The train ride was mostly uneventful. Aside a visit from my two best friends in Slytherin house.
They barged into our compartment.
"Haven't you two heard of knocking, or do your house elves do that for you as well as wiping your ass?" I said, noticing the Minerva's face went red after I used the profanity.
"I was just making sure the mudbloods hadn't left with the rest of their kind." Black sneered.
He was referring to the lack of seventh year muggleborns and half-blood guys on the train. Maybe a quarter of them had been eighteen The draft had affected them as much as it had the muggles.
"I understand that there's a war happening, but don't your kind usually hide in the dirt like a bunch of rats when things get rough?" Black said with a sneer.
In an instant Peter's wand was in his hand. Sighing, I made my own appear from my holster with a flick of my wrist.
"Get out, Black." He said, his voice deceptively calm.
"Or you'll what, Pevensie?"
"Pete, mate, it's not worth it." I said. Malfoy looked between Peter and I.
"Black, I believe you've touched on the mudblood's sore spot. What's the matter Pevensie, is your dad one of those idiot muggles running around the continent with one of those ridiculous metal wands? I hope something doesn't happen, wouldn't that just be terrible if you had to drop out of school."
"Stupefy!" Peter yelled. I shook my head, and raised a protego. Malfoy countered the spell with his own shield, and then shot a purple looking hex out of his wand that was blocked by my shield.
"Flipendo," I heard Black say, an overpowered knockback jinx smacked into my protego and it shattered.
"Serpensortia!" Malfoy said, and a king cobra appeared in thin air and immediately went after Peter.
"Don't you dare!" I hissed at the snake. Wishing I could kick my own ass.
"Speaker?" The snake asked, turning toward me.
"Chase those two morons down. Don't kill them or harm them, but scare them. Bonus points if you can break their wands."
"Yes, Speaker."
The snake turned to Malfoy and Black and started slithering towards the two. They ran out of the compartment and down the train corridor, my new reptile minion on their heels.
I looked around. Minerva and Reginald had horrified looks on their face, Peter merely looked curious.
"What?"
"Mate, you can talk to snakes?"
"Yeah, can't you?" I said. Play it cool tommy boy. I thought.
"No, I bloody well can't!" Reginald practically yelped.
"What Regi is so eloquently trying to say is that is a special magical ability. There hasn't been a parselmouth in Hogwarts for centuries." Minerva said.
"Huh," I replied.
"I just thought it was a magic thing." I said with a shrug, and went back to my copy of Charms Quarterly.
Reginald and Minerva gave each other a look.
"Mate, it's supposed to be a dark ability."
"What?"
"Salazar Slytherin's family is one of the only known lines who had that ability in England. It's rumored that there's a secret chamber hidden in the school protected by parseltongue."
"Cool," I replied.
"What does the temperature have to do with anything?" Peter asked, he still looked shaken.
"Mate, are you okay?" I asked. He shook his head.
"Look, those two, they don't know anything. They've never had a day of worry in their lives. Don't listen to them. Your dad will be fine."
He nodded shakily.
"Want to play exploding snap?" I said, pulling a deck from my pocket.
He nodded again. Reg and Minerva joined us, and we spent the rest of the train ride in peace.
We arrived at Hogwarts, boarded the carriages, and took them up to the school.
The feast, was, as always, amazing. The sorting was boring. We headed up to our dormitories, now moved up a level. The first years would have our old rooms.
The next day we wandered down to breakfast. A bunch of owls dropped of our timetables. Our
First class was History of Magic. Oh yeah, nap time!
After our nap, I mean class, we had potions. The slytherins had arrive before us, and a sea of green and silver covered the left half of the room. Peter and I took one workbench. Minerva and Reg took the one next to us.
After a short lecture, Slughorn conjured the directions for the sleeping solution on the board and began socializing with his favorite students. At the end of the class, we decanted a perfect sleeping solution thanks to Peter. We were assigned an essay on the properties and uses of sleeping solution. Then we broke for lunch.
After lunch we went to the common room. My first runes class wouldn't be until tuesday. We all worked on our essay and then headed off to Transfiguration. We covered the softening charm. Minerva was the first to get the spell, and I had a theory that she had been practicing over summer. After being dismissed with an essay on the softening charm, we went to Dinner.
While eating, I was greeted by a fourth-year Prefect. A muggle born I couldn't remember the name of.
"Riddle, the Headmaster wants to see you in his office after Dinner. You three as well. He said, motioning to my friends. I traded a knowing look with Peter. This had to be about the train incident.
"Thank you Bobby," Minerva said sweetly, and the prefect walked off.
His name was Bobby! I knew that. Totally.
We finished dinner and trooped off to the Headmaster's office. Malfoy and Black were waiting for us, as were Slughorn and Professor Merrythought.
Headmaster Armando was old, really old. He looked feeble and thin, as if a stiff wind would blow him over.
"Hello Mr. Riddle, thank you for coming up here today."
"You're welcome, sir, but I'm afraid I didn't have much choice in the matter. I think I understand why I'm here, but why are my friends present?"
"I've called them here because they're witnesses. Professor Slughorn has told me some alarming news that Misters Black and Malfoy shared with him."
"Sir, are you talking about the incident on the train?"
"Yes, I am. I was told that you sicced a cobra on your fellow students, that you used a very dark spell to do so."
"What sort of spell, sir?" I put on my best innocent orphan face.
"Don't play dumb, Riddle." Slughorn said, "They told me about the parsel magic you used."
Galena huffed, and I could tell she was annoyed by the whole thing.
"Sir, Malfoy and Black barged into our compartment and started insulting my friend. I'll admit Peter threw the first spell, but they were the ones who conjured the snake. I'll admit I told the snake to chase them, but I would never ask a venomous creature to harm another student." I said, wide-eyed. Not if I would get caught.
"So you admit to using parseltongue!" Slughorn said triumphantly.
"What's parseltongue?" I asked demurely.
"Tom, it's the ability to speak to snakes." Professor Merrythought said.
"Can't all wizards and witches do that?" I asked her, and she shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid not. The ability is exceedingly rare, and it was thought to have died out. Have you talked to snakes before?"
Tom had. A garden snake that had frozen to death over a winter.
"Yes. I had a pet garden snake that froze because I couldn't bring her into the orphanage with me. She was my first friend. I didn't mean to scare them professor. I just wanted them to leave us alone."
I turned to Malfoy and Black. They stared at me like a two lambs who had been delivered to a lion.
I smiled all them, all teeth. A smile that could be over eager, but could also be a predator baring its fangs.
"I really don't want to harm guys, how about we bury the hatchet?" I said, and extended my hand.
"See, Horace, it's just boys being boys." Professor Merrythought said.
Black hesitantly shook my hand, as did Malfoy. I turned back to the Headmaster.
"I'll understand if I have to serve a detention, Headmaster Dippet. All I ask is that my friends aren't punished alongside me."
Headmaster Dippet smiled.
"There hasn't been any damage done, Mr. Riddle. I'm sure you didn't mean to scare them so harshly. Let's call this meeting, and the knowledge of how you deeply you scared your two classmates your punishment."
"I'm sorry headmaster."
"I'm so sorry Mr. Malfoy. I'm sorry Mr. Black. This won't happen again." I said. Damn fucking right it wouldn't. The next time these two little snitches tried this I'd feed them to my ancestor.
"That will be all. Ladies and Gentleman, you are dismissed." The six of us left the headmaster's office. We got to bottom of the stairs. When I sure there weren't any teachers around, I turned to Malfoy and Black.
"Oi! Morons."
"What do you want Riddle?" Malfoy asked. He was still paler than normal.
"The next time you snitch on a parselmouth, remember. You live in the house of snakes. Those are snakes that all over the dungeons? The ones in the art work? On the walls? Carved into your bedposts? They're listening, watching. Keep up this tirade against me and my friends, and they might just bite." I said, and took a step towards the two. They fled.
I turned to my friends.
They all look kinda pale.
"What?!" I said with a cheerful grin.
"Mate, remind me never to tee you off." Reg said, and we walked back to our common room and went to bed.
Tuesday morning came, and instead of having a lie in like my friends, I trucked my butt to an early morning Runes class. The class was empty. Professor Babbling was at her desk. A dictaquill floated, industriously grading papers. She was leafing through a book and sipping a cup of tea.
"Hello Tom," She said with a smile.
"Am I early?" I asked.
"Oh no. See, Hogwarts has a rather strict schedule. This is normally my office hour for students, and the second year schedule is rather set in stone, we've decided the best way for you to learn runes would be to meet with me independently until you can join your year mates next year. If you do get ahead, don't worry, third year has some leeway we can use for scheduling." I nodded.
"Good. Filius has informed me that you were roughly halfway through the third year material before Summer. Your first weeks work will cover the first week of third year. I'll give you the work and then you can bring it back to me to be graded."
"Does this mean I can sleep in on tuesdays? I have an Astronomy practical tonight, and I'd prefer to be well rested for that.
"Of course! Our meetings should only take a half hour or so." With a flick of her wand, an assignment list appeared on the desk I chose.
The first class was spent examining the Nordic Elder Futhark. We were given a long worksheet, and I put my reading to the use. That, and my total obsession with all things fantasy in my previous life. I did fairly well on the worksheet. I was assigned an essay to pick one of the runes we were covering and enumerate all their uses.
After runes, I had another potion's class. Slughorn was frosty towards me. Like I cared. After the double potions class, our schedule was free until our late night Astronomy practical. I resolved to drop this class as soon as possible.
Wednesday was our first Herbology course. Mandrakes are creepy. It was nearly Halloween, and one Friday Peter got a letter from home. His face went pale.
"Peter, what's wrong?"
"My family's house was almost bombed. My mother is sending my siblings away to a family friend's mansion in the country. Edmund is okay, but I guess he was cut by an exploding window when he went back to get a photo of my dad."
"But everyone's okay?" I asked. He nodded.
"Mom says that I can stay at the castle for Christmas or go to the country. Instead of taking the train to London I'm to take it to Coombe Halt."
The Express did make different stops, but that was a long way out of the way.
"Peter, I may be able to help you with that at least."
"Hmm?"
"I did some odd jobs in Diagon over the Summer Hols. I have some pocket money saved up. It might be enough to get you a portkey from London to Coombe Halt."
"Tom, I wouldn't!"
"What? Take money from an orphan?" I said, and he had a stricken look on his face.
"That's not what I meant!" He said.
"Tom, it's fine. I've come up with a way to make a bit of galleon. I've got some money, and if it makes you happy, I'll count it as your christmas present."
"How are you making money?"
"I'm getting discarded furniture and such from junk shops. Using reparo on them in Diagon, and then selling them to other junk shops for more money. It's not much, but it gives me pocket money,"
"Fine, but you're coming with me."
"What?"
"Reg and Min are headed home for the Holidays. You're either going to be at that bloody orphanage in the middle of the bombs dropping, or you're going to be at the castle by yourself. I won't have either. I'll write to my Mum and ask her to ask the Professor. When she explains your circumstances, I'm sure Professor Kirke won't have a problem with it." He said. Score.
"Really?" I asked.
"Of course."
"Great! I'll send an Owl to Gringotts."
After writing a letter to my banker and sending it off with Aero, my owl, I snuck down to the Chamber to see if Salazar was home. He was not. He hadn't been since I'd come back to Hogwarts. He'd left me with a note saying that he was off to explore.
I only had a few weeks to prepare. I had most of the stuff I needed in my trunks. Which were shrunk and stored in my backpack. Another trunk was filled with gold and books. Clothes that I'd found in the room that I Mended and Transfigured into clothes that looked like normal muggle wear for the time. Begin stealing food from the kitchens and placing them under stasis spells to store in another trunk. I asked for and gathered every single book the room had on wandless magic.
The days flew by in a blur. Soon it was the near the end of term. We boarded the train, wished Reg and Minnie happy hols and Happy Christmas. I placed warming charms on us while we were still safe from the Trace. Then we found the portkey a rode a holey boot from London to Coombe Halt.
.