The next week was somewhat of a blur to Tom. Between classes, trying to navigate the castle, being sneered at by his 'fellow' Slytherin's because of his shameful heritage, being ignored by almost everyone else from the other houses, using his spare time to either hang out with Aurora or to do his surprisingly heavy load of homework, he hadn't had very much time to think about the comments of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.

However, despite all that he was having the time of his life, learning how to manipulate and control magic. It was so much more interesting than muggle school, that was for sure. There was hardly ever a dull moment, especially when one was a member of Slytherin or Gryffindor house. It didn't take Tom long to see first hand the hatred between the two groups. At meals they taunted each other, in classes they disrupted each other, in the halls they bullied each other, and it was never ending. The only time that the school got a rest from the two houses going at each other in every way possible was at night, when every one was sleeping.

He still didn't know the reason for this hatred, as he hadn't had time to research the great founders, or even ask another person since they were either hostile or ignored him completely. Aurora had told him about conflict between the school creator's ideals but that's the most he got out of her before she started staring at the sky, eyes out of focus. It was kind of eerie. She did that a lot. It wasn't surprising that she loved Astronomy.

He quietly got out from under his green and silver blanket, sliding his legs over the side of the bed. He really didn't feel like dealing with the others, especially this early in the morning. While he agreed his blood was tainted and they were pure, he believed he was still superior, due to them being mostly idiots and having no sense of work ethic. While they wasted time fucking around with other things, he was learning to be the best, and he would be.

Standing, he grabbed some clothes and entered the bathroom, quickly completing his morning ritual of brushing his teeth, showering, and making sure everything was in order. Exiting the bathroom clothed, he grabbed his wand, his yo-yo that was sitting on his bedside table and a pile of books. He needed to return them to the library.

Leaving the other snoring boys behind, he entered the large common room and glanced at the large grandfather clock against a far wall. It was only six in the morning. It was six-forty by the time he got to the library, having got lost once again. It was really starting to piss him off, the moving floor plan that is.

Placing the due books on a trolley, he idly made his way over to the closest shelves and starting browsing for interesting titles. This was the first time he had been here when he didn't have to, the other books checked out for homework purposes and he was going to make the best of it. He was about to pull an interesting looking book on charms down when a voice sounded behind him, nearly scaring him to death.

“What are ya doin' here, huh?”

Spinning around, he came face to face with a short old man that looked to be in his early three hundreds. He looked that old. His long pure white beard was touching the floor and he was completely bald on top, his wrinkly scalp in total view, a strange brown birthmark marring its skin. His eyes were a strange yellowish color that had ridiculously bushy eyebrows, a hidden intelligence within. He was dressed in blue robes that looked to have been out of fashion for many years.

“Browsing, what does it look like?” Tom answered a little harshly, annoyed at being caught off guard. It showed weakness and he didn't like weakness.

“Kinda early ta be browsin', eh?” The man questioned, ignoring the first years tone of voice. Tom shrugged.

“Not for me.” The man stared at him, as if sizing up an opponent, before smiling slightly. He had a set of razor sharp teeth that unnerved the orphan greatly.

“The name is Montgomery, I have a first name but ya don't need ta know.”

“Tom. Tom Riddle.” Montgomery nodded.

“Yes, I've heard a lot about ya, smart kid I've been hearin'.” Tom blinked, perplexed.

“Who'd you hear this from?”

“Tha professors of course, only been a week and they can't stop talkin' 'bout ya. You must be doin' somethin' right.”

“It's not my fault the other first years are-” He stopped, warily eying the librarian. Montgomery continued his sentence to his surprise.

“Stupid? Lazy? Stupid and lazy?” Tom nodded slowly and the old man gave a barking laugh that echoed around the large, quiet, book filled room. “Don't look so surprised. Compared to ma day, everyone is lazy.” He eyed Tom a few seconds longer this time, stroking his beard. “So, what are ya lookin' for? I might be able ta help; I know this here library like tha back of ma hand.” Tom thought for a moment before answering.

“Do you know where I can find any books on the founders? In-depth ones, I mean. I've already read Hogwarts, A History but I found it strangely... lacking” The librarian nodded and turned, gesturing to Tom with his hand.

“Follow me, I'll show ya where they're hidin'.”

The odd looking pair passed numerous shelves as they walked, shelves that held thousands of books, old and new. Tom knew that it'd take years to even dent the amount of information the great library held, and that was reading nonstop without any breaks at all. It didn't take long before they stopped in front of a seemingly lonely self in a back corner. It was filled to the brim with very old, thick books, some of them looking as if they were about to turn to dust before their very eyes. He felt there should have been cobwebs and other things to show age, that not many people had been here in along time, but knew magic kept it all clean.

“Students rarely come back 'ere and only tha occasional professor. These are some of tha oldest books we 'ave concerning the school that we allow tha students ta look at. They mainly opt for tha newer ones tha' have less accurate information.” Montgomery reached up and pulled down the smallest book there, despite it being rather large itself. “This 'ere is on the founders, you can't check any of these books out but you can read them all ya like.”

Tom took the large tome from the librarian and had to use a decent amount of strength to hold himself upright. It was bloody heavy. “Right.”

“Oh - before I forget, ya might have ta use a translating charm on some of these, they are written in tha old tongue.”

“Do you happen to know one?” Tom asked, dropping the large book down on a small desk a few meters away. Montgomery smirked and turned, heading back towards the reception desk.

“Of course I do, but I aint tellin' ya. Research for it ya self, it'll do ya some good I think.” Tom scowled as the man disappeared but knew that the man had a point, searching for the spell on his own would improve his researching abilities and who knows, he might stumble across other useful pieces of magic. Sighing, he sat down in the only chair positioned at the small desk up against the wall and opened the leather cover of the book. At least this was written in a language he could understand.

Scanning the introduction that mainly described the four coming together to create the school he was currently residing in; he was soon skimming the book quickly, flicking through the pages at a fast pace looking for Salazar Slytherin's piece. It didn't take him long to locate it.

Tom admired the shield of Slytherin House, the one that was also located on his very robes, before turning the thick parchment page. He stared in wonder at the picture before him, his eyes wide. On a throne-like chair dissimilar to the one Headmaster Dippet sat on during meal times, a man in his early forties sat elegantly, decked in the finest of robes that bore the Slytherin coat of arms. His hands were resting lazily upon the arm rests, his fingers covered in various jewels of different sizes and makes. He had a short black beard that looked to be slowly turning grey, whether from stress or other reasons he wasn't sure, and long raven black locks passing down over his shoulders, its true length hidden from view. His cold black eyes were staring from the page fiercely as a very thick, long serpent hung around his neck, its tail wrapped around one of the chairs legs while its head rested above the ringed knuckles of his right hand. Nearly hidden among the serpents body and robes, a large golden locket hung from a gold chain, a large 'S' upon its surface. The picture, unlike most wizarding ones, was unmoving.

“Woah...” He breathed in awe. He had never seen someone look so powerful from just sitting there. It was amazing. There were no doubts in his mind why the four founders were respected so much, even close to a thousand years after the creation of their school. They must have been a tremendous force apart, but together? It was insane just thinking about it.

The next hour found Tom engrossed within the pages of the old tome; soaking up everything he could like a sponge about his houses founder. Some of things were quite interesting to say the least. He already knew the man was a Parselmouth, having read as much in Hogwarts, A History and that he held the same exact gift of talking to snakes. That coupled with the murmurings of the Sorting Hat had pointed at something he couldn't quite believe, but wished dearly for. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough; he needed more proof before he could view himself as such, as an heir of a founder, of Salazar Slytherin himself.

The book had a list of the families the Slytherin line branched off into but the book was over six hundred years old at least, but it was better than nothing. He had a few names he could follow through with, but before that he was going to try his hand at finding his father. He felt it would be a lot quicker working this way and if it failed, he had this to fall back on.

Yawning, he ignored his rumbling stomach and continued onwards into information on the other founders. Next was Godric Gryffindor and matching the ideals of the two male founders, he found where the conflict lay, and why the other Slytherin's used racist remarks as their primary insults.

While Gryffindor wanted muggle-borns to be able to learn magic at the school, Slytherin did not. It didn't say why the man hated them so much, all it said was that after years of verbally fighting over the subject, it turned violent and Slytherin was banished from the castle after a long fought duel in which he lost. It was here that something caught his attention and was the springboard for what the boy would do for the next five years of his life, changing him forever.

“...but before Lord Slytherin left the honorable grounds of Hogwarts School, he delivered one final message before disappearing forever: “One day my heir will return to the school and will open my hidden chamber, unleashing the power within and cleansing the school of such tainted blood. Forever know that my monster lays in wait, and will eventually be brought forth to deliver your ultimate downfall...”

Naturally, the three remaining founders took this threat very seriously and searched the school, even going as far as checking every nook and cranny of the grand grounds surrounding the building. Even to this day no such chamber has been found.”

“Chamber of Secrets...” Tom murmured softly, eyes gleaming strangely. “Interesting.”

-x-X-x-

“Where the hell have you been?” A voice whispered in his ear, causing Tom to shiver involuntarily. Craning his neck over his shoulder, he smirked at Aurora who was clutching a book to her chest, giving him a stern look. It lost its effect coming from such a harmless looking person. He was never one to underestimate a person though.

“I was in the library all morning doing some reading.” He answered, turning back around to stare across the lake. A Giant Squid was floating lazily in the middle of the large area of water, sunbathing. “Why? Did you miss me?”

She huffed in an annoyed fashion as she flopped down beside him. “You weren't at breakfast nor at lunch, what was I supposed to think? And I checked the library twice.” He chuckled slightly at the sight of her hair falling in front of her face, blocking her glaring eyes. “It's not funny, Tom.”

He sighed. “If something had happened to me you would've been informed by the teachers Aurora, so calm down. As for why you didn't see me, I was in a back corner, pretty well hidden away, I'll show you sometime. You're always complaining about noise so you'll like it.”

“I guess you're right...” She blushed slightly. “Sorry for over reacting. It's just that everyone I asked said they hadn't seen you and... well...”

“Sorry, I guess...” He said uneasily. “So... I take it you've done all your homework?” She snorted in a very un-ladylike way.

“Are you kidding?” She nearly shouted. “They just keep adding more to the load and we are only first years! I asked some of the older students if their first year was like this and they said they got hardly any homework for their first few weeks! Apparently the Board of Governors thought the younger students needed to be challenged more.” She threw the book down in front of her in irritation.

“I've finished mine.” Tom commented dryly. She gave him a dirty look.

“You're a machine, that's why.”

“I am not.”

“You read through breakfast and lunch today, not even the older Ravenclaw's do that much reading in one go.” He flushed slightly. “Then the other day you did your homework in class because you finished the class-work before everyone else, then there was-”

“Okay, I get the point.” She smiled at him smugly. “What about you and Astronomy? I swear you know more than our ruddy professor.”

“I do not.” She said shyly, tucking a few strands of hair back behind her ear which kept falling forward. Her face was red.

“Yeah, right.” He drawled. “You corrected her the other night when she made a mistake. I thought she was going to hex you.”

“Well, it was such a simple mistake! How can...” She trailed off at Tom's smirking face. “Shut up, you.”

A comfortable silence ensured between the duo as they watched the clouds over head. Aurora was now using her book as a pillow while Tom used his bunched up robes. Their thoughts were surprisingly similar. While one was thinking about everything he had learnt, the other was just wondering what the other had read and learnt that was so great. It was awhile before the quiet atmosphere was broken.

“What were you reading anyway?” She asked softly. “What could be so interesting that you'd miss two meals?”

Tom yawned. “Just reading about the founders, next time we're in the library I'll show you the book.”

“Why are you so obsessed with them? I mean, sure, I guess they are a little interesting...” Tom just shrugged.

“Why are the stars so interesting?” Aurora huffed.

“Point.”

Tom yawned for a second time before stretching, sitting up and rolling his shoulders to loosen up his muscles. “I'm going to have a look around the castle, you want to come? I haven't had much chance to explore it.” She nodded and quickly hopped to her feet, snatching up her book-pillow.

“I never thought you'd ask.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him upright. “Come on. I'm not going to miss dinner because we were searching for hidden rooms and you aren't either. You can continue afterwards if you really have to.”

-x-X-x-

Tom groaned mentally as he was surrounded by a group of third year Gryffindor's a few hundred yards from the main staircase on the third floor. He'd heard from a few of the other Slytherin's that this had been happening but believed they'd just ignore the little, invisible half-blood. He was mistaken.

“What do we have here boys.” The largest of them spoke. Tom rolled his eyes. All he wanted to do was explore the damn castle after dinner and he gets stuck with this shit, at least Aurora was no longer with him though he doubted they'd hurt a Ravenclaw. His left hand which was currently holding his yo-yo flicked, letting the muggle toy drop down for a few seconds before it returned back up the string to his hand. Obviously one of them was muggle-born and recognized the device.

“Where'd ya get that yo-yo, snake?” Tom raised an eyebrow at the amount of venom present in his voice.

“I believe I brought it from a store in London.” He answered smoothly.

“I bet he stole it Jeff.” The muggle-born one said, not believing a Slytherin would buy a muggle toy. The others were having similar thoughts.

“What are they? Fucking idiots?” He thought as one of the others stepped forward.

“I think we should teach him a lesson.” One of the others spoke - most likely Jeff - advancing on him. Four against one, and Gryffindor was the house of the brave?

“Take a step closer,” Tom said coldly, his indifferent stance changing in an instant. “And you'll regret it.” He knew if they all pulled out their wands he had no chance in hell so he had to escape before they could attack him. Once he got on the main staircase they'd stop, too much of a risk getting caught by a teacher. Oh, how the brave have fallen.

They started laughing at his threat but it didn't last long. As the boy named Jeff took a step closer, Tom released his hand on his yo-yo, letting it drop to the end of the string. As the boy reached for him, Tom took a quick step back and spun around on the spot, his left arm shooting up from his side and vaulting the magically hardened wooden yo-yo into the muggle-borns open mouth, crashing against his exposed teeth with a sickening crack. Continuing through the motion, he kept swinging the toy-turned-weapon around and brought it back towards Jeff, connecting with the boy's temple, dropping him like a sack of potatoes with a loud 'thwack'.

Ignoring the muggle-borns wails as he cradled his bleeding mouth, Tom bolted down the corridor towards the staircase. He was only half way there when he felt a spell smash into his back, sending him hurdling through the air. Crashing in a heap on the stone floor, he picked himself up quickly and drew his wand with his right hand, flinging a tripping hex over his shoulder as he took off again. He continued running even as he heard the sounds of a person crashing into a suit of armor, the work of his spell.

He was nearly upon the staircase when someone stepped out in front of him. No chance of stopping in time, he plowed head first into the person, knocking them off their feet in a whirl of black and blue.

Shaking his head dazedly, he looked up at the person he was sprawled across and froze at the sight of twinkling blue eyes.