Middle Name

After class, Tom clutched his textbooks and headed for the library to look up some information. He turned a corner and stopped in an empty corridor, discreetly rolling his eyes before turning around with a fake smile. "Avery, Rosier, what do you two want with me?"

Avery raised his chin and nudged his companion with an elbow. "Evan, do you think the Sorting Hat has gone senile? It actually sorted a poor bastard like this into Slytherin?"

Evan rolled his eyes helplessly. He truly did not understand his friend's way of thinking. Why did this guy insist on tirelessly picking on a half-blood? With that time, Evan would rather play broomstick with Radolphus Lestrange!

"You bastard!" Avery shoved his friend in embarrassment and irritation when Evan ignored him. Puffing up angrily, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the damned half-blood. "Get out of Slytherin yourself if you know what's good for you! Otherwise, I'll hit you with a nasty curse!"

Tom pressed his lips tightly together and, growing irritated, pulled out his wand as well. "Cheering Charm!" The Tickling Charm struck Avery squarely. Tom stared coldly at Evan, who had raised his hands in surrender with an expression of complete detachment. "Can I go now?"

Evan shrugged. He had not stopped Tom from leaving, had he? He helped up the idiot who was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. "Ha... you really know how to cause trouble. Professor Merrythought has privately taught Riddle quite a few spells. Why bother~"

Feeling as though he was about to laugh himself to death, Avery clutched his aching stomach and punched the bastard who was enjoying the show. "Hospital Wing... hahaha... urgh... I'm dying..."

Tom put away his wand and watched the two classmates leave. The instant he turned to go, he smelled that familiar floral fragrance again. He looked back, but there was nothing there. Narrowing his eyes, he decided to head to the library first. He needed to properly research matters related to Slytherin.

After picking several history books off the shelves, Tom found an empty seat nearby. Once seated, he began reading through their contents.

'Parseltongue was Salazar Slytherin's hallmark. The Slytherin family came from the marshes and left behind a locket engraved with an "S," which eventually came into the possession of the Gaunt family... Slytherin's wand had a Basilisk horn core. Upon receiving a special command, this wand could enter a dormant state...'

As Tom read intently, his nose twitched. A long, fair finger appeared in his field of vision, pointing directly at the words "Gaunt family." The moment Tom looked up, he put on an obedient expression. "Prefect Malfoy, is something wrong?"

Abraxas casually picked up the book and flipped through it. With a faint smile on his lips, he did not answer. This little fellow... it seemed he was curious about his own background. If Abraxas remembered correctly, Riddle's middle name was Marvolo.

A descendant of the Gaunt family? Should he give him a hint? But then, wouldn't that take away much of the fun?

Abraxas smiled and bent down, whispering softly into the other boy's ear. "Little Tom... next time, remember to hide the impatience in your eyes... it's very obvious~"

After straightening up, Abraxas glanced at the pale pink earlobe. His indifferent gray eyes brimmed with amusement as he reached out and tapped his own ear. "You look cute when you're shy too~ But... don't be like that in front of other people..."

Tom desperately wanted to loudly condemn this prefect's wicked sense of humor, but recalling what he had heard over the past few days, he forcibly swallowed his temper. He could not understand why the heir of House of Malfoy would be interested in a mere orphan like him.