his room—a dimly lit basement chamber he had occupied for the past nine months.

Roughly throwing the boy onto the floor, Tom prepared to begin his interrogation here.

With a wave of his wand, he sealed the air, ensuring no sound from within would escape.

Just as Tom was about to commence his questioning...

"Tom!" Mr. Percival's voice unexpectedly called from outside.

"That damn old man probably has some task he wants me to do!" Tom grumbled inwardly.

Once he had the book back, he planned to eliminate the old nuisance before making his escape!

Regrettably, he had no choice but to leave his cabin and comply.

Tom exercised extreme caution.

There couldn't be any accidents before he retrieved the book...

He returned to the Pig's Head Bar's main floor, treading on the dirt-covered ground.

"What's the matter, Mr. Percival?" Tom inquired meekly.

"Meow!" A clear cat's meow sounded at Mr. Percival's feet.

Tom was somewhat taken aback by the sight of a strange cat in the old man's company.

The old man actually kept a cat... a surprising revelation to Tom.

In the blink of an eye...

The irascible Percival drew his wand and pointed it at Tom.

"Stupefy!" The spell's powerful red light surged toward Tom Riddle's position.

Caught off guard, Tom instinctively dodged to evade the incoming Curse.

Tom had never imagined this cantankerous old man could be so formidable.

Caught without warning, he defensively countered the onslaught with nonverbal spells while also striving to evade.

"Mr. Percival, I don't understand—" Tom began to protest.

His words were drowned out as another barrage of spells struck with force...

"Ah!" In the bar's main hall, frightened guests screamed and scattered in panic.

Mr. Percival held nothing back, launching spell after spell and creating chaos in the Pig's Head Bar.

The debris from tables and chairs soared through the air...

"That damn old man!" Tom growled inwardly.

"Stupefy!" Suddenly, a slightly older female voice cut through the tumult.

Tom couldn't sidestep in time, nearly being hit by the stunning spell.

The place where the mysterious cat had stood now housed a stern-faced witch with square glasses.

"Damn... an Animagus." Tom reacted swiftly.

The stunning spell began to take effect, bit by bit...

"These two troublemakers!" Tom seethed, his heart aching with frustration.

With no other option, he transformed into black mist and fled the Pig's Head Bar, his destination unknown.