Hadrian grumbled under his breath, he'd woken up extremely early, and for the life of him he just could not get back to sleep no matter what he did. The books he'd owl ordered had come on Saturday a few hours after lunch, giving him something to do this weekend, as Tom had foiled each attempt he had at getting out of bed unless it was to use the toilet. His green eyes snapped open, staring at the canopy above him, well there was one thing said for this weekend, all the rest had made him feel a lot better.
Glancing to his left he stared at Tom, he was deeply asleep; he looked years younger without the masks he liked to keep up while he was awake. Next year Tom would be a prefect, and he would look exactly like Hadrian knew him from the Horcrux in the chamber of secrets. Still utterly gorgeous, not that he'd thought that at the time, no he'd just been calculating their similarities, looks, magic, abilities, home life at least what little of it he had revealed. Tom had thought he was an orphan; the Horcrux only had memories of until it was made, and Tom went to visit the Gaunt shack looking for his grandfather but found his uncle who told him about his father leading to the events of the second Horcrux being made. Yes they were alike, more than he had fathomed before he came back here. The care in which Tom exhibited had surprised him though, the time he'd been attacked by the cub, he had been unconscious and therefore hadn't seen how deep Tom felt for him.
There would come a time where he had to tell Tom everything, he knew about the hallows, he knew about him being back in time, but he didn't know about him being Master of Death and immortal to boot. He didn't want to tell him, at least not yet, it had made him nervous but also made his heart soar when Tom declared he wanted to bond with him, it showed he cared, wanted him even, and Tom didn't even know about his immortality yet. What if telling him had the opposite affect? What if he began to distrust him? It had been a long time since Tom found out nearly it all, and they'd been together quite a while, what if Tom saw it as a betrayal?
He didn't want to lose Tom, and he did want to stay with him, did that mean he wanted to bond with him? The patronus sure gave the indication that he had fallen for him quite hard. These feelings were all so unfamiliar to him; he had felt fondness and platonic love for his friends that had long ago turned to hatred, betrayal and disgust. He had felt fondness for Sirius, he had been devastated when he died, but he wasn't sure he could honestly say he loved him, he hadn't been in his life long enough for that. What he felt for Tom was different, nobody had treated him the way Tom did, and nobody had really cared like he did. Was it love? Just the thought of being away from Tom made his heart ache, the thought of Tom turning his back when he learned the truth…and that he'd kept it from him.
Sighing softly, Hadrian decided to get up, he really didn't like the turn his thoughts had taken and really early too, and so he slowly removed himself from Tom's arm, which had been clinging to his stomach. Everyone else was still asleep, although they might not be for much longer, it depended on the time, which to him seemed to be going slower than normal. Opening his drawers he pulled out clean uniform and everything he'd need, grabbing his shower bag he exited the dorm as quietly as possible so he didn't wake everyone. Heaven forbid if he did that, they would complain all day and he definitely didn't want to deal with that.
A quick shower later, Hadrian dried himself of, flinging the used towel into the laundry basket, where it disappeared immediately; Hadrian didn't need to wonder where it went like he had when he was eleven. There was another basket just like the one here in the utility room next to the kitchen where it was transported to for the house-elves to clean and replace in the dorms. Hadrian stepped up to the mirror once he was dressed and began to fiddle with his tie, a Slytherin, who would have thought it, he mused to himself, as he always did when he saw himself with his uniform on. Two years since his life had changed for the better, and he'd only really had one life threatening situation happen. It was a bloody miracle is what it is was. Hopefully he hadn't just cursed himself by thinking about it; it would just be his luck.
Grabbing his shower bag, he non-verbally as well as Wandlessly dried his hair. He entered the dorm again, dumped the bag and gave his hair a quick brush before tying it up. Everyone else was still asleep, he moved over to Tom's bed and grabbed his shoes from under it and made his way back out the dorm, sliding his shoes on as he did, and the dungeons floors were always freezing. He made his way down the stairs, shivering slightly in cold; the fireplace wasn't even on yet. Moving towards it flicking his wand, he murmured quietly, and fire spat out of his wand and landed in the grate. Almost immediately the vicinity began to warm, slumping in the seat, resigned to wait until the day started when he noticed a book open on the table, his lips twitched, he wondered if it had been Tom who left it there or if someone else had read it. It's the book Myrtle had given him on Saturday, he had left it lying in the common room, not something he usually did but he'd been sick.
It was open at the Jackal section; someone had obviously wanted to see what his spirit animal represented.
Jackals are often mistakenly thought of as lazy scavengers who don't like to take risks or venture outside of their own territory. The Jackal are often misrepresented. They don't like to take risks, feel most comfortable on their own turf, and favour long-term survival over momentary satisfaction. But to consider these traits as negatives is to misunderstand the Jackal completely.
Jackals are notoriously hard to read. On the outside they often look bored, disinterested, and lazy. On the inside, however, they are constantly re-evaluating situations and making plans for the future. Jackals have a deep-seeded need for long-term security that heavily influences most of their behaviour. To being secure means being able to live day to day on autopilot - having a comfortable routine that they can change at their whim but will always be there for them to fall back on. They don't mind living in squalor and eating scraps if it leads to an eventual reality of comfortable, if not extravagant living. In truth, Jackals desire the finest homes, possessions, food, and drink. Though they can be self-indulgent, they will never sacrifice their future security for momentary bliss. Everything Jackals do is in an attempt to realize the fantasy of being set comfortably for life.
They have a hard time living in the moment, and are prone to depression and sulking because their goal seems so far away. Jackals need to learn to take pleasure in each day and not just use it as a platform to get closer to their future. If they don't, they risk missing out on their own lives as they are living them.
Though they have a reputation for being sullen, evasive, and even moody, Jackals are actually quite social by nature. They prefer a small, close, consistent group of friends to having a wide variety of acquaintances. With close friends they will let their guard down and will share their innermost feelings, which they typically bottle up, and on a good day can be as charming, funny, and giving as anyone. Their idea of giving is more likely to be in the form of introspective, emotional support rather than the giving of money or material possessions - for everything dollar they give away is seen by them as taking them one step further away from security.
When they do have to enter unfamiliar social situations, Jackals seem surprisingly at ease. In reality, they are observing, evaluating, and reacting to their new acquaintance, maintaining a neutral politeness and general friendliness until they have decided whether or not to share elements of their true selves with this stranger. This goes for casual social situations as well as dating. Leaving themselves open for rejection is anathema for a Jackal, and violates their innermost need to feel comfortable and secure. This makes finding a partner a slow and challenging task.
When they do fall in love, though, Jackals are true companions. Jackals mate for life, and will defend their family and closest friends with surprising ferocity. A Jackal may let you look at their territory, but they will never let you take it without a fight. The true duality of this sign comes through in love. Few things can distract them from their keen focus on their future goals, but this is one of those few. Once you have partnered up with a Jackal, they consider you a part of their plans for the future, and can even be a bit possessive over this relationship.
Hadrian finished reading it, that was definitely Tom through and through, he was curious to see what the Stag meant, flipping through the book, he found it quite quickly. 'Highly sensitive and have a strong intuition. You have the power to deal with challenges with grace. You master the art of being both determined and gentle in your approach. The wisdom imparts those with a special connection with this animal with the ability to be vigilant, move quickly, and trust their instincts to get out the trickiest situations.' that definitely sounded like him alright. From what he knew about his mother, she was pretty much the same, his dad not so much. Closing the book firmly, he might read it one day, but he had no real desire to read through a book filled with 'spirit animals of Patroni' even if it was a gift.
"Accio school bag," Hadrian cast, summoning his bag to him, he had forgotten to bring it with him when he left the room, thankfully all the books inside were ones he was due for today he had packed his bag last night out of boredom. He slid the book into his bag, just because he didn't want to read it all, it didn't mean he wanted to let the others get their hands on it. Most were actually really greedy despite the fact they had more money than they could spend in a lifetime and weren't above petty theft. He brought out his portfolio absolutely everything about his estate was in here, he hadn't had a chance to look at it yet.
Turning to the investment list, he noticed the percentage he had in the Daily Prophet had gone up, it was now at forty-five percent, another six percent and he would have controlling shares, which is exactly what he wanted, the Ministry of Magic would never get to use the paper to spout their own propaganda at the press. Not that it seemed to be a problem here, from what he read of the Daily Prophet it seemed to write the truth, about the war with Grindelwald and how bad it was overseas. The broomstick manufacturing companies weren't high up yet, one as little as five percent and the thunderbolt company was thirty two percent, none were going to be as well known as the Nimbus company though, that was the one he definitely wanted to get shares in when it started. The professionals immediately all start using it, at least until the Firebolt made an appearance on the scene. Nimbus wouldn't be around for at least another thirty years, it was around 1967 it was created by Devlin Whitehorn if he remembered correctly.
The goblins had gotten him shares in the Audi car manufacturing business, which was an old one, but Ironclaw also got him significant shares in the Ferrari car company per his demands it was only a few years old. You would think companies would be suffering due to the war, and some were, but the car companies certainly didn't seem to be he thought to himself, looking at the income he was getting from them. The rest were what he'd asked for publishing companies.
Flipping through more pages, he noticed a list of upcoming businesses that needed money to take off, allowing people to invest in them, and Hadrian curiously read through the list, flipped the page and continued on. One did catch his attention, Zonko's joke shop, Hadrian frowned, wasn't it already there? He could have sworn he had heard others talking about it, perhaps it was a different joke shop and he'd just assumed it was Zonko's? Tapping his chin thoughtfully, they would be successful, and have absolutely no real competition until Fred and George…that's if they opened their own joke shop. Making a decision he grabbed a piece of parchment and began to write to Ironclaw, crouching just so he could write on the table properly. He would send it away when he was on his way to Ancient Runes. He slid it into the front of his bag so he didn't have to rake through it later.
The rest of the portfolio was properties he owned, or rather that were lying almost derelict since the last Peverell, properties that the Potter's had not claimed, either unable to do so or were willed to others who hadn't used them. They were scattered all over the world, nine in total, three manors, three town houses, three villas. The manors were the ones that held his interest; they were in Britain, one in Scotland and the other two in England, presumably one for each of the Peverell brothers? No the line had continued on long after them, but not too much longer, presumably when the line had merged with the Potter line, with only girls being born.
"You're here," Tom stated, as he made his own appearance in the common room, Hadrian glanced up briefly, blinking in surprise at the worry veiled behind those dark eyes.
"Yeah, I woke up hours ago, I couldn't get back to sleep," Hadrian offered up the information, "Probably had too much sleep this weekend," he added giving a small smile to reassure him that he truly was recovered, before he immersed himself in the three sheets of paper he was interested in.
"What are you doing?" Tom enquired, sliding into the couch next to him, glancing at the portfolio, arching his eyebrow and grimacing in disgust at the so obvious Muggle companies he had. "Muggles? Really?"
"Tom we are a tiny community compared to the Muggle world, take a look at the profit difference between them, and that is during a war, can you imagine what it will be like in a few years?" Hadrian pointed out, moving the parchment so he could see it properly; it was a significantly higher profit margin. "This way they can prove useful and more money can be put into the magical world and help relieve it of its stagnant stillness, wizards are ridiculous for not investing in Muggle companies."
"Perhaps you make a good point," Tom murmured grudgingly, able to see for himself that Hadrian was correct and not wishing to fully admit it.
"As for what I'm doing, I'm looking over my properties," Hadrian added thoughtfully, "They need a lot of work, they're practically derelict, but still standing, I'm thinking of having the goblins find workers to at least work on the structure, anything else I can do myself during the summer."
"That is House-elves jobs, not a Lord's work," Tom reprimanded, his lip curled at the thought of Hadrian doing anything resembling house work.
Hadrian glanced at him, smiling wryly; just thinking of the times at the Orphanage, Tom hated doing anything mundane and had made that more than clear. "I'd rather do it myself, although House-elves would certainly help," Hadrian said thoughtfully, his green eyes glimmering with a hint of sadness, thinking of Kreacher and Dobby, the two house-elves he had grown very fond off, one who had died and the other who he had kept at arms length after the war when he became a wanted wizard once more. What would happen to Dobby now? He was a Malfoy bound House-elf, Hadrian realized, his smile turned quite vicious, they served Tom, or would, and also would do anything he asked, including handing over Dobby. When that day came he would take great delight in watching it.
Tom shifted just slightly at the look on his intended's face, by Merlin he hadn't seen that look since he'd crushed Avery like a slug, make him realize just who he was dealing with. Desire coiled with him, remembering the incident and seeing the dark look on his face. The sound of footsteps forced him to rein it in; it also brought Hadrian out of his thoughts.
"What do you know about buying House-elves?" Hadrian asked the others as they piled into the room, a lot of other years followed either leaving the common room immediately or sitting on one of the chairs, waiting for their friends to come down.
"Well it's not common, you have to wait until they have babies, then they're sold," Lestrange admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
Hadrian gritted his teeth hearing that, "How long after they are born are they ripped from their families?"
"Every family that has one does things different," Aiden said eyeing Hadrian warily, they could see he was pissed off, "Sometimes they're given over as gifts or for a truce, some families wait until the young ones are old enough to use magic and learned how to clean from their parents." he told him the complete truth knowing if he found out later it would just anger him more.
Tom refrained from commenting that they were just creatures, knowing that the comment wouldn't go over too well. For some reason Hadrian had some sort of emotional attachment to the creatures. The look in Hadrian's eyes when he spoke about how he'd gone about getting the locket had given that away, now there were definitely not any doubts left in his mind. He didn't feel strongly enough about them in general to try and get Hadrian to change his mind.
There would come a time when Tom realized there was no such thing possible.
"I can ask around if you're interested?" Aiden asked, not sure whether Hadrian actually wanted one or not or if it was just a general question.
Hadrian's lip curled slightly just thinking about it, "Do it, although I'd prefer it if they are ready to work," in other words, he wanted one who had spent time with its parents, at least getting to know them before they were sold off.
"Alright, I'll write to my parents," Aiden informed him, taking his oath and position as Hadrian's shield seriously, the others were still getting used to it, the not so subtle glances they gave each other totally gave them away, not such a Slytherin move to make really. There was no denying that Lestrange was happy to have his best friend back into the fold though, the others weren't as forgiving but they'd get there, if there was one thing Slytherins knew it was loyalty.
"Let's go," Tom stated, breakfast had already started and he wasn't about to be late for class, especially considering it was Dumbledore's class. He was too much a model student for Dumbledore to get away with giving him detention or losing points without question much to his smug satisfaction.
"I agree, I'm starving," Hadrian agreed, shovelling his paperwork back into the portfolio and putting it back into his bag, clipping it shut before he shoved it over his shoulder and with that they all exited the common room, there were still a few people mingling around, but they were paid no mind. He would read them more thoroughly later and decide upon a property.
"So why do you want to buy a House-elf?" Lestrange asked curiously, not too scared to ask questions to Hadrian, Tom on the other hand he would never ask questions regarding personal matters - not if he wanted his sanity to be kept intact. "I mean you're in Hogwarts…you don't have any use for them, and you aren't allowed to bring your own."
"Same reason as everyone else gets one, to clean," Hadrian informed him dryly, refraining from rolling his eyes.
Tom suppressed a smirk, Hadrian knew very well what they were asking but he just seemed to love winding them up, to see if they would actually ask what they wanted to know instead of being subtle about it. The way he said it completely destroyed any chance of a continued conversation while he was at it, he was definitely good at what he did.
"I can't wait to see the look on Dumbledore's face," Hadrian commented out of the blue, his green eyes glittering almost vindictively.
Tom didn't bother suppressing it this time, as a chuckle worked out of his throat, sometimes they were so very different…and other times it was as if they could read each others minds, so alike that it was quite scary…to others at any rate. He was looking forward to the look on his face as well, none of the teachers were yet aware of the fact he had gained his inheritance, didn't know that he was no longer a Riddle but Lord Slytherin. He had imagined the look on Dumbledore's face numerous times over the weekend. "Indeed," Tom replied succinctly.
"Want to bet a galleon all the ways you imagine it pale into comparison with his real reaction?" Hadrian teased Tom quietly, a wide grin on his face, it had become his favourite past time to wind up Dumbledore. He could use it really, bring him down a few pegs, he wasn't infallible no matter how much he liked to think he was or omnipotent. He didn't expect it to continue, Dumbledore hadn't gotten to where he was by being stupid, no Hadrian knew he had to watch his back, go too far and he had no idea what Dumbledore could or would do.
"Of course it will," Tom taunted, smugly. He was looking forward to seeing the genuine look on the old fools face. He was pretty sure that the other Slytherin's were as well, at least those in his circle, they were the only ones that knew. His face smoothed over as soon as they entered the Great Hall, the group made their way over to their usual place, and sat down eager to eat and get to class for once.
"Do you think Merrythought will be back this week?" Rosier questioned from further down, "I never thought I'd say this but I miss her, she's much better than the idiot we've got now."
"He's not too bad," Hadrian acknowledged, "But I have to agree, he doesn't know what the hell to do with a class." compared to the DADA teachers in his time he was better, maybe not compared to Moody and Remus though. "I get the feeling he's never taught before, I'm not sure why he didn't just pass out quizzes."
"He's probably just passed his mastery, he looks what? Twenty-two? It's about the right length of time to complete a Defence Mastery." Lestrange admitted, wiping his mouth of the grease.
"I thought it only took two to three years to complete…" Hadrian questioned.
"That's a degree, a Mastery requires five years," Lestrange shook his head, "A degree is all you need to teach but Mastery's are hugely sought after, not a lot of people bother to go the five years though,"
Hadrian gave Lestrange a strange look, he knew of quite a few people who had Mastery's, perhaps it wasn't a lot when compared to the overall wizarding population.
"I plan to take mine," Lestrange said smugly.
"In what?" Hadrian asked, shoving his plate aside as he once more dug into his bag, and brought out a new piece of parchment, deciding to have the three manors go through intense repairs, he could decide which one he liked best once Hogwarts was done for the year.
"Defence Mastery, my father has one," Lestrange proclaimed proudly.
"I see," Hadrian said, hiding his surprise successfully, he'd sort of always assumed the pureblood's were lazy and had no real plans to get jobs or the like, they had enough money to see them living several lifetimes after all. Draco Malfoy certainly hadn't had any ambition, nor had Lucius Malfoy other than throwing his money and climbing up the social ladder. Merlin the world truly had gone to hell, had it gotten so bad that Slytherin's found it difficult to get jobs or have Mastery's? Or had they just decided to be as bad as everyone thought they were? He didn't know and it did perplex him.
"What about you?" Lestrange asked, watching Hadrian scribble away quickly on a piece of parchment.
"I honestly don't know," Hadrian admitted, at a loss, there was so much he wanted to change about the magical world, he couldn't exactly do that and have a full time job…at least he didn't think he could. The only thing he had genuinely liked doing was teaching, it had been what he'd done, he'd taught a lot of his peers how to defend themselves, only because Umbridge had refused to do so. He had also enjoyed writing his book, which had surprisingly been a big hit, it had flown off the shelves, and more had to be printed. He didn't want to be an Auror despite what he had told McGonagall, he'd done that solely to piss Umbridge off and the expectations the others had that he become one.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Tom stated, seeing that Hadrian was in deep consternation. "Not everyone knows what they wish to do career wise so soon, many take a few years out of Hogwarts to find out what they truly wish to do." not that he actually wanted Hadrian to do anything, other than be at his side. He had never asked Hadrian if he'd had a career or aspirations before he came here; he had been in his twenties after all, now he was indeed very curious. It wasn't something he could ask here, he would need to wait until they were alone.
Hadrian wiped his fingers before folding up the letter, they needed sealed before he sent them, but he wasn't bringing out his seal here, Dumbledore still didn't know about his Lordship, none of the teachers did actually. He would do it when he was at the Owlery; he decided sliding the letter next to the other one, both of the destined for Gringotts. Zipping the side pocket up, he slid his bag over his back, before grabbing a few slices of toast, he was actually still hungry, and he hadn't eaten a lot this morning. He was just about to turn around when Tom grabbed a hold of his arm, preventing him from leaving.
Dumbledore from the head table noticed it, his eyes narrowed in on them, feeling even more cautious, perhaps he best get Hadrian checked for any compulsions and curses. Tom had already admitted his abilities in those areas, he could get people to do whatever he wanted, and in other words he was already using the Imperius curse before his entrance into Hogwarts.
"Miss me already?" Hadrian teased quietly into Tom's ear.
"Amusing," Tom said wryly, taking his own bag and only then did both of them make their way out of the Great Hall, his 'friends' following them, returning the legion of hello's they got in the hallway. Hadrian had been famous and was used to it, not to this extent, for some odd reason other than the first week of pointing and staring, not many had actually tried to befriend him. He was more popular here for a reason, than he had been before, and he found it utterly hilarious.
They traipsed up the stairs making their way to the Transfiguration classroom, taking their seats at the back of the classroom, none of the Slytherins ever argued about the seating arrangements. "You've forgotten one important detail…" Hadrian said, looking as though he'd just had an epiphany.
"About?" Tom asked turning to Hadrian temporarily confused.
"Dumbledore rarely calls on you," Hadrian pointed out, in fact he did it what…two or three times a year if he was lucky.
"Damn," Rosier grumbled in disappointment.
"Good morning, students," Dumbledore said, beaming happily at them, as if nothing pleased him more as he grandly entered the room.
A few students replied, if one had been other to observe they would have realized it was only Gryffindors, Dumbledore's favourites.
"Then I'll have to make him," Tom replied, but he knew that wouldn't work either.
"It would be amusing to see you try," Hadrian laughed a little, paying no attention to Dumbledore as he spoke, but that was nothing new.
"Mr. Peverell, when you come to my class I expect you to pay attention," Dumbledore admonished, "Detention tonight, with me," shaking his head severely disappointed with him.
"Yes, Sir," Hadrian replied his face going blank as he regarded Dumbledore, his fury barely concealed, he knew, he just knew Dumbledore had come to the classroom with that plan in mind and used the first available excuse.
"Now turn to page fifty-seven," Dumbledore said, his attention now back on the students, "Today we are going to learn about another area of Transfiguration. Vanishment is the art of causing things to Vanish; to make things go into non-being. Vanishment is moderately difficult and is considered one of the hardest transfigurations to be tested on in one's O.W.L exams, which you will take next year, the difficulty of the Vanishment to be performed positively correlates with the complexity of the organism to be Vanished…for example, invertebrates are easier to Vanish than vertebrates…now can anyone tell me one of the incantations for a Vanishement spell?"
A lot of hands went up, all eager to please the powerful wizard.
"Yes, Mr. Potter," Albus said, pointing towards one of his favourites, he was by far one of his best students.
"Evanesco, Professor," the Potter heir replied confidently.
"Precisely, ten points to Gryffindor," Dumbledore said, beaming proudly. "Now hand these out to everyone and practise, do not be discouraged if you do not get it the first time, remember, it is a difficult spell to master." he passed the box filled with pin cushions to the nearest Slytherin, "Now eyes front, I will give you a careful demonstration, as always, pay close attention to the wand movements."
"If there was ever a time I wished I could read your mind…it would be now," Tom whispered, once again seeing the look of vindictive satisfaction on Hadrian's face.
"You'd get amusement out of it," Hadrian agreed, green eyes twinkling, "I set a snake free. Well I made the glass disappear, and then made it reappear after my cousin fell in and the snake got out. That was before I knew about magic." it was one of his most amusing accidental magic incidents, the top definitely had to be Marge being blown up like a balloon, no contest.
"Mr. Pev…" Dumbledore's voice began his tone filled with warning.
"Evanesco!" Hadrian said confidently, knowing it would work, refusing to even look at Dumbledore, he was really pissed at the old man, and he was going to have to bail on Myrtle again! He couldn't be at two places at once, so he would have to tell her he couldn't make it. Not that she needed him anymore, it was more to just talk rather than learn spells.
"Well done," Dumbledore said, barely able to conceal his grudging respect, "Ten points to Slytherin,"
And Tom…not to be outdone, did exactly the same thing with the same results, this time before Dumbledore could conceive looking away, so with a small barely discernable grimace he added, "Ten points to Slytherin, Mr. Riddle." the Slytherin's all at once inhaled in anticipation, waiting on pins and needles.
"I no longer go by that name, professor," Tom told him angelically, a small smile on his face.
"Excuse me, Tom?" Dumbledore asked, staring blankly at the teenager, not understanding what he was getting at.
"I received my inheritance and changed my name," Tom said slowly, as if he was doing it solely for his teachers benefit so he could keep up, really he was doing it just to wind him up.
"I see," Dumbledore replied, a little twinkle coming into his eye, realizing for a certainty that Tom definitely was behind the deaths of his father and uncle, he finally understood the reasoning behind it, he should have guessed. "Very well Mr. Gaunt,"
"Oh, no professor, I didn't take on the Gaunt name," Tom replied sweetly, ignoring the shocked whispers going around the Gryffindor side of the room. His proclamation of his name would have sent him into fury if he hadn't already been aware Dumbledore knew who his family was, he had kept it from him. "I took my true name, Tom Marvolo Slytherin," he finished smugly, watching Dumbledore avidly.
They had been right; none of his visions came close to the look on Dumbledore's face. Dumbledore was actually gaping at him, his twinkle vanished completely. It was the best look he'd seen on the old fool yet, and the entire class was going crazy as they processed the information.
"SILENCE!" boomed Dumbledore after he slowly but surely came back to himself, his twinkle ampped up, and his face became genial once more. "This is a class, save your gossip until lunch."
Tom turned to Hadrian to see him barely containing his amusement; Tom literally had to bite his tongue to stop himself laughing. He had never seen such near childish abandon on Hadrian's face before. He vowed he would make sure to put it there again, somehow someway.