Defence and Mayhem

The End of a School Year

I'm back!

The end-of-the-year exams were just around the corner for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and as always, it was hectic.

The students who made sure to revise the material throughout the entire year, like Tom has(not that he needed it) didn't have much to stress about, but they were a small group, most students didn't have that sense of responsibility, and now, now they suffered.

Tom thought that their suffering was well deserved.

Watching all sorts of study groups run around in circles crying about this and that exam because they were too lazy to perform adequately before the exam season was amusing at first, but it got old.

And it got old fast.

The library was always packed and noisy, and not even the librarian managed to keep order faced with that many stressed teens.

Tom couldn't get a moment of peace outside of the Chamber, and this quickly soured his mood. Even his talks with Harrison where he could be himself freely for the most part were reduced in number because the man was busy helping students prepare for their exams.

Speaking of Harrison, Tom managed to produce a fully corporeal Patronus on the man's lesson a week back, something that pleased him greatly. Tom didn't use a memory to do it. Light magic wasn't his forte, and doing it the traditional way just wouldn't cut it for him. He used his ambitions. His dreams, if one wanted to be overly poetic on the matter. He wanted to be a Dark Lord, and that meant bringing balance. Protecting those of his affiliation, even from creatures that belonged in that group, if need be. A force to be reckoned with to his enemies. Deserving of respect no matter who you asked. He focused on enhancing his magical abilities, so he could be worthy. Worthy of the honor to be blessed by Lady Magic. He would embrace all of her creation, even if he leaned strongly to one side of it.

And a brilliant silver shot out of his wand. A creature symbolizing powers of foresight, mental clarity, protection, and endurance. The embodiment of Tom's spirit, strong and unrelenting. A Basilisk.

He was somewhat surprised, even though he did expect it in a way. He always liked to believe he was an exemplary student of his house, and therefore not surprised to have gotten the symbol of his house as a Patronus, yet the type of snake, a magical creature, was surprising.

It was incredibly rare for a Patronus to take the form of a magical animal or beast, and it only happened to very powerful individuals. In a way, he even considered it a sign of magic's acknowledgement of his magical prowess. He was also very fond of the symbolisations behind the Basilisk Patronus, as he knew they were qualities he needed to achieve his goal and ones he already saw within himself, to varying degrees.

Harrison rewarded him with twenty points for his success, which he was proud of since Harrison barely gave any points at all.

Still, until his seventh year in Hogwarts, he won't perform his Patronus in front of a dementor, as Harrison reserved that for only the oldest students to handle. He would still practice his Patronus in private until he was certain he could perform even under a legitimate threat, to keep himself safe for the improbable chance of encountering the vile creatures, if not to impress Harrison…

Casting a quick 'Tempus' he realized that it was already dinnertime. Sighing at the thought of facing the utter chaos that is the student body, he ascended the stairs.

________________

Harrison was very pleased with his students. He was grading the end-of-the-year exams, and could happily say that he managed to do a decent job teaching them.