Tom returned his attention to the book, his eyes flickering. He needed to find records about the Gaunt family. Just as he was about to get up and search for other books, he caught a flash of red from the corner of his eye and sat back down with a fake smile.
"Hey! I finally got a chance to talk to you. I didn't expect you to end up in Slytherin~" Ian cheerfully greeted his friend, then pulled his new friend over by the arm and sat across from Tom. "He's my roommate~ Mickey Milkovich!"
The two exchanged names upon their first meeting and chatted quietly for a few moments before Tom steered the topic toward the Gaunt family. "Do you know who belongs to that family?"
Mickey frowned. As a pure-blood, he had heard some rumors. "That family is full of violent, paranoid lunatics. Marvolo Gaunt and his son, Morfín Gaunt, attacked Ministry of Magic officials and ended up in Azkaban. Not long after they got out, that old madman died."
Seeing the disgusted looks on their faces, Tom's eyes darkened. He was not sure whether those people were truly his relatives. "Are they... really descendants of Slytherin?"
With an expression that said it was obvious, Ian nodded his little head. "Of course. In the entire wizarding world, they're the only ones who can speak Parseltongue... But enough about that. How are things in Slytherin, Tom? Want to come to the kitchen with us?"
Tom chuckled softly, marveling inwardly that the two really were Hufflepuffs—they had found the kitchen so quickly. "You go ahead. I still need to read for a while. Headmaster Slughorn assigned an essay, and I need to look up some material."
Ian clutched his head in pain, practically kneeling before the academic genius. He would rather soak himself in potions than read those massive tomes! "It's such a pity you didn't go to Ravenclaw. All right~ We're going to meet up with the Fat Friar. Our house ghost is very kind~ Much better than the Bloody Baron..."
Listening helplessly to the little badger's complaints, Tom covered his mouth and pointed behind them. "Good luck~" He picked up his books and stood to leave, glancing at the house ghost behind them, its body marked with black bloodstains and dragging chains. Hmm... he could understand why the Bloody Baron was unpopular with young wizards.
After spending the entire afternoon in the library, Tom was completely certain of his identity. Excitement stirred in his heart. Those arrogant fools kept babbling about pure blood, yet he was the purest bloodline in Slytherin!
He truly looked forward to the day when those people would crawl at his feet and offer their loyalty to the filthy half-blood they had once scorned.
Tom imagined the scene and laughed aloud in delight. He wanted to become the greatest wizard in the world, but he could not do it alone... He would need some helpers. His eyes flickered as he thought of the two classmates he had met today.
Stupid pure-bloods. As long as he displayed his talent and strength, shattered their pride, and made them realize the gap between them, wouldn't he easily gain two followers? Just like the two brainless fat boys trailing behind Prefect Malfoy.
The next day, no matter what class he was in, Tom always finished the professors' assignments first. Even when brewing potions alone, he was no exception. This caught Slughorn's attention.
Standing quietly beside Tom, Professor Slughorn saw the faint silvery-white steam and smiled as he lightly clapped his palms. "A perfect result! Tom~ You've earned five points for Slytherin!"
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