I Know Not Love

lavya0393

CHAPTER 1

Prologue

Full Summary: For a young man named Tom Riddle, the word "Love" was a foreign one. In fact, the closest feeling he had ever experienced to that was a powerful obsession. However, this feeling was not directed towards a person, but to the Dark Arts. I invite you now to explore the depths of the abyss that was Tom Riddle, the boy Lord Voldemort, his ascent to power, and his gradual loss of self. As you delve into his life at Hogwarts in the time of 1944, his sixth year, you will adventure through his thoughts and emotions as he opens the Chamber of Secrets, and, unknowingly, his heart.

Flashback, 5 years ago

A pair of dark eyes peered out from behind the sliding doors of the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express. These onyx eyes belonged to a small boy of eleven, and they observed the comings and goings of the various passengers, some new, like him, and others familiar with their surrounding. A young girl, about his age caught the attention of those eyes. They narrowed. The girl had long dark hair, chocolate-colored skin, and similar onyx eyes, -yet they couldn't be more different. While his were devoid of emotion, a dark, swirling abyss, hers were full of life and joy. He immediately despised her. She didn't deserve his company or his thought. And so he turned away.

He didn't have a chance to observe anymore, however, because the sliding doors were suddenly pulled open, causing him to fright.

"Oh! I'm so sorry; I didn't know anyone was in here!" It was the girl that didn't deserve his company. "Would you mind if I sat here? Everywhere else is full."

He simply nodded his head in acceptance. What did it matter? He would simply ignore her. Besides, he didn't know anybody else anyway. However, she made it very hard to ignore her presence as she started asking questions:

"Is it your first time here at Hogwarts?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Yes, me too… are you pureblood?" Then, seeing the puzzled look on his face, she explained: "Pureblood means, being a wizard or witch by ancestry, or if your mother and father are, like, if they were born with magic in their blood. Like, not being muggleborn, -that means, for people that don't have magic parents. People sometimes call the "mudbloods",-that's a really foul name that mainly only Slytherins use, it's the worst form of insult possible." She didn't seem at all perturbed that she had just uttered a presumed obscenity, she merely continued explaining, "Or Half-Blood, meaning that only one of your parents is magic by birth." She paused for a while, and then repeated her question, "So. Are you pureblood?"

He eyed her cautiously before conveying this next piece of information. "No."

"…Then what are you?" She asked pestilently.

"Half-Blood." Came the answer.

"Oh! Me too!" She said excitedly. "My mother was pureblood, and my father was muggleborn. What about you?"

He shrugged. "I think my father was…pureblood."

"How come you don't know what pureblood means?"

"I was raised in a muggle orphanage."

"Oh, that must have been horrible. I'm sorry for bringing it up." She stopped speaking, and the compartment was shrouded in silence for a while before she decided to start up conversation again.

"I haven't properly introduced myself, my name's Amaryllis Covington, what's yours?" she stuck her hand out, and he took it.

"Tom Riddle." He said shortly.

End Flashback

5 years later, as observant as ever, onyx eyes raked the crowd, searching for the worthy. Tom Riddle was due in Transfigurations. He often had flashbacks of meeting people for the first time nowadays. He remembered, and then he determined whether they were good enough to include or supposedly befriend. –Tom Riddle had no Friends. He was a loner by choice for the first few years at Hogwarts before he willingly stepped into the limelight. His group of "friends" – or, as he preferred to think of them, Followers- had a certain dark glamour within the confines of the castle. They were always the ones to be feared yet respected. And Tom Riddle was their master. The Ringleader. The one who made up all the rules.

But as he sat crossing off names on a list while remembering first impressions, he couldn't quite figure out what he wanted to do with one. He looked at the list again, and fourth down, it said: Amaryllis Covington. He remembered their first meeting again, and frowned. He hadn't been too keen on her at first. –She did seem at little talkative, and yet she had successfully educated him on the bonds and family bloodlines of the Wizarding world in the time it took for their first ever train ride to Hogwarts. She had said that the name "Riddle" didn't seem like a Wizarding one, and that he was better off assuming that his mother was the Pureblood. This had enraged him supremely at the time, but it turned out that she was, as always, right. You see, Amaryllis Covington was a Half-Blood know-it-all Ravenclaw whose characteristics emboldened those of Slytherin adn whose heritage rightly placed her in Ravenclaw, and Tom Riddle Sr. had been a muggle, as she had suggested in the first place. He had looked in vain for any trace of "Riddle", and found none. So, defeated at last, he had taken up on Covington's suggestion and looked for the name Marvolo –Tom's middle name.

It didn't take him much effort to find the name "Gaunt" in a book in the library. (Ancient Bloodlines, Pure all the way) It turned out that the Gaunts were a very prominent ancient Wizarding pureblood family. –Directly related to Salazar Slytherin himself. Marvolo Gaunt had been the last one of the Gaunt bloodline to attend Hogwarts, many, many years ago. After that, only rumor prevailed: It seemed that Merope Gaunt, daughter of Marvolo, had run off with a muggle of sorts from down at the village, while Marvolo and her brother Morfin were holed up in Azkaban, the Wizarding prison. The muggle had yet to be named, but there was a description that states that he was tall, dark-haired, fair-skinned, very handsome, and dark-eyed. He was very wealthy and the son of the village squire.

Tom was disgusted. His mother had been a witch? And yet, she had succumbed to the mortal weakness of death. She was a disgrace to all wizardkind. –And she had stuck him with the name of his pathetic ex-father who had foolishly abandoned her and his son, as he had found out in several other volumes on bloodlines. But he would pay, one day, Tom would make him suffer for all the pain he had caused him. But moreover, he had despised himself for believing that his father was the pureblood. He hated that he had to resort to researching Covington's suggestion. After all, Tom Riddle hated being wrong.

He sighed, coming out of his memories. It was long since then. He was now in his sixth year at Hogwarts. Intelligent, Handsome, and ever the Charming young man that he was, he had bewitched most of the staff into believing his façade. –Except Professor Dumbledore, of course; he had revealed just a little too much information upon their first meeting. However, he was at the peak of his powers now and looking for more followers. He looked down at the list again. Amaryllis Covington. It seemed that she thought she had revealed too much in their first conversation too. It might have been different though, had she not been sorted into Ravenclaw. They had grown far apart after that, never acknowledging each other's presence in the hallways or classes. And yet, they were too much alike, he supposed. Both silent and observant, both clever and superior, both teacher's pets, and both rivaling each other in matters of schoolwork and grades. He had overheard her telling one of her friends, -or so he assumed, as she had many-, Rachel Davison, that the Sorting Hat had considered her for Gryffindor, as he supposed she was quite brave, but then ruled out that option, saying that she would not go rushing to others' aid that quickly. She also had said that the Hat had very nearly almost put her in Slytherin, due to the closeness of her bloodline and, it had said, the fact that she would save her own skin and put herself before others; self-preservation. An important trait, being the subtle manipulator that she was.

Tom almost smiled at the thought: Amaryllis Covington in Slytherin? She wouldn't survive. –But then again, what did he know? She had almost been sorted there, and she herself harbored many Slytherin-like qualities that she would never admit to. Ravenclaw and Slytherin were quite similar. Except that Ravenclaws tended to be a bit less heartless, and they would choose to always do the right thing with their capabilities; choosing good over evil. But Tom supposed Evil was only considered Evil in the eyes of the good.

True enough, Amaryllis fitted somewhere between the molded stereotype for the typical Ravenclaw and the typical Slytherin. This was why he was hesitant to include her in his plans. He wasn't sure if she would report him or turn him in, or on the other hand, be willing to participate. But he doubted that. However, she was quite a prize to gain. If he were to have her in his fold, he would benefit greatly. But he supposed they would clash; Amaryllis was a leader, not a follower, and Tom was a leader too. He would just have to get to know her a little better. Ravenclaws were much more inclined towards Slytherin House than any of the other houses. Mainly because they shared similar opinions. –Other than the pureblood vs. Half-blood vs. Mudbloods. Ravenclaw house had mixed blood, whereas Slytherin house was as pure as they could get. True, it had been hard to reach the level of reverence and respect that he had now, being as he was, Half-Blood. But the fact that his Ancestor had been Salazar Slytherin countered that tiny flaw in his character. There were still some Slytherins that called him "Mudblood", but they would be taken care of soon enough. The animosity directed towards him had died down after the years –not completely quenched- but he knew that it could never reach that point. They would come around eventually, after he had become the most powerful sorcerer in the world. He was almost already at the half-way point; conquer the school, conquer the world. 2 small steps to success.

He folded up the paper and stashed it in his pocket. He picked up his bag and set off to Transfiguration. He knew that the teacher (Professor Pipewringer- the substitute for Professor Dumbledore) would not be upset. He could simply say that he had to take care of some Prefect Duties. The professor wouldn't mind, after all, he knew that, Tom Riddle, star pupil, Role model, would Never Ever, betray his trust.

What he probably put in the back of his mind was the fact that, whatever else he may have been, Tom Riddle was still a Slytherin.