Like father, like son

Chapter 09 - Classes

III

Potions was an interesting class. It was the only class they had in the dungeons, and the only class where the teacher didn't give them any homework on their first day. But now, in their second class, Professor Slughorn had decided to give them a little assignment; some questions about potions and ingredients, for, as he said, 'just for fun'.

"Can someone give me an example of an antidote?" The teacher asked as he walked around the classroom. "Hmmm, what about you?"

"Mandrake Draught."

"And what can it be used for?"

"It's used against Petrification… But you have to wait until the Mandrake's mature enough before preparing the draught, otherwise it won't have any effect."

"Good, good." The teacher smiled at the small boy sitting behind the cauldron on a table near him. "Five points to Slytherin, and what's your name, my boy?"

"Tom Riddle, sir."

"Great, Tom…" Slughorn, turned around, starting to walk along the tabled again. "Let's see… Which part of a jobberknoll can be used in a potion? And in which potion it can be used? Alright, Tom, go ahead."

"Its feathers are used in Memory Potions and Truth Serums, like Veritaserum."

"Good! Five more points to Slytherin."

The boy smiled as he congratulated himself for reading at the Potions textbook twice before getting to Hogwarts.

"Now, knotgrass, lacewing flies and powdered bicorn horn can be used in which potion?"

Tom looked around, seeing the other students look at Slughorn with a confused expression on their faces. He remembered reading about those ingredients; they were used in a recipe in the book, but he couldn't remember its name…

"No one?" The teacher looked around, before turning to the Slytherins. "Tom?"

"It's a potion used to make a person look like another," Riddle answered. "But I don't remember its name."

"Good… Does anyone remember it? Ah, you; the young lady from Slytherin."

"Polyjuice potion!"

"Right, my boy! What's your name?"

"Septimus Weasley."

Slughorn asked a few more questions – and Tom didn't have the answer for only one and got another wrong – before moving forward to explain to his students 'how they could have a safe Potions' class.' He warned the students about what they were and weren't allowed to do inside the classroom, and then explained to them what each of the tools that were above their tables were used for, and how they were meant to be used. By the end of the class, Tom decided that, even though he wasn't surrounded by friends as he had expected, Hogwarts was still much better than his old school… After all, who would prefer Mathematics over Potions?

III

Tom Riddle almost shouted when a noise of something knocking on the guest room's window startled him. The man took a deep breath before putting the notebook and pencil he had in his hands aside and got up, going to the window to see what was making so much noise. Tom tilted his head when he saw a brown owl knocking its beak against the glass, trying to catch his attention. He was almost shooing the bird away when he remembered what his son had told him about how wizards communicated with each other: letters, letters delivered by owls.

Hesitating a little, he opened the window, letting the animal in. The man watched as it flew around the room in circles before landing on the top of a table next to the couch. Approaching the bird, Tom saw a letter tied to its feet and quickly managed to free the envelope.

'Dad,

I'm sorry for not writing sooner, but we didn't have much free time, even though it's only the first week of classes.

Hogwarts is huge! I yet have to learn how to walk around the whole castle without getting lost, but the older students help us out most of the times if we need it. Well, I at least know how to get to my dormitory and to most of my classes.

Do you remember that Professor Dumbledore mentioned that the students are sorted into houses? I ended up in Slytherin, but I think the Sorting Hat –the hat that sorts the students – must have made a mistake, because Slytherin is the house of students who have wizard relatives… And I don't come from a wizarding family. Anyway, the classes are really interesting here. To have an idea, today I had Charms, Potions, Transfiguration and History of Magic… It's much more interesting than Calculus and English.

Do you remember that girl who helped us to get to Plataform 9 ¾? Her name is Emily Derwen and she's in Hufflepuff, but I spend most of the time with her when I'm not in the Slytherin common room or the library.

Speaking of Slytherin… Our common room is in the dungeons, under the lake! The older boys say that, sometimes, we can catch a glimpse of the Giant Squid outside the windows.

Well, I guess that's all… I have to go now and finish some essays for History of Magic.

Tom Riddle.'

"Tom?" The man jumped when he heard his mother's voice calling him from the corridor.

"Damn… Get out!" He shooed the owl, which seemed to be enjoying the warm room and did want to be out in the cold. He stuck the letter in his pocket. "I'm here, mum."

Mrs. Riddle stared at her son when she entered the room. She knew very well when Tom was hiding something from her and… she was sure that he was doing it for quite some time, and now the look on his face was betraying his lie.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." The man smiled nervously and the woman stared at him for a moment, before sighing, looking away.

"Did you receive any news from Tom?"

"Er… Not yet, mum," Riddle lied as he watched his mother lay her hand on the top of the table where the owl was a few minutes ago. "But I'm sure he'll write soon."

"Yes, I know that… Tom, did anything come in here?"

"W-What?"

"It looks like something entered this room… This is scratched." She pointed at a minimal scratch on the table's wood… Damn perfectionism.

"I have no idea of what could have entered here."

Mary narrowed her eyes and watched as her son shrugged, before walking up to him and softly petting him on the shoulder. "I'm going to bed… Don't stay up until dawn, darling."

"Don't worry." He smiled as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I won't."

III

The days passed by quickly when he was at Hogwarts. The library had already become his favourite place in the whole castle and, every time he finished all his homework, the boy would hurry to the library, where he would stay as long as he could, lost in the books.

"There you are." He heard someone calling him and didn't need to look up to see who it was.

"Hello, Emily."

"Hello." The girl sat down besides him. "Our classes ended earlier today because Binns wasn't feeling very well… Want to walk around the castle a bit?" She waited for his answer while looking at the book he had in his hands, before pulling it from his hands. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Isn't Care of Magical Creatures a third year subject?"

"It's interesting."

"You always come here after classes, don't you?" The boy nodded. "Why don't you stay with your friends? I mean, why don't you spend time with those other boys from Slytherin? In Hufflepuff we always gather up in the common room to talk and…"

"Slytherin is not Hufflepuff, Emily," the boy said quietly, taking the book back from her hands.

Emily kept in silence for a few minutes, as if trying to understand what the other meant to say. "Don't you have friends in Slytherin, Tom?"

"I'm used to it." Riddle shrugged, closing the book and putting it in his bag. "I mean, at the orphanage…"

"Orphanage? I thought you lived with your dad!"

"I lived in an orphanage before…"

"But then… are you adopted?" Her brown eyes were widened. "You look so much like your dad!"

"He is my… real dad," Tom explained as he got up and walked up the library's corridor, followed by Emily. "But I only met him when I was six. Until then, I lived in a orphanage at London."

"Oh, I understand… You confused me, you know? You two are practically copies of each other," the Hufflepuff laughed softly. "So, how about taking a walk around the castle?"

"It sounds like a good idea." The boy smiled. "I mean, I still have to memorize how to get to a few classes."

"Me too… Did I tell you I got lost when I was trying to get to Charms yesterday?"

III

A/N: Hey (: another chapter... there's not much to talk about this one, after all, it's just a little bit from Tom's life at Hogwarts '-' but I hope you liked it (:

Thanks everyone who left reviews on the last chapter, and thanks, Shadow6116, for beta reading the chapter. Oh, and thanks to those who, in their reviews, said a few places where I could visit in UK :D I'm making my list of 'places to go' even though I think that know I won't be traveling in July because my mom is afraid of going so soon... She thinks it's better for us to postpone the trip to January of 2012... but nothing confirmed yet {if we do postpone the trip, at least I'll have more time to organize everything}.

As always, reviews are highly appreciated.

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Ari.