About three days after the incident with Billy Stubbs, Tom and Evelynn are looking through the trunk of books she got from the Room of Hidden Things in her trunk. And there's a lot. Enough to fill up a few Mansions and then some, with plenty left over to. Books, artifacts Evelynn placed numerous Containment Wards on just to be safe - since some of them look just plain weird, and she's not sure what half of them even are - old-looking jewelry, even a few Wands. And that last one simply amazed Tom all the more, how could you lose your WAND?! Its literally the first thing he checks for, one hand going under his pillow where he keeps it out of sheer habit and paranoia.

In an effort to distract himself from multiple people's stupidity, carelessness, or circumstances of being severely outnumbered, Tom asks "So, this Room…it has just about everything?"

Evelynn nods from the trunk, glancing up from where she was digging around in the Expanded space for more interesting-looking books, and says "Everything you could possibly imagine, Tom. Well, it used to anyway. Sports equipment, jewelry, books, clothes, furniture…everything. Most of which I packed into these trunks to fix up and sell for some money. There were one or two broken artifacts that I just Banished, for instance; a broken Time-Turner that was taking this potted plant in an endless, and, frankly, creepy and slightly-terrifying cycle of coming to life and dying in a matter of moments. We might want to hold off on selling the books, though, until we know what a few of them are. Orion and Walburga would be good to ask."

Tom glances up at Evelynn, in full agreement on the looping Time-Turner, and asks "Why them?"

Evelynn pulls out a book and off-handedly says "They're the oldest Blacks, Tom. And the Blacks have one hell of a collection of books and artifacts. Biggest that I know of, in fact. The Peverells might have something bigger, but that would require finding a property they owned that hasn't basically collapsed over time, I'm not sure." Even after the war was over, she didn't exactly get to just waltz into Gringotts and learn more about her family, heritage, etc. No, she had to piece together things that had been kept from her - traditions, culture, the Pureblood side of the whole 'Blood Purity' issue, everything - while hiding out in various ruined manors. Turns out - at least, this is what she gathered from the Lestrange Manor - the Purebloods didn't reject the Muggleborns because of their blood, but their ignorance. Their apparent refusal to learn more about the world they were entering. Which actually does make a lot of sense - its entering a new culture, albeit one that's been hidden from you, and refusing to learn about it.

Not that the Muggle-raised kids had any way of learning about the culture, at the time. All the traditions, the Magical Holidays, everything...banned for years, labeled 'Dark' and ripped out of everyday life and knowledge by Albus Dumbledore once he was solidly into his role as the 'Leader of the Light' after he 'beat' Grindelwald. Knowing what she knows now...she's torn between believing he actually fought the guy and wondering if he just took credit for someone else's work. Its hardly impossible, after all - raised on lies and manipulation, and Albus Dumbledore took to it like a duck to water. Of course he'd be able to talk his way into the fame.

Tom hums, then nods and says "Good point. We'll wait on the books until then. Lets start looking through the clothes." Maybe they'll find something good in there, or that'll fit - if its already the right size, then simply changing how it looks is easy. Or maybe he can sell them to Madam Malkin or somewhere else that sells clothes, Evelynn did say he was good at what he did when he worked at Borgin and Burke's - of course, she also said he ended up buying things after talking the Owner into lowering the price somehow or other.

Evelynn grins at him, and says "I figured you'd want to go straight to the artifacts I found that weren't doing anything too weird, Tom. It was a toss-up between them and the books."

Oh, he wants to. How he wants to dive headlong into the Artifacts, many of which he and Evelynn have resolved to all but literally dissect at a later date. Runes and Charms being Evelynn's specialty, and Tom being a genius, they're fairly confident they can figure some of them out by the time the school year is up. Tom's expression turns to a mix of longing and hunger for a minute, and then he says "Can't. If any magic they do trips the Trace…" He trails off at Evelynn's confused expression, and asks "What's with the look?"

Evelynn blinks, then says "Tom, there's three things they never tell anyone about the Trace. Moody told me this after I asked about the Trace after the whole fiasco with seven me's running around in a wild goose-chase. The first, its in the wands. Standard part of the production process since they invented it, making it possible to get every child tracked. The second, it won't register anything in places with a high concentration of magic."

"Like the Wards…or your trunk?" Evelynn nods, and then Tom's got her upper arms in a bruising grip asking "Why didn't you tell me about this before?!"

Evelynn calmly says "You never asked, Tom. Honestly, I'd thought you knew. The same way the entire Slytherin House was watching me because you had a suspicion about me and they caught on to the detail that you were right."

Tom blinks, loosening his grip slightly, and asks "You did?"

Evelynn nods, a look of utter incredulity on her face, and says "I did. Tom, you're a bloody genius - a real genius. You learned to read minds before you learned what you were doing was magic and there's a whole other society out there. That should've torn your mind to shreds, for Merlin's sake. You learned to speak two different languages - which both sound like perfect English to us! - at the same bloody time. Hell, making a Horcrux at sixteen still blows my bloody mind! Yes, it's terrible and tragic…but so bloody complicated and difficult that it takes grown adults a few decades to figure out how! I saw the ritual when I stayed at Riddle Manor, and dammit I couldn't understand a single bloody thing about it. With what I know now, I know you had to perform two separate Rituals, one on yourself to prepare your soul to be split and one on the object you wanted to house your Horcrux - and one tiny mistake in the entire thing, start to finish, could've simply killed you from a backfired or interrupted ritual, trapped your whole soul in that Diary, or just torn your soul to shreds altogether and left you in Limbo forever! A soul is generally a very sturdy thing, not made to be torn apart, so its almost impossible to actually do. You managed it when you were a teenager, Tom."

Tom's still amazed at how she can be objective about something like that, acknowledging it as a terrible achievement while still seeing how big of an achievement it was. And not seeing him as a bloody monster just waiting to get its claws or fangs before going off on a rampage because he has the ability to make that achievement. The mere knowledge of some of his power certainly convinced Dumbledore as much. "What's the third thing? You said 'three things' after all."

Evelynn chuckles, and says "Right. Keep your wand in your trunk or in your room. If the Trace picks up Wandless spells, it'll still register. But, if the wand is in the trunk…then, everyone assumes its accidental magic if they pick it up at all." And they don't usually threaten to expel someone for an accident, or for having to fight for their life.

Tom blinks in shock at her, then says "Bloody hell…"

Evelynn just nods her head silently, saying "Yeah. I know. I know all too well."

Ohh, Tom could friggin' kiss her right now, just like when she showed him all the food she stored for the two of them. He can do magic outside of school without worrying about getting expelled! He can defend himself if Billy Stubbs or some of his friends start up on him again!

Well, if there's anything left of the idiot after Evelynn's through with him - she holds a deep-seated hatred of bullies, now that the Compulsions are off her, and she's mentioned that Billy Stubbs reminds her of her fat pig of a cousin when he was younger. Translation: before he made an attempt at manning up and said he didn't think she was a waste of space mere moments before leaving her life forever. She's much less forgiving of all the hell she was put through without Dumbledore's magic controlling her thoughts, and Tom swears she went and had a talk with Billy Stubbs at some point in the recent past. He's been avoiding them like they've got the Bubonic Plague, after all. And if he sees them he goes sheet-white and all but runs the other way - truly, its hilarious.

Once they get done with her finds from the Room for the day, they get out of the trunk and Evelynn frowns at his wardrobe. "What's wrong?" She only gets that look when something's bugging her, after all - like earlier, when she spaced out slightly while scowling at the book she'd been holding. If she stays quiet, he lets her alone with her thoughts - if she wants to share, he'll listen. When she gets like this, she's not usually one for inconsequential small-talk.

She walks over to the piece of furniture and places a hand on each door, asking "What happened here? There's traces of decaying magic on your wardrobe."

Tom scowls, then says "You said Dumbledore showed you." And, Merlin, he's thoroughly embarrassed about running his mouth now - among other things. The ratted clothes, the way he was so skinny, his freak-out when he thought Dumbledore was from the closest asylum, all of it.

Evelynn gives him a sardonic glance, and says "Yeah, but he also said he never suspected you of going Dark until you were at least three Horcruxes in, among other things. Pissed me off that first class when I realized just how big a load of Hippogriff shit he spoon-fed me, to be honest. I'm taking everything he said during those meetings with a bloody grinder's worth of salt. I'd rather get it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak." Another thing that gets her beyond angry, Dumbledore's little speech in Limbo - help will always be given to those who deserve it. And, she's come to realize, in Albus Dumbledore's eyes...Tom Marvolo Riddle never deserved any help. Not when he begged for it, to be allowed to stay at Hogwarts instead of Wool's Orphanage, not when he had to prove himself to Slytherin House for being the only Muggle-raised in the predominately Traditional Pureblood House, not when he had to sit through bombings over the summer and thought he'd end up dead from one.

Tom glares at the wardrobe as if its personally affronted him, then says "He really did set it on fire, I'd wanted him to prove he was like me before I said anything to him about what I could do. Cole doesn't hate me, exactly, but she knows I'm different from everyone else and I'd caught a thought here or there that perhaps she should call a doctor in to examine me."

Evelynn's expression looks furious for a minute, and she hisses "You do not do something that fucked up, and…" She trails off, sputtering from pure rage - it seems she really doesn't have the words to describe just how very wrong that is. Until an eerie calm descends over her after she gives a little full-body jerk, and she turns to Tom asking "Wait, you said you wanted to know it wasn't a trick or a trap before telling him what you could do?"

Tom nods, and asks "Why?"

"Because, Tom, you were really loose-lipped about yourself in his memory. So much so that I'd have to wonder if…no, he woul- yes, yes he would. He absolutely would. He did it to me plenty of times, he wouldn't have any qualms about casting one on you."

Tom blinks, having seen this once or twice - Evelynn may say she's not a prodigy like he is, but once she latches onto an idea and really gets going on it, her mind starts going a million miles a moment and its almost impossible to keep up with her thoughts. Also, she re-taught herself everything she knows of magic, relearned control over a much-expanded Core, taught herself Runes, and learned to control abilities that have never been recorded before and had no basis in anything to do with any subject she was taught at Hogwarts. He begs to differ, and there's his argument.

If its impossible to keep up with Evelynn's thoughts, its also almost impossible to get any info out of her like this, he's learned, as her sentences tend to devolve into monosyllables or fragments. Doesn't mean he can't try…after she's away from his wardrobe again. Because she's currently concentrating on it, both palms flat against the wooden doors and murmuring a spell under her breath…and then very creatively cursing Dumbledore in an almost incoherent mixture of enraged English and Parseltongue. He doesn't catch most of it, but he gets the general gist of it - Dumbledore's a manipulative bastard who doesn't care who he has to hurt so long as he gets what he wants.

Tom waits until she's wound down some, and cautiously asks "Evelynn? What's wrong? What did you find?" Because she must've found something, she doesn't suddenly fly off into a rage like that for no reason. Even her mood swings, which seemed random at first, have a reason - she's usually reminded of something, then. With this, though…

Evelyn turns to him, eyes glowing Avada green in her fury, and she says "It must've been Dumbledore, why you spilled everything to him. I can see you telling him a few of the lesser things you learned to do to satisfy him, but I can't see you telling him everything including- no, especially being able to talk to snakes without some…encouragement on his part."

Tom feels himself go cold, and he asks "What? How?"

In response, she grits out "The same kind of way he encouraged me to dive headlong into dangerous situations. Bar the Potions and Binding your Core."

It doesn't take Tom long to figure out what she means. "He Compelled me to tell him?!" Rage fills Tom up when Evelynn says its her best guess, and he quickly figures out how he must've done it. "The fire! When he set my wardrobe on fire, I snapped my head over to him and…"

Evelynn gets a look of fury on her face, saying "And it wasn't even a flame-freezing Charm, either. He genuinely tried to burn all your stuff to ashes! I'd guess its only your mother's Wards that stopped them! That godsdamned bastard shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children! And it never gets any better if things play out like they did, either! He was trusted implicitly, only Slytherin House didn't like him and I don't blame them! He was always ridiculously biased against them, especially since it was mostly Purebloods who didn't want him labeling all their history, traditions, and heritage as Dark and Evil! Of course, in retaliation and his own prejudice, he subtly encouraged the House Rivalry and made sure the House of Snakes was seen as the 'evil' House of the school by all of Britain - dammit, practically everyone in the House was a pariah in the Wizarding World when it came to looking for jobs and such, outside the Ministry at least! It didn't matter how good you were at your job, how high you scored on your N.E.W.T.s, or what you believed in, if you were in Slytherin you were automatically an evil, cunning little snake just waiting for the chance to stab your employer in the back! Godsdammit, I'm going to ruin that damned old man! He and his reputation won't see the light of day once I'm through with him!"

All the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end for a moment when the temperature in the room drops and starts all but buzzing with her magic, but then Evelynn takes in a deep breath and forcibly reigns in her emotions. She sits down on her bed, then looks up at him with Killing Curse eyes and says "I'm going to destroy him. Thoroughly. You want in, Tom?"

The dark-eyed boy nods at once, and…that seems to be that. She stays in a foul mood all day, not that Tom can blame her given how bad his own is. Merlin, no bloody wonder he spilled everything to Dumbledore! He didn't even tell anyone in Slytherin he could talk to snakes until he accidentally hissed a curse at Abraxas one late night and a threat of what would happen should the blonde tough his mostly-finished homework! And there's only one known line that would have the trait of Parseltongue - the Gaunt line. Given the research Dumbledore and Grindelwald did, on the Peverell lines, the old man must've instantly caught on to his heritage entirely - Slytherin, Gaunt, and Peverell, possibly Riddle to, given the memory Evelynn isn't sure he has at this point in time. Still, some of those vials looked very old, so its possible. Probable, even.

He's going to kill that damn old man, but only after destroying everything he's worked for and taking away everything he's yet to achieve. And the best part is…he's got the Master of Death in on that. The Immortal Master of Death, something both Dumbledore and Grindelwald are utterly obsessed with becoming, and she's currently pissed off at Dumbledore…and is likely planning on killing Grindelwald at some point anyway.

And given how she can travel through shadows to anywhere, no matter any Wards around her current or future location…oh, how he wishes he could be a fly on the wall when she undoubtedly appears out of an empty shadow. He wouldn't put it past her to say 'boo!' just to scare them and see their reactions. He'll just have to go with her, it seems.

AN: Hey, everyone! Sorry about the late-night update - its been a day, though. We took up all the woodwork around the floor that's getting torn up starting tomorrow, so I haven't had any time to post this update until now. In unrelated news, hope you like the chapter.

I really can't see Tom Riddle, who - even in Canon - was apparently insatiable in his curiosity for magic, just forgetting about the sheer amount of stuff in the trunks Evelynn just casually has sitting in her own hidden flat. And, considering the stacks we saw in the movies, its hardly a stretch of the imagination of what was actually in there. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if there actually were some lost wands, near-priceless books, and artifacts in various states.

Before anyone starts flaming me about the whole 'blood purity' issue, and my explanation for it, I'm just gonna say it now. Dumbledore made it worse every year. And the mindless sheep that the canon Harry Potter world seemed to be - lets face it, they really were, loving and hating poor Harry in turns, turning on him and then expecting him to save them - were a bunch of idiots. More on that later, but I've finally figured out how I'm going to introduce a solution to the whole 'Muggleborn' problem without stealing something from a story I've read. Which, yay! I'd REALLY be offended if someone just up and used something I thought up without even asking me beforehand or crediting me, and I don't want to do that to anyone else either.

Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming...after the floors are re-done, because that's going to be just a mess of dust and chaos.