Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

“I am indeed curious about what you are thinking, and also, please call me Mr. Tom Riddle, so could you tell me what you are thinking in advance?” Hermione Granger said this without any emotional fluctuation.

Seeing that he couldn't amuse her, Tom gave up and stood in front of the magic mirror.

He clasped his hands together in front of him, closed his eyes, and murmured something under his breath.

"Magic mirror, magic mirror, who is the fairest of them all!"

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Hermione couldn't help but punch Tom when she saw his silly antics. "Can you please stop using my body for such shameless things? I want to crawl into a hole and hide!"

Strangely enough, Tom always acted very serious in front of others, but when he saw himself... it was as if he had taken off some kind of disguise.

But suddenly, Tom stopped moving.

What did you see?

"Give me paper and a pen!" Tom suddenly turned around. "Quick!"

Hermione didn't know why Tom was in such a hurry all of a sudden, but she still handed the things over to him.

Then, Tom immediately squatted down and started writing something, while looking in the mirror as he wrote.

"You saw the textbook?"

"What textbook? Do you think I'm a study maniac? I'm not that boring!" Tom grumbled, but his hands didn't stop moving an inch.

Tom's actions piqued Hermione's curiosity.

How about we take a look?

She tiptoed forward and came up behind Tom.

【1982年3月1日凌晨1:23分，2岁，尿床。】

【1983年2月17日下午17:21分，3岁，被老鼠吓到哭鼻子。】

[At 1:21 PM on July 12, 1985, a 5-year-old girl woke up and couldn't find her parents. She thought she had been lost and cried for half an hour at home.]

[On March 3, 1986, at 2:00 AM, a 6-year-old dreamt of going to the toilet and wetting the bed.]

"Tom! Mmm!" Hermione's face flushed red.

She was about to snatch it, but Tom reacted quickly, springing up to protect the item in his arms: "Mind your place, Tom! What are you, a grown man, doing to a weak woman like me?"

"What are you writing down?!"

Tom paused for a moment.

Did I not write it clearly enough?

"Do you want me to read it to you?"

"Damn it!!! Throw away what you're holding! Fire starter spell!"

Tom nimbly dodged and continued looking at the contents recorded in the magic mirror.

"Stop looking, Tom! How can you be so annoying!"

Hermione considered countless possibilities.

Tom studies so hard that she believes he will see himself in the magic mirror—a future Minister of Magic!

Or perhaps he could become a professor at Hogwarts, after all, Tom is so gentle and so passionate about magic.

At worst, he could return to the Muggle world and immerse himself in his orphanage life...

Or perhaps they found their parents or something...

but!

Hermione never expected that Tom would see her own embarrassing past in the Mirror of Erised!

Hermione had long since abandoned those things and those memories, and she wouldn't even allow them to be mentioned by her parents!

"You're still looking!" Hermione shouted angrily, raising her fist.

"Wait!" Tom raised his hand to stop him. "Do you think I'm such a shallow person?"

Tom tore up the paper in his hand—with his memory, he could remember almost everything after reading it twice.

“Listen to me, that’s not what I want to know, and that’s not what the Mirror of Erised is trying to tell me. You’ve just been misled by appearances!”

What I truly desire... is actually to understand you!

You are my best friend, and I want to know what happened to you in the past—after all, you haven't told me these things, so I don't know. I want to know about your elementary school days, and what conflicts you had with your friends back then.

Hermione, you're amazing in my eyes. We're friends, right?

"right……"

right?

Hermione was starting to feel insecure.

"Believe me, Hermione, I've only written this much, but there's much more in the Magic Mirror. If you could see it, you would understand me."

Hermione snorted and turned her head away. "I'll believe you for now, but you're not allowed to look into this magic mirror again, and you're not allowed to come here again!"

"No problem, we can go now. Professor Dumbledore is still waiting for our report, right?"

Hermione nodded: "Yes, but how should we tell Professor Dumbledore?"

……

Principal's Office.

Dumbledore finally got his two troublesome children.

"Hermione, Tom, I believe you both saw something in the Magic Mirror. I led you there. Can you tell me what you saw?"

Hermione (Tom): "Professor Dumbledore, I saw my future self in it. I was about 18 years old and I had become the youngest Minister for Magic."

I will work hard in the time ahead to achieve my goal.

Dumbledore smiled broadly, his white beard twitching: "And you, Tom?"

Tom (Hermione): "Professor Dumbledore saw a future world, a peaceful world, without any nasty dark wizards or Azkaban, without any criminals, where wizards and Muggles lived together."

Hermione was a little embarrassed when she recounted the conversation.

"Haha—good, good. The Mirror of Eris can only see your deepest desires. You two little ones, never forget that. Remember, your future is in your own hands. Don't be blinded by dreams."

"Then, may you achieve your dreams at Hogwarts."

After the two left, Dumbledore raised his head and leaned back in his chair.

Two little ones who don't want to tell the truth...

But it's alright, he has already achieved his goal.

What's in the Mirror of Eris isn't important; what matters is... whether those two children's eyes revealed that longing. Clearly, neither of them did.

Chapter 31 No Skipping Class? I'm Skipping! (3k-word chapter, requesting monthly votes at the beginning of the month!)

"Why are you still following me, Tom? You're like a little shadow!"

Of course, it wasn't Hermione who said this, but Tom himself—after all, he was currently in Hermione's body.

"Hmph, I want to see what someone is up to, loitering around the classroom without going in. You know you have class today, right?"

"Can't I skip class?!" Tom really wanted to say.

"I just wanted to get some fresh air, otherwise I'd have to face Professor Ghost again once I go in, and that wouldn't feel good." Tom leaned half his body out over the railing, his hands gripping the railing.

Her long hair swayed gently in the breeze, and several passersby stopped in their tracks.

“You should go in now!” Hermione grabbed Tom’s shoulder. “I’ll go to class with you, so don’t skip class!”

Mr. Naldo welcomes every student who comes to his class, whether or not they are a student in that particular class.

Tom sighed. "Give me two more minutes. I need some peace and quiet."

“Riddle, what you’re doing is rather ungentlemanly.”

The appearance of a third party interrupted their conversation.

Tom and Hermione turned their heads curiously, only to see someone they never expected—the young master had blond hair combed back without a single stray hair sticking up.

His face always radiated an inexplicable confidence, even though he was clearly a coward.

Not only is he a coward, but he's also rather weak—at least in comparison to Tom and Hermione.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Hermione frowned. "What we have to do with each other is none of your business."

"Tom, I just think it's not right for you to make things so difficult for a girl."

Ok?

Tom froze for a moment.

How dare you speak up for me, Malfoy... no, Malfoy, how dare you look Tom Riddle in the eye?

Sure enough, Hermione took two steps forward, closing the distance between herself and Malfoy in a straight line.

The latter seemed to remember something and quickly dodged away.

“Riddle, watch your behavior. This is a school.”

"I thought you didn't know this was a school," Hermione grunted. "Since you know this is a school, then please leave! Don't bother us!"

Tom coughed and stepped slightly to the side: "Malfoy, Tom is always so demanding. He's going to class with me now. I appreciate you speaking up for me, but don't disobey Tom, or Professor Snape will send you to solitary confinement."

Hermione: "???"

She pointed at herself in disbelief: "Me? Asking someone to do something they don't want to do?"

"Harry! Ron!" Tom grabbed two more passersby. "It's nice to meet you, come and help me!"

Hermione suddenly became the target of everyone's anger.

Although they were afraid of Tom Riddle, they were reluctant to give up on Hermione Granger...

After all, Hermione was Harry's best friend, while Tom was just an ordinary friend.

Malfoy was conflicted.

He had seen Hermione in action before, and Hermione last night had truly stirred his emotions. Malfoy had never seen a wizard of his age wield magic so well.