Preventing A Prophecy | Tom Riddle

Chapter XV: So It's a Secret Then?

1/12/2016

Rights to some of the characters and plot line go to J. K. Rowling and L. J. Smith. However, most of the characters and plot are mine.

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Katherina's PoV:

"So, can anyone tell me anything about werewolves?"

Roberto was trying his hardest to gain the class' attention, but it was first thing on a Monday and the gossip about the basilisk was raging full force. He was going down fighting though, I could tell you that.

"Nobody knows anything about werewolves, huh?" He scanned the class with his bright eyes, coming to stop on Tom and I. His eyes darted between us both, perhaps wondering why even we were not participating.

Truth be told, we were both exhausted. We spent the better part of the night talking and (believe it or not) cuddling, before falling asleep on the cold, hard floor of the Chamber. Tom had yet to say a word whilst I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.

"Not even our resident nerds?" Roberto stopped at the end of our table, arms behind his back. We both just gave him blank looks.

Roberto sighed, before turning and taking a seat behind his desk at the front of the room. He put his feet on the dark wooden table, hands linking behind his head. "Alright then, who can tell me something about basilisks?"

In under a second, every single hand in the classroom shot up, excluding Tom, my friends and I.

"Abraxas." My brother nodded towards the blonde Slytherin. "Why don't you start us off."

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "It's a giant snake known as the King of Serpents and can live many hundreds of years. It's born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. It's also one of the most beautiful dark creatures ever created."

"Not that you would know." I smirked over my shoulder, chuckling when I received a glare from my fellow classmate.

"Thank you Mr. Malfoy, now how about something from Mr. Dolohov."

Antonin smirked to the class, before beginning in the creepiest voice he could imitate. "Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death!" He shrugged. "Or petrification if the view of the eyes is indirect." He added his last fact in his normal voice.

The whole class went silent, each and every person wondering what it would have been like, should they have been a victim of said creature, instead of Myrtle and the seventh year.

"Well done for ruining the most enthusiasm I've ever had in a classroom, Dolohov." Roberto rolled his eyes. "It's no matter, because the breeding of basilisks has been banned since the middle ages and is strictly monitored by the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The basilisk hidden in Hogwarts has to have been over a thousand years old, and even so, it has now been destroyed."

The class remained silent during his speech, though fear was still lingering from the encounter yesterday morning.

"You know what, you aren't going to learn anything so you may as well all leave for the rest of the lesson. It was stupid of Dippet to resume regularity as fast as he did anyway." Roberto waived absently towards the door.

We each began packing away slowly, stuck in thoughts of yesterday. Nobody dare speak more than a whisper until they were well into the corridors.

"Tom, do you want to study for-"