Middle Name

After class, Tom, clutching his textbooks, prepared to head to the library for research. He turned a corner and stopped in an empty corridor. With a subtle eye-roll, he turned around, a fake smile plastered on his face as he looked at the people following him. "Avery, Rosier, what do you two want with me?"

Avery nudged his companion with his elbow, chin held high. "Evan, do you think the Sorting Hat's gone senile? Putting a pauper like this into Slytherin?"

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Evan couldn't quite understand his friend's train of thought. Why did this guy insist on bothering a half-blood so tirelessly? He'd rather play Quidditch with Radolphus Lestrange if he had this much free time!

"You scoundrel!" Avery shoved his friend, who was ignoring him, in annoyance. Pouting, he drew his wand and pointed it at the damned half-blood. "Be sensible and get out of Slytherin yourself! Otherwise, I'll hit you with a curse!"

Tom pursed his lips tightly, his own wand appearing in his hand with a flicker of irritation. "Cheering Charm!" The Tickling Charm landed precisely on Avery. Tom watched coldly as Avery threw up his hands in surrender, while Evan looked like he had nothing to do with it. "Can I go now?"

Evan shrugged. He wasn't stopping him from leaving, was he? He helped up the idiot who was laughing until he cried. "Haa... You really cause me trouble. Professor Merrythought taught Riddle quite a few spells in private, why bother~"

Feeling like he was going to die laughing, Avery clutched his aching stomach and punched the bastard who was enjoying the show. "Hospital Wing... haha... sob... I'm going to die..."

Tom put his wand away and watched the two students leave. As he turned to go, he smelled that familiar floral scent again. He glanced back, but there was nothing there. He narrowed his eyes, deciding to go to the library first. He needed to research Slytherin thoroughly.

He found several history books on the shelves and settled into a nearby empty seat, beginning to browse their contents.

'Parseltongue is the mark of Salazar Slytherin. The Slytherin family hails from the swamp and left behind a locket engraved with an 'S', which eventually belonged to the Gaunt family... Slytherin's wand core is Basilisk horn. This wand can enter a dormant state upon receiving special instructions...'

As Tom was reading intently, his nose twitched. A long, pale finger appeared in his line of sight, pointing at the 'Gaunt family' section. The moment Tom looked up, he adopted an obedient expression. "Prefect Malfoy, is there something you need?"

Abraxas casually picked up a book and flipped through it, a faint smile on his face as he didn't answer. This little one... it seems he's curious about his own origins. He wouldn't be mistaken, Riddle's middle name was Marvolo.

A descendant of the Gaunt family? Should he give a hint? But wouldn't that spoil the fun?

Abraxas smiled and leaned down, whispering into Tom's ear, "Little Tom... next time, remember to hide your impatience... it's very obvious~"

After straightening up and glancing at Tom's pale pink earlobes, Abraxas's indifferent grey eyes were filled with amusement. He reached out and tapped his own ear. "You're cute when you're shy... But... don't act like this in front of others..."

Tom desperately wanted to scold the senior for his strange sense of humor, but recalling things he'd heard in the past few days, he forced himself to suppress his temper. He couldn't understand why the heir of the Malfoy family would be interested in him, a mere orphan.