Chapter Seven
Christmas holidays and spring term
On Christmas eve, Tom went to bed early. He was worn out: he had had a broom race against a Ravenclaw third year. She had won, but only just. Tom suspected that Dumbledore had put her up to it. He wondered what Christmas at Hogwarts would be like. At the orphanage, all they ever got for decorations was a straggly tree with sparse tinsel. He was amazed by the huge trees that he had seen been set up in the great hall. He hoped that the Christmas meal would at least be better than what he got at the orphanage. Christmas dinner there was a health inspectors nightmare: a greasy slab of turkey, watery gravy, vegetables that had been cooked so long that all of the goodness was gone. All lukewarm at best. Tom felt ill just thinking about it. Then there was midnight mass in a freezing church down the road. Tom didn't remember much of the ceremony; he was too busy concentrating on making sure that his teeth didn't chatter.
But Hogwarts wouldn't be like that, surely.
He was dead right. While he didn't have any presents, the rest of the day more than made up for. The suits of armour had been charmed to sing Christmas carols. There were sprigs of holly and mistletoe decorating the moving portraits. Even the ghosts were in the spirit (pardon the pun) of things. They were singing in the corridors, and dancing in the great hall. They were also going out of their way to make sure that Peeves behaved himself.
Then there was the feast. The food was better even than the welcoming feast. Rich turkey, Potatoes with creamy butter and vegetables that were out of this world. He ate more than his fill, but was still able to have three helpings of pudding, where he got a coin in each helping: two Sickles and a Galleon. The crackers were the thing he liked the most. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he pulled one and it exploded like a cannon. Out of his dropped a hat that a jester would wear. He refused to put it on. Headmaster Dippet had gotten a night cap with his cracker. After the feast Tom hurried back to the common room with the cracker gifts. He had managed to get a dictator-quill, which would write down what was said in class, a wand cleaning and service kit, a miniature Quiddich stadium, complete with moving players, a wizard wireless and a wizard disguise kit. This last gift was what Tom liked the most. You could change your eye and hair colour, lengthen or shorten hair with two different potions, change your noses shape, the lot. The effects only lasted for an hour, but it was an excellent novelty gift. He gave Nepenthe his present: a live white mouse. He was most grateful.
All too soon, the holidays came to an end and soon the Slytherin common room was full again. Tom stayed in his room, reading. He had been put off the wizard wireless when the first song he heard on it was 'Oh, for the love of the Ghoul in the upstairs water closet' by a group called the Van Helsingers. Just then, the door opened and his room mates entered.
"Enjoy Christmas on your own, mudblood," Lestrange asked.
"I'm not a mudblood, I'm a half blood," Tom replied, not looking up from his book.
"And yes, I did."
"I'll notify the Daily Profit at once," sneered Nott, sarcastically. "Do you thing that makes a difference. You are nothing but a weak, pathetic, stupid little half breed who should have been drowned at birth."
Tom's temper was rising but he was determined not to throw the first punch. He'd let one of them do that: if you leave a bookworm alone in the library for over three weeks, he'd pick up some good curses.
"Maybe I am," he answered, still not looking up from his book. "But I'm a weak, pathetic, stupid little half breed who can rub a supposedly superior purebloods nose in it every time we are have a test." He could see that his room mates had turned a deep shade of red. "It must just eat you up to know that you're academically inferior to a half blood."
That did it. Lestrange had gone for his wand, but Tom was too quick for him. He shot a spell which caused his expensive-looking new cloak to catch fire. While he was stamping on them to put the flames out, Tom blinded him with the Conjunctivitis Curse. Turning his attention to the others, he decided to have some fun, like a cat playing with a mouse. He still owed them a busted lip from the first night.
"Colere radix"Tom shouted. His wand emitted a jet of orange light and Nott cried out in pain as large green sprouts popped out of every inch of skin on his face and arms. He pulled one of the sprouts, and it turned out that Tom had hit him with a Carrot Curse. Tom watched in amusement as the boy bounced around, tugging carrots out of his arms. The carrots he removed were quickly replaced by new ones. He used the levitation charm on all of the boys in the room and as they were bobbing around near the ceiling, he broke the spell. They all came crashing back down to earth with a thump. Before they could get up, Tom hit them all with a full body bind. He arranged them on the floor so that they could all see him.
"I am no one's inferior," he snarled. "Least of all yours. Now, I'm going to bed. Try not to disturb me." With that he left them there on the floor while he got ready for bed. Then he went to sleep, with four boys laying uncomfortable on the floor. He finally took the body bind off them the next morning, just before lessons. He knew he'd have to watch his back, but what was new?
Nero Malfoy was been more and more beastly to him as each day passed. Presumably one of his room mates had gone running to him. He was always trying to humiliate him at every opportunity he got in the common room. Tom resumed his plan of only been in the Slytherin dungeons to sleep. He spent most of his time in the library. Having absorbed most of the first year spells, he started to expand his knowledge. He frequently read second and third year books. Amongst the hardest spells he had learnt was the summoning charm. He had first read about it before Christmas, but it took him more than a month to be able to summon anything more than five feet.
One evening, he wasn't so lucky. Nero had sealed the entrance to the dungeon, so Tom couldn't return one night. After several hours, Tom was finally able to gain entrance. He was lucky that the cranky caretaker wasn't lurking around, or he would have had a detention. As he entered the common room, the room went deadly quiet.
"What are you doing here, halfling," Nero sneered. "Slytherin common room is only for purebloods. Catch a hint."
Tom had had enough. He was sick of been put down. He was the sole surviving descendant of Salazar Slytherin. If he shouldn't be in Slytherin, who should. He pulled out his wand and aimed it directly at Nero's throat.
"Take that back," he said calmly, but his heart was pounding. "Or are you too thick to realise when you're about to be hexed?"
"Are you calling me stupid, half caste," Nero snarled.
"You ARE stupid, Malfoy," Tom shot back. He was shaking with rage, but his wand still pointed at the older boy's throat. "You are stupid that you believe your blood makes you better than the rest of us, yet you can't even perform a summoning charm. I'm a year younger and just a poor half breed, yet I can do it. Your stupid because I have a wand aimed at your Jugular."
"You couldn't curse me if your life depended on it," Nero sneered, but Tom saw a tiny spark of concern in his eyes.
"Oh, couldn't I?" Tom asked, watching the other boy closely. "In that case, put your money-that-you-love-to-brag-about where your mouth is."
"Money?" laughed Malfoy. "You couldn't match any amount of money that I'd use."
"I don't want your money; even if I took 1000 Galleons you wouldn't miss it. I mean, each of us will chose three punishments and whoever loses a wizards duel will be obligated to accept these punishments. I will prove to the whole school that I am worth ten of you, Malfoy," Tom stated coldly.
"As much as I'd like to wipe the floor with you, mudblood, Dippet won't allow duels in Hogwarts," Malfoy replied smoothly.
"Not even Dippet can refuse the duel of retribution," Tom snarled and cast a summoning charm towards his dorm. A few seconds later a thick, heavy looking book zoomed towards them. Tom caught it and opened it half way through.
"This is 'A wizards rights guide'. It states:
'In the time of the wizards council, it was decreed that if one wizard insulted another wizard or his family, the wizard in question could challenge the offending wizard to a duel at his convenience in order to seek retribution. No third party could stop the duel and the only place where such a duel cannot take place is in any area where muggles could see the duel. The duel requires an impartial wizard to ensure that no foul play is used. The duel of retribution is rarely used but the law still exists.'"
Tom put the book down and looked at his rival. "Nero Malfoy, I hereby exercise my rights, recognised under British wizarding law and I challenge you to a duel. Under the terms of the duel, I have the right to dictate the rules: firstly, there will be no seconds, just you and me. Secondly, the duel will only end when one of us is unable to fight back. Finally, both of us will produce three punishments to the judge. The looser will accept these punishments. I name the impartial judge as Professor Dumbledore. He is a Gryffindor, so he cannot be accused of showing favouritism to either of us. The duel will take place on Sunday at noon, on the Quiddich pitch."
With that, Tom turned on his heel and headed to the dormitories, leaving a very stunned common room behind.
The next day was a Saturday and the whole school was buzzing with the story of what had transpired last night in the Slytherin common room. Most people knew of the half blood boy that had been sorted into a house famous for its pure blood attitude. Very few people could believe the rumours at first; a half blood, who had lived as a muggle until receiving his Hogwarts letter had challenged a Malfoy, a pure blood family whom many suspected had strong ties to the dark arts.
Tom went to the headmasters office the next morning and he promptly told the headmaster what he intended to do. The headmaster was powerless to stop the duel, so he sent for Professor Dumbledore to discuss the arrangements. Tom had already chosen his three punishments for Malfoy, so he gave the envelope they were sealed in to Dumbledore and left without another word. He spent the rest of the day in the library, surrounded by books, preparing for tomorrow.
That evening at dinner, Professor Dippet made an announcement to the whole school.
"By now I'm sure you know that there will be a duel here tomorrow. As much as I disapprove of this, I am obligated to respect the rights of my pupils. At noon tomorrow on the Quiddich pitch, two students from Slytherin will duel under the eye of Professor Dumbledore. The looser will suffer three punishments determined by the winner. I have both students punishments here and they will not be opened until the conclusion of the duel tomorrow."
The great hall came alive with excitement. Tom could have sworn that he saw several people placing bets with each other on who would win tomorrow. He ate quickly then headed up to the library. He had found a book of duelling spells and he wanted to learn as much as he could. He wouldn't put it past Nero to use some underhanded move to win the duel. He needed a good arsenal of spells at his disposal.
At twelve o'clock the next day, two figures stood in the centre of the Quidditch pitch, glaring at each other. Each had too much to lose. If he lost, Tom would be known forever more as an inferior to pureblood wizards everywhere. If Malfoy lost, the name Malfoy and the name of every pureblood would be tarnished. Professor Dumbledore entered the stadium and magically made his voice louder.
"The duel of retribution, between Tom Marvolo Riddle, Slytherin 1st year and Nero Malfoy, Slytherin 2nd year, is about to begin. Duellists, bow." They both only inched their heads down. The tension in the air was almost tangible. The whole school were on the edge of their seats with anticipation.
"On the count of three, the duel will begin. It will end when one either surrenders or is unable to continue. The loser of the duel will then receive his punishments. Duellists, one…two…three."
Tom fired a disarming charm, but Nero sidestepped it. He in turn shot a pain curse at Tom. This hit. It wasn't the same one he had used on him earlier, but it caused Tom to experience a searing headache. He decided to go on the offensive, firing random spells and hexes. This would make Malfoy too preoccupied dodging his spells to retaliate. It would also buy a little time to let his headache go away. So he began firing random spells, so Malfoy would have to dodge. The idea worked and soon Tom's headache was nothing more than a dull pounding. It was an irritation, but he could continue with the duel.
"Diffindo," Nero suddenly yelled. The cutting charm sliced through his right arm as if it was butter. Blood came pouring out of the wound. Tom was briefly reminded of the spell he had used with his blood. But now was no time for nostalgia. Another cutting charm was been fired. He managed to roll out of the way to prevent injury. Unfortunately the charm cut is robes. Okay, thought Tom. He wants to play rough, fine by me.
"Intempestivus," he yelled. Nero went flying backwards. He looked surprised; obviously he hadn't been expecting that.
"Wingardium Leviosa," Tom shouted. He smirked as he saw Malfoy flailing around in mid air. When he was about fifteen feet up in the air, Tom ended the spell. Nero came crashing back to earth and landed in a heap. Tom waited until he was back on his feet. Some people may have seen this as an honourable and decent thing to do and not hit your enemy when he's down. Tom didn't have any problems hitting an enemy when he was down: he knew Nero wouldn't have been so courteous. He just wanted to prove that he could win even when his enemy was fully mobile. He soon regretted his decision.
"Expellarmus," Nero shouted. He hadn't been expecting a disarming charm. He was able to keep hold of his wand but he was thrown backwards. He cracked his head on the wall of the stadium. While he was still dazed, Nero put a leg locker on him.
"Play time," he sneered. "Relashio." Tom howled in pain as white hot sparks burnt his face and arms. The sparks bombarded him for a full minute. Burn marks were all over his face and arms and the smell of burning flesh lingered in the air. Nero just smirked.
"Did you honestly think that you could beat a Malfoy, half breed?" he sneered. "You have no family, no friends, no money. YOU ARE NOTHING!"
Those words cut into Tom deeper that he thought possible. He had never before felt such blinding rage as he did now.
"I think blasting a hole through your stomach would nicely finish this farcical duel," Nero was saying, unaware that Tom had performed the counter curse to the leg locker.
Tom used an itching curse, but he was so angry that it was a lot stronger than it should have been. Instead of laughing at the tickling sensation, Nero started going ballistic in his attempt to scratch all his skin at once. He continued for almost a minute and he scratched himself so hard that he bled in places.
"Cool down, hot head," Tom said in an icy whisper. "Aestuarium."
A blast of water shot from his wand. It was so powerful that it knocked Nero off his feet.
"Why don't I help you dry off?" Tom snarled. "Siccitas."
The water began to turn to steam. Nero started screaming in pain. Not only was the spell evaporating the water on his skin and clothes, it was doing the same to the water in his body. Tom didn't care: truth be told he was enjoying it. His enemy was lying begging for mercy at his feet. Tom had power over him; power to make the pain stop, power to bring it back again on a whim. Power of life and death.
He lifted his spell, but not from mercy. He had vowed vengeance and vengeance is what he would get. Several pain curses later and the disarming charm later, Tom stood victorious over Nero Malfoy. He had his wand. However the punishments weren't read out until the next day at dinner. Tom had to have an orange paste applied to his burns. Nero had to have several pain-numbing potions administered. He was also forced to drink a huge amount of water to recover form the dehydration spell Tom had used. He kept glowering at Tom, but was wise enough to stay silent. The next day he learned what he would be expected to do now that he had lost the bet.
"As mister Malfoy has lost the duel, I will now read his punishments," Professor Dippet said that night at dinner. He broke the seal on the envelope Tom had given him. He chuckled as he read it to himself before reading it out to the whole school.
"Punishment one: Nero Malfoy will make a public apology and acknowledge Tom Riddle as his equal, not his inferior."
Nero looked like he'd rather take the giant squid out on a date than publicly admit Riddle was his equal. But he had no choice: by entering the duel he had entered a magical contract, obligating him to do what ever was asked of him.
"Punishment two: Nero Malfoy will clean every male toilet in this school, without magic."
A muscle was having a spasm in Nero's cheek. No Malfoy had ever done muggle labour. That was why Tom had chosen it. Obviously others had had the same thought, as sniggers were breaking out all over the hall. But the best was still to come.
"Punishment three: starting next year until he leaves Hogwarts, Nero Malfoy will participate in muggle studies class."
"WHAT?" Nero screeched, jumping to his feet. The first two had been humiliating enough but the thought of doing muggle studies: no Malfoy had ever been subjected to such a humiliation. "I won't do it."
"Yes you will, mister Malfoy," said Professor Dumbledore sternly. "You fully accepted that there would be consequences upon accepting the duel. You are obliged to carry them out. In fact, since the whole school is assembled, you can get the first one over with."
Nero stood and grudgingly said in front of the whole school that Tom was not is inferior. Tom knew that he didn't mean it, but it was fun to watch him humiliate himself in front of the whole school. He decided to give him help with his other punishments.
"Here you go, Nero," he said after Nero had finished. "These will help you with the other tasks." with that he gave him a toothbrush and a biro pen.
"What are these for?" Nero growled.
"The pen is something muggles use to write with," said Tom, grinning evilly. "I thought you might want to get some practice. And the toothbrush is to help you clean the toilets."
The look on Nero's face was priceless. Tom left him to stew in his own juice.
In a later story I might put a Malfoy in muggle studies class. Hope you like. I know the 'duel of retribution thing sounds a bit silly, but I wanted to get at least one duel in before Tom starts dabbling (but that won't happen for a while. He's still in 2nd year remember?) Please R and R.