Chapter 10

Tom would have liked to spend some of his idle time practicing his magic, but as he was in the Infirmary for magical exhaustion, his wand was being kept well away except for one hour after supper, under the watchful eye of a nurse. Tom did manage to find some amusement in subtly knocking over Lucius Bode's water glass across the aisle from him whenever the boy tried to reach for it.

Natural skills aside, knowledge had played a large part in carving the depths of his well of power. The proper book was even more useful than a wand in some cases.

Tom dug out an old book he had neglected for too long. He was sure he could remember most by memory, but he knew all too well how faulty memory really was. Besides, there are always lines between the lines.

Ancient Secrets, By Marwyn the Mage. Tom affectionately stroked the cover. Of course right now it appeared to be The Fungi You Never Knew! with a bright green cover and a clean look to it.

In his second year Tom had stolen this copy off of a used bookshelf in a section of Knockturn Alley that Dumbledore had forbidden him to enter. That had been the main reason Tom had decided to investigate.

The cover was particularly worn, even for an old book. Where it had been torn or deformed, it appeared as though there were blood stains on the black cover from the "wounds". It looked as though it had been read thousands of times, over hundreds of years, but simple diagnostic spells had revealed the book was enchanted in some way to appear old and forgotten, as well as impervious to normal harms. Tom assumed Fiendfyre or a number of other curses may destroy it, though he had no intention of trying.

The fact that somebody thought nothing of enchanting perhaps dozens of these books with permanent powerful magic just for effect was enough to tell Tom that this "Marwyn" knew a few things about wizardry that Tom could appreciate.

Not only that, but the readings of Marwyn sometimes contradicted the work of "magical scholars" from the Ministry-mandated reading list in the exact ways Tom had disagreed with them from the start.

That was probably why Bellatrix had been unable to find a copy even in the forbidden section of the library.

Tom had decided to make this book one of the main topics of his own classes once he came into power in the school. It would be no fun being the most powerful wizard if the second best was miles behind.

Some of these children actually do have potential, but they won't realize it studying at Hogwarts right now…

The book strongly recommended the use of non-verbal magic and that was something Tom had used before he knew wizards existed.

Marwyn claimed that by using traditional incantations you were relying on the natural magic of the world to power you for the most part - external fuel. Whereas if you developed enough internal power through practice, you would not need the keys of wand work and incantations to open the external doors, but if you did use them, they appeared far more effective. That had resonated with Tom the first time he read it, and he felt like it was more relevant now than ever.

I didn't start with flamboyant wand work and strange phrases, and even when they tried to teach me, it never suited me.

Tom chuckled at the idea of showing his Charms Professor this book. Any Professor would probably chuck the thing, and tell the Headmaster he was looking into the Dark Arts, besides. Marwyn did, after all, speak of the usefulness of sacrifices, and never shied away from any type of magic, no matter its source.

The first few chapters were about the fundamental workings of magic, and the next few on the different levels and channels of magic that can be accessed. The author also went into great detail on the different theories of magic's origin, none of which he actually agreed with.

The rest of the book described in vivid detail Marwyn's educated speculation on the events that occurred in places like magical Italy, The Arm of Dorne, and Atlantis itself after the unpracticed use of the most powerful forces.

Tom had decided that if the author put such emphasis on the dangers of true magic, then it was best to set aside until he had read many more books like this one. There was one in particular, another written by Marwyn which he mentioned once, The Book of Lost Books. Tom had never been able to find a copy, and he had truly looked.

Tom closed the book after a time and pushed it aside. He then opened the drawer that held his wand (hadn't it been locked? Tom couldn't remember anymore) and looked it over. There was an energy coming from it, even without touching it, he could feel it.

A crutch… I've only needed it for certain things, none of which I expect to encounter in the next few days.

Tom knew he was already at a disadvantage, weak.

Other than "Battle Magic" on Thursday I see no reason to need to perform any extraordinary magic, and even then I can beat Chang in a number of other ways… Although, perhaps putting forth an actual effort would be beneficial.

If he had to relearn magic and grow strong again, he would do it the same way he did in the beginning. No wand or words unless he absolutely needed them.

So he resigned himself to putting it in his holster and committing to not use it for trivial things.

After lunch was served and consumed Tom then decided he should take this chance to talk with MacNair. He was getting tired of sitting around like a lump while there were things to be looked into.

Either his girlfriend is spreading terrible rumors about him, or she is betraying his dark secrets. Either way she should be punished… And I need to know if I can still rely on him or not.

Ever since Tom had heard that MacNair had taken the House Elf ban to heart, he had been worried.

The MacNair that Tom thought he knew wouldn't become friends with an elf… If the rumor was true then MacNair's ability for deception was worrying, and Tom would need to find out exactly what else the boy had been lying about.

As Tom was leaving the old nurse Chloe came running over to him, "Oh Tom! You must lie down; you are in no condition to go back to class."

Tom gave her a wide smile, "Ah Chloe, you are sweet. You remind me of my grandmother. Will you force feed me an entire batch of cookies as well?"

Chloe tittered, "Maybe I should, chocolate is always good for magical exhaustion."

"Trust me, my sweet tooth won't allow less than five candy bars in my dorm at any time," Tom replied swiftly.

"Oh well… OK. You HAVE to remain in bed Tom though, no gallivanting around chasing after girls."

Tom legitimately laughed, "No fear on that account Chloe, that's the last thing on my mind."

The nurse smiled slyly at him. "Oh yes, indeed, that's why I wouldn't let Miss Black in to see you while you were napping, though she tried twice."

Tom sighed. The last thing he needed was Bellatrix making him look suspicious. "I will avoid Miss Black at all costs!" Tom told her with emphasis as he started to walk away.

The nurse said something to him as he was leaving, but he was thinking of other things already and simply waved back at her.

Tom knew MacNair had a spare period right now, and suspected he would be in the library. Unfortunately, it was highly likely that David Monroe would be there too, since the boy treated the library as a social club rather than an archive of knowledge.

Not that Monroe was an actual threat to Tom, magic or no, but he was still an absurd annoyance at the best of times.

Eventually Tom decided that not only did he need to speak with MacNair about elves, he also had to learn what he could about the "Monsters in the night". And he couldn't very well do that unless he socialized with other students.

Perhaps when I regain all of my previous power I will transform myself again and slither through the pipes in the walls and listen in on conversations, rather than having to participate in them…

Just as soon as he had walked around the corner of the Hospital wing, Bellatrix was on him.

"Where have you been the last few days? You missed so much!" She said in an odd tone.

"I doubt I've missed anything significant. Don't play games with me, Bellatrix," Tom said as he locked into her gaze, annoyed with her for trying to pry into his business in the Hospital Wing. She wavered and looked down after a moment.

"I just mean, I don't know…" she replied slowly.

"Of course not. That is why I never asked you."

"Huh?" The girl replied with a puzzled look.

"Quite right." Tom said, finishing that line of conversation. "Tell me, have you seen MacNair?"

"Not lately. Should I find him for you?" Bellatrix asked, a bright look in her eyes.

"No, you should find your dorm room and confine yourself." Tom turned and walked away.

I need to come up with a way to keep her well away from me until I need her, I have just as many problems as I like to deal with at the moment and her adding more might just make me lose my composure.

When Tom got to the library he was pleased not only that MacNair was in fact in the room, but there was also a glaring absence of David Monroe and his entourage.

Tom started making his way over to his questionable ally when the oaf Hagrid came around the bookshelf and bumped into Tom, knocking him over.

"Eh, sorry 'bout that Tom, didn't see yeh there." The half giant offered in apology along with his hand.

Tom paid no attention to the hand but instead pushed himself up. "It's my fault really; you're larger and thicker than a castle wall. If I didn't see you lumbering along, that's my own shame." Tom said it coldly, but the oaf seemed to take no notice to the insult.

"Alright Tom, I'll cya." He walked toward the door with a large book that looked extremely tiny in his hands.

He's just stupid; literally half-human. I shouldn't blame him for his idiocy.

Yet Tom did blame him. He found himself suddenly wanting to hurt the boy named Hagrid for knocking him down as if he were a fly.

One problem at a time now… The oaf will probably get himself sent to Azkaban for trying to raise a dragon or the like soon enough.

MacNair was in a position where he clearly had seen Tom get bulldozed, but he had pretended not to notice.

"Hello MaNair, what are you reading there?" Tom asked in a friendly voice.

MacNair pretended to be startled, as though he was absorbed in the book and hadn't noticed Tom.

The boy showed Tom the page he was reading. There was a large, very detailed moving picture of a goblin cutting a wizards throat from behind.

"Exciting," Tom said as he watched the spray of blood from the wizard's throat.

"Bloody disgusting if you ask me." MacNair was already starting to get worked up, Tom could use that.

This interrogation would be easy and gentle. "Surely you don't mean the violence or blood, Macnair. Unless I am highly mistaken I believe it was you who slew that centaur last year." Tom paused to watch his expression, and was pleased to see a studied look of blankness. "That was rather impressive, the cover-up after, I mean. The actual deed did get the Headmaster's attention, which is never to be desired you know."

MacNair seemed a little alarmed that Tom knew. "Well… I suppose I should have known you would see through it…" He took a settling breath, then went on, "It wasn't like I set out to kill it, it got in the way of-"

Tom cut him off, "I do not care that it was done, or why you did it."

"Oh."

"Anyway, what do you mean, disgusting?" Tom inquired, tapping the book.

"I mean, you can't trust a single magical creature as far as you can throw them, and you can throw some of them pretty damn far. I know from experience." MacNair looked down and frowned.

"I imagine you are referring to your House Elf? What was his name?" Tom probed lightly.

"Oscar. Yes, his betrayal is what got me thinking about how we can't trust any of them."

Tom smiled. "Not unless you have put them under an over-powered Dark curse."

MacNair had a smile to return for that comment, but it faded. "I mean, really. Oscar was magically bound to my house above all, just because he came to Hogwarts doesn't mean that Dippet's ridiculous orders should take priority over my own."

Tom stood and listened, the silence would force him to continue.

"It was the elf's choice," MacNair said confidently. "They do have some wiggle room for choice, and Oscar chose the bloody school over me."

Tom frowned as though in empathy, but really he was disappointed. It sounded like the boy had a real bond with the creature, which was very strange to Tom. "You sound like you lost a friend." Tom tried to sound sympathetic when he said it. He never could tell if he pulled that one off properly.

MacNair was certainly insulted now, that was plain. "You think he was my friend? He was my servant, bound to me. I didn't lose a friend; I was played and betrayed by the creature!" He spat out.

Tom would have warmed up to MacNair at that statement, if he hadn't been so passionate about it.

"Listen, Walden. If you're interested in learning about animal betrayal, I have read a few good books that are related. I can come up with a list for you."

MacNair perked up. "Yeah, that would be great, Tom."

Tom didn't know which books would serve MacNair's interest best, but there were few that would serve his own if MacNair took them to heart. He idly wondered if he could set MacNair on Hagrid, but decided to get to the other topic of interest instead. "Let me ask you, what do you know of an apparent monster running around the school at night?"

MacNair shrugged. "I know there are a bunch of scared kids saying there's a monster."

"Do you believe it?"

MacNair shrugged again. "Sounds to me like somebody is having some fun. Or it's just a bunch of rumors. Remember how everybody thought that the Perks girl was crushed by the moving staircase?"

Tom simply said, "Oh, yes, Dippet did say she changed schools to Beauxbaton."

Though I have my doubts…

Tom wasn't sure if MacNair was being completely honest, but it wasn't worth risking prying into his mind. If he detected it, some of the trust Tom had built with him would disappear.

If he was in on this affair, I expect he would have told me in order to get some advice.

Tom stood up and walked away without saying goodbye; MacNair didn't seem to mind.

As he left the library he heard a familiar voice coming down the hallway.

Well isn't that just perfect timing…

David Monroe came around the corner with a girl on his arm; he was whispering in her ear and hadn't seen Tom yet. He briefly squashed a desire to run as cowardly, although he certainly wasn't interested in a confrontation. Usually the only way to avoid such with Monroe was to avoid him completely, since there was nothing about him that Tom could appreciate or respect.

He started walking towards the couple in order to make his way back to the common room.

David finally did notice Tom then and when he did he stopped short for a moment before putting on an overly enthusiastic smile. "Tom! You had us all so very worried; there were rumors that you had been taken off to be kissed by the Dementors!"

Tom had meant to keep this casual, but the mention of Dementors had rattled him a little bit.

When he spoke his voice was much colder than he had intended it to be, "You should know better than to listen to rumors, Monroe. Just this morning a gossiping nurse told me a rumor that you were caught in a storeroom with Alice Aubry the night before last. Yet here you are with Sam… Something… You see how unreliable rumors can be?" He finished with a dry smile and looked at the girl who was staring at him; Tom nodded to confirm his story to her.

The girl suddenly pulled away from David with a shocked look and stared through him.

"What? Don't listen to him, he's lying Sam!" David said rather pathetically as he looked at her shoe's.

The girl either had some common sense or Legilimency training, because she slapped David and ran off down the hallway, crying.

Tom smiled at that.

"Samantha wait, I can explain!" Monroe yelled after her, but she was gone. When David turned back to Tom he was surprised, he had never seen that look in the boy's eyes, but he recognized it, having seen it in his mirror too many times to count: Intent to kill. He was shocked beyond all telling, as Monroe never really seemed to take his affaires seriously. Apparently the bloody fool actually gave a damn about this one; Tom could feel magic building in the air a tangible pressure in the hallway.

It had been stupid to think they could cross paths without some sparks flying; the boy just couldn't seem to help himself when it came to antagonizing Tom.

"Now David, surely you aren't thinking of doing something foolish?" Tom said in his most bored voice. "Foolishness would be you doing anything other than going along on your way."

"Would it be foolish, Riddle? It seems to me you are not quite yourself today…" It was almost as though heat was radiating off of Monroe now as starting to reach into his robes.

Of course, he senses I'm weak. Tom started to feel magic flowing through the air towards Monroe like a light breeze.

If Tom had his strength he would have snuffed out Monroe's little ember, and shown him how to truly assert dominance, by blasting the boy through one of the schools ancient walls. The arrogance was too much for him. Of course, if he'd had strength, Monroe wouldn't have dared to threaten him, the bully.

Tom looked over David's shoulder and said loudly, "Hello! Professor Dumbledore! How are you?" The boy's hand froze in his pocket as he stopped to turn and look.

"Accio boots!" Tom said quietly as he brandished his wand at David's feet.

The boots came flying off, pulling David's legs out from under him and causing him to crash down onto the floor. Tom dodged the incoming boots and swiftly moved forward as David was trying to get up. A swift kick to the sternum winded the boy and knocked him back flat on the floor. As he was gasping for breath Tom stomped on the boy's hand which was still clutching his wand and it rolled out across the floor.

In a smooth motion Tom turned and swooped down on David, pressing his own wand to the boy's forehead. "Somnium." The light faded from David's wide eyes as they closed.

If Tom had a little more power at the moment, he may have hovered David up to the high ceiling and stuck him there and put a silence ward over him, so people would walk past him all day and never notice him trapped and yelling for help.

If it wouldn't result in expulsion Tom would take Monroe's wand and snap it. There probably were ways around the detection charms the administration would use to see if it had been intentional, but nothing came to mind in the moment.

This will suffice for now, I suppose, just a little lesson, a prelude to the real lesson, Tom thought as he kicked the unconscious boy in the stomach.

There was no point getting into any real trouble at the moment, so Tom decided to put the idea aside for now and come up with something creative at his leisure. It would have to be something that Tom couldn't be blamed for and it had to go beyond simple pain or fear, something to truly scar the boy.

I always enjoy a chance to practice teaching lessons.