Scheming little schemers

Violet sighed slightly but raise her brow, "that is awfully confident of you. Even though you have the evidence to back your claim based on your performance. How do I know if that was all you had? Or if there were special conditions needed to use such a spell? I cannot simply agree without assuring that my interests are secured." She said seriously.

I nodded and finished my tea with one last gulp, "that is understandable; I have long expected you to test me. So, you can throw anything you want at me. I'll crush it." I said confidently. I had no doubt that I could pass all her tests with flying colours.

"That is to be determined. I do hope your words prove true, since it benefits both parties if they do so. If you succeed in passing my tests, I will hand you the key. If you fail, not only will you not gain the key, but I will personally expel you from this school." She said with a cold smile.

I sighed; every headmaster/ headmistress was the same. They were all so petty. I pushed myself up from my chair and began to walk away but stopped and turned around a few steps from the door, "Challenge accepted. I look forward to receiving my key, Mrs Violet. Oh! And thank you for the tea. It was rather lovely."

"I'll have Professor Randal here send you back," she proposed. But I waved her off.

"That won't be necessary," I said with a smile and under their puzzled gazes I turned around and a feeling of being turned inside-out spread over my body as my vision blurred. But it didn't take long before it was restored, and I found myself in the sorting area second floor. The exact place I had disappeared from. I was a bit nervous at first since I didn't know if it would work.

But to my relief, it did, and splendidly so too.

{why did you ask for so little kid? You could have asked for more.} Achlys asked.

[ Because it's better to take it slow, prove our worth and assess how much leverage we truly have. If it's considerable, then we can afford to bite off more. But if this is done before anything has been proven and the standings are not yet clear, we might instead be shooting ourselves in the foot. The stakes are low-]

{stakes are low!? If the boy fails he gets expelled} Achlys said.

[That IS low stakes. The tests will be easy. There is no way that he's expelled. High stakes would actually be the opposite, if Tom was forced to stay if he lost. We have business back at Hogwarts so staying here would be incredibly annoying. Anyway, that is all besides the point.

If we asked for a lot more, based on our worth, which they do not know about yet, they might give us some exorbitant test or ridiculous task. We would have to work a lot more than necessary. This way, the tests are small and easy, according to our real strength, and we can get more for less labour done.] he reasoned.

I couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. Drak had explained it very well. That was why I kept my benefits to a minimum for the time being. They will rise eventually. But for now, this was enough.

I put my hands in my pockets and walked through the open door while whistling a merry tune.

---

Back in the office, Violet and Randal were staring at the place where Tom stood previously with their jaws hanging open.

"W-W-What did he just do! Did he just aparate!" Randal exclaimed in utter shock. His shout awoke Violet who was equally as shocked.

"What a monster. This should not be possible. Nobody except house-elves are able to do this. this boy is far from normal." Violet said with a momentary frown before a small smile graced her perfect face.

Randal who saw this frowned slightly and looked at her questioningly. Violet naturally understood this and explained, "Why would he show us this if not to further emphasise his claim to being able to complete my test? He is clearly telling us that we are underestimating him. And as much as I hate to say it, we have severely underestimated him. But! That is not a bad thing. It's the opposite, the more talented he is, the better the result in the tournament. Maybe we will finally get the steady lead we have always wanted." She said with traces of excitement in her voice.

Randal however sighed, "you're missing the key point here. The more talented he is, the more he will extort from us! I think we might have disregarded his previous words. I just hope he goes easy on us." He said helplessly.

"What do you mean? don't we have the initiative? Don't we hold all the cards?" she asked.

"Of course not! We are depending on him. I doubt the students we have currently can beat Mahoutokoro. He might know that too. And if he does, he will take advantage of that. Maybe there is a reason Dumbledore holds such a grudge. I've always known him to be pretty calm. Maybe that kid did a number on him. We should be prepared." He said with another sigh.

"By the way…" Violet said with a smirk. Randal stiffened and mechanically turned his head towards her.

"You. Lost. The. Bet!" she said word by word with a wider grin after each stop. Randal started sweating slightly.

"T-That was just a joke, we weren't actually betting, right? Right?" he asked with a pale face.

"Of course we are Randal! I'm offended you would take this so lightly. I could have taken a severe loss this time. and I bet you wouldn't have been a simple joke then… right?" she said with a knowing grin.

Randal grimaced slightly and reluctantly handed over a small pouch. But inside it, was actually 2500 galleons.

"To think you would make such a big bet with me Randal." She said with a childish smile as stars sparkled in her eyes.

Randal frowned heavily, 'not even a day in and I'm already at a deficit due to this boy.' He said with a tragic sigh.