Okay, so this doesn't exactly follow the events of the book. This is set during their fourth year, even though Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets during his fifth year. Also, Nagini (as a person) plays a pivotal role in the fic as I feel that Riddle couldn't do everything he's said to have done during his school years without some help. I also feel that establishing a connection between their characters would help him seem more human as everyone seems to hate his character without analyzing why he did what he did.

So, here goes…

Tom glared at the book in front of him with vehemence. The chapter it was opened at read:

'On the subject of the Chamber of Secrets no two wizards are of the same opinion, though it is widely agreed that the exact location of the chamber and the monster within are unknown. This had led many notable wizards and witches to claim that the existence of the Chamber is merely a joke on Slytherin's part to-'

Slamming the book shut, Tom fumed in silence. He'd spent weeks and weeks in the library searching for a scrap of credible information on the Chamber of Secrets and…nothing. Most books simply refused to acknowledge its existence – a belief that he could never share. Salazar Slytherin did not base his legend on jokes or lies, and even if he did Tom would not believe it of him.

"Tom?" Avery approached tentatively, noting the dark expression on the other boy's face. "Tom, is there–"

"I've told you not to call me that." Tom snapped, irritably. The thought of being called his Muggle father's name after being (in his opinion) let down by his ancestor was more than he could bear.

"I'm sorry – Voldemort." Avery's tone was strange and Tom half-wondered if the other boy was making fun of him.

Of course, Voldemort was a highly unusual name and this fact only increased its merit in Tom's estimation. It was terribly dull being named 'Tom' as he shared it with so many other people, and he most definitely did not appreciate being common. He liked to think of himself as decidedly uncommon.

"Anyway, Rudolphus was thinking that if you don't have any luck by yourself you might ask Nagini." Avery sat opposite Tom, his hands folded behind his head. "The Mudblood knows everything. If anyone's likely to find the Chamber first, it'll be her."

Tom frowned. The idea of asking a Muggle-born for help seemed, in his mind, unacceptable. If he was Slytherin's heir then he ought to figure out the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets himself.

"Tom." Avery touched his shoulder and, rather without meaning to, he flinched. "Sorry, sorry." Avery muttered, abashed. "No touching, I understand." He stood up, readjusting the Slytherin scarf around his neck. "So…the game starts in fifteen minutes, are you coming?"

Tom paused. He never really understood Quidditch – to him it was a silly game that ought to be restricted to the first years and not thought about by the seniors, but it seemed to bind the members of every house together. All the members of every house…except him.

Undeniably, he felt alone in his dislike of Quidditch. Sometimes, during his weaker moments, he'd felt as if he'd have liked to have had a friend, but a friend would prattle on about things that bored him and Tom couldn't bear that.

"No."

It was a little more than a whisper, but Avery seemed to hear. He nodded, waved, and was out of the library in a flash.

It was then, and only then, that Tom understood that his friends were bored by him. He'd promised them power, but he'd failed to his promise into fruition after four consecutive years.

The fact dawned on him that they'd moved on to other things. Rudolphus was very much taken up with Bellatrix Black, Nott with his studies, Avery with life in general, Rabastan with jinxing the Muggle-borns…the list went on as the whole lot of them seemed to have shifted their focus elsewhere.

This annoyed him, but it saddened a small part of him as well. Was that all he was meant to be, a fad that died out after it was no longer exciting?

Tom's gaze locked on a dark head, the only other person in the library. For a minute he was oddly comforted and then, recognizing whom the head belonged to, his spirits plummeted again.

Yet, remembering something Avery had said, his spirits seemed to lift once more. If the Mudblood was honestly that smart (and everyone seemed to think she was) then if he accidentally-on-purpose dropped something hinting at the Chamber of Secrets by her table, would she follow up on it? Could he count on her unknowingly solving the puzzle for him?

Unlocking the key to the Chamber of Secrets would, no doubt, restore confidence in him. His friends would not think of him as a bore any more.

Debating the thought with himself he decided to go through with it.

Opening Hogwarts: A History to the appropriate page, he proceeded to saunter over to her table.

Tripping himself up, he knocked the book out of his hand and into her lap.

She frowned, gazing down at the book in her lap. "Hogwarts: A History? I'd expect better reading material from you, Tom. Were all the copies of 50 Ways to Hex Your Enemies taken?"

She was baiting him – being nasty in return for all the times he'd been a prat to her, but he didn't care. As long as she noticed the bit about the Chamber of Secrets, any and all insults would be paid for.

"Well, I intend to get full marks on Professor Binns' latest assignment."

Nagini laughed, a loud, scathing laugh that made Tom go scarlet. If there was anything he hated more than being thought of as common, it was being thought of as a joke.

"Good for you, Riddle, though you'd be better off studying facts instead of this garbage." She handed the book back to him, glancing derisively at the illustration of the Chamber of Secrets.

"Oh, I am studying the facts – only a Mudblood like you wouldn't think of them as possible. I, on the other hand, know better."

Nagini's eyes narrowed considerably. "What are you saying, Tom?"

"Forget it, it doesn't concern you, Mudblood."

Her eyes followed him as he replaced Hogwarts: A History on the shelf it had come from. He only hoped that he'd been convincing enough to stimulate her to do a bit of research on her own.

Well, that's that. A couple of diversions from the book (Bellatrix didn't go to school with Tom) (Avery wasn't a Quidditch fan) but I hope no one minds.