Chapter 85: Torment
The Hogwarts Express exhaled white steam as it stood quietly at the platform.
For most students, this was a farewell steeped in the sorrow of parting. They dragged their heavy trunks, hugged one another, and promised to write over the summer.
For Tamara, however, it felt like a long awaited release from prison.
At last, she could leave that castle full of idiots and that old bee who seemed to watch her all day long. Even the air, thick with coal smoke, seemed wonderfully fresh.
To guarantee absolute peace for the journey, Tamara did something very sensible.
She sent her heavy suitcase, along with the black cat that had recently taken to hissing madly at thin air, straight into the train's luggage service.
After all, she had no desire to endure a mad cat for hours on end, nor did she intend to haul her own luggage like a labourer.
Once that was dealt with, she slipped away from the crowd with empty hands and a light heart, selecting the most remote and inconspicuous compartment at the rear of the train.
"Phew..."
Closing the sliding door behind her, Tamara threw herself onto the soft seat.
"Finally. Peace."
She drew a thick black leather notebook from her robe pocket.
It contained her latest research notes on the golden bloodline.
There was still only preliminary data so far, observations on how her blood reacted with different magical materials, the way it stabilised certain mixtures, and the degree to which it enhanced magical output. Even so, it was more than enough to fascinate her.
For the Dark Lord who pursued power above all else, nothing was more captivating than studying the laws of immortality now flowing through her own veins.
This was the secret Nicolas Flamel had spent his life deciphering.
Now it belonged to her blood.
If she did not thoroughly analyse it and turn it into a lethal weapon, it would be a criminal waste.
Tamara turned a page and studied the dense calculations written there with focused interest.
"If I add a single drop of active blood as a stabiliser while brewing Polyjuice Potion or a flesh reshaping potion..."
Her quill tapped lightly against the paper as possibility after thrilling possibility unfolded in her mind.
She quickly wrote down each burst of inspiration while planning her summer experiments.
The orphanage cellar was crude, but with a few adjustments...
She was still immersed in those delightful thoughts when the compartment handle turned.
Tamara's quill halted. Her brow furrowed at once.
Who was blind enough to disturb her?
Before she could pull out her wand and hit the intruder with a Knockback Jinx, the door slid open with a clatter.
"Brilliant, there's an empty one here!"
A familiar voice, one that induced immediate headaches, sounded from the doorway.
Harry Potter's bespectacled face appeared there.
Behind him came red haired Weasley and Granger with the hair that still looked as if a nest of birds had lost a war in it.
"Tamara! We knew you'd be here!"
Harry sounded absurdly pleased, as if he had just found a missing family member.
"We've been looking everywhere for you! All the other compartments are full!"
"Get out."
Tamara did not even lift her head as she spat out the two words.
"Don't be like that, Tamara." Ron barged in as if he had been invited, clutching the fat rat Scabbers, which now looked more like a furry loaf than a pet. "We went through an adventure together. We're comrades."
"Yes, Tamara." Hermione stepped in as well, carrying several books thick enough to qualify as murder weapons. "I also wanted to ask you a few things about the summer homework, especially the Transfiguration essay..."
Looking at the three Gryffindors attaching themselves to her like burrs, Tamara felt her temples begin to throb.
"Get out."
She shut the notebook. Her black eyes were already filling with killing intent.
"Or I will make you..."
[Ding! Detecting friends' enthusiasm!]
That wretched system, as always, interrupted at the precise instant she was about to snap.
[As Hogwarts' new hero, you should display matching tolerance and friendliness.]
[Mission: Train of Friendship.]
[Requirement: Interact pleasantly with your classmates during this journey. No driving people away, no jinxes, no cold violence.]
[Reward: Love +1.]
"One point?" Tamara sneered inwardly. "Are you feeding scraps to a beggar? What use is that worthless attribute to me? Even without love for an entire lifetime, I could still rule the world."
[System friendly reminder: Your current Love attribute is 19.]
[With one more point, you will reach the 20 point milestone.]
[New spell unlocked: Stupefy.]
Tamara's grip on her wand froze.
Stupefy.
A standard duelling spell. Not an Unforgivable Curse, but at present the most efficient spell for instantly subduing an opponent.
Her current options were far too clumsy. The Levitation Charm lacked lethality. Petrificus Totalus required precise aim. Incendio had the annoying tendency to set entire structures on fire. And the Knockback Jinx only flung people away.
She needed a proper hard control spell.
For power.
For stronger magic.
Tamara drew in a long breath and forced the murderous word already forming on her tongue back down her throat.
"...Fine."
She ground the word out between her teeth, then shifted slightly aside as if attempting to make herself disappear.
"Thanks!"
Harry took that as triumph and immediately dropped down onto the seat beside her on the left.
Far too close.
Tamara could even smell that irritatingly healthy soap scent on him.
Ron took the opposite seat, and Hermione squeezed in on Tamara's right.
The once spacious compartment instantly felt cramped.
And that was only the beginning.
Not five minutes later, the door opened again.
"I knew Potter would come to bother you!"
Draco Malfoy's long suffering voice rang out from the doorway.
Behind him came Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
"This is a Slytherin compartment, Potter. Take your red haired hanger on and get out."
Draco lifted his chin and looked at Ron with appropriate contempt.
"This is a public train, Malfoy," Ron shot back. "Besides, Tamara let us sit here."
Harry immediately used her as a shield.
Every head in the compartment turned toward Tamara.
Tamara gazed expressionlessly out the window, doing her best impression of a decorative stone.
"Since Tamara has no objection..." Draco bit the words out, clearly not daring to challenge her will. "Then we're sitting here too."
So Draco sat opposite Tamara. Crabbe and Goyle wedged themselves nearby. Pansy squeezed in beside Hermione.
A compartment meant for six now somehow held eight.
And still it was not over.
"Um... excuse me, has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost his toad again..."
Hannah Abbott timidly poked her head through the doorway.
"Trevor!"
Neville pushed in behind her, spotted the toad on the floor, and lunged for it with undisguised joy.
And so Hufflepuff and Gryffindor contributed still more bodies to the disaster.
Now this tiny compartment contained students from three separate houses.
On Tamara's left, Harry and Ron were already arguing over Chocolate Frog cards.
On her right, Draco had begun loudly boasting about how expensive his family's sweets were.
Across from her, Hannah was helping Neville corner his toad.
The air was thick with the bizarre smell of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, animal stink, and the oppressive heat of far too many bodies packed into one enclosed space.
This crowded, noisy, chaotic environment was quite simply hell.
Tamara pressed one hand flat against the cool table.
The muscles in her cheek had begun to twitch from holding that rigid fake smile for too long.
"Endure... endure..."
She silently recited the principles of Dark Lord self cultivation in her mind.
"For spells. For greater power..."
"Tamara, do you want one?" Harry held a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans under her nose, looking unbearably earnest. "Sometimes you get earwax flavour, but it's still fun."
"Take it away."
Tamara smiled as she said it, though the expression looked far more painful than pleasant.
"I'm not hungry, Potter."
"Ignore that shabby nonsense, Tamara." Draco immediately produced an elegant gold box. "This is my family's private chocolate. Only this suits your status."
"Thank you, I don't..."
"Oi, move! Scabbers is getting squashed!" Ron shouted.
"Your rat stepped on my shoe, Weasley!" Pansy shrieked.
"Ribbit!"
Neville's toad chose that moment to leap directly onto Tamara's knee, leaving behind a wet mark.
Tamara stared down at it.
Then she looked at the idiots still making noise around her.
In that moment, she truly felt that ruling the world could wait.
The far more urgent issue was whether it might be possible to blow up the train.
If the train exploded this instant, she would absolutely burn incense for Merlin.
.....
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