deceived | tom marvolo riddle

III | head boy

My eyes caught his robes and I noted that they had an intimidating image of a snake placed right over his heart.

--

There I stood, frozen at the door trapped in a surprised state as the new (or old, rather) Headmaster happily made his way over to shake my hand. The pale student managed to look even more displeased now and I could only assume that I had interrupted something important for him.

I let myself gaze around the room, mainly to try and avoid the boy's piercing glare. The room would have been exactly the same as it would be years later if it weren't so different at the same time. It had felt bare without all of Dumbledore's funny trinkets and tiny but not prized objects. The wood also seemed polished and shined, completely opposite from the other. It must have worn down over the years.

I shook Headmaster Dippet's hand in turn and walked with him, leaving my luggage back behind the door. I approached the room cautiously.

"Ah, I wasn't expecting you until the day after tomorrow," He claimed curiously, raising a finger to his beard, "Although I am certainly not saying you are unwanted. From what I've heard, you are quite a brilliant young witch,"

"Oh, I apologize, er- Headmaster. I see that you are in the middle of something," I spoke slowly, shrinking under the even more dangerous glare of the other boy.

"Oh no no no! You weren't interrupting anything, certainly nothing at all," He turned to the boy, who had quickly plastered on a fake smile that I thought to look rather convincing.

And Headmaster Dippet must have bought it because he had immediately smiled right back, "Tom, my sweet boy, we can discuss this later on. You must be off doing whatever you Head Boys do, don't you now?"

It was quite clear that they weren't going to speak later because Tom left with a completely dissatisfied look, managing to say a small 'Of course sir' before he shut the enormous doors.

"Excuse Tom, he's been trying to get access to the restricted section lately. I say that the request is ridiculous and out of the question for any and all students, despite past Headmasters. Even an incredibly exceptional one like himself. He's your age actually and just as brilliant, would be a grand thing if you two became aquatinted, wouldn't it," He flicked his twisted wand, making a kettle appear out of thin air, "Tea?"

"No, thank you," I smiled awkwardly as the tea floated aside, "Restricted section, sir?"

"Indeed, he says he requires the books more detailed from the Dark Arts section he deliberately enjoys, for all academic purposes he proposes. Anyways, enough about Tom, now. We need to get you sorted, don't we?"

He chuckled at his own joke as he retrieved an old shaggy hat from a box side his desk. I recognized it from my first year of Hogwarts. It was the Sorting Hat. Still, it was a bit hard to tell since it was still cleaner than when I had worn it, defiantly missing a stain or patch or two.

"Have a seat, girl. Yes, the Sorting Hat will do its magic," He winked, motioning towards a wooden stool I swore I hadn't seen there just moments ago, "There are four houses; Loyal Hufflepuff, Brave Gryffindor, Witty Ravenclaw, and Ambitious Slytherin. The hat will seek and speak whichever house you will be most acquainted with,"

I sat down as the Headmaster placed the dusty old hat upon my head. And just as immediately as he did, it begun to speak in a sing-song voice.

"Where to put you, where to put you," The Hat thought aloud, "Let's see here, you have quite an interesting mind indeed, very ambitious, quite brave, lots of intelligence, oh my, and very loyal....of course! I know," The Hat rambled on, "Something's pulling me towards this. It'll obviously be... Slytherin!"