Power’s Pull
When Tom had taken the job as a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts he’d done so for a couple of reasons. For one, the Basilisk his ancestor Salazar Slytherin had left him in the Chamber of Secrets was still waiting for him to be utilized. Nathair was one of the most loyal and helpful beings Tom had encountered in his life and he needed to find a way to smuggle him out of Hogwarts without anyone noticing. Secondly, he needed to find a way to get rid of Dumbledore. Ever since he’d killed that Ravenclaw girl and created his first Horcrux by preserving part of his soul in his diary, his former headmaster had been on his case. It probably hadn’t been the smartest decision to kill his father so shortly after and create another, but Tom knew not to repeat that mistake.
Still, he needed more of them, needed to preserve his soul in as many different objects as possible to make sure that no one would ever find and destroy them all. For that, however, he needed to either convince Dumbledore of his innocence – which was unlikely as the old man had made up his mind about Riddle long before he’d made his first Horcrux – or find a way to kill the man without it being traced back to him. Working under Dumbledore was the perfect way to achieve either of those results. It also helped that he was being paid. During his travels and studies of the Dark Arts Tom had spent quite a bit of the money his parents had so kindly left him upon their death and while he was by no means poor, he couldn’t go on like that forever. So, Hogwarts it was.
His first lesson as a professor was on Monday in fifth period with the Hufflepuff and Slytherin fifth years. He’d graduated long before any of them had started attending Hogwarts, but as Tom went through the list of Slytherin’s to check their attendance he was surprised to find a lot of familiar names among them: Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Nott and of course Malfoy. He would have recognized that kid even without reading his name. Draco was his father’s mirror, with just enough Narcissa in him to recognize exactly whom he belonged to. Tom had gone to school with those boys’ parents, had found them to be loyal friends and followers. If he played his cards right, he could not only use their parents but them too. Tom’s spirits lifted.
They didn’t stay lifted for long, however, as Friday rolled around, and Tom came face to face with the second half of the fifth-year student body; the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors. Ravenclaws were pleasant enough to teach. They were quiet, concentrated on their work and didn’t make too many mistakes. Gryffindors, on the other hand, were a nightmare. Again, Riddle recognized a couple of names; Potter, Weasley and Longbottom being three of those. Finnigan, Thomas, Brown and Granger seemed rather Muggle names. Tom had to suppress a sneer upon calling out their names. Instead he forced himself to continue his polite smiling, treating each of them with the same kindness.
“Well, my name is Professor Riddle and I will be your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher after Professor Quirrell left to continue his travels”, he introduced himself. “Since I’m sure your first week has been exhausting so far and none of you have really gotten out of your summer holiday mindsets yet, I don’t want to bombard you in your first lesson with me. However, I would very much appreciate it if one of you would be so kind as to summarize what you’ve covered in the precious four years so I know where to start.”