Antonin crossed his arms grimly in front of his chest. He did not like the huge hall with the many stone snakes and the strange green light, which seemed to have no origin. Just as he didn't like the fact that they had all travelled down a ridiculous chute into the underground of Hogwarts.

But if he was honest, that was all just pretence. What really bothered him was his own stupidity. He had been lulled into a false sense of security by Dumbledore's openness and confidentiality. Under normal circumstances, he would never stare at a woman in such a crude way. And Hermione Dumbledore wasn't even beautiful or particularly well-built.

Pressing his mouth into a thin line, he watched as Tom stood in front of the small group with his girlfriend and spoke quietly to her. Antonin had immediately realised that he had manoeuvred himself into a tricky situation. He had to hope that Dumbledore would remain silent, which was not to his liking. She seemed sincere and decent, but the way her eyes had lingered on him so insistently spoke volumes. She was no less cunning than Tom.

"My dear friends," Riddle now drew everyone's attention. "For some of you, this is your first visit down here. Allow me to officially welcome you to the Chamber of Secrets."

Antonin's fingers gripped his arms tighter as he struggled not to show any emotion. Of course he guessed where this journey was going, but he was still caught off guard. So the rumours were true. There was a Chamber. There was the monster in the Chamber. There was Salazar Slytherin's plan to harbour a monster at Hogwarts that would help in the fight against mudbloods. And here he was, standing amongst everyone else, being initiated.

He finally belonged.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumours," Tom continued as he walked slowly up and down the wet stone floor. "A monster is rumoured to live here. Maybe I'm a little strange, but Fenrir was never a monster to me. Let me introduce you."

Antonin could see Abraxas and Rufus shift their weight and cross their arms in front of their chests as well. They suddenly looked tense, as if they hadn't expected it. Thoughtfully, he turned his gaze back to Tom, who now turned his back to them and raised his wand. He heard no words, but Antonin could feel a powerful spell weaving through the huge hall.

Was the monster a wolf? The name Fenrir pointed to the mythological wolf of Ragnarök, if he remembered his grandmother's stories about Muggle legends correctly. He would have expected to see a snake here in the hall with all the statues.

A sound reached his ears from the distance. As if stone was scraping on stone. Restlessness took hold of him. Something evil was approaching. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a movement and when he turned his gaze towards it, he saw a gigantic opening in the wall. Just a few breaths later, the scraping sound became louder.

And then the largest snake Antonin had ever seen slithered out of the wall and into the glowing green hall.

Rosier and Mulciber next to him involuntarily took a few steps backwards, but Antonin forced himself to remain unmoved. So that was Fenrir. Even if it wasn't a wolf, he could well imagine that this creature could mean the end of the world.

Hissing sounds rang out, which were answered by a louder hiss. Fascinated, Antonin stared at Tom. The head boy, the professor's favourite, the crush of so many girls was standing there talking to a basilisk in Parseltongue. Whereas before he doubted whether Tom Riddle was really the right leader for whatever they were planning, Antonin was now certain.

Tom Riddle was the heir to Slytherin. Tom Riddle would change the world.

Pride spread through him. He stood here and Tom showed him his true power. He had proved himself worthy. He was one of them. Although he was not one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight like Rosier, Black, Nott, Malfoy, and Lestrange, he stood here. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins. The urge to grin broadly and make himself even bigger was almost overpowering. But he controlled himself. He had a reputation for being unimpressed by everything and staying in the background. That wouldn't change today either.

His gaze wandered to Dumbledore, who was still standing at Tom's side. She seemed unsurprised by the basilisk, but Antonin could see that she was clenching her jaw tensely and had her hands clenched into fists. She had seemed so confident upstairs, but now, in close proximity to the large snake, she seemed almost frightened.

Before he could think about it more carefully, Tom addressed them again. "Here you see Fenrir, who many consider to be the monster of the Chamber. In reality, Fenrir is a thousand-year-old basilisk. Salazar Slytherin himself placed it here beneath Hogwarts so that Slytherin House would always have a heraldic beast to defend us should mudbloods want to attack Hogwarts."

Tom glanced briefly at his girlfriend, who merely returned his gaze with a raised eyebrow. As if she had said something funny, he grinned before continuing. "Don't be afraid. As long as I'm present, Fenrir won't do anything I don't want. As long as you do not anger me, you will never have to fear Fenrir."

Dolohov almost laughed at the remark, but when he saw how pale Lestrange suddenly looked, the laughter died in his throat. Did Tom mean what he said? Would he use the basilisk against his own people, against pure-blood Slytherin students? And why should Lestrange, of all people, who was known to be one of his closest confidants, be afraid of it?

All at once, Antonin wondered if there was something else going on that he didn't know about.

"Abraxas and Rufus, please come closer," Tom asked the two of them.

While Abraxas stepped towards him without hesitation, Rufus seemed to want to resist for a moment. But then his shoulders slumped and he moved forwards to stand next to Tom.

"These two faithful souls already know what I have planned for you all today," Tom explained as he put an arm around both boys' shoulders. "They were the first to willingly pledge allegiance to me and bravely step forward. Today, the same reward awaits you all."

He let go of his two friends and took a step forward. "But first, it is necessary that our three new members prove to us that they are not only discreet and loyal, but also determined, powerful, and without scruples."

Tom's gaze landed on him, but Antonin forced himself not to react. The fact that he brought them all here at all showed that Riddle trusted them. He no longer had to prove himself and so there was nothing Tom could say that would upset him.

"Antonin Dolohov," Tom continued. A subtle smile was on his lips, while his dark blue eyes remained cold. "Step forward."

He did as he was told and stood directly in front of Tom. Although he was almost a head taller, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he looked tiny and insignificant next to Tom. Stubbornly, he jutted his chin out. "What do you want me to do?"

Instead of answering him, Tom turned round and motioned Rufus to stand next to Antonin. The older student paled even more, but he followed the request without hesitation.

"As proof of your loyalty, your discretion, and your determination," Tom's words were almost a whisper, but they reached Antonin's ears loudly, "show us that you're not afraid to get your hands dirty. Show us that you have mastered the Cruciatus Curse."

Antonin heard Rosier and Mulciber behind him suck in their breath in horror. He himself was unable to react. He could see from Tom's face that he was serious, just as he could see from Rufus that he was bracing himself.

His gaze flitted briefly to Dumbledore, who merely looked at him blankly, raising her shoulders slightly. Of course, what did he expect? Tom Riddle was not known for taking things half-heartedly. When he demanded loyalty, he meant absolute loyalty. And what better way to ensure secrecy than to make sure that his friends themselves had no interest in spilling secrets?

Antonin resolutely reached for his wand. He had never spoken the Cruciatus before, but his family used a lot of curses. Many of them were unknown to the wizarding world because they were considered dark arts. He knew from experience that it took steely determination to cast a curse against another person.

Before he could start casting his spell, Tom spoke up again. "Perhaps I should first explain to you how it is that Rufus has agreed to serve as a model for this test."

A shiver ran down Antonin's spine. Riddle's voice suddenly sounded icy cold. If he didn't know better, he would have thought Tom was angry.

"You must know," Tom's voice was dangerously quiet as his gaze kept travelling to each face, "Rufus here has done something unforgivable. It's only right that an unforgivable act should be punished with an Unforgivable Curse. Or how do you feel about that, my friend?"

Standing right next to him, Antonin could see beads of sweat standing out on Lestrange's forehead. His eyes widened and his Adam's apple bounced as he swallowed. His voice, however, did not tremble. "I agree with you wholeheartedly, Tom."

Tom's gaze now turned to Antonin. "Rufus here thought he knew what my will was. He didn't ask me, but assumed he knew better. It wasn't his intention to betray me, and that makes his guilt that much worse."

Slowly, Tom turned to face the others. A fire blazed in his eyes, while icy coldness still spoke from his voice. "Never assume you know my intent. You cannot know what I plan, what I think, what I want. Let Rufus be an example for you all to learn from today. If you fail to learn from Rufus, then I will not show mercy again."

Antonin wondered how being punished with the Cruciatus could be mercy, but he was careful not to speak the thought aloud. His whole body had gone rigid as he listened to Tom's every word. Tom Riddle, standing here in the Chamber, looking at them all as if he hated them, was a very different wizard from Tom, the Head Boy. Although it was cold here deep underground, Antonin felt a bead of sweat roll down his back.

Tom Riddle was dangerous.

"The next one who defies my will," Tom snapped back to attention, "will learn how agonising it is to die by the poison of a basilisk. I could ask Fenrir to simply look you in the eye. That would also be fatal. But nothing compares to the unspeakable pain you feel as the poison eats through your veins, paralysing you, tearing you apart inside. Knowing that you will be dead in a few minutes, knowing that there is no antidote, your last minutes on this earth will consist of pain and nothing but pain."

Antonin swallowed. He had no idea what Rufus had done, but he clearly sensed that Tom was directing these words primarily at Lestrange. The older student seemed to understand this as well, because a tremor ran through his body.

"Tom," whispered Rufus, who was obviously overcome by fear. "Tom, you know I would never... I didn't know... I would never betray you. I made a mistake that I will never repeat."

"For you," Tom hissed, turning his murderous gaze on Rufus, "it's 'My Lord' from now on. You will never address me in confidence in public again and beyond that I am no longer Tom, just your master and your lord. Do we understand each other?"

"Certainly ... my lord," Rufus pressed out. Antonin could see how Lestrange was struggling to maintain his upright position. He didn't want to imagine what he had done.

"Well, Antonin," Tom addressed him again. "Do you think you're ready?"

"I'm ready," he replied immediately and then, before he really understood why he was doing it, he added two words.

"My lord."