So, hey, I'm a little late, but I did it! I just borrowed a hotel staff member's laptop to update (in Italian, quite an adventure ;))
Anyhow, thanks to all those who read, fav'd, alerted and especially to those who reviewed! On with the chapter!
"Tom, can I talk to you?"
He looked up and eyed me with a rather neutral expression, then he nodded.
"Avery, Rosier, leave."
They jumped up and practically bowed. "My lord."
The two of them left, leaving us alone. I stared at Tom, puzzled. "My lord?"
"Yes?"
I chuckled nervously, trying to hide my insecurity. "I didn't realize you had a title."
He sighed heavily and pulled out his wand. "I'll show you, alright?"
He waved and letters appeared, writing his name in the air in burning green. TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE. He smirked and waved his wand again. The letters started moving and found another place. I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
I stared at the letters and then I started laughing. He frowned and the letters disappeared. "Lord Voldemort? Seriously?"
"What's so funny about it?"
"It's just plain stupid. You've been juggling with the letters and that was the best you came up with."
He growled but didn't answer me.
"So, now you're little slaves all accepted to call you my lord."
"Maybe you should, too."
I laughed once again, though this time, it was rather bitter. "Never. Believe me when I tell you, I'll never call you like that."
"Did you ever hear about the Chamber of Secrets?"
I glanced at him quickly and shook my head.
"When Salazar Slytherin left Hogwarts, he created that chamber, with a monster in it that would eradicate all muggle-borns in Hogwarts. This chamber can only be opened by the heir of Slytherin. I bet you can open it with Parseltongue."
I sighed and closed the book I had been reading in. "And?"
"I, for instance, could open it..."
"And kill all muggle-borns? Great idea."
His eyes locked with mine. "There should be no mudbloods here."
"TOM!"
"What? I'm just right. They're unworthy..."
"Yeah, and you're oh so worthy, filthy half-blood that you are..."
Suddenly, he pointed his wand at me. "Don't mess with me."
"Great. You're going after blood-traitors, too, now?"
He pulled back and stared at me. "I'm... I'm sorry."
"Yeah? Splendid. I don't want you to open that chamber."
"I'll do it anyway."
Inside me, an insecure feeling of fear and despair built up. "Please don't – you don't know what's in there."
"I bet it won't hurt me. I'm Slytherin's heir."
He turned and I jumped up to hold him back. "Please. Please, Tom, just don't... for me?"
He shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? I am the heir of Slytherin. I have to do this. It's my duty and my honour."
"You're insane," I whispered and his hands gripped my upper arms.
"No, I'm not. Muggle-borns should never have been allowed to Hogwarts. It's wrong. We're worth more than them."
I broke free, using all my force and took a step back. "You make me sick."
"Right, just like that – go crying, frog-eye!"
Myrtle, a pale brown-haired girl just two years younger than us, rushed out of the Great Hall.
"Do you always have to be that mean, Olive?" Lydia asked with a light voice.
"Why, she's annoying the hell out of me."
I didn't even bother to enter the conversation, I had mightier problems. Of course, Tom hadn't listened to me. For a few months, one muggle-born after the other was attacked. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought – like all the others – that the situation was out of control. In fact, he had it all under perfect control. He was having a bloody hell of a good time.
I saw the half-giant from Gryffindor leaving his table, carrying food. Maybe he wanted to eat on his own. He had to be a classmate of that Myrtle girl. Strange year, that one.
"Hey, look at that oaf, did you also hear he raised werewolf cubs beneath his bed?"
"No, I didn't. And don't call him an oaf. He's just... huge."
"Yeah, right, because he's half-giant."
"So?" Sometimes I was quite proud of me. Despite all this hanging out with Slytherins I had a certain amount of tolerance.
Olive shrugged. "What about Riddle? He seems to be in such a good mood."
"Oh, we believe to have found out about his family."
"Really? Shouldn't you two be all lovey-dovey and stuff?"
I shot her a quick, annoyed glance. "Did Tom ever seem to you to be that kind of guy?"
"No, but..."
"See." I stood up and muttered: "See you in Ancient Runes."
As I left the Great Hall, Tom grabbed my arm. "You didn't even say hello."
I looked around. There was no one standing near. "Right, because I'm not okay with what you're doing! Merlin, Tom, I knew the guy that was attacked yesterday..."
"Well, I knew him, too."
"You're such a jerk."
I wanted to turn around and leave, but he still held on my arm and I glared at him. "Let me go!"
"No! Why can't you understand...?"
"That you try to kill people? Just because of who they descent from, that's just stupid! You're no better than any of your Slytherin slaves..."
Quickly, he had pinned me against the wall. "You don't mean that."
"I mean every damn word of it!"
"Say that you're lying!"
"NO!"
There was this coldness in his eyes that lack of emotion that I feared the most, because I knew what it lead to.
"Tom...," I whispered, but he didn't respond. He stepped back and turned around.
"You said you loved me."
"And I do."
"Well, why are you not on my side, then?"
I didn't have any answer for this. He left in a hurry.
Olive was sobbing uncontrollably. Lydia had put her arms around her in order to give comfort, but it didn't help. I had locked my arms around my chest, trying hard not to burst out in tears. I had provoked him, I had argued with him – if I had played nice he would've stayed with me and all of this would have never happened.
Headmaster Dippet and a lot of other teachers were standing around in the bathroom and tried to figure out what happened.
I didn't even dare to look at the dead girl on the floor. I could get why Olive was crying like that – not only had she found Myrtle, already dead, but she was also the reason the girl had hidden here in first place.
"Well," Dumbledore said. "This is tragedy."
"How could you, Tom? You killed her!"
"I got a greater problem by now."
I gasped. It couldn't be true! He couldn't be that cold... "What is your problem, huh? Other than having killed an innocent girl?"
"They gonna close Hogwarts."
My mouth fell open. "No!"
I could almost see his eyes fill with tears, but he suppressed the emotion.
"I can't let that happen!"
"Then just stop it! Stop it, Tom, close that Chamber, forever!"
"It won't change anything if they don't find the monster..."
I stared at him in shock. It would be the right thing to do to just go and tell Dippet who was responsible and why. It would be the right thing to make sure Tom was never to harm anybody again. It would just be right to turn him in, but I knew I couldn't! I could never do that to him.
"Then... then they must close Hogwarts."
"I would have to go back to that damn orphanage and I won't. That's just it, I won't."
I started moving up and down in the empty classroom. "We'll have to... blame it on someone else."
"Who? Who could possibly go after mudbloods?"
"Tom," I protested softly, but it was of no use, either way. I wouldn't change what he believed anymore.
"Who? I'll blame none of my friends..."
"Friends," I scoffed. "However, it must be no one like that. It could just be a coincidence, couldn't it?"
"So, we just pick someone? Anyone?"
"We gotta make it reasonable..."
I felt horrible as I sat on the train, knowing what I shouldn't know. What should've never happened. We had found a supposedly culprit quite easily. Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant Gryffindor. Not only was he known for raising all sorts of creatures even in the dormitories. He had hidden an Acrumantula. In the dungeons. In a cupboard. It was simple to convince everybody that it was all his fault. He didn't go to Azkaban, though – he was considered too young (and a little insane), believing the animal wouldn't hurt anybody. It seemed logical for everybody. Only Dumbledore obviously doubted Tom's description of how he had found Hagrid. After all, he had never really trusted him.
"You're awfully quiet. Everything alright?"
Nothing was alright, but I couldn't tell Lydia. (Olive had gone home earlier. The shock of finding Myrtle dead – the girl had by the way returned as a ghost – had been too much for her.)
"Sure. It was just...so much this year."
"Yeah, sure. But it's gonna be better, next year."
"If you say so."
She smiled sympathetically. "Come on. We can go back next year, the monster's gone – you have a perfectly charming and nastily handsome boyfriend."
I chuckled and she mistook it for some sign of happiness as she was supposed to.
"See. It's gonna be better. Merlin, we passed our O. !"
"Time to get working for the N.E. ."
"Do you already know what you're taking?"
"Pretty much." I was glad about the change of topic. "Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, DADA and Study of Ancient Runes." I had practically every choice – I knew I was going to meet the expectations in every subject. I was delighted to get rid of both Herbology and Muggle Studies, though. As Tom had predicted, that had bored me to no end.
"I wish I could keep up Transfiguration, but I just suck at it... I'll take Herbology, though."
"All depends on what you're gonna do with it."
"What are you gonna do with it?"
I really wished I had an answer to that.
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