Hey all, back with another chapter! Sorry for the wait but the muse wasn't working with me. I hope the next chapter will cooperate and be posted in the next few days, the next chapter will be the end of the first year and we will move into year two and looking at a different founder. We will see some flashbacks to Toms time at the orphanage soon too!

Okay before you start reading I'd like to once again thank MissRissa81 for her constant support and encouragement as the alpha of this story, nothing happens without her and I appreciate her so much. I'd also like to thank the members of the writing haven chat on the fanfiction group I help run; Beyond the Book Fanfiction Nook 18+ for all the writing sprints they participated in with me to get this chapter done! Thank you so much my lovely nookians x

A massive thank you to you the readers as without you I wouldn't have someone to continue this for!

Hope you enjoy x

KR

January 6, 1939

School had returned to normal, they had returned to classes, and Tom and Hermione had gone back to their usual routine of going to the library. The only difference? There was something wrong, and both Theodore and Hermione could feel something was coming.

Hence why they weren't surprised when they were seated for breakfast on a Tuesday morning, chatting with their housemates about what classes were going to bring and a letter was dropped in front of them.

Looking down at the handwriting, Hermione recognised it as the Headmasters.

Miss and Mister Nott,

After breakfast is finished you are to make your way to my office, there is something of the utmost importance we must discuss.

Please come alone, unless it's Mister Riddle, your parents have given permission for him to come along as well.

See you soon, Kind Regards.

Headmaster Dippet

P.S. The password this month is new journey

Hermione passed it onto Theo and then to Tom when Theo had finished, all three sharing a look. Maybe this was the bad feeling?

The three young Slytherins quickly finished their breakfast and moved out of the hall and up the stairs. Not a word was spoken as they made their way through the school.

Once they reached the gryphon guarding the Headmasters office, Hermione spoke the password, "New Journey." And they stepped onto the spiral stairs.

A knock on the inner door and an "enter" from within and the three were seated before Headmaster Dippet and Professor Slughorn, their head of house. Knowing it had to do with their family they got straight to the point and asked what was going on.

"I'm afraid I got contacted by your mother this morning, and your sister Penelope has been taken to St Mungo's, she is in a bad way after coming down with a bug after Christmas." The headmaster spoke.

Hermione, Theo, and Tom gasped, "Is she going to be okay? When can we go and see her?" Hermione asked in a flurry.

"Your parents have requested that you come today, and I tend to agree, any student under my care that has a family member in a critical state should be allowed to go and visit them," Dippet said, slightly smiling at them.

"Ah, sir? Why am I included in this?" Tom asked quietly.

"Because the Notts asked if we would allow it if you wanted to go and see them. You made quite the impression at Christmas, my boy." Professor Slughorn said.

"I do want to go, Penelope was kind when I was with them." Hermione smiled over at Tom as he said he wanted to see her sister.

"Okay, let's get you to St Mungo's now, so you have all day to spend with them, follow me." The headmaster said, standing and walking over to the fireplace he threw some floo powder and said their destination. Going through one at a time they waited on the other side for the Headmaster and their Head of House to come through and take them to the correct ward.

The three children were engulfed in hugs as soon as they came through the door and after a small stop the Professors let them be and went back to the school, saying to their parents that they could stay until Monday and their schoolwork would be delivered.

"How is she mum?" Hermione asked once they were alone.

"It's touch and go, one minute she's fine and the next she's having fits. That's why I wanted you guys here. Just in case." Her mother explained.

The children and adults sat around the bed, barely moving or making a sound. Penelope improved overnight and showed signs that she would recover. Hermione, Theo, and Tom went back to school on Monday morning ready to attend classes now that Penelope was out of the woods.

xXx

January 20, 1939

Aldrich stood watching as the Gryffindors stopped Hermione and Theo and pushed her backwards, a scowl appeared across Theo's features, and he pulled his wand from his robes. "Don't touch my sister," he said empathising his words with a jab of his wand to Alders' chest, leaving singe marks behind.

"She was in my way, and I don't trust her."

"Leave us alone." Both of the Nott's had been on edge since their sister had become ill and both stepped forward as if to do something, Tom, Aldrich, and Antonin stepped in front and pushed them backward leaving them with the others while they forced the Gryffindor's forwards, they didn't need the Notts getting in any more trouble or drawing more of Professor Dumbledore's attention to them.

Once they had pushed the Gryffindors further away and warned them about trying anything else they went back to the other Slytherins and escorted Hermione and Theodore back to the Common Room not letting them leave unless it was with someone, the prefects and other students asked what had gone on, and once in the know they all agreed to escort them around the score and keep the Gryffindors away as much as possible.

xXx

February 11, 1939

Hermione and Tom had been pacing the seventh floor for over an hour, they had noticed that Alders had been following them a lot lately and he would show up in the library whenever they were in there. So, they were trying to find an abandoned classroom up here to work in on researching the founders some more. Hermione knew they were close to finding the room where Rowena Ravenclaw hid her library, so they could start researching Godric and get closer to having their wands.

On the third pass of the hallway, a door appeared across from the tapestry depicting the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy to teach some trolls how to dance in the ballet. Hermione and Tom shared a look, walking over to the door; Tom turned the handle, and they entered slowly. Inside was a room with leather couches that looked like the ones in the Slytherin common room and around the walls were thousands of books.

Walking to the case on the left, Hermione pulled one of the leather-bound books off the shelf and flipped it open to find the information they had never seen about Rowena Ravenclaw. It was as if the room was giving them exactly what they required for their quest.

"We should tell Theo and Aldrich, they could help us. They know what we are doing anyway." Hermione said to Tom.

Nodding, he gestured for her to exit before him. Walking straight to the banks of the black lake where they knew the boys were they excitedly told them about the room that had given them books on Rowena Ravenclaw and had appeared out of nowhere.

"You sure though?" Aldrich asked Hermione.

"Yeah, we walked that hallway three times and didn't see it." She confirmed.

"Why were you up there though? I thought you were going to the library?" Theo questioned them.

"Because when we got to the library, we noticed Alders slinking around in the shadows, we don't know why but we've noticed he's there every time we are there," Tom replied.

"That's awfully coincidental. there could be nothing wrong."

"It was the way he was slinking around in the shadows and watching only us," Hermione said.

"Okay, let's watch him, and if there's anything there, we deal with it," Aldrich said. The four first years stood and walked back into the castle and Tom, and Hermione led the way up to the room.

Sitting inside, they knew they could safely sit in here, and no one would overhear their conversations.

It was the perfect spot for them to tell the prefects about, they had been trying to find somewhere to meet where their head of house couldn't find them.

xXx

February 11, 1939

Michael Alders stood in front of the Transfiguration professor waiting for him to finish grading the essay he had handed him, he had some more information for him, but he knew from previous meetings not to talk before being told to. Professor Dumbledore didn't appreciate being interrupted and he would hand out detention or take points if you went against this wish.

"Well done, Mr. Alders. Anything else before you go back to charms?" the professor peered over his half-moon glasses with a knowing look shining from his blue eyes. It was almost if he could see through to your mind and know you were holding something within.

"Riddle and the female Nott went to the library, but they seemed to second guess because then they left."

"Do you think they saw you?" Professor Dumbledore questioned the young Gryffindor.

"I'm not too sure sir if they did they didn't let on."

"Okay… did you follow them when they left?" Hoping the child wasn't completely incompetent.

"I did sir. They went to the seventh floor." He said, drifting off again.

Rolling his eyes at the child pausing at every announcement, "And?" he prompted.

"There was a door that appeared, and once they went inside, it disappeared."

"Disappeared, you say?" Alders nodded, and Dumbledore sat contemplating the information he had received. From what he knew of the castle, there was only one room like that; the come and go room, otherwise known as the Room of Requirement. Surely two first-year Slytherins had not discovered the secrets of that room.

"Are you able to follow them more and try and figure out what they are going there for? If you find out that information, I may just have more extracurricular activities for you for more house points. However, Michael, I must make it clear that until you have this information for me, we have no other business with each other outside of class." He said watching the young boy hoping he was up to the challenge of finding what they were using the room for.

"I won't let you down, Sir. I promise." He said after he had accepted the challenge Dumbledore dismissed him and smirked. Maybe he wouldn't have to resort to more nefarious means to find out what Riddle and Nott were up to.

He hoped so as he was sure if he did one of the other professors or the headmaster would find out and become suspicious of him.

He needed this arrangement to work out.

xXx

March 18, 1939

Albus Dumbledore stood watching the Slytherin table as the first years interacted and pushed Michael Alders over toward them, so he could stand nearby and listen in case they let lose any information about the reasons on why they were using the Room of Requirement.

Leaving the Great Hall with confidence in his stride, he didn't see all the Slytherins leave and head down to the Dungeon. Professor Slughorn had called a house meeting, and everyone was required to be there.

When they were all gathered around the plump head of house spoke in a booming voice, "This year you as a house have really come together to make the first years feel at home and became a family. I am so proud of your efforts with earning points toward the Inter-House cup and bringing us into first place, now there's still three months to go of the school year so keep going forward as you have but know I'm extremely proud of being Slytherin Head of House."

Peering around the room he smiled at all of the students and continued, "To the first years, you have assimilated into this house and family as I hoped and bring pride to the house, to the seventh years, I wish you luck in your future and hope you will remain in contact as your careers progress, good luck, and it has been a pleasure teaching you all. Well done everyone and I'll see the rest of you back for another great year next year if we don't get to interact before the end of term."

As he finished and dismissed them all, they went off to their separate areas. The first years confused about why he had gathered them together when the school year hadn't finished yet.

The Nott twins, Tom and Aldrich sat away from the others.

"Did the rest of you notice Alders being pushed toward us by Professor Dumbledore before this meeting was called?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I think you are right, there's something more going on. We need to find out and deal with it tomorrow." Aldrich said.

"Tomorrow?" Tom asked looking around at the other three.

"Tomorrow." They said as one.

Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you soon with another chapter xx