Chapter 14:

It was that time of year again, Tom's favorite time actually. It was Christmas vacation. Now, Tom wasn't much of a fan of Christmas itself, however the vast majority of the school had left to stay with their families, making it much less of a hassle to continue onward with his plans. His birthday was approaching as well; he would be sixteen on the last day of December. This didn't mean very much to him; it wasn't until his seventeenth birthday, when he would be deemed an adult would he find cause for any celebration.

He had spoken with Lucan the basilisk twice since his first encounter. He had decided to release him soon after vacation had ended. He thought a scare tactic was best, at first. Many had heard tales of the Chamber of Secrets, and the mere thought of it being opened might be enough to scare away some of the 'impure' witches and wizards.

It wasn't as though the thought of murder had particularly bothered him; in fact he would like nothing more than to rid the school of mudbloods in a more permanent fashion. However, he never before killed a human, and wished to save that honor for his father, whom he planned on visiting over the summer.

He hadn't told Nicole of his plans, though seeing as she had already killed her father, she would surely understand. There were just some things he needed to keep to himself and himself alone. This also pertained to his conversations with the basilisk. Granted he had told her of his most recent encounters, he was always sparse on details.

She seemed rather sympathetic to the plights and causes of others, regardless of their blood status. He was worried she would be blind to the bigger picture when informed the lives of 'innocent' people were at stake.

It was Christmas Eve. Tom stared blankly into the roaring fire of the Slytherin common room. Only one other boy was present, a mousy looking boy named Kaiser Selwyn. Apparently his parents went on vacation to the Caribbean Islands to 'reconnect' with one another, and Kaiser had missed out on an invitation. He sat there quietly, twiddling his thumbs, looking over at Tom every few moments as if he expected him to do something interesting.

Tom was slightly annoyed by this, but said nothing. He looked over at a rather large, gaudy Christmas tree near the fireplace, and had the sudden urge to send to up in flames. What was the point of a tree anyway? One could just as easily place their gifts on a counter, even a chair. Gifts. Tom almost laughed. He seldom received gifts. Before Hogwarts the only presents he ever received were new pairs of shoes provided by the orphanage. You always got a new pair shoes on Christmas; problem was they wore out before summer and you were left with shabby shoes for half the year.

Nicole had never gotten him Christmas presents, she was always tight where money was concerned and bought him a present on his birthday instead which was just days later. She couldn't afford both. It was only the year before last had he begun to receive gifts from his followers. Mostly they gave him money, but on occasion they purchased wand polisher or something equally useless. He never considered them gifts, more like offerings.

He looked over at Kaiser who immediately averted his eyes. He couldn't stand him for much longer. He got up from his chair, and headed towards his dormitory, which was now empty. Kaiser's eyes seemed to follow him as he walked.

He changed into his pajamas, and climbed into his bed. He wasn't really that tired, but he knew he would be expected to rise early the next morning and fake cheer. It took him a good while to finally fall asleep, and when he awoke it was light out. The sun blared through his window and he squinted his eyes closing the curtain.

He dressed and headed downstairs. Kaiser was nowhere to be found, which was a relief. He found his presence the other night quite bothersome. No one else was there either. They were probably in the Great Hall eating breakfast, wrapping paper littered the floor.

Tom looked under the tree, to see if any packages remained unopened. There were three in his name. The first was from the orphanage, and surprise, it was another pair of shoes. Tom looked at them with disgust and tossed them aside. The second was signed from several of his followers, and inside it contained a large amount of galleons. The third however had no apparent sender. It was small, wrapped in a rather plain paper. Tom assumed it was a book, opening it carefully, mildly curious.

A rather nondescript book came out. He picked it up, and opened it. The pages were blank, it was a diary. There was a note scribbled on a piece of parchment placed inside the first page. He began to read it.

Tom,

I thought about waiting until your birthday, but thought I might give you a Christmas gift for once instead. It isn't much; I picked it up on Vauxall Road over the summer. Suppose I thought you could use something to write down your thoughts. Could be useful, never could get into them myself. You don't have to keep it if you don't like, I won't be offended, okay maybe just a little.

The note wasn't signed, but he knew in an instant exactly who it was from. He looked over at the diary again, wondering what exactly he would do with such a thing. Still, it was something new. He slipped the diary into his robes and made his way toward the Great Hall.

There were a handful of students who decided to stay home for the holidays. The Great Hall had only one table set out; the teachers were in deep conversation near the end over something about the ministry, the Ravenclaws sat clumped together rather quietly, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs sat opposite each other. He saw Nicole conversing lightly with Rubeus and a petite looking third year who was complaining about having to stay in the castle.

It was a wonder how she could endure such mindless banter. He himself sat near the end of the table, wanting to be as far away from Professor Dumbledore as possible. A few feet away from him were a couple of Slytherins who hadn't appeared to take notice of him, which he was thankful for.

He began to load his plate, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was Kaiser again, staring up at him. He tried to ignore this. When his followers returned perhaps he'd order them to shove his head down a toilet, but for now, he was hungry.

He finished eating rather quickly. He felt Kaiser's eyes on him all throughout his breakfast and thought it was best to take his leave. He headed towards the library muttering to himself. "Who does that prat think he is anyway?" It wasn't as if Tom weren't intimidating enough. He thought that would be enough to keep other students eyes away from his. He sat down rubbing his temples. The librarian was in the Great Hall with the teachers, so he was alone, but not for long.

Any minute now Nicole would come waltzing in behind him. He expected this; it was why he went there. It might have taken a few more minutes than Tom had expected, but there she was, approaching him slowly and looking a bit anxious.

She bit her lip and he made no apparent gestures. Her face dropped. "You hate it," she sighed, clearly disappointed with herself.

"I—" Tom began to refute this, but was interrupted.

"I mean I just didn't know what to get you. I was planning on going to Hogsmeade but I didn't see anything that said 'buy me'. And you know, looking back at it I suppose—"

It was Tom who interrupted her this time. "Nicole."

She turned to him looking a bit confused. "What?"

He walked towards her, taking out the diary from his robes. "I like it."

Nicole raised a brow. "Really?"

He resisted the urge to laugh. "Really." He put the diary back into his robes. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh no?"

He shook his head, and looked into the distance to see if anyone was coming. "I've decided, after break."

Nicole knew exactly what he was referring to. "Are you sure?" He nodded; a half smile appeared on his face.

She wet her lips and averted his eyes, as though she was mulling something over. He looked mildly concerned. "Something the matter?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "No, nothing's the matter." Now Nicole was usually a fair liar, but it was obvious she wasn't being entirely truthful.

Tom gave a sigh, "You're upset, aren't you?" He was beginning to think he shouldn't have told her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not upset. I just, I want you to be happy. Whatever that means." She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" He nodded, looking back at her as she left.

The rest of the winter holidays went by rather quickly. He spent the evening of his birthday in the kitchens with Nicole where the house elves brought a huge, decadent cake (less of a fraction of which was actually eaten). Nicole was still avoiding bringing up his plans to open the chamber, and there was a sense of awkwardness between them.

Tom decided to ignore this. He had gotten too far, spent too much time dedicating himself to the chamber. Whatever Nicole was going through it could wait.

When the holidays did end, and the students returned to the castle there was a general buzzing in the air. It seemed no matter whatever corner he turned he could hear someone laughing or see someone smiling. It almost made him want to smile himself. Not because he generally enjoyed other's happiness but because he was going to have the intense pleasure of taking it away from them.

It was nearing one o'clock in the morning in mid January when Tom entered the girl's bathroom yet again. He called Lucan from the large pipe he'd originally fallen into. Lucan had been waiting near the base of the large pipe most hours of the day, quite excited at the possibility of freedom to roam the castle. He heard Tom, just barely, and began to slither upwards towards the bathroom to receive instructions.

"Master," Lucan hissed, bowing his head, a learned reflex for having a lethal gaze.

"Lucan, your time has come to explore the castle, but you must not be found," Tom commanded. The basilisk nodded. "Oh, and do try not to kill anyone, mudblood or otherwise. You'll have time for that later."

"I shall shield my eyes. But why, if you should be kind enough to indulge me my master, bring me here if I am to not wreak any sort of havoc?" Lucan was rather polite for such a terrifying monster, it was off-putting really.

"I said you weren't to kill yet Lucan, you will however paralyze." Tom spoke softly, rather smug with himself for doing some more library research on basilisks.

"Trickier then, but I assure you master, I am up to the challenge you have presented. Who is the target?" It may have been a trick of the light, but it looked as though Lucan were smiling.

"It needn't be anyone in particular. Though make sure it's a mudblood, or a halfblood at the very least. Stay away from Slytherin students for good measure," Tom enjoyed handing out these demands, and felt quite comfortable. "And do not harm Nicole in any manner whatsoever, do you understand?"

"I shall not harm your mate."

Tom raised a brow. That word seemed to bother him, though he wasn't quite sure why. He began towards the exit, knowing the basilisk could command the opening closed just as he could. Still, it wouldn't hurt to reiterate. "Stay hidden." With that, he left the lavatory. Exactly where to, Lucan couldn't be certain.

The basilisk stretched himself across the floor, seeming to revel in this newfound freedom. Perhaps, when all was said and done he would be allowed a look at the outdoors. From what he'd heard from other snakes, it was quite pleasant. Lucan wasn't vicious in nature, in fact after hundreds of years worth of self reflection he considered himself more a pacifist. He was, however bound by ancient magic to serve the heir of Slytherin in anyway they deemed fit.

He accepted this; in fact he quite liked Tom. So it was of very little moral consequence to him what he was about to do, it was after all his job. He began slithering through the pipes, thinking of a way to insure a body to see his reflection.

The answer came rather quickly. He was in the pipes after all. He decided to head towards one of the fourth floor bathrooms, rather than the one which he'd been acquainted with. There was a large opening underneath one of the toilets, which he disconnected with ease. What was difficult for Lucan however, being so large in size, was to fit through. It was tight, and rather uncomfortable. The smell wasn't too pleasant either. He'd have to remember to clean himself.

He headed towards all the taps, turning on each one with his head, turning on each one. Even with all the taps on, it seemed it would take far too long to provide enough water for one to see a reflection. Suddenly, he heard a noise, and darted towards the toilet, trying to fit himself back inside.

The door flung open, and two students entered. One was a girl, giggling slightly. "Travis, we can't, this is the girl's—" She turned to the faucets, which were all on. "What's—"

Travis looked at them dumbfounded, and went over to turn them off. This was Lucan's chance to prove himself. Two for one, his master would praise him, or at the very least be pleased. He began to slither out behind them, his eyes shown brightly into the mirror. The girl looked up into it, her face frozen with terror as she followed the scales of the body towards the head, involuntarily, and dropped to the floor.

"Probably just a prankster," Travis began, turning off the last tap. He heard a thump behind him, and looked up into the mirror as well, glancing into a pair of bright yellow eyes, and he too fell to the floor. The basilisk crawled back under the toilet, reconnecting it carefully, and slid back down into the depths of the chamber to receive judgment from his master.