Cassandra's POV

The first few classes passed by in a blink. Unfortunately, I was always stuck with Slytherin. I managed to get partners in other houses whenever we were doubled up, but I had to work alone when I was with Slytherin

Luckily, that hex I put on Draco appears to have scared off the other Slytherin girls. He didn't look so pretty with all those pimples on his face. I thought to myself with a smirk. I had used that hex on my brother when he stole money out of my piggy bank. The hex activated while the victim slept. My Uncle had taught it to me.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the period. I packed up my books and headed to the Great Hall. I had a quick lunch and then headed back to my dorm room. I unloaded all my textbooks, notes, and homework assignments from my morning classes.

I took a moment to sit down and Riddle finally got up and greeted me. She meowed loudly and headbutted my calves. I got up and scratched her ears while she purred contently. Then I grabbed what I needed for the rest of my classes and my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I went to the library so I could sit down and read it. I was raised on Indian and American wizarding stories, The Tales of Beedle the Bard was British. I hadn't read it before, so I was looking forward to it.

I sat peacefully in the library for a while. Nobody approached me which was kinda disappointing despite my dislike of attention. I did want to make some new friends here at Hogwarts, but I had already ostracized the entirety of my house. Plus, it was becoming clear to me that Slytherin wasn't very popular among the other houses. I was sure that their reputation was well-deserved, but I was unhappy with how that reputation reflected on me.

Honestly, my best bet would be some Hufflepuffs, they seemed nice. However, I wanted to make friends in Gryffindor. Not only were Hermione and Chris in there, but Fred was too. Unluckily for me, Gryffindor and Slytherin were the biggest rivals in the school.

"How were your classes?" A voice broke me out of my thoughts. Blue-grey eyes stared intensely into mine. An emotion unknown to me danced in Chris's eyes. Before I could read deeper, she sat down.

"Fine, I guess." I said. "They were pretty easy actually."

Chris rolled her eyes, "Of course they were. Magic and school has always been easy for you. What I wanted to know was whether or not you talked to anybody."

"I talk to people," I objected, miffed that she had brought up my issues. I wasn't a very social person, the opposite of Chris. While she has plenty of friends and acquaintances, I only had a few close friends. I'm perfectly fine with only having a handful of friends but zero bothered even me.

"Working together in class because the teacher tell you to doesn't count." Chris said bluntly. "You should talk to Hermione, you two would get along like peas in a pod."

"I'd like that but.." I hesitated, my stomach squirming in nervousness at the thought of approaching someone by myself.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you." Chris said, flashing me a reassuring smile. Yet her eyes were definitely asking for something.

"Sit down." I instructed.

"Thank goodness" Chris sighed in relief. "I haven't gotten the spell down to de-frizzify my hair."

"It's not that hard," I said as I grabbed her hair. I started running my wand over it as I silently cast the spell. It was the only noverbal spell I could do. "And I'm pretty sure 'de-frizzify' isn't an actual word."

"Are you kidding me?" Chris scoffed. "We don't start nonverbal spells in classes until sixth year!"

"Well then you're lucky I can do it for you," I said as I finished. I checked my watch and noticed we only had several minutes left to get to class. "We have to go. Now."

I gathered all my books quickly while Chris just pushed her books off the table into her bag. I practically sprinted to my class. It turns out that I was early and I decided to take a seat in the front. I soon realized I had made a big mistake. I didn't like history classes in general but I thought History of Magic would be interesting. I had never been so wrong in my life.

I tuned out everything after I wrote down what were were expected to learn during the semester. I would study on my own. I reached in my bag for The Tales of Beedle the Bard but instead my hand found a small black book I had never seen before. I had no idea how it got there. When I examined it I discovered it belonged to someone named T.M. Riddle and it was almost 50 years old.

I was too bored to think about it too deeply and I started doodling in it. I wasn't an artist by any means. I just scribbled and drew basic hearts. I froze when I saw all the ink disappear into the pages. I shook my pen, quills were too hard to use, and scribbled on the page again.

"My name is Cassandra Chopra." I wrote slowly, unsure of what I was expecting.

Hello, Cassandra Chopra. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come by my diary.

"I found it in my bag," I wrote back quickly. "What exactly is this? How did you do it?"

I preserved my memories in a lasting way using a complicated piece of magic. I wanted to leave behind a record of certain events that occurred during my years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"That's where I am right now," I wrote back excitedly. "I'm from America and have been learning magic for two years at home. I'm starting at Hogwarts as a second year."

That's very interesting, did you still get sorted with the first years?

"Yeah," I wrote back. "I'm in Slytherin, which sucks. But I guess being a pureblood and a Parselmouth was too perfect a fit."

A Parselmouth? This meeting must be fate. I too am a Parselmouth and I was a part of the noble house of Slytherin during my time at Hogwarts.

"Really?" I wrote. "Parselmouths aren't common in Europe and it is perceived as a sign of a dark wizard. I'm a Parselmouth because of my father's Indian blood. While it certainly isn't common, it's not rare either. My brothers and I are all Parselmouths."

Really? Than how is being a Parselmouth perceived in Indian culture.

"It's seen as a gift from the gods, a sign of greatness." I wrote back, the familiar pride at my heritage warming me.

The bell rang, jerking me back into reality. I wrote a quick goodbye and packed my bags. I was distracted the rest of the day, eager to talk, or to write to my new friend Tom Riddle. That night I wrote eagerly to him, glad to have someone to spill all my thoughts too. He helped me work up the courage to approach Hermione and her friends. I made the decision that tomorrow I would go up to the Gryffindor table and sit there for breakfast. After doing all my homework, I fell asleep, excited for the morning.