Disclaimer: I own nothing. J.K. Rowling owns it all
Chapter 2
Thomas Marvolo Riddle, Professor and Head of Offensive and Defensive Magicks at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he sat in the Great Hall watching the new students get sorted he couldn't help but think back to his childhood.
He had always wondered how things would have changed if his father hadn't tracked him down at that orphanage.
Even at three he the other orphans bullied him. They called him freak, psycho, queer, and they made his life hell. And then one day, a man showed up, his father, and took him took him away.
He had cried that day, and had been so angry.
"Why," he sobbed. "Why didn't you want me?"
His father had hugged him tightly and apologized. Tom learned that his mother, Merope Gaunt, had been a witch and given his father a love potion. When she could no longer bear the guilt she had stopped and, predictably, he had left.
Returning home, he had tried to find love again, he had even gotten married, but he had been unable to conceive a child. His desire for a child overriding any resentment he had felt towards Merope, he had sought his son out and adopted him.
His father had been a loving and attentive father, and even stopped despising magic after a few years, and when Tom had been accepted at Hogwarts, he no longer felt the anger and hate he had started developing as a toddler.
He had prospered at Hogwarts, despite being a half-blood in Slytherin, which had earned him scorn from the pureblood faction. This too he overcame in his fifth year when he had opened the Chamber of Secrets. Instead of releasing the monster into the student population to kill Muggleborns, he had gotten Professor Dumbledore and accompanied him down to deal with the monster.
He had had not respect for Armando Dippet. Tom had always felt that Dippet, a former Minister of Magic, had been too much of a politician and not enough of an educator. But Tom had always respected Professor Dumbledore. He, just like anyone who has met Dumbledore, was amazed at the palpable aura of power the Transfiguration Professor had put off.
Dumbledore too had taken a liking to Tom. The boy had been intelligent and powerful, but most of all enjoyed learning. Still the draw of what the Ministry termed "the Dark Arts" ensnared Tom and when the inevitable happened, and the young man began studying them, Albus ensured that he did not fall completely into the Darkness.
When the two wizards entered the Chamber, they found the massive Basilisk. After one hundred and fifty years of life and a magical bond to Salazar Slytherin it was quite an intelligent creature.
Neither wizard wanted to kill the beast unless they were forced, but thankfully neither wizard needed to. The Basilisk was happy just to have been set free, having been kept in a magical stasis, which had preserved him at the age at which he had entered it.
Basilisks were not inherently Dark Creatures. Dangerous, absolutely, and incredibly powerful, but they did not revel in death as the Dark Creatures did, and thus the massive snake was happy to abide by the rules that the future Headmaster laid down in return for it's freedom.
It was not allowed to hunt and kill any students, professors, humans, centaurs or unicorns. Any other creature in the forest was fair game.
Tom's stock had risen quite a bit after the incident, having been awarded a trophy for Special Services to the School.
By that time, the war had reached the Wizarding World, and he had worked furiously to join the Auror corps so that he could defend his world.
Graduating at the top of his class, Dumbledore had approached about a personal apprenticeship which had taken with gusto, but his was not a standard apprenticeship by any means.
Tom did not learn the tools of his trade in classroom or workshop. He learned it on the battlefield countering Grindelwald's magical forces. In 1944, when the German Dark Lord single-handedly obliterated the Allied Muggle forces at Ardennes, he had been sent to counter the combined Magical and Muggle German forces at Saarbrucken.
Grindelwald had raised converted entire battalions of Nazi soldiers to Inferi and given them Muggle firearms. His exploration into Dark Magic had taken him far, but even he was repulsed by the horror that he faced. The magic he had done that day had been the most exhausting of his life, but he had successfully driven back the godforsaken army that he faced.
Returning to Paris he had joined the joint task force of the Muggle and Magical worlds and been the key to decisive victories in Grenoble, Milan and Zurich, for Grindelwald, unlike Hitler, held no sympathy for Swiss neutrality.
For the next thirty years he held a position as colonel in the army, but as the War cooled, he left his post for a professorship at Hogwarts.
"Welcome, one and all to another year here at our hallowed halls," the Headmaster started, standing up from his seat. "Hunger must be gnawing away at all of you bellies, so I shall only say a few words: Nitwit, Oddment, Blubber, Tweak. Now let the feast begin."
The older students chuckled at Dumbledore's eccentricity, before tucking into the food. Harry almost drooled as the food appeared on the serving plates at the center of tables. He piled his plate high with the delicious looking dishes, and began to tear at the them.
Hermione shook her head at Harry's lack of manners, before she too began eating, though in a slightly more civilized way.
The Hall grew quiet, the sounds of chatter giving way to the sounds of eating. Soon Dumbledore stood again to address the hall.
"I have just a few announcements before you all head up to your dorms: The Forbidden Forest is just that, Forbidden. Should any below sixth year wander into it, the repercussions will be severe. Magic is also forbidden in the corridors, and Madam Pince is quite irascible, so it would be best not to practice magic in the library. The full list of forbidden items may be found on the door to Mr. Filch's office, and first years, class schedules will be handed out tomorrow. Now, before I dismiss you all, to what I'm sure is a much anticipated night of sleep, would you all accompany me in the school song."
The Headmaster flicked his wand, and ribbon flew out arranging itself into large loopy letters.
"Now pick your melody and off we go."
The hall was filled with a cacophony of noise as the noisy and conflicting tunes clashed. As the song ended Dumbledore smiled and dismissed the students.
Harry followed the mass of Gryffindor students to their dormitories. He walked through a doorway, into a large room with comfy looking chairs and large sofas. Fireplaces dotted the walls and a collection of desks littered the left side of the room next to some bookshelves.
"First years please wait here, all other students may go to their dorms," a voice spoke from the front of the group.
Students walked up the stairs to their dorms as the new students waited.
"Welcome to Hogwarts and Gryffindor house," a familiar voice called out. The first years looked to see who spoke.
"To the left are the girls' dormitories and to the right are the boys," Professor McGonagall said. "For those of you not paying attention earlier, I am Professor McGonagall, professor and head of Transfiguration, Deputy Headmistress and your Head of House. Each of you will share a dorm with three other students in your year. eight Gryffindors from each year, four boys and four girls, will join eight students from each of the other houses for your classes. I will hand out your schedule tomorrow. In your dormitories, you each have a bed and desk and joint fireplace for Floo Calls. Calls cost a Sickle for ten minutes and are for Calls only, no Floo travel is permitted, the fireplaces are enchanted against it. There is also an in-suite bathroom that your foursome will share. Once again welcome to Hogwarts, if you have any problems do not hesitate to come to me."
With that she walked out of the dormitories.
"I am Percival Weasley, 5th year prefect," said a red haired boy. "I am joined by Brittany Davis, Aditi Singh, and Simon Black. If there are any problems you may come to us or the Sixth or Seventh year prefects or the Head Boy and Girl, Claudius Lestrange or Nymphadora Tonks. Curfew for 5th year and below non-prefects I nine o'clock. Are there any questions? No? Good. Sleep well everybody."
With that the older prefects went to their dorm, followed by the small first years. Harry walked up the spiraling staircase past several landings until he found a door with the names Longbottom, Potter, Thomas, and Zabini.
He opened the door and saw the three boys chatting. Looking around he spotted his trunk at the foot of one of the beds.
"Harry! Mate, its good to see you," a round faced boy said.
"Hey Neville, I thought we were meeting up on the train," Harry responded.
"Sorry, mate, I got caught up talking to Susan Bones," Neville apologized. "This is Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini."
Neville gestured towards the other too. Dean Thomas had dark skin and extremely curly hair, while Zabini was light tan with straight black hair like Harry's own.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm knackered, shall we talk tomorrow."
The boys agreed and began getting ready for bed.
A/N: Well that's 2 chapters a prologue, so I hope you all enjoy it. Tomorrow we'll get into the classes and I'll begin to explain my system of magic. I'll try and have another chapter up by the end of the week.
