Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all rights to it belong strictly to J.K Rowling.
I am simply having fun with my imagination.
...It was the truth, after all. Professor Dumbledore smiled kindly at him and bid him good night, though Tom knew he had seen a hint of suspicion in those clear blue eyes. He didn't let that worry him though. Tomorrow would be a new day, and he had lots to do… starting with the search for his connection to Slytherin...
CHAPTER 6: THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN
September passed very quickly. Every morning, Tom awoke before the other Slytherins and went to explore the castle. He always ate without talking to anyone, and then walked to his classes alone. On some days, he allowed Avery and Lestrange to trail on after him, but other times, he insisted on being left alone.
Tom's classes were going very well. Professors Flitwick and Merrythought were absolutely appalled by his aptitude for the subjects. Professor Beery was most impressed with his successes in herbology and Professor Slughorn simply adored him. By the end of September, Tom could easily identify and handle Devil's Snare and Puffapods. He was gifted with locking spells and fire-making charms. He could recite the entire Gargoyle Strike of 1911 and the Soap Blizzard of 1378. He could brew Herbicide potions and cures for boils. But most of all, he could identify any of the dark creatures studied in Defense Against the Dark Arts so far, including gytrashes, imps, gnomes, and gargoyles.
Professor Dumbledore was the only one who did not marvel over Tom's talents. Even though he'd successfully proven his abilities to do switching spells and turn small creatures into matchboxes or mice into snuffboxes, Dumbledore was not impressed. He was the only one of Tom's teachers who never awarded him house points for his accomplishments. Tom merely brushed this away however. Professor Dumbledore was the least of his worries.
Just after the start of the Quidditch season, Tom began to visit the library more often, searching every book of record he could find. But still, the name Riddle did not come up anywhere. He'd even bothered the librarian a couple of times but as he'd predicted, she was of no help. As he turned to leave the library one afternoon, something caught his eye. He turned around to look at the sign on the door that read "RESTRICTED SECTION". Restricted? Why would there be a section for restricted content? The thought occupied his brain all throughout October and November as he tried to gain access to this section. However, the professors were very reluctant on letting him in, which only further postponed his finding Tom Riddle.
By the time the Christmas Holidays had arrived, Tom was each and every one of his teachers' favourite student…with the exception of Professor Dumbledore, of course. He was at the top of every class. But his search for his father had not ended. Every Quidditch match, when the rest of the school was outside watching, Tom was in the library, searching. He knew that if he asked one of his professors, they'd surely know which of his parents had been of magical blood. However, he did not think it a good idea to let the teachers know that he was pursuing his ancestry.
"Tom Riddle?" said Professor Beery, who was standing at the entrance hall on the last day of term, reading from a list.
"Yes, professor?" said Tom, passing by the students carrying suitcases.
"You're staying for the holidays, yes?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very well then, it looks like it'll be just you and Mr. Avery. But, seeing as how you're both in the same house, I dare say you will find something to occupy yourselves with."
"I'm sure we will, sir," said Tom, glancing once at Avery who stood beside him.
"Why did you stay?" Tom asked him once they were back in the safety of their common room.
Avery looked embarrassed.
"I knew you were s-staying and I wanted to keep you c-company."
"I don't need company," said Tom.
Avery looked down at his feet.
"I could h-help you," he said.
"Help me with what?" said Tom, glaring at him.
"H-help you with whatever it is you do every time you s-sneak off," said Avery, who now looked a little bit nervous.
Tom didn't say anything for a long time, and then surprised Avery with a small smile.
"Could you get me into the Restricted Section at the library?"
"The what?" said Avery, surprised again.
"The Restricted Section," Tom repeated. "I need a book from there."
"W-why do you—"
"Can you do it or not?"
"Well….yeah, it's no problem. Just ask a teacher for a pass!"
Tom turned away from him.
"I need to get in there without anyone knowing that I've been there," he said, through gritted teeth.
Avery thought for a long minute.
"Okay, I'll do it," he finally said.
"Good," said Tom, wheeling round to look at him. "Okay . . . tomorrow night is the Christmas feast. It'll just be us and the teachers. After the feast, I'll go and distract them while you go and get the book for me. I'll write down the name for you. Leave it on my bed and then hurry back as soon as you can. If they ask where you've been, tell them the food made your stomach upset. Got it?"
Avery nodded.
And so it was that the following night, they went through with their plan. Seeing as how they were the only two students in the school who had stayed behind for the Holidays, the teachers beckoned them to join them at the staff table for all meals. They laughed and discussed the castle ghosts while Tom and Avery sat, ate, and listened.
"Well Tom, you have written an excellent paper on ghosts, haven't you?" said Professor Merrythought.
"Yes, ma'am," said Tom.
"Top marks I believe it was," said Professor Merrythought to Dumbledore who nodded with a small smile.
"Excuse me," said Avery suddenly, and he got up from his seat and exited the hall.
Tom turned round to Professor Slughorn.
"Professor, might I ask you a question?"
"Ask away, Tom!" he replied, hiccupping once.
"Well, I was just wondering...are all records of past students kept?"
"Why, I believe so, yes," said Professor Slughorn, taking another sip from his glass of wine.
"Trying to find your family, are you?" said Professor Dumbledore, without looking up from his plate on which he was slicing a steak.
"Yes, sir," said Tom, slowly. "I was just being curious."
"Curiosity is not a sin, Tom," said Dumbledore, looking up at him with a smile. "But you should exercise caution."
"Yes, sir," said Tom.
Dumbledore clapped his hands and rose from his seat.
"Well, I dare say I have had enough of this glorious feast and am ready for bed. See you in class, Tom. Professors, good-night."
They bid him farewell and he turned around to leave. Tom jumped from his seat and followed him out of the Great Hall.
"Professor," he said, frantically searching his mind for a topic of conversation. "How is it possible that some students here come from muggle families?"
"We do not know how it works exactly but there are loads of people in the muggle world who are born with magical abilities," Dumbledore explained as they walked.
"It's strange," said Tom.
"I'll admit that it is unique," said Dumbledore, "But I find it to be extraordinary. Now, where has your friend gone to? I certainly hope he's alright."
Tom shrugged.
"He is your friend, isn't he?" said Dumbledore, now stopping to look at him.
Tom stared at him, trying to see beyond those clear blue eyes.
"We are acquainted, yes," said Tom.
"Good, I'm glad," said Dumbledore, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you in class, Tom."
"Good night, professor."
"Got it!" cried Avery, thrusting the book onto Tom's lap.
Tom quickly flipped through the pages and found the name that he was looking for…The Baron. According to the book, the ghost that haunted Slytherin house, the Bloody Baron, had attended Hogwarts during the founders' time and had been learned in the magical arts by Salazar Slytherin himself. This was where Tom was to get his answers. He looked up at Avery.
"Let's play Exploding Snap."
Avery beamed.
The following morning, Tom rose early and went looking for the Bloody Baron. It would be best to do this now, while most of the school was away. It was not difficult to find the Bloody Baron. He was sitting in the corner of a 6th floor corridor and counting the beads on a necklace he had around his neck.
"Hello," said Tom, surprising him.
The Bloody Baron jumped up and stared at him.
"Sorry," said Tom quickly. "I didn't mean to…scare you."
"YOU DIDN'T SCARE ME!" cried the angry ghost. "I SCARE YOU! BOO! GO AWAY!"
"No, I don't feel like it," said Tom, calmly. "I have a question for you. A couple, actually."
"F…f…for me?" said the ghost, staring at him.
"Yes," said Tom, stepping forwards. "I'd like to know about Salazar Slytherin. He taught you when you were at school here."
"What?" said the ghost, puzzled.
"You heard me," said Tom.
"But…no one's ever asked me about him. Why do you want to know?"
"I feel…that I may possibly have a connection with him," said Tom, coolly.
"I…" said the ghost, glancing around the empty corridor.
"Would you like to go somewhere more private?"
"NO!" barked the ghost.
He looked around nervously again, and then lowered his voice.
"I knew it from the moment I saw you."
Tom leaned forwards to hear the baron's hoarse whispers.
"I could see his gleam in your eyes…"
"So it's true?" whispered Tom.
"I don't see how it can't be," said the ghost.
Tom's eyes were now sparkling with delight, though he didn't smile.
"Give me a name," he demanded of the ghost. "I need a name."
"I can't," said the baron, now raising his voice again. "Now go away, you petty little first-year."
"I command you to give me a name," said Tom, not moving. "You said it yourself. I am the descendant. His descendant. And he was your master. Therefore, I am now your master."
"I…" said the ghost, looking around nervously again.
Tom glared at him.
"Oh alright," said the Baron, lowering his voice again. "I may have heard the name Gaunt a while ago. Don't ask me where because I don't know."
"Thank you," said Tom, and he turned his back on the ghost.
For the rest of the Christmas holidays, Tom rechecked all of the library books he'd already searched, for the name Gaunt. However, even this, was met with no luck. Frustrated, he decided to consult the ghost again, this time with his wand.
"I TOLD YOU!" cried the Bloody Baron, backing away from him as Tom cornered him again the following week. "I TOLD YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW!"
"I couldn't find the name Gaunt anywhere," said Tom. "It is simply nonexistent."
"That can't be!" stammered the ghost. "It must mean that she never went to Hogwarts then."
Tom raised an eyebrow.
"You mean to say that neither of my parents ever attended this school?"
"It's possible!"
Tom slowly lowered his wand.
"What about Slytherin?"
"What…what about him?"
"Well he founded the school…and Gaunt was his descendant…how come my mother didn't attend his school?"
"Why, Slytherin left!"
Tom raised his wand again.
"So?!"
The ghost closed his eyes and raised his hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright!" he cried. "I… I thought you knew. Slytherin left the school shortly after because of a quarrel with the other founders."
"What about?"
"About the students admitted to Hogwarts… Slytherin wanted to ban all mudbloods from the school but the other founders did not agree with him so he left."
Tom eyed the ghost carefully, then slowly lowered his wand again.
"He really left then?" he repeated. "Just like that?"
"Weak move, isn't it?" said the Baron.
"Salazar Slytherin was not weak," declared Tom. "He was clever. And I'm sure he left behind something at the school."
"Well, don't ask me because I don't know anything about it," said the Baron. "Take your questions up to your head of house."
And before Tom could reply, the ghost vanished through the wall in a sort of run.
"I just might," said Tom to himself.
The following night, as the professors carried on with their conversations, Tom whispered instructions to Avery who nodded in understanding and quickly got up, looking panicked.
"Professor Dumbledore!" he cried.
Dumbledore looked up at him.
"I…I think I left my wand in your classroom!"
"Did you?" said Dumbledore, standing up. "No need to worry, Avery. We'll go and get it straight away!"
They exited the hall together, Dumbledore trying to calm Avery the whole way. Tom turned round to face Professor Slughorn.
"Professor,"
"What now, Tom?"
"I just wanted to know more about Slytherin."
"About Slytherin?" Professor Slughorn smiled. "Now there's a topic I love. What would you like to know?"
"He left Hogwarts because he disagreed with the other founders, didn't he?"
"Oh yes," said Professor Slughorn, nodding into his food.
"Well…he was the cleverest wizard of his time. How could he just give up and run away…just like that?"
Professor Slughorn looked at him with a small smile, then turned around to check that the other professors were busy in conversation (they were), and leaned forwards to whisper to Tom.
"Between you and me," he said, "Slytherin would never have done such a foolish thing. Of course he left something of him behind to mark his presence at the castle."
"What was it?"
"'Tis known as the Chamber of Secrets."
But before Professor Slughorn could offer any more explanations, Avery had returned with Professor Dumbledore.
"I was sure that I had left it there," he was saying.
"No matter," said Dumbledore, waving his hand.
Professor Slughorn winked at Tom who grinned back at him.
"You did great," Tom told Avery as they headed back to the Common Room for bed.
"Thanks," said Avery, who looked very pleased with himself.
"I think you are very useful," said Tom.
"Thanks again," said Avery. He really enjoyed hearing Tom compliment him, which was very rare of Tom to do.
At the end of the Christmas Holidays, the students returned back to the school and classes resumed. Tom was so busy with all of his classes that he never found the time to explore the Chamber of Secrets in any of the books in the library. Though, he already sensed that it would not be mentioned there, and asking more teachers about it would be all too suspicious. But he knew enough. He knew that he was Slytherin's last remaining descendant…his heir. And nothing else seemed to matter, for the time being. Not even his dishevelled parents.
On the last day before the students were set to depart from the castle for the summer holidays, Tom stopped by the library one last time and searched another thick book, this time all about Salazar Slytherin. He found a family tree and traced it down the years, his finger stopping on a name. Merope Gaunt. This would have to be her. No other date seemed to match. Merope Gaunt. So his mother had been the magical one. She had been a pureblood. And since his father was not recorded anywhere, this had to mean that he had been a muggle. Or still was. He knew that his mother was dead but there was no certainty that his father was not still alive.
Tom boarded the Hogwarts Express the next day, departing from the castle for two whole months. He sat with Avery and Lestrange in one compartment and agreed to play Exploding Snap with them. They both got really excited whenever Tom agreed to do something with them, and he figured there was no harm in gaining a few allies now. They would help him with his mission afterwards…to find this Chamber of Secrets. He would not give up on his search for his father though. He would find him. Track him down. After all, that was what Slytherin would have done.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Hope you're liking the story so far. Feel free to comment below with any suggestions or likes/dislikes. The next chapter will come within the next few days or so, and will be titled "Mrs. Cole Again". It will go into detail about Tom's summer before second-year and his now-slightly-changed interactions with the children at the orphanage and with Mrs. Cole, seeing as how he is now a more learned wizard with greater ambitions.