Twisted Fascination

I spent the next few days working and reworking my essay Lockhart gave, wanting it to sound as good as possible to the egotistical man. My other essays were all done by then, so I just hyper-focused on the D.A.D.A. essay.

Saturday morning, Malfoy awoke early, much to my annoyance, and bustled about loudly.

I ended up dragging myself out of my nice warm bed and headed out to the Great Hall for some food before I continued on my homework.

Malfoy was obnoxiously eager as he followed me to the Great Hall, ranting at Crabbe and Goyle about how excited he was for his first Quidditch practice.

I had to force myself not to roll my eyes, as I had no interest in the sport at all.

Flint and the other Slytherin Quidditch Team members were already in the Great Hall, muttering strategies to each other on how best to crush the Gryffindors for the first match of the season.

I merely had a few pieces of toast before departing to the library. I didn't want to lose brain cells to them repeating certain strategies that were sure to fail and/or get them penalties. I revealed in the silence of the library as I worked hard on refining my essay. I had already written it three times, but I figured going over it a fourth time wouldn't hurt.

About an hour later, a few Slytherins came into the library and basically blocked any way for me to escape should things get out of hand.

"You, Potter," one of them hissed in a voice barely acceptable for the library.

"May I help you?" I asked as I allowed my parchment to roll up.

"Your Weasley friend just tried cursing Malfoy," another one said.

"I'm not Weasley's friend," I replied curtly as I gave them a bored look. "What did Malfoy say to get himself in trouble?"

"It doesn't matter-"

"It does," I interrupted sharply as I narrowed my eyes. "Not only is Weasley not smart enough to pull off a curse, but he wouldn't even try it unless he was truly angry."

The four sneered at me before one of them admitted, "Malfoy called Granger a mudblood."

"In front of Gryffindors? Is he daft?" I asked as I shook my head in disappointment. "Well, it doesn't matter. What happened to Weasley?"

"He tried to perform the Slug-Puking Curse on Malfoy, but it backfired, and he broke his wand," the fourth member of their little squad explained.

"Ah, his mother will be most disappointed," I mused as I turned back to my essay. "It's of no consequence to me. Just be glad Weasley doesn't quite understand how his temper will come back to bite him."

"How will it do so?" The first little group member demanded to know.

My lips curled up in amusement. "You'll have to wait and see."

They all looked upset, but they accepted my words and eventually wandered off.

I made sure my essay was still perfect before reading ahead, hoping to get a jump on the classes that started on Monday.

It took two days, but when Ron Weasley had come down from the hospital wing, he looked rather chipper. He clearly wasn't expecting a red envelope to come for him, delivered by the family owl, Errol.

Mrs. Weasley's voice was heard all throughout the Great Hall as she screamed her lungs out at the boy for trying to curse another boy at Hogwarts. She even said she'd bring him home if Ron took another step out of line.

After the deafening screams from the woman ended, Malfoy broke into snickers, along with other Slytherins.

Soon, everything went back to normal, but Weasley was as red as a tomato up until he left the Great Hall behind.

I merely got up and headed off to class after checking my newspaper over. The days passed, all seemingly mending together as I did what I typically did, crush my studious opponents and snatch the top grades for myself.

The only time something broke up the monotonous days was the voice I heard late one night when I couldn't sleep.

• Come… come to me…§ It hissed with ice-cold venom, §Let me rip you… Let me tear you… Let me kill you…§

• Who are you?§ I hissed softly, but no one replied to me. I sat in my bed, contemplating who spoke those words with such malice. I eventually thought about the layout of the castle and tried to decipher where the voice was coming from. I fell asleep to that pondering, only to awake with a jolt. I slipped out of my bed quickly and got my clothes ready for the day. I then headed to the showers and cleaned myself down.

"Potter? It's five in the morning," Zabini muttered tiredly as I returned to the dorm room, gathering up my things.

"I figured," I said just as softly, "I'll be in the common room." I headed down to the room and tended to the fire. Once that was done, I sat down at a table and thought about the voice I heard.

It was definitely ready to kill something. That harsh voice was feminine, but surely a mere student didn't have such a mature-sounding voice. It had to have been an adult, there was no debating that.

I pondered which teachers I knew about before deciding none of them could be the voice I had heard. I turned my gaze from the fire and hissed aloud, §Who is moving throughout the castle wishing to spill blood?§

No one answered, as was expected.

I felt irritation as I turned my focus to the wall across from me. §Is anyone there?§

Once again, silence answered me.

I cocked my head to the side, wondering if I was trying it the wrong way. §What serpent is trapped here?§

Still, no one replied.

I decided to give up for the moment and turned my focus to my bag. I rummaged through it before pulling out a blank journal that I had been writing in. I pulled out my self-inking quill that I purchased at Diagon Alley and proceeded to go over the various notes I took on Lockhart's books. I had been making a careful timeline based on all of his books, autobiography included, and I figured going over it again wouldn't hurt anyone. I saw some inconsistencies in his works that could be exploited later.

Zabini came stumbling down the hallway from our dormitory. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, though I couldn't understand why he had done so when he was obviously still tired. He took one look at me before sighing heavily. "What are you doing?"

"A pet project," I admitted, "Why are you up?"

"You woke me up," Zabini grumbled as he sat down by the fire, looking ready to fall unconscious at any moment.

"I apologize, but I figured you would be able to fall asleep quickly," I said, "You look ready to pass out."

He merely grunted from where he sat.

I allowed silence to drift between us as I looked over Lockhart's timeline for his third and fourth book.

"You were saying stuff in your sleep," Zabini informed me.

"Anything intelligible?" I questioned.

"You were speaking in Parseltongue," the boy stated, sounding annoyed that it wasn't in a language he could understand.

I hummed softly in acknowledgement.

"You're not going to tell me anything more, are you?" Zabini questioned, sounding exasperated.

"When I speak in Parseltongue, it's usually because I'm feeling vindictive," I said as I made a tiny side-note in the margin of my journal.

"I've picked that up by now," Zabini stated. "Did you have a dream about something you feel is annoying?"

"No," I denied before pausing. "Not that I can remember, at least." I quickly waved it off. "It doesn't matter."

"Then what does matter?" Zabini asked, clearly trying to gain more information.

I pursed my lips before sitting back, allowing the ink on my journal to dry. "I need to gather up more information before I answer that."

He was a bit displeased, but he allowed me to slide nonetheless.

I turned my focus back to my journal. I deemed the ink dry enough, so I closed the journal and put it back into my bag.

Zabini stifled a yawn as he stood up. "You should get more sleep."

"I'll get plenty of sleep when I die," I assured the other Slytherin.

Zabini snorted. "Yeah, sure." He then meandered to the dorm room we shared, staggering like he was a muggle zombie.

I shook my head at the thought and closed my eyes. I waited a few minutes before asking, §Can anyone hear me?§

There was no reply.

I sighed as I opened my eyes. I needed to branch out from the Slytherin common room if I wanted to find the snake that wished to kill. I then barely held back a grimace as I thought of taking time off of my essays to go hunting some snake. I shook my head before standing up. I began to look around the common room, wondering if it was even worth it to stay down when I wasn't getting answers to my questions. Just before I decided to go to bed, I heard it.

The chime of the clock announcing the lifting of curfew.

I grabbed my bag and headed out into the dungeons, eager to see if I could find the serpent before my newspaper arrived. I walked around carefully, speaking in Parseltongue every so often to see if I could find the snake. I eventually had to give up as the time for my mail to arrive neared. I headed up to the Great Hall and sat down at the Slytherin table, a bit annoyed that I couldn't explore as much as I wanted to.

My newspaper arrived just after I arrived, and the stocks were just as normal as they always were.

I bit back a sigh before closing up my papers. I then grabbed my bag and headed out to my first class of the day. I went about my usual motions until just before dinnertime, where I had free time to go over the new material I had learned in the library.

Harry showed up there, and he was looking incredibly nervous as he approached me. His little friends were trying to hide around the corner, but they weren't very stealthy as my brother hovered over me.

"Yes?" I asked as I continued looking over my notes.

"Last night, did you hear a voice?" Harry asked, causing me to finally pause.

I put my self-inking quill aside before looking at my brother carefully. "What voice did you hear?"

"Well, last night, I thought I heard…" Harry trailed off nervously. "Well, it sounded like someone wanted to kill someone else."

"Do you know who the voice belongs to?" I pressed.

Harry shook his head before saying honestly, "No. I thought you might know."

I raised an eyebrow at his statement.

"It was… evil-sounding," Harry said hesitantly.

"Was it a man or woman?" I questioned, wondering if Harry had at least known that much.

"Er…" The boy looked at me with wide eyes before sheepishly saying, "I don't know."

I barely held myself back from sighing. "Harry, I cannot help you if you can't give me more information."

"Well, I heard it last night during my detention with Lockhart, but he didn't hear it," Harry explained.

"You had a detention with Lockhart?" I repeated with a raised brow before waving it off. "Nevermind. Just tell me the answer to this: Did you see anything out of the ordinary?"

"No," Harry replied.

"You said it sounded like it wanted to kill, yes?" I questioned, earning a slight nod. "Then I would keep a low profile. Should a ghost be that vengeful and here at Hogwarts, trouble could follow."

"You think it's just a ghost?" Harry asked.

"I don't know what it was," I admitted. "I'm only making assumptions based on what I know."

Harry thought about it before nodding. "Okay."

"Also, next time, just bring your little friends here. It'll look less suspicious to the librarian," I explained as I turned back to my notes.

"Er - right," Harry muttered as his cheeks flushed. He quickly left the library with Hermione and Ron in tow, talking with them softly about the voice he had managed to hear the other night.

September ended soon after that conversation, allowing October to begin. A damp chill spread across the grounds and into the castle.

Many students and staff members alike came down with sudden colds, causing Madam Pomfrey to fret over them with Pepperup Potions and demand that they get more rest.

I managed to avoid getting the flu, though I found it quite humorous as several students had to walk around with steam coming from their ears.

The days moved by quickly, and students grew more joyous with Samhain approaching.

I found myself growing interested in ritual magic once more, wondering what I could sacrifice to Lady Magic, Lord Death, and Lady Fate to please them. I really didn't want to participate in the school's childish Hallowe'en celebration, so I decided to skip that night's feast. Instead I remained in the library until dinner time before heading down toward the dungeons. As I was walking down the stairs to get to the second floor, I spotted a flash of red heading down the hallway. I knew I shouldn't have been nosy, but I wanted to see what that small ginger-haired girl was doing.

Ginny Weasley should have been at the feast, not wandering the halls.

I followed her down the hallway toward some unknown location. I rounded a corner soon after her, only to see her looking back at me with her wand drawn, her eyes seemingly glazed over. I quickly ducked back around the corner, watching with wide eyes as a flash of light hit where I was just standing, searing a black mark into the stone.

Immediately after that, Ginny took in a deep gasp as if she hadn't been breathing for a long time.

I quickly rounded the corner once more, eyeing Ginny carefully. I had my wand in my hand now, and I wanted answers.

The girl saw me, and she immediately paled. "C-Colton, what are you doing here?"

"I saw you on my way down to the Great Hall," I lied, "What are you doing?"

"I-I…" She trailed off, looking around nervously.

I stepped toward her, my eyes narrowing. "There are no witnesses here, Ginny, but trust me when I say that I'll do what I have to in order to defend myself against that kind of Dark Curse."

Ginny trembled as she held the diary of hers close. "I - I didn't mean-"

"You didn't?" I interrupted as I stepped closer to her. "Let me guess, you just so happened to be aware of me following you, so you threw a Curse at me in a natural defensive response? Is that it?"

"N-no!" She cried out as she stepped back even further. "You wouldn't understand!"

"Then start explaining yourself before I go to Snape and tell him just what you did," I demanded.

The girl broke out into tears, clearly distressed beyond words. "It's Tom! He's making me do all sorts of terrible things!"

"Tom?" I repeated incredulously.

"He - he's stuck in the diary!" She exclaimed as she shoved the diary out toward me.

"Mhm," I hummed, not believing her for a second.

"It's true! Just - write in it, and you'll see!" Ginny demanded as she continued to hold the diary out toward me.

I internally rolled my eyes as I stepped forward and took the diary from her. I opened it, only to see it was blank, though I knew that I had seen her writing in it before. I pulled out my self-inking quill and wrote a simple word in it. 'Tom?' I waited, only to raise an eyebrow as the pages absorbed the ink before replying.

'Greetings. Who is this?'

I paused before looking up at the girl. I saw her shivering as she desperately wiped away her tears. I returned my focus to the journal and wrote. 'You're real…'

'Very astute.'

I nearly scowled before writing, 'You're precious pawn nearly cursed me, and I do not take lightly to such threats.'

'Pawn?'

'Now, now, Tom. Let's not play ignorant. The compulsion spells combined with the Dark magic you've used on this diary are enough to convince me that she's some kind of pawn in whatever scheme you have.'

'What is your name?'

'I believe it unwise to give you my name.' I admitted before closing the diary. I looked at Ginny carefully and asked, "Where did you get this Dark artifact?"

Ginny looked incredibly nervous as she asked, "How Dark is it?"

"If Tom can possess you, I'm assuming it's quite Dark," I answered honestly, and tears filled her eyes again. "Where did you find it, Ginny?"

"It was in one of my school books," she replied, "I just thought it was a normal journal, so I wrote in it, and now I can't stop-"

"Lower your voice, Ginny," I interrupted, and she quickly shut her mouth, looking around nervously. "There's a Compulsion spell on this diary. You can't stop now even if you wanted to."

Ginny's face fell, and she looked absolutely crushed by the news. "But - what do I do now?"

"I have no answer. I'm going to have to do some research into Compulsion spells when they're combined with Dark artifacts," I explained.

"Would my father know?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"I would equate possession as more of a Curse than a muggle artifact that was tampered with for fun," I admitted.

Ginny's face perked up. "I have a brother - Bill - and he's a Curse Breaker for Gringotts."

"That might work," I admitted as I rubbed my chin. "Where is he now?"

Ginny cringed a bit. "Erm, Egypt."

"Will he tell other people about your problem, or can he be trusted to keep silent?" I pressed.

"Why?" Ginny asked curiously.

"You could get in some serious trouble for using a Dark artifact, unknowingly or not," I said gravely, "Furthermore, if he tells someone untrustworthy, they could use it against your family. Imagine if Lucius Malfoy found out and decided to cause your father problems at the Ministry."

Ginny looked contemplative for a moment before asking, "Well… Gringotts has a policy of client secrecy."

"I'll speak to my family's vault manager," I said, "If this information is leaked, I'll take the fall."

"Why would you do that?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"I owe your father a great debt for taking me in and putting up with me for summer break, especially considering I am a Slytherin with several more Slytherin traits," I said bluntly.

Ginny's face scrunched up a bit. "That's not a debt-"

"It is to me," I stated, and I meant it.

Ginny slowly nodded before looking at the diary I was still holding. "Can I… have it back?"

I held in a sigh as I extended the diary back toward the girl. "Just don't get caught throwing Curses at people again."

"I won't," she said with conviction. She took the diary back before looking at me cautiously. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"I have no intentions of doing so," I admitted.

She looked relieved beyond words before nodding once and rushing off down the hall away from me.

I ran my hands down my face before carrying on with my original plans to go back to the Slytherin common room. I just barely made it to the bottom of the stairs when I heard that voice again.

That feminine voice hissed out, §…Rip… Tear… Kill…§

My stomach clenched as I looked around for the voice. §Who is there?§

They didn't reply, instead muttering, §…so hungry… for so long…§

I narrowed my eyes as I saw running coming from down the hall. I hid away behind a half-way opened door, listening as the footsteps stopped at the base of the stairs.

"Listen!" Harry urged desperately.

The feminine voice muttered, §…kill… time to kill…§

"This way!" Harry yelled as he rushed up the stairs, his friends following after urgently.

I stepped out from the darkness and followed after the three. I may have been a Slytherin, but I did owe Mr. Weasley a debt. I couldn't allow Ron to die because he stupidly followed my brother.

The three went right by the Great Hall and up the stairs to the first floor.

His friends seemed worried. "Harry, what're we-"

"SHH!" Harry demanded as he paused at the top of the stairs.

The voice, growing fainted, said, §…I smell blood… I SMELL BLOOD!§

"It's going to kill someone!" Harry yelled as he ran up the next flight of stairs three at a time. He rushed around the second floor, and I diverted from his path, knowing well where I'd find the culprit.

Ginny Weasley was by the girl's bathroom, mumbling softly in Parseltongue, §Go back now, Slytherin's monster. You will be used again soon.§ 

The harsh female voice answered, §Very well, Master.§ Then, the large body of a snake - something much bigger than even an adult - moved into the girl's bathroom.

I watched as Ginny glanced up at the wall, causing me to look as well.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

I scowled at the words written in blood before realizing Ginny was rushing down the hall toward me. I quickly grabbed her as she tried passing and pulled her away from the scene in a different direction.

"C-Colton!" Ginny exclaimed, causing me to hush her quickly.

"If you're found here, you'll be expelled for sure," I said as I pulled her into an abandoned classroom. I pointed my wand at her, causing her to flinch, before casting a quick cleaning spell to make the blood go away.

Ginny looked down at her robes before looking up at me. "What did-"

"It doesn't matter," I cut off, "Go back to your common room before something else happens. The feast is about to be let out."

The girl paled before quickly scrambling away, hopefully to her common room.

I quickly left the room behind and headed up to the library. I stood outside for a few moments before going down toward the crime scene. I saw a few students on my way down, only for everyone on the stairs to pause upon hearing a scream from the second floor. I quickly took the lead and headed to where the scream came from. I arrived after a few other students, and I mocked a grin expression upon seeing Mrs. Norris tied up by her tail, probably dead.

Harry, always being in the center of things, was the closest to the cat, and he was looking around with wide eyes. Granger and Weasley, meanwhile, stood close enough to Harry to incriminate themselves in what was surely going to be seen as a crime.

I was going to go back down to the dungeons, only to see Malfoy push through the crowd with a thrilled expression.

As he broke through the many students, he yelled, "Enemies of the Heir, Beware! You'll be next mudbloods!"

I narrowed my eyes slightly before deciding that I'd discover the following morning what he meant. I headed off towards the Slytherin common room, no longer interested in what was happening.

"What's going on here?!" Filch yelled as he began to push through the crowd. "What's going on?!"

No one answered him as I continued on down the stairs. I tuned out the yelling as I made my way down to the dungeons. As I entered the common room, an idea struck me. How did that great serpent escape through the girl's bathroom, and did it consider Tom its master? I knew it couldn't have been Ginny, as she was most certainly being possessed by Tom. I needed to find out Tom's last name so I could figure out how to properly deal with him.

The fireplace crackled loudly, snapping me from my thoughts.

I glanced at it once before heading to bed. I needed to wake up early and deal with the threat to Mr. Weasley's kin as soon as possible.