--------------------> TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE stared at the potion vial in his hand, lightly drawing circles on it with his thumb. It was the Felix Felicis, most commonly known as the luck potion, and he had won it. The amount of liquid in the vial would be perfect for twelve hours of good luck, and Tom knew what he wanted to use it for. He wanted to find his origin. His legacy.
Ever since Artemis Potter had informed him of Marvolo Gaunt, Tom was certain that he was his grandfather. After all, they shared the same name. The story of Merope eloping with a muggle also made perfect sense as to why he carried a muggle surname.
Tom remembered when he had been little and had asked the matron of the orphanage if she knew anything about his parents. The matron had just twisted her lips into something ugly and told him that his mother had died during childbirth (which was why he had previously falsely assumed that his mother had been the muggle, refusing to believe that a person capable of magic was so weak) and that her dying wish had been to name him Tom after his father and Marvolo after her father.
Tom was a half-blood, born of a pureblood mother and a muggle father. It disgusted him.
Still, he wished to know more about his magical family, so he turned to the library and began soaking up every bit of information about the Gaunt's that he could find in books and like Artemis had mentioned, the line of the House of Gaunt traced back to the great Salazar Slytherin himself, only solidifying his unofficial parentity test.
After all, Tom, like Salazar, could speak to snakes and Tom, like Salazar, was incredibly brilliant.
He was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Tom felt as if he were on cloud nine.
After that revelation, Tom threw himself into every book that so much as contained a mention of Salazar Slytherin and it was when he was re-reading Hogwarts: A History, did he come across a rather interesting topic.
The Chamber of Secrets.
Built by his ancestor in a secret location and contained a fearsome beast which would only obey the Heir of Slytherin, for the purpose of eradicating this most noble school of those with very impure blood.
As Salazar's heir, it was only proper that Tom finished what his ancestor started.
He observed the potion in his hand once more, watching as it's molten golden colour shone brightly under the lights.
This was a prize, a beautiful and rare one, so Tom needed to be careful about how he used this and what he used it for.
In the end, he decided to drink a quarter of the liquid, which would give him about three hours of good luck. That should do it. Removing the cork, he drank a part of the liquid in a single gulp, closing his eyes as he felt the effects of the potion sink in.
And when Tom opened his eyes, he was more confident than ever before. Nothing bad could happen to him in these hours, especially considering the ever-fickle Lady Fortuna herself was on his side.
He smirked, getting set to the library to dig out more information on the Chamber, confident that he would find it this time when-
"He-Who-Cannot-Answer-A-Riddle!"
Tom stilled in his steps, closing his eyes as the source of his sudden headache walked towards him, flashing a blinding, bewitching smile capable of bringing gods themselves onto their knees.
He gave her a polite smile. "Yes, Artemis?"
"Quitting on the second day itself? Wow," Artemis drawled, in a tone that reminded him much of Abraxas, but Tom didn't think she would appreciate the comparison. "And here I took you for the dedicated type." she shook her head, finishing her comment in a disapproving, disappointing tone.
Tom's lips moulded itself into a thin line. "I am," he said. "But I am dissolving the agreement. You cleared all my doubts yesterday, so leave me alone."
"Too bad," Artemis decided, looping her arm into this. "Because I'm not done with you yet, my muse."
Next thing he knew, he was being dragged across the hallways and standing in front of that stupid eagle in front of the Ravenclaw Tower.
"What came first, the phoenix or the egg?" It asked and surprisingly, Tom realised he knew the answer.
"Nothing. A circle has no true beginning." He responded before Artemis could, making her give him an astonished look which served to make him smug.
The doors to the Ravenclaw Common Room opened in front of them as he turned to face her. "I answered a riddle correctly, didn't I? You can't call me that absurd nickname anymore."
Artemis scoffed. "Oh please, that was an easy one. It doesn't count." She said, not letting him protest as she walked in the direction of her room, naturally expecting Tom to follow her, which he did after a huff.
He had only three hours of luck and he wanted to spend it on something worthwhile, like contributing to Salazar's legacy, not with Artemis as she sketched or painted him. Unfortunately, she wasn't giving him much of a choice. She never did.
Artemis shut her room door behind them, gesturing for Tom to sit in the same place he had the previous day before moving to get her sketchbook and flipping to a blank page, twirling a piece of charcoal with her fingers before looking at him with a scowl.
"Riddle, if I wanted a statue for a muse I would have just stupefy'd you," Artemis huffed. "Come on, do an action and more importantly, show some emotion!"
"I don't like emotions," Tom said, "They're so messy."
"I think you're mistaking feelings for paint," Artemis said dryly, causing him to crack a small smile at her remark and Artemis to feel satisfied.
She observed him carefully for a few moments and Tom attempted to not feel uncomfortable under the heavyweight of her gaze as Artemis began to expertly sketch him. Both of them did not talk for the longest time, lost in their own thoughts.
Tom mentally calculated the amount of time he had spent on liquid luck. Considering he had drank a quarter of the potion in the dungeons and had been a few hallways from the library when Artemis had caught up to him, that itself would have taken away a good thirty minutes, especially since he had had to greet some students on the way and even make polite conversation with a few.
Combining that with the fact that Artemis had dragged him all the way to the Ravenclaw tower -which was on the other end of Hogwarts- despite his protests and they had missed the moving staircases twice, that was approximately another half to three-fourths of an hour wasted.
Plus, Artemis -with charcoal- would take yet another hour to sketch him so basically, the Felix Felicis he had drunk was absolutely useless because nothing was going in his way. Well, let him at least make the best of the worse.
"So," Tom began, finally breaking the awkward silence that usually blanketed over them whenever they were alone. "How are you?"
"Wonderful."
"How was your day?"
"Hectic."
"How are your friends?"
"Lovely," Artemis answered as she made stroking motions with her right hand as she drew in finishing touches for his hair.
Tom frowned his eyebrows at her one-worded replies, expecting her to give long explanations as she always did. So, he made another remark. "Davis and Rhodes seem very close."
It seemed he had chosen the right question to ask as a humming sound escaped Artemis' mouth. "Oh yes, Gen and Reginald decided to do the date thing so they are pretty close now, I guess." She said before pausing. "How do you do the date thing anyway," Artemis mused out loud.
"Come to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow and I'll show you," Tom replied, a little surprised by the smoothness of his statement but mostly shocked by the actual proposition itself.
Had he, Tom Riddle, just asked Artemis Potter out on a date?
Artemis' red lips parted in shock as her eyes went wide. "That was smooth." She complimented before realising she still hadn't answered him. "And okay."
Tom blinked. "Okay, what?"
"Okay, I will go to Hogsmeade with you." She said slowly, eyes fixed on everywhere but him.
A small smile adorned Tom's face without his permission at her answer as he nodded. "Okay."
"Okay." Artemis smiled before pausing. "Wait. This is a date thing, right?"
"According to my knowledge, yes," Tom pressed his lips together before hastily continuing, "If it's alright with you, of course. I would like to do the date thing with you."
"Me as well," Artemis hurried to add.
"So we're doing the date thing together?" He asked as if to confirm, his eyes fixed on the soles of his shoes as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.
Artemis nodded her head without meeting his eyes. "I guess we are."
"Okay," Tom repeated, a lopsided grin stretching widely on his handsome face.
"Okay," Artemis echoed before hesitating. "Small question though, are you sure you want to date me?" She couldn't help but ask. "I mean, I wouldn't even want to date me."
"Your standards must be impossibly high then," Tom replied with a smirk, once again astonished by the sudden smoothness that had overcome him.
Artemis looked at him with an amazed expression painted on her beautiful face, whistling softly. "Damn Riddle. You are on fire today. What did you do, drink the liquid luck potion or something?" She joked.
Tom rolled his eyes and spoke without missing a beat. "Like I would use such a phenomenal potion to spend time with you."
"Point," Artemis conceded, half-smiling at him as she set the charcoal down. "Okay, you can go now. I'm done."
"Great," Tom stood up, smiled softly. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" He asked hesitantly as he shifted on his feet, still expecting her to change her mind about the outing.
"Okay." Artemis reflected his expression. "Wait for me in front of Honeydukes?"
"Okay," Tom said, the corners of his lips tilted upwards as he exited her room.
Tom Riddle walked the corridors of Hogwarts on his way to dinner that day with a slight skip in his step and unconsciously humming a happy tune under his breath, prompting Abraxas and Walburga -who had met him along the way- to exchange a weary, questioning glance at his mood but at the end, choosing not to say anything regarding it, if only in fear that it would change.
Tom Riddle may not have discovered the location of the Chamber of Secrets that day, but he did discover that a pleasant feeling tended to course through him whenever Artemis Potter either blushed or smiled, especially if it was due to him.