𝐀 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 ║Tom Riddle ✔ [EDITING]

Chapter Seventy-Six: How To Be A Failure 101

"WELCOME!! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!!" Headmaster Dippet booms, his grin infectious. My eyes wander around the professor's table and land on my cousin.

Bright blue eyes twinkled behind half-moon spectacles. He gives me a wink, and I smile. I hadn't seen him all summer for some reason. He was a no-show, considering he told me to stay with Aberforth the whole summer. Not that I minded. I adored my cousin.

I see Dumbledore move towards the new first years, and he places the hat on the stool. The hat opens its mouth, and it starts to sing. Abby and I stare at each, grinning in preparation.

A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet-

"HUFFLEPUFF!!!" Abby and I scream in tune with the song. Everyone turns to stare at us like we're demented, but the Sorting Hat ignores us.

- from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues

In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For-

"HUFFLEPUFF!!" We scream again, making the Hufflepuffs around us burst into giggles. Other houses were grinning at us in amusement and Dippet was trying hard not to laugh, trying to seem disapproving.

-hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,

I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!

We all burst into whooping cheers, clapping hard for the Sorting hat after it finished its song. Albus sends me an amused look and then starts to call names.

I tuned out a bit, clapping for everyone new who was sorted into our house, my eyes were locked on Hagrid's massive form near the back. He meets my eyes, and I wave, sending him a smile.

The nervous expression on his face eases slightly, and he waves back.

"Rebeus Hagrid," Albus calls up Hagrid's name and the enormous eleven-year-old goes to sit on the stool.

Only to break it in half.

"Nooooo..... Hagrid." I say, sadness in my heart for how red he'd gotten and how everyone had burst out laughing.

Abby must've been annoyed by the bullying as well because the next thing I know is that myself and two other people around Abby fall off of their seats because she had just let out the loudest scream in the history of screams. Then she proceeds to shout at everyone.

"IF ANYONE LAUGHS AGAIN I'LL RIP OUT THEIR TONGUES AND FEED THEM TO THE GIANT SQUID IN THE BLACK LAKE!!"

"ABIGAIL DIGGORY!!! YOU SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME!!" I screech, smacking her shoulder and glaring at her, arms on my waist in annoyance.

"She jumped so high, I thought she had suddenly been taught to fly." Chris points at us, laughing his arse off. He and Claude were enjoying themselves greatly by laughing at my expense.

"AHHEM!" Dippet shouts, quieting us all down, with an amused look in our direction. Albus had fixed the stool again and decided to let Hagrid simply stand for his sorting.

Albus places the sorting hat on Hagrid's head, and it takes a while for the hat to come to a decision. I realized that Hagrid was probably talking to the hat. Abby and I stare at each other, silently wondering if everything was okay.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Everyone is silent. I think all the blood had left my face. "Oh, shite!" I hiss at myself. What had happened? Why had it changed? Why wasn't he in Gryffindor!?? What the hell did I do!!? I groan, slapping my forehead to the table.

Slowly the Slytherins start to clap, greeting the half-giant into their house. Oh my gosh, he was going to get killed. My head whips around to look at Riddle, who was glaring at Hagrid with such intense hate, I was surprised Hagrid hadn't combusted yet.

"Don't you dare." I hiss at him, making those black eyes turn on me.

I stand up and start to cheer, all the while glaring at Tom challengingly. Abby stands and does the same, and soon, Pan, Greta, Claude and everyone else are also standing with us, clapping and cheering for Hagrid.

His embarrassed state lessens with our support, and he smiles, moving to sit on the edge of the Slytherin tables.

"Tom, you tell your house that anyone who isn't a hundred percent nice to that poor boy will be killed by me." I hiss into his head.

"What's the brute to you?" He scowls, and I raise a brow.

"I've just met him, you fool." I lie. "But I'm not going to let anyone get bullied."

"What's it to me?"

"I won't teach you how to make spells if you don't help me."

He glares at me threateningly, and I simply cock my head to the side.

"Fine. He'll join my ranks. You happy?" He hisses, eyes blazing. My answering grin is situated directly at him, and I notice how his tense stance relaxes slightly, his eyes softening.

"Yup." I sing into his head, making him roll his eyes.

Everyone watches in stunned silence as Tom charmingly asks Hagrid to sit beside him, his fake smile on point. The second Tom took that step, all the snide remarks and the mean glares instantly stopped.

Avery, Mulciber, Rosier and Nott and turn to glare at me, knowing instantly that I was behind Tom's irrational behaviour.

Abby sees this and gives me a look, staring at me knowingly. "What did you say to Tom?" She chuckles through her question.

I grin, sending her a wink.

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."

― Robert A. Heinlein