To err is human, to forgive is... um... uh... Yeah.
Chapter One
Darkness.
That's all he could see as he entered the chamber of secrets. The dank air smelled strongly of rotten meat, and Tom could practically feel the wetness on his face.
Sweat.
He was scared. Why should he be, he wondered to himself. He shook his head trying to dislodge that single thought of fear he felt, and concentrated on the task at hand. He had to find the creature of Slytherin.
Fear.
The hair on his arms and neck rose, shivering, Tom made his way to the center of the chamber. He winced at the big splashes his footsteps made as they walked in a puddle.
So this is Slytherin's lair... Tom scoffed in contempt as his eyes adjusted to the blue light coming from his wand. The chamber was about ten meters high, and fifty meters wide, detailed statues of Snakes stood erect on the sides of the path that he happened to be walking on. The path led to an empty sqaure area in the middle, and around him was murky green swamp water. He wondered for a brief second how the water got in the chamber.
Tom felt disgusted. He hated being dirty and unclean, the epitome of the chamber. But he went on for his thirst of power was great. He was sure he would find somehting of immense value in the chamber, especially if it was the legendary creature that was suppossed to be gaurding this place. A basilisk.
Luckily for him, he was a parselmouth and Slytherin's heir, as he had found out last year. He always knew about Slytherin's chamber hidden somewhere in Hogwarts, and at last he found it after five long months of searching.
He had deduced that the basilisk, king of serpants, symbol of Slytherin, would need to move around somehow. The answer came to him almost immediately, pipes and underground waterways.
From there he searched each and every bathroom in the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, while maintaining high marks in his studies. The one thing he did not want was Dumbledore catching on to him, though he knew in his heart that was a false hope. He had caught the old man looking at him with pity and sadness in his eyes...
Tom sighed in frustration, and decided to head back. He would come again, with a pack of food, and a whole day or so to explore this labryinth. For now, he would need to return. His lack of presense at the Quidditch game that was currently going on wouldn't be noticed. But he was sure that the Quidditch game would be over by now. Besides, he would need to clean himself up. The thought of getting rid of the muck stuck to his body almsot brought a smile to his face.
With a sigh of deep disgust, he turned around and trudged back. Back to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.