The right path

Eight

Tom was furious. Nobody talked to him like that. He would teach that bloody prat a lesson. But...what if the prat was useful? He hadn't had the time to weigh him yet. Well...as the merciful and oh so great leader he was, he would give the prat an opportunity to stay hex-free for the night.

"I said move, you are blocking the way for the restroom."

A hint of surprise crossed Harry's face. He thought he would be hexed for the impertinence, it was Tom Riddle, the boy that one day would be the most ruthless man on earth, who they were talking about. Whatever, he would not bow to him, ever, and he would make it clear right now. But...he would not be as rude. He was in the snake pit, he had to be cunning too if he wanted to get away with things like this.

"I know, and I heard you the first time. I'll move, but you could be a little more kind, you know. I don't even know your name and you already want me to bow to your every whim, your majesty."

Harry needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. That last sentence was definitely not part of what he wanted to say. But seeing Tom's face, and remembering all the things he did...will do? Agh, whatever. He just didn't like the boy at all, and he couldn't help his Gryffindor ways to shine through. Harry was cursing himself for being so hot headed and rash, to hell with his recklessness, he had managed to infuriate the boy he dreaded the most on his first night here. Great.

Now Tom was really furious, livid. He would need to teach the prat a lesson after all. Well, he called for it. He turned to face the other boys in the room.

"Get out."

The three boys complied immediately. They didn't want to be on the receiving end of Tom's anger. Poor boy, that one. He would unfortunately learn the hard way, they didn't get the chance to warn him about Tom, and how he was at the top of the hierarchy. They all assumed the new boy was trying to establish himself in the top of their positions, getting to be the leader himself. That could have worked, maybe, if he was not facing the most powerful student in probably the whole school, including the upper years. All of them crashed in one of the leather sofas in the common room, aware that they would not hear whatever happened in their dorm. Tom always managed to silence everything, it was no good for others to find out most of the things he did. All they had to do was wait...and maybe pray for that poor newbie's soul, Merlin knows he will need it.

Meanwhile, at the dorm, the two boys stared at each other defiantly. Well, not really. Harry was staring at Tom defiantly, and Tom was looking at Harry merely planning the best way to rip his insufferable tongue out.

"I guess it's time for you to learn a lesson. I tried not to do this today, but your insolence called for it."

As Riddle said this, Harry felt the magical currents shift, and he knew what was about to happen. His instincts were the only thing he could rely on, really. It was the only thing that kept him alive those last two years after all. With that in mind, he didn't question why he knew what to do, he just let his magic envelope him and sent it forward, to collide with Tom's own. He just knew that if Tom's magic touched him, there would be hell to pay, and he wasn't about to let that happen. Some sparks appeared where he assumed the raw magic had collided, and then... silence. Utter silence.

Tom was shocked. Nobody had ever been able to prevent his raw magic attack. And even if somebody knew it was coming their way, nobody before had the raw power to match him, or even the ability to control their own raw magic, mind you. Who the hell was this boy?! He had been swift in thinking he was just another pureblood weakling. This boy would be useful, he had to find a way to finish this before he lost the chance of  recruiting the boy. He needed a more manipulative approach, rather than a fear grip.

Harry watched all of the emotions crossing Riddle's face: the shock, awe, confusion, and determination. He really didn't know what to make of it, but he did know something. He was very tired. Using his raw power like that left him worse than all of the crazy quidditch training he had endured. But he could not show weakness in front of Tom, he had to resist for a little while longer. Just a little bit...He was wondering how on earth Tom was still standing, looking unaffected, hadn't he used the same power he had?

When they looked up to look into each other's eyes they only saw awe for each other, just for different reasons. When their eyes met, though, they felt a tingling sensation cursing through them. What was that? Harry was the first to break the connection, looking to the ground, worry starting to make an apparition. He wasn't sure if the other boy could feel that, but he would not mention it for now. He needed to speak with James, maybe he knew what to do. For now, he just wanted to be alone in the comfort of his bed.

"Look, I still don't know who you are, but I don't want to fight you. I will stay out of your way if you do the same, deal?"

Tom didn't know what to do, really. For the first time he was at a loss of what to say. He had felt something when he saw into the boy's eyes, and then, there was also the fact that the boy was powerful. He was curious, and a little bit scared, it was the first time he was interested in a person. But the boy didn't seem to be curious about him, he just wanted to stay out of the way. He wanted to enter into his mind and learn everything about the boy, get anything useful from him and eliminate him, never let him be a rival. But he couldn't, he also wanted the boy to be on his side, to observe him, to respect his power and compete with him. Those emotions were so against each other that he had trouble making up his mind. He would let the other boy be, for the time being, introduce himself and observe everything from a safe distance. Then he would decide for sure.

"Deal. I am in no mood for wasting my time with you tonight. My name is Tom Riddle."

Harry didn't think Tom would let him go that easily, but he was relieved for the fact. Then he remembered James's  words from the day prior: 'nobody is evil by nature'. He didn't remember all the details about that part of the conversation, but he remembered enough to know that this boy was not yet Voldemort, and if he could help it, Tom would never be that monster. Some of the anger and bitterness was already there, he could see, but it was not enough to consider the boy a monster. So Harry decided he would not be too harsh on him, and observe him to decide the better course of action. That would do for now.

"Great, Riddle. Good to know, I'm Harry Potter. I'll get the other boys back, I really do not fancy to start the term with them being mad at me from keeping them up. Excuse me."

With no other words being spoken, Harry abandoned the dorm and fetched the other boys. He learned they were Orion Black, Marcus Bulstrode, and Thaddeus Nott. They seemed nice enough, but they were certainly confused as to why Harry was still in one piece and with no signs of being hexed to oblivion. Tom would explain everything afterwards, of course, they needed to know in order to associate or avoid the boy in question.

When they entered, Tom was already in the shower, and really, they were too tired to wait for him to get out, so they pulled out their pajamas, and everyone went to bed.

When Tom finally got to bed he could not really sleep. For the first time in his life he was intrigued. And by a boy his own age, no less. He didn't know Harry was having the exact same problem in the bed next to his.