Tom Ridde Imagine [Non-Voldemort AU]

chapter one - ❝what do you think of the hufflepuffs?❞

Making way through the hallways of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle did not look at anything except for the book he was holding. His head was lost inside the pages, analyzing what they would learn for Defence Against Dark Arts that year. It was his fifth year at Hogwarts and the subjects were getting harder, but certainly more interesting. It wasn’t like he had any trouble with his classes—Tom was an outstanding student with magnificent results in his academics. This was because he was passionate about knowledge, but it was mainly because of the fact he had nothing else to do—he had no friends except for the boy two years under him, a boy named Harry Potter. The way they met was kind of a coincidence, really—Tom just bumped into him and Harry dropped his glasses. It was cliché, a weird and awkward situation indeed, but they managed to work it out, and Harry ended up being Tom’s only friend.

Tom had little to no awareness about the fact he was the topic of many people’s conversations—he was smart, he was good-looking, he was talented. Any person would want to date him. It’s just that Tom had no eye for any of his admirers, not one. Instead, his eye caught one girl in particular, someone who he hadn’t seen or heard mentioning his name even once, yet he was so attracted to her.

The boy had asked his only friend to meet him in the Chamber of Secrets—or, that’s how Tom had called it, just to make it sound cool. It was a room he found out about when he was walking around the school and snuck into the prefects’ bathroom. Apparently there was a huge room down there, and Tom had made it his own secret base to practice his spells or to spend time alone, away from the crowd. He told Harry about it, and so they met each other in his Chamber of Secrets.

“What is it you wanted to talk about?” The third-year sat down on a chair that Tom bothered to place inside his chamber. There wasn’t really much decorations in the area, though—just a table with two chairs (as there were only two people who would come there anyway), a cabinet with books from the library, and a carpet with a pillow on the floor. That was basically it—Tom didn’t feel like anything else was necessary.

“So, what do you think of the Hufflepuffs?” Tom asked, scratching the back of his head. He fiddled a little with his fingers, awaiting Harry’s response. Harry certainly didn’t know what to answer.

“They’re... alright? Why?”

A nervous chuckle escaped Tom’s mouth. “It’s just that, people tend to think so lowly of the Hufflepuff House. While in fact, they’re not what people make them out to be—they’re kind, and hard-working...” He stared into the distance. “Just like that one girl from there.” His last sentence came out more as a mumble, but Harry could vaguely understand it to make out his words. He grinned. Not ever in the three years they went to the same school had Harry seen Tom show any interest in romance, and now, he seemed to he head over heels for a girl in Hufflepuff. “Do you genuinely mean that, or is it just because you want to compliment the girl?”

Tom paused for a second and a smile curled on his lips. “Both, I guess,” he answered.

Harry chuckled. “You should go and talk to her—get to know her.” He winked, but Tom looked at him as if he said something like bringing the dead back to life. “Talk to her?” he asked, his voice cracking a little. “Are you insane? You think I can just walk up to her and say, hey, I’m Tom, you’re cute, do you have a boyfriend yet?”

It was incredibly difficult for Harry to hold in his laugh, and he got a glare from Tom as his laugh echoed throughout the Chamber of Secrets. The fifth-year rolled his eyes.

“But really, do I really stand a chance? I am no match,” he added, finally sitting down on the remaining chair at the table.

Harry tilted his head. “A match? With who, exactly?”

Tom shrugged. “With literally everybody. She’s cute, right? I bet a lot of boys go after her. Not to mention there’s this popular guy in her House. Cedric Diggory, right? I bet she’s probably in love with him.” Harry couldn’t help to groan. “Tom. You’re being paranoid now. You don’t know anything yet!” He paused and blinked twice. “Do you—do you know her name?”

The two had a seemingly good stare contest for a few seconds before Tom let out another nervous chuckle and leaned back in his chair. “No,” he mumbled. “But I’ll find out.”

“Just walk up to her and talk to her. Find out what she likes—make her aware of your existence!”

“Hey, you’ve got a girl friend, right? What’s her name again? Hermit?”

Harry sighed. “Hermione she is. Why?”

“Can you... ask her what girls like? As in, what they expect guys to do for them.” Tom didn’t even want to make eye contact as he asked that to Harry.

“Sure,” Harry answered. “Anything.”

Tom finally looked at Harry again. “Good. Thanks, Harry. Yeah. That’s basically everything I had to say.” Both of them had nothing else to add, so Harry left the Chamber of Secrets earlier than Tom, because Tom still wanted to do some reading on his subjects before getting back to the Slytherin common room.