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Serpent of the World	By : TheLadyMiya Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 9486 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I make no money writing this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Ozzy! My love, my star, my beta! Lots of cookies for you for all your hard work making this readable.
And to everyone who has read, reviewed, rated - thank you so, so much! It means the world to me! As always, review reply can be found here: tomioneconvention.forumotion.com/t1011-review-reply-serpent-of-the-world#49192
Enjoy!
Chapter 5
He was sitting inside a dark room, stroking the head of a snake. Nagini, his mind recalled. The snake was almost asleep, her big head in his lap. She had just eaten, and she always became tired afterwards. A nice juicy Muggle boy had been her treat today.
“My Lord? You called for us?” A tall, pale man with black greasy hair came in through the door. Behind him was a blond boy, who was trembling in fear. Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. Yes, he remembered their names clearly.
“Sit down,” he said, gesturing towards the armchairs across the table from him. He also waved his wand towards the fireplace, creating some light in the dark room. He didn’t need light to see, but he knew the other two did.
Snape casually took his seat, looking as unimpressed as ever, while Malfoy turned even paler after one look at Nagini. Voldemort ignored it.
“You are the two situated closest to Potter. I want to hear everything you know about him. No matter how insignificant the detail.”
Snape was the one who started talking, and who had the most to say. Malfoy added something now and again, his voice low and weak. Pathetic boy.
“What about his friends, then?” Voldemort finally asked. “Ronald Weasley, can we hurt Potter through him?”
“I’m sure we can, my Lord. If anyone was hurt because of Potter, it would break Potter’s spirit. But other than that, he would not be useful to us. A mediocre wizard, and well, you know about the Weasley family. Nothing to gain from them otherwise,” Snape said.
“And his other close friend, the Mudblood?” Voldemort asked.
Malfoy let out an angry snort. Voldemort turned his eyes towards him, and Malfoy quickly averted his gaze. Snape frowned at his student.
“Granger is by far the cleverest of the three,” Snape said. “But that is only because she reads, does her homework and can repeat what it says. No originality or improvisation. She is an obnoxious know-it-all.”
“But she is very violent,” Malfoy added darkly.
Voldemort looked at him, mildly surprised. “How is that?”
“She has a mean right-hook,” Malfoy said. “And I think she did something to Rita Skeeter; blackmailed her or hexed her or something. She asked if Granger had any weaknesses a few months ago. And she hasn’t written anything about Granger or Potter since last term.”
“Is that so?” Voldemort asked and looked at Snape for confirmation.
Snape was looking thoughtful. “I have not noticed any violent tendencies in the classroom. Quite the opposite, she is always eager to be praised and sucks up to the authorities.”
“Interesting,” Voldemort remarked.
Tom woke up slowly, the memory lingering as he yawned and stretched. Meeting Hermione Granger had definitely proven that she was indeed of a violent nature. But she could control herself, and she seemed to have overcome her reluctance to improvise, instead of just following textbook instructions. Well, war did change people.
A knock on the door was heard. Guessing who it was, Tom didn’t bother to put on his shirt, and went to open the door in just his sleeping pants.
“Bloody hell, Tom, put on a shirt!” Granger greeted him. Slytherin stood behind her, looking disapprovingly at Tom.
Tom just smiled. “Please, come in.”
Nothing brightened up his morning more than watching Granger squirm. She may not be a blushing virgin, but it was clear she found his intimate behaviour towards her unnerving, and that was just what Tom wanted. As long as she was occupied with feeling uncomfortable, she wouldn’t notice what else he was up to. If only the same strategy worked on Slytherin as well.
He had hoped to use Granger’s Muggle background and Slytherin’s hatred towards Muggles to pit them against each other. If they started fighting each other, then his work would be so much simpler. However, he had completely misjudged Slytherin. Or rather, how desperate his ancestor really was. As long as Granger studied whatever lesson Slytherin was teaching her, he seemed fine with whatever else Granger thought or said. Tom would have given a lot to hear what Slytherin was teaching his adopted sister. Alas, Slytherin would throw him out and erect blood wards against him whenever Granger’s lessons were being held.
Although, that did give Tom an excellent opportunity to do whatever he wanted. He had managed to read up on most of what had happened in the last fifty years, and the stream of memories that came to him each night filled in some of the blanks of his own personal history.
He still hadn’t completely decided on what he would do once he had got rid of Slytherin’s interference. But he was young. Again. He had tested his own body, and he was indeed, in every way, seventeen years old. That meant he had plenty of time before he had to worry about dying of old age. Add to that the memories of his old self, and he was sure he would figure out a new way to immortality in due time.
In fact, he had found some rather interesting information when he had read up on his other ancestor, Loki. The Æsir had all been immortal after all (until they had killed each other), and knowing that they had in fact been real further piqued Tom’s interest. But it was still very vague, and Tom knew he needed to find better sources before he could actually make any plans. That meant leaving Hogwarts.
“Tom,” Slytherin called for his attention, and Tom went over to them, now with a t-shirt on.
He sat down next to Granger on the small sofa, which yet again, made her give him an uncomfortable look. She didn’t like him one bit.
“Hermione and I just received information that Hogwarts will open in the fall,” Slytherin said. “Professor McGonagall has sent out letters to all the old students, and has started to search for teachers.”
“That’s good then,” Tom remarked. “So when will you give McGonagall your recommendation, to let me finish my final year here?”
He looked sweetly at Granger, who wrinkled her nose in a grimace.
“Hermione has promised to do so once we hear of how many students are expected to be back,” Slytherin said. “With any luck, McGonagall will agree if there are many seventh years missing. We will place you in Gryffindor.”
“Why Gryffindor?” Tom asked, slightly annoyed. He didn’t plan to stick around long enough to actually get sorted, but the thought of staying in Gryffindor was nauseating.
“It will be good for your disguise,” Slytherin said. “You are too much of a Slytherin, and we can’t have you raising suspicions. You will have to start acting more reckless.”
“Not every Gryffindor is reckless,” Granger objected, also looking annoyed at the prospect of sharing a house with him.
“No, but it would be better if Tom stopped acting like himself completely. We don’t need any suspicions,” Slytherin said.
Tom didn’t say anything. Did Salazar really think he was acting like himself right now? Well, that would explain why Salazar had said that “Voldemort” had been crazy. When the perfect opportunity arose, he could show his ancestor just how little he had truly seen of Tom Riddle.
“Have you ever played Quidditch, Tom?” Salazar asked.
“Yes, and I’m not good enough to ever make it to a team,” Tom lied. If he put his mind to it, he could be a perfect Quidditch player, but he didn’t want to waste time on something so useless. “If I have to act like a Gryffindor, I think I’d be better off playing the carefree type. Partying, drinking, flirting.”
Granger looked appalled. “So you are going to take advantage of other girls?”
“Well, I could torture and murder them instead, if that would make you feel better.”
He ducked to the side, just before her fist made contact with his face. Violent indeed.
“Hermione,” Salazar said in a disapproving tone. “Don’t let him provoke you.”
Granger glared at him. “If you hurt any of them, physically or emotionally, I’ll—”
“Do nothing more than you would to any other teenage boy who acts like a teenage boy,” Salazar interrupted.
Granger looked absolutely murderous. “Being a teenage boy is no excuse for being an arse and treating women like playthings! And I wouldn’t stand by and just accept it, no matter who the teenage boy is.”
Tom was once again reminded of the night they had seen her storm away from the Gryffindor tower. He had overheard the Weasley boy complain enough to take a guess at what had happened. Clearly, Granger was still hurt by it. How useful.
“You are always welcome to scold, sister,” Tom said sweetly. “In fact, it would be better if I did play and discard one of your friends. Then, at least, you would have a reason to be so cross with me.”
Salazar nodded in agreement. “Yes, you are not as good an actor as Tom is, Hermione.”
“Excuse me for not making a living out of deceiving people,” Hermione growled and rose from the sofa. “I’ll go down to breakfast now, so I won’t have to risk people forcing me to lie about my whereabouts.”
She stormed out of the room.
“You shouldn’t provoke her, Tom,” Salazar said.
“My mere existence provokes her, it doesn’t matter what I say,” Tom remarked. “But I have no doubt you’ll teach her how to hide that.”
“Jealous, are we?”
Tom snorted. “Of the Mudblood? No. We may call her your other heir, but that’s just a formality. You’ll use her to get your precious serpent under control, after that she is just a breeding mare. I’m sure you’ll trick her into getting into a relationship as soon as you find some worthy pureblood. Perhaps arrange a few mishaps with whatever contraceptive potion she uses, and voila, the next heir is on its way, ready to be taught everything you have told Granger.”
He rose from the sofa, heading towards his private bathroom.
“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you, Tom,” Salazar said, making Tom pause. “You can be used as a breeding mare too.”
Tom laughed. “Yes, because sentimental as I am, I would of course do everything in my power to protect my offspring.”
Salazar didn’t respond to that and Tom continued to the bathroom, undressing before jumping into the shower. He knew Salazar would never dare to leave any children in Tom’s care. No, as soon as Granger got pregnant, Salazar would get rid of him.
Well, he would try to, at least.
xxx
Hermione left Riddle’s room in a dark mood. It had only been a week since she had found out who he really was, and she already had trouble keeping it to herself. She wanted to stand on top of the castle and scream it out. Hell, she wanted to push him down from the top of the castle and then scream it out!
But she couldn’t. Because the fate of the earth hung in the balance.
She had really tried to find out if Slytherin was lying, but all evidence suggested that he was telling the truth. Not that it was as much evidence as she would have liked. The only material she had was provided by Slytherin. Even though all her spells on it had checked out, she was aware that Slytherin knew magic no one else did. It was possible that he had forged the books and parchments.
However, she couldn’t understand why. Why would Slytherin do this, if he weren’t telling the truth? He never mentioned or complained about her Muggle background. She had tried to bait him a few times, but he had just frowned at her, and not responded. Instead, he was teaching her powerful spells that would help her control the Serpent of Midgard. Why would he do that if he and Voldemort were just going to use her? She had tried the spells on her own, and they did work.
“Hermione?” Ginny was standing at the end of the hallway and waved when she saw Hermione come closer.
“Good morning,” Hermione said. “On your way down to breakfast?”
“Yeah,” Ginny said, and glanced at the direction Hermione had come from. “Where have you been?”
Hermione mentally grimaced. “Just had to tell Tom a few things. He’ll be down later.”
Ginny frowned and they started to walk towards the kitchen. “You seem to be spending an awful lot of time with him. Something going on?”
Hermione really wished she could tell her. Ever since she had found out who Tom really was, she hadn’t really known how to talk to her friends. They would see that something was wrong if she said too much. Instead, she had pulled away a little. Not that it was too hard, since she and Ron still weren’t talking to each other. “No, just working with Hogwarts stuff.”
“Oh. He is a bit … peculiar, isn’t he?” Ginny said carefully.
Hermione became worried. Did Ginny know something? She had spent a lot of time with Tom Riddle’s diary after all. Was she recognising him?
“Maybe. In what way?”
Ginny shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable. “I don’t know. There’s just something about him … maybe I’m just a bit on edge around people who are that handsome and are named Tom.”
Hermione tried to laugh it off, but she had to admit her laugh sounded a bit forced. “He is a bit distant, I’ve noticed. Even though he is friendly, he always keeps a polite distance. Maybe he is a bit shy?”
“Maybe,” Ginny said, grimacing. “I just really don’t want any new problem now, after everything.”
“Yeah,” Hermione said, feeling a stab of guilt in her heart. None of them knew about the dangers the world was facing. Even if she could though, would she have told them? Somehow, it didn’t seem fair. After all these years of horror, they could finally start to heal. She didn’t want to take that away from them. If she managed to get the work done, there would be no reason for them to panic. It was not as if it were that dangerous. Slytherin had shown her several ways to make it to the bottom of the ocean without any harm. His family had done it for thousands of years, after all. As long as the serpent didn’t wake up, she was not in any danger. And neither were her friends.
Well, as long as Riddle didn’t cause any more problems. And she could bet everything she owned that he would. She would have to keep a really close eye on him. Thank Merlin that Slytherin was still there to control him. She didn’t dare to think what Riddle would do if something happened to Slytherin.
They reached the kitchen and found Harry there, eating with Neville and, to Hermione’s great delight, Luna. Ginny seemed equally pleased, because she rushed forward to hug their friend.
“Luna, how good to see you again! How have you been?” Hermione asked and hugged Luna as well, once Ginny had let go.
“Daddy has put up Dream Capturers around my bed to catch all the nightmares. I’m waiting for them to work any day now,” Luna said in her usual calm and relaxed way. Hermione noted that she did look tired, though. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her long dirty blond hair was looking even duller than usual. Regardless of that, she was dressed in a bright yellow robe and wearing a necklace of feathers in different colours. For Luna, it was a surprisingly tasteful necklace.
“You don’t feel like trying some Dreamless Sleep Potion?” Hermione asked. “We brewed a new batch just two days ago. I could get you some.”
“No, Dreamless Sleep Potions can disturb the Hidrians,” Luna replied. “Dad is trying to capture some, and I wouldn’t want to scare them away.”
“Well, if you want to try it when you come back to Hogwarts, just let me know,” Hermione said, not even bothering to ask what on earth a Hidrian was, or why Mr Lovegood would want to capture one.
Luna just nodded and turned back to the table. Ginny sat down next to her, and Hermione took a place at the opposite side of the table, next to Harry.
“Where is Ron?” Ginny asked and started to serve herself some porridge and pumpkin juice.
“McGonagall wanted to talk to all of us about what we wanted to do now that the school is to remain open,” Harry said. “Something about getting honour grades from the Ministry, so we won’t have to take our N.E.W.T’s.”
Hermione looked at him in shock. “We can’t take our N.E.W.T’s?” But she still had so much to learn! She had missed so much already!
Harry smiled at her. “I’m sure we can, if we want to. But some of us don’t feel like going back to school.”
“Oh,” Hermione said, frowning. She had sort of hoped that everything would get back to normal between her, Harry and Ron once school began and they resumed their pre-war everyday routine. But maybe this was for the best. If Harry and Ron weren’t here, she didn’t need to worry about Riddle harming them because of what they had done to his old self. It didn’t matter what Salazar said, Hermione knew Riddle could be patient and sneaky.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’d want to stay either,” Neville said. “I mean, the only class I’m really good at is Herbology, and I think I’d rather focus only on that. Gran sent some owls on my behalf, you know, inquiries, and every Herbology Master she owled said they would be thrilled to have me.” His expression was a mixture of pride and the uncomfortable puzzlement of someone who still didn’t realise their true potential.
“Of course they would,” Hermione said, encouragingly. “You are really talented at Herbology.”
“Not to mention, you are a war hero too,” Ginny said, with a wink.
Neville laughed, looking even more uncomfortable. “Yeah, but I don’t want to take advantage of that, you know…”
“I think it’s safe to say that you have earned every benefit you can get from here on,” Hermione remarked.
“Yes, we all have,” Ginny agreed.
A moment of silence fell over the table. Hermione knew they were all trying not to think about what exactly they had done to earn the peace they now had. No doubt they were all failing as miserably as she was.
“Good morning.”
Hermione held back a groan when Riddle suddenly appeared.
“Mind if I squeeze in?”
Hermione minded very much, but Neville immediately made room for him and Riddle sat down next to Neville and Luna.
“Oh, hello, I don’t think I’ve met you yet,” Riddle said politely to Luna, stretching out a hand for her. “I’m Tom Dolder.”
Luna grasped his hand and stared at him with the same mild, unimpressed eyes she always had. “Hello. I’m Luna Lovegood. You don’t go to Hogwarts.”
Riddle looked a little surprised by her statement. “No, I’m from Sweden. I just came here to help after the war.”
“That’s nice. I like Sweden. My father and I were there a few summers ago, trying to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.”
Hermione expected Riddle to look confused and readied herself for scolding him if he started to laugh at Luna. Therefore, she was very surprised when Riddle looked thoughtful.
“I tried to find one too, when I was younger,” he said.
The whole table stared at him, and only Luna didn’t stare in disbelief.
Riddle smiled at them. “Oh, I know many wizards believe that they are a myth. If they have even heard of them, that is. But I like to keep an open mind. I’d hate to miss something fantastic just because it’s improbable.”
Luna nodded in agreement. Hermione glanced around the table. Neville and Harry seemed mostly confused, but Ginny’s eyes were narrowed, as if she were trying to figure out if Riddle was ridiculing her friend or not. Hermione wondered the same thing.
“But the writings concerning the Crumple-Horned Snorkack are quite vague. In myths, elves rode on them. The smallest kind, that is, Leaf-elves. But those aren’t around now either, so it’s hard to ask them. They died out after the Great War of Magical Beings in Scandinavia. Maybe the Crumple-Horned Snorkack died out with them?”
“My father met someone who had seen them,” Luna stated, but she didn’t seem to be annoyed with Riddle at all. Then again, Luna rarely became annoyed.
“Then you’ll have to tell me if you find them,” Riddle said with a smile. “Stranger things have happened. I know for a fact that Heliopaths are real, even though most wizards believe they are a myth as well.”
“Yes, Minister Fudge had an army of them,” Luna said.
Riddle frowned. “I don’t know if I’ve heard about that. But they were the guardians of the rulers of Great Zimbabwe.”
“Oh? How do you know that?” Luna asked, once again looking mildly interested in Riddle.
“My father studied that civilisation before he passed away,” Riddle answered. “I’d like to visit the ruins when I’m older.”
“Maybe my father would be interested in doing a reportage about it,” Luna mused. “I think I’ll Owl him about it.”
“I can give you the names of some books on the topic, if you’d like,” Riddle offered.
Hermione watched them as Riddle got some parchment and started to scribble down some titles while talking to Luna. What was he playing at? Hadn’t Salazar just told him to stop acting like himself?
Okay, so helpful was certainly not something Tom Riddle was, but he was clever. Should he really show off like that? Or was he already trying to make a name for himself as a partying womaniser?
Hermione felt her belly tighten in fear. She did not want Luna to fall for Riddle. Luna would be left heartbroken!
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Serpent of the World