Chương 20: Chapter Nineteen: The Perks of Being a Smart-Ass

It had been two days since their peculiar encounter in the library, yet he couldn't get her out of his mind. The way she nervously scuttled around him, her anxious murmurs and curt nods brought a frown upon his face. After the Halloween Ball Tom had expected Cordelia to be different, perhaps more open than before. The night hadn't started off ideally, but the rumours helped matters by allowing people to speculate, exactly what he sought.

It was simple to grasp, Cordelia Lucretia Black-McMillan was an obstacle in his path, and there were two ways he could be rid of her. Either kill her or convince her to join him. It was clear the flamboyant girl had too much potential to be discarded, however, she also happened to be too stubborn to directly break. It was why Riddle had taken it upon himself to break down her walls and in doing so provide her with fraudulent solace.

The brunette sociopath was known for his plots, and Cordelia just happened to fall under one of them.

Initially, he was unsure if the girl was even worth such effort and time, after all until their third year she hadn't stood out amongst the sea of Slytherins. But her wit and ambition were enough to rival his, and such things weren't ideal for an aspiring Dark Lord. So, he blissfully continued their simple game and pretended to have no ulterior motives, however, she seemed to be smarter than he gave her credit for.

Cordelia Black had previously been a mere target, but she might prove to be more threatening than he presumed. Initially, she was blissfully aware of his plots.

But now she knew something, and that scared him.

She wasn't one to shrug off an incident and ignore everything, in fact, Cordelia was the exact opposite. A Slytherin pureblood witch ambitious enough to rival him yet smart enough to know her place, she almost sounded too perfect. And that was the problem.

She was hiding something, and Tom wanted to find out what it was.

"Cordelia, Cordelia, Cordelia."

Her name left his lips in a chain of murmurs as he leaned back in his armchair, glancing around the heads' common room. An orange fire blazed in the hearth, its hue turning the common room's green and blue walls a slight red. A chandelier with baby blue and mint green crystals hung from the ceiling, random rays of light occasionally bouncing from the glass to reflect onto the bookshelf near the back wall.

The room was small and cosy, with armchairs, tables and other pieces of necessary furniture littered around in a peculiar pattern. Unlike the Slytherin common room, there was no window to the Black Lake, and neither was Rowena Ravenclaw's statue present for his colleague.

Regardless of the changes, and the fact that Tom would have preferred the decorations and colours to mirror the snake den, the heads' common room wasn't too bad. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Michelle Swift, the head girl, was a raven rather than a lion or badger after all the midnight blue occasionally helped calm him compared to the tacky yellow and bloody red.

Michelle Swift herself wasn't too bad. The brunette was smart and quiet and never bothered Tom more than necessary. She was the type who preferred a good read over a party, someone who thrived in the silence yet couldn't speak two words in a full room. It was weird how she was too much of an insecure loner to attempt to talk to him, yet self-assured enough to be a sufficient head girl.

Currently, she was off at the library for homework. Riddle knew this due to her weird habit of leaving notes regarding her location as if she presumed he worried enough to know. However, he appreciated the notes, they allowed him to freely schedule meetings with or summon his knights to discuss secret topics.

If only Cordelia was a bit like Michelle.

But that was the thing, he preferred the challenge and chaos. He liked the fact that she could face him head-on, he was enthralled by her grasp on dark magic, and he hated himself for it. Tom Riddle wasn't supposed to be amused by some random pureblood witch, yet here he was, abandoning a meeting with his knights just to sit alone in the heads common room and think of her.

"My Lord."

The words made him jolt in his position, a hand casually hovering over his wand as he wondered which knight was naive enough to evade his privacy.

There weren't many that came to mind, in fact, none of his knights was bold enough to risk such a thing. The voice itself wasn't like one of his knight's, it was of a female's. For a horrible moment, he wondered if the girl plaguing his thoughts had decided to mock him with the title. That was before he spotted Nagini.

Her form curled into the common room from his dormitory, her scales glistening in the chandelier's light as the snake approached him. Tom's heart ceased its uneasy beating as he abandoned his wand, gesturing Nagini closer with his arm. It was then that he realized she had spoken in Parseltongue,

"Any news?"

He didn't bother switching into the snake's language, aware that Nagini would understand him either way.

"He wants to see you. He doesn't believe me."

Tom nodded at her statement. It was understandable that the Basilisk was sceptical, after all, there hadn't been an heir ever since his uncle graduated. Morfin had been too lacklustre to know about the chamber, much less find it. That entailed the Basilisk hadn't seen an heir of Slytherin for at least a few decades.

"Very well, take me to him."

The crowded corridors parted like the red sea as Tom waltzed through them, his mask of poise and grace held perfectly in place. He had hoped the students had already left for lunch, however, it seemed there were yet to enter the large chamber. Nonetheless, he was given the privacy he desired even in a mob of people.

The perks of being the head boy were enough to attain respect from his peers, but his status in the snake pit also ensured the purebloods (more specifically his knights) knew not to disturb him in public. If he needed them he had to simply gesture as much, for now, the Slytherin boys could do as they please.

If only the girls were the same.

"Tom! I haven't seen you all week."

An unknown brunette Slytherin witch decided to be the first obstacle, her palm twirling a wand as she sent him a suggestive wink.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

The question made a gaggle of witches giggle, their forms resting against the pillar near Riddle. It seemed the brunette witch was trying to impress her friends, her slight glare and lightly coloured cheeks saying as much.

"Oh, don't act like that!"

A painted finger reached forward to rest against his tie, her nail slightly digging into the material. Unfortunately for her, Tom wasn't in the mood to entertain such women, he had more pressing matters to attend. Thus, his own hand followed hers, gripping her wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Sorry, but I have to go. Next time, try starting with an introduction."

His grip loosened as the misanthrope pushed away from her hand, quickly sidestepping her flabbergasted figure as he descended the stairs. The brunette witch's friends cackled as he passed them, one going as far as to call the witch a fraud.

Tom didn't care much for what they did, he was preoccupied walking towards the second floor.

"I could bite her for you."

Nagini's suggestion made the teenager chuckle as she slithered out of his sleeve, her beady eyes meeting his brown ones. Riddle raised his left hand to lightly pet the snake's head with two fingers, his gaze briefly flickering between her and the moving staircase.

"I think I took care of it."

She slithered further into his palm at the words, her tail still hovering under his sleeve. Nagini chose to stay silent as he descended the stairs, only choosing to hiss at any female willing to approach Riddle. It seemed she took pleasure in their girly squeals; the sound making Tom smirk and briskly evade anyone approaching him.

The pattern seemed to work as they continued towards the second floor, their plot ensuring no one bothered Tom. Finally, the teenager set Nagini down as they stopped outside the bathroom, her form slithering onto the tiled floor as she glanced at him.

"Make sure no one is inside."

A light nod was sent his way, the gesture prompting him the walk down the hallway and stop beside a random portrait. His wand rested in his palm as Tom waited for Nagini, each passing second making him slightly anxious. Finally, her dark green body slithered out of the bathroom, her head rising above the floor to give him a slight nod. Sighs left his body as Riddle walked forward, briefly kneeling to allow the serpent to crawl onto his arm.

The duo entered the vacant bathroom cautiously, their eyes set solely on the sinks. Tom allowed Nagini to slither near the taps as he bent down, lightly commanding the chamber to reveal itself.

"Open."

Nagini hastily slithered away from the sinks at the word, choosing to rest against the wall as the sinks parted. It was a spectacular sight to behold, the white marble converting into an archway of sorts, their centre accommodating a gaping hole.

While Tom appreciated the chamber's existence, he didn't quite like the entrance. Rather than a normal staircase, the chamber had a slide that spiralled down to the main area. It was quite embarrassing for a Dark Lord to be seen sliding, but he had no choice as Riddle sat on the edge of the entrance, quickly muttering a few cleaning spells to ensure the slide wouldn't dirty his uniform.

"Come Nagini."

The snake in question slithered towards her master, curling up his sleeve as Tom allowed himself to move forward. Unlike most children, Tom never quite enjoyed slides and always found them very useless. Swings helped one think, and the other playground items were good for physical exercise, however, he never understood the appeal of a slide.

What was so fun about steadily proceeding towards the ground on a slanted object? Perhaps it was yet another effect of the Amortentia that caused him to overlook the fun aspects of a slide, or perhaps it was simply not for him.

Regardless of the reasoning, Tom couldn't be happier when he finally approached the chamber, his black shoes lightly hitting the ground as Nagini left his sleeve.

"Take me to him."

While Tom had previously visited the chamber, he hadn't spotted the Basilisk anywhere. Instead, the Slytherin heir had spent his time wandering the huge corridors attempting to memorize each turn. He had even chosen to rid the place of its usual soot and dirt, if not for the Basilisk then for Slytherin himself.

Tom had learned quite a few things on his previous visit. He learned that the slide could be turned into a staircase from inside the chamber if one chose to do so, he learned that the Basilisk particularly liked Thestral meat due to the carcass lying at the back of the chamber. And, most importantly, he learned that the Basilisk resided in Slytherin's statue, the statue's right shoe being an entrance to a maze of sorts where the Basilisk slept.

Regardless of all this information Riddle still couldn't locate the Basilisk, but it seemed the snake required a serpentine greeting.

"Where is he?"

The question made Nagini hiss as she slithered forward, halting at the statue's base. Rather than calling out to the Basilisk as he expected, she instead gestured towards Tom, as if commanding him to call out.

"Basilisk, I am your master, the heir of Slytherin."

For a moment nothing happened and Tom was prepared to belittle Nagini, but just as he attempted to say something, a giant thud echoed around the chamber.

All was quiet as the sound of a snake slithering filled the chamber as if the Basilisk was curling around the walls. After a few moments, it stopped, the silence making Tom uneasy as he prepared to fetch his wand.

"Liar!"

The word made him jolt in his position as Nagini raced towards him, awaiting the Basilisk's next move.

"No heir of Salazar's would be a filthy half-blood."

Tom's blood boiled as his face contoured in rage, his ire and frustration clear as the teenager replaced his wand in his robe's pocket.

"Salazar's blood runs through my veins as it did my mother's. Her mistakes may taint my blood but they do not take away my birthright."

The heir of Slytherin's usual silver tongue seemed to fail him as the Basilisk remained quiet. Nonetheless, he continued his little speech.

"I want to be rid of those filthy mudbloods just as you do, all that is holding you back is a simple command from me."

That seemed to pierce the snake's scales as the Basilisk finally moved into the light, its head bowed and eyes shut as he paused before Slytherin's heir.

Tom had seen a lot of snakes in his lifetime, ones of various colours, scales, textures and poisons, yet none compared to the Basilisk.

From the tip of its tail to its head the Basilisk was covered in dark green scales, the scales halting beside its mouth where two shiny white fangs stood proud. While its eyes were shut tight, Tom knew for a fact the Basilisk had yellow irises, the colour almost that of a lemon.

"As you command."

A smirk graced the Slytherin's lips at the snake's words, Tom's eyes dilating as he muttered the first instruction.

"For now, I need you to lay low and explore the castle. Stretch your scales and do as you please, but under no circumstances are you allowed to kill a mudblood. Yet."

The snake nodded at the command, slithering away from Tom as it muttered words of gratitude.

Something was wrong and terribly so. The Horcruxes, their information, it was all gone.

Tom let out a huff as he tossed the book on the other side of his room, letting out a groan as he slinked onto his bed. Someone had tampered with the book, and he had to find out who.

The teenage Dark Lord huffed as he laid on the bed, rolling his eyes as he mulled over the previous days. In the end, it was an encounter in the library a few months back that made him jolt up in his bed.

Ever the egotistical brat, Riddle took his time, leisurely strolling across the hidden library and examining each book around him. A quick sigh cut through the air as Lia let the door slip lose, the wooden object banging into Riddle's arm.

"Secrets of The Darkest Arts, oh that one's a good read. The author practically begged grandmother to have a peek at the Black Grimoire, her answer obviously remained 'no'."

A fraudulent pleasant tone echoed around the duo as Cordelia engaged in polite conversation, painting the picture of two esteemed pure-bloods researching in the library. A hum and curt sentence echoed after her, Riddle's laconic response evoking a scowl onto the female's face.

Cordelia knew something. He didn't know how or when she caught on, but she knew something about Horcruxes and would certainly hide it from Tom unless he did something about it.

"I guess she'll continue to be a target."