You Shouldn't Have Come

Tom wasn't in a hurry. He turned to Ron. "Weasley, put yourself in someone else's shoes."

"Suppose you challenged another pure-blood family to a duel in the name of the Weasley family, then chickened out and ran away. If your parents found out, what would they do?"

Ron immediately pictured the scenario Tom had described. In just two seconds, his face had gone deathly pale.

He stammered, "If I dared do something like that, Mum would definitely send me a Howler and yell at me in front of everyone in the Great Hall."

"Percy would never stop saying I'd brought shame on the family; those two bastards, George and Fred, would prank me for an entire term. They might even secretly change my surname to 'Coward'..."

The more Ron said, the more frightened he became, until his voice was trembling.

Even if the Weasleys were poor, they were still pure-bloods and took their family's honor very seriously. If Mrs. Weasley found out he'd challenged someone to a duel and then chickened out, she might really cut him out of the family tree.

Smack! Tom slammed his hand on the table. The three of them jumped, but he looked pleased with himself. "See? Now you get it."

"Last night's duel was Malfoy's scheme, but the fact remains that he was the one who challenged Potter, and then he was too scared to show up. There's no excuse that can change that."

"If this gets out, you might lose a few points at most, but he'll have disgraced the Malfoy family! They're a distinguished pure-blood family. They can't afford to lose face."

"If Old Malfoy finds out, he'll give him a thrashing when he gets home. He might even rip out his platinum-blond hair. Either way, you've got nothing to lose, right?"

Harry and Ron nodded in unison, their eyes lighting up. Ron had even started imagining Old Malfoy beating Malfoy, and the more he thought about it, the more satisfying it seemed.

But his excitement lasted less than two seconds before Harry's expression fell again. "But if this gets out and we lose points, what will the other students think of us?"

He trailed off and stole a glance at Hermione, clearly worried the top student would look down on him.

Hermione frowned, deep in thought. She couldn't shake the feeling that Tom was using Harry and Ron as pawns. If this came out, Slytherin would lose points too. What was he after?

She couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried, and didn't even respond to Harry's hint.

"How shallow, Potter, you're so shallow!" Tom shook his head like some kind of fortune-teller. "Don't obsess over those stupid points. They'll warp people's efforts!"

"What do you think Gryffindor cares about most?" he asked, deliberately keeping them in suspense.

"Glory, and the House Cup," Harry blurted out.

"Wrong! Completely wrong!" Tom slapped the table again, raising his voice. "What Gryffindor cares about most is face! It's about making a good impression!"

"Losing points isn't scary. If you lose them for something important, like protecting a fellow student or fighting Dark Magic, people will see you as a hero. But if you get caught breaking rules over petty nonsense, that's when they'll laugh at you."

"You'd be losing points to defend the honor of the Potter family and keep Slytherin from bullying you. People will only envy you. How cool is that? You'd be the center of attention."

"And with Malfoy chickening out, it'll mean Slytherin is afraid of Gryffindor. Then people won't just envy you; the whole school will worship you. You'll have beaten the arrogant Slytherins!"

Ron's face flushed as he listened. He was breathing heavily, his eyes blazing. This was his first chance to stand out. How could he let it pass?

"Harry..." He looked at Harry with longing in his eyes.

Harry's heart was pounding too. Tom had almost convinced him, but he still had a little sense left. "I'll think it over carefully, Riddle. Oh, and you can call me Harry. Don't call me Potter; it's too formal."

"Me too! Call me Ron. There are too many Weasleys at school!" Ron immediately chimed in. By now, he already thought of Tom as a brother from another mother.

"Sure, Harry, Ron. You can just call me Tom." Tom smiled, secretly delighted. The fish were almost taking the bait.

"This really does involve some risk, so it's right to think it over carefully. I promise I won't let what happened last night slip out." He thumped his chest to assure them.

The two nodded gratefully, their wariness completely gone.

"One last thing: everything has a time limit. If you wait too long to expose this, it won't have the same effect. Once you've made up your minds, act quickly. Don't drag your feet."

"All right, I'm off to eat. If I don't hurry, there won't be any roast chicken legs left. See you." Tom stood and left briskly, giving the two no chance to change their minds.

After he left, only a hesitant Harry, an eager Ron, and a pensive Hermione remained.

Tom knew exactly how things stood. The bait was out, and the fish would take it.

Harry might be a reckless Gryffindor, but he could be shrewd on occasion. Perhaps he could resist the urge to get revenge. Ron, however, couldn't. Someone who'd been overlooked for years was desperate to stand out, and he'd never pass up this opportunity.

Tom only had to wait and enjoy the show.

Potions Class soon rolled around. Snape still had no idea Slytherin was about to suffer a blow to its reputation, and was still happily picking on Harry, finding fault with everything he did.

To make himself even happier, he split Harry and Ron up, assigning Neville as Harry's partner. With those two idiots together, Gryffindor's points were as good as gone.

Snape only had to stand behind them for Harry to feel uncomfortable. Neville was even more nervous, unable to hold his wand steady.

On top of that, Neville had a terrible memory. The potion he brewed was a black, bubbling mess, and even Snape couldn't tell what it was supposed to be.

"Wasting school property, not paying attention in class, ignoring instructions." Snape's expression was blank. "Gryffindor, minus ten points!"

He then cheerfully announced that class was over, without even glancing at Tom. To him, Tom was just an unremarkable Muggle-born wizard.

Harry dejectedly packed up his cauldron when Malfoy's taunt reached his ears. "Potter, you and Longbottom ought to be stuck together for good."

"With you two around, Potions Class will never run out of cautionary examples. You're a disgrace to Gryffindor!"

Crabbe and Goyle snickered stupidly beside him, making Ron tremble with anger.

Harry said nothing. He exchanged a look with Ron, and sparks seemed to flare in both their eyes. They nodded firmly.

They'd do it! Even if they lost points, they'd make Malfoy pay!

A person fought for a breath, while a Buddha fought for a stick of incense.

Ever since the train ride, Malfoy had been like an annoying flea, constantly pestering and taunting Harry. Even though Harry didn't want to cause trouble, this time he was thoroughly enraged.

Even if they both ended up worse off, he'd teach Malfoy a painful lesson.

Harry shot Malfoy a cold look, then hurried back to the dormitory with Ron, ready to spread the word that Malfoy had chickened out.

As for Tom, Daphne had gone with her roommates for afternoon tea, while he returned to the Slytherin dormitory with his roommates.

As soon as they entered, Nott, Rosier, and Zabini sprang into action, moving like seasoned professionals.

Nott set out chairs, Rosier wiped the table and fetched snacks, while Zabini tossed his schoolbag aside and went to serve tea.

According to Tom, theirs was a dorm full of love, where everyone helped each other: the three of them looked after him, and he made sure no one bullied them.

"Riddle, freshly brewed tea. Careful, it's hot." Zabini ingratiatingly set the tea down in front of Tom.

Tom kept his eyes on his book and gave only a quiet "Mm," as if it were all perfectly natural.