The next morning, Tom awoke to find all of his fellow classmates bustling around the room, trying to collect their things.
"It's the first day o' class, Tom" explained Rubeus. "Come on and get your stuff so we can catch a bite to eat before..." Rubeus glanced at his schedule, "Potions." Tom nodded, and grabbed his potion's ingredients, books, wand, and a few books for other classes so he could refresh his memory. In five minutes, he was ready to go, and he, along with Rubeus, exited the Slytherin Common Room. As Tom entered the Great Hall, he spotted Daisy and David at the Gryffindor table, and walked over to greet them. David returned the friendly welcome, but Daisy wore a scowl on her face, and ignored Tom. David took Tom aside and explained the situation,
"Don't take it personally, Tom. I know you're a good person, and Daisy does too- it'll just take her some time to come around. You see, we were born and bred as Gryffindors, and our parents always told us stories of their bad encounters with Slytherins."
"Then why aren't you refusing to talk to me?"
"Because I know you're a good person, and never liked my parent's stories." Tom laughed weakly, at least David's explanation had made him feel a little better. He had realized when he learned about the four separated houses that there might be some competition, but had never expected downright prejudice. However, with his new classes to look forward to, he still retained a shred of optimism when return to his seat at the Slytherin table, in between Rubeus and Zach to eat his breakfast. He thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast: scrambled eggs, warm biscuits, and crispy bacon, cooked to perfection. A glass of ice-cold orange juice accompanied the meal.
His spirits were slightly raised as he entered the chilly potions dungeon, eagerly awaiting, with childhood impatience, his first magical lesson. The class was composed of first year Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. As the Potions Mistress entered the dungeon and made her way to the head of the class, most of those students had their jaws hanging open. She had brilliant navy robes and deep blue eyes. She also had long, white-blonde hair with blue tips to match her eyes; she didn't look a day older than 25. Many of the boys were still goggling at her as she introduced herself,
"My name is Professor Ralcrest, class, and I feel it is my duty to inform you that I do not tolerate slackers in my classroom. If you fail to demonstrate adequate potions skills, you shall leave for the day, and anyone failing to turn in homework on time will pay. Any questions?" A tiny Hufflepuff boy from the back of the room squeaked and raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Are you single?" Professor Ralcrest looked like she was staring daggers at the boy.
"I happen to be happily married, if that's of any help to you." She glared around the classroom, "Now for roll." She slowly drawled out names from a list on her desk, barely glancing at the students who replied that they were present. However, when she reached 'Riddle, Tom' she paused, and scanned the room with her eyes. Tom timidly raised his hand, hoping he had not done anything to upset the Potions Mistress.
"You are Tom Riddle?" she questioned, her sparkling eyes focused on Tom's brilliant gray eyes.
"Yes."
"Daphne Grindelwald's son?"
"Yes," replied Tom again, just starting to wonder exactly how many friends his mother had had.
"Of course- look at your eyes," Professor Ralcrest muttered, so softly, that only the people in the front row could hear her, Tom included. She stared into space for a moment, as if thinking, and then continued the roll, as if she had said nothing. Tom wished to hear more on the subject of his mother from her, but was still rather intimidated from the speech she had just given; therefore, resolving to ask her about it before the year was up.
The rest of the class continued rather quietly, free of interruptions. Tom paired up with Rubeus to work on a short-life sleeping potion. The ingredients insisted mainly of things that Tom had bought at the sinister Apothecary, and anything he didn't have was easily found in the store cabinet, which Professor Ralcrest had introduced them to. Their potion was a success, giving off a slight silver haze and smelling faintly of roses by the end of class. Much to their delight, Tom and Rubeus were awarded full marks and five points to Slytherin.
During lunch break, Tom feasted on cold turkey sandwiches as he reread his Transfiguration textbook, preparing for the class, which was next. He, along with the other first years, was shockingly surprised when the owl post came: dozens of owls came flying and hooting through an open window to the great hall at noon. Many new students shrieked as parcels dropped onto their laps from high above; Tom himself found that a great Eagle owl had left him a medium sized package. As he ripped it open, he noticed a short letter fall out, so he took it, and read it several times in his head.
Dear Tom,
Congratulations on being sorted into Slytherin! Your mother would have been very proud. I have sent a little gift along with this letter, that I hope you like very much.
Sincerely,
Emma
Tom smiled, and continued to open the package. His was rendered temporarily speechless as he saw his present- a snake. A small, green snake was sleeping inside of its' glass tank. Tom was amazed; he had always wanted a pet- a dog perhaps- but a snake? However, he soon realized the relevance of the snake, as Slytherin's symbol was a serpent. He smiled, and put the glass tank containing the snake to the left of his lunch plate. He grabbed a quill and some ink out of his robe pocket, and carefully wrote a letter back to Emma, thanking her for the wonderful present. The Eagle owl that had delivered the parcel was still walking around in front of Tom, so he rolled up his piece of parchment, and put it in the satchel around the owl's leg. He then watched as the owl spread its' great, tawny wings, and took off into the sunlight.
Tom grinned and stood up from the table. He took his snake, and rushed to the Slytherin Common Room, to make room for it on a table in his dormitory. He heard some low voice hissing at him, but as he looked around for the source of the noise, he realized that he had five minutes to get to his Transfiguration lesson with the famous Albus Dumbledore. He grabbed the satchel containing his books, and ran down the stony hallway towards the north wing of Hogwarts. He was gasping for breath as he entered the classroom, and took a seat towards the middle of the room. The Professor had not arrived yet, and Tom slowly breathed a sigh of relief. As he and the other students were waiting for the Professor to arrive, Tom glanced around the room. He noticed it was oddly empty, and assumed the Professor must have some sort of office where he kept all of his belongings.
"Welcome," said a quiet, mystifying voice that made half of the class jump out of their seats. Professor Dumbledore had just appeared out of thin air. "This is your first Transfiguration class, and I will be your professor. My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, but most people prefer to call me Professor Dumbledore. Please speak up if you are not here." Most of the students were staring at him in bewilderment now, but Tom had to use all of his self-restraint not to burst out laughing, at least one of his teachers had a sense of humor. "Excellent," said Dumbledore, smiling at the bewildered students. He noticed that the Tom Riddle boy seemed to have caught on to his joke, "Everyone is here then. We'll proceed with the lesson then, shall we?" Some of the more daring students nodded their heads, most seemed fairly petrified to their seats. "Today we will be learning how to stun small things, such as flies. However, as you are just beginning your magical careers, we will not progress to stunning bigger things, such as people, until next year. The incantation is 'STUPEFY!' I would like you all to practice saying this before we attempt it with wands.
The class made a ruckus as every student shouted 'STUPEFY!' some attempting to shout louder than the others beside them.
"Very good," interrupted Dumbledore a few minutes later. Even though he barely spoke above a whisper, the entire class seemed to have heard him, and stopped shouting immediately. "Please take out your wands, and take one of these beetles out of the jar to practice on. If you successfully manage to stun one, please call me to your desk." Everyone received a beetle (some of the girls shrieked as they grabbed it) and returned to their desks. Once again, the classroom was filled with shouting. Tom shouted 'STUPEFY!' and the beetle stopped in its' tracks, though Tom noticed its' leg was twitching. 'STUPEFY!' he shouted again, and the beetle completely stopped moving.
"Professor Dumbledore!" called Tom, beckoning the Transfiguration teacher towards his desk.
"Yes, Tom. Are you having a problem?"
"N-No sir, I stunned the beetle." Dumbledore stared at Tom for a second, and then at the beetle.
"Enervate," muttered the Professor, and the beetle immediately started scampering around Tom's desk. "Why, so you have. Remarkable, actually, is this your first time ever performing a spell?"
"Yes," answered Tom, nervously.
"Very well...will you do it again?"
"STUPEFY!" shouted Tom, wand aimed at the beetle; again, it became completely immobile.
"Amazing, Mr. Riddle. Unfortunately, I have nothing else prepared for you to do, so I must ask you to sit here and patiently wait for the lesson to be over. Twiddling your thumbs helps past time, if I do say so myself." Dumbledore winked, and returned to his desk.
"Teacher's pet," sneered a voice from behind Tom, to his amazement, he recognized it to belong to Daisy Thornton.
"Daisy, I thought we were friends."
"Friends, with a Slytherin? You wish." Another Gryffindor girl sitting behind her laughed devilishly, "So, how does it feel knowing you got sorted into a house of dumb losers?"
Tom's temper snapped; she had set it off like a rocket. He quickly turned around and faced her, wand up.
"STUPEFY!" shouted Tom, filled with rage at someone whom he had once counted as a friend. He saw the shock on Daisy's face as she flew backwards, hitting her back against the wall, and slumping to the floor. She was only knocked out for a few moments, as Tom's spell had been weak, but it had certainly attracted the attention of Dumbledore.
"I'm quite sorry Tom, but I'm afraid I'll have to give you a detention- I don't allow dueling in my class." He didn't look the least bit angry with Tom; on the contrary, he seemed to have a smile on his face, and his eyes were twinkling. Dumbledore helped Daisy to her feet, and rushed back to her desk, blush creeping up onto her cheeks, as she was clearly embarrassed. Tom was secretly glad that David was not in this class, therefore not seeing Tom's temper erupt. "I think we'll end the lesson today, please pick up all of your books and exit the classroom quietly. No homework, and have a good first day back!" The students happily filed out of the classroom, and Tom stayed behind to receive his sentencing. Dumbledore assigned him detention for the following night, in his office at 10 o'clock pm. Tom asked the directions to his office, rather disappointed he had already gotten into trouble, and then hurriedly left the room to go to his next lesson.
As he left, Dumbledore sighed. He had watched Daisy insult Tom, and Tom snap out of his seat, shouting the first spell that came to mind. He felt sorry for the boy; he wished that the long time rivalry between houses could end, but in his heart he knew that it never would. He had only given Tom a detention so that he could get to know the boy more- even a minor stun done to a person on the first try was a major accomplishment for a first year, much less at his first lesson. Personally, Dumbledore was quite sure that Daisy Thornton had gotten what she deserved, but he was concerned about Tom's quick temper, which could prove a bad thing in later life. Lastly, Dumbledore had notice something odd about the boy- he had held his wand in his left hand, something extremely rare amongst wizards. In fact, Dumbledore only knew one other wizard alive who was left-handed. He sighed, and left his classroom.
The rest of Tom's day past rather quickly- it had been boring and uneventful compared to his first two lessons. He found Charms to be difficult, and History of Magic to be quite dull. He was very happy when he finally sat down at the Slytherin table for dinner, and filled himself up with delicious food. Feeling oddly content as he entered his dormitory after dinner, he lay down on his bed, and eventually drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
