Chapter Four: A Snake's Den

CW: mentions of animal ab*se

Tom's POV

The cave's walls shook yet again as Riddle fired a spell at the target.

The hare shivered for a moment, attempting to recoil from the yellow sparks flying towards its frame but Tom's immobilising spell was too efficient, and it couldn't do much except widen its gaze in fear as the spell collided with the brown fur across its chest.

For a moment nothing could be heard except the Riddle's steady pants. The silence annoyed Tom as he glared at the hare's form, making the bunny finally give in and follow his commands.

A hiss could be heard as the hare travelled across the cave towards Nagini's waiting jaws. The sight made him sigh as Tom continued to glare at the now bloodied and lifeless bunny.

It wasn't enough.

His Imperio wasn't nearly as good as it had to be.

The ample number of times he had punished his knights had led to an exemplary Crucio but it was difficult to control and kill people at Hogwarts. Thus, Tom had to make the most of his time away from the castle and perfect his Avada and Imperio until he could perform them without a wand or a mutter of the curse.

Unfortunately, the filthy muggles at the orphanage had caught on far too quickly, and after two weeks of murdering any fauna he could find, Riddle was met with an ultimatum of postponing his practices with the killing curse or getting caught by some measly muggle.

As much as it annoyed him to admit it, the Dark Lord couldn't quite test the waters with the muggles for too long, and thus had to resort to other measures.

On one hand, practising his Imperio wasn't an unfortunate outcome. Tom could kill two birds with one stone as he honed his skills and fed Nagini at once, but that didn't stop his scowl from deepening as Riddle flicked his gaze towards the seventh hare of the day.

The intricate grooves of the silver wood clutched in his palm made him yearn for the phoenix feather wand he had gotten used to over the years, but the precaution of a new wand was necessary if he didn't want to get caught by the ministry.

"It's getting late."

Nagini's bloody face slithered closer to his frame, speaking even as he continued to glare at the hare.

"We should head back."

"No."

The parseltongue tumbling from his lips made the black hare's pupils dilate as it frantically analyzed the cave for a way to escape.

"They will worry."

This time Tom did turn towards his snake, simply glorifying her statement with a harsh scoff.

Even as he felt Nagini coil around his right calf, the Dark Lord turned back towards his prey with a cynical glint in his eyes. It was only when he raised the wand that Nagini spoke, her tail now coiled near his waist and head hovering in mid-air to try and meet Tom's gaze.

"Your letter is here."

Tom took his time cursing the hare, forcing the black being to hop towards the end of the cave and drown itself in the murky water. He continued to hold its gaze even as the hare drowned with panicked whimpers leaving its lips, only turning away once he was certain it had drowned to death.

"Place it on my desk, I will be back soon."

Dear Mr Riddle,

We are pleased to inform your that you have been selected to serve as Head Boy for Hogwarts. Your exemplary school record and excellent past as a Head Boy compelled us to provide you with this post yet again for your final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

We are certain that you will continue to be a model for your peers and will take your responsibilities seriously. Enclosed please find your Head Boy badge, which should be worn on your school robes at all times. Congratulations!

You will be required to share dorms with this year's Head Girl: Cordelia Lucretia Black-McMillan. We expect you to treat each other with-

He didn't bother reading past the last statement, already aware of the rest of the letter stated. After all, Tom Riddle had been the only student to be crowned head boy for two years.

A lazy smirk overcame his face as brown eyes flitted over the four words yet again, engraving the sight of her name in his mind's eye.

During his last year, Slughorn had allowed Tom to choose whether or not he preferred to stay in the Slytherin dorms for memories or whatnot. At first, the offer had seemed ridiculous, much like everything else the pot-bellied professor spewed, but the prospect of remaining in the vicinity of his knights as they slumbered for yet another year was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

However, this year was different.

This time he didn't get a choice. Not that Tom was complaining, after all, the news was possibly the best thing delivered to him that summer.

Of course, Cordelia Black would be the only witch worthy of sharing a dorm with him.

And of course, Tom Riddle would exploit that revelation to its utmost extent.