Shadows

Chapter 1

"Outstanding work, Mr. Riddle."

"Thank you, Professor Slughorn."

A boy of fourteen spoke out with confidence and self-assurance beyond his years. He had good reason for this, of course. Tom Riddle was, without a doubt, the brightest of his age. Add to that his startling perfectly-sculpted face, dark eyes and curly black hair, and the boy had every reason to be proud.

Of course, if one looked beyond the perfect exterior, they would see that the boy was broken, struggling to grasp the last threads of his sanity. But noone ever looked that far.

******

"Did you hear?"

Tom looked up slightly, observing the boy in front of him. Mulciber had never been very refined. It was clear from his ragged uniform and unkept hair that he couldn't care less about his looks. Tom wondered, for a second, how the boy ever hoped to survive in the real world if he couldn't even tie his own shoelaces. The thought only lasted a second though, Mulciber's future wasn't something Tom cared to ponder.

"Well go on then" Avery urged, clearly annoyed.

"There's a new girl joining Hogwarts."

"New students join every year, you fool." Nott said before going back to his Astronomy homework.

"Not ones in their fourth year."

"Fourth year? Is she transferring from another school?"

At this, Tom's ears perked up. He had heard of other schools of wizardry before but never met anyone who had attended them.

"No. They say she's never attended school before."

"So you're excited about some illiterate girl joining Hogwarts? Honestly, they should be more strict about who they let in." Avery said, looking pointedly at a first-year half-blood boy sitting in the corner of the Slytherin common room. Half-bloods may be common in the Wizarding World, but they were rare in Slytherin.

"Is she a pureblood?" Tom asked, finally looking at Mulciber properly.

Mulciber shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "It's not known, but we'll find out soon. The portraits were talking when I walked by. She'll be here by tonight."

******

The students gathered in the Great Hall for dinner. The news about the new girl had spread amidst the younger students like wildfire. Even some of the seniors were waiting eagerly to meet this girl. Headmaster Dippet stood up.

"Good evening, students. I am certain that the news I have to share is already well known to most of you. We are welcoming a new student today. The young lady is in her fourth year and shall attend classes with her peers despite missing the last three years of school." Something like disdain passed through his eyes. "I hope you all will treat her......kindly. Miss Ana Brooks please come forward."

Tom noticed a girl with long black hair and a petite figure walk forward as if from the shadows. She nodded at Headmaster Dippet before walking towards Dumbledore who held the Sorting Hat. The girl, Ana seemed to already know what to do. Her steps were sure, her posture relaxed. She sat on the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. The entire hall held its breath.

One. Two. Three-

"SLYTHERIN!"

Everyone was stunned. Of all the houses, it was the least likely for the 'illiterate' girl to be sorted into Slytherin. After a few minutes Dumbledore cleared his throat and a few first and second year Slytherin students clapped.

The girl however, didn't seem fazed by the lack of enthusiasm from her house. She walked forward towards the Slytherin table and swiftly located the fourth-years. Her eyes traced the boys, Mulciber, Nott, Avery, Rosier, Lestrange and finally Tom. She observed Tom for just a second too long before casually taking her seat between Avery and another third-year girl, Beatrice Warren.

Avery scrunched his nose and visibly shifted away, a reaction which seemed to amuse Ana. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Mr. Avery I promise you I'm not carrying any deadly disease." Avery's eyes widened.

"H-How'd yo-you know my name?"

"I know everything." Ana said with a smirk.

Avery gulped. Tom rolled his eyes. His friend was rather easily spooked. There were so many simple possibilities yet he didn't consider a single one.

As if Ana knew what he was thinking, her eyes shifted to Tom. There was a second of silence before Tom realized that she was expecting an introduction. The girl seemed confident, ignoring her would only provoke her further. Instead, Tom flashed her a well-practised smile.

"I'm Tom Riddle. That's Cassian Mulciber and Thaddeus Nott." He tilted his head towards the boys on his left. "They're the Lestrange brothers- Rudolphus and Rabastan." He pointed at the boys on his right. "That's Cedric Rosier, and of course, you know Magnus Avery." Ana looked at Avery and the boy next to him, Rosier, as Tom said.

She nodded. "I'm Ana."

"What school did you attend before?" Tom asked with a sympathetic look. Clearly he had heard that she hadn't gone to school before.

"None I'm afraid. School was never in my plans, I prefer to live freely."

"So you're illiterate?" Nott asked with clear disdain.

Ana laughed. "Rest assured, I have studied witchcraft and wizardry just as much as anyone here. Simply not in the conventional way." Tom gave her a skeptical look. "I worked as an assistant to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, among other things."

Ana noted Tom's impressed look with satisfaction before moving to the other boys whose jaws had dropped. Avery frowned.

"That job is almost impossible to get."

"I know." Ana tilted her head indicating that she was unwilling to share any more information.

"STUDENTS ARE TO HEAD TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMON ROOMS"

Ana smiled. "Goodnight boys."

"Goodni-" She was gone before Tom could finish his sentence.

******