Author's Note: Unfortunately there aren't many records of the names of the people that Tom Riddle went to school with. All we know is that there was an Avery and a Lestrange but we don't know their full names. Therefore, as you will notice, I have made up full names for them for the purposes of this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, but am simply having fun with my imagination.

Next chapter update will be either tomorrow or the day after. The chapter will be called "Defense Against the Dark Arts".

Enjoy!

...But before Tom could answer, the compartment door opened again and a lady with a food trolley offered them sweets...

CHAPTER 4: THE SORTING CEREMONY

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was nothing like Tom could have possibly imagined it would be. It was a grand castle which stood tall with its many towers overlooking a large lake and an even larger forest. Coming off the train with Avery, Tom joined the other first years in sailing across the lake to the castle in small boats. They were led through the Entrance Hall into a large room called the Great Hall, wherein four long tables seated hundreds of students in pointed black hats. Tom followed his fellow classmates to the front of the hall and stopped before a long table where the teachers sat. Looking around, Tom quickly spotted Professor Dumbledore, who nodded once in his direction.

"Gather round here, please!" called the witch who had led them. "Now, when I call your name, you will sit on this stool and I will place the sorting hat on your head."

The students around Tom shifted uncomfortably, all of them nervous. Tom simply stared at the shabby-old wizard's hat that was on the stool. He had no idea which house he wanted to be in. From what Avery told him, he had characteristics from each of the houses. But perhaps, the hat knew more.

"Avery, Atticus!"

Avery stepped up to the stool and the witch put the hat on him.

"SLYTHERIN!" it bellowed after a few seconds.

The students at the table on the far left broke into applause and cheers.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" cried the hat as the next boy took his seat.

The next 4 people were Ravenclaws, then came a few Gryffindors, and two more Slytherins. As the list went on, Tom looked around the Great Hall. It was lit by thousands of floating candles and the ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky. The teachers at the staff table all looked very sophisticated and important. Professor Dumbledore however, was still eyeing Tom, which Tom was very well aware of. He ignored this.

"Lestrange, Rufus!" called the witch.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat bellowed.

"Riddle, Tom!"

Tom moved up to the stool, disregarding the fact that Professor Dumbledore just sat up, fully alert. He sat and the witch placed the hat on his head, covering his eyes.

"Hmmm…. Riddle," said the hat in his ears. Tom knew no one else could hear what the hat was saying to him as he couldn't hear what it had said to any of the other students.

"I haven't seen that name before," the hat continued. "But you do have magical blood. And a hunger for power. And… Oh! Why, this is very interesting! Hmm… yes, there's no mistaking it. How very nice to meet you, Tom Marvolo Riddle. I'll put you in your rightful house. SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table exploded with cheers as they had already gotten 12 new Slytherins. Tom sat at the table, avoiding Professor Dumbledore's eyes (which he was sure were still on him), and waited for the sorting ceremony to end.

The wizard at the head of the staff table rose to his feet afterwards, introduced himself as Headmaster Dippet, and beckoned the hall to enjoy their dinner. Then, a glorious feast appeared at each of the tables. More food than Tom had ever seen. He began to eat while listening to the many conversations that were going on around him.

"Where is our common room?" one of the boys asked an older boy.

"In the dungeons," he answered. "I'm a prefect so it'll be my job to take you all there."

"Prefect?" Tom asked. "What's that?"

"A student leader," said the boy. "If you exhibit quality characteristics and your academics are good, you can become a prefect in your fifth year."

Tom said nothing for the rest of the evening.

After the feast, the boy called all the first-year Slytherins to follow him to the dungeons. They walked along the castle corridors, looking around excitedly. Tom merely eyed the halls with fascination, but continued to keep silent. He did not want to make friends here. He wanted to learn about Dark Arts. Ever since he'd read that book back in the orphanage, he'd become somewhat obsessed with the Dark Arts. They were extremely fascinating to him.

"Password?" asked the man in the portrait on the wall covering the dungeons.

The students whispered excitedly, "The portraits talk!" or "They can move!".

"Basilisk," said the prefect boy.

The portrait swung open and the students stepped through and gathered around.

The Slytherin Common Room was very large indeed and covered in green colours. There was a fireplace and several armchairs and couches and corner tables. There were lamps and carpets and all sorts of objects scattered about the room. There were also several statues of Snakes and of Slytherin himself.

"Green is our colour," the prefect boy told the boys. "And the serpent is our symbol. This is because our forefather, Salazar Slytherin, was a parselmouth. He could speak to snakes, which is a very rare gift."

Tom raised an eyebrow. The words rang in his ears, loud and clear. He could already feel that this was where he belonged. After all, he was very fond of snakes.

"The portrait passwords will change occasionally but they are easy to remember. Your class schedules will be handed out to you tomorrow at breakfast. That's when owl post usually arrives as well. Oh and I should warn you, the ghost that haunts our house is the Bloody Baron. If you find him pleasant, then there is something seriously wrong with you. But not to worry, he shares our beliefs here. Now, you should all go to bed for you need to wake up early tomorrow. Your things have been brought up for you."

Tom followed some of the boys to the dormitories and found his bed quickly. He changed out of his robes and crawled in. A parselmouth. He was a parselmouth. This meant that no one else in the school shared this gift with him. Was this why Professor Dumbledore had eyed him so suspiciously? He'd already heard another boy mention that Dumbledore was the head of Gryffindor house and had been in Gryffindor himself. And according to the prefect, Gryffindors were the absolute enemies of Slytherins.

But a parselmouth. What was it that the sorting hat had said? Why, this is very interesting…hmm, yes, there's no mistaking it. Was it possible that the hat could sense this connection that Tom had with Slytherin? Why did he have this connection with him? He made a mental note to further investigate this later.

Tom stayed awake for most of the night, feeling very pleased that he shared this little secret with his forefather.