Chapter 614: The Perfect Chance to Score Points

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Daphne’s plan was simple.

Brutally simple.

Tom still spent every night in the ice chamber with Astoria. So Daphne’s idea was to have Cassandra drink Polyjuice Potion, take on Astoria’s appearance, and slip into bed in her place.

Once she acted cute and demanded Tom sleep with her because she said she felt unwell... that counted as a success, didn’t it? He had to take responsibility afterward.

"..."

Cassandra had no words.

And Astoria, the biggest victim in all this, looked like she might actually faint.

"Sis! Is this really how you treat your own sister?!"

"How is this treating you badly?" Daphne grabbed her hand and started coaxing—no, persuading her. "Living in an icebox every night has to be miserable, right? Just think of this as taking a break. Go back to the dorm, or sleep with me for once. Let Cassandra suffer in your place."

Cassandra’s mouth twitched.

"No, you’re tricking Tom," Astoria said firmly, refusing to budge.

"It’s not tricking him," Daphne replied without missing a beat. "We’ll control the dosage. By the time you’re actually asleep, Cassandra will naturally change back to her real appearance."

"And Tom won’t blame you. He scolds me all the time, but he’s never once been harsh with you."

"...Still no. Sis, can’t you come up with something more normal?"

"This is normal."

...

In the end, Astoria couldn’t withstand Daphne’s relentless pestering. She gave in, though clearly unwilling. If she didn’t, who knew how long Daphne would cling to her like a monkey and refuse to let go?

Daphne might not care about losing face.

But Astoria did.

Someone had to preserve the last shred of dignity for the Greengrass family.

As for Cassandra, she might have been speechless, but she didn’t refuse either. She was getting desperate. At this point, she didn’t care how ridiculous the method was. As long as the result worked, that was enough. One move to settle everything, and someone else would take the blame afterward.

The three of them headed to the Room of Requirement. Daphne rummaged through her bag for a while before pulling out two bottles of potion.

"Which one was the Polyjuice again?"

Astoria and Cassandra both went silent for a second, then pointed at the transparent potion.

Then Cassandra couldn’t help asking, "Why are you carrying so many restricted-level potions on you? And the other one... that’s Veritaserum!"

"I have no idea," Daphne said, scratching her head. "Some I took from Tom, some were gifts. I never bothered organizing them, just stuffed everything together."

Astoria reached out and snatched Daphne’s little bag away with a serious expression. "Sis, I’ll hold onto these dangerous things for you. If you need them, just ask me."

Daphne waved it off. As long as they didn’t touch her snack bag, she couldn’t care less.

They plucked a strand of Astoria’s hair and dropped it into the potion. Cassandra drank it and transformed smoothly. To make the disguise more convincing, Daphne even brought over Astoria’s clothes for her to change into.

Once everything was in place, they sent her straight into the pocket world.

As his operations grew larger—and many of his experiments were not exactly suitable for the girls to witness—Tom had long since divided the pocket world into separate sections.

No one had access to the other areas except Tom himself. But he had granted Astoria access to her own room within this world, using a small item he had crafted.

So that night, after having dinner with Jeanne and spending some time training with her, Tom finally stepped into the ice chamber prepared specifically for Astoria.

The little witch was already tucked under the covers, only her head peeking out as she stared at him expectantly.

Tom noticed something was off immediately.

That wasn’t Astoria.

After all this time—adjustments, conditioning, and gradual changes—Astoria’s body had already changed significantly. Her skin had grown paler, and after fusing with the Yuki-onna bloodline, her natural body temperature was always low.

Her magic had changed too.

Still, anyone who could disguise themselves as Astoria and enter the pocket world had to be one of his own people. After all, no one could force his little witch. He had already left her with many magical treasures that even Dumbledore couldn’t harm her.

Hmm... and it wasn’t Daphne. He knew her magic very well.

Even as his thoughts raced, Tom didn’t hesitate. He slipped into bed and wrapped his arms around the small figure, his voice soft. "So let me guess who you are..."

"Astoria" stiffened. She clearly hadn’t expected him to notice so quickly.

Tom didn’t say the answer right away. He paused to think.

This was either a free point... or a fatal mistake.

He only had one shot. If he guessed wrong, no matter how high their favorability was, it would definitely take a hit.

’I really need to memorize everyone’s magical signatures,’ he grumbled inwardly. ’Otherwise I’ll end up hugging someone and not even know who it is.’

He ran through the possibilities in his mind, ruling them out one by one until only a single figure remained. The one he spent the least time with—if it was her, it would make sense that he couldn’t recognize her magic.

"...Cassandra?"

The moment he said the name, he felt the girl in his arms tremble. Then she lifted her head, her bright eyes shining with surprise.

"How did you know it was me?"

Tom seized the chance to earn himself some points. "I know each of you really well. Your habits, your little mannerisms. Of course I can tell the difference."

"Now can you tell me why you turned into Astoria... and even wore her clothes?"

He couldn’t let Cassandra keep asking questions. There was no way he actually knew all those little habits. Anyone who could observe that level of detail probably wasn’t a normal man.

But there was no helping it. Women liked hearing things like that, so he could only grit his teeth and deliver the perfect answer.

As expected, Cassandra was deeply moved. Her eyes even began to redden slightly. Right then, the Polyjuice Potion wore off, and she gradually returned to her original appearance.

She didn’t say a word. She just leaned in and kissed him. Only when she was out of breath did she reluctantly pull away, then told him everything from start to finish.

She even confessed the contract she’d signed with Daphne without holding anything back.

At a moment like this, asking a woman anything was easy. Let alone trivial questions—he had a feeling that even if he asked her to bare her heart, she wouldn’t hesitate much.

By the time Tom finished listening, his lips were twitching.

Daphne... one random burst of inspiration, and she’d nearly thrown him straight into a disaster zone.

But well... Some things seem like an unbridgeable gap, but in reality, they’re just a thin layer of paper. Once it’s pierced, the distance disappears completely. That was exactly the case with Cassandra and Tom.

Tom hadn’t taken the initiative, not because he didn’t want to, but because his situation didn’t allow it.

Being proactive with one person could be called devotion. Being proactive with a whole group... that just made you a scumbag.

Actually, he had never taken things far with the other girls. In fact, Cassandra was the first to kiss him on the lips. Tom, he, had always left them the choice to step back, after all—what woman would willingly share her man with others?

Besides, he didn’t have the time. If he spent every day tangled up in relationships, when would he ever become a god of magic?

...

..

The next morning, Tom knew exactly what he had to do first.

He had business to settle with Daphne Greengrass.

Actually, Astoria had to be involved too. Otherwise, how would Cassandra have gotten her clothes?

Tom knew Daphne well. If Astoria had refused, Daphne wouldn’t have forced her into something she didn’t want. That meant Astoria must have agreed to it.

Arriving at the common room, Tom glanced around until he spotted Pansy Parkinson.

"Pansy, have you seen Daphne?"

"Daphne?" Pansy stood up quickly from her conversation, thinking for a moment before answering. "I heard from Tracey yesterday that she was going home. She’s probably already left."

Running away, huh.

Tom’s lips twitched. Smart girl.

If she’d stuck around and gotten caught today, he definitely would’ve pinched those cheeks of hers until they swelled.

Today it was Cassandra. Fine, he could accept that.

But what about tomorrow?

Who he liked and who he didn’t was his decision. Even Daphne didn’t get to make that call for him.

This little witch needed a proper lesson.

Pansy watched him carefully. She could sense that Tom wasn’t in the best mood.

After hesitating for a moment, she spoke cautiously, "Um... Tom, I haven’t seen Daphne today, but Astoria should be in the dorm. I saw her come back after breakfast."

Tom nodded.

The main culprit had run off.

Taking it out on the accomplice first didn’t sound like a bad idea either.

"Go call her out for me, please."

Pansy nodded quickly and jogged off into the girls’ dormitory. She didn’t keep him waiting long before Astoria came out.

Tom wasn’t about to make a scene in front of everyone, and Astoria understood that. The girl quietly offered him her hand, and he led her out of the common room.

They made their way down to an empty room on the basement level. It used to be the castle’s wine cellar.

Before 1630, Hogwarts students were actually allowed to drink. That changed after two drunk students once beat up a professor. The school banned alcohol for students after that, even earlier than the Ministry did.

Since then, the place had been abandoned. These days, it was mostly used by Slytherin couples looking for privacy. If the door wouldn’t open, it meant someone inside was... occupied.

"Awoo..."

Tom gave a small wave of his hand, and the candles on the wall all flared to life at once. He was just about to speak when Astoria suddenly threw herself into his arms, cutting him off.

Her voice was soft, pitiful, tinged with grievance. Her wide eyes were filled with apology and pleading.

"Tom... I’m sorry. This is my fault."

"What exactly did you do wrong?" he asked instinctively.

"I shouldn’t have agreed to my sister’s plan. Not only did I fail to stop her, I even helped her carry it out. I’m sorry, Tom... I made things difficult for you."

By the time she finished, her eyes were already brimming with tears. Tom quickly conjured a tissue and wiped them away, a little flustered.

In all the time he’d known her, he’d never seen Astoria cry. Daphne, on the other hand, could bawl her eyes out over a random soap opera.

All the stern words he’d prepared vanished the moment he saw her like this. He softened his tone without realizing it, "...If you knew that, then why go along with Daphne in the first place?"

"Because she’s my sister..." Astoria pouted, her voice trembling. "She kept begging me to help. I really didn’t know how to refuse her. And..."

She glanced at him shyly. "I was also thinking about you. Cassandra is very capable when it comes to business. My sister... well, she’s not exactly cut out for that. She won’t be able to help you much in the future."

"So I thought... instead of relying on outsiders, why not bring Cassandra in? At least she’d be one of our own."

By the end, Astoria looked up at him again, her eyes full of pleading. "Tom, if you’re upset, then blame me. Don’t blame my sister. I care about her... and I care about you too."

It was the kind of thing that might sound a little manipulative if you looked too closely. But paired with her delicate features and that fragile, tearful expression, Tom found himself completely unable to refuse.

At the same time, he made a quiet decision. When Daphne got back, he was definitely stepping up her "education." Maybe he could get her to learn a thing or two from her younger sister and become a more sensible girl.

But right now, the priority was calming Astoria down.

Tom gently patted her back, soothing her.

He didn’t notice the sly glint in her eyes, hidden deep where his arms blocked the view.

’Big sister... if you’re going to play like this, don’t blame me for playing back. Hehe~’

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