Tom was bored; very bored. And a little scared (not that he would admit it). It was the last day of the school term and everyone was ready for the summer holidays. Everyone except Tom.
Tom hated the orphanage, the place where he was born, and the place where he still lived. He hated every part of it: the creaky, rotten staircases, the small dirty windows and especially the people who lived there. He never did fit in with all of the other orphans and wasn't meek or timid like most people thought orphans were. The matrons hated him from birth as he was 'strange' while the other orphans hated him on principle. Their hatred was of course returned.
The hell-hole, the place where his name was 'demon' or 'freak' or even 'freaky demon'. The place where they 'forgot' to feed him, the place where they-. He wasn't going to think about that now; Tom still had the rest of summer to think about that, there was no point wasting the last day of Hogwarts by brooding.
Just then headmaster Dippet stood up, probably to say a speech as that was the only reason Dippet stood up at a feast. Tom stopped poking at the food that he wasn't eating, as Dippet might say something important for once.
"Students, a few things must be announced. Like always, you cannot use magic out of school. But this year there is a special treat for some of you! This year Hogwarts is open in the summer for extra lessons! Everyone staying must at least take three lessons twice a week for the rest of the summer as the professors need days off as well. While they teach on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays the other days are free for students and professors alike! This is a brilliant opportunity to get ahead in your work! Everyone wanting to stay must sign up on the sheet in their common room! Goodnight!"
It was brilliant! Tom could stay at Hogwarts learning magic; he might be able to stay at Hogwarts for the summer. He ignored the little voice in the back of his head that said it was too good to be true.
As he walked back to the common room he debated the pros and cons of staying at Hogwarts. He knew that if the professors needed his guardians' signature to stay at Hogwarts, Mrs Cole wouldn't sign it as it would make him happy and the orphanage matron believed that he should always be miserable. If Mrs Cole didn't sign the slip he could simply forge her signature; he'd been doing it for years and that was only if they needed a signature anyway.
After he ended his internal worrying, Tom entered the common room through a seemingly innocent stretch of wall. That week's password was domum which meant home. Tom thought that was fitting as Hogwarts was his first true home and he was staying for the summer as Tom was not going to take no for an answer. Even from the deputy-head Dumbledore said no Tom could ignore him as only the headmaster could say a student wasn't allowed to stay at Hogwarts. Tom wasn't going to that place this year and the happiness of staying at Hogwarts almost overwhelmed him but Tom a true slytherin wouldn't let anything overwhelm him as his masks could come down and everything would be ruined if they did.
It was the next morning; the students going home had already left only the ones staying were still at Hogwarts. As it turned out students didn't need their guardians' signature only their head of house's which Slughorn easily gave him. There wasn't that many staying as most students wanted to stay with their families and escape school. Tom was the only slytherin as the rest of the slytherins wanted to go home. Since most of the slytherins had tutors in the summer, a library full of magical books and a loving (or at least civil?) family. There was no point staying in school for extra lessons. Tom on the other hand didn't have a family; he lived in an orphanage and was quite poor. The only problem staying at Hogwarts was being announced now.
"Since there are not many students staying," Dippet announced "all students will stay in the gryffindor dorm! The prefects and the head-boy will stay by themselves and not share a room. The other students will stay in rooms that will be shared between people the same age and house. Please take your bag and follow professor Dumbledore to gryffindor Tower."