Later that night, after dinner and once everybody was ensconced in their own little groups throughout the common room Tom et al felt it was alright to talk.
"Imagine what one could do with a room like that!" Exclaimed Orion, excitement shining in his pale blue eyes.
"Actually, I was thinking we could use it as a sort of meeting room. Something away from the masses. Somewhere we could be ourselves, without others watching over us." Tom calmly stated.
"That sounds like a good idea, Tom," responded Philip. "But, I don't know if we'll be able to clean it all with magic. Some of the spells used we normally wouldn't learn until closer to fifth year."
"Leave that to me. I haven't had an issue casting magic before," replied Tom, with a flick of his hand indicating that he didn't see a problem with clearing out the room. "Perhaps we should go back tomorrow morning after breakfast and see what we can find about the room and clean up that main area as best we could." noticing the nods he was getting from the other two, Tom continued. "But, let's stay around the rest of the castle in the afternoon. We don't want to bring any attention to us or what we have found. Knowing Dumbledore and some of the other students around here, I wouldn't put it past them to follow us in some form or fashion."
As Tom had finished talking the male seventh-year prefect, Langford Jones approached their small group, Tom looked up and noticed that the other prefects were approaching the random gatherings of first and second year students.
"Alright, you lot. It's 9 o'clock. Time to head up to your dormitories." Jones calmly commanded.
"Thanks," replied Orion. "Come on guys."
With that, Tom; Philip and Orion grabbed their robes and turned to head up the stairs to their dormitory.
"We'll head there after breakfast tomorrow morning and spend a couple hours going through the room and cleaning what we can," Tom said as they walked calmly up the stairs to their dormitory. "That way, once lunch rolls around we can make ourselves more available for others."
Seeing Philips look, Tom continued. "So that they don't start wondering where we've been going. I learned a lot about this growing up. Just, trust me. Okay?"
"Sure thing, Tom." Philip accepted with an understanding nod.
The boys then reached their dorm and went straight to their wardrobes getting their things ready for bed. Tom took a pair of clothes and a clean robe out of his and hung it on the outside handle for tomorrow morning. He then opened the bottom drawer to get what he needed out for the night and headed for the restroom.
After the boys were all changed and ready for bed they each sat on their beds facing Tom.
"If there are any spells we need to learn that aren't in our year one books, we could always head out to the library tomorrow after lunch and flip through some. That way, we'd be in a semi-public place, and anybody could notice and vouch that we were there in the afternoon." Orion stated after making himself comfortable within his four-poster.
"That's not a bad idea…...Orion." Tom said somewhat slowly. It was new to him to speak with his year mates using their given names. Up until now, they had just been other kids at the school learning magic as he had. But, with what they'd found and learned earlier that day Tom felt that it would be prudent to perhaps foster a less cold rapport. At least in private.
"Anything you want to add….Philip?" Tom turned his eyes to Avery in question.
"I think we've got a pretty decent plan for now. The idea to go to the library was a good one. We can't very well disappear the entire weekend without raising suspicion. Plus, who knows what we might find in the Hogwarts library." Philip responded with a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Alright, then. It's a plan." Tom said. Glancing around the room and noticing that the other four boys were asleep he felt it would be prudent to get to bed as well. "We'll talk over it more tomorrow. Maybe we can eventually bring the others in on it as well. But, we should wait and see how things pan out first."
"That makes sense, goodnight." Both Philip and Orion said before Tom closed his curtains around his four-poster and curled under the blankets.
Right after Tom got comfortable in bed he felt Saroya slither onto the corner of his pillow. She knew he was getting ready for sleep and wanted to say goodnight to her youngling.
*What wasssss all this planning about that i overheard today, youngling?* Saroya hissed as she licked the tip of Tom's nose.
*Remember thissss morning when we found the painting in that abandoned corridor?* Tom hissed back.
Saroya nodded her head slightly in agreement to Tom's question.
*Well, they wanted to ssssee what i had found. However, i didn't wisssh to sssshow them that we had met Ssssalazar. I figured that we could jusssst take one of the corridorsssss we had bypasssssed in the morning and sssee what we found.* Tom hissed back excitedly.
*What issss it that intriguesss you sssso? I can taste the excitement bubbling insssside you jussst under the ssssurface.* Saroya hissed.
*When i took Black and Avery with me after the noon meal, we went down a different corridor. One that comesss up well before the tapesssstry. Anywayssss, near the end of the corridor there were sssseveral doorsss. We didn't know what they led to, sssso we just opened the firssst and decided to go from there.* Tom took a breath and waited for Saroya's nod to continue. *We found an old room that appeared to not have been used in hundreds of years! There was a large circular stone table and chalkboards with writing on it, cabinets filled with rollsssss of parchment, bookssss, and large tomessss. We think it may have belonged to the foundersssss, maybe as a meeting room when the castle was firsssst built. Either way, we have decided to clean it up, go through the documentationsss and use it as our own common room. One that is away from the rest of the students. Something just for us.*
*That ssssounds quite interesting, youngling. Why don't you take me with you again tomorrow? If i notice or feel anything different i could let you know then. It'ssss not assss if your companionssss don't know that you sssspeak our tongue.* Noticing Tom's apprehension, Saroya continued on. *Ah, do you not wisssh for them to know of me?* She hissed back a bit sadly.
*No! It'ssss not that at all, Ssssaroya. I jussst don't want everybody to know. I'm not sssuposed to have a ssssnake here. The letter said only a cat, owl or frog. I don't know what they would do to you.* Tom hissed solemnly.
*Alright, Youngling. Do not fret.* Saroya hissed as she stuck her tongue out to lick at Tom's nose once again. *I will stay out of sssight for now. But, i am sssstil coming with you tomorrow. Now, it'ssss getting late. Let ussss ressst.*
*Thank you, Sssaroya. Goodnight.* Tom hissed as he burrowed more under his covers and closed his eyes.
*Goodnight, youngling* Hissed Saroya as she curled up on the corner of the bed.
The following morning, Tom was just finishing up breakfast when he noticed that Orion and Philip were as well.
"Are we all set then?" Inquired Tom.
But, before either Philip or Orion could respond Nott jumped into the conversation. "What are you guys up to this morning? Mulciber, Lestrange, Flint, Goyle and myself were thinking of watching the Quidditch practice and then maybe explore the grounds. Do you want to accompany us?"
"Thank you for the invitation, Mulciber. Could we take a raincheck? We were going to look for some books in the library today. Perhaps later this afternoon or after dinner?" Tom smoothly redirected Mulciber et al.
"Sure thing, Riddle." Replied Mulciber. "We'll be around if you guys get sick of the stacks." At that, Mulciber et al got up from the table and headed out to the grounds in wait of the Quidditch practice.
"Come on guy, let's go before we're questioned again." Stated Tom as he turned and strolled out of the great hall towards the dungeons.
"All clear, Tom. None of the other students returned to Slytherin. We can head down the corridor now before anybody notices us." Philip said from Tom's left as he looked back behind them.
Before they knew it they were opening the door to the abandoned meeting room that they had found the previous day.
"I read through the books that we had and found some spells that could be used. Have you heard of scourgify and tergeo? They're cleaning and siphoning spells. I figured that we could use those, coupled with wingardium leviosa to get this place cleaned up a bit." Tom mentioned to the other two.
Orion glanced at Philip and saw him nod his head. "Yes, we know those ones. How about we each start in a different area and work ourselves back to this doorway?" Orion said as he pointed to the doorway in which they just came through. "I'll take the right. Tom, do you want to take the middle?" Noticing Tom nod in assent and Philip heading over to the left side of the room, he took his wand out and headed for the right to get started.
Tom could hear the others using the aforementioned spells to move things out of the way and to get rid of the dust and grime that has permeated this room for the past few hundred years - or however long it has been since the room was closed off and forgotten. Deciding to start with the wall and work his way down the middle towards the door was the best idea, Tom went straight to the cabinet that was pushed against the back wall. "Scourgify," Tom said as he pointed his wand at the glass doors of the cabinet. Instantly, all the dust and grime was magicked right away, and Tom could see through the glass and notice all the tightly bound scrolls, photos, and tomes kept safe beyond the glass. Not wanting to ruin any of the things kept in the cabinet Tom turned to look for something to slowly place the items on as he worked his way through cleaning it out. Noticing a small table to the right of the cabinet Tom pointed his wand at it and intoned "Wingardium Leviosa."
Slowly the small end table floated towards Tom. He lowered his wand when the table came to a stop a foot in front of him. Satisfied with what he did, Tom turned back to the cabinet and opened both doors. Figuring it smart to start with the bottom most level of the cabinet Tom slowly levitated the assortment of scrolls and books onto the table behind himself. Making sure to not stack the assortment, Tom had them laying side by side so that he could use a mild tergeo charm on them to get rid of all the dust and grime that had built up over the last 800-900 years. One at a time Tom cleaned off the parchment, scrolls and random knick knacks that he brought from the cabinet and started a pile.
Once he had completed the entire bottom level, he scourgified the entire section leaving it pristine and shining. Replacing all everything from that section, Tom continued for the following four sections of the cabinet, each one holding a massive amount of treasures. Once finished with the cabinet, he noticed that the others had also moved on from where they had initially started. Philip was in the opened area that had the fireplace and more comfortable seating and Orion was where there were more smaller tables and the numerous chalkboards.
Orion was careful not to do anything to the chalkboards aside from removing the dust and grime from the legs and frames, not wanting to accidentally erase anything written upon the boards before they were able to copy them to parchment for safe keeping. Slowly the boys made it throughout the room and met back-to-back in between the circular meeting table and the door. Since the large table was clear of everything, the three boys each incanted "Scourgify" while pointing at the table, watching all the dust and grime become magicked off the table giving it a shine it hasn't seen in hundreds of years. Realizing they still hadn't finished cleaning the last bit of the flooring, the boys did a quick tergeo on themselves and then scourgified the last of the flooring. Leaving the room looking organized, clean and welcoming.
"I do believe we got a lot of work done in here," said Orion as he went to sit in one of the freshly cleaned chairs by the fire.
"That we did. Let's check the time before we decide to do anything else." Said Philip. "Tempus" incanted Philip. Suddenly a clock appeared in front of him informing him that it was 11:15. "It's 11:15, guys. We have a bit of time to rest and maybe look over something before we need to head up for lunch."
At that, Orion got up and walked over to the other side of the room where the chalkboards were and started to push one of them over towards the fireplace and chairs. "I didn't want to completely get rid of what was written here accidentally while cleaning. So, I only cleaned the base." Orion said as he pointed out the parts that were cleaned. "I figure that we should look up a duplication or copy charm in the library today after lunch so that the next time we're here we can copy everything off the boards onto parchment or into a notebook."
"That is a brilliant idea, Orion," Tom said, excitement shining through his eyes. "After lunch, we can head to the library and try and find anything that would help us protect and transfer the secrets written on the boards onto parchment to store in the cabinet. Which, by the way, has a lot of different Tomes, books, rolls of parchment and various knick knacks. It wouldn't hurt to maybe go through them more thoroughly so that we have them organized for easy access."
"What a splendid brilliant idea!" Philip said from his reclined position on the couch. "If we don't wish to be noticed, we should head up towards the great hall for lunch, then the library." Realizing that he needed to stand from his reclined lazy position in order to do that.
A few moments later the three boys were up and walking out of the room. Once the door was closed, Tom once again locked it and turned so that they could head up for lunch. "Come on guys, we mustn't let others inquire of our whereabouts," he said as he started to walk back up to the school proper. No, i most definitely don't want anybody else at the moment to know what we've found. Especially not Dumbledore.
The trio had finished with lunch and were on the stairwell, making their way to the library. They figured since they had told McNair at breakfast that they would be spending the day in the library, it'd be best get there directly after lunch. Not to mention, there were several things that they wished to read up on.
"Maybe we should each look into something different," suggested Orion. "I could look up some charms that we haven't yet learned. Ones that may help us in setting the room to rights."
"And I can look for some secrecy spells, transfiguration and charms work should help us out a lot in the long run," chimed in Tom.
"I was thinking that we should see if there is any information hidden in here about the corridors and rooms. If there is, we can get them out of the library, so we don't run the risk of others finding the rooms before we're able enough to ward them," Replied Philip.
At that, the boys hung their robes over the back of their chairs at the table they picked in the far right corner of the library, then headed into the stacks to complete their task.
About twenty minutes later the three boys convened at their table. Each of them had a sizeable stack of books that they set down just to the side of their chairs on the table. Once they had had all sat down and started to read through the top book of their respective stacks, Orion looked up, his eyes showing slight contemplation.
"Hey, guys?" Orion asked. "I didn't think before we came up here. We don't have any writing supplies to take notes." He looked contemplative. "Who wants to go back to the dorm and grab some for us?"
After Orion's declaration, Tom turned slightly and started to ruffle inside one of the pockets in his robe. "That won't be necessary...Orion." Tom replied, only slowing down for a moment before adding Orion's given name to the end of the sentence. "I always come prepared. Before we left the dormitory this morning, I grabbed a roll of spare parchment as well as some quills and a small ink well. I believe this will suffice for now." Tom said as He passed a quill to both Orion and Philip while setting a few scraps of parchment and the inkwell down in the middle of the small table they had commandeered.
"Smart thinking there, Tom," Philip said as he gave a hearty pat to Tom's upper back.
After that, for the next hour or so, the only thing that could be heard in their corner of the library was the turning of pages and the scratches of the quill against parchment. It had appeared as if the boys had gotten through a decent amount of the books that they had pulled from the stacks. Considering how the three of them had made sure to complete their weekend homework Friday night, they didn't have to worry about making sure there was enough time at the end of the day to complete their assignments due throughout the week. Tom had learned how to prioritize his time while growing up in the orphanage. It's not as if one could squander what little free time they had. If his schoolwork wasn't done in a timely manner or up to par, that could only mean consequences. Therefore, Tom always did his work the evening it was assigned. Unlike some of his fellow classmates.
Recognizing his train of thought and realizing where he was, Tom looked up and glanced around the part of the library he was in. Noticing the influx of students rummaging through textbooks and scratching away at their parchment with abandon - true signs that they were cramming to finish what was due in the next day or two. Noticing the most frantic of which came from Gryffindor didn't seem to surprise Tom much. Finding it slightly amusing he knocked once in the middle of his table to catch Philip and Orion's attention - disliking the idea of instigating contact. When they both looked up from their parchment and books at Tom, he nodded his head in the direction of the frantic Gryff's at a table across the way.
"Surprise, Surprise." Retorted Orion. "You'd think that they'd have better planning skills than that, don't you?"
"You'd think." Echoed Philip. "However, it is amusing to watch at times."
"Anyways," Tom broke in. "Did either of you find anything useful or interesting? Now, I found a few spells that we could use. I know that we haven't actually gone over then in class yet. But, we're all smart blokes, it shouldn't be a problem to practice them a couple of times and then have them down. Right?"
After thinking for a moment, Orion and Philip agreed with Tom.
"Which spells were did you find that you felt would be helpful, Tom?" Philip inquired.
"Well, the first one was Aparecium, it's a charm used to reveal invisible ink. It says that the wand movement is a clockwise circle with a jab at 12 o'clock. I was thinking that perhaps we can use it to see if there was any hidden messages in the room. Which is why I also found it's counter-charm Defluo, it charms ink to be invisible, and ink must be wet. It says that the wand movement is an anti-clockwise circle with a jab at twelve o'clock. If we were to write a couple of things down and use Defluo to make them invisible, we could you Aparecium to reveal the ink. If the message doesn't reveal itself, obviously we need to work on the counter-charm. Who know's what's hidden not just in the room but, throughout the castle itself." Tom finished in a near whisper.
"That's great Tom. We can try writing a few things each on a piece of parchment and then cast defluo on it before passing it to the other to check if we're casting aparecium correctly." Said Philip, passing a scrap of blank parchment to both Tom and Orion before scribbling something down on his own sheet.
It only took a couple of minutes for each boy to write a message or two down on their scraps of parchment before as one passing it to the right.
Soon, each of them were performing the wand movements and whispering the incantation. At first, nothing happened. But, Tom stopped and thought for a second.
"Don't forget. This isn't something we're generally taught until around Easter break. So, we may have to practice it a few times before it works." Tom stated, noticing the concentration on his…..dare he say it, friends…..faces.
The reminder seemed to have helped, including Tom himself because, within a couple of minutes the words on each parchment was starting to become visible once more.
Tom had received Orion's parchment. It read, Do you think we'd get away with passing notes in class now? The professors couldn't possibly expect us to know this yet, right? In his perfect cursive penmanship. Chuckling to himself, Tom picked up his quill and dabbed it in the inkwell before adding in his loopy scrawl, We could most definitely try. Perhaps in Slughorn's class? I don't think he'd mind even if he did suspect the charm. But, if we were to do it in Binn's we wouldn't be testing anybody and Dumbledore…..enough said. "Defluo" incanted Tom, while performing the anti-clockwise wand movement saw the writing become invisible once more.
Finishing with his message, Tom performed the aparecium charm and passed it over to Philip and while receiving Philips note from Orion, complete with Orion's own addition to the memo. "Aparecium" parroted Tom once more. Now, he was looking at writing from both Philip and Orion.
Should we head back to the common room and hang out before dinner after this, or do you think it'd be wise to drop our things off and head out to the pitch? That way, Mulciber can keep his mouth shut the next time he butts his nose in our business. It was written out in a more perfected block letter style print. Following Philip's train of thought, Tom continued reading Orion's response about Mulciber. Honestly! That guy is such a twat. Hopefully being away from his overbearing folks will help calm him down. But, I suppose you have a point. We don't want to go around and make people notice us or what we are doing until we are ready. Tom understood where both of them were coming from and added his parting words, I agree. Let's put these books away - make note of which one's we've got here - and head on out. on the parchment before casting Defluo and starting to pack up.
Philip and Orion read what Tom had written, and they too started to pack up before standing as one to vacate the library.
It took about fifteen minutes for them to make it back to the common room where Tom went up to the dorm room to take the parchment and writing supplies out of his cloak, placing them within the drawer on his bedside table. Before heading back into the common room to meet up with Philip and Orion. Curious if the other boys liked Quidditch, considering how neither one of them seemed to be as Quidditch obsessed as the others in their dorm, not to mention throughout the school, Tom decided to ask if either of them played.
"I enjoy flying." Answered Philip. "However, Quidditch just isn't my thing. It's fun to watch at times. But, I'm not obsessed with it like other boys can be."
"I like Quidditch well enough." Came Orion's reply. "But, I figured, we're only first years. Why do I need to bother about watching Quidditch practice? It's not as if the team is going to give two knuts as to why I'm there."
"Fair enough," said Tom. "Obviously, I didn't know about it until everybody started talking about it during the feast. Then again, I've never been one for sports of any kind. I much prefer to spend my time doing things I find productive. Such as reading and searching out places."
It was then that the boys made it across the grounds to the Quidditch pitch. It was much larger up close than Tom had assumed it would be. The highest of the hoops have got to be at least fifty feet in the air, guessed Tom. Meanwhile, the seating in the stands themselves seemed to begin at about forty to forty-five feet, just about even with the lowest hoops. Tom figured it was that way so that everybody could see the best with the multi-level hoops. It was a very surreal thing for him to witness. These kids, only within a couple years age of himself, were flying some fifty feet in the air dodging rogue balls and tossing others into the large hoops. It sort of reminded him of a cross between rugby and croquet - except it was played not on the ground but, up in the air on brooms.
"That reminds me," came Orion's voice breaking Tom out of his thinking. "Did either of you see the notice in the common room yesterday morning?"
Seeing the negative replies from both his friends Orion continued on. "We're starting flying lessons in a week or two. On Wednesdays directly after lunch. At least, Professor Dippet know's how to schedule things. We're sharing the class with Ravenclaw. Can you imagine what a mess it'd be if we were having the class with Gryffindor?!" Orion barked the last part out in a laugh.
"If that were to happen, somebody would end up in the infirmary," Tom said with a smirk and slight chuckle.
While Orion and Philip were laughing out loud and Tom chuckled a bit alongside them, they realized that their dorm-mates had noticed their arrival. Tom looked to the left and saw Mulciber, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and Lestrange approach the trio. Instantly Tom put his mask up. He'll admit that he had become fond of Orion and Philip but, that doesn't mean that he felt comfortable with anybody else. Especially people with Mulciber, whom thought that he had a say in what Tom did.
"Finally decided to leave the castle, did you guys?" Mulciber said in as pompous a voice an eleven year-old boy could make, as he and his entourage approached the trio.
"We leave the castle when necessary, Mulciber," Tom calmly drawled, seething silently inside. What business is it of his what I do or where I go? thought Tom.
"That's funny, considering I don't believe we've ever seen you guys leave unless it was for our Herbology classes," sneered Mulciber. "Isn't that right, fellas?" As Tom looked at the rest of the group, he could tell that some of them probably didn't have enough sense to rub two knuts together. Crabbe and Goyle specifically, thought Tom.
"Simply because we don't waste our free weekends out on the pitch wishing desperately that we were upper years and could play Quidditch, doesn't mean that we never set foot on the grounds." Orion retorted as turned his hand over and examined his perfectly manicured hands with a bored expression gracing his features.
"As I said, Mulciber, as necessary," spoke Tom once again. "The weather is getting colder, and the rains are sure to start any day now. Why would I waste my free day getting pelted by rain in the hopes of having the upper years notice me and -" here, Tom emphasised the word 'and' "actually remember me come tryouts next year or the year after. It's a pathetic play at politics. You should simply stop while your ah- well, not ahead. But, before they actually take notice of you standing around and preening."
This had the desired effect. As soon as Tom finished what he had to say, he noticed how uncomfortable Mulciber, Crabbe and Goyle appeared. Whereas, Lestrange and Nott chuckled a bit behind carefully concealed coughs.
"Either way, I'm bored with you," stated Tom as he turned back towards Philip and Orion. "What do you say about a round of chess before dinner tonight? Winner plays Philip."
"I'm in." Both Philip and Orion chimed at the same time.
"Well, nice chatting with you guys. I'm sure we'll see you in the common room some time later on," Tom said to Mulciber and company after he'd already started walking back up the pathway around to the front of the school, a smirk and glint in his eyes gracing his features.
As the trio were walking up the path, they failed to see that the entire exchange with the other first-year Slytherins was witnessed by none other than Dumbledore.
"Well, this is an interesting change in house dynamics," Dumbledore said quietly to himself while absentmindedly stroking his elongating auburn beard. A moment after the trio disappeared behind the closed doors of the school entrance, Dumbledore glanced out across the grounds and turned to behind his descent into the school proper. Calculating what, if anything, could be done in regards to one Tom Riddle.
The rest of their Sunday was spent lounging around the Slytherin common room playing chess and basically leaving their mark. They weren't going to obviously make it known that they wished to have an alibi throughout the day. But, figured it wouldn't hurt to spend the rest of the weekend with their housemates. Being available from time to time, leaves it so that when you are unavailable for stretches of time, people don't notice it as fast. Nor do they generally try to decipher what you may be doing or where you may going when you aren't around.
With that in mind, the trio didn't go back to the Founders Meeting Room - as Tom has begun calling it in his head, for the rest of the week. That, however, didn't stop him from thinking about the room and what else may be down that corridor. Or, whatever else is hidden throughout this expansive castle. Obviously, this castle hasn't been used to it's limit in centuries! thought Tom.
In the following days, Tom took the time in the evenings before bed, when he wasn't thinking about the room and the secrets hidden throughout the castle, to pursue his Wizarding Genealogy tome. By Wednesday, as Tom was making it towards the entry on Slytherin he started to think about what the portrait of Salazar Slytherin had said in regards to Parseltongues - being that Tom was the first in centuries that Salazar had spoken to in the ancient snake language. It made Tom stop and think. What makes me so special to share something so rare with one of the founders? thought Tom.
Still not understanding everything that made the Wizarding World tick, on top of being a Muggle-raised wizard - albeit a very bright one - made Tom want to hold on to the possibility that he was in some way or fashion related to Slytherin. Basically any ties to the Wizarding World as a whole, aside from the Gaunts, is what Tom was subconsciously looking for. He had a drive to be the very best in this world in the hopes to never having to return to the muggle world ever again. Knowing that since he didn't want to live in a place where he had to constantly hide himself away, Tom wanted to learn all that he can about the Wizarding World. In the hopes that there's a way to stay over the summer at the school, or stay with others…...perhaps I should look into what happens to magical orphans. Do we have our own orphanages that we're sent to? Do they just ship us back and abandon us in the Muggle world over breaks? These were thoughts running wild through Tom's head as the first-year Slytherins were making their way to their midnight Astronomy class.
Throughout the entire week, Tom noticed that Dumbledore had yet to put a halt to his damnable twinkling eyes. He felt as if Dumbledore purposely sought him out to watch him while Tom was in Transfiguration, the Great Hall, or even just walking throughout the castle. It left Tom feeling somewhat peeved from time to time. What is wrong with Dumbledore? Tom isn't really doing anything against the rules. There was nothing said to the students in regards to exploring the castle. In fact, Tom felt as if it was somewhat encouraged through lack of truly barricaded areas. These people were fully trained witches and wizards, surely if they didn't want anybody to go places, there would be magical means to keep students out.
Tom realized where his thoughts were straying and brought himself back to the present. Approaching the parapets that the student telescopes were kept and shrugging his bag off his shoulder to bring out his star chart and other materials for class. Realizing that perhaps things are not always what they seem, he promised himself to keep his wits about him, especially around Dumbledore, and to learn as much as he possibly can. Standing next to his telescope with Orion, Tom decided now was not the time to continue pondering such thoughts.
Turning towards Orion, "Did you wish to fill in the chart this time or would you prefer to call out the names and locations needed to be mapped?" Tom asked as he settled in for their midnight class, pushing his rampaging thoughts to the back of his mind for now. There'll be time to figure this all out after class, Tom affirmed himself as he nodded to Orion to begin their assignment.