Chapter 5:

Battle of the Heads

Only a Year Afterward… For Once…

The Sorting Hat could still feel the chills that ran through his fabric from last year's events. Every time he shut his eyes the dead eyes of Myrtle Sanders popped up in his brain. Lord Godric would think I was a coward, he said to himself, but he cannot feel the unease that still courses through the school. And uneasy it was.

Minerva McGonagall was Head Girl this year, which was fantastic. However, Tom Riddle was Head Boy. To all the teachers this looked like it was going to be a controlled year, but they knew little of Riddle's power abuse. Several children sat in detention every night in the office, yet Headmaster Dippet took no course of action. Every night Filius would come fetch the Sorting Hat from his stand saying, "Oh, that Riddle!" and murmur rather nasty things about the boy. It was sad to see Filius in such a state. Between Dumbledore and McGonagall there was little they could do to stop the wrath of Tom Riddle. Dippet seemed to have an irrational fear of Dumbledore, as would any man of power. Everyone knew that when Dippet ended his term as Headmaster that Albus Dumbledore would be the next man in line if he did not become Minister of Magic first.

Minerva had never really been on Dippet's good or bad side. She was a Gryffindor, however, so it made Dippet think he had a good enough reason not to trust her. Dippet had been a Ravenclaw, so he believed that every Gryffindor at heart was reckless and arrogant. The Sorting Hat was really beginning to get peeved by these inter-house relationships. The situation had not been so bad since the days of the founders. The way McGonagall and Riddle quarreled these days was awful. Hogwarts hardly ever had a moment of peace.

Yet the way that Riddle had acted recently had really begun to bother him. Whenever he came to talk to the Headmaster, he would always stare at him when the Headmaster was not looking. The Sorting Hat had no idea what this could mean, but he did not like this newfound attention. No matter how many fans he had in the world, this was just weird as some of the students would say. He had never liked Riddle from the moment he first saw him. The Sorting Hat had only hovered over his head at the sorting before shouting out Slytherin. And Riddle had certainly played the part. He was ever so cunning as to get information out of teachers that nobody had ever gotten before and snaking his way out of several detention threats in his first few years at school. His ambition greatly overpowered his cunningness to many people's surprise. Ever since he began his education at Hogwarts, Riddle had strived to become the best student Hogwarts had ever seen. He competed against the Ravenclaws for top marks and had, in fact, achieved higher marks than most of them on the O.W.L.S.

Except in Transfiguration. If there were any people in Hogwarts who stood in Tom Riddle's way, it had to be Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. Dumbledore was the only teacher able to keep Riddle in line and Minerva was his equal. He stood for everything Slytherin; and she, everything Gryffindor. This was surely going to play out in a nasty way.

And so this play out of events began in an event that changed many people's lives and destinies forever. It was April now, about a year since the death of Myrtle Sanders, and the rain outside reflected the mood in Hogwarts. Headmaster Dippet was out on a call to the Ministry of Magic, and Riddle had been left in charge of the nightly evening detention in Dippet's office. He lounged in the absent Headmaster's chair looking haughty and out of place. The cheery looking chair did not seem to agree with Riddle's smugness. Terrified students sat all around the room scribbling down lines without even glancing up at Riddle. Pomona Sprout tried desperately not to tremble in her wooden chair, but her fear was given away by the sound of the wooden leg hitting the floor.

Looking at the clock, Riddle announced coolly, "Alright, you may all go now. And don't let me catch you wandering the halls."

Filius Flitwick raised his hand meekly and asked, "But this detention was supposed to end an hour ago. All the prefects and teachers are out on patrol now. We will be caught anyhow."

"That is your problem, not mine. This should teach you not to misbehave. Now scat." The first years did not need telling twice; they fled the office immediately. Pomona accidentally spilled her ink and in the confusion it spread onto a large portion of the office floor. Filius stayed behind and helped her charm the ink off of the floor.

However, Tom Riddle was too preoccupied with his journal to even notice these two. He finished writing in there just as Pomona crawled behind a desk to clean back there. Riddle swept over to the Sorting Hat who, despite his pride, began to quiver. Plucking the hat off the shelf, Tom turned to leave the office.

"Hey," said Filius, "where are you going with the Sorting Hat?" Riddle turned to see Filius and Pomona still in the office. He cursed under his breath and then resumed his noble air.

"Headmaster Dippet told me to take the hat down to the house elves. It needed some repairs for next year and it's better to do the job now then later." The Sorting Hat tried to speak out against this because of his fear mending, but Riddle placed his hand over the Sorting Hat's mouth.

Oh, bugger, he thought. He's kidnapping me! I don't want to go to the kitchens! Anywhere else, please! Thank goodness Pomona did not seemed satisfied with this reason.

"I think the Sorting Hat looks fine. He hardly moves all day, so it cannot be that bad. Why would we need to take him down to the kitchens if we are wizards? We can do magic…"

"Quiet! Ten points from Hufflepuff and another detention for you Sprout!" Riddle spat. He sped out of the room as tears began to form in Pomona's eyes. The Sorting Hat felt wind whipping his face as Riddle ran down many secret passageways until the he lost all sense of direction. They reemerged in the Grand Stairwell, which was void of any occupants. This could not be good at all. What could Riddle possibly want? Tom Riddle raised the Sorting Hat and placed him on his head.

The Sorting Hat felt as if waves of terrible pain were racing through his fabric. He wanted to unwind and become young thread again in some old which's hat store. There was something wrong with this boy. He was not…whole. Tell me where the founders hid their items, Riddle's voice boomed in his brain. Or better yet, if you have them, just give them over. The Sorting Hat had no notion of why Riddle was asking this.

I have no idea what ever happened to their…stuff, but if I did have it I would not give it to you. The Sorting Hat felt good telling Riddle off brain to brain. You are a foul, cruel lump of mangled curses, and I will not stand being treated this way. I demand that you unhand me this…

But then the Sorting Hat saw something in Riddle's brain that he had not seen before, even during his sorting. Something that was so obvious that no one would have guessed on fear of being wrong. It was something etched in Riddle's face that the Sorting Hat had last seen centuries ago, as a certain snaky person left the halls of Hogwarts forever. Tom Riddle was the Heir of Slytherin.

Never, the Sorting Hat hissed through tightened fibers.

Fine then, was all that Riddle could say to that. You will do just fine. The Sorting Hat felt himself being pulled off of Riddle's head causing him to go numb. Tom Riddle raised his wand and began to murmur an unfamiliar incantation.

"Riddle!" someone shouted. Tom turned, so the Sorting Hat could now see Minerva McGonagall storming down the hallway closely followed by Flitwick and Sprout. "What are you doing? The Sorting Hat belongs in the Headmaster's office."

"Well, what are these students doing out of bed. I told them to go back to their Common rooms once detention was over."

"Which you let out an hour late. The school doesn't belong to you." A faint hissing came from the ceiling. The Sorting Hat began mumbling to get Minerva's attention. Everyone looked up. A large snake was dangling from the arch above them. He looked up at the snake and then Riddle, and Minerva understood. A dark look came across her face. "You…" she snarled trying to hold herself back. Pomona and Filius looked quite startled at Minerva's quick change of attitude.

"On the contrary, Minerva, I believe it does. I'm willing to seek power and take it from those who don't deserve it." He waved his wand quickly and Minerva and Filius dived out of the way. Pomona was not so lucky and got hit by the spell. She flew backwards in the air and over the railing.

"Pomona!" Filius squeaked and ran to look over the banister. Pomona was holding on with all her might but her fingers were beginning to slip. Filius tried desperately to pull her back up but then she fell with a scream. Minerva looked outraged. She leaped back onto her feet and began to duel Tom furiously.

"You are a monster! You'll kill us all to feed your overgrown ambition and I've had enough of it!" she shouted over the noise of their duel. One spell hit the arch sending the snake flying through the air. The Sorting Hat coughed as the dust filled the landing. He could see a couple shadows moving fast towards them. One was short and very rotund and the other was tall and lean. The Sorting Hat then felt wind whipping his face once more as Riddle ran off with him. The snake slithered in his wake and Minerva sprinted after them shouting, "COWARD! COWARD!" They rounded the bend, curses flying everywhere, and Riddle ran into an abandoned classroom and hid waiting to strike. Minerva ran into the room and Riddle made the door slam shut behind her with a flick of his wand. "I know you're in here, Riddle," she seethed through clenched teeth. "There's no point hiding anymore." The Sorting Hat wanted to shout out because the snake began to unwind itself from its hiding place of the doorframe. It was just about to take the fatal bite when the door burst open revealing a rather furious Dumbledore.

"That was a close one," the Sorting Hat muttered as the snake reeled away. Dumbledore gave one glance at the statue Riddle was hiding behind and it turned into sand. Riddle dropped the Sorting Hat, which landed with a loud plump on the ground. With a swish of his wand, Riddle made the sand into a tornado tearing towards Dumbledore who merely raised his wand at a rug on the floor. It floated up and enveloped the dust and when it opened back up, it was empty. Soon, desks were charging, books erupting from bookcases, lakes sprouting out of floorboards, and giant magic animals were gallivanting across the room. Minerva was sending spells at the snake that appeared to have magic resistant scales. She had tried throwing a dictionary at it, but nothing seemed to work. Riddle sent a spell that deflected off a desk leg, landing in a flask on the wall. The spell changed color and hit the snake causing it to grow to a height of fifteen feet. Riddle began to laugh his head off as he dodged one of Dumbledore's spells. To the Sorting Hat's surprise, he saw Dumbledore walk over to him and felt Albus's hand wrap around his brim. He began to soar through the air toward Minerva as Dumbledore let go.

Merlin's beard! What is he doing? the Sorting Hat thought as he Minerva caught him. She looked bewildered that Dumbledore should throw her the Sorting Hat. What good would this hat do her? She placed the Sorting Hat on her head trusting Dumbledore that he knew what he was doing.

Are you supposed to help me somehow? Minerva asked dodging the beastlike snake. Is there some sort of magic you can do that would help me beat a giant snake, because if there is that would be really helpful now. The Sorting Hat suddenly thought of something he had not thought about for years…

A Long Time Before This Scene But Not As Long Ago As the Beginning of Chapter One…

Lord Godric had just returned from a journey to his home; the first journey he had ever taken without the Sorting Hat. This rather bothered the Sorting Hat because his master had never ever wanted to be alone before. Years of administering had really hardened him up: he was still jolly but not so carefree. He tried to ignore this and instead began to nag his master.

"My wordeth! Where haveth you been! I've seen no hide nor haireth of you lately. You missed this yeareth's sorting! It tis one of the mosteth grand occasions and you missedeth it!" he huffed pivoting on the desk.

"I am sorryeth my good hat," he said hanging his red cloak on a hook on the wall. He seemed tired and troubled, an unusual expression for him. "Things do not faireth well outside these greateth walls. Lancelot taketh land like a fireth in hay. And that tis not all, no. They sayeth that he might be workingeth for someone else."

"Who my good Lord? Who is this fiendeth that they speak of?" he asked.

"They say the knight Mordred of the good Kingeth Arthur has been leadingeth him all the timeth. It twas he that corruptedeth," he stopped for a moment and then continued as if it caused him pain, "Morgan." The Sorting Hat was shocked that no one had found this out sooner. All four of the now hailed 'Founders' had been most upset when they discovered their young friend had left the school before they arrived, and even more upset when they realized that the Great Queen Maeve's (may she rest in peace) death had not been an accident or natural at all: Morgan had killed her.

"Is Salazar soureth about this still?" the Sorting Hat asked.

"I knoweth not. He hardly evereth comes out of the dungeoneth. Helga says he is even more bittereth and paleth. She is still upseteth about Salazar blaming this whole ordealeth on us. It brings her to tearseth."

"What sayeth Lady Rowena about thiseth?"

"I knoweth not. We shareth now only our mindseth not our heartseth."

"But you were so fondeth of her for so long!"

"Twas only a fleeting momenteth."

"Where lieth your heart now?"

"In my chesteth not my eyes which tricketh the young."

"You avoid answeringeth my first question!"

"I was away and that is alleth you need to know. There was troubleth in the country side and they pleaded for my presenceth." Lord Godric sat down warily in his chair. The Sorting Hat turned away from him too angry and confused for words to express. Lord Godric never kept secrets from him. It was against the laws of nature for he could see into the mind of whoever wore him on their head and instantly he'd know everything. Except for this time, he didn't see anything. It bothered him more than it frustrated him. "Sorting Hat," he asked looking up, "dost thou trusteth me?"

He turned around. "Of course, my lord," he responded, "I trusteth thou more than anyone I knoweth."

"Then, willest thou taketh care of this?" he said pulling out his sword. The Sorting Hat's eyes widened. Was Lord Godric really doing what he thought he was doing?

"My lord," he answered slightly panicked, "I wouldst rathereth keep my brain thaketh thou very much."

"If thoust trusteth me thoust will be fineth," Lord Godric responded. The Sorting Hat closed his eyes tight as the sword plunged toward him. He didn't feel anything. Opening his eyes, the Sorting Hat saw that Lord Godric no longer held the sword. "Thoust will keep it for me and I will calleth it when I am in needeth. Remembereth that welleth, my hat."

OoO

Ask for help! The Sorting Hat told Minerva.

I already have! Minerva exclaimed.

Well then look out. Minerva took the Hat off her head and the sword from years ago fell out of him: the sword of Godric Gryffindor. She stood there stunned for a moment until the snake lunged again. Snapping out of her awed reverie Minerva picked up the sword and began swinging at the serpent.

Riddle was loosing ground against Dumbledore and he knew it. There was a frightened look in his eyes as he tried to figure a way out of this. He had tried every spell he knew against him and Dumbledore seemed to know exactly what spell Riddle would try next. The Sorting Hat turned at a shrieking noise behind him and saw the snake now had the sword in the back of its neck. Falling over, the serpent bit Minerva in the leg. She let out a small scream but fell over, the poison taking control of her. Filius burst into the room with Slughorn and Fawkes the Phoenix. Fawkes glided over to Minerva and began to work his healing magic.

Riddle fell over at a mere tripping jinx Dumbledore sent his way in all the confusion. Tom Riddle suddenly looked very disoriented. "Where…where am I?" His eyes seemed to clear with no trace of anger left.

"What is going on here?" asked a bewildered Slughorn. "Why in Merlin's-Most-Hideous-Dress shoes where you dueling a student, Dumbledore?"

"A student who I feared turned to the worst but apparently was just possessed. Go see if there are any suspicious people in the castle, Horace," Dumbledore explained. Dumbledore and Slughorn left the room followed by Filius who gave Riddle a doubtful look. The matron of the hospital wing bustled into the room and took the healed Minerva and the confused Tom to the Hospital Wing. Just as the Sorting Hat was about to shout after Dumbledore to come back here and return him to the office he heard a movement outside.

"Weak," said a man dressed in black from head to foot outside on the windowsill. "He's not the one. Riddle's just a foolish schoolboy with too much ambition. I'll have to wait." With that the man jumped off the ledge and flew out of the Grounds disappearing in the air without a sound. The Sorting Hat sat there trembling; he had heard that voice too many times before.

"Professor! Professor Dumbledore!" he screamed.

Hehe. Cliffhanger! You'll just have to guess who that is. By the way, Riddle really was possessed in this chapter. He's too sneaky to try a stunt like stealing the Sorting Hat out in the open all on his own will. He really did everything else on his own (aka, opening Chamber of Secrets, killing Myrtle). He's bad but he didn't mean to cause this incident so he gets let off (tear, tear). Try and guess who that man is and also this chapter helps a lot with the background for my co-authored story Ginny Weasley and the Founder's Return. Check it out. By the way, sorry it took sooooo long to update. Next chapter will be funny; I promise, though I hope you enjoyed the return of the 'eths'. Please Review!