Ganging Up

The news article sparked fervour among the student body and all one could hear was the cacophony of voices debating the merits and the demerits of the law - during classes, during meal times, in the common rooms of the four houses and even in the corridors.

It had been a week since The Daily Prophet had reported the news and just as Tom Riddle was walking back from the Transfiguration classroom - he had been held back by Professor Dumbledore, he had a jet of blue light collide with his chest.

Tripping Jinx from the looks of Tom thought absentmindedly as he fell down a series of hard, cold stone steps and went tumbling down from the second floor to the landing on the first one.

He could feel the bruises already forming from where the sharp edges of the steps had cut into his him and even his head felt dizzy and disoriented.

He lay there trying to shake off the cobwebs off his mind and when he opened his eyes he saw Dupont standing on the last step of the staircase along with his friends and looking down at him as if he was a piece of gum stuck to his shoes.

Tom tried to get off the floor but one of Dupont's friend's - Stewart Ackley, if he recalled the name correctly, came over and punched him in the face.

Tom cried out as he felt his nose break.

Clutching his nose which had already started bleeding, Tom rose to his feet unsteadily and looked at the for boys standing in front of him.

He couldn't recall the name of the other two but he knew they were muggleborns and had always followed Dupont like cronies.

"Not so proud of your wand work now, eh mudblood? That day you were quite eager to send hexes at me to curry favour with Malfoy and Black. But where are they now? Oh! poor little Tommy boy all lonesome by himself " Dupont mocked with a fierce look in his eyes and a smirk on his face.

Tom had the irrational urge to tell the other boy that the smirk made him look constipated rather than suave - which he was sure what Dupont had been aiming for.

Calmly watching the spectacle Dupont was making out of himself, Tom wondered when the spiel would end and he would be able to go to the infirmary to have the school nurse Madam Poppy Pomfrey look at it.

All the more, he was even unimpressed by the threatening posture of Dupont.

He knew he couldn't draw his wand at the other boy because Dumbledore might just come down the stairs at any moment and he didn't want to give the meddlesome fool any ammunition to give him detention or be responsible for the loss of house points.

Also, considering the fact that since they had already attacked him, he needed that proof to make a complaint to their Head of House and let him have a look at his Ravenclaw's handiwork.

Might just get him a few extra points so as to soothe his frayed nerves. Ha!

Still, verbal sparring wasn't out of the question and he had already polished his formal language skills in Slytherin for in his first year and since they had already come knocking at his doorsteps, who was he to send them back empty-handed.

He will surely rip them a new one and have them carry it back.

"You are absolutely right. I was trying to get cosy with the two Hiers." He answered with a faint smile.

Shock and confusion were clearly visible on Dupont's face due to the fact that the other boy had readily agreed with his words.

Dupont had thought that the younger boy would rage and shout at him but his calm appearance was the complete opposite of what he had expected.

Tom continued in a deceptively mild tone, "I am jealous of anyone who has been brought up surrounded by Magic and our traditions from a very young age while I was living in a place where out of the norm things were labelled freakish. But that doesn't explain the connection between me being lonely and you ganging up to exact revenge on your junior, does it?"

Meanwhile, Stewart Ackley turned restless when he saw that the second year was unfazed and even had the presence of mind to chit chat with them.

And then the four boys whipped their wands and the fight was on!

Tom dodged an oncoming Incarcerous Spell and then another an Aqua Whip by two of Dupont's lackeys but wasn't able to get away from The Skin Peeling Curse sent his way by Dupont and then a second later Bloodfoot Curse - made to have the blood of the victim rush to their extremities, struck him in the stomach.

With a spell and a curse placing havoc on his skin and blood, Tom felt as if he was being held under torture and every second passed like an agonising hour.

He tried to tell himself that this wasn't real and that he would make these four regret their decision, but the thoughts weren't helping really.

With each layer of his skin being peeled away slowly, Tom felt as if he would disintegrate into paper-thin slices of skin and be blown away by the wind.

He couldn't tolerate the pain any longer and just as his legs gave way and he buckled under immense pain, he heard three familiar voices shouting all at once - Professor Dumbledore, Heir Malfoy and Heir Black.

It occurred to him briefly that fate seemed to be pulling the three of them together - him, Black and Malfoy.

All of a sudden the world turned fuzzy and Tom Riddle lost consciousness - leaving behind a group of six students and a biased teacher standing around and looking at each other.