Chapter 8

Tom knew he was not in his own room when he woke up the next morning. He could hear the noises of other people in the room. Slowly, everything came back to him. He was at Hogwarts! He was finally going to have a future!

His heart beat with excitement as he sat up. He could not wait to get to class and begin learning everything he could about being the best wizard ever. Right now, however, he took the time to survey his surroundings. There were five poster beds lined along the walls. Only one of the other boys was awake; the other three were still sleeping.

Tom was not thrilled at the thought of having roommates. He preferred to do everything by himself. Perhaps wizards would be different from the muggle orphans he had known. He decided to give them a chance. "Good morning," he said to the boy who was messing with a bag on his bed. Tom thought his name was Abraxas Malfoy.

The boy turned his head and smiled at him. He had bright blue eyes and white-blond hair that fell down to his shoulders. "Good morning. It's Tom, right?"

Tom nodded. "And you're Abraxas."

The other boy grinned. "That's right. Today is going to be great. We're getting our schedules today. Aren't you excited?"

"Yes," Tom said slowly. He was not sure what to think about this kid. He seemed much too cheery for his liking, especially at this hour of the day. He glanced over at the other boys. "Shouldn't we wake them? Breakfast is starting soon."

"I'm awake," Sebastian Avery said from his bed. Tom could only see his dark brown hair sticking out from under the blankets. "Just give me a minute."

A second later, Ben Henwood pulled a sheet over his light brown head. Only the dirty blond in the room, Aden Lestrange, seemed to be truly asleep as he lay on his side.

Tom looked back at Abraxas, who shrugged. "Let's just go down there when we're ready," the other boy said. "I don't take long, and it's their loss."

This seemed fair enough to Tom. He ignored his roommates as he got dressed and made himself look presentable. Sebastian got up about halfway through and somehow managed to finish getting ready at the same Tom and Abraxas.

"Aw, they're going to leave without us," Ben, who finally sat up, said. He threw a pillow at the body in the bed next to him. "Wake up, Aden. We don't want to be late."

Tom smirked slightly as he watched the encounter. After slipping his school bag over his shoulder, he led Abraxas and Sebastian out into stairwell, where they had to first walk down one flight of stairs to reach the common room where they could then exit and begin their march towards the Great Hall.

Tom liked the dungeons, where the Slytherin common room was hidden. It was colder and more enclosed than the rest of the castle. He thought he could spend some good time alone down there. His mind then wandered to Elora. He remembered hearing that the Ravenclaw common room was atop a tower, opposite the Gryffindor tower, while Hufflepuff lay underground on the opposite side of the castle. He wondered if Elora liked living up so high. He did not know if he would be able to stand it; he was not a bird.

As they entered the Entrance Hall, Tom could see students continually walking into the Great Hall. None of them paid the first years any attention. Tom caught sight of a couple of older Slytherin students and followed them to the Slytherin table. Sebastian sat next to him at the table, and Abraxas took the seat on Sebastian's other side.

"Hello," the boy across from Tom said with a small smiled. He seemed to be not much older than Tom; he had thick black hair and brown eyes hidden behind then-rimmed glasses. "I'm Ridgewell Rosier. I'm a second year student."

"Tom Riddle," Tom said. He did not really feel like talking. He glanced down at his plate and watched his food appear just like it had the previous night. How did they do that?

"Hi," Abraxas said brightly. "I'm Abraxas, and this is Sebastian."

Tom looked up in time to see Sebastian nod at Ridgewell in acknowledgement.

Towards the end of breakfast, the teachers began to hand out class schedules. Tom recognized the round man walking along the Slytherin table as Professor Slughorn, the potions master and head of Slytherin.

"Hello there," the professor said, smiling at the first year boys (Ben and Aden had arrived a minute earlier). "Here are your timetables. Make sure to give yourselves plenty of time to find your way around. This place can be a bit confusing."

No wonder, with all the staircases and hallways Tom had glimpsed. He took his schedule, giving Slughorn a polite "thanks," and looked it over. He had four classes that day: Potions with Gryffindor, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Gryffindor, Herbology with Ravenclaw, and History of Magic with Hufflepuff. Excellent. He would have a chance to examine students from the other houses. Elora had already told him what she had heard they were like, but he wanted to observe for himself.

"We better go," Sebastian said, slipping his timetable into his pocket. "Potions starts in ten minutes."

Tom drowned the rest of his pumpkin juice and stood up. Aden and Ben grumbled about being hungry, but they followed the other three boys out into the hall.

Finding the potions classroom was easy. It was the first class room on the right down in the dungeons. The boys were the first ones there, so they leaned against the wall to wait. Tom took the opportunity to take out his potions book and flip through.

The sound of soft chatter caused Tom to lower his book. The rest of the class was arriving. Down the hall, he could see Professor Slughorn making his way to the classroom.

"Good morning, students," the teacher side. He opened the door and led the way inside.

Tom was the first to walk in, and he took a seat in the middle at the front of the classroom. Aden sat on his left and Sebastian on his right.

"Is everyone here?" Slughorn said as he peered across the room. "Better take attendance." He pulled out a roll of parchment. "Matilda Allen?"

The girl with curly blond hair who had been first at the sorting raised her hand.

Slughorn nodded. "Very good. Sebastian Avery?"

After reading everyone's name, the professor set the list down on the desk behind them. Then he looked around the classroom and smiled at everyone again. "Everyone is here. Welcome to Potions. I assume this is the first class for all of you. I can assure you, you are going to have an exciting year. You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking. I hope you'll find what I have to teach you very useful."

He turned and walked to the other side of the room. The students' eyes followed his every move. "Now, we're going to start with a simple cure for boils. You'll find the recipe on page four of your textbook. Pair up and get started." He clapped his hands together; then he folded them and waited for the students to move.

"Let's work together," Aden said from Tom's left side.

Tom glanced at him and nodded. He pushed his desk closer to Aden's so that they would have more room. They both opened their books and flipped to the correct page. Tom wondered if Aden grew up in a wizarding family and knew anything about potions; Tom was certainly clueless, but he was determined to work hard and get it right.

Slughorn strolled through the class watching everyone's work. When he passed Tom and Aden, he simply nodded and continued on. Tom had no idea if they were doing it right, but at least there had been no explosions like that from a pair of Gryffindors to his right.

"Time is up," Slughorn said after nearly an hour. "Please fill a vile with your potions, label it, and drop it off at my desk."

"I guess we'll have to wait to see how we did," Aden said, shrugging.

Tom figured he could wait to be graded. He was sure his other classes would occupy his mind. He followed the teacher's instructions and was soon out the door.

Now they had a break to do whatever they wanted to do. Tom lost Aden in the crowd. He decided to walk around and explore the castle. He wanted to get to know it well; it was bound to come in handy in the future. Besides, this was his new home.

He managed to find his way back just in time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. He thought the class was very interesting. There was a type of magic they were not allowed to learn? There was something intriguing about it. He had to learn more. Right now, however, he had his first class with Elora.

Herbology was held in a big greenhouse outside the castle. Tom hurried to arrive before his Slytherin classmates. The door was open, so he stepped inside. He had been looking around at the place for a full minute when he was interrupted.

"Tom!" Elora smiled at him as she walked over to him. "Isn't this place great? Hogwarts, I mean."

"Yes," Tom said. "It's perfect." It felt good to see his friend. Too bad they were in different houses. There had to be some way they could meet and hang out. "Are you free after this class?"

Elora frowned slightly and shook her head. "No. I've got Potions, but I'm done after that."

That would not do, though. Tom had a free period and then History of Magic. They would have to meet later. "Do you want to meet me at the library at four?" It was the first neutral place he could think of.

"Sure," Elora said brightly. "I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure I could find it."

Tom opened his mouth to give her advice, but the sound of snickering stopped him.

"Tom's got a girlfriend!" Sebastian said gleefully. Aden and Abraxas laughed beside him.

"He works fast," Aden noted.

Tom instinctively grew tense. For the first time since he had been there, he was reminded of his life at the orphanage. He thought these kids would be different. Had he been a fool? "She's not my girlfriend," he said through clenched teeth.

"We're friends," Elora said with a nervous smile. "We met before Hogwarts."

Abraxas raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

"Leave them alone," Ben said, pushing through the boys to get to Tom and Elora. He offered the girl a friendly smile. "Ignore them. I'm Ben Henwood. What's your name?"

"Elora Leatherby," Elora said shyly. Tom guessed she was not used to being treated kindly either.

"Leatherby?" Abraxas repeated, his eyes suddenly wide. "The pureblood family that joined Slytherin and Ravenclaw together?"

Elora seemed to shift uncomfortably. "Yes." She bit her lip. "My mom was in Ravenclaw and my dad was in Slytherin. Now my brother is in Ravenclaw with me and my sister is in Slytherin."

"Emile, right?" Aden said. At Elora's nod, he added, "I've met her."

"Good choice, Tom," Sebastian said with a look of approval. He pointed at Aden and Abraxas. "We're purebloods as well."

"I'm mixed," Ben said. He shrugged. "Not that it matters."

Elora smiled nervously. "Right."

"What about you?" Aden asked Tom.

"It's time to begin," a female adult voice said before Tom could reply that he had no idea who his parents were, least of all their blood status. He was grateful for the interjection; he turned to focus on the teacher.

He explored the castle again after Herbology. He made sure to find the library and note its location; he did not want to be late. Time passed sooner than he would have liked, and he headed to the History of Magic classroom. The class was taught by a ghost named Professor Binns. The class was by far the most boring of the day, but Tom still managed to pay attention.

He arrived at the library right on time to meet Elora. She walked in a few minutes later, her face lighting up upon seeing him. "Hi, Tom," she said happily. "How were your classes? I loved all of mine."

"They were enjoyable," Tom said.

"I'm glad we don't have homework yet," Elora said. "I want to get to know this place better." She looked around the library curiously. "That's a lot of books. What are we doing here?"

"I need your help with something," Tom said. "I want to see if I can find anything in here that mentions my family."

Elora frowned slightly. "Your family?"

"My father mainly," Tom said. "His name was Tom Riddle as well. I would like to know more about him."

Elora bit her lip; she seemed uncertain. "Well, how do you know he's a wizard?"

"If my mother had been a wizard, she would have tried harder to not die," Tom said with iciness in his voice. "And she would not have left me at a muggle orphanage. I bet she left my father because he was a wizard and then gave me away to spite him."

"I suppose that's possible," Elora said, "but what if you're a muggleborn?"

"I won't know until I look," Tom said. He did not know if blood was important, but it would be easier to find information about his parents if they had wizard blood. He had to know where he came from so he could find out who he was. "Will you help me?"

"Of course," Elora said. "Where do we start?"

"We can each take an end," Tom decided. He made his way over to the right and began to examine books on a shelf.

Tom brought a stack of books over to a table and sat down. Elora soon joined him. Nearly an hour of silence passed as they two of them searched through the material. Finally, Elora said, "Can we take a break and explore outside? We can continue this after dinner."

"Alright," Tom agreed. He had not seen much outside except for the greenhouse; it was probably a good idea to check anything out. Plus, they were not getting anywhere with these books.

Elora grinned. "Great! I love exploring. Maybe we can find something to play."

Play. Right. Elora loved to make up games, and Tom actually found them enjoyable. He wondered what she could come up with in a place as magnificent as Hogwarts. Probably something to do with dragons and castles. Tom was still not sure about the other kids so he was grateful to have her around. He was sure this was going to be an amazing year.

Tom could not believe it when a full week had passed by. He had become immersed in everything to do with Hogwarts. The school as simply amazing. He still found it hard to believe that he was actually a wizard. It was the truth, though. He belonged here.

He loved each of his classes, even History of Magic. Everything he learned was fascinating to him, and he was always burning to learn more. He had not found anything about his family yet, but Elora was always there to help. He was growing to like the Slytherins. He got along fine with the boys in his year, though they did not really hang out much. Outside of class, Tom was usually either alone or with Elora. That was exactly how he liked it.

He had run into Emile, Elora's sister, once in the Slytherin common after classes on Friday. He had been entering the room, and he soon found her blocking his path. "Hello," she said casually.

"Hello," Tom said politely.

"Are you still Elora's friend or have you come to your senses?" Emile said.

Tom frowned. "There is nothing wrong with Elora. She is a good friend." Really, what was wrong with her family?

Emile shook her head as she let out a sigh. "She doesn't belong with people like us. Stay with your own kind."

Tom raised his eyebrows. "Your brother is in Ravenclaw."

"It's not Ravenclaw; it's her. Just be careful." She stalked past him with her head held high, and she exited the room.

Tom stared after her, feeling slight confusion. There was nothing to what she was saying, was there? Elora's family was just biased against her for some reason. It was nothing he had to worry about. With this resolve, he headed to his room to get an early start on studying.

He decided to start with history. He was flipping through the book to find the chapter he was supposed to read when he noticed a section they had not been assigned. He wondered the reason, for the section was about Salazar Slytherin. The class was currently learning about the four Hogwarts founders. Why was this not important?

Tom soon found out the reason. The passage spoke of a legend, which Professor Binns did not think was important to history. Tom was curious, so he decided to read it. Allegedly, before he left the school, Salazar Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle. After he left, he sealed it so that no one would be able to get in until his heir arrived at the school. There was supposed to be a monster inside the Chamber of Secrets that could be used to cleanse the school of those unworthy of studying magic. The chamber had never been found.

Tom reread the passage. A secret chamber? Could it be true? The fact that no one had ever found it did not mean anything important. Obviously, only a descendant of Slytherin would be able to do so.

A strange thought suddenly occurred to him that made his heart speed up in excitement. What if he was a descendant of Slytherin? He had no idea of his heritage; it was entirely possible. It was a place to begin looking. Right now, his search was leading him nowhere. Tom set the book down and leapt up from his bed. He had a new lead to follow.