All the Time in the World

Chapter Twenty Two

"I'm Tom Riddle," said Tom, holding out his hand, watching the discomfiture of the three. He judged it was time he made them sweat.

"Harry Potter," the boy with the glasses shook his hand, though Tom had seen the hesitation. He really did have the most brilliant emerald eyes. Slytherin green, thought Tom, before the boy dropped his eyes and Tom's hand.

"Ronald Weasley," the auburn haired boy said.

"Hermione Granger," said the girl.

Neither of them attempted to shake hands, confining themselves to nods. The names did cause Tom to frown. There were Potters and Weasleys amongst the pure-bloods, but Tom had still not heard of any Granger. The Weasleys he knew were all red-heads, and this boy's hair was auburn. But that was a minor point.

"Are you new to Hogwarts? I don't recall seeing you before." And Tom never forgot a face. Never. He wanted to remember every single person he ever met so he could adequately reward or punish them when he attained his goals. The day would not be far, he thought. His research had convinced him that the Chamber of Secrets did exist. All he had to do now was to find where his noble ancestor had hidden it and how it had to be accessed. Tom had combed almost every inch of the castle in the last two years, to no avail. But maybe this year, he would be lucky. He had a feeling he was missing something vital, some clue. He gave an inward shrug. Time enough for that later.

"We are new," spoke the girl. "We were being homeschooled."

"And now your parents decided to send you to Hogwarts?" Tom had heard better stories. He wondered why people bothered making up stories that were so blatantly false. If they did not want to tell him anything, fine. But such a bad lie? It was almost amusing.

"My parents are dead." The green eyes were grim and the voice was harsh. "And Professor Dumbledore, he thought it's better if I attended Hogwarts now... He's one of my trustees."

Oh. So that story wasn't false. Or the green-eyed boy was too good a liar. But he was Dumbledore's protégé, and Dumbledore was, unquestionably, Tom's least favourite teacher.

The man could teach. Even Tom had to concede that. But he just seemed too suspicious of Tom. Tom never liked him, had mistrusted him from the day he'd come to his house to explain to his father and him about Hogwarts and about the wizarding world. Tom's father was not happy, but Dumbledore had convinced him. Tom supposed he should be grateful, but he was too wary of the man to feel grateful.

Dumbledore just seemed too suspicious of Tom. In the first excitement of learning he was a wizard, Tom had blurted out a few things that he should not have. Though Dumbledore showed no reaction, Tom had seen the shock on his father's face. He was probably thinking of the time when Tom's math teacher had just collapsed, clutching his head, after he'd given Tom a detention. And the time when Steve Desmond, the baker's boy had inexplicably, fallen down a ditch and broken his arm the day after he'd slung some mud over Tom's new uniform. His father never asked him about the incidents, though Tom felt that he'd told Dumbledore about them. There had to be a reason behind Dumbledore's watchfulness around him.

Well, Tom hoped Dumbledore's new pets would not end up in Slytherin. Though it might be a slap in the face for his teacher if they did. But Tom did not want them anywhere near him. They might be spies, for all he knew.

If they were, he knew how to make them pay. And pay they would, and Dumbledore would not even know what happened to his pets.