Hogwarts: a school of Witchcraft and Love (Tom Marvolo Riddle x F!reader)

Chapter 3-06

There was no turning back.

Even as he stood in front of the mirrors that would let him into the Chamber of Secrets,

There was no turning back.

After innumerable hours of reading everything there was to find about basilisks. He couldn't afford to show even a sliver of doubt in front of it, and so he wouldn't. First impressions were extremely important because it would shape its perception of him.

Factoring this in, slender fingers grasped the cool handle of the sinks. The mirrors moved, uncovering a dark passageway that would take him into the unknown. Almost excitedly, Tom conjured a small orb of light to guide his way.

For minutes, he had nothing else to look at but at the symbols of ancient magic. The walls pulsed with a hidden energy, as if they were alive, corresponding to him. A shimmer of a doubt still questioned whether he should do this, but his ambitions pushed him onward.

There was no turning back.

Crossing over the twists and turns, the darkness was oppressive. The dry dust made it feel as if he could not take a full breath. Above all, there was the knowledge that he managed to end up past the traps that had defeated a lot of wizards' efforts to cross their dangers.

In the heart of the Chamber he beheld the sight that had captivated the imaginations of countless generations before him. The statue of Salazar Slytherin, the Chamber's founder.

Tom basked in the power. He felt the engraved serpents that decorated the statue's base. There was a strong connection, a thread that linked him to the wizard who had left this legacy behind.

What secrets would he uncover? What hidden knowledge would he get here? With a raised wand and a whispered incantation, he called on the dormant magic that resided in the chamber. The statue moved for a narrow, hidden passageway leading to the depths under it. The steps were steep, rectangle and solid. To either side they were crumbling and rounded off from aging.

As he stepped down them, he thought about the risks involved, but rapidly crushed any doubts.

He was going to make the world notice him.

His footsteps grew softer in the abyss. A hundred steps down, he counted. With each turn, the darkness receded, Lumos lighting up the tunnel. Brown eyes combed the space, looking for the legendary creature he had been looking forward to finding.

And find it, he did.

The glow atop the his wand revealed a far corner that had been traversed, but not by many. Something ahead and on even level reflected the glow. It was no longer him here alone.

The colossal serpent lay there, its scales a deep, obsidian black, glistening like a disco ball dipped in black ink. They looked impenetrable, absorbing the little light that filtered through the cracks above, and while its size alone could make any grown man wet themselves, Tom was hypnotized by it.

But he was here for business, so he had to make his move. He didn't rely on words but actions to make himself known. His action was getting closer, but if the beast even noticed him, it was uninterested.

Not that he was offended. He was going to show his dominance, no matter how small he was in comparison. Channeling his magic and focusing his willpower, Tom addressed the serpent in the forgotten language, telling it about his quest.