Tom stirred up at sound of the birds chirping and the heat of the sunlight on his face. As he fluttered open his eyes, his first view was Harry sleeping soundly on the bed beside him. He stood up from his bed and reached Harry's bed. His shirt was off and Tom could see the scars on his hands, which were hanging out of the cover. He frowned and had a close look at them. The scars had a pattern, it almost read...'freak'? Then he proceeded to the next set of scars. He figured out that it made up another set of letters...'whore'. It sickened him a bit. He stood up straight and walked out of the room.
His teeth gritted automatically in hatred for the muggles Harry lived with. He too lived with muggles, they too teased and taunted him; but they had never tried to hurt him physically. They didn't torture him. For once again the same question arrived in his mind; did Dumbledore really wanted to kill him? Did Dumbledore really use Harry for his own advantage? As he walked through the hallways, a large figure appeared in his view. He looked up from his feet to find Dumbledore walking in his way.
"Good morning, Tom. Up so early?" Dumbledore asked in his polite voice.
"Good morning, Professor. I was just thinking about something." Tom said giving his cheerful smile to him.
"Ah, as usual. Always something or the other going on in that intelligent brain of yours, isn't it? Anyway, I wanted to talk about something to you; something important."
Tom's ears perked up, reflexively. He has heard a lot against the old man to completely trust him right now. His mind started working at its usual high speed.
"Yes, Professor," Tom said without faltering his smile.
"Well, I was thinking about the place I have mentioned to you a few weeks ago. Now, that you know that Mr. Potter can speak parseltongue, which I don't know how, you have to make your way there a bit faster. Or other students may steal the golden opportunity." Dumbledore said with a smile; his eyes glinting with an evil smirk.
Tom's eyes narrowed. "Professor, can you tell me something more about the chamber? What is so special about the chamber?" Tom asked cautiously.
"I myself don't know, dear boy. You need to open it to know about the place." Dumbledore said nodding and smiling.
Tom didn't have to ask anymore to know how much eager Dumbledore was to open the Chamber of Secrets. He just nodded and smiled. "Of course, sir," Tom added.
As soon as Dumbledore left, he ran back to his dorm. The only person that can and will answer his questions is Harry Potter.
When he entered the dorm, Harry was still sleeping. He hesitated for a bit before shaking him up.
Harry woke up with a start. He got up on his elbows and looked around frantically owlishly. When he spotted the blurry figure beside his bed, he rubbed his eyes to wipe off the sleep from his eyes. He couldn't pin point the person. He stretched to his side and reached for his glasses on the bedside table. His muscles were still feeling a bit weak from the sudden wake. As he went to pick up his glasses, he accidentally knocked it from the table.
"Damn," Harry muttered.
"I'll get it." Tom said bending and picking up his glasses. He put the glasses on Harry's nose for him.
"Thank you," Harry nodded, smiling.
"Sorry, I woke you up, but I had to ask you something." Tom started.
"It's okay; what did you have to ask?" Harry asked frowning.
"Harry, what do you exactly know about the Chamber of Secrets?" Tom asked.
Harry frowned for a minute before his eyes went wide. "Tom, did Dumbledore somehow ask you to open it?" he asked cautiously.
Tom thought for a second, contemplating whether to reveal anything or not; bit then he decided on the former. He nodded. "Yes, he did ask me to open it. What's so dangerous and secretive about the place that Dumbledore himself doesn't want to talk about it openly?" Tom asked.
"Tom, it's not a place that you just open and visit. If you open it, then it'll wreak havoc in the school!" Harry explained.
"Harry, what is in there that you all are so afraid of? Have you been in there?" Tom asked again.
Harry stared at his face for a minute; with wide and fearful eyes. He knew that he couldn't stop him without giving away any information about the place. He took a deep breath and started. "Yes, I've been there before. I know every single detail about the place. Tom, you should know that it was the place that Salazar Slytherin had made it as a last resort to save the wizarding world, if muggles somehow happen to attack us. There's a thing—or creature that was assigned the job."
"What creature?"
"A basilisk," Harry saw Tom's eyes widen. "Yeas, a basilisk; it can petrify and kill people with its eyes. It's a monster, Tom; and it only follows the order of the heir of the Slytherin; which is you. It won't listen to any one else; even if they can speak its language." Harry finished.
Tom was sitting there with wide eyes. His mouth was hanging open.
"And, that's the reason; we don't want you to open that shitty place." Draco piped up from beside Harry's bed.
"Then how come you are alive?" Tom asked with amazement in his eyes.
"Phoenix tears," Harry said lifting his sleeve and pointing a particular scar.
"What, you were bitten by that humongous snake?" Draco asked his eyes wide.
Harry just shrugged. "Unfortunately, didn't die of course."
Draco got up and slapped Harry on his head. "Ouch!"
"I've told you not to speak like that, Scar face!" Draco scolded.
"Harry, what's that scar on your forehead?" Tom asked reaching out and tracing the scar.
Again they felt the heat pass through their body and his scar tingle a bit. Tom snatched away his hand.
Harry and Draco just looked at Tom with a blank expression for a second before they looked away. Tom looked at them for a bit frowning. "What?" he asked.
Harry shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it right now. But, please don't try to open the chamber." Harry pleaded.
"Could you come with me, if I open the chamber of secrets?" Tom asked directly.
Harry stared at him in confusion. "Why do you want to want me to come with you?"
"As you have been there before, I won't ask how, because I know you won't tell me; but you would know about the place. You could help me with that." Tom reasoned.
"You want me to help you to bring that monster out of the place and kill people?" Harry asked agitatedly.
"No, I just want to visit the place. Will the basilisk be out of the chamber as soon as I open the place?" Tom asked.
"No, you need to summon it." Harry said still looking a bit raged. "Why do you want to visit the place if you don't want to release the basilisk?" Harry asked sceptically.
Tom laughed a bit; to both Harry and Draco's amazement. "Why do you assume that I always want to kill somebody?" Tom asked smirking.
Draco gave a breathy laugh. "You have no idea, Tom."
"What do you mean?" Tom asked frowning.
"I'll come with you." Harry spoke up.
Tom turned to Harry and nodded in acknowledgement. He then got up to leave, but Harry held his hand. "You promise, that you won't summon the basilisk; because if you do I'll not hesitate to kill it." Harry asked with raised eyebrows.
Tom ignored the heat; and shot his eyebrows up as well. "You'll kill the basilisk?" Tom asked.
"You doubt me?" Harry asked cocking his head.
Tom just shook his head smiling. "I promise I won't summon the basilisk." He said and walked away.
"He definitely doubts you. But, I too doubt him. How can you trust him? What if he does summon the monster?" Draco said raising his voice a bit.
"As I said, I won't hesitate to kill it. I can still take out the Gryffindor's sword; even if I'm in Slytherin." Harry said smirking.
Draco sighed in amusement. "Yeah, I know, the great Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived; blah, blah, blah." He was hit with a pillow. "What, I'm saying the truth!"
"Whatever, Malfoy," Harry said smirking.
Tom tilted his head in confusion as he straightened from the dorm door. "The-Boy-Who-Lived; what is that supposed to mean? And he can take out the Gryffindor's sword from the sorting hat?" he muttered to himself as he walked away from the dorm and to the common room. He had decided to ask him every detail about him. He doesn't always disappoints him; so he decided that he would ask him politely first. But he will do it after he had opened the Chamber of Secrets.
There was definitely something weird about the whole group. They have been here to Hogwarts before, but he doesn't know them a bit. Harry has opened the chamber of secrets, bitten by the basilisk and is still alive. He was also called the 'great Harry Potter', which has definitely a meaning behind it. And there was something special about the scar on his forehead. So, basically Harry Potter was the weirdest member of the group. And as Tom's mind works, he gets easily attracted towards the weirdest things; which he was towards Harry now.
Draco and Harry were walking through the Hallway to go to the Great Hall for lunch. Suddenly they heard some people bickering inside a class. They peeked inside.
"I told you not to interfere in whatever we do. Let us do whatever we were doing and we'll leave you on your own." A boy said holding a girl's collar of her school robes. There was another boy standing beside him.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Harry demanded.
"You stay out of this, boy. This is our matter." The boy said.
"No, they were—"the girl started.
"I said shut up!" the clutched her collar even tighter.
Draco's gaze shifted to the other guy, he was looking a bit pale and scared; and was also holding two wands. It didn't take him much time to figure out that one of the wands was the girl's. An idea came to his mind.
"Hey, what are you doing with her, live her alone." Draco demanded in a high voice.
"You stay out of this; I said. Leave us alone." The other guy stated in a much lower voice. He saw the girl looked at the boy and his hands holding the wands. She suddenly stretched her hand and yanked her wand out of the guy's hand.
"Expelliurmus," she muttered and two wands flew to her; as she caught them.
Harry and Draco both whipped their wands out and pointed at the two boys.
"What were you doing?" Harry demanded and stepped forward.
"N-nothing you'd care." One of the boy stuttered.
"Oh, really; should I tell them?" the girl asked cocking her head to the side.
"No; don't you dare!" the other boy shouted.
"Oh, never mind, they were just smuggling fire whiskey and cigarettes into the school. They are just in their third year. I don't find any other reason behind it of making such a big issue out of it. But thank you by the way." The girl said dismissing.
"But how did they get your wand?" Draco asked.
"They tricked me. When I saw them, one of them acted as though he fainted and when I went there to check him, they stole my wand." She said.
"Hey, you guys, get out of here. If I see you for another second over here, then I'm going to speak with Professor Dippet." Harry said threateningly.
They two boys grabbed their wands from his hands and ran away into the corridor. Harry looked around and found four bottles of fire whiskey and few boxes of cigarettes lying on the floor.
"They are ours now. I don't find any other owner over here." Harry said grabbing the bottles and boxes.
"Wicked, eh?" the girl asked smirking.
Harry just shrugged. "I'm in Slytherin for a reason." Harry smirked back.
Draco on the other hand was taking in the beauty of the girl he just helped. "Hey, what's your name?" he asked.
"Oh, sorry; hi, I'm Roxanne; and you are?" the girl asked.
"I'm Draco." Draco said smiling. Then an idea popped into his head. "Um, I was thinking if we could go out somewhere?"
Roxanne's eyebrows shot up. Well, Harry too had a similar kind of reaction, but he looked a bit smug. She tilted her head and smirked. "Is this the price for helping me?" she asked.
"Um, no actually...I don't have a date for this Hogsmead weekend. So, I was just thinking if you could go with me?" Draco asked raising his eyebrows.
"Oh, so the problem is with dates. Well...I too don't have a date, so...okay; done." Roxanne shrugged. "I'll go with you, but not alone."
"Oh, don't worry about that, at least six more people are going with me; including two Gryffindors. So you won't have to worry about getting all alone with Slytherins." Draco said smirking.
"Very well then, I don't have any issue." Roxanne smirked. "See you..." she added and walked away.
Draco just looked at Harry smirking. But he got a bit confused when he saw Harry smirking back. "What?"
"You know her name, right?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, it's Roxanne."
"No, I'm talking about her full name."
"Um, no..."
"That's the problem here."
"What's her full name?" Draco asked slowly.
"Roxanne Longbottom." Harry announced. He saw Draco's face going pale. "She's Neville's great grandmother, if it may interest you." Harry said smirking.
"Shit, why didn't you tell me before? I just hope she's not as hot headed as Neville's grandmother." Draco said.
"No, I'm just thinking about your father's face when he'll come to know that you dated a Longbottom. By the way, there's one relieve, she's in Ravenclaw." Harry said shaking his head.
"Thank god," Draco said looking at the ceiling.