10. Forest Trip

Tom was drinking coffee and cleaning his wand in the schoolyard. Since everyone was in class, no one could see his wand.

If anyone saw Tom's wand, he could easily erase it from that person's mind with a glance.

After cleaning his wand, Tom was waiting for the next lesson because his current lesson was empty.

He was sitting alone in his private room at the gym. While Tom was writing down some spells in the notebook in front of him, he felt the presence of someone else in the room.

While Tom quickly took his hand to his wand, when he heard Alice's voice, he took his hand from his wand and turned to the source of the voice.

When Tom turned to Alice, Alice was smiling and looking at Tom.

Tom couldn't understand how this girl got in here unnoticed. If there was someone who wanted to harm Tom, of course they wouldn't be able to get past Tom's protection spells.

Alice smiled and started talking.

"Mr. Miller, I wanted to thank you for last time."

Alice had a gift in her hand. Tom looked up and examined the gift with his eyes. He couldn't see anything dangerous in the gift.

"No need for thanks, I did my duty, Ms. Cullen."

Alice had a sad expression.

"Please accept my gift, Mr. Miller."

Tom had a bored expression on his face. "Well, put it on the table."

Alice put the gift on the table and took out two coffees from the bag in her hand.

"While I went to buy coffee for myself, I also bought coffee for you, Mr. Miller."

Tom loved drinking coffee. When he checked the coffee, he realized that it was not a harmful factor. He was quite talented in potions and could check the contents of the drink by smelling it.

"Thank you, Ms. Cullen."

Alice was smiling. "Do you mind if I drink my coffee here, Mr. Miller?"

Tom wasn't bothered by Alice being here.

"You can do whatever you want." He was checking the notebook at his desk while drinking his coffee.

Tom continued writing in his notebook while Alice drank from her cup. She looked at Tom and started talking again.

"Mr. Miller, what do you write in your notebook?"

Tom answered without looking up. "Some reports about the school."

Alice continued talking. "I understand, Mr. Miller. I'm sorry, but I have to go. I hope we have the chance to talk more."

"Good day, Ms. Cullen."

Tom wrote down some spells in his notebook until the evening and left school in the evening.

Tom went home after school. After having dinner, he went to the forest for a walk. Since it was autumn, the leaves had fallen. The approach of winter made Tom peaceful.

Tom was wondering how it would feel to drink hot coffee at home while it was snowing outside in winter. He loved the silence of winter, even when he was Voldemort. Tom was walking along the walkway, stepping on fallen leaves.

He had seen a few old men walking on this walkway before. Tom hadn't seen these men lately. Maybe they didn't come because the weather was cold?

After walking a little further, Tom saw a man lying under a tree. He had his wand in hand as he went to check on the man lying on the ground.

After looking around, Tom checked the man lying on the ground. The man had no pulse.

After Tom confirmed that the man was dead, he was thinking about how he should report it to the cops. He didn't want to be a murder suspect.

Tom was considering whether to call the police or not. Tom took his gaze away from the corpse when he felt someone approaching him. Tom looked at the people who came—three people, two men and one woman.

The taller of the two men spoke first. "What are you doing here?"

Tom stayed calm. "I was taking a walk and found him like this. Do you know him?"

The woman took a step forward, examining the body with wide eyes. "That's Mr. Harris. He lives on the edge of town. This is horrible."

The second man, who had a rough appearance, looked at Tom suspiciously. "And you just happened to be here?"

Tom sighed internally. He could erase their memories if needed, but he preferred not to attract attention. "Yes. If you're worried, call the police."

The woman quickly pulled out her phone and dialed. While waiting, Tom examined the scene. There were no visible wounds. It didn't seem like an ordinary murder. Could it have been a magical attack? Perhaps even a vampire?

When the police arrived, they questioned everyone briefly. Tom gave a simple statement and was allowed to leave.

Back at home, Tom sat by the window, drinking another cup of coffee. His mind was racing. First Alice's strange persistence, now a mysterious death in the forest. Something was happening in this town, and Tom had a feeling he was about to be right in the middle of it.