Death is an Angel

Dorm room at Night

I hurriedly walk up the corridoor, occasionally stopping at doors. Apparently, the Slytherins are much more organized about their dorms that the Gryffindors and the dorm layout makes so much more sense. 

After you walk up the boys' stairwell, you find yourself on a landing. It opens into a mahogany hallway that has a long dark green velvet carpet on the floor and silver Minka Lavery chandeliers at regular intervals. Along one length, there are windows (each directly in front of each chandelier) with dark green curtains draped over them. They show a perfect view into the Black Lake and the silver snakes embroidered on them ripple with the current outside. It's rather eerie. The other length is covered in portraits of famous Slytherins ranging from Salazar Slytherin himself to Merlin to the previous Headmaster, Phineas Nigellus Black, to Horace Slughorn. Salazar, who knew Salazar was so cranky all the time? 

On the portrait-wall side, there are narrower corridors between each portrait. It makes it look like each portrait gets his own column. There are 4 corridors above which there is spelled, in silver lettering, the letters of the last names of those who inhabit the dorm rooms behind the dark green doors and silver doorknobs.

First, I pass the A, B, C, D, E, F corridor. Rigel Avery (who, as I learned, was the dirty-blond haired boy with the hair swept across his forehead) and Cygnus would be sharing a dorm. Abraxas seemed to know another guy who was staying here- Antonin Dolohov. Malfoy's gang (which was, as I was soon to find out, to become Tom Riddle's Knights) had already checked their dorm-mates in case they needed to protest to Professor Slughorn. I was surprised when he said that because in Gryffindor, you can't protest your dorm-mates. If we were able to, I would long ago have protested Seamus for being an idiot back in Fifth year. 

Another thing that surprised me about Slytherin was that the dorm rooms actually looked nice. They only fit two people so only two beds were arranged. In Gryffindor, we had four four-posters in an otherwise nearly bare room that we were expected to home-up with our three other dorm-mates. 

Next, there is the G, H, I, J, K corridoor. Nobody staying there yet. Finally, the L, M, N, O, P, Q, R corridoor. Abraxas would be sharing with Tadeas. Reginald would be sharing with another pure-blood. Laurent Mulciber, I think the name was. Finally, I would be sharing with Tom. 

I turn down the corridor and am instantly struck by how much more...evil (for lack of a better word) it looks. The walls are of stone and the floor of mahogany. Yet, it is only lit by torches in snake-engraved openings on the wall. The only sound is the steady drip, drip of water somewhere. Every so often, there is an antique Cherry-wood door with a silver handle. On the doors, in silver cursive print, are the two names of the people residing within. Then, after a few moments of walking, I find what I'm looking for. Two names. 

Tom Marvolo Riddle

Arius Orion Lenoir

I put my hand down when something on the doorknob moves. I shriek and the sound reverberates over the stone walls. 

Coiled around the doorknob is a small snake with rubies for eyes and emerald fangs. It is wrought out of pure silver and the details are so intricate. I realize all too soon that there is no way to get into the room without moving the snake but since you can't move the snake....

Oh. He must know he's a parselmouth. Luckily for me, I'm still part Harry Potter and I can still speak parseltongue. 

Open

I murmer. To my great surprise, the snake uncoils itself and slips around the doorknob, unlocking to door as it does so. 

Clever Tom, 

I think to myself as the door opens. 

---------------------

          "You speak parseltongue?" comes the first question he's asked me the second the door swings open. 

          "Er...yes?"

How exactly am I supposed to tell him that I got it from that piece of his soul resting in my now non-existent scar?

Luckily, he isn't put off and instead looks absolutely delighted. 

Look! Hatchling! Another speaker!

I look around wildly and come face to face with a blackish-blue snake that has to be at least a meter in length. Tom just chuckles at my face of utter horror. 

Come, Nagini. You too, Arius.

I nod and make my way into the room. The second I find myself in full view of the room, my jaw drops. And adequately so. My half of the room looks a little like this:

Tom's half looked like this:

(Note: Tom's side also had a Slytherin rug which had a giant snake on it and "Salazar Slytherin's Noble House" written in Parselscript across it. The plants were for Nagini's amusement.)

          "Close your mouth or you'll catch flies," Tom says irritably. 

          "Sorry."

He only grunts and turns to his trunk. It is black leather with a silver clasp that has seven emeralds on it. He opens it with a password in Parseltongue that I can't hear from across the room. Figuring that I should unpack too, I turn and heave my regular school trunk into the room. 

When I turn around next, Tom is already in what I assume are his night clothes. They look far too formal to be what I consider 'night clothes.' He's wearing a dark green silk button down that has silver buttons and black silk trousers. His dark golden-brown hair falls in slow curves around his face. I myself am dressed in fluffy green nightclothes which Hogwarts apparently supplied back then. I mean now. I keep forgetting that this is 50 years ago. 

When Tom turns out the lights of the chandelier overhead, the only light source we have remaining is the eerie green light coming from out from the Black Lake. The sound of waves lapping somewhere and the distant singing of the Merpeople is quite calming. Nagini coils herself around the base of one of her plants and falls asleep. I, too, close my eyes. 

The soft scratching of a quill keeps me from fully going to sleep. I discreetly turn over and see Tom. He's sitting on his bed, holding a diary. I realize immediately that it is the same diary I stabbed back in Second year. TMR's diary. His first Horcrux.