Chapter 111
Tom Riddle left the place in a hurry, only to be surprised that the Ravenclaw common room was still full of students who had not yet gone to bed.
So he quickly ran to hide from their sight, not expecting that they would still be awake.
Had they been asleep, and someone had seen him wandering around, they might have realized that the fake Flitwick was not Flitwick at all.
After a few minutes, the students finally settled down and drifted off to sleep. Tom crept out of his hiding spot, moving with extreme care so that no one could hear him.
He held his wand tightly, alert to the slightest movement from the real Flitwick, who was dozing on the couch.
Whispering Lumos, Tom lit the tip of his wand to search for the key that Flitwick had received from Headmaster Dippet.
But as he searched carefully, he made a mistake: he stepped on a loose wooden plank, producing a sharp crack. The sound was loud enough to stir Flitwick from his slumber.
Tom, however, did not flinch. With astonishing speed, he struck Flitwick across the neck, knocking him unconscious in an instant.
Tom let out a sigh.
"Damn it, I almost got exposed! Now… where is that blasted key?"
Tension crept through him. He feared that once the nearby students heard the noise of the breaking wood, they would rush into the room.
So Tom frantically searched with all his strength.
He checked Flitwick's robes but found nothing, frustration boiling inside him as despair began to settle in.
Only when he turned his attention to Flitwick's satchel did he finally find it—the key.
At last, Tom's lips curled into a sinister smile, and he let out a loud, wicked laugh.
"Yes… finally! Hahahahaha! At last, I can set my plans in motion. Yes! Hahahaha! Now is the time to finish what my ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, began!"
Salazar Slytherin was not Tom's direct grandfather, but rather one of his distant ancestors, several generations back. If one traced the bloodlines of Tom's parents far enough, they would find that the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Tom Riddle was none other than Salazar Slytherin, one of the four powerful founders of Hogwarts.
Slytherin was known to all as a dark figure, infamous for his mastery of the Dark Arts. It was said that, after years of deep study, he had left behind all his research within the Restricted Section of the library, hidden in a forbidden chamber that could only be opened by blood descended from Salazar himself.
And Tom Riddle had learned of this secret by eavesdropping on a conversation between Headmaster Dippet and Professor Dumbledore.
Closing the room behind him, Tom dashed out of the Ravenclaw common room.
But as he stepped out, the prefect guarding the entrance caught sight of him. Yet he did not question Tom, assuming that "Professor Flitwick" had merely woken from a nightmare and gone out for some air, planning to return shortly.
Tom rushed toward the boys' lavatory. But before he even reached one of the stalls, he doubled over, vomiting violently, the side effect of the Polyjuice Potion.
"Ugh damn it!" Tom groaned. "It's my first time brewing this potion… but it was worth it. I got what I wanted. Tomorrow, I'll enter that place. For now… I must sleep."
To be continued…