Tom Marvolo Riddle

Antonin Doholov

Antonin Doholov

Antonin Doholov had no interest in life.

He had no interest in working for the ministry nor did he care about being the greatest wizard of their generation. He had nothing to live for.

His family were purebloods but they never amounted to anything grand, like he himself, they had no will to actually live.

Antonin had been fine believing this and though sometimes he was envious of his peers, he had no energy to care.

That is, until Tom Riddle arrived at Hogwarts.

The young Slytherin Heir had proved his worth from the very first day of Hogwarts and continued to do so by being the top of their year, gaining them points and having a charming personality.

His magic was strong too.

Antonin, like the rest, had been skeptical of the boy at first. There weren't many half-bloods in Slytherin House and no muggleborns at all. So those who were lucky enough to be sorted there, had to be something.

And Tom was.

As the weeks turned into months, Antonin found himself becoming drawn to the boy and his friends. They were a small group consisting of Abraxas Malfoy, Tadeus Nott, Regulas Black and Rabastan Lestrange.

Abraxas was the most outgoing of the group, having friends among all the houses, even a few Gryffindors. The tall, handsome blonde was persuasive and far more cunning than most Slytherin save for Tom himself.

Abraxas was always at Tom's side. Even more so after what happened with Charlus Potter. Anyone could see that Abraxas was enamored with the Slytherin Heir. He was possessive yet, he was the one that encouraged Tom to get out of his shell.

He loved when Tom got angry and he especially loved that he could touch Tom whenever he wished with no backlash from the boy.

Tadeus was more reserved but a very handsome and mischievous young wizard. He too adored Tom, he and Abraxas constantly at each other's throats for the boy's attention but always the first to defend him even if he did not need it.

To most on the outside, Tadeus hated Abraxas, but Antonin could see that he and Abraxas got along very well in their own way. They bonded over Tom then later over their brilliant minds and their hatred for Albus Dumbledore.

Regulas was different. Though he had been the example for most of Slytherin House on Tom's first day at Hogwarts, that had not made him shy away from the boy. In fact it seemed to have tamed him if anything.

He was the first to ask if Tom needed anything, space, silence, anything. But Tom would always say no, instead asking Regulas about his family and their magic. That made Regulas really enjoy Tom's company.

No one asked about the Blacks, they always assumed. Starting rumors and saying how crazy they were. Tom's theory was that all purebloods had certain traits in their lines for a reason. The Blacks got their quote on quote madness in return for their strong dark magic and dueling prowess.

Potters had strong magic and were extremely smart with money and business, in return they usually had bad eyesight.

Tom's ancestors could speak parseltongue and were Salazar Slytherin's main line, in return they were aggressive and stubborn. Huge egos and the like.

Regulas adored the logic Tom gave for these lines and more.

Now, upon first glance, Antonin didn't understand why Rabastan was attracted to Tom. Not power, nor status, not even actual friendship.