The Fear in The Child

Lessons

If there was one thing that Tom hated more than anything else, it was idiocy and he was certainly not afraid to admit it. Not only was it just draining, it was frustrating to deal with. Most of the muggles that he had been around or been saddled with were stupid, and that was just something that he had gotten used to dealing with. He had thought, upon realizing that he was a Wizard, such things would be limited, and then he was introduced to Gryffindors. Idiots and stupid, doing before they think. Something which, though Slytherins showed at times, was not often prevalent in their day to day dealings, which he had always been grateful for. Though the Slytherins took a while before they began to accept him, they had begun to do so. It was something that Tom was especially annoyed that he was going to need to entirely re-cultivate. It had taken quite a long time, and that was before he had ascertained that he was a Half-Blood. Though he did not know much about his family, he knew that Marvolo was a Wizarding name, as he had seen it in a passage in passing, which definitely helped him put that together. Still, when he had been ditched after forth year once more to the orphanage, He had at least made a decent start. It would need to continue. He had to be careful with what he said, how he acted. Then again, it was not as though this was unusual. He was used to doing such things anyways. Now, he was among those who would probably be watching him, and he himself would have to be careful. He was always careful. He had always been, and yet now he had to start from the very beginning again. Though at least he managed to make a decent impression on Draco. Hopefully it would not take as much time as it had before.

The next morning was the beginning of many things. Tom woke up in a sweat, glad that he had, as he normally did, placed silencing wards around his bed, he had taken to doing that the moment he had learned of the silencing spell, and he had done it several times ensuring that it was quite secure. Sometimes he forgot to place them, and spent a long while tormenting himself by reprimand, angry for forgetting something so simple. At the Orphanage, and in the muggle world he could not do it. He therefore took painful steps to ensure he did it nightly when he was within the magical world as he hated others seeing his weaknesses. 

Breathing heavily as he woke from the regular nightmare, he said a simple and quick spell, easily cleaning himself up, and headed towards the bathrooms, in order to change himself into the robes which he was required to wear. Well, he was not REQUIRED to wear them. There were plenty of loopholes in the Hogwarts Dress code that were easily enough spotted, but Tom had to make a good impression. Again. It would not do to show up in horrible clothes. The materials which Dumbledore had given him were suitable, though not the best quality, they would do well enough. Definitely better than before, as such, he took great pains to ensure that his robes were cleaned and pressed and that his teeth were brushed. He did not much care for breakfast, he was not all that hungry, the months which he had spent at the orphanage (mere weeks for him, whereas it was actually years) had damaged his appetite quite a bit. Still, he would show up for the breakfast. This was for multiple reasons.

One. He had to make a good impression, and missing breakfast was most certainly a way to not do that. He had to be careful, and this was simply a precaution which he needed to take. He did not want to seem like he was 'odd' the first day. Not to mention he was somewhat hungry, but not by much. He had refused the breakfast that the Weasleys had proposed before he left, and he had not eaten much a dinner, and though he was used to eating very little, he did not want to come across badly, in any way whatsoever.

Two. It would be the first time he was able to observe the teachers closely, other than the evening before, but that was not exactly as conductive as he would have hoped, especially since he was so focused on other things, primarily the other house members. Though, he was not really sure how many people would show up. In his time, Hogwarts teachers often did not show up for breakfast, preferring to ready themselves for classes, though they did often show up for dinner. Which led to number three.

Three, pure curiosity. He was curious who would show up and who would not. The first few weeks was vital for this. Most people who held to a schedule stayed with the same schedule as the first few weeks. It was important if he wanted to familiarize himself with the people about him, and the castle's general business during the day. These first few weeks held some incredibly vital information that he could gather without having to do much work.

Then there was number four. He did not want to seem as though he thought himself superior. Though it may not seem like it, there was plenty of things that one had to adhere to in order to ensure the reputation of onesself, and these dinners and breakfasts were one, lunch however-not so much. He knew from experience that sometimes his house members could think that he was arrogant and felt superior if he did not at least show up to breakfast. He would not make that mistake again. There were many things that, if he paid heed and was careful, he could keep himself from repeating, and saving him a lot of time and energy, as well as dealing with anger and resentment of his fellow house members.

If he was going to overtake and overthrow Dumbledore, he would need not just his house, but plenty of others from others houses to follow him. He had begun to manage it quite well the before he had been forcibly jerked through to this time, again, something that he was annoyed with. Though, he was fully aware, that it would start with his house, if nothing more. He needed the support which his house would give him.

And his house would give it to him. Even if he had to rip it from them, though he much preferred to avoid that as it would cause problems in the future if he did so.