A very muscular, deeply tanned middle-aged man carrying a lantern stood outside the train. "First years! Come on! First years this way!"
Tom and Lena walked side-by-side after the man off the platform and down a steep, dark slope in silence, along with the rest of the first years. They came out over a huge lake, which had lights dancing over the dark surface. The students all looked up and gasped. There was the castle. For a moment, everyone just stood there, staring at the castle on top of the mountain across the lake with lights shimmering in the windows and towers rising into the night sky. The man walked down to a group of boats along the shore.
"Alright, into the boats. No more than four in a boat now. Let's go."
After scrambling into one of the boats, Tom helped Lena in. A sandy blonde haired boy asked if he could get into the boat and they both said "yes" so he climbed in. When all the other students were in their boats, the man climbed into the center boat after all the students were in then cast off, all the boats following his across the lake magically. The area around them was very dark but the castle on top of the mountain was giving off a lovely light. Everyone around them was staring up at that castle.
"It is beautiful, isn't it," someone nearby said.
On the other side of them another new student said: "I've never dreamed of such a great castle!"
The other boy in the boat with Tom and Lena was just as in awe of the castle as Tom was, his mouth slightly open. "Wow…"
Lena giggled slightly. "Wait till the two of you are inside."
"Oh," the boy seemed to come out of a trance, "by the way, I'm Daniel Black."
"Tom Riddle," he shook the boy's hand.
"Lena Westbrook."
"Pleased to meet both of you."
Soon they were at the base of the cliff and the man in the lead boat called: "Everyone duck."
The first years all did so as their boats went under a wall of ivy, which covered a cave entrance. They stopped at a large pier, which had torches lighting it. They clamored out of the boats and followed the man up a set of stairs carved into the stone. Soon they emerged from the passage and walked toward the castle that towered over them. Many of the students were craning their necks to look up at it. They went up the stairs to the front oak doors. The man knocked on the front door and it opened immediately. A tall, slender, white haired woman in red robes stood there.
"Professor Madril, here they are."
"Very well, Ogg. We are ready for them. First years, follow me, please."
The group of about forty first years followed the professor through a large oak door. Beyond those doors were four long tables that held about seventy people of varying ages. They walked down an aisle between the middle two tables. As they approached a fifth table, which the teachers were sitting at, they saw an old hat sitting on a three-legged stool. They heard it say "ah" as they stopped in front of it. Professor Madril passed the stool, going to the staff table and picking up a scroll. She turned back to the students but said nothing. Suddenly, the old hat began to sing:
For nearly a chiliad
I've been used each new year
To place the young students
With the ones that are their peers.
The four houses here at Hogwarts,
Each has their own history,
Their founders were great wizards,
Oh, that is no real mystery.
The puzzle is what's in your mind
And I can see that quite fine;
So just place me on your head
And I'll see with which you align.
You might go into Gryffindor
If you're brave and sure;
These bold souls will prevail
In the challenges they endure.
If your mind is clever
And books your greatest friend,
Then perhaps it will be
Ravenclaw where you'll end.
If you value honesty
And work hard everyday,
Then it is perfectly clear
That Hufflepuff's where you'll stay.
But you'll be a Slytherin
If it's power you espouse;
Those with great ambitions
All belong in this house.
Whichever house you go to
That's where you most belong,
For this old sorting hat
Has never yet been wrong.
The hall erupted in applause. The witch unrolled a scroll as the hall fell into silence and read the first name aloud: "Asher, Nicholas."
A rather plump, brown haired boy walked up to the stool and sat down. He looked quite nervous when he sat down, facing the rest of the school. Professor Madril placed the hat on his head, which covered his eyes some, and, after a moment, the hat shouted: "Hufflepuff!"
The table on the far left cheered and welcomed their new member as he went over to greet them. He sat down with a smile and looked back at the rest of the first years.
Next was the boy that had sat on the boat with them. "Black, Daniel."
The boy sat on the stool and had the hat on his head. There was a moment's pause but only a moment. The hat let out a great shout: "Gryffindor!" The table on the far right cheered and the boy hurried over, sitting next to a boy of about fifteen that looked a good deal like him, except that the older boy had darker hair. Both Lena and Tom knew they had to be brothers.
Madril continued down the list through just over thirty students, soon Tom knew it was going to be his turn. "Raleigh, Darrell."
Tom took a deep breath, knowing his name *had* to be next. How many people could come between Raleigh and Riddle? He watched the boy be sorted into Gryffindor then looked at the professor as she turned back to the list.
"Riddle, Tom."
Tom walked up to the stool and sat down. The witch put the Sorting Hat on his head. It sunk down over his eyes and all he saw was darkness.
"Well, well, well." The voice in his head was crystal clear. "Interesting. Very interesting indeed. I have no doubt of where to put you then. Absolutely none. That thirst...oh, yes. Quite cunning too, I see. It's…Slytherin!"
The Slytherin table clapped politely, of course, but they were whispering amongst themselves as the first year walked to them even as they clapped. They seriously doubted he was pureblood with that last name and yet he was placed into their house. He could feel the slightly irritated looks he got, though he made no eye contact with any of the students, his continued to look at Lena as six more students were sorted, then she stood alone.
The first year girl glanced at Tom right before her name was called. She wanted to be with him but doubted her disposition would allow her to get into Slytherin. When Professor Madril called her name, she sighed and strode up to the stool. The hat was placed on her head after she sat down and she waited.
"Quite a mind you have. Definitely...definitely."
"Slytherin," she said in her mind, half pleading.
"No, you are not ambitious enough to belong in that house, even though you would like to be there." The hat paused for a moment. "You are very loyal, I see, and have it in you to be a great friend...but Hufflepuff isn't for you. No, no, no. I do not see you being as hard a worker as is important to the ones in that house. But you are very brilliant and sharp-witted. Clever…so clever. You are...Ravenclaw!"
Tom's heart sank instantly. He watched her walk to the table just on the other side of the central walkway and sit down so she could face him. They smiled slightly at each other but the smiles quickly faded as the headmaster stood to give out a few notices then, with that done, elderly man said "The feast has begun," clapped his hands, and piles of glorious food appeared on their golden plates.
Lena picked up a piece of basted chicken and began to eat when she looked back up at Tom. His eyes were on the piles of food around him. He slowly picked up one of the forks and tried the mashed potatoes on his plate. His eyes widened but he did not eat anymore of it. He tried some of the peas next, then the chicken, then some of the corn. She frowned when she saw that he had not eaten anything more than the single bite of each. She wondered what was wrong, and especially if it dealt with them going into different houses.
Once dinner was over, the plates were cleared and a moment later, the desserts appeared on their plates. Tom did not even touch his. He frowned at his steamed ginger pudding and sighed, folding his hands in his lap. He had no appetite. He looked over at Lena and she was still watching him. He noticed she was not touching her pudding either. He smiled at her and she returned it. He turned just a little pink when a girl beside her started to giggle and obviously asked her about him. So she had already made friends in her house.
The older students were already making their way out of the Great Hall to their houses but a prefect from each house kept the first years from leaving so soon. The black-haired prefect with the Slytherins introduced himself as Shuji Mizutani, and informed them that he would be taking them down to their house in a few minutes. After all the other students were gone, the prefects led the new students out of the hall. The Slytherins went down the stairs on the other side of the main stairs. They emerged in what appeared to be the dungeon. They were led down the hall till they reached area of bare, moss covered dungeon wall and the prefect stopped.
"Snake eyes."
A door that looked like the rest of the wall slid away into the stone next to it and they all entered the Slytherin common room, a room that looked more like a dungeon than a comfortable place to socialize. It was lit by lamps with green globes that hung from the ceiling on chains. All the furniture was upholstered with green, well-worn velvet. The room was empty except for the incoming first years. The windows looked out over the dark lake. It felt rather eerie to Tom but none of the other students seemed to feel the same way.
A blonde boy that had been staring at Tom since he had first sat at the table in the Great Hall and had walked close to him the entire way down to the common room turned to him. "You're not a pureblood, are you?"
"No, I'm not."
"Then why did you get put into *this* house?" His voice had gotten a little louder. "We are *all* purebloods here."
"I don't know. The hat said that…"
"It doesn't matter." The boy did not care that everyone else was staring. "Mudbloods aren't supposed to be allowed in this house. You Muggle-born filth!"
The boy punched him in the nose and Tom stumbled backwards. Blood trailed down over his lips. The prefect that had showed them to the common room held the other boy back from getting in another hit. All the other first years were in shock.
"The Sorting Hat wouldn't have put him here for no reason," the prefect said.
"I can't help it if my mum fell in love with a bastard of a Muggle!" Tom licked away the blood from his lips as it continued to flow from his nose "My mum was a witch and my Muggle dad left her when he found out that she was, *before* I was born. I don't know why I was put here. That hat said that there was something interesting about me and then said it knew just where to put me, so I'm here."
The room was quiet. The first years stood a bit shocked. Shuji let go of the boy that had punched Tom. They all swore they had heard a door or two open from down either of the two corridors that lead off from the room.
"I'm sorry if I have destroyed the *purity* of this house but I cannot change houses, can I?"
"Tom," the Japanese boy began, "the Sorting Hat knows best. I am sure you will do equally as well as most of the purebloods in here."
The still bloody first year nodded. "I intend to."
"Now," the teenager rounded on the rest of the first years, "you will treat him with respect. Here we are family and he is one of us, even if he *is* a Half-blood. We *cannot* be divided amongst ourselves."
All the new students nodded.
"With that settled…the boys' dormitory is down this hallway to your left, the girls' is down that way to the right. Your rooms are the third door down. Your things are already there."
The boys went down the hall to their room and entered. Five four-posted beds with emerald green tapestries sat in the fairly square room. Their trunks were at the foot of their beds with their house scarves on top of it. Tom walked to his bed and lay down, dangling his feet as he wiped away some more blood with the back of his hand then he clapped his nose to put pressure on it for it to stop bleeding. A handkerchief was dangled in front of his face and he looked up at the blonde-haired boy that had punched him, though he seemed no friendlier.
"Sorry," he said, as though he were being forced to apologize.
"Don't worry." He took the handkerchief. "Wasn't the first time I've gotten a bloody nose."
"By the way," he said, his voice still holding an air of contempt, "I'm Crinis…Crinis Tisserand."
He shook the boy's hand with the one that had no blood on it. "Tom Riddle."
"You said your mum's a witch? What's her maiden name?"
"Raghnall, I think."
Crinis' jaw dropped. He seemed to be lost for words.
"Raghnall?" A boy at the end of the room began staring at him. "Is her first name Dana?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I can't be certain though 'cause I never knew her. She died giving birth to me. I was raised in a Muggle orphanage."
"No wonder you're in Slytherin, then! My dad went to school with her and both of them were in this house. She's from a *great* wizard family." The black-haired boy walked to Tom and sat on the bed beside him. "I'm Darcy MacNair."
"Glad to meet you." Tom shook his hand smiling slightly. "I was hoping that this wouldn't end up being as bad as that Muggle orphanage I've been living in."
"We'll make you feel as welcome as we can," Crinis said now with a warm smile on his face, patting his on the shoulder.
"Hey," another boy said, "you and one of the Ravenclaw girls were sure eyeing each other."
"Yeah. We're friends, I guess. We rode here on the train together and she told me a lot about the school and her family. We were hoping to get in the same house. Her name's Lena."
"I see." The brown-haired boy walked up to him, holding out a hand. "I'm Rex Dorian."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Hey, Lestrange! Come greet Tom," Crinis said to another brown-haired boy at the bed across from them who was going through his things.
"Not right now."
"Come on, Nathan."
"In a minute," he hissed, still searching through books and extra robes, almost frantically.
"What *are* you looking for," Rex asked.
"Just something." He finally pulled out a book and brought it over. He turned to a specific page before he handed it to Tom. "This has some pictures of my parents when they were at school. If I remember right, this girl here is Dana Raghnall. She was a year older than my dad."
Tom looked at the picture of a group of people. The picture was black and white, and the figures in it were moving. He was not surprised by this because his book for potions had the potion in it for making moving photographs and a moving picture beside it of its creator whipping up the mixture. The boy was pointing at a lovely dark-haired young woman of about sixteen. She was smiling, sitting rather proper in one of the high-backed chairs he had seen in the common room. One of the boys in the background was waving. Tom smiled up at Nathan.
"Thanks for showing this to me. Now I know what she looks like."
"I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind you having this picture, if you'd like it."
Tom was shocked. "I could have it?"
"Of course." He pulled the picture free of the album and handed it to Tom. "Here."
"Thank you," he said, staring down at his mother.
"You're welcome." He closed the book. "I can't think of what it would be like to grow up without parents. I know it must have been hard on you."
"Did you at least know that you were a wizard," Rex asked, through a yawn.
"No. I didn't find out until I got my acceptance letter this summer. The old bats that run the orphanage said they 'forgot to mention it.'"
"Muggles are so stupid," Crinis said, sneering.
"I do agree," Tom said.
"Well, I'm exhausted." Nathan yawned, stretching. "What about you all? Want to get to sleep? We *do* have classes in the morning."
Rex groaned. "I don't want classes to start tomorrow."
"I agree," Crinis said, "but it would be best to go on to bed."
"It was a long day, wasn't it," Darcy said, heading to his bed.
"Yes," said all the other boys together.
The boys all changed into their pajamas and got into bed. One of the boys did a spell and the oil lamps on the walls dimmed considerably. They all said good night to each other and silence took them over. Whether or not the others went to sleep immediately, Tom did not. He lay awake, thinking how great this all was. He had companions. He was away from the orphanage. He looked at the table by his bed where he had put the picture Nathan had given him…and he knew what his mother had looked like now. He could not remember being so happy in his life.
***
To my reviewers –
Liv – I'm so glad that you still like it…and I hope that that will continue…it's going to be a long story…hope you can hold out till then…and don't worry…Tom'll get rather evil rather quickly…at least, that's how I think it is…making him evil is rather hard…^_^;
Sabrina Black Snapeish – I do plan to put in some of the current characters' relatives…but with the timeline I have that's based on Rowling's, I might have to do some poking and prodding to get them in there (they'd be older students, not in Tom's year)…though if you notice, Sirius' relative's in Tom's year…^_~…thanks for the help…it's always welcome…if you have any other suggestions, you can always e-mail me…I'm always glad to get suggestions…*glares at your cuddling with *my* Tom*…
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Hey…did you like? Then review me and let me know what you thought of it…I really want to know…
