Chapter 7 – The Anything Goes room
The next day, Tom woke up feeling better than he had done in a very long time. He’d had a brilliant night’s sleep and was touched by how Cho had confided in him. It was a Sunday and he had nothing planned. Realising that he should probably tell Professor Dumby what he’d learned, he got up and headed down to breakfast. He met Harry down in the hall, sitting alone and so went over to him. “Hey Harry, where’s Ron and Hermione? I never see you without them.”
“Oh hey, Tom. I just needed to be away from them for a time. I needed some time to clear my head, you know.”
“Say no more, I’ll leave you to it.”
Tom started to head towards the Ravensnore table but Harry stopped him, “Tom wait. Do you want some breakfast? I actually wanted to ask you about something.” Tom was surprised to hear Harry say this since they didn’t know each other well but he knew Dumby would want him to get a good relationship with Harry so he smiled and said, “Sure, how can I help?”
Tom sat down and pulled a plate of sausages towards him as Harry began. “Tom, I know that you and Cho are friends. I was wondering if you could help me with something.” He paused, trying to choose his next words but Tom cut him off.
“You want me to help you get together with Cho, don’t you?” Harry gasped, surprised to hear that Tom knew about his situation.
“How did you know that?”
“She told me all about you two and how she went to that dance last year with Cedric Biggory, even though you asked her and so on and so on.” Harry hadn’t realised Cho had told anyone about these personal matters and was slightly embarrassed to find out.
“I didn’t realise you and Cho were such good friends.”
“Neither did I to be honest,” said Tom, flatly.
“So you two are just friends?” Harry sounded nervous as he asked.
But Tom laughed and said, “Yeah, yeah. I’m not in to her like that, I’m seeing someone else anyway. Even if I did like her like that, she wouldn’t go out with me. She likes you and wants you to ask her out.” Harry seemed really happy to hear this. “So don’t be a prat and get on with it before someone else does. From what I’ve heard, it seems obvious that you like her a lot too.” Tom’s apparent magic of making people trust and believe whatever he said was present again. Harry had been really unsure of what to do but now, his mind was set on asking out Cho.
“Thanks for the advice, Tom. Listen, I’ve got to go now but thanks and if you ever need some help, just ask.”
“Cheers.”
Tom hadn’t finished his breakfast but he didn’t think he could get away with sitting at the Gryffinchair table by himself so he went to sit at his own table and continued eating. Once finished, he casually walked off to Dumby’s office to tell him about the DL. But as he arrived at the eagle statue, he found Dumby and Snipe whispering to each other. As Tom approached, they stopped and turned to him. “Morning Tom,” said both of them.
“Professors,” he said in reply, then turned to Dumby. “Sir, I wanted to talk to you about what we discussed.”
Dumby replied in his usual calm voice. “It’s alright Tom, you can talk freely around Professor Snipe.” Tom glanced at Snipe then looked back at Albus.
“Well then, I have information about the secret defence group lead by Harry.” Snipe scowled at the word ‘Harry’ but said nothing.
However, Dumby seemed delighted and said, “Very good Tom. But we must not discuss it here, come up to my office. Severus, I’ll see you later.”
Snipe nodded curtly and said, “Very well Albus.” He then turned to leave as he added to Tom “You better not mess up in potions again. I’m thoroughly enjoying having someone beat Miss Danger for a change.”
Once inside Dumby’s office, Tom told Dumby everything about the meeting including how they haven’t found a place to practise yet. Dumby didn’t have any suggestions either when Tom asked him. So Tom then asked about Abaforth.
“Sir,” but Dumby interrupted.
“When we are away from students, you can call me Albus.”
Tom then continued, “Very well. Albus, how come you didn’t tell me that you have a brother and that he owns the Hag’s leg?”
Dumby’s face dropped but, nevertheless, he answered truthfully. “Abaforth and I don’t get on well for reasons I shall not discuss and to be honest, I was hoping you wouldn’t notice he was my brother, most people don’t. But I suppose I should have remember that you aren’t like most people.”
Tom replied in surprise, “Come off it. You look pretty alike. How would people not notice?”
“I can’t really answer that since he is my brother and so I obviously think he looks similar.” Tom saw sense in his answer.
He wanted to inquire about the brothers but didn’t want to offend, so chose his next words carefully. “Albus, it’s not my business but don’t you think you should talk to him.”
“Tom, I do talk to him. For example, Ab told me about an interesting kid called Tom who came into his pub yesterday and Ab took a liking to the kid straight away.” Both Tom and Albus laughed. Dumby then added, “Ab doesn’t have the magical skill to be a part of my plans but at the same time he can be a very useful allay. Remember that.”
Albus gave Tom a very piercing gaze as though he was looking inside him. Tom thought that the headmaster spoke about his brother as though he wasn’t his brother at all and he was sure there was some unfinished business between them. However, Tom pushed the subject no further. Albus seemed to have noticed Tom’s decision and he looked grateful.
“Tom. You’ve done great. Once the meetings start, make sure you go to them and report back every now and again. Even if I’m not around when you come to talk, speak to the room and I will get the message. As a reward for your help so far,” this time, Tom cut across him.
“Albus, I don’t need a reward. I’m just glad that I’m involved in something real, not just boring school work.” Tom realised he had just insulted Hogwash and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean that.” Dumby chuckled significantly.
“Don’t worry about it. I felt the same way when I was your age… As for your reward, I want to give you something because I know you will appreciate it more than most.” He pulled out a black cube, about the size of an orange, from one of the draws in his desk. “This is a cube of illusion. They are very rare. It allows you to temporarily affect the minds of those around you so that they will be more lenient with whatever you are trying to achieve.”
He then changed his voice, sounding more serious. “Tom, I give you this as a token of our friendship and because I know that you will not use it to do bad things. But be warned, stronger wizards can see through the illusion and these cubes are highly frowned upon so make sure you use it wisely and keep it a secret. To activate it, just turn the top half clockwise 90 degrees and the bottom half anticlockwise by 90 degrees. To turn it off, just turn it back to the original position. I will not tell you how to put it to good use because I am your teacher and they are strictly banned at Hogwash. I’m sure you can work it out yourself though.” Tom was in disbelief, his mind was already racing with potential uses of the cube.
What a fantastic gift Albus had just given him. “Why do you think I would appreciate this more than others?”
Dumby gazed at him again, before saying in a caring tone “I know you worked with your parents as a blacksmith.” Tom couldn’t understand how Dumby knew this. His parents had never mentioned Dumby and they had lived in separate countries. He opened his mouth but Dumby said, “You don’t have to say anything. Now please escort yourself out, I have other business to attend to.”
Once out of the room, Tom stood on the stairs, out of sight, and examined the cube more closely. It was much heavier than it looked, as if it was made of lead. Its surfaces were jet black and as smooth as silk. The flawless purity made it look like it had been crafted by the most skilled blacksmiths. It was so beautifully made, he wasn’t even sure his parents could have managed
it. He then turned it, just as Dumby had told him to and a ring of dim, electric blue light shone from the invisible hinge. He was sure it was working but couldn’t feel any different. Assuming that he’d only notice something when around other people, he deactivated it, put it back in his pocket and went back to Ravensnore tower.