Chapter 112
The next day…
After Tom Riddle and a few of his friends left their Potions class, which was taught by Professor Slughorn, one of them spoke up:
"Come on, Tom, join us in the Quidditch pitch. Today's match will decide who wins the Quidditch Cup!"
Another friend jumped in, placing his hand on Tom's shoulder.
"Yes, Tom, it's been ages since you came to watch a game with us. It's the perfect chance to see how much things have changed since the last time you went!"
Tom did not take their words seriously.
"I'm sorry, but I have something urgent to do. I can't come with you. But if I finish quickly, perhaps I'll join you at the match."
His friends felt a twinge of disappointment, but they didn't press him. They simply bid him farewell and headed off toward the pitch.
Tom, however, slipped away toward a narrow, eerie alleyway. The passage was cloaked in silence, the kind of place where one would almost never encounter another soul.
That was precisely what Tom wanted, no one to see where he was going.
The deeper he went, the darker it became, until Tom found himself surrounded by pitch-blackness. Not a single ray of light reached this far.
"Ugh… how long have I been walking in this straight corridor?" Tom muttered.
He drew his wand and whispered Lumos, casting a pale glow from its tip.
Lifting his wand high, he could see the narrow walls, barely two meters apart. The alley was so tight it felt suffocating.
But Tom pressed on.
The further he walked, the more strange carvings and markings appeared along the walls, accompanied by symbols that seemed almost inhuman.
He halted when his eyes landed on a phrase that felt oddly familiar. The writing was in a language that didn't seem like it belonged to men at all.
Shaking his head, Tom ignored it and continued until, at last, he reached the door.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out the key, and pressed it into the great wooden door.
The moment the door creaked open, a foul stench and a cloud of thick dust rushed out, overwhelming him.
"Cough cough, damn it! Why hasn't this library ever been cleaned? How many years has it been since anyone set foot here?"
Casting a cleaning spell, Tom cleared the air. He had no time to care about dust. What mattered was the treasure he sought.
Slowly, he stepped inside. The chamber stretched wide and high, a vast library towering upward into the darkness above.
Tom's eyes widened in awe.
"It's no wonder the greatest library in the world is this massive…"
He began to browse among the shelves, pulling down a few books at random to test their worth.
One of the volumes he opened made his heart skip. Its cover read:
"The Potion King: Works of Salazar Slytherin."
The sight of that title sent a thrill through him.
He eagerly flipped through its pages until his eyes fell upon a recipe. He whispered aloud:
"How to Increase Your Luck? The process is simple. All you need is a clean glass vial, your hands must be perfectly washed, for even the slightest bacteria could ruin the result. Add a Selurib leaf, shaped much like mint, grind it finely, mix with Siber oil, then add drops of Neurose acid and a measure of ginseng root. The finished potion should appear as clear as water. If it resembles pure water, the potion has succeeded, 100%."
Tom's grin widened.
"Magnificent, truly magnificent! Imagine the uses, convincing someone who refuses your request, surviving a duel where death is almost certain. One sip, and the odds tip in your favor. From certain death to only a sixty percent chance. Incredible…"
He closed the book carefully and slid it into his satchel.
Then he turned to the shelves again, as though following a plan he had prepared long before coming here.
The second book he had pulled earlier caught his eye. Its title read aloud:
"The Love Potion by Salazar Slytherin."
The instant he spoke the title, the wall beside him trembled. A hidden door materialized, black as midnight, emanating an ominous, dreadful aura.
Two green handles gleamed on the door, above which loomed the carved head of a serpent. Its mouth gaped wide, revealing long, menacing fangs, thankfully only stone, not flesh.
Heart pounding, Tom stepped forward with anticipation and dread.
"Yes, this is what I was searching for. Finally! Hahaha!"
The moment his hand touched the green handle, his body vanished as if swallowed by light itself, like a sudden Apparition.
Just before disappearing completely, a voice echoed in his mind, old and heavy, like the rasp of an ancient man:
"You have passed the entry test. Welcome to this place!"
To be continued…