The feast had been cleared away and students were beginning to head out of the Hall towards the dormitories. Lucretia excused herself and went about the table collecting the Slytherin first years. As the fifth year Prefect, she had to show them the Common Room, along with Riddle. Hermione wasn't sure whom she pitied more: Lucrecia, who would have to put up with him, or the innocent firsties, who might seek comfort or guidance from Riddle and end up getting snapped at by the future Dark Lord.
Avery bid them farewell too, and Hermione was left with Alphard and Desireé. Alphard offered her his right arm and Des his left arm, and led them out of the hall and through the corridors. As they walked, he pointed out numerous things he thought might be of interest to a new student, and she had to be suitably impressed or terrified by the things he told her, since it was her first time hearing about them, after all.
Finally they reached the tapestry that hid the entrance to the Heads' Common Room and Dormitories. Alphard glanced up and down the hallway and then whispered so quietly that Hermione almost missed it: "signum secretum."
Hermione stared at him as the tapestry rolled up to reveal a short hallway into the red and green Heads' Common Room. Alphard quickly pulled her and Des inside and the tapestry rolled shut behind them. "The password for your Common room is literally the Latin for 'secret password'?" She asked, her eyebrows shooting up. "I'm sure no one would ever figure that one out."
Alphard scowled. "Trust me, I know how pathetic it is. But Dippet thinks it's terribly clever and he's the one who sets it. Minerva and I have been begging him to let us pick something else, but he won't budge. We thought that our mutual appointment this year would mean we'd have an extra secure space to meet, but how can we with a password as facile as that!"
Hermione nodded in agreement, and then frowned. "Why do you need a secure place to meet?" Surely he wasn't that worried about someone discovering something between him and his girlfriend? It hadn't seemed like he was trying to hide their relationship.
"That's actually why we brought you here." Desireé said. She walked into the room and perched herself on a sleek green sofa next to the fireplace; across from it was a large, overstuffed red couch that looked like it had been taken straight from the Gryffindor common room. "We wanted to make sure that you understand what's going on in Slytherin House before you end up in the middle of it."
Hermione was certain she knew what, or rather, who, this was about, but she did her best to appear confused. Furrowing her brow, she looked between the two Slytherins. "What do you mean? I need to fear my own house?"
Alphard sighed and ran a hand over the stubble on his chin. "Look, why don't you have a seat? There's a lot to explain."
Hermione lowered herself onto the couch next to Desireé and looked up at Alphard expectantly. Once he saw her seated, the Head Boy started pacing as around the room.
"I'm going to come right out and say it—Tom Riddle and his friends are dangerous. Ever since last year they've been acting like they own the school. Bullying, stealing, cursing… A couple of students have ended up in the Hospital Wing!"
None of this was surprising, but she had to act horrified. She gasped. "Why, that's horrible! Why haven't they been stopped?"
Alphard spoke through gritted teeth. "Because Riddle's an evil genius, that's why! There's never any bloody proof! Dippet and the rest of the professors are wrapped around his freakishly-pale fingers and there's nothing we can do about it!"
"If there's no proof, how are you sure it's Riddle?" Hermione asked, curious about how Alphard had come to his conclusion. Riddle was supposed to have the whole school fooled, wasn't he?
Alphard laughed once, short and bitter. "I can guess. There can only be so many perfect coincidences of him being in the right place at the wrong time. What's more, the git practically told me himself! Tried to get me in on it, in the beginning. Came to me with some cock and bull story about him being Salazar Slytherin's heir, of all things, and ranting about how we should follow him to create a noble and glorious future for purebloods!"
Hermione cocked an eyebrow. She knew that Alphard was at least different enough from the rest of his family to be decent to Sirius, but
he was still a Black. Toujours Pur and all that. "That… Didn't appeal to you?"
Alphard looked at her, his eyes blazing. "Of course not! That tripe might have worked on my idiot cousins, but it would never convince me! I don't give a damn who anyone's parents are, I just want to live my own life, damn it! My girlfriend is a muggle-born! How could I condone terrorizing them?"
"So you're saying that Riddle targets muggle-borns, specifically," she said thoughtfully. Was his agenda so clear, even this early on?
"Yes and don't even pretend that you could support it! I saw you with Myrtle Warren, and I'm sure that Malfoy made it perfectly clear to you what she was. I could tell immediately that you aren't like them, Hermione," he said seriously. "That's why I invited you here tonight."
"To meet your girlfriend in your common room?"
Alphard smiled, but it was grim. He shook his head. "To join the alliance."
Well, that was new. "There's an anti-Riddle alliance?"
"I suppose you could call it that, yes. We started it a couple of months before the end of last year when things started getting really bad. We don't… We don't actively fight with Riddle, not really, but we… we're united against him. If all else fails, we've got each other."
"Huh." This was an interesting development. According to everything she'd heard about this time period, all of the students had been just as enamored with Tom Riddle as the Professors were. Perhaps Dumbledore had never heard of an Anti-Riddle alliance at Hogwarts, or perhaps it just hadn't done anything significant enough to warrant mention. Well, either way, it was a relief to know that there were other students who would understand her weariness of Riddle. She would join it, obviously. Her entire existence in this time period was Anti-Riddle, after all. Perhaps they'd be able to offer her support in her mission.
"Who all is in this alliance?" she finally decided to ask.
Alphard started counting on his fingers. "Me, Minerva, Des, and Byron. Lucretia, although it's harder for her to do anything because her brothers are part of Riddle's crew. Thank Salazar I was able to get her to see sense. Other than that, it's just some of the Gryffindors."
"Which ones?" Hermione asked, a hopeful suspicion forming in the back of her head.
Alphard shrugged. "Um, Fleance Potter, Septimus Weasley, Euphemia Prewett, Augusta Rookwood… Minerva picked them out. She said that Potter and Weasley were in danger of getting themselves hurt they way they were going against Riddle and his friends, so she thought it would be good if we invited them to come to our… Solidarity meetings."
Hermione was grinning. "I know them all. I sat with them on the Hogwarts Express before I sat with Myrtle, and again in the carriage on the way here."
Alphard blinked. "Oh. Good."
"Don't forget that loopy Ravenclaw they drag around," Des added. She'd been silent the whole time that Alphard had been talking, picking at the hem of her skirt with her fingernails.
"Ah, yes. Orpheus Lovegood. I'm sure if you were with Potter, you met him too." Hermione nodded. "Anyway, we get together sometimes and… blow off steam. Talk about how to avoid him. We try our best to keep the younger students out of their way. Those of us who are Prefects can give them detention if we catch them cursing in the corridors or breaking curfew." Alphard sighed heavily. "I think, though, that he's starting to catch on. I noticed them starting to tail us at the end of last year, and lurking around the empty classrooms we used to meet in." His expression turned sour. "That's why Minerva and I were so pleased to be made Heads together, and that's why it's such a problem that the password is bloody 'secret password'!"
"Maybe Riddle doesn't know Latin," Des suggested halfheartedly. "Or maybe he won't think of it."
"Riddle knows Latin." Hermione informed them. They both looked at her, confused and surprised. "I met him at Flourish and Blotts a week ago and we ended up getting into a…bit of argument over who got to buy a book. The book was in Latin, so I'm assuming he knows at least some of the language, or he wouldn't have bothered."
Alphard frowned. "You got into an argument with Riddle?"
Hermione nodded, and Des gasped. "He didn't do anything to you?"
Hermione shrugged. "Not really, I mean we were in the middle of a book shop, what could he have done? Although I didn't stay around long enough to see his whole reaction, I just took the book and bolted."
Alphard's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, you got the book?"
Hermione smirked. "I tricked it out of him. It was priceless."
"That does explain why he was bothering you on the train," Alphard muttered. He looked at Hermione sharply. "Say, what's this book about?"
Hermione bit her lip, unsure of how much to tell them. Should she say that Riddle wanted to book because he thought it might contain secrets about becoming immortal? She was certain that none of the other students had worked out just how grand his aspirations were, and she didn't know what they might do with that information. But, she realized, she didn't actually need to explain Riddle's interest in the book, because how should she have known when she'd only met him that same day? And as for her own interest, well. She wouldn't say she needed it to figure out how to escape from her futuristic kidnapper and get back to her time on her own terms. She could just say she wanted to challenge her mastery of the language.
"It's called Tempus Imortalium, which means time of the Immortals. The portion I've translated so far is a bunch of conspiracy theories about how the Greco-Roman gods were actually time traveling witches and wizards who used their knowledge of the future and advanced magic to be worshiped like gods," she explained. "I'm not really sure why Riddle wants it. Personally, I was interested in the unique challenge it presented in translating, as it's a mix of Classical and Medieval Latin. And I would be damned if I let some pushy boy take away my rare find! That's why I tricked him out of it."
"Hm…" Alphard pursed his lips. "I can't imagine why Riddle wants it, although I can't see him saying no to being worshiped like a god. Still. We might be able to use this."
Hermione frowned. "Use it?"
"Yes..." He paused and bit his lip, and then slowly nodded his head. "If Riddle wants it badly enough, he's going to try and go after it, I think. With that in mind, why don't you leave it here, in the Heads common Room?"
She stared at him, perplexed."But don't you think he could guess the password?"
Alphard shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. If he doesn't come after it or can't get in, then we're keeping him from something he wants, which is a victory to me. If he does, well… I can set up some kind of magical surveillance. We could catch him in the act."
"So you want to set a trap and bait it with my rare book?"
"Like I said before. There's never any proof when he breaks the rules. I'd very much like to change that."
Des cleared her throat and gave the Head Boy a pointed look. "Alphard, are you sure you want to go that route again? It didn't work out so well last time."
Alphard glared at his friend. "This is our private Common room, and they'd be breaking into it, so they won't have time to poke around first! And really, it was just luck that that imbecile Thaddeus Nott found my Echobox," he grumbled, naming a crude form of magical spy equipment that picked up and preserved nearby sounds for a short amount of time. "If the idiot wouldn't have tripped just then…"
Des crossed her arms. "Alphard, Riddle's smart. He would anticipate your move. Especially since you blew it with the Echobox! He'd just break whatever you've got set up, get what he wants, and leave us empty handed. Why don't we put more effort into keeping it from him? We could put it up in Minerva's room," she suggested. "There are extra wards to keep boys out."
Alphard scowled. "He's smart, but so am I! I can catch him in the act! Come on, Des, don't you want proof? Don't you want to bring him down?"
"I'd rather keep us safe!"
The two of them glared at each other fiercely for a moment and Hermione decided to interrupt. "So I hear you both," she began, looking both of them in the eyes, "and you each have a point. But shouldn't this be my decision? I mean, it is my book. If Riddle steals it, then, well, it's my loss."
"Of course," Alphard responded after a second. "I would never risk your property without your consent." He smiled a bit sheepishly. "So, what do you think? Would you be willing to take the risk to bring Riddle down?"
Des caught Hermione's eyes and shook her head. "It's no good, Hermione. Riddle's not going to be caught that easily. We shouldn't let him have anything else that doesn't belong to him!"
Hermione bit her lip. She wasn't really sure which option to pick. She didn't know nearly enough about what things were like, what this version of Tom Riddle was like, to guess if there was any chance of a plan like Alphard's succeeding. And really, what would it do to him in the long run to be caught stealing a book? It probably wouldn't get him expelled. He would just talk his way out of it. But then, hadn't Dumbledore warned him when he was eleven that stealing from other students wouldn't be tolerated at Hogwarts? Maybe it would give the Deputy Headmaster the leverage he needed to make others suspicious of Tom...
"I'm not actually finished with my own translation of the book," she finally said, "and I'd rather not lose it before I'm done. Maybe once I've finished with it, I'll let Alphard come up with something." She didn't want to commit to anything, not when she didn't know the extent of the book's contents. What if it referenced how to make Horcruxes or where to get the Philosopher's Stone or something? She didn't want to be the one responsible for giving him that knowledge earlier than he was supposed to have it.
"That's reasonable," Alphard said nodding. "But the Slytherin dorms aren't really secure. Bring it by here sometime this week, and I'll get Minerva to store it in her room. Alright?"
Hermione agreed and Alphard sighed, collapsing heavily onto the plush red couch across from them. "I guess that's it, then. I have no clue when Minerva's going to be back, and that was just for Riddle's benefit, anyway. I'll introduce you two tomorrow… Des can show you to your dorm now, if you'd like."
Hermione couldn't help but grimace. She'd known she'd have to go down to the Slytherin Common Room eventually, but she really wasn't looking forward to becoming personally familiar with the secret snake lair under the lake… She and Des both stood up and bid Alphard goodnight.
As they were walking towards the entrance, he called after them, "You're welcome to come into our Common room any time you like, you know! Any of us can. Just don't let the password or the fact that we meet here get out of the group."
"Of course not, thank you," Hermione replied. She and Des left the Heads' room and the sixth year Prefect began leading Hermione down to the dungeon.
When they were halfway there Des stopped in her tracks and looked at Hermione. "Riddle's my ex-boyfriend, by the way," she said quietly.
"Huh?" Since when did Lord Voldemort have a love life?
"Last year. I thought he was sincere, but he was actually using me. Trying to get some old book my family had. I found out and broke things off. That's when I started hanging out with Alphard and Minerva." She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's no big deal, I just didn't want you to hear about it from someone else and think that I had something to hide."
"Oh." Hermione considered this information. Well, Riddle was very charming and handsome, and Des was very pretty. She supposed that to the rest of the school, a relationship between the two would have made sense. What she was more curious about, however, was Riddle's real intentions. "What was the book? The one he was after?"
Des shrugged again, resuming the walk down the corridor. "I'm not even sure, it was something my grandfather kept in his library. He'd gotten it at an auction decades ago, and no one could open it. The only reason we kept it around was because he insisted. Anyway, it disappeared the day after Riddle visited me over Christmas break. I put two and two together, and, well," she smiled bitterly, "he actually wasn't that great of a boyfriend."
Hermione snorted. "I can imagine." She was curious about what Riddle could have taken, but, she reflected, it probably wasn't of the utmost importance to her and her mission. It had been taken so long ago that her and Electra's time travel couldn't have had anything to do with him getting it, unlike the book she'd brought to his attention at Flourish and Blotts.
Des kept glancing at Hermione and seemed to be waiting for some sort of other reaction, so Hermione smiled at her reassuringly. "I don't judge you for having dated him, if that's what you're worried about. I'm sure he seemed nothing but charming. He's as duplicitous a Slytherin as they come."
The other girl smiled in relief. "Good. Honestly, looking back, I can't believe that I fell for it all. I was only ever a means to an end for him. The good thing is that he took the break-up rather well, probably because he'd already gotten what he wanted. Now he pretty much just ignores me, which I can't say I mind."
"That would be a relief," Hermione said emphatically, thinking about what Riddle had said to her on the train about getting the book. "I wish he would ignore me."
Des looked at her pityingly. "Yes, I don't envy you. He was willing to go through the motions of a three month long relationship just to get some crummy old journal from my family. I've no clue what lengths he'll go to with you. Just… don't let your guard down, Hermione."
Hermione nodded. "That's the plan." She looked at Des again. "I guess… Thank you. For warning me, I mean. Looking out for me."
"Oh, don't get me wrong," Des said casually. "If Riddle starts going after you, I'm not going to put myself in the middle of it. That would accomplish nothing except risking my own neck, which I certainly wouldn't do for your sake. I am a Slytherin, after all." Hermione was a little put out by this, and it must have shown, because Des smirked at her before saying smoothly, "But even in Slytherin, a little fair warning is considered good form. Especially to those we like."
"Well… Still. Thank you," Hermione said. She really shouldn't expect a girl whom she'd just met that very night to promise to stand up to Riddle for her. They weren't in Gryffindor, after all. So she chose to interpret Des' words as an expression of goodwill, even if it was not the sort of goodwill Hermione was used to. Perhaps, she reflected, as they made their way into the dungeons, she was on her way to making a Slytherin friend.
—0—
Riddle hated the first-years. They were obnoxious, tiny, whining little things who had yet to figure out how things worked around here, and so thought that, just because he happened to be a Prefect, he should be there for them and hold their hands and walk them to the Common Room and reassure them that it would all be ok and all that sickening nonsense! He consoled himself with the fact that this evening was the one and only time he would be responsible for the entire group of first years, and also that Lucretia Black was the other fifth year Slytherin Prefect, and she didn't seem to mind the grubby little cretins' endless whining. She actually seemed to be fond of them, for some unfathomable reason. Perhaps it was a woman thing.
After he'd finally dropped the little mites in their dormitories, he returned to the Common Room just in time to see Lucretia hurrying towards the exit.
"In a rush, Miss Black?" He asked. His voice was polite and casual. Lucretia, being the sister of two of his Knights, would undoubtedly know to obey him without any sort of coercion necessary. Lucretia was always sensible like that, although she did spend a bit too much time with her detestable cousin for his taste.
The blonde girl smiled and answered in a pleasant tone. "Actually yes, Mr. Riddle. I've arranged to meet with some of my friends in other houses tonight after the long summer. Getting the first-years settled took longer than I anticipated, and so now I'm running a bit late."
"Ah." So, she was off to see Alphard and the Gryffindor pals? He did wonder what they all got up to together. Ever since the end of last year, when Alphard and Tom's ex-girlfriend Des Zabini had started giving Nott and Lestrange detentions that interfered with his meetings, he had been harboring suspicions that their efforts might be a bit more coordinated than he would have liked. He also had a feeling that Alphard was deliberately keeping Hermione Temple away from him, which was not something he would tolerate. Perhaps Lucretia would confirm that for him. "You know, I happened to notice that you spoke with the new girl, Hermione Temple at the feast tonight."
Lucretia's smile never wavered as she nodded. She was good at the Slytherin game, he would give her that. "Yes, since Alphard is Head Boy and Des and I are both female Prefects, it made sense for her to sit with us and ask questions."
Tom gritted his teeth. The way that Alphard had grabbed the new girl before Tom had had a chance to wave her over to him irked him considerably. As soon as the Hat had pronounced her a Slytherin, he had decided on two things: first, she must be shown how things worked as quickly as possibly, namely that he was in charge and she would do as he said, and second, he would set about evaluating her potential usefulness. Leave it to Alphard Black to come between him and his plans. Still, he needed to know as much as possible before deciding how to proceed. "Oh? What questions did she have?"
Lucretia shrugged. "Mostly she asked about classes and professors. She's never had a teacher other than her cousin, so she was wondering about teaching styles and such."
How boring. "Well I hope she doesn't find the change too jarring. Anyway, I shouldn't keep you from your meeting any longer." He had his own meeting to get to, after all.
"Goodnight, Riddle," Lucretia said politely, and she slipped out of the Common Room.
As soon as she was gone, Tom glanced around to make sure he was alone, and then strode to the center of the room. He concentrated on the image of a serpent in the portrait above the fireplace and hissed in parseltongue, "Ssshare your secretss."
He waited for a moment, but nothing happened. He walked around the expanse of the room and tried the same thing in different places with other snake pictures, but still no luck. Ah well, he hadn't really thought it would be that easy.
After this was done, Riddle left the Common Room and slipped into one of his secret passageways. Soon enough, he had walked the familiar twists and turns of Hogwart's corridors up to the seventh floor and arrived at the door to the Room of Requirement, where his Knights should already be gathered.
He strode in and found four of the boys seated around the black wood table the room conjured for these meetings. Orion Black and Emmet Lestrange were currently engaged in a mindless game similar to Muggle rock-paper-scissors. Nott had his head down on the table and it looked like he had fallen asleep. Abraxas was sitting straight up, stiff as a board, and staring off into the distance, lost in thought. None of them noticed Tom's silent approach until he'd slipped into the chair at the head of the table.
Hadn't he decided to torture Rosier tonight? His absence was unacceptable. "Where are Cygnus and Rosier?" He asked, directing a frown at Orion. Cygnus was his brother, after all. There were too many damned Blacks at this school.
It was Abraxas who answered. "They have been waylaid by Avery in our dormitory again, My Lord."
Tom scoffed. "That pathetic fool again? You would think he would know when to give up on a lost cause!" Ever since he'd formed the Knights last year, Byron Avery had been trying to get into Tom's good graces so that he could join. Despite being a pureblood, he was a very unimpressive wizard, and his family's influence had dwindled significantly in the past few decades, so Tom considered him quite useless. And given the fact that Tom was sure Avery's continued interest in catching his favor had more to do his former best friends, Cygnus and Rosier, no longer having time for his pathetic drivel, and not any real desire to serve Tom and his cause, Tom really couldn't care less about him. "If he tries to interfere with our plans this year, he's going to regret it," Tom announced. "And I won't even be bothered, one of you will have to do it."
The other boys nodded grimly, accepting that it was Tom's right to command them to torture even one of their own kind.
Tom looked at Orion again and scowled. "Oh, and the same thing goes for your cousin. It's been less than five hours and he's already gotten on my nerves! Twice!"
Orion lowered his head. "I apologize, My Lord, but I unfortunately have no control over his actions. Alphard has always gone his own way. Our grandfather always says that-"
"I don't care about your family drama," Tom snapped, and Orion immediately shut up. Tom looked at the rest of the Knights. "Well, I suppose I'll start the meeting, and you can tell Cygnus and Rosier what they've missed later."
"Certainly, My Lord," the other boys muttered.
"Good. Now, down to business." He reached into his bag and pulled out the old book that he had spent the summer furtively translating behind the horrid Orphanage Matron's back. "Remember this?"
"It's the book you got from Zabini's house," Lestrange said after a moment. "Slythrin's journal." Tom nodded.
"I finished my translation. I must say, Salazar Slytherin was quite determined to ensure that only his progeny would be learning his secrets. There were so many curses between the pages that could only be deactivated by parseltongue." Tom smirked at his followers' awed expressions. Really, ever since he'd convinced them of the truth behind his lineage, they'd been overly impressed by anything he did. It was starting to get a little old, but it was still better than how he'd been treated his first two years at school.
"You all are probably wondering what I've found in it," He prompted after a moment.
Lestrange caught on first, as usual. "Oh, yes!"
Abraxas nodded. "Of course, My Lord!"
Nott added quickly, "What did you find?"
Tom rolled his eyes at their pathetically blind obedience and willingness to please, but he decided against continuing to mock them in favor of getting to his point. Despite his plans for the future, he still was prone to the detestable human condition, which meant that he had to regularly engage in mundane activities such as sleep. And if he let this meeting go on too far into the night, he would be plagued by exhaustion the next day. That would be unacceptable.
"You've all heard of the legends of Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, correct?" They nodded, and he continued. "I of course looked into them as soon as I had a suspicion about my ancestry. However, most sources dismiss it as a myth, and as there has been no concrete evidence since the time of the Founders, I was inclined to agree. However, in translating this book, I found a couple of entries that actually confirm its existence." His audience gasped. "And now that I know it's real, I am going to make discovering just what secrets it holds a priority. We're going to find it and open it," he continued triumphantly. "I think it's time that the whole school knew without a doubt who I am."
The Knights all stared at him, awestruck by his pronouncement.
"Is it true that its purpose is to rid the school of Mudbloods?" Abraxas asked slowly. For the first time since their strange encounter with Hermione Temple on the Hogwarts Express, the Malfoy heir had lost his distant, rigid look.
Tom smirked evilly. "From what I gather, yes."
Abraxas' eyes glinted with a strange sheen. "Excellent." He whispered.
"Erm… Rid them how, exactly, My Lord?" Orion asked, suddenly looking nervous. "Not… Not killing them?"
Nott frowned at Orion. "Why would I do something like that? I'd get arrested for sure!"
Tom wanted to bang his head into the table at that particular follower's stupidity. He was almost as bad as Avery. But, his stupidity had had its uses, as he'd been the only one easily swayed by Tom's claims to his heritage, before Tom had had proof… Either way, Tom chose to ignore it, instead settling for answering Orion's question.
"No, not killing them, exactly," he said. "I daresay that the magic of the Chamber could do that, but it would be too risky. It would be hard to avoid detection while we carried out our plan, and I personally don't fancy spending my life in Azkaban. I'm sure it's the same for all of you." They nodded.
"But then what's the point? Why use the Chamber if we won't be killing them?" Abraxas asked. Tom thought he looked perhaps a little disappointed.
"Just because we won't kill them doesn't mean that we can't scare them. We'll terrify them so badly that they'll leave Hogwarts and the wizarding world and never come back! Then we won't have to put up with their filth! I'm sure that you'll all agree that that's a desirable outcome."
All but Abraxas nodded at the sensibility of Tom's plan.
"We'll be the heroes of the wizarding world!" Nott said, grinning.
"Really, scaring them away seems to be a mercy," Orion said thoughtfully. "Since they can never hope to be equal members of society."
Lestrange smirked. "Mudbloods are so pathetic that frightening them should be easy. We probably don't even need the Chamber to pull it off!"
Tom gave him a piercing look. "While it's true that Mudbloods are pathetic and easily take fright, it is also true that that useless fool Dumbledore supports them. As long as it seems like he can protect them from us, those stubborn fools will cling to their delusion, and won't go away. However, the Chamber of Secrets holds an ancient power that far surpasses that of even Dumbledore, and he won't be able to adequately shield them. Once they realize this, they'll run back to Muggle society with their tails between their legs."
That finally seemed to satisfy them. Tom's Knights exclaimed on the brilliance of his plan. After being suitably praised, Tom began explaining to them how they were to go about locating the Chamber.
"We'll start in the dungeons, I think. Slytherin put his Common Room down here, after all, so he was clearly fond of it. And anyway, if something's buried, it makes sense that the entrance would be at the lowest point in the castle." He waved his wand and four identical pieces of parchment appeared in front of the Knights. "That's a list of rooms in the dungeons. I expect that you will each find time at least twice a week to thoroughly inspect one of them. After you're done, make a mark on the parchment so everyone will know where you looked. They're connected by the Protean charm, so what's written on one will show up on the others. Write your initials so I'll know who did what. If you find anything of interest, mark that down too, and I'll come inspect it myself."
"What should we be looking for?" Nott asked curiously as the boys inspected their lists.
"In his journal, Slytherin said that he'd marked the entrance to the Chamber with his own sign. I can only assume it's some sort of snake."
"There are snakes all over the Common Room!" Nott exclaimed, his eyes flashing in excitement at what he was convinced was an ingenious discovery. "Maybe it's there!"
Tom scoffed. "I highly doubt that the great Salazar Slytherin would have been foolish enough to put the entrance to his secret Chamber in his own Common Room! It's much too obvious! He wanted to keep it from the other Founders, and that's the first place anyone would look." He chose not to mention the fact that he'd already tried that theory. He always liked to remind Nott of his stupidity, after all.
The other boy looked down abashedly. "Of course, My Lord."
"It's late," Tom decided, pushing back his chair and standing up. "We're done for now." He would torture Rosier next time. Cygnus too, for being absent.
The others understood the dismissal and stood as well, gathering their things. As they were leaving, Tom handed two more copies of the parchment to Abraxas. "Give these to Cygnus and Rosier when you see them next, and explain what we're doing. Don't let Avery find out though." Malfoy nodded. His eyes still held their excited gleam, and Tom was relieved to see that he had fully recovered from whatever strange mood he'd been in. Moody followers were tiresome.
"Of course, My Lord…" He looked hesitant, and Tom suspected that there was something else he wanted to say.
"Spit it out."
"Perhaps, My Lord, if it's not too much trouble…" Abraxas licked his lips. "Once we find the Chamber and you harness its power, the first Mudblood that we get rid of… Could it be Myrtle Warren?"
Tom smirked. He did enjoy petty vengeance, and Malfoy was clearly thinking along those lines. The Mudblood had gained the sympathies of Hermione Temple and started to sway her away from Tom, after all. And that spineless, sniveling Ravenclaw was a prime example of the worst that could come of letting Mudbloods into Hogwarts. It would be most fitting if she were the first one to pay for the sins of her kind. "Consider it done."
