Title: Praeter erratum praeter
Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)
Beta: Kalathetrumpeter
Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...
Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.
A/N: I know, I know. Where have you been you stupid author? And I'm really sorry. It's just that I've so much homework right now, and tests, and other things. And the time just seems to fly away. Anyway, here's the 9th chapter. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it, all thought I don't think it's the best one.
Kalathetrumpeter: Thanks .
DarkRoseBlood: Yeah I know. I just had to end it there .
Wanamaker: I tried to make this chapter a bit longer. Promise I'll make the next one even longer.
Riuet: Nice to hear that you liked it . Hopefully I'll hear more from you. And I hope you'll update your story too soon. It's just brilliant :D.
Kittybro: Yeah, the plan was to make it a Tom/Hermione fic, but now I'm not so sure anymore. She will be in the story thought. Anyway, I'll se what I come up with.
Zaralya: Thanks :D.
Vigrest: I know it's been a long time since I updated, but here's the chapter.
Artemis1000: Thanks. I thought it would be a lot more fun, if Tom was to be in Gryffindor :D.
Cocoaducks: Here's your chapter.
Previous chapter:
"Tom, Hermione, Ginerva," Dumbledore greeted, "what can I do for you?"
Tom only shrugged, and waited for Ginny to start talking.
"Headmaster, why in the world is Tom Riddle here?!" Ginny asked, pointing towards Tom, who was smiling sheepishly.
"Yes, I've been waiting for that question," Dumbledore said, and his words sent a cold chill down Tom's spine
Chapter 9
Tom stared at the headmaster, like he'd suddenly grown a second head.
How does he know? Tom thought.
"Miss Granger, Miss Weasly, I would like you to meet Tom Marvolo Riddle," Dumbledore smiled, and motioned towards Tom, who was standing by the door.
Both the girls turned and glared at him, which made him feel uncomfortable. Hermione looked surprised and angry, while Ginny was grinning triumphantly. Tom gave them a small smile and muttered, "Hi".
"He…what?…how?" Hermione spluttered, and sank down in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"Yes, Headmaster, why is The Dark Lord here?" Ginny asked.
Tom only scowled at Ginny's back. The girl had surely changed. She wasn't the innocent girl that she'd been when his younger self had tricked her into opening the Chamber of Secrets. And then there was Dumbledore. Tom didn't have a clue how the old man knew who he was. But the problem was that he did know, and Tom wondered why he hadn't said anything about it earlier. It did, on the other hand, explain why the old fool had wanted him to come to Hogwarts, and why he'd hesitated about getting him a wand. Ollivander was properly in good health, too. Tom was pretty sure that Dumbledore had lied about Ollivander being in St. Mungo's.
Tom clenched his teeth in anger. He was the one who had been fooled all along, and he didn't like being tricked, at especially not by his old Transfiguration teacher.
"Tom!"
The voice drew Tom back to reality, and he looked at the Headmaster.
"What?" he snarled.
"I was just telling Miss Granger and Miss Weasly here, that you are going to stay here for the rest of the year, and they are wondering how you came to look like your own 16-year-old-self. And to be honest I am too. Do you care to tell us?"
"No, not really," Tom sneered.
"Well, then. Girls, I would like to talk to Tom alone. Could you please return to your dorms?" Dumbledore asked the two girls gently. They nodded and left. As the door closed behind them, Tom's anger boiled over.
"How long?" he demanded.
"Since I saw you in St. Mungo's," was the answer.
"And why did you trick me into believing that you didn't know who I was?!" Tom snarled, and crossed his arms over his chest.
Dumbledore smiled slightly, which mad Tom even more furious.
"WELL?!" Tom screamed, and a glass, which was standing on the desk, exploded. Tom looked dumbfound at the shattered pieces, knowing perfectly well that it was his anger which had made the glass explode.
"Calm down Tom," Dumbledore said. He pointed his wand at the broken glass and muttered "Reparo!" and the glass was once more whole.
"Please take a seat," Dumbledore continued, and pointed towards on of the chairs.
"I prefer to stand," Tom sneered.
"Suit yourself then," the headmaster smiled, "As for your question. You didn't seem to want anyone to find out who you were, so I merely did what I thought you wanted."
"You forced me to come to Hogwarts!"
"I gave you a choice," Dumbeldore reminded him.
"Yeah? It was either this, or you would have sent me back to an orphanage that doesn't exist!"
"Still, it was a choice."
"Oh, shut up!" Tom muttered. He turned and walked towards the door.
"And where are you going?" Dumbledore asked, sounding amused.
"Anywhere, but here," was the Slytherin's reply.
"Tom, be reasonable. You have nowhere to go. No money, and no wand. Where would you go?"
The headmaster's words made Tom stop. His hand was resting on the doorknob, but his thoughts where far gone.
Where would he go? The old fool was right, he had to admit that. He didn't have any money, and he doubted that he could get job or anything like that. Not to mention that Lucius still had his wand.
"Tom," the voice was soft now, "admit it. The only place left is here."
Tom frowned. Who was the old man trying to fool? He couldn't stay at Hogwarts. He couldn't, and he didn't want to either.
"Forget it!" he snapped, and rushed out the door before Dumbledore could stop him.
Dumbledore only sighed and picked up a candy from a jar on the desk. Thankfully, the spirited youth couldn't go far. Dumbledore knew Tom would come to his senses, he just needed some time. Right now he was angry, and wasn't thinking straight. If he gave the Slytherin until tomorrow to calm down, then Tom might be able to see things for what they were.
While Dumbledore was eating candies in his office, Tom was running through the castle, only stopping to avoid the flights of stairs that changed directions. In the end he stopped and looked around. Where was he? Upon hearing someone sob from a room nearby, he started walking towards the noise. Curious he peeked through the door, and found himself in the girl's bathroom.Slowly he walked inside, well knowing that he shouldn't be there, and looked for whoever was causing the noises.
"Anyone here?" he called softly, and looked around. His eyes caught sight of the sinks, and he stopped. He knew where he was. This was where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was.
"Who are you?" a voice asked behind him. He spun around. He was standing face to face with the girl he had killed so many years ago, Moaning Myrtle.
"Uhm…. hi," Tom said. Wondering about what to say to a girl whose death he was responsible for, "I'm Tom Riddle."
"Did you come to see me?" The girl asked tilting her head a bit to the side.
"No, not really," Tom admitted, and turned his back on her. He was more interested in the entrance.
Myrtle let out a howl that startled Tom, and then she disappeared down a toilet.
"Merlin, she was touchy," Tom muttered and walked around the circle of sinks until he found the one he was looking for. The snake stood out clearly on the tap, and Tom grinned. He knew exactly where he was going.
:/:Open up:/: he hissed in parseltongue, and the sinks started moving. Soon, they had uncovered a black whole in the ground, and Tom jumped in.
Tom fell for what felt like forever. When he finally reached the bottom, he landed hard on the bones of rats and whatever the Basilisk had been living on.
He got to his feet, and walked through the maze of corridors, noticing on the way that there seemed to have been an explosion, because parts of the ceiling had fallen down.
When he finally reached the last door, he sighed in relief.
:/:Open up:/: he hissed once again, and the door swung open. Tom smirked to himself and walked inside. The room was covered in darkness, and Tom failed to see the ladder that would have brought him down to the floor. Instead he continued to walk straight ahead and stumbled over it and fell down, landing on the rock-hard floor below him.
He let out a cry of pain before blacking out.
A stinging pain in his leg woke him up several hours later. And he hissed in pain as he sat up. Slowly he tried to move his left leg, but he was rewarded with a sharp pain that slowly spread through his whole body.
"Bloody hell!" he cursed out loud. Tom slowly reached for the ladder, and used it as support, and then he dragged himself to his feet. Once he was standing, he noticed that several torches now was lightening up the Chamber, which had been covered in darkness. He also noticed the remains of what had been his pet Basilisk. Angry, he cursed Potter in every possible way for killing his pet, and slowly limped towards the dead snake, while cursing his stupid memory for every painful step he took.
Why the hell hadn't he remembered the damn ladder? This was the second time he had fallen down. The first time he'd done it, had been when he first discovered the Chamber. Only back then he'd survived the fall with only a couple of bruises. Now he had most likely broken his leg.
Tom managed to limp all the way towards the snake before he collapsed beside it. He groaned as his injured leg made contact with the ground. Furious, he let himself fall down on the ground and stared up into the ceiling, while he tried ignoring the fact that the wet ground slowly was soaking his robes.
He'd really done it this time. There was no way that he could get back up, into the school, with a damaged leg. Hell, he couldn't even walk 20 feet before collapsing.
Great, I'm probably going to die down here! Tom thought irritated, and closed his eyes.
"You know, I really do doubt that," a voice suddenly said.
Tom's eyes snapped open, and he looked around to see whom it was that had spoken.
"Who's there?" he asked.
"It's me, Marvolo. I think you still owe me an explanation," A familiar voice said, and Tom looked up. A ghost was flooding a couple of feet above the ground, Salazar Slytherin's ghost to be exact.
"Merlin's sake! You nearly scared me to death!" Tom exclaimed.
"Sorry boy, I didn't think you were so easy to scare. After all, you're my heir." Salazar landed on the floor and walked up to Tom, who was still lying on the floor.
"So what are you doing here? And be glad I'm only a ghost, or else I would have hexed you into next week! How the hell did you manage to get yourself placed in Gryffindor of all places?!" Salazar sneered, staring down at his young Heir.
"It was the damned Hat! It did it on purpose!" Tom defended.
"And what are you doing here then?" Salazar asked, not looking pleased at all.
"Well, uhm…I kind of…" Tom trailed of and looked down at his hands.
"YES?!" Salazar asked, and Tom could tell he was starting to get angry.
"Lucius attacked me during a meeting and uhm…" he hesitated, "Threw me out," he finally muttered.
"And how, may I ask, is it that a lowlife Death Eater was able to overpower the most powerful wizard alive?"
"He surprised me! Merlin, I hadn't expected him to attack me! He caught me of guard, and then I hit my head against the wall and blacked out."
Tom flinched when he saw the rage that was developing in Salazar, and he was truly grateful that the man only was a ghost. Or else he most likely would have been cursed into oblivion.
"OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS YOU'VE MANAGED TO DO DURING THE LAST 50 YEARS, THIS HAS TO BE THE WORST ONE!" Salazar roared, making Tom jump in fear.
"But…I…he," Tom stuttered.
"Shut up!" Slytherin sneered, and Tom immediately shut his mouth.
Then he seemed the calm down a bit, "And then?" he asked, "What happened?"
Tom sighed and told the rest of the story. Then he fell silent and waited for Salazar to start screaming again.
"And then you came down here to hide from Albus, right?"
Tom nodded.
"And how did you injure your leg?"
"I forgot the ladder and fell down instead."
"I see," Salazar said.
Tom started rubbing his eyes absently and waited for the Slytherin to continue. He was starting to feel dizzy for some reason, and he felt like he was on the edge of pass out.
"Well, I guess I should go and tell Dumbledore where he can find my useless Heir. After all, we can't risk you dying can we?" he asked maliciously.
"NO! Hey! WAIT!" Tom screamed and somehow got to his feet, but the ghost had already faded.
"Brilliant!" Tom said loud. A wave of nausea suddenly hit him, and he started swaying, and before he could think another thought, he fell to the floor unconscious.
A/N: I know this chapter was horrible. Sighs. Well I promise I won't take this long to update again.