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Chapter Text

Y/N sat at her desk and read to herself, listening to the animals that surrounded the island. It was around 2pm and expected to meet with her parents soon, but she was hoping to distract herself until then.

"Ms. L/N!" One of the caretakers called from downstairs before walking up and into her room. She didn't have a door, so the caretakers called to her before walking upstairs to respect her privacy.

Y/N turned to look at the caretaker, who seemed out of breath. "Is everything alright?" She stood up from her chair and walked over to the caretaker, holding her up slightly.

"I'm fine, dear." She took a second to catch her breath before pointing to the stairs, "you have a visitor."

Y/N raised an eyebrow and walked around the caretaker so she was standing over the staircase. Sure enough, she noticed someone standing downstairs. She got halfway down the steps before she recognized the person, which confused her even more, "Mr. Lestrange? Is something wrong?"

The man greeted her by bowing his head slightly, a stern expression on his face. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble." He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope, "I was asked to give this to you. Happy early birthday Ms. L/N"

Y/N walked closer to him and accepted the envelope, immediately focusing on the Hogwarts stamp that held it shut. She carefully opened the envelope and unfolded the sheets of paper, reading the letter aloud:

"Dear Ms. L/N,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore,

Deputy Headmaster"

Y/N folded up the sheets up paper and tucked them back into the envelope before looking at Mr. Lestrange, "aren't these letters normally delivered by owl or Hogwarts faculty?"

"Owls can't technically reach the island and most professors aren't granted permission to access it." He straightened himself up and folded his hands behind his back, "I was requested to deliver this both as a Ministry member and as a friend to your family."

Y/N nodded her head and smiled, "Well then, I appreciate the notion." She turned to the caretaker, "can you retrieve a quill and envelope from upstairs so I can sign this?"

The caretaker nodded and rushed upstairs, "You're quick to get this over with, aren't you?" Mr. Lestrange placed a hand to Y/N's shoulder, "you do know you have time...right?"

"I'm aware, but I'd wish to let have the letter delivered while you're still here." Y/N greatfully accepted the quill and envelope from the caretaker and reopened her Hogwarts letter. "Besides, if I don't do it now, there's no saying I'll remember to sign it after speaking with my parents."

She signs the bottom of the letter and refolded it, placing it in the envelope she was given and closing it, "I'll ask someone for a stamp while on my way to see my parents."

Mr. Lestrange smiled and takes the envelope from her, "When are you seeing your parents? I could join you and send the letter off after you tell them."

"Really?!" Y/N cleared her throat and toned down her excitement, "I was going to head there in a few minutes, but I'm sure they won't mind seeing me early."

"Splendid, let's not keep them waiting then." He holds out his arm for her, which she gladly takes and escorts Y/N out the small shack they were in.

He waiting until he was a good distance away from the shack before speaking, "can't believe they'd have you live in a place like that, the absolute disrespect!"

Y/N listened to him speak, she knew Lestrange and his family didn't think it fair for her to be living on the island just because of her family. She also knew, however, that his family didn't have a say in the matter either, meaning it truly didn't matter what they thought.

"What made them think it appropriate to place you in a filthy little shack like that one?!" He scowled a little before clearing his throat and taking a deep breath in and out. "I assure you, I'll speak to the Ministry about this. They have no reason for you to stay here now that you'll be attending Hogwarts."

Y/N smiled and waved to some of the guards that greeted her. "I appreciate the gesture, sir, but we both know the Ministry doesn't trust me. So long as I share my family's blood, I'll be deemed a threat."

He scoffed and stopped with security, handing over his wand before continuing. "They can't fault you for something your family did! They acted on the will all of us believed...but to do it so publicly was completely shameful!"

And there it was. Y/N knew he and other purebloods took pride in their status and weren't afraid to admit they disliked muggles. However, her family acts upon that hatred with violence, something none of the other families dare to do because they don't want to risk ruining their image.

The only other family she was told had been caught acting violently towards muggles were the Gaunts- Slazar Slytherin's deacendents, but the last member of that family lived alone with what little sanity he had left.

The two made it to her parents' cells and they both ran to their cell doors to shake the hand of their old friend.

"Lestrange! What a pleasant surprise!" Xavier bowed his head and smiled before stepping back and away from his cell door. "What brings you here on a day like this?"

"Please tell me you have good news!" Kaitlyn jumped up and down, her hair moving with her. "It's been far too long since we've been told anything good as of late."

Y/N cleared her throat, "Mother, Father...I just recieved my acceptance letter from Hogwarts."

Kaitlyn clapped her hands together quickly and jumped up and down again. It reminded Y/N heavily of a little kid. Her father, however, was more calm only having a smile on his face.

"Well done my dear, though that's of no surprise...you showed signs of magic at a very young age." Xavier looked to Lestrange, "were you the one to deliver the letter? I thought only owls and Hogwarts faculty did such a thing."

Mr. Lestrange nodded his head, "yes, none of the available faculty are allowed to visit the island, so they called upon me to deliver it instead." He looked to Kaitlyn, who had calmed down from her moment of joy, "I do hope this was the good news you so desperately needed, Kaitlyn."

"Oh, it very much was. I remember the day I started attending Ilvermorny," she let out a high pitched and dragged out sigh, "it was such a beautiful place."

Xavier clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, "Yes, Kaitlyn tends to forget she attended a lesser school to Hogwarts...nonetheless, that is indeed marvelous news." He looked to his daughter, "who knows, maybe we'll have another Slytherin in the family."

"Nonsense, with your daughter's work ethic and skill she's bound to be placed in Ravenclaw." Lestrange patted Y/N back, "She had drive of and soul of a Ravenclaw, no doubt about it."

Y/N smiled a little at the reassurance and looked back at her parents, "I promise I'll do my best to live up to our family name. I heard our family made a great impact at Hogwarts."

"We always have. I was prefect and head boy, as were your grandparents...and every member of out family before them" Xavier held his head in pride at that. "Let's not forget we've all been masters with our wands, always excelling in every magic class there was."

Y/N took a moment to appreciate the sight of her father reminiscing, knowing the facade would vanish the moment Lestrange walked away.

"Xavier, please, can't you see you're preventing Lestrange from doing his job?" Kaitlyn gently shook her cell door in order to shut her husband up from the sudden noise.

"It's not an issue at all, dear Kaitlyn." Lestrange laughed and looked to Xavier, "though I really should be going. I promised yourself daughter I'd get this letter to land as soon as possible."

"Of course, it was truly a pleasure to see you again, old friend." Xavier bowed his head again.

"Thank you again, sir, for escorting me here." Y/N smiled and did a small curtsy.

"Not an issue, it's always lovely when I get to see you, even if it's for a brief moment." Lestrange turned away and started to walk off.

Xavier waited till the echo of steps came to a complete stop before lifting his head, "Y/N..."

Y/N fliched, hearing the irritation in her father's voice. "Yes, father?" She turned to face her father, standing with her hands held infront of her.

"Listen here, you little brat." He got closer to his cell door and glared at her, "I didn't spend almost twelve years in this damn cell listening to your brain dead mother for you to be a subpar student!"

"Of course not father I-"

"Scilence!" He shook the cell door slightly, "You're going to excell in all of your classes. You're going to become prefect for whatever unless house you're in. You're going to because head girl for that same useless house. And you're going to keep up that image of perfect student!"

"Yes father." Y/N nodded her head, looking at her father as he spoke, knowing better than to look away or stutter.

"I swear to Merlin if I find out you slipped up in even the slightest way. I will find a way out of this wretched cell, hunt you down, and deal with you myself!" He pushed himself further into the metal bars, speaking in a tone Y/N never realized he was even capable of, "Do I make myself clear?"

Y/N kept a straight face despite the fear surging through her and nodded, "crystal."

Xavier smiled and straighted himself, taking a few steps back, "Splendid! I don't believe I have anything to teach you today, do you dear?"

Kaitlyn thought for a second, "hmmmm, no...I can only think of review questions. But, as Lestrange said, she has the essence of a Revenclaw; she's bound to have already memorized everything."

Y/N smiled to her mother before she was waved off by her father. She gave them both a curtsy and bowed her head before turning around and walking away at a faster pace than she normally would.

Chapter Text

The first years stepped off the boat and stared up at the castle before them. Some were already aware of the beauty of Hogwarts, while others had never seen anything so magical, as one might describe it.

The first years were escorted around the castle and to the entrance where all of them stopped and stared on awe. Some whispered to eachother while others just looked in scilence.

They were then led to the Great Hall, where they stood in the center of the room. Older students looked at them and waved. One student in particular stood up and walked over to some of the first years

"Lestrange!" The 1st years stepped out the way as the older blonde walked through them, "Where's your partner in crime?"

Lestrange smiled and lifted his robe right above his shoulder. A small snake head popped out from underneath it and looked at the blonde. "She didn't wanna deal with the cramped boat ride across the Lake."

Abraxas nodded and looked at the snake, "you can't stay like that forever. Especially not while they're sorting you guys."

Y/N came out from under Lestrange's robe and turned back to normal, standing between the two. "Heard they're making you Slytherin prefect." She pointed to Lestrange with one hand and blocking her mouth with the other as she whispers to Abraxas, "ⁱ'ᵈ ʷᵃᵗᶜʰ ᵒᵘᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵒⁿᵉ, ʰᵉᵃʳᵈ ʰᵉ'ˢ ⁿᵒᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ᵇᵘᵗ ᵗʳᵒᵘᵇˡᵉ•"

"Hey!" Lestrange gently pushes Y/N and watches as the two laugh at his reaction.

"I'm serious though, good job on getting prefect. You've got your work cut out for you." Y/N smiles at the blonde who just shrugs.

"Who knows, maybe I'll also be bossing you around."

"I'd much rather sacrifice myself to a dementor than be stuck with you for three years. I especially refuse to deal with Lestrange for seven."

"I made a bet with her on the train, she's positive she's not getting into Slytherin." Lestrange looks down at Y/N for a second before taking his attention back to the blonde.

"Fine, your loss." Abraxas rolls his eyes and notices the Headmaster walk to the podium. "The sorting ceremony is about to start, I'll hopefully see you two in a few minutes." Abraxas waves to the two before quickly walking back to the Slytherin table.

***

Lestrange grumbled to himself as he dug into a pouch he kept his coins in. He heard someone laughing across from him and huffed. "Shut it, Malfoy!"

This made the blonde laugh even more, amused by the irritation this was causing his friend. "How much did you even bet on this?"

Lestrange pushed himself off the bench he was sitting on, "I don't wanna talk about it..." was all he said before walking over to the Ravenclaw table on the other side of the Great Hall.

Abraxas watched as his friend placed gold coins into Y/N's hand and fought back a laugh again, "this imbecile bet galleons that she'd end up in Slytherin?"

From a few spots away, Tom was watching as Abraxas talked with the surrounding people and looked to one of the students sitting beside him. "The person there, what's so special about him?"

"That's Abraxas Malfoy, he's a pureblood born to the prestigious Malfoy family." The student looked at Abraxas, who was talking. "All the people surrounding him are purebloods...he doesn't enjoy socializing with those outside his blood status."

"Okay, and who are all of them?" He gestures to the people sitting around Abraxas.

The student pointed at the person to Abraxas's left, "that's Walburga Black. Beside her is her cousin, Lucretia" Abraxas's right, "Rosier." Across from Walburga, "Nott." Across from Rosier, "and Avery." The student puts his hand down and watches at Lestrange rejoins the table and sits directly across from Abraxas, "lastly, Lestrange."

Tom hums and continues to watch as they talk. He could tell right away, these people are the ones that contain power and respect. If he gets close to them, if he gains there respect, then there's nothing that can stop him.

Lestrange felt someone staring at him and turned to see a student staring directly at him at the end of the table. He looked the student up and down before returning to his conversation with Abraxas and the others. He wasn't going to bother dealing with some random kid with a staring problem.

***

Lestrange felt the same pair of eyes on him as they walked down to their common room. He felt them when Slughorn was explaining the rules of said common room. He felt them as they walked to their dorms. Now he was standing in the 1st year dorms and still felt that same damn pair of eyes.

He didn't know who the hell the person was, he knew everyone else in the room except for that one kid. He let put an irritated huff, getting the attention of one of his friends.

"Hey, you alright?" Avery placed a hand to Lestranges shoulder and stood beside him, "You've been kinda off since you got back to the table in the Great Hall."

"Can you blame him? He bet five galleons L/N would get into Slytherin." Rosier looked at the two as he set his stuff down on his bed, "She didn't even bet on a house, she just said she wouldn't be in Slytherin."

"I'm fine, just tired...Abraxas definitely knows how to talk your ear off." Lestrange moved to the bed that had his stuff and sat on the edge of it. He then turned to see the one kid he didn't recognize...who, for once, wasn't staring at him. "Hey, new kid!"

Tom looked at the person calling to him and scoffed, "we're all new here. That's why we're in first year dorms."

"But you're also new to the wizarding world, right?" Lestrange adjusted himself so he could see the person a little better.

Avery looked at Tom as well, "Riddle, right?" He waiting for Tom to nod before continuing, "definitely not from here, haven't heard of any wizarding families with such a name."

Tom looked at Avery intently for a few seconds before going back into what he was doing. "No need to try and make conversation, not interested by any means."

Avery, slightly offended, glares at Tom before moving over to his own bed.

Lestrange reaches into his pocket and takes out a folded piece of paper. He unfolds it and immediately goes cross-eyed trying to read what's written. "That little-"

"Woah, what's with the aggression Lestrange? It's just a sheet of paper." Nott, whose sitting closest to Lestrange, takes the paper from him and looks at it. "The hell are these scribbles?"

"L/N playing a game. She gave it to me on the train and said to not read it till we got sorted. Forgot about it till now."

"Is her hand writing this bad? I can't read a single damn word here." Nott handed it back to Lestrange.

"Definitely not her handwriting, that's about at perfect as the rest of her." Lestrange stared down at the paper. He knew Y/N well enough to tell it was parseltongue, which he doesn't understand. It doesn't help that parseltongue isn't a written language, meaning she wrote the words based on sound itself.

Rosier looks up from what he was working on, speaking across the room, "What's it say?"

Lestrange looks at the series of scribbles and tries to speak it best he could. Tom tightened his grip around the item he was holding while listening to the butcherd speaking. Despite that, he was able somewhat make out what was being said.

Tom repeated the words he heard with absolute perfection, "𝔅𝔬𝔯𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔞 𝔰𝔫𝔞𝔨𝔢, 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔞𝔤𝔩𝔢." He didn't bother looking up at the others as she spoke. "Born to a snake, destined to be an eagle. She probably knew the house she'd be in long before you ever made the bet."

Lestrange and the others stared at him in disbelief. "You've got to be joking." Lestrange looked down to the paper then back to Tom, "you understand that?"

"That, and your horrid pronunciation of it." Tom looked up at them, "is that an issue?"

Avery tilted his head and looked back down at the paper, "does that hold any kind of significance?" He looked to Lestrange who shook his head, no, before turning back to Tom, "Riddle?"

"Well, if it's significant, Dumbledore never told me." Tom sat down on his bed, book in hand. "Is it that big a deal?"

Everyone shook their heads, but still had that same look of surprise on their face. Lestrange cleared his throat and got up from his bed, walking over to Tom "all I can say is," he bowed his head before holding out his hand, "welcome to house Slytherin."

Chapter Text

"I'm telling you, he's special."

Y/N stops for a second and looks to Lestrange. He's been rambling on and on about some student who understood her note. "Lestrange, it's been set in stone that Morfin Gaunt is the last member of his family...and we all know he's not having a child."

"I know, but he understood my broken speaking, 'born to a snake, destined to be an eagle'. That's what you wrote, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"There's no way any of us could've understood that! He has to be an hier!"

Y/N sighed and kept walking, ignoring her friend's protests. She wasn't going to listen to Lestrange say a random student no one's ever heard of happened to be the hier of Slytherin.

She kept walking for a few more minutes before his annoyance finally won, "fine!" She turned abruptly and stared at Lestrange, "which faculty member delivered their letter?"

"Professor Dumbledore did, why?"

"I'm going to talk to him about it, see what he believes." She moves some of her hair out her face and adjusts her grip on her textbook, "if he also says this student has that potential, then we'll talk, alright?"

Lestrange nodded his head and smiled, "The student's name is Riddle, by the way."

"You're sharing a dorm with him and you couldn't at least get his first name?" Y/N rolled her eyes and turned around. "I'll see you in class!"

***

Y/N waited for the door to the Transfigurations classroom to open, watching as a bunch of older students walked out. She got into the classroom, and instantly spotted the professor. "Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore looked up and her, then at the clock. "Ms. L/N, class doesn't start for another ten minutes."

"I don't have any classes before this and wished to speak with you about something." Y/N set her book down at a random desk before walking back over to him.

"Alright, ask away." Dumbledore smiled and turned to his board, erasing what was previously on it as it had nothing to do with his class with 1st years.

"Lestrange was annoying me about a student you talked to. Someone by the last name, Riddle?"

Dumbledore stopped what he was working on and turned to face her, "has Mr. Riddle done something wrong already?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Y/N looks at the board to see what the professor was starting to write before continuing. "Lestrange is stating that Riddle understood something I wrote in Parseltongue." She watches Dumbledore as he sets down his wand. "Professor, did you know he was a Parselmouth when you visited him?"

Dumbledore looks to the clock on the wall, students would be arriving at any given moment. "Students will be arriving soon, Ms. L/N. How about we discuss this after class?"

Y/N bit her lip to stop herself from trying to argue and nods. She turns to head back to her seat and lays her head down for a few moments to rest.

***

Tom and Lestrange arrived to Transfigurations three minutes before it was scheduled to start. When he walked in, Tom noticed the other three people he knew were already there. When he turned to ask Lestrange about them, he noticed Lestrange was already sitting beside someone else.

Their head was resting atop their folded arms and facing away from him. He couldn't figure out who she was, but he didn't stop to ask questions either. He simply walked over to the other three Slytherins who sat on the far side of the classroom and sat down in the empty seat beside Avery.

Lestrange looks back at his friend and watches Tom takes a seat. "So, the professor told you nothing?"

Y/N sits up and makes sure her hair is out of her face, "he said he'd talk to me about it after class." She looks slightly past Lestrange to watch the group of Slytherins talking across the room from her. She could immediately guess with one Lestrange was talking about, as he's the only one she didn't recognize. "He seemed to have gained your respect rather quickly..."

Lestrange looked ready to retort but was stopped by Dumbledore clearing his throat.

***

"We will continue this discussion next time. Class dismissed."

Lestrange stood up and looked down at Y/N, "You coming to lunch?"

"Lunch isn't for another half hour, plus the professor said he'd answer my questions." Y/N stood up from her seat and stretched, "Run along before your friends begin to ask questions."

Lestrange smiles at her before rushing out the classroom. Y/N walks up to Dumbledore's desk and patiently waits for him to start speaking.

"What was your question again, Ms. L/N?" Dumbledore looks at the small stack of papers he had handed out at the start of class, carefully grading each of them.

"Is Riddle a parselmouth?" Y/N looks down at the papers as Dumbledore grades each one, suffice to say none of the papers she looked at were good.

Dumbledore looked up at her and nodded his head before going back to his papers. "If it'll ease your mind to say it, then yes, Mr. Riddle is a parselmouth. Even admitted that he could speak to snakes since he was very young."

Y/N took a small step back from the desk, "I was hoping you'd tell me no, and that Lestrange was hearing things." Y/N watched as the demanor of her professor changed, "there's more about him...isn't there?"

"Apologies, Mr. L/N. But I'm afraid I've already shared more than I should." Dumbledore kept writing in the papers, one bad grade after another. "If you have any questions, I'd say speak with Mr. Riddle yourself."

Y/N nods and bows her head, "thank you for your time, professor." Y/N gathers her things and heads for the door.

"Before you leave." A paper appears right infront of Y/N, "the first perfect score I've seen from a first year in years. Well done, dear."

Y/N smiles as the paper disappears and walks out the door.

She didn't get very far before she's stopped by Lestrange, "So? What'd he say?"

Y/N bit her inner cheek and frowned, "Professor Dumbledore admitted that Riddle is infact a parselmouth, and that Riddle has been aware of this ability for years." She sees the smug 'I told you so' look on her friend's face and rolls her eyes, "BUT- that doesn't mean he's a descendent of Slytherin. I'm a parsemouth and I know damn well I'm not related to that family in the slightest."

"I suppose...but he probably didn't know magic existed until the professor visited him. So how could he have learned to speak to snakes on his own?" Lestrange took the textbook Y/N was carrying and followed her as she walked, not sure where she was actually going. "Not to mention, you know parseltongue because of your animagus. Even then, you still had to practice."

Y/N didn't want to admit it in any kind of way. She remembers her parents telling her of when Morfin Gaunt was in Azkaban with them. All he ever spoke about was his incompetent sister and her infatuation with some muggle that live nearby. In fact, Morfin mentioned the man so many times, her parents could probably draw his image from pure memory.

She thought to the description her parents gave of the muggle, it matched perfectly to the Riddle she was dealing with now...even their stupid surnames were the same.

"Y/N?" Lestrange stopped infront of her and forced her out of her train of thought. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just thinking." She looked up at her friend to see he wasn't believing that answer, "this whole situation reminds me of someone my parents told me about." She walked past him and moved at a quicker pace until she reached the library.

"What are we here for?" Lestrange followed Y/N into the library and set her things down at an empty table.

"I'm going to be looking for anything that could connect this Riddle person to Slytherin. And you're going to head to the Great Hall and have lunch with your friends." She stared at the restricted section of the library for a few seconds before looking around the library a little more.

Her eyes landed on a certain brunette that's been all her friend could talk about. She followed his gaze to see he was also staring at the restricted section. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head, "Also, see if you can get that invisibility cloak from your father.

"Why in Merlin's name would I do that?" Lestrange furrowed his brows.

"A certain someone is admiring the restricted section." She gesture her head towards Tom, "if I can give him a way to sneak in and out of here more discreetly, he'll eventually begin to trust me."

"And why do you need his trust? Don't tell me you're also entranced by his charm."

"What? Hell no." She looked back at Tom for a second before turning back to Lestrange, "if I get him to trust me, I'll be able to learn what makes him tick. Why on earth would I be interested in someone who could clearly care less about anyone else's feelings?!"

Lestrange shrugs, "You're right, yet charms class was more focused on him than the spells and it's only been a day."

Y/N ignored her friend and began analyzing the library, figuring out at a quick glance where everything was, "just- see if you can get that damn cloak, alright? Now shoo, I need to focus."

"Alright, jeez. Forgot you could be such a pain when it comes to planning and research." Lestrange waved to his friend before quickly exited the library.

Y/N took a deep breath and thought to herself before looking at the time, 11:55. Lunch ends, and History of Magic starts, and 1. She had less than an hour to find what she was looking for. "Alright, wizarding families should be with History of Magic...let's start there." She took a deep breath in and out before weaving her way through the library, determined to find anything related to the wizarding world and it's families.

Chapter Text

~°Tom's POV°~

It's been a week into his first year at Hogwarts and, frankly, he didn't get the appeal of the place. He was still trying to get a little more used to the wizarding world after spending so long in that god forsaken orphanage.

He had already memorized the layout of the school and figured out the fastest way to get to a class from any given location, which never mattered since he was either in 1 of 3 places, his previous class, his dorm, or the library.

The Hogwarts library was the one thing that stayed on his mind, specifically the restricted section. What was the point in having books in a library if they weren't allowed to be read? It's all he focused on and was determined to figure to the most efficient way to get in there.

Could he sneak in when the library is most busy? No, too many witnesses - at least one student would be enough of a suck up to tell the librarian. He can't go when there are less people, the librarian has an easier time watching the restricted section like a hawk.

He was in complete focus on the task at hand, going on autopilot as he was to his next class - Charms. He wasn't too thrilled with the class, but he kept getting told he was naturally gifted with a wand. He was more frustrated that they hadn't been taught anything useful in the class. All he was being taught was how to levitate an object and light up his wand (which was kinda useful when he wished to read late at night) and he hated it. He was told Hogwarts was this grand school but it appeared they were being taught at a snails pace.

Tom was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard a loud crash and felt something glide across his cheek, sending a shockwave of pain. He didn't need touch his cheek to know he was bleeding, but he did so anyways. He looked at the blood that now stained his fingertips and irritatedly growled under his breath, "What the fuck?"

He looked in front of him to see the wall of the charms classroom now had a massive hole in it. His eyes continued to survey the hall when he saw the charms professor sitting against the wall, surrounded by stone rubble and coughing, clearly just having the wind knocked out of him.

"Merlin! professor, are you okay?!" Tom looked back towards the hole in the wall where the voice came from and saw a student run through where the door would've been had it also not been destroyed. Tom's eyes fixed onto the student as he analyzed her features. he could see a small bit of blue on her uniform as she rushed to the professor's aid, wand in hand - a Ravenclaw.

"I'm so sorry professor I though the walls would be reinforced to withstand magic! Are- are you hurt, do I need to carry you to the hospital wing?!" The girl was completely frantic, barely giving herself a moment to catch her breath.

Tom watched the situation in disbelief. This petite, Ravenclaw first year was supposedly the one that launched their charms professor through the classroom and into the hall? Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

Tom's thoughts hushed once the charms professor started to chuckle between his coughs. "Don't worry Miss L/N, I'll visit the nurse once lunch starts and see to it the classroom walls are properly protected in the future." The professor sat up a little straighter and brushed a bit of debris off his clothing before the girl and a few other students that also witnessed this ordeal take place help him to his feet. "You're family has always had a natural strength when is came to spell casting," the professor straightened himself up and placed a hand on the girls shoulder in a hope to comfort her, "I should've remembered that when forgetting to grab practice dummies for today's lesson."

After the girl apologized a few more times, her eyes drifted and looked at him. He watched as her eyes quickly widened "Holy- are you alright?!" Tom didn't have time to respond before the girl was standing a few inches from him, wand aimed directly at his face.

"What the hell are you-" he was cut off when he heard the girl mumble to herself and felt the cut on his cheek stitch itself back up along with a cold, wet cloth that was gently pressed over his skin. She took a few steps back and Tom instantly brought his hand to his cheek, the cut caused from the stone was no longer there and any blood that should've been there had vanished with it. He felt the girl take his hand and looked to see a cloth in the girl's hand that was slightly stained red, wiping off the blood from his hand. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦?

They both looked at eachother for a breif second, long enough for the girl to clearly see irritation in his eyes. "Sorry, i probably shouldve asked first." The girl finally let go of his hand and took another step back. "Do you know if any other rock might've hit you?" The girl's voice was calmer than it was earlier when speaking to the professor.

"I'm fine." Tom responded, rather harshly, and walked past the student, bumping into her slightly as he was into the charms classroom. As he walked towards a seat he could hear the professor once again talking to the student.

"15 points to Ravenclaw. Well done Miss. L/N, I have great hope and investment towards your Wizarding future, I can already tell you'll achieve great things."

He rolled his eyes and grumbled staring at the hole in the wall, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?

After a few minutes, he watched as Lestrange walked in and sat down beside him. The other three appearing in the room shortly after. Avery stared at the hole as he sat down and pointed to it, "the hell happened here?"

Lestrange looked to the hole and shrugged, "L/N was told to demonstrate the knockback jinx." He turned back to his charms book that he was looking through. There was still time before class, but he decided he had nothing else to do at the moment.

"Apparently the professor is more idiotic than we thought. Who in their right mind would have a L/N demonstrate a charm?" Rosier rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

"It's not like they could've known she'd blow a hole in the wall," Nott looked to Lestrange and Tom, "I take it you both saw it happen?"

Lestrange shook his head, "saw her help the professor to her feet and talk with Riddle about something...and hear the professor give her house points."

"Fifteen house points-" Tom glared to Lestrange and tightened his jaw "-for destroying a damn wall."

"Why'd she talk to Riddle?" Avery set his stuff down, sitting behind Tom and Lestrange.

Tom tightened his grip on his quill, "some rubble hit me, didn't do any damage." He stared at his textbook, feeling his eyes twitch. The nerve of her to have walked up to him and dared to touch him. Didn't matter that she was being helpful, she had no right to do so.

"What?!" Nott leaned over Lestrange to look at Tom, "There's not even a scratch, where'd she hit you?"

Tom glared at Nott, causing him to slowly sit back down. "It doesn't matter, she was reckless and completely careless in her actions. What made her think casting a spell on a teacher was wise, regardless on if he granted her permission to or not?!"

Avery and Rosier looked to eachother for a second. "Reckless, maybe. But the L/N Family is never careless in what they do. All their actions are...." Rosier snaps a few times, trying to think of the right words.

"Calculated?" Avery tilts his head to Rosier

"Precise." Nott twirled his finger, as if trying to cast a spell with his hand.

"Perfect." Lestrange rolls his eyes and flips to the next page on the textbook.

"Thank you!" Nott points to his friends turning to the nonexistent door as the charms professor walks into the classroom.

Tom keeps his eyes glued to his textbook, ignoring the teacher as he began to start class. 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯?

~°Y/N's POV°~

Y/N stared blankly at the charms professor as they demonstrated the knockback jinx on a stack of books. Apparently he had forgotten actual practice dummies and was trying to improvise.

They had just finished working on review for their other spells and the professor was happy to see students making progress on the levitation charm. Y/N, however, wasn't bothering to practice wand movements or study incantations with the rest of the class. Her mind was stuck on an annoying brunette who she learned she shared four of her eight classes with.

She knew when to admit he was a good student, but Merlin did it annoy her how lestrange and the other Slytherin first years were enamored by him. She hadn't seen him use parselmouth within the past week or so she's spotted him out and about, but also wasn't seeking him out either.

"Mrs. L/N?"

Y/N got a little startled hearing herself be called and looked to the professor. "Yes, Professor?"

"Would you care to demonstrate the knockback jinx? You must be a master at it if you feel so inclined to daydream rather than focus on the lesson."

𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵...She thought as she slowly stood up and walked to the center of the room. "Do you need me to set up books or?"

"No, feel free to use me as your target." The professor smiled at her and Y/N got a little nervous.

Eyes were on her and people ber snickering and whispering. She was desperate to get out of this situation. She knew people didn't like her because of her name, her family practically cursed her. What if she was also going to be viewed as cocky and arrogant?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in as she readied her wand, and exhaled as her eyes slowly opened. "Flipendo!"

She watched at the professor fell back and crashed through the wall. Y/N immediately widened her eyes and looked at the hole she now created. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤?

"Merlin! Professor, are you okay?!" She ran through the hole and rushed to the professor, instantly knealing down by his side and examined him for any external injuries.

"I'm so sorry professor I though the walls would be reinforced to withstand magic! Are- are you hurt, do I need to carry you to the hospital wing?!" She was completely frantic, barely giving herself a moment to catch her breath as she kept asking about the professor's health.

She wasn't expecting to have that strength, she didn't think it was possible for her to be that skilled. Sure, her parents drilled these stupid spells into her head years ago, but that didn't mean she would cast them herself.

Y/N's frantic speaking stopped as she heard the charms professor chuckle between his coughs. "Don't worry Miss L/N, I'll visit the nurse once lunch starts and see to it the classroom walls are properly protected in the future." The professor sat up a little straighter and brushed a bit of debris off his clothing before Y/N and a few other students that were in the halls helped him to his feet. "You're family has always had a natural strength when is came to spell casting," the professor stood up straight and placed a hand on her shoulder, she assumed it was to help comfort her. "I should've remembered that before allowing you to use be as a practice dummy rather than books."

After she apologized a few more times, Y/N's eyes drifted and noticed a certain brunette standing there. She examined him and took instant notice of the cut on his cheek. Her eyes quickly widened in shock "Holy- are you alright?!" She wasn't aware of her actions, didn't process what she was doing as she ran up to him and stood a few inches from him, wand aimed directly at his face.

"What the hell are you-"

Y/N mumbled a healing spell she was taught by one of the guards and waved her wand so a damp cloth appeared in her hand, not hesitating to press it to his cheek. She took a few steps back and watched as Tom instantly brought his hand to his cheek, noticing a bit of his hand was stained red. She quickly took his hand and wiped the cloth over it, watching as the red tranferred from his hand to the cloth.

She looked up at him for a breif second, long enough to see irritation in his eyes. It suddenly sunk in what she just did and panic set it. "Sorry, i probably should've asked first." She let go of his hand and took another step back. "Do you know if any other rocks might've hit you?" She took the time to properly look at him. He was good-looking, she could admit that. But she still couldn't see what about him infatuated people so damn much.

"I'm fine." Tom responded, rather harshly, and walked past Y/N, bumping into her slightly as he was into the charms classroom. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳?! She scowled slightly, but relaxed her face when hearing the professor speaking to her.

"15 points to Ravenclaw. Well done Miss L/N, I have great hope and investment towards your Wizarding future, I can already tell you'll achieve great things."

Y/N smiled to the professor and heard someone clapping behind her. She turned to see Lestrange smirking at her and walked up to him, "How much of that did you witness?"

Lestrange shrugged and placed his hands in his pockets, "showed up right before you ran up to Riddle and used a few spells we definitely haven't been taught yet."

Y/N shushed her friend and gently smacked his arm, "quiet, I'm not about to risk getting it trouble. Now what the hell is his deal?!" She furrowed her brows and frowned, "does he seriously think he's that much better than everyone that he'll act as if I'm a barrier to pass through?!"

Lestrange chuckled and stood up a little straighter, "he doesn't know you, Y/N. Far as he's concerned, you're just an ordinary first year."

Right...she forgot about that. Most people in the wizarding world knew her name, not her face. She also isn't a member of the Sacred 28...not because her family isn't pure, it very much is, but because her family married outside of Britian. Although she isn't apart of the Sacred 28, the writer of that cursed book still mentions the L/N Family as an honorable one.

Y/N huffed, frustrated with the situation that just took place. She's been in school less than a month and already launched a teacher through a wall. "I wanted to get through first year without drawing attention to myself..."

"Hate to break it to you, but most people will now know that you're powerful enough to destroy wall with the knockback jinx." Lestrange smiled and placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "I'll talk with you during lunch, alright?"

Y/N smiled and watched as Lestrange walked into the charms classroom. Her smiled quickly dropped when she remembered her next class of History of Magic. She sighed and made sure she had all her stuff before walking to her next class.

Chapter Text

~°YN's POV°~

It's been a couple weeks since making her existence known to Tom Riddle, and Y/N is hating every second of it. It feels as though, now that he knows she exists, he does nothing but glare at her whenever their in the same room. It's not her fault they share so many classes together.

But, right now, Y/N had a bigger issue. She was staring at a small box she had recieved with a letter attached to it. She knew it was from the caretakers, but she was still terrified as to what it's contents were.

"Is something the matter?"

Y/N turned to look at one of the ravenclaw students that entered the dormitory. She can imagine how crazy she looks as she stares down a box as its contents could kill her, cause they probably could. "Yeah, just a little confused. I recieved mail, but definitely wasn't expecting anything."

The student takes a closer look to see a small box with a letter attached to it, "maybe your guardian wished to send you something nice? I can open the box if you'd like."

"No, it's fine, really. I'm just surprised to be sent something." Y/N smiles and waves off the student as they exit the dorm. Her drops drops as the door closes and decides to open the box.

She opened the lid and was instantly met with a series of annoyed and irritated hissing sounds...she knew exactly what this was. Y/N tilted the box and watched as a silver, snake bracelet fell onto her palm.

She didn't wear it often while near the prison since it was considered a weapon. Due to this, she had completely forgotten to bring it with her to Hogwarts. Y/N smiled and placed the bracelet on her wrist, "𝔠𝔩𝔬𝔰𝔢," and watched as it coiled around her arm. She knows it'll be more crucial to have the bracelet in case she needs to make an antivenom.

Y/N looked at the clock on the wall, 9:50. She took the letter and grabbed her required textbooks for the day before quickly walking out the dormitory, through the common room, and down the Ravenclaw staircase. She absolutely adored the Ravenclaw common room and the view it had over Hogwarts, but she hated the stairs.

Y/N walked down a few steps before shifting into her snake form and sliding down the railing. By doing this, she got down the stairs significantly faster. She waiting till no students were nearby before shifting back to normal and speedwalking through the school. Would she be late for class? Probably not. She had 25 minutes to get to the greenhouse for Herbology, but she enjoyed being early and helping the professor set up.

As she was walking, she opened the letter and read it carefully. Based on the handwriting, she assumed it was written by her father. It was telling her about an enchanted book he remembered is in the library that discusses different magical families and their impact on the wizarding world. He wanted her to locate the book and hex the section on their family so no one could ever learn about them.

Y/N folded up the letter and placed it in one of her robe pockets. Maybe she could use that book to do a little research on Riddle, Merlin knows Lestrange has still yet to shut up about him. She brushed the thought out of her mind for a moment as she quickly walked through the halls. By the time she got to the greenhouse she had 5 minutes to spare and took a moment to catch her breath.

"Miss L/N, welcome!"

Y/N smiled to the Herbology professor and set down her stuff before walking up to them, "Good morning professor. I was wondering if you had any small vials I could borrow to make an antivenom?"

The professor thought to themselves for a second before shaking their head, "afraid not, I'm sure if you ask Horace he'd be more than delighted to lend you some, however."

Y/N nodded and looked at the center table, "are we just expanding on Tuesdays class?" She looked as the professor nodded and walked towards the side of the greenhouse where the plants used last class were resting and carried them over to the professor.

Did she need to do this? No. But it meant that it was one less thing for the professor to deal with as students slowly started entering the greenhouse.

***

It didn't take her long to find the book. She was sitting at her usual table in the library, analyzing information on the Slytherin bloodline. She wrote down each time the family name was technically changed, but the name 'Riddle' never showed up. If Lestrange was right about the liklihood of he being a Slytherin descendent, he sure as hell wasn't a pureblood. Frustrated with this, she scribbled out most of the names she wrote down defore continuing to flip through the book and find the pages dedicated to her family.

Y/N read carefully through the information page, taking note of the details about their magic. It was well written and the creator of this book did their research. Unfortunately, no one in her family seemed to be fans of the public knowing the inner workings of their magic.

She looked at the bracelet of her arm and hissed quietly at it, watching as it moved in a quick motion to get onto the table, moving fast enough for one of the cuts on her arm to reopen. She applied just enough pressure to the cut for a small amount of blood to seap through and tapped it with the tip of her wand. She muttered the words that enacted her magic and watched at the small drop of blood fused into the wood.

Y/N traced her wand over her family's information page, watching as small streaks of blood covered the words, only to slowly melt and fuse with the ink. She hide her wand under the table, "Illegibilus." The words on the page slowly shift and change, becoming completely impossible for even her to read.

She saw a hand reach to grab the book from her, causing her to bring her wand up from under the table and point it at them. She didn't know who it was, she wasn't too concerned about it either as her eyes remained glued to the page.

Eventually the light from her wand dimmed and she fell silent. "Little has ever been discovered on this families history aside from their implementation of blank magic."

She looked to the voice and grew a little irritated with who it was. Why the hell was he here? Y/N rolled her eyes and spoke plainly, "People don't need to know my family history, Riddle." She closed the book and stood up to go return the book to where she found it.

She felt him grab onto the wrist that held her wand and pull her back towards him speaking through gritted teeth. "You do not walk away from me."

This made her extremely more irritated. What gave him, a nobody, the right to tell her, a respected pureblood, what to do? She glared up at him and set the book down on the table beside her. "And you don't tell me what to do, now let. go." When it became clear he wouldn't falter, Y/N twisted her arm so it was more uncomfortablefor him to grasp onto and dropped her wand into her free hand, pointing it at her trapped wrist. "Relashio."

The moment she felt his grip loosen, Y/N grabbed the book again and pulled herself away from him. She returned the book to where she found it and rushed out of the libaray, not daring to look back for even a second. She stood outside the library doors and took a second to calm herself down. How entitled did this man think he was was to dare tell her what to do?! Did he actually think she'd listen to him? He clearly watched her destroy a book about purebloods that mentioned her family, so it's not like he didn't know she was above him in status.

As Y/N started to calm down from her moment of anger, it quickly got replaced with worry as she realized she left her bracelet ans paper on the table. When she opened the door to the library a tiny bit, she saw Tom was holding the bracelet in his hands. She instantly closed the door and moved further away from the library, cursing to herself as panic spread through her body.

~°Tom's POV°~

Since his first encounter with her, Tom couldn't help but notice Y/N almost everywhere he went. He never took notice of the classes in which the houses were combined until he kept seeing her in his class before him every time. Always one of the first to arrive, always one of the first to leave. Potions, Transfigurations, DADA, flying.

She was a clever student, constantly listening to the professor's praise her skills, watching as she effortlessly answered questions little to no thought. He was able to accept having a few classes with a student that was obviously favorited and beloved by the staff, not unlike himself.

But what he couldn't accept was seeing her outside of class, walking with friends to the great hall, rushing past him when going from one tower to another. He even had to listen to his own classmates and other Slytherins talk about her, singing her praises. He had grown to tune it out after a while, ignoring all their words.

However, what he refused to tolerate, was always seeing her in the library, always seated right next to the restricted section. She was there during most lunches, in between classes, between dinner and curfew. He hated it.

He managed to convince himself that she was following him around like many of the other students, and decided it was time to confront her about the behavior. He stared as the clock ticked away in History of Magic, waiting to be alerted that it was finally time for classes to be done for the day. Finally he saw the clock strike 4 and, much like the other students, instantly stood up, gathering his things.

"Woah, what's got you in a hurry?" Rosier watches at Tom gathers his stuff as if his life depended on it.

"There's a book in the library I need and want to make sure I have it before anyone else does." He fixed his uniform slightly, "I'll see you at dinner, alright?" He have a quick wave before rushing off to the library.

He entered through the library doors, greeting the librarian as he surveyed the room, his eyes landing on Y/N almost immediately. He marched over to where she was sitting and glancing at the pages that were open. She didn't appear to be reading, rather mumbling to herself, so he looked at the top of the page: 'House of L/N'. So this was her family? Why is she reading something she should already know?

He then looked at the pages again to see the words begin to distort, blur, become impossible to read. He reached to grab the book from her hands when her wand came up from under the table and pointed at him. Still she never stopped mumbling and the page kept changing.

Eventually the light from her wand dimmed and she fell silent. Tom looked at the page and read the only line that was clearly stated "Little has ever been discovered on this families history aside from their implementation of blank magic." He was irritated, no that's not the right word. Furious, he was furious with this woman. She very clearly destroyed a book that appeared to already be enchanted, she technically threated him when trying to stop her from ruining said enchanted book. And he was still convinced that she was following him around and spying on him.

"People don't need to know my family history, Riddle." She closed the book and began walking over to the shelf she grabbed it from, walking away from Tom. This fanned his anger even more, she had no reason to walk away from him, and no right to speak to him as if she was more superior (she didn't. but he hated the attitude hiding behind her voice when saying his name).

Tom wasn't having any of this, he was here to confront her for constantly following him everywhere despite having no real proof of this. He grabbed onto the wrist in which she held her wand and pulled her back towards him speaking through gritted teeth. "You do not walk away from me."

She glared at him setting the book down on the table beside her. "And you don't tell me what to do, now let. go." She twisted her arm, making it more uncomfortablefor him to grasp onto and dropped her wand into her free hand, pointing it at her trapped wrist. "Relashio."

Tom was a little confused as to what she said until he felt his grip on her wrist unwillingly loosen as she grabs the book again before moving away from him. He watched her quickly walk out the library after returning the book and cursed under his breath while brushing his hand through his hair. He looked back at the table Y/N was previously sitting at and noticed something, two things actually.

The first was a silver bracelet that was tightly coiled. He carefully picked it up and examined it; the scales were neatly engraved into the metal, the eyes looked as if were rubies, the mouth also looked like it was able to open though he couldn't figure out how. It was strange, to say the least. L/N isn't a Slytherin, did this belong to her parents? Does this even belong to her? He'd never noticed it before.

He placed the bracelet in hus robe pocket and looked at the second item left behind. It was a small note that seemed to be of an incomplete family tree. Most of the note was illegible and names were scratched out a bunch. However, the one thing he could actually read was underlined over and over again, 'ℛ𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓁ℯ'.