Chapter 10: Summer Crushes

In the past I would spend the majority of my time here at the orphanage by learning about new spells. This time around, however, I'm not. In the book that I stole from the school's library about Salazar I noticed that a chapter mentioned the other founders of Hogwarts. As well as what special objects they owned while alive.

Salazar had a ring and a gold locket. Godric owned a Goblin-made sword that is adorned with rubies and the sorting hat. I find it strange that none of this was mentioned in our History of Magic classes. Helga had a small golden cup with her symbol of the badger emblazed on it. Rowena had a diadem that enhances the wearer's wisdom.

The book mentions to whom these objects were handed down to. Obviously the sorting hat is at Hogwarts and apparently so is Godric's sword. Salazar's belongings were handed down to his family. Strange, why don't I have them? Helga's golden cup was also passed down to family. Rowena's, on the other hand, has gone missing. Apparently her daughter, Helena, stole it and it has remained missing to this day. I wonder where it is.

I want these items. Especially Salazar's belongings; they belong to me. I look to the back of the book where my family tree is. Perhaps it will lead me to who my family's belongings were given. While reading it I notice I had made a mistake. I had originally thought that I was the last living heir of Salazar. I'm not. I have an uncle, Morfin Gaunt. He must have the items. I start to make plans to visit him next summer. This will be a difficult task but I'm up for it. The book tells me where to find the Gaunt family. It's practically done half the work for me.

I write my plans to Iris. Half of me wants to convince her to join me in this quest but the other half, which I believe to be the stronger half, wants me to go alone. To find discover my family on my own, without anyone's help. The stronger half is relieved when Iris writes back saying how she wishes she could join me but mentions that she wouldn't be able to because of her father.

Thus begins a whole new subject. How is she, has he hurt her, how badly has he hurt her, and so on. She writes back saying that she is fine, that he hasn't hit her this summer. I release a heavy sigh when I read this. I've been worrying about her most of the time. When I wasn't preoccupied with my research, of course. I hate to say this but I think I've developed a bit of a crush on Iris. Ridiculous, I know, but I can't shake this feeling.

I try to hide my feelings in the letters I send to her. It is becoming harder to hide with each passing note. She seems to be oblivious to my feelings. I am both angered and relived by this. Her last letter to me requested that we choose a date to meet up and go shopping for school supplies. It's the middle of August and we have already received our list of supplies from the school.

We decide to meet at Flourish and Blotts this upcoming weekend. This is an acceptable date for whoever is to escort me. I believe Father Kerr is the one who will be taking me. Hopefully he doesn't tag along past the Leaky Cauldron. He would just make everything awkward.

I'm in luck. Father Kerr stays behind in the Leaky Cauldron, allowing me to do whatever I please. Diagon Ally is as busy as ever. I wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't find Iris in this crowd they call customers.

Then again, I'm not some muggle git who gives up when things become difficult. I find Iris in the back by the magical creatures section. I frown; my heart begins to beat faster with each step leading me closer to her. If this is what its like to have a crush I'd rather eat slugs. Iris turns around,

"Morty!"

She walks up to me and hugs me, why does she have to hug me? It's only making my heart beat faster,

"Hello Iris"

I hug her back. Trying to make it seem that I don't find this embarrassing or awkward in the least.

We spend all day buying the books we need as well as parchment and quills. I take some time to buy new stationary for next summer. I guess the school staff knew I'd grow over the summer because they sent me extra money for a new set of robes. For this I am thankful, seeing as how I've grown a good three inches.

We still have a decent amount of time before we're expected to return to our designated guardians. I notice an alleyway that I've never seen before. My curiosity gets the better of me and I make my way down the street, away from Diagon Alley. Iris grabs onto my hand, too scared of the alley to notice my blush.

"I don't think we're suppose to be here Morty"

"Iris, it's fine. I just want to see where it leads"

There's a sign. Stating this alley as Knockturn Alley. I wonder why it's so deserted. Iris is beginning to shake with fear. Is she afraid of the dark or something?

I realize why Iris is shaking a bit too late. Witches and Wizards were following us. Coming at us from all sides. I place my hand on my wand, ready to defend at a moments notice. If it's self-defense then we won't be expelled. I pull us into a shop, not bothering to look at the name. It's dark and menacing; nothing like Diagon Alley's shops. The people who were following us seem to have disappeared. I hear Iris sigh in relief.

This shop is stocked with dark magic. I'm a bit hesitant to touch some things here. One of the items looks like it wants to bite my head off if I come too close. There's another person in the shop. Apparently haggling with the owner over something. A piece of jewelry if I had to guess,

"I won't pay over one-hundred galleons for this locket"

"Ms. Smith, I don't think you understand. This locket once belonged to the great Salazar Slytherin"

This caught my attention. If what he's telling her is true then that's my locket! Why does this man have it and not my uncle?

"Like that means anything to me. I'm Helga Hufflepuff's descendant for bloody sake!"

Is she really?

"I'm aware of that fact Ms. Smith, but this is still a valuable locket"

"Then I'll take my business elsewhere"

She beings to walk away, it's obvious she wasn't really going to leave but the man behind the counter still yells out,

"Fine, one-hundred galleons. It'll still be a profit"

He mumbled the last part to himself. What could he possibly mean by that?

"Great!"

She pays the man and he hands her the locket. I want to grab the locket from her meaty grasp. She doesn't deserve it. The man behind the counter finally notices our presence,

"What do you want?"

He is very curt. I guess he's only courteous to rich and powerful customers,

"We're lost. Could you tell us the way back to Diagon Alley?"

I ask, he snorts. The lady who bought the locket takes pity on us and says that she'll show us the way back. Great.

"What house are you two in?"

She asks when we exit the shop; Borgin & Burkes says the sign.

"We're both in Slytherin"

Iris answers,

"Really? What a coincidence, I just purchased something that once belonged to Slytherin. Would you two like you like to see it?"

We both nod, though I suspect Iris is indifferent. She's only curious because she knows I'm related to Slytherin.

She looks around quickly, to make sure there are no thieves around. Salazar's locket is amazing. Not too gaudy, not too petite either. You can tell that it is smooth just but looking at it. Six small flowers are engraved around the border on the front. A small snake curled into the shape of a 'S' is in the center. Beautifully detailed, any git could see that. I must have it.

"What did the shop keeper mean? When he said that he made a profit anyway. After all, you seemed to have haggled the price down immensely"

Iris asks this very important question,

"Well I heard that he bought it off some pregnant woman. I'm not sure if she was a descendant to Slytherin or not. He apparently bought it from her for a measly ten galleon! Poor fool, that's only a fraction of it's actual worth"

How dare he! That woman must have been my mother, but why would she allow herself to be taken advantage like that? I fume over this newly acquired information the entire way back to Diagon Alley.

By the time we return to Diagon Alley the sun is setting. How much time passed while we were down there? Father Kerr won't be pleased when I return to him. My heart feels like it does a back flip when I think of how angry Iris' father will be. Ms. Smith leaves us by Flourish and Blotts.

Iris looks to me and is about to say her farewells but I cut her off before she can even say my name,

"Don't go back"

"What?"

She looks genuinely confused,

"We're late. Your father will be angry, right?"

Iris takes a minute to reply,

"Morty, it's fine. Besides, wouldn't it be worse to not go back?"

I know she's right but I still don't want her to go back,

"Please"

She smiles warmly and hugs me,

"Everything will be fine. I'll see you September first, okay?"

I nod. Not wanting to let go but eventually I must.

We part and I make my way back to the Leaky Cauldron to find Father Kerr talking to a man dressed in, what it would seem to him, the most disgusting outfit known to man. Strike that, known to muggles. He actually looks happy to see me for once. Father Kerr says his goodbyes to the man and rushes out of the door, dragging me with him. He doesn't even scold me for being late.

That night my mind is conflicted. Part of me is livid about the newly gained knowledge of my mother and Salazar's locket. The other part is distressed. How is Iris doing? Is she hurt? I attempt to push all these thoughts from my mind so that I can sleep. Sadly, this proves to be a difficult task. I hardly get any sleep.

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I am anxious to leave. Mrs. Herman is becoming sluggish in her old age. It is almost ten and we have yet to leave the orphanage. I groan when she stops to talk to another staff member. Why is this taking so long? Mrs. Herman hears my groan and shoots a look my way. Like that's going to scare me. Finally she tells the other woman she needs to get going and makes her way for the car again.

I have to run to Platform 9 ¾ but I make it. I would have been absolutely livid if Mrs. Herman had made me miss the train to Hogwarts. I'm sure she wouldn't be too happy if I had missed it as well. Then she would have had to deal with me for the entire school year.

The walkways of the train are crowded as usual. Everyone is flocking towards one another, happy to see each other once again. I have to forcefully push my way through the crowds to get to the passenger part of the train.

I find Iris in a room cart, sitting by her lonesome. When the door opens she looks up and smiles. A breath leaves my lungs; she doesn't have a mark on her.

"Hey",

I whisper,

"Hey, why are you so late?"

"Mrs. Herman became a procrastinating git over night, apparently"

I tell her the story of how Mrs. Herman seemed to have it out for me this morning with all of her attempts to slow us down. Iris apologizes for her, never understood why people did this but it makes me feel a little better.

For the duration of the ride we simply talk. Which is perfectly fine, when it's just us talking it's nice. Iris doesn't move much, I notice. Did her father really leave her unharmed? I try not to think about this. When the trolley comes by we share the treats. The ride is peaceful. I am tempted to tell Iris about my crush but I hold myself back. Telling her could ruin everything. I don't want to risk it. No, I won't risk it. Not now, not ever.

A/N: Hello, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yes, Tom is becoming a man. Yes, this is all completely possible, not to mention plausible. I would like to thank all those who visited. I love you my fans!!! And special shouts out to pickle1901, a repeated reviewer, thank you! Also, the next chapter may take some time. I have to reference the books, not wikipedia, on this one thing. By the way, would anyone care if I did tweak the books a bit? Simply for the sake of the story. Not a huge, life-changing, tweak; just a minor one. I would appreciate your thoughts on this so please review.

Love,

Pastry~