A/N: Thank you to everyone that caught the 'Morlem/Morlam' mistake! That was a misspelling on my part. This chapter I have something spectacular- Tom gets sorted. Sorry it's so short, but I really want to get this in so I can get to work on the good stuff.
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There were about twenty first-years waiting in the entrance hall when Headmistress McGonagall arrived. Tom didn't really listen to her speech, but he was more than ready to head into the great hall. He already had a quasi-following of about six, and he truly hoped they were all in the same house as he was. It would be much easier to take over a large group if he already had supporters among them. It wasn't crucial, however. People were easily wooed.
Calmly, Tom Riddle. Move too quickly and our plans will be ruined.
It was right. He could bide his time. He had learned long ago that patience was a virtue. He strode proudly into the Great Hall, looking disdainfully at the other students. He saw Harry at the head table. He gave a little nod, and the bespectacled man smiled back. It would be good to have a teacher on his side.
He stood quietly through the sorting hat's silly poem, and waited for McGonagall to call his name.
"Dhimani Johnson!"
That was the little dark-skinned girl in front of him. She was one of the ones whose presence he had enjoyed, if only slightly. He decided that he would be pleased if they were housemates. She walked quickly up to the sorting hat and sat down. After about a moment, the sorting hat called out, "SLYTHERIN!" The entire table cheered loudly. Tom sighed softly. A few moments later the Headmistress called his name. He headed slowly towards the Sorting Hat. This was an important time; he wasn't going to rush it.
He came up to the hat, and just as he was about to reach for it-
"SLYTHERIN!"
A gasp reverberated around the room. Tom could here whispers of "He didn't even touch it!" and "Do you know who that is?" He smirked and looked around. Harry was frowning slightly and McGonagall had her lips pressed so firmly together that they were white. The other teachers were glancing about worriedly at each other. He went to sit down at the Slytherin table, but McGonagall grabbed his shoulder and bent down to his ear. "I expect to hear nothing but good things about you, Mr. Riddle," she whispered so quietly he could barely hear her. "You know as well as I do what you have done in the past. Be aware that we are watching you closely and if you show any signs of…recurring behavior, the consequences will be severe." He nodded slightly and detached himself from her grip. I do not understand why people always have to touch me, he thought with a shudder. He sat down quickly between Dhimani and another girl he had met on the way in, then laid his cheek in his hand languidly. There was no point in listening to the Sorting anymore, really.
"Natalie Stryker!"
The girl next to him, Giselle, drew a breath. "Oh, my! She's so plain! I hope she isn't put into our house. She doesn't deserve it."
Tom glanced at the person walking to the Sorting Hat. It was the girl from the boat. She was rather intriguing…
Remember, Tom Riddle. Power is not found through weak and unsightly people.
"I understand." He whispered to himself. Giselle looked quizzically at him "What was that, Oliver?" He looked at her drolly. "Nothing. I agree with you completely."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
So Stryker was a Gryffindor. Pity. He watched her walk over to the cheering table and sat down next to another girl. They began talking immediately.
"Isn't it amazing who they'll let into Hogwarts nowadays? And it will probably get worse now that the Dark Lord is dead."
Tom looked up sharply. "Do not speak about him in my presence." Dhimani looked at him as if though he were insane. "Why ever not, Oliver?"
"I said, do not." It discomfited Tom when people talked about Voldemort. In essence, they were talking about him. He did not like to think on the things he would have done if not for recent events. From what Harry and Remus had told him, if he had not come to this time period, his life would have been much harder and he eventually would have gone insane with power.
But isn't that what we want, Tom Riddle? To rule as you would have? To be the most powerful wizard of all time?
That was what he wanted. He just needed to figure out a better way to do it.