Slytherin
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, and everything created by JK Rowling, was... well... created by JK Rowling. We thought we might trick you, by pretending we were in fact the sole creators of Harry Potter and all related to him, but decided against it, at the last moment. We will however, hold to the fact of creating Tobias Riddle, Arpazia Whelk, Leopold Dreigle, Grinsby the Apothecary, Krislan Brask, and anyone else whom you don't remember having been featured in the wonderful book series. And any spells that you don't recognize are just nonsense creations that we concocted for certain situations. Oh yeah, we also created Cocoa Puffs. Wait... no. Scratch that.
Summary: Albus Dumbledore has abruptly accepted three exchange students, all from presumably American backgrounds, to attend the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unbeknownst to even themselves, their fates are interwoven with each other, those around them, and the horrid past that plagued the wizarding world for over a decade. Will Tobias Riddle a surly, quiet orphan find that his title means exactly what it implies? Or is there something more sinister at hand? What of his patched memory, his strange lack of everyday knowledge?
Prologue- Tobias
Stepping out of the bright afternoon sunlight, the young man slowly studied his surroundings. He stood in the entrance hall of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a grand, old castle. His mind immediately made comparisons between the Hogwarts castle and the building which had housed the Westridge Academy For Aspiring Magic Users, as he had spent a good six years of his life there. It was larger here, nearly cavernous compared to the wood paneled halls and carpeted floors of the Academy. He enjoyed the hollow feeling, as though no amount of bustling, cheerful students could fill some void that was ingrained into the very stones of the castle's foundation. He laughed quietly, shrugging the last of the sunlit warmth from his dark green cloak. Sometimes his thoughts seemed far too grandiose to have originated from his mind.
An authoritative seeming woman entered the hall and started slightly at the sight of him. Her eyes severe and sharp behind rectangular glasses, she strode towards him.
"What are you doing here? The train isn't due for hours yet." She stated stiffly.
Grinning mockingly at her, he replied: "When an overly large man, a half giant, I believe, collects you from your orphanage, tells you that it's time to go back to school, and then carries you across the ocean, against your will, and with no readily apparent reason..." He smirked slightly, giving a simple bow. "I am an American exchange student, or so I've been told. Strangely enough, I've already graduated from Westridge. I hear things are different overseas, however. Extra years." His vivid, dark blue eyes swept over head, at the ceiling that seemed to stretch forever. The castle was eerily quiet, but footsteps echoed every now and then.
"I really do not know where I am or what is expected of me." He said softly. "Any information would be quite helpful, Professor...?"
"McGonagall. Albus mentioned something about exchange students..." Her words were sharp, as though she disapproved of his explanation, and would be inclined not to believe him, had not the headmaster said otherwise. With an air of utmost annoyance she conjured a clipboard and quill.
"Name and year?"
His eyes untouched by his slow smile, he said:
"Tobias Riddle."
She glanced at his face, recognition of his surname dawning in her eyes momentarily before she looked back down at her clipboard. Her mouth was a thin line, but she simply looked irritated.
"Year, Mr. Riddle?"
He sighed. "I've finished my sixth and final year at the Academy. I am not aware of how things work here."
McGonagall eyed him strangely before replying. There was something about the boy, about the way he spoke to her, as if she was his equal, and not his elder. She adjusted her cloak's clasp and gave him a dark look.
"You will wait here, Riddle. We're not ready to receive you."
Tobias shrugged lightly and presented her with another strangely empty smile. McGonagall stepped away from him, turning away and trotting briskly down the hallway, her tall boots clacking.
"We'll have to get him Sorted... Where's Albus..." Her voice faded and eventually dissipated all together. Tobias stared at the floor, his auburn hair creating a dark sheathe over his eyes. His body language was a lie. Anyone watching him would think he was trying not to laugh, when he was really in a state of confusion.
"Ah, Minerva, I had an idea you'd stop by."
Minerva McGonagall entered Albus Dumbledore's circular office, her arms folded neatly against her chest. She looked as if someone had just delivered a dear insult to her pride. Albus adjusted his half-moon spectacles, as they had taken a slide down his long crooked nose. His eyes were a soft blue, and they watched her now, seeming to laugh at her obvious disgruntled disposition. "What seems to be the trouble?"
Slightly flustered, her attitude heightened by his obvious amusement, she took a deep breath. "There is a young man in the entrance hall, Albus. He says his name is Tobias. Tobias Riddle."
Albus clasped his hands together in a dull clap. "Dear me, is he here already? Well, leave it to Hagrid to be early, when I had expected him to be very late..." He smiled warmly.
"Albus, why exchange students? Why now? We're an exclusively UK schooling system. And we're full up as is." She said fiercely. Albus shook his head slightly.
"That's ridiculous. We have plenty of room. And a good thing too, as there are two more." He lifted a parchment from his desk, adjusting his glasses. "Arpazia Whelk, and Krislan Brask. Arpazia will be a 7th year, as will Mr. Riddle, but Krislan is only here to attend our Divination and Care of Magical Creatures classes, as they were not offered at her old school. She's a bit old to be a full-scale Hogwarts student. I have special plans for her. She's a puzzle..." He trailed off.
McGonagall chose to ignore this last cryptic comment, and narrowed in on the root of the situation. "Albus... do you have a reason for excepting these three students, suddenly, this year?"
"Don't fret, Minerva, we'll have this all figured out in no time. They'll be Sorted with the 1st years, and I have their schedules right here." Three neat, freshly inked parchments materialized on his desk. McGonagall wrinkled her nose. He had not answered her question. He took out his well-worn wand and, waving it over the parchments, he muttered: "Alphabetico Filementor," He shook his head comically as they vanished. "I don't know how Muggles manage to file all their paperwork by hand. I'm far too lazy for that."
He stood and gestured towards the door.
"Shall we settle in our new arrival?"
Tobias sat upon a black and silver trunk, idly stroking an ebony kitten of which he had produced from a pocket in his robe. It mewled impatiently and attempted to escape his hands, but he grasped it firmly, eyes staring vacantly at an undefined spot in the hallway ahead. He sighed, his thoughts drifting to Westridge, to Gareth and Lena, the only friends he had ever known. He held the kitten level with his eyes. They had given it to him. Well, Gareth had, as he had inhabited the same orphanage, but Tobias was certain that it was a gift from both of them, in a distant way.
"A name is what you need," he whispered. "The only worthy name for you is Gareth, of course, and may you prove as loyal as he."
"A splendid name, my boy." Albus Dumbledore was standing where he had most certainly not been a moment ago. Crazy suspicion darted across Tobias' mind.
-spying-
The fragmented thought vanished as soon as it had surfaced and Tobias gave an easy smile. Albus bent down slowly, one elderly hand stroking the kitten's head. His kind eyes focused on Tobias' gaze.
"Tobias, I'd wager."
The boy nodded numbly and Albus straightened, folding his hands in front of him. "I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of this fine school."
Tobias stood, the kitten clutched to his chest. He bowed slightly, deferring to his status, if not his character.
"Tobias Riddle, headmaster..." His shell of outward calm seemed somehow shaken by the man. "Sir? Could I... I mean..." He paused, chewing on his bottom lip, and Albus chortled slightly.
"Your belongings?"
Tobias blinked at him. There really was no way that the headmaster could have known what he was about to say. He nodded.
"Well, they can't very well stay here." Tobias amended.
"No, they can't, can they?" Albus, still smiling in a somewhat patronizing manner, called out to the figure who had until this point been standing just outside the doorway. "I believe you've met Hagrid? Hagrid, could you move Mr. Riddle's things up to my office?" He turned to Tobias. "Of course, if that is all right with you?"
Tobias narrowed his eyes for an instant, frowning. "Why not move them into my room?"
"Well, we won't know where that is until you're Sorted."
Hagrid came forward and stooped to lift the trunk, smiling a little more genuinely than he had at Tobias all the day before. He seemed calmed by Albus' presence. He paused as he hefted the trunk to chest height.
"Will yeh be wantin' anythin' out o' this 'fore I bring it up, Mr. Riddle?"
Tobias shook his head, and without further questioning, the mammoth of a man whisked the trunk away quietly. Tobias was more than a little curious as to how a man like that could move so silently. He had seemed rather clumsy and oafish when Tobias had been alone with him.
Albus started off down the hallway. "If you would follow me, please."
Tobias followed him as if pulled by invisible strings, and as Albus explained the various trick doors, moving staircases and forbidden floors, his mind drifted, his eyes barely taking in the lush surroundings. It was a beautiful school, really, but it so reminded him of Westridge. Not for the first time he wondered why he had been summoned here. Why on earth had he been torn from his home and brought to England? The beginnings of unfamiliar tears burned his eyes, when Albus suddenly stopped. A skinny, straggle-haired older man, in clothes of brown and gray came flying down the stairs, muttering grandly to himself. A scrawny, dirty looking cat with striking red eyes tagged at his heels, and on closer inspection, the man seemed to be talking to the animal.
"Not an owl, not allowed.." He was saying, and a broom was clutched tightly in his hand. Albus smiled, seeming to find the whole image humorous. He spotted Albus. "Headmaster! Just who I wanted to see." He dry washed his hands as he sidled in close to Albus, as if he was about to divulge a grand secret. "There's a bird in the owlery." He hissed in a greasy voice. Albus gently patted the man's shoulder.
"Correct me if I am mistaken, Argus, but shouldn't there be birds in the owlery?"
"Weren't an owl, sir! Hulk of a bird, with nasty talons. I chased it out, but it keeps coming back. I was off to fetch Professor Snape, just now, I was." He shook his broom threateningly in the air.
Tobias spoke up. "He's not a hulk. He's an American Blood Raven, one of our only magical birds. I'd thank you not to beat him with your broom." His dark eyes regarded the man, Argus, crossly. "His name is Valriun. I'm told he was my mothers." As both Albus and this Argus fellow looked at him oddly (one with amusement, the other with loathing and irritation) he wished he had stayed silent.
"Ah, so it's your fault the owls are in a tizzy, is it? What's your name, boy?" The new acquaintance barked.
"Mr. Filch," Albus said quietly. "this is Tobias Riddle."
Filch blanched and wrung his hands nervously. Tobias frowned. Why was the man reacting so? As if he was afraid. Filch backed away, wetting his lips, his cold, beady eyes on Tobias.
"Good...day, Professor. The students should be arriving soon, eh? I'll be...off. Good day." Filch left, off to the dungeon stairs, the cat at his side. He seemed distinctly rattled.
Tobias looked at Albus, and the man suddenly looked very, very old. He sighed heavily, and Tobias said: "He was frightened of me."
"Your uncle made quite a name of himself." He gave Tobias a firm pat on the back. "I'm sure you're tired of hearing his story, however. I trust you can find your way back to the entrance?"
Tobias nodded.
"Wait there for Professor McGonagall. She will arrive shortly with the first years, and then we'll have you sorted."
Tobias had other things on his mind, however. "What do you mean, his story?"
But Albus was gone.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, and everything created by JK Rowling, was... well... created by JK Rowling. We thought we might trick you, by pretending we were in fact the sole creators of Harry Potter and all related to him, but decided against it, at the last moment. We will however, hold to the fact of creating Tobias Riddle, Arpazia Whelk, Leopold Dreigle, Grinsby the Apothecary, Krislan Brask, and anyone else whom you don't remember having been featured in the wonderful book series. And any spells that you don't recognize are just nonsense creations that we concocted for certain situations. Oh yeah, we also created Cocoa Puffs. Wait... no. Scratch that.
Summary: Albus Dumbledore has abruptly accepted three exchange students, all from presumably American backgrounds, to attend the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unbeknownst to even themselves, their fates are interwoven with each other, those around them, and the horrid past that plagued the wizarding world for over a decade. Will Tobias Riddle a surly, quiet orphan find that his title means exactly what it implies? Or is there something more sinister at hand? What of his patched memory, his strange lack of everyday knowledge?
Prologue- Tobias
Stepping out of the bright afternoon sunlight, the young man slowly studied his surroundings. He stood in the entrance hall of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a grand, old castle. His mind immediately made comparisons between the Hogwarts castle and the building which had housed the Westridge Academy For Aspiring Magic Users, as he had spent a good six years of his life there. It was larger here, nearly cavernous compared to the wood paneled halls and carpeted floors of the Academy. He enjoyed the hollow feeling, as though no amount of bustling, cheerful students could fill some void that was ingrained into the very stones of the castle's foundation. He laughed quietly, shrugging the last of the sunlit warmth from his dark green cloak. Sometimes his thoughts seemed far too grandiose to have originated from his mind.
An authoritative seeming woman entered the hall and started slightly at the sight of him. Her eyes severe and sharp behind rectangular glasses, she strode towards him.
"What are you doing here? The train isn't due for hours yet." She stated stiffly.
Grinning mockingly at her, he replied: "When an overly large man, a half giant, I believe, collects you from your orphanage, tells you that it's time to go back to school, and then carries you across the ocean, against your will, and with no readily apparent reason..." He smirked slightly, giving a simple bow. "I am an American exchange student, or so I've been told. Strangely enough, I've already graduated from Westridge. I hear things are different overseas, however. Extra years." His vivid, dark blue eyes swept over head, at the ceiling that seemed to stretch forever. The castle was eerily quiet, but footsteps echoed every now and then.
"I really do not know where I am or what is expected of me." He said softly. "Any information would be quite helpful, Professor...?"
"McGonagall. Albus mentioned something about exchange students..." Her words were sharp, as though she disapproved of his explanation, and would be inclined not to believe him, had not the headmaster said otherwise. With an air of utmost annoyance she conjured a clipboard and quill.
"Name and year?"
His eyes untouched by his slow smile, he said:
"Tobias Riddle."
She glanced at his face, recognition of his surname dawning in her eyes momentarily before she looked back down at her clipboard. Her mouth was a thin line, but she simply looked irritated.
"Year, Mr. Riddle?"
He sighed. "I've finished my sixth and final year at the Academy. I am not aware of how things work here."
McGonagall eyed him strangely before replying. There was something about the boy, about the way he spoke to her, as if she was his equal, and not his elder. She adjusted her cloak's clasp and gave him a dark look.
"You will wait here, Riddle. We're not ready to receive you."
Tobias shrugged lightly and presented her with another strangely empty smile. McGonagall stepped away from him, turning away and trotting briskly down the hallway, her tall boots clacking.
"We'll have to get him Sorted... Where's Albus..." Her voice faded and eventually dissipated all together. Tobias stared at the floor, his auburn hair creating a dark sheathe over his eyes. His body language was a lie. Anyone watching him would think he was trying not to laugh, when he was really in a state of confusion.
"Ah, Minerva, I had an idea you'd stop by."
Minerva McGonagall entered Albus Dumbledore's circular office, her arms folded neatly against her chest. She looked as if someone had just delivered a dear insult to her pride. Albus adjusted his half-moon spectacles, as they had taken a slide down his long crooked nose. His eyes were a soft blue, and they watched her now, seeming to laugh at her obvious disgruntled disposition. "What seems to be the trouble?"
Slightly flustered, her attitude heightened by his obvious amusement, she took a deep breath. "There is a young man in the entrance hall, Albus. He says his name is Tobias. Tobias Riddle."
Albus clasped his hands together in a dull clap. "Dear me, is he here already? Well, leave it to Hagrid to be early, when I had expected him to be very late..." He smiled warmly.
"Albus, why exchange students? Why now? We're an exclusively UK schooling system. And we're full up as is." She said fiercely. Albus shook his head slightly.
"That's ridiculous. We have plenty of room. And a good thing too, as there are two more." He lifted a parchment from his desk, adjusting his glasses. "Arpazia Whelk, and Krislan Brask. Arpazia will be a 7th year, as will Mr. Riddle, but Krislan is only here to attend our Divination and Care of Magical Creatures classes, as they were not offered at her old school. She's a bit old to be a full-scale Hogwarts student. I have special plans for her. She's a puzzle..." He trailed off.
McGonagall chose to ignore this last cryptic comment, and narrowed in on the root of the situation. "Albus... do you have a reason for excepting these three students, suddenly, this year?"
"Don't fret, Minerva, we'll have this all figured out in no time. They'll be Sorted with the 1st years, and I have their schedules right here." Three neat, freshly inked parchments materialized on his desk. McGonagall wrinkled her nose. He had not answered her question. He took out his well-worn wand and, waving it over the parchments, he muttered: "Alphabetico Filementor," He shook his head comically as they vanished. "I don't know how Muggles manage to file all their paperwork by hand. I'm far too lazy for that."
He stood and gestured towards the door.
"Shall we settle in our new arrival?"
Tobias sat upon a black and silver trunk, idly stroking an ebony kitten of which he had produced from a pocket in his robe. It mewled impatiently and attempted to escape his hands, but he grasped it firmly, eyes staring vacantly at an undefined spot in the hallway ahead. He sighed, his thoughts drifting to Westridge, to Gareth and Lena, the only friends he had ever known. He held the kitten level with his eyes. They had given it to him. Well, Gareth had, as he had inhabited the same orphanage, but Tobias was certain that it was a gift from both of them, in a distant way.
"A name is what you need," he whispered. "The only worthy name for you is Gareth, of course, and may you prove as loyal as he."
"A splendid name, my boy." Albus Dumbledore was standing where he had most certainly not been a moment ago. Crazy suspicion darted across Tobias' mind.
-spying-
The fragmented thought vanished as soon as it had surfaced and Tobias gave an easy smile. Albus bent down slowly, one elderly hand stroking the kitten's head. His kind eyes focused on Tobias' gaze.
"Tobias, I'd wager."
The boy nodded numbly and Albus straightened, folding his hands in front of him. "I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of this fine school."
Tobias stood, the kitten clutched to his chest. He bowed slightly, deferring to his status, if not his character.
"Tobias Riddle, headmaster..." His shell of outward calm seemed somehow shaken by the man. "Sir? Could I... I mean..." He paused, chewing on his bottom lip, and Albus chortled slightly.
"Your belongings?"
Tobias blinked at him. There really was no way that the headmaster could have known what he was about to say. He nodded.
"Well, they can't very well stay here." Tobias amended.
"No, they can't, can they?" Albus, still smiling in a somewhat patronizing manner, called out to the figure who had until this point been standing just outside the doorway. "I believe you've met Hagrid? Hagrid, could you move Mr. Riddle's things up to my office?" He turned to Tobias. "Of course, if that is all right with you?"
Tobias narrowed his eyes for an instant, frowning. "Why not move them into my room?"
"Well, we won't know where that is until you're Sorted."
Hagrid came forward and stooped to lift the trunk, smiling a little more genuinely than he had at Tobias all the day before. He seemed calmed by Albus' presence. He paused as he hefted the trunk to chest height.
"Will yeh be wantin' anythin' out o' this 'fore I bring it up, Mr. Riddle?"
Tobias shook his head, and without further questioning, the mammoth of a man whisked the trunk away quietly. Tobias was more than a little curious as to how a man like that could move so silently. He had seemed rather clumsy and oafish when Tobias had been alone with him.
Albus started off down the hallway. "If you would follow me, please."
Tobias followed him as if pulled by invisible strings, and as Albus explained the various trick doors, moving staircases and forbidden floors, his mind drifted, his eyes barely taking in the lush surroundings. It was a beautiful school, really, but it so reminded him of Westridge. Not for the first time he wondered why he had been summoned here. Why on earth had he been torn from his home and brought to England? The beginnings of unfamiliar tears burned his eyes, when Albus suddenly stopped. A skinny, straggle-haired older man, in clothes of brown and gray came flying down the stairs, muttering grandly to himself. A scrawny, dirty looking cat with striking red eyes tagged at his heels, and on closer inspection, the man seemed to be talking to the animal.
"Not an owl, not allowed.." He was saying, and a broom was clutched tightly in his hand. Albus smiled, seeming to find the whole image humorous. He spotted Albus. "Headmaster! Just who I wanted to see." He dry washed his hands as he sidled in close to Albus, as if he was about to divulge a grand secret. "There's a bird in the owlery." He hissed in a greasy voice. Albus gently patted the man's shoulder.
"Correct me if I am mistaken, Argus, but shouldn't there be birds in the owlery?"
"Weren't an owl, sir! Hulk of a bird, with nasty talons. I chased it out, but it keeps coming back. I was off to fetch Professor Snape, just now, I was." He shook his broom threateningly in the air.
Tobias spoke up. "He's not a hulk. He's an American Blood Raven, one of our only magical birds. I'd thank you not to beat him with your broom." His dark eyes regarded the man, Argus, crossly. "His name is Valriun. I'm told he was my mothers." As both Albus and this Argus fellow looked at him oddly (one with amusement, the other with loathing and irritation) he wished he had stayed silent.
"Ah, so it's your fault the owls are in a tizzy, is it? What's your name, boy?" The new acquaintance barked.
"Mr. Filch," Albus said quietly. "this is Tobias Riddle."
Filch blanched and wrung his hands nervously. Tobias frowned. Why was the man reacting so? As if he was afraid. Filch backed away, wetting his lips, his cold, beady eyes on Tobias.
"Good...day, Professor. The students should be arriving soon, eh? I'll be...off. Good day." Filch left, off to the dungeon stairs, the cat at his side. He seemed distinctly rattled.
Tobias looked at Albus, and the man suddenly looked very, very old. He sighed heavily, and Tobias said: "He was frightened of me."
"Your uncle made quite a name of himself." He gave Tobias a firm pat on the back. "I'm sure you're tired of hearing his story, however. I trust you can find your way back to the entrance?"
Tobias nodded.
"Wait there for Professor McGonagall. She will arrive shortly with the first years, and then we'll have you sorted."
Tobias had other things on his mind, however. "What do you mean, his story?"
But Albus was gone.