Harry gets sorted and mildly threatens the Sorting Hat, finds out he's in the same dorm as Tom, decides to just sleep.

Tom decides he wants to recruit the new boy, but feels he needs to test Peverell first.

Harry's POV

For the next week, Harry kept mostly to himself. He wandered around the castle and set about making duplicates of things he would need for his home inside his trunk. The duplicates wouldn't be there for long, just until he can get emancipated and buy some actual supplies. In the meantime, he went about duplicating beds, dressers, and everything else one would need for a room. He also went to the kitchen and set about duplicating the utilities there so he could have a working kitchen.

Perhaps it was all overkill, since he would only need to spend about a month and three weeks wherever he was going to be placed. Part of him knew that he would end up in Wool's Orphanage, and with his shitty Potter luck, he was almost positive that he would end up there. Either way, he had hope that maybe- just maybe- he would find somewhere else to spend his time. Who knows, maybe he can take a note out of Tom's book and ask to stay in Hogwarts over the summer.

Somehow, Harry doubted he'd have such a privilege. Tom was known as a perfect student, and Harry only just arrived at Hogwarts. Tom had a better rapport with Dippet and the other professors, whereas Harry was someone they did not know, at least not yet.

The night before the Welcome Feast took place, Harry set about packing up everything into his trunk and making sure that Mort's stuff was ready to be put away, along with Hed's stuff. All he needed to do at this point was wait, which was not something new to Harry. He had lived for hundreds of years- hundreds of years more than a wizard should be able to live- and a lot of that time was spent waiting.

"Hieronymus, I'll have you follow me. The Welcome Feast is just about to begin. After all the first years are situated, I will introduce you, and then you can join your house." Dippet smiled gently as he urged Harry out of his temporary room. The older man seemed to notice Harry's reluctant look towards his trunk and chuckled softly in response.

"Don't worry, as soon as you are assigned your house, you will be assigned a dorm and your trunk and everything else will appear near your bed." Dippet offered a gentle smile as he patted Harry's shoulder, who simply nodded and looked relieved.

"Alright, simply wait here until I introduce you to everyone, then you will go up to the stool and the Sorting Hat will be placed on your head." Dippet explained as he led Harry to a somewhat hidden corner of the Great Hall. Harry simply nodded and watched as first years were introduced and sorted.

He recognized quite a few familiar names such as Prewett (who were twins, big surprise there ), Weasley (and of course there were quite a few of them, too), Greengrass, Macmillan were some of the recognizable names interspersed amongst the many- most likely- Muggle names.

Finally, after the last first years had been sorted, Dippet stepped up to the podium.

"I realize you all must be hungry, but we have one last addition to our school. I hope you will all welcome him, as he has had a hard time. Unlike the first years, this boy will be joining us for his fourth year and all following years after that. Please welcome Hieronymus Silas Peverell!" Dippet turned with a flourish, motioning Harry to step out from his hidden spot.

Harry paused for a moment, listening to the mutterings from all four houses. He could catch some people mentioning his last name, and others mentioning Grindelwald.

"QUIET!" Dippet turned and snapped, before turning to Harry and motioning towards the stool.

Finally, Harry walked to the stool, sat on it, and shivered at the magic touching him as soon as the Sorting Hat was placed upon his head.

How interesting… Not a body from the future, but a mind and a soul from the future. One who is so connected to Death, he mastered it.

'Please tell me no one can talk to you about what you see. I really don't need anyone other than myself knowing that I'm the Master of Death.'

Don't you worry, what happens between myself and students remains between myself and the students.

'I'd feel better if you swore on yourself that you won't share anything about me with anyone, otherwise I will find a way to burn you.'

No need for such violent threats, Potter . I swear upon my very existence that I will not share anything that I have seen, talked to you about, or heard from you, so mote it be.

'Sorry… thank you.'

Hmph… I can see that my future self put you in Gryffindor, this is not something I would do… in fact I think I have a bit of a theory…

'Oh?'

Yes, you see, I never doubt myself, ever. There are times when there are hatstalls, but I am never not completely certain when placing a witch or wizard in their intended house. You would have thrived wonderfully in Slytherin, yet for some reason I put you in Gryffindor. I can only assume someone was meddling.

'I thought you said what happens between students and you is private.'

It is, it does not mean something like me cannot be charmed for a period of time to influence me to do something other than what I'm intended to do. Perhaps that's why I nearly made you a hatstall. I was most likely trying to make the charm run out of time to place you in Slytherin, as I intend to do now.

'... You're implying Dumbledore charmed the future you to put me into Gryffindor.'

I might be. But that future will never happen now. You will do best in…

"SLYTHERIN!"

Harry blinked, not at all surprised as he felt the magic around his tie and looked down to see the green and silver colors.

In all his life he never thought he'd actually be glad to be in Slytherin.

The hat was removed from Harry's head and he gave Dippet a small smile and walked towards the Slytherin house- some of which were clapping and thankfully there was none of the whooping that the Gryffindor table would have done.

Harry carefully picked a spot far from anyone recognizable and kept his head down. He wanted to lay low for the time being. If he went about seeking attention, he could end up with the wrong kind of attention.

Then again, knowing his Potter luck- even if he wasn't exactly a Potter anymore- he would still end up hexed well into next week. Thankfully he had many years at Hogwarts with George and Fred, and even more years with George's children, who managed to inherit both their father's and uncle's knack for pranks.

Not to mention that Harry was related to one Marauder and knew two of the other Marauders. He honestly pitied anyone who tried hexing him. The worst thing his fellow Slytherins could let loose on the halls of Hogwarts was a very motivated, very ambitious prankster. Then again, pranking required effort, if anything Harry would set about getting even with others. It was how he was going to get even with others that might just resemble pranks, but whatever anyone dishes out, he'll return tenfold.

"And now, let the feast begin!" Dippet called out and as soon as he finished speaking, the tables filled to the brim with freshly cooked food.

Honestly, Harry wasn't very hungry. What he did want, though, was to smoke, but he highly doubted Dippet would allow students to head out without eating something. So with some reluctance, Harry filled his plate with a few different foods that he hardly paid any attention to and nibbled here and there at his food. The only intentional thing on his plate was the hill of treacle tarts. Though Harry knew he didn't have to hoard his food like a packrat, it was a habit he hadn't been able to break in his long, long life.

Once the feast was over, Harry was called over by the Head Boy of Slytherin who bore a striking resemblance to Marcus Flint. Next to him was a young woman who bore a striking resemblance to Severus Snape.

"Hello Hieronymus, I'm Maxim Flint, Head Boy of Slytherin. This is Eileen Prince, Head Girl of Slytherin. If you have any issues, be sure to come to us. Now, you will join the first years for the time being. We will show you how to get to the common room and go over some in-house rules. Be sure to listen carefully." Maxim introduced, waving his arm towards the gaggle of first year Slytherins.

Harry could only sigh and follow behind while the rest of the years in Slytherin went their own ways.

"First, I'd like to point out that we do have rules for our house that are enforced by your fellow Slytherins." Maxim explained as the first years- and Harry- followed behind him and Eileen Prince.

"First rule, you will uphold the expectations of Slytherin; you will not be rude, you will not mingle with other houses, and you will respect those higher in rank than you." Maxim explained while giving a pointed stare at the first years- and Harry.

"Second rule, do your utmost to gain points and avoid losing points. Those who lose points will fall in the ranking within Slytherin house." Eileen added as they continued to walk.

"Third rule, avoid upsetting Dumbledore. While it might seem that he is kind, he has a noted bias against Slytherins and will use any excuse to make you lose points. So be on guard should he be around." Marcus continued.

"Fourth rule, if you need something or have questions about anything- do not think any question is stupid- ask either myself, Maxim, or Slughorn. If Maxim or I cannot help you or answer your question, Slughorn might be able to help you out." Eileen added.

"Fifth rule, do your best to aim for grades above an A- also known as Acceptable- or you will lose ranking within Slytherin. Those who score below an A will be given a tutor a year higher than yourself. You do not get a choice in this. Slytherins are meant to uphold expectations. If you find yourself having difficulties, ask anyone and they can point you in the right direction to get you the help you need." Maxim said sternly, making sure to drive the point home that the first years- and Harry- had to do well.

"Sixth rule, clean up after yourself. Leave the common room in the same state you entered it in. If you have a habit of leaving a mess, you will be made to clean it up. Same goes for classrooms. If anyone is found making messes or destroying Hogwarts' property, you will lose ranking." Eileen made sure to sneer- and Merlin, it reminded Harry of Snape- as she glared at the first years- and Harry.

"Those are all the rules you should take note of. If you are curious about your rankings, there is a list that updates every night at twelve am, so be sure to check it every morning. Your ranking is your responsibility, but do not be afraid to ask for help. If you are comfortable remaining at the bottom of the list, then expect to be treated as such. Your next years at Hogwarts aren't meant to be difficult and there are plenty of resources to get help, so seek it out. Your time in Slytherin can be amazing or terrible, it all depends on how you act." Maxim finished right as they got to the entrance of the Slytherin common room which was really just an unassuming door behind a bare stretch of wall that looked rather unassuming.

"Also, the password is Serpens Ambitio. The password changes every year, unless there are other circumstances. Should the password be changed before the end of the year, Slughorn will announce it and the new password will be given to me, Eileen, and the prefects of year sixth and fifth to be given out to everyone." Maxim finished as the door opened, revealing a set of steps leading further down into the dungeons.

The gaggle of first years- and Harry- made their way down into the Slytherin common room and Harry was unsurprised that it looked basically the same as it had when he had visited while pretending to be Goyle while on the search for the "Heir of Slytherin." How funny that he was now attending Hogwarts with the actual true Heir of Slytherin.

"You should be able to find your dorms. A piece of paper should be somewhere on your person with your room number. Each room starts with the year you are in. So obviously for you first years, your dorm number will begin with a 1. Hieronymus, your's will begin with a 4. The rankings are posted there," Eileen stopped, pointing at a bulletin board with a somewhat long list filled with names and numbers, "and boys, you will be unable to get to the girl's dormitory. The stairs are spelled to turn into a slide if you attempt to ascend them, so do not bother trying." Eileen finished with a pointed stare at all of the first year boys- and Harry.

Everyone began to disperse, mostly heading up the stairs to their dorms. Harry briefly glanced at the ranking list and was entirely unsurprised to find Tom Riddle's name right at the top, most likely still there due to the rankings from the previous year. He simply rolled his eyes and headed up towards the boy's dormitory while looking at the number he was given.

404

For some reason, Harry wasn't surprised by his dorm room number. 404 like the computer error, "page not found," and the number four which in some Asian countries was associated with death due to the number having the same pronunciation as the word death.

'Honestly, must you mark me in every way possible?'

You are my master, I feel I should be incorporated in every way into your life.

'I'm going to have the fourth room for the next three years, aren't I?'

Hard to say, I don't control everything, you know.

'Could have fooled me.'

Harry walked leisurely into his new room and blanched immediately upon realizing who else was in the room.

Tom Riddle, Abraxas Malfoy, and Orion Black.

Voldemort and two of his original Death Eaters.

'Oh great.'

Harry made it a point to ignore his new roommates and head over to his bed. He glanced at the drapes and silently began warding his bed. His trunk was already warded to the point not even dust could slip inside. Now he was making sure his bed was safe.

He first warded it so he would know if anyone decided to breach past the edge of the bed. Then he cast a silencing charm due to the many nightmares he still had. He also cast the drapes with a sticking charm so that when they were closed, no one could get past them. The only living things that could get onto Harry's bed were Mort and Hed.

Harry also added a few other wards and charms so that no one could even get on his bed unless he allowed them to. Once he was happy and confident with the wards and charms, he moved over to his trunk to pull out the things Mort would need to be comfortable. Such as his cat bed, his food, his water, and his toys.

As far as Harry was aware, Hed was in the school's owlery, but Harry still had his cage and other things for when Hed would visit with mail, not that Harry was certain he would be getting any mail, nor was he certain he would be sending any mail either. But it was better to have an owl and not need it than to need an owl and not have it.

Plus who knows what kind of secretive things Harry might need to do and he wouldn't trust just any owl to send out such things.

Although it was a bit early to sleep, Harry still set about getting ready for bed. He wore a somewhat big green pajama shirt with matching pajama pants that actually fit. He still ignored his roommates, despite the glowering from Abraxas and Black, and headed to bed after shutting his drapes. Tomorrow he'd get his schedule, and he could also figure out the politics of this time. Chances were that the mini Death Eaters still had some pureblood ideals, but he doubted that they were totally for the obliteration of muggle borns and half bloods. For now, he just wanted to sleep. As much as he wanted to go out and smoke a cigarette, he figured it wasn't a good idea to be caught smoking a cigarette after the first day's curfew. In no time, Harry completely fell asleep, unaware of the conversation going on outside of the drapes of his bed.

Tom's POV

Tom watched the new- late- addition to Slytherin with some mild interest.

He decided that this boy- Hieronymus Silas Peverell- was very aesthetically pleasing. Perhaps Tom would describe him as attractive, but it was more that Hieronymus was simply a bit more aesthetically pleasing than those who stuck around Tom.

Despite how attractive the Peverell boy was, that wasn't actually what caught Tom's attention.

No, it was the sheer amount of magic he could feel around Peverell and how dark it was. So dark that it seemed to dim the light around Peverell. The magic was exhilarating to Tom, and he loved to watch how that dark magic hung over Peverell like a dark shroud and it also, as much as Tom hated to admit, scared him somewhat.

It was as though he was stuck in that shelter- which was actually just the London Underground- while the bombs rained down from above. Boom… boom… boom! The closer Peverell got to Tom, the louder the nonexistent bombs became. Thankfully, Peverell didn't sit near him or his people, but instead chose to sit farther away from everyone. Tom watched as the boy slouched and nibbled on his food and found himself frowning. Though the Peverell name was known to be a pure blooded family- at least back when the Peverell name was still around- this boy didn't seem to act like a pure blood.

Tom decided he found this boy's manners atrocious and decided he would simply have to teach the boy so he could be held to a higher standard.

After all, Tom didn't want any of his people to be anything less than their absolute best and this boy- Peverell- seemed to not care about his social standing and that simply wouldn't do.

Tom had all year to make sure that Hieronymus Silas Peverell would be one of the best Slytherins there was. Not better than himself, of course, as no one could get themselves to the standard that Tom held himself to.

Tom wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to bring Peverell into his fold, but something about the boy caught his attention. He expected something from Peverell, but wasn't exactly sure what it was yet.

Plus the magic that hung around Peverell was frightening. Perhaps, just perhaps, Peverell's power could rival his own and maybe that was why Tom wanted to bring Hieronymus in. He was also somewhat surprised no one else noticed Peverell's power, though he felt it had something to do with his own ability to sense magic to the point he could see it in the air. No matter how well someone hid their magic, Tom would be able to sense it in one way or another.

And that magic- that magic - looked and felt like death.

While Tom may not be able to conquer death- not yet at least- this boy was something he could conquer. With a follower like Peverell, Tom's rise to power would be much easier. With the connections his other followers had and the power that Peverell had- to the point it almost rivaled his own- he would be able to make the changes the magical world so desperately needed. For now, though, he would simply observe Peverell. Somehow, Tom knew with the boy's atrocious manners, Peverell would end up in quite a bit of trouble. It was how Peverell handled that trouble that Tom wanted to see.

That was why Tom didn't give any orders to leave the boy alone. He wanted to see how Peverell handled himself, how he handled possibly being hexed and his response to these things. If Peverell managed to respond in a way Tom liked, then he would set about recruiting the boy after a few more tests.

Dinner was finally over, and Tom and his followers- Malfoy, Avery, Dolohov, Lestrange, Rosier, Mulciber, Black- all quickly made their way to Tom's dorm.

Tom was somewhat shocked- yet pleased- when he noticed Hieronymus Silas Peverell on a nameplate on the bed closest to his own. It seemed he'd be able to observe the boy even more closely than he initially expected.

"That Peverell kid… There's been rumors since the Daily Prophet put out an article on him. They said he was attacked by Grindelwald's forces and just before Grindelwald could kill him, the Aurors arrived and saved the day. They also said he had the same symbol on the back of his neck that Grindelwald uses. Some are saying that he must be working for Grindelwald to infiltrate Hogwarts in order to spy on Dumbledore." Abraxas began, briefly looking at the bed that belonged to the Peverell boy that sat across the room from his own bed.

"I do not think he's working with Grindelwald. If he was meant to get close to Dumbledore, don't you think he would have tried to end up in Gryffindor?" Tom pointed out in a neutral tone. He really did not think Peverell was working with Grindelwald, who Tom saw as a bit of a madman.

Did Tom agree with some of what Grindelwald was spouting? Yes. But the way Grindelwald was going about things was very messy and it obviously wouldn't work. If Grindelwald wanted to make the changes he spoke about, he should have aimed to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic in Britain and worked his way up the chain until he could make his own laws.

Sure, there was the issue of Grindelwald not originating from Britain, but it would be easy enough to try and work his way inside politically rather than through brute force. Merlin, Grindelwald didn't even need to aim to join the Britain Ministry of Magic, he could have very well joined any Ministry and work his way up to Minister and then go international to change the wizarding world instead of an all-out war.

Tom was a bit ashamed of the older man. If a fourteen year old- albeit a very intelligent fourteen year old- could figure out a better way to change the Magical World better than a wizard well into his fifties, then Tom was very close to losing all hope for the older generations of wizards and witches.

"Did you see how he was slouching at dinner? I don't think he'll last very long here." Dolohov pointed out with a snort.

"We will just have to wait and see." Tom replied while heading over to his own trunk to dig through it for a few books he had wanted to read.

"You don't want to do anything about him?" Dolohov asked in a confused tone. With how popular Peverell was, Dolohov somewhat expected Tom to try and feel the boy out to see if he was worth recruiting.

"No, I want to see how he will respond to how he is treated. So do not hold back on my account." Tom added as he gathered his new books and sat on his bed.

"Also, I believe those who are not assigned this dorm should head to their own. I believe Peverell will be here soon." Tom said, his tone final.

Antonin Dolohov, Adrian Avery, Renatus Lestrange, Dominic Rosier, and Leon Mulciber all headed to their own dorms.

Then, just as Tom had predicted, Hieronymus Silas Peverell walked into the room.

Now that Tom was able to get a closer look at the boy, he decided he was right about how attractive Peverell was.

What threw Tom off, however- other than Peverell's magic, that is- was how startlingly green Peverell's eyes were. Almost like they were made of magic. It was off-putting and thankfully Peverell didn't deign anyone else in the room worthy of looking at or talking to. Instead the boy fished around in his trunk, went to the attached bathroom to change, and crawled into bed. Peverell drew the drapes closed and probably went to sleep soon after.

Abraxas and Orion were less enthused by Peverell's lack of manners.

With a quick Muffliato, Abraxas began to scowl at the now sleeping boy.

"He's definitely going to piss people off with manners like that." Abraxas snapped out, his brows drawing together and his fists squeezing tightly shut.

If Tom didn't know Abraxas any better, he would assume that he was going to curse the Peverell boy.

"I admit I am excited to see how he will adapt." Tom smirked as he flipped a page of his book- which was actually just the fourth year book for charms. He always liked to read ahead in almost every subject, which was why his grades happened to be so perfect.

"So you are interested in him." Orion pointed out with a quirked brow.

"I never said I was not. I want to see how he handles himself, as I said before. If I am impressed, then perhaps I will look into recruiting him." Tom pointed out sternly.

"So he's not off limits, then?" Abraxas asked with some excitement.

Tom paused his reading, looking over towards the closed drapes of Peverell's bed and smirked.

"No, certainly not. Do as you wish." Tom responded as he got back to reading his book.

Abraxas and Orion took the hint and went about preparing their beds for the night.

While Tom usually liked to keep to himself and have his followers do what he wanted, he was actually very excited to be involved in watching Peverell.

As for why, he wasn't sure, but he figured he would find out as he got to know the boy.

For some reason, deep down, Tom was excited for this new year. He had expected another four years of boredom and ordering about his followers until he finished school and joined the Ministry. Instead, Hieronymus Silas Peverell joined their year and added some excitement for this new year.

The Peverell boy held many secrets, and Tom was ever curious and would stop at nothing to figure out exactly what made Hieronymus Silas Peverell tick.

Hopefully, when he did, he would know exactly where to push to get Hieronymus under his thumb.

Yet, for some reason, Tom somewhat hoped that the boy would put up somewhat of a fight. Tom wanted that challenge, and a challenge he hoped he would get.

Now only time would tell.

A/N; I hope I did right by Tom btw. 😔

Also, Tom isn't evil, btw.

Some of his followers do have the pure blooded ideals, but Tom isn't exactly on the same page.

He plans to join the ministry and become the minister and use his connections to try and completely separate the wizarding world and the muggle world as well as go back to the traditions of the wizarding world.

As for how Tom went from wanting to change the wizarding world in a more healthy, sane way to the way he did, that'll come up in a bit.

Also, I wanted Slytherin to come off less "Pure Bloods are the best" and more "You've been sorted into Slytherin, so you better act like a Slytherin." I also figure ambition is one of the traits Slytherins have, so of course they have a ranking list to motivate everyone to do their best. I also think that Slytherins would also definitely help each other out, but because Slytherin is seen as such a "bad" house, they encourage their fellow Slytherins to avoid the other houses. And yes, OF COURSE Tom is at the top of the ranking list, and most of his followers are all in the top 20.