A Riddle of Horcruxes [Lumos and Cevl]

[cevl]

Puny people, idiotic, all of them. And the king of stupid is that Slughorn. Jezus, he was more stupid then the ass of the Giant Octupus with everything that didn't have anything to do with potions. These were the thoughts of Tom "Voldemort" Riddle, even though he was talking to the specified person right at that moment. He had always known that he was smart, but he didn't know most, if not all, others were so dumb. They most often weren't even competent conversation partners. So he often just tried his hand at experimenting with lost or created spells, found in the library, or thought up by his intellect. He was thus the reason pets often disappeared, and sometimes even a student or two, mostly mudbloods and people from Ravenclaw he thought not smart enough for it.

Recently his interest had been caught by one word 'Horcruxes'. He wished to know what they were, and if he could use it to get better. So he had tried getting Slughorn to tell him something about it, after it proved to be a fruitless effort with all other teachers. And though he seemed to at least now Something about it, he couldn't get it out of him. So he just went back to a dark corner, and inspected the people around. The only good thing about these parties was that he could get a good look on everyone, either for somebody to be his next partner, as he was quite to skirt chaser, or so people said. It didn't do anything bad to his reputation, as most people didn't get to know what happened in the bedroom with those people.

 

[cygni]

The room was hustling and bustling with the brightest and best that Hogwarts had to offer, students whom Slughorn considered to be desirable because they either had an influential relative or a unique talent. Charlotte Saltaire fell into the first category. As the only Ravenclaw student having been invited to the party, her connections seemed more appropriate for a student of Slytherin; if her ancestor had attended Hogwarts, he most definitely would have found a place in Slytherin.

She knew very little about her ancestor; in fact, she knew just as much as everyone else knew, that he was the first wizard to discover the hatching process of a Basilisk, though that feat paled in comparison to his most note-worthy accomplishment: he was the only wizard to have ever successfully created a Horcrux. Few knew about her connections, more or less due to the fact professors did not want students attempting such a dangerous—and forbidden—magical procedure. Still, that did not stop Slughorn from acknowledging her ancestor as soon as she stepped inside the room.

Just as Tom retreated to a more quiet section in the room, Slughorn turned around to face the red-haired girl. “Well now, Charlotte, fashionably late are we, eh?” Charlotte merely grinned in response to his teasing statement. “I was just introducing some of the others, but surely you need no introduction? Not as Herpo the Foul’s descendant.”

“Herpo the who?” someone asked from across the room.

“The only wizard to create a . . . well,” he began, his voice starting to trail off before the big word could come out. It was an uncomfortable position for him to be in—should he have said such a thing?

“Oh!” another student cried out. “You mean that guy who made a Horcrux? That’s Herpo the Foul?”

Slughorn looked completely relieved when another student stepped in. He could not get in trouble for another student’s words, now could he? “Yes, Mulciber, and if classes were in session I would aware five points to Slytherin. Unfortunately, I cannot do such a thing after hours.”

The boy looked devastated.

“Now,” he said, turning his attention back to Charlotte, “why don’t you mingle with the others? I’m sure an attractive young lady such as you doesn’t want to spend her evening with an old codger.”

“You’re too hard on yourself, Professor Slughorn,” she replied, the grin now reduced to a pleasant smile. Charlotte could see two more students entering the room, so she nodded her head, and Slughorn did the same, and as Slughorn went to greet the two new students Charlotte began waltzing around the room. Indeed, she was an attractive girl, though unlike some her looks did not get her the grades she received. Her grades were a reflection of her own hard work.

 

[cevl]

When the woman stepped into the room Tom immediately knew she was special, and he would quickly find out the reason behind that. He had always had a small sense of seeing the future, and though he hated Divination, he always knew when some things were about to happen, and believed in most prophecies. When he heard about Herpo the Foul he, unlike most of his 'colleagues', immediately knew who that was. A smile crossed his face. Not the one that most people saw, no, a devious one, showing his trail of thoughts: If she was his ancestor, maybe she knew something about how he had done it.

He stood up and started making his way through the crowd, the only thing on his mind this crimsonhaired woman. He worked his way through the crowd with the grace of a dancer, and when once someone stepped in his way, the elbows of an ice hockeyer. He soon appeared infront of the girl, and set his charms to work, putting a slight smile on his face.

"Hey, Charlotte. you're a ravenclaw right? Well, I'm Tom Riddle, and I hope it goes true for you that every Ravenclaw likes puzzles and Riddles." He said, using an opening line that had worked several times before. He stuck out his hand for her to shake, after which he let it go back to his side.

"You were lucky, most people get a way more awkward introduction from Slughorn while entering. But anyways, welcome to the Sluggers." He said the last word in such a tone that showed he thought the name to be as rubbish as half the school. "I hope you didn't bring a Basilisk with you to show off who your ancestor is, it would make such a mess of the chamber, though I have to admit, some new statues would do well for the school gardens."

 

[cygni]

She had found a quiet little spot in the back of the room when Tom introduced himself. The first thing she noticed was the odd ring on his finger, the face of which had an equally odd symbol. She had never seen quite a ring such as it. “That’s a rather interesting ring you have there,” she said, looking away from the ring and up to the man’s face. Upon seeing his face she wondered if Slughorn only allowed good looking students to his parties; indeed, he was worthy of the ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ idiom that Muggles were so fond of.

The corner of her lips twitched upwards into a smile at his remark. Definitely a Slytherin. She didn’t even need to ask. She could tell by his witty comment alone. “We’re you referring to yourself just now?” she asked, and reached out as well to shake his hand. Lucky for him he had that last name. “If so, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. At any rate, it’s very nice to meet you, Tom.”

Oh? So someone knew a thing or two about her ancestor? “That would be rather hard to hide, don’t you think?” The room was certainly large, though not large enough for a fifty foot snake. “It sounds you know more about my ancestor than I do.” She gave a large grin, not sure whether she should have been embarrassed or impressed at this feat—she would have guessed few people knew of the dark wizard, though Slughorn’s introduction could have easily jogged his memory. Not that it really mattered. “What else do you know about him, if I may ask?”

 

[cevl]

The man smiled when he heard her comment about the ring. He had gotten it in the summer, when he had went to see his 'dear' uncle. "Thanks, it's a family heirloom." He said. The ring wasn't the evil thing that it would become later, at least not at the time. Even the Diary he now just used as a diary, though the plan for using it as a horcrux had settled down in his mind. It would keep a younger part of him alive, and maybe, he didn't know how it worked, he could make contact with it later on, to relive some good (read: Evil) Memories.

"And yes, I was referring to myself. It's a shame I don't think I've ever really noticed you before, or I would have made my acquaintance much earlier." He said, "And if it contains a chance to get to know you better, I'll gladly wait."

"Maybe, but every creature starts out small and relatively cute, maybe you could have brought a newly hatched one." He said, a smirk on his face. "Just an idea, of course." When she said that she thought he knew more about her ancestor then she herself did he only shrugged "I just spend quite a lot of time in the library, it's only an accident I know so much about him." As she then asked a feaat of his knowledge about him he thought for a couple of seconds, then said "Well, He was a parselmouth, and thus likely to be an ancestor of Salazar Slytherin, though the family must have split into branches, seeing what House you were sorted in. He was the inventor of some spells with less-than-nice effects, and he also dabbled in the Dark Arts a lot. If you don't think it's enough, I think I could find you a book containing more about him." He said.