Chapter 642: Medicine (Edited)

Hermione hugged her big guy, feeling the warmth of his body. Tom's silent tears soaked the front of Hermione's tunic and also shattered her heart.

She regretted it a little, wishing she had told him the truth.

But if she kept hiding it all the time, how much would he suffer when he found out the truth? And looking at his expression, he already seemed to know some things.

Who could have revealed the news? While gently consoling Tom, Hermione also thought about how he had come to know about it. Only Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Madam Pomfrey knew about this matter. Could it be Dumbledore? Or maybe...?

Hermione didn't have the energy to think about who might have told Tom the news; Tom's tears infected her, and her eyes also moistened.

Why cry... couldn't we enjoy our remaining days together happily? Hermione fought to hold back her tears and felt a lump in her throat.

Tom's tears had almost run dry.

When he lifted his head from Hermione's chest, his eyes were swollen from crying.

"It's okay, don't worry so much. Look, we still have several years to live together." Hermione raised her hand and wiped Tom's tears away.

When he heard Hermione say that, Tom started crying again.

Hermione stopped thinking and kissed him directly. His lips were cold and a bit salty.

For a long time, their lips parted, and both looked at each other in silence.

"Don't overthink it, alright?" Hermione extended her hand and tapped Tom's forehead with her index finger.

Tom remained silent. He was thinking seriously.

"Is there really no cure for this curse?" Suddenly, he realized something.

If Voldemort's curse was that Hermione would die on her seventeenth birthday, then Tom would be completely desperate because that was a curse that not even Dumbledore could solve. But if the curse was just steadily consuming her life force, then Tom might find a solution...

"Of course there's a cure," Hermione smiled, her eyes forming two crescent moons, "Professor Snape can come up with a potion to extend my life as long as possible, who knows, maybe even indefinitely~"

She exaggerated the effects of Snape's potion; in reality, the limit was seventeen years.

Hearing Hermione say that, Tom felt relieved: then maybe it's not the end...

"If only we had the Philosopher's Stone," Tom thought aloud, "The Philosopher's Stone can keep people young forever, it would definitely provide a vigorous life force."

Hermione sighed, "It's not that simple, only Nicolas Flamel can create the Philosopher's Stone, but he's probably no longer in this world, and the last Philosopher's Stone he left behind was also destroyed..."

Hermione stopped at that moment because she noticed that Tom's eyes suddenly lit up.

"I'll be right back!" she shouted as she was already out of the Common Room.

She ran at full speed, with unimaginable speed, until she reached the Slytherin head of house's office deep within the castle.

Staring at the wooden door at the end of the cold underground corridor, Tom took a deep breath and knocked forcefully.

The door swung open, and Snape's somber face appeared behind it. Seeing who it was, he immediately said, "I don't have time."

He then tried to close the door, but Tom was faster and grabbed the edge of the door, preventing Snape from closing it.

Snape: ...

Though he wanted to forcefully close the door, he knew he couldn't catch Tom's fingers, so he was forced to open the door and look at Tom coldly.

"Fifteen points deducted from Ravenclaw, Yodel, if you can't provide a reasonable explanation, I will assign you detention." His voice lacked any warmth.

"Professor, I have remnants of the Philosopher's Stone; I don't know if they could help with the potion you're preparing-" Tom took Snape by surprise with his words, but Snape knew his formula didn't include "remnants of the Philosopher's Stone"; that wasn't a catalyst, it couldn't be added arbitrarily. If added carelessly, it would not only fail to strengthen the vitality recovery effect but most likely reduce the potion's effectiveness due to interference with the composition.

He was about to refuse, but Tom added something more.

"It was Dumbledore's fault; she should have never gone through this. She's only fourteen; this isn't fair." Tom's words moved Snape and changed his mind.

"I don't know where you heard this information, but I am indeed preparing a new potion... besides, it's not just Miss Granger who has suffered because of Dumbledore, come in." Snape stepped back slightly, allowing Tom to enter his office.

Snape's office was very dark, shelves along the walls held many large glass bottles with unpleasant-looking things floating in them. The only source of light was the fire burning in the fireplace, which kept the office warm and allowed people to see something.

Upon entering the office, Tom saw the clutter on Snape's desk, with numerous potion books stacked like mountains. Tom glanced at the book titles and saw that they were all about potions. By the looks of the books, Snape had reviewed them extensively.

Next to the desk was a chalkboard with scribbles written in messy handwriting that appeared to be alchemical symbols.

"I'm considering the formula; I have some ideas," explained Snape from behind.

"Thank you for your hard work," Tom sincerely thanked Snape and then pulled out a small leather pouch.

"These are remnants of the Philosopher's Stone. After defeating Quirrell, Dumbledore gave them to me. I haven't found the right way to use them, so I've kept them until now." Tom sighed. If only Dumbledore hadn't destroyed the Philosopher's Stone back then...

Tom stopped that thought, assuming it was pointless.

Seeing the small leather package Tom held in his hands, Snape also showed some interest.

"Let me see." Tom handed the leather pouch to Snape, who took only a bit of the Philosopher's Stone remnants and then returned it.

"This is enough for my research, keep the rest. Who knows, maybe, driven by love, you might discover how to restore the Philosopher's Stone formula," Snape's words had a certain ironic and inscrutable tone.