When We Were Young

C H A P T E R E I G H T

September 1st, 1943

The whole Slytherin house sat together in an expanded compartment on the train to Hogwarts, allowing no other house to sit with them. The only other Slytherin that wasn't sitting with everyone else at the moment was Tom (he had a compartment with Harry), who they excluded for thinking that his blood was pure muggle. (Halfbloods were tolerated as long as they acted within pureblood etiquette.) They did this so that their nonchalant masks could be let down and no one other than Slytherins would see.

Everyone was chatting and catching up with their friends, having fun together, but all conversation stopped when the compartment door was opened and Tom walked in.

Right there and then, Tom revealed his status to all of Slytherin with a cold smile, one that promised vengeance for all the petty little things that they did to him.

All of Slytherin looked at Tom in disbelieving shock, some jaws hanging in a very unpureblood like manner.

The second-year that they thought was a mudblood was actually the last heir of Slytherin, and he just proved it by speaking parseltounge and showing his heir ring. Not only that, but Tom Riddle was now the King of Slytherin.

Immediately, faces paled and eyes grew wide. Some glanced at each other in horror while others barely suppressed the urge to cry, as the old Slytherin rules where quite clear.

Whoever the heir of Slytherin was with the King Cobra heir ring, they were to be immediately deemed as the King or Queen of Slytherin. As a monarch, they were able to do whatever they pleased to whatever's in their house.

The monarch had the power to make people die within the Slytherin house and get away with it without any punishment.

Of course, only Salazar Slytherin gave his heir so much immediate power and status, but there was a catch in order to get such power.

There were two Slytherin vaults, one open to anyone who had his blood that had a gold and emerald heir ring (the vault was drained dry by the Gaunts) and another that could only be opened by a direct heir. In order to get into the second vault, the heir (already in possession of the gold heir ring) had to place their hand inside of a bronze, metal snake's mouth that was on the door to the vault and had to let the snake bite them. The venom of the metal snake only killed those who were deemed unworthy.

Most heirs left the vault alone, and a good amount of those that let the snake bite them died immediately. Only a handful were deemed worthy, and those handfuls where named the monarchs of Slytherin (and of course Tom leaped at the chance, not doubting for one minute that he was unworthy as any other unfoolish person would have done)

As soon as the venom entered the system of the heir and didn't kill them, the gold band of the heir ring would turn sliver and formed into the shape of a King Cobra with emerald eyes (Salazar's familiar was a King Cobra). The cobra encircled the finger like a regular ring, only the mouth of the cobra open and eating it's tail as a sign that the monarch would rein over all those who were placed in Slytherin for the rest of their lives.

Helga Hufflepuff didn't leave her heirs any status, believing that blood does not enable any power.

Rowena Ravenclaw decreed that any discoveries made by anyone in her house must be credited to her heir (which was unfair, but not as extreme as Slytherin).

As for Godric Gryffindor, he left his heirs his sword. He decreed that only those brave of heart could claim and summon his sword, but left no status. He wanted his heirs to prove their worthiness to their house without his help.

To be Salazar Slytherin's heir was the riskiest compared to all the other heirs, but it rewarded tremendously if one was left alive.

Tom did all of this the second time he and Harry visited Gringotts, the boys going their separate ways to explore their own vaults.